Chapter 280: A Fruitful Victory
The bracelet was crafted from the tail of another reptilian creature that Shi Zijin had captured, specially forged by a skilled artisan.
This was its first time tasting blood.
Despite being her first use, Su Tao wielded it with ease, as if it were an extension of her own body, as natural as throwing a punch.
She touched the bracelet, feeling a strange curiosity—just what kind of expert could have forged such a perfectly suited weapon?
Shi Zijin gave her a slight smile, one filled with approval and satisfaction.
Now, it was time to clean up the battlefield.
Jian Kaiyu was responsible for extracting blood.
Cen Tianjiao gathered the bandits’ bodies, piling them together with some excitement:
“Boss, these guys were pretty strong. Out of the twenty-two, fifteen were ability users. I’ve put their bodies over here. What should we do with them?”
The bodies of ability users weren’t just corpses—they were treasures, especially the crystals in their brains.
Dang Xingyan’s eyes gleamed.
Even the usually inconspicuous Zhou Hai and Zhou Yang couldn’t look away.
The pursuit of power was an eternal goal for the strong.
Shi Zijin understood their thoughts and nodded. “Go ahead.”
In the end, they collected sixteen ability crystals, including one from Yue Niang.
Shi Zijin weighed the bag of crystals in his hand and addressed the group:
“Everyone gets a share. To be fair, we’ll draw lots. Sixteen people, sixteen crystals—one each.”
He then cut a small hole in the bottom of the bag, just big enough for a single crystal to pass through, and added:
“Whatever you pull out is yours.”
Su Tao’s people were stunned.
Qian Lin voiced their doubts. “Even those of us who didn’t do anything?”
They hadn’t contributed at all during the fight.
Shi Zijin nodded. “Of course.”
Qian Lin immediately waved her hands. “No, no, I can’t accept it.”
She already knew the power of these ability crystals—they could temporarily grant an ordinary person the abilities of an ability user.
She had once longed for such a thing, but now that she was being offered one, she felt too embarrassed to take it.
Qian Rongrong also shook her head like a rattle. “I nearly held you all back. I don’t deserve one!”
During the battle, when everyone suddenly became weightless, she had panicked and accidentally scratched Zhou Hai’s face.
Though Zhou Hai didn’t mind, Qian Rongrong felt terribly guilty.
Taking something so valuable now felt even more uncomfortable.
Ma Dapao didn’t dare accept one either.
Mu An’an simply shook her head.
The others, seeing Su Tao remain silent, also refused.
Shi Zijin handed the bag to Su Tao, his tone firm and unquestionable.
“You pick for them. Most of these crystals are useless to us anyway.”
Su Tao pulled out four particularly useful ones—”Weightlessness,” “Nullify,” “Artisan,” and “Zero Point”—and handed them to Shi Zijin, mimicking his authoritative tone:
“You take these.”
Shi Zijin and Cen Tianjiao both laughed.
Dang Xingyan was impressed—what a great sister-in-law. Not only did she refuse to take advantage of them, but she also looked out for their interests.
The rest were distributed among her group by drawing lots.
Some of the crystals were incredibly underwhelming.
For instance, Ma Dapao got one that kept his hair permanently fresh and clean—essentially, he never needed to wash it.
Xu Qi wasn’t lucky either. He pulled a crystal with an earth-based ability, but all it did was remove dust and clean surfaces.
With this crystal, he was basically a walking vacuum cleaner.
Still, Xu Qi had a good attitude—he was happy just to get something and planned to let his wife try it out.
Qian Lin got a fire-based ability, but it was just a tiny flame at her fingertip, no stronger than a disposable lighter.
Su Tao thought it looked exactly like a mini pocket torch.
Qian Rongrong’s crystal was interesting—it was called “Sweet Dreams.” With it, she could fully control her dreams and wake up feeling completely rested and refreshed.
She clutched the crystal tightly, her eyes glistening. Maybe… she could see her father again in her dreams.
Qian Lin had the same thought, her expression tinged with sorrow.
But mother and daughter hid their emotions well, and no one noticed.
When it was Jiang Yu’s turn, he ended up with Yue Niang’s “Rabbit” ability.
Jiang Yu froze. As a tough guy, he absolutely refused to use such a power.
Su Tao laughed unapologetically and patted his shoulder. “Take it—it suits you.”
Jiang Yu: “……”
Lin Fangzhi got a highly practical ability called “Gravel,” which allowed him to transform sand into armor at will. Its defensive capability was only slightly weaker than Cen Tianjiao’s “Stone Skin.”
Wu Zhen’s ability was also useful—”Night Vision.” He could see perfectly in the dark, as if it were broad daylight.
Wu Zhen grinned. “Perfect! Now I can check on my plants at night.”
Su Tao herself pulled a rather terrifying one—”Doom Puppet.”
When activated, a small bamboo puppet appeared. Its eyes moved independently, and whoever it looked at would suffer misfortune.
Within a month, the victim could experience anything from mild bad luck to severe injury or death.
However, the effect wasn’t guaranteed—there was an element of randomness.
Su Tao quietly tossed the crystal into Lin Fangzhi’s storage space.
While doing so, she caught sight of the red hat Alice had given her.
She also saw two other ability crystals: “Insulation” and “Stealth.”
Along with a red gemstone gifted by a survivor and another “Time-Stopping Hourglass” from Ding Heyu.
Lin Fangzhi had neatly arranged all her important items in a separate compartment, making them easy to find.
Such a considerate little Fangzhi.
After sorting the crystals, Cen Tianjiao found two intact vehicles nearby.
“I’m guessing these were stolen by the bandits. They’re in great condition. Su Boss, want to take them?”
Su Tao unceremoniously had Lin Fangzhi store them in his space.
“Oh, and there’s half a box of beef jerky and three bottles of water—probably stolen too.” Cen Tianjiao tossed them to Lin Fangzhi.
“Store them. Tomorrow, we’ll add a strip of beef jerky to everyone’s supply packs.”
Su Tao stared at Cen Tianjiao, feeling like she had forgotten something.
After a long moment, her eyes widened, and she suddenly asked, “Weren’t you supposed to be looking for Black Bean? Did you find him?”
Shi Zijin’s gaze sharpened instantly.
Cen Tianjiao froze.
He had forgotten!
He had gone to search for the creature but turned back when he heard a commotion.
Then, in the midst of battle, he had completely lost track of his original task.
Su Tao quickly pulled out her communicator to track Black Sesame’s location. It was nearby but hadn’t moved.
“There! Go check!”
Eager to make amends, Cen Tianjiao rushed off with his team.
It didn’t take long before they found him.
But when they did, everyone was stunned.
Black Bean was standing there, its mouth clamped tightly around a pitch-black crow!
