Chapter 634: Research Data

Chapter 634: Research Data

The moment Zhang Yi finished speaking, Chen Xiaoxiao’s gaze sharpened instantly.

Peng Li also stared at him with a serious expression.

In the end, team leadership and who held the final say was still an unavoidable issue.

Chen Xiaoxiao had originally intended to guide the pace from the start, naturally becoming the team’s de facto leader, with Zhang Yi just a captain in name.

But clearly, Zhang Yi wasn’t about to just follow her lead so easily.

Chen Xiaoxiao said, “Your ability is indeed rare and powerful. If you’re the captain, we’ll respect your opinion.”

“But if you make an inappropriate decision during the mission, we have the right to correct it.”

On the surface, that sounded reasonable.

“We’ll listen to you—but if you’re wrong, we’ll step in and ‘correct’ you,” meaning they’d steer things their way instead.

But if you thought about it carefully, the control was still in their hands.

To put it plainly—they didn’t really intend to accept Zhang Yi’s leadership.

Zhang Yi’s face remained calm, carrying that same easygoing smile.

“In that case, there’s no need for us to act together.”

He shrugged. “You two can go your own way. No need to stick with us.”

“Judging by the team composition, Liang Yue, Hua Hua, and I are only one person short compared to a standard five-person squad.”

He glanced at Liang Yue beside him, then affectionately patted the sleeping Hua Hua on his thigh.

“Besides, we’re already part of a long-running team with good coordination. They’ll follow my orders.”

“So having you two or not really doesn’t make a difference.”

“If we’re not aligned in principle, we’re not meant to work together. That’s what you’re thinking too, right?”

A flash of surprise crossed Chen Xiaoxiao’s eyes.

Peng Li looked at Zhang Yi in shock. “You’re serious?”

“This mission is extremely dangerous! The ten squads that went before us were all wiped out. Sticking together is the only way to improve our odds of survival.”

“With the five of us (well, four and one animal), we should have the best chance of completing the mission. If you split the group like this, it’s bad for all of us.”

Zhang Yi leaned back slowly on the sofa, crossing one leg over the other.

“But you don’t acknowledge me as captain. If our hearts are divided, we’ll just drag each other down. What’s the point?”

Chen Xiaoxiao replied calmly, “We haven’t been working together long. It’s hard to build chemistry quickly. But with more people, our chances of surviving still go up.”

The curve at the corner of Zhang Yi’s mouth deepened.

Even Liang Yue had to stifle a laugh.

She glanced at Chen Xiaoxiao and Peng Li with a bit of pity, thinking to herself:

Do you two have any idea who you’re talking to right now?

At this point, Zhang Yi was one of the top-tier elites in the entire Jiangnan District!

Especially with that life-saving trump card of his—damn, even the most seasoned fighters would curse in disbelief.

A Delta-level Superhuman with defense ten times stronger than offense—even a legendary Epsilon-level Superhuman would get a headache going up against him.

If you don’t believe it, just go ask Yuan Kongye.

And you’re here talking to him about "increasing survival chances"?

Zhang Yi never really wanted them tagging along—it would only interfere with his movements.

But he couldn’t outright refuse the team assignment either. That would raise suspicions from others.

So Zhang Yi said, “Alright then. We can act together. But if a disagreement comes up, you’re free to break off and go your own way. Don’t worry about us.”

That pushed Chen Xiaoxiao to her limit.

As a shrewd team leader, she thought Zhang Yi’s behavior was childish.

“Zhang Yi, this isn’t a game. This is life or death! You can’t let personal emotions put us all in danger.”

Zhang Yi sighed lightly.

He leaned forward, propping his chin on his hands.

“All I’ll say is—my survival ability guarantees that my people and I will absolutely make it through this mission alive.”

“So tell me—do you think I have any obligation to protect people who won’t follow my orders?”

He had made himself perfectly clear.

If they still didn’t get it, Zhang Yi wasn’t going to waste another breath.

“You’re saying… you can guarantee you and your team’s survival?”

Chen Xiaoxiao rested her chin on one hand, deep in thought.

Not long after, she took a deep breath. “I see. So that’s how it is!”

Peng Li asked in a whisper, “You see what?”

Chen Xiaoxiao looked at Zhang Yi and said with some awe, “This is the advantage of a Spatial-type ability! He mentioned it before—he can perform Spatial Jump. In other words, if things go south, he can just teleport out.”

“With how rare Spatial-types are, as long as he wants to run, almost no one can catch him.”

“Even if the enemy has a countermeasure, with the Celestial Squad drawing attention from the front, the Moon of Corrosion can’t possibly send their full force after him.”

“So doesn’t that mean he’s practically untouchable?”

Peng Li gave Zhang Yi a strange look and muttered, “Man, that’s so rat-like.”

Zhang Yi: “You do realize I can hear you, right?”

“I said it on purpose!”

Peng Li grinned at him smugly.

Zhang Yi: “…”

This was just… speechless.

After thinking it over seriously, Chen Xiaoxiao finally made a decision.

“Alright then. During the mission, we’ll follow your lead. But if your orders are too outrageous, we’ll go our separate ways. Each of us on our own. Sound fair?”

Zhang Yi nodded. “Deal.”

Honestly, if it weren’t for appearances, he would’ve gone straight to Zhu Zheng and asked to only bring Liang Yue and Hua Hua.

Chen Xiaoxiao and Peng Li didn’t seem all that bad. He’d take them for now.

But if they became a burden later, Zhang Yi wouldn’t hesitate to ditch them and go solo.

“Alright then, let’s get started on researching the intel about Moon of Corrosion!” Chen Xiaoxiao said.

“Oh, we’re starting just because you said so?”

Zhang Yi smiled.

Chen Xiaoxiao’s tone faltered for a moment.

Zhang Yi waved his hand. “Just kidding! Alright, let’s get into it.”

Chen Xiaoxiao always liked being in control.

But Zhang Yi had to make it clear—who was really in charge now.

Chen Xiaoxiao picked up on his intent.

But since she didn’t want to damage team cohesion at this point, she let it slide.

The four of them gathered together and opened the files sent by Lan Xincheng, starting to analyze them in detail.

A few hours later, the four had gone through the footage and data again, carefully reviewing it.

Since they’d already seen it once before, they were now able to skip past the less important sections and focus directly on the key parts.

Among them, Peng Li was responsible for taking notes and drafting a meeting summary, jotting down all the critical points.

Once they were done, Zhang Yi sat back on the sofa and smiled. “Now that we’ve gone through it all, let’s talk about what we think. As the captain, I’ll go first.”

Regardless of any underlying agendas, when it came to dealing with Moon of Corrosion, they all shared the same goal.

So Zhang Yi wasn’t planning to hold anything back on this front.

Author's Note