Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
Advance chapters available for patrons on Patreon. And a chapter can be sponsored by buying me a ko-fi.
“A dual-elemental ability involving water and fire?” Jin Ling looked at Fu Ke. These days, few people were willing to use water to cook, as edible water was becoming increasingly scarce.
Only water-elemental ability users could afford such luxuries, but the natural gas in the kitchen had long been shut off. The fact that he could still start a fire meant he was a fire-elemental user.
Fu Ke nodded and looked at Jin Ling: “Want to eat together?”
Jin Ling froze, glaring fiercely at Fu Ke, gritting her teeth: “Yes!”
Fu Ke chuckled, earning a furious glare from Jin Ling. Having divided the original packet of instant noodles in two, Fu Ke wasn’t even full.
However, seeing Jin Ling eating with relish, Fu Ke stretched out her delicate, white hand.
Jin Ling had just finished the soup from the instant noodles when she saw Fu Ke’s hand. Unlike her own tanned, almost bronze skin, the fair, jade-like hand before her made Jin Ling feel a pang of shame.
Before the apocalypse, she too had been a fair-skinned young girl. For a moment, Jin Ling felt a pang of jealousy towards Fu Ke.
She glanced at Fu Ke, then reached out and placed a crystal core in Fu Ke’s hand.
Fu Ke looked at it and saw it was a third-tier crystal core, then disdainfully put it aside: “I don’t want this.”
Jin Ling sneered at Fu Ke: “I know you’re strong, but I’m not weak either. Half a bowl of instant noodles is more than enough for a third-tier crystal core. Don’t push your luck!”
As she spoke, Jin Ling’s eyes gradually turned hostile.
Fu Ke smiled, her sweet smile appearing utterly harmless. But Jin Ling wasn’t stupid; she looked at Fu Ke warily, not being deceived by her appearance at all.
“I don’t want the crystal core, just give me the gold chain on your wrist.” Fu Ke pointed to the gold chain on Jin Ling’s wrist, its intricate openwork design exquisitely crafted.
Jin Ling was stunned, staring at Fu Ke in disbelief.
Crystal cores were incredibly valuable to ability users. Each time they collected crystal cores from a mission, they would hand them over to the base and exchange them for points.
The price of crystal cores was terrifyingly high, even more expensive than food.
Yet, the gold chain on her wrist could be exchanged for just one point. Fu Ke was willing to take the gold chain but not the crystal core— wasn’t she stupid?
Didn’t she know that with this third-tier crystal core, she could exchange it for a whole bunch of gold chains?
“Are you sure you want this?” Jin Ling asked suspiciously.
Fu Ke nodded with a smile.
Now Jin Ling really suspected that Fu Ke had something wrong with her head, but then she thought, well, it’s good that she has something wrong. She could exchange gold chains for food, and she could have as many gold chains as she wanted.
Jin Ling took back the crystal core and took off the gold chains, handing them to Fu Ke: “Once you take them, you can’t go back on your word.”
Fu Ke took the things: “Don’t worry, I won’t regret it.”
“…” This idiot.
“Hey, Fu the Fool, do you want to join our team?” Jin Ling suddenly asked.
Fu Ke turned her head to look at her: “What did you just say?”
There seemed to be a faint red glow in her dark eyes. Jin Ling suddenly felt a chill down her spine, her mind went blank for a moment, and a trace of fear unconsciously appeared in her eyes.
“I, I meant I was asking if you wanted to join our team.” Jin Ling was weak, and she didn’t have the courage to call her Fu the Fool again.
Seeing that Fu Ke remained silent, Jin Ling felt a strange sense of fear. She unconsciously whispered, “In the base, you earn points to exchange for food. Once you run out of food in your backpack, you won’t be able to exchange it again without points. You can only earn points by going on missions. And to go on missions, you need to form a team or join a team.”
Fu Ke smiled at Jin Ling, “Thank you, but I prefer to work alone.”
Jin Ling wanted to say something more, but fearing Fu Ke, she ultimately said nothing.
Meanwhile, the woman eavesdropping heard their harmonious conversation and gritted her teeth in hatred.
This woman was the one who had just instigated Jin Ling to deal with Fu Ke. Normally, Jin Ling wouldn’t have cared. However, Jin Ling always had a strong sixth sense, which was why she had survived so ruthlessly in the apocalypse. She knew who to mess with and who not to mess with. Upon first meeting Fu Ke, her sixth sense told her not to mess with him.
The woman who instigated Jin Ling to deal with Fu Ke was named Wang Yue. Jin Ling’s team consisted of about twenty to thirty people. Jin Ling, trying to be clever, booked two apartments but only paid for two rooms in one.
The remaining room, however, was unoccupied, so they stayed there too.
Previously, Jin Ling lived in the master bedroom, and they lived in the second bedroom. But now that Fu Ke was here, Jin Ling not only moved to the second bedroom but also… The room was so cramped that over a dozen of them couldn’t fit.
The living room got very cold at night, and nobody wanted to sleep there.
In the other three-bedroom apartment, two bedrooms were occupied by their group, and the remaining room was for them to relieve themselves.
Jin Ling’s team was all women, and they would take any man they found attractive back.
Therefore, that room was almost always occupied.
They didn’t have any particular fetishes, so only one couple was in the room at a time.
Now that Fu Ke had come and occupied a room, Jin Ling couldn’t possibly pay extra to book another room, which was why Wang Yue was so hostile towards him.
All of Jin Ling’s team’s points were in her hands; the team was essentially operating like a communal pot.
Wang Yue returned to her room with a grim face. The room was crammed together with about ten people, making it very stuffy. “Shouldn’t the girls next door and Sister Jin have gone out today?”
Although all the points were in Jin Ling’s hands, Jin Ling would go out for missions every day, and since there were so many of them, they took turns.
“We went out yesterday, so it’s their turn today,” one person replied, but then looked at Wang Yue and said, “Sister Jin doesn’t seem willing to be enemies with that Fu Ke. Shouldn’t we avoid making things difficult for her?”
But Wang Yue said with a dark expression, “Then how are we going to sleep tonight? Are you going to sleep in the living room?”
Immediately, the person who had spoken fell silent.
Fu Ke, still with Jin Ling, thought for a moment and then reached out her hand again: “Give me the crystal core from earlier.”
Jin Ling’s eyes widened immediately, looking at Fu Ke warily: “What are you doing! You said you wouldn’t regret it!”
However, Fu Ke nodded seriously: “But I regret it now.”
“You…you…you…” Jin Ling couldn’t care less about being wary of Fu Ke for a moment, and couldn’t help but point her finger at him: “You’re bullying the weak!”
“Yeah, is there a problem?” Fu Ke blinked, seemingly puzzled.
“…” Jin Ling froze. Normally, strong people would never be as shameless as Fu Ke. Most of them were people of their word.
However, Fu Ke suddenly turned around and caught her off guard.
Half a bag of instant noodles and a third-tier crystal core, Jin Ling really couldn’t bear to part with them. Especially since Fu Ke had said he only wanted the gold chain!
“I’ve heard people say that you like bullying the weak the most, don’t you?” Fu Ke tilted her head and looked at her with a smile.
“You haven’t left since you arrived, who could you have heard from?” Jin Ling did like to bully the weak, but Fu Ke hadn’t left since he came in, so how could he have heard from anyone?
“Isn’t that the case?” Fu Ke narrowed his eyes.
Jin Ling was annoyed and angrily took out the crystal core and handed it to Fu Ke.
“Hmm, you seem to have another fifth-tier crystal core. I’ll take that one.” Fu Ke didn’t take the third-tier crystal core from Jin Ling’s hand.
“Fu Ke! You want a fifth-tier crystal core for half a bag of instant noodles, isn’t that going too far?” Jin Ling was so angry she almost blew smoke.
“Not calling me Fu the Fool anymore?” Fu Ke looked at her with a smile.
“…” So that’s what she was waiting for? Jin Ling immediately regretted her loose tongue, saying whatever came to mind, actually calling Fu Ke Fu the Fool.
It seems the fool isn’t Fu Ke, it’s herself.
She reluctantly took out the fifth-tier crystal core, but Fu Ke directly took both the third-tier and fifth-tier crystal cores. Jin Ling was so angry she almost vomited blood.
She had many first and second-tier crystal cores, only a few third-tier ones, and just one fifth-tier one. However, Fu Ke not only took the fifth-tier one but also the third-tier crystal core she had just received.
Jin Ling immediately turned and left, fearing that if she stayed any longer, Fu Ke would take all the crystal cores she had.
Looking at the crystal core, a smile played on her lips, clearly in a good mood. However, she didn’t throw it into her spatial storage; she had plenty of crystal cores there.
She took out a small crossbody bag, put the crystal core inside, and slung it over her shoulder.
On her way back to her room, Fu Ke glanced intentionally at the room Wang Yue was in, then opened the master bedroom door and went inside. Once inside, Fu Ke took out a peach from her spatial storage and ate it.
Jin Ling had been throwing a tantrum in her room for a while before she calmed down. To stop thinking about the fifth-tier crystal core, she went out and took the people next door to get their mission.
After Jin Ling left, Wang Yue gathered the remaining people, preparing to teach Fu Ke a lesson and force her to leave.
Jin Ling’s team consisted entirely of ability users; she wouldn’t accept anyone who wasn’t.
“Knock, knock, knock.” A knock came from the door.
Fu Ke tossed the peach pit aside, wiped her hands with a tissue, and nonchalantly took out her phone to play a single-player game, completely ignoring the knocking.
Wang Yue waited a while, but there was no movement inside. Suppressing her anger, she knocked again.
But there was still no sound. Wang Yue looked suspiciously at the people behind her: “Did she go out just now?”
“No,” someone replied. “I saw her go straight back to her room. She shouldn’t have gone out. Could she be asleep?”
“Ha, how leisurely. Sleeping in her room in broad daylight.” Wang Yue knocked harder, but still no response.
“I don’t believe it! Break down the door!” Wang Yue roared angrily.
“Let’s not, we’ll have to pay for the damage. If Sister Jin finds out, she’ll tear us apart!”
“Yeah, yeah, Wang Yue, I think we should go back. If there’s not enough room, Sister Jin will figure something out. Besides, it’ll be warmer with more people at night, we can squeeze in.”
“Wang Yue, you can sleep on the bed with them, and the rest of us can sleep on the floor. That way we can manage.”
However, Fu Ke sensed that Wang Yue seemed to be backing down. After all, she had taken her anger out on Fu Ke because she had nowhere to sleep. Now that they were willing to let her sleep in the bed, she didn’t care what others thought.
Fu Ke put her phone aside, walked over, and opened the door: “Is there something wrong?”
Suddenly, everyone felt a wave of dizziness. Wang Yue had been hesitant, but seeing Fu Ke made her resolute again, completely ignoring those trying to stop her.
“You choose, either you leave here yourself, or we beat you out of here,” Wang Yue said arrogantly.
Wang Yue had been close to Jin Ling from the beginning, so Jin Ling had been quite tolerant of her. As a result, Wang Yue always felt like she was the vice-captain within the team.
In fact, many people harbored resentment towards her.
“Me?” Fu Ke leaned against the doorframe, seemingly casually saying, “Of course I choose to stay.”
Wang Yue sneered, “Since it’s your own choice, then we won’t be polite!”
“Wang Yue, right?” Fu Ke looked at the group, “Beat her up, beat her half to death. Then, these are yours.”
In Fu Ke’s hand were the two crystal cores he had obtained from Jin Ling, one third-tier and one fifth-tier.
For a moment, the members of Jin Ling’s team exchanged glances, especially since Fu Ke’s mental energy had amplified their suppressed discontent, which suddenly erupted.
“You, why are you all looking at me like that?” Wang Yue felt her scalp tingle from the group’s stares. “Kick her out, and the crystal cores in her hand will be ours, won’t they?”
Wang Yue sneered when she heard Fu Ke’s words; who would listen to her enticement? But unexpectedly, this group of people actually intended to attack her.
Guys, ads are my only source of revenue, so please do not turn on the AdBlock when you are accessing this website…. Thank you, this would be a great help…
You can buy me a ko-fi and sponsor a chapter on: https://ko-fi.com/midnightrambles
Or become a Patron on: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=45665005
If you support me, I would be able to provide more chapters….
Previous • Table of Contents • Next
