91: Choosing you is your good fortune, not mine.
Arriving at a deserted corner, Su Chen finally asked.
"Are you wearing the inner armor I gave you?"
"Don't worry, I've been wearing it all along. I didn't even take it off while sleeping last night."
Still uneasy, Su Chen reached out and felt for it.
‘Ding! Gained Xia Weiyu’s favorability, lottery ticket +100.’
"What are you doing! There are people all around!"
"I'm just concerned about your safety, checking if you're wearing it correctly. Alright, I'll stop touching."
After a bit of playfulness, Su Chen turned back to serious business:
"Tonight, stay with Wang Xiaoting. Although her strength isn't great, she has some adaptability."
"Don't worry, do you really think I'm a three-year-old who can't take care of herself?"
"I just went to check the camp. Everyone is short on food and clothing now, and those with extra food have been forcibly purchased and distributed.
We won't be able to get out for a short while, so we can't eat like we usually do. We must ensure only three square meals a day.
As for where we live, if we continue staying in the RV, it will cause a lot of resentment. We'll have to stay in a tent.
Living conditions might be a bit harsh for the next few days."
"It's fine, Su Chen, I understand."
Xia Weiyu knew the situation was special and was understanding of it.
"Doesn't the Ability Association know a way out either?"
"They've managed to contact the outside world, but the barrier Ability User is definitely inside.
Things happened too suddenly. The Vice President of the Ability Association also has to guard against attacks from exotic beasts and the Heavenly Fiend Cult, so he can't participate in the search.
The search mission here can only be left to us."
He needed to cooperate at this time. The range wasn't large, and using a hint card could save a lot of trouble; otherwise, he really didn't know how many more people would die if this continued.
Although he could go now, it was already six o'clock and the exotic beasts were about to attack. He couldn't leave at this critical juncture, and the Ability Association couldn't send anyone out at this time either.
The search would have to wait until tomorrow. In any case, they had to deal with the exotic beasts tonight first.
As for how long they would be trapped, it shouldn't be too long; he hadn't heard of this event in his past life.
It might be resolved quickly. Su Chen was confident about holding out for a few days, but he was worried about Xia Weiyu and the others. Their strength was weak, and if a real fight broke out, he wouldn't be able to protect everyone... As time passed, the sky finally darkened—at least from a temporal perspective.
The area was shrouded in a light curtain, making it incredibly bright at all times; there was no longer any distinction between day and night.
The Ability Users on the city walls took their positions, Su Chen among them.
The number of people in the squad participating in the battle increased from 3 to 12. These weren't new recruits.
It was because the batch of healing potions he handed out during the day had taken effect, allowing some of those with minor injuries to continue fighting.
The effectiveness of this batch of potions was significant, doubling the number of combatants in their entire station area.
With another night to recover, the number of people able to fight would increase even more.
This would also make it easier to go out and search tomorrow... Suddenly, the camp's alarm blared. Chen Yuan was the first to be alert:
"Stay sharp! The exotic beasts are preparing to attack."
In the distance, the vast white snowflakes blended with the Ear Rats, making it impossible to see clearly.
Su Chen used his Pierce All Things ability and looked into the distance, seeing rows of Ear Rats beginning to condense energy balls between their ears.
"Get down!"
Su Chen shouted, first pinning Chen Yuan and Yang Junlong to the ground.
In that instant, countless energy balls were fired from the snowy ground in the distance. If not for his actions, the two of them would have been dead or at least heavily injured by that move just now.
This wasn't the full attack, only the beginning. All the ambushing Ear Rats began attacking with energy balls, a dense rain of fire that performed a blanket strafing of the city wall.
"Defend! Earth and Wood types, defend first!"
With a series of attacks coming their way, Yao Jianzhong, the commander of the South City Wall, could only order his men to defend first.
Defensive barriers were erected, and everyone hid behind the city wall, waiting for the attack to end.
Hiding behind the wall, Chen Yuan and the other man felt the thrill of having survived a disaster.
‘Ding! Gained Yang Junlong’s favorability, lottery ticket +1.’
‘Ding! Gained Chen Yuan’s favorability, lottery ticket +5.’
Su Chen said, "Thanks."
Thanks?
Chen Yuan was confused by Su Chen's words. Why was he thanking them? He was the one who saved them; they should be the ones thanking him.
"Was yesterday's offensive like this too?"
Chen Yuan shook his head. "Yesterday's attack was just a chaotic swarm charging forward.
If it had been like this yesterday, we would have been prepared today.
Today, the Ear Rats seem different. They feel very disciplined, as if they're following someone's commands."
It seemed the Heavenly Fiend Cult was using them as training targets to refine their control over the Ear Rats.
In his past life, the Heavenly Fiend Cult was extremely difficult to deal with precisely because of their control over exotic beasts and these light curtains.
Moreover, they were lackeys of the Otherworld. Their bases were in the Otherworld, making it difficult to capture them or destroy their nests.
The Otherworld was different from here; everything there was an enemy.
"Su Chen, how did you notice just now? I didn't even react."
"Coincidence.
I just happened to see something strange over there and spotted an Ear Rat condensing an energy ball."
Su Chen gave a casual explanation and said no more.
He couldn't exactly say he used his Piercing Eye and saw thousands of Ear Rats lying in ambush under the snow.
Chen Yuan tentatively believed Su Chen. "A coincidence?
I didn't ask you before, but which university are you from? Jingda or Canglong?
I'm from Moda. I'm a freshman here on a mission."
Yang Junlong spoke first, "We're in the same year! We're from Poxiao. Friend, are you interested in transferring to our school?"
"Poxiao... are you joking?"
Chen Yuan thought he had misheard. "I remember you're an A-rank and you're a B-rank. You two shouldn't be there, at that kind of third-rate university."
"Why not? We just don't want to join the rat race with you guys; we're just leisurely enjoying life.
By the way, how many assessment missions do you have this semester?"
"Two a month."
"Same as Jingda. Unlike us, who have one every two months. Interested, young man?
Action speaks louder than words, transfer to our place.
If you come now, I'll give you my position as second in the year. But let me tell you, if you're coming, you'd better hurry. We've contacted a few people before, and they're coming too.
If you come late, there will be fewer resources to go around..."
Although there was a stone wall blocking his line of sight, Su Chen still used the advantage of his Piercing Eye to observe the battlefield.
He hoped to find the existence of a commander or a Rat King.
Unfortunately, the opponent was hidden quite deep; no trace could be seen within his field of vision.
However, one thing did catch his attention: the number of Ear Rats ambushing under their section of the wall was much higher than the other three walls, more than double.
The other walls were too far away, and he could only see blurred figures, but based on the scale, the pressure on their side would be enormous once the fighting started.
Why was this the main point of attack?
Did it have to be this painful?
Su Chen asked Chen Yuan beside him, "When they attacked yesterday, was there a specific wall they focused on?"
"The East Wall. Yesterday, the pressure on our South Wall wasn't great; we didn't face the main force.
So, it's quite lucky for you to have joined our squad."
Lucky?
Where do you see the luck? Well, it actually is lucky.
Fortunately, I joined your squad today, otherwise, after today, your 66 Squad would have been completely wiped out!