28: Chapter 28 Li Muzi

Zhou An looked at the raging red glow filling the sky outside the porthole and instructed Luo Ning: "You take the next shift. Remember, don't skimp on energy when you see meteors; blast them directly with the cannons. Clear the field with the machine guns whenever those fire elemental monsters spawn; our goal is the treasure chests. Although the Smallest Giant's recovery speed currently can't keep up with this high-frequency consumption, those hundreds of thousands of Level 2 materials in my warehouse aren't just for show. Energy is plentiful, so just have a blast."

"Got it, Boss! You can rest easy and go to sleep; this fireworks-display job is exactly what I'm best at!"

Luo Ning sat in the master control seat excitedly, her fair fingers already resting on the firing lever of the electromagnetic main cannon, her eyes beginning to gleam with excitement once again.

Zhou An rubbed his temples and walked down to the first floor. After eating a large bowl of fragrant spiritual rice, he habitually opened the system chat channel.

At this moment, the previous clamor in the channel had vanished, replaced by a suffocating sense of despair.

"Number of survivors... 712,403."

Zhou An's gaze darkened. In just a single night of fire rain, the number of survivors had plummeted by another hundred thousand!

"Help! Does anyone have heat insulation panels? I beg you!"

"Where is the Tianqing Guild? Can you take me in? I'm willing to hand over all my supplies; I don't want to die in the fire rain..."

"Is this hell? There are burning wrecks falling everywhere..."

The screen full of wailing made Zhou An shake his head. In this world, weakness is the original sin. He closed the noisy channel and opened the private chat box with Li Muzi.

Li Muzi: "God Zhou! I've already turned around and am fleeing back at full speed! This fire rain is too terrifying. My private jet is relying entirely on its maneuverability to weave through the gaps between the meteors. I've already traveled over two thousand kilometers back!"

Zhou An: "Alright, stay safe. I will activate the radar guidance every morning at eight o'clock; come find me and rendezvous then. As long as you enter my range, I will provide cover."

After sending the message, Zhou An lay down on the recovery bed and fell into a deep sleep.

... The next morning at eight o'clock.

The fire rain had not weakened; on the contrary, it had become even more intense.

The entire sky was obscured by thick smoke and dust, and giant meteors streaked across the sky, emitting ear-piercing shrieks.

Zhou An woke up on time and went to the cockpit to take over the shift. At this moment, Luo Ning's face was flushed with excitement, and a small pile of treasure chests had accumulated at her feet.

"Boss, you woke up right on time! Look at the radar; there's a small green dot approaching rapidly. It's moving so fast, it's like a bolt of lightning!"

Zhou An looked at the radar. A green dot was moving at over 300 km/h, carving thrilling arcs through the dense meteor rain, as agile as a swift.

"It's Li Muzi." Zhou An's eyes narrowed as he activated the signal traction at the bottom of the fortress.

Less than ten minutes later, a sleek, silver-white private jet broke through the fire clouds and hovered steadily beneath [Cloud Top Fortress].

"That piloting... she's an experienced driver." Zhou An praised, then immediately activated the docking locks of the carrier aircraft dock.

"Click!"

The private jet was steadily caught by the mechanical arms at the bottom of the fortress and secured beneath the massive fuselage.

The cabin door opened, and a figure climbed into the interior of the fortress via the lift.

Zhou An had originally thought that Li Muzi, who could fight her way out single-handedly from a hellish place like the front lines, would be a bearded tough guy or some freak like Luo Ning.

However, when the person removed her goggles and took off her thick flight jacket, both Zhou An and Luo Ning were momentarily stunned.

The woman before them was about twenty-four or twenty-five, with her long hair simply tied back, wearing thin, black-framed glasses; her features were delicate and exuded an intellectual air.

She was wearing a form-fitting dark blue flight suit. Not only did she not look disheveled in the slightest, but she instead gave off an extremely calm and intellectual vibe, very much like the talented, intellectual older sister figure you'd find at a university.

"God Zhou, nice to meet you. I am Li Muzi."

She pushed up her glasses, her voice cool and polite, carrying a hint of relief in her smile.

"You are... a woman?" Zhou An asked subconsciously.

"What, does the name not sound like one?"

"Alright, I just thought you were some big, burly guy or something."

Zhou An brought Li Muzi into the living room.

Li Muzi looked around the two-hundred-square-meter, extremely futuristic, and spacious two-story fortress, unable to hide the deep shock in her eyes.

"Although I heard you mention it in private chat, seeing this fortress with my own eyes... it still exceeds my imagination. God Zhou, this place of yours is truly a Noah's Ark in this apocalypse."

"Boss, the talent you've recruited is a bit high on the looks department."

Luo Ning muttered to herself from the side.

Zhou An withdrew his gaze, his expression becoming serious. He took out the [Cooperation Contract] he had prepared long ago from the system space.

"Since you're here, we'll do things by the rules. Take a look at this contract; it's not much different from what you've signed before. It mainly covers protective clauses and a teammate damage-immunity mechanism. As long as you don't betray us, this place will be your sturdiest safe haven."

Li Muzi took the contract, pushed up her glasses, and carefully read every clause. As a talent in planting and R&D, she clearly highly approved of this type of contractual guarantee.

"Very reasonable and very professional."

She signed her name without hesitation and pressed her handprint on it.

[System Prompt: Cooperation Contract is now in effect, Teammate Mode enabled!]

As the contract took effect, Li Muzi finally let out a long sigh of relief, and her entire tense posture relaxed.

"Alright, since you're one of us now, Luo Ning, take her to take a shower and change clothes, then go rest in the bedroom."

Zhou An pointed to the first floor, "Muzi, I've already prepared your room. Once you've rested, I have an important task to entrust to you."

"No problem, Boss."

Li Muzi nodded slightly, revealing an intellectual and gentle smile, and also changed how she addressed Zhou An.