Chapter 570: Magnetic Allies

“Wow, unbelievable!”

Xin Yu can sense the emotional fluctuations of people and animals. I, on the other hand, can sense shifts in plant magnetic fields. We’re both Magnetic Sense Evolved fighters, but with different specialties.

With such complementary abilities, not forming an alliance would be a complete waste of potential.

Listening to Xin Yu, I realized why she wanted to team up. First, I’ve never harbored any ill will toward her. Second, I have a pack of powerful Evolved Wolves on my side.

If Evolved Wolves and Surveillance Birds joined forces, the results could be downright game-changing.

But before we seal this alliance, I have to be up front with her about my abilities and my connection to the wolf pack. “Before we commit, there’s something you need to know: first, I’m also a Magnetic Sense Evolved fighter, but my ability only lets me sense abnormal magnetic fields in plants that are about to undergo or have already undergone Devastation Evolution. Aside from me, you’re the only person who knows about this ability.”

Whether Xin Yu has just this one ability or more, she chose to trust me and laid out her survival cards. I need to show her the same sincerity. I have plenty of secrets, but this is the only one that’s safe to share for now.

After hearing me out, Xin Yu’s eyes went wide. It was the first time I’d ever seen such a lively expression on her face.

“Second, the wolf pack doesn’t belong to me. Last year I helped them out, so some wolves and I built a relationship of mutual trust—we’re allies, not master and subordinate. If the wolf pack ever refuses to work with me, there’s nothing I can do to force them.”

Xin Yu wasn’t disappointed at all—in fact, she seemed even more committed to our alliance. “I wouldn’t force my Evolved Birds to do anything they dislike or that could harm them, either. You, me, the wolf pack—we all have our territories, and we share the same goal.”

“Deal.” I stood and raised my right hand. “Let’s form an alliance—mutual benefit, no harm to each other, living together peacefully on this land.”

“Deal.” Xin Yu got up, too, meeting my hand with hers in a solemn high-five. “Once you’re free, let’s team up to explore the Evolved Forest!”

Palms smacked, we locked eyes and burst out laughing. Now, we were truly friends.

Curiosity piqued, we each wanted to know more about the other’s Magnetic Sense—how did our abilities actually feel?

I tried to explain. “It’s like a vague, hard-to-describe sense of danger. If I had to put it into words, it felt like that mutant plant was throwing invisible, needle-fine darts at me, stabbing right here.”

I lifted my hand and pointed to the center of my forehead.

Xin Yu lit up. “Me too! When I sense malice or any strong negative emotion, my forehead gets really uncomfortable. That’s actually why I avoid people whenever I can.”

A major reason Xin Yu chose me as an ally was because, apart from that incident when she mistook Section Three for hostile territory and first met me, she’d never felt any uncomfortable emotions from me—not even after all our encounters since.

Which meant my emotions were rock steady, and I wasn’t the type to get jealous, greedy or murderous just because someone had more resources than I did.

I asked curiously, “When did your ability awaken?”

Xin Yu’s Magnetic Sense started early. “Even before Blue Star’s Great Evolution, I always had a sixth sense. Crowds unsettled me, so I stayed home most days. After the evolution started, my sense only got sharper. For my safety, my parents warned me never to tell anyone about this ability. What about you?”

The way Xin Yu described it matched what Idol said—if you have an outstanding trait, you’re likely to evolve in that area. My story was different. “Mine started when I began farming, right before the third Devastation Rain hit last year…”

Hold on! Suddenly a memory clicked. “The sixth year after the disaster, I was hunting with the Combat Team in the Evolved Forest and ran into a Devastation-Evolved giant tree that released hallucinogenic fumes. The Protective Masks’ filter cartridges couldn’t block it. For some reason, I just had this gut feeling we were walking into danger, so I lagged behind. The people in front fell prey to delusions and attacked each other, but I was still outside the range of its scent and dodged the whole mess by sheer luck.”

During that chaos, I used a rope to lasso Xu Juan—who was getting beaten down—and hauled her out of the tree’s territory, saving her life.

Thinking it over, I guessed my Magnetic Sense didn’t show up sooner because I’d been malnourished for years. After settling into the Territory and eating real food for a few months, my ability finally surfaced.

Xin Yu considered it. “That tree must’ve been incredibly strong—for you to pick up on its presence at all.”

I nodded. “Over twenty Evolved fighters died that time. By the way, do you like birds because they’re less prone to negative emotions?”

She shook her head. “Not exactly. I just always liked birds. When I was a few months old, my mom said I’d giggle whenever I saw a pretty bird, so my family built a birdhouse in our yard and filled it with colorful little birds.”

I groaned. “My mom said that as a baby, I’d laugh at kittens too.”

Xin Yu grew curious. “If you like cats so much, why did Third Brother say cats never warm up to you?”

“Don’t even remind me…” I recounted all my failed attempts at bonding with cats, then added, “Even after visiting Territory Seven, I never once saw Princess Cat.”

Xin Yu collapsed over the table, laughing. “Doesn’t Hu Zifeng have a little cat? That one doesn’t like you either?”

I sighed, even more exasperated. “Hu Zifeng worries his cat will smell wolf scent on him and get offended, so every time he leaves my place, he scrubs clean before cuddling his cat.”

This time, Xin Yu was laughing so hard she cried.

With the deep talk winding down, I turned businesslike. “I’ve built an alliance with Territory Four, Five, Six, Seven, Ten, and Fifteen. The idea is to work together, share resources, divvy up jobs, grow crops and survive. Want to join us?”

Since even Third Brother joined, the organization clearly had value. But Xin Yu had her own concerns. Wiping away tears, she asked, “So you all go to Territory Five for alliance meetings? If I join, do I have to attend as well?”

What could I say to that…

Living next door to someone with a bird army—guess privacy really is out the window.

Seeing my expression, Xin Yu grinned. “I’m not spying on you! It’s just been hectic lately, so Captain Tan asked me to send Surveillance Birds to patrol around our territories. I just happened to catch a glimpse.”

I laughed too. “That’s right. We had an alliance meeting today about rice seedling cultivation. If a meeting doesn’t concern your territory, you don’t have to come. If it does, you can attend yourself or send an agent. If neither, I’ll give you a heads-up on the agenda and ask for your thoughts.”