Ice Age Apocalypse: I Hoard Billions of Supplies

Chapter 683 – The Only Hope

When Phoenixin Ren recalled Takeuchi Mayumi’s performance during the battle, his expression turned frighteningly grim.

”Isn’t that guy the one who disrupted Mayumi’s prophecy?”

Once all the clues were pieced together, everything became clear.

Takeuchi Mayumi’s prophecy couldn’t predict anything related to that man.

Even characters who were originally on a normal track within her visions — once they crossed paths with that sniper — their fates would change.

”He’s someone outside of destiny!”

Takeuchi Mayumi murmured softly.

”In the next operations, if this man gets involved again, things are going to get very difficult for us. Unless… we find a way to kill him!”

Phoenixin Ren narrowed his eyes.

”No rush. I still want to learn more about that sniper.”

”There’ll be a chance to kill him!”

The Icebreaker Ship slowly left the coast, heading toward the southern seas.

Over the next few days, Zhang Yi and the others, including Liang Yue, stayed in the residence assigned to them by Blizzard City and weren’t allowed to leave freely.

But aside from that restriction, the other arrangements were pretty good.

The food was exquisite, and hot water was provided without time or quantity limits.

Considering how limited solar power was now, and how scarce resources like gas and coal were, unlimited hot water was an incredible luxury.

Ordinary citizens in Blizzard City had strict rations for hot water, electricity, and food every day — not a drop was wasted.

Being stuck indoors wasn’t so bad; Zhang Yi finally got a few days of proper rest.

He retrieved the corpse of Nishijumu Satoru (Heartseer Demon) from his Dimensional Space.

”These Neon folks... they’re all elite Delta-levels. If I absorb their power, I can definitely get even stronger!”

Full of anticipation, Zhang Yi placed his hand on the forehead of one of the Moon of Corrosion members.

Very quickly, that familiar sensation returned.

His 【Devouring Ability】 allowed him to absorb the powers of deceased superhumans.

However, this time, that thrilling rush didn’t come.

He did absorb some energy, but overall, the boost he felt was minimal.

”What’s going on?”

Zhang Yi couldn’t understand what was happening.

Actually, this phenomenon had already appeared before.

When he wiped out the superhumans in Daze City, he absorbed their essence, but the improvement in his abilities was almost negligible.

Back then, he thought it was because their powers were too weak.

But now, the superhumans he absorbed from the Moon of Corrosion were no weaklings.

Yet, the result was still barely noticeable.

”Could it be… I’ve hit a bottleneck?”

This thought suddenly flashed through Zhang Yi’s mind.

Once the idea appeared, it made perfect sense to him.

If superhumans could evolve infinitely by absorbing others, then everyone would eventually become limitless monsters.

In that case, there would be no way the Outer City’s superhumans could compare to Blizzard City’s elites.

This situation meant that 【Devouring Ability】 must have its limits too.

From now on, if Zhang Yi wanted to evolve further, he would have to devour even stronger superhumans.

”So that’s how it is! But honestly, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. At least this way, I won’t be completely outclassed by those investigation captains from Blizzard City who are showered with resources and training by the top brass.”

Comforting himself with that thought didn’t feel too bad.

After all, when it came to resources and background, how could he possibly compete with people born into privilege?

Looking at the three other corpses on the ground, Zhang Yi thought it over and then called over Hua Hua and Liang Yue.

Rather than wasting the corpses by devouring them himself for minimal gain, it would be better to boost the strength of his own team.

When Liang Yue realized Zhang Yi was willing to share superhuman essence with her, her face was full of disbelief.

Soon after, she seemed to think of something, and an unnatural blush crept up her cheeks.

Hua Hua didn’t bother with any of that.

The moment it spotted a delicious feast, it immediately pounced and devoured one corpse without hesitation.

But after consuming one superhuman, Hua Hua couldn’t manage to eat a second.

These superhuman essences were incredibly powerful — even one would take a long time for it to digest.

Liang Yue, however, easily absorbed the essences of the other two.

Zhang Yi couldn’t help but marvel inwardly — the Martial Arts Master’s foundation was truly deep.

Who knew how far she could evolve in the future?

At this moment, Zhang Yi couldn’t accurately tell what level Liang Yue and Hua Hua’s abilities had reached.

Because superhuman energy ranks were, by nature, a rather vague concept.

However, at the very least, both Liang Yue and Hua Hua’s potential now reached high Delta level — or possibly even higher.

Liang Yue and Hua Hua went off to digest the powers they had just absorbed.

Meanwhile, feeling bored, Zhang Yi felt like chatting with Baili Changqing.

But no matter how many times he called, Baili Changqing’s phone stayed unreachable.

All he got was: ”The number you have dialed is currently powered off.”

Zhang Yi guessed that Baili Changqing must be at the Operations Command Center, accompanying Zhu Zheng and the others to discuss matters after the battle’s failure.

And because of the extreme confidentiality, all communication devices were prohibited.

The only people Zhang Yi could reach now were his friends at the Shelter, and his nominal team members Chen Xiaoxiao and Peng Li.

Compared to Zhang Yi’s accommodations, Chen Xiaoxiao and Peng Li’s living conditions were clearly not as good.

Still, since they had contributed during the battle, they were placed in Area A — though their lodgings were high-end apartments, not standalone villas.

Chen Xiaoxiao and Peng Li’s attitude toward Zhang Yi had completely changed long ago.

After all, he had saved their lives — they were deeply grateful.

And partly out of admiration for his strength, and partly out of wanting to cling to a powerful figure, the two women often sought him out to chat.

Zhang Yi didn’t mind.

Since he couldn’t go anywhere anyway, chatting helped kill time.

A few days later, Zhang Yi received the information about the Moon of Corrosion sent over by Yang Xinxin.

Only then did he put aside his leisurely mood and begin to seriously study these Neon superhumans.

Sure enough, the materials Yang Xinxin sent were quite different from what Blizzard City had provided.

It couldn’t be ruled out that Blizzard City had intentionally withheld information.

Still, Zhang Yi discovered many interesting things.

There were detailed biographies of the thirteen members of Moon of Corrosion, along with descriptions of their abilities.

When Zhang Yi flipped to the profile of Takeuchi Mayumi, his fingers paused on the page.

Takeuchi Mayumi, a novice miko from an ancient shrine.

The 126th-generation successor of the Takeuchi family.

Her ancestor was Takeuchi no Sukune, an official during the Buretsu era, whose title was passed down through generations.

Those who inherited the name of Takeuchi no Sukune had a duty similar to that of a historian in the Huaxu Nation.

However, instead of recording history through writing, they memorized it orally and passed it down by word of mouth.

Even after the Takeuchi no Sukune position vanished with time, the Takeuchi family’s responsibility continued unbroken.

Every generation’s successor strictly adhered to ancestral teachings, preserving Neon’s history through memory.

This was called: ”Never forgetting the ancient past, never losing the present, and never severing the future.”

”This is actually a profession passed down through generations... interesting.”

”But according to the theory of superhuman abilities, one’s power is related to their obsession.

If that’s the case, could her ability really be memory?

Impossible. Such a power would be useless.”

”Then... a miko, the Takeuchi family… Could it be... the Book of Prophecy!”

A bold idea surfaced in Zhang Yi’s mind.

Through observing two battles, and the enemy’s precise control over the battlefield, he felt this hypothesis was highly reasonable.

They weren’t professional military forces.

They had no powerful equipment, were fighting on foreign soil without reinforcements.

No advantage in timing, location, or support — none of it was on their side.

So how could they have repeatedly defeated Blizzard City’s allied forces?

If that miko named Takeuchi Mayumi possessed a prophecy-like ability, then everything made sense.

Zhang Yi’s expression grew serious.

”If that’s the case, the most terrifying person in all of Moon of Corrosion isn’t their leader, Phoenixin Ren…”

”It’s Takeuchi Mayumi!

She is the true core of the Moon of Corrosion!”

A chill ran down Zhang Yi’s spine.

Prophecy?

Able to see through the future?

If someone really had such an ability, even if they didn’t fight personally, their strength would absolutely be ranked as Epsilon-level!

On the battlefield, their value would be limitless!

But then again — if she could really foresee everything without fail, why had five of their people still been killed by him?

Thinking of this, Zhang Yi began pacing back and forth in his room, trying to figure it out.

”Even with the power of prophecy, it’s impossible to grasp every tiny detail of the future perfectly.”

”Maybe... they focused all their attention on the Celestial Squad and neglected my existence.”

”No, no… They shouldn’t have been able to distinguish identities individually.

If it’s prophecy, it should be centered on themselves.”

”Then... how exactly did I break through her ability?”

Zhang Yi fell deep into thought.

He even had a feeling that if he could figure out this mystery, it could become the key to destroying the Moon of Corrosion!

Meanwhile, during the period when Zhang Yi was confined to his residence, undercurrents were beginning to stir throughout Blizzard City.

The top brass of Blizzard City was doing everything they could to suppress the news, trying to prevent word of the second failed assault on the Moon of Corrosion from spreading and shaking public morale.

However — where in the world is there a wall without cracks?

The Celestial Squad had mysteriously disappeared.

In the past, whenever they returned victorious, it was celebrated loudly.

But this time, nobody had seen that handsome silver-haired man make a public appearance.

Although the official announcement declared a victory, judging by the higher-ups’ behavior, it seemed like they were deliberately avoiding mentioning it.

The feeling was like winning a world championship — only to not even make the front page of the gaming news.

No one knew where it started, but a rumor slowly began to spread through the city:

”Hey, did you hear? The Grand District’s operation to wipe out the Neon ronin actually failed. Tons of people died! Even the Celestial Squad’s captain, Deng Shentong, was killed!”

”What? Seriously? We couldn’t even handle a bunch of Neon guys?”

”Yeah, tell me about it! Haven’t you noticed how weird the atmosphere in the city’s been lately?

They keep claiming victory, but the Commander and Deng Shentong haven’t shown their faces even once.

All the news outlets did was say a few nice-sounding lines.”

”That’s... disgusting! Are they taking us for fools?”

”But if even the Celestial Squad lost... then, are we really unable to beat the Neon scum?”

”Stop it, you’re scaring me. I don’t even dare think about it.

If the investigation teams lost, then what chance do we ordinary folks have?”

Author’s Note