Chapter 402: Chapter 402: Exchange for Progress

Lin Yiyi knew what kind of place Zone A-1 was.

It was the slum out front, where a crowd of people was crammed into a brightly lit, open-floor dormitory under a system that resembled a concentration camp.

Lin Yiyi took a deep breath. Seeing it was useless to reason with the soldiers, she quietly took a few steps back, pondering in her heart. ’How can I manage to see Su Xiyue?’

’I wonder where Xie Ning’s group was taken.’

It was already past eight in the evening. Lin Yiyi tightly clutched a pink phone.

’It’s so late. I’ll come back tomorrow and see if there’s any way to contact Su Xiyue.’

Lin Yiyi gripped her phone, turned, and walked toward Zhuang Lei and Xu Yu’s room, secretly preparing herself mentally.

By the time she opened the door to the small cubicle, her face had already switched to an innocent, carefree smile.

Xie Ning slept soundly until nine o’clock the next morning before slowly getting out of bed.

She had just finished washing up inside her mobile villa and emerged from her Space, refreshed and full of energy, when Song Kexin walked in, pulling Su Xiyue along with her.

The moment they saw her, they pounced.

"Look, Sis is a little lazybones, only getting up now."

"Sis, we brought you vegetable buns. The base was handing them out this morning."

Xie Ning took the small plastic bag they offered, pausing slightly. "Does everyone get them?"

"I think so. The base is now providing one simple meal per day to all survivors, but it costs twenty Contribution Points to redeem."

Xie Ning patted the younger girl’s head, pulled three cartons of milk out of her Space, and handed one to each of them.

In perfect unison, the three of them poked straws into their cartons and took a long SLURP.

"Mom said that since the base is giving them out, it would seem a little nonconformist if we didn’t accept."

Xie Ning nodded slightly.

Although they had plenty of food in their own backpacks, they might as well follow the base’s arrangements. There was no need to stand out and attract unnecessary attention.

"Sis, they’re saying the zones from A-1 to A-9 are freezing and need Fire Ability Users to help add fire. Can I go with Ms. Ke Xin later?"

"Okay." Xie Ning smiled and nodded, patting the younger girl’s face. "Stay with Kexin, and don’t run off."

"Mhm."

After the three of them finished their milk and threw the empty cartons in the trash, they heard a soft knock on the door.

Song Kexin went to open the door. "Sis, Brother Gu Chen is here."

Xie Ning stepped out of the room and met Gu Chen’s somewhat weary eyes. "What, did you pull an all-nighter?"

Gu Chen sighed and nodded. "Have you eaten breakfast?"

"I have." Xie Ning casually tossed him a carton of milk. "Replenish your energy. It’s not good for a man to stay up late all the time."

Gu Chen was speechless.

’My girlfriend is worried about my health, right? Right?’

He poked a straw into the milk carton, took a sip, and pulled his girlfriend aside to whisper, "Ningning, listen, people from the Global Superpower Academy’s A Country Branch will be coming to see you today."

"What for?"

"It’s like this." Gu Chen explained the whole story of their previous conflict with the A Country Branch. "I wanted to stop them from coming over and bothering you. But now, the higher-ups have spoken. They said since we promised the A Country Branch a friendly exchange, we shouldn’t prevent them from seeing you."

Xie Ning raised an eyebrow. "But I don’t want to see them."

Gu Chen’s eyes crinkled as he nodded emphatically. "That’s what I said! Xiao Lu already came to blows with them last time! And those guys still ran to Secretary Chen to complain about us!"

"What?" Xie Ning’s eyes widened. "They dared to complain about you!"

Gu Chen nodded furiously. "Exactly. They were incredibly arrogant. They even claimed I was deliberately blocking them from seeing you. They said this time they were just complaining to Secretary Chen, but next time they’d take their complaint to the Global Superpower Academy."

"Heh." Xie Ning couldn’t help but sneer. "I suppose the Global Superpower Academy has nothing better to do."

Because of what happened in her past life, she had never held a favorable impression of the Superpower Academy.

’Thankfully, I’ve done well for myself this time. Even without attending the Superpower Academy, I can still become someone formidable.’

Frankly, Xie Ning had no need for this kind of belated olive branch.

’When I had nothing, everyone was eager to kick me while I was down.’

’Now?’

’Now that I have everything, what use are they to me??’

"This Global Superpower Academy you mentioned, it must be another one of the X Realm’s new creations, right?"

"Back then, the X Realm did propose the idea. The intention was to get all Superpower Users worldwide involved. Construction on the Superpower Academy had already begun before the apocalypse."

"As of now, the Global Superpower Academy has developed quite well. You could say it encompasses many of the world’s High-level superpower users, making it a good place for them to learn and exchange ideas."

Xie Ning’s smile was a bit cold. "What do they want with me? To poach me?"

A hint of a smile appeared in Gu Chen’s eyes.

’I can see it now. My girlfriend really doesn’t like the Superpower Academy!’

’So we were worried for nothing before.’

"Later, Old Du—that’s Du Zhongqiang, the Dean of the Capital Branch—will accompany Mr. Li Weide here."

"Li Weide?"

"Li Weide is the person in charge of the exchange, sent by the Global Superpower Academy’s A Country Branch."

Gu Chen squeezed his girlfriend’s hand. "They’ve been here for this exchange for over a month."

"Originally, they wanted to have an ’exchange’ with the world’s first Fourth-rank Gold Ability User—that is, you..." A meaningful smile touched Gu Chen’s lips.

"Of course, this so-called ’exchange’ meant having their branch’s Fourth-rank Gold Ability User compete against you."

Xie Ning raised an eyebrow.

"A fight?"

Gu Chen smiled gently. "Of course, that’s impossible now. When they found out that a Fourth-rank Superpower User had reached the Sixth Rank in just over a year, they completely lost the confidence to compete with you. They’ve switched to trying to win you over instead."

"A competition sounds great!" Xie Ning automatically filtered out Gu Chen’s words "win you over" and nodded. "I’ll see what level their Fourth-rank Gold Ability User is at."

"Superpower Users like us are different from ordinary people; we’re a new force in the post-apocalyptic world. And that Mr... Li Weide? He’s right. We need to fight and exchange blows frequently to improve. That way we can... you know? Get a better handle on our skills!"

Gu Chen almost burst out laughing. Feigning a calm expression, he nodded. "You’re right about everything, girlfriend."

"When are they coming over?"

"I’ll send a communication to ask," Gu Chen said, trying to hold back his laughter as he tapped his Satellite Bracelet.

"By the way, since it’s an ’exchange,’ some of the more skilled members of our Starfire Team can participate too, right?"

"Of course," Gu Chen nodded with great solemnity.

"An exchange is for the sake of improvement. It’s a good thing for both sides."

That was all Xie Ning needed to hear. She turned and called out to her teammates, "Anyone not busy, get over here."

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