Back in the living room, under everyone's eager gazes, Fang Sijie sat cross-legged on the floor and used the crystal.
Five minutes later, he opened his eyes. Even someone as composed as him couldn't hide the wild joy plastered across his face.
"Judging by that look, it's gotta be something incredible, right?" Yang Bin said with a grin.
Fang Sijie rarely wore his emotions on his sleeve. For him to make that kind of face, the skill had to be exceptional.
"Yeah!" Fang Sijie nodded, barely containing his excitement.
"Space-type - Independent Space!"
"What?!"
Every pair of eyes in the room went wide, locked onto Fang Sijie.
"You sure?"
"Positive!"
"How big?"
"Roughly ten-plus cubic meters. And the space should expand as my strength grows." Fang Sijie said, thinking it over.
"That's perfect - your ability couldn't have come at a better time!" Yang Bin couldn't keep the excitement from his voice.
They'd wasted god knows how many supplies recently just because they couldn't carry them.
Yang Bin had been mulling over whether to hunt for a spatial-type ability the next time they had a choice.
He never expected Fang Sijie to land it directly. The luck on this guy - genuinely absurd.
The ability might not have any offensive power, and it wouldn't do much for Fang Sijie personally in a fight. But for the team? Absolutely indispensable.
"Haha, Sijie! I always knew you were destined for greatness. What a pull!" Old Hei roared with laughter.
Everyone understood what this meant. With this ability, they essentially had a mobile warehouse.
No matter where they went, they'd never have to worry about running out of food.
Ten-plus cubic meters might not sound massive, but it was more than enough to guarantee supplies for their group.
"What about your base ability?"
"Got a Light Wave. Straight-line attack skill."
"Not bad either. At least you've got some offensive capability now."
"Mm."
"So that means only Yifei hasn't reached the Yaoguang Realm yet."
"We'll stay one more day tomorrow, hunt for Yaoguang zombies, then leave Star City the day after."
"Got it!"
Everyone headed off to rest.
Around nine the next morning, after breakfast, Yang Bin led the group out to hunt Yaoguang Realm zombies.
With Fang Sijie's Independent Space, nobody had to lug around bags anymore. Everything went straight into the pocket dimension - convenient and secure.
It made everyone appreciate the ability all over again. The thing was a godsend.
This time, with Yang Bin leading the search, efficiency skyrocketed compared to Zhao Kun and the others fumbling around blind.
Yaoguang zombies weren't exactly common yet, but they existed.
By the time Yang Bin climbed to the rooftop of the fifth high-rise, he'd spotted one.
He led the squad straight toward it.
With their numbers and everyone's improved strength, a Yaoguang Realm zombie no longer posed any real threat.
Even surrounded by tens of thousands of lesser undead, it didn't matter. The squad punched straight through.
Abilities fired in volleys, and zombies dropped like harvested wheat.
The Yaoguang zombie sensed things going south and tried to flee. But in that instant, a Tang Saber shot forward like a bolt of lightning, punching clean through its neck.
Yang Bin's control over Telekinesis had become second nature by now.
The ability's power scaled with his own strength, but the real advantage was this: by flooding it with Mental Energy, he could crank the speed to a level opponents simply couldn't react to.
The only downside - he still couldn't control multiple objects simultaneously.
That would probably have to wait until his next advancement.
Yang Bin blinked over, extracted the Tier-6 crystal, then used Telekinesis to pick off every remaining Tier-5 Zombie one by one.
He collected their Tier-5 crystals, then led the group away without lingering.
Low-order zombies weren't worth the time.
Once they reached a safe location, Yang Bin handed the Tier-6 crystal to Lin Yifei and told her to use it on the spot.
Lin Yifei accepted the crystal in a daze.
Before joining the Star Fall Squad, she'd never imagined obtaining a Tier-6 crystal could be this simple.
In barely a single day, this squad had shattered every expectation she had.
Joining them was, without question, the best decision she'd ever made.
She didn't hesitate. She sat down and swallowed the crystal.
Minutes later, the last member of the Star Fall Squad successfully advanced to the Yaoguang Realm.
The ability Lin Yifei awakened was water-type - Water Wave.
Honestly, it wasn't particularly strong. It could push back enemies in front of her, but against anyone above her level, the effect was negligible.
However, the water element it condensed was drinkable. Meaning they'd never have to worry about a water supply again.
From that angle alone, the ability was a solid get.
Better yet, her original ability evolved too - single-target freeze became area-of-effect freeze.
That was a serious upgrade. Massive value in group fights.
With the Tier-6 zombie dealt with, Yang Bin kept the squad moving, hunting more zombies.
Everyone was at the Yaoguang Realm now, but you could never have too many Yaoguang crystals.
By evening, they'd bagged two more Yaoguang crystals and several dozen Tier-5 ones.
Yang Bin had also been hoping to find Mutated Beasts so Skinny Monkey could test his Beast Taming ability.
No luck. A full day of searching turned up nothing, which struck Yang Bin as strange.
Logically, plenty of people in Star City had kept cats and dogs. But after the apocalypse, Mutated Beasts seemed almost nonexistent in the city.
To date, Yang Bin had only encountered Little Orange and one husky. Nothing since.
The Mutated Beasts seemed to have abandoned urban areas entirely, gone into hiding.
Yang Bin had a gut feeling - Mutated Beasts would eventually become a far greater threat than zombies.
Because Mutated Beasts understood Stealthy Development.
Once they finished growing in the shadows, they'd be humanity's nightmare.
But even knowing that, there was nothing to be done. Charging into the forests to hunt them down would be pure suicide.
Yang Bin was certain: the major forests were already Mutated Beast territory. Human no-go zones.
He gave both Yaoguang crystals directly to Chen Hao, boosting his strength by a significant margin.
Yang Bin never liked hoarding useful resources. Converting them into real power was the only play that mattered. If they needed more later, they'd go take them.
Every bit of extra strength was another layer of insurance on their lives.
Beyond crystals, the group had also scavenged a decent haul of supplies, all stashed in Fang Sijie's Independent Space.
Ten-plus cubic meters didn't sound like much on paper, but it held a surprising amount.
That evening after dinner, everyone started packing up.
Crystals went into the Independent Space first. Then food.
Rice, dried meat, everything they could fit - all crammed into Fang Sijie's space without ceremony.
They didn't stop until the Independent Space was packed to the brim.
With this stockpile, even a full month without resupply wouldn't mean starvation.
The remaining odds and ends - daily necessities, mostly - would just go in the vehicle.
Once everything was sorted, the squad rested until midnight, then headed to the rooftop one final time to stargaze through the night.
Yang Bin still didn't break through to Tier-7. This step clearly wasn't going to come easy.
But he wasn't anxious. Their squad's current strength was more than enough for the return trip.
The Tier-5 Zombies in the backyard hadn't advanced to Tier-6 either. Yang Bin had the team kill them all, netting another ten-plus Tier-5 crystals.
The iron cage couldn't come with them, but it had outlived its usefulness anyway.
Tier-6 zombies were something they could put down casually now. No point wasting time and effort farming them anymore.