Chapter Twenty-Nine: Wei Liang Awakens

The next morning, just as Lu Sheng got out of bed, he received some news—Wei Liang had awakened!

Shi Jiu called Lu Sheng over. “I heard that on your first day here, you were with Wei Liang, right?”

Lu Sheng nodded. “That’s correct.”

Shi Jiu continued, “Then go and bring Wei Liang here. They say he’s handing over some work right now. Once he’s done, just bring him over.”

A smile lit up Lu Sheng’s face. “Is he joining our team?”

Shi Jiu nodded. “Yes. We lost a member last time and haven’t been able to replace him. Now someone from our own ranks has awakened—perfect timing. That kid was already good at killing monsters even before awakening; now that he’s awakened, he won’t be weak. He’s a solid addition.”

Lu Sheng was genuinely pleased by Wei Liang’s awakening. After all, Wei Liang was the first person he met in this world—they could be considered familiar friends.

Lu Sheng quickly made his way to the quarters of the Cleaning Squad. Unlike the Combat Team, their rooms were shared among five people and felt cramped.

From afar, Lu Sheng spotted Wei Liang talking to someone, perhaps in the middle of handing over work.

“Brother Liang!” Lu Sheng called out as he approached.

Wei Liang turned with a smile. “Didn’t expect you’d be the one picking me up. Give me two minutes—I’ll be done soon.”

Lu Sheng waited nearby. The person Wei Liang was handing over work to was Hong Shang, whom Lu Sheng vaguely remembered.

Before long, the handover was finished. In truth, there was little said—a few reminders about daily actions, but anyone who’d worked in the Cleaning Squad for a while knew these already. Wei Liang was just being thorough, repeating them once more.

On the way back, curiosity got the better of Lu Sheng. “Brother Liang, what’s the quality and type of your awakened Life Card?”

Wei Liang grinned. “Ah, I awakened a green-quality Mighty Ape. I can summon it or merge with it—merging gives me tremendous strength. It’s quite similar to your Mighty Ant.”

His eyes crinkled with excitement. Awakening a combat card was the goal for everyone in this apocalypse, and now that he’d achieved it, of course he was thrilled.

Lu Sheng eyed him suspiciously. His own Mighty Ant was made up—could Wei Liang also be bluffing? But then he dismissed the thought with a laugh. What were the chances? He’d been forced to lie, but Wei Liang had no reason to hide anything.

They soon returned to the Combat Team’s quarters. After some mutual introductions—or, rather, mutual praise—the atmosphere became lively and cheerful.

After getting acquainted, it was time to begin today’s task.

Their assignment was patrol—a mandatory mission. Otherwise, the team might not even venture out today. After all, each of them now possessed a Red Pouch and longed to immerse themselves in cultivation, reluctant to waste time outside.

But patrol, in truth, was still a form of training for them. Using the Red Liquid required only drinking it and then channeling their Life Card to absorb it. The absorption rate was remarkably fast. Lu Sheng didn’t know about the others, but in just one morning, he had advanced from Mid Stage to Late Stage of the First Tier.

[Temporal Ant]
Quality: Blue
Tier: First Tier, Late Stage
Abilities: Subspace (three hundred square meters, limitless depth underground, unlimited height skyward), thirtyfold strength, time reversal.

With his Life Card advancing to Late Stage, his body was further strengthened. His previously slender frame now sported noticeable muscle—any observant person could spot the change. Wei Liang, for instance.

Wei Liang was feeling unsettled. This team seemed bizarre. Everyone was drinking some red liquid, even Lu Sheng. The whole group looked dazed, as if their souls had fled. Most strikingly, in just a few minutes, Wei Liang sensed several waves of power surging from them.

When a Life Card advances and feeds back energy to its host, there’s a noticeable energy fluctuation—Wei Liang felt it keenly. He even witnessed Lu Sheng grow larger before his eyes.

A chill crept up Wei Liang’s spine. Had these people been possessed by monsters? He felt ill at ease, as if sitting on pins and needles.

Lu Sheng noticed Wei Liang’s discomfort. A quick glance revealed the cause—the team’s atmosphere was indeed uncanny. He couldn’t help but find it amusing. Wei Liang’s timing was unfortunate; had he arrived earlier, he could have shared in their bounty. Now, he could only watch as they cultivated.

Everyone was focused on making the most of their Red Pouches, inadvertently sidelining the newly arrived Wei Liang.

“Brother Liang, what are you thinking about? Your expression is odd,” Lu Sheng suddenly asked.

Wei Liang flinched and hurried to cover up. “Nothing, just not used to this yet.” He forced a smile.

Just as Lu Sheng was about to say more, a squad appeared up ahead, moving in a panic as if something was pursuing them.

Lu Sheng found their faces familiar, but couldn’t recall their names—probably people he’d seen in the settlement. There were so many; it was normal not to know everyone.

He pulled the group out of their cultivation. “Something’s up!”

Shi Jiu snapped to attention. “That’s the Sixth Squad.”

Mu Kui spat. “What rotten luck, running into those guys first thing in the morning. Should we teach them a lesson—bully them a bit?”

Mu Kui turned the question to Lu Sheng, since previously Sixth Squad’s leader, Lei Yan, had snatched something from him.

Mu Kui wouldn’t have suggested this in the past, but now things were different. As the saying goes, thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—they were now on the verge of advancing to the Second Tier. Why would they fear Lei Yan anymore?

Shi Jiu seemed to want to say something, but thought better of it, deciding to await Lu Sheng’s opinion.

Lu Sheng considered for a moment. “Forget it. What’s the point in bullying them? If I do anything, I’ll target Lei Yan.”

He spoke bluntly—Lei Yan was no longer someone he regarded as a threat. If not for Li Kuang’s presence, Lu Sheng would go deal with Lei Yan tomorrow.

Given their cultivation rate, he’d break through to the Second Tier tomorrow. Though Lei Yan was already at Second Tier, Mid Stage, his Life Card was just a green-quality Thunder Rat—how could he compete?

And besides, the Temporal Ant had originally been red-quality, now upgraded to blue. Sometimes quality outweighs tier—when the Temporal Ant was only Mid Stage, its aura alone could crush a Late Stage Ant Queen.

Within the same tier, small differences can be surmounted.

If the Temporal Ant were still red-quality, Lu Sheng wouldn’t even regard Li Kuang as a threat.

Rumor had it that monsters of red quality wielded fragments of law-like powers. Lu Sheng believed this was no mere rumor.

Even now, he could sense the Temporal Ant possessed traces of spatial and temporal power. Though minuscule, almost negligible, these were the two highest forms of power. With Lu Sheng’s support, perhaps one day the Temporal Ant would fully master both.