N-A-A Chapter 9 Building a Team
Chapter 9 Building a Team
Shen Qingci watched quietly from the side.
From the moment Lu Chen picked up his phone to look at the Dawn Project, to when he submitted his application, read the task description, and looked through the redemption list, she didn't utter a sound to disturb him.
She simply leaned against the door frame, arms crossed, her gaze fixed on Lu Chen's face, occasionally glancing away at Da Zhuang standing in the doorway.
She didn't speak until Lu Chen put down his phone and leaned back on the sofa.
"Finished reading? How about forming a team?"
Lu Chen looked up at her.
This was the second time the other party had made this suggestion. He had refused the first time because his goal at the time was to go back alone.
Now the goal has changed, and so has the approach. He wants to rescue the survivors and accumulate military merit.
He needs someone to help him find survivors, someone to help him judge who is trustworthy, and someone to stay behind while he is away.
Shen Qingci's special ability perfectly met all her needs.
Lu Chen smiled, stood up from the sofa, and extended his right hand to the other person.
"Of course I'd take this opportunity," he said. "Welcome to the team!"
Shen Qingci finally smiled, not the polite smile she had shown before, but a genuinely relaxed smile.
Her eyebrows curved slightly, and the curve of her lips was much wider than before.
Shen Qingci reached out and shook hands with Lu Chen.
"What are your plans next?" Shen Qingci asked, withdrawing her hand and crossing her arms again.
"Of course, it's to rescue the survivors," Lu Chen said. "Next, we'll need your special ability to help. But before we begin, let's get to know each other, especially our special abilities."
He paused for a moment, then gave a serious self-introduction.
"My name is Lu Chen. You've seen my special ability; it's controlling zombies. But it's not unlimited control; there's a limit. Currently, I can only control a maximum of 10."
He tilted his head towards Da Zhuang at the door.
"Based on this, I can equip them with weapons and armor. Kitchen knives, wooden sticks, thick clothes—use whatever you have. Overall, their combat strength is decent."
Shen Qingci smiled. "It's not just okay, it's extremely strong."
"It's much stronger than the superpowers I've seen online, and you've equipped them with weapons."
"This is equivalent to 10 soldiers who are not afraid of death or pain and are much stronger than ordinary people."
Lu Chen nodded, without being modest; what she said was true.
"Alright, I'll reintroduce myself." Shen Qingci straightened up, her tone becoming more formal.
"My name is Shen Qingci. Before the apocalypse, I worked in HR at Tianhong Group, in charge of recruitment. I had an excellent eye for people. This might be my special ability, the reason why I can see into people's hearts."
Lu Chen immediately pressed, "How far can your ability detect things? And to what extent can you detect the good and evil in people's hearts?"
This is the most crucial question: the value of a reconnaissance-type ability user depends entirely on the scope and accuracy of her reconnaissance.
Shen Qingci didn't hide anything and answered very readily.
"The detection range can reach up to one hundred meters."
"However, this only allows for detection in a single direction. If it is blocked by an object, the detection effect will be greatly reduced. The thicker and denser the obstruction, the greater the reduction in detection effect."
"As for probing people's hearts and perceiving good and evil..." Shen Qingci thought for a moment, seemingly organizing his thoughts.
"I can only make a rough judgment, mainly judging whether this person has more good intentions or bad intentions. If good intentions outweigh bad intentions, I will judge him as a good person. If bad intentions outweigh good intentions, I will be wary."
She looked at Lu Chen and added a sentence.
"For example, you. I sense that you have more good thoughts than bad thoughts, so I judge you to be a good person."
"Furthermore, good and evil intentions are not static. After you decided to join Project Dawn and rescue other survivors, you have more good intentions than before."
Lu Chen nodded silently.
The other party's ability was more powerful than he had imagined, especially in terms of detection.
One hundred meters may not sound like much, but it depends on how you use it.
Their building has 15 floors in total. If we calculate based on 3 meters per floor, the height of the entire building is only 45 meters.
In other words, Shen Qingci's detection range can cover the entire building from top to bottom, and can also extend dozens of meters underground.
Of course, this is the theoretical straight-line distance; in actual use, it will be obstructed by walls and floors.
Thinking it over, Lu Chen immediately asked, "Could you survey the entire building at the same time?"
Shen Qingci shook her head. "No. The amount of information I receive is too much; I'll faint."
"Therefore, I can only conduct exploration in a single direction. If I want to fully explore an entire area, my limit is one whole floor."
"That's more than enough." Lu Chen nodded in satisfaction.
He stood up.
Shen Qingci immediately stood up as well. "Where are you going?"
Lu Chen replied, "This floor is cleaned up. I'll go back and rest for a bit."
"Also, it's almost 9 o'clock, the broadcast is about to start, I need to go back and listen to it."
Although there were two bars of signal on 506's end, it was still too poor. He had just been looking at the Dawn Project page, and it took forever to load; he hadn't even had time to read the other news and announcements yet.
Mobile internet is too slow; radio is the most stable source of information. Radios don't need the internet or loading bars; as long as the transmission tower is running, they can receive signals.
"Then I'll go back with you," Shen Qingci said immediately.
Lu Chen glanced at her. "I've cleared all the zombies off this floor. You're safe here."
"No," Shen Qingci said righteously, "We're teammates, we should get to know each other better."
Lu Chen looked at her with a strange expression.
Her expression and tone were very serious, but she stood up very quickly and spoke faster than usual.
Moreover, although she tried her best to maintain a blank expression, Lu Chen still caught a trace of barely perceptible tension in her eyes.
"Are you scared?" Lu Chen asked.
Shen Qingci's expression finally changed.
Her cheeks flushed slightly, her eyebrows furrowed, and her tone carried a hint of embarrassment and anger: "Are you going to let me come along or not?"
"Okay, of course, no problem!" Lu Chen raised his hands in surrender. "Let's go."
He led Shen Qingci through the corridor and back to 501.
The moment I pushed open the door, a familiar scent wafted towards me.
The room hadn't been ventilated for three days, and there was a faint musty smell mixed with the lingering odor of self-heating rice.
The curtains were still drawn, with only a few rays of light filtering through the gaps. The iron cage and wardrobe were still in the center of the living room, and a few strips of cut cloth were scattered on the floor.
But I still feel safer back in my own house.
"Please make yourself at home." Lu Chen pointed to the sofa. "The food is in the kitchen, and there's some stuff in the fridge. Help yourself if you're hungry. I won't serve you anything else."
Shen Qingci nodded, but did not go to the kitchen or sit on the sofa.
She slowly walked around the room, her gaze shifting from the iron cage to the wardrobe, then to the pile of books and the bucket—these were the devices Lu Chen used to capture the first zombie.
She had sensed it with her special abilities before, but seeing it with her own eyes felt different.
Lu Chen ignored her.
He glanced at his watch; it was almost nine o'clock.
He walked over to the TV cabinet, picked up the palm-sized radio, an old item he had dug out from deep inside the storage cabinet. It was powered by dry cell batteries and had an antenna that extended out to a length of half a meter.