This isn’t a bad idea.
"Let’s try it. I’ll cover you."
Black mist swirled around Huo Jun’s hand, and if you stared at it for too long, you felt like your entire mind might be sucked in.
Shen Zhigui and Song Chengjun had collaborated before, and this time their teamwork was as seamless as ever.
Sure enough, the Bloodthirsty Thorn Vine, soaked in water, had its area of damage significantly increased when struck by the Thunder Ability.
At this point, there was commotion from outside.
Although they couldn’t see anyone, the three occasionally caught glimpses of flames from the Fire Ability attacks.
The Bloodthirsty Thorn Vine, which had initially tried to encircle them, was now struggling with agitation, leaving deep gouges wherever its tendrils scraped along.
With external assistance, Shen Zhigui and the other two were less conservative with their superpower usage than before.
Thanks to Chu Jiangyue’s reminder, Su Zhucheng very cleverly went back and called for several Fire Ability Users to come down.
From being indifferent at first, the Bloodthirsty Thorn Vine was now battered and bruised, even ignoring Shen Zhigui’s trio.
Faced with just a Thunder Ability and a couple of Fire Abilities, it’s obvious even to a fool which group needs caution.
Emboldened, Shen Zhigui unleashed his superpower attacks freely, finally incinerating a segment of the vine into charcoal, breaking it upon contact.
Seizing the moment before the tendrils could react to the breakage, Shen Zhigui and his team made a quick dash out.
As they ran, they continued to use their abilities on either side, preventing the vine from taking the opportunity to re-encircle them.
Chu Jiangyue was the first to spot them escaping the service area and quickly lashed a vine in their direction to deter any Bloodthirsty Thorn Vine from taking advantage of them again.
Once entangled by a Mutated Thorn Vine, it would drain one’s blood, and just a little delay could lead to shock from blood loss, making rescue far from easy.
With Chu Jiangyue’s help, Shen Zhigui’s group moved even faster.
Finally breaking free from the vine’s encirclement, Shen Zhigui’s trio heaved a sigh of relief.
On the other side, Jin Churan and a group of Fire Ability Users, seeing Shen Zhigui’s trio return, hesitated no longer, launching all-out attacks at the Bloodthirsty Thorn Vine’s root system.
They employed tactical attacking while targeting the vine.
Dividing into three shifts, they conducted relentless rounds of attacks, eventually exhausting the vine to death.
The blood-red tendrils, now devoid of life, turned dark red, shriveled, and finally wilted.
Chu Jiangyue approached the vine’s roots, used a dagger to pry them open, and ultimately found a smooth, green crystal core inside.
Comparing this with the Zombie Crystal Cores and Mutated Animal Crystal Cores she had obtained before, Chu Jiangyue felt that the energy from the Mutated Plant’s crystal core was the purest.
Even so, the daunting growth of this Bloodthirsty Thorn Vine made Chu Jiangyue unwilling to keep the crystal core.
"This should be a Level 4 Crystal Core, exchangeable for 10 gold coins. Let’s discuss how to divide it.
If someone wants the crystal core, they need to prepare 10 gold coins for exchange."
Although 10 gold coins don’t sound like much, it’s equivalent to 100,000 copper coins.
Not that everyone present was broke, but few were willing to part with 10 gold coins for a Mutated Plant’s crystal core of uncertain benefit.
No one was willing to fork out 10 gold coins to exchange for a crystal core whose utility was unknown to them.
Chu Jiangyue wasn’t bothered by this, having said it as a formality and not expecting anyone to produce gold coins to make the exchange.
"If no one wants to exchange it, let’s talk about the distribution. I’ll exchange the crystal core and then transfer the rewards according to everyone’s contribution."
The advantage of going out with Chu Jiangyue was this: any spoils could be divvied up on the spot, avoiding squabbles later.
"Mr. Shen’s trio took the main risk for all of us, so nobody should object if they take the largest share, right?
And, the Fire Ability Users played a crucial role in destroying the Bloodthirsty Thorn Vine, as did the others who went down to help; I’ve witnessed everyone’s efforts.
As for those who stayed above and didn’t participate, this time, there’s no entitlement to a share of the spoils, do you agree?"
Thinking they could sit back and enjoy the spoils others fought hard for was an audacious fantasy.
Even if Chu Jiangyue had agreed, the others surely would not have been happy.
Those not joining the battle may have felt discontented, but seeing Chu Jiangyue’s expression and the looks from others ultimately silenced any objections.
With no one objecting, Chu Jiangyue distributed the rewards according to each person’s effort.
Shen Zhigui’s trio received one gold coin each. Five parts of the remaining share went to the Fire Ability Users involved in the battle. The last three parts were distributed evenly among other participants.
Chu Jiangyue’s method aimed for maximum fairness, leaving no one with complaints.
After transferring the rewards to everyone, Chu Jiangyue organized the group to drive down to the service area.
The deceased Bloodthirsty Thorn Vine was quickly cleared away by the group. Entering the service area, Chu Jiangyue found an employee rest room, tidied it up a bit, and pulled out a camping essential travel tent from the system backpack.
The girl Chu Jiangyue had picked up in the snow watched as Chu Jiangyue and the others busied themselves and finally couldn’t resist getting out of the car to come over to Chu Jiangyue’s side.
"Big sister... I... Is there anything I can help you with?"
Seeing the setup, it was clear Chu Jiangyue and the others planned to settle there for the night.
But being someone Chu Jiangyue picked up, she had nothing and could only seek help from Chu Jiangyue.
"The water and steamed bun I gave you before were purchased.
The tent too. If you want one, I can sell it to you for Crystal Cores.
However, it will cost 60 Level 1 Zombie Crystal Cores or 6 Level 2 Zombie Crystal Cores for a tent.
The tent’s interior won’t be affected by severe cold, and it can effectively shield against zombies, with a usage period of 30 days.
Do you want one?"
Essential travel tents are sold for 60 silver coins each, usable for 30 consecutive days with no limit on occupants.
If you know someone well, you could team up in twos or threes to buy a tent, easing the purchase pressure.
But since the girl was picked up, she likely didn’t know anyone else and would have to buy one on her own; Chu Jiangyue wasn’t about to share it with her.
"I... I don’t have that many Crystal Cores..."
The girl looked at Chu Jiangyue’s already arranged tent and hesitated, wanting to say something.
"If you don’t have the money, you can sleep in my car tonight. The car’s defense is pretty good, it won’t be cold inside, make do for a few days."
Offering a free steamed bun and cooling drink earlier was one of the rare instances of Chu Jiangyue’s kindness.
If she wanted more food in the future, she’d have to trade Crystal Cores for it.