Chapter 24: Arrival

Jiang Yu led the seven individuals toward the safety base. Throughout the journey, they remained well-behaved, keeping their promise not to disturb her.

Every mutant they encountered along the way was dispatched by Jiang Yu. Just as they had hoped, with her presence, they never had to worry about being killed by the creatures. After a long trek of more than ten days, they finally reached their destination.

Upon entering the base, they were taken to their assigned living quarters. Jiang Yu had called Jiang Yi as soon as she arrived, and he quickly emerged to escort her into the facility.

"You finally made it. The abilities of mutants everywhere are increasing, and we are currently trying to find a solution."

"Any leads?"

"None. Current mutants no longer fear firearms or ammunition; only innate abilities have any effect on them. Otherwise, we have to resort to close-quarters combat, which is quite taxing for ordinary people. A moment of carelessness and they are killed by the mutants instead."

"On top of that, we estimate that the levels of these invading mutants will only continue to rise, while our Awakened ones' levels have remained stagnant at the initial stage. Eventually, we won't be able to handle them at all."

In desperate times, they might truly have to resort to absorbing the energy from crystal cores to boost their power. However, that was akin to gambling with their lives, as there was no telling when they might lose control.

Jiang Yu also pondered the situation. If it was already this difficult to deal with the mutants now, what would happen later? The mutants would only grow stronger, and the situation they faced would only become increasingly dire.

"The leadership wants to see if you have any ideas."

They had placed all their hopes on Jiang Yu. If she had no solutions, they would have to prepare for the worst.

"The situation likely isn't as dire as you imagine yet."

After all, not even a year had passed. In the early stages, even without her, they were capable of dealing with these mutants.

"This is the innate awakening potion I exchanged from the system store. Take it and distribute it."

"We have already developed this." Ever since Jiang Yu first gave him the awakening potion, they had begun researching it. Half a month ago, they had successfully synthesized it, and the first batch had already been distributed to their personnel with excellent results.

"This is a 100% innate awakening potion. Are you sure you don't want it?"

"What? 100%?" Jiang Yi was shocked. When Jiang Yu had given it to him before, she hadn't mentioned it was this effective. Their own synthesized version only had a 50% success rate, and even that, they felt, was already quite good.

"That's right. So, do you still want it or not?"

"Of course I do." Jiang Yi took the potion as if it were a treasure. He looked at Jiang Yu nervously and asked, "Do you have any more of this?"

"I do. I'll give you more when we get to the place."

Soon, Jiang Yu was taken to the center of the base, an area patrolled by guards to ensure its security. The room Jiang Yi arranged for her was right next to his, a two-bedroom apartment.

"How much more innate awakening potion do you have?"

"I only exchanged for a little bit."

Jiang Yu took out everything she had exchanged from the system store. In a short while, the table was piled high with bottles and jars. Jiang Yi was dumbfounded; he had never expected there to be so much.

However... "Why are there other colors? Are these also awakening potions?"

"Only the blue ones are awakening potions. The green ones are recovery serums, the red ones are energy boosters, and the white ones are..."

Jiang Yu explained the functions of the liquids in each bottle to Jiang Yi one by one. She actually had more in her spatial storage, but the table could no longer hold them.

"The system has so many good things?"

"Why else would the system exist?" Jiang Yu pulled out a spatial storage ring and said, "This is for you." She had just exchanged it a moment ago, noticing her points were just enough for one.

"A spatial storage ring. Simply put, it's a space that can store items. However, it can only hold inanimate objects."

Jiang Yi took the ring and, following Jiang Yu's instructions, probed the space inside. He couldn't help but exclaim, "This is high-tech!"

"You can try putting the items on the table inside."

Jiang Yi attempted to store the items. Even knowing the function of the ring, he found it magical to see the table cleared and all the bottles and jars neatly tucked away in the storage space. Jiang Yu then transferred the remainder of her stock from her own space for Jiang Yi to store.

"With these supplies, I believe our chances of winning against the current stage of mutants are quite high."

"Yes, yes. I will submit these immediately."

As long as they had enough Awakened ones, even if their levels weren't high, they could kill mutants through coordination. Once he left, Jiang Yu shut herself in to study the crystal cores she had collected. She had all the necessary tools and was ready to begin her research.

Possessing the memories of a past life, Jiang Yu knew how to refine the essence within the crystal cores, but she had never performed it in practice and wasn't sure if she would succeed. Without any external distractions, she immersed herself in the refining process.

The first time, she failed... the crystal core in her hand was ruined.

The second time, she failed again...

This process consumed crystal cores rapidly, but success meant obtaining 100% pure energy. Once absorbed by an Awakened one, it would not lead to loss of control. After countless failures, Jiang Yu did not give up. She stared intently at the liquid dripping into the bottle.

She could feel the energy contained within the liquid and felt a strong urge to absorb it. *This time, it should be a success!*

She only needed to wait a few more minutes to verify her results, and Jiang Yu felt a surge of excitement.

*Drip, drip...*

Just as the last of the liquid flowed through, Jiang Yu reached out to take the bottle. Suddenly, the liquid inside began to change. It started to bubble and boil, turning a deeper, more vibrant red. Sensing danger, Jiang Yu immediately scrambled to find cover.

"Boom!"

The bottle on the table exploded, sending fragments flying everywhere. The blast was powerful enough to shatter the table, leaving it teetering on the verge of collapse. As Jiang Yu emerged from behind her cover to survey the disastrous scene, she realized it was actually a good sign—even if she hadn't succeeded this time, she was getting closer.

Just then, her phone rang.

"Hello? Xiao Yu, are you alright? I just received a notification that there was an explosion in your area?"