18. The Phoenix Umbrella

Rong Xianxian was not entirely certain whether she could keep them alive.

"Let's give it a try."

Three days of violent storms had snapped many towering, isolated, or withered branches, but the landscape before her eyes did not look withered. Instead, the trees appeared even more lush and vibrant, as if imbued with immense vitality.

From the higher floors, one could not tell the difference, but for those living on the third floor, the change was unmistakable. Previously, the treetops of the surrounding trees barely reached the lower edge of the third-floor windows, but now, the third floor was completely shrouded by an overwhelming canopy of leaves, blocking out all light.

"Bang, bang, bang." A knock at the door signaled a visitor. Opening it, she found Liao Yong.

"Ren Tian wants to know if we can have a chat," Liao Yong explained.

Wang Lin glanced at Rong Xianxian, who nodded. They had likely heard the commotion earlier; she was curious to see what they had to say.

"Team Lin, judging by the noise earlier, you had a successful haul, didn't you?" Wang Qirui asked bluntly.

"Yeah, we had good luck today," Wang Lin said, his mouth curling into a grin at the thought of the great broadsword.

"Can you let us see the spoils?" Ren Tian couldn't help but ask.

"No problem. Let me go fetch my big blade. But let’s be clear: this is a trophy shared by Captain Cui, myself, and Sister Rong. You can look, but don't get any funny ideas." With a smug sense of pride, Wang Lin brought over the cold, gleaming broadsword.

A group of hot-blooded young men, several of whom were veterans, possessed a special love for weaponry. This menacing, cold weapon had more visual impact than any firearm. Furthermore, with the country’s strict control over guns and ammunition, these young men could usually only satisfy their cravings in video games.

Wang Qirui’s reaction was the most direct; he stared at the blade, his eyes turning red. In the current survival crisis, a weapon was practically a lifeline.

"When are you going to hunt monsters again? Take me with you," Wang Qirui shouted impatiently.

"If we go hunting monsters, what weapons will Sister Rong provide for us?" Seeing the tangible spoils, Ren Tian could no longer contain his own yearning.

"Providing weapons isn't free; Sister Rong takes a share of the spoils," Wang Lin emphasized once more.

"We know, we know. Didn't we already agree on that?" Wang Qirui was an impatient soul.

"Let's start tomorrow then. We go in the morning, you go in the afternoon, and we'll swap another day. We can't go together because we don't have enough weapons." Once the consensus was reached, Wang Lin grabbed Liao Yong and Wang Qirui to do the grunt work. There was no helping it; dissection was physically demanding work, and he euphemistically called it "giving them a chance to practice."

When the three men arrived at the utility room, Rong Xianxian was busy, wearing a protective suit, mask, goggles, and gloves. Having confirmed that neither bird monster contained a core, she gathered a few special items, such as the black feathers, and turned the room over to them.

She told them to separate the meat, bones, and feathers, and to store them separately. The meat might be slightly damaged, which could affect the flavor, but overall, it wouldn't be too bad. She let them handle it as they pleased.

Rong Xianxian needed to hurry and practice her talisman-making skills, striving to memorize those complex runic patterns. It didn't matter if she couldn't craft them yet; she just needed to record the shapes. After all, the book belonged to someone else, and their temporary partnership was unstable—they might go their separate ways at any time.

Tomorrow, she needed to find time to go to the basement (which was on the first basement level). The power had been out for nearly three days, and the frozen food in the basement chest freezers was starting to thaw; if left any longer, it would spoil. Fortunately, the basement was right by the stairwell, so it shouldn't be a problem for three people to go down.

The lack of an elevator was a hassle. Carrying items up seventeen floors while watching for monster ambushes was exhausting. Vacuum-sealed rice, pickled vegetables in jars, eight-treasure porridge, vacuum-packed compressed biscuits, three cases of canned beer, two packs of soda water, two large bundles of toilet paper, and a box of feminine hygiene products she had hoarded earlier—she packed it all into her sachets.

The frozen food couldn't be brought up in the sachets, as it was the purpose of the trip. However, she managed to secretly stow half of the two large bags of frozen food into her sachets so that she could carry the remaining bag with one hand. As for whether the count would add up when it came time to eat, there were enough grown men around that surely no one would notice.

The trip went smoothly. Only at the corner of the stairwell on the first basement level did a leopard-like monster stare them down for a while, but perhaps realizing they were not to be trifled with, it turned and ran.

Over the next few days, Captain Cui’s team fought five battles, winning four and losing one. They killed three monsters and obtained three weapons, while one escaped injured. The one they lost occurred when they used bait to lure a swarm of small flying monsters; although the trap caught many, the numbers were simply too great, and they retreated after the first contact. In the end, they only got a pile of meat and no treasures.

As for Ren Tian and Ren Cheng’s team, they only won a single battle through the coordination of Ren Tian and Wang Qirui, obtaining an umbrella-like weapon. Ren Cheng, however, was nothing but a liability; no matter what task he was assigned or where he was placed, he only knew one move: running. He would either run back to cover or hide behind others. Eventually, under Wang Qirui’s strong demand, Ren Cheng was kicked out.

The umbrella weapon was small and lightweight, as beautiful as an art piece from a boutique. A ring of golden tassels hung from the edge, and a multicolored phoenix was carved into the handle. Rong Xianxian traded the Lightness Technique, the Spirit-Induction Technique Wang Lin had obtained, and two other weapons to Ren Tian and Wang Qirui to acquire this small umbrella.

The umbrella was a defensive and offensive weapon. Its canopy, as thin as gauze, was made of an unknown, incredibly sturdy material. The phoenix’s eyes were two gemstones, one blue and one red. When the umbrella was open, the phoenix bowed its head with closed eyes, and the golden tassels hung straight down, indicating a defensive state. When closed, the phoenix raised its head with wide, staring eyes and protruding gems. Pressing the red gem turned the umbrella into a three-meter-long spear, razor-sharp with a blood groove on the back. Pressing the blue gem retracted the spear and snapped the ribs back into place, immediately returning it to the defensive state.

To obtain this umbrella, Rong Xianxian had not only given away the Lightness and Spirit-Induction Techniques but also traded away two maces. Although Ren Tian and Wang Qirui were the primary hunters, there were five people involved in the combat, so the techniques were now shared by everyone.

The two maces served as compensation for Ren Tian and Wang Qirui.

Even so, she was ecstatic and named the umbrella the "Phoenix Umbrella." Like the bow dropped by the Golden-Winged Bird earlier, this umbrella was a rare item—not a mundane weapon, but a spiritual artifact that could be refined.

Whether it was because Xuanxuan had exceptional talent or was motivated by the desire to pet the bird, she managed to induce spirit into her body within just a few days. Once she learned Xuanxuan had succeeded, Rong Xianxian couldn't help but take a drop of her blood and place it on the phoenix handle. The blood was absorbed instantly, the red and blue gems flashed, and when she tried to open the umbrella again, she couldn't.

After teaching Xuanxuan the basic usage, the Phoenix Umbrella opened and closed at will, the transition between offense and defense becoming smooth and natural. Perhaps because the spiritual artifact had accepted its master, Xuanxuan used it with ease, and the accidental injuries to herself or others that Rong Xianxian had feared never occurred.