《Zombie Apocalypse: Reborn With A Farming Space》 Chapter 1 - 1: Prologue: The Last Call Bang! Bang! Bang! Roar!!! As the sun set on the western horizon, the sound of gunfire and explosions mixed with the roars of zombies echoing in the area. The rancid smell of rotten flesh mixed with the rusty smell of blood was so strong that it was numbing. Standing atop a three-story store, several groups of people were surrounded by countless zombies. As they fired their guns and launched their abilities, the smell of death grew stronger. Amid the chaos, a thin woman stabbed a zombie in the head with her dagger. Her face was pale from exhaustion, and sweat drenched her clothes. Disregarding the dirt and rotten flesh covering her clothes, she wiped sweat from her brow with the back of her palm. Before she could catch her breath, another zombie pounced on her from the side. Noticing the attack, she used her last ounce of strength and jumped to the side, barely dodging the sharp claws aimed at her head. As she fell to the ground, a rusty iron object stabbed at her shoulder. Blood seeped from the wound and dripped to the ground, turning her pale face paler. The smell of blood made the surrounding zombies even more excited and pounced at her faster. Raising her palm, she threw several water blades at the zombies, successfully cutting off three of the zombies'' heads at once. Not far from her, a woman who was protected in the middle of the group, stared at her with cold, malicious eyes. Unlike the thin woman, who was running out of energy and nearing her limits, this woman was still full of strength and energy. Even her white dress is cleaner than anyone else''s. "We can''t hold on any longer! Boss, we must find a way to escape!" one of the men suddenly shouted. The shout made the woman realize that, if she did nothing, she might die here. ''No, I can''t die here!'' she thought inwardly as panic rose within her. After a moment of thought, her eyes locked on the back of the thin woman. If that person died here, she could be with the man she desired. No one will ever know about her shameful past. The moment the thought crossed her mind, she clenched her fists excitedly. As she walked closer toward the thin woman, she heard her team leader shout, "Everyone, the reinforcements are here! Hold on a little longer, and we will be safe!" Hearing this, the woman turned her head and saw a group of men rushing toward them while clearing zombies along the way. When she saw the man leading the team, her eyes flickered with joy and anxiety. ''No, before he arrives, I must kill her!'' she thought as a ruthless glint flashed in her eyes. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. This was her only chance to remove her obstacle! After she made up her mind, she rushed toward the thin woman and pushed her back with all her strength without hesitation. Caught off guard by her sudden attack, the thin woman was pushed toward the zombies and fell from the rooftop. Knowing she was doomed, she turned her head to see who harmed her, only to see the person she trusted the most. She gazed at her friend who was looking at her with a pair of eyes that was full of hatred and jealousy, and asked in disbelief, "Why?" Unfortunately, she would never get her answer, as she was torn apart the moment she fell into the zombie tide. "Akhh!" she cried out in pain as her flesh was torn and her bones crushed. The pain of being eaten alive was crushing her, not only tormenting her body but also her mind. Before she was swallowed by the zombies, the last thing she heard was a man''s hoarse voice shouting her name desperately, "Ah Zhi!!" ''Who is calling me?'' That was her last thought before she was pulled into eternal darkness. Chapter 2 - 2: The Beginning Of The Doomsday Lin''an City, one of the largest cities in Huaxia, was shrouded in a layer of thick mist. The sun rising on the eastern horizon glowed redder than blood as it slowly ascended. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Under the red sunlight, the city was eerily silent, as though it had become a ghost town. Not even a dog''s bark could be heard, let alone the bustling sounds of cars or hurried footsteps of people going to work. As the sun climbed higher, the mist gradually dissipated, revealing an unsettling atmosphere of the incoming doom. When the mist disappeared completely, a corpse stored in the hospital morgue suddenly moved. Its flesh rotted at a speed visible to the naked eye, yet the body left the stretcher as it moved stiffly. Its eyeballs turned milky white, and its nails and teeth grew longer and sharper, resembling sharpened blades. As it moved, it let out a low growl, similar to that of a wild beast. Sensing a nearby delicacy, its stiff body hurried toward the door. The smell of living humans seemed to beckon it closer, evoking the hunger in its instinct. Blocked by the iron door, it raised its decaying hands and slammed them against the door, producing a deafening sound that echoed in the empty hallway. BANG! The sleeping guard jolted awake from the sound in shock, nearly falling from his chair in the nearby guard post. Before he could check the security camera''s monitor, a rancid stench of rotting flesh assaulted his nostrils. Frowning at the foul odor, he turned to ask his colleague about it¡ªonly to see a rotting face rushing toward him. "Roar!!" The decayed corpse let out a growl with its mouth opening wide, showing its sharp rows of teeth. Before the guard could react, its teeth sank into his neck, causing blood to spurt like a fountain. As its teeth tore through his flesh, he coughed up blood and his eyes wide with horror. He reached out his trembling hand toward the door and let out a weak pleading voice, "H-Help¡­" Moments later, the sickening sounds of flesh being torn and bones being gnawed filled the room. Blood pooled on the floor, driving the rotting corpse into a frenzy as it feasted on the guard''s brain. Similar situations occurred in every corner of the city. In less than half an hour, panic broke out and spread crazily. The roar of the rotting corpses was drowned out by the shouts and cries of people everywhere. At this moment, a girl lay on her bed inside one of the female dormitory rooms at Lin''an University. Her pale face was drenched in cold sweat as she was trapped in a nightmare caused by her high fever. While she remained unconscious, the situation outside her room had already descended into a living hell. The cries of people begging for help mingled with the grotesque sounds of rotting corpses feasting on living humans. Bang! In the corridor, a girl was slammed against a door as she was pushed by a girl in white dress. She tried to flee with her friends, only to be used as a shield by one of her classmates. Falling to the ground, she felt a sharp pain shoot through her twisted ankle and shouted angrily, "Bitch, how dare you push me?!" Raising her head, she saw the person who had shoved her already running away without hesitation with the group. Left behind, fear and horror surged through her heart instantly. She stared at their backs in panic. Her voice trembled with despair as she screamed, "W-wait, please wait for me!" Despite the pain in her ankle, she forced herself to stand and move forward. Unfortunately, her pace was far too slow to escape the swarm of rotten corpses chasing after her. Just as she was only a few steps away from the emergency exit, a rotten hand suddenly burst through her stomach from behind. She stared down at the rotten hand in a daze while her mind numb with shock. The pain didn''t register until the rotting hand grasped her intestines and yanked them out of her body. Only then did she let out a piercing scream of agony, "Ahhh!!!" Before she could comprehend what was happening, the group of rotten corpses rushed at her. She was pushed to the ground before being bitten and devoured alive. Her screams faded as her body was torn apart and life left her wrecked body. The living hell lasted for an entire day before the survivors managed to either escape from the university or find places to hide from the rotting corpses. As the sun set on the western horizon, the mist began to gather once more, further hindering their already limited vision. Inside the female dormitory building, several groups of people hid in locked rooms. No one dared to breathe loudly, let alone speak for fear that they would draw the attention of the rotten corpse outside. No one knew what was happening, nor whether the government would send help to rescue them. In the oppressive silence and suffocating air, the rotting corpses wandered aimlessly through the area as they lost their targets. When the sun finally disappeared below the horizon, the moon rose high into the night sky. Unlike the usual beautiful white moon, it appeared larger and ominously red, as though it had been dyed in blood. As soon as the rotting corpses were bathed in the eerie red moonlight, they became visibly agitated. Their movements grew quicker and more nimble, and their once-stiff limbs began to bend and flex slightly. Inside the room, the unconscious girl finally opened her eyes. Staring at the familiar yet unfamiliar ceiling, she pushed herself up and looked around in a daze. Feeling dizzy, she held her head and muttered hoarsely, "Aren''t I dead already?" Chapter 3 - 3: Ability Awakening It took the girl a moment to realize that she was sitting on a soft bed and could feel pain in her body. The ability to feel pain was a clear sign that she was alive and not dreaming. A bold thought of being reborn suddenly flashed through her mind. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. She lowered her head to look at her clothes and saw the cartoon pajamas she used to wear before the apocalypse. Her eyes widened in shock as the thought solidified in her mind. Holding onto the bed for support, she staggered toward the desk. When her eyes landed on the calendar, she quickly picked it up and muttered hoarsely, "May 5th, 2188. I have actually returned to the day the apocalypse begins." Recalling her last memories before she died, Jiao Lizhi clenched her fists tightly. Since the heavens had granted her a second chance, she vowed to take her revenge and survive the apocalypse this time. With this thought, she dragged her weak body to the wardrobe and pulled out a backpack. Her weak physical condition did not allow her to carry heavy loads, so she could only pack a set of underwear and clean clothes. She also gathered all the medicine, food, and bottled water she could find in the room and packed everything into the backpack. Once everything was packed, she removed her pajamas and changed into black joggers, a black T-shirt, and a pair of black sneakers. As she walked past the mirror, her reflection caught her attention. Her waist length, long black hair swayed behind her as smooth as the night curtain. The moment she saw her hair, she immediately decided to cut it. Although she knew she would gain water-based abilities later and could wash her hair every day, long hair was impractical during the apocalypse since it would hinder her movement and sight during battle. She searched the room for scissors for a long time before she eventually found a pair in the bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror, she cut her long hair into a short bob. She didn''t care about the uneven ends or the damage to her hair. As long as it didn''t obstruct her vision or movement, any style would suffice. When she finished, dizziness overwhelmed her, and she leaned against the wall for support. After steadying herself, she rummaged through the bathroom cabinet and found a digital thermometer. She put the thermometer into her ear and after a soft beep was heard, she looked at the screen and confirmed her suspicions. 39.3 degrees Celsius, she was having a fever. Jiao Lizhi sighed in frustration when she saw her feverish temperature. In her current state, leaving the dormitory was impossible. Her first priority was to take medicine and rest. Once her fever subsided, she would make her move. She had to get out of the university area before it was too late. After she made a decision, she left the bathroom and grabbed a bottle of water and a loaf of bread from her backpack. After eating half the loaf and taking a few sips of water, she swallowed the medicine. Then, she packed everything back into her backpack and moved the desk to block the door. Once she was sure that the door was secure enough to withstand a zombie attack, she lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. Not long after, she drifted into a light sleep. Unbeknownst to her, the mist in the air began to seep into her body slowly, as if being absorbed by a vortex. She thought she wouldn''t be able to sleep at all, but due to the medicine''s effect, she slept more deeply than expected. When she woke up, the sky outside was still dark, and the occasional roars of zombies echoed faintly in the distance. Sitting up in bed, she picked up the thermometer to check her temperature. Seeing that her fever had subsided to 37.8¡ãC, she let out a sigh of relief. Since she needed to leave the university as soon as possible, she took out her water bottle and the remaining half of her bread. After finishing her meal, she closed her eyes, trying to sense the energy within her body. The next moment, her eyes opened in surprise. She stared at her palm that was covered by a thin layer of water. As the water kept seeping out from her palm, it dripped from her fingers onto the floor. "I actually awakened my ability this early," she muttered in disbelief and her voice was filled with delight. In the apocalypse, aside from medicine and food, water was one of the most vital resources. With her newly awakened ability, she doesn''t have to worry about water shortage. Once she advanced to level one, she would be able to produce up to two liters of water daily which was enough for her to survive. If she drank less water, she might be able to save some water to exchange it with food. As for using her ability to kill zombies, it would be impossible until she reached level five. This limitation made water abilities usually classified as an auxiliary ability. Only at level five would the water ability user have enough energy for them to manipulate the water they produce to attack. A smile appeared on her face and she grabbed an empty bottle from her backpack. She placed her finger over the bottle''s mouth. Channeling her energy, she focused it at her fingertips. Moments later, water began to trickle steadily from her finger into the bottle. Although the stream was no thicker than her pinky, it was better than she had expected. In her past life, the amount of water she could produce when she awakened her ability was only a few sips. She had barely managed to fill half a bottle after a whole day and exhausted her energy. But now, even after filling the entire bottle, she didn''t feel tired at all. She could feel that the energy in her body had only slightly depleted. The discovery left her stunned. While she tried to find the reason for the differences between this life and her past one, her vision blurred. Chapter 4 - 4: Spatial Space Suddenly, a mirage of a two-story house with a plot of black soil appeared in front of Jiao Lizhi, overlapping with the room around her. Thinking it was a hallucination, she rubbed her eyes and blinked several times. Yet, when she opened them again, the mirage grew even clearer, as if the scenery was etched into her mind. Closing her eyes, she concentrated her mind to feel the source of this subtle energy flow. The next second, she was standing on the grassland beside the plot of black soil. Feeling curious, Jiao Lizhi bent down and reached out to the black soil beneath her feet. When she felt the warm sensation of the soil slipping through her fingers, she froze in disbelief. The texture felt so real, as if she were holding actual soil. As someone familiar with how space abilities worked, she quickly realized that this place was her own space. Although she had never seen a spatial ability firsthand, she knew it functioned like a mobile warehouse from her experience in her previous life. The time within the space flowed slower than outside, and it couldn''t sustain living things due to the lack of oxygen¡ªany living creature stored inside would suffocate to death. The size of the space varied depending on an individual''s talent and expanded as their ability leveled up. However, what she had now didn''t fit the usual description of spatial abilities obtained through awakening. She couldn''t explain it, but instinctively she knew her space was not the usual space ability. She would be in serious trouble if anyone discovered her space was different from others. Therefore, she must not let anyone know about this. Surveying her surroundings, she noticed a pond near the house. Walking over, she saw that the pond was about five meters in diameter and quite deep. Thanks to the clear water, she could see all the way to the bottom, where a small hole rested at the center. She stared at the hole, guessing it might be the source of the water. Feeling thirsty, she cupped her hands to scoop up some water and took a sip. The taste was similar to the water she created with her ability, but somehow purer and more refreshing. Whether due to a psychological effect or not, after drinking it, she felt more energized, and her lingering dizziness subsided significantly. After another sip, she let out a relieved sigh and turned her attention to the house. However, before she could open the main door, her mind jolted as a loud banging sound echoed sharply. Her instincts kicked in faster than her thoughts, and in the blink of an eye, she found herself back in her dorm room. BANG! BANG! BANG! Roarr!!! The deafening noise outside seemed to draw nearby zombies away from her room. Jiao Lizhi frowned as she sifted through her memories of her previous life. After a moment, she recalled that a group of upperclassmen came to rescue the girls who were trapped in the dormitory. The sound just now might have been caused by them. Spotting a broom in the corner, she grabbed it and snapped the stick over her knee. Tossing the broom head aside, she weighed the wooden stick in her hands and muttered softly, "It wasn''t the best weapon, but it would suffice for now." Before leaving, Jiao Lizhi approached the bed and touched it. Unsure how to store items in her space, she decided to test her ability. The moment she thought of keeping the bed in her space, the bed disappeared instantly. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Excited by her success, she glanced at her backpack and thought, ''Collect!'' She was hoping that she could store the backpack without touching it. Unfortunately, the bag remained unmoving. She took a step closer and tried again¨Cstill nothing. After another step, she tried once more. This time, the backpack vanished. She estimated that the effective range of her ability was about two meters. Checking her space, she saw the bed and backpack now resting on the grassy field near the farmland. Using her mind, she tried moving the items into the house. To her delight, those items disappeared from the grassy land and reappeared inside the empty house. Jiao Lizhi was excited by this discovery and wasted no time storing everything else in the room. Ten minutes later, the room was left with four empty walls. Wrapping a piece of fabric around her palms, she gripped the wooden stick tightly and got ready to fight. Before opening the door, she pressed her ear against it and listened carefully to the movement outside. The earlier noise seemed to have drawn the zombies away and the hallway outside was eerily quiet. Glancing at her watch, Jiao Lizhi noted it was six o''clock in the morning. The sun had finally risen. Zombies were slower and less dangerous during the day, making this the ideal time to leave. After taking a deep breath, she opened the door slowly trying to minimize the noise. Walking out, she saw the corridor was covered with blood, flesh, and unknown matters. Several zombies with their heads smashed beyond recognition lay motionless on the ground. Suppressing her nausea due to the rancid smell, she carefully made her way toward the emergency stairs. Now that she had her space ability, her first destination was clear¡ªthe university cafeteria. Chapter 5 - 5: First Battle Thanks to the group of upperclassmen, the zombies had been drawn toward the emergency stairs, gathering together in that area and had been locked behind the steel gate. Although she couldn''t use the stairs, there were no more zombies in the hallway. Jiao Lizhi opened the window and peered outside. She was on the second floor, and there was a water pipe running along the wall near the window. She reached out to pull at the pipe a few times before she nodded with satisfaction. Though the pipe wasn''t particularly large, it appeared sturdy enough to support her thin frame. After observing her surroundings, she stored the wooden stick into her space and climbed out the window. Clinging tightly to the water pipe, she began to climb down slowly. Below her, a group of zombies had already been attracted by her scent. Three zombies gathered under her body, roaring and reaching up their rotten hands, trying to catch her. In the surrounding area, nearly twenty zombies were scattered around. To escape, she needed to act quickly and deal with the three zombies directly below her before their commotion drew more attention from the surrounding zombies. Taking a deep breath, she clenched her jaw and released her grip slightly. In an instant, she slid down the pipe at a fast speed. Just before she reached the ground, she kicked against the wall, flipping midair, and landed lightly with one of her knees bent. The zombies immediately turned around and rushed toward her. With a flick of her wrist, the wooden stick reappeared in her hand. She wasted no time, charging toward the nearest zombie and thrusting the sharp end of the stick into its eye. With one swift motion, she pierced the zombie''s brain. Black blood and rotten matter coated the stick as she pulled out the stick and it dripped onto the ground. "Roar!" The guttural roar of another zombie behind her grew closer as the rancid smell assaulted her nose. Before the sharp claw pierced her flesh, she spun around and delivered a powerful spinning hook kick to the zombie''s head. Crack! The kick landed with a resounding crack, sending the zombie flying several meters with its head crushed. For a split second, she was stunned, too shocked to react. Even though elemental ability users had greater physical strength than ordinary people, it was unheard of to send a zombie flying with a single kick¡ªat least not at the early stage after awakening. Only strength-type ability users could achieve such a feat. For those with water-type abilities, the possibility of doing this is zero. Although she was confused, Jiao Lizhi had no time to dwell on the anomaly of her ability and physical condition in the middle of battle. As she regained her focus, the third zombie lunged at her and its claws swiped dangerously close to her neck. She sidestepped just in time and countered by driving the wooden stick into its temple. Stab! She used all of her strength but the stick was stuck. Seeing that the stick failed to destroy the brain and the zombies were still moving, Jiao Lizhi''s eyes flashed with surprise. "Roar!" The zombie let out an enraged growl as it swung its arms at her in an attempt to grab her neck. Narrowing her eyes, Jiao Lizhi leaned back to dodge the attack before shifting to the side. She grabbed the stick and using all her strength, she drove the stick further into its skull. With a puff, the stick pierced through the zombie''s head like a skewer. The next moment, it collapsed lifelessly to the ground. Breathing heavily, Jiao Lizhi wiped the sweat from her brow. Her body felt weak and heavy just from fighting three zombies. If she wanted to survive, she needed to grow stronger¡ªfast. After catching her breath for a few moments, she bent down to retrieve the wooden stick. As she pulled out the stick, her eyes caught a glimmer under the sunlight¡ªa small crystal lay in the pool of the zombie''s rotten brain. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The moment she saw the crystal, her eyes widened in astonishment. She picked up the crystal, turning it over in her hand. "This is¡­ a level one zombie core. How can a level one zombie appear now? It is just the second day of the apocalypse," she muttered softly, her face was full of disbelief. Though the discovery baffled her, she didn''t linger in the area. She quickly stored the crystal core into her space and continued toward the university cafeteria while killing any wandering zombies along the way. After each kill, she checked their brains for more crystal cores, but to her disappointment, she found nothing. By the time she reached the cafeteria, she was already too exhausted to move. After confirming that it was safe, she leaned against the wall and rested for a while. The distance between the female dormitory and the cafeteria was not far yet not close either. Due to her limited stamina and weak strength, she had to take short breaks after killing two or three zombies, which stretched the trip to nearly an hour. According to her previous life''s memories, the cafeteria would fall under the control of the upperclassmen by the fifth day. For now, they were still preoccupied with rescuing trapped students in various buildings since they still have some supplies. Only after they had used up their initial supplies did they decide to check the cafeteria and the mini market. Therefore, she needed to act fast and collect the supplies before they arrived. After resting for more than ten minutes, she finally regained some strength and stood up. Chapter 6 - 6: If One Swing Is Not Enough, Then Two Will Do! When the apocalypse started, it was early morning, so there hadn''t been many students in the area. However, delivery workers and cafeteria staff had already begun their shifts, meaning the kitchen and warehouse were likely crowded with zombies. Checking her watch, Jiao Lizhi saw that it was 8:10 a.m. Before she entered the cafeteria, she retrieved a bottle of water from her space and drank half of it in quick gulps. As she stored the bottle back, she noticed a group of people in the distance. Leading the group was a man with silver hair, followed by five other men and two girls. Jiao Lizhi''s gaze turned cold the moment it landed on one of the girls. Her fists clenched tightly and her nails dug into her palms as a wave of killing intent surged in her heart. She took a deep breath to calm her emotion, let out a chuckle, and muttered, "Mo Binxue, I never thought I would meet you so soon in this life." "It seems the world truly is small, as enemies are destined to cross paths," she said coldly. Even though she wanted nothing more than to kill Mo Binxue, Jiao Lizhi knew it was impossible in her current condition. The reason was none other than the silver-haired man and his team. He was one of the rare few who awakened their abilities early during the apocalypse. In her previous life, this man was renowned for his terrifying thunder-type ability-power. While she was recalling details about him, a loud explosion echoed from their direction, pulling her from her thoughts. Crack! Boom! Jiao Lizhi sneered as she watched them fight the zombies. Though his thunder ability was very powerful, the attack caused too much sound. The deafening sound of his attacks would definitely attract nearby zombies. As expected, scattered zombies began rushing toward the group, roaring with their mouths open wide. For Jiao Lizhi, this was an opportunity she wouldn''t waste. Since someone was willing to act as bait for her, she would take full advantage of it. She looked at them and whispered with a smile, "Thank you for your help!" While they were occupied with the zombies, she slipped into the cafeteria through the back door. Thanks to their commotion, most of the zombies had been drawn away, leaving only one or two zombies trapped inside the kitchen. Spotting a kitchen knife on the ground, she picked it up and walked towards the kitchen door with light steps. The moment she opened it, a pair of rotten hands reached out for her face. As the rotten hands almost touched her face, the rancid smell hit her nostrils and made her dizzy. "Roar!" The zombie roared with excitement as the delicious food was delivered to its doorstep Bam! Jiao Lizhi slammed the door shut without hesitation, trapping the zombie''s hands between the door and the frame. Raising the knife, she swung it down, aiming at the rotten hands. Crack! The knife wasn''t as sharp as the dagger she had used in her previous life and it failed to sever the rotten hands in one strike. ''If one swing isn''t enough, then two will do!'' she thought inwardly. Gritting her teeth, she swung the knife again. This time, she used as much strength as she has and finally cut off the rotten hands. Afterward, she pushed the door open as hard as she could and sent the zombie stumbling backward, colliding with another behind it. Seizing the opportunity, she lunged forward and slashed the knife across their half-broken necks in one fluid motion. Crack! With the added momentum, the power of her attack increased, and with a single swing of the knife, the zombie''s head was severed cleanly from its body. As the zombie''s head rolled to the ground, the decapitated bodies collapsed with dull thuds. "ROAR!" Before she could take a breath, another zombie lunged at her with its mouth open. Seeing the sharp teeth coming, she turned her body and kicked the zombie in the chin with an aerial move. Duagh! Crack! Bam! The sound of cracking bones echoed through the kitchen, along with the sound of something hitting the countertops. When the zombie struggled to get up, she bent her knees and lunged at the zombie. She gripped the kitchen knife tightly and slashed across the zombie''s neck. Crack! The rush of adrenaline gave her more strength than usual, and her attack successfully cut off the zombie''s head. When the head fell to the ground with a thud, black blood spurted out from the headless corpse, staining the walls and ground red. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Jiao Lizhi leaned against the wall, looked at the rotten body on the ground, and breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the zombies'' necks were almost bitten off and the heads barely hung on the neck. Otherwise, it would not be so easy for her to kill the zombies. Wiping black blood from her cheek, Jiao Lizhi scanned the kitchen. She wasted no time gathering supplies, taking only those items that were clean and free of zombie''s blood or rotten flesh. Anything contaminated was left behind. After collecting the supplies, she turned her attention to the cooking equipment. She stored stoves, gas cylinders, a full set of knives, two sets of boning knives, and cleavers into her space. With these, she wouldn''t need to rely on the wooden stick anymore. After cleaning up the supplies, she quickly left the cafeteria and went to the warehouse. Chapter 7 - 7: Empty Warehouse When Jiao Lizhi reached the warehouse area, she discovered several delivery trucks parked outside. Looking at the logo printed on the truck, her mood lifted up instantly. Before exploring the warehouse, she decided to check the trucks. Apart from one or two zombies locked inside the driver seats, the trucks and the surrounding areas were clear of zombies. Grabbing the kitchen knife, she pried open the back of one truck and found it packed with bags of rice. The moment she saw the supplies, a smile appeared on her face. With a wave of her hand, the bags of rice were stored in her space. Once she was done, she went to check out the other trucks. Frozen meat, sausages, vegetables, eggs, and bags of flour were found in the other four trucks. Once the supplies on the trucks were collected, she entered the warehouse and began storing everything inside. She didn''t bother to check if the supplies were spoiled or not as she didn''t have a lot of time. When she found a safe place, she would sort out the supplies later. Not long after, she found that the sound of fighting was not as loud as before. She knew that she didn''t have much time left and Mo Binxue and the others would catch up soon. By the time she finished collecting everything, the sounds of fighting outside had subsided. Without wasting even a second, she left the warehouse and headed toward the mini-market. To avoid being seen, she chose a desolate path near the lake. Though the path was longer, it was safer, as few people visited the area. So, this area would also be free of zombies. Despite her fatigue, Jiao Lizhi gritted her teeth and continued running without looking back. At the same time, the upperclassmen group finally reached the cafeteria after clearing up the zombies. As soon as they entered the building, two of them closed the gate and blocked it with chairs and tables while the others went to the kitchen. The moment they saw the beheaded zombies inside, one of them cursed angrily, "Damn it! Someone has been here before us!" Hearing this, Mo Binxue''s eyes flashed with annoyance but she showed nothing on her face. Turning to the man, she hesitated for a moment before she asked softly, "Senior, what should we do now?" The man looked at her weak appearance and felt annoyed. This girl is nothing more than a burden to them. If it weren''t for her screams, they wouldn''t have attracted so many zombies and wasted so much time fighting for their lives. Glaring at her, he ordered sharply, "Search the area and gather whatever is left." Even though his tone angered her, Mo Binxue swallowed her resentment and followed his order. In order to survive in this chaotic time, she needed these people. Volunteering to join the group to find supplies was her way of earning their favor and showing that she had some value. As she searched the kitchen, the foul stench of rotting flesh stung her nose. With the addition of the headless rotten corpses on the ground, her stomach churned and she almost vomited on the spot. Pinching on her nose, she avoided the zombie''s body and head as much as possible. As she held back her nausea, her face turned pale. When the other girl saw this, she sneered at her and muttered, "What a coward." Mo Binxue glared at her but held her tongue. The other girl had awakened a water ability and was now a core member of the group. Between herself¡ªa powerless tag-along¡ªand someone who could provide water to the group, the choice was obvious. For now, she would endure the humiliation. Once she could get the chance, she would definitely kill this bitch! After a thorough search, they managed to find half a bag of rice, some seasoning, and half a can of vegetable oil. Showing their finding to the silver-haired man, one of the men said, "Brother Pei, this is all we found." Pei Yijun frowned at the small amount of supplies they found, turned to leave, and said, "Let''s check the warehouse." sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. As the vice president of the student union, he has an aura of leadership that makes everyone follow him willingly. Now that he has made this decision, no one has any objection and followed after him. They hurried to the warehouse, hoping that there would still be supplies left. Unfortunately, the moment they reached the warehouse, they only found it completely empty. Not to mention supplies, not even a leaf was found inside. Standing at the entrance, one of them yelled in frustration, "Who the hell cleaned this place out?!" Pei Yijun''s expression darkened when he saw the empty warehouse, but he kept his anger under control and warned his friend, "Li Yang, lower your voice or you will attract the monsters." With his warning, the man shut up. No one dared to shout anymore even if their hearts were filled with anger. The group exchanged grim looks as Pei Yijun gave his next order, "There is nothing here. Let''s head to the mini market." Hearing this, they all nodded, thinking that no matter who took away the supplies in the warehouse, they would not be able to carry more and wouldn''t go to the mini-market. So, they would be able to find food and water at the mini-market. With this thought, they began making their way there while stopping occasionally to fight zombies. By the time they left the cafeteria area, Jiao Lizhi had already reached the mini-market. Chapter 8 - 8: Collect! Collect! Collect Everything! Unlike the warehouse area, there weren''t many zombies near the mini-market. The door to the mini-market was locked, which meant no one had come yet and the supplies inside remained untouched. Seeing this, a smile appeared on Jiao Lizhi''s face. To conserve her energy and time, she avoided fighting the zombies outside and instead climbed to the second floor from the back of the mini-market. Using her kitchen knife, she pried open a window and slipped inside. The mini market was a four-story building, with the first floor serving as the store and the upper floors as storage warehouses. Each floor took up an area of about 200 square meters. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Jiao Lizhi skipped the first floor entirely and headed straight for the warehouses. The warehouse door on the second floor was unlocked, and she opened the door carefully. No one knows if there are zombies inside. After opening the door, she checked her surroundings. After making sure there was no danger inside, she walked into the warehouse. When she saw the supplies inside, her eyes widened with joy and she thanked the owner in her heart. The room was filled mostly with women''s products. Shampoos, body soaps, wet tissues, skincare products, disposable underwear, sanitary pads, and other daily necessities were all there. Though the quantities were not much, the variety was a lot. Wasting no time, she quickly stored everything in her space. There were at least twenty large boxes of each item, with sanitary pads being the most abundant stock. After clearing the second floor, she went to the third floor. On the third floor, she found convenient foods like instant noodles, canned goods, oatmeal, self-heating meals, powdered eggs, etc. While these foods might be considered junk food in normal times, in the apocalypse, they were priceless luxuries. Since the production line is cut off after the apocalypse, there is no way to get more of these things after they are consumed. So, in a year or two, people will be willing to pay a high price for a cup of instant noodles. With hurried steps, she stored all of the supplies, with only one thought spun in her mind. Collect! Collect! Collect everything! Once the third floor was empty, she quickly went to the fourth floor. The fourth-floor warehouse was filled with beverages¡ªbeer, carbonated drinks, juices, flavored milk, mineral water, etc. In addition, it was also filled with condiments, men''s products, medicines, etc. She even saw many boxes of small umbrellas piled in the corner of the room, with different sizes, textures, and flavors. She wasn''t embarrassed to see the boxes. Instead, she feels lucky. In her previous life, this item was the most popular item among the ability users. Although the ability-users would have difficulty conceiving due to DNA mutations, most still use it to protect themselves from disease, while normal people use it to avoid unwanted pregnancies. The first few months were spent searching for food, water, and medicine. So, no one pays attention to stocking up on this item. But a year later, food shortages forced many men and women to sell themselves for food. By then, the product will become a hot commodity that could be exchanged for ten kilograms of rice for a piece of small umbrella. While her thoughts were filled with memories from her previous life, Jiao Lizhi''s excitement fueled her tired body, and her movements quickened despite her sore muscles. After she collected everything from the fourth floor, she finally went to the first floor. Recalling the survivors trapped in the lecture hall, she decided not to take everything. To maintain the appearance of a water-type ability user rather than someone with a dimensional space, she took out her backpack from her space. Then, she filled it with five pieces of bread, two bottles of mineral water, two protein bars, a pack of sanitary pads, a bottle of aspirin, a bottle of ibuprofen, a bottle of iodine-based wound medicine, and a pack of caramel candies. After she filled up the backpack, she left behind food with a short expiration date such as several pieces of bread, some unfresh fruits, and a few bottles of soy milk. In her previous life, the silver-haired man''s team also included a powerful water ability user, who was his junior at the university. This member is also someone who has awakened the ability in the early days of the apocalypse. With this person around, they wouldn''t have a problem regarding the water shortage. So, she left just three gallons of water for them. After she collected everything besides the small supplies she deliberately left behind, she slung her backpack over her shoulders. Hearing the sounds of fighting in the distance, she glanced in their direction and muttered, "Mo Binxue, I won''t kill you now, but I won''t let you have an easy life either." Leaving through the second-floor window, Jiao Lizhi made sure to close it behind her. For now, she was too weak to survive alone outside. Staying hidden in the university and leaving by following the group later was her best option. Without sufficient food and water, they would be forced to leave the university sooner than they had in her previous life. Meanwhile, with them clearing out the zombies, she could get some rest and recover from her fever. Not long after she left, Pei Yijun and his group arrived at the mini market. Seeing the locked door, smiles appeared on their faces. Chapter 9 - 9: Blunt Words Li Yang approached the door in a few steps and with a light pull, he broke the padlock. After awakening his strength ability, tasks like this were left to him. At this moment, he was able to move a car with his bare hands, let alone break a small lock. So, he did it without any problem. At first, everyone was excited thinking about how much supplies they could get as they stepped into the mini market. However, their smiles disappeared the moment they saw the empty shelves. Standing at the entrance, everyone was stunned and no one spoke a word for a long time. Pei Yijun scanned the area and his sharp eyes caught faint footprints on the floor. Judging by their size and shape, it seemed someone had been there before them and that person was most likely a woman. His gaze shifted to the few remaining supplies on the shelves, some bread, almost rotten fruits, a few bottles of soy milk, and three gallons of water. When he saw the small amount of the supplies, his frown deepened. "Brother Pei, this amount of food and water is not even enough to last us for a day," Li Yang finally broke the silence with frustration clear in his voice. Pei Yijun''s face was gloomy as he responded, "For now, we will take this back and share it with everyone. After that, we will have to come up with a new plan." Originally, he had planned to stay in the university for a few days until the person sent by his father arrived. But with their limited supplies, staying here was no longer possible. It seemed they would have no choice but to search for supplies outside and meet that person on the road. "Whoever this person is, how could they take everything? Don''t they know there are so many starving people right now?" Mo Binxue muttered softly. She bit her lips and her tone was filled with anger. Though she spoke softly, the enhanced senses of the ability-users allowed them to hear her clearly. Chu Zhimiao''s expression darkened the moment she heard Mo Binxue''s words. She looked at her and asked, "Mo Binxue, how do you know the person before us took everything?" "No one knows what happened here. Maybe by the time this person arrived, most of the supplies were already gone. There are other survivors out there besides us, after all. It''s not like that person has doraemon''s pouch that could store everything." Mo Binxue bit her lip when she heard her words and her eyes turned red. She looked at her with teary eyes and said aggrievedly, "Miaomiao, please don''t be angry. I didn''t mean anything, I just¡ª" Chu Zhimiao hated her pretentious behaviour the most and cut her off sharply, "Mo Binxue, If you don''t know the facts, you shouldn''t speak carelessly. Without evidence, it''s better to keep your speculations to yourself." "Everyone has eyes to see and ears to hear. Instead of spending time and energy acting like a green tea bitch and trying to use others as your dagger and shield, you should think about how to get more supplies," she added bluntly. The moment she said this, Li Yang glanced at Mo Binxue briefly before returning to the task of packing up the supplies. At first, he also believed that the person who arrived before them had indeed taken everything. But after hearing Chu Zhimiao''s reasoning, he reconsidered his previous thoughts. It seemed unlikely that a single person could carry away the entire warehouse and mini market''s supplies. Perhaps, there are other teams who came before that person and took away the supplies. When this person arrived, the mini market was likely left with not much supplies. What''s more, the fact that there was some bread, water, and other items left behind showed something about that person. If that person had the means to take everything, why leave so much behind? In their current situation, every piece of bread could save a life. If he could take everything away, there would be no reason for him to leave anything behind. In their current situation, whoever found supplies first became their rightful owner. For someone to take only a portion and leave the rest behind, it shows that this person didn''t have malicious intentions and was quite generous. Reaching this conclusion, Li Yang''s anger dissipated and his suspicions toward Mo Binxue increased. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. At the same time, Pei Yijun glanced at Mo Binxue and a cold glint flashed in his eyes. From the moment she joined his team, he knew that she was a vicious, selfish, and cunning person. She acted brave and generous, but in reality, whenever she encountered danger, she would use others as her shield and run away whenever they were facing a dangerous situation. Thinking about her subtle hints of becoming his woman, disgust filled his heart and he said, "Let''s finish packing and return as soon as possible." His calm but firm voice brought everyone back to focus. Realizing that they were wasting time arguing here, the group began gathering the remaining supplies¨Cthough the atmosphere remained heavy as everyone had their own agendas. Ten minutes later, they finally exited the mini market after thoroughly searching the entire building. Aside from the first floor, the rest of the building was completely empty. Not long after they left, Jiao Lizhi jumped down with a light step from the tree behind the mini market and brushed the dust off her pants. Watching their retreating figures in the distance, she smiled and began trailing them. Chapter 10 - 10: Water Blade With most of the zombies in the area already killed by Pei Yijun and his group, their journey back to the lecture hall was smooth. Tailing them at a slow pace, Jiao Lizhi stops to examine the heads of the dead zombies. Using her wooden stick, she poked and stirred the charred brains, searching for crystal cores. Some of the zombies'' brains were burned by Pei Yijun''s thunder-type ability and turned into a crisp, black charcoal. With just a light thrust of her wooden stick, the brains crumbled into blackened dust. If there was a crystal core hidden within, it would remain intact and would glisten under the sunlight. Unfortunately, she found none so far. At this moment, Jiao Lizhi was like a hardworking honey bee. She continued her tedious task of poking and stirring the zombie''s brain until her arm ached. Yet, out of countless zombies, she found only a level-one blue crystal core with a size no larger than her pinky nail. Letting out a sigh, she examined the small crystal core. Its faint glow shimmering under the sunlight like a luminous pearl. Despite her frustration, she carefully stored the crystal core in her space. Unbeknownst to her, the moment she stored the crystal core in her space, something unexpected happened. Inside her space, the blue crystal core suddenly crumbled into dust, and the energy it stored floated in the air momentarily before being absorbed by the pond. As the energy disappeared, the hole at the bottom of the pond released a surge of water. Although the pond was already filled to the brim, the water continued gushing out without a hint of stopping. Strangely, it never overflowed, and the water level remained constant. Outside the space, Jiao Lizhi finally finished checking the zombies'' brains and found three more transparent crystal cores. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with a smile. She looked at the lecture hall building for a moment before turning around. If nothing unexpected happens, this group of people should leave the university in one or two days. Rather than waiting with a group of selfish people, she better find a safe place near the university entrance. She still had a fever and needed to rest to recover. If her fever kept dragging on, she didn''t know what would happen to her already weak body. If she recalled correctly, there was a small post for the security guard to stay in. Although the area was small, the post had iron doors and window bars, which made it safer than other places. After making up her mind, she quickly ran toward the main gate. Thirty minutes later, she arrived at the guard post and saw a zombie inside. The zombie had been walking aimlessly, but as she approached, it suddenly turned around and rushed toward the window. "Roar!" it let out a roar while reaching out its rotten hands toward her through the window bars. Looking at the zombie''s sharp teeth and rotten face, Jiao Lizhi took out a boning knife from her space. She looked at the door and noticed it opened outward. Since that was the case, she couldn''t use it to push the zombie back like before. She thought for a while and an idea flashed in her mind. Since she was able to produce more water in this life, maybe she could create a water blade to deal with the zombie. After all, the limitation for an auxiliary-type ability user wasn''t a weaker ability but the limited energy to control it. After making up her mind, she focused her energy on her palm and waved her hand. In less than a second, a crescent-shaped water blade with a diameter of around 15 centimeters flew toward the zombie. The water blade was as thin as paper and flew between the window bars at a fast speed. When she saw how small and thin the water blade was, Jiao Lizhi felt disappointed in her heart. In her previous life, her water blade had reached more than 2 meters in diameter and 2 centimeters in thickness during her peak. She could kill a group of zombies in one move. Compared to her current water blade, the level was too far behind. But before she could let out a sigh, she saw the thin water blade fly past the zombie''s head and hit the wall with a loud sound. CRACK! Jiao Lizhi''s eyes widened in shock as she saw the zombie''s face split in half. Even the wall was left with a deep crack due to her attack. What''s more surprising was that her water blade stayed in shape and did not turn into water as it stuck inside the wall. The next second, the zombie fell to the ground with a thud. Feeling the energy connection between her and the water blade, her heart was beating fast. With a flick of her hand, the water blade flew back to her and floated above her palm. As she absorbed the energy back into her body, the water blade turned into water with a splash. She could feel that the energy she absorbed was around 30% of what she had used to create the water blade and control it. She looked at her hands in a daze and muttered, "When did I get this ability?" Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 11 - 11: Fierce Battle ( 1 ) Although Jiao Lizhi was confused, she also felt happy. Since she could absorb back the energy spent on attacking, she could save more energy during the fight. When two ability-users with similar strength fight, the one with more energy would be the winner, therefore, her ability to absorb back the power would be her trump card. As her mind raced, she opened the door and entered the guard post. Looking at the torn flesh, bone pieces, and dried blood on the ground, she guessed that one of the guards had turned into a zombie and the other had been eaten alive. Even if the blood scent had dispersed, she still didn''t want to spend the night here. She sighed, then turned around and went to check another guard post. There were four main entrances to Lin''an University, and a guard post was located near each. Since this one couldn''t be used, she just needed to find another. Due to the number of zombies, it took her a long time before she finally found an empty guard post at the west entrance of Lin''an University. After entering the post, she locked the door and windows before using duct tape found inside to seal the gaps on the windows and door. Although the zombies outside were normal zombies, it was better to be more careful. It would be troublesome if a level-one zombie were nearby and attracted by her scent. When she was done, she sat in the chair in the corner and took out a loaf of bread from her space. Instead of drinking the mineral water she collected from the mini market, she filled an empty bottle with pond water. She was so thirsty that she felt her throat burning and finished half the water in several gulps. Letting out a sigh, she touched her throat and thought, ''Strange, why does this water taste better than before?'' Although Jiao Lizhi didn''t know the reason, she felt better after drinking it. Not only did her exhaustion and soreness in her body lessen, but her fever also seemed to subside. She also felt that there was a faint energy similar to the one stored in the crystal cores in the water. Taking out the thermometer, she checked her temperature. After a beep, she saw the number 37.1¡ãC. ''My fever had finally subsided,'' she thought inwardly. Feeling relieved, she finished her bread and drank the rest of the water before closing her eyes to get some sleep. At the same time, ten kilometers away from Lin''an University, a group of soldiers was fighting zombies at a gas station. Their clothes were stained with black blood and rotten flesh as they killed the zombies with military combat daggers and blades. The soldiers stood in a half-circle formation with their backs to the armored vehicles and the military tactical trucks. On either side of the vehicles, groups of ten to fifteen soldiers fought against the incoming wave of zombies. With their comrades covering their backs, they could focus entirely on cutting down the zombies before them. They have been killing zombies for almost an hour, but the number of zombies has not decreased at all. The noise of clashing blades and zombie roars had drawn even more zombies toward the gas station. Seeing the situation at the entrance, one soldier swung his blade, severing a zombie''s head, then called out, "Captain, more zombies are coming!" As soon as the words left his mouth, a rancid stench hit him from the left. Turning his head, he was met with a rotten face. The zombie lunged straight at him with its mouth full of sharp teeth wide open. "Roar!" The overwhelming smell made his stomach churn, but his body reacted instinctively. Leaning to the side, he delivers a roundhouse kick to the zombie''s chest. His kick sent the zombie backward, hitting two more zombies behind it. He barely avoided being bitten and his body broke out in cold sweat. But before he could take a breath of relief, another zombie''s sharp claw slashed toward his back. By the time he realized the attack and turned around, it was too late. The long, black claws were only inches from his throat. In that moment of helplessness, all he could do was stare at the incoming attack as his face drained of color. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ''No¨CI don''t want to die!'' he thought inwardly. Stab! A moment before the claws ripped his throat, a dagger whizzed past his ear, burying itself into the zombie''s forehead with a sharp sound. As the black blood flowed from its forehead, the zombie collapsed to the ground with a dull thud. The next moment, he heard the familiar voice of his captain, "Don''t get distracted." As he walked past the soldier, the man bent down, kicked away a zombie charging toward him, and pulled the dagger from the fallen zombie corpse''s skull. Gripping his longsword and his military dagger on each hand, he turned toward the gas station''s entrance. His frown deepened when he saw the number of zombies rushing in from outside keep increasing. They needed to end this battle before sunset or their situation would become more dangerous. Glancing at his exhausted subordinates, he said, "Hold the formation and protect yourself and your comrades!" "Yes, Captain!" the soldiers answered in unison. The moment he finished his words, that man sheathed his dagger into its sheath, bent his knees, and leaped straight into the group of zombies that rushed toward them. Chapter 12 - 12: Fierce Battle ( 2 ) The soldiers'' eyes widened in shock when they saw their captain flip in the air and jump into the zombies. They wanted to rush in and help him, but they were already struggling under the zombies'' attack. They were exhausted, and even if they rushed over, they would only become a burden to their captain. With this realization, they could only continue to kill zombies while praying for their captain''s safety inwardly. Unaware of his men''s thoughts, the man landed on a zombie''s head and used the movement force and his weight to break the zombie''s skull. Duagh! Crack! As the zombie''s head hit the ground, its skull broke and crushed into a pulp beneath his black military boots. The next moment, he pulled his longsword out of its sheath and slashed it in a powerful horizontal arc¡ªbeheading several zombies in a single stroke. As blackened blood splattered around him, he assessed the situation. More zombies were pouring in from every direction and there was no sign of the end of it. Sensing the incoming sharp claws from the surroundings, he crouched, then executed a wide low roundhouse kick, sweeping multiple zombies off their feet. Duagh! The zombies fell backward, bumping into the zombies behind them, and another group of zombies lost their footing and began to fall to the ground like dominoes. While the zombies were struggling to get up, he swung his longsword at the zombies'' heads. Each swing of his longsword sent heads rolling to the ground. After killing a group of zombies, he moved toward the gate and killed zombies along the way. His movements are agile and his attacks are sharp and efficient. As more and more zombies were killed, the scent of blood in the air drove the surrounding zombies into a frenzy. Their guttural roars filled the night as they rushed in, clawing and pouncing wildly. The ground under his boots was covered with blood and rotten flesh, but he continued swinging his longsword as if he was killing chickens and not zombies. When he finally reached the entrance, he pulled the large gate with all his strength, trying to close it. As long as he closed the gate, he and his soldiers would be able to rest and recover their strength. Unfortunately, the number of zombies was too much. Before he could secure the lock, two zombies managed to slip into the small opening and lunged at him from either side. "Roar! Roar!" The moment he senses the danger, he lets go of his hand holding the gate. He swung his longsword in a deadly arc¡ªbeheading the zombie on his right side¡ªthen pivoting and delivering a strong kick to the one on his left. Duagh! Crack! The force of his attack sent the zombie flying several meters away, and the sound of broken bones was heard on impact. Seizing the brief opening, he grabbed the gate and slammed it shut. Clang! The moment he locked the gate, countless pairs of rotting hands thrust through the gaps trying to reach for him. Bang! Bang! Bang! "Roar!!" The zombies banged against the metal gate and their desperate roars echoed in the night. Before he could catch his breath, more zombies came from behind him. "Roar! Roar!" The man''s eyes gleamed coldly as he jumped and flipped back in the air. The moment he landed on the ground, he bent his knees and rushed forward. In a split second, he slashed his longsword downward, cutting the zombie in front of him in half. While he was fighting fearlessly, the soldiers killed the zombies while looking at the entrance. Their eyes turned red when they saw their Captain being swallowed by a group of zombies. Thinking that their captain had died, one of the soldiers gritted his teeth and shouted with reddened eyes, "Brothers! We must avenge our captain! Kill them all!" Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The soldiers'' hearts were filled with anger and grief as they shouted in unison, "Kill them!" Due to the large number of zombies around them, their battle cries were swallowed up by the roar of the zombies, "Roar!!" As the sun dipped below the horizon, the red moon rose into the sky. The moment the red moonlight shone on the zombies, a terrifying change took place. The zombies let out an agitated roar as their movement''s speed became faster and their stiff bodies became more agile. The soldiers were exhausted, and they were not as alert as before. Feeling dizzy from hunger, one of them swayed and took a step backward as he breathed heavily. Holding onto his chipped blade, he raised his eyes and saw a bloody mouth in front of him. His eyes widened in horror, and he instinctively raised an arm to block the attack. "Roar!!" Crash! "Akh!" The soldier let out a cry of pain as the zombie''s sharp teeth sank into his flesh. Cold sweat covered his back and forehead from the pain. Gritting his teeth, he raised his leg and kicked the zombie away. Duagh! Feeling the tearing pain in his arm, he watched in shock as the zombie ate his flesh. Holding onto his bleeding arm, he looked at his comrades and made up his mind. Chapter 13 - 13: Fierce Battle ( 3 ) Standing not far away from the wounded soldier, another soldier noticed his friend''s injury and shouted, "Da Xiong, retreat!" Hearing his friend''s words, the soldier turned to look at him and smiled. "Brother, if you meet my girlfriend, please tell her I''m sorry." As soon as he finished his words, he rushed toward the incoming zombies. As his blood dripped from his arm, the zombies went crazy. Despite their stiff movements, they turned their heads and chased after him. Seeing this, the rest of the soldiers realized their friend intended to sacrifice himself. They wanted to stop him, but the zombies kept attacking relentlessly, making it impossible for them to chase after him. The wounded soldier ran toward the wall, climbed over it, and jumped outside. He kept running toward the road where most of the zombies were gathered. Throwing away his broken blade, he pulled two grenades from his pocket, yanked out the pins, and shouted, "Even if I die, I will take you all with me!!!" BOOM! A deafening explosion echoed through the area, and a small mushroom cloud rose from the explosion. The soldiers fighting in the gas station watched helplessly as their friend sacrificed himself. As the dust and wind settled, all the zombies within 15 meters of the explosion were wiped out. The road was destroyed, leaving behind a deep, gaping hole. The soldiers were shocked and too focused on fighting the incoming zombies. Everyone failed to notice the small figure that had silently jumped onto the roof of an armored vehicle. The small zombie crouched low and its glowing red eyes locked onto a soldier''s back. The next second, it launched itself forward, aiming its sharp claws at the soldier''s heart''s position. "Roar!" Hearing the roar from behind, the soldier turned around¡ªonly to come face to face with the rotten face of a small, fast-moving zombie. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Before his brain could react, his instinct kicked in. In a split moment, he raised his blade to block the attack. CLANG! The collision from the attack sent him flying, numbing his arms. The moment he hit the ground, several zombies rushed toward him in excitement with their claws and teeth ready to devour him. In a few seconds, the soldier was surrounded by the zombies as he let out a painful cry, "Arghh!!" Seeing this, the nearest soldier drew his gun and fired at the zombies. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bullets hit the zombies'' heads, killing them instantly. But the loud gunfire attracted even more zombies. When the soldier saw his comrade was covered in blood with his flesh torn and bones exposed, he quickly ran over and dragged him toward the rest of the soldiers. The soldiers panicked at the sight of their severely injured comrade and raised their guns to shoot at a small zombie in front of them. But before they could pull the trigger, the zombie had already pounced on another soldier. "Roar!" Its movements were too fast and the soldier didn''t even have time to react let alone block the attack. The next moment, he saw a pair of gray eyes appear in front of him and a rotten stench assaulted his nose. Stab! "Cough!" As the zombie''s sharp claws pierced his flesh, the soldier coughed up a mouthful of blood. He lowered his gaze and saw a rotten hand buried deep in his body. Pain spread from his heart and he knew he was beyond saving. With his last strength, he grabbed the zombie''s arm and shouted, "K-kill it!" The moment nearby soldiers heard his words, they immediately aimed their guns at the small zombie and pulled the trigger. Bang! Bang! Bang! Multiple shots rang out, all targeting the small zombie''s head. They thought they could kill it and ensure their comrade''s sacrifice wasn''t in vain. Unexpectedly, before the bullets could hit the target, the zombie yanked its arm from the soldier''s chest and leaped away while clutching a bloody heart in its hand. As it dodged the gunfire, it bit into the still-beating heart, devouring it in just a few bites. The soldiers were stunned when they saw the zombie eat the heart. The moment the small zombie landed, it raised its head and let out a long, chilling roar. "Roarrr!!!" Unlike the other zombies'' roars, this one sent shivers down the soldiers'' spines. The moment the roar echoed through the area, the other zombies suddenly stopped attacking and retreated in an orderly manner. Seeing this, the soldiers were stunned and looked at the small zombie with fear. The situation was too strange¡ªthey couldn''t understand what was happening at all. Even with their rigorous training as special forces members, the fear of the unknown was a natural human instinct. They, too, felt horror filled their hearts when they were faced with this situation. While their bodies stiffened and were unable to move, the man fighting at the gas station gate noticed the anomaly. Seeing the zombies staring at him and roaring but not attacking, his eyes flickered with suspicion. Thinking about his men fighting on the other side, he rushed over as fast as he could. At the same time, the small zombie stared at the prey in front of it with its grey eyes. An unknown liquid mixed with red blood dripped from its mouth as it let out a low growl from time to time, "Grrr¨Chrrr!" Under its gaze, the soldiers felt death looming over them. Before they could recover from their fear, the small zombie suddenly disappeared from their sight. The next moment, one of the soldiers shouted when he saw the zombie reappear behind his friend, "Be careful!" Crash! Chapter 14 - 14: Fierce Battle ( 4 ) His warning came too late as the zombie''s teeth had already sunk into his comrade''s neck. As the soldier''s flesh was torn away, his eyes widened in shock, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood, "Cough!" Stab! The soldier who was bitten couldn''t even process how fast the zombie had moved when a rotten hand pierced the back of his head and the light on his widened eyes dimmed. Watching their comrade being eaten alive, some soldiers couldn''t hold back and vomited on the spot, while the rest stood frozen in terror with their pale faces. As everyone was drowning in fear, a shadow moved past them at a fast speed. Clang! The sound of metal clashing rang through the area, and they saw their captain''s longsword locked against the zombie''s claws. "Roar!!" The small zombie let out an enraged roar, furious that this prey interrupted its meal. A second later, it pushed against the longsword and lunged at him. Looking at the torn flesh caught between the zombie''s teeth and the blood dripping from its mouth, the man narrowed his eyes coldly and his body was emitting thick murderous intent. As the zombie rushed toward him, he flipped his body, barely dodging its attack. The zombie turned around and aimed its claws at the back of the man''s head. The next moment, he crouched down and used one arm as a pivot, twisting his body before delivering a powerful kick to the side of the zombie''s head. Duagh! The impact sent the zombie flying. BAM! Crack! The zombie crashed into a wall with its body embedding into the cracked surface as debris and dust fell around it. Although the zombie felt no pain, it was clearly annoyed. It struggled to free itself, but before it could come out from the cracked wall, the man had already appeared in front of it with his longsword raised high. Sensing danger, the zombie opened its mouth wide, and a wind blade shot toward him. "Roar!!!" It was too late for the man to dodge and he had no choice but to swing his longsword at the incoming attack. Boom! The collision between his longsword and the wind blade sent him flying backward, knocking him to the ground. Seeing the zombie preparing another wind blade, one of the soldiers shouted, " Captain, be careful!" The moment he heard the warning, the man immediately rolled to the side, barely avoiding the attack. Boom! The wind blade struck the ground instead, leaving a long, jagged pit. When the man stood up, the small zombie had already disappeared from sight. A moment later, he felt a sharp gust of wind from his left and instinctively raised his longsword. CLANG! The zombie''s claws collided against his blade and it let another angry roar, "Roarr!!" Fatigue weighed on the man''s body, but his gaze turned ice-cold as he said, "It''s time to finish this." As soon as he spoke, he flicked his hand, and a small whip of black flame shot from his palm toward the zombie''s chest. The moment the flame touched its rotten body, it flared up as if doused in gasoline. The zombie''s dull grey eyes shifted as it sensed danger, and it stumbled back. Noticing it was trying to escape, the man swung his longsword diagonally at the zombie''s head. A second later, the zombie''s head tilted and fell to the ground with a dull thud and its body collapsing right after. "Roar!!!" As soon as the small zombie died, the surrounding zombies let out roars one after another and pounced at the soldiers. Without the suppressive pressure of the small zombie, the soldiers regained control of their bodies and aimed their guns at the group of zombies. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Even though gunfire would attract more zombies¡ªand hitting the gas pumps would be dangerous¡ªthey were exhausted and had no other choice. If they didn''t fight back, they would die. Bang! Bang! Bang! While the soldiers continued firing their guns, the man''s face turned pale. Using his fire ability had placed a heavy burden on his already exhausted body. Taking several deep breaths, he steadied himself. As he lifted his gaze, he noticed a crystal glistening under the red moonlight. Bending down, he picked up the transparent crystal and flicked it a few times to clean off the rotten brain matter and black blood. Once it was clean, he saw two silver lines running across its surface. His eyes glinted for a moment before it returned to normal. He put the crystal into his pocket before sheathing his longsword. Then, without hesitation, he rushed toward his men, drew his gun, and opened fire. Bang! Bang! Bang! The fight against zombies lasted another hour before the last zombie was finally killed. The roaring of zombies outside the gate echoed through the night accompanied with the banging sound against the gate, but no one spoke. Standing beneath the red moonlight, the soldiers showed no joy or relief at having survived a life-and-death battle. Instead, their faces were shrouded in sorrow over the loss of their fallen comrades. Jin Xuyan clenched his fists and said, "Anyone who was injured, step forward." At his command, eight soldiers stepped forward, their gazes firm despite their bodies being full of wounds and clothes being covered in rotten flesh and black blood. A soldier, standing tall with his back straight, took another step forward. He looked at Jin Xuyan with a smile and said, "Captain, I''m not willing to die without a fight. Please allow me to go out and kill as many zombies as I can. When I can''t hold on anymore, I will take my own life." "Captain, I want to fight too," another soldier added. One by one, the rest of the injured soldiers voiced their requests to go out and fight to death. Watching their wounded comrades prepare for their final battle, the remaining soldiers lowered their heads as silent tears slipped down their faces. Chapter 15 - 15: Sign Of Mutation Jin Xuyan listened without interrupting. Only after they had all spoken did he finally say, "Being injured by zombies doesn''t always mean you will turn into one. There is a chance you might awaken an ability power." Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. As soon as he finished speaking, he opened his palm, and in an instant, a whip of black flame ignited above it. The soldiers'' eyes widened in shock and amazement. Some wondered if exhaustion caused their eyes to play tricks on them. Jin Xuyan clenched his fist, extinguishing the flame and continued, "When I was injured before, I developed a high fever. But when I woke up, I had the ability to summon fire." One of the injured soldiers hesitated before asking, "Captain, do we really have hope?" Jin Xuyan nodded and replied, "I have noticed that those who mutate usually show symptoms within two hours after being bitten. If you haven''t turned by then, there is a chance you will awaken an ability instead. So far, the only sign of awakening ability that I know of is a high fever." His gaze swept over them as he continued, "For the next two hours, each of you will be tied up and supervised by five men. If any of you show signs of turning into a zombie, I will personally send you off." "But until the last second, I won''t give up on you, and you are not allowed to give up either. This is an order!" he added sternly. The soldiers'' morale, once at its lowest, lifted instantly. As long as there was hope, they refused to surrender to despair. Seeing the renewed determination in their eyes, Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Zhang Yuan, tie them up and assign five men to watch over them. The rest of you, take a ten-minute break and clean up the area." "Yes, Captain!" After issuing his orders, Jin Xuyan turned and walked toward the mini-market near the rest area. He unsheathed his longsword before pushing the door open. The moment the door was opened, a zombie lunged at him. Before its sharp claws could touch his body, he swung his longsword in a clean arc. A second later, the zombie''s head rolled to the ground, and its body collapsed with a dull thud. After killing the zombie, Jin Xuyan pulled a flashlight from his pocket and illuminated the dark room. As he walked down the aisle, he noticed that aside from a thin layer of dust, the only footprints on the floor were the messy, dragging tracks left by the zombie he had just killed. Once he finished checking the storefront, he moved to the counter and spotted a door behind it. This time, he approached cautiously, pressing his ear against the door to listen for any sounds. He waited for five minutes and didn''t hear any sound coming from inside. Afterward, he pushed the door open and stepped inside. The beam of his flashlight swept through the room, revealing something unexpected. The room was actually the warehouse. Though it was only about 100 square meters in size, the supplies inside were abundant and varied. With this amount of supplies, they could last his team for at least three months. As he considered how to transport everything, a thought crossed his mind¡ªhow useful it would be to have someone with a space storage ability. But then, remembering human nature in these chaotic times, a sneer appeared on his lips. Even if he found someone with such ability-power, would he dare entrust all their supplies to that person? The answer was obvious. No. He threw that thought to the back of his mind and checked every corner of the warehouse. After ensuring that there was no zombie inside, he returned to the storefront. The moment he stepped outside, a soldier hurried over and reported, "Captain, we found ten oil drums full of gasoline." Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Load them onto the truck and fill up the truck and jeep''s fuel. There is food and water inside¡ªbring some to everyone so they can eat." "Yes, Captain." The soldier was excited by the abundant supplies and rushed into the mini-market to gather water and bread for his comrades. Thinking of the wounded, Jin Xuyan headed back inside. He grabbed several plastic bags and filled them with water, jelly drink, and fever medicine before making his way to the injured soldiers. Seeing them leaning against the wall with pale faces, he patted the shoulder of a nearby soldier and said, "Help me feed them." Hearing his order, the soldiers nodded and immediately assisted their comrades, giving them water and food. Jin Xuyan knelt beside one of the injured soldiers, who was sleeping fitfully with a deep frown. He unscrewed a bottle of water and reached out, pressing two fingers against the soldier''s forehead. The burning hot temperature scalded the back of his fingers. Having a fever was a good sign. Without wasting time, he fed him fever medicine and water. Since the soldier was too weak to chew, he gave him a jelly drink to ensure he wouldn''t starve. Zhang Yuan was feeding the soldier lying on the side, saw the soldier''s flushed cheeks, and asked, "Captain, what''s wrong with Xiao Qi?" Jin Xuyan didn''t answer immediately. Instead, he unbuttoned Xiao Qi''s shirt and inspected his wounds. Seeing no sign of mutation, he finally said, "There is medicine inside the mini-market. Go get it and use it to treat their wounds." "Understood," Zhang Yuan nodded and quickly went to the mini-market. While Zhang Yuan went to fetch the medicine, Jin Xuyan checked the others. Out of the eight wounded, only one showed signs of mutation. His best friend. The flesh around Qin Luzi''s wound had already begun to rot and his temperature slowly dropped. Chapter 16 - 16: 0.5% Chance Jin Xuyan''s expression hardened when he saw this. He pulled out a dagger and ignited it with his black flame, sterilizing the blade before cutting away the decaying flesh. He didn''t know if this would stop the mutation, but he had to try. Just as he finished, Zhang Yuan returned with alcohol and medicine. Setting the bag down, he handed over the alcohol and said, "Captain, this is all I could find." Jin Xuyan nodded and opened the alcohol bottle. He carefully cleaned the wound, applied medicine, and wrapped it in fresh bandages. Then, he lifted Qin Luzi''s eyelids and checked his pupils. The black part of his pupil, which had almost disappeared, was slowly enlarging. Hope surged in Jin Xuyan''s chest when he saw this. He quickly poured water into Qin Luzi''s mouth and whispered, "Qin Luzi, you better hold on and get better. If you turn into a zombie, I will cut you into pieces." His voice was sharp and steady, but only he knew how worried he truly was. This man had been his friend for years and their relationship was closer than a brother. There was no way he would let him die. After feeding him some jelly drink, Jin Xuyan checked his wound again. The rotting process showed no signs of stopping but his temperature slowly rose. Clenching his fists, he searched his mind for a solution. Other than an ability user with healing powers, the only possible way to save his life was a crystal core. If Qin Luzi awakened an ability, his body would be able to suppress the zombie virus and eventually purge it. However, the odds of awakening his ability using a crystal core were less than 0.5%. If his body was too weak to withstand the surge of energy, he could explode from the inside out. Standing behind him, Zhang Yuan hesitated before speaking, "Captain¡ª" But after one word, he didn''t know what else to say. The one mutating wasn''t just a stranger. He was their comrade¡ªthe man who had fought alongside them through countless battles. He didn''t want him to turn into a mindless monster. But he also couldn''t save him. All he could do was watch him suffer the pain. After a long silence, Jin Xuyan finally spoke, "Untie the others and let them rest in the mini-market. Assign someone to keep feeding them water and monitoring their temperature." Realizing his captain wanted to be alone, Zhang Yuan simply nodded and said, "Understood." Ten minutes later, the wounded soldiers had been moved into the mini-market. Some soldiers cleaned up the corpses, while others secured the perimeter. Only Jin Xuyan remained by Qin Luzi''s side. For twenty minutes, he battled with his thoughts and considered the pros and cons. Then, at last, he made his decision. He pulled a crystal core from his pocket and burned it in his black flame for several minutes before rinsing it with water. Holding the transparent core between his fingers, he spoke in a low voice, "Old Qin, you better do your best to survive. Don''t waste the crystal core." When he finished his words, he pried open his friend''s mouth and placed the crystal core inside. The moment it touched Qin Luzi''s tongue, it melted instantly. The energy was impure, so there was a chance that it would heighten the risk of him turning into a zombie. But at the same time, it would give him enough energy to awaken an ability. Jin Xuyan stared at his friend''s fevered face, let out the breath he had been holding, and thought, ''Old Qin, it all now depends on you. I hope you won''t make me kill you.'' Since there was a chance he could turn into a zombie, Jin Xuyan kept him outside while continuing to cool his body with alcohol and ensuring he stayed hydrated. Two hours passed amidst his tense nerves. The gas station had been cleared of the zombies'' corpses, and the foul stench of blood began to fade. As the wind carried the scent away, the zombies outside the gates slowly dispersed. At midnight, when the red moon reached its peak, the entire station was eerily silent. Aside from Qin Luzi''s heavy breathing, not a single sound could be heard. Inside the mini-market, the soldiers glanced in their captain''s direction with complicated expressions. Those who had followed Jin Xuyan for years already knew how stubborn and loyal he was towards his comrade-in-arms. It wasn''t surprising to them that he would stay by Qin Luzi''s side until the very last second. However, for the newer recruits, this was the first time they had seen someone risk everything for a subordinate. Before, they had assumed Jin Xuyan was like every other officer¡ªsomeone who only cared about orders and personal gain. But after witnessing how he had saved them time and time again, and now seeing his unwavering determination to save his comrade, they realized they had misjudged him. Zhang Yuan, noticing their guilty expressions, said in a low voice, "We still have a mission to complete tomorrow. Right now, the most important thing is to rest and recover our strength." "If you are still hungry, grab something to eat. Once you are full, get some sleep. We will take turns on the night watch." S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The soldiers nodded in understanding and quietly went about their tasks. After the world changed, silence became their second nature. At night, they no longer spoke. Instead, they relied on hand signals and coded gestures to communicate. Because in their current situation, noise means death. The night passed slowly, and Jin Xuyan didn''t close his eyes for even a moment of rest. When the red moon slowly set and the sun rose, he checked his friend''s condition. Chapter 17 - 17: Waking Up ( 1 ) Seeing that the rotten part of the wound had stopped spreading and the small wounds on Qin Luzi''s body showed signs of healing, Jin Xuyan let out a sigh of relief. He fed his friend another fever medicine and more water before cutting off the rotten flesh, cleaning the wound, applying medicine, and bandaging it. Then, he burned the used bandages and rotten flesh with his black flames. Not long after, Zhang Yuan and the rest of the soldiers came over, looking at Qin Luzi with a hint of worry. Noticing their gazes, Jin Xuyan said, "He will be fine. How about the others?" "Captain, Xiao Qi already woke up, but the rest are still in a coma," Zhang Yuan replied. "Carry them into the armored vehicle first and assign someone to take care of them. Make sure to give them water once in a while and feed them fever medicine," Jin Xuyan instructed. "Understood." "The rest of you, load the supplies into the armored vehicles and trucks. Prioritize medicine, water, staples, energy drinks, protein bars, and food with long shelf lives. Also, try to find more empty barrels and get as much gasoline as you can," he added. The soldiers nodded and replied in unison, "Understood." Jin Xuyan waved his hand, and they went off to complete their tasks. Before leaving, Zhang Yuan carried Qin Luzi on his back and walked toward the armored vehicle. Feeling tired and hungry, Jin Xuyan stood up and walked to the mini-market to find some food. Thinking about the person he would meet soon, he headed to his armored vehicle to get his black military tactical backpack. His backpack was a 96L size and could hold quite a lot of items. Besides weapons, ammunition, and first aid box, he emptied out the rest of the contents and stored them in the hidden compartment under the passenger seat. Afterward, he went to the mini-market and filled his backpack with compressed biscuits, protein bars, energy drinks, mineral water, two bags of caramel candies, two boxes of chocolate, and medicine for wounds, flu, and fever. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. As he walked past the women''s products section, he hesitated for a moment before reaching out to grab a few boxes of period balms, a few boxes of menstrual cups, five packs of night-use sanitary pads, a few sets of reusable menstrual underwear, and a lot of pain relievers. While packing these items into his backpack, one of the soldiers, who was transporting the supplies, saw him and looked at his captain with wide eyes. Although he was curious as to why his captain was gathering those supplies, he didn''t dare to ask. After he finished packing the items, Jin Xuyan raised his head and met his soldier''s gaze. Carrying the backpack, he said casually, "Pads can be used as gauze in an emergency. Inform the others to restock their supplies and fill their backpacks." The soldier''s eyes flashed with understanding. Using pads as gauze was uncommon, but it was indeed a good way to cover wounds in an emergency. Their absorption was excellent. "Yes, Captain," the soldier nodded and quickly went to relay the order. After the soldier left, Jin Xuyan let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he was quick-witted¡ªotherwise, he would have embarrassed himself in front of his subordinates. He walked around the mini-market, gathering other daily necessities such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap bars, and alcohol-based hand sanitizers. As he filled his backpack, memories of that person surfaced in his mind. She was someone who loved cleanliness and would definitely avoid him if he had bad breath. Thinking about this, he grabbed several packs of mint candies and stuffed them into his backpack and pockets. When he was done packing, he stepped out of the mini-market and saw that the trucks and armored vehicles were fully loaded. Walking over to the military trucks, he noticed that the supplies had been unboxed and repacked into larger containers. This way, they could save space and carry more. As for the armored vehicles, both the cargo area and additional storage compartments were packed to the maximum capacity. Not long after he placed his backpack inside the armored vehicle, one of the soldiers came to report, "Captain, we are ready to depart." Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Move out." "Yes, Captain!" As Jin Xuyan''s armored vehicle pulled out of the gas station, five armored vehicles and six trucks followed closely behind. Each vehicle had been modified with additional weapons and reinforced materials, making them more durable and stronger when facing zombies. The six military trucks were tactical transport vehicles with cargo containers on the back that could be loaded and unloaded. Both the truck bodies and cargo containers had been reinforced with armored plating and tempered glass. As they drove along the road, Jin Xuyan''s armored vehicle led at the front, clearing the way. Four armored vehicles guarded the convoy''s left and right flanks, while the last armored vehicle covered the rear. The military trucks remained in the center, protected by the formation. At this time, only Zhang Yuan, who was driving, and Qin Luzi, who was still unconscious in the back seat, accompanied him in his armored vehicle. While driving, Zhang Yuan glanced at his captain and asked, "Captain, are we really going to Lin''an University just to pick up the Pei family''s heir?" Jin Xuyan didn''t lift his eyes from the map in his hand and replied, "Zhang Yuan, keep your eyes on the road." The moment he finished speaking, the vehicle hit a zombie with a loud thud. Thud! Crack! With the sound of bones breaking, black blood and rotten flesh splattered across the windshield. Thanks to the reinforced design of the car, they barely felt the impact, but the sight of the rotten mess in front of them was disgusting. Seeing the stained windshield, Zhang Yuan quickly turned on the wipers. Though they couldn''t clean it entirely, they removed some of the rotten flesh and black blood. "Don''t hit zombies unless it''s necessary," Jin Xuyan reminded him. "Understood," Zhang Yuan replied, keeping his eyes firmly on the road. The closer they got to Lin''an University, the more zombies they encountered and the more vehicles blocked the road. Looking at the congestion ahead, Zhang Yuan said, "Captain, the road is blocked. We need to find another path." Chapter 18 - 18: Waking Up ( 2 ) Hearing Zhang Yuan''s words, Jin Xuyan raised his eyes from the map and looked at the road. After assessing the situation, he said, "Take the left road. We will go through the mountain route." "Understood." After receiving the order, Zhang Yuan picked up the radio and relayed the order, "Brothers, take the left road. We will go through the mountain route." As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers responded through the radio, "Understood!" Thirty minutes after leaving the main road, they finally entered the mountain path. Compared to the main road, the road conditions were much worse. However, the number of zombies and abandoned vehicles was significantly lower. Due to the sound of the vehicle and truck engines, the zombies along the roadside let out guttural roars and staggered toward them. Those trapped inside cars pounded on the windows while roaring excitedly. Since the zombies'' movements were slow, they couldn''t catch up with the convoy and eventually wandered aimlessly along the road after losing their targets. While driving the armored vehicle, Zhang Yuan glanced at the rearview mirror and saw Qin Luzi''s hand move. He was relieved to see his comrade finally wake up and said, "Captain, Old Qin has woken up." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan put down the map in his hand and turned to look. The moment he turned around, he saw his friend staring at the ceiling in a daze. Though his face was still flushed with fever, he was no longer in a comatose state. "Old Qin, you are finally woken up. Do you feel any discomfort?" he asked. When Qin Luzi heard his voice, he turned his head and saw his friend''s calm expression. It took him a moment to regain his senses before he hoarsely asked, "Captain, I didn''t die?" Jin Xuyan nodded and replied, "With your personality, even the King of Hell wouldn''t want to accept you." Hearing this, Qin Luzi chuckled and said hoarsely, "I think it''s you who couldn''t bear to part with me." Smiling at his words, Jin Xuyan said, "There is water and food in your backpack. Replenish your energy and take your fever medicine first. We need you to get better as soon as possible." "Understood. Thank you, Captain." Now that his friend had woken up, Jin Xuyan felt as if a heavy stone pressing on his heart had been lifted. He picked up the radio and asked, "Qianfeng, what''s everyone''s condition?" Not long after, a crisp male voice came through the radio, "Report, everyone has woken up and is currently eating and resting." As he expected, the rest of the soldiers were awake and eating. He nodded and replied, "If anyone still has a fever, have them take the fever medicine." "Understood," Chen Qianfeng replied. After putting down the radio, Jin Xuyan looked out the window and frowned. Sitting in the back seat, Qin Luzi pushed himself up and leaned against the chair. He opened his backpack and found it filled with water, food, medicine, and high-protein snacks. He grabbed a bottle of mineral water and finished it in one go. Once the burning sensation in his throat eased, he took out a pack of compressed biscuits and started eating. For some reason, he felt as if he were starving for days, as his stomach was completely empty. Even after finishing a pack of compressed biscuits, two sausages, a protein bar, and another bottle of water, he still felt hungry. He wanted to eat more, but thinking about the supplies shortage, he held back and zipped up his backpack. Noticing this, Jin Xuyan opened the storage compartment beside his seat, took out a loaf of bread, and tossed it to the back seat. "Finish it," he said. Catching the bread, Qin Luzi didn''t bother pretending to be polite and ate it immediately. Only after finishing the entire loaf did he feel about 70% full. Watching him devour the food, Zhang Yuan couldn''t help but think, ''Since when did Old Qin eat so much?'' When he finally finished eating, Qin Luzi took a moment to check his condition. The wounds on his body were mostly healed, leaving only the deep wound on his calf. Although the wound was no longer bleeding and new flesh had started to grow, the shape of the injury told him that part of his flesh had been cut off. Judging by how the wound had been treated, he was certain his Captain had done it. Besides Jin Xuyan, no one else would have dared to cut his flesh and stay by his side when he showed signs of mutation. Before losing consciousness, he had seen his own flesh rotting. He also felt his muscles and joints slowly stiffen, and his body temperature kept dropping. During his coma, it felt as if he had been thrown into an ice cellar. The cold and pain that penetrated deep into his bones and nerves were something he would never forget. He thought he would never wake up again, almost surrendering to the overwhelming cold. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. But just before he lost his mind completely, he felt an unknown energy flow into his body, slowly dispelling the cold¡ªleaving only the pain wrecking his whole body. He didn''t know how long he had been unconscious. When he opened his eyes, he saw the familiar ceiling of the armored vehicle. While lost in thought, he suddenly felt a strange sensation within his body, as if a stream of warm energy was flowing through every vein. Closing his eyes, he focused on the energy. Suddenly, three dots appeared in his mind, each a different color. Two dots¡ªone blue and one white¡ªwere close to each other, while a green dot was positioned behind them. He wasn''t sure what the colors represented, but he instinctively knew these three dots were him and his comrades inside this armored vehicle. Several meters away, scattered red dots moved around slowly. Besides the dots, he also saw images of roads forming in his mind. It was like looking at a map¡ªone he could zoom in and out of at will. Opening his eyes, he noticed Jin Xuyan watching him. Blinking in confusion, he asked, "What''s wrong?" Chapter 19 - 19: Dual Ability-user Looking at his friend, Jin Xuyan said calmly, "Old Qin, can you try controlling your power? If you keep blowing like this, you might tear off our roof." Qin Luzi blinked again, confused by his words. After a few minutes, he finally realized that wind was swirling inside the car. Logically, the car only had an air conditioning system and no fans. With the windows closed, it was impossible for the wind to be this strong. So, where was this wind coming from? Lowering his gaze, he was startled to see a small tornado floating in front of his chest. His eyes widened in shock and his voice tinged with panic as he asked, "This¡ªwhat is this?" "That''s your ability power. Old Qin, you have awakened a wind-type ability," Jin Xuyan replied. "My ability?" Qin Luzi repeated in disbelief. "Try to feel the connection between you and the tornado," Jin Xuyan instructed. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Qin Luzi focused his mind, and after a moment, he sensed another stream of energy within his body. ''There are two types of energy inside me?'' he thought with surprise. As the thought crossed his mind, a vision of his own body appeared in his mind. He could see his veins and the energy flowing through them. Both energies were transparent, but one had faint silver traces running through it. When he focused on the energy without the silver lines, the map and dots reappeared. When he focused on the energy with silver traces, the wind grew stronger. At that moment, he finally understood¡ªhe had awakened two abilities. After a while, the small tornado floating in front of him slowly disappeared. Seeing this, Zhang Yuan said with admiration, "Old Qin, your ability is incredible!" "Thank you, Vice-captain," Qin Luzi replied with a smile. "With more ability-users in our team, our chances of survival have increased. You should rest and recover your strength as soon as possible. In the future, you will be one of our team''s backbones," Zhang Yuan added. "Understood." While Jin Xuyan and his team traveled through the mountain road, in the lecture hall of Lin''an University, Pei Yijun calmly looked at a group of people in front of him. After a moment, he asked, "Teacher Cao, what do you mean by blocking the door?" Standing across from him, a middle-aged man with big arms smiled and replied, "Student Pei, today I have come to offer you a cooperation deal." Hearing his words, Pei Yijun raised his eyebrows and replied, "Oh? What kind of cooperation do you have in mind?" Teacher Cao looked at the female student standing behind Pei Yijun and his team with a meaningful gaze as he said, "Student Pei, I''m sure you know that the supplies inside the university area have already been divided among everyone. My team and I plan to go out and search for supplies, and we want you to join us." Pei Yijun noticed his gaze and asked, "Teacher Cao, are you offering a one-time cooperation or¡ª" "It would be best if you and your friends joined my team. This way, I can protect everyone. But if you prefer a one-time cooperation, that''s fine too," Teacher Cao said with a smile. "Protect everyone?" Pei Yijun asked with amusement. Teacher Cao raised his arms and showed off his muscles while saying, "As you can see, I obtained a superpower. With my current strength, I can smash those monsters'' heads easily. As long as you follow me, you won''t have to worry about food or water." Li Yang''s eyes widened in horror at his words. He pointed at his Hulk-like arms and asked, "Teacher Cao, are you saying your body turned into that after gaining a strength-type ability?" Noticing his horror, Teacher Cao frowned in anger. Before the apocalypse, his body had been weak and thin. Women often looked at him with disdain because of his bony figure. After waking up from a fever, he noticed his newfound super strength and growing muscles. At first, they weren''t too visible, but as he got stronger, his muscles started to grow bigger. Now, his arms looked like the Hulk''s¡ªjust one glance, and you could tell how powerful he was. He was proud of his new body, so when he sensed Li Yang''s disdain, he was displeased. He looked Li Yang up and down with a gaze full of contempt, and sneered, "You are just a weak chicken. It''s normal for you to envy my muscles." While Teacher Cao was feeling proud and confident, Li Yang shuddered in fear. He was also a strength-type ability user, but he loved his perfectly proportioned figure. He looked lean with clothes on and had well-defined muscles underneath. Just imagining himself turning into a half-human, half-Hulk like Teacher Cao made him want to kill himself with a block of tofu. He didn''t want to become as ugly as him, ah! Seeing that Li Yang said nothing, Teacher Cao assumed he was right and shot him a smug glance. Turning to Pei Yijun, he asked, "So? Do you want to join my team?" Pei Yijun thought for a moment before replying, "Teacher Cao, thank you for the offer, but we are used to working alone." The moment he heard this, Teacher Cao narrowed his eyes and asked, "You don''t want to cooperate with me?" Chapter 20 - 20: Grudge When Pei Yijun heard Teacher Cao''s words, he smiled and replied, "Teacher Cao, zombies are sensitive to sound and smell. I think it''s better to go out in a small group." Then, he glanced at the opposite team and added, "From what I see, it would be more efficient and less risky to divide your team into two or three smaller groups to search for supplies separately." When everyone in Teacher Cao''s team heard his words, they looked at each other and saw agreement in their gazes. They also thought it would be better to move into small groups, but Teacher Cao was the one making the decisions, and they didn''t dare go against him. After all, aside from Teacher Cao and several university staff members in their team, none of them had superpowers. If they opposed him, not only would they be unable to get food or water, but they might also get beaten. Noticing their reactions, Teacher Cao glared at Pei Yijun and said, "Pei Yijun, do you think you are the only smart one? I don''t need you to tell me what to do." Pei Yijun smiled at his words and added, "Teacher Cao, my team and I need to head out to find supplies. If you are done talking, please move aside and stop blocking the door." Seeing his nonchalant attitude, Teacher Cao refused to move and asked coldly, "What if I don''t want to move?" The moment he finished speaking, Li Yang stepped forward, cracking his knuckles as he said, "Then don''t blame us for being rude." Seeing him take a battle stance, Teacher Cao burst out laughing and said, "You want to fight me with your thin body? You are really overestimating¡ª" Before he could finish his words, Li Yang suddenly disappeared from his spot and reappeared in front of him. With his knee bent, he raised his gaze to meet Teacher Cao''s shocked expression and said, "You talk too much." Duagh! Bam! The next second, he delivered a powerful liver punch. The force behind the blow was so strong that Teacher Cao was sent flying several meters, slamming into the wall. Crashing against the hard surface, a sharp, searing pain exploded from his liver, spreading throughout his entire body. His legs went numb, and he slid down the wall, collapsing to the ground with a heavy thud. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Cough!" he coughed up a mouthful of blood. At that moment, he curled up with veins bulging as he vomited stomach acid. Saliva, blood, and a greenish liquid dripped from the corner of his lips as he struggled to stay conscious. "Ughh¡­" he groaned weakly as his body twitched from the pain. Seeing him defeated in one move, everyone on his team was left speechless. They turned to look at Li Yang, who gazed back at them nonchalantly as if he hadn''t just nearly killed Teacher Cao with a single punch. After a moment of silence, Li Yang said, "Whoever blocks the door¡ªyou are up next." As soon as they heard his words, they scrambled aside, no longer daring to stop them from leaving. Seeing this, Pei Yijun smiled and said, "Teacher Cao, my team also has a strength-type ability user, so we won''t trouble you to protect us." Then, he looked at his team and said, "Let''s go." After they left, the students under Teacher Cao exchanged glances before deciding to follow after Pei Yijun. Rather than sticking with Teacher Cao, it was better to follow their Vice President. Ten minutes later, only Teacher Cao and a few staff members remained. Watching the others leave, one of the staff members gritted her teeth and muttered, "A bunch of ungrateful, white-eyed wolves!" After speaking, she quickly walked over to check on Teacher Cao. When she saw his pitiful state, a flash of disdain and disgust crossed her eyes, but she quickly concealed it by lowering her head. When she looked up again, only concern and worry were visible in her eyes. She reached out to help him up and asked, "Brother Cao, are you okay?" Feeling the throbbing pain in his body, Teacher Cao leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. That punch had nearly ended his life, and he was sure Li Yang hadn''t even used his full strength. If he had, he might have died on the spot. Clenching his fists, his eyes darkened as murderous intent surged in his heart. ''Li Yang, Pei Yijun¡ªI will kill both of you!'' he swore inwardly. Not knowing that he had provoked a deep grudge, Pei Yijun and his team walked toward the building''s entrance. They had cleared out the zombies inside and made sure to lock the door so they would have a safe place to stay. Standing not far from the entrance, he looked at the students and said, "Today, we are going to search for supplies outside the university. Whoever wants to go is responsible for their own safety." "Senior Pei, what do you mean by that? Are you saying that you won''t protect us?" one of the students asked. Pei Yijun looked at him and recognized him as one of Teacher Cao''s members. Someone who could change sides so easily was not worthy of trust. He looked at everyone and said, "I will say it clearly now. I have no obligation to protect you, nor do I owe you anything. Everyone here is a classmate, and we are teaming up for a better chance of survival." Pointing outside, he continued, "Right now, no one can protect you besides yourself. If you don''t get stronger, you will be killed. If you want to survive, you have to fight." After he finished speaking, he observed the students exchanging meaningful glances. He noticed their calculating expressions and understood that they were afraid to take the first step. But he was truly unable to protect everyone by himself. He also didn''t want to take responsibility for other people''s lives. Everyone had the right to make their own choices, and this was the only way he could help them. After a moment, he asked, "So, who wants to come with me to find supplies?" Chapter 21 - 21: An Interesting Girl As soon as Pei Yijun finished speaking, Li Yang, Chu Zhimiao, and three other men stepped forward to stand behind him. He looked at the more than thirty people in front of him with a hint of disappointment. Standing at the back of the group, Mo Binxue frowned, weighing the pros and cons. After a while, she finally made up her mind and raised her hand. "B-Brother Pei, I want to go with you," she said softly. Hearing her timid voice, everyone turned to look at her. Seeing that it was a girl, one of the students tried to persuade her, "Classmate, you are just a weak girl. Are you sure you want to join them to find supplies? I think it''s better for you to follow us and join Teacher Cao." "Classmate, you should join us. At least Teacher Cao won''t ask you to go out and find supplies. He and his team will protect us until the government sends people to rescue us," another student added. Mo Binxue noticed their lingering gazes on her body and felt disgusted. Rather than staying with these low-class people, she would take the risk and get closer to Pei Yijun. Despite her inner thoughts, she maintained a timid expression and said, "N-No, I want to get strong and protect myself." After speaking, she walked over to stand behind Pei Yijun. The three men looked at her approvingly, while Li Yang and Pei Yijun remained silent. It was Chu Zhimiao who rolled her eyes and muttered, "A green tea bitch pretending to be a white lotus. Are you trying a new flavor?" Her voice was neither loud nor soft. Li Yang, who stood beside her, heard her words clearly and nearly choked on his saliva, struggling to hold back his laughter. He glanced at his childhood friend, wondering why she hated Mo Binxue so much. As far as he knew, Mo Binxue hadn''t done anything to offend her. While everyone was still whispering among themselves, a girl slipped into the building through the side door and quietly joined the group. Seeing that no one else wanted to join him, Pei Yijun said to his team, "Let''s go." Just as he finished speaking, a soft voice called from behind the group, "Wait a moment." A moment later, a girl wearing a black T-shirt, dark blue jeans, and black sneakers stepped forward. She carried a large mountain backpack on her back, and a boning knife was strapped to her waist. Her short black hair swayed lightly as she walked. Standing in front of Pei Yijun, the girl smiled and asked, "Senior, can I join your team?" Lowering his head, Pei Yijun met her gaze and was taken aback by the excitement in her eyes. Most people he met after the apocalypse had fear, worry, or jealousy in their eyes. Even his trusted friend still showed hesitation and fear whenever they went out to find supplies. Finding her interesting, he smiled and replied, "Sure, but I won''t be responsible for your safety." "I can protect myself," the girl replied. Pei Yijun observed her for a moment before turning around and saying, "Let''s go." Before leaving, they searched for anything that could be used as a weapon. Holding iron rods, wooden sticks, and even broken brooms, they stood at the door. Outside, several zombies wandered aimlessly, letting out hoarse growls. The moment the door was pulled open, the zombies suddenly froze and turned around. A second later, they roared one after another and rushed toward them. Unfortunately, no matter how fast they moved, their speed was only as fast as a brisk walk. Seeing them approach, the students inside quickly shut and locked the door. Standing at the entrance, Pei Yijun said, "Disperse." As soon as he spoke, everyone moved to the sides, forming two-person teams. Before they could steady themselves, the zombies were already reaching for them with their rotting hands. Roar! Jiao Lizhi pulled out her boning knife, following closely behind Mo Binxue while dodging the zombies'' attacks. Her gaze remained cold as she silently waited for the right moment to use the zombies to get rid of her. At that moment, Mo Binxue tried her best not to scream as a zombie lunged at her with its mouth wide open. Gripping an iron rod, she swung it frantically while muttering, "Don''t come closer, don''t come closer!" Perhaps she was lucky¡ªher random attack struck the side of the zombie''s head with a loud thud. The zombie collapsed and struggled to get up. Seeing this, Mo Binxue''s eyes flashed with hatred and disgust as she raised her iron rod and swung it down, aiming for the zombie''s head. Duagh! Duagh! Duagh! She struck repeatedly as if possessed by a demon. After a while, she finally stopped and breathed heavily. Looking at the minced rotten flesh on the ground, she gagged and vomited on the spot. Fortunately, she had eaten nothing, drinking only two sips of water, so nothing came out to dirty her clothes. Not far away, a man noticed her situation and quickly rushed over. Seeing a zombie approaching her from behind, he waved his hand, and a wooden ball materialized out of thin air, flying at the zombie with great speed. Crack! The wooden ball smashed into the zombie''s head, killing it instantly. As the zombie fell, the man reached Mo Binxue''s side and grabbed her elbow, helping her steady herself. "Are you okay?" he asked. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 22 - 22: Choosing A Car Looking up at the man with a pale face, Mo Binxue saw an average-looking man watching her with concern. Lowering her gaze, she replied weakly, "I-I''m fine. Thank you for saving me." Seeing her pale face, the man felt a pang of sympathy and said, "Stay close to me." Mo Binxue nodded and lightly tugged at the hem of his clothes while saying, "Thank you." Feeling her grip, the man smiled and fought even more fiercely, as if fueled by adrenaline. For Mo Binxue, it was natural for him to protect her. After all, she was the school beauty, and many liked her¡ªincluding this man. So when he offered his protection, she accepted it without hesitation. Not far from her, Jiao Lizhi smirked mockingly as she watched her take the man''s protection for granted. Now that she saw everything clearly, she realized how foolish she had been in her previous life. Roar!! Hearing the roar of zombies from the side, she took a step back to dodge the zombie''s sharp claws and raised her boning knife. With a swift horizontal swing, the zombie''s head fell to the ground. With so many people killing zombies, she had plenty of leisure time. She looked at the surrounding zombies'' corpses and sighed. These were just normal zombies¡ªthere was no need to waste time checking their brains for crystal cores. To conserve her energy, she avoided unnecessary fights when possible. In the past ten minutes, she had only killed one zombie, while Li Yang and Pei Yijun had taken down the most. Once they finished clearing the area, they ran toward the parking lot. Seeing their direction, Jiao Lizhi''s mind became active. After the apocalypse, no one knew whether the owners of these cars were still alive. So, if she picked one, it shouldn''t be a problem, right? Reaching a conclusion, she caught up with Pei Yijun and asked, "Senior, are you getting your car?" sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Pei Yijun glanced at her and said, "If you have a car, you can drive your own." "Okay," Jiao Lizhi nodded. When they arrived at the parking lot, Pei Yijun went to retrieve his car while Jiao Lizhi ran in another direction. Although the lot wasn''t packed, there were a lot of vehicles and the available vehicles were high quality. Most students and staff at Lin''an University came from wealthy backgrounds, and their cars reflected that¡ªexpensive, great design, and built for performance. She quickly scanned the lot and spotted a Sport Utility Truck parked under a tree. While similar to an SUV, it had a truck bed, a roof rack, and additional storage compartments, making it ideal for carrying large loads. As she approached, she noticed that the engine, wheels, and body had been modified, making it much sturdier than the default design. Satisfied with her choice, she pulled two hairpins from her pocket and began fiddling with the lock. Within moments, she heard a soft click as the door unlocked. Climbing inside, she immediately searched for the keys. If possible, she didn''t want to damage the interior. After a few minutes, she found a backup key tucked behind the sun visor. Closing the door, she started the engine. Just as she fastened her seatbelt, a modified Jeep and an SUV sped past her. Stepping on the gas, she followed them. Having survived the apocalypse for years, she had picked up several useful skills. Picking up cars was one of the skills she learned. Trailing behind Pei Yijun and his team, Jiao Lizhi watched as they crushed the zombies in their path. Rotting flesh and black blood splattered across their cars every time their cars drove past the zombies. Shaking her head, she muttered while clicking her tongue, "What a heavy taste." With them clearing the way, she didn''t have to dirty her own car. Since the nearest supermarket was still a few kilometers away, she decided to test something. Taking out an empty gallon bottle from her space, she put the bottle on the side and put two fingers into the bottle''s mouth while driving with the other. A moment later, water trickled from her fingertips into the bottle. At first, it was the size of a pinky finger, but as she concentrated more energy into the tips of her fingers, the flow increased. Glancing at the bottle, she saw the water level rise quickly. In less than five minutes, it was full. After storing it in her space, she checked her energy and found she had used less than 1%. Based on this, she made a rough calculation and was surprised¡ªshe could produce at least 200 gallons of water before depleting her energy. Realizing this, she frowned. It wasn''t that she was unhappy about her energy capacity, but to level up her ability, she needed to use up all her energy and recover repeatedly. It was like stretching a balloon¡ªthe more it expanded, the looser its perimeter. Once that limit was broken, she could advance to the next level. With her energy pool, it will take a long time to advance to the first level. Compared to others, her progress will be much slower which might bring disadvantage to her in the future. After a moment of silence, she decided to be grateful. The more energy she had, the better her chances of survival during battle. Even if it took longer to break through, it was better than dying from exhaustion. Ten minutes later, the cars ahead slowed down and eventually came to a full stop. Since they were a team¡ªat least for now¡ªshe also parked her car a short distance behind them. The moment they stopped, zombies in the area turned toward them and rushed over while roaring. Seeing the incoming zombies, she hesitated before opening her door and stepping out with her boning knife in hand. The instant she closed the door, a pair of sharp claws aimed at the back of her head. Chapter 23 - 23: I Saw What You Did Seeing the incoming attack on the car window''s reflection, Jiao Lizhi swiftly dodged to the side. Crittt! The zombie''s nails scraped against the window, producing an ear-piercing screech. Jiao Lizhi frowned at the sound and glanced at the glass. When she saw that it was completely intact, her eyes lit up. "Roar!!" The zombie let out a roar as it lunged at her again. Narrowing her eyes, Jiao Lizhi sidestepped and swung her boning knife¨Caiming at the zombie''s neck. Crack! The next moment, the zombie''s head rolled to the ground, its black blood splattering across the pavement as its lifeless body collapsed with a dull thud. Before she could catch her breath, three more zombies pounced at her simultaneously. As the rancid stench of rotten flesh filled her nose, Jiao Lizhi frowned. Twisting her body, she aimed her boning knife at the zombie''s neck. Crack! This time, the boning knife got stuck in the zombie''s neck as it only managed to cut it half way. "Roar!!" The zombie let out another roar as she stood in a close distance. With no time to dodge the other zombies'' attacks, she gritted her teeth and used the zombie in front of her as a shield. Stab! Crash! Black blood spurted from the zombie''s chest and shoulder as the other zombies bit and stabbed into it with its sharp claws. Duagh! Gripping the knife handle with both hands, Jiao Lizhi raised her leg and kicked the zombie away. With the force of the kick she was able to take the boning knife out from the zombie''s neck. The zombies hit the ground with a loud thud a meter away, struggling to get back up. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Raising her gaze, Jiao Lizhi noticed Pei Yijun and his team watching her after finishing off the surrounding zombies. The moment her eyes met Pei Yijun''s, she narrowed hers slightly and smiled. Her smile lit up her already beautiful face, but despite the warmth on her lips, her eyes turned colder. She had no intention of letting them discover her abilities¡ªespecially her space ability. But if they wanted to test her, she would gladly fulfill their wish. With that thought, she stopped holding back. Rushing forward, she attacked as soon as the zombie managed to stand up. With a downward swing of her boning knife, she split the nearest zombie''s skull in half. In the next second, she slashed upward diagonally, taking another head. As black blood and rotting brain matter splattered onto the ground, she clenched her left fist and punched the final zombie right on the face. Duagh! Crack! The sickening crunch of breaking bones echoed in the air, stunning Pei Yijun and his team. Li Yang stared in disbelief as the petite girl smashed a zombie''s head with her bare fist as if it were a watermelon. Under their stunned gazes, Jiao Lizhi pulled her fist back and stood there, smiling. With black blood and rotten flesh clinging to her left hand and boning knife, she walked toward them. Stopping in front of Pei Yijun, she tilted her head slightly and asked sweetly, "Senior, are you satisfied with what you see?" Pei Yijun''s eyes flickered briefly at her words before returning to normal. He frowned at the state of her clothes but said nothing. Standing beside her, Mo Binxue wrinkled her nose and muttered under her breath, "Why is this girl so brutal? She doesn''t even care about all that black blood and filth on her. Is she really a girl?" Before anyone could respond, Chu Zhimiao scoffed and said, "At least she can kill four zombies on her own. Unlike someone, who can only scream and vomit every time she meets a zombie but loves to criticize others and complain like a princess." Mo Binxue''s face darkened at her words. Glaring at her, she asked angrily, "Miaomiao, what do you mean by that? She is just a stranger. Why are you taking her side?" Chu Zhimiao met her glare head-on and asked her back, "Even if I am, what does that have to do with you?" Then, as if recalling something, she smirked and said, "Mo Binxue, don''t think no one saw what you did to your roommate on the day the chaos started." Leaning closer, her voice dropped to a near whisper as she added, "To save yourself, you used her as a shield. You made her die a gruesome death of being eaten alive by the zombies. And yet, here you are, acting all self-righteous. I wonder if you can have a good sleep after what you did." Mo Binxue''s face turned deathly pale after she heard her words. Her lips trembled as she shook her head, "No, it''s not me¡ªI didn''t mean to¡ª" Chu Zhimiao scoffed and said, "You don''t have to explain anything to me. I trust my own judgment." Standing next to them, the man who had previously protected Mo Binxue looked at her pale face with a deep frown, and fell into deep thought. As a person with ability-power, even if he couldn''t hear clearly what Chu Zhimiao said, he could hear part of it and get a gist of their conversation. If what she said was true, then he should stay away from this woman. Otherwise, maybe one day he will be used as a shield by her and die without knowing the reason. Thinking of this, he took a few steps back and distanced himself from Mo Binxue. Not knowing that her words saved someone''s life, Chu Zhimiao turned to Jiao Lizhi and said with a smile, "Classmate, my name is Chu Zhimiao. My friends and family call me Miaomiao." Jiao Lizhi nodded and replied, "Hello, my name is Jiao Lizhi." Chu Zhimiao glanced at the black blood and rotten flesh covering Jiao Lizhi''s hand and knife. She pointed at that and said, "I''m a water-type ability user. I can give you some water to clean up." Jiao Lizhi raised an eyebrow and replied, "No need, but thanks." Without another word, she turned and walked back to her car. Chapter 24 - 24: Something Is Off Jiao Lizhi was following them just to find a chance to get Mo Binxue''s head, and had no intention of befriending them. What''s more, they just watched her being surrounded by zombies and did nothing. These kinds of people are not worthy of being her friend. Standing on the roadside, Pei Yijun watched her leave before saying, "Let''s go." Chu Zhimiao hesitated for a moment before following Li Yang to his SUV. For some reason, standing near Jiao Lizhi felt oddly comforting¡ªas if she radiated warm energy. Meanwhile, Jiao Lizhi stood by her car, waiting until Pei Yijun''s team had driven away. Then, she climbed into the truck bed and entered her space. She didn''t linger long inside her space. After changing into clean clothes, she came out of her space and quickly caught up with Pei Yijun''s group. Fortunately, she had stocked up on clothes beforehand. Otherwise, at this rate, she would run out of clean clothes fast. As she drove, the discarded clothes lying on the grass inside her space emitted a faint mist. A few minutes later, the black blood and rotten flesh on the clothes had completely dissolved, disappearing with the mist. Though some fabric remained torn, the clothes looked freshly washed. As she drove, Jiao Lizhi continued to take out the empty gallon bottles from her space and filled them with her water. When she spotted a sign for the supermarket, she filled the last bottle and stored it in her space. Afterward, she took out a bottle of pond water and downed it in several gulps. Almost immediately, a ripple of energy spread from her throat throughout her entire body as she swallowed the water. Feeling the surge of energy in her veins, she paused for a moment and murmured with a smile, "Just as I thought, this pond water indeed restored my energy." With another trump card in her hands, she felt more secure surviving in this apocalyptic world. Even without a water-type crystal core, she could consume the pond water to replenish her energy. While it wasn''t as effective as absorbing a crystal core, it was cost-effective and she had an unlimited supply. With that in mind, she quickly pulled out three more bottles of pond water and tucked them into her backpack before parking her car on the roadside, just outside the supermarket''s lot. Unlike her, Pei Yijun and Li Yang drove straight into the parking lot. Once their engines were off, they stepped out of their vehicles one after another. Li Yang glanced around and grinned, "Brother Pei, we are lucky. There are no zombies in sight." His teammates nodded in agreement. Only Pei Yijun stood motionless, staring at the supermarket with a deep frown. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. His instincts screamed at him to leave as something dangerous was lurking in the shadows. His gut feelings were rarely wrong, but his team needed supplies. This was the nearest supermarket to their university. If they left to search elsewhere, they would have to venture closer to the city center¡ªwhere the risk was even higher. And there was no guarantee that any supplies there were still intact. As he debated whether to trust his instincts or press forward, Jiao Lizhi approached, stopping a few meters from them. The moment she stood there, she felt it¡ªthe oppressive presence radiating from inside the supermarket. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the surroundings. Not a single zombie in sight. Not even their distant roars. The moment she realized this, a chill ran down her spine. In the apocalypse, the worst nightmare wasn''t zombies or even mutant animals¡ªit was mutant plants. Unlike zombies or mutant animals, mutant plants blended seamlessly into their surroundings. You wouldn''t even realize one was there until it was too late. Memories of a past encounter with a mutant plant in her previous life surfaced in her mind as she turned to Pei Yijun and said, "Senior, this place is too dangerous. We need to leave as soon as possible." Before Pei Yijun could respond, Mo Binxue scoffed at her words and said, "Classmate, I don''t know what your agenda is, but we just got here. We haven''t even checked the inside, and you are already asking Brother Pei to leave?" She crossed her arms and asked sharply, "What, are you planning to take all the supplies for yourself?" At her accusation, the men''s expressions darkened. Even Chu Zhimiao and Li Yang cast doubtful glances at Jiao Lizhi. Seeing their reactions, Jiao Lizhi swallowed back the rest of her warning. If they didn''t cherish their own lives, why should she care? They would understand soon enough. Pei Yijun, however, took her words seriously. He walked over to her and his sharp gaze met hers as he asked, "Do you know something?" Jiao Lizhi met his eyes and spoke solemnly, "Even though this supermarket is in the suburbs, it''s impossible for there to be no zombies at all. At the very least, the owner or employees should be here. Something is off." Pei Yijun studied the building and asked, "What if they are still alive and hiding inside?" Hearing this, she shook her head and replied, "If people were inside, the doors would be barricaded. There would be signs of a fight¡ªbloodstains, debris, anything." Then, she pointed at the supermarket entrance and asked, "Look around. Do you see any traces of a fight? Even a single drop of blood?" Pei Yijun''s gaze scanned the surroundings for a moment and a chill ran down his spine. The intense feeling of restlessness surged in his heart. This time, he decided to trust his instinct and said, "We are leaving." The moment he said this, his team looked at him in disbelief. They had expected him to dismiss Jiao Lizhi''s baseless words, or at least, check the supermarket first. Unexpectedly, he didn''t hesitate to choose to leave without a second thought. Chu Zhimiao, reluctant to abandon the supplies, called out, "Brother Pei¡ª" But before she could finish her words, Jiao Lizhi suddenly rushed toward her while shouting, "Watch out!" Chapter 25 - 25: Golden-colored Crystal Core ( 1 ) As soon as Jiao Lizhi shouted, everyone turned¡ªjust in time to see a metal needle hurtling toward Chu Zhimiao at a fast speed. Although she had joined the team and gone out to find supplies, Li Yang had always protected her. As a pampered daughter from a wealthy family, she had zero combat experience. When she was facing a life and death situation, Chu Zhimiao couldn''t move due to fear. Just as she thought death was inevitable, a shadow appeared in front of her. A split second before the metal needle pierced her body, Jiao Lizhi swung her boning knife. Clang! Crack! The needle deflected due to her attack force, slamming into a nearby wall. Dust exploded into the air as cracks spread across the concrete like a spiderweb. Jiao Lizhi''s arm went numb from the collision force, but she had no time to recover. A heavy pressure surged toward her, making her heart beating fast. Without thinking, she spun around and kicked Chu Zhimiao. Duagh! The impact sent Chu Zhimiao flying into Mo Binxue and several nearby men. They crashed to the ground with loud thuds. The moment Jiao Lizhi sent her away, she turned and raised her boning knife. Clang! Boom! A deafening collision sent dust and debris flying. As the dust settled, Jiao Lizhi found herself face-to-face with a grotesque half-rotten creature. For the first time after her rebirth, fear flickered in her eyes. The zombie''s soulless black eyes locked onto hers. Unlike other zombies, it didn''t roar or move mindlessly. It simply stared at her¡ªsilent and calculating. Then, as if reading her thoughts, a sinister smile crept across the human half of its face. The moment she saw it, Jiao Lizhi''s body reacted before her mind could process the situation. She bent her knees and leaped back. While she was in the air, she saw the zombie suddenly disappear from the spot. In a blink of an eye, it reappeared behind her. Sensing the danger, she whirled around, crossing her arms to block the attack. Duagh! Boom! The zombie''s metal arm struck her with heavy force, sending her flying out of the supermarket lot. Her body slammed into a massive tree across the road and her arms swollen rapidly. Blood trickled from the corner of her lips as she slid down the rough bark. "Cough!" As soon as the zombie landed, it grinned and lunged toward her. "Be careful!" Pei Yijun shouted while waving his hand. Jiao Lizhi''s eyes sharpened the moment she heard his voice. She gritted her teeth, endured the throbbing pain, and raised her hand. Crack! Prank! A transparent water shield materialized in a second¡ªonly to shatter instantly under the zombie''s metal fist. At the same time, a bolt of lightning struck the zombie''s back, halting its movement for a brief moment. Seizing the opportunity, Jiao Lizhi flicked her wrist, sending three water blades slicing toward the zombie''s head at a fast speed. Clang! Clang! Clang! The blades struck the zombie''s neck¡ªbut failed to pierce its metal-covered skin. Seeing this, her expressions darkened. After the zombie regained its movement, it swung its metal fist again. Jiao Lizhi narrowed her eyes, rolling to the side¡ªbarely dodging the attack. Crack! Its fist embedded itself deep into the tree trunk, leaving a gaping hole. Standing a few meters from the zombie, Jiao Lizhi was breathing heavily. She turned to glare at Pei Yijun and his team and shouted, "Are you all just here to watch the show?! Attack it together!" When they heard her words, they regained their senses. Although they had all awakened their abilities, no one dared to face the zombie head-on after witnessing how it had bashed Jiao Lizhi. After all, they were only ordinary people before the apocalypse. Not to mention fighting against powerful monsters, they did not even dare to go against their class'' bully. Seeing that no one took action, Li Yang clenched his fists and rushed toward the zombie, aiming his punch at its back. The moment Chu Zhimiao saw this, her eyes widened in horror as she shouted, "Li Yang!" Duagh! Due to her shouting, the zombie turned around and blocked the incoming attack. As Li Yang''s fist collided with the zombie''s metal arm, his bones broke, and his flesh was torn. Blood seeped from his wounds, dripping to the ground. The zombie''s black eyes glinted with excitement as it caught the scent of blood. Before Li Yang could react, it reached out its huge metal arm and grabbed him. "Akh!" Li Yang let out a scream as the zombie tightened its grip around his body. He felt his organs being squeezed together, and his entire body was in pain. The taste of iron surged up his throat and blood flowed from his lips down to his chin. Trying to save his friend, Pei Yijun waved his hand, and three thunderbolts flew toward the zombie. Seeing this, Jiao Lizhi''s eyes flashed for a moment, and she flicked her wrist. In an instant, water blades appeared out of thin air and flew toward the thunderbolts. Crack! Boom! The moment the water blades and thunderbolts collided, the thunderbolts were absorbed by the water blades. When everyone saw this, their eyes widened in shock, especially Pei Yijun. His thunder-type ability had strong attack power, yet when faced with the small water blades, it had actually lost! Ignoring their surprised gazes, Jiao Lizhi raised her swollen arms and clasped her palms together. In an instant, the water blades fused into one. The crescent-shaped water blade morphed into a round water disk. The edges of the water disk glistened under the sunlight, while sparks of indigo thunder crackled around it. With a wave of her hand, the water disk flew toward the zombie, aiming for the back of its neck. Noticing the incoming attack, the zombie leaped back, avoiding the strike. After a series of attacks, Pei Yijun''s teammates finally took action. Three wooden balls shot forward at high speed, aiming at the zombie. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Crack! Crack! Crack! Chapter 26 - 26: Golden-colored Crystal Core ( 2 ) While this attack was effective against a normal zombie, in front of a level-two zombie, it was a child play. Before the wooden balls could hit the zombie, they were shattered by three metal needles. The zombie looked at them, and with a wave of its rotten arm, the supermarket''s signboard suddenly flew toward them. Seeing this, another member raised his hand, and an earth wall appeared above them. BAM! Crack! The signboard smashed into the earth wall with a loud crash, cracking it instantly. "Cough!" The man coughed up a mouthful of blood as he struggled to hold back the heavy signboard. He gasped, feeling himself reaching his limit and squeezed a word out, "Run!" Hearing this, they quickly moved to the side. The next moment, the earth wall shattered, and the man barely avoided the signboard by jumping back. Bam! The signboard fell to the ground with a heavy thud, sparks of fire flickering as the metal scraped against the pavement. Noticing that attacking with their abilities was useless, Pei Yijun took out his dagger and rushed toward the zombie. Duagh! The zombie still refused to let go of Li Yang and raised its leg. With a powerful kick, Pei Yijun was sent flying, slamming into a wall. It all happened in mere seconds. Jiao Lizhi quickly assessed their situation and realized that Pei Yijun and his team were not helping at all. Their chances of winning were slim, and the best strategy was to escape. But after expending so much energy fighting this zombie, Jiao Lizhi was unwilling to retreat. Thinking about how many soldiers had died at this zombie''s hands in her previous life, she swallowed the iron taste in her throat and pressed on. Focusing her energy on her palm, she controlled the water disk to continue attacking the zombie. Its speed increased as it spun faster and faster. The zombie dodged her attacks while fending off Pei Yijun and his teammates. Crack! After several attempts, her water blade finally cracked the zombie''s neck. The layer of metal covering its neck shattered, revealing the rotten flesh underneath. As the water disk embedded itself in the zombie''s neck, Jiao Lizhi clenched her fist, and the water disk turned into liquid instantly. The next moment, the water seeped into the zombie''s body, carrying Pei Yijun''s thunder with it. With the electricity wreaking havoc inside the zombie, its grip on Li Yang loosened. Seeing this, Pei Yijun quickly rushed over, kicking the zombie in the chest while simultaneously pulling Li Yang away. Bam! The zombie crashed to the ground, struggling to get up. Its mouth opened wide as it let out a silent roar, its black eyes locking onto Jiao Lizhi with murderous intent. Jiao Lizhi gritted her teeth and withstood the pressure emanating from the zombie. Using her left hand to continue attacking it from the inside, she raised her right arm. The moment she opened her palm, five water arrows condensed in less than a second. With a swing of her arm, the water arrows shot forward at high speed, piercing the zombie''s head. Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Fearing the attack was not enough, she used the last of her energy to transform the water arrows into a water blade. With a flick of her wrist, the water blade sliced through the zombie''s neck, striking the exposed area beneath the metal layer. The next second, black blood spurted from the severed neck as the head rolled to the ground. As soon as the zombie was killed, Jiao Lizhi coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed. The water blade dissolved into a splash of water, soaking the road. Holding her head, she endured the severe headache and nausea¡ªsigns of overusing her ability-energy. Not far from her, Pei Yijun and his team members sprawled on the ground, covered in injuries. The battle had lasted less than ten minutes, but it felt as if a century had passed. Pei Yijun pushed himself up and said, "Chu Zhimiao, check on Li Yang''s condition. The three of you, go inside and get water and some medicine." Hearing his words, they struggled to their feet and quickly went to carry out their tasks. After splitting the tasks, Pei Yijun dragged his feet and walked toward Jiao Lizhi to check on her condition. Seeing that her arms were swollen and her face was pale, he said, "Let''s go. I will help you to the car. You need to rest and treat your injuries." Feeling his touch, Jiao Lizhi pushed his hands away and said, "I''m fine." Pushing herself up, she took several deep breaths and suppressed the nausea. After a while, only a headache remained. Although it was painful, it was bearable. Ignoring Pei Yijun''s concern, she walked to her car. Opening the door, she unzipped her backpack and took out a bottle of pond water. She quickly drank it in several gulps. After finishing, her headache lessened, and her energy recovered slightly. She grabbed another bottle and drank it. Once she finished the second one, she felt much better and let out a sigh of relief. Her previous boning knife had broken during the fight, so she took out another one from her space. After closing the car door, she walked toward the zombie''s head. With a swift motion, she swung her knife, splitting it in half. Black blood and rotten matter spilled onto the ground as she stirred the brain. A moment later, she found a golden-colored crystal core, about the size of a thumbnail. Holding the core, she created a small water ball and used it to clean it. Looking at the shimmering crystal core, a smile finally appeared on her face. Obtaining a level-two metal-type crystal core was an unexpected but welcome surprise. Although the battle had been dangerous, she had gained a lot. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. She could feel that after the fight, the barrier of her energy had weakened. If she fought a few more rounds, she might be able to break through to the next level. Chapter 27 - 27: Healing-Type Ability But, the most important thing is that the hidden danger of a level six zombie has been eliminated early. Those soldiers who died fighting it would have a chance to live. After resting for a while, she felt much better and walked toward the supermarket. When she reached the entrance, Mo Binxue blocked her path and said, "You can''t go inside." "Why not?" Jiao Lizhi asked. "Brother Pei was the one who found this place, so we have the right to take the supplies first," Mo Binxue replied matter-of-factly. Hearing her words, Jiao Lizhi scoffed and said, "I have seen many shameless people, but none as shameless as you." As soon as she finished speaking, she pushed Mo Binxue aside, opened the door, and walked in. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Caught off guard, Mo Binxue fell to the ground with a yelp. She glared at Jiao Lizhi''s back, gritting her teeth in anger. Not far away, Chu Zhimiao and the others were busy tending to Li Yang''s wounds. She was already worried and anxious, so when she heard Mo Binxue''s shameless words, she couldn''t hold back any longer. "Mo Binxue, can''t you stop being so annoying?" she asked angrily. "If it weren''t for her, all of us might be dead right now. How thick is your skin to stop her from getting supplies?" she asked angrily. This time, the men didn''t side with Mo Binxue. One of them said, "Next time, it''s better not to bring her. She didn''t contribute anything and only caused trouble." The man with the wood ability looked at her angrily and said, "No matter how weak we are, we still fight for our chance to survive. But she actually hid and didn''t help at all! "When facing danger, at least we can protect ourselves and not burden our teammates. She is just an ordinary person. Not only is she a burden, but she also keeps making trouble for us," another man added. Hearing this, Mo Binxue''s heart filled with hatred. She looked at them, then at Pei Yijun. When she met his cold gaze, a chill ran down her spine. She understood that if she did nothing, this would be the last time she could join them. After hesitating for a moment, she stood up and said, "I am also an ability user." Chu Zhimiao sneered and replied, "I think your best ability is acting like a green tea bitch." "Chu Zhimiao, if you keep provoking me, don''t blame me for cutting off our friendship," Mo Binxue said angrily. Chu Zhimiao crossed her arms and said, "Even if you wanted to, there was never any friendship to begin with." Rubbing his aching forehead, Pei Yijun said, "Enough!" He looked at his team and ordered, "Go check the supplies and load them into the cars. We can''t waste any more time here." Although they were still worried about Li Yang, they could only follow orders and enter the supermarket. Pei Yijun then looked at Chu Zhimiao and added, "You go too." "But I¡ª" Before she could finish, Pei Yijun cut her off, "Go." Sensing his annoyance, Chu Zhimiao lowered her gaze for a moment, then let go of Li Yang''s hand and walked into the supermarket. Once they were alone, Pei Yijun turned to Mo Binxue and asked, "What ability do you have?" Hope flickered in her eyes as she quickly said, "Brother Pei, I can heal Li Yang''s injuries." Pei Yijun raised an eyebrow and said, "A healing-type ability?" Mo Binxue nodded eagerly and walked over to Li Yang, taking his hand. A moment later, a soft light enveloped their clasped hands. Standing nearby, Pei Yijun watched as the scratches and small wounds on Li Yang''s body slowly healed. He wasn''t sure if his friend had internal injuries, but his external wounds were indeed healing albeit slowly. Glancing at Mo Binxue, he thought to himself, ''Looks like she is not completely useless after all.'' Inside the supermarket, Chu Zhimiao and her teammates used trolleys to move instant noodles and water. While loading supplies, they also grabbed some protein bars and bread. As they ate, they continued loading the supplies into the SUV and jeep. They were too focused on their tasks to notice that the section containing rice, flour, oils, and seasonings had been completely emptied. Meanwhile, Jiao Lizhi was collecting supplies from the warehouse. As she emptied it, she finally understood why there were no people or zombies in this area. In the corner of the warehouse, piles of bones and rotten flesh were stacked. It seemed the mutated zombie had not only eaten human flesh but had also devoured its own kind. No wonder it had reached the bottleneck of level two in just a few days after the apocalypse. Consuming crystal cores from other zombies also benefited them. This was why, just a few years into the apocalypse, most zombies had already evolved, and the lowest-ranked ones were at level two. Cannibalism was one of the harsh laws of survival in the apocalypse. Even humans killed each other to obtain crystal cores, let alone soulless zombies. It took her ten minutes to finish collecting everything in the warehouse. When she came out, the area where the mineral water and instant noodles had been stored was already half emptied. Instead of heading to the food section, she walked toward the medicine and women''s products aisle. When no one was looking, she quickly collected the medicines and sanitary pads. In a future where gauze and cotton pads were no longer available, sanitary pads would prove their value during medical treatment. After she was done, she moved to the snacks section and collected everything. A half-wall in the middle of the supermarket separated her from Chu Zhimiao and the others¡ªperfect for hiding her actions. Once she had emptied the shelves, she walked over to them and said, "The warehouse and the back area are empty." Hearing this, one of the men frowned and went to check. When he returned ten minutes later, his face was pale. He shook his head at his friend and said nothing. Chapter 28 - 28: Invitation Seeing his reaction, Jiao Lizhi knew he had seen what was in the warehouse. Without drawing attention to herself, she grabbed a trolley and started collecting supplies. As she reached for items, she secretly stored part of them in her space. If there were several boxes of candy, she would place two in her trolley and discreetly store the rest. Though this method took longer, it ensured she didn''t attract suspicion. When Chu Zhimiao and her team finished filling up Li Yang''s SUV, she noticed Jiao Lizhi loading two trolleys of supplies into her truck bed. Walking over, she offered, "Jiao Lizhi, we are almost done. How about I help you transport your supplies?" Jiao Lizhi smiled and said, "Thanks." Chu Zhimiao was happy she didn''t reject her like before. After Jiao Lizhi had saved her and her friends'' lives, she sincerely wanted to befriend her. Someone who was brave enough to risk her life for strangers was worthy of her trust and friendship. Unaware of Chu Zhimiao''s thoughts, Jiao Lizhi pushed her trolley back inside the supermarket and continued collecting supplies. With Chu Zhimiao''s help, her truck bed was nearly full in no time. At this point, they were the only ones still loading supplies. Before long, Jiao Lizhi realized she was the only one left inside the supermarket. Li Yang had woken up, and Chu Zhimiao was outside talking to him. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, she quickly collected the remaining supplies, leaving only a small amount on the shelves. It took her twenty minutes to fill her truck bed, back seat, and a hidden compartment under the passenger seat. Before getting into her car, she grabbed her backpack and walked back into the supermarket. As she passed Pei Yijun and his team, she handed a bottle of water to Li Yang and said, "Here, drink some water." Li Yang was stunned by her sudden kindness and hesitated to react. Seeing this, Chu Zhimiao quickly took the bottle and said, "Thank you, Lizhi." "You are welcome." Jiao Lizhi entered the supermarket and filled her backpack to the brim. When she looked outside, she saw that no one intended to return inside. With a wave of her hand, she emptied the remaining supplies, leaving only bare shelves and four walls behind. When she came out, she saw Mo Binxue had fainted and been helped into Pei Yijun''s jeep by one of the men. She glanced at her, then at Li Yang, and a thought flashed through her mind. "No wonder. So that''s why," she muttered to herself. As she was lost in thought, someone patted her shoulder. Turning around, she saw Pei Yijun smiling at her. "Senior, do you need something?" she asked. Pei Yijun observed her for a moment before saying, "Do you want to join my team? My father sent a group of soldiers to bring me back to Jiangning City. If you come with me, I can guarantee you a safe place to live." Hearing his offer, Jiao Lizhi shook her head and replied, "Thank you, Senior, but I have my own plans." S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Hearing this, Pei Yijun didn''t insist and said, "That''s a pity. If you ever change your mind, you can come to Jiangning City and find me." "Okay," Jiao Lizhi said casually without any intention to go find him. After their brief conversation, they both got into their cars and drove back to the university. As she drove, Jiao Lizhi reflected on Pei Yijun''s words. Maybe she could follow the soldiers to leave this place. Lin''an University was near the city center, and if she wanted to escape, she would have to pass through heavily populated areas. With the soldiers'' protection, the risk would be significantly lower. It wasn''t a bad idea to join them temporarily. Having made up her mind, she pushed the thought aside. She was exhausted and with a headache, she didn''t want to think anymore. Thanks to them clearing the road when they went out, the return trip took only half the usual time since the road was unblocked by cars. Upon entering the university gates, Pei Yijun and his team drove directly to the lecture hall building, planning to park near the entrance. This would make it easier to move supplies and allow for a quicker evacuation in case of an emergency. Following behind them, Jiao Lizhi thought for a moment before deciding to park near the lake instead. So, before they reached the building, she suddenly made a sharp turn and went in another direction. Inside the car, one of Pei Yijun''s team members noticed this and said, "Brother Pei, that person went another way." Glancing at the rearview mirror, Pei Yijun replied, "No need to bother with her. She is only tagging along temporarily." The man felt it was a pity not to recruit someone as strong as her but said nothing. Since they planned to return to the supermarket tomorrow for the rest of the supplies, she might choose to join them again. Meanwhile, Jiao Lizhi found a secluded spot and parked her car. After ensuring no one was around, she waved her hand and stored the vehicle in her space. Then, she headed toward the lecture hall building. Although she could continue staying in the guard''s room, it would be difficult to keep an eye on Pei Yijun''s movements. Since she planned to follow them, it was better to stay close. Who knew? If luck was on her side, she might even find an opportunity to kill Mo Binxue. Thirty minutes later, she arrived at the lecture hall and immediately sensed something was wrong. Standing outside, she checked the situation inside and saw Pei Yijun and his team surrounded by Teacher Cao and the students. Judging from the tense atmosphere, the confrontation was about supplies. Inside the hall, Pei Yijun stood with his team, silently staring at the students and Teacher Cao''s team. In front of them, Teacher Cao and his group held weapons, ready for a fight. Chapter 29 - 29: Sneak Attack Meeting Pei Yijun''s calm gaze, Teacher Cao raised his chin and said, "Pei Yijun, this place is my territory now. If you want to stay, hand over your supplies." "Teacher Cao, it seems you have already forgotten the lesson I taught you. It''s only been a few hours, and you have lost your memory? Indeed, old people are forgetful," Li Yang sneered. Hearing his words, Teacher Cao recalled the punch he received from Li Yang and felt his stomach throb with pain again. He glared at Li Yang and said, "I was caught off guard by your sneak attack. Do you really think you could beat me in a fair fight?" The moment she heard this, Chu Zhimiao burst out laughing and asked, "Fair fight? Teacher Cao, do you think zombies will give you time to prepare yourself?" Gritting his teeth, he glared at them and asked, "You think I don''t dare to kill you?" "If you dare, then do it. Why waste time talking?" Li Yang provoked. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Although he appeared calm and strong, he was actually at his weakest. Even though his external wounds had healed, the internal injuries remained. At this moment, he felt as if his organs were burning, and the rusty taste of blood lingered in his throat. Every now and then, he forced himself to swallow it, refusing to show weakness. Noticing the cold sweat on his palms, Chu Zhimiao glanced at him worriedly. Standing beside them, Pei Yijun also took note of his friend''s condition. They were exhausted and injured in the battle with mutant zombies. If they fight, their chances of winning are slim. After a brief silence, Pei Yijun said, "Since this place has already been taken, we will find somewhere else." When he finished his words, he turned and walked toward the door. Seeing this, a woman standing beside Teacher Cao stepped forward and blocked their way while saying, "Who said you could leave?" Pei Yijun narrowed his eyes and said, "Move. Don''t make me hurt you." Instead of backing off, the woman licked her lips and said, "Oh, look at you. I have long wanted to taste someone like you. I wonder if your performance in bed is as good as your looks." As soon as she spoke, a sweet scent filled the air, and Pei Yijun suddenly felt dizzy. He shook his head, trying to stay conscious, but within moments, he collapsed. Li Yang and his team were surprised by this situation. Staring at the woman, Li Yang asked angrily, "What did you do to Brother Pei?!" Seeing how angry he was, the woman chuckled and said, "Don''t worry. It will be your turn next." "What the hell are you¡ª" Before Li Yang could finish his words, dizziness overtook him, and he fainted. Within five minutes, Pei Yijun and his entire team had collapsed, one after another. Seeing this, Teacher Cao walked over and kicked Li Yang''s stomach as he asked angrily, "Didn''t you talk big just now? Why are you lying on the ground now? Damn you!" He kicked him a few more times before pulling the woman into his arms, squeezing her bottom as he said, "Well done!" "Brother Cao, don''t forget your promise," the woman said coquettishly. "Don''t worry. You can pick what you want first," Teacher Cao assured her before pressing a kiss to her lips. After a while, he let her go, turned to his men and ordered, "Tie them up and keep an eye on them. The rest of you, move the supplies into the small room." Hearing this, everyone''s eyes lit up, and they quickly rushed to the entrance to get the supplies. Jiao Lizhi watched from outside the building. Her gaze lingering on the woman in Teacher Cao''s embrace for a moment before she quietly slipped away. Since Pei Yijun and his team were safe for now, there was no need for her to confront this group. Once the soldiers arrived to pick him up, they would have their own way of dealing with these people. As she tried to find a place to spend the night, Jiao Lizhi''s mind was thinking about the next step. Before the soldiers arrived, she had to take care of that woman. Her ability was too troublesome. If she sneak attacked the soldiers, then it would be hard for them to escape. What''s more, her ability will become even more dangerous if left unchecked. With that woman''s character, there is no guarantee that she won''t become her enemy in the future. With her mind made up, Jiao Lizhi climbed a large tree near the lecture hall building. The tree had a diameter of over two meters and was one of the oldest in Lin''an University. Its thick, sturdy branches and dense leaves made it an ideal hiding spot. She climbed until she reached a well-covered branch, then surveyed the area. After a moment, she nodded, feeling satisfied with her choice. From nearly four meters above the ground, she had a clear view of the situation while remaining hidden among the leaves. Leaning against the trunk, she closed her eyes to rest while checking her space. She glanced at the supplies scattered across the grassland inside and began sorting them by type. Once everything was organized, she moved the supplies into the house. Next, she took a pack of dried corn and soaked it in a basin of pond water, allowing it to absorb moisture before planting it in the black soil tomorrow. By the time she finished, an hour had passed. Looking at the sun setting on the western horizon, she sighed and took out a loaf of bread and a carton of strawberry milk from her backpack. Ability users had significantly larger appetites than ordinary people due to their energy consumption. This was also why, in the future, they preferred eating mutant animals and edible mutant plants. Although the taste was worse than regular food, these provided more energy, allowing them to eat less while still feeling full and recovering their strength. Chapter 30 - 30: Psychic Ability However, because of the amount of energy contained in the mutant animal and plants, with the addition of the risk involved to acquire the food, the price of mutant animals and edible mutant plants was also several times higher than normal food. After she had finished eating, she closed her eyes and went to sleep. At the same time, Jin Xuyan checked his watch and frowned. It was only five o''clock in the afternoon, yet the sky had already started to darken. As he drove, Zhang Yuan said, "Captain, we need to find a place to spend the night." "Mhmm," Jin Xuyan replied while checking the map. In the back seat, Qin Luzi sat in a daze, focusing his mind on the map inside his head. After a moment, he said, "Vice Captain, there is a villa two hundred meters to the left." Hearing this, Zhang Yuan asked, "Old Qin, have you been here before?" "Yeah." Jin Xuyan''s eyes flickered at his reply. The two of them had known each other for a long time, and he was certain that his friend had never been to Lin''an. So how did he know about the villa? While Jin Xuyan was still pondering this, Zhang Yuan spotted the villa and exclaimed, "Old Qin, this place is huge! Does it belong to your relatives or friends?" "Kind of." Knowing that Qin Luzi was an introvert and might still be tired, Zhang Yuan didn''t ask any more questions. He parked the armored vehicle on the roadside, picked up the radio, and said, "We will check the area. The rest of you, stay alert and guard the supplies." Not long after, he received a reply from the radio, "Understood." After giving the order, he grabbed his saber and stepped out of the vehicle. Jin Xuyan closed the map, got out of the vehicle, and walked toward the gate with Zhang Yuan, with his longsword in hand. When they reached the villa''s gate, Jin Xuyan glanced at the lock. With a flick of his finger, a wisp of black flame shot toward it. The moment the flame touched the metal, it sizzled, and within minutes, the lock melted away. Zhang Yuan''s eyes widened when he saw this and said, "Captain, your fire is insanely strong!" Jin Xuyan gave him a glance but said nothing, stepping into the villa with Zhang Yuan following behind. As they scanned the surroundings, Qin Luzi approached them and said, "Captain, there are eight zombies inside." Standing beside them, he continued, "Three in the living room, two in the kitchen, and the rest are locked in the second-floor master bedroom." Noticing their questioning gazes, he pointed to his head and added, "For some reason, I can see them here." "How is it possible? Is it part of your wind-type ability?" Zhang Yuan asked curiously. "I don''t know. But I can feel two types of energy inside my body. So it shouldn''t be my wind-type ability," Qin Luzi replied while shaking his head. Jin Xuyan frowned when he heard his words, recalling the crystal core he had given his friend. Since his wind ability awakened because of the core, did that mean his original ability was psychic? Coming to this conclusion, he looked at Qin Luzi and asked, "Do you feel unwell after awakening your abilities?" "Other than being really hungry, I feel fine," Qin Luzi answered. Jin Xuyan relaxed slightly at his words. Feeling hungry was normal for ability users since their bodies'' metabolism was higher than that of ordinary people. Obtaining an ability by consuming a crystal core was extremely risky. No one ever attempted it after they awakened their ability-power, so he wasn''t sure if a wind ability would clash with a psychic one. "If anything feels wrong, tell me immediately," Jin Xuyan said solemnly after a moment of silence. Qin Luzi noticed his serious expression and felt something was off, but he kept his thoughts to himself and nodded, "Understood." After a brief conversation, the three of them entered the villa. Thanks to Qin Luzi''s warning, they already knew the zombies'' locations and prepared for an ambush before opening the door. "Roar!!" The moment the door swung open, three zombies lunged at Jin Xuyan, their mouths wide open, revealing their sharp teeth. Before they could get close, Jin Xuyan flicked his fingers, sending out three wisps of black flame. The instant the flames touched the zombies, they ignited as if drenched in gasoline, engulfing them in fire. Despite being burned by the black flame, the zombies felt no pain and continued to walk toward them. Seeing this, Zhang Yuan wasted no time, swinging his blade multiple times and slicing off their heads. The black flames had weakened the zombies, turning their bones brittle like charcoal, making it easy for him to cut off their heads. Five minutes later, the zombies were reduced to nothing but piles of black ash. "The other two are coming," Qin Luzi warned. Moments later, they heard the familiar roars of zombies from the kitchen. Since they would be staying the night, Jin Xuyan opted to burn them to keep the place clean. He raised his hand, and two black flames shot into the zombies'' heads, burning their brains from the inside out. In less than a minute, the zombies fell to the ground with a thud, with flames engulfing their bodies from head to toe. Zhang Yuan looked at the scene, swallowed his saliva, and said, "Captain, you are so awesome." "It''s nothing." Jin Xuyan replied calmly. Looking at the corpse of the zombie, Zhang Yuan felt that burning the brain directly was indeed the most efficient move, but it was also very cruel. He couldn''t imagine how painful it would be to have his brain burned from the inside out. Just thinking about this possibility sent chills down his spine. Once they cleared the lower floor, they moved to the second floor. As soon as they stepped onto the second floor, they heard loud banging coming from the master bedroom. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 31 - 31: Space-type Ability Jin Xuyan glanced at Zhang Yuan, who nodded in response. Gripping the doorknob, Zhang Yuan pushed the door open. "Roar!!" Before the zombies could rush out, Jin Xuyan rushed inside, drawing his longsword. With a swift, clean strike, three rotting heads rolled to the floor. Dark blood pooled on the ground, but with a flick of his wrist, Jin Xuyan set the corpses ablaze. Within minutes, both the bodies and blood were reduced to ashes. Standing beside the black ashes, Jin Xuyan said, "Inform everyone¡ªwe are staying here tonight." "Yes, Captain." Qin Luzi and Zhang Yuan left the room and headed downstairs. After they left, Jin Xuyan checked the room and saw a lot of men and women''s clothes inside the walk-in closet. As he walked toward the jewelry storage, his eyes landed on a pair of couple rings. Opening the glass cabinet, he picked up the small jewelry box and took a closer look. The rings were simple, adorned with a pattern resembling a nebula¡ªperhaps crafted from sapphire and diamond. The bands themselves were made of tungsten metal. Finding the design beautiful, strong, yet low key, he took the men''s ring and slipped it onto his ring finger. It fit perfectly. A small smile appeared at the corner of his lips as he imagined a future where he and she wore this pair of rings together. But for now, he could only keep it. With that thought, he removed the ring, placed it back into the small box, and tucked it into his inner pocket. Afterward, he went downstairs and walked into the kitchen area. Inside, Qin Luzi was checking the supplies in the pantry, while Zhang Yuan went to inform the soldiers. Not long after, the trucks and armored vehicles pulled into the villa and parked near the entrance. After they came out of their vehicles, they found a thick wire in the gardener''s post and used it to lock the gate. Once they were done, they stepped inside the villa and saw the luxurious decorations and furniture. Though exhausted, everyone still made sure to check the entire house¡ªsome inspected the warehouse, others went to the rooftop, and the rest patrolled the perimeter. Meanwhile, Xiao Qi went upstairs and entered one of the bedrooms. His eyes widened when he saw the H-brand double king-size bed. Coming from an ordinary family, this was the first time he had ever been inside such a luxurious villa, let alone seen a bed like this. He walked over, ran his hand over the soft fabric, and muttered with a hint of regret, "How great would it be if I could take this with me¡­" The next moment, the bed suddenly disappeared. Caught off guard by the loss of support, he almost fell flat on his face. Sitting on the ground, he looked around in shock. "Where''s the bed?" As soon as the thought crossed his mind, an image of an empty space¡ªlike a box¡ªappeared in his head. In the middle of this space, the missing bed was neatly placed. His eyes widened as realization hit him. The box was inside his head! His heart pounding crazily as he scrambled to his feet and rushed downstairs with a pale face. The soldiers who were checking the living room were startled by the sound he made. Turning around, they saw him running as if being chased by ghosts and noticed his expression. "Xiao Qi, what''s wrong?" one of them asked. Xiao Qi looked at them and said with trembling voice, "M-my head¡ª" "What about your head?" another soldier asked. "There is something inside my head!" Xiao Qi said, his eyes turned red with tears. The soldiers instantly became serious and hurried over to check his condition. After a quick examination, one of them frowned and said, "Xiao Qi, there is nothing wrong with your head." Xiao Qi shook his head frantically and said, "No! It''s inside!" The soldier narrowed his eyes and asked, "Did something enter your head?" Finding it difficult to explain, Xiao Qi pushed past them and rushed to the living room. He placed his hand on the sofa and muttered, "It would be great if I could keep this sofa¡­" The next second, the sofa vanished before their eyes. Seeing this, the soldiers were shocked and one of them exclaimed, "What the hell?! Where is the sofa?" Xiao Qi turned to them and exclaimed, "It''s inside my head!" "What?!" The soldiers were dumbfounded. His head was only so big¡ªhow could a sofa possibly fit inside it? It seemed Xiao Qi had hit his head too hard and was now spouting nonsense. Noticing their skeptical expressions, Xiao Qi grew frustrated and insisted, "I''m not crazy! The sofa is really in my head!" As they stood in confusion, Jin Xuyan walked out of the kitchen and spoke in a calm voice, "Xiao Qi, calm down." Hearing his captain''s voice, Xiao Qi turned to him with tear-filled eyes and said, "Captain, I think I''m going to die!" S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Jin Xuyan took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes at the young soldier''s dramatic behavior and said, "You are not going to die. You have awakened a space-type ability. Focus your mind and think about taking the items out." Though still shaken by the bizarre situation, Xiao Qi nodded and did as instructed. A second later, the sofa reappeared in the living room. Then, with another thought, the large bed materialized next to it. Xiao Qi let out a deep sigh of relief and patted his chest while muttering, "Thank god, I''m not dying¡­" Jin Xuyan''s gaze lingered on the bed before he asked, "How big is your space?" Based on the bed''s size, it had to be quite large. After mentally calculating for a moment, Xiao Qi replied, "Captain, I''m not sure of the exact size, but I think it''s around 100 square meters with a 10-meter height." Jin Xuyan raised an eyebrow. From what he knew, most level-zero space ability users only owned spaces with a size ranging from 10 to 30 square meters with a 2 to 3-meter height. Chapter 32 - 32: The Only Logistic Team Member Xiao Qi''s space was 1,000 cubic meters¡ªbig enough to fit 15 forty-foot containers. That was far larger than the strongest space-type ability-user he met before. Memories buried deep in Jin Xuyan''s mind suddenly resurfaced at this thought. Lowering his head, he quickly hid his emotions. After a brief silence, he looked up and said, "Xiao Qi, go with Zhang Yuan and store the supplies in your space." Xiao Qi straightened up and saluted, "Yes, Captain!" Once they left to complete their task, Jin Xuyan turned to the others and said, "Come help prepare dinner." The soldiers nodded and divided the tasks¡ªthose who could cook went to the kitchen, those who couldn''t grabbed mops and rags to clean the rooms, while the rest went to check the water tank. Upon discovering that the stored water was still clean and usable, each soldier grabbed a bucket and took a quick shower. They scrubbed themselves thoroughly in the bathroom, washing away the accumulated dust and blood on their bodies. Then, they fetched another basin of fresh water, washed their clothes, and hung them on the balcony to dry. Meanwhile, Zhang Yuan and Xiao Qi stood near the truck outside. Looking at the supplies in front of him, Xiao Qi said, "Vice Captain, it will take a long time for me to store everything in my space. Why don''t you go inside first?" "It''s fine. I will stay with you. If there is any danger, I will have your back," Zhang Yuan replied. "Okay then." Xiao Qi nodded. He placed his hand on one of the boxes and muttered, "How great would it be if I could keep this box." The next moment, the box vanished, stored inside his space. Zhang Yuan watched as Xiao Qi repeated the same sentence over and over while storing the supplies. After about ten minutes, he frowned and asked, "Xiao Qi, do you have to say that sentence every time before you can store something in your space?" Xiao Qi licked his dry lips and sighed, "I think so. Why do you ask, Vice Captain?" After thinking for a moment, Zhang Yuan suggested, "Try just thinking of the word ''keep'' when you touch a box." Although Xiao Qi wasn''t sure why, he still followed the instructions. He placed his hand on a box and silently thought, ''Keep!'' The next second, the box disappeared instantly. Zhang Yuan exhaled in relief and shook his head while Xiao Qi stared at his hand in disbelief. Patting his shoulder, Zhang Yuan said, "Kid, you need to use your brain more when doing things. With intelligence like this, how did you even get into the special forces?" Hearing his Vice captain''s words, Xiao Qi huffed in protest, "Vice Captain, I may not be as smart as the others, but I''m really good at handling explosives! Before joining the special forces, I was a core member of the bomb squad." Zhang Yuan nodded and changed the subject, "Okay, okay. Hurry up and finish the job so we can eat dinner." At the mention of food, Xiao Qi''s stomach let out a loud rumble. Without wasting any more time, he focused on storing the remaining supplies. Now that he no longer had to say a long sentence each time, his efficiency improved drastically, and they finished storing everything into his space in just twenty minutes. When he was done, he felt slightly dizzy. After stabilizing himself, he reported, "Vice Captain, everything is stored." Zhang Yuan glanced at the sweat on his forehead and asked, "Are you okay?" Waving a hand, Xiao Qi said, "I''m fine, just a little dizzy." As they walked back to the villa, Zhang Yuan observed him closely. It seemed that even space-type abilities consumed energy, though the type of energy Xiao Qi used seems different from their captain''s. When they stepped inside, they saw their comrades lounging around the dining table, dressed only in boxers and sleeveless shirts. Noticing their arrival, one of the soldiers called out, "Xiao Qi, Vice Captain, you should shower and wash your clothes first. Otherwise, they might not dry before we leave tomorrow." "Got it." Just as Zhang Yuan and Xiao Qi headed upstairs, Jin Xuyan emerged from the kitchen and immediately frowned when he saw his soldiers'' situation. Staring at them, he asked, "Where the hell are your pants and shirts?" One of the soldiers scratched his head sheepishly and replied, "Captain, it''s too much of a hassle to get our pants and clothes from our backpack. We are all men here¡ªnothing to be embarrassed about. We will put our clothes back on once they are dry." S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Jin Xuyan pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Can''t you just wear the clothes from the master bedroom closet? There are plenty of men''s clothes in there." At his words, the soldiers'' eyes lit up. Without hesitation, they rushed to the second floor. A short while later, they returned, now dressed in branded clothing, comparing their figures and muscles. It seemed that the villa''s owner had a well-built physique, as most of the clothes fit the soldiers comfortably. Only those under 180 cm had to fold the pant legs because they were too long. Seeing them like this, a small smile appeared on Jin Xuyan''s face. In the past, he had failed to protect them and let them sacrifice their lives for those ungrateful, greedy bastards. This time, he wouldn''t make the same mistake. He would protect his brothers and leave no regrets. Not long after, Xiao Qi and Zhang Yuan returned, and dinner¡ªprepared by Jin Xuyan and Qin Luzi¡ªwas ready. As soon as everyone took their seats, they moved their chopsticks and started eating. The dining room fell silent, the only sounds being the clinking of chopsticks against bowls. After dinner, Xiao Qi finally had time to report to his captain. Patting his now full belly, he said, "Captain, I have moved all the supplies into my space." Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Good. From now on, you are in charge of logistics. During battles, you will be on the support team. Unless absolutely necessary, you aren''t allowed to go to the front lines." Chapter 33 - 33: Planting Corn Xiao Qi frowned at his Captain''s words and said, "But Captain, I can protect myself, I can fight too!" Before Jin Xuyan could respond, one of the soldiers chimed in, "Xiao Qi, do you realize that all of our supplies are in your hands? If something happens to you, we will starve to death. So, be a good boy and protect our food." When he heard his words, Xiao Qi blinked. After thinking about it for a moment, he realized that his role was actually crucial. Supplies were vital in long-term battles. And given their current situation, food and resources were scarce. Having come to this conclusion, Xiao Qi patted his chest and declared, "Brothers, leave it to me! I will protect our supplies with my life!" The soldier nodded and raised his thumb while saying, "Good!" Jin Xuyan glanced at Xiao Qi, shook his head, and said, "Alright, split into two teams. We will take turns patrolling." "Yes, Captain!" Once the teams were assigned, Jin Xuyan grabbed a bucket of water and went to shower. It had been days since his last proper wash, and his body reeked of sweat. Coupled with blood and rotten flesh on his clothes, it smells even worse than zombies. Before meeting her, he needed to clean himself thoroughly so as not to leave a bad impression. Forty minutes later, he stepped out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his strong waist, feeling refreshed. With a flick of his fingers, he used his ability to increase his body temperature, instantly drying his damp hair and wet body. Afterward, he washed his clothes and hung them up. Extending his palm, two wisps of black flames danced in the air. Carefully controlling their temperature, he used them to dry his clothes without burning them. Once his clothes and underwear were completely dry, he got dressed and headed to the living room. Since he was on watch duty in the latter half of the night, he decided to get some sleep on the sofa first. Meanwhile, at Lin''an University, Jiao Lizhi woke up after sleeping for a few hours. It took her a few minutes to clear her dazed mind. Hearing the distant roar of zombies, she glanced at her watch and rubbed her eyes. It was already 8 o''clock in the evening¡ªno wonder the sounds of roaring were louder. After stretching for a moment, she entered her space. This was only the second time she had done so since awakening her space-type ability. Appearing in the grassland, she looked around before walking toward the house. When she tried to open the door, it wouldn''t budge. A moment later, she realized she had stacked all the supplies inside, blocking the entrance. Using her mind, she moved the supplies to the corner of the grassland, clearing the house. Once she was done, she stepped inside and headed straight to the kitchen. She checked the dried corn she had soaked in a basin of pond water earlier. Seeing that the seeds had plumped up, she drained the water and carried the basin outside. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Standing beside the black soil, she tried to recall what she had learned about planting. After a while, she still couldn''t remember anything. She sighed and muttered, "Never mind. I should find some books next time." Using her mind, she got some farming tools and got to work. Since the black soil was already loose, she didn''t need to plow it and could plant the seeds directly. Lacking proper knowledge, she could only do her best and leave the rest to fate. The black soil covered just 100 square meters, so she finished planting in less than an hour. Once done, Jiao Lizhi went back inside the house and checked the water in the bathroom. When she turned on the faucet, clean water flowed into the bathtub. She scooped some up and took a sip. The water tasted just like the pond water. It seemed the house''s water supply was connected to the pond, yet she hadn''t seen any pipes around it. After thinking for a moment, Jiao Lizhi decided to set the matter aside. As long as she had water and electricity, she didn''t care where they came from. Afterward, she undressed herself and took a long bath. She scrubbed her body several times to remove the blood and rancid smell clinging to her skin. When she finished, she walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel while drying her hair with another. Before heading upstairs, she tossed her dirty clothes into the laundry basket by the bathroom door. Pausing for a moment, she glanced at her dirty clothes and decided to wash them later. She needed to find a washing machine when she went out to find supplies next time. While she made a mental list of items she needed to decorate her house inside the space, she walked to the bedroom on the second floor and changed into black clothes and pants. As she passed the mirror on the wall, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Thinking she had seen something wrong, she stepped back and examined her reflection. Reaching out, she touched her hair and murmured, "How is this possible?" The girl in the mirror had shoulder-length hair. It had only been two days since she cut it short, yet it had already grown more than five centimeters. Since she had more pressing matters to handle, she decided to deal with them later. She tied her hair with a hairband and went to the kitchen. For dinner, she made two cups of instant noodles, two fried eggs, and several sausages. As she ate, she boiled several kettles of pond water and stored them in thermos flasks. Then, she made a cup of hot milk. After she finished the milk, she let out a satisfied sigh before finally leaving her space. Reappearing in the tree, she checked her watch and realized something. While time remained static for stored items, her own body still followed the time outside her space. Chapter 34 - 34: Mutated Ability Jiao Lizhi didn''t understand how time and space worked in her space and had no intention of figuring it out. As long as her space benefited her, that was all that mattered. Before leaving the tree, she put on a black mask. Then, she stored her backpack into her space and took out a stun gun and taser¡ªgifts from her high school deskmate for self-defense. Holding the items, a wave of nostalgia washed over her. It had been years since she last saw him. Had he survived the apocalypse, or had he turned into a zombie? Shaking off the thoughts, she took a deep breath to focus. After ensuring the area was clear of zombies, she climbed down and made her way toward the lecture hall building. Instead of entering through the front door, she climbed in through the restroom''s window. Upon entering the restroom area, she was immediately hit by the stench of unflushed toilets due to the lack of water. Jiao Lizhi almost vomited on the spot as the foul odor assaulted her nose. She quickly ran to the corridor, breathing in the comparatively fresher air. Though there was still a faint rancid stench in the air, it was far more bearable than the disgusting stench inside the restroom area. After calming down her stomach, she held her breath and rushed back inside. She climbed onto the toilet cubicle''s wall and pried open the ventilation duct cover. With a light jump, she pulled herself up and crawled inside. Fortunately, her thin frame and the large pipe made it possible for her to move through it. She kept her movements minimal to avoid making noise. Whenever she found an opening, she would peek out to check her location. Forty minutes later, she finally reached the duct above the lecture hall. Peering through the cover, she saw the students huddled in a corner¡ªsome asleep, others in a daze. Slowly, she removed the vent cover and lowered her head. Turning slightly to the left, she caught sight of Teacher Cao pressing a female student on the table behind a divider screen. The girl was crying but dared not scream. She could only bite her lips and endure the humiliation while the beast on top of her moved his waist like a mad dog. Jiao Lizhi''s eyes turned cold the moment she saw this scene. In the apocalypse, women were often reduced to mere playthings for men. Even female ability-users were not exempt from humiliation and abuse. Clenching her fists, she forced herself to remain calm. After a moment, she turned her gaze to the right and saw Pei Yijun and his team. They were awake, but their hands were tied, and their mouths were gagged. Slumped against the wall, they looked weak, as if they had lost all their strength. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. At this moment, Jiao Lizhi was 80% sure that the woman''s ability was a mutated ability. As for what kind of ability she had, the possibility was between poison or physics. In her previous life, she had heard about a dual-ability user who had been hunted by Pei Yijun for years. She had the ability to suppress other ability users'' powers. As long as the target was at the same level or below her level, they wouldn''t be able to use their ability at all. On top of her rare physic ability, she also gained a mutated ability¡ªpoison. Judging from the current situation and the clues from her previous life, that person might be this woman. When she reached this conclusion, a smile appeared on her face. It seemed that during this time, that woman had done something to Pei Yijun that made him issue a high bounty for her head. Rubbing her chin, she thought for a moment before closing the cover and crawling to the room beside the lecture hall. Ten minutes later, she jumped down from the ventilation pipe and patted her clothes. She looked at her dusty clothes and let out a sigh. If she had known she would get so dirty, she wouldn''t have bothered changing her clothes. Looking around, Jiao Lizhi saw a pile of desks and chairs in the corner. If she wanted to kill that woman, she had to attack when she was occupied with something else. So, she decided to hide for now. While she was finding a hiding place, in the next room, Pei Yijun was glaring at the woman in front of him. The woman reached out her hand and caressed his body while saying, "Pei Yijun, you are indeed worthy of the title Campus Heartthrob. Look at your body. It must be delicious." When they heard her words, Mo Binxue''s eyes widened, and she let out a series of muffled sounds, "Hmph!! Hmph!" She tried to move her body to stop the woman from touching the man she wanted, but due to the poison in her body, she couldn''t move a muscle. Annoyed by the noise, the woman raised her hand and slapped her hard. The sound of the slap was loud and startled everyone. The students glanced over, but no one dared to help. Fear and despair filled their hearts and eyes. Fearing they would be implicated if they stared for too long, they quickly moved their gazes or buried their heads in their knees. Slapped so hard, Mo Binxue felt dizzy and fell to the ground. The woman grabbed her hair and forced her to raise her head. Looking at Mo Binxue''s swollen cheek, she spat at her and said, "You better behave yourself, or I won''t mind sending you to Brother Cao or letting my teammates have a taste of your body." After she finished speaking, she threw Mo Binxue to the ground and stood up. She looked at the students and said, "You two, come over." Being pointed at, the students could only push themselves up and walk over. When they stood in front of her, the woman pointed at Pei Yijun and said, "Carry him to the next room." Chapter 35 - 35: Humiliation As soon as the students heard her words, they understood what she wanted to do. Her ability was strange, and no one could defend against it. As long as she used her ability, she could control them. Some of the boys had already tasted the power of her ability. It was as if they were given an aphrodisiac. Even if they were unwilling and felt humiliated, their bodies didn''t have any strength, but that part was harder than ever. In the end, they finally tasted the experience of being humiliated like the female students. Fortunately, their mindset was more open, and they just closed their eyes during the process, imagining the one on top of them was their girlfriend or just their AV goddess. The students held Pei Yijun''s arms and carried him to the next room. As they walked, Pei Yijun looked at them calmly, but the murderous intent in his eyes was as clear as a summer sky. When one of the students met his gaze, he shuddered and said in a low voice, "Senior, please don''t blame us. We also have no other choice but to listen to their orders. We only want to survive. If you want to blame someone, blame them for your bad luck." "Senior, later just close your eyes and treat it as if you were bitten by a dog," another student added with pity. After they walked into the next room, they dragged Pei Yijun to the dirty mattress in the corner. When they were done, the two students quickly left the room. Hiding in the corner, Jiao Lizhi clicked her tongue when she saw Pei Yijun''s weak appearance. Judging from his flushed cheeks, he must be under that woman''s poison. Lying on the mattress, Pei Yijun smells the musky scent in the air and from the mattress. As a man, he understood clearly what this scent was and where it came from. His breathing became more erratic, and he felt heat rising in his body. He tried to bite his tongue to clear his mind, but he didn''t have any strength left to do that. Lowering his gaze, he saw his lower part was bulging. He frowned as he endured the uncomfortable feeling in his body. It was as if countless ants were biting his body, and at the same time, bursts of pain spread from his root. His mind began to blur as his body screamed for release. Not long after, the woman entered the room and closed the door. As she walked toward him, she undressed herself. By the time she stood in front of Pei Yijun, she was already naked. Feeling disgusted, Pei Yijun closed his eyes, refusing to look at her. Seeing this, the woman chuckled and crawled on top of his body. As she straddled his waist, she reached out to untie his hands and started to undress him. The moment she pushed up his shirt to his wrist, she saw his defined abs. Licking her lips, she said hoarsely, "Yijun, be a good boy and don''t resist. As long as you serve me well, I will treat you well." Pei Yijun felt anger surge in his heart as the woman touched and licked his body. He closed his eyes and thought, ''I will return today''s humiliation a thousand times in the future!'' Squatting in the corner, Jiao Lizhi felt her eyes sting at the scene in front of her. She looked at Pei Yijun and thought that he looked like a defiled immortal. When she saw the woman start to unbuckle his belt, she hesitated for a moment before deciding to take action. It wasn''t that she wanted to save Pei Yijun''s innocence, but she really couldn''t bring herself to watch that woman giving her a live action of mature content. With a flick of her fingers, two water needles flew at high speed toward the side of the woman''s neck. At this moment, Pei Yijun felt a slight energy fluctuation in the air and opened his eyes. His eyes flickered when he saw the girl hiding behind a pile of chairs. As Pei Yijun''s eyes glued to Jiao Lizhi, the woman on top of him suddenly let out a soft yelp and fell on his body. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Jiao Lizhi didn''t take back her energy and continued using her water needles to pressure the woman''s vagus nerve. She moved the chairs blocking her way and walked over while patting the dust off her clothes. When she stood behind the woman, she grabbed her arms and moved her to the side. As the woman''s body was dragged away, her lower part brushed against Pei Yijun''s lower body, making him let out a suppressed moan from his throat. "Umph¡ª" Jiao Lizhi was too focused on controlling the water needles to notice this. To avoid attracting zombies, she controlled her water needles and cut off the nerves in the woman''s body. Then, she flicked her fingers and searched for the woman''s crystal cores using the water needles. Not long after, two small crystal cores fell from the woman''s temple. Picking them up, she controlled the water needles. As the water needles came out of the woman''s body and floated above the cores, she withdrew her energy, and the needles turned into a splash of water, cleaning the blood off the cores. She put the crystal cores into her space and turned to check Pei Yijun''s condition. The moment she saw his state, she was stunned. As her gaze met his sharp eyes, she quickly grabbed his arm and turned his body around. Although the woman hadn''t undressed him completely, she had already pulled down his pants, and that part was¡ªwas out. When that image appeared in her mind, Jiao Lizhi shook her head and said, "I-I didn''t see anything." With his back to her, Pei Yijun couldn''t see what she was doing or thinking. At this moment, besides feeling humiliated by the woman, he was actually feeling awkward and embarrassed. When Jiao Lizhi looked at his body, he had an even stronger reaction. Chapter 36 - 36: Clearing The Poison Not knowing what Pei Yijun was thinking, Jiao Lizhi placed her palm on his hand and said, "Senior, I will try to remove the poison, please bear with it." Closing her eyes, she sent a thread of her energy into his body. While healing-type abilities were the best for curing poison and healing wounds, water-type and wood-type abilities could also do it. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. It was just that the energy consumption was higher, and not all ability users could gain healing properties. Only those with mutated abilities could do it. Right now, Jiao Lizhi didn''t know if her water ability was also mutated, as in her previous life. So, she could only try. If she couldn''t do it, she would just feed him more pond water and let him fend for himself. After a while, she finally felt the energy inside Pei Yijun''s body. When her water energy touched the indigo-colored energy, her body suddenly felt numb. It was as if she had been electrocuted. Realizing it was his thunder-type energy, Jiao Lizhi avoided it and searched for another energy. While she was busy searching for the woman''s poison energy, Pei Yijun almost lost his mind. He didn''t know what she was doing to his body, but every once in a while, he would feel numbness spreading through him. He groaned at the tingling numbness in his tailbone. Sweat covered his forehead and body as he tried to resist the urge to release himself. He lowered his gaze and saw his ''brother'' twitching nonstop. Not only that, it even got bigger and harder. At the same time, Jiao Lizhi finally found the gray energy hiding inside Pei Yijun''s body. Using her energy, she pushed the poison out of his body. She frowned when she realized there was no opening for him to discharge the poison. Just as she thought of poking a wound on his finger to withdraw the poison, she felt a force pushing both her energy and the poison toward a specific part of his body. Thinking that he had taken control of the situation, she quickly pulled back her energy. "Ngh!!" The moment she opened her eyes, she heard his muffled groan and saw his muscles tense while his body trembled. Fearing he might have been injured by the treatment, she reached out to check his condition. But before she could touch him, he pushed himself up and pulled up his pants. Seeing that he was able to dress himself, Jiao Lizhi let out a sigh of relief and said, "Senior, the poison should be cleared out by now." After saying this, she walked to the pile of chairs and bent down. She glanced at him and saw he was still dressing himself, so she quickly took out her backpack from her space. Then, she walked over and handed him a bottle of water while saying, "Senior, you should drink some water first." Pei Yijun''s heart was still beating fast after his release, and he didn''t want her to see his embarrassing situation. Without turning around, he took the water and said hoarsely, "Thank you." Jiao Lizhi looked at his back and let out a sigh. For a proud man like him, he must have been unwilling to show his embarrassing self to others. She thought for a moment, then took out a clean T-shirt from her space and placed it beside the water. "Senior, I will wait for you there. We still need to save your teammates. So you¡ª" Before she finished her words, he interrupted her, "I know." After giving him another glance, she walked to the door and waited for him with her back facing him. Hearing her footsteps getting further away, Pei Yijun finally turned his head and looked at her back. He took the water and finished it before changing his clothes. Using his dirty clothes, he wiped himself down and buckled his belt. When he stood up, he still hadn''t regained his strength and had to hold onto the wall for support. After a moment, he felt better and walked to the woman''s body. Looking at the small wound on the woman''s temple, Pei Yijun''s eyes turned cold. With a flick of his wrist, a spark of thunder flew into her wound. Not long after, smoke rose from the woman''s body as her skin slowly cracked. Smelling the burning scent, Jiao Lizhi turned her head and saw that the woman''s body had been roasted from the inside out. Seeing this, she swallowed and thought that he was indeed as cruel and petty as she had imagined. What a wise and magnanimous man? All of that was bullshit! Ten minutes later, the woman was reduced to ashes. As the wind blew, the ashes scattered everywhere. Only after the ashes were nowhere to be seen did Pei Yijun feel the anger in his heart dissipate a little. He turned and saw Jiao Lizhi looking at him with wide eyes. Thinking that he had scared her, he lowered his gaze and walked over. When he was in front of her, he said, "Thank you for your help." Jiao Lizhi observed him for a moment before saying, "Senior, if you want to thank me, just give me more supplies next time." When Pei Yijun heard this, he looked into her eyes, trying to see what she was thinking. He thought she would show disgust, gloating, or at least ridicule in her eyes. Unexpectedly, he saw nothing. Her eyes were so clear as if she hadn''t seen his most humiliating moment. He didn''t know if she was just good at hiding her thoughts or if she truly didn''t think anything of it. But right now, he felt at ease, seeing that she treated him as usual. After looking at her for a moment, he smiled and nodded, "Okay." "Senior, I checked the situation earlier. There are around eight ability users, including Teacher Cao, while there are only the two of us. I don''t know if you have any plans at this moment," Jiao Lizhi said. Chapter 37 - 37: Escaping ( 1 ) Pei Yijun also thought about their current situation, and going against Teacher Cao directly was not a wise decision. No matter how strong they were, two hands couldn''t win against eight legs. After a moment, he said, "I have a satellite phone in my backpack. We need to get that first so I can contact the people my father sent. Based on the timing, they shouldn''t be far from our location." Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi asked, "Senior, are you planning to wait for them?" "If possible, it''s better to take down Teacher Cao and his team as soon as possible. But if we can''t do that, we will wait for them and attack together," Pei Yijun said. Recalling what Teacher Cao and his team had done to those female students, Jiao Lizhi''s eyes darkened. But what he said was right. Even if she could defeat Teacher Cao and his team by using all her skills, she didn''t want to reveal her trump card. Letting Pei Yijun and his team know that she could attack using her water-type ability was already outside her plan. She didn''t want to take the risk of exposing her ability to absorb her energy back just to save Pei Yijun''s teammates. Instead, she was hoping to find a chance to kill Mo Binxue before the soldiers arrived. Seeing her remain silent, Pei Yijun added meaningfully, "Don''t worry, they won''t kill Li Yang and the rest. Even if they dare to do those disgusting things, they still don''t dare to kill people." Jiao Lizhi understood his hidden meaning but pretended to be clueless and nodded. The next moment, she heard a rumbling sound coming from Pei Yijun''s stomach. She looked at him and asked, "Senior, are you hungry?" Pei Yijun was embarrassed, but he still nodded and said, "Our supplies were taken away." Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi understood everything. They didn''t have time to eat before their supplies were taken away. She unzipped her backpack and took out a loaf of bread, a protein bar, and a bottle of strawberry milk. She handed them to him and said, "Here you go." Looking at the food, Pei Yijun took the protein bar and said, "Just a protein bar will do." "No, we might need to fight later. If you don''t eat, how will you have the energy to fight? If you feel bad, just pay me back later," Jiao Lizhi said as she pushed the bread and milk into his arms. After a moment of silence, he finally nodded and said, "Okay, I will pay you back later." "Good." Afterward, she pulled two chairs over and sat down. Seeing him eat, Jiao Lizhi felt hungry again. So, she took out a loaf of bread and a bottle of strawberry milk from her backpack. Under the red moonlight, the two of them ate in silence. After they finished eating, Jiao Lizhi said in a low voice, "Senior, we must leave this place. If they come and find that the woman has been killed, they will definitely try to catch you." sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Hearing her words, Pei Yijun nodded and said, "Okay." "I know a place for you to hide. Let''s go." When she finished speaking, Jiao Lizhi stood up and carried her backpack. Before opening the door, she listened for any sounds outside. After confirming that no one was there, she opened the door slowly and gestured for him to follow. The two of them left and closed the door behind them. This time, she didn''t climb into the ventilation pipe but instead headed toward the staff''s resting room. As they walked, Jiao Lizhi felt uneasy, as if something big was about to happen. After a moment, she suddenly recalled something from her previous life. In an instant, she stopped in her tracks and said, "Senior, we must leave this place as soon as possible." Hearing her words, Pei Yijun frowned and asked, "What''s wrong?" Jiao Lizhi checked her watch and said, "I don''t have time to explain, but you must believe me." Noticing the flash of panic in her eyes, Pei Yijun said, "We can''t leave my friends behind." Jiao Lizhi looked at him and saw his determination. After she weighed the pros and cons for a moment, she finally said, "I will help you save your friends, but you can''t bring Mo Binxue with you." Although he didn''t know what had happened between this girl and Mo Binxue, Pei Yijun didn''t have a good impression of that girl. So, he nodded and agreed readily, "Okay." After reaching an agreement, Jiao Lizhi walked to the fire axe box and used her hair pins to unlock it. With a click, the padlock was undone. She opened the box, took the axe, and handed it to him while saying, "Don''t use your ability." Pei Yijun took the axe and nodded. Even if he wanted to use his ability, he barely had any energy left. So, it was better to use the axe instead. The two of them rushed back to the lecture hall. Unlike other nights after the apocalypse, the red moon was hidden behind thick, dark clouds. There was no wind or thunder outside, yet the atmosphere felt oppressive, as if the sky was trying to suppress something. When they reached the lecture hall, Jiao Lizhi took a stun gun from her backpack and handed it to him while saying, "Senior, it''s already late, and they should have gone to sleep. Just take down the patrols and free your friends." Sensing something in her words, he asked, "Where are you going?" "I need to get something. As soon as you free your friends, go get your car. Don''t delay. If I don''t come out in ten minutes, just leave," Jiao Lizhi reminded him. Pei Yijun frowned at her words and wanted to refuse her plan. But before he could say anything, she had already turned and slipped away. He watched her back for a moment before climbing out through the next room''s window. Then, he peeked through the window to check the situation inside the lecture hall. Chapter 38 - 38: Escaping ( 2 ) As Jiao Lizhi had said, most of Teacher Cao''s team was asleep, leaving only one person guarding the door and another guarding Li Yang and the rest. He thought for a moment and decided to enter through the window at the corner of the lecture hall. Five minutes later, he was crawling on the floor. Using the chairs and desks on the podium as cover, he moved toward the corner where his friends were. When he got closer, he raised his head and saw Li Yang looking at him. He gestured for him to stay silent and carefully approached the man dozing off in a chair. The moment he stood behind him, he covered the man''s mouth with his palm and twisted his neck. With a crack, the light in the man''s eyes dimmed, and he slumped to the floor. He set the body down slowly and walked with his waist bent to his team''s location. Using their bodies to block the guard''s view, he untied their hands while whispering, "Don''t make a sound. We will leave as soon as possible." When they heard his voice, their eyes widened in surprise, and they nodded. Mo Binxue turned her head to look at him and saw the marks on his neck and collarbones. The moment her gaze landed on the hickeys and scratches, disgust flashed in her eyes. At that moment, she felt that he had been tainted by that woman. He should have been a man who was untouched and stood at the peak. How could he be defiled by that ugly woman? Pei Yijun noticed her gaze and the emotions flickering in her eyes. Even though he had been touched and kissed, nothing had happened between him and that woman. But he didn''t care to explain. After all, Mo Binxue was no one to him. After untying his friends, he said, "Follow me." Seeing them leave, Mo Binxue''s eyes widened in shock. She let out a muffled sound, trying to get them to free her. "Mmphh! Ngh!" Hearing this, Chu Zhimiao stopped and turned around. Mo Binxue''s eyes lit up when she saw her coming back. She was sure that, with her healing ability, they wouldn''t leave her behind. So, she turned her back to her, hoping she would untie her hands as soon as possible. Unfortunately, instead of being freed, she was knocked out by Chu Zhimiao. With a sharp hand chop on her neck, Mo Binxue''s eyes rolled back, and she fell to the ground with a thud. After knocking her out, Chu Zhimiao searched her body and found several transparent crystals in her pocket. Seeing the crystals, she was confused about why this woman would keep them. Even so, she still took them. She put the crystals into her pocket and quickly caught up with her team. Due to the thick clouds obstructing the moonlight, the corner was shrouded in darkness, so the man guarding the door didn''t notice their movements at all. Pei Yijun retrieved their backpacks, fire axe, and stun gun before climbing out the window, followed by his team. As they rushed toward the entrance, he said, "We will wait for Jiao Lizhi at the entrance." sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Hearing this, the wood-type ability user, Han Jie, asked, "Brother Pei, what about our supplies?" "The supplies were hidden by Teacher Cao and his team. If we want to get them back, we will have to search the building. Right now, we can''t fight them," Pei Yijun said. Han Jie clenched his fists and said, "One day, I will definitely make them pay for what they did to us." Hearing this, the others glanced at Pei Yijun''s neck and said nothing. Noticing their gazes, Pei Yijun pulled at his T-shirt, trying to cover the marks, and said, "Nothing happened to me." Li Yang and the others nodded at his words. As men, they knew how humiliating it was to be forced by a woman. Not to mention, that woman was old and ugly. It was normal for him to want to brush the matter aside. Unaware that his brothers were feeling sorry for him, Pei Yijun said calmly, "Let''s get our car." "Okay." At the same time, Jiao Lizhi climbed down from the ventilation pipe and landed softly inside the staff''s resting room. She scanned the stacks of supplies in front of her with a smile. With a wave of her hand, she stored everything in her space, leaving nothing but dust behind. Once she was done, she unlocked the window and jumped out. She was on the third floor, and there were no pipes to climb down, only AC units bolted to the walls. Using them as footholds, she leaped from one to another, descending swiftly. In less than five minutes, she reached the ground and took out her car from her space. As she sat at the driver''s seat, a raindrop landed on the windshield. Her expression changed the moment she saw this. Without hesitation, she started the engine and stepped on the gas pedal. Knowing Pei Yijun and his team were waiting at the entrance, she sped toward them. As she passed their cars, she flicked the headlights to signal them. Inside the car, Pei Yijun caught the signal and immediately followed. Behind him, Li Yang did the same and stepped on the gas to keep up. Meanwhile, back at Lin''an University, the guard at the door finally sensed something was off. Frowning, he gripped his iron rod and walked toward the lecture hall''s corner. When he saw Li Yang and the others were gone and Mo Binxue was lying on the ground, his expression twisted in rage. He turned and kicked Mo Binxue hard in the stomach. "Wake up!" The force of the blow jolted Mo Binxue awake. She curled up from pain and coughed violently. But before she could catch her breath, the man grabbed her hair and yanked her up. "Mmph!" She let out a muffled, pained cry. He ripped off the gag and asked angrily, "Where did they go?" Chapter 39 - 39: Unusual Situation Mo Binxue gasped for air as she endured the pain. Her voice hoarse as she stammered, "I¡ªI don''t know." SLAP! Her head snapped to the side as pain spread across her cheek from the man''s slap. "Where did they go?" he asked again. Tears streamed down Mo Binxue''s face, mixing with the snots, making her look dirty. Shaking her head, she sobbed, "I really don''t know. Just now, Pei Yijun came and let them go. Before they left, they knocked me out¡ªI don''t know where they went." The man stared into her eyes, assessing her words. After a moment, he was sure that she wasn''t lying. With a grunt, he shoved her to the ground and said, "I will deal with you later." Then, he turned and stormed off to report to Teacher Cao. Lying on the floor, Mo Binxue''s hands clenched into tight fists. Her body trembled, but it wasn''t just from fear¡ªit was rage and hatred. She could still see Pei Yijun''s cold expression as he abandoned her. Grinding her teeth, she muttered venomously, "Pei Yijun¡­ Chu Zhimiao¡­ one day, I will kill you both." Her voice was hoarse and weak, but the hatred in it was unmistakable. The guard reached the divided sleeping area and called out, "Brother Cao, those brats escaped." Teacher Cao''s eyebrows were knitted together when he heard this. He pushed aside the female student sleeping next to him and sat up. Rubbing his face, he asked irritatedly, "How the hell did they escape? Where is Old Lu?" "I don''t know." Teacher Cao''s face darkened at his words and he shouted, "Go find that bitch! She is the one who took Pei Yijun. She must know something!" Noticing his anger, the man nodded and rushed off. Once he left, Teacher Cao stood up, put on his pants, and walked toward Mo Binxue. He crouched in front of her with amusement flickering in his eyes. He looked at her for a moment and said, "Binxue, you refused to serve me for Pei Yijun''s sake. But look at you now¡ªhe ran and left you behind without a second thought. Do you hate him? Or, do you still like him?" Mo Binxue lifted her head, her eyes cold and full of disdain. She sneered and said, "What does that have to do with you?" Teacher Cao chuckled when he saw her stubborn gaze and said, "Starving must be painful, right? If you become my woman, I can guarantee you will never go hungry again." The moment she heard his words and saw his stare at her body lustfully, Mo Binxue''s expression twisted with disgust. Without hesitation, she spat in his face and said, "Pei! Even if I starve to death, I would never lower myself to sleep with trash like you!" Teacher Cao closed his eyes and wiped the spit from his cheek. Then, he suddenly grabbed her throat and lifted her off the ground. Mo Binxue''s face turned red as she kicked her legs desperately. With her hands still bound, she couldn''t fight back and could only twist her body, trying to free her neck from his grip. "Ugh¡­ khh¡­!" Tears, snots, and saliva smeared her face as her vision blurred. Her lungs burned as the searing pain of suffocation clawing at her chest. She realized, in pure terror, that she was going to die. Teacher Cao watched her struggle with a twisted smile. Just as she was about to lose consciousness, he released his grip. Mo Binxue collapsed to the floor, coughing violently while gasping for air, "Cough! Cough! Cough!" Her entire body trembled as fear settled deep into her bones from the near death experience just now. She clenched her fists tightly. She had a superpower now. She couldn''t die here! Teacher Cao reached out toward her again, but before he could touch her, his subordinate rushed back. "Brother Cao! We can''t find her." Teacher Cao''s face darkened further at this information. His fists clenched as he growled, "Find that bitch and those brats! It''s dark outside¡ªthey must be hiding in this building and couldn''t have gone far." "Yes!" As soon as he heard his words, the man hurried off to wake the others. Within minutes, Teacher Cao''s entire team was scouring the building, searching for Pei Yijun''s group. While they were searching for them, Jiao Lizhi, Pei Yijun, and his team were already a few kilometers away from Lin''an University. Inside the jeep, one of the team members, Feng Yun, looked at the dark sky and said, "Yijun, doesn''t something feel strange?" Pei Yijun glanced at him briefly before focusing back on the road. After a moment, he said, "I haven''t seen any zombies." Sitting in the passenger seat, Feng Yun looked out the window and added, "The sky is covered with dark clouds. It looks like it''s going to rain." In the backseat, Luo Jing, the earth-type ability user, said, "Isn''t rain a good thing? Our supplies were taken. If it rains, at least, we can collect water for drinking." Pei Yijun remained silent when he heard their words. Judging from Jiao Lizhi''s reaction earlier, this rain wasn''t a good thing. The oppressive feeling in his chest grew heavier by the second. His instincts told him that following Jiao Lizhi was the only way to survive. That was why he didn''t hesitate to go along with her plan, abandoning the supplies they had risked their lives to collect. Meanwhile in the front car, Jiao Lizhi scanned her surroundings, looking for shelter from the rain. She kept glancing at her watch as she drove. It was almost midnight and she didn''t have much time left. Five minutes later, she finally spotted a three-story restaurant. Without hesitation, she turned the wheel and drove into the parking lot. Seeing this, Pei Yijun and Li Yang followed right behind her. The moment her car stopped, Jiao Lizhi turned off the engine, pulled out the key, and stored all the supplies from the hidden compartment and back seat in her space. Then, she stepped out and said, "Help me move the supplies inside." S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 40 - 40: Its Here Hearing her request, Pei Yijun and his team quickly unloaded the supplies. An unexplainable sense of urgency pushed them to move faster. Once they were done, Jiao Lizhi went to find something to cover the car. Seeing this, Pei Yijun followed and asked, "What are you looking for?" "Something to cover the car," she replied while scanning the area. She walked to the side of the building and spotted a pile of trash in the alley. Among the discarded waste, she found boxes, torn fabric, and¡ªmost importantly¡ªseveral tarpaulins, though some had small holes. She quickly pulled them out and said, "Senior, help me!" Pei Yijun didn''t understand why she was so insistent, but he still helped her carry the tarpaulins. While they covered the cars, Li Yang and the rest searched the restaurant. Inside the kitchen, they found it fully stocked with supplies. "Good thing there is still food here. Otherwise, we would be in trouble," Chu Zhimiao said, letting out a breath of relief. Feeling thirsty, Li Yang licked his dry lips and asked, "Miaomiao, have you recovered enough to give us some water?" Chu Zhimiao looked at his condition and frowned, "I should be able to." Hearing this, Li Yang''s eyes lit up. He quickly found a clean cup and handed it to her, "Just a sip or two. Don''t push yourself." "Okay." She positioned her forefingers above the cup and focused her energy. Slowly, a thin stream of water trickled into the cup. However, her energy hadn''t fully recovered and the poison in her body still lingered, blocking her core. Using her ability now felt like countless needles pricking her skull. By the time the cup was half full, cold sweat covered her forehead. Seeing this, Li Yang said anxiously, "Miaomiao, stop, it''s enough!" Snapping back to reality, Chu Zhimiao stopped, her body swaying from dizziness. Li Yang quickly reached out to steady her and exclaimed with worry, "Miaomiao!" After catching her breath, she handed him the cup and said, "I''m fine. Drink first." Li Yang took it but pressed it to her lips and said, "You drink first." Chu Zhimiao hesitated, then took a small sip before handing it back and said, "You also drink." This time, Li Yang didn''t refuse and took a sip of water. Since water was limited, each person only took a sip, leaving some for Pei Yijun. When they returned to the main area, Jiao Lizhi and Pei Yijun had already entered the restaurant. Seeing their pale faces, Jiao Lizhi said, "There is food and water. Help yourselves and replenish your energy." Hearing her words, they exchanged hesitant glances. Even if the supplies were there, they belonged to Jiao Lizhi. It didn''t feel right to take them without permission. Understanding their thoughts, Pei Yijun said, "Just record what you take. We will repay her when we find more supplies." "Brother Pei, the kitchen has food. We just need some water," Chu Zhimiao said. "Then take what you need," Jiao Lizhi replied, already checking the windows and ventilation pipes. "Thank you," Chu Zhimiao said. With her permission, they retrieved some water and started cooking. Though there was no electricity, the stoves ran on gas, allowing them to prepare a meal. Meanwhile, Jiao Lizhi searched for duct tape and began sealing drains, vents, and windows. Once she secured the first floor, she moved to the second. Opening the door, she was momentarily stunned¡ªthis entire floor was a storage area. Since the restaurant specialized in burgers and pizzas, most of the stock consisted of flour, canned food, cheese, and sausages. Without hesitation, she stored everything in her space before sealing the windows and vents. Then, she moved to the third floor. This floor was an office with desks, chairs, stationery, and a couch set. She stored everything before sealing the space completely. After ensuring there were no openings, she checked her watch¡ªtwo minutes to midnight. Standing by the window, she watched the sky and counted down in her head, ''5, 4, 3, 2, 1¡­ It''s here.'' The next moment, thunder rumbled across the sky, followed by bright flashes of lightning. Moments later, raindrops began to fall. The rain intensified quickly, lashing against the windows as strong winds howled outside. Jiao Lizhi stood frozen, staring out in a daze. ''After this storm, the world would become even more dangerous,'' she thought inwardly. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. At the same time, in a villa along the mountain road, Jin Xuyan stood by the window, watching the rain with a deep frown. It had been so long that he had almost forgotten about this rain. Turning away, he quickly woke his team one by one. Five minutes later, everyone was gathered in the living room, waiting for his orders. Standing before them, Jin Xuyan said, "Find tape or anything else you can use¡ªseal the sewers, pipes, faucets, windows, and doors. Make sure there are no gaps or openings." Two team members raised their hands, and one of them said, "Captain, both of me and my brother have metal-type abilities. We can seal the sewers, pipes, and faucets." Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Good. I will leave that to you." Then, he turned to the rest and added, "The rest of you, assist Wen Mo and Wen Kai. Check every corner carefully." The soldiers stood at attention and responded in unison, "Yes, Captain!" Without hesitation, they split up to carry out their tasks in an orderly manner, leaving Zhang Yuan alone with Jin Xuyan in the living room. Zhang Yuan studied his captain''s tense expression and felt a sense of unease. He stepped forward and asked, "Captain, do you think something bad is going to happen?" Jin Xuyan watched the rain, which was quickly turning into a storm, and said, "Zhang Yuan, something is wrong with this rain. Make sure everyone stays indoors. No one is allowed to touch the rainwater." Even though Zhang Yuan didn''t understand what was wrong, he nodded immediately and replied, "Understood." Just as he turned to leave, Jin Xuyan added, "Check their temperatures every half hour. If anyone develops a fever, isolate them in a separate room and report to me." Chapter 41 - 41: Bad News ( 1 ) Zhang Yuan''s eyes flickered with surprise when he heard his captain''s order. Remembering what had happened at the gas station, he had a sinking feeling that something terrible was about to unfold. Nodding firmly, he left to make the necessary preparations. Jin Xuyan walked to the window. Standing there, his fists clenched tightly behind his back. The storm raged outside and there was no roar of zombies. It was as if they had returned to the time before the apocalypse. He was calm and steady, but at that moment, no one knew what he was thinking. Less than an hour later, the soldiers returned to the living room. Zhang Yuan walked up to Jin Xuyan and reported, "Captain, it''s done." Jin Xuyan turned to look at his team. This time, he wasn''t sure how many of them would survive. Lowering his gaze for a brief moment, he concealed the storm of emotions within him. When he looked up again, his expression was calm. "We will stay here until the rain stops. From now on, everyone must check their temperature every half hour. If you feel unwell, report it immediately," he said solemnly. The soldiers exchanged uncertain glances when they heard his words. After a moment, Wen Kai asked, "Captain, what should we do next?" sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Go to sleep." The answer left them stunned. Ever since the world had turned into a living hell, with zombies overrunning the streets, this was the first time their captain had given such an order. Jin Xuyan noticed their hesitation and doubt, but he had no way to explain. Only those who had lived through the nightmare that followed this rain would understand¡ªbeing able to sleep was a rare luxury. A familiar figure surfaced in his mind, and he clenched his fists. Taking a deep breath, he pushed down the anxiety surging inside him. Right now, all he could do was hope that she was safe¡ªthat she had managed to escape Lin''an University before it was too late. At the same time, at the lecture hall of Lin''an University, the students cheered when they saw that it was raining. Although Teacher Cao had taken away the supplies found by Pei Yijun and his team, he only gave them half a cup of water and a small pack of biscuits every day. They thought he was stingy and wanted to keep all the water and food for himself. The truth was because of Chu Zhimiao''s water-type ability, Pei Yijun and his team focused on getting food and only bringing back some water. Therefore, at this moment, Teacher Cao''s team lacked water the most. Noticing the students'' intentions, Teacher Cao narrowed his eyes and said, "Brother Yang, go check how much water we have. Also, bring back some empty bottles or containers to collect the rainwater." Hearing his words, Brother Yang nodded and asked, "What about Pei Yijun and his friends?" Teacher Cao sneered and replied, "Since they have escaped, there is no need to bother with them. They have been starving for a day. Even if they can run from us, there is no guarantee they will survive for long. With the storm and zombies, it will be hard for them to find food." Brother Yang nodded and said, "Then I will inform our brothers to find containers and collect rainwater." After leaving the lecture hall, Brother Yang walked to the staff room and opened the door. The moment he did, he was stunned. The room was empty. Besides the walls and a layer of dust on the floor, there was nothing else. He rushed inside and looked around. Not to mention supplies, there wasn''t even a crumb of biscuit left! Without supplies, there was no way they could survive for long. Even with water, they still needed to go out to find food. Thinking about the dangers outside, his face turned pale, and he quickly ran back to report. When he returned to the lecture hall, he walked to Teacher Cao in hurried steps. Noticing his pale face and panic, Teacher Cao frowned and asked, "What''s wrong?" Brother Yang leaned down and whispered, "Brother Cao, the supplies are gone." As soon as he heard this, Teacher Cao stood up and exclaimed, "What did you say?!" Hearing his shout, the students turned to look at him with doubt and curiosity. Teacher Cao saw this and lowered his voice. "How can so many supplies disappear just like that?" "Brother Cao, maybe Pei Yijun and his team took the supplies," Brother Yang said. "Impossible. Even if they wanted to take them, they didn''t know where we hid them. What''s more, they would have to carry the supplies to the entrance, and we would have noticed them," Teacher Cao said with a deep frown. Both of them went silent for a moment before Brother Yang asked, "Brother Cao, is it possible that Sister Wu betrayed us and helped Pei Yijun take the supplies? Otherwise, why would she suddenly disappear? She must have left with them!" Hearing his words, Teacher Cao felt it made sense. Anger surged in his heart, and he cursed, "That bitch, I will peel off her skin if I find her!" "Brother Cao, what should we do now?" Brother Yang asked. Right now, they were able to control the students because they had supplies. If they didn''t, it would be hard to keep them in order. Most of Teacher Cao''s team members had already tasted the joy of holding power. There were still many female students they hadn''t touched yet. How could they be willing to let them escape? After a while, Teacher Cao finally said, "For now, we must gather as much rainwater as possible. As for food, we will go out after the rain stops." Right now, they had no other choice. So, Brother Yang could only nod and say, "Okay." Sitting not far from them, a female student stared at them with cold eyes full of hatred. She gritted her teeth and dragged her sore body toward the group of students. Chapter 42 - 42: Bad News ( 2 ) The female student sat down at the corner and leaned against the wall. Beside her, a male student handed her a pack of biscuits and said, "Eat something first." The female student stared at the biscuit in a daze for a while before reaching out to take it. She looked at the male student and said hoarsely, "Thank you." Looking at the bite marks and hickeys on the female student''s body, the male student lowered his gaze and said nothing. He had watched Teacher Cao humiliate his female classmates, but he neither had the courage nor the ability to help them. He felt ashamed for assisting the bad people by doing nothing. All he could do was try to make life a little bit better for them. The female student knew that Teacher Cao and his team would run out of food soon, so she only ate a piece of biscuit and hid the rest in her clothes. Then, she took two sips of water. This bottle of water was given to her after Teacher Cao vented his lust on her. Thinking about what had just happened and feeling the pain in her lower body, tears fell from the corner of her eyes. Biting her lip, she wiped away her tears. She must survive and find her parents. She couldn''t let herself crumble from this. Not long after, Brother Yang returned with his team, carrying several empty gallon bottles and basins. Seeing this, the students'' eyes lit up. Since Teacher Cao''s team was also collecting rainwater, they should follow suit. Everyone quickly drank their water and ran to the window to fill their empty bottles. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The female student watched them but didn''t follow. When she saw the male student beside her about to drink all of his water, she reached out to stop him and said, "You must save your water." The male student looked at her and said, "We can fill the bottle with rainwater later." The female student shook her head and said, "I don''t think it''s safe to drink the rainwater. Not only do we not know if the rain carries a virus or bacteria, but considering all the dust in the air before the rain, the water isn''t safe for consumption." Thinking about her words, the male student finally listened to her. He glanced at her and asked, "Are you okay?" Hearing this, the female student chuckled and said, "Even if I''m not okay, what can I do? I can''t kill him, and I don''t want to kill myself." After a moment of silence, the male student took off his jacket and handed it to her without saying a word. The female student was stunned by this and realized that her clothes were torn and her body was seen. She took the jacket, put it on, and whispered, "Thank you." "I''m sorry," he said after a moment of silence. His voice was so soft that it was drowned out by the sound of rain outside. The female student said nothing and lowered her head to rest. With the windows open, the lecture hall was not as stifling as before, and the rancid stench in the air was washed away by the fresh breeze. Teacher Cao looked at the students, who were busy filling their bottles with rainwater, and narrowed his eyes. Everyone was full of joy and didn''t notice that the night was eerily silent. At the same time, not far from Lin''an University, the zombies stood under the rain with their heads raised and eyes closed. They remained motionless like statues. The rain drenched their rotten flesh and torn, dirty clothes. Without anyone noticing, their decayed flesh and dead muscles slowly evolved. The zombies'' joints and muscles became more flexible and stronger, while their flesh no longer saggy as they grew more solid. While most of the zombies underwent small changes, those who had already broken through to level one experienced more significant transformations. Their gray eyes slowly changed color, their nails and teeth grew sharper, and their energy increased. When their gray eyes finally turned completely black, they opened their mouths and let out throaty roars as they raised their heads. "Roarrr!" On the rooftop of Lin''an University''s library, a zombie opened its eyes. Its black pupils glinted under the dim red moonlight as it raised its head and let out a roar. After the long roar, the motionless zombies within a five-kilometer radius opened their eyes and began moving, heading toward Lin''an University slowly. At that moment, the same phenomenon occurred globally, but due to the storm, no one noticed the impending danger. Inside a restaurant several kilometers away from Lin''an University, Jiao Lizhi suddenly opened her eyes. Cold sweat covered her forehead and back as she breathed heavily. Her eyes were unfocused as if she were still trapped in a nightmare. Sitting nearby, Pei Yijun looked over when he saw her suddenly wake up. He put down his fire axe and walked over. He squatted beside her chair and asked, "What''s wrong?" Hearing his voice, Jiao Lizhi snapped out of her daze. Her eyes finally regained focus, and she turned her head to look at him. After a moment, she said, "We must leave this place as soon as the rain stops." Noticing her cold sweat and pale face, he asked, "Did you have a nightmare?" Closing her eyes, Jiao Lizhi took a deep breath and said hoarsely, "There will be a zombie horde after the rain. We must leave as soon as possible, or we will be trapped here." Hearing this, Pei Yijun narrowed his eyes and asked, "How do you know that?" Jiao Lizhi pushed herself up and replied, "Don''t you find it strange that there haven''t been any zombies at all? This rain is unusual, and when something is out of the ordinary, it usually brings bad news." "Aren''t you overthinking?" Pei Yijun asked, raising an eyebrow. Seeing his disbelief, Jiao Lizhi didn''t continue trying to persuade him. Instead, she said, "I will leave when the rain stops. Whether you stay or go is up to you." Chapter 43 - 43: Bad News ( 3 ) After she finished her words, Jiao Lizhi stood up and headed to the third floor. Pei Yijun and his team had used the bathroom on the first floor, and she didn''t want to use that one because of the smell. So, she could only go to the third floor. After closing the bathroom door, she entered her space, washed her face, took care of her needs, and got something to eat. As she ate, memories of her past life flashed through her mind. After this rain, the situation in Lin''an City would worsen. Although several refugee camps would be built by the government or ability users, they wouldn''t be able to withstand the zombie attacks. In less than five months, this city would become a ghost city. Before that happened, she needed to gather as many supplies as possible and leave. As for others, she neither had the energy nor the intention to help them. If she met people on the road, she would warn them of the danger, but that was all. Her priority was survival. After finishing her meal, she exercised for two hours to improve her stamina and strength. When she was done, she took a shower and changed clothes. Since she had nothing else to do, she retrieved two basins of water and her dirty clothes. She needed to wash them soon, or she would run out of clean clothes. As she poured out her clothes from the basket, she was stunned by their condition. Picking up one of the pants, she examined it carefully and realized that aside from a few tears, it was as clean as new. Bringing the fabric close to her nose, she took a sniff. Besides the sour stench of sweat, there was no other odor. She was lost in thought for a moment before an idea flashed in her mind. "Could it be that my space has an auto-cleaning function?" she muttered. But when she smelled the lingering sweat on the pants, she dismissed the idea. If her space had an auto-cleaning function, her clothes wouldn''t still smell bad. Although she still didn''t fully understand her space, she was quite pleased with its partial cleaning function. Without black blood, rotten flesh, or heavy stains, washing her clothes would be much easier. She mixed some washing powder with water and soaked her clothes before scrubbing them by hand. Half an hour later, she finished washing and hung them on a pole to dry. When she exited her space and went downstairs, she saw Pei Yijun and his team sitting together, discussing something. Judging by their serious expressions, it seemed he had already told them what she had said earlier. Seeing her come down, Chu Zhimiao waved at her and said, "Lizhi, come here." Walking over, Jiao Lizhi took a seat beside her and asked, "What''s wrong?" "Senior Pei told us about your plan. Where are you planning to go after leaving this place?" Li Yang asked. Jiao Lizhi glanced at Pei Yijun before answering, "I plan to gather more supplies and head to Sanchou City." "Sanchou City? Are you looking for someone there?" Feng Yun asked. Although Jiao Lizhi didn''t have anyone to find, she still nodded. "My family lives there, and I also plan to go search for them. How about we go together?" Feng Yun suggested. Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi lowered her gaze and frowned. In her past life, Feng Yun had never left the team after joining Pei Yijun''s group. Why did he suddenly want to go to Sanchou City? Seeing her hesitation, Feng Yun added, "Even if we travel together, I will be responsible for my own safety and food. I won''t be a burden." After thinking for a moment, Jiao Lizhi nodded, "Okay." Pei Yijun looked at her and wanted to offer his help, but before he could speak, the satellite phone in his backpack rang. Hearing this, he quickly retrieved it and answered, "Hello." A deep male voice came through the phone the moment he picked up the call, "Pei Yijun, how is your situation?" Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. As soon as Jiao Lizhi heard this voice, her eyes widened in surprise. She turned to look at Pei Yijun while listening intently. "Captain Jin, we are safe for now. When will you arrive?" Pei Yijun asked. "We will depart as soon as the rain stops. Are you still at Lin''an University?" Jin Xuyan asked. "No, my friends and I have already left. We are currently staying in a restaurant nine kilometers from the university," Pei Yijun replied. After a moment of silence, Jin Xuyan asked, "Why did you suddenly decide to leave? Did something happen?" "Something did happen, but we decided to leave because of my friend''s warning." On the other end of the line, Jin Xuyan frowned at his words. A thought flashed through his mind, and he asked, "What is your friend''s name?" Pei Yijun frowned at the strange question, but since he still needed Jin Xuyan''s help, he answered, "Jiao Lizhi." The moment he heard this name, Jin Xuyan''s heart skipped a beat. His hands trembled with excitement, and he had to take several deep breaths to calm himself. "My team and I should reach your location in about eight hours. If possible, stay put and wait for us," he said hoarsely. "Okay," Pei Yijun agreed readily. Due to the unstable signal, the call was cut off after a few minutes. Pei Yijun put away his satellite phone and walked back to the group. As she listened, Jiao Lizhi was certain this was the same voice she had heard before she was torn apart by zombies in her past life. His voice felt familiar, but she couldn''t recall who he was. Pei Yijun sat down, looked at Jiao Lizhi, and said, "Jiao Lizhi, why don''t you wait until the soldiers arrive before you leave? It will be much safer that way." Jiao Lizhi thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay." She was confident she could leave the city alone, but she wanted to find out who that voice belonged to. Chapter 44 - 44: Hidden Danger As the night deepened, Teacher Cao, his team, and the students finally finished filling all the empty bottles and containers they could find with rainwater. Some were so thirsty and hungry that they drank the rainwater directly before refilling their bottles. No one knew whether it was due to the low temperature or poor hygiene, but several people developed high fevers that night. At first, no one noticed, as most were asleep. But at dawn, when the sky brightened, one of the students finally realized that the person sleeping beside him was burning up. Reaching out, he pushed his friend and said, "Hey, what''s wrong with you?" At his touch, his friend collapsed to the ground without waking up. Startled by this, the student quickly checked on him and saw his flushed face, labored breathing, and sweat-drenched clothes. He was clearly unconscious and his pale skin and chapped lips made his condition look even worse. Realizing the severity of the situation, the student shouted, "Teacher Cao! My friend has a high fever! Please help him!" One of the patrolling men hurried over after hearing his words. Upon seeing the student''s state, a flash of excitement crossed his eyes as he recalled what had happened to a team member before they awakened their abilities. He quickly turned to the dividing screen and called out, "Brother Cao, someone is mutating!" Right now, their team desperately needs ability-users. If some students managed to awaken abilities and joined them, it would significantly strengthen their group. Hearing the commotion, Teacher Cao startled awake. He glared at the man and scolded, "Why are you shouting?! Do you want the zombies to hear us?!" Instead of looking guilty, the man grinned and said, "Brother Cao, this is good news! One of the students is mutating!" Teacher Cao''s eyes lit up at his words and he quickly wore his shoes while saying, "Let''s check on him!" Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Yes!" The two hurried over to the student with high fever and confirmed that he was indeed undergoing an awakening. Since ability-users were rare, Teacher Cao placed great importance on them. He waved his hand and ordered, "Give him more water and find a way to lower his temperature!" The student watching over his friend felt relieved. He had feared that Teacher Cao wouldn''t care about their lives, but it turned out he still had a conscience after all! "Thank you, Teacher Cao!" he said gratefully. Soon, more students reported similar conditions among their friends. Out of 67 students, 11 were undergoing the awakening process. As for the rest, they experienced only fatigue and weakness, which they attributed to a lack of proper food. Those in the midst of mutation were gathered in one area, with several students assigned to care for them. They were given rainwater to drink, and their bodies were wiped down with it to lower their fevers. Unbeknownst to them, the more they drank and touched the rainwater, the worse their conditions became. Everyone believed their friends would awaken abilities and become important figures in Teacher Cao''s group. Only a single female student and the male student beside her felt anxious. Both noticed that the students had dark circles under their eyes and their eyes became red after drinking rainwater. There are red lines in the white areas, as if I haven''t slept for several days. Those who consume more rainwater even walk in weird ways. Their movements seemed stiffer and slower than usual. Sitting in the corner, the female student whispered, "We need to leave this place as soon as possible." The male student nodded and replied, "They are distracted right now. We can slip out through the back door." Hearing this, the female student stood up and carefully moved toward the back. Since Teacher Cao and his team were focused on the students'' conditions, no one noticed as the two quietly slipped away. Once outside the lecture hall, the male student supported her as they walked and asked, "My name is Gu Shaoze. What''s yours?" The female student glanced at him and replied, "Rong Mo''er." Gu Shaoze nodded and suggested, "Rong Mo''er, let''s team up to survive." Shaking her head, Rong Mo''er said, "I need to go back to my town and find my parents. I can''t go with you." "That''s fine. I will go with you. I have nowhere else to go anyway," Gu Shaoze said with a small smile. Looking at his smiling face, Rong Mo''er sighed and said, "Suit yourself." Gu Shaoze looked at the pouring rain and asked, "It''s still raining and we can''t leave the building. Where should we go now?" "We should head to the ground floor and hide there. Once the rain stops, it will be easier to leave," Rong Mo''er replied after some thought. Thinking for a moment, Gu Shaoze said, "Then let''s go to the guard room." "Okay." After they had a plan, the two made their way downstairs, reaching the guard room half an hour later. Once inside, they locked the door and breathed a sigh of relief. Noticing that Rong Mo''er was barefoot, Gu Shaoze rummaged through the locker room and returned with a set of clothes and a pair of sneakers. He handed them to her while saying, "They might be too big, but they are better than nothing." Rong Mo''er accepted them and said, "Thank you." "No problem. You can change in the locker room," Gu Shaoze said, feeling awkward. Rong Mo''er noticed his expression but said nothing. She went inside, removed her torn clothes, and used them to wipe herself clean. As she did, the hatred in her heart made her eyes burn red. At that moment, a dark thought crossed her mind. ''If only I could burn those bastards to death, how good it would be. They don''t even deserve an intact corpse!'' As soon as the thought formed, fire suddenly engulfed her hands. Shocked by the sudden fire, she let out a panicked cry, "Ah!" Hearing her cry, Gu Shaoze rushed in and froze at the sight before him. Chapter 45 - 45: Fire And Water At this moment, Rong Mo''er''s hands were covered in flames while her discarded clothes were already reduced to ashes. Acting fast, he grabbed a rag and tried to extinguish the fire¡ªbut no matter what he did, the flames were still burning. When he raised his head, Gu Shaoze was stunned by Rong Mo''er''s eyes. Her pupils had turned red, flickering as if flames were burning within them. Noticing his stunned reaction, Rong Mo''er felt scared and cried out, "Gu Shaoze, save me! I don''t want to die!" Fear welled up inside her, and tears gathered in her eyes. But before they could fall, they evaporated into mist due to her high body temperature. Gu Shaoze froze when he saw this, his hands still midair. His initial instinct to help her faded as he took several steps back. He let out a sigh of relief and said, "Rong Mo''er, calm down." She glared at him when she heard his words and asked, "How can you tell me to calm down when I''m burning like this?!" "Rong Mo''er, do you feel any pain?" he asked carefully. The moment she heard his words, she was taken aback. She had been so panicked that she hadn''t even noticed her condition. But now that he mentioned it, there was indeed no pain at all. The only discomfort she felt was the lingering soreness in her lower body. At this realization, her eyes widened in shock. Gu Shaoze smiled when he saw her reaction and said, "Congratulations, Rong Mo''er. You have awakened a superpower." The realization sent a wave of excitement through her. She threw her head back and burst into laughter. With this power, she could finally avenge herself. Those bastards would burn¡ªthey wouldn''t even deserve an intact corpse. She would make sure to burn them all! But as the laughter faded, her emotions crashed down on her like a tidal wave. She squatted and wrapped her arms around her knees with her head lowered. The flames on her hands flickered, growing smaller until they disappeared entirely. Seeing her trembling shoulders, Gu Shaoze sighed. He crouched beside her and, without saying a word, pulled her into his embrace. He patted her back in silent comfort, unsure of what to say. After a while, Rong Mo''er''s sobs quieted down. She wiped her tear-streaked face and said hoarsely, "Thank you, Gu Shaoze." Gu Shaoze chuckled and said with a hint of self-mockery, "I don''t deserve your thanks. I¡ª" Before he finished his words, Rong Mo''er shook her head and said, "What happened to me isn''t your fault. You weren''t obligated to help me. Don''t blame yourself." Even though she said this, guilt still weighed heavily on Gu Shaoze. Not wanting to continue the conversation, he cleared his throat and said, "You should get dressed." Only then did Rong Mo''er realize she was wearing nothing but her underwear. Even though she had been tainted, she still felt a deep sense of shame at exposing herself in front of a man. "I will step outside," Gu Shaoze said, quickly leaving the room. Outside, he collapsed onto a chair, lost in thought. Raising his hands, he noticed they were damp with sweat. Rubbing his palms on his pants, he tried to wipe the moisture away, but no matter how much he rubbed, his palms remained wet. His gaze flickered between his damp pants and his still-dripping hands. A strange thought crossed his mind and he thought, ''Am I sick?'' Just as he started to worry about an unknown illness, a droplet of water slipped from his palm and hit the ground. Then another and another. The drops gradually increased, forming a small puddle beneath him. He was stunned by this and recalled how one of Pei Yijun''s teammates had the ability to create water from her fingertips. "Am I also¡ª?" he muttered under his breath. On impulse, he lifted his fingers to his mouth and sucked on them. Cool, fresh liquid trickled onto his tongue, and his eyes widened in shock. The water was cool. It tasted just like spring water, with a faint hint of sweetness. With water supplies running low, Gu Shaoze had been feeling thirsty for days. He ignored all hesitation and kept drinking, savoring the cool relief the water brought to him as he hummed in satisfaction. At that moment, Rong Mo''er stepped out of the locker room¡ªonly to stop in her tracks. What she saw made her eyes widen in shock. Gu Shaoze sat there, fingers in his mouth, eyes half-lidded in pleasure as he¡­ sucked on them? A chill ran down her spine instantly. She had escaped from those beasts, only to end up with a pervert?! Clenching her fists, she stammered, "W-what are you doing?" At the sound of her voice, Gu Shaoze snapped out of his trance. His dazed expression cleared, and his face immediately turned crimson. He pulled his fingers from his mouth and stammered, "I-it''s not what you think! I''m not a pervert!" Rong Mo''er narrowed her eyes and asked, "Then what exactly were you doing?" Raising his dripping hands, Gu Shaoze quickly explained, "I think I have a water ability. My palms keep secreting water, so I was drinking it." She eyed his hands suspiciously¡ªuntil she saw the thin layer of water covering his skin and trickling down his arms. Her throat burned with thirst. Without another thought, she rushed over, grabbed his hand, and exclaimed, "Don''t waste the water!" Then, without hesitation, she lowered her head and licked his palm. Gu Shaoze stiffened instantly. A soft, wet tongue slid across his skin, lapping up the water greedily. Heat surged through his body as his mind went blank. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. As a normal young man, his body reacted instinctively. But he knew she had just suffered a traumatic experience, so he didn''t want to scare her. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to stay calm. In a strained voice, he said, "R-Rong Mo''er, c-can you let go? I will fill a water bottle for you." Chapter 46 - 46: None Was Spared Rong Mo''er gulped down a few more mouthfuls before reluctantly letting go of his hand. She quickly pulled out her water bottle, uncapped it, and held it up. She looked at him and said, "Gu Shaoze, try focusing the water into your forefinger. I saw Miaomiao do that before." Hearing this, Gu Shaoze nodded and said, "I will try." Closing his eyes, he focused inward. A strange sensation stirred within him as he felt a warm energy flowing in his veins. Moments later, the water on his palm vanished, and a steady trickle began to flow from his forefinger and entered the bottle. Both of them stared in awe. Their gazes met, and grins spread across their faces. They no longer had to worry about running out of water anymore! While the two were busy learning to control their newfound abilities, the lecture hall descended into chaos. Terrified screams and desperate cries mixed with the guttural roars of zombies. "Akh! Help!!" A student let out a bloodcurdling scream as his friend sank his teeth into his neck. Blood spurted out like a fountain when his neck was bitten off, filling the air with the thick scent of iron and sending the zombies into a frenzy. "Roarr!!" Standing in the corner of the lecture hall, Brother Yang hurled a fireball the size of an orange at the nearest zombie that was pouncing at him. BOOM! The fireball struck the zombie''s face and exploded on impact. In the past, this attack had been enough to take down a zombie by burning half of the brain. Believing it was dead, Brother Yang let his guard down and turned toward Teacher Cao as he asked, "Brother Cao, what should we do now?!" Before he could get an answer, a rancid stench filled his nostrils. As soon as he smelled this, his heart skipped a beat. Crash! "Kukh¡ª!" A sudden, intense pain shot through his body. His face paled as he turned his head, only to see a zombie with half its face burned, sinking its teeth deep into his shoulder and tearing away a chunk of flesh. His entire body trembled from pain and fear as he stretched a desperate hand toward Teacher Cao, pleading, "S-save me¡ª" Crash! Crash! Crash! His breath stuck in his throat when he heard sickening growls and the wet, sticky sound of chewing right beside his ear. Before his mind could fully process what was happening, his vision blurred. The world spun¡ªuntil suddenly, he found himself looking at his own body being eaten by several zombies. Horror gripped him as he realized that his neck had been broken. A moment later, he watched with terror as the zombie''s sharp claws plunged into his skull. Seeing his men get slaughtered one after another, cold sweat covered Teacher Cao''s forehead and back. His eyes darted around frantically as he tried to search for an escape route. After indulging himself in excess lust over the past two days, his stamina was far from when he had just awakened his ability. Now, he was already gasping for breath after fighting for half an hour, barely managing to fend off the zombies'' continuous attacks. When he saw that the area near the door was clear of zombies, he sprinted toward the door. But just as he reached it, a zombie lunged at him from behind. "Roarrr!" His face went pale when he heard the roar. With only a split second to react, he leaned to the side, narrowly avoiding the zombie''s sharp claws. But before he could recover, it lunged at him again. In desperation, he grabbed a nearby female student and shoved her forward toward the incoming zombies. "Akkhh!" Caught off guard, the student stumbled. Before she could regain her footing, the zombie pounced at her, sinking its teeth into her neck. Teacher Cao''s face turned even paler at the sight. Without a second glance, he bolted toward the door. The moment he stepped through, he slammed it shut and, with trembling hands, fumbled for his keys. His fingers shook as he locked the door. Ignoring the frantic banging and desperate pleas from inside, he sprinted toward the emergency stairs. At this moment, his mind was consumed by a single thought¡ªescape. He must escape from this place! By the time he reached the ground floor, his lungs were burning as he gasped for breath. Without even considering the risk, he opened the entrance door and ran out into the storm. Within minutes, the heavy downpour had soaked him to the bone. Yet, despite the cold on his body and his heavy steps, he didn''t dare stop. He ran blindly, never looking back. Finally, after more than an hour, he spotted an abandoned house. Relief spread on his face as he stumbled inside, gasping for breath. He slammed the door shut and blocked it with heavy furniture before he flopped to the ground, fainting from exhaustion. In his frantic escape, he failed to notice the eerie silence of the streets and the subtle tremors in the ground. More than two kilometers from him, a massive horde of zombies was moving toward Lin''an University at a slow yet orderly speed. More and more zombies join the horde from every direction. Their numbers keep increasing as time passes. By the time the horde reached one thousand, it finally stopped growing. Meanwhile, back at Lin''an University, the rain showed no sign of stopping. Trapped in the guard post, Rong Mo''er and Gu Shaoze could only ease their hunger by drinking water. Thankfully, before he ran out of energy, Gu Shaoze had managed to produce four liters of clean water. As for the remaining students in the hall, most had already turned into zombies, while the rest had been devoured alive. None was spared from the calamity, including Mo Binxue, who was tied up in the corner. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. By midnight, the rain had finally begun to ease. A heavy, suffocating tension hung in the air, accompanied by the lurking danger. In the mountain villa, Jin Xuyan stood by the window and checked his watch. Chapter 47 - 47: Mutating As the clock struck midnight, the rain stopped abruptly. The thick storm clouds parted, revealing a blood-red moon hanging ominously in the sky. His eyes narrowed at this sight. Without hesitation, he turned to his team and said, "Wake up. It''s time to move." The soldiers stirred immediately as most of them were a light sleeper. Within ten minutes, they had packed their gear and climbed into their trucks and armored vehicles. Under the dimmed illumination of the red moonlight, their convoy left the villa, heading straight for Lin''an University. Inside the armored car, Jin Xuyan checked his watch again, his fingers clenching into fists. He had expected casualties during the storm, but thanks to their precautions, none of his men had turned into zombies. Although no one turned into zombies, several soldiers had developed high fevers and fell into a coma. They were showing signs of awakening their abilities. Unlike those who awakened their abilities caused by a zombie''s bite or scratch, awakenings caused by the natural causes had a higher survival rate. As long as they controlled the fever and kept the men hydrated, the chances of survival were as high as twenty percent. Thinking about the low number, Jin Xuyan exhaled sharply. Now, they can only do their best. He hoped none of his men would die in the process. At the same time, a figure was walking stiffly as she dragged her wounded body along the road. Her long hair had long lost its luster and turned yellow and dry. As she walked, her hair fluttered in the wind, and strands fell to the ground. Her white dress was covered in dark, dried blood and rotten flesh. A wound the size of a ping pong ball could be seen on her calf. The blood had long stopped flowing from the wound, but the area around it was rotting slowly. Feeling the pain in her calf and the piercing pain in her head, Mo Binxue had only one thought in her mind at that moment¡ªshe must find a place to hide and survive. As her body temperature kept dropping, the red veins in her eyes became denser. Her black pupils had already turned gray and looked like a dead fish''s eyes. Opening her mouth, she let out a ''ho ho ho'' sound. Even though her mind had become sluggish and it took her a long time to process things, she still understood what was happening. She was turning into a zombie¡ªa brainless monster that only knew how to eat flesh and looked disgusting. A drop of dark blood slowly rolled from the corner of her eye as she thought, ''I don''t want to become a monster. I shouldn''t end up like this. I want to live!'' Unfortunately, no matter how unwilling she was, the mutation in her body continued. Half an hour later, she finally stopped moving and stood on the road with her head tilted back at a strange angle, her eyes closed. Her hands hung limply at her sides, and her legs stiffened. "Ghhrrrhhh¡ª" The next moment, her eyes suddenly snapped open. Her gray eyes glinted with a strange light. There was a fleeting hint of clarity in that pair of dull eyes. Her head moved stiffly as she looked around, as if trying to see where she was. She raised her bluish, pale hands for a long time before finally opening her mouth and letting out a loud roar. "Roarrr!!!" As soon as she roared, another roar was heard in the distance. "Roar!!" The moment she heard the roar, her body stiffened. After a while, she turned around and walked stiffly toward Lin''an University. At the same time, the huge crowd of zombies less than two kilometers away suddenly became chaotic. Half of them went out of control, roaring as they wandered around. As the zombies kept moving forward, those that wandered around slowly fell behind and detached from the group. The massive horde suddenly halved, and the rumbling on the ground lessened. Meanwhile, at Lin''an University, Rong Mo''er and Gu Shaoze noticed that the rain had stopped. They found a backpack and packed a set of clothes, a pair of shoes, and any food or medicine they could find in the guard room. When they were done, they found several tactical batons in a locker. They tied one to their thighs and stored the rest in their backpack. The batons were made of special materials and were very durable. They could use them as weapons. Both of them were ability users, and the weight of the baton felt light in their hands. Besides the batons, they also found two fighting knives, a multitool knife, a pocket knife, and a taser. Since Rong Mo''er had a fire-type ability with high attack power, she took only one fighting knife and gave the rest to Gu Shaoze. After putting on the guards'' tactical uniforms, the two of them finally left the guard room and walked to the entrance. This time, they heard the roars of zombies in the distance and looked at each other. Since the roars were coming from the left, they decided to go in the right direction. They headed to the parking lot and choose an SUV with a truck bed. After prying open the door, they threw out useless things and searched for the keys. Five minutes later, they couldn''t find the key and had no choice but to try hotwiring the engine. Neither of them had ever stolen a car before, so they could only try their luck. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Gu Shaoze held two cables in his hands and rubbed them together again and again. Ten minutes later, the engine finally roared to life. Hearing this, he quickly sat in the driver''s seat and said, "Let''s go." Rong Mo''er nodded and locked the door after she sat in the passenger seat. The car had only half a tank of gas, so they decided to find a gas station first. With thumping hearts, they drove to the entrance and left the university. Unbeknownst to them, a pair of black eyes were locked in their direction. As the figure lowered its body, ready to chase after them, a roar came from the distance. As soon as it heard the roar, it changed direction and moved in the direction of the roar. Chapter 48 - 48: Territorial Fight After another hour, the zombie horde finally stopped when it was a kilometer away from Lin''an University. Arriving on top of a five-story building, a zombie with long limbs raised its head and let out a long roar. "Roarrr!!" As soon as the roar sounded, another roar came from the distance. Ten minutes later, a figure suddenly appeared behind the zombie and swung its massive arms. Noticing the attack, the long limbs zombie raised its arms to block the attack. Boom! The collision created a ring of wind waves, sending dust and debris in all directions. Before the dust and wind settled, a loud roar came from the center of the fight. "Roar!" Following this, the zombie with massive arms suddenly jumped a few meters to the side. Boom! A fireball the size of two basketballs flew past it and hit the next building with a loud explosion. The rooftop shattered, leaving a huge hole in the wall. The zombies let out low growls as they stared at each other from a distance. As brainless monsters, they were controlled by their instincts and highly territorial. So, whenever two zombies of the same level appeared in the same place, they would fight until one of them was dead. After a few seconds, the fire-type zombie suddenly raised its head and opened its mouth wide. The next moment, another fireball shot toward the big-arm zombie at high speed. Seeing the incoming attack, the big-arm zombie jumped to dodge the fireball. But before it could land, another fireball was already in front of it. BOOM! The moment the attack landed, the fire-type zombie rushed forward, its claws aiming for the big-arm zombie''s head. Sensing the danger, the big-arm zombie jumped to the side. CRACK! The fire-type zombie''s claws missed the target and stabbed into the ground instead. Due to the sharpness of its claws and its immense strength, half of its arm was buried in the ground. Seizing the opportunity, the big-arm zombie pounced and wrapped its arms around the fire-type zombie''s body from behind. Crack! Crack! Crack! As the big-arm zombie tightened its arms, the sound of bones cracking echoed in the air. The big-arm zombie tightened its grip, locking the fire-type zombie in place despite its struggle. The next second, it opened its mouth wide and bit into the fire-type zombie''s neck. "Roarrr!!" Although the fire-type zombie no longer felt pain, it let out an annoyed roar with a hint of panic. It struggled fiercely as the big-arm zombie continued biting its flesh, trying to rip off its head. It knew that if it didn''t free itself, it would lose. In a final desperate struggle, the fire-type zombie used all of its energy to create a layer of fire around its body. When the big-arm zombie saw the flames, it didn''t let go. Instead, it became even more frantic, biting down harder on its enemy''s neck as the fire burned its rotten flesh. CRACK! CRASH! Suddenly, the sound of bones snapping and flesh tearing filled the air. A second later, the flames surrounding the zombies vanished, and a head rolled to the ground. Black blood and rotten flesh splattered across the rooftop after the short battle. The big-arm zombie threw the headless body aside and picked up the severed head. Raising one of its burnt arms, it plunged its fingers through the skull. When it pulled its hand back, a red-colored crystal core was clutched between its fingers. Opening its mouth, it swallowed the crystal core before raising its head and letting out a loud roar¡ªproclaiming its territory. "ROARR!" Following the roar, the restless zombies on the street scattered. Amidst the zombies, Mo Binxue, who had already turned into one of them, suddenly reached out and grabbed a nearby zombie. With her arms, she pried open its skull and ate the rotten brain. After finishing the brain, she grabbed another zombie and continued feasting. Under the bright sunlight, her white dress slowly turned dark red from the flowing black blood. At the same time, Jin Xuyan and his team entered the main road. Since Lin''an University was located in the suburbs, the road was not as congested as the city center. As a result, the path was clear, and they traveled smoothly. But despite the ease of travel, he couldn''t shake off the unease in his heart. When the clock struck ten in the morning, they finally noticed something strange¡ªthere were no zombies on the road. It was as if the apocalypse didn''t exist. Sitting in the passenger seat, Jin Xuyan kept dialing, trying to contact Pei Yijun. After numerous attempts, the call finally connected. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Hello." "We are coming. Get ready. When we arrive, we will leave immediately," Jin Xuyan said. "We have our own cars. We will leave now and meet you on the road." After a brief moment of thought, Jin Xuyan said, "Alright." When the call ended, Pei Yijun and his team were already loading the supplies they had found in the kitchen and pantry. They gathered some rods and tools as weapons before climbing into their vehicles. After they left, Jiao Lizhi walked into the kitchen and stored the stoves and gas cylinders in her space. She then went to the pantry and stored the shelves, planning to use them to organize her supplies in the space later. Only after taking everything did she leave the restaurant. By then, the supplies had already been placed in the back seat and hidden compartments, leaving the truck bed empty. Before they left the parking lot, Pei Yijun leaned out of the window and said, "Jiao Lizhi, follow us closely." Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi rolled her eyes inwardly. ''Why didn''t I realize this young master was so naggy?'' she thought inwardly. "Jiao Lizhi¡ª" Pei Yijun called out again. Afraid that he would continue nagging, she leaned on the window and said, "I know, just drive." Satisfied with the response, Pei Yijun finally closed the window, started the engine, and drove out of the parking lot. Jiao Lizhi glanced at the rearview mirror for a moment before following after him. Chapter 49 - 49: Ah Zhi, Its Me Ten minutes ago, Jiao Lizhi heard faint sounds of fighting coming from the direction of Lin''an University. It seemed that what had happened in her previous life was still occurring. The only difference was that in this life, the intelligent, high-level zombies from her past had been eliminated before the rain. Although she didn''t know if her actions would change the future¡ªor if she would even survive longer than in her previous life¡ªJiao Lizhi had no regrets. After all, her rebirth had already altered the course of fate. As for Mo Binxue, it was a pity that she couldn''t kill her with her own hands. But as zombies mutate, Lin''an University will soon become a zombie nest. No matter how powerful or scheming she is, she can''t leave here alive. She only hoped that she could experience the horror and pain of being eaten alive before she died. After more than an hour of driving, they finally left the suburban area and entered the main road. Not long after, they spotted several military armored vehicles and trucks approaching from the opposite direction. Seeing this, Pei Yijun slowed down and pulled over to the roadside. Following behind him, Li Yang and Jiao Lizhi also slowed down and parked their cars. Sitting inside her vehicle, Jiao Lizhi narrowed her eyes as she watched the fleet slow down and stop at the roadside. She had assumed that the Pei family would only send a small group of soldiers. Unexpectedly, they send so many soldiers just to escort the heir back home. As she observed the soldiers stepping out of their vehicles, she tried to recall any memories of the Pei family from her previous life. From the bits and pieces of information she had heard from survivors at the base, she knew that the Pei family was one of the key forces behind one of the largest bases in Huaxia. Although their base was massive, with three times the number of survivors compared to Sachou City''s base, their overall strength was still slightly weaker than Sanchou Base. As this thought crossed her mind, her gaze landed on a tall man stepping out of an armored vehicle. "Why is he here?" she muttered in surprise the moment she saw his face clearly. As soon as Jin Xuyan got out of the car, he strode across the road with large steps. At that moment, Pei Yijun and his team also stepped out of their vehicles, looking at him. But instead of greeting them, he walked straight toward the last car in hurried steps. Within two minutes, he was already standing beside the vehicle, knocking on the window. After a brief pause, the window rolled down, revealing the face he had longed to see for so many years. The moment he confirmed she was alive and breathing, his eyes turned red and teary. Without a word, he reached out for her. His broad palm grasped the back of her neck and pulled her close. Under everyone''s gaze, he leaned down and kissed her soft lips. Jiao Lizhi froze as his thin, warm lips pressed against hers. Her eyes widened in shock, and for a moment, she forgot to react. Jin Xuyan''s kiss was urgent yet gentle. He knew that in this life, his girl might have forgotten him, so he didn''t dare linger too long. After licking and sucking her lips briefly, he let her go. Looking into her stunned eyes, he let out a low chuckle. Closing his eyes, he kissed her forehead and murmured hoarsely, "Ah Zhi, I''m so glad you are safe. I missed you so much." S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Not far from them, the soldiers'' jaws nearly dropped to the ground as they witnessed their captain suddenly kissing a girl. Even Qin Luzi, who had known him for years, was completely stunned. They had been acquainted for over six years, and this was the first time he had ever seen Jin Xuyan get close to a woman. Pei Yijun, watching from the side, was equally shocked. After the initial surprise, his gaze gradually turned cold, and he clenched his fists. Unaware of their reactions, Jiao Lizhi stared at the man in front of her, feigned ignorance, and asked, "Who are you?" Although he had expected that she might not remember their childhood memories, Jin Xuyan still felt a pang of disappointment at her words. His expression turned sorrowful as he asked, "Ah Zhi, do you really not remember me?" His voice carried a deep grievance as if he might break down if she dared to nod. Jiao Lizhi licked her lips as she took in his teary, puppy-like eyes. She couldn''t believe that the ruthless, cold-blooded leader of Sanchou Base was now looking at her as if he had been wronged. After hesitating for a moment, she decided to be honest and said, "I''m sorry, I don''t remember." She thought he would be upset or disheartened by her words. To her surprise, he smiled and said, "It''s okay if Ah Zhi doesn''t remember. As long as I remember our promise, that is enough." He rubbed her nape gently and said in a low voice, "Ah Zhi, we were childhood sweethearts. We promised to be together for the rest of our lives. We grew up in Happy Orphanage. It''s understandable that you forgot about me¡ªyou were only seven when I left." At the end of his words, he let out a sigh of regret. They were so close that she could smell his masculine scent and taste him in her mouth. After hearing his words, a vague image of a handsome, tall boy flashed in her mind. She studied him for a while before tentatively asking, "Brother Yan?" Hearing the familiar name, Jin Xuyan grinned and replied, "Ah Zhi, it''s me." As they locked eyes, Pei Yijun suddenly walked over and said, "Captain Jin, this place isn''t safe. We should leave now." Jin Xuyan frowned slightly at the interruption but straightened his back and let Jiao Lizhi go. He nodded and opened the car door as he said, "You are right. We should leave as soon as possible." Chapter 50 - 50: A Bold Idea After speaking, Jin Xuyan reached for Jiao Lizhi''s wrist and gently but firmly led her to the passenger seat. Without resistance, she sat down, allowing him to buckle her seatbelt. Once he was done, he turned to Zhang Yuan and ordered, "Zhang Yuan, we are going to the factory area. Lead the way." Hearing his order, Zhang Yuan nodded and said, "Yes, Captain." Jin Xuyan then took the role as driver for Jiao Lizhi and sat in the driver seat. Looking at Pei Yijun, he said, "Young Master Pei, you can follow the armored vehicle and be at ease. I will take care of the rest." Pei Yijun met his gaze for a moment before glancing at Jiao Lizhi. Without a word, he turned and walked to his jeep. Soon after, he started the engine and followed the fleet. Sitting beside him, Feng Yun suddenly sighed and said, "A beautiful flower will always have an owner." Hearing this, Pei Yijun shot him a glare and said coldly, "Shut up." Sensing his bad mood, Feng Yun exchanged glances with Luo Jing and wisely decided to stay silent. Someone was clearly jealous¡ªit was best not to provoke him. Behind them, Jiao Lizhi observed the man driving the car and asked, "Brother Yan, what''s your plan next?" Hearing her soft voice, Jin Xuyan''s mood brightened and asked her back, "Ah Zhi, do you have any plans?" She looked at him and recalled the last call in her past life. In the moment before she was torn apart, it had seemed as if someone had jumped from a building, trying to catch her. That person might have been him. Noticing her distraction, Jin Xuyan glanced at her through the rearview mirror and asked, "Ah Zhi, what are you thinking about?" Jiao Lizhi snapped out of her thoughts at his words, shook her head, and said"It''s nothing." "I plan to gather more supplies before heading to Sanchou City," she added. Jin Xuyan''s eyes flickered momentarily when he heard her words before returning to normal. He nodded and said, "If Ah Zhi wants to go, then I will accompany you." Glancing at his military uniform, Jiao Lizhi asked, "Don''t you need to escort Pei Yijun to Jiangning City?" "Why do you think I have to do that?" he asked in return. "Well, he said that you and your team were sent by his father to escort him back to Jiangning City," Jiao Lizhi replied. At his words, Jin Xuyan sneered and said, "He really dares to talk. His father begged me to come and rescue him¡ªI never agreed to send him back to Jiangning City. Besides, his father is just a businessman, he has no right to order me around." Jiao Lizhi glanced at him and noticed his grip on the steering wheel tighten. It seemed that Jin Xuyan and the Pei family had an unusual relationship. Jin Xuyan raised an eyebrow when she remained silent and asked, "What? Ah Zhi doesn''t believe me?" "I believe you," Jiao Lizhi said with a chuckle. After a moment, she suddenly asked, "Brother Yan, how have you been? Have you been living well all these years?" Jin Xuyan was caught off guard by her sudden question. Memories of his previous life¡ªthe hell he had endured after her death¡ªflashed through his mind, and murderous intent surged in his heart. Taking a deep breath to suppress his emotions, he replied casually, "Except for missing you so much, I have been doing well." S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Then, he added, "Ah Zhi, you promised to be my bride on my twelfth birthday, and we even exchanged a kiss and a vow. So, you have to take responsibility¡ªyou can''t throw me away." Jiao Lizhi frowned and asked doubtfully, "I¡ªdid that?" Hearing this, Jin Xuyan turned to look at her and said, "Ah Zhi, you are not planning to break your promise, are you?" "I¡ª" Before she could respond, he continued, "Ah Zhi, after I was taken away, I held onto our promise and never got close to any other girl. I kept myself pure for you." "I''m already twenty-five, and you are the only girl I ever hug and kiss. I''m old now, and no one wants me. If you abandon me, what should I do?" he asked with a sigh. Jiao Lizhi was stunned by his words. For a moment, she seriously doubted that this was the same man who had become an overlord in her previous life. They had the same face and the same figure, but why were their personalities like night and day? This person was too shameless! She looked at him but said nothing. She didn''t believe his words. After all, he had never come looking for her in her past life. She had seen him before, and he had saved her life several times, but she was sure those were coincidences. Whenever he rescued her, it had been during a mission, and he had saved others along with her. Maybe she had only been a passerby in his life. Saving her had been no different from saving a stray dog or a beggar¡ªit hadn''t meant anything. Reaching this conclusion, she suddenly felt annoyed and turned her head away. It was better not to take his words seriously. The harsh lessons of her past life had cost her everything, and she couldn''t afford to make the same mistake again in this life. As he drove, Jin Xuyan noticed her sudden change in mood. Seeing her gloomy and distant expression, a deep frown appeared on his face. Gripping the wheel tightly, he tried to recall the events of her previous life. Based on the information he had gathered, she shouldn''t have been here. She had never been involved with Pei Yijun and his team. Also, that woman was supposed to be here, but there was no sign of her. Has something happened that changed the course of events? As this thought crossed his mind, his eyes flashed with doubts. He glanced at her reflection in the rearview mirror, and a bold idea took root in his mind. Chapter 51 - 51: Childhood Friends ''Did my Ah Zhi also get reborn?'' Jin Xuyan thought inwardly while he drove. The realization filled him with mixed emotions¡ªsadness, excitement, and rage. He was heartbroken and furious that his Ah Zhi had suffered the agony of being eaten alive. But at the same time, he was exhilarated that they had both been given a second chance. He wondered if she had returned with her abilities, just as he had. If that was the case, she would be stronger than in her previous life and better able to protect herself. At the same time, the soldiers were engaged in a gossip session over the radio. Zhang Yuan glanced at Qin Luzi, who was sitting in the passenger seat, and asked, "Old Qin, do you know who that girl is?" Qin Luzi swallowed the bread in his mouth before replying, "I don''t know." "This is the first time I have seen our captain get close to a girl." "He didn''t just get close¡ªhe kissed her. If they were alone, I bet that kiss wouldn''t have ended so quickly," Qin Luzi added meaningfully. Hearing this, Zhang Yuan turned his head, nodded, and said, "I think so too! Did you see our captain''s eyes? Those were the eyes of a hungry beast!" Qin Luzi finished his bread, took a sip of water, and asked, "Old Zhang, are you sure it''s wise to say that about our captain?" The moment he said this, a burst of laughter erupted from the radio. Zhang Yuan sucked in a sharp breath and said, "Damn it! I forgot the radio was on!" "Brothers, please don''t let the captain know what I said," he pleaded. "Vice Captain, if you are asking for a favor, you need to give us something in return," Xiao Qi teased through the radio. Gritting his teeth, Zhang Yuan asked, "What do you want?" "Well, aren''t we heading to the factory district? We need some clean underwear. We have been wearing the same pair for days. If we don''t change soon, something bad might happen to our family jewels!" Wen Kai''s wail came through the radio. "Vice Captain, please have mercy on us!" Xiao Qi chimed in. "Vice Captain, the itch is killing us! Be a good person and help us out!" another soldier added. A series of wails and complaints followed. Feeling a headache coming on, Zhang Yuan sighed and said, "Enough, enough! I will ask the captain to stop by the clothing factory." As soon as he said this, the soldiers cheered and thanked him in unison, "Thank you, Vice Captain!" Fearing they might push their luck and ask for more, Zhang Yuan quickly put the radio back and let out a sigh of relief. Before he could wipe away his imaginary cold sweat, he heard Qin Luzi say, "I also want some clean towels." Zhang Yuan turned to glare at him and asked, "You have a closer relationship with the captain. Why don''t you ask him yourself?" "I''m just a regular member, not the vice captain," Qin Luzi replied casually. Zhang Yuan rolled his eyes at Qin Luzi but didn''t say anything. They drove for more than three hours before reaching the factory district. Unlike the suburban area near Lin''an University, this district was neatly divided. Each factory occupied its own plot of land, with distances of around 200 to 500 meters between them. Since this area was designated for industrial use, it only had workers'' dormitories without any residential neighborhoods. After spotting a sign board, Zhang Yuan slowed down and parked the armored vehicle by the roadside. One by one, the rest of the convoy followed suit, bringing their cars and trucks to a stop. As the soldiers climbed out of their vehicles, Pei Yijun and his team also stepped out and joined them. The last to approach was Jiao Lizhi, carrying a backpack and following behind Jin Xuyan. Once they gathered, Zhang Yuan spoke up. "Captain, the nearest factories here include a clothing factory, a seed factory, a processed food factory, and a grain factory. Where should we start?" Jin Xuyan glanced at his soldiers'' eager expressions and said, "We will start with the processed food factory, then check the clothing and grain factories. Empty your backpacks before we go in." "Yes, Captain!" the soldiers responded in unison. After giving his orders, Jin Xuyan turned to Pei Yijun and said, "We are here to collect supplies. You and your team can take whatever you need." Pei Yijun nodded and replied, "Thanks." Then, he looked at Jiao Lizhi and asked, "Do you want to come with us?" Before she could reply, Jin Xuyan cut in, "She is coming with me." Raising an eyebrow, Jiao Lizhi said, "I will go on my own." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan quickly said, "Ah Zhi, it''s dangerous for you to go alone. I can protect you so let me go with you." Considering the number of zombies likely lurking inside, she had to admit he had a point. Although she wasn''t sure whether she could fully trust him yet, he was strong. With him around, her chances of survival would be higher. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. After weighing the pros and cons, she nodded and said, "Alright." Seeing her agreement, Jin Xuyan smiled and said, "Wait here. I will go grab my backpack." As Jiao Lizhi stood waiting and thought about gathering more seeds and what item needed to decorate her house inside her space, Chu Zhimiao walked over and asked, "Lizhi, you and that guy¡ª" Jiao Lizhi smiled and said, "We are childhood friends." "Just friends? He kissed you. Will friends kiss each other on the lips?" Chu Zhimiao said with disbelief. "Well, we did promise to be together when we were kids, but that was years ago. I had almost forgotten about it," Jiao Lizhi admitted awkwardly. Chu Zhimiao''s eyes lit up when she heard her words and asked, "So¡­ you and he are a couple?" Jiao Lizhi glanced toward Pei Yijun and his team and thought for a moment. Chapter 52 - 52: Valuable Crystal ( 1 ) Jiao Lizhi had no intention of staying with Pei Yijun''s team¡ªit was better to join the soldiers. After all, soldiers were the most trustworthy people in the apocalypse. No matter their flaws, their sense of duty and responsibility was high. They did their best to protect others, often sacrificing their lives for it. That was also why soldiers were among the first to be wiped out when the apocalypse began. By the time she died in her past life, there were no real soldiers left. The so-called "soldiers" or "guards" she saw later were just ability users hired by the base. Their loyalty followed whoever paid them the most, and to them, ordinary people were nothing more than disposable trash. Seeing Jiao Lizhi lost in thought, Chu Zhimiao had her answer. Even though Jiao Lizhi hadn''t outright confirmed it, her reaction to being kissed said enough. She and Captain Jin must be together. Otherwise, why didn''t she slap him when she was kissed suddenly? With that realization, Chu Zhimiao glanced at Pei Yijun and saw his dark expression. She sighed internally but didn''t dare to say anything to comfort him. No one was at fault¡ªlove was all about timing. Noticing that his team kept sneaking glances at him, Pei Yijun grew irritated. "Get ready. We are heading to the processed food factory." Hearing his order, they didn''t dare delay any longer and quickly prepared. Since they didn''t have backpacks, they had to borrow sacks from the soldiers. Ten minutes later, everything was set. Jiao Lizhi walked to her car and drove toward the factory entrance. Seeing this, Jin Xuyan immediately ran after her while shouting, "Ah Zhi, wait for me!" She parked by the gate and stepped out. Holding a boning knife, she raised her hand and slashed at the chain. With a loud clang, the lock broke, and she pushed the gate open. Turning around, she looked at the soldiers and asked, "You guys weren''t planning to walk, were you? The factory grounds are huge. If you go on foot, it will take days to collect all the supplies." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan chuckled and said, "Alright, we will drive the cars." With his order, the soldiers climbed back into their vehicles and followed Jiao Lizhi inside. As she drove, she glanced at Jin Xuyan sitting beside her and said, "Brother Yan, I want to check out the seed factory." "Ah Zhi, can we go there after we finish with the other factories?" Jin Xuyan asked. "I don''t want to leave my soldiers alone. Some of them still have high fevers," he added with a frown. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Jiao Lizhi''s eyes flickered when she heard that. She thought for a moment and asked, "Brother Yan, do any of you have awakened abilities?" Jin Xuyan nodded and replied, "Right now, nine of us, including me, have awakened abilities. Six are still in comas. The rest don''t have any abilities." "How many people are in your team?" she asked. At her question, Jin Xuyan lowered his gaze. After a brief silence, he answered, "Twenty-six." Noticing his somber mood, Jiao Lizhi understood that there had been casualties before they met and said softly, "Brother Yan, I''m sorry." Jin Xuyan looked at her and smiled faintly. He reached out to hold her hand and said, "They were heroes who died on the line of duty. This is our duty and responsibility as soldiers, so you don''t have to feel sorry." After that, the two of them fell into silence. Since the apocalypse began at dawn, only a few zombies wandered around the factory grounds. The rest were either trapped inside the dormitories or stuck at the guard posts. When they reached the warehouse area, they parked their cars and got out. The moment they opened the doors, the nearby zombies turned and rushed toward them. After the rain, most zombies had been upgraded to level one, their bodies strengthened by the mysterious baptism. The soldiers, well-trained and battle-hardened, didn''t panic when they saw the incoming zombies. Instead, they instinctively shifted into combat mode. Gripping their blades tightly, they stood back to back with their comrades and fought the approaching zombies. Since the zombies'' strength and agility had increased, the soldiers formed two-man teams to handle each of the zombies so they could fight more effectively. Seeing this, Jiao Lizhi pulled out her boning knife and joined the fight. She swung her arm, aiming for a zombie''s neck. Crack! Her knife hit the target, but it didn''t sever the neck completely. "Roar!" With its head half-chopped, the zombie let out a guttural growl and lunged at her. Its claws slicing through the air toward her chest. When she saw this, Jiao Lizhi reacted instantly. She let go of the knife and stepped back. Then, using her leg as a pivot, she spun around and delivered a powerful kick to the back of the embedded blade. Crack! This time, the added force sent the knife through the neck, beheading the zombie. Its head rolled to the ground as the body collapsed with a dull thud and the ground was covered with black blood. Jiao Lizhi bent down, retrieved her knife, and scanned her surroundings. The soldiers had the situation under control, swiftly killing the remaining zombies. With nothing left for her to do, she crouched down beside the zombie she had killed. Raising her knife again, she split open its skull. Stirring the rotting brain matter with the tip of her blade, she found what she was looking for¡ªa small, transparent crystal core. She picked up the crystal, flicked her fingers to summon a small ball of water, and washed it clean before slipping it into her pocket. When she stood up, she noticed Chu Zhimiao watching her. There was doubt and surprise in her gaze, but Jiao Lizhi had no intention of explaining. Chu Zhimiao recalled the small crystals in Mo Binxue''s pocket earlier, and now, seeing the soldiers picking them up as well, she realized these crystals must be valuable. She turned to Li Yang and said, "Li Yang, look at the soldiers. Should we also collect the crystals?" Chapter 53 - 53: Valuable Crystal ( 2 ) Li Yang had already noticed about the crystal, but the thought of digging through rotting brains made his stomach churn. He shook his head and said, "If you want them, get them yourself. I''m not touching that disgusting stuff." Chu Zhimiao pouted when he rejected her suggestion but didn''t argue. Gripping her kitchen knife tightly, she approached the corpse of a zombie their team had killed. Taking a deep breath, she raised her knife and chopped at its skull. Since her knife was sharp, she managed to split the head with two strikes. Black blood and putrid brain matter oozed out, releasing a stench so foul it made her gag. "Urgh!" She nearly vomited as the rancid smell hit her. With teary eyes, she forced herself to stir the mussy, rotten brain. After a few seconds, her fingers brushed against something hard¡ªshe had found a crystal. Her hands trembled as she picked it up. Creating a small ball of water, she carefully washed the crystal and her hands clean before keeping it into her pocket. Thanks to the soldiers, she and her team hadn''t needed to fight much. By the time the zombies were cleared, her group had only killed four zombies. She went to check their heads. Out of the four, only one contained a crystal. From this, she realized that although zombies had grown stronger, not all of them carried these crystals. If they were rare, then they were likely valuable. With this conclusion, the thought of digging through rotten brains no longer seemed unbearable. Not far away, Jiao Lizhi watched her with an amused smile. Compared to the guys, Chu Zhimiao was more observant. Ten minutes later, the soldiers finished collecting their crystals and gathered around Chen Qianfeng. "Brother Qianfeng, help us wash these," Xiao Qi said. Chen Qianfeng snapped his fingers, summoning several floating balls of water above their palms. With another snap, the water balls burst apart, cleansing the crystals of blood and dirt. Once clean, Xiao Qi took out a bag from his storage space. The soldiers carefully placed the crystals inside before Xiao Qi tied the bag and stored it back into his space. At this moment, they had collected a total of 17 transparent crystals. Qin Luzi stood still for a moment before announcing, "Brothers, the area is clear. We can go inside." The soldiers nodded and walked toward the warehouse gate. Wen Mo stepped forward and raised his hand. Within seconds, the heavy padlock clicked open. After removing the lock, they pushed the gate wide. When they saw the items inside, their eyes lit up. Inside, towering stacks of boxes filled the massive warehouse, reaching almost to the ceiling. Seeing this, the soldiers grinned from ear to ear. Without waiting for orders, they rushed inside and began loading the boxes onto the trucks. Standing nearby, Pei Yijun looked at his friends and said, "Let''s go." S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He and his team also started gathering supplies, filling their cars with food. Now that Chu Zhimiao could produce two gallons of water daily, they prioritized stocking up on food. Jin Xuyan noticed that Jiao Lizhi hadn''t taken anything and said, "Ah Zhi, I will help you load your supplies." Jiao Lizhi nodded and replied, "Thank you, Brother Yan." When he heard her polite but distant tone, Jin Xuyan sighed and said, "Ah Zhi, with our relationship, there is no need to be so polite with me." Ruffling her hair a few times, he turned and walked into the warehouse to start working. Meanwhile, Jiao Lizhi wandered through the storage areas, inspecting the goods. This factory produced a wide variety of processed food. Besides cereals, milk, and dried goods, there were also bacon, ham, sausages, biscuits, cheese, and canned food. The warehouse was divided into sections for different types of products. Pei Yijun''s team and the soldiers were currently loading up biscuits, dried food, and cereals. After making sure no one was watching, Jiao Lizhi discreetly waved her hand. Instantly, large quantities of boxes near her disappeared. She walked slowly while storing canned food, cheese, milk, ham, sausages, and bacon into her space. Due to the vast size of the warehouse, no one noticed that more than half the supplies had disappeared. No one, except Jin Xuyan. His eyes had been on her the entire time, and he clearly saw the supplies disappearing into thin air. Instead of being surprised, the corner of his lips lifted into a smile. His Ah Zhi was smart and adorable¡ªshe knew exactly how to pick the best stuff for herself. Thirty minutes later, Pei Yijun''s team finished loading their supplies. He walked up to Jin Xuyan and said, "Captain Jin, we are done. We are heading to check out other areas." Jin Xuyan, not wanting to reveal Xiao Qi''s spatial ability, simply nodded and said, "I will contact you via satellite phone when we are done." "Alright." Before leaving, Pei Yijun glanced around, searching for Jiao Lizhi. When he couldn''t spot her, he hesitated briefly but ultimately turned and left. As their vehicles drove away, Jin Xuyan turned to his team and said, "No need to fill all the trucks¡ªjust fill up two trucks." Zhang Yuan frowned and asked, "Captain, what about the rest of the supplies?" "Let Xiao Qi store some. We will leave the rest." Zhang Yuan nodded and relayed the instructions to the soldiers. It wasn''t a bad idea to leave some supplies behind. If they had thought to come here, other survivors would, too. And besides, Xiao Qi''s storage space wasn''t infinite¡ªthey still needed room for clothes and other necessities. Jiao Lizhi watched as the soldiers continued loading supplies, taking note of one of them storing goods in his space. Her gaze shifted to the remaining stock. She wanted to take away everything. There was no guarantee that other survivors would come for these supplies. Rather than letting them go to waste, she might as well take them. She could use them later to trade for other resources or give them to the soldiers. But how could she take everything without alerting the soldiers? Chapter 54 - 54: Mutated Metal-type Ability Before Jiao Lizhi could figure out a plan, she saw Jin Xuyan giving orders for his team to move on to the next factory. Then, instead of following them, he walked toward her. Stopping in front of her, he smiled and said, "Ah Zhi, you can take the rest." Jiao Lizhi''s eyes widened in surprise when she heard his words. It took her a moment to calm down and asked, "Brother Yan, you know I have space?" Jin Xuyan nodded with a smile, "Mhmm." He looked at her and his smile deepened as he said, "My Ah Zhi is so smart. You have a space ability. In the future, I will be relying on you for food and drink. So, you can''t leave me behind." Hearing his words, Jiao Lizhi stared at him, debating whether to scold him for his shamelessness. But when she saw the expectant gleam in his eyes, she swallowed her words and simply nodded, "Okay." ''Forget it, it''s better to keep him close. In case he plans to tell others about my space, I can take action first,'' she thought inwardly. Jin Xuyan noticed the murderous intent flashing in her eyes, but he didn''t care. It would be great if his Ah Zhi could guard against others. As for himself, sooner or later she would accept him as her fianc¨¦. With him standing guard outside, Jiao Lizhi no longer had to worry about hiding her ability. Within five minutes, she had stored away everything. Afterward, the two of them drove to the next factory. Sitting in the passenger seat, Jiao Lizhi realized something. She had once sworn never to trust anyone and never to reveal her space ability. Yet here she was, trusting Jin Xuyan without hesitation. And somehow, it didn''t feel wrong. Thinking of this, she felt something was wrong and frowned. Jin Xuyan glanced at her as he drove with a knowing smile playing on his lips. When they reached the next factory, the situation was different from the first. Behind the steel gate, a crowd of zombies reached out toward them while roaring wildly. Their rotten hands waved, trying to grab the prey in front of them. "Roarr!!" Standing at a distance, the soldiers looked at their captain, waiting for his order. Jin Xuyan looked at the number of zombies and made a rough estimation. Based on the crowd size, the number of zombies was around 300 to 400. If they used their abilities to attack, they could clear them from a distance. While he was still thinking about the best way to clear the zombies without creating too much noise, Pei Yijun took several steps forward. The moment he raised his hands, Jiao Lizhi had a bad feeling and said, "Wait¡ª" Crack! Boom! Before she could finish her words, a thunderbolt had already fallen from the sky, striking the crowd of zombies with a loud sound. "Roar! Roar! Roar!" Bang! Bang! Bang! Due to the loud explosion caused by his attack, more zombies gathered at the gate. They let out roars and banged on the gate. No matter how strong the gate was, it would be hard for it to withstand the pushing from so many zombies. When Jin Xuyan saw the gate was about to be breached, he said, "Wen Kai, Wen Mo, strengthen the gate!" "Yes, Captain!" As soon as they heard his order, they walked to the front and raised their hands. Under everyone''s gaze, balls of metal at the size of a volleyball appeared out of thin air. In a few seconds, the balls flattened and became metal plates, which flew toward the gate. Then, as if possessing a mind of their own, the metal plates stabbed into the ground, forming a layer of metal walls around the entrance. When they saw this, Pei Yijun and his team were taken aback. They hadn''t expected the soldiers to have abilities as well. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Standing beside Jin Xuyan, Jiao Lizhi''s eyes flashed with surprise. Although both of them were metal-type ability users, their abilities were different. One of them actually had the ability to create metal, while the other had the ability to control it. With the two working together, their metal-type abilities would be difficult to defeat during battle. After all, most metal-type ability users could only control metal. If they fought in an area without any metal, their abilities would be useless. But with someone who could create metal, they wouldn''t have to worry about running out of weapons to attack during battle. Creation was one of the mutation types in elemental-type abilities. It was extremely rare and powerful. However, the energy required to break through to the next level was several times more than what was needed for a normal ability. As a result, not many mutated elemental ability users were able to make a name for themselves or survive in the apocalypse due to their low level. Five minutes later, Wen Kai and Wen Mo finished building another gate and returned to report. "Captain, it''s done." "Well done," Jin Xuyan nodded. After the emergency had been dealt with, he turned to Pei Yijun and said, "Young Master Pei, your thunder-type ability has strong attack power, but it''s too loud. With your attack, we will have to kill all the zombies before we can enter the factory." Hearing this, Pei Yijun''s face darkened. He was unhappy that his flaws had been exposed. "Besides using our abilities to attack, does Captain Jin have any other ideas?" he asked through gritted teeth. Seeing his anger, Jin Xuyan felt refreshed and replied with a smile, "Of course, we can only attack using our abilities in this situation. But I will take care of it. Young Master Pei, you can just wait." Although his tone was polite, his smug expression was asking for a beating. Pei Yijun gritted his teeth and said, "Then I will see how Captain Jin handles the zombies." "Sure, you and your team can watch and learn," Jin Xuyan said generously. Chapter 55 - 55: New Skill After Jin Xuyan finished his words, he walked toward the wall. Bending his knees slightly, he leaped lightly and landed on top of it. The moment he stood there, the zombies pushed against each other, reaching out toward him. Lowering his head, he looked at them coldly. Every time he saw these brainless monsters, he was reminded of how his Ah Zhi had been torn apart in front of him. The hatred in his heart toward zombies and humans ran so deep that even after he turned into one of them, he had still chosen to destroy everything and everyone with his own hands. But this time, he didn''t plan to join them¡ªhe wanted to marry his Ah Zhi and have a lot of babies with her. Zombies couldn''t have babies, after all. Unsheathing his longsword, he turned to Jiao Lizhi and said with a smile, "Ah Zhi, move back a little. It will be hot if you stand too close." When the soldiers heard this, they quickly moved ten meters back, not forgetting to bring their sister-in-law with them. After making sure they were safe, Jin Xuyan narrowed his eyes, and in an instant, black flames enveloped his longsword. The flames danced wildly as the surrounding temperature suddenly rose. Jin Xuyan spread his legs and swung his sword horizontally. The next second, a crescent-shaped flame blade shot toward the zombies at high speed. Unlike other attacks, the moment the flames touched the zombies, they engulfed them and burned them instantly instead of exploding. Standing on the wall, Jin Xuyan sheathed his longsword and watched as the zombies were swallowed by his black flames. At this moment, he felt a surge of energy entering his body and gathering in the area below his navel. Feeling the cold and hot temperatures clashing inside him made him lift the corner of his lips. Standing below, Pei Yijun and his team couldn''t see what was happening behind the gate. They only saw him swing his sword once and then stand there unmoving. They could still hear the roars of zombies and looked at him in confusion. Pei Yijun gazed at Jin Xuyan''s back thoughtfully. Even though the zombies were still roaring, it was much quieter than before. Besides that, he could smell a burning scent in the air. While everyone was confused by his actions, Jiao Lizhi''s eyes brightened. That move was one of Jin Xuyan''s favorite attack skills. As a fire-type ability user, he preferred using his sword over his ability. However, after several years of the apocalypse, a normal sword wouldn''t be able to injure zombies, let alone kill them anymore. So, he combined his fire with his sword, turning it into the deadliest weapon. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. She never expected him to create this move so early. As she thought about his attack just now, an idea formed in her mind. ''If he is able to do that, then shouldn''t I be able to use that move too?'' As soon as this thought filled her mind, she couldn''t wait any longer. She took out her boning knife from her backpack. Holding the handle, she focused her energy on her palm and slowly transferred it to the blade. The next moment, the boning knife was covered with a layer of water. Unlike fire, water wouldn''t be able to deal much damage. So, she controlled it and focused it on the sharp edge of the blade. Rather than covering the entire blade with water, she retracted some of her energy, leaving only a thin layer of water on the sharp edge. She was so focused on testing this method that she didn''t notice the soldiers and Pei Yijun staring at her. After almost ten minutes, she finally managed to form a water blade along the sharp edge. She raised her blade and examined it under the sunlight. Then, she reached out and touched the water blade with her forefinger. In an instant, blood seeped from her fingertips. Seeing this, she smiled, feeling satisfied with its sharpness. Just as she withdrew her energy and the water blade turned into a puddle, someone grabbed her hand. Before she could react, she felt something soft and warm lick her fingertip. Her mind exploded when she saw Jin Xuyan sucking the blood from her fingertip. A moment later, he let her go and said with a frown, "Ah Zhi, why are you so careless? Fortunately, it''s only a small wound." "You¡ªwhat do you think you are doing?" she hissed while pulling her hand back. "I''m treating your wound, ah," Jin Xuyan replied matter-of-factly. Hearing his words and seeing his innocent gaze, Jiao Lizhi almost vomited blood from anger. She glared at him and said, "We are not that close for you to do that." As soon as she said those words, she saw Jin Xuyan''s eyes turn red and a layer of tear threatening to fall from his eyes. She was stunned by his teary eyes and aggrieved expression. "Why are you crying?!" she asked in a low voice. Jin Xuyan reached out to hold her sleeve and asked sadly, "Ah Zhi, you don''t want me?" Jiao Lizhi rubbed her aching temple and said with a frown, "Brother Yan, we just met again after so many years. It''s impossible for me to feel that way about you. You doing this¡ªit makes me uncomfortable." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan let go of her sleeve and lowered his head. After a moment of silence, he nodded and said, "I understand." Then, he turned around and walked toward the gate while saying, "Wen Mo, open the gate." Looking at his dejected back, Jiao Lizhi felt guilty for saying those words to him, but she couldn''t accept his overly intimate behavior. They had only reunited for a few hours, and both of them were adults now. It was impossible for her to treat him the same way as when they were young. With his back facing her, Jiao Lizhi couldn''t see his expression. Therefore, she missed the smile in Jin Xuyan''s eyes. Chapter 56 - 56: Anger And Fear As he walked to the gate, Jin Xuyan thought,''She is too on guard. I must take this slowly. Ah~ My Ah Zhi is cute even when she is angry. What should I do? I want to hug and kiss her again!'' Despite his perverted thoughts, his expression remained gloomy, and his eyes were cold. When the soldiers saw their captain like this, they straightened their backs, not daring to look directly into his eyes. Under the tense atmosphere, Wen Mo raised his hands toward the gate and clenched them. The next moment, the metal plate shifted shape, transforming into a spear. With a wave of his hand, the spear flew into his grasp. After catching it, he looked at his captain and nodded. Jin Xuyan turned to Qin Luzi. Understanding his Captain''s meaning, he checked the map inside his head. After a moment, he said, "Captain, the area within a 100-meter radius is clear." Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Let''s go." The soldiers climbed into their vehicles and drove toward the warehouse. Sitting inside the armored vehicle, Qin Luzi scanned the surroundings with his mind. Seeing the dense red dots inside the warehouse, he said, "Captain, there is a group of zombies trapped inside. More than a hundred." Seated in the passenger seat, Jin Xuyan picked up the radio and said, "Those with abilities beside Xiao Qi, get down and clear the zombies. The rest of you, stay in the car and cover the outside area." As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Yuan parked the armored vehicle near the warehouse entrance. Jin Xuyan, Qin Luzi, and six soldiers stepped out of the vehicles. Since all of them had awakened abilities, killing zombies was relatively easy for them. Just as they were about to open the warehouse door, they heard the sound of a car door closing. Turning around, Jin Xuyan saw Jiao Lizhi walking over while holding her boning knife. "Ah Zhi, why are you coming down? Just stay in the car. It will be done in a moment," he said. "Brother Yan, I''m not a delicate flower. I want to fight alongside you and others," Jiao Lizhi replied with a smile. Seeing her determined gaze, Jin Xuyan sighed and said, "Stay close to me." "Okay," Jiao Lizhi nodded. Afterward, Wen Mo unlocked and opened the heavy warehouse door. With his metal-type ability, it was as effortless as waving his hand. The moment the door opened, zombie roars were heard coming from inside. "Roar!!" "They are coming," Qin Luzi said. The soldiers unsheathed their blades and swung them the moment the zombies pounced at them. With each swing, zombie heads either rolled to the ground or split open. Black blood and rotting flesh covered the floor, filling the air with a thick, rancid stench. Standing in the middle of the formation, Jiao Lizhi didn''t have a chance to act. She could feel that with just a bit more battle experience, she would break through to level one. However, at this rate, she wasn''t getting the opportunity she needed. After a brief moment of thought, she rushed forward and leaped directly into a cluster of zombies. The instant Jin Xuyan noticed a shadow flash past him, his eyes widened in shock as he shouted, "Ah Zhi!" Watching her recklessly charge into the front lines, his heart leaped into his throat, and he immediately followed after her. Hearing him call her name, Jiao Lizhi''s eyes flickered, but she quickly refocused. As she landed, she swung her boning knife in a vertical arc, slicing the zombie standing below her in half. Black blood and rotten intestines splattered across the ground as the zombie collapsed with a heavy thud. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Roar!!" As soon as she touched the ground, she bent her body and delivered a powerful back kick to the zombie behind her. Duagh! Crack! The zombie was struck in the chest and hurled backward. Its chest was dented due to broken bones as it crashed into several zombies and blocked their advance. Without wasting a second, Jiao Lizhi swung her boning knife, beheading two zombies to her side. With the water blade coating her knife, her kills became smoother. Not only did it conserve her ability energy, but it also reduced stamina consumption. As she killed the zombies, she thought that it was no wonder Jin Xuyan preferred fusing his ability with his longsword. This method was really great! "Roar!!" Hearing another zombie''s roar behind her, Jiao Lizhi turned, ready to strike. But before she could act, the zombies in front of her were suddenly cleaved in half at the waist. The severed zombies fell to the ground with a thud. With their heads intact, they remained alive. As they crawled toward her, their other half were still twitching on the ground When she looked up, she met Jin Xuyan''s furious gaze. Raising his sword, he lunged forward. Startled by his sudden attack, Jiao Lizhi felt a chill run down her spine. The next moment, she was pulled into a broad chest. At the same time, Jin Xuyan drove his longsword through a zombie''s skull, killing it instantly. Holding her close with one arm, he swung his sword in a graceful arc, beheading the remaining crawling zombies. Jiao Lizhi stood frozen, her mind momentarily blank as she listened to the rapid thumping of a heartbeat. She blinked and, after a moment, realized it was Jin Xuyan''s heartbeats. Raising her head, she saw his pale lips and tightly clenched jaw. Then, she noticed his arm around her waist trembling. After ensuring the surrounding zombies were dead, Jin Xuyan loosened his hold and looked at her. There were so many things he wanted to say, but when he saw her confused expression, he didn''t know where to begin. To her, he was just a childhood friend she had reunited with hours ago. But to him, she was someone he had yearned for over decades. He had lost her once¡ªhe couldn''t afford to lose her again. Seeing her reckless actions just now filled him with anger and fear. Chapter 57 - 57: A Level-Three Zombie Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi stared at each other for a long moment before he finally asked, "Are you alright?" "I''m fine," Jiao Lizhi nodded. Jin Xuyan scanned her from head to toe. Only after confirming she was unharmed did he relax and let her go. Then, he said, "Ah Zhi, don''t be so reckless next time." "Brother Yan, I know what I''m doing. I''m more than capable of killing these zombies," Jiao Lizhi replied with confidence. Hearing her words, Jin Xuyan lowered his gaze. He had seen her fight just now. Her movements were sharp, ruthless¡ªevery strike was meant to kill. In the apocalypse, such a combat style was normal. But for someone who had grown up in a peaceful society, it was impossible to fight like that without experience or long term training. Only those who had been through countless battles of life and death could execute such precise, deadly movements. Reaching this conclusion, he was almost certain¡ªhis Ah Zhi had been reborn just like him. Thinking about her tragic death in their past life, he clenched his fists tightly. Perhaps shielding her wasn''t the best way to ensure her survival. If she needed to grow stronger, he wouldn''t stand in her way. Instead, he would stay by her side and support her. Despite the countless thoughts spinning in his mind, only a few seconds had passed. Looking at her, he made up his mind and said, "Ah Zhi, I won''t stop you from joining the battle. But you must protect yourself well." Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi sighed in relief and nodded, "Brother Yan, I will protect myself well." While the two of them were chatting, the soldiers walked around the warehouse to check the situation. Qin Luzi was approaching the corner of the warehouse when he suddenly noticed a red dot moving toward him at high speed. Compared to the level-one zombies, this dot was significantly larger and faster. He quickly bent his knees and leaped backward. Before he even landed, a shadow crashed into the spot where he had just been standing. BOOM! The impact shattered the ground, sending dust and debris into the air, completely obscuring his vision. Narrowing his eyes, Qin Luzi saw the dot moving toward him again in his mind. He knew it was too late to dodge after landing, so while still mid-air, he waved his hand and manipulated the air around him. "Grrhhh!" When he heard a sharp growl, his body abruptly shifted to the side, narrowly avoiding the zombie''s sharp claws. BOOM! "Roarrr!!!" The zombie, enraged by its failed attack, threw its head back and let out an ear-splitting roar. Feeling the pressure radiating from the creature, Qin Luzi immediately tasted iron on his throat and realized he couldn''t handle this alone. Instead of counterattacking, he gathered his energy into his feet and dashed toward his captain. With wind boosting his movement, his speed increased several fold. In less than five seconds, he reached Jin Xuyan and said urgently, "Captain, this zombie is extremely dangerous and fast!" Before Jin Xuyan could respond, Jiao Lizhi suddenly shouted, "Dodge!" The moment her warning rang out, Jin Xuyan yanked Qin Luzi''s collar as he jumped to the side while she leaped in the opposite direction. CRACK! "Roarrr!!" Jiao Lizhi''s eyes widened as she felt the immense pressure radiating from the zombie. Her breath hitched as she muttered, "It''s actually a level-three zombie!" She hadn''t even reached level one yet, and now she was up against a level-three? The situation was beyond logic! How are the zombies evolving this fast?! But there was no time to dwell on the thought. The zombie had already shifted its focus to her and was charging at full speed. Her grip tightened around her boning knife as she raised it to block the incoming attack. Clang! Crack! The force sent her flying several meters before she crashed into the ground with a heavy thud. Her boning knife was broken and her water blade covering the knife already turned into a pool of water on the ground. "Ah Zhi!" Jin Xuyan''s eyes widened in horror when he saw the zombie rushing towards her. Without hesitation, he tightened his grip on his sword and rushed toward the zombie. Whoosh! Black flames engulfed his longsword as he closed in. When he was two meters away, he slashed horizontally. Sensing the danger, the zombie jumped back, narrowly dodging the attack. BOOM! The wave of flame hit the ground and left a deep, long crack. The next second, Jin Xuyan raised his left hand, summoning five fire arrows. As he threw them at the zombie, he dashed in a different direction, looking for an opening. The zombie dodged in the other direction, but before it could touch the ground, a longsword suddenly appeared in its peripheral vision, aiming straight for its head. Seeing this, the zombie raised his arm to block the attack. Crash! Thud! Before Jin Xuyan could send another attack, the zombie lashed out with a powerful kick, sending him flying several meters back. It then stood there with its pitch-black eyes locked onto him. Its left arm, severed at the forearm, lay on the ground. Black blood dripped steadily from the wound. "Cough!" Jin Xuyan coughed up a mouthful of blood as he hit the ground. A sharp pain pierced his chest. ''One of my ribs is probably broken,'' he thought grimly. "Roarrr!" With a furious growl, the zombie lunged at him again. Jin Xuyan rolled to the side just in time, narrowly avoiding the sharp claws. The zombie was relentless¡ªbefore Jin Xuyan could regain his footing, it raised its arm and aimed its claws at his throat. Whoosh! S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Seeing this, Jin Xuyan lifted his sword to block the attack. But before the claws could hit him, a water blade suddenly sliced through the zombie''s raised arm. Slash! "ROAR!!" The severed arm hit the ground with a thud, and black blood splattered across Jin Xuyan''s face and uniform. He clenched his lips tightly, forcing down the wave of disgust rising in his throat. Pushing himself up, he staggered backward. Chapter 58 - 58: I Crawled Back From Hell Just To Find You Suddenly, a pair of hands steadied Jin Xuyan from behind. His body leaned against a small but firm shoulder. Turning his head, he met Jiao Lizhi''s worried gaze. At that moment, a thought crossed his mind. ''My Ah Zhi is actually worried about me. It seems that getting hurt once in a while isn''t so bad. '' As the two exchanged glances for a second, Qin Luzi raised both hands, summoning several wind blades above his palms. Clenching his teeth, he flung them at the zombie. Even after losing both arms, the level-three zombie remained terrifyingly fast. It leaped, dodging the incoming wind blades, and pounced straight at Qin Luzi. Seeing this, Qin Luzi''s eyes flashed and his breath was caught in his throat. He had overexerted himself summoning too many wind blades, and now his energy was nearly depleted. Dizzy from exhaustion, his reaction was a second slower. As the zombie''s widened mouth came close, a chilling realization hit him. He was done for. STAB! Before the zombie could sink its teeth into his neck, a metal spear shot through its mouth from the side. CRACK! The spear''s momentum carried it forward, pinning the zombie to the warehouse wall with a loud sound. Qin Luzi turned and saw Wen Mo and the remaining soldiers rushed in as they launched attacks with their abilities. Though the zombie was immobilized, it was still a level-three zombie. Their attacks barely left a scratch, and their energy reserves were quickly running dry. Most of them hadn''t even reached level one yet, meaning their ability''s energy pool was extremely limited. Seeing that the zombie was almost struggling free, the soldiers turned to their captain, their eyes filled with urgency. At this moment, their captain sat on the ground, his face pale as he coughed up blood. Seeing him in such a state, the soldiers felt a wave of despair. How were they supposed to survive this battle? Just as hopelessness settled in, a bolt of thunder spear suddenly shot toward the zombie. However, before it could strike, a water disc collided with it mid-air. Crack! In an instant, the water disc absorbed the lightning and continued its trajectory toward the zombie at a fast speed. CRASH! Within seconds, the water disc sliced clean through the zombie''s neck, making a sharp U-turn in the air. The headless body collapsed, but the water disc didn''t stop¡ªit zipped through the corpse multiple times. By the time the remains hit the ground, they had been reduced to several mutilated chunks of rotten flesh. The next moment, the water disc flew toward the zombie''s severed head, splitting it in two before returning to Jiao Lizhi. Standing beside Jin Xuyan, Jiao Lizhi opened her palm, and the water disc hovered above it. She clenched her fist, and the spinning blade turned into a harmless splash of water. "Cough!" Her body was not as good as in her previous life and being hit once by the zombie caused her to suffer an internal injury. Her knees weakened and she fell to the ground. "Ah Zhi!" Jin Xuyan appeared beside her in an instant, catching her as she fell. Seeing her pale face, he immediately held her hand and transferred his energy into her body. A comforting warmth spread through her, soothing the splitting headache and severe pain in her body. Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw Jin Xuyan''s face covered in cold sweat and his complexion ashen. She squeezed his hand weakly and murmured, "Brother Yan, it''s enough" Jin Xuyan looked at her with deep concern and asked, "Ah Zhi, how do you feel?" "I''m fine." Just then, the soldiers and Pei Yijun''s team walked over. Jin Xuyan withdrew his energy and helped Jiao Lizhi to her feet. Not long after, Pei Yijun reached them and asked, "Jiao Lizhi, are you alright?" Before she could respond, Jin Xuyan answered coldly, "Ah Zhi will be fine. Thank you for your concern." Jiao Lizhi glanced at his cold face and added, "Senior, I''m fine." Chu Zhimiao stepped forward, reaching out her hands and said, "Lizhi, let me help you back to the car. We need to bandage your wounds." Before her hand could touch Jiao Lizhi''s arm, Jin Xuyan abruptly pulled Jiao Lizhi back, dodging the gesture. His sharp gaze locked onto Chu Zhimiao as he stated firmly, "I will take care of Ah Zhi. You and your team can focus on gathering supplies." S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Turning to his own men, he gave the order, "Inform the others and start loading the supplies." "Yes, Captain!" Without another word, he bent down, scooped Jiao Lizhi into his arms, and strode toward the warehouse entrance. The soldiers exchanged knowing glances as they watched their captain''s retreating back, then shifted their attention to Pei Yijun''s darkened expression. Without hesitation, they hurried to call their comrades to begin transporting supplies. Li Yang hesitated before speaking, "Brother Pei, should we¡ª" Pei Yijun turned and said, "Get the supplies." "Understood." Outside the warehouse, Jin Xuyan carried Jiao Lizhi to her car and gently placed her in the passenger seat. Before he could turn away, she reached out and grasped his wrist. "Brother Yan, I will be fine after some rest. Don''t worry about me. You should treat your own wounds first," she said softly. Jin Xuyan sighed when he heard her words and said, "Ah Zhi, my self recovery is several times faster than others. My wounds will be completely healed in an hour." Jiao Lizhi''s fingers stiffened at his words. She looked at him and asked, "Brother Yan, what do you mean?" Without answering, Jin Xuyan lifted her into his arms and sat down in the passenger seat with her on his lap. Closing the car door, he lowered his head, meeting her eyes. His warm fingers brushed against her cheek as he whispered, "Ah Zhi, I''m the same as you. I crawled back from hell just to find you." The moment she heard this, Jiao Lizhi''s eyes widened, and her heart leaped into her throat. Chapter 59 - 59: Get Stronger To Survive Jin Xuyan wrapped his arms around Jiap Lizhi, burying his head in the crook of her neck. His grip tightened as he whispered, "Ah Zhi, I can''t lose you again." A faint tremor was heard in his voice, showing his vulnerability to her blatantly. Jiao Lizhi was stunned. It took her a long moment to process his words. Then, she felt something damp as warmth spread across her neck. It was tears. Her lips parted, and she said, "Jin Xuyan, that person was really you..." Jin Xuyan''s hold on her tightened as he said, "Ah Zhi, I''m sorry I didn''t come for you sooner. I thought keeping my distance would keep you safe, but I never expected that because of my cowardice, it would harm you." His voice trailed off at the end, but she understood. Even though that past life had ended, she could still feel the agonizing pain of being torn apart alive. From the way he looked at her, she could see his feelings for her clearly. She wasn''t na?ve. She had known from the moment she was kissed. As an orphan, she had always yearned for a family. But in her previous life, she had been betrayed by the one she trusted most. How could she easily open her heart again? And yet¡ªshe couldn''t bring herself to push away the warmth of his embrace. Slowly, she raised her arms and wrapped them around him. Jin Xuyan''s body tensed for a split second before gradually relaxing. As she leaned against his chest, a thought surfaced in her mind. ''I will give myself one more chance and take this bet. Maybe this time, I will win this bet.'' After a moment of hugging, they heard a knock on the window. Raising his head, Jin Xuyan saw Zhang Yuan scratching his head outside. Lowering the window slightly, he asked, "What''s wrong?" Glancing at the woman sitting on his captain''s lap, Zhang Yuan immediately realized he had interrupted something. But he braced himself and said, "Captain, we need you to check on something." Jin Xuyan was annoyed at being interrupted but knew what was more important. He nodded and said, "I will be there in a moment." "Understood," Zhang Yuan nodded and left. Once he was gone, Jin Xuyan let out a sigh and said, "Ah Zhi, rest for a while. When we are done loading the supplies, I will let you know. You can take the rest of the supplies with you." Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi nodded and replied, "Okay." Before opening the door, he leaned down and kissed her forehead. Then, he carried her out of the car and placed her back in the passenger seat. After patting her head, he closed the door. Watching him walk away, Jiao Lizhi suddenly felt shy. In both her lifetimes, this was the first time she had been so intimate with a man. Although he was her childhood friend, she couldn''t help but feel embarrassed and awkward. Touching her chest, she muttered under her breath, "Stupid heart, stop beating so fast!" She took several deep breaths to calm herself before pulling out two bottles of pond water from her space. Even though she had decided to accept him, she still didn''t dare let him know about her space''s special attributes. It was better for him to assume her space was just an ordinary storage space like others. After drinking both bottles, she finally felt better. Closing her eyes, she checked her energy and noticed that after the battle against the level-three zombie, the barrier in her core was loosening. Maybe if she absorbed some crystal cores, she could break through. Feeling hungry, she pulled out two loaves of bread and ate them with canned tuna and cheese. Meanwhile, Jin Xuyan entered the warehouse and asked, "What''s wrong?" S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Seeing him return, Xiao Qi said, "Captain, these are the crystals we collected. Just now, your fianc¨¦e helped us kill the big guy and even saved our brothers'' lives. How should we divide these?" Jin Xuyan glanced at the crystal cores and said, "Give them all to her." The soldiers exchanged looks, thinking their captain was trying to use these crystals to coax their sister-in-law. After all, their vice-captain had said she was crying when he went to call their captain. Girls like this kind of thing. With a knowing smile, Xiao Qi packed all the crystals into a bag and handed it to Jin Xuyan, saying, "Captain, we don''t even know what these crystals are for. If my sister-in-law likes them, she can have them all." Jin Xuyan raised his eyebrows when he heard his generous words. Taking the bag, he said, "In the future, I will make sure none of you ever have to worry about food or drink again." The soldiers grinned at his words and said in unison, "Thank you, Captain!" "Alright, finish loading the supplies. We need to find a place to stay for the night," Jin Xuyan said. "Yes, Captain!" While the soldiers busied themselves loading the trucks and armored vehicles and filling up their backpacks, Pei Yijun and his team stood outside, waiting for them. Li Yang nudged Chu Zhimiao and whispered, "Miaomiao, do you think Brother Pei likes Jiao Lizhi?" "I don''t know," Chu Zhimiao said, shaking her head. "Even if Yijun likes her, she already has a fianc¨¦," Feng Yun said suddenly. "Senior Feng, their relationship doesn''t seem real. Maybe Captain Jin lied," Han Jie chimed in. "Whether it''s real or not isn''t our business," Feng Yun replied. "Right now, we should focus on surviving and think about how to improve our strength. Worrying about other people''s relationships won''t save you in a dangerous situation," he added solemnly. Hearing this, they dropped the topic, each lost in thought. They worried about their families but lacked the strength or courage to find them alone. For now, they could only follow Pei Yijun and hope the government would help later. He is right, they need to get stronger so they can survive and reunite with their families. Chapter 60 - 60: System Or Space? ( 1 ) Meanwhile, inside the car across from them, Jiao Lizhi leaned against the seat with her eyes closed. After drinking the pond water and eating, she suddenly felt her energy go on a rampage. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. This was a sign of breaking through. If she could push past the barrier, she would advance to the next level. If she failed, she could be injured¡ªor worse, die in the process. Focusing her mind, she guided her energy through her veins, gathering it in her core. Unlike zombies, ability-users'' crystal cores only solidified after death. When alive, their cores functioned more like a cultivator''s dantian, storing energy in the brain and circulating it through the veins. Cold sweat covered her forehead and back as she endured the excruciating pain. It felt as if countless ants were gnawing at her from the inside while her body was being torn apart and reconstructed. The energy kept circulating through her body, each cycle pushing out impurities through her pores. After countless cycles, the barrier finally cracked. The moment it broke, a surge of energy rushed into her brain, instantly relieving the pain. Her body felt light and refreshed. Opening her eyes, she noticed a sticky layer of black liquid covering her skin and frowned. She smelled worse than a zombie. Locking the car doors, she entered her space. As soon as she stepped inside, she rushed to take a shower. Perhaps her soap was better in this life as she managed to wash away the filth in one go. In her previous life, she had to scrub herself raw before she was able to clean the black liquid on her body. After changing into fresh clothes, she left her space and reappeared in the car. Stepping out, she took a deep breath and almost choked. Her five senses had improved¡ªshe could see farther and hear more clearly. The downside? The rancid smell was even stronger than before, making her nose numb. Pinching her nose, she walked toward the warehouse. Just as she stepped inside, she saw Jin Xuyan approaching. He handed her a bag, he said, "Ah Zhi, we are done. You can keep the rest of the supplies. These are the crystal cores we gathered. It''s for you." Jiao Lizhi looked at him for a moment and asked, "Brother Yan, are you giving me pocket money?" Jin Xuyan was momentarily stunned by her words before he chuckled and replied, "If you want to think of it that way, sure." Then, he rubbed her cheek and added, "Ah Zhi, I will work hard to raise you." For some reason, Jiao Lizhi blushed when she met his gaze. She pushed his hand away and said, "Help me guard the door." Seeing her shy expression, Jin Xuyan was in a great mood. He nodded and replied, "Okay." After the soldiers left, he closed the door and stood outside while Jiao Lizhi quickly stored the rest of the supplies in her space. Fifteen minutes later, she walked out and said, "Brother Yan, I''m done." Jin Xuyan checked his watch and said, "It will be dark soon. We should find a place to stay for the night." "Okay," Jiao Lizhi agreed readily. They climbed into their car and left the warehouse. Since there were still supplies in other warehouses, they decided to camp in an open field outside the factory district and continue checking the supplies in other warehouses. Staying outside was dangerous, but it was still better than returning to Lin''an University. As the sun dipped below the horizon, they parked their vehicles in a circle. Then, Wen Kai and Wen Mo built a metal wall around them for protection. Tonight, they would take turns on watch. With plenty of supplies, the soldiers built three bonfires while the Wen brothers made three large pots and several iron skewers. Jin Xuyan''s team had a water-type ability user, and they called him over. "Qianfeng, come help us fill the pot with water," Zhang Yuan waves at him. Chen Qianfeng walked over, only to stop in shock when he saw the size of the pot. Pointing at it, he asked, "Vice captain, do you have any idea how much water you need to fill just half of this?" Zhang Yuan laughs when he sees his brother''s shock and replies, "Well, we only need half of the pot." "I don''t know if I can get that much water," Chen Qianfeng said with a sigh. "Just fill it as much as you can," Zhang Yuan said with a grin. With no other choice, Chen Qianfeng could only place his palm above the pot and start filling it with water. He had just awakened his ability and was hungry, so he could only fill one-third of the pot before turning pale. Seeing this, Zhang Yuan quickly stopped him and said, "That''s enough. Thank you for your hard work, Qianfeng." Chen Qianfeng sat on the ground while enduring the headache and said apologetically, "Vice Captain, I''m sorry." Zhang Yuan patted his shoulder and said, "Why are you sorry? We can just use the water you prepared before. Go rest. When the food is ready, I will call you." "Okay." After he had left, Zhang Yuan stood up, planning to get some water. But before he could leave, Jiao Lizhi walked over and asked, "Vice Captain, do you need any help?" "Sister-in-law, you are here. I''m going to get some water. We plan to cook some rice for dinner. You can rest. We can take care of it," Zhang Yuan said with a smile. Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi said and walked to the pot, "I''m a water-type ability user. Let me help you." Unlike Chen Qianfeng, she didn''t place her hands above the pot but flicked her wrist, creating a large water ball instead. She moved her hand, and the water ball floated closer to the pot, stopping when it was above the pot. With another flick of her fingers, the water slowly trickled in. After breaking through to level one, her control over her energy improved significantly. Chapter 61 - 61: System Or Space? ( 2 ) While Jiao Lizhi was filling the pot, an idea suddenly flashed through her mind. Since she could change the shape of the water, maybe she could also change its temperature. The moment this thought appeared, she decided to try it. At first, she didn''t know how to do it, but then she recalled how her captain in her previous life controlled the temperature of his fire to roast the mutant animal''s meat. The next moment, she felt the cool energy inside her body suddenly become hotter. As the temperature of her energy increased, the water ball started to produce bubbles. After a few minutes, the water ball was boiling while floating and emitting mist. The soldiers and Chu Zhimiao, already drawn by her precise control of water, gathered around to watch. When they saw the water boiling, their eyes widened in shock. Chu Zhimiao was so surprised that she rubbed her eyes several times. Both of them were water-type ability users, but why was there such a huge difference between them? She could barely produce a few gallons of water, while Jiao Lizhi could already use hers for attacks¡ªand now, she could even control its temperature. Thinking of this, Chu Zhimiao clenched her fists. If she could learn this trick, she and her team wouldn''t have to worry about lacking hot water for cooking in the future. Unaware that many people were watching her, Jiao Lizhi remained absorbed in her experiment. After filling half the pot with hot water, she moved the water ball to another pot and repeated the process. Because the water was already boiling, they wouldn''t have to wait for it to heat up. When she was done, she clapped her hands and said, "Okay, it''s done." Chen Qianfeng checked the water and saw it was boiling. He turned to her and asked, "Sister-in-law, how did you do it?" "You mean how I made the water boil?" Jiao Lizhi asked after a moment of thought. "Yes," Chen Qianfeng nodded. Jiao Lizhi thought for a moment before replying, "I just imagined that the water was being boiled, and then it just happened." When Chu Zhimiao and Chen Qianfeng heard her casual reply, both wore expressions of disbelief. If it were that easy, they would already be able to create ice for attacks. Since she seemed unwilling to explain further, they didn''t insist on asking. While the soldiers prepared dinner, Jiao Lizhi sat on the small boulder and gazed at the red moon. Looking at the eerie red moon, she was in a daze. At this moment, she was checking her space using her mind. When she broke through to level one, she hadn''t had time to check it. She thought that even if there were changes, they wouldn''t be significant. Unexpectedly, not only had the house become bigger, but the farmland had also expanded. Looking at the pond, she noticed that its diameter had doubled from 5 meters to 10 meters. As for the depth, there was no change. Then, she turned to the farmland. Based on the corn stalks that now covered half the area, the farmland had also expanded twofold. What surprised her wasn''t the increase in black soil area but the corn stalks themselves. The last time she checked, they had just started sprouting. But after breaking through to level one, the previous sprouts had already matured and seemed ready to be harvested. Her mind moved to the farmland as she examined the corn. Under normal circumstances, one stalk would produce at most one or two ears, with the second ear usually being smaller. But the corn in her space not only had three to four ears per stalk, but each ear was also of similar size. Reaching out, she picked one ear and peeled back the leaves and silk. The kernels were plump and large. Weighing it in her hand, she estimated it to be around 300 grams¡ªalmost double the average weight of regular corn. Rubbing her chin, she considered how to harvest the corn. If she had to do it manually, it would be time-consuming and exhausting. What''s more, with someone clinging to her right now, entering her space to do the manual work would be difficult. As these thoughts filled her mind, the corn stalks in front of her suddenly disappeared, and a pile of corn ears appeared on the grassland. Jiao Lizhi was stunned by the scene in front of her. Her eyes widened in shock as she exclaimed, "This also can be done?" The next moment, her mind buzzed, and her vision blurred as a transparent blue screen appeared in front of her. When the dizziness faded, she saw the small screen floating before her. For a moment, she couldn''t process what was happening. She stared at the blue screen for a long time before reaching out to touch it. Instantly, the screen lit up, and a row of words appeared. Reading the information, she finally realized that her space wasn''t a spiritual space like in the cultivation stories she had imagined. Instead, it was more like the system-based stories she had read before the apocalypse. According to those stories, if her space was a system, there should be a mechanical voice guiding her¡ªgiving tasks, punishing, or rewarding her. But ever since she had obtained this space, there had been nothing like that. Before leveling up, she couldn''t even see this blue screen. Curious about her space, she read the information before closing the tab. Next, she noticed rows of icons on the screen, each representing different functions. Looking at them, she felt an odd sense of familiarity. It was as if she had been using this kind of system for a long time. Even without names on the icons, she instinctively knew what each icon was for. At this moment, doubts filled her heart as she checked the space''s settings. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ''What exactly is this space? What is my background? Why did this system bind to me instead of someone else?'' Chapter 62 - 62: Systems Setting At this moment, lots of questions filled Jiao Lizhi''s head, but she had no way to get the answers. Feeling that it was a waste of time to dwell on matters without solutions, she decided to push the thoughts to the back of her mind. She opened the space''s settings tab and saw that she could enable the auto-harvest, auto-process, and auto-storage functions for the farmland. There was also an irrigation system setting. Since she didn''t want to waste the farmland, she set everything to automatic. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. At the current level, crops would mature once a month due to the different time flow with the outside world and could be hastened using more energy. The grain yield would be 5 kilograms per square meter on average, though different crops would have varying yields. The byproducts from processing the grains would be turned into fertilizer and absorbed by the black soil. As for the processed grains, such as corn kernels, they would be stored in the granary. The granary was a cylindrical silo with a diameter of 30 meters and a height of 50 meters, capable of storing around 31 tons of grain. After checking the farmland, she examined the house. She was taken aback when she saw the detailed information. The first floor had expanded to 250 square meters, with the addition of a foyer. The second floor had expanded to 220 square meters, now featuring a balcony. Aside from the larger space and the new foyer and balcony, everything else remained the same. Her house was still as empty as before. After inspecting her house, she opened the energy source panel. This time, she was surprised to find that her space could convert the zombie virus into energy and absorb it. Rubbing her chin, she recalled the black blood and rotten flesh on her dirty clothes. Since those contained zombie viruses, they must have been converted into energy. No wonder her clothes had holes and food stains left behind but no black blood or rotten flesh of zombies. Reaching this conclusion, everything that had happened before finally made sense. She continued reading the information and sighed. She had hoped her space could become her energy source and help her level up faster. Unfortunately, she needed crystal cores to sustain the space instead. Every day, one crystal core was required to cover the energy consumption. While it wasn''t what she had hoped for, it actually made more sense, considering the farmland and pond water contain energy. Therefore, it is normal to obtain more energy from the crystal cores. If the energy wasn''t replenished, the space would eventually run out of energy and might even collapse or shut down. To expand her space, she needed 100 crystal cores and she had to break through to level two. The upgrade requirements limited how fast her space could progress as it''s not easy for her to break through. After learning more about her space, she checked the crystal cores stored in the drawer of the master bedroom. With the crystal cores given by Jin Xuyan, she should have 29 level-one transparent cores and one level-three transparent core. As for elemental crystal cores, she only had one level-two metal-type core. But right now, there are only 28 level-one, one level-three, and one level-two metal-type crystal cores. Based on this, her space must have automatically absorbed a core daily, saving her the hassle of manually recharging the space''s energy. While she was checking her space, the soldiers had finished preparing dinner. They made a pot of sausage and rice, a pot of mushroom soup, and used another pot of water to boil drinking water. When the food was ready, Zhang Yuan looked at Xiao Qi and said, "Xiao Qi, go call the Captain and the others to eat." "Okay!" Xiao Qi went to find their captain and saw him lying on the ground with his eyes closed. Squatting beside him, he said, "Captain, dinner is ready." The moment he heard this, Jin Xuyan opened his eyes and sat up. Rubbing his eyes, he replied hoarsely, "Mhmm." "Captain, do you want to call your fianc¨¦e, or should I go call her?" Xiao Qi asked. "I will call her," Jin Xuyan replied. Xiao Qi nodded and went to gather his brothers for dinner. As for Pei Yijun and his team, they had their own supplies and ate separately. After a moment, Jin Xuyan stood up and went to find Jiao Lizhi. His body had fully healed after nearly two hours of rest, but the energy consumed to repair himself left him famished. The area behind the metal wall wasn''t large, so he spotted her at a glance. As he walked over, he noticed she was lost in thought, staring at the red moon in a daze. Squatting beside her, he reached out to hold her hands and asked softly, "Ah Zhi, what are you thinking about?" Feeling the warmth of his palms covering her hands, Jiao Lizhi''s mind returned from her space. She blinked and turned her head. Seeing Jin Xuyan''s gentle gaze, her heart skipped a beat. She cleared her throat and said, "I wasn''t thinking about anything." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan let out a low chuckle before teasing, "So, my Ah Zhi was just daydreaming." Jiao Lizhi wanted to correct his use of my Ah Zhi, but before she could speak, he added, "Let''s go eat. Dinner is ready." As soon as he said that, her stomach let out a loud growl of protest. Covering her stomach, she smiled in embarrassment. Jin Xuyan chuckled and pulled her up. With his broad palm covering her delicate wrist, they walked toward the bonfire. When the soldiers saw them arrive, they glanced at their hands but said nothing. Xiao Qi filled two bowls of rice and two cups of mushroom soup for them. Handing Jiao Lizhi her portion, he said, "Sister-in-law, here is your food. If it''s not enough, you can get more." "Thank you," Jiao Lizhi replied, accepting the food. Chapter 63 - 63: Soft And Smells Nice Holding the bowl of rice, Jiao Lizhi thought the portion was too small. Then, she looked around and noticed the soldiers had the same portion as her. It seems that everyone wouldn''t be able to have a full belly. Not to mention that some of them were ability-users now¡ªeven as ordinary men, they must have larger appetites. After all, they were soldiers, constantly fighting zombies and traveling non-stop. They had to be both exhausted and starving. Although she felt sorry for them, this was the reality of the apocalypse. The loss of human resources and power made it impossible to maintain production lines. In the future, supplies would become scarcer, and eventually, humans would have to rely on mutant animals and plants to survive. Growing crops would be difficult since the soil and water were polluted by the zombie virus. Arable land would be limited, and those in power would do everything they could to seize it, leading to countless conflicts¡ªkilling many, mostly ordinary people, in the process. While she was lost in thought about the future, Jin Xuyan noticed she wasn''t eating. He reached out, patted her head, and said in a low voice, "Ah Zhi, don''t worry. Everything will be fine. I will stay by your side from now on." Hearing his words, Jiao Lizhi smiled and said, "Brother Yan, we never know what will happen in the future." Jin Xuyan looked at her deeply but said nothing when he heard her words. He understood that no matter what he told her now, she wouldn''t believe him¡ªnot after what she had been through in her previous life. He would prove it with his actions. One day, he was sure she would open her heart and let him in. Looking at her, he smiled and said, "Let''s eat before the food gets cold." While they took their time eating, the soldiers were already on their third bowl of rice or second bowl of mushroom soup. Even though the mushrooms in the soup were made from dried mushrooms, they were famished after a whole day. So, they ate fast, fearing if they were a little bit slow, they would eat less. When Jin Xuyan finished his meal, he noticed that the food in the pots had been completely eaten. Standing there, he looked at the empty pot for a moment before walking back to Jiao Lizhi. After sitting beside her, he let out a long sigh. Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi wiped her lips, looked at him, and asked, "Brother Yan, what''s wrong?" Jin Xuyan rubbed his defined eight-pack abs, looked at her, and said aggrievedly, "Ah Zhi, I''m so hungry." Looking at his puppy-like eyes, Jiao Lizhi felt as if her heart had been struck by an arrow. Although she appeared calm on the outside, she was screaming inside. ''Oh my god! How can a cold, ruthless man like him look like a puppy-type boyfriend instead?! Shouldn''t he be a mature-type man?'' Amidst her internal panic, she reached out, rubbed Jin Xuyan''s soft black hair, and said, "Be good, I will take out some food for you later." As soon as she said this, both of them froze. Her voice had a coaxing, pampering tone, and coupled with her rubbing his head gently, it looked as if she were comforting her boyfriend. It took Jiao Lizhi a moment to snap out of her daze and pull back her hand, but before she could, Jin Xuyan grabbed it. The next moment, he leaned closer until their eyes were at the same level. Guiding her palm to caress his hair, he whispered hoarsely, "Ah Zhi, you can do as you please with me." Feeling the soft strands brushing against her fingers and palm, Jiao Lizhi''s cold heart suddenly began to race. As they gazed into each other''s eyes, she found herself drawn into his deep, dark gaze. His eyes were as black as the night, but within them flickered a faint red glow. The moment she saw it, she snapped back to reality. Pulling her hand away, she let out an awkward laugh and said, "Brother Yan, I will go get some food for you." Seeing her red ears, Jin Xuyan let her go. Watching her retreating figure, he smiled and thought, ''Ah~ My Ah Zhi''s hand is so soft. She also smells so nice. I wonder when I will finally be able to hold her in my arms.'' Not far from him, the soldiers shuddered when they saw his smile. Whenever their captain smiled like that, he was definitely up to something bad. At that moment, they silently lit a candle for Jiao Lizhi in their hearts, praying that she would be able to tame the big devil and not end up getting eaten by him instead. After walking away, Jiao Lizhi went to her car. The supplies on her car had been loaded by Jin Xuyan, and there was a variety of food available. She checked the food and put those with a short shelf life into her space, exchanging them for longer-lasting products like biscuits and dried food. Once she was done, she took out two cartons of banana milk. Each carton contained a liter, enough for a family of three under normal circumstances, but for ability-users, this amount was just right. Besides the milk, she grabbed two loaves of raisin bread, two cans of tuna, and two cans of apricots. She packed everything into her backpack before heading back. When she returned, she saw Jin Xuyan sitting alone, his back looking unusually lonely. After a brief moment of hesitation, she regained her calm and sat beside him. Opening her backpack, she took out the milk and handed it to him while saying, "Brother Yan, I don''t know if you still like banana milk." Jin Xuyan glanced at her, took the milk, and chuckled. He drank the milk and said with a hint of joy, "Ah Zhi still remembers." "Mn," Jiao Lizhi nodded. The two of them finished their food and milk before going to rest. The first half of the night would be guarded by Qin Lizi and three soldiers, while the second half would be watched over by Jin Xuyan, Zhang Yuan, and the Wen brothers. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 64 - 64: Boiled Corn At five o''clock in the morning, Jiao Lizhi was woken up by the urge to use the toilet. Opening her eyes, she met a pair of deep eyes staring at her. Startled, she raised her hand to punch the person in front of her. But before she could hit his face, her hand was caught, and she was pushed back. Lying on the ground, she stared at him in a daze. On top of her, Jin Xuyan smiled amusedly. Looking at her dazed expression, he couldn''t help but lean down to give her a peck on the lips before saying, "Good morning, Ah Zhi." Feeling his cold lips, Jiao Lizhi finally fully woke up. She pushed him and said, "Brother Yan, you startled me." Jin Xuyan let go of her hand and helped her sit up. He stretched out his hand to comb her hair with his fingers. When he touched the ends of her hair, his eyes flashed for a moment before returning to normal. ''Her hair is growing so fast,'' he thought inwardly. When he met her, her hair was shoulder-length. But now, her hair had reached her shoulder blades. After sitting for a moment, Jiao Lizhi said, "Brother Yan, I need to use the bathroom." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan asked casually, "Do you want me to accompany you?" The moment she heard this, the tips of Jiao Lizhi''s ears turned red. She glared at him and said, "No need." Jin Xuyan didn''t know why she glared at him. Staying in the open field was dangerous in the first place. If she went alone, what if she got attacked when she was halfway done with her urgent business? Looking at her back, he shook his head and asked, "Ah Zhi, do you need wet tissues? I collected some for you from a mini market before." Jiao Lizhi almost slipped when she heard his words. Turning around, she said through gritted teeth, "I have it." "Don''t go too far. Shout if you need me," Jin Xuyan added. This time, Jiao Lizhi was too lazy to talk to him. Thanks to him, everyone now knew she was going to relieve herself. When she reached the metal wall, she bent her knees and leaped to the other side. As she landed lightly, she looked around. When she was sure there was no one around, she flashed into her space. The moment she appeared in her space, she quickly went to the bathroom and finished her business. Afterward, she washed her face and left her space. Before going back, she went to her car and took out a sack of corn from her space. Using her car as cover, she carried the sack and locked her car. The moment Jin Xuyan saw her, he came over and asked, "Ah Zhi, can you give me some water? I want to wash my face and hair." Looking at the dirt sticking to his hair, Jiao Lizhi placed the sack down and filled up the pot used to boil water yesterday. This pot of water held around four or five gallons, enough for him to wash up. Seeing the water, Jin Xuyan smiled and said, "Thank you, Ah Zhi. You are so good!" Hearing his praise, Jiao Lizhi felt happy and replied, "Brother Yan, if you need more water, just let me know." In her previous life, only her captain would thank and praise her whenever she prepared water for the team. As for the others, they took her kindness for granted and complained when she was unable to give them the same amount of water due to her lack of energy. "Okay," Jin Xuyan nodded before carrying the pot behind the military trucks. With the trucks blocking people''s view, he took off his clothes and pants. He had already prepared some shampoo and soap beforehand. Now, he could take a quick bath. While he was scrubbing his body while humming a tune, Jiao Lizhi sat near the bonfire. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The bonfire had been extinguished, and she didn''t want to go find dried wood. So, she peeled the corn and cleaned the silks. Afterward, she opened her palm and filled up a pot with water. Raising her hand, she controlled the water''s temperature. After a moment, the water ball boiled. With one hand controlling the water so it continued boiling, she put the corn into the pot with the other hand. While she boiled the corn, Jin Xuyan had already finished showering and brushing his teeth. Since he kissed and hugged his girl often, he had to keep his mouth and body fresh and clean. Otherwise, she would dislike him. When he walked over to Jiao Lizhi holding the big pot, he smelled the fragrance of corn wafting in the air. He placed the pot down, he lowered his head and looked into the pot. Seeing so much corn being boiled inside, he asked, "Ah Zhi, where did you get this corn?" Hearing his question, Jiao Lizhi replied casually, "I found them in the supermarket before. Although it''s not so fresh, it is still edible." The fragrance of corn woke up the soldiers and Pei Yijun''s team. Unlike Jin Xuyan, the soldiers went to relieve themselves before returning. They used water created by Chen Qianfeng to wash their face and hands. Afterward, Wen Mo took down the metal wall and created several blades from the metal. The soldiers'' blades were damaged, which slowed down their killing speed. So, Wen Kai and Wen Mo worked together to make more blades to replace the damaged or broken ones. Since the metal used to make the blades was created from a metal-type ability, the blades were stronger and sharper. But due to the limited energy of the Wen brothers, they only managed to make five blades before running out of energy. They needed to rest for two hours to fully recover before continuing to make more. When the soldiers and Pei Yijun''s team walked over, the corn was cooked. Jiao Lizhi withdrew her energy, looked at the soldiers, and said, "I made some boiled corn. Everyone can have it for breakfast." Chapter 65 - 65: His Gift ( 1 ) After Jiao Lizhi finished speaking, she took two corns from the pot and handed them to Jin Xuyan while saying, "Brother Yan, here." Jin Xuyan took the corn and was stunned by the weight. He glanced at her meaningfully and said, "Thank you." Jiao Lizhi smiled at him and took two corns for herself. They sat on the side and had their breakfast. At the same time, the soldiers each took one corn and started to eat. They still needed to check the factories and get some clothes and underwear for themselves. As for Pei Yijun and his team, they were surprised that Jiao Lizhi had found corn. The only place they had visited for supplies was the supermarket near Lin''an University. Thinking about the supplies taken away by Teacher Cao, Li Yang and the rest were still angry and unwilling. But now that they had more supplies, they were no longer as angry as before. They just felt annoyed whenever they thought about how the supplies they had risked their lives to get were being enjoyed by those beasts in human skin. Li Yang reached into the pot and took one corn. When he held it, he was taken aback and said, "This corn is so big and plump. How did we miss this kind of corn when we got the supplies?" When they heard his words, they went to get a cob and realized that the corn was bigger than usual. After they took a bite, the corn juice filled their mouths. The corn was fragrant, and the kernels were plump and sweet. "This corn must have been placed in the corner or the warehouse," Han Jie said. Feng Yun shook his head and said, "I checked the warehouse and corners before, and they were empty." Pei Yijun looked in Jiao Lizhi''s direction thoughtfully and said, "Alright, stop talking about this matter." After they finished the boiled corn, Jiao Lizhi asked for several empty gallon bottles from the soldiers and used them to store the corn water. Seeing this, Xiao Qi came over and asked, "Sister-in-law, do you like to drink corn water?" Jiao Lizhi shook her head and explained, "While we can replace drinking water with corn water, it''s better to use it to make soup or cook noodles." "Corn water is similar to vegetable stock. It is full of vitamins, minerals, starch, and flavor¡ªall of which can boost the texture, taste, and nutritional value of other dishes," she added. Hearing this, Xiao Qi nodded and said, "Sister-in-law, you are so knowledgeable." "I also learned it from others," Jiao Lizhi replied. After she filled two gallon bottles, there was still some corn water left. Feeling that it would be a waste to discard it, Xiao Qi went to get his canteen. He drank the rest of the water in his canteen before filling it up with corn water. When he was done, there were only around two cups of corn water left in the pot. He scooped them out and stored them in an empty mineral water bottle. After the pot was finally empty, he grinned and stored the corn water in his backpack. After they packed up their sleeping bags, the soldiers climbed into their trucks and armored vehicles. When Jiao Lizhi opened her car''s driver-side door, Jin Xuyan held her hand and said, "I will drive." Since he was willing to be her driver, Jiao Lizhi didn''t insist and went into the passenger seat. Not long after, they drove to the factory district. Although it was called the factory district, there were only several factories in the area. They had already cleaned up two factories yesterday. Today, they planned to check the rest. While the soldiers and Pei Yijun''s team thought they were there to clear zombies so survivors could get supplies, only Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi knew their real purpose. They drove for fifty minutes before reaching the third factory. Unlike the previous factories, this one was a fabric and clothing factory. It processed raw materials into fabrics and then turned them into clothes and other products. Due to the numerous machines and warehouses, this factory was built on top of three hectares of land. Before they even reached the entrance, they could hear the roars of zombies. This time, they parked their cars a kilometer from the factory gate. When they got out, Zhang Yuan came over to report, "Captain, our brothers have woken up. They are eating and resting in the car right now." S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Hearing this, Jin Xuyan let out a sigh of relief and said, "Appoint some brothers to stay with them for protection. The rest will go inside with me to clear the zombies." "Understood." After Zhang Yuan left, Jin Xuyan went to his armored car and prepared his gun, ammunition and medicines, while Jiao Lizhi climbed into her car. She took out several bottles of her space''s pond water, milk, and bread from her space and put it inside her backpack. After awakening an ability, they would feel weak and hungry. Drinking milk could help them recover faster. Carrying her backpack, she walked over to the military cars after she locked her car. When she arrived, she saw six men leaning against the seats with pale faces. Seeing her, the soldiers were stunned. It was the first time they had seen a girl after the apocalypse, let alone one who was clean and delicate like her. "Hello, brothers. I heard that you just woke up from a coma. I have some milk and bread¡ªyou can have them," Jiao Lizhi greeted them. Hearing her words, the soldiers were taken aback. In their current situation, they understood clearly how hard it was to get food, let alone milk. So, it didn''t feel right to accept this girl''s food. "Comrade, we have food and water. You should keep that for yourself," Zhou Huajian said with a smile. "Brother, this milk and bread will spoil if kept for too long," Jiao Lizhi replied. Chapter 66 - 66: His Gift ( 2 ) Before Zhou Huajian could say another word, a young man sitting beside him suddenly asked, "Comrade, do we need to pay for the bread and milk?" When the other soldiers heard his words, they glanced at him knowingly with a trace of embarrassment. "I can''t finish it all, and it would be a waste if it spoils. It will be great if you can help me finish it. I won''t charge you for the bread and milk." As soon as she finished speaking, the young man reached out his pale hands and said, "Then I will help you finish it. It''s not good to waste food." Jiao Lizhi looked at his expressionless face and found him somewhat familiar. But she couldn''t remember where she had seen him before. She took out ten loaves of bread, ten cartons of milk, and ten bottles of her pond water. After taking them out, her backpack was empty. She zipped it up and said, "Thank you for your help, Brother!" "Mhmm," the young man nodded as he opened the milk carton. Not long after, Jin Xuyan walked over and asked, "Ah Zhi, what are you doing?" Hearing his voice, Jiao Lizhi asked back, "Brother Yan, are we going in now?" Jin Xuyan nodded, handed her a dagger made by the Wen brothers, and said, "This is for you. I asked them to modify the shape and weight. It should suit you." Jiao Lizhi''s eyes lit up when she saw the dagger. It was so similar to the one she owned in her previous life. She took the dagger and pulled it out from its sheath. When she saw the mark on the blade, she was stunned. This dagger wasn''t just similar¡ªit was actually her dagger! In her previous life, she had obtained this dagger by chance at Sanchou Base''s market for a low price. She had planned to go there and buy it again. She never expected that her dagger had actually been made by the Wen brothers. Seeing her go silent, Jin Xuyan knew she recognized it. In their previous life, he had to find a way to give it to her while hiding his involvement. He hadn''t wanted his enemies to know that he cared about her. So, he could only protect her from the shadows¡ªeven giving her a gift took a lot of effort. Now, he could give it to her directly. This feeling was amazing. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. After a moment of silence, Jiao Lizhi looked at him and said softly, "Brother Yan, thank you." Both of them understood that she was thanking him for the gifts in both lifetimes. Reaching out, Jin Xuyan patted her head gently and said, "As long as you like it." Checking his watch, he added, "The others are waiting for us. We should go now." "Okay," Jiao Lizhi nodded and tied the dagger to her right thigh. Before leaving, Jin Xuyan looked at his men and said, "All of you should rest and replenish your energy. Familiarize yourselves with your abilities too." "Understood," the six of them nodded and replied in unison. After Jin Xuyan left with Jiao Lizhi, Zhou Huajian looked at his brothers and asked in disbelief, "Did you guys see that?" The soldiers nodded. "That girl might be the person our Captain always missed," the young man said suddenly. Looking at him, one of the soldiers asked, "Shen Jinzhe, how did you know?" "I saw her picture in our Captain''s wallet before. Although she is older now, her features haven''t changed much, so I recognized her," Shen Jinzhe replied. "Is that why you accepted her food?" another soldier asked. Shen Jinzhe glanced at him as if he were looking at someone stupid and said nothing. Not only were bread and milk hard to come by now, but it was also common sense not to waste food. What''s more, the most delicious food was free food. Only a fool would refuse free food and save money. Even if he said nothing, the soldiers understood his mind. In the entire Phantom Team, he was known for his frugality¡ªalmost stingy. If there was someone who could rival how frugal he was, it was only Chen Qianfeng. Both of them were avid foodies, but they were so frugal that they would buy a portion of food and split it¡ªeach paying half and getting half a portion. After finishing a carton of milk and a loaf of bread, Shen Jinzhe looked at his brothers and asked, "If you guys don''t want to eat, I will finish it all." The moment they heard this, they snatched the food and milk. Since they took away all the milk, Shen Jinzhe continued eating the bread while drinking the water. After he drank the water, his eyes flashed with surprise. Unlike when he drank the milk, he felt a warm energy flowing through his body after drinking the water. His previous weariness and headache lessened. He finished the entire bottle and felt his body warm up. Maybe he ate too fast or too much, but he suddenly had the urge to burp. Following his instinct, he opened his mouth and let out a big one, "Burpphh!" Under normal circumstances, his brothers would only glare or kick him if he burped in their faces. But this time, he saw his brother''s hair burn because of the fire that came out of his mouth along with his burp. "Shen Jinzhe, what the hell!" Gao Bohai exclaimed in surprise. Seeing one of them suddenly catch fire, the soldiers were shocked and quickly helped extinguish it¡ªby pouring some milk on his head. With a "hisss," the fire was put out, but the soldier''s hair had been burned, making him look funny yet pitiful. After the fire went out, Zhou Huajian looked at his brother and asked, "Shen Jinzhe, what was that?" Feeling the heat in his throat, Shen Jinzhe quickly stepped out of the armored car and let out another burp, "Berrrghh!" This time, they saw the blue flame coming out of his mouth. Chapter 67 - 67: Hostility The soldier''s eyes widened in surprise as they watched the flame burn the withered bushes nearby. Even Shen Jinzhe was stunned. He looked at his brothers and said, "I didn''t mean it." As he spoke, smoke still came out of his mouth and nostrils. Seeing this, the soldiers backed away from him, and one of them said, "Shen Jinzhe, stop talking. If you want to talk, look away from us." Feeling wronged, Shen Jinzhe could only turn his body and explain, "Brother, I really didn''t mean to burn anyone''s hair. I just felt like my stomach was burning, and I had the urge to burp." Hearing this, the soldiers looked at each other in confusion. They didn''t know what was going on either. Not long after, Xiao Qi walked over and saw the situation. After learning what had happened, he burst out laughing. He laughed so hard that he almost toppled over and pissed himself. As he laughed and laughed, the faces of his brothers grew darker and darker. When he finally calmed down, he realized that he had probably dug a hole for himself. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Xiao Qi, are you done laughing?" Gao Bohai asked unhappily. Hearing this, Xiao Qi lowered his head and coughed before replying, "Brother Gao, I''m done." When they heard his reply, the six of them gnashed their teeth and glared at him at the same time. Noticing their anger, Xiao Qi quickly raised his hands and said, "Brothers, please calm down. Gentlemen talk with their mouths, not with their fists." After they calmed down, he added, "Actually, the flame was Brother Shen''s ability. It''s similar to my ability¡ªstorage space." "Ability? What is that?" Gao Bohai asked. "Well, it''s something like a superpower. I don''t really know how to explain it. Anyway, you will feel energy inside your body. When you gain control of that energy, you can use it to fight or defend. Some abilities can''t be used for fighting, but they have other functions," Xiao Qi said while scratching his head. When he saw the water bottles, his eyes lit up. He placed his hand above them and said, "Keep!" The next moment, the water bottles disappeared. Seeing this, the soldiers were shocked. Then, he took out the water bottles again and said, "This is my space storage ability. I can store anything except living things in my space and take it out later. Although my space isn''t big, the time flow inside is slower. So, the supplies kept inside will have a longer shelf life." After hearing his explanation, Shen Jinzhe closed his eyes and tried to feel the energy inside his body. Not long after, he found a burning-hot energy flowing through his veins. Using his mind, he tried to control the energy. It took him a few minutes before he was able to move the energy from his throat to his fingertips. The next moment, five pillars of blue flame appeared on his fingertips. "Wow! Brother Shen, you really got a fire-type ability! It''s similar to our captain''s ability!" Xiao Qi exclaimed in admiration. Opening his eyes, Shen Jinzhe saw that his fingertips looked like a torch. He focused his mind and retracted his energy. In a second, the blue flame disappeared instantly. He smiled in satisfaction and said, "Not bad. It''s just that my energy doesn''t seem to be much¡ªI feel tired after using it for a while." Xiao Qi nodded and said, "Brother Shen, that is normal when you have just awakened your ability. The more you use it, the more energy you will have. The only downside is that we get hungry faster when we use our abilities." "But the captain said that to get stronger, we need to continuously use up our energy and replenish it. When our energy pool hits a bottleneck, we will be able to break through and level up to the next stage." Hearing this, they nodded and said, "So that''s how it is." "For now, we can only keep training and kill more zombies to get stronger faster," Xiao Qi said with a sigh. At this moment, none of them realized that his fire-type ability was different from others. After learning about the so-called ability power, the six of them continued training to control their energy. Their captain had told them to familiarize themselves with their abilities, so they needed to master them as soon as possible. At the same time, Jiao Lizhi, Pei Yijun''s team, and the soldiers finally arrived at the factory''s entrance. As soon as they got closer, the zombies trapped behind the tall cement wall and steel gate rushed over, roaring wildly. They reached their rotten arms through the gate, banging against it, trying to grab the fresh meat in front of them. The roars of the zombies were deafening, and their numbers were at least a thousand, if not more. Standing ten meters away from the gate, Pei Yijun turned to Jin Xuyan and asked, "Captain Jin, do you have any plans? Or do you want to do it by yourself?" Zhang Yuan frowned, noticing the hidden hostility in Pei Yijun''s tone toward his captain. He couldn''t understand what was wrong with this young master''s brain. Although they hadn''t rescued him from Lin''an University, they had still picked him up and helped him and his team get supplies. Even if he didn''t feel grateful, he shouldn''t harbor hostility toward them. Wasn''t he worried they would abandon him if he annoyed the captain too much? If Zhang Yuan could sense the hostility, how could Jin Xuyan not? But he didn''t care. He had only used Pei Yijun as an excuse to search for Jiao Lizhi. As for what the future held, that would depend on his mood. After all, he had no intention of babysitting this young master. While Jin Xuyan didn''t care about his provocation, Jiao Lizhi was unhappy. She turned and asked, "Senior Pei, you are known as the strategist in the student union. Do you have any plans?" Chapter 68 - 68: Newfound Confidence Hearing Jiao Lizhi''s words, the others were surprised. While it seemed like she was praising Pei Yijun, only Jin Xuyan noticed her dissatisfaction. A smile flashed in his eyes as he reached out to pat her head. Then, he leaned closer and whispered, "Ah Zhi, don''t be angry. It''s not worth it." "Who is angry? I''m just asking," Jiao Lizhi muttered. Seeing them flirting even in this kind of situation, Pei Yijun was annoyed. His gaze turned cold as he said, "Captain Jin, I think it''s better for us to work separately. My team isn''t used to working in large groups." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan smiled and said, "Young Master Pei, this factory had at least 30,000 to 50,000 workers. Are you sure your team can handle it alone?" "I wouldn''t want to be blamed by the higher-ups if something happened to you. After all, you are the precious heir of the Pei family," he added with a sigh. Hearing his words, the soldiers lowered their heads, hiding their gloating as they chuckled. Their captain really knew how to make people angry. Pei Yijun noticed the ridicule in his tone and replied coldly, "I''m more than capable of protecting myself. Captain Jin doesn''t have to worry about me or my team." Jin Xuyan spread his arms and said, "Alright then. We will separate after we clean up these zombies." After speaking, he turned to the soldiers and ordered, "Wen Kai, Wen Mo, open the gate. The rest of you, prepare for battle." "Yes, Captain!" the soldiers responded in unison. Even though they answered together, their voices were low, as if they were whispering. Watching them, Jiao Lizhi found it amusing. As Wen Kai and Wen Mo moved toward the gate, Jiao Lizhi pulled out her dagger and opened her palm. In an instant, five water blades floated above it. As the gate slowly opened, she flicked her wrist and sent the water blades flying toward the crowd of zombies, beheading several zombies at once. Crack! Crack! Crack! The sound of breaking bones was swallowed by the zombies'' roars. Black blood covered the ground as the headless zombies fell to the ground with a thud. The water blades kept flying at high speed through the zombies. Wherever they passed, rotten heads would roll to the ground. With Jiao Lizhi holding the front line, Wen Mo opened half of the gate, controlling the flow of zombies so that only five could pass at a time. Next, Wen Kai created a large metal ball and placed it beside his brother. Crack! S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The heavy ball cracked the ground as it landed. Then, he pulled out his blade. Rather than relying on his ability, he preferred to fight with his blade and fists. Seeing his brother rush toward the zombies, Wen Mo sighed and formed ten metal needles from the large metal ball. Each needle was half a meter long with a diameter of three centimeters. "Roarrr!!" As the zombies charged, he narrowed his eyes and waved his hand. Stab! Stab! Stab! In less than a second, ten zombies dropped lifelessly to the ground, the metal needles piercing their skulls and destroying their brains. Jin Xuyan looked at the soldiers and asked with raised eyebrows, "What are you waiting for?" Hearing this, the soldiers drew their blades and joined the fight. Those with abilities held the front line while letting some zombies pass so their teammates without abilities could train and improve their combat skills. Standing to the side, Jin Xuyan observed his soldiers fighting. When he saw one of them about to be ambushed from behind, he swiftly pulled out his dagger and threw it. Stab! The dagger pierced the zombie''s brain, and it collapsed instantly. Jin Xuyan walked over, retrieved his dagger, and said, "Watch your back when you fight. Focus on yourself and your nearby teammates. Don''t worry about those farther away." "Yes, Captain!" the soldier responded before he continued fighting the zombies. In less than five minutes, the number of zombies had already decreased by one-fifth. Seeing the soldiers'' effectiveness in killing zombies, Li Yang said in surprise, "They are indeed worthy of the title as the best. Even without any abilities, they can kill zombies faster than me!" When Chu Zhimiao saw the zombies being harvested like cabbages, she grew anxious. She looked at Li Yang and said, "Li Yang, let''s go kill some zombies too." Before Li Yang could reply, Feng Yun had already pulled out a blade he had bought from Wen Mo in exchange for five kilograms of rice and said, "If none of you want to go, I will go myself." As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed forward. Seeing him go alone, Chu Zhimiao called out, "Hey, wait for me!" Although the two of them were eager to get stronger and collect some crystals, they knew their limits. They only dared to kill the zombies that escaped the net. When a zombie pounced at her, Chu Zhimiao clenched her jaw and swung her iron rod. Thud! The iron rod struck the side of the zombie''s head. Unfortunately, her strength wasn''t enough to kill it. "Roar!" The zombie only paused for a moment before lunging at her again. Its mouth opened wide, aiming for her neck. Seeing this, Chu Zhimiao jumped to the side and then swung her iron rod at the zombie''s back. Thud! This time, the zombie lost its footing and fell to the ground. Taking advantage of the moment, she raised her weapon and struck the zombie''s head several times. The sound of the iron rod colliding with bone echoed in her ears. Her blood boiled, but her hands trembled. Taking this first step had never been easy, but when she saw the zombie stop moving, the fear in her heart lessened. It turned out that zombies weren''t as scary as she had thought. As long as she kept her eyes open and watched their movements, she could dodge and counterattack. With this newfound confidence, she continued fighting. Chapter 69 - 69: Injured After a while, Pei Yijun and his team finally joined the battle. With them killing zombies, ordinary soldiers can rest for a while every time they kill a zombie. While the soldiers were getting better at killing zombies, Feng Yun was struggling. He was an ordinary person, so his strength and stamina couldn''t compare to that of ability users. At this moment, he was breathing heavily after killing seven zombies. Despite using a sharp blade, it still needed strength and precision to swing it and kill his target. After he killed another zombie, he bent his waist and gasped for breath. Before he could catch his breath, he smelled a rancid stench coming from behind him, followed by the roar of a zombie. "Roar!" The instant he heard it, his body instinctively jumped to the side. The next moment, he saw a zombie fall to the ground. Without wasting the opportunity, he raised his blade and swung downward. Crack! The blade was sharp and well worth the price. With one swing, the zombie''s head rolled to the ground. A smile appeared on his face, but before he could celebrate, he heard Chu Zhimiao''s urgent shout. "Feng Yun, watch out!" The moment he heard her, he turned around and raised his blade. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Clang! The blade managed to block the zombie''s claws from piercing his body, but he failed to avoid the attack completely. The sharp claws left a shallow scratch on his palm. Feeling the sting, his heart pounded wildly as fear surged through him. Being scratched by a zombie had only one outcome¡ªdeath. He had fought so hard to survive, yet fate seemed to be playing a cruel joke on him. Just when he had seen a glimmer of hope, he had been injured by a zombie. Was there really no way for him to survive and reunite with his parents? Unwillingness filled his heart, and rage clouded his mind. "Arrghhh!" He let out a furious shout and shoved the zombie back. Staggering a few steps, the zombie struggled to regain its footing. But before it could, Feng Yun had already raised his blade and swung down. Crack! The zombie''s head split open, and black blood splattered across his face. The zombie slowly slumped to the ground, but he didn''t stop. He continued hacking at its head, turning it into minced flesh. Watching this, everyone sensed that something was wrong with him. Jin Xuyan frowned and decided to step in. If this man kept shouting, he would attract even more zombies. Before the blade could fall again, Jin Xuyan grabbed Feng Yun''s wrist and said, "Enough!" Hearing his voice, Feng Yun finally regained his senses. When he turned his head, he met Jin Xuyan''s deep eyes. His heart skipped a beat, and he pulled his hand out of Jin Xuyan''s grip. Fearing that he would be killed, he hid his hand behind his back and walked in Pei Yijun''s direction. Although it was only for a moment, Jin Xuyan had seen the wound on Feng Yun''s palm. He stood there, watching his back thoughtfully. While there was a possibility of awakening an ability, the chances were low. If Feng Yun had low immunity, he would turn into a zombie in at most two hours. If that happened during a critical moment, Pei Yijun and his team might die. At this thought, he looked at Pei Yijun with a complicated gaze. After hesitating for a moment, he headed in Pei Yijun''s direction. While everyone was busy fighting the zombies, Jin Xuyan suddenly appeared behind Feng Yun and grabbed his collar. Caught off guard, Feng Yun was lifted off the ground. Before he could say a word, Jin Xuyan carried him like a sack with one hand and rushed back to his team. When Jin Xuyan finally let go of his hold, Feng Yun fell to the ground with a thud. He glared at him and asked angrily, "Captain Jin, what do you mean by this? Do you think I''m a chicken you can carry as you wish?" Standing in front of him, Jin Xuyan looked at him and said solemnly, "I know you are injured." As soon as he heard this, Feng Yun''s eyes widened, and he stared at Jin Xuyan with his mouth open. After a moment, he regained his composure and asked, "Are you going to kill me?" Seeing that he could remain calm even in this situation, Jin Xuyan''s previous bad impression of him slightly improved. This boy, though young and inexperienced, had the potential to become a strong fighter if trained properly. He reached out his hand to Feng Yun and said, "I won''t kill you until the last second." Hearing this, Feng Yun was taken aback. "What do you mean?" he asked. "My soldiers were wounded before, but they didn''t turn into zombies. Instead, they awakened abilities. So unless you fully transform into a zombie and lose your mind, I won''t kill you," Jin Xuyan said calmly. The moment he heard this, hope ignited in Feng Yun''s heart. After a brief hesitation, he reached out and grabbed Jin Xuyan''s hand. After pulling him up, Jin Xuyan said, "It takes at least an hour, at most two, for the zombie mutation process. After we clear out the zombies in this area, we will wait for two hours. If you don''t mutate by then, you will be fine." "Can I really survive?" Feng Yun asked. "That depends on you. Whether you win or lose, it''s all on you," Jin Xuyan replied calmly. Just as he finished speaking, Jiao Lizhi walked over and asked, "Brother Yan, what''s wrong?" While fighting, she noticed the situation. To level up, she had been using her water ability instead of her dagger. After nearly an hour of combat, she was panting from exhaustion, having consumed almost all of her energy. Seeing her sweating, Jin Xuyan reached out to wipe away her sweat and replied, "He was injured. We will wait for two hours." The moment she heard this, Jiao Lizhi understood. She looked at Feng Yun and asked, "Do you want some water?" Chapter 70 - 70: Mutation Process ( 1 ) Feng Yun was surprised by Jiao Lizhi''s question. They didn''t know each other well. Aside from helping her carry her luggage and sending her to her dormitory when she first arrived at Lin''an University, they had barely interacted. He had always thought of this junior sister as indifferent and calculating. He never expected her to actually be kind. He was indeed thirsty, so he nodded and said, "Thank you." Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi went to her backpack and took out a bottle of water. It was pond water from her space. Even though she wasn''t sure of its exact benefits, it contained a bit of energy. That small amount of energy might help him survive this crisis smoothly. After returning, she handed the water to him and said, "Senior Feng, if you need more, just let me know." "Thank you," Feng Yun nodded. Afterward, she retrieved another bottle of pond water and drank it. Looking toward the gate, she saw that the situation was under control. So, she sat down on the ground to rest. At the gate, the soldiers had finally finished killing the last zombie. With the corpses piling up so high, it was difficult for them to walk past the gate. Zhang Yuan wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked, "How is everyone? Did anyone get injured?" The soldiers checked each other, and only after confirming that no one was hurt did they report back, "No one is injured, Vice Captain." Hearing this, Zhang Yuan nodded and said, "Good. Take a ten-minute rest, then move the corpses away." Just as he finished speaking, Jin Xuyan walked over and said, "No need to bother." The next second, he raised his hand, and black flames engulfed the corpses. To eliminate any hidden dangers, he didn''t plan on leaving them behind. He increased the temperature of his flames, and in less than ten minutes, only black ashes remained on the ground. As the wind blew, the ashes scattered. Under the sunlight, the crystal cores glistened beautifully. Turning to his soldiers, he said, "Pick up the crystals." "Yes, Captain!" Not far from them, Pei Yijun''s eyes flashed when he saw Jin Xuyan''s power. He hadn''t expected him to be this strong. If the two of them fought, he might not be able to win. Sensing his gaze, Jin Xuyan looked at him and smiled. His smile was handsome but also full of provocation. Gritting his teeth, Pei Yijun tried his best to control his annoyance and ignore him. Around him, his teammates were gasping for breath, especially Chu Zhimiao. As she sat on the ground, she finally noticed that Feng Yun was not around. After searching for a while, she finally saw him on the other side. "Why is Senior Feng with them?" she asked doubtfully. Hearing her words, they turned their heads and saw him lying on the ground. Han Jie frowned and said, "Is he leaving our team to join them?" "Feng Yun isn''t someone who is disloyal," Luo Jing replied. "All of you take some rest. I will go check on his situation," Pei Yijun said. "Okay." As he walked over, he saw Jiao Lizhi eating bread and drinking strawberry milk. Seeing her cheeks bulging, the corner of his lips were lifted slightly. She looked like a cute hamster while eating. Seeing him walking over, Jiao Lizhi asked, "Senior Pei, do you need something?" "I came to check on Feng Yun." Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi let out an "oh" and continued eating. He looked at her for a moment before walking over to Feng Yun. When he reached him, he noticed his pale face. Squatting down, he asked, "Feng Yun, what''s wrong with you?" At this moment, Feng Yun was half-conscious. His entire body was in excruciating pain, as if millions of ants were gnawing at his flesh and bones. Beyond the pain, all he felt was cold¡ªbone-chilling cold. Unlike an ordinary cold that could be eased by wearing warm clothes, this cold came from deep within his bone marrow and spread throughout his body. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The pain and cold were unbearable, pushing his mind to the brink of madness. At this moment, he wished someone would kill him and grant him relief. Seeing him lying there unmoving, Pei Yijun''s eyes darkened. He had seen a similar situation before. His roommate had once displayed similar symptoms. At the time, they thought he had only caught a cold and sent him to the hospital. But after several days, his condition didn''t improve¡ªit worsened instead. On the day he died, Pei Yijun had visited him with their friends. He had seen with his own eyes how his roommate''s body turned pale with bluish spots around his body and his flesh began to rot. The rancid stench was so overwhelming that some of their friends vomited on the spot. Thinking about it now, that cold had been the beginning of the apocalypse. Recalling everything he knew about zombies, he reached out to check Feng Yun''s body. The moment he saw the wound on his palm, he was stunned. The flesh around the wound had already begun to rot and was covered in pus. Seeing this, he quickly let go of his hand, stood up, and took several steps back. As he stared at Feng Yun, Jiao Lizhi walked over with her backpack and said, "Senior Pei, if you are afraid, you can leave. As long as you don''t come into direct contact with infected body fluids, you will be fine." Hearing this, Pei Yijun instinctively took a step back before snapping out of it. When he raised his gaze, he saw Jiao Lizhi looking at him. Under her calm stare, he felt ashamed and wanted to explain. "I¡ª" "Senior Pei, don''t worry. Brother Yan and I will take care of Senior Feng. We won''t let him die as a monster," Jiao Lizhi said, cutting him off. With that, she unzipped her backpack and took out another bottle of water and some fever medicine. She pulled Feng Yun up and let him lean against a roadblock. Chapter 71 - 71: Mutation Process ( 2 ) Ignoring the man behind her, Jiao Lizhi opened the bottle and fed Feng Yun the medicine and water. Once she was done, she took out her dagger and sterilized it with alcohol. Then, without hesitation, she used it to cut away the rotten flesh on Feng Yun''s palm. She pressed the wound, letting the blackened blood drain out. Only when the blood turned red again did she apply ointment and bandage the wound. When she was done, she turned and saw that Pei Yijun had already walked away. Without anyone watching her, she took out some blood-replenishing medicine and fed it to Feng Yun. After finishing, she dragged him to a clean spot and let him rest. Although it was true that people could turn into zombies if they came into contact with the bodily fluids of zombies or individuals contaminated with the virus, this didn''t apply to ability-users. As long as their level or immune system was stronger than the virus, they would be fine because the energy inside their bodies could suppress the zombie virus and expel it. Some, with special body constitutions, were even able to devour the virus within their bodies, convert it into energy, and absorb it. This was also the reason why high-level ability-users wouldn''t turn into zombies even if they were wounded while fighting against low-level zombies. However, survival chances also depended on how much of the zombie virus entered the ability-user''s bloodstream. Even if the zombies were weaker than the ability-users, if too much of the virus entered the body, it could still turn them into zombies. Therefore, when facing a zombie horde attack, a high-level ability-user still had to be extra careful. If they were careless, they might die from being eaten alive or turned into a zombie. Just now, she didn''t think that what Pei Yijun did was wrong. Everyone wanted to survive, and no one had an obligation to save another person. So when he chose to save himself and abandon Feng Yun, Jiao Lizhi could understand him. If she didn''t know the future, maybe she would have done the same thing. Right now, she was trying to save Feng Yun only because she knew he would survive and become someone very strong in the future. Even if he couldn''t defeat Jin Xuyan''s right hand man, he would still be one of the strongest in Sanchou Base. Since he would eventually join them, it was worth saving his life and letting him suffer less. At this moment, Feng Yun was experiencing a severe headache. Inside his head, two energies were battling against each other. One side wanted to devour his mind, while the other struggled to break free from its shackles. Just as he was about to give up, his parents'' faces flashed in his mind, igniting his will to survive. He fought to hold on to his consciousness. Although he couldn''t fully comprehend what was happening, he could still hear people talking around him. Having known Pei Yijun for years, he recognized his voice. When he heard him asking about his well-being, he wanted to respond, but his body refused to obey. The moment he felt his friend let go of his hand, he finally realized that he had been abandoned. Pei Yijun didn''t believe he could survive. He thought he would be trapped in this state for a long time until, suddenly, someone held him and fed him water. He was so thirsty that he drank instinctively. Moments later, his headache eased, and the cold within his body slowly faded as warm energy flowed across his body. For some reason, the pain from his palm reminded him that he was still human and still had hope of surviving this ordeal. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. While he was still fighting the zombie virus, Jin Xuyan walked over with his backpack. He sat beside Jiao Lizhi, took out the crystal cores they had obtained, and handed them to her. Checking his watch, he said, "It''s been forty minutes. How is he?" Jiao Lizhi, as happy as a lark after receiving the crystal cores, put them into her space and replied, "After I cleaned his wound, his temperature dropped, and his flesh is no longer rotting. It looks like he will be fine." Jin Xuyan reached out, took her hand, and said, "Ah Zhi has worked hard. Thank you." After taking the other party''s crystal cores, Jiao Lizhi was generous enough to let him play with her fingers. She raised her chin and said, "I survived five years in the apocalypse. This is nothing." Hearing her words, Jin Xuyan''s eyes flashed with pain for a brief moment before returning to normal. Even while holding Ah Zhi''s hand, he couldn''t forget the pain of witnessing her demise. Seeing him lower his head and say nothing, Jiao Lizhi thought he was tired and asked, "Brother Yan, are you hungry?" The moment he heard her question, the gloom in his heart vanished instantly. Jin Xuyan let out a chuckle and asked, "What good things do you have?" Jiao Lizhi pulled her hand back, unzipped her backpack, and used it as a cover. She took out two packs of duck necks from her space and said, "I have this." Jin Xuyan took one pack and said, "It''s my favorite." Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi smiled and added in a low voice, "I have a lot of them in my space. You can eat as much as you want." "Okay." While they rested, the soldiers went to inform Xiao Qi and the others. Almost an hour later, they returned, driving the cars and trucks. They even brought over Pei Yijun''s jeep and Li Yang''s SUV. Not long after, Pei Yijun walked over with his team. Seeing Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi gnawing on the duck necks, Chu Zhimiao swallowed. It had been a while since she had eaten duck necks. She also wanted to have a taste. Noticing her burning gaze, Jiao Lizhi asked, "Do you want some?" The moment she heard those words, Chu Zhimiao nodded and replied, "Yes." Jiao Lizhi took out a pack of duck necks from her backpack and said, "Two crystals for one pack." Chapter 72 - 72: First Customer Jiao Lizhi knew that Chu Zhimiao had collected quite a lot of crystal cores. Since her team didn''t care about them, she had taken them all. So, she should have quite a lot of crystal cores with her now. At the beginning of the end of the world, she was considered a little rich woman. When she said this, Pei Yijun and his team looked at her thoughtfully. Chu Zhimiao, on the other hand, was taken aback. She looked at Jiao Lizhi and asked, "Lizhi, why do you want the crystals? Can I really exchange them for the duck necks?" Feeling her hand getting sore, Jiao Lizhi asked, "Why ask so many questions? Do you want it or not?" Fearing that the duck necks would slip away, Chu Zhimiao quickly reached out, grabbed them, and said, "Of course I want!" After she got the duck necks, she took out two crystals from her pocket and gave them to Jiao Lizhi. Looking at the crystal cores, Jiao Lizhi was surprised to see that they were water-type crystal cores. Considering Chu Zhimiao''s friendly attitude and her position as her first customer, she decided to share some information with her. Holding the crystal core, she asked, "Chu Zhimiao, have you noticed that the crystals have different colors?" At this moment, Chu Zhimiao was already gnawing on the duck''s neck and nodded. "Do you know that you can absorb crystal cores?" she asked again. This time, not only Chu Zhimiao but also Pei Yijun''s team and the nearby soldiers were surprised by her words. Jin Xuyan raised his eyebrows when he heard her but said nothing. This information would become common knowledge in a few months. There was no harm in sharing it now. After all, these people would become important chess pieces for him in the future. It is also beneficial to make them stronger as soon as possible. "Can you really absorb crystal cores?" Li Yang asked, doubtful. Jiao Lizhi ignored his skepticism and continued, "The color of the crystal cores represents the element. Elemental-type ability users can absorb crystal cores of the same element as theirs, as well as transparent crystal cores. Non-element type ability users can only absorb the transparent ones." "While elemental-type ability users can absorb transparent crystal cores, they can only absorb half of the energy, and the rest of the energy will dissolve and be wasted. So unless necessary, it''s not advisable to use transparent crystal cores." "Besides the color, the crystal cores also differ in size depending on the zombie''s level. The higher the zombie''s level, the larger the core. The biggest crystal core I have found so far was the size of a thumbnail." "While level-two and level-three cores are the same size, I noticed that level-three cores have veins. The number of veins represents the level." After finishing her explanation, she reached into her backpack and took out a golden-colored crystal core and a level-three transparent crystal core from her space. She showed them to the group, pointed at the colored crystal core, and said, "These two have different sizes and colors due to their levels and elements." Then, she pointed at the transparent crystal core and added, "This one is the same size as a level-two metal-type crystal core, but it has three veins, which indicate that it''s level three. Since the color is transparent and the veins are gray, that means it''s non-elemental." When she finished, Chu Zhimiao looked at her with admiration and said, "Lizhi, this information is so valuable! You could get ahead of everyone if you kept it a secret. But you shared it with us¡ªyou are really a good person!" Getting a ''good person'' card so suddenly, Jiao Lizhi chuckled and replied, "If you want to thank me, just give me some crystal cores to buy this information." As soon as she said that, Chu Zhimiao took out all her crystal cores and gave Jiao Lizhi three transparent and two water-type cores. Seeing this, Jiao Lizhi didn''t pretend to be polite and took them. Since both of them were water-type ability users, the fact that Chu Zhimiao was willing to give away all her water-type crystal cores showed that she knew how to repay favors and build good connections. Reaching this conclusion, Jiao Lizhi smiled and thought, ''No wonder she will have so many loyal followers in the future. She has loyalty and generosity toward her friends. With her high EQ, it''s normal for her to have such a wide connection.'' After a while, Pei Yijun finally asked, "Captain Jin, when do you plan to go in?" Hearing this, Jin Xuyan swallowed the food in his mouth before replying, "My brothers need to rest and recover their energy, so we will go in two hours. If Young Master Pei wants to go in first, feel free to do so. Whoever finds the resources first can take them." ''That''s if you can take it all with you,'' he added inwardly. When Pei Yijun heard his casual reply, he observed him for a moment before saying, "Then, we will go in first." The moment he finished speaking, he turned and walked toward their cars. Unlike Jin Xuyan''s team, which had a space-type ability user, they didn''t have any. So, even if they found supplies, they wouldn''t be able to take everything. This time, they planned to get some summer clothes and underwear. Their cars were already full, and they knew that with the soldiers around, no one would dare to rob their supplies. So, they emptied their backpacks and only brought some water, food, and medicine for emergencies. Without driving the cars, they walked into the factory. After Pei Yijun and his team had left, Jiao Lizhi took out all of her crystal cores and divided them by element and level. With the addition of the crystal cores given by Jin Xuyan just now, she had 535 level-one crystal cores. Besides that, she had nine level-two crystal cores and one level-three crystal core. The collection was a mix of elemental and non-elemental crystal cores. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 73 - 73: Dividing The Crystal Core Once Jiao Lizhi finished sorting them, she took 12 water-type crystal cores and 250 transparent crystal cores for herself, including the level-two and level-three cores. As for the rest, she put them all into a cloth bag and handed it to Jin Xuyan. Since she had decided to join his team, she would help him so his team could grow stronger as soon as possible. Jin Xuyan was watching his girl count her "money" with amusement when she suddenly handed him the bag. Raising his eyebrows, he asked, "Is my Ah Zhi giving me pocket money to spend?" Jiao Lizhi had never had a boyfriend, so she didn''t understand the hidden meaning behind his words and replied, "Brother Yan, you and your men are also ability-users. You should distribute these crystal cores among them. Even if they don''t use them to level up, they can use them to replenish their energy during battles." Hearing her words, Jin Xuyan smiled and said, "Since Ah Zhi said so, then I will listen to you." He took the bag and kept it in his pocket. She was so generous toward him that she had actually given him almost half of the crystal cores she owned. After they finished eating the duck necks, Jin Xuyan gathered the soldiers. Standing in front of them, he said, "I believe everyone has already learned about the function of the crystal cores." The soldiers looked at him without saying a word, but their eyes gleamed with excitement. After learning about the function of the crystal cores, they had been wondering if their captain would allow them to collect some for themselves in the future. Noticing their anticipation, Jin Xuyan took out the cloth bag and said, "I will divide the crystal cores among you according to your abilities'' properties. The elemental-type crystal cores are fewer, so you will be given some transparent ones too." When the soldiers heard his words, they responded, "Thank you, Captain!" Jin Xuyan looked at them and continued, "Even though you can level up faster by absorbing crystal cores, I still advise you to use them only when you are about to break through." "By continually draining your energy and replenishing it, you will build a solid foundation and a larger energy pool. As soldiers, you know that those with better stamina are the ones who survive in battle." "So, use the crystal cores to replenish your energy only in emergencies or when breaking through. But in the end, the choice is yours. How far you can go on this path will depend entirely on you." After he finished speaking, he pointed at Chen Qianfeng and Shen Jinzhe and said, "The two of you will be responsible for recording everyone''s level and ability properties." "Yes, Captain!" Then, he handed the cloth bag to Zhang Yuan and said, "Zhang Yuan, you will distribute the crystal cores." Zhang Yuan accepted the cloth bag, took out the red-colored crystal cores¡ªa total of 12¡ªand handed them to Jin Xuyan while saying, "Captain, you are a fire-type ability user. You should keep these." Jin Xuyan shook his head and said, "A level-one crystal core won''t do much for me. Share it with our brothers." When the soldiers heard his words, they were surprised. They had just awakened their abilities, and most of them weren''t even level one yet. For them, the energy in the crystal cores might be able to help them level up faster. If a level-one crystal core wouldn''t do much for their captain, did that mean he was already above level one? Seeing their doubts, Jin Xuyan smiled but said nothing. In his current level, absorbing a level-one crystal core was like a drop in the ocean¡ªit was far from enough. What''s more, his fire is different from others. After Zhang Yuan finished distributing the crystal cores, he let the soldiers rest and eat to recover their energy. Then, he went to find his captain. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Captain, these are the remaining crystal cores. There are a total of 88 level-one non-elemental crystal cores and two level-one purple crystal cores," he said, handing the cloth bag to his captain. Hearing this, Jin Xuyan took the bag and said, "Choose five people to guard the cars. We will go into the factory after that boy wakes up." Zhang Yuan glanced at Feng Yun and nodded, "Understood." As he walked away, he sighed, thinking that the heir of a prominent family was indeed heartless. Even after abandoning his comrade, Pei Yijun remained so calm. To people like him, a human life might be worth less than an ant''s when there was no benefit in the relationship. While they were resting and eating, Pei Yijun and his team were opening the warehouse gate. Most of the zombies had already been drawn away by the noise of their earlier battle and had been cleared out through the joint efforts of their team and the soldiers. Aside from a few zombies wandering aimlessly, there were no other threats. With so few zombies left, it was easy for Pei Yijun and his team to clear the way. After all, their team now consisted entirely of ability users, as the only ordinary person among them was no longer present. At that moment, Li Yang used his bare hands to snap open the padlock on the door. With a clang, the padlock broke and fell to the ground. Then, he pushed the heavy metal door open and asked, "Brother Pei, should we go together or grab the clothes separately?" As the only woman in the team, Chu Zhimiao''s clothing needs were different from theirs. While she could wear men''s shirts and pants, she still needed women''s underwear. To save time, it would be best to split up and get out of the factory as quickly as possible. However, the moment Pei Yijun stepped into the warehouse, his heart trembled, and his body stiffened. Something dangerous was lurking inside. The pressure weighing down on him was similar to what he had felt when facing the metal-type zombie in the supermarket earlier. Chapter 74 - 74: A Frog Trapped In A Well ( 1 ) If there was a level-two zombie inside the warehouse, Pei Yijun couldn''t afford to be careless. Instead of splitting up, they would use this opportunity to train their teamwork and gain more combat experience. With that thought, he said, "Stay together and be careful. There might be a level-two zombie inside." When they heard his words, they nodded and walked into the warehouse with their backs facing each other. This formation allowed them to cover every side and warn each other of sneak attacks. As they moved slowly, Pei Yijun''s eyes scanned his surroundings. After the apocalypse, the electricity had gone out, and without a generator, the warehouse was only illuminated by the sunlight streaming in from the entrance. There were small windows near the ceiling for ventilation, but the piles of boxes blocked most of the light, leaving the warehouse dim. After fifteen minutes, Li Yang glanced at the nearest boxes and said, "Brother Pei, it''s men''s underwear." Hearing his words, Han Jie''s eyes lit up. God knows how much he wanted to change his underwear. Due to the lack of water, he couldn''t even wash it. Even though he didn''t care much about hygiene, wearing the same underwear for days was too much¡ªeven for him. What''s more, he had been sweating from both the battles and the hot weather. The moment he heard Li Yang''s words, he forgot Pei Yijun''s warning and rushed to the boxes. He grabbed one of the boxes and opened it. Seeing the neatly packed boxers inside, he grinned and said, "Brothers, we can finally change our underwear!" Chu Zhimiao blushed at his words. Even though she had thick skin, hearing a man talk so openly about his underwear still made her feel shy. Watching Han Jie pick through the underwear, Li Yang and Luo Jing also stepped forward to grab some for themselves. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Pei Yijun frowned at their carelessness and reminded them, "Keep your guard up." Just as he finished speaking, a thick murderous intent locked onto them. Before he could even process the danger, his body moved on instinct. He shoved Chu Zhimiao away and leaped to the side. Boom! The next moment, the spot where he had been standing was struck by something, leaving a deep hole in the ground. Startled by the loud noise, Li Yang and the others immediately dropped the underwear and grabbed their weapons. As they turned, they noticed the hole in the ground and quickly regrouped into formation. "Yijun, did you see what it was?" Luo Jing asked. "I didn''t," Pei Yijun said grimly. Although he hadn''t seen the attacker, he was certain it was a zombie¡ªthe rancid stench was unmistakable. He had thought the warehouse might contain a level-two zombie, but it seemed their luck was worse than expected. The speed of this one matched that of the level-three zombie killed by Jin Xuyan''s team. Not knowing where the zombie was hiding, everyone tensed, their nerves on high alert. Sweat covered their foreheads and backs. The fear of the unknown weighed heavily on them. Aside from their breathing, the warehouse was silent. Suddenly, a shadow flew from behind a pile of boxes, whizzing through the air. "Dodge!" Pei Yijun shouted. Duagh! As soon as they heard his voice, they jumped away from their positions. Unfortunately, Luo Jing was a second too slow. The attack struck his back, and his body flew several meters toward the entrance, landing with a loud thud. "Cough!" He coughed up a mouthful of blood and struggled to get up. Just one hit had left him feeling as if his internal organs had been shattered. "Yijun, it''s a vine!" he shouted hoarsely. The moment he finished speaking, a rancid stench filled his nose. His eyes widened in horror as a pale face with black eyes appeared right in front of him. STAB! Before he could react, the zombie raised its arm, and a sharp vine shot out, piercing Luo Jing''s body. "Cough!" He coughed up another mouthful of blood. As the scent of blood filled the air, the zombie parted its lips and let out a strange noise, "Krrhhh!" The vine, shaped like a cone, was connected to the zombie''s right shoulder. As it lifted Luo Jing into the air, the vine tore through his flesh and shoulder joint. The pain was excruciating and made him almost lose his mind as he screamed from pain, "Arghh!!" Everything happened in mere seconds¡ªtoo fast for anyone to react. When they saw the zombie open its mouth, preparing to drink Luo Jing''s blood, their eyes flashed with shock. "Bastard!" Li Yang roared, charging toward the zombie. Duagh! Boom! Being a strength-type ability user, he used all of his power to punch the zombie. He thought he could at least free Luo Jing. But unexpectedly, the zombie caught his fist mid-air. The zombie titled its head and let out a series of voices similar to laugh, "Grrhhh! Hark hark hark!" Pei Yijun felt a chill run down his spine when he heard the zombie''s voice. Immediately, he raised his hand and conjured a thunder spear. With a wave of his hand, he threw the thunder spear at the zombie. Duagh! This time, the zombie didn''t try to block the attack. Instead, it kicked Li Yang away and flung Luo Jing toward the oncoming thunder spear. Pei Yijun''s eyes widened when he saw this. In a split second, he waved his hand again, desperately redirecting the spear''s trajectory. Sweat covered his forehead as he barely managed to divert the attack from hitting Luo Jing. Crack! Boom! The thunder spear struck the ceiling instead, sending debris falling. At the same time, Chu Zhimiao rushed forward and caught Luo Jing. Due to the force, both of them tumbled to the ground with a heavy impact. Bam! Holding Luo Jing in her arms, she let out a groan before she looked at his mangled shoulder and felt her knees go weak. His torn flesh exposed bones and shredded muscles. Chapter 75 - 75: A Frog Trapped In A Well ( 2 ) Blood gushed from Luo Jing''s shoulder, soaking Chu Zhimiao''s clothes. His face was as pale as paper and he had already passed out from the pain and blood loss. "Senior Luo, wake up! You can''t sleep!" she shouted, hastily placing him on the ground and took off her T-shirt. She bundled her T-shirt up and pressed it against his wound, trying to stop the bleeding. Within seconds, the fabric was drenched in blood. Seeing this, panic gripped her heart. If she didn''t stop it soon, he would die from blood loss. But without any medicine or tools, she didn''t know what to do! As she panicked, Pei Yijun and Han Jie were sent flying by the zombie''s powerful kick. Duagh! Crack! "Roarr!!!" The zombie raised its head and let out a deafening roar. Unlike ordinary zombies, this one seemed to possess intelligence. Instead of rushing toward Pei Yijun, it swung its arm from a distance. In an instant, its wooden, spear-like arm transformed into multiple vines. The vines slithered along the ground like snakes, targeting their legs and hands. Seeing the incoming attack, Pei Yijun raised his hands and created several thunder threads. As his hands moved, the threads gathered, forming a crackling thunder net. SHHHZZZZTTTT! The moment the vines touched the thunder net, they were electrified and their movements slowed. Pei Yijun sent more energy into the thunder net, making it expand. Then, with a wave of his hands, he pushed it toward the zombie. As the energy surged, the thunder net accelerated as its temperature soared. When the zombie saw its vines burning on contact with the thunder net, it quickly grabbed the vines on its right shoulder with its left hand. Before the net could reach it, the zombie yanked at the vines and leaped backward. Now left with only one arm, it let out an angry roar upon seeing its vines reduced to charcoal. "ROAR!!!" Seeing that his attack was effective, Pei Yijun raised his hands and continued pursuing the zombie with his thunder net. The zombie, sensing danger, darted to the side to evade the net. It kept moving, circling the warehouse, looking for an opening to counterattack while dodging the relentless assault behind it. Five minutes later, Li Yang finally regained consciousness and struggled to stand. Sharp pain radiated from his left side¡ªhis ribs were likely cracked, if not broken. He gritted his teeth and took in the scene in front of him. The zombie was locked in a standoff with Pei Yijun, who was visibly at his limit as his face looked pale. Glancing around, Li Yang spotted a metal rod nearby. Clutching his left side, he picked it up and rushed forward to support his friend. Pei Yijun''s face had turned deathly pale and cold sweat covered his forehead and back. Overusing his energy left him dizzy and a splitting headache pounding in his skull. His vision blurred for a moment, and he staggered back a step. In that split second, the zombie suddenly changed direction and lunged at him. Without its vine-arm, it could only rely on its remaining hand. Raising its left arm, it aimed to pierce Pei Yijun''s skull with its sharp claws. Just as the zombie was about to strike, Li Yang appeared in front of it. CLANG! The zombie''s claws were blocked by Li Yang''s iron rod. Pain throbbed in his side, nearly making him collapse, but the thought of this zombie devouring his friends if they failed to kill it made his heart filled with anger and unwillingness. "Arghh!" Letting out a roar, a burst of energy surged through his body. He reached out and grabbed the zombie''s head. "Roarrr!!!" The zombie opened its jaws, trying to sink its teeth into his throat. But Li Yang tightened his grip, keeping it in place. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. With a swift motion, he twisted the iron rod with his other hand. Because the zombie''s claws were embedded in the rod, its arm was forcibly twisted as well from his sudden movement. CRACK! CRASH! With a brutal yank, Li Yang tore the zombie''s arm clean off at the shoulder. Black blood and decayed flesh splattered across his body and the floor, but he paid no mind. He tossed the rotten limb aside and seized the zombie''s head with both hands. His grip tightened as he shouted, "Bastard, just die already!!" Feeling the danger, the zombie thrashed, kicking its legs wildly in the air, but without arms, it had no way to break free. Crack! Splat! Two minutes later, the zombie''s skull finally burst under Li Yang''s powerful grip. Rotten brain matter exploded in all directions as the corpse collapsed to the ground. Li Yang stood still, unmoving. A strange sensation coursed through his body. The warm energy within his veins suddenly spiraled out of control. His breathing turned ragged. His vision tinted red as red veins appeared on his eyes. Not far away, Pei Yijun noticed his change. Fighting through his dizziness and pain, he staggered toward him. The moment he saw Li Yang''s bloodshot eyes and unnaturally pale face, his eyes flashed with shock. Without hesitation, he pulled several crystals from his pocket and pressed them into Li Yang''s palm. Gripping his friend''s shoulder, he urged, "Li Yang, listen to me! Absorb the energy from the crystals!" Li Yang''s eyes flickered when he heard his words. After a moment, he finally regained his senses. Realizing he was on the brink of losing control, he wasted no time. He dropped to the ground, crossing his legs. Closing his eyes, he focused his mind. When he felt the warm energy seeping into his body through his palm, he guided the energy. As the warm energy entered his body, he used it to suppress his chaotic energy. Slowly, his energy stabilized. Seeing him calm down, Pei Yijun turned to check on Han Jie. He was unconscious with a big bun on his head. His arm was also dislocated. Pei Yijun wasn''t skilled in medical treatment. The most he could do was carefully lift him onto his back and carry him over to where Chu Zhimiao was. Chapter 76 - 76: A Frog Trapped In A Well ( 3 ) When Pei Yijun reached Chu Zhimiao''s location, he saw she was sobbing while clutching Luo Jing''s lifeless body. A cold sense of dread gripped Pei Yijun''s heart. He carefully set Han Jie down before he walked closer. "What''s wrong?" he asked, though deep down, he already knew the answer. Chu Zhimiao raised her tear-streaked face and choked out, "Brother Pei¡ªBrother Luo is gone. He¡ª" Her voice broke and she couldn''t continue her words. Pei Yijun''s chest tightened at her words. He shook his head and said, "No¡­ That''s impossible! Luo Jing wouldn''t die." Pushing past her, he knelt beside Luo Jing and grabbed his cold body. His hands trembled as he pressed his fingers to Luo Jing''s neck, searching for a pulse. Seconds passed but he felt nothing. There was no pulse, no heartbeat, no breath, and no warmth. Feeling the warmth slowly leaving Luo Jing''s body, realization finally fell on him. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. His friend was dead¡ªand it was because of him. Because of his arrogance, his pride, and his blind insistence on doing things his own way¡ªLuo Jing died. If only he had been more cautious. If only he had taken the danger more seriously. If only he listened to Jin Xuyan''s arrangement. If only he had made a different choice¡ªLuo Jing might still be alive. He had always taken pride in his noble background and his refined upbringing. But when Feng Yun''s life was uncertain, he had done nothing. And now, because of his foolishness, another friend is gone. Suddenly, Jin Xuyan''s mocking gaze surfaced in his mind. He had been a fool. A sheltered child playing at leadership. A spoiled young master who thought he was a prodigy. He had always believed others should follow him, that his decisions were the best. He had taken loyalty, friendship, and kindness for granted. Even when the world had collapsed into chaos, he still believed¡ªdeep down¡ªthat his life was more valuable than others, despite what he claimed aloud about equality. Only now, as he held his friend''s cold, lifeless body, did he understand. He was nothing but a fool. A clown. A frog trapped in a well. A bitter laugh escaped his lips before turning into sobs. Burying his head against Luo Jing''s shoulder, he whispered, "I''m sorry¡­ I''m so sorry. Luo Jing, this is all my fault." Chu Zhimiao''s tears dripped onto the dusty floor as she watched him cry. In all the time she had known Pei Yijun, she had never seen him cry let alone see him lower his head and apologize to anyone. And yet, here he was¡ªcrying bitterly full of regret and self blaming. After a while, Chu Zhimiao finally stopped crying. Her eyes were swollen, and she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. When she raised her head, she saw that Pei Yijun was still hugging Luo Jing''s cold body, but he was no longer crying. She reached out to pat his back and said hoarsely, "Brother Pei, we can''t stay here for too long. The scent of blood is too strong¡ª" Before she could finish, Pei Yijun''s hoarse voice interrupted her, "Miaomiao, can you check on Han Jie''s condition first?" Chu Zhimiao was taken aback. It was the first time he had ever called her Miaomiao. Thinking that he still needed time to calm down, she nodded and went to check on Han Jie. After she left, Pei Yijun finally lifted his head. The arrogance and pride that once filled his eyes were gone, replaced with a newfound determination, calmness, and maturity. He gently placed Luo Jing''s body down and held his cold hand. Looking at his pale face, he whispered, "Luo Jing, I know you wanted to find your sister. I will find her and protect her in your stead. You can rest easy now." When he finished speaking, he sent his thunder energy into Luo Jing''s body. In less than two minutes, the surging thunder coursing through his veins reduced his body to ashes. Chu Zhimiao had just reached Han Jie''s side when she caught the scent of something burning. She turned around and saw that Luo Jing''s body was gone¡ªonly a pile of ashes remained. Lowering her teary gaze, she squatted beside Han Jie and tried to wake him, "Brother Han, wake up." Meanwhile, Pei Yijun placed his hand over the ashes. Channeling his energy into his palm, he used the high temperature of his thunder to compress the ashes into a diamond. Once the diamond was formed, he picked it up and used his thunder energy to create a small hole in it. Then, he pulled out his necklace, removed the pendant, and threaded the diamond onto the string. After securing it back around his neck and tucking it under his T-shirt, his expression remained calm. Turning around, he saw that Han Jie had woken up. Walking over, he asked, "Han Jie, how are you? Are you okay?" Han Jie winced and touched the back of his head and said, "Brother Pei, I''m fine." "Your arm is dislocated. We need to find a healer or someone who can fix it," Chu Zhimiao said. Pei Yijun nodded and said, "Once Li Yang wakes up, we should get the clothes and leave." Just as he finished speaking, they heard footsteps approaching. Thinking it was a group of zombies, Pei Yijun quickly raised his hand and formed a thunderball. The moment a shadow appeared at the entrance, he threw it without hesitation. Outside the warehouse, Zhang Yuan heard the crackling of thunder and energy fluctuation and reacted instantly. Raising his hand, he summoned a stone wall in front of him. Boom! The thunderball collided with the stone wall, creating a small shockwave. Before Pei Yijun could launch another attack, a familiar voice rang out. "Young Master Pei, you are certainly full of energy," Jin Xuyan said. Recognizing the voice, Pei Yijun let out a sigh of relief and waved his hand. In an instant, the thunder balls floating above his palm disappear. Chapter 77 - 77: Its Not Your Fault At this moment, Pei Yijun and his team were in no condition to fight. If the approaching figures had been zombies, they would have been in serious trouble. Fortunately, it was the soldiers. Zhang Yuan clenched his fist, and the stone wall instantly crumbled. As it fell away, Jiao Lizhi, Jin Xuyan, and the soldiers finally got a clear view of the warehouse. The sight of the bloodstained floor sent a flicker of shock through their eyes. As they stepped inside, they finally saw the traces of a fierce battle. Jiao Lizhi scanned the area and quickly noticed that Luo Jing was nowhere to be seen. Her gaze landed on the pool of blood, and a guess formed in her mind. In her previous life, Luo Jing had survived until the very end, eventually becoming Pei Yijun''s team''s vice leader. She never expected him to die here. And when she thought about it, everything that had happened today was a direct result of her actions. If not for her intervention, Pei Yijun and his team would have remained at Lin''an University until the soldiers picked them up. They would have been escorted to Jianning City without delay. Standing beside her, Jin Xuyan noticed her shift in mood and gently held her hand. Leaning in, he looked into her eyes and said solemnly, "Ah Zhi, this isn''t your fault. This life is different from before. We do what we must to survive, so don''t blame yourself." Jiao Lizhi looked at him and asked, "Brother Yan, do you think what we are doing is right or wrong?" "We are only trying to live, and there is nothing wrong with that. Everyone is responsible for their own choices and actions. You are not a hero, nor a saint¡ªthe world''s fate and people''s lives and deaths aren''t your burden to carry," Jin Xuyan replied. He knew he was selfish, ruthless, and cold-hearted. He didn''t care if the entire world cursed him or got destroyed because of him. As long as his Ah Zhi was safe, he was willing to be the villain, even if it meant going against the world and fate itself. He would never let anyone, not even Ah Zhi herself, make her doubt or blame herself for the choices she had made. Hearing his words, Jiao Lizhi took a deep breath and nodded. She had already made her choice¡ªto survive. She needed to stand firm in her decision. In the apocalypse, the weak perished, and only the strong had the right to live. What happened here wasn''t her fault. She shouldn''t feel guilty. She had done her best¡ªshe had helped them escape Lin''an University and shielded them from the rain. What had happened to him was unfortunate, but she owed nothing to Luo Jing. Seeing that her emotions had stabilized, Jin Xuyan sighed in relief. His gaze shifted, and he saw Gao Bohai setting Han Jie''s dislocated arm back into place while Li Yang was in the midst of breaking through. He walked over to Pei Yijun and asked, "Young Master Pei, have you made your selection?" "We will be done soon," Pei Yijun replied before heading off to pick out clothes and underwear. Meanwhile, the soldiers had already begun checking the boxes, taking what they needed. Once they chose their clothing, they packed it into boxes, marked them, and brought them to Xiao Qi for storage in his space. This method helped them save room in their backpacks. Xiao Qi had already prepared space for their clothes, so he didn''t refuse and stored them without question. Afterward, he went to inspect the remaining boxes, deciding to take some winter clothing as well. They had no way of knowing when they would next find an intact clothing factory, so it was best to be prepared for winter. He even considered their future, grabbing some women''s clothes and underwear¡ªafter all, there might come a time when they would get a wife or girlfriend and need them. After the soldiers finished, Pei Yijun and his team were also done. Not long after, Li Yang finally opened his eyes and let out a long sigh. His eyes were bright and full of excitement. Standing up, he clenched his fists and checked his body. When he saw that his body didn''t turn into a half-hulk like Teacher Cao, he finally let out a sigh of relief and smiled. The first person he wanted to share his joy with was Chu Zhimiao. But when he saw her, he noticed her swollen eyes. Seeing this, he was shocked and asked, "Miaomiao, what''s wrong? Are you hurt? Why are you crying?" Seeing her childhood friend, Chu Zhimiao reached out and hugged him. She buried her face in his arms and said, "Li Yang, Brother Luo is gone." When he heard this, Li Yang was stunned. His eyes widened with disbelief as he said, "H-how could that be? He¡ª" Chu Zhimiao sobbed and said, "He was bleeding so much. I didn''t know how to stop it. I tried my best, but I can''t save him¡ª" Li Yang hugged her and patted her back as he said, "Miaomiao, it''s not your fault. You have done your best." Both of them understood that while it was the zombie who killed Luo Jing, it was their lack of strength and experience that led to their friend''s death. If they were stronger, they would have been able to protect their teammate, and no one would have died at the hands of the zombie. So, everything was because they were not strong enough! S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. After a while, the two of them let go of each other and went to find Pei Yijun. At this moment, Jiao Lizhi was busy collecting the boxes in the warehouse while Jin Xuyan directed everyone to regroup and check on Pei Yijun''s team''s condition. With Gao Bohai around, their wounds could be treated, but they still needed to be inspected for any infected wounds. With no one else in the warehouse, Jiao Lizhi managed to collect everything in half an hour. Chapter 78 - 78: Risky Decision When Jiao Lizhi was done, she didn''t see Pei Yijun''s team. Walking over, she asked, "Brother Yan, where are Senior Pei and his team?" "They were injured, so I asked them to wait for us outside. We can move faster without them dragging us down," Jin Xuyan replied. Jiao Lizhi nodded and said nothing. After they left the warehouse area, they went to the production area. Besides some wandering zombies outside the building, they didn''t see any zombies. "Old Qin, how is the situation?" Jin Xuyan asked. Qin Luzi checked the map in his head for a moment before he said, "The area is clear." Then, he pointed in several directions and added, "Most of the zombies are concentrated in those places. I think there must be a canteen or dormitory." When they heard this, the soldiers thought that their captain would only check the production area and leave. So, they never expected his next order. "After we check the production area, we will go there and clean up the zombies," Jin Xuyan said. "Captain, the number of zombies will be at least 20,000, if not 30,000," Qin Luzi said with a frown. Jin Xuyan looked at his friend and said, "Old Qin, I know my decision is risky. But opportunities are always side by side with danger." "The zombies evolve too fast. If we don''t get stronger, we will be in danger next time we fight the zombies. In my eyes, those zombies are sources of crystal cores. You know the importance of the crystal cores for us now." "If I dare to give an order to clean up the area, I will have a way to make sure that everyone is safe. You have known me for so many years. Have you ever seen me fight a losing battle?" he asked. When Qin Luzi heard his words, he was speechless. His friend was more shameless than before. Now, he even praised himself without even blushing. He looked at his comrades and saw them nod. With all of them trusting their captain''s decision and willing to follow him, how could he back away now? "I understand. I will do my best to watch everyone''s backs," he said with a sigh. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Patting his shoulder, Jin Xuyan grinned and said, "I know I can trust my back to you." After they reached an agreement, Wen Mo opened the building''s gate, and they entered the production area. Xiao Qi saw the finished fabric and said, "Captain, should we get some fabric? Maybe we need it to make clothes in the future." Jin Xuyan thought for a moment and nodded. "Okay." While Xiao Qi went to get some fabric, Jiao Lizhi collected some machines. She planned to get some cotton, flax, or bamboo seeds and plant them in her space, so she needed some machines to process the plants into fabric. After she was done, she found several big generators and took them away. Then, she walked out the back door and saw row after row of solar panels in the open field. She looked around and saw no one. Since Qin Luzi said there were no zombies here, she dared to go alone. With a wave of her hand, she collected the solar panels into her space. She didn''t even bother to dismantle them. When she was done, she returned to the building and saw Jin Xuyan looking for her. She ran over and held his hand. "Ah Zhi, where were you?" he asked with a frown. Jiao Lizhi pulled him down and said in a low voice, "Brother Yan, I found several generators and lots of solar panels at the back. We might need them one day, so I took them." When he heard her words, Jin Xuyan sighed and said, "Even so, you should inform me. It''s dangerous for you to go alone." Jiao Lizhi looked at him for a moment before she nodded and said, "Brother Yan, I will let you know next time." Patting her head, Jin Xuyan said, "Ah Zhi, I didn''t mean to restrict your freedom. I''m just worried about your safety." "I know," she nodded with a smile. She could enter her space in case of an emergency, so she didn''t take her safety measures to heart. But Jin Xuyan didn''t know that she could go into her space. It was normal for him to worry about her. Seeing that she agreed and didn''t feel annoyed, Jin Xuyan stopped nagging and said, "Let''s go. We should clear up the zombies before dark." "Okay." With Qin Lizi as their radar and guide, they managed to clear the zombies more efficiently and found the area where the zombies had gathered¡ªthe dormitories. As soon as they got closer, the roars of zombies echoed through the area as they rushed to the steel gate and banged on it. Standing in front of the gate, Jin Xuyan said, "Shen Jinzhe, Gao Bohai, I need the two of you to help me with an experiment." Hearing this, the two of them stepped forward and said, "Captain, please give us your order." "The two of you just awakened your abilities and don''t have much energy. So, I have an idea to let the two of you work together," Jin Xuyan said. Pointing at the crowd of zombies, he added, "Shen Jinzhe, I want you to create a fireball and throw it at the zombies. At the same time, Gao Bohai will create a tornado and merge it with the fireball. I want to see if it''s possible to increase the fireball''s attack power after it absorbs the tornado." When the soldiers heard his words, their eyes lit up. They had thought they could only fight alone with their abilities and had even tried to copy their captain by fusing their abilities with their blades. But it seemed that the way of using their abilities was not limited to just a few techniques. Shen Jinzhe and Gao Bohai looked at each other and nodded. Raising his hand, Shen Jinzhe created a fireball. Chapter 79 - 79: Fire Tornado The moment everyone saw Shen Jinzhe''s blue flames, they were surprised. Before, they had seen their captain''s black flames. Now, they were seeing their brother''s blue fire. It seemed that fire-type abilities had more variety compared to other elemental-type abilities. While the soldiers stared at the fireball in awe, both Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi were surprised. Even though fire-type ability was categorized as one of the strongest attack-type abilities, their power depended on the fire itself. For example, Shen Jinzhe''s blue fire¡ªdue to its temperature being higher than an ordinary fire-type ability¡ªwas classified as a high-grade fire type. Meanwhile, red fire was classified as low-grade, and orange fire as intermediate-grade. As for Jin Xuyan''s black flame, even five years after the end of the world, no one can determine its grade. Each elemental-type ability had grades that differentiated their power and strength. Even when ability users were at the same level, if their flames were of different grades, the outcome of their battle could be determined before it even started. Unless the one with the lower-grade fire had 50% more energy than the other party, it would be impossible for them to win. After Shen Jinzhe had created the fireball, Gao Bohai raised his hand and said, "I''m ready." As soon as he said this, Shen Jinzhe threw his fireball toward the zombies. The next moment, the wind rose, and a tornado, one and a half meters tall, appeared from the ground and flew toward the fireball. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Boom! The moment the fireball and tornado collided, a loud explosion was heard. Wind and dust filled the air, blocking their sight. "Did it fail?" Shen Jinzhe muttered as he felt that he lost control of his fire. Suddenly, the wind grew stronger, and the temperature in their surroundings rose sharply. In less than a minute, they finally saw that the fireball was gone, but the tornado had grown to almost three meters tall with a diameter of two meters and was covered in blue flames. Seeing this, the soldiers were surprised. They had thought the wind would be controlled. Unexpectedly, it was the fireball that had been absorbed and controlled. Gao Bohai was born with more strength and stamina compared to other children. So, as he grew up, he also had greater strength and a bigger build. Even though he was a military doctor, his battle skills were not worse than others. Therefore, he often joined the attack team instead of the support team. Due to his aggressive nature, his wind power was also fiercer than a normal wind-type ability. At this moment, he could feel the fire raging inside the tornado. He glanced at Shen Jinzhe and saw that he no longer had control over his blue fire, meaning the flames were like a wild horse. Gritting his teeth, he added more energy into his tornado before he was finally able to tame the fire. When the tornado finally stabilized, he moved his hand, and the tornado flew upward. As soon as it was above the zombies, he swung his hands down. Boom! Crack! Wooshhh! "ROARR!!!" The moment the tornado hit the ground, it swallowed a group of zombies while burning the surrounding ones with its blue flames. The zombies burned, and those caught inside the tornado were cut into pieces by the fierce wind. Everyone watched the spectacle with eyes full of excitement and surprise. They had never thought that combining two abilities could create such a powerful result. If they could find the best ability combinations, they would be more effective and efficient in battle. The risk of running out of energy and stamina would be lower. After five minutes of controlling the tornado, a thin layer of cold sweat covered Gao Bohai''s forehead, and his lips turned pale. Seeing this, Jin Xuyan said, "Gao Bohai, enough." As soon as he heard his captain''s command, Gao Bohai let go of his control over the tornado and slumped to the ground. Without anyone controlling it, the tornado grew smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared as its energy depleted. Jiao Lizhi took out a bottle of water from her backpack and handed it to him while saying, "Brother, drink some water." Because of the fire tornado, the temperature had increased by several degrees, and after expending almost all of his energy, Gao Bohai was indeed feeling thirsty. So, he accepted the water and said, "Thank you, sister-in-law." Jiao Lizhi wanted to correct him, but the soldiers had already seen her and Jin Xuyan kissing. If she said she wasn''t his girlfriend, the soldiers might tease him. After hesitating for a while, she decided not to bother with the small matter. It was just a title, and she wouldn''t lose a pound of meat if they called her sister-in-law. Standing behind her, Jin Xuyan saw her hesitation. When she ended up saying nothing, the corners of his lips lifted slightly. He looked at the soldiers and said, "There is no limitation or restriction on how you fight using your ability. You only need to find the most comfortable fighting style for yourself." "Even the same-type ability will have different fighting styles depending on the user. So, explore your ability freely, and don''t worry about whether your fighting style is the best or whether your ability type is the strongest." When the soldiers heard his words, they straightened their spines and replied in unison, "Understood!" After they witnessed the power of fire-type, wind-type, and metal-type abilities, those with other abilities felt that theirs were not as useful, especially Xiao Qi, who had space-type abilities. He was depressed, thinking he would become a burden to the team. But after hearing his captain''s words, his mood improved, and he clenched his fists. Even if his ability was not as cool as his brothers'', it was more practical. Looking around, he spotted several boulders on the side. Walking over, he collected them and returned. Jin Xuyan looked at his men and saw that their morale was high. It was the best time for them to fight. He glanced at Wen Mo and said, "Wen Mo, open the gate!" "Yes, Captain!" Clang! Crash! Chapter 80 - 80: Water Bullet After several battles, Wen Mo''s control over his ability had improved. Now, he only needed to wave his hand, and the metal gate flew toward the zombies, crushing several instantly. As soon as the gate was torn down, the zombies poured out like a torrential wave. "Roarrr!!" The sound of the zombies'' roars echoed through the area as they pushed each other, trying to get their hands on the delicacies in front of them. Seeing the zombies rushing over, the soldiers pulled out their blades and started chopping them down. Jiao Lizhi pulled out her dagger and joined the fight. As for Jin Xuyan, he drew his longsword and stayed close to her. Unlike the soldiers, they didn''t use their abilities directly but instead covered their weapons with them, increasing their sharpness and durability. Standing in the back, Xiao Qi scanned the surroundings and saw a zombie reaching for one of the soldiers. Seeing this, he waved his hand and took out one of the boulders he had collected earlier from his space. CRASH! As soon as the boulder appeared in the air, it fell to the ground, crushing the zombie into a meat paste. The soldiers were startled by the sudden appearance of the boulder and turned to look at him. Xiao Qi was delighted by his successful experiment. Compared to his brothers, who got splashed with black blood and rotten flesh, wasn''t his way of fighting more comfortable and clean? With newfound confidence, he said, "Brothers, I will watch your back. Don''t worry!" After finishing his words, he waved his hand, stored the boulder back into his space, then took it out again to crush another group of zombies. The boulder was the size of a van, and with one attack, he could kill three to five zombies, depending on how crowded the area was. Compared to the other soldiers, his kill speed was faster. Jiao Lizhi noticed this and smiled. For space-type ability users, leveling up was difficult because their abilities didn''t consume as much energy as other types. Even if they absorbed crystal cores, it still took them years to advance. This was because they needed to increase both their ability energy and their mental energy. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The only way to speed up their progress was to drain their mental energy repeatedly. And to do that, they had to continuously store and retrieve items from their space. Since the frequency of storing and retrieving items was limited, draining and replenishing energy was difficult. But with Xiao Qi''s fighting style, he could drain his energy faster, increasing his chances of breaking through to the next level. She was surprised that Xiao Qi had figured out this method. Even after five years, space-type ability users who reached level 3 could be counted on one hand, and no one knew the reason for their slow progress. Jiao Lizhi was lucky to have learned this information because she had eavesdropped on a conversation between Pei Yijun and Feng Yun in her previous life. Feng Yun was the only level-four space-type ability user and the only one who could use his ability offensively. Many were willing to pay a high price for information on how he used his space-type ability. So, she had followed their team for months before finally learning the secret. Unfortunately, before she could profit from selling the information, she was killed by Mo Binxue. Noticing that her mind was wandering again, Jin Xuyan rushed over and kicked away a zombie coming from the side as he said, "Ah Zhi, focus." Hearing his words, Jiao Lizhi snapped out of her thoughts. Seeing his frown, she knew she had been trapped in her memories again. This wasn''t the first time this had happened. She knew something was wrong with her, but she didn''t know what it was or how to fix it. Jin Xuyan saw that she had regained focus and let out a sigh of relief. While the two of them were chopping down zombies like cabbages, Chen Qianfeng was struggling. After he chopped off a zombie''s neck, another pounced on him. As he dodged to the side, he threw a water ball at the zombie. Splash! "Roar!" The water ball hit the zombie''s head, but it didn''t deal any damage. The moment it made contact, it merely created a splash sound and turned into a pool of water. His ability had only helped the zombie wash its face. Seeing how useless his ability was, Chen Qianfeng grew frustrated. He glanced at Jiao Lizhi and clenched his jaw. Both of them were water-type ability users, so why did their powers differ so much? "Roar!" The zombie didn''t care about his feelings and reached out its rotten arms, trying to grab his head. Turning his body, he swung his blade and cleanly chopped off the zombie''s head from behind. Just after he killed the zombie, two more rushed over. Seeing this, he thought, ''If only I could use my gun and kill these zombies with bullets, how great would that be?'' As soon as the thought flashed through his mind, his eyes lit up. The reason he couldn''t kill zombies with his water ball was that it lacked density and speed. If he could compress the water balls to be as hard as metal bullets and shoot them as fast as a gun, he would be able to penetrate a zombie''s head. The moment this idea formed, Chen Qianfeng quickly put it into practice. This time, he didn''t create a big water ball. Instead, he raised his hands, folded three of his fingers, and created a small water ball at the tip of his forefinger and middle finger. He continued adding more energy while compressing the water. Before the zombies reached him, the small water ball had hardened like a bullet. The next moment, he flicked his wrist. Wush! Crack! Crack! The small water bullet shot forward at high speed and instantly pierced through the zombies'' heads. A hole the size of a red bean appeared on each zombie''s skull. The next moment, they collapsed to the ground with a thud. Chapter 81 - 81: Brutal Attack Seeing that his attack was successful, Chen Qianfeng continued controlling the water bullet to kill more zombies. Since he only needed to create one bullet and guide it, he used far less energy than when creating a full water ball for an useless attack. The soldiers didn''t notice his technique at first, but when they saw him standing still, only moving his hand as if he were dancing, Xiao Qi finally asked, "Brother Qianfeng, what are you doing?" Hearing his question, Chen Qianfeng replied, "Killing zombies." "Are you killing zombies with that awkward dance?" Xiao Qi asked again. His tone was full of teasing, practically asking for a beating. When the soldiers heard his words, they couldn''t help but laugh, even while they were busy fighting. Chen Qianfeng was too lazy to entertain his teasing and said, "I''m killing them with my water bullet. Can''t you see how neat my skills are?" After hearing this, the others finally noticed that the zombies piling up around him had only small holes in their heads, and there was far less rotten flesh on the ground compared to their own surroundings. "Roarrr!!!" Just as he was showing off, a zombie suddenly pounced at him from the side. Caught off guard, he jumped back. Before he could fire another water bullet, a vine pierced through the zombie''s head. STAB! As the vine retracted, black blood splashed onto Chen Qianfeng''s pants. He looked up and met Zhou Huanjian''s grin. "Brother, be careful when you show off, or you might lose your head," Zhou Huanjian said with a wave of his hand. With that motion, his vine flew back toward him and whipped through the air, striking the zombies around him. Crack! Crack! The vine was only as thick as a thumb, but from the sharp sound it made, one could imagine how hard it was. As it whipped through the air, black blood and rotten flesh flew in the air. Zhou Huanjian swung his hand repeatedly, whipping and slashing through the horde with brutal efficiency. Since he had only recently awakened his ability, his control over the vine was still weak. When he aimed for a zombie''s neck, it might instead strike its arm, legs, or waist. Due to his poor control, the zombies were whipped apart piece by piece. The ground was soon covered in mutilated body parts and black blood. Seeing the contrast between his gentlemanly smile and the brutality of his attack, the soldiers shuddered and instinctively moved away. They had no desire to end up as unintended casualties. Almost an hour later, the sound of roaring zombies finally died down, leaving the ground littered with zombies'' remains. The moment the last zombie was killed, the soldiers slumped to the ground, gasping for breath. Using their abilities was indeed faster than fighting with blades, but it drained their strength and stamina far too quickly. Jin Xuyan flicked the black blood off his longsword, sheathed it, and said, "Retreat twenty meters and rest for twenty minutes." Hearing his order, the soldiers forced themselves up and walked away on trembling legs. Once the area was clear, Jin Xuyan raised his hand and a ball of black flame flew toward the zombies'' corpses. The black flames burned the zombies'' corpses at a high temperature, reducing everything to ashes in less than ten minutes. When he was done, Jin Xuyan let out a sigh and walked toward Jiao Lizhi. Standing in front of her, he reached out his hands and said, "Ah Zhi, my hands are dirty. Can you give me some water to wash them?" Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi nodded and created a water ball the size of a watermelon for him. Seeing the water ball, Jin Xuyan dipped his hands into it and washed them. Unlike mineral water, the water created by water-type ability users contained their energy. Therefore, using their water to wash up could help remove the virus. However, for safety reasons, they still needed to use alcohol, soap, or sanitizer to completely eliminate the zombie virus from their bodies. After he finished washing his hands, Jiao Lizhi threw the water ball aside, took out a bottle of hand sanitizer from her backpack, and squeezed a small amount onto his palms. When the soldiers saw how she took care of their captain, they felt a pang of jealousy. It''s great to have a girlfriend! Both Qin Luzi and Shen Jinzhe had slight mysophobia. So, when they saw that Jiao Lizhi had a way to clean off the black blood and rotten flesh, they immediately walked over. Standing beside his captain, Qin Luzi asked, "Sister-in-law, can you help us too?" Jiao Lizhi looked at them and noticed their deep frowns. Seeing how uncomfortable they were, she nodded readily, "Of course." As soon as she spoke, she raised her hand, and a water ball the size of a melon appeared in front of each of them. The two men followed Jin Xuyan''s method and washed their hands. Afterward, they reached out to Jiao Lizhi. She squeezed some hand sanitizer onto their palms and asked, "Do you want some water to wet your towels and clean your faces, too?" S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The moment she said this, the soldiers all turned to her with bright eyes. Before Jin Xuyan could stop them, they had already lined up behind Qin Luzi and Shen Jinzhe, saying, "Sister-in-law, we also want some water to wash up." Seeing how many of them had joined in, Jin Xuyan pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Xiao Qi, take out the big pots." Understanding his captain''s intention, Xiao Qi quickly retrieved three large iron pots¡ªcrafted by the Wen brothers¡ªfrom his space and said, "Sister-in-law, just help us fill these pots." Jiao Lizhi thought for a moment before saying, "I don''t have much sanitizer. How about I give you soap bars instead?" "Sister-in-law, you have soap bars?" Zhang Yuan asked in surprise. "Well, I collected some when I went to get supplies with Senior Pei and his team," Jiao Lizhi replied. Hearing this, one of the soldiers sighed and said, "Women really are more detail-oriented¡ªunlike us." Chapter 82 - 82: They Are Just Kids The other soldiers nodded solemnly at his words. Seeing their reaction, Jiao Lizhi chuckled and took out two soap bars from her backpack before filling the large iron pots with water. Once she finished, Jin Xuyan pulled her to a clean area and said, "Ah Zhi, take a rest. We will continue cleaning up the zombies later." Sitting on the ground, she nodded and asked, "Brother Yan, do you want to eat something?" Rubbing his empty stomach, Jin Xuyan said, "I will ask them to cook something. If you are hungry, eat something first to cushion your stomach." "Okay." After Jin Xuyan went to find Zhang Yuan, Jiao Lizhi used her backpack as cover and took out a cup of instant noodles from her space. She opened the cover and held out her palm. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. A ball of water floated above her hand and slowly began to boil. When it reached the boiling point, she poured the water into the cup and waited. Three minutes later, she peeled off the cover and added the seasoning. As she stirred the noodles, the soldiers caught the fragrance unique to instant noodles and instinctively turned to look at her. Seeing her slurping the noodles, they swallowed hard. When Jin Xuyan noticed this, he sighed and said, "Let''s cook some noodles and eat before we continue." "Yes, Captain!" the soldiers replied. While they were cooking, Pei Yijun and his team sat against the wall, lost in thought. Nearby, several soldiers without ability powers had been tasked by their captain with guarding the trucks and armored vehicles by their captain. One of them sat beside Feng Yun, keeping watch in case he mutated into a zombie. "Ugh¡­" Hearing a soft groan beside him, the soldier turned his head and saw Feng Yun''s flushed cheeks and pale lips. He pulled a thermometer from his pocket, placed it on Feng Yun''s ear, and waited for the beep. "38.3 degrees. Kid, your fever is finally going down," he muttered. After cleaning the thermometer, he put it back into his pocket and took out a bottle of fever medicine and a bottle of anti-inflammation medicine. Opening the cap, he placed two tablets of the fever medicine and one capsule of the anti-inflammation medicine in Feng Yun''s mouth. Since Feng Yun was unconscious, the soldier had to help him drink water. Using his body for support, he carefully fed him. The moment the water touched Feng Yun''s lips, he drank greedily, as if he were a fish stranded on land. Seeing water spilling from the corners of his mouth, the soldier said, "Hey, slow down. You are wasting it." At that moment, Feng Yun couldn''t hear him. He continued drinking without care, finishing an entire bottle in seconds¡ªyet he still seemed unsatisfied. The soldier was speechless. He turned to his comrade and asked, "Brother Sikai, can you grab another bottle of water? This kid drinks like a fish." Hearing this, Li Sikai laughed and said, "Wait a moment." They had plenty of mineral water, and with two water-type ability users in their team, they didn''t worry about a shortage. So, he walked over to the truck and retrieved three bottles. As he passed Pei Yijun and his team, he sighed. He didn''t know exactly what these kids had experienced in the factory, but judging by their condition, the death of one of their own must have been due to their mistakes. Watching a friend die in front of them because of their own mistakes was not something easily accepted. He, too, had lost comrades during missions. It had taken him two years of therapy to cope with the trauma. Unfortunately, in their current situation, there was no time to process grief. They had to accept their failures, grow stronger, and survive¡ªotherwise, they would be eliminated sooner or later. Noticing their cracked lips from dehydration, he placed two bottles of water in front of them and said, "You must keep living so your comrade''s sacrifice wasn''t in vain." With those words, he walked away. Reaching Feng Yun''s side, he handed the water to his comrade and sat down. While helping Feng Yun drink, Yin Yusheng asked in a low voice, "Brother Sikai, why bother with them?" "They are just kids," Li Sikai replied with a small smile. Hearing his answer, Yin Yusheng swallowed his words. He disliked them¡ªarrogant, heartless, ungrateful. When their friend was in danger, they did nothing to save him. Instead, they abandoned him to fend for himself. If not for their captain, this kid would have either died from fever or turned into a zombie. On the battlefield, a weak teammate wasn''t as terrifying as a ruthless and disloyal one. With such people around, one never knew when they would be betrayed or stabbed in the back. Noticing his discontent, Li Sikai patted his shoulder and said, "If you dislike them, don''t interact with them. After we drop them off in Jiangning City, we will have nothing more to do with them." Yin Yusheng sighed when he heard his words and complained, "I don''t know what our captain is thinking. In our current situation, we don''t even know if we will make it out of this city alive." "This mission wasn''t ours to begin with, and we don''t know what trouble we will face if the target is wounded or dead. Rather than taking the risk, it would be better to go to Sanchou City as per our initial plan." "Our captain must have a plan. That''s why he took this mission from the Eagle Team. All we need to do now is trust him and follow orders," Li Sikai said. Yin Yusheng let out another sigh and muttered softly, "I just hope my family made it to the survivor camp." "When this mission is over, I will go with you to find them," Li Sikai offered. Yin Yusheng shook his head and said, "Let''s talk about it after we survive this mission." Just as he finished speaking, Feng Yun let out a groan and slowly opened his eyes. Chapter 83 - 83: Ungrateful Bastard Seeing that Feng Yun was finally awake, Yin Yusheng helped him lean against the wall and asked, "Hey, kid, can you hear me?" Feng Yun''s head pounded as if being hammered, and his ears rang. He closed his eyes, frowning as he clutched his head. Seeing this, Yin Yusheng waited for a moment before he handed him a bottle of water and said, "Here, drink more water." This time, Feng Yun finally heard his voice. He opened his eyes, looked at the man in front of him, and asked, "I''m not dead?" Hearing that, Yin Yusheng laughed and said, "Your life is tough¡ªyou haven''t died yet." Feng Yun drank the rest of the water before he asked hoarsely, "Brother, do you have something to eat? I''m hungry." When they heard his words, Li Sikai smiled and said, "Wait here, I will go get you something." After he left, Yin Yusheng stared at him and asked, "Kid, can you feel anything different with you?" "Brother, my name is Feng Yun, not kid." S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Waving his hand, Yin Yusheng asked curiously, "Okay, okay. Tell me, what kind of ability did you get?" Feng Yun took several deep breaths before the ringing and headache finally stopped. Leaning against the wall, he closed his eyes and focused his mind. Although this was the first time he awakened an ability, he had heard Pei Yijun and his team talk about how to use their abilities. After a moment, he was finally able to feel the energy in his body. He wondered what kind of ability he would obtain when suddenly, the bottle in his hand disappeared. The next moment, his mind buzzed, and he saw the bottle inside an empty room. He didn''t know how big the room was, but the bottle looked very small in comparison. When Yin Yusheng saw this, he said, "Not bad, kid. You obtained a space-type ability. This ability is very convenient." Li Sikai heard his words and asked, "Kid, how big is your space?" Feng Yun opened his eyes and said helplessly, "Brothers, my name is Feng Yun. Please don''t call me kid. I''m already 22 years old." Seeing that he minded being called a kid, Li Sikai chuckled and said, "Sorry, Feng Yun. Have some crackers and protein bars first." Accepting the food, Feng Yun said, "Thank you." "So, how big is your space?" Yin Yusheng asked again. After taking a bite of the protein bar, Feng Yun said, "I''m not sure. But the bottle looks small compared to the room size. I think it should be at least a quarter of a football field." The moment they heard this, they were shocked. A quarter of a football field was around 1,785 m2. They thought Xiao Qi''s space was big, but compared to this kid''s, it was nothing! After a moment, Yin Yusheng asked, "Then how high is the room?" Feng Yun checked the room in his mind for a moment and, using the bottle as a comparison, he said, "Maybe around ten to fifteen meters. I don''t know." This time, they were sure that this kid''s ability was several times better than Xiao Qi''s. The two of them looked at each other and saw the shock in their eyes. Not far from them, Pei Yijun turned his head and saw Feng Yun had woken up. He clenched his fists for a moment before standing up and walking over. When Feng Yun saw him, he smiled but said nothing. Seeing his smile, Pei Yijun paused for a moment before continuing to walk. He squatted down in front of him and said, "Feng Yun, I want to apologize for letting you down. I''m sorry." After experiencing a life-and-death situation, Feng Yun no longer had the same mindset as before. He no longer had the false hope that this hellish world would end soon. He finished his crackers, drank some water, and sighed. After wiping his lips, he said, "Yijun, we have been friends for years. To say that I didn''t feel disappointed by your decision would be a lie. But I do understand." "If I were in your position, I might have made the same choice as you. So, I have no right to blame you. After all, no one has any obligation to save others, and everyone has the right to prioritize themselves. So, you don''t have to apologize for choosing survival over me." After hearing his words, Pei Yijun understood that his friend would never return to their team and said, "I understand." When he finished speaking, he stood up and added, "Luo Jing¡ªhe is gone." The moment he heard this, Feng Yun was shocked. He raised his head to see his friend''s expression, only to find calmness in his eyes. The pride, arrogance, and youthful vigor in his gaze was gone, and he looked as if he had matured overnight. ''It''s only been a few hours. What happened to him?'' he thought inwardly. Before he could ask anything, Pei Yijun had already walked away and rejoined his team. When he sat down, Han Jie glared at Feng Yun and said, "Ungrateful bastard! If not for Brother Pei, would he have been able to escape from the university and survive until now?" Hearing his words, Li Yang said, "Han Jie, don''t say that about Senior Feng. It was us who let him down first." "Aren''t you angry? Senior Luo even said that he wasn''t that kind of person. But look at him now. After he had awakened his ability, he quickly jumped ship and abandoned our team! He¡ª" Han Jie said angrily. "Enough!" Pei Yijun suddenly interrupted him. Noticing his anger, Han Jie could only swallow the rest of his words and drink some water to cool the fire in his heart. Pei Yijun took a deep breath and said, "Every one of you has the freedom to stay or leave. I won''t force anyone to follow me. If you want to leave or join other people, it''s up to you. I don''t want to hear anyone talking about Feng Yun''s matter anymore." Chapter 84 - 84: Finding His Direction Since Pei Yijun had already said so, none of his team members spoke further. After the last battle, they were hit hard and still couldn''t recover from the blow of losing their friend. So, they didn''t plan to search for more supplies and decided to rest and recover. When Yin Yusheng saw them arguing, he clicked his tongue and said, "Look at that kid. I will bet five chocolate bars that he will bring more trouble to his team. With that kind of personality, he won''t get far in this chaotic situation." S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Hearing this, Feng Yun sighed and said, "Han Jie is a good person. It''s just that he is still young, so he is a little immature." "His immaturity will kill him and his team," Yin Yusheng said casually. Feng Yun lowered his gaze. No one knew whether he agreed with Yin Yusheng''s words or not. "Alright, Feng Yun just awakened his ability. Let him rest. You come with me and check on our brothers," Li Sikai said when he saw his friend wanting to add more words. Hearing this, Yin Yusheng nodded and said, "Okay. I''m a little hungry. I wonder when Captain and the rest will come back." Li Sikai checked his watch and said, "It might take a little longer this time. We should just eat when it''s lunchtime." "But the ones who can cook went with our captain. I don''t want to eat the food you cook," Yin Yusheng complained. "Then eat the crackers," Li Sikai replied with a smile. After the two of them left, Feng Yun took out the empty bottle from his space and looked at his hand. He had thought he would obtain an attack-type ability. Unexpectedly, he had gained space storage instead. Although this ability was convenient and allowed him to collect more supplies, he still needed to rely on his strength and stamina to kill zombies. Without any attack power, survival would be difficult. After Pei Yijun chose to abandon him, he had no plans to return to his team. Now, he only had one choice to survive and get stronger¡ªjoin Jin Xuyan''s team. If he failed to join them, then his last option was to find a safe place and slowly train himself to become stronger. He clenched his fists and thought, ''Is there no way for me to attack using my space ability?'' From what he knew, space and time were the most mysterious forces in the world, alongside gravity. For something as enigmatic as space, there had to be more to it. It was impossible for his space-type ability to serve only as storage. Closing his eyes, he tried to recall the anime and novels he had watched and read before. Even the games he had played featured magic and time travelers. ''There must be some skills in those novels and anime that I can use,'' he thought. After thinking for a long time, he suddenly recalled his childhood friend''s words when they were ten years old. "Ah Yun, do you think this world has magic? If I could have magic, I''d want to control space. With my magic, I could open a crack to teleport anywhere or create a space blade. With a space blade, I could stand in mid-air like an immortal." The moment this memory surfaced in his mind, he opened his eyes and smiled. Now that he had found his direction, the question was¡ªhow could he create a space blade? He picked up a small pebble beside him and threw it while using his energy to open the space. In a split second, the stone disappeared and reappeared inside his space. Looking into his space, he saw that the stone was still flying. He took it out again, and the stone appeared a few meters ahead of its previous position before hitting the ground with a clack. He rubbed his chin and fell into deep thought. Although this move was not the space blade he had envisioned, it could still be used for sneak attacks. If he could combine his skill with other ability users and store their attacks in his space before releasing them at a different trajectory, it might be useful in battle. However, he still needed others to launch the attacks while he played a supporting role. In a solo battle, his chances of survival were still low. While he was still thinking about how to use his skill offensively, Jin Xuyan and his team had already finished eating. After cleaning up the pots and utensils, he stood up and said, "Old Qin, please lead the way to the next location." Qin Luzi wiped his lips with a wet tissue before standing up and shouldering his backpack. He checked the map in his mind and said, "Captain, there are zombies inside the dormitory buildings. Do you want to clear them out first before heading to another location?" Hearing this, Jin Xuyan thought for a moment and said, "Let''s clean them up first." "The building on the left has zombies trapped in the rooms, with around three to five in each. As for the right building, zombies are only on the 5th to 8th floors. The lower floors have only a few scattered ones," Qin Luzi reported as they entered the dormitory area. "We will clear the right building first before moving to the left. Let''s speed up and finish before dark," Jin Xuyan instructed. "Yes, Captain!" the soldiers replied in unison, picking up their backpacks and blades. With Qin Luzi leading the way, the soldiers were much more at ease. When they arrived at the right building, they saw the ground and walls were covered in blood and rotting flesh, but there were no zombies in sight. Since there was no electricity, they could only climb the emergency stairs. When they reached the 5th floor, Qin Luzi stood behind the door and said, "The hallway is full of zombies. Behind this door, there are at least six. I will blow them away, and you guys can rush in." "Okay," Jin Xuyan nodded, unsheathing his longsword. Standing behind him, Jiao Lizhi also pulled out her dagger, narrowing her eyes in preparation for battle. Chapter 85 - 85: Heavy Taste Once he confirmed that his teammates were ready, Qin Luzi opened his palm and two small tornadoes floated above it. The moment he pushed the door open, the sound of zombies roaring echoed from all directions. "Roar!" Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. With a wave of his hand, the tornadoes shot forward at high speed. Before the zombies could charge at them, they were knocked back by the powerful winds. While keeping the tornadoes under control and creating a safe area for them, Qin Luzi rushed into the hallway, followed closely by Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi. The moment they stepped inside, they split up. Jin Xuyan dashed left, beheading zombies with a single swing of his longsword, while Jiao Lizhi moved to the right. Due to the narrow space, she ran toward the wall, bent her knees, and jumped. Using the momentum, she took several steps along the wall before leaping behind the zombies. With a wave of her hand, several water blades materialized out of thin air and sliced through the zombies'' necks. In an instant, several heads rolled to the ground. "Roar!!" Hearing more zombies behind her, she swiftly turned and swung her dagger. The combination of her water blade and the dagger''s sharpness allowed her to pierce a zombie''s temple in one fluid motion. As more zombies lunged at her, she pulled back her dagger and waved her hand while leaping back to avoid their claws. Wush!! Slash! Slash! Slash! Her water blades sliced through the zombies, severing their heads into several pieces. As black blood splattered onto the ground, their bodies collapsed with a heavy thud. She glanced back and saw that the soldiers had already joined the fight. Clenching her fists, she focused on her ability. The next moment, her water blades liquefied into a pool of water. As the energy returned to her body, a small smirk appeared on her lips. Just as she had expected¡ªher energy absorption rate had increased from 30% to 35% after breaking through to level one. This was good news. She wondered if, by continuously leveling up, she could eventually reach a 100% absorption rate. If she was able to get 100% absorption rate, then she would be able to walk sideways everywhere. Just thinking about it made her heart beat faster in excitement. "Roarrr!!" Suddenly, a roar of zombies came from behind, followed by a rancid stench. With her five senses improving, she could detect the zombie''s attack more accurately than before. As the rotten arm stabbed toward the back of her head, she tilted her head to the side and spun her dagger in her hand. Before the zombie''s claws could pierce her head, she had already swung her arm and stabbed her dagger into the zombie''s eye. Stab! Compared to stabbing the skull of the zombie, Jiao Lizhi felt that stabbing their eyes was an easier way to destroy their brains. After all, eye sockets were empty, and they were also near the brain''s location. With the length of her dagger, it was easy for her to penetrate the eye socket and stab the brain directly. As she pulled back her dagger, black blood, rotten eyes, and some brain matter splattered onto the ground as the zombie fell to the ground with a thud. Standing not far from her, Xiao Qi saw her ruthless attack and felt a chill run down his spine. He couldn''t help but feel more admiration toward his captain. ''As expected of the captain, his taste in women is so heavy!'' he thought inwardly. Despite her slim figure and delicate face, the captain''s fianc¨¦e''s attack was so ruthless. She only aimed at the zombie''s eyes. While effective, it was too violence and disgusting. At this moment, it was not only Xiao Qi who thought that Jiao Lizhi was scary. The rest of the soldiers also swallowed hard when they saw how she pierced the zombie''s brain and dug out its eyes. After that, she stomped on those rotten eyes until they became eye-paste on the ground while she continued killing the rest of the zombies. Just looking at those things covering the ground made them feel nauseous. They would rather chop off the zombie''s head than torture them like that. Unlike the soldiers, when Jin Xuyan saw his Ah Zhi killing the zombies using the most effective method, a smile appeared on his face. He then looked at his soldiers and sighed. Indeed, only people who had lived in the apocalypse understood that they should find the most effective way of killing to save their energy, as every second was full of danger, and they wouldn''t know what danger they would face next. He looked at the hallway and noticed that the number of zombies had lessened. Raising his hand, he sent two wisps of black flame toward the zombies. "Retreat!" As soon as he said this, Jiao Lizhi and the soldiers retreated back to the emergency stairs. The next second, the black flame touched the zombies, and they ignited instantly. With Jin Xuyan controlling the black flame, it only burned the zombies but left the rest of the area untouched. After five minutes, the zombies had been reduced to ashes. As he waved his hand, the black flame grew smaller and flew toward him instantly. He lowered his eyes and stared at the small black flame floating on his palm. As he clenched his fist, the black flame was absorbed into his body. Cold energy entered his body and circled through him before moving to his brain. The next moment, a warm energy emerged from his brain and flowed through his body before settling in the area beneath his navel. Feeling his energy pool expanding slightly, the corner of his lips lifted. He still needed more energy if he wanted to break through to the next level. Everything happened in just a few seconds, and no one noticed what had just occurred. After the black flame was extinguished, he turned and said, "It''s done. Xiao Qi, collected the crystals." Chapter 86 - 86: Soldiers’ Duty As soon as he heard this, Xiao Qi quickly collected the crystals on the ground. Unlike before, he no longer needed to touch the crystals and could collect them from a two-meter distance. When he was done collecting the crystal, Qin Luzi walked out of the emergency door and said, "This floor is clear. The number of zombies on the next floor is lower, only half of this floor." Checking his watch, Jin Xuyan noticed that they had only taken around 20 minutes to clear the zombies. While the efficiency of his current team was lower compared to his team in his previous life, these were his brothers, and it was only the beginning of the apocalypse. With more training, they would be stronger than his previous team. He looked at his team and said, "Let''s move to the next floor." "Yes, Captain!" After they cleared the zombies on the 5th floor, their teamwork and coordination with each other had improved, and they killed the zombies on the 6th, 7th, and 8th floors with ease. In less than an hour, they had cleared out all the zombies in the right building. As they left the building, Qin Luzi glanced at the closed doors but said nothing. Not long after they left, he raised his head and saw several windows in the right building being pushed open. He had noticed those people, but he decided not to inform his captain. As soldiers, it was their duty to protect the country and its people. But he was unwilling to let his brothers sacrifice themselves to save those people. They had cleared up the building, and as long as they came out, they would be able to get supplies from the nearby factory. But even after they left the building, those people still chose to hide inside their rooms. What was worse was that there were several people who had awakened their abilities, but they still hid in their rooms and were unwilling to come out to fight for their lives. These kinds of cowardly people would definitely create trouble for them and might even endanger their lives if they let them join their team. So, he decided to keep their presence to himself. Inside one of the rooms, a young woman peeked out the window and saw that the soldiers were leaving. She looked at her roommates and said, "Sister, they are leaving. If we don''t go now, we won''t be able to leave this place anymore." Besides her, there were two more people inside the room. The two of them looked at her as if she was crazy and shook their heads. Seeing that it was impossible to persuade them, the young woman shook her head and went to pack up her things. Besides some clothes, she also took all of her medicines, food, and water. Although it was not much, these things could keep her alive. "Situ Bani, where are you going?" one of them asked. "You don''t really plan to leave, do you?" another one asked. After she had packed up her bag, Situ Bani looked at them and said, "Now that the soldiers have already killed those monsters, we can leave this place. If we want to survive, we need to follow them." "They don''t look like people who are easy to talk to," one of them replied. "Even if they don''t want to take us with them, they have to. It''s their duty to protect us, the citizens. If you want to come, then pack up. If not, I will go by myself," Situ Bani said impatiently. The two of them looked at each other before quickly packing up their bags. After they were ready, Situ Bani opened the door and saw that the hallway was empty. Besides some burned spots and black blood on the ground, there was nothing else. The previous rotten flesh and brain matter were nowhere to be seen. She quickly walked toward the emergency stairs and went down. Her room was on the fifth floor, and it took her a while to run down the stairs. When they came out of the building, they heard the sound of zombie roars coming from the left building. From the windows, they could see colorful lights shining once in a while. "They are still here. We will wait for them," Situ Bani said after she calmed her breathing. Okay," her roommates nodded and sat on the ground. They only ate one piece of biscuit and some water every day. At this moment, they were so hungry that they could see stars. At the same time, on the left building, Qin Luzi was checking the rooms where the zombies were trapped. Under his lead, the soldiers managed to eliminate the zombies and move to the next floor. As they killed the zombies, Zhang Yuan felt that something was wrong. Even if the people in the dormitories ran out of the building and ended up becoming zombies, there should have been some survivors hiding in the building. He walked over to Qin Luzi and asked, "Old Qin, are there any survivors in this building?" Hearing his question, Qin Luzi hesitated for a moment before he nodded and said, "There are." "Why didn''t you inform us?" Zhang Yuan asked with a frown. "Why should I?" Qin Luzi asked him back. Before his vice-captain could answer, he added, "Vice-captain, we are special forces soldiers, and we have our mission. It''s not our responsibility to rescue the civilians. Our priority is to escort the mission target to Jiangning City and report back to the commander." "But these people¡ª" S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "We already helped them clear the zombies. They can come out and look for supplies by themselves. Our energy and time are limited. We can''t save everyone and finish our mission at the same time," Qin Luzi interrupted him. "I know we vowed to protect our country and its people. But as soldiers, we have our priorities, and we follow orders. Unless our captain issues an order to rescue these people, they have nothing to do with us." Chapter 87 - 87: A White Lotus Qin Luzi looked into Zhang Yuan''s eyes and said calmly, "We have done our best to help them by killing the zombies in the surrounding area. The rest will depend on them." After he said this, Qin Luzi continued walking while saying, "8th room on the right, five zombies inside. 11th room on the left, eight zombies." Zhang Yuan looked at his friend''s back with a complicated gaze. Although he knew that what his friend said was true, he still couldn''t bring himself to ignore the civilians'' life and death. While he was still debating whether to ask his captain to rescue them, Jiao Lizhi walked over and said, "Vice-captain, in the apocalypse, kindness is a luxury¡ªand the price for this luxury might not be something you can afford." After hearing her words, Zhang Yuan''s eyes flickered for a moment before he let out a sigh and said, "I understand." How could he forget about his brothers'' sacrifices before? Because they were trying to rescue a group of civilians, several of their brothers were wounded and killed during the process. After they saved those people, the civilians stole their supplies and ran away. If not for them, they wouldn''t be so hungry and wouldn''t have lost more brothers in the fight at the gas station due to lack of strength and stamina. Thinking about them, he hardened his heart and no longer had any thoughts of rescuing the civilians. The government would send people to rescue them after establishing a temporary survivor camp. Seeing that he had thought it through, Jiao Lizhi heaved a sigh of relief in her heart. It was normal for Zhang Yuan to think of rescuing the civilians. What surprised her were Qin Luzi''s words instead. With that kind of mindset, it was no wonder he was able to survive until the fifth year of the apocalypse. As for the rest of the soldiers, she didn''t know what happened to them, since they were not in Jin Xuyan''s team in her previous life. This time, they took longer to clear the zombies because they needed to check the rooms one by one. After two hours, Qin Luzi checked the map in his head and said, "Captain, there are no more zombies in this building." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Let''s go to the next area." "Yes, Captain!" Ten minutes later, they came out of the building and saw three women squatting near the dormitory entrance. The moment he saw them, Qin Luzi''s eyes narrowed. His gaze stopped at Situ Bani for a moment before he lowered his eyelids. Hearing their footsteps, Situ Bani raised her head. The next moment, she was stunned as her gaze locked onto Jin Xuyan. Seeing his handsome face, her heart skipped a beat, and her cheeks heated up. Seeing her blushing, Jiao Lizhi raised her eyebrows. She had seen many women show the same reaction whenever they saw Jin Xuyan in her previous life. She always found it incredible that they could blush so easily just by looking at his face. She didn''t find anything special about his face except that he looked better and taller than others. Turning her head, she met Jin Xuyan''s gaze and said, "She is looking at you." "But I only have you in my eyes," Jin Xuyan replied without hesitation, as if he already knew what she wanted to say. When the soldiers heard his words, some of them rolled their eyes, some coughed to hide their embarrassment at their captain''s blatant flirting, while the rest laughed at his shameless words. Jiao Lizhi was speechless at his reply and decided to shut up. She couldn''t figure out how this person could say such cringy words without blushing at all! Seeing that the handsome man ignored her and flirted with the girl beside him instead, Situ Bani twisted the hem of her clothes while staring at him with teary eyes. Beside her, her roommates were also captivated by Jin Xuyan''s face. But unlike Situ Bani, they regained their senses quickly. After all, that man clearly had a girlfriend already. It wasn''t their virtue to ruin someone else''s relationship. Checking his watch, Jin Xuyan said, "Old Qin, lead the way. We only have two hours left." Qin Luzi nodded and walked past Situ Bani and her roommates without giving them a glance. Jin Xuyan was worried that his Ah Zhi would be jealous and ignore him, so he reached out and intertwined their fingers to show those women that he already had an owner. As they walked past the women, he even leaned closer to her and said aggrievedly, "Ah Zhi, after we are done, can you help me check my body? I think I bumped into something just now¡ªit''s painful." When Jiao Lizhi heard his words, she glanced at the women and saw one of them was staring at her as if she snatched away her husband. ''After Mo Binxue, now, there is another white lotus.'' she thought inwardly. She let out a sigh and replied, "Alright." As soon as she agreed to his request, Jin Xuyan chuckled and kissed her cheek before saying, "My fianc¨¦e is the best." This time, he didn''t lower his voice, and everyone heard his words clearly. The soldiers chuckled at their captain''s PDA and followed him. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. When they walked past Situ Bani, she finally regained her senses. Seeing that the soldiers were leaving, she reached out and grabbed one of the soldiers'' arms while saying, "Please wait a moment!" Being pulled so suddenly, Shen Jinzhe was caught off guard and almost fell. He turned his head and saw a pair of dirty hands holding onto his arm. His eyes turned cold, and his face darkened instantly. He flung his arm and said, "Don''t touch me." Situ Bani was pushed back several steps due to the force and fell to the ground. She let out a yelp and raised her head to scold him. But the moment she did, she saw the man patting his clothes as he left while saying, "Tsk! It''s dirty." Chapter 88 - 88: Ice Needles Feeling angry and embarrassed by Shen Jinzhe''s words, Situ Bani quickly stood up and chased after him. Seeing this, the other two hesitated for a moment before deciding to follow. Although they could see that the soldiers had no intention of letting them join the team, they didn''t have any choice. When they finally caught up with the soldiers, their faces turned pale, and they didn''t dare to take another step forward. In front of them, a large group of zombies was pouring out of the canteen and rushing toward their direction. Qin Luzi turned to look at them and said, "If you don''t want to die, leave the factory. We have cleaned up the zombies outside. You can go wherever you want. If you continue to follow us, we won''t be responsible for your death." "But we can''t fight the monsters. If we leave, we will die," one of the women sobbed. "If you stay, you will die faster," Shen Jinzhe chimed in casually. When they heard his words, their faces turned paler, and their legs shook. "Roar!!!" Hearing the roaring of the zombies, the women finally turned around and ran toward the exit. As for Situ Bani, she was unwilling to leave. Her gaze was glued to Jin Xuyan''s back. Noticing her intention, Shen Jinzhe said, "Don''t waste your time. He is already married. That girl is his wife." "I didn''t¡ª" Before Situ Bani could explain, Qin Luzi interrupted her. "You have awakened your ability. Your chance of survival is higher than your friends. Go find a survivor camp. We won''t bring civilians with us." When she heard this, Situ Bani was surprised. She had awakened a superpower after having a high fever but no one knew about this. At first, she thought she was special, but when she saw how the soldiers killed the zombies in the hallway before, she finally realized she was weak and her ability couldn''t help her survive this living hell. Seeing that she refused to leave, Qin Luzi and Shen Jinzhe stopped talking to her and walked over to join the soldiers. Standing not far from them, Jin Xuyan said, "Wen Mo, Wen Kai, build a metal wall to block the zombies. The rest of you, attack them from a distance." "Yes, Captain!" Following his order, the Wen brothers built a one-and-a-half-meter thick wall with a height of three meters. "Roar!!" BANG! With the wall blocking the zombies, the zombies continued banging the wall while roaring. The soldiers jumped and stood on top of it. Since the number of zombies was too high this time, they could only attack using their abilities from a distance. Chen Qianfeng was excited about his new skill and quickly created a water bullet. With a flick of his wrist, the water bullet flew at high speed and pierced several zombie''s skulls. Crack! Crack! Crack! When the soldiers saw this, they didn''t want to be outdone and started attacking. In less than a minute, flashes of abilities illuminated the area. Xiao Qi snorted at Chen Qianfeng''s show-off and said, "Brother Qianfeng, even if your skill looks good, mine is better for killing." As soon as he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and a huge boulder appeared out of thin air. Boom! SPLAT! The moment the boulder fell to the ground, a group of zombies was crushed underneath. Black blood and rotten flesh splashed everywhere. With another wave of his hand, the boulder disappeared and then reappeared. With a few waves, he had already crushed more than fifty zombies to death. Seeing that Xiao Qi''s efficiency in killing zombies was indeed higher than his, Chen Qianfeng said, "Xiao Qi, even if your method is effective, it''s too disgusting. If you use this method in front of girls, they would definitely be disgusted." Xiao Qi rolled his eyes at him and said, "I only need to use my face card to get a girlfriend!" Chen Qianfeng laughed and said nothing. In the apocalypse, no one knew if they were lucky enough to survive. Who had the mind to find a girlfriend? At this moment, his only concern was getting stronger faster. He wanted to create more water bullets, but his energy consumption would be too high, and he wouldn''t be able to control the bullets for long. To conserve his energy for a prolonged battle, he could only use one water bullet at a time. If he wanted to use more water bullets, he needed to train harder to improve his energy pool. Standing not far from him, Jiao Lizhi saw his water bullet and thought for a moment. Although her energy pool was larger than others, it would still run out if she fought for too long using her water blades. While her water blades could chop off the zombies'' necks easily, the energy consumption was indeed high. If she could use a skill similar to Chen Qianfeng''s, then her efficiency in killing would be higher. To kill a zombie, they only needed to destroy the brain. Since that was the case, she could use her water needles instead. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. As soon as this thought flashed through her mind, she clenched her wrist and withdrew the energy from her water blades. Then, she opened her palm, and five water needles floated above it. Compared to water blades, the density of her water needles was lower. Therefore, it would be difficult for them to pierce a zombie''s skull. But what if her water needles could be hardened? Unlike Chen Qianfeng, who compressed the water for higher density, Jiao Lizhi lowered the temperature of her water needles instead. As the temperature dropped lower and lower, they slowly hardened and turned into ice. Two minutes later, five ice needles floated above her palm, emitting cold air. She didn''t know if the ice needles were hard enough to pierce a zombie''s skull, so she could only test them. If they failed, she would use her water blades again. As soon as she made up her mind, she waved her hand and shot the ice needles toward the zombies. Chapter 89 - 89: Bad Intention The ice needles were fifteen centimeters long, with a diameter of one centimeter. Under the sunlight, they glistened as they reflected the light in mid-air. Wush! Crack! The moment the ice needles touched the zombie''s forehead, they flew through the skull with a loud crack. Besides the small hole on the zombie''s forehead, there was no trace of her attack. When Jiao Lizhi thought her skill had failed, she saw five zombies suddenly stop moving and fall to the ground. Before she could check if they were dead, they were already being trampled by the zombies behind them. Since she could make zombies fall, it was also good to let them be trampled to death. So, Jiao Lizhi no longer held back and started killing the zombies with her ice needles. Standing beside her, Jin Xuyan''s eyes flashed with astonishment. He knew his Ah Zhi was smart and full of ideas, but he didn''t know she could learn so many tricks just from observing other people fight. As her man, he shouldn''t be lacking in any aspect. To show her his strength, Jin Xuyan suddenly swung his hand and sent a fireball, a meter in diameter, toward the zombies. Boom! The moment the fireball hit the zombies, it exploded and burned them. Due to the loud explosion, more zombies were attracted to their direction, making it easier to clean up the area. With one hand raised in front of him, Jin Xuyan looked at Jiao Lizhi and said, "Ah Zhi, I will finish faster so you can help me check my body." The moment Qin Luzi heard this, he sighed at his friend''s shamelessness and threw a tornado toward the zombie crowd. Wush! Boom! With the addition of the tornado, the fire burned more fiercely. While Jin Xuyan controlled the fire, Qin Luzi sent more energy into his tornado and increased its power. The next moment, the fire tornado flew in several directions, spreading the fire to zombies in the back and on the sides. According to the locations of the red dots in his mind, he sent the fire tornado to those locations and burned the zombies to ashes. With his support, Jin Xuyan''s black flames finally covered the entire zombie crowd. The soldiers and Jiao Lizhi were dumbfounded as they watched the two of them showcase their tacit understanding and domineering power. Wanting to help his captain, Gao Bohai also sent his tornado to assist the black flames. But the moment his tornado hit the black flames, it was engulfed by Jin Xuyan''s black flame. As he lost control over his tornado, Gao Bohai finally realized that his wind-type ability was different from Qin Luzi''s. Standing twenty meters behind the soldiers, Situ Bani didn''t know what was happening on the other side of the metal wall, but she could feel the surrounding temperature rising. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. At this moment, she was feeling extremely jealous of the woman standing among the soldiers. She, too, wanted to become one of them and be treated differently. She clenched her fists tightly and thought, ''If only I can get close to her, I can find out what her ability is.'' Jiao Lizhi felt someone staring at her back and turned her head. The moment her gaze met Situ Bani''s, she saw jealousy and murderous intent in her eyes before they were quickly masked with timidity. Seeing the woman lower her head as if she had been bullied, she sneered. It was only the sixth day after the apocalypse, yet people were already showing the dark side of human nature. Although she disliked two-faced people the most, she understood that in order to survive in the apocalypse, women who were not strong enough to fight for themselves were forced to use every possible way to gain sympathy from others. But that didn''t mean she would allow them to target her. Since that person already harbored bad intentions toward her, she would find a way to get rid of her. She didn''t want to leave behind another hidden danger like Mo Binxue in her previous life. Thinking about Mo Binxue, she wondered if she had already died or turned into a zombie. While her mind wandered for a while, Jin Xuyan and Qin Luzi had already finished turning all the zombies into ashes. When she came back to her senses, she glanced at Qin Luzi and thought, ''How can he have so much energy? Isn''t he a level-zero ability user?'' "Xiao Qi, go collect the crystals," Jin Xuyan said after extinguishing the black flame. With his hand clenched, the small wisp of flame on his palm was absorbed back into his body. This time, due to the large number of zombies, he could feel that the barrier of his fire ability was loosening. Maybe after they cleared all the zombies in this factory district, he would be able to attempt a breakthrough. Since he was in a good mood, the corners of his lips lifted. But when he turned his head, he saw his Ah Zhi staring at another man. He followed her gaze and realized she was looking at Qin Luzi. In an instant, his good mood was shattered, and he felt sourer than a lemon. Turning his body, he blocked her gaze and asked aggrievedly, "Ah Zhi, am I not handsome enough?" The moment she heard his question, a big question mark floated above Jiao Lizhi''s head. She looked at the man in front of her as if he had a mental illness. One moment, he looked so suave and handsome as he killed the zombies. But the next, he looked like an abandoned wife. She really couldn''t keep up with his mood swings. Although she was complaining in her heart, her expression remained calm, and no one could see what she was thinking¡ªexcept for Jin Xuyan. He had noticed the surprise and confusion in her eyes before they were masked with calmness. He smiled, thinking his Ah Zhi was so cute. Being stared at by him, Jiao Lizhi shuddered, as if she was targeted by a wolf. It seemed that if she didn''t coax this big guy, he would continue acting shamelessly. Chapter 90 - 90: A Toad Wants To Eat Swan Meat Reaching out her hand, Jiao Lizhi stood on her tiptoes and wiped the dirt off his cheek while saying, "What nonsense are you saying, Brother Yan? You are the most handsome." Satisfied with her answer, Jin Xuyan nodded. He leaned closer, and asked in a low voice, "Then why were you looking at Old Qin instead of me?" Hearing his words, Jiao Lizhi asked, "Brother Yan, don''t you think Brother Qin is very powerful?" Raising his eyebrows, Jin Xuyan asked again, "What do you mean?" She rubbed her chin and told him about her doubts. "Normally, when people awaken their ability, their energy pool is small and limited. At most, they can only use small-scale attacks, and it only lasts for a while." "But Brother Qin can actually use such a large-scale attack, and it lasted for almost ten minutes. Even after using that attack, he still doesn''t seem to be running out of energy. I wonder how big his energy pool is or if he is really only at level zero." When Jin Xuyan heard her words, he fell into deep thought. Qin Luzi''s wind-type ability was obtained by consuming a level-two wind-type crystal core. So, he really had no idea what side effects that might have on his body. For now, he seemed fine, and the two abilities in his body didn''t clash with each other. But there was no guarantee that nothing would happen in the future. Jiao Lizhi saw him fall silent and asked, "Brother Yan, do you know something?" S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "I will tell you about this later," Jin Xuyan replied. Since he had already said so, Jiao Lizhi suppressed her curiosity and didn''t ask any more questions. The two of them jumped down from the metal wall and landed lightly. After everyone came down, Wen Mo used his ability to turn the metal wall into several daggers and blades. With this batch of weapons, everyone in their team was finally able to replace their broken ones. Since he and his brother still had some energy left, they made five more blades for Pei Yijun and his team, including Feng Yun''s. Although they don''t like the arrogance of the rich second generation, they are just children. As adults, they won''t bother them. After they had cleaned up the battlefield, the soldiers finally noticed Situ Bani. When Shen Jinzhe saw her, he frowned and asked, "Why are you still here?" From his cold tone, the soldiers knew he disliked this woman. Feeling curious, they came over, and Zhang Yuan asked, "Jinzhe, you know her?" "No, she is one of those people who hid in the dormitory." When he heard this, Zhang Yuan recalled the women they had met at the entrance of the factory''s dormitory. Thinking that she was scared, he said, "Comrade, we are leaving this place. We can escort you out of this factory, and then you can go find a safe place." Hearing his words, Situ Bani asked, "Brother soldier, c-can you bring me with you? I promise I won''t bother you. I''m just afraid of going alone." As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Luzi said, "Are you insisting on waiting here for us? Where are your friends?" Lowering her eyelids, Situ Bani replied softly, "They already left. I couldn''t run because my legs were hurting, and they didn''t want to wait for me." Jiao Lizhi could see her lies and said, "If you can''t run, then walk. If you can''t walk, then crawl. You don''t expect one of us to carry you, do you?" Hearing this, Situ Bani quickly waved her hands and said, "No, I didn''t." "Gao Bohai, she will be your responsibility until we leave this factory," Jin Xuyan suddenly said. When she heard his words, Situ Bani''s eyes lit up. Thinking that he was worried about her safety, she said, "Thank you. May I ask what your name is, brother?" She thought he would at least tell her his name. Unexpectedly, he grabbed the hand of the girl beside him and left without giving her a glance. Shen Jinzhe laughed and said, "A toad wants to eat swan meat. Shameless." He hated mistresses the most, so he didn''t lower his voice and blatantly showed his disgust and disdain. Those who knew about his family''s situation understood his reason, but those who didn''t were confused about why he seemed to have a grudge against this stranger. "It''s almost dark. We should leave now," Zhang Yuan reminded them. The soldiers quickly followed their captain, giving Situ Bani strange glances as they walked past her. Seeing this, she clenched her fists while thinking about how to get close to Jin Xuyan. Gao Bohai walked to her and said, "Comrade, let''s go." Startled by his rough voice, Situ Bani snapped back to reality and quickly chased after him. Even though he was ordered to protect her, Gao Bohai didn''t slow his steps at all, so she had to run to keep up. By the time they left the factory, the sky had started to darken. Since the surrounding zombies had been cleared, they planned to set up camp there for the night and move on to the next factory tomorrow. Even if they couldn''t take the supplies, they could still practice their abilities and train their combat skills. At the same time, they could assist the survivors in these factory areas. Without zombies wandering around, they could leave and find a safer place. Seeing them finally return, Li Sikai walked over and said, "Captain, you are finally back." "How is that kid doing?" Jin Xuyan asked. "Feng Yun has woken up and obtained a space-type ability." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "I will go check on him. You go help Old Qin prepare dinner." "Understood." Before checking on Feng Yun, Jin Xuyan walked over to Pei Yijun and his team. Seeing that they were still in shock, he said, "I''m sorry about your friend." After a moment of silence, he added, "You can mourn for today, but tomorrow, you must stand up and move forward. In the future, you will face more dangerous situations. By then, you might lose more friends, family, even loved ones." When they heard his words, Han Jie glared at him and said, "What do you know?!" Chapter 91 - 91: A New Team Member Jin Xuyan looked at Han Jie and said calmly, "I have lost a total of 53 men since the apocalypse. Most of them turned into zombies and killed my comrades. To save the rest of my men, I killed them with my own hands. Trust me, I know more than you do." The moment he heard those words, Han Jie was stunned. After a moment of silence, he lowered his head and said, "I''m sorry." "I understand your grief, but you must become stronger and live bravely so you won''t let down the sacrifices of your comrades," Jin Xuyan said. Before leaving, he added, "Pei Yijun, I will contact the Eagle Team and ask them to escort you to Jiangning City." Hearing this, Pei Yijun finally looked at him and asked, "You are not going?" "When you meet the commander, please relay my message. My Phantom Team has decided to retire, and we will no longer accept any orders. We won''t take the rewards¡ªwe are just asking for permission to go find our family," Jin Xuyan said. After saying this, he turned and walked toward Feng Yun. This time, instead of standing in front of him, he sat down beside him. He looked at the young man with a smile in his eyes. He never expected that in this life, he would be able to recruit this strong general. With him joining the team, their attack power would be greatly increased. After a moment, Feng Yun opened his eyes and turned his head, only to meet Jin Xuyan''s calm gaze. He smiled at him and said, "Captain Jin, thank you for believing in me and saving my life." "It was you who saved your own life. I only gave you some aid," Jin Xuyan replied. Hearing this, Feng Yun chuckled and said, "Even so, I would still like to thank you and your team. If not for your help, I might have died from the fever¡ªor worse, turned into a zombie." Jin Xuyan nodded and changed the topic. "What''s your plan next?" S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Feng Yun looked at Pei Yijun''s team and said, "I can''t go back, and I don''t plan to return to my friend''s team. So, I was wondering¡­ could I follow you and your team instead, Captain Jin?" "We are not going to Jiangning City. Are you sure you still want to join me?" Jin Xuyan asked. "Where are you going, then?" "I''m planning to go to Sanchou City to find my soldiers'' families." When Feng Yun heard this, his eyes lit up and he asked, "Captain Jin, my family also lives in Sanchou City! Can I go with you?" Jin Xuyan studied him for a moment before saying, "Once you join my team, you must remain loyal. I won''t tolerate betrayal. But I can promise you that everyone in my team is treated equally, like my own brothers." Feng Yun was taken aback by his words but understood that, given his different background, Jin Xuyan needed absolute loyalty from anyone who joined his team. "If you can''t commit to that, it''s better you don''t join us. You are welcome to travel with us to Sanchou City, but once we arrive, we will go our separate ways," Jin Xuyan added. Feng Yun considered the pros and cons for a while before finally making up his mind. He looked Jin Xuyan in the eyes and said firmly, "Captain Jin, I swear to remain loyal to you and your team. As long as you help me find my family, I will follow you for the rest of my life." Standing up, Jin Xuyan said, "You don''t need to swear, and I don''t need empty promises. Prove it with your actions." With that, he turned and walked away, calling out, "Come over and help our brothers cook dinner." Hearing this, Feng Yun smiled and followed him to the soldiers'' camp. When they arrived, Qin Luzi said, "Kid, go fetch some water." Feng Yun nodded and started looking around for Li Sikai. He assumed the soldiers would be using bottled mineral water, but just as he took several steps, Qin Luzi''s voice stopped him. "Where are you going?" Turning around, he replied, "Didn''t you ask me to get water?" Qin Luzi pointed to the large iron pots on the side and said, "That water." Feng Yun let out a soft "Oh" and walked over. When he arrived, he saw Jiao Lizhi eating sausages while filling the iron pots with water. He hesitated as he watched the water flow from her fingertips, frowning. Would he really have to drink water that came from her body? Noticing his reluctance, Jiao Lizhi said, "The water created by water-type ability users is much purer and cleaner than mineral water. If you don''t want to drink it, that''s fine too." "Junior Sister, I didn''t mean to look down on you, it''s just that¡ª" Jiao Lizhi raised an eyebrow, following his gaze, and let out a chuckle. She withdrew her hand, and the water stopped flowing. Standing up, she said, "Senior Feng, I can create a water ball instead, but that would consume more energy. What''s more, in the future, you might even need to drink your own urine to survive. So, you should be grateful to have fresh water." Without waiting for his response, she walked away. Feng Yun watched her go, deep in thought. After a moment, he sighed and waved his hand. In an instant, a large iron pot disappeared from the ground. He walked back to Qin Luzi and retrieved the pot from his space. As soon as the pot appeared beside him, Qin Luzi remarked, "So, you also have a space-type ability." Feng Yun nodded and asked, "Brother, is there anything else I can help with?" "Go wash the bowls and chopsticks," Qin Luzi said. Since he was now eating from their supplies, Feng Yun had no objections to doing his share of the work. He walked over to join Xiao Qi and Shen Jinzhe in washing the utensils. Chapter 92 - 92: Courting Death ( 1 ) By this point, most of the soldiers had already guessed that Feng Yun would be joining their team. When he squatted down beside them, Xiao Qi immediately spoke up. "Hey, I''m Xiao Qi. You can call me Brother Xiao." Feng Yun nodded in greeting and replied, "Hello, Brother Xiao. I''m Feng Yun." "Feng Yun, how old are you? Are you really joining our team?" Xiao Qi asked. "Yes, I will be following Captain Jin from now on. I''m 22 years old." S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "You are older than me and Brother Shen!" Xiao Qi exclaimed in surprise. Feng Yun smiled and asked, "How old are you guys?" "I''m 20, and Brother Shen is 21," Xiao Qi said. "You two didn''t go to university?" Feng Yun asked curiously. "We skipped several grades and already finished our studies at the military academy. We joined the team right after graduation," Xiao Qi replied. Feng Yun was surprised. He had thought Xiao Qi looked a bit silly, but apparently, he was smart enough to skip multiple grades. It seemed this team was more impressive than he had initially thought. "So, what''s your ability?" Xiao Qi asked. "I have a space-type ability," Feng Yun said. "Wow, same as mine! From now on, you are in the logistics team. How big is your space?" "I''m not sure of the exact size, but it should be about a quarter of a football field. How about yours?" Feng Yun asked. At that moment, the soldiers eavesdropping on their conversation froze. They all turned to look at him as if he were a monster. After a long silence, excitement erupted as they suddenly rushed over, bombarding him with questions. "Kid, how tall is your space?" "Can you store cars and trucks in it?" "You should put that big metal wall inside and use it to smash zombies later!" Overwhelmed by their enthusiasm, Feng Yun was at a loss for words. Seeing his distress, Shen Jinzhe said, "Brothers, do you want to eat or not? If you keep chatting, Old Qin will beat you." As soon as they heard his words, the soldiers quickly dispersed and focused on doing their chores. "Don''t mind them," Shen Jinzhe said. "Thank you." While the soldiers were filled with excitement, Pei Yijun''s team remained in a gloomy mood. Though they had little appetite, Chu Zhimiao still grabbed four cups of instant noodles and approached Jiao Lizhi. Standing before her, she said, "Lizhi, could I get some hot water?" "Sure, have a seat," Jiao Lizhi nodded. She helped Chu Zhimiao open the cover and add the seasoning before creating a ball of hot water and filling their cups to two-thirds. Sitting beside her, Chu Zhimiao asked, "Lizhi, do you plan to go with the soldiers?" "Well, even if I don''t want to, I doubt Brother Yan would agree," Jiao Lizhi replied casually. Hearing this, Chu Zhimiao chuckled and said, "If the boys at our university knew that the new university flower already has a boyfriend, they would definitely be heartbroken." Jiao Lizhi laughed at her words and replied jokingly, "Maybe at this moment, they are too busy roaring and eating human brains to think about me having a boyfriend." The moment Chu Zhimiao heard this, she froze. Although she knew that most of the people they once knew had died or turned into zombies, it was still chilling to hear her say it so casually, as if it were a normal joke. Jiao Lizhi noticed her reaction but didn''t care. In the apocalypse, people came and went faster than the wind. Today''s friend might be tomorrow''s enemy. More importantly, once they went their separate ways, they would have nothing to do with each other anymore. So, there was no need to take these shallow friendships seriously. Three minutes later, she reminded the girl beside her, "Your noodles are ready." Hearing this, Chu Zhimiao snapped back to her senses and said, "Thank you." Jiao Lizhi picked up two cups of noodles and said, "Come on, I will help you carry them." Seeing her already walking toward Pei Yijun''s team, Chu Zhimiao quickly followed. After hearing her joke, she no longer had any intention of getting close to Jiao Lizhi. For someone who could take life and death as a joke, she was not someone she could befriend. After placing the instant noodles down, Jiao Lizhi said, "Have a good meal." Before Pei Yijun and his team could respond, she had already walked over to the soldiers'' camp. Her stomach had been protesting from hunger since they returned, and the fragrance of instant noodles only made her hungrier. But just as she took a few steps, someone blocked her way. Seeing the woman in front of her, she looked at her with a smile that didn''t reach her eyes and said, "A good dog doesn''t block the road." Hearing this, Situ Bani''s eyes widened as she clenched her fists in front of her chest. If not for her dirty clothes and the strong sour smell coming from her body, people might have mistaken her for one of China''s great beauties¡ªXi Shi. "Sister, did I do something wrong? Why are you treating me like this?" The moment Jiao Lizhi heard this, she burst out laughing. In both of her lifetimes, this was the first time she had seen someone actually speak like this. She had thought that this kind of over-the-top act only appeared in melodramatic TV shows. She never expected to witness it in real life. Situ Bani was fuming inside but held back. Instead of showing her anger, she looked at Jiao Lizhi with teary eyes. To an outsider, it would seem as if she was being bullied. With her head lowered, she glanced around and saw that the soldiers¡ªand even the handsome silver-haired young man¡ªwere watching them. Although she wasn''t very smart, she knew how to gain sympathy and use it to her advantage. While she was scheming in her mind, Jiao Lizhi finally finished laughing. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and said, "Please don''t call me sister. I don''t even know who my parents are, so how could I have a sister like you?" Chapter 93 - 93: Courting Death ( 2 ) When Jiao Lizhi saw Situ Bani''s face change from pale to red then back to pale, she added, "Also, I haven''t done anything to you, but I won''t mind doing something if you keep provoking me. Just so you know, I hate two-faced people the most. So don''t give me a reason to kill you." After finishing her words, she walked past Situ Bani and whispered, "Remember not to touch what you shouldn''t touch." Since they were close, Situ Bani finally had the chance to use her ability. She reached out and touched Jiao Lizhi''s hand. The moment their skin made contact, she smiled and activated her ability. She assumed that Jiao Lizhi''s water-type ability was weak since she only used it to fill the pots. As long as she could absorb her energy, she would become a waste. Unexpectedly, the moment her mental energy entered Jiao Lizhi''s body, it was sucked away by an unknown force. Unlike ability energy, mental energy was innate and could only be trained slowly. She had only recently awakened her ability and had very little energy. Trying to probe a level-one ability user with her level-zero power was like courting death. Not to mention, Jiao Lizhi was someone who has a cheat-like ability¡ªenergy absorption. The moment Jiao Lizhi felt the foreign energy entering her body, her eyes turned cold. Using her core, she immediately absorbed and refined the energy into her own. Jiao Lizhi looked at Situ Bani, whose face had already turned pale, and smiled. She had just warned her, yet she was still looking for death. Since she was so generous as to provide free energy, then she wouldn''t hold back. In the next moment, she used all her strength to absorb Situ Bani''s energy. After experiencing death once, Jiao Lizhi''s mental strength was far beyond what someone like Situ Bani could withstand. To everyone else, it simply looked like they were standing there, speaking in hushed voices. Since it seemed like a personal matter between women, the soldiers felt embarrassed to intervene. As for Pei Yijun''s team, it had nothing to do with them, so they chose to stay out of it. Five minutes later, Jiao Lizhi finally stopped because there was no more energy left to absorb. She looked at Situ Bani, who had collapsed to the ground with her mouth agape. With her mental energy drained completely, her brain had suffered irreversible damage, turning her into a fool. Since Jiao Lizhi hadn''t physically touched her, no one realized what had just happened. She simply walked over to the soldiers'' camp and asked, "Brother Qin, is the food ready?" Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Qin Luzi glanced at Situ Bani before turning back to Jiao Lizhi and saying, "Sister-in-law, it''s almost done." "Okay," Jiao Lizhi nodded and waited on the side. Just now, Qin Luzi had clearly sensed the mental energy seeping from Situ Bani''s body and being absorbed by Jiao Lizhi. He knew that Situ Bani had tried to attack first, so what happened to her now was what she deserved. Besides, Jiao Lizhi could be considered his sister-in-law, and he always protected his own people. Even if he knew what was going on, he wouldn''t say a word that could harm her. He was just curious¡ªhow could his sister-in-law absorb another person''s mental energy when she was supposed to be a water-type ability user? More importantly, he had clearly seen Situ Bani''s green dot turn white while Jiao Lizhi''s blue dot deepened in color. Until now, he still didn''t know what the blue dot represented. Besides his captain and Jiao Lizhi, only Pei Yijun had a blue dot. But the shades of blue were different¡ªPei Yijun''s blue dot was the lightest, while his captain''s blue dot was the darkest. As for Jiao Lizhi''s blue dot, it keeps flickering between blue and green. While Qin Luzi was pondering the meaning behind the blue dots, Jin Xuyan was in the distance, making a call on his satellite phone. Standing with one hand in his pocket, he said, "Wei Ying, the Pei family''s young master is with me. Didn''t you say I took your mission and opportunities? Now I''m returning them to you. You just need to come to the factory district near Lin''an University." "Jin Xuyan, why should I believe you?" a voice from the phone asked. Jin Xuyan let out a long sigh and said, "Even if we have different beliefs and goals, we are still comrades. I lost most of my men during this mission, and the rest want to go back and find their families. I can''t persuade them, and I can''t complete this mission alone. So, I can only let you escort Pei Yijun back." A long silence followed before Wei Ying finally responded, "Jin Xuyan, I''m sorry about your men." "When we took this mission, we already knew the risks. We just underestimated our enemies and overestimated ourselves," Jin Xuyan replied. "I understand. My team is near your location¡ªwe will arrive by tomorrow afternoon at the latest." "Thank you." "It should be me thanking you for handing over the rewards on a silver platter," Wei Ying said with a chuckle. After he said that, the call ended. On the other end of the line, inside a mini-mart, a man in his late thirties let out a sigh and handed the satellite phone to one of his men. "Captain, are we going to join Captain Jin?" one of his soldiers asked. Wei Ying nodded and said, "We will depart tomorrow at sunrise." Hearing this, another soldier scoffed and said, "He took our mission and now expects us to clean up his mess. Does he think we are at his beck and call?" "Jin Xuyan isn''t that kind of person. Watch your words," Wei Ying warned. "Captain, he already took our mission. Why are you still defending him?" the soldier asked, clearly displeased. "He must have had his reasons. He lost most of his men during the mission. We all know his team is much stronger than ours. If even they suffered such heavy casualties, do you think we would stand a chance if we went instead?" Wei Ying asked. Chapter 94 - 94: A Group Of Survivors ( 1 ) Seeing that his soldiers were still stubborn, Wei Ying added, "Maybe he knew how dangerous the mission was, so he took it upon himself and spared us from losing our lives." "Now that the target is rescued, he is letting us escort him and claim the reward. Instead of speaking ill of him behind his back, we should be thanking him." The soldiers fell silent, lowering their heads. They had only been tasked with collecting supplies near the temporary survival camp with less zombies, yet they had still lost their brothers in the process. They couldn''t even begin to imagine how dangerous the situation at Lin''an University had been. The number of students there was at least 300,000, if not more. Glancing at his watch, Wei Ying said, "Take turns patrolling and get some rest." "Yes, Captain!" At the same time, in the factory district, the survivor hiding inside the dormitory finally dares to open their window to check the situation outside. After the group of soldiers left, they heard the sounds of explosions and fighting for hours before it died down. Now that the sky has turned dark and the red moon has risen, they no longer hear any roars of zombies like in the past few days. When they checked the situation outside the building, they didn''t see any wandering zombies at all. Besides the thick scent of burning, there was nothing. Inside one of the dormitories in the left building, a young man packed up his bag and picked up a wooden stick. When he went to the door, one of his roommates quickly blocked him and said, "Yupeng, you can''t open the door. What if the monsters outside come in the moment you open it?" Seeing how timid his colleagues were, He Yupeng frowned and said, "Brother Ma, there is no sound at all from outside. If we don''t leave now, we will die of starvation." "But if we go out, we will be eaten alive by those monsters," Brother Ma shook his head. "I won''t force you if you don''t want to leave, but I need to go back and find my family. I can''t stay here any longer. At least, I still have hope if I go out," He Yupeng said and pushed him away. Before they could stop him, he had already opened the door and left. The moment he stepped out, Brother Ma quickly went to close and lock the door. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. In the past few days, they had already eaten all of their food and water. At this moment, they were forced to drink their urine to survive. They knew that they must leave if they wanted to survive, but they were only ordinary people. How could they fight against the living dead? Now that the only person who still had water with him had also left, they would surely die if they did nothing. While they were in a dilemma, He Yupeng had already walked toward the emergency stairs. Initially, he had wanted to go with the soldiers, but when he saw them ignoring the women blocking their paths, he knew that the soldiers had no intention of bringing ordinary citizens with them. Even if it was the soldiers'' responsibility to protect them before, it was different now. With so many zombies, he was trapped inside his dormitory room. Without any water, electricity, or even communication service, no one knew what the situation outside was. It had been almost a week since the chaos began, and the government hadn''t sent anyone to rescue them. From this, he knew that he could only depend on himself. As he walked, he didn''t forget to check the open doors to see if he could find any food or water inside. When he saw the ashes scattered on the ground, he knew it was the result of the soldiers clearing the area of zombies. He Yupeng searched the rooms one by one and managed to find some water and snacks. While it wasn''t much, it could fill his stomach temporarily. Two hours later, he finally left the dormitory building. When he came out, he was surprised to see that people from the other building had already emerged. Compared to the men hiding in the left building, it seemed that the women in the right building were braver. The moment they saw him, the women kept their distance while looking at him warily. He Yupeng didn''t bother with them and left in large strides. When he neared the factory entrance, he smelled the scent of instant noodles and food wafting in the air, mixing with the rancid stench of rotten flesh. His stomach growled, and he hastened his steps. As soon as he came out of the factory, he was taken aback to see that the soldiers were camping there. Seeing that someone had actually left the factory, everyone was surprised. Qin Luzi glanced at him and saw that he was a green dot. Not far behind him was a large group of dense white dots with some green dots mixed in between. Standing up, he walked to Feng Yun and said, "Feng Yun, come with me." Hearing his voice, Feng Yun opened his eyes and followed him while half asleep. Although he didn''t know what Qin Luzi wanted, since he had been assigned under him by Jin Xuyan, he could only follow his mentor''s order. Noticing that they were walking toward the military trucks and armored vehicles, Feng Yun asked, "Brother Qin, what do you want me to do?" "I heard your space has a large area. Can you store the military trucks in your space?" Qin Luzi asked. "I don''t know, but I can give it a try," Feng Yun said. Qin Luzi nodded and gestured for him to do it. To store items and take them out from their space, it would consume the ability-user''s mental energy. So, storing bigger objects would consume more energy. This was one of the reasons why space-type ability users rarely stored cars or big objects in their spaces. Chapter 95 - 95: A Group Of Survivors ( 2 ) Feng Yun raised his hand, and in the blink of an eye, the large military truck disappeared instantly. He blinked and didn''t feel any discomfort. So, he continued storing the military trucks in his space. In less than five minutes, there were six military trucks full of supplies inside his space. When Qin Luzi saw this, he nodded and patted his shoulder with satisfaction. This time, his gaze when he saw his disciple was warmer than before. "Well done. Now you can go back to your sleep," he said. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Feng Yun was confused by his strange request and asked, "Brother Qin, why did you ask me to keep the trucks?" "Our armored vehicles are enough for all of us. There is no need to use the trucks. What''s more, you can store supplies in your space¡ªwhy waste the gas by using the trucks to carry the supplies?" Qin Luzi said with a smile. Although his words made sense, Feng Yun felt that there must be another reason. But since his mentor didn''t want to tell him, he didn''t insist and returned to his sleeping bag. The moment he walked back with Qin Luzi, he finally understood the reason. Looking at the large group of survivors, he glanced at his mentor thoughtfully. Without the military trucks, there was no way for these people to follow them. He understood that they were unwilling to bring these burdens with them. But how did his mentor know that there would be a large group of survivors coming? While he was still trying to understand, he saw Jin Xuyan talking to the survivors. "We still have a mission to do, and we can''t bring all of you with us. Tomorrow afternoon at the latest, another group of soldiers will come, and you can go with them," he said. When they heard his words, everyone panicked, and one of them said, "You are soldiers! It''s your duty to protect us, citizens." "We are hungry and thirsty! You must give us something to eat!" another demanded. Standing not far from them, Jiao Lizhi watched those women demanding things from Jin Xuyan as if he owed them. Feeling unhappy, she walked over. When she saw a woman trying to pull at Jin Xuyan''s arm, she narrowed her eyes and waved her hand. Splash! Suddenly, a ball of water hit the woman''s face, drenching her head and upper body. Caught off guard, the woman fall to the ground and let out a yelp. "Ah! Who is it?" she shouted angrily. Jin Xuyan was also taken aback and turned his head, only to see his Ah Zhi glaring at him. Instead of feeling unhappy, his heart beat faster with joy. ''Is Ah Zhi jealous?'' he thought inwardly. He grinned like a fool while the woman fumed. "Who the hell did it?!" Jiao Lizhi pulled Jin Xuyan''s hand so he moved further from the group of women and stood in front of him. With her hands in her pockets, she said, "It''s me." After wiping the water from her face, the woman stood up and asked, "Who are you? Why did you attack me?" Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi sneered and replied, "Why can''t I hit you? Don''t you know that men and women shouldn''t touch each other?" When the soldiers heard her spouting nonsense without blushing, they finally understood why their captain had fallen for her. Birds of a feather flock together. That''s a fact. Standing behind her, Jin Xuyan grinned and nodded as he said, "Ah Zhi is right. Men and women shouldn''t touch each other. I have a fianc¨¦e, and I can''t let any random woman touch me." Jiao Lizhi glared at him and thought, ''It''s not about that! Can''t you see that their hands are dirty? Who knows what they touched before? Aren''t you afraid you will get a strange disease from them?'' Unfortunately, Jin Xuyan couldn''t read her mind and only thought she was jealous and throwing a tantrum. The group of women was suddenly fed a bowl of dog food so abruptly that they were left speechless. Seeing that the handsome soldier already had a girlfriend, they realized it wasn''t wise to go against the petite girl. One of the older women noticed the tense situation and tried to mediate, "Comrade, we know you have a mission to do, and it''s inconvenient for us to follow you. But we are really hungry and thirsty. Can you at least let us stay here and give us something to eat? We will leave tomorrow." Hearing her words, the other women had no objections. After all, they just wanted to find a safe place. Following this group or another tomorrow made no difference to them¡ªas long as they could eat first. They had almost starved to death. Jin Xuyan didn''t mind giving them some food and water since they had plenty. So, he waved his hand and said, "Yusheng, Xiao Qi, come here." Hearing their names, both men came over and said, "Captain." "Yusheng, check the supplies and see if we can get some food for them. If you need help, ask the others," Jin Xuyan said. As part of the logistics team, Yin Yusheng and Xiao Qi were responsible for their supplies. After receiving their orders, they went to prepare the food. Noticing that some of the women were injured, Jin Xuyan said, "Gao Bohai, Old Qin, check their wounds." The moment they heard his words, the women protested instantly. "How can you let them check our bodies?" a young woman asked while glaring at him as if he was a beast. Jin Xuyan ignored her gaze and explained, "Anyone with wounds must be monitored for two hours in case they mutate. If you don''t want to be checked by the soldiers, you can wait behind the steel gate. After two hours, you can come over." Hearing his words, the women chose to wait. They used the roadblocks as a perimeter while the soldiers watched over them from the other side of the steel gate. Chapter 96 - 96: Crude But Effective With Qin Luzi''s ability, he could detect if a civilian turned into a zombie. As for Gao Bohai, a military doctor, he could bandage wounds and assess their health. While everyone was busy finding a place to rest, another group of people arrived. This time, it was the men from the left building. Seeing them, Zhang Yuan went over to talk. Unlike the women, these men had no problem being checked by the soldiers. So, Zhang Yuan woke up the others and asked them to help. As they worked, one of the women approached and asked, "Brother, can I get some water first?" Chen Qianfeng saw her cracked, pale lips and nodded. Reaching out his hand, he said, "Give me your water bottle." Hearing this, the woman quickly handed it over and said, "Thank you, brother." With a wave of his hand, a ball of water floated above the bottle''s mouth. The next moment, the woman saw the water flow into her bottle. Seeing an ability-user for the first time, her eyes filled with amazement and envy. When the bottle was full, Chen Qianfeng returned it and said, "There is still some left. Drink first." S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The woman nodded and quickly drank half before he refilled it with the rest of the water ball. Feeling refreshed, she bowed and said, "Thank you very much, brother. You saved my life." Chen Qianfeng stepped aside to avoid her bow and said nothing. When the others saw he could produce water, they rushed over while begging. "Brother, please give me some too! I haven''t had a sip in two days." "Brother, I have two bottles! Please fill them up." As more people crowded around, the situation became chaotic. Fearing their loud shouting would attract zombies, Chen Qianfeng said, "Calm down! Everyone will get their share. Don''t shout, and don''t push!" Unfortunately, no one listened to him. As the situation spiraled out of control, Jiao Lizhi shook her head and sighed. This is what happens when you treat people with kindness and courtesy in the apocalypse. Give them an inch, and they will take a mile! Raising her hands, she created a huge ball of water above their heads. Then, with a clap¡ª SPLASH!! The huge waterball exploded and drenched everyone below. Being hit suddenly by the water bomb, everyone was caught off guard and fell flat on the ground. With their bodies drenched from head to toe, they were too stunned and angry to react. Everyone, including Jin Xuyan and Pei Yijun''s team, was shocked by her rough but effective way of controlling the crowd. While they were still in shock, Jiao Lizhi walked over and said with a sweet smile, "There you go. Everyone has plenty of water." The moment they heard her words, the commoners finally regained their senses. They stood up, pointed at her, and started scolding. Jiao Lizhi just stood there with a smile on her face and let them scold to their hearts'' content. Thirty minutes later, they finally realized that their curses and insults had no effect on her and stopped because their throats were sore from yelling. Seeing that they had finally gone silent, Jiao Lizhi raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you all done? Good. Now, it''s my turn." "I know all of you are desperate for food and water. But you must understand one thing. The soldiers are helping you out of kindness, not because of some so-called duty or responsibility. They owe you nothing." Opening her arms, she continued, "Look around you. Do you really think you can still use moral coercion in a situation like this? Even if I kill you right here, no one will bother to arrest me or avenge you." "Y-you are crazy!" one of them said, fear evident in her eyes. Shaking her head, Jiao Lizhi sighed and replied, "I''m not crazy. In fact, I''m saner than all of you." She looked at them and continued, "Don''t you realize that the government has done nothing since those monsters appeared? With no electricity and no communication, how exactly are you planning to ask for help?" "Right now, you only have two options. Get stronger, look for food, and survive, or wait for death." Even after hearing her words, they were still unwilling to accept reality. One of them pointed at the soldiers and said, "We have the soldiers here! They will protect us!" Jiao Lizhi''s eyes turned cold as she asked, "How long do you think they will protect you? Are you only willing to protect yourselves after all the soldiers die protecting you?" "They have families too. Instead of staying with their own loved ones, they are here trying to save your pathetic dog''s life. Don''t act like you are entitled to their protection just because you pay taxes. The government takes your taxes, not them." "But they are paid with tax money," another man argued. "True. But they risk their lives for that salary¡ªjust like how you work to earn your money. Now, tell me, do you feel responsible for protecting your boss''s family? After all, you are paid with your boss''s money," Jiao Lizhi sneered. "But they are soldiers!" an old woman shouted. "So what? Being a soldier is just a job, one out of many jobs in this world. I don''t think there is a law stating that a soldier must also become a saint who is willing to sacrifice their life for a stranger," Jiao Lizhi retorted. Her words left everyone speechless. Jiao Lizhi looked at them and said, "If you want food and water, you''d better behave and line up properly. Otherwise, no one gets anything." "Who are you to decide?" a young woman muttered unhappily. The moment Jiao Lizhi heard her, she waved her hand. A water blade shot toward the woman at high speed. Everyone was shocked when they saw this. They thought she was going to kill her, only Jin Xuyan was still watching with a faint smile on his lips. "Ack! Save me!" the woman shrieked, her eyes wide with terror. Wush! Chapter 97 - 97: Temporary Bath House The water blade stopped just two centimeters from her throat. The woman didn''t dare to move as she could feel the cold air radiating from the blade. Seeing her pale face and noticing that she had wet herself, Jiao Lizhi clicked her tongue and said with a smile, "So useless! The reason is simple, because I''m strong, and you are weak." Noticing the hatred in the woman''s eyes, Jiao Lizhi added with a smile, "If you hate me, then get stronger and fight back. If you can''t, then live the rest of your life being trampled by the strong." As soon as she finished speaking, she clenched her fist, and the water blade turned into a splash of water that drenched the woman''s face. After witnessing her display of power, the large group of people became more obedient. Though her methods were crude and harsh, they were effective. As she sat there, the soldiers finally brought over several large iron pots and asked, "Sister-in-law, can you help us fill these pots?" "Sure," Jiao Lizhi replied. With a wave of her hand, several water balls appeared above the pots and poured in. Watching her effortlessly control the water, Chu Zhimiao let out a long sigh. Hearing this, Li Yang turned to look at her and asked, "Miaomiao, what''s wrong?" Chu Zhimiao let out another long sigh and asked, "Li Yang, why do you think there is such a huge difference in strength and skill when both Lizhi and I are water-type ability users?" When he heard her question, Li Yang thought for a moment and said, "I don''t know, but everyone is different. Even if you aren''t as strong as her, you have your own merits for sure." "Then, what is my merit?" Chu Zhimiao asked curiously. "I don''t know," Li Yang shrugged. The moment she heard his answer, Chu Zhimiao rolled her eyes and said, "I shouldn''t have asked you." Li Yang laughed when he saw her rolling her eyes and said, "Miaomiao, you told me before that I am me and I don''t have to compare myself with others. So, why are you comparing yourself with Jiao Lizhi now?" "No matter how strong she is, it has nothing to do with you. You only need to focus on yourself and walk your road confidently." When she heard his words, Chu Zhimiao''s eyes lit up. At that moment, she felt as if the fog covering her eyes had finally disappeared. Her friend was right. In this world, there was only one Chu Zhimiao. So, she didn''t have to compare herself to Jiao Lizhi since they were different people to begin with. She would find her own path one day. After reaching this conclusion, she no longer felt depressed and said, "Li Yang, thank you!" "Well, you are welcome," Li Yang said and added, "You should go to sleep now; it''s late." "Okay!" Since there was no pillow, Li Yang spread his arm so she could use it as a pillow. Chu Zhimiao was indeed tired, and with the roller coaster of emotions she had experienced, she soon fell into a dreamless sleep the moment her head lay on Li Yang''s arm. Two hours later, no one showed signs of mutating, so the soldiers arranged a place for the group of commoners to sleep and built a bonfire for them. At this moment, everyone received a bottle of mineral water, two packs of biscuits, and a strip of cold and fever medicine from the soldiers. Some of them were too hungry and finished all the food, while others only ate some and saved the rest for later. On the soldiers'' orders, they took the medicine before going to sleep. Even after changing their wet clothes, they were still drenched and might catch a cold. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. At this moment, Jiao Lizhi was sitting near the bonfire with her eyes closed, trying to circulate the energy in her body, when a group of women came over. Noticing their footsteps, she opened her eyes and asked, "Do you need anything from me?" Seeing her delicate, clean face, one of the women clenched her fists and asked, "Sister, can you give us some water? We haven''t washed our bodies for a few days." When she heard this, Jiao Lizhi understood. As a woman, she knew how uncomfortable it was not being able to wash up properly. Since they asked politely, she didn''t mind helping them. Standing up, she said, "Follow me." Not knowing where she was taking them, the woman hesitated for a moment before following her. Seeing this, the rest of the group also followed. Jiao Lizhi brought them to the Wen brothers. Standing in front of them, she asked, "Brother Wen Mo, can you help me build a bathtub four meters in width and length and one and a half meters deep?" When Wen Mo heard this, he nodded and said as he stood up, "Okay." He pushed his brother and said, "Brother, give me some metal." Wen Kai was woken up by his brother and saw a group of women watching him. Startled by their gazes, he woke up instantly. After hearing his brother''s explanation, he created a huge lump of metal before going back to sleep. Wen Mo glanced at the group of women and, with a wave of his hand, started to shape the metal lump into a bathtub. Five minutes later, a huge bathtub similar to the one in a bathhouse appeared. Taking their privacy into account, he placed the bathtub against the wall and used the rest of the metal lump to create a metal partition, leaving only a small opening as a door. "Sister-in-law, it''s done. You only need to use clothes or fabric to cover the opening," he said with a smile. Jiao Lizhi was satisfied with his consideration and decided to reward him. She took out a bar of chocolate from her pocket and handed it to him while saying, "Thank you." Wen Mo accepted the chocolate and left happily. Chapter 98 - 98: Male Pheromone As for the women, they swallowed hard when they saw the chocolate. But they knew that the chocolate was the payment for the bathtub, so no one said a word. Jiao Lizhi noticed their behavior and smiled. This group of women was smarter than the rest. After they went behind the metal partition, she raised her hand and created several balls of water. She wanted to test her limit, so she was generous with the water. She even heated up the water so they could soak in warm water. When the women saw how she created one water ball after another and filled up the big bathtub, they were shocked. They thought she was vicious and had a bad personality. Unexpectedly, she was so generous. It seemed that the words she had spoken before carried another meaning. When they thought about it, her words did make sense, even if they sounded harsh. Even when she saw that woman glaring at her with hatred, she didn''t kill her. Instead, she gave her a reason to live and get stronger. When they reached this conclusion, one of the women suddenly said, "Sister, thank you so much." Jiao Lizhi thought she was thanking her for the water, so she replied casually, "No problem. Do you have any soap or shampoo? You should wash away that dirt, black blood, and rotten flesh with soap." Hearing this, they shook their heads. They had only thought of taking food, water, and medicine. So, no one had soap with them, let alone shampoo. Seeing this, Jiao Lizhi said, "I have some with me. Wait here." After she left, the women went to check the water and realized that the temperature was hot enough for them to soak. Not long after, Jiao Lizhi returned with several basins, shampoo, soap bars, and towels. She handed them to the women and said, "The basins are borrowed from the soldiers, so you must return them later. As for the towels, you can take them or return them to me." "Thank you, sister." Jiao Lizhi nodded and said, "Go wash up. I will guard outside." After Jiao Lizhi came out, she noticed several men lurking around the area and sneered. In the apocalypse, human nature was exposed one after another. There were still soldiers around, and these people already had crooked thoughts. She could imagine how they would behave without the soldiers. With her standing guard outside, the women were finally able to take a shower without worries. No one soaked in the bathtub, thinking it would be a waste to use so much water just to soak. Less than an hour later, they came out feeling fresh. They had also changed out of their dirty clothes and no longer looked like beggars. After they came out, Xiao Qi came over and asked, "Sister-in-law, can we also take a shower?" Jiao Lizhi thought the water would be wasted if not used, so she nodded and said, "Sure." As soon as she agreed, Xiao Qi went to inform his brothers. Not long after, a group of soldiers came over, including Jin Xuyan and Pei Yijun''s team. When he saw her, Jin Xuyan walked over and said, "Ah Zhi, I don''t have a towel. Can I borrow yours?" After living in the apocalypse for five years, Jiao Lizhi no longer felt shy about sharing towels with men. So, she nodded and went to fetch a clean towel, a black T-shirt, and men''s black baggy pants. When Jin Xuyan saw the clothes and pants, he raised his eyebrows and asked with a hint of sourness, "Ah Zhi, whose clothes are these?" "No one''s. Didn''t we get these from the factory?" Jiao Lizhi asked him back with confusion. Hearing this, Jin Xuyan nodded and said with a smile, "Oh, I forget." After he said this, he went to take a shower in a good mood, leaving Jiao Lizhi staring at his back speechlessly. Since no one dared to peek at the soldiers, she returned to the bonfire and continued circulating her energy. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. While others thought that improving their ability level was only by absorbing crystal cores or continuously draining energy, there was another way to break through¡ªcirculating the energy in their bodies over and over again. As the energy moved through her veins and meridian points, it could clear blockages and allow energy to flow smoothly. While the improvement toward her level was minuscule compared to absorbing the crystal cores, it helped her increase her speed in using her energy during battle. This way, it takes less time for her to perform her skills and her chances of winning increase. She was so absorbed in her meditation that she didn''t notice Jin Xuyan had already come back and was sitting beside her. He turned his head and stared at her with an infatuated gaze. If he had known that his Ah Zhi would accept him, he wouldn''t have wasted their time in his previous life by avoiding her. Fortunately, the Heavens had eyes and gave him another chance to be with her. After he had seen enough of his Ah Zhi, he finally sat cross-legged and began to regulate his ability-energy. While the two of them were busy meditating, the soldiers had finished taking showers and even washed their clothes. After finally changing into a clean set of clothes and underwear, they no longer looked like beggars. At this moment, they exuded a thick male pheromone. With their hair half-dried, water droplets rolled down their jaws and Adam''s apples. Wearing thin T-shirts, their toned muscles and defined abs could be seen faintly by everyone. Not far from them, a group of women stared at their bodies greedily. When the soldiers noticed their hungry gazes, they felt a chill run down their spines. Feeling that their chastity was at risk, they quickly grabbed their vests and put them on. Even after they were done showering, half of the water in the bathtub remained. This time, the rest of the women quickly took their turns. Only after they were done did the men go in. Chapter 99 - 99: Greedy And Selfish After everyone had finished showering, the red moon hung high in the sky. Wen Mo took down the metal partition and the bathtub. He spent an hour making a batch of blades from the materials. These daggers would be given to the Eagle Team. Since they had decided to retire from the military, he should at least contribute something one last time. With these blades, perhaps his comrades would have a higher chance of survival. As the night grew deeper, the soldiers took turns resting, while both Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi stayed up the whole night regulating their energy. When the first ray of sun illuminated the road, Jiao Lizhi finally opened her eyes. She stood up and stretched her body. Feeling refreshed, she took a deep breath before letting out a long sigh. Another good thing about regulating her energy was that she could drive away fatigue. She needed to adjust her body''s biological clock so she could stay alert even with just two hours of sleep. Otherwise, when the next rain came, it would be troublesome. Since the Eagle Team would arrive today, Jin Xuyan didn''t plan to take his team to clear up the factory. Instead, he went to find Zhang Yuan and said, "Today, let everyone rest. I will check the rest of the factory with Ah Zhi. When the Eagle Team arrives, just hand over those civilians to them." Zhang Yuan nodded and said, "Captain, should we give some supplies to the Eagle Team? After all, these people still need to eat until they reach the base." Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "We will be able to get more supplies in the future, so just give them extra in case the Eagle Team doesn''t have enough." Hearing his words, Zhang Yuan nodded and replied, "Understood." "Ah Zhi and I will leave in a while. For breakfast, you can decide with Old Qin and Yusheng. Just make sure to keep those people under control," Jin Xuyan added. "Yes, Captain." When he was done giving instructions, Jiao Lizhi had just come out of her car. Earlier, she had gone into her space to wash up and use the toilet. Seeing Jin Xuyan approaching, she asked, "What''s wrong?" Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Ah Zhi, today, it will be just you and me going to the factories," Jin Xuyan said with a smile. Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi nodded and replied, "No problem. Brother Yan, should we go now, or do you want to have breakfast first?" "We should eat first." "Okay." To avoid being seen, the two of them got into her car. As they sat in the back seat, Jiao Lizhi took out two cups of instant noodles, two loaves of bread, two cartons of banana milk, two eggs, and two sausages. Seeing this, Jin Xuyan helped her prepare the instant noodles and cracked the eggs. Afterward, Jiao Lizhi filled the cups with hot water. While they waited, she ate the bread and drank the milk. Jin Xuyan looked at her for a moment before asking, "Ah Zhi, how big is your space?" Jiao Lizhi knew he was suspicious of her space due to the sheer amount of supplies she could store. After swallowing her food, she replied, "It should be around half of a football field." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan raised his eyebrows. He had thought Feng Yun''s space was already defying common sense, but he never expected his Ah Zhi to be even more powerful. "What do you plan to do with those supplies inside your space?" he asked again. This time, Jiao Lizhi didn''t answer immediately. After a moment of silence, she said, "Brother Yan, you do know that this city will fall in three months, don''t you?" "I know." Jiao Lizhi nodded and continued, "In our previous life, after the city turned into a dead zone, the supplies left behind were wasted. Even when several bases sent people to retrieve them, they either returned empty-handed with heavy casualties or never returned at all." "Since there is no way for us to prevent these people from becoming zombies, I plan to collect as many supplies as I can. With the supplies on hand, we can decide what to do with them in the future." "If you want to build a base, I will donate everything to you. If you decide to become a mercenary team, we can sell the supplies to the government base at a lower price." "What if they don''t have the crystal cores to buy the supplies from you?" Jin Xuyan asked curiously. "If the base can''t afford them, we will set up a stall and sell the supplies directly to ordinary people or ability users at a lower price. Anyway, my space can prolong shelf life. We can sell them slowly," Jiao Lizhi replied. After thinking for a moment, Jin Xuyan asked again, "Is this why you didn''t leave any supplies behind?" Jiao Lizhi shrugged and replied casually, "Well, these supplies would rot, and most of these people wouldn''t even dare to retrieve them. No one knows if anyone will actually take them if we leave them behind." "Brother Yan, you might think I''m greedy and selfish, but honestly, all I want from this factory district are the seeds. As for the rest, I don''t really need them. If you want me to give it all to the soldiers, I have no objections." Hearing her words, Jin Xuyan chuckled. He reached out to pat her head gently and said, "I know you are not greedy or selfish. Besides, even if you did want to take everything, I wouldn''t mind. As long as you can live well, safe and sound." ''If you were truly greedy and selfish, you wouldn''t have ended up giving everything to that woman and losing your life in the end,'' he thought inwardly. Unaware of his thoughts, Jiao Lizhi reminded him, "Brother Yan, the noodles are ready. Let''s eat quickly and get to work." Jin Xuyan snapped back to reality and nodded. Chapter 100 - 100: Similar Absorption Skill? After they finished their meal, Jin Xuyan went to find Qin Luzi and said, "Old Qin, today, make more filling food for everyone. We have a lot of flour and rice¡ªjust use them." Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Knowing that the civilians had been hungry for days and better eat soft food first, Qin Luzi said, "I will prepare egg porridge and dumplings for them." "Don''t we have sausages too? Just fry some and add them to the dish," Jin Xuyan added. Hearing this, Qin Luzi raised his eyebrows and asked, "Captain, why are you so generous today?" "When the Eagle Team arrives, those people will have to leave with them. If they don''t even have the energy to walk, how can they fight if they encounter zombies?" "Just feed them until they are full and give them enough supplies to last a week before they depart. We can find more later," Jin Xuyan replied. "Understood," Qin Luzi nodded. After giving instructions, Jin Xuyan carried his backpack and climbed into Jiao Lizhi''s car. The two of them drove off toward the seed factory. As they drove, they passed a pet products factory. Thinking about the limited water resources in the future, Jiao Lizhi said, "Brother Yan, let''s stop at the pet products factory first." "Do you need something from there?" Jin Xuyan asked while changing direction. "I plan to get cat litter. Without water, hygiene will become a problem in the future. Using cat litter will help maintain cleanliness and control messes." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan nodded and replied, "Then, we should get more." After ten minutes of driving, they arrived at the factory entrance. Like the previous factory, this one was also filled with zombies. Jiao Lizhi stored her car in her space after they got out and asked, "Brother Yan, should we clear the zombies first, or just sneak in?" "Let''s clear them out. If they are left alone, they will be troublesome once they evolve," Jin Xuyan said without hesitation. Thinking about Lin''an City''s S-class danger ranking in her previous life, Jiao Lizhi nodded. He was right¡ªit was better to eliminate as many threats as possible. Who knows? Maybe Lin''an City wouldn''t become an S-class zombie city in this life. After they reached an agreement, Jin Xuyan reached out and circled his arm around Jiao Lizhi''s slim waist. Before she could react, he had already bent his knees and carried her to the wall. Unlike the metal wall created by the Wen brothers, the factory wall was only 15 centimeters wide. It was hard just to keep balance while standing on the wall. Fortunately, the two of them were seasoned fighters in their previous life. Even if their bodies were not as strong as in their previous life at this moment, it wasn''t a problem to keep their balance and stand steadily on top of the wall. Jin Xuyan didn''t let her go and said, "Ah Zhi, your energy is limited. Let me do the killing, and you can focus on picking up the crystal cores." When Jiao Lizhi heard this, she raised her eyebrows. For ability-users, being protected by others was not always a good thing. Less battle experience meant duller senses and reflexes during battle. What''s more, without battle, how could she drain her energy and get a chance to break through? Although her mind was full of these thoughts, she still smiled sweetly at him and agreed readily, "Okay!" Both of them had their own secrets. Since she had already told him about her space, it was only fair for him to show one of his cards to her. Jin Xuyan noticed the calculating light in her eyes, but he didn''t care. He didn''t plan to hide anything about himself from her. If she found out, then so be it. As he raised his hands, two black fireballs appeared in front of them. Due to the close distance, Jiao Lizhi could feel the terrifying heat coming from the fireballs. As she took a closer look, she noticed that the black flames were actually blue flames. But there was a dark miasma covering the blue flame, which made it look like a black flame. Narrowing her eyes, she even noticed a black core at the center of the fireball. But before she could take a closer look, Jin Xuyan had already thrown the black fireballs toward the zombies. Wush~ Boom! Boom! The moment the fireballs hit the zombies, they exploded, and black flames ignited instantly. Standing on the wall, Jiao Lizhi felt as if her skin were burning and she was being roasted alive. Noticing the blisters starting to form on her skin, she quickly created a water shield. The water shield was like a membrane, enveloping her body. With the water shield covering her, she could control the temperature around her, saving herself from being roasted. At this moment, Jin Xuyan was lost in the satisfying feeling of absorbing energy and didn''t notice the girl beside him staring at him thoughtfully. As his black flames burned the zombies, a flow of cold energy entered his body and rushed into his core before a flow of warm energy was expelled from it. The warm energy washed through his meridians and entered the area under his navel. As more energy was absorbed into his body, his originally dark pupils slowly turned bright red. Standing beside him, Jiao Lizhi could feel waves of energy seeping into his body. She didn''t know what kind of energy it was, but the amount of energy was so huge that she could faintly see mist coming out from his head. ''Does he also have an absorption skill similar to mine?'' she thought doubtfully. She looked at the crowded zombies, now reduced by half, and thought for a moment. Since he seemed to be getting stronger the more he burned the zombies, she should help him. With this thought, she bent her knees and jumped to the guard post several meters away. As soon as she landed on the roof, she waved her hands, and two water blades flew toward the road on her left. BOOM! Chapter 101 - 101: Survivor The moment the water blades hit the ground, a loud sound echoed from the collision. With another wave of Jiao Lizhi''s hands, the water blades flew out from the cracked ground and moved in the opposite direction. BOOM! Another loud sound was heard. The sound echoed in the silent morning, attracting more zombies toward them. ROAR!!! When she heard the roars of zombies coming, the corner of her lips lifted. She jumped back onto the wall and waited for another wave of zombies. Jin Xuyan let out a chuckle and asked, "Ah Zhi, don''t you worry about me running out of energy?" Hearing his words, Jiao Lizhi asked with a smile, "Brother Yan, don''t tell me you can''t last even for half an hour?" When Jin Xuyan heard her ambiguous words, his eyes glinted dangerously as he said, "Ah Zhi, never say that a man can''t do it, let alone say that he can''t last even for half an hour." S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Noticing his annoyance, Jiao Lizhi grinned and replied casually, "Well, I believe Brother Yan can last longer than that. That''s why I dared to pull more zombies." This time, Jin Xuyan didn''t bother replying to her. One day, he would prove to her whether he could last longer or not. When she was pinned down by him, he would make her beg for mercy. With his thoughts venturing into the yellow area, his body temperature increased. Suddenly, the black flames burning the zombies became wilder. Before the new wave of zombies even arrived, the rest of the zombies near the wall had already been reduced to black ashes. Feeling the surge of energy swirling in his body, Jin Xuyan let out a suppressed groan from his throat as a thin layer of sweat covered his forehead. "Mhmmh." The moment Jiao Lizhi heard this, she turned her head and saw his hair was wet and his Adam''s apple bobbed. His face was flushed, and he seemed to be in pain yet also in pleasure. Worried that he had overexerted his energy, she quickly summoned several water blades to help him kill the zombies. Thirty minutes later, the wave of zombies finally stopped. Clenching her fists, she took back the energy from her water blades and let out a sigh of relief. At this moment, Jin Xuyan''s face turned pale, and his body swayed. Before he fell, she reached out to hold his waist. Without wasting time, she carried him down from the wall and let him sit on the ground. She took out three bottles of pond water from her space, opened the lid, and brought one to him while saying, "Brother Yan, drink some water first." Jin Xuyan was feeling the pain from the energy rampaging in his body, but he still drank the water just to assure her that he was fine. Unexpectedly, after he drank the water, he felt the energy slowly calming down. With doubts in his mind, he finished the entire bottle. Before he could ask anything, Jiao Lizhi handed him another bottle before she drank one herself. Seeing this, he obediently finished the water and returned the empty bottle to her. Only after she recovered some of her energy did Jiao Lizhi have time to ask, "Brother Yan, what''s wrong with you?" Leaning against the wall, Jin Xuyan smiled and said, "I''m fine. I just overused my energy. I need to rest for a while." Jiao Lizhi held his wrist and sent a sliver of her energy into his body. After a moment, she was relieved to find that he had only used too much energy and that there was nothing wrong with his body. "Then, let''s wait until you recover before we go inside," she said as she sat beside him. "Okay." Jin Xuyan closed his eyes and regulated his energy. The cold energy he absorbed from the zombies was blocking his meridians. If he didn''t purify the energy, his veins and meridians would be torn apart. He had been too careless. Because he wanted to break through as soon as possible, he absorbed more than his body could handle. Fortunately, Ah Zhi''s water-type ability was special as it could suppress the cold energy. Otherwise, he might have crippled himself due to his haste. While he was busy purifying the energy, Jiao Lizhi was lost in thought. In her previous life, she had heard rumors about Jin Xuyan going berserk during one of his missions and almost killed all of his men together with the zombies. Since she had seen that he was fine when they met again, she dismissed the news as mere gossip. But looking at his condition now, that news might have been true. His fire-type ability was powerful, but that power came at what price? An hour later, Jin Xuyan finally opened his eyes and saw Jiao Lizhi eating a loaf of bread. When he noticed her big appetite, he raised his eyebrows. Even though ability-users are prone to feeling hunger faster than ordinary people due to their energy consumption, they wouldn''t feel hungry as quickly as she did. Noticing that he had finally finished resting, Jiao Lizhi shoved the rest of the bread into her mouth and drank half a bottle of pond water before asking, "Brother Yan, how are you feeling? Are you hungry?" "I''m fine. We can go inside now," Jin Xuyan replied with a smile. "Okay." This time, the two of them pulled out their weapons and walked into the warehouse area. Since most of the zombies had already been killed by them, only a few wandered along the road, easily dealt with. When they reached the first warehouse, Jin Xuyan noticed that the lock had been forcefully opened. Seeing this, he pushed on the steel door and heard murmuring from inside. "It seems there are people inside," Jiao Lizhi said. Jin Xuyan nodded and knocked on the door. This time, he said, "Open the door. We are humans, not zombies." Not long after, they finally heard someone reply, "Go away! We won''t open the door!" Chapter 102 - 102: A Bunch Of Cowards Jin Xuyan thought for a moment before saying, "There will be a group of soldiers coming in the afternoon. If you want to leave with them, go to the clothing factory. We have cleared the zombies outside, so you can leave now." After he finished speaking, he turned to Jiao Lizhi and said, "Ah Zhi, let''s check the other warehouses first." Since there were people inside, she also didn''t want to break in forcefully. So, Jiao Lizhi nodded and walked to the next warehouse with him. Inside the warehouse, a woman looked at the middle-aged man who walked over from the door and asked, "Manager Wang, how is it? Who is he?" Manager Wang shook his head and replied, "I don''t know. But he said that a group of soldiers will come this afternoon and that we must go to the clothing factory if we want to leave with them." "But there are a lot of monsters outside. How can we leave?" a young man asked with a deep frown. "He said that the monsters outside have been killed. If we want to leave, we must leave now," the middle-aged man said as he looked at the people in front of him. The group of people heard this and looked at each other. Their eyes were filled with fear and uncertainty. After they were trapped in the factory building and dormitories, they had run out of water. At that time, there were at least a thousand survivors. Although they had food, without water, they wouldn''t be able to survive for long. So, when it finally rained, they rushed out to get water to drink. Some knew they should boil the water first and warned the others, but people were desperate, and no one cared. Who knew that not long after, those who drank the rainwater or came into contact with it started developing high fevers? Before the night even passed, 80% of them had turned into monsters and started attacking others. Because of this, only 23 people managed to escape and hide in this warehouse. This warehouse was used to store cat litter, and there was no food at all. It had been days, and their bodies could no longer survive without food. Everyone understood that they had to go out to find food if they wanted to survive. But the terror of barely escaping the monsters was still fresh in their minds. So, no one dared to leave and no one dared to take the risk. After a long silence, a young man suddenly stood up and said, "Uncle Wang, let me go out first. If I''m safe, you all can follow." When they heard this, they were surprised. Manager Wang looked at him for a moment before saying, "Xiao Lin, do you understand what you are saying? If you go out, you might die." "Uncle Wang, if we stay here, we will definitely die of starvation. But if we go out, we might still have a chance to survive. I''m young, and I run faster. If there are monsters outside, I can lure them away, then you all can run." The moment they heard this, their eyes flashed with joy. Although they felt sorry for him and thankful for his kindness and generosity, they didn''t want to die. Since someone was willing to sacrifice his life to open the way for them to survive, they wouldn''t refuse. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. After pretending to hesitate for a while, Manager Wang finally let out a long sigh and said, "Xiao Lin, thank you, we are indebted to you." When he heard this, Lin Fei knew they had agreed to his suggestion. He nodded and said, "Uncle Wang, I''m the youngest so it''s reasonable for me to go. But, can you please give me the machete?" Hearing this, Manager Wang frowned. There was only one weapon¡ªthe machete in his hand. If he handed it over, would they still listen to him later? How could he control them without weapons? Seeing his hesitation, Lin Fei said, "Uncle Wang, you don''t expect me to go out and face those monsters without a weapon, do you?" The moment he said this, the others chimed in. "Manager Wang, Xiao Lin is sacrificing his life for us. Just give him the weapon." "That''s right. Even if he meets the monsters, if he has a weapon, he still has a chance to survive. But without a weapon, he would definitely die." "Manager Wang, you don''t need the weapon. Why are you hesitating? Are you changing your mind now?" "If you won''t give Xiao Lin the weapon, how about you go outside to check the situation instead?" As the words became more and more absurd, Manager Wang could only say, "How can that be? Of course, I hope Xiao Lin will survive. I''m just worried about him not being able to use the weapon and hurting himself." After saying this, he gritted his teeth and handed the machete to Lin Fei. Although he was unwilling, he had no other choice with so many people pressuring him. Lin Fei watched him with a smile. Reaching out, he waited patiently for the machete to be handed over. This old fox always relied on this weapon to intimidate others. Now that he has taken away his weapon, let''s see how he acts like a boss again. The moment the machete was in his hand, he looked at everyone and said with reddened eyes, "Uncles, aunties, sister-in-law, brothers, thank you for your care all these years. I don''t know if we will meet again. I only hope that all of you survive." When they heard his words, everyone was moved. The women shed tears, while the men looked at him with a mix of gratitude and helplessness. After saying his farewell, Lin Fei took a deep breath and walked toward the door as if heading toward certain death. He only opened a small crack and slipped out. Once outside, he quickly closed the door. The next moment, he heard the sound of locks and chains. He sneered and thought, ''They really are a bunch of cowards.'' Chapter 103 - 103: New Discoveries Since they were willing to wait for death, he didn''t bother to save them. With a machete in hand, Lin Fei walked toward the factory entrance. At this moment, his face was full of smiles, and his eyes were filled with hope. He dared to come out because he had heard the sound of an explosion just now. If what he heard was a battle, then that person''s words were at least 60% true. With this possibility, he was willing to bet his life for a chance at survival. But he needed a weapon to protect himself. So, in order to get it, he had staged that ''sacrifice'' act. Now, everything was as he had predicted. The zombies had been cleared out, and he would be able to leave with the soldiers in the afternoon. All he needed to do was get to the neighboring clothing factory! After Lin Fei left, the group of people inside the warehouse waited anxiously. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. When they didn''t hear any sound coming from outside, one of them said, "Manager Wang, it seems that there are indeed no more monsters outside. How about we go out and check the situation?" Hearing his suggestion, Manager Wang frowned and said, "We should wait a little bit longer. If, in an hour, there is no sound, we will leave this place and go to the neighboring factory." When they heard his words, everyone nodded. They were hoping that they could leave this place, so everyone was listening to the sound outside, and no one was talking. At the same time, Jiao Lizhi and Jin Xuyan had already reached the other warehouses. Unlike the previous warehouse, which stored cat litter, this area had several warehouses that stored pet food and pet products such as brushes, towels, soaps, and other daily necessities. Since consuming pet food could cause liver and kidney damage, Jiao Lizhi didn''t bother to collect them. She only focused on taking items that could be used by humans. While she was collecting things into her space, Jin Xuyan went to check the emergency generator and found lots of solar panels installed on the warehouse''s rooftop. Seeing the number of solar panels, the electricity they generated should be enough to supply a small hotel. Feeling excited by this discovery, he returned to the warehouse and said, "Ah Zhi, come with me for a moment." Hearing his voice, Jiao Lizhi walked out of the warehouse and asked, "Brother Yan, what''s wrong?" "Ah Zhi, I found lots of solar panels and several generators. We can use them to get electricity," Jin Xuyan said as he held her hand and led her to the nearby warehouse. He pointed at the rooftop and said, "It''s installed there." Jiao Lizhi nodded and looked at the surroundings, thinking about how to climb to the rooftop. Before she could find a way, her waist was hugged by Jin Xuyan, and in a moment, she saw the ground getting farther away. She looked at him in surprise. When they landed on the rooftop, she asked, "Brother Yan, what level are you at? How can you carry me and still be able to jump so high?" Jin Xuyan looked at her and after he hesitated for a moment, said, "I''m at level two." When she heard this, Jiao Lizhi''s eyes widened in shock. It had only been one week since the apocalypse. No matter how she thought about it, it was impossible for him to reach level two in just one week. She always thought that she was already defying nature''s course by reaching level one in just one week. Unexpectedly, there was someone who was much more terrifying than her. Seeing her shock, Jin Xuyan felt uneasy. He didn''t dare to meet her gaze and thought, ''Did I scare her? Ah, I should have said I''m at level one. Jin Xuyan, you are so stupid! What if Azhi becomes wary of me because of this? What Should I do?'' When Jiao Lizhi saw his avoidance, she thought that as a reborner like herself, he might have brought back his ability. When she reached this conclusion, she asked, "Brother Yan, when did you return?" Hearing her question, Jin Xuyan was stunned for a moment before he understood her meaning and said, "Three years before the apocalypse." "Did you bring your ability with you when you came back?" she asked again. This time, Jin Xuyan nodded and replied without hesitation, "I did." After hearing his answer, Jiao Lizhi nodded. Everything made sense now. If he had brought back his fire-type ability when he was reborn, it was possible for him to reach level two through daily training in three years. "How about you?" Jin Xuyan asked. "I came back on the day of the apocalypse," Jiao Lizhi replied. Hearing this, Jin Xuyan muttered under his breath, "No wonder." Jiao Lizhi looked at him and asked, "Brother Yan, what did you say?" Reaching out, Jin Xuyan patted her head and said with a smile, "Fortunately, you came back at the right time, and I was still able to find you." Before she could ask more questions, he said, "Ah Zhi, should I disassemble the solar panels first before you store them?" Looking at the solar panels, Jiao Lizhi shook her head and said, "No need. I can just store them like this. When you need them, I can just take them out, and you don''t have to assemble them again." "Okay." After their brief conversation, Jiao Lizhi walked toward the solar panels, and with a wave of her hand, she stored the solar panels in her space. After she broke through to level one, she could collect things into her space from a distance of five meters. When they were done taking away the solar panels, generators, and pet products, Jiao Lizhi and Jin Xuyan returned to the first warehouse. Seeing the door was still locked, they looked at each other with doubts. This time, Jin Xuyan didn''t knock and directly used his black flame to melt the chain and lock from the outside. CLANG! Chapter 104 - 104: Trapped The moment the chain and padlock fell to the ground with a loud sound, everyone inside the warehouse was startled. Seeing the door being pushed open, they stood up instantly. Manager Wang held an iron rod, pointed it at the newcomers, and shouted, "Stop right there!" When they finally saw the newcomers, they were stunned by how good-looking the couple was. After a while, a young man asked, "Who are you?" Seeing how thin and haggard they were, Jin Xuyan asked, "Didn''t I tell you that the zombies had been cleared outside? Why are you still here?" "How can we be sure that you are not lying to us?" Manager Wang asked. Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi chuckled and asked him back, "What benefits do we get from lying to you?" She looked at him from head to toe and added, "Judging from your pale face, cracked lips, and hollow cheeks, you must not have eaten and drank for at least three days." When they heard her words, they were taken aback. "How did you know?" a middle-aged woman asked. "Aunty, everyone with eyes can see it. If you want to survive, you should leave this place," Jiao Lizhi replied casually. When everyone heard her words, their hearts swayed, and they looked at Manager Wang. From the open door, they could see that there were no longer monsters wandering outside. Noticing their expressions, Manager Wang said, "Don''t be fooled by them. They appeared out of nowhere. Who knows if they are the ones who released those monsters?" As soon as he finished his words, Jiao Lizhi burst out laughing and said, "Uncle, you might not know, but those monsters are called zombies." "And this situation didn''t just happen here. Earth is no longer the same as before. I don''t have the capability to cause a global attack." This time, everyone finally showed panic and fear. "Girl, are you telling the truth?" a middle-aged man asked. Jiao Lizhi shrugged and said, "If you don''t believe my words, just go out and see for yourself." "Oh, one more thing. Based on the current situation, if you don''t go with the soldiers and join a temporary survivor camp, you might not be able to survive the next two weeks." "Girl, why do you say so?" the middle-aged man asked again. Jiao Lizhi smiled sweetly, but her words were chilling. "Because Lin''an University has turned into a zombie den." "This factory district is less than 50 kilometers away from Lin''an University. What do you think will happen if the zombies decide to find food?" she asked. As soon as she finished her words, the middle-aged man''s body shook. After a moment of silence, he quickly grabbed his bag and said, "Manager Wang, if you want to stay, you can stay. But I don''t want to die." After he finished his words, he rushed toward the door with a pale face. Seeing him running away, one after another, the people picked up their belongings and ran toward the door. Manager Wang was startled by their sudden action. Fearing that he would end up dying if he stayed here alone, he gritted his teeth and ran toward the door, trying to catch up with the group. After they left, Jin Xuyan asked, "Ah Zhi, why didn''t you tell them to find Zhang Yuan and the rest? Even if you say so much to them, there is no guarantee that they will leave." Jiao Lizhi smiled and explained, "Brother Yan, if we tell them to find your team, they will demand a lot of things and take your team''s kindness for granted." "With them going by themselves, even if they end up following your team, they wouldn''t dare to demand anything. After all, it''s them who latched onto the team." "I heard you say that you want to retire after Pei Yijun goes with another team. Since that''s the case, we shouldn''t put ourselves in a difficult situation." Jin Xuyan was surprised when he heard her words. He looked at her and asked, "Ah Zhi, when did you find out?" "When you talked to Pei Yijun. Ability users'' five senses are better than ordinary people. I can hear your voice clearly," Jiao Lizhi reminded him. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Hearing this, Jin Xuyan laughed and said nothing. After the brief conversation, the two of them quickly go back to work. With him guarding the door, Jiao Lizhi quickly collected all the cat litter in the warehouse. When they were done, the two of them went to clear some zombies to get the crystal cores. At the same time, the Eagle Team was blocked by a group of zombies several kilometers away from their location. Trapped inside the car, one of the soldiers said, "Captain, what should we do now? If we open the door, we will die for sure." Hearing this, Wei Ying narrowed his eyes. They could run over the zombies if the road wasn''t blocked by cars. Unfortunately, the road was damaged and the abandoned cars blocked the road. They needed to remove the cars blocking the road first before they could continue their journey. But before they could even get out of the car, a group of zombies suddenly swarmed toward them. "Roar!!" Bang! Bang! Bang! The sound of zombies'' roars coming from outside was accompanied by loud banging echoing inside the cars. At this moment, the only one who had a chance to make a breakthrough against this group of zombies was Wei Ying, who obtained abilities after catching a high fever. While he was still thinking about how to get out without endangering himself and his comrades, a fireball suddenly flew toward them at high speed. BOOM! The moment the fireball hit the zombies, it exploded instantly. Due to the explosion, the car shook, and the soldiers'' ears were ringing. Before they could regain their senses, a young man ran over from the shop across the road. Holding an electric baton, he threw a ball of water at the zombies and struck them with the baton. Ziiippp!! Chapter 105 - 105: Shocking News The moment the electric baton touched the water, the zombies were zapped by the electricity and stood unmoving with their mouths wide open. "Mo''er, your turn!" the young man shouted as he ducked to the side. BOOM! In a split second, another fireball flew from behind him and hit the zombies, blasting their heads. Black blood and rotten flesh splashed on the ground as the headless zombies fell with a thud. Inside the car, Wei Ying was surprised to see them and said, "Go out and help them!" Hearing his order, the soldiers quickly opened the doors and got out of the car. With the fireball blasting the zombies surrounding their cars, they finally found an opening. As soon as they came out, the soldiers raised their guns and started shooting at the zombies. BANG! BANG! BANG! The soldiers cleared the zombies surrounding the cars so their comrades could get out. With more soldiers joining the fight, Rong Mo''er and Gu Shaoze were finally able to catch their breaths. But due to the sound of gunshot, more zombies came toward their direction. Seeing this, Wei Ying said, "Divide the group into two. One group cleared the road as soon as possible. The rest continue clearing the zombies." "Yes, Captain!" As soon as they received their orders, the soldiers quickly went into their formation. After blasting the zombies'' heads using five fireballs, Rong Mo''er felt her energy depleted and said, "I will go help clear the road." Hearing this, Gu Shaoze nodded and said, "I will come with you." As ability-users, their strength and stamina were above the trained soldiers. The two of them put their hands on the side of a bus and pushed it together. Crritttt! When the soldiers saw the two of them were able to move the heavy bus, they were shocked. They planned to move the smaller cars and ignore the bus. Since it was too heavy, it would take longer time and more energy to move it from the road. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Unexpectedly, these two youngsters were able to move it with bare hands! While they were busy clearing the road, Wei Ying and the rest of the soldiers were being pressured by the zombies. Bang! Bang! Bang! Before, they were able to kill the zombies with one headshot, but now, it was hard to aim at the head as the zombies were more agile and faster than before. To take down a zombie, they needed at least three to five bullets, which drained their ammunition faster than before. As the soldiers changed their drum magazines, one of them shouted, "Captain, we will run out of ammo at this rate." Wei Ying looked at the number of zombies rushing from every direction, turned his head, and asked, "Are the roads clear now?" Behind them, another group of soldiers, with the help of Rong Mo''er and Gu Shaoze, finally managed to move the cars and big boulders blocking the road. The soldiers quickly joined the team to kill the zombies, while some of them went to drive the cars. "Captain, it''s done!" one of the soldiers said as he drove the car in their direction. Seeing this, Wei Ying said, "Get into the car!" The soldiers moved backward while continuing to kill the zombies. When most of them had already entered the car, Wei Ying said, "Civilians, get in the car!" Gu Shaoze heard this and quickly pulled Rong Mo''er as he said, "Let''s go!" As soon as they got into the car, the soldiers closed the door and drove away. Seeing that their captain was still covering the rear, one of the soldiers shouted, "Captain!" Wei Ying observed the situation and said, "Go, I will catch up soon!" The rest of the soldiers could only grit their teeth, close the door, and drive away. A few minutes later, Wei Ying saw that the cars were already in the distance. He pulled out the grenades from his pocket, pulled the pins, threw them at the zombies'' crowd, turned around, and ran in the car''s direction. The moment his feet stepped on the ground, it cracked, and in a blink of an eye, he was already ten meters away from his previous location. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! A few seconds passed, and a series of explosions echoed in the area. Due to the loud sound, the zombies were attracted to the explosion site. Inside the car, the soldiers opened the window to check the situation. When they saw that their captain was nowhere to be seen, their eyes turned red, thinking he had sacrificed himself to save them. But before their tears could fall, they saw a blurred image of someone behind the car. When Gu Shaoze saw the person, he said, "That''s the captain." As soon as they heard this, one of the cars stopped, and the soldier opened the door. Not long after, they saw their captain running after them and shouted, "Captain!" Wei Ying quickly climbed into the car and closed the door while saying, "Let''s go!" The soldier driving the car stepped on the pedal while saying, "Captain, you are alive!" Noticing his soldiers'' reddened eyes, Wei Ying chuckled and replied, "I won''t die that easily." After he caught his breath, he turned to look at the young couple and said, "Comrades, thank you for helping us. We are the Eagle team. I''m Wei Ying, the captain. May I know your names?" "Hello, Captain Wei. I''m Gu Shaoze, and she is Rong Mo''er. Both of us are students of Lin''an University." When he heard this, Wei Ying was taken aback and said, "I got information that Lin''an University has turned into a zombie den. How did the two of you escape?" Rong Mo''er was surprised by this news and said with disbelief, "Shaoze and I left the university after the rain stopped. We did hear roars of zombies not far from the university, but we didn''t see many zombies. How can it turn into a zombie den suddenly?" Chapter 106 - 106: Speed-type Ability-user Wei Ying shook his head and replied, "We don''t have detailed information about that for now. If you don''t have any destination, you can follow us back to the temporary survivor camp." Hearing this, Rong Mo''er glanced at Gu Shaoze and saw him nod. Since they didn''t know the current situation, it was better to follow these soldiers and gather more information first. When they had a better understanding, they could plan their route to find their families. "Thank you, Captain Wei," Rong Mo''er said. After a moment of silence, Wei Ying said, "I saw that the two of you could summon a fireball and a water ball before. What is that?" Gu Shaoze observed his expression for a moment before he said, "Captain Wei, you also awakened your superpower. If I''m not wrong, you should have a speed-type power." Hearing this, Wei Ying nodded and said, "I did become faster and stronger than before after I recovered from a high fever." "Captain Wei, from what we know, that superpower is called an ability. Those who awaken their abilities are called ability-users. Both Mo''er and I are ability-users. I have a water-type ability, while Mo''er has a fire-type ability," Gu Shaoze explained. When the soldiers heard this, their eyes widened in surprise. One of them looked at their captain and said excitedly, "Captain, you are also an ability-user!" Wei Ying frowned and asked, "Did the two of you feel any changes in your body after you awakened your ability?" "Besides having our five senses improve, our stamina is much better than before," Rong Mo''er replied after thinking for a moment. Noticing Wei Ying''s frown, Gu Shaoze asked, "Captain Wei, are you having other symptoms?" Wei Ying hesitated for a moment before he nodded and said, "After I got my ability, I could crush a metal pole with my bare hand." As soon as he said this, both Gu Shaoze and Rong Mo''er looked at each other. His strength sounded so similar to Teacher Cao and Li Yang''s power-type ability. "Captain Wei, perhaps you also gained a power-type ability. We met two people who awakened power-type abilities, and they could blast a zombie''s head with a punch. Have you tested the limit of your strength?" Gu Shaoze asked. Wei Ying shook his head and said, "I haven''t tested it. I only tried my speed, and so far, my running speed is around 80 km/h." When they heard this, everyone was shocked. His speed was as fast as a car! "Captain Wei, I think you can try to kill a zombie with your bare hands and see if you really awakened a power-type ability. If you did, you might be the first dual ability-user," Rong Mo''er suggested. After hearing her words, Wei Ying nodded and said, "I will try it later." After fighting against the zombies several times, he understood that the zombies were getting stronger, and soon, they wouldn''t be able to kill them using their guns. They needed to find a new way to kill the zombies. If he could kill them with his bare hands, then he could increase his team''s chance of survival. While the Eagle Team was moving toward the factory district, Zhang Yuan was looking at a new group of survivors. Standing in front of them, he said, "Everyone needs to undergo an inspection to check if you have a wound or not. If you don''t want to be checked, you can wait for two hours before you can join the rest of the survivors." Hearing this, Manager Wang said, "Comrade, we were told by someone that the soldiers would come to pick us up. We don''t have any wounds, so why do we need to be checked or wait for two hours?" "These are the rules. If you don''t want to follow the rules, you can choose to leave," Zhang Yuan replied. When they heard his words, a middle-aged woman said, "Comrade, you are a soldier. It''s your duty to protect us. How can you chase us away?" "That''s right! We pay for your salary. You should serve us!" another woman added. Zhang Yuan frowned when he heard their words. It was as Qin Luzi had said before. As it turns out, these civilians were not as good as he had thought. They were unreasonable and selfish. Finally seeing the ugly truth, he hardened his heart and said, "Comrade, you didn''t pay for my salary. I use my life to earn my salary. I protect this country and its people, but it doesn''t mean that you can order me around." "Either follow the rules or leave. It''s your choice," he added coldly. Seeing that he couldn''t be threatened or persuaded, the group of survivors became angry and annoyed. Manager Wang looked at the group of people who were eating in the distance and felt his mouth water. He was hungry and no longer had the mind to play the victim. After considering the pros and cons, he said, "Comrade, I agree to be checked." When the group heard his words, they were surprised. It was his idea to show their firm attitude so they could receive more benefits. After they offended the soldiers, he changed his stance and agreed to the rules. Was he using them as stepping stones? As this thought flashed through their minds, their anger was no longer directed at Zhang Yuan and his team. Instead, it was directed at Manager Wang. Zhang Yuan didn''t care about their emotions or thoughts. When he heard that the old man agreed to be checked, he gestured to the soldiers to do the inspection. Manager Wang was taken to the temporary metal partition and asked to undress. With only his underwear left, his body was carefully checked by the soldiers. He felt embarrassed and humiliated, but for food and water, he would endure it. Ten minutes later, he came out, and one of the soldiers said, "Vice Captain, he''s good to go." Zhang Yuan nodded and said, "You can go in to get your food and water." sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 107 - 107: Metal-type Mutant Zombie ( 1 ) The moment he heard Zhang Yuan''s words, all the anger and humiliation Manager Wang had felt before disappeared. He quickly bowed to them and said, "Thank you, Comrade!" After he joined the other survivors, Zhang Yuan looked at the group in front of him and asked, "How about you all?" Everyone hesitated for a while, but finally agreed to abide by the rules. Since there were no female soldiers, the women could only wait for two hours, while the men all agreed to be checked. Seeing that the group of survivors had increased in number, Chu Zhimiao sighed and said, "I never expected these soldiers would share their supplies with those people. If this continues, their supplies may not last even a week." Hearing this, Han Jie said, "It''s their duty, so it''s normal for them to share their supplies." When Li Yang heard this, he shook his head and said, "Han Jie, now it''s not the same as before. We don''t even know if the higher-ups in the government are still human or if they have already turned into zombies." "Without commands from the higher-ups and without communication, who can control them? If they decide to never go back to report to the military, no one would be able to force them." "Those supplies were found by them, and by rights, they belong to them. Sharing their supplies with the survivors was out of kindness and maybe from habit due to their job. But if they didn''t want to share, who could blame them?" After he said these words, Han Jie went silent. Although he still thought that the soldiers should sacrifice themselves to protect the country and the people, he couldn''t refute Li Yang''s words. While the soldiers were busy managing the survivors and distributing the supplies, Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi were fighting against two level-two zombies in the seed factory. Boom! A fireball the size of a yoga balloon exploded the moment it collided with several water arrows. The water extinguished the fireball, and at the same time the water arrows turned into water vapor, rising in the air. Seeing that the fire-type zombie was suppressing Jiao Lizhi''s attacks, Jin Xuyan said, "Ah Zhi, let''s exchange opponents!" Crack!! BOOM! As soon as he said this, a thunderbolt fell from the sky. Feeling the energy fluctuation in the air, he dodged to the side a moment before he was struck by the thunderbolt. Seeing the deep cracks on the ground, Jin Xuyan''s eyes turned cold. Noticing that the zombie was preparing another attack, the two of them exchanged gazes and dashed in opposite directions. As the fire-type zombie opened its mouth, another fireball flew at them at high speed. Holding onto his longsword, Jin Xuyan swung it vertically. Wush! Boom! Boom! The fireball was cut in half by his sword, flying toward the sides and exploding upon contact with the wall. Due to the smaller size of the fireball, the wall was not destroyed, only leaving a hole the size of a watermelon. Jin Xuyan sent his energy into his sword, and a black flame instantly covered the blade. As he swung his sword, aiming at the zombie''s neck, it raised its hand and created a firewall to block his attack. Boom! The energy wave from the collision created a strong gust of wind, sending debris and dust flying. At the same time, Jiao Lizhi swung her hand, and several water blades flew toward the thunder-type zombie at high speed. The moment she sent her attack, she held her dagger and followed closely behind the water blades. Seeing the incoming water blades, the thunder-type zombie raised its hand and swung it down. Crack! Hearing the crackling of thunder, Jiao Lizhi waved her hands, and her water blades made a sharp turn, flying upward instantly. BOOM! The moment the water blades met the thunderbolts, they absorbed the electricity and spun faster. At the same time, Jiao Lizhi had already appeared in front of the zombie. With one hand controlling the water blades, she swung her dagger at the zombie''s neck. Before the dagger could chop off its head, the zombie leaned back and dodged the attack. Seeing this, Jiao Lizhi''s eyes flashed with surprise. Without giving it a chance to counterattack, she flicked her wrist and changed her dagger''s direction. As she swung her hand down, the zombie felt danger. Slash! As the zombie jumped back, her dagger cut its chest open. Black blood spurted out and stained the ground. "Roar!!!" The zombie let out an angry roar as it saw the wound on its body. Jiao Lizhi smiled and said, "It''s not over yet!" Crash! Crash! As soon as she finished her words, the water blades flew from behind the zombie and chopped off its arms at the forearm. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "ROARRR!!" This time, the zombie''s black eyes glowed with an eerie red light as it stared at Jiao Lizhi after it let out a loud roar. Bending its body, the zombie dashed toward her with its mouth wide open. Seeing this, Jiao Lizhi bent her knees and jumped, barely dodging the zombie''s attack. Before she could land on the ground, she saw a fireball flying toward her. "Ah Zhi, be careful!" Boom! Duagh! The moment she heard Jin Xuyan''s voice, the fireball had already hit her body. She flew several meters from the impact and collided with a building. As her body slid down the wall, she coughed out a mouthful of blood. "Cough! Cough!" Seeing this, Jin Xuyan''s pupils turned red, and the black flames covering his longsword ignited suddenly, as if doused with gasoline. "Roar!!" The fire-type zombie let out a roar while sending two fireballs aimed at his back. Jiao Lizhi raised her head and saw the attack. Her eyes flickered as she shouted, "Brother Yan!" She thought he would be wounded by the fireballs. Unexpectedly, before they could touch him, he swung his sword horizontally, and a crescent-shaped fire blade flew toward them. BOOM! Chapter 108 - 108: Metal-type Mutant Zombie ( 2 ) The moment the fire blade met the fireballs, the black flames absorbed them while continuing toward the fire-type zombie at high speed. The zombie saw the incoming attack and jumped to the side, dodging it. But before it could land on the ground, Jin Xuyan had already appeared behind it. With a swing of his longsword vertically, the zombie was split in half. Black blood and rotten matter splashed on his clothes, yet his red eyes were cold, and his face was expressionless. He turned his head and dashed toward the thunder-type zombie. "Roarrr!" The thunder-type zombie faced him and let out a roar, sensing the crisis approaching. Jiao Lizhi pushed herself up from the ground and threw several water arrows at the back of the thunder-type zombie, attempting for a sneak attack. Boom! Before her water arrows could hit the zombie, a fireball struck it. The next moment, the zombie was covered in black flames and thrashed on the ground. The temperature of the surrounding area rose sharply, forcing Jiao Lizhi to summon a water barrier as she backed away. Her water arrows had turned into water vapor due to the high temperature when she landed. Just after the zombie turned to ashes, a blurred shadow suddenly appeared behind her. Before her mind could react, her body had already conjured a water shield instinctively. Duagh! Crack! "Akh!" Her back was kicked, and she flew away as the water shield shattered due to the impact. This time, she didn''t hit the wall or fall to the ground, as a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and caught her. Jin Xuyan used his body as her cushion and fell to the ground with a loud thud. When he landed, he lowered his head and saw his Ah Zhi coughing blood. The anger and madness he had been suppressing exploded at the sight of her wounded body. "Ah Zhi, how are you?" he asked tremblingly. Jiao Lizhi felt as if her organs were shattered and coughed out another mouthful of blood. At this moment, she didn''t notice the strangeness of the man holding her. Her only focus was taking out a bottle of pond water and drinking it. As the warm energy entered her body, the pain lessened, and she took a deep breath. Seeing that her face had finally regained some color, Jin Xuyan''s eyes flashed with surprise. He glanced at the empty bottle thoughtfully. After confirming she was no longer in danger, he put her down and said, "Ah Zhi, be good and wait here. I will take care of the rest." Jiao Lizhi knew that with her current condition, she would only drag him down. So, she nodded and said hoarsely, "Brother Yan, be careful." Jin Xuyan nodded and turned around. When he saw the little boy standing fifteen meters away from them, he narrowed his eyes. If not for the boy''s all-black eyes and the bluish skin on his body, no one would associate him with a zombie. But compared to adult zombies, children who turned into zombies were even more dangerous. The zombie boy looked at him with its black eyes and grinned. As his lips parted, his cheek tore, revealing the sharp teeth inside. His face split open as the tear reached his ears. Seeing this, Jin Xuyan muttered, "A level-three zombie?" Logically, the chance of a boy appearing in the factory was almost zero. So, the appearance of this zombie boy was an anomaly. What''s more, based on how neat his clothes were, it didn''t seem as if he had mutated from being bitten by zombies or drenched by the rain. When he thought of this, his eyes flickered for a moment as a figure appeared in his mind. He tightened his grip on the longsword to control his emotions. After a moment, he calmed down, but the coldness in his eyes intensified. He bent his knees and dashed toward the zombie. As he swung his longsword, the zombie raised its hands. Clang! Seeing the metal covering the zombie''s arms, Jin Xuyan sent his energy into his longsword. The black flame intensified and slowly melted the metal arms. The zombie''s eyes glinted for a moment before it pushed its arms forward and sent a kick aimed at Jin Xuyan''s chest. Seeing the incoming attack, he raised his leg and blocked the kick. Duagh! If other ability-users had been kicked by the zombie, their bones would have been broken. But for someone at his level, this attack was painful but not enough to break his bones. After its kick was blocked, the zombie sent a series of punches aimed at Jin Xuyan. This time, he didn''t block the attack but leaped back. The moment he landed on the ground, he sheathed his longsword and raised his hands. This time, instead of fireballs, two fire dragons appeared from his palms and flew toward the zombie. Sensing the danger of the attack, the zombie dodged left and right. But with the fire dragons connected to Jin Xuyan''s palms, he could control their movements. No matter where the zombie escaped to, the fire dragons followed closely. After five minutes of running and chasing, an ice wall suddenly appeared in front of the zombie. Boom! Boom! sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. With its path blocked, the zombie couldn''t escape and was devoured by the fire dragons. "ROARR!" Unlike usual, it took less than a minute for Jin Xuyan''s black flame to turn the zombie into a pile of ashes. With a wave of his hand, the black fire flew toward the fire-type zombie''s corpse and burned it to ashes. After absorbing the black flame back into his body, he felt a throbbing pain in his mind. Feeling the energy went out of control again, he sat down and regulated his energy with a pale face. In the distance, Jiao Lizhi stood up after drinking three bottles of pond water. The ice wall consumes the last bit of her energy. Standing there, she looked at his back thoughtfully. Chapter 109 - 109: A New Setting Panel ( 1 ) The power Jin Xuyan had just displayed was no longer at a level-two ability-user''s level. Based on how at ease he had been while fighting against that level-three mutant zombie, his level was at least four, if not higher. Seeing that he was regulating his energy, Jiao Lizhi didn''t disturb him and went to collect the crystal cores. Both of them had already guessed that there was a level-three zombie nearby when they saw two level-two zombies partnering up to fight them. Without the control of a higher-level zombie, two zombies at the same level would have killed each other instead of teaming up. She had simply underestimated the enemy and was injured. This lesson snapped her back from her arrogance. Even if she was reborn and stronger than other ability-users, she was still weaker than the zombies. For an unknown reason, the zombies were evolving faster than in her previous life. She needed to be more careful, keep her head cool, and remain humble in the future. Jiao Lizhi checked the surroundings for a while. When she was sure that there were no other zombies around, she took out two bottles of pond water from her space and walked toward Jin Xuyan. She didn''t disturb him and stood beside him to guard him. Feeling hungry, she took out a loaf of raisin bread and a pack of cheddar cheese. While guarding Jin Xuyan, she sat in front of him and ate slowly. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Thirty minutes later, Jin Xuyan opened his eyes and saw Jiao Lizhi sitting in front of him while filling an empty water bottle. Seeing him finally open his eyes, Jiao Lizhi handed him two bottles of pond water and said, "Brother Yan, drink some water." When he heard this, Jin Xuyan found her behavior very cute. Maybe because she was a water-type ability user, she liked to offer water to others. Reaching out, he accepted the water and opened the cap. He finished the water in several gulps before asking, "Ah Zhi, are you okay?" Jiao Lizhi nodded and replied, "Brother Yan, I''m fine. It''s you who are full of injuries. Should we return first and come back tomorrow with your team?" After absorbing the cold energy, Jin Xuyan''s body had long recovered from the injuries. He shook his head and stood up while saying, "I''m fine, it''s just small injuries. We should go get the seeds first." Jiao Lizhi observed him for a moment and asked, "Brother Yan, are you really alright?" Jin Xuyan chuckled, reached out to pull her up, and said, "I''m really alright. Let''s get the seeds before dark." Since he seemed alright, Jiao Lizhi no longer asked about his condition and followed him. The two of them had been fighting for a long time and felt tired. So, they didn''t go to the dormitories to clear the zombies but went directly to the warehouse. Unlike other factories, besides the warehouse storing seeds, there were several fields where seedlings were cultivated. It was rare for soil to be free from the zombie virus after the apocalypse, so the chance of the seedlings being free from the virus was near zero. But Jiao Lizhi''s space had the ability to absorb the zombie virus. Although she didn''t know if the polluted seedlings could be ''purified'' by her space, she still wanted to give it a try. So, when they walked past the fields, she said, "Brother Yan, let''s go check the seedlings." Jin Xuyan didn''t know that her space could be used to plant and raise animals. He thought that she wanted to preserve some plant seedlings. So, he readily agreed, "Okay." Using his black flame, he melted the lock on the gate, and the two of them entered the field. According to their previous life experiences, mutant animals and mutant plants only appeared a few months after the apocalypse. So, the two of them were not worried that they would be attacked by a mutant plant. As soon as they entered the field, they saw wilted seedlings with some seedlings full of vitality mixed in between. In contrast to the wilting seedlings, the green ones gave off a strange, eerie feeling to both of them. They exchanged glances, and Jin Xuyan said, "Ah Zhi, I think we should burn these seedlings just in case they mutate and harm people." In their previous life, Lin''an City got an S-rank on the danger board not solely because of the zombies but also due to the rampaging mutant plants and mutant animals. While the mutant plants didn''t discriminate between zombies and humans, they couldn''t move freely. Therefore, most of the city still became a zombies'' den. But the most dangerous area is the place occupied by mutant plants. Jiao Lizhi didn''t know whether these mutated plants would be edible or not, but she wanted to test if her space could purify them. So, she thought for a moment and said, "Brother Yan, I still want to take some back. If they turn into inedible mutated plants, we can still use them for research purposes." Hearing her reasoning, Jin Xuyan said, "If that''s what you want, then we will take them." Jiao Lizhi nodded and went to the closest green seedling. She didn''t dare get too close and collected it from a distance. With a wave of her hand, the mutated plant disappeared from their sight and reappeared inside her space. After she collected the plant, she checked her space and saw that the plant not only didn''t wither and die, but it also became more vibrant. The only difference between the mutated plant in her space and the one in the field was that there were no dark red veins on the stems and leaves. With this discovery, she smiled and quickly collected the rest of the mutated plants. Jin Xuyan was not worried that the mutated plants she collected would harm her. After all, everything stored in the space of a space-type ability user would freeze in time. Chapter 110 - 110: A New Setting Panel ( 2 ) What''s more, no living organisms could be stored in the space of an ability-user. So, the chance of the mutated plants harming her was near zero. After they were done collecting the seedlings in these fields, they went to other fields and collected the rest of the mutated plants. From the total of 17 fields, she collected several types of fruit seedlings, such as apple, grape, strawberry, banana, peach, grapefruit, avocado, jackfruit, lemon, orange, coconut, olive, and sweet cherry. The number of seedlings varied from one, such as avocado, to more than twenty, such as strawberries. As for the other plants, they only found one chestnut tree, two walnut trees, one almond tree, and two chocolate trees. Besides the trees and fruits, she noticed three coffee plants in the last field. One arabica coffee plant and two robusta coffee plants. She didn''t know their specific species, but it was already great that she could find so many mutated plants in this seed factory. In the future, she wouldn''t have to worry about not having coffee to drink. After they got all the mutated seedlings, Jin Xuyan used his black flame and burned the rest of the plants. When they were done, the two of them went to the warehouse area. This time, the road to the warehouse was full of zombies. After drinking a bottle of pond water, the two of them had already regained their energy. It was great to be able to recover their energy by drinking pond water. The problem was that their urge to use the toilet was higher than usual. Before they began the fight, Jiao Lizhi said, "Brother Yan, I need to use the toilet first." When he heard this, Jin Xuyan was stunned. His body metabolism was very high, and even after drinking so much water, he didn''t feel the urge to use the toilet. But it was different for her. He looked around and found a patch of bushes not far from their location. Pointing at the bushes, he said, "Ah Zhi, you can use that place. I won''t look." Jiao Lizhi was embarrassed, but she was already at her limit. So, she nodded and quickly rushed to the bushes. The moment Jin Xuyan turned his body, she flashed into her space and used the toilet in her house. While relieving herself, she suddenly realized that she didn''t feel suffocated. When she read the introduction of her space before, it said that no living being could enter due to the lack of oxygen. But now, she had already entered her space several times without suffocating. After finishing her business, she opened the space setting and saw a new panel appear on the screen. Clicking on the panel, she saw the information on the oxygen level in her space. Another piece of information stated that the oxygen level could be increased by the number of plants planted in her space. Grasslands would automatically produce oxygen, allowing her to stay in her space for a limited time. To increase the oxygen level, she needed to plant more trees or plants. When the oxygen level reached 30%, she could raise animals in her space. The higher the oxygen level, the more living beings could enter and live inside. The moment this thought flashed in her mind, she was overjoyed. Since Jin Xuyan was still waiting for her, she decided to check more of her space settings later and flashed out. Standing not far from her, Jin Xuyan frowned when he didn''t hear any sound coming from behind. By right, there should be some water trickling sounds. It wasn''t that he was a pervert, but he was worried that his Ah Zhi might be in danger. He wanted to turn around and check on her, but he was also afraid that he would offend the girl and make her angry. So, he could only stare at his shoes anxiously. After several minutes, he finally heard rustling sounds coming from the bushes. The moment he heard this, he heaved a sigh of relief. Unaware that he had been trying to eavesdrop on her doing her business, Jiao Lizhi washed her hands and walked out of the bushes. She was shy and didn''t dare look at him as she said, "Brother Yan, I''m done." Jin Xuyan knew his limits and pretended to hear nothing. He nodded and said, "Let''s go." To avoid embarrassment, Jiao Lizhi focused her gaze on the road and missed Jin Xuyan''s amused gazes. This time, they didn''t plan to use their abilities to fight but used their weapons. Holding her dagger covered with a thin water blade, Jiao Lizhi walked toward the warehouse. The moment they got closer, the zombies in the area sniffed their scent. In an instant, they let out excited roars and rushed toward the source of the scent. "Roarr!!" S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Hearing the zombies'' roars, Jin Xuyan sheathed his longsword and said, "Ah Zhi, stay close to me." "Okay!" Not long after, the zombies reached their location. Seeing the incoming sharp claws and bared teeth, Jin Xuyan swung his longsword in a large horizontal arc, beheading several zombies in an instant. Since his longsword was covered in black flames, the moment the zombies were beheaded, their heads and bodies were engulfed by the flames. Unlike when he controlled it, the black flame only reduced the zombies that came in contact with Jin Xuyan''s longsword to ashes and didn''t spread to other zombies. "Roarr!!" The zombies roared as they pounced on him from all directions. Before they could reach him, he bent his knees and leaped into the air. Wush! Boom! Raising his longsword, he swung it down diagonally. The next moment, the energy wave created from his movement flew toward the crowd of zombies beneath him. With the black flame covering the energy wave, as soon as it hit the zombies, it exploded, and the flames spread to the surrounding ones. Not far from him, Jiao Lizhi was no longer surprised by the size of his energy pool. She already had a guess that he was several levels above her. "Roarrr!" Chapter 111 - 111: A Dangerous Man Since her energy pool was limited, Jiao Lizhi didn''t use a big attack. As the zombies pounced on her, she swung her dagger and stabbed a zombie''s temple, destroying its brain. Duagh! The next moment, she sent a zombie coming from behind flying with a back kick. The zombie collided with several others, creating an opening. Pulling out her dagger from the zombie''s head, Jiao Lizhi flicked her wrist, and five ice needles flew toward the zombies coming from the sides. Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Each ice needle flew across a zombie''s forehead at high speed. Black blood and rotten brains flowed from the holes as the zombies fell to the ground with a thud. Before she had time to catch her breath, two zombies swung their arms toward her head, their sharp claws aiming at her throat. When the claws were only several inches away from her, she leaned back, dodging the attack while at the same time kicking one of the zombies in the chin. Duagh! Crack! Her kick shattered the zombie''s jaw and pushed it back. With a backflip, she regained her footing and sent her energy into her dagger. In an instant, the thin water blade covering it grew longer, resembling a short sword. She spun her body while swinging her dagger horizontally. In one smooth movement, several heads fell to the ground, followed by headless bodies. Zombies'' corpses slowly piled up around her. While she was killing the zombies, Jin Xuyan''s eyes darted in her direction once in a while to make sure she was not in danger. As the two of them fought, the survivors trapped inside the guard post near the warehouse area witnessed how they cleared the zombies. Several pairs of eyes were watching them from behind the window with shock and amazement. After watching for a while, one of them said, "Sister Wen, do you think it''s possible for us to join them?" Hearing this, Sister Wen shook her head and replied, "I don''t know. The two of them are so powerful, the chance of us being able to join them is very low. But from what I see, they might be looking for food and heading toward the warehouse." "But this factory is a seed factory. We don''t have any food besides seeds," a young woman said. "Xiao Jiu, even if what''s stored in the warehouse is just seeds, they can still be eaten. Did you forget that last year our factory bought several machines to process more edible seeds?" an old man reminded her. When they heard this, they nodded, and Sister Wen said, "If not for the fact that there are too many monsters out there, I would have gone to get some seeds." Hearing her words, a young man said, "If I remember correctly, there is even rice stored in the furthest warehouse. If only we were able to go there before them, we might be able to get some food." Hearing this, Sister Wen went silent for a moment before she said, "Everyone, we have already run out of food and water. If we continue staying in this place, we will die of starvation." Xiao Jiu noticed her meaning and asked, "Sister Wen, do you have any plans?" Sister Wen nodded and said, "It might be impossible for us to join those two, but it''s possible for us to follow them. With the two of them clearing the monsters, we can go to the warehouse first and get some food." "But we don''t have anything to carry the grains or seeds," Xiao Jiu said with a sigh. "Don''t we have sacks? We can get one sack of food for ourselves first. Don''t be greedy and take too much. You won''t be able to run if you are carrying a heavy load," Sister Wen said. There were a total of almost 30 people hiding in the guard post. If everyone carried one sack, the food could last them for a while. If they needed more, they could go to the warehouse and get it again. After considering the pros and cons, they finally agreed with Sister Wen''s suggestion and asked, "Sister Wen, when will we go out?" Sister Wen watched Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi from the window and said, "Wait until they finish killing all the monsters. If we go out now, we might be eaten alive by those monsters." They nodded and watched patiently. Although they planned to use Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi to clear the way, they had no intention of harming them. After all, they were only ordinary people¡ªit was impossible for them to go against those with superpowers. While they were watching and waiting, Jin Xuyan had already sensed someone observing them. With his current level, not only were his five senses enhanced, but his perception was also heightened. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. As he beheaded several zombies, he turned his head and glanced at the guard post in the distance. The moment he narrowed his eyes, the people inside quickly moved away from the window and hid. At that moment, everyone was taken aback by his gaze, especially Sister Wen, who met his eyes directly. Her back and forehead were covered in cold sweat as she felt the terror of dying for a split second. It was as if she would be beheaded by that man like the monsters outside if she looked for another second. Noticing her pale face and heavy breathing, Xiao Jiu asked worriedly, "Sister Wen, what''s wrong with you?" It took Sister Wen a while to calm her erratic breathing. She clenched her trembling fists and said, "That man is very dangerous. It seems that we can''t go to the warehouse before them." When they heard this, an old woman asked, "Xiao Wen, if we can''t go before them, what should we do then? Are we just going to stay here and wait for death?" Sister Wen thought for a while before she said, "I think it''s better for us to approach them and ask for some food instead of sneaking around." Chapter 112 - 112: Beast In Human Skins ( 1 ) "Sister Wen, that food doesn''t belong to them, so why should we ask for their permission? We are this factory''s workers¡ªby right, they should be the ones asking for our permission," a young man said unhappily. The moment she heard this, Sister Wen looked at him and asked, "Do you think you can win against them if we fight?" "If they dare to hit us, we can just report it to the police!" another man added. Shaking her head, Sister Wen explained, "Everyone should understand that we have no signal. How can we report them to the police? What''s more, I don''t think we can still use the previous laws in our current situation." Seeing that the young man still wanted to argue, she continued, "Do you forget what happened in the dormitories? Do you want to end up like those people instead?" sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "That man wore a uniform similar to a soldier''s¡ªhe must be a soldier. He wouldn''t harm us, right?" an old woman said. "Aunty, are you sure that man is a soldier just based on his clothes? What if he is a criminal who escaped from prison and stole the soldier''s uniform instead?" Sister Wen asked. "Rather than betting on his personality, which we don''t know at all, it''s better to use a simpler and more honest approach." "There are only two people, they wouldn''t be able to take everything. If we ask politely, I''m sure they won''t mind sharing the supplies. But if we steal the supplies, they might kill us like Director Yang did," she added. Everyone remembered the terror they experienced when they were trapped inside the dormitories. Director Yang had obtained a superpower to control metal. Whenever someone dared to go against him, he would kill them with a metal pipe. Because of his power, he was able to kill the monsters and managed to bring everyone to the cafeteria. With supplies under his control and the addition of his superpower, he even dared to violate several young women blatantly. Some of them took their own lives due to the humiliation, while those with thick skin stayed with Director Yang as his playthings just so they could get some food and water. When he laid his eyes on Sister Wen, she resisted with all her might and managed to hit Director Yang in the head. She escaped with a group of people when he fainted. Those who chose to follow Director Yang and become his minions didn''t have any superpowers, so when they saw her and the small group of people run out of the cafeteria, they didn''t chase after them, thinking they would surely die. Therefore, most of the people hiding in this guard post were young women, along with some older women and young men. After listening to her reasoning, they no longer insisted on stealing the food and agreed to her decision. While they were discussing, Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi had already finished killing all the zombies in the area. After Jin Xuyan burned all the zombies'' corpses to ashes, Jiao Lizhi went to collect the crystal cores. The two of them worked with tacit understanding. "Brother Yan, I''m done," Jiao Lizhi said after collecting the last crystal core into her space. Jin Xuyan turned around and said, "Ah Zhi, there has been a group of people watching us for a while. Should we go meet them or just let them follow us sneakily?" When she heard this, Jiao Lizhi turned and followed his gaze. The moment she looked at the guard post, she saw several people looking at them from the window. She didn''t say anything and just looked at the guard post in silence. Jin Xuyan glanced at her and understood her meaning. If those people came out to meet them, she would let them tag along. If they didn''t come out, she would just let them follow them. The difference might lie in how much supplies they would be able to get. If they tagged along, they would be able to get as much as they could carry. But if they followed sneakily, they might only get some supplies. At this moment, Jiao Lizhi didn''t think as much as Jin Xuyan thought she did. She was only curious about those people who were hiding. In her previous life, she didn''t leave Lin''an University until the university was surrounded by zombies. In order to escape from the university, lots of people were used as bait by the upperclassmen to pull away the zombies, and she was one of them. She was lucky at that time to be able to escape due to the help of a senior sister. When they managed to leave the university area, the factory district already turned into a sea of fire from an explosion. So, she didn''t know what happened to these people in the previous life. As for that senior sister, she met her again after a few years. When they met again, that senior sister had already become someone with an important position in the government base. She was kind and generous but known for her hatred towards men, especially those with power-type abilities. Therefore, her presence in the base is contradictory. Women love and admire her, while men hate her to the bones. While she was lost in her previous life''s memories, Sister Wen made up her mind and opened the door. As she walked out from the guard post, she raised both of her hands and said, "Comrade, we don''t have any bad intentions. We only want to get some food and water." Seeing that the two individuals with superpower didn''t attack, she heaved a sigh of relief and asked, "I wonder if it''s possible for me and my friends to follow after you?" Hearing her words, Jiao Lizhi snapped out of her thoughts. She looked at the woman and said, "If you want to follow, then just follow. But we won''t be responsible for your safety." The moment they heard this, most of the people nodded with joy on their faces. Only an old woman frowned and said, "That man is a soldier. Isn''t it his duty to protect us?" Chapter 113 - 113: Beasts In Human Skins ( 2 ) As soon as she heard the old woman''s words, Jiao Lizhi''s eyes turned cold. She looked at the old woman and asked, "Who are you to demand protection from others?" Noticing the change in her mood, Sister Wen quickly said, "Sister, Aunt Wang didn''t mean it that way. She only¡ª" Before she finished her words, the old woman interrupted her, "Xiao Wen, why should you fear them? That man is clearly a soldier. Look at the emblem on his clothes. Every soldier made a vow to protect the country and the people. So, he should protect us!" The moment she finished her words, Jiao Lizhi laughed. She clapped her hands slowly and said, "Wow, such entitlement. Even the commander of an army wouldn''t dare to say those words in this kind of situation." "Old woman, this man is mine, and he will only protect me. As for you, if you continue to run your mouth, I won''t mind helping you seal it off." When she finished her words, she waved her hand, and an ice needle flew at a fast speed, stopping only a millimeter away from the old woman''s throat. Everyone was shocked by the sudden attack and didn''t even dare to breathe loudly. The old woman was so scared that her face turned pale. Seeing her pale face, Jiao Lizhi sneered, and with a flick of her hand, the ice needle went deeper, drawing blood from her throat. Feeling the pain, the old woman''s eyes rolled, and she fainted on the spot. As she lay on the ground, they smelled the stench of urine in the air. When they looked at the old woman, they saw her pants were drenched as she peed herself. Jiao Lizhi snorted and flicked her wrist. In an instant, the ice needle turned into a pool of water and splashed the old woman''s face. Such a coward, yet she dared to morally blackmail her person? She seems like someone who won''t cry until she sees the coffin. She no longer looked at them and said, "I''m not a saintess, and my brother is not your protector. We don''t have any obligation to protect you. If you want to live, then fight for yourself." Then, she held Jin Xuyan''s hand and said, "Brother Yan, let''s go." Jin Xuyan glanced at the group and said, "If you don''t want to follow us, just go to the clothing factory. A group of soldiers will come to pick up the survivors. You can go with them." Checking his watch, he added, "They will arrive in two or three hours from now. If you are late, there is no guarantee they will wait for you." After he finished his words, he went to the warehouse with Jiao Lizhi. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Looking at their backs, Xiao Jiu asked, "Sister Wen, what should we do now?" Sister Wen looked at the old woman, who was still unconscious, and said with a hint of annoyance, "Aunt Wang already offended them. I''m afraid that even if we follow them, we won''t be able to get enough supplies to survive." "Then should we go to the clothing factory?" a young man asked. "Right now, that''s our only option. We should go now, or we won''t be able to catch up to the soldiers," Sister Wen said. After they made up their minds, two young men held Aunt Wang''s arms and dragged her as they followed Sister Wen and the rest of the people. Not far from them, Jiao Lizhi turned to look at them and asked, "Brother Yan, why don''t you let them follow us? There must be rice stored in the warehouse. We can share the supplies." Jin Xuyan shook his head and said, "There must be more survivors hiding in this factory, and judging from how they hid in that small guard post, the other survivors might not be as docile as them." "If we let them tag along, we might attract unwanted attention from another group of survivors. Those people are just ordinary citizens. It''s better for them to go to the survivor camp as soon as possible." After she heard his words, Jiao Lizhi only nodded but said nothing. For her, she didn''t really care about the survivors. She had witnessed a lot of the dark side of humanity in her previous life and knew that the seemingly weak and docile people were actually the most heartless and ruthless beasts in human skin. In order to survive, they wouldn''t hesitate to sacrifice their own children and family. That''s why she would never feel pity toward the so-called ordinary people. Instead, it was those soldiers who were mentally blackmailed and morally kidnapped by those ordinary people who should be pitied. They fought to protect them, only to be stabbed by those people in the back. It would be great if she could recruit all of those soldiers into Jin Xuyan''s team. Even without abilities, those soldiers had been trained for years, and their combat abilities were above others. Even the ability-users were not guaranteed to win against them in battle. Noticing she was lost in her thoughts again, Jin Xuyan reached out and pinched her cheek lightly while asking, "Ah Zhi, what are you thinking?" Coming back to her senses, she shook her head and said, "Nothing." Since she was unwilling to tell him, Jin Xuyan didn''t plan to force her. The two of them walked while looking around, checking if there were zombies wandering nearby. Fifteen minutes later, the two of them reached the warehouse area. There was a map on the roadside signboard. As they checked the map, they noticed that, unlike the previous factories, the warehouses in this seed factory were divided into several areas, each designated for different types of seeds. Area A was for storing fruit seeds. Area B was for vegetable seeds. Area C was for edible plant seeds such as asparagus, wild leek, garlic mustard, etc. Area D was for flower seeds and shrub plants. Area E was for various edible mushroom spores. Area F was for various coarse grain seeds such as wheat, corn, millet, oats, sorghum, quinoa, brown rice, and rye. As for the last area, Area G, several warehouses were used to store rice. Chapter 114 - 114: Farewell, Comrade ( 1 ) After Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi memorized the road and the warehouse''s location, the two of them went to the first area¡ªArea A. Even though fruit trees took longer to grow if they were planted from seeds, with the help of wood-type ability users, they could hasten the process. Noticing the sound of zombies roaring in the distance, the two of them didn''t open the gate and directly jumped over. As they landed, two zombies suddenly pounced from the sides. Jiao Lizhi and Jin Xuyan swung their weapons reflexively and chopped off the zombies'' heads. As the rotten heads rolled to the ground, they kicked away the headless zombies'' bodies. Everything happened in just a few seconds. Turning their heads, they met each other''s gaze and smiled. Even though it hadn''t been long since the two of them met and fought alongside each other, their fighting styles were similar. Jiao Lizhi found this amusing and also confusing. A doubt arose in her heart as she watched Jin Xuyan walk in front of her. For some unknown reason, she felt a very strong urge to get closer to him. It was as if she was born to be with him. But these kinds of feelings and emotions only happened in this life. She wondered what made the difference between this life and the previous life. Not noticing her thoughts, Jin Xuyan cleared the zombies as they walked to the first warehouse. This time, he melted the locks, and they entered the building. Unlike the warehouse area outside, there were no zombies inside the building. Only boxes stacked high, filled with seeds stored in vacuum-sealed bags. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Seeing the number of seeds stored in the warehouse, he said, "Ah Zhi, we should sort them out first. Those polluted with the zombie virus cannot be used." When she heard this, Jiao Lizhi hesitated for a moment before she said, "Brother Yan, it will take a long time to sort out everything. How about we take them all first and sort them out slowly? We can burn the polluted ones and keep the good ones." Thinking about their limited time, Jin Xuyan nodded and asked, "How much space do you have left in your storage?" "Brother Yan, don''t worry. My space can store everything in this factory and might even be able to store the rest of the factory''s supplies too." After getting her confirmation, Jin Xuyan said, "Then, we will take everything." "Okay." The two of them worked fast and finished clearing Area A warehouses in less than an hour. While the two of them were busy, Sister Wen and her group reached the clothing factory area. The moment they saw the armored vehicles parked on the roadside, their eyes lit up. These kinds of armored vehicles were only used by the military. As they walked closer, they saw a large group of survivors behind the barricades. Looking at the hot meals in their hands, their mouths watered. At first, they thought the man was lying to them. But now that they saw the large group of survivors mixed with the soldiers, they finally believed his words. When they walked closer, Shen Jinzhe stopped them and said, "You can''t pass this barricade without being inspected for wounds." Hearing this, Sister Wen asked, "Comrade, what can we do to join the other survivors?" Shen Jinzhe observed their group and said, "You need to undergo an inspection in case you were wounded by zombies and mutated. Or, you can wait for two hours. If you don''t mutate after two hours, you can join the other survivors." Sister Wen thought for a moment and asked, "Comrade, do you have a female soldier?" Shen Jinzhe shook his head and replied, "We don''t have any female soldiers." The moment he said this, the women were angry. A young woman covered her chest in a defensive gesture and asked, "Comrade, are you trying to take advantage of us using inspection as an excuse?" This was not the first time he had heard this accusation, so Shen Jinzhe remained calm as he replied, "Comrade, you are thinking too much. You can wait for two hours instead of being inspected. No one is forcing you." When the young woman heard his words, she looked into his eyes and didn''t see any lust or other emotions. She frowned with embarrassment and said nothing. While Sister Wen was discussing what to do with her group, Chu Zhimiao walked over and said, "I can help inspect the women." As soon as she said this, a young woman asked, "Who are you?" Chu Zhimiao saw her wariness and said with a smile, "Comrade, I''m a survivor like you. I can help inspect the wounds on your body." After she said this, she turned to Shen Jinzhe and added, "Comrade, I promise to inspect them carefully." Raising his eyebrows, Shen Jinzhe said, "Do you know how to inspect them?" "Isn''t it just checking if they have wounds on their bodies?" she asked him back. Shen Jinzhe nodded and replied, "Yes, every single inch of their bodies. That means even the private areas." The moment they heard this, they were taken aback. The men thought that they would only be inspected generally, not that it would go so far as to check even that area. While they were still hesitating, Sister Wen took a step forward and said, "Comrade, I agree to be inspected." Hearing this, Shen Jinzhe nodded and gestured for his comrade to come over and said, "Bring her to the inspection area." The soldier nodded and led Sister Wen and Chu Zhimiao into the temporary metal partition. When they entered the room, the soldier stood outside to guard the entrance. Ten minutes later, they walked out, and Chu Zhimiao said, "There is no wound on her body." Shen Jinzhe believed her and gestured to Sister Wen to go inside as he said, "Go inside and get your rations." "Thank you." Sister Wen nodded at Chu Zhimiao and joined the survivor group. Chapter 115 - 115: Farewell, Comrade ( 2 ) Before Sister Wen went to rest, she joined the line and got a bowl of soup dumplings, a sausage, a boiled egg, and two Mantous. After she got the hot meal, she was given five bottles of mineral water and a bag of dry rations that could last her for a week. Seeing that she got supplies and even a hot meal, everyone finally made up their minds and agreed to be checked. With Chu Zhimiao''s help, the women were also able to join the group soon. Out of the group, only three people were stopped outside for observation. The reason was that one of them had a scratch on her shoulder, which she claimed was from a nail. As for the other two men, both of them developed a high fever. With a high fever, there was a chance they could awaken their abilities, but there was also a higher chance they could turn into zombies. So, they were under observation. While they were waiting, the soldiers gave the woman a hot meal and water as she waited. As for the two men, they were given medicine, hot meals, and water. After they finished their meal and took the medicine, the two of them fell asleep. While they were still battling the zombie virus inside their bodies, the soldier assigned to watch them ensured they drank enough water and checked their temperature every thirty minutes. Meanwhile, the woman leaned against the roadblock, hugging her knees after finishing her meal. She stared dazedly at the people in the distance as her eyes gradually turned gray. Despite the scorching sun, an unbearable cold seeped into her bones. Her body trembled, and her face paled. At that moment, she noticed her skin turning unnaturally pale, with dark veins surfacing beneath it. Raising her hands, she saw her nails growing darker and lengthening. She brushed her hair away from her eyes, only to feel strands slipping through her fingers. When she glanced at her palm, her breath was stuck in her throat as clumps of her hair were slipping from her trembling hand. Her pupils constricted as realization dawned on her. She was turning into a zombie. This realization stunned her as fear gripped her heart. She didn''t want to become a mindless monster, but she feared death even more. She wanted to live. There was so much she hadn''t done¡ªshe was too young to die! But despite her desire to live, the inevitable was happening. Unwillingness rose in her heart as she felt the coldness spreading throughout her body. She had always been kind, and always helped others. So why was she the one dying? Her gaze landed on Aunt Wang, who sat comfortably among the survivors, chatting and eating. That selfish, wicked woman was still alive. Why could she survive when she couldn''t? A surge of resentment consumed her, clouding her mind. If she couldn''t live, she would drag everyone to hell with her! Her pupils dulled and her consciousness slipped away. With the last shred of her will, she forced herself to stand and dragged her stiff body toward the barricade. "Hrrhh¡ª" She tried to call out to Sister Wen, but only a guttural growl came out of her parted lips. Hearing her own monstrous growl, tears slid down her cheeks. Her head drooped as she staggered forward. Before she could reach the barricade, a pair of military boots appeared in her blurred vision. She lifted her head and met the calm gaze of a handsome man. There was no fear or disgust in his eyes, only pity and quiet compassion. He studied her for a moment before speaking, "Comrade, I have come to send you off. Are you ready to leave now?" It took her a moment to process his words. She didn''t want to become a monster. She wanted to die as a human being. "Grrhh¡­" a suppressed growl was heard from her throat as her final attempt to talk. Qin Luzi watched the flickering dot in his mind¡ªshifting between white and red. She didn''t have much time left. Before she loses her humanity, he must send her off. Drawing his dagger from his back, he said, "Farewell, Comrade." STAB! sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Before his voice faded, he stabbed the dagger into her temple. The next moment, her body stiffened, then fell to the ground with a thud. Dark red blood pooled on the ground and a rancid stench filled the air. Qin Luzi wiped the blade clean before sheathing it. When he turned, he met the wide, horrified eyes of the survivors. Their fear didn''t affect him at all. After all, he didn''t kill the woman. Instead, he had given her the chance to die as a human. As he walked past the barricade, he ordered, "Jinzhe, clean up the remains." "Understood." Besides Jin Xuyan and Zhang Yuan, Qin Luzi held the highest rank in their team. In the absence of their captain and vice-captain, the soldiers followed his lead. With a flick of Shen Jinzhe''s wrist, a blue flame shot toward the woman''s lifeless body. The moment it touched her skin, it ignited instantly. Not wanting to leave a lasting trauma on the survivors, he intensified the energy, reducing her remains to ashes in under five minutes. The survivors stared at him in fear, as if he were a monster himself. Shen Jinzhe only glanced at them but didn''t mind their stares at all. Witnessing death wasn''t easy, especially for civilians. Even trained soldiers struggled when they saw their own comrades turn into zombies and attack them. Some were haunted by nightmares for days due to killing their own comrades who had turned into zombies, let alone civilians. Even though they were traumatized, they had no choice but to adapt as soon as possible. Just as he finished sending the woman off, a soldier guarding the other two men called out, "Brother Luzi, one of them is mutating!" Hearing this, Qin Luzi walked over, checking the map in his mind. One of the men now glowed a light green, while the other flickered erratically between green and red. Chapter 116 - 116: Dividing Supplies Qin Luzi pointed at the man with a green dot and said, "He is fine. Bring him into the camp and make sure to keep his temperature in check. Tie up the other one and keep watch." "Understood." Leaving those orders behind, Qin Luzi went to find Zhang Yuan. At that moment, Zhang Yuan was speaking with Wei Ying over the satellite phone. When he saw Qin Luzi approaching, he gestured for him to wait. "Captain Wei, we understand your situation, but it''s impossible for my team to escort the survivors to the survival camp," Zhang Yuan stated firmly. On the other end of the line, Wei Ying sighed and said, "Old Zhang, you know my team has limited vehicles. There''s no way we can transport so many people. Not to mention, we barely have enough supplies for our own team." Zhang Yuan remained silent for a moment before replying, "Captain Wei, I can promise you that my team will provide enough supplies for both the survivors and your team. But you will have to find your own vehicles." "With so many abandoned cars around, I don''t believe you won''t be able to find a few buses or trucks in working condition," he added. Wei Ying immediately understood his meaning. It was impossible to ask the Phantom team to accompany them back to the survivors'' camp. Letting out another sigh, he asked, "Old Zhang, are you and your men really not coming back?" "Captain Wei, we have already done our best to complete the rescue mission. We lost too many brothers. We can''t just abandon their families¡ªwe have to go save them. That was our promise to our fallen brothers." "I hope you understand and help convey our decision to the commanders," Zhang Yuan said, his voice unwavering. Realizing there was no room for negotiation, Wei Ying relented and asked, "I understand. How many people are with you now?" "Besides the mission target and his friends, we have about 250 civilians. Some of them have awakened abilities and might be useful to you," Zhang Yuan replied. Hearing that the number wasn''t too large, Wei Ying felt some relief and asked another question, "How much supplies do you have?" Zhang Yuan knew he couldn''t afford to be stingy if he wanted the Eagle team to escort the civilians and said, "Right now, we have enough to last your team and the survivors for a month." "We are currently clearing out zombies in the factory district while gathering more supplies. When you arrive, we can discuss the distribution." For the first time during the call, a faint smile appeared on Wei Ying''s usually stern face. His tone softened as he said, "Alright, my team is almost there. We will meet in an hour." "Okay." After ending the call, Zhang Yuan shook his head and muttered, "What a cunning old fox." Turning his gaze to Qin Luzi, he asked, "Old Qin, what''s wrong?" "Vice Captain, one of the new survivors has awakened an ability, another has a high chance of turning into a zombie, and one has already mutated. We already took care of the mutated one." Despite the short report, a heaviness settled in Zhang Yuan''s chest. But he didn''t let his emotions cloud his judgment. He nodded and said, "Well done." "Call Yin Yusheng, Feng Yun, and Xiao Qi over," he added. "Understood," Qin Luzi replied before going to call his brothers. Not long after, Yin Yusheng, Xiao Qi, and Feng Yun arrived. The soldiers saluted Zhang Yuan, and Feng Yun hesitantly copied them, though his movements were stiff and awkward. He wasn''t a soldier, and the gesture felt unnatural to him. Noticing his discomfort, Zhang Yuan chuckled and said, "Feng Yun, you don''t have to follow them. Just act as you normally would." Feng Yun nodded but still kept his back straight, "Yes, Vice Captain." Seeing his insistence, Zhang Yuan didn''t press the matter. Instead, he shifted back to the task at hand. "The Eagle team will arrive in an hour. I need the three of you to take inventory and prepare two months'' worth of supplies for 500 people." Yin Yusheng frowned when he heard his order and said, "Vice Captain, if we give them that much, we will only have enough for a week or two." "Captain has already ordered us to prepare two months'' worth of supplies for them. Since they are taking the survivors, it''s only right for us to support them," Zhang Yuan said. Noticing their concern, he added, "Don''t worry. Our captain has a plan. You can go now." Since the captain and vice-captain had made their decision, they could only follow the order. The three of them headed to one of the armored vehicles. Inside, Yin Yusheng wrote down the types and quantities of supplies while Xiao Qi and Feng Yun checked their space storage, reporting back on what they had. The soldiers weren''t worried about Feng Yun secretly taking some of the supplies for himself. Even if he did, there was nothing they could do about it. They had already accepted that as the price of using his space. Once they reached their next destination, they would part ways. But if he was honest, they would treat him as one of their own and let him stay in the team. It took them fifty minutes to complete the inventory. After reviewing the numbers, Yin Yusheng smiled. Feng Yun hadn''t hidden anything¡ªhe had reported everything down to the last detail. He has integrity and honesty and is a good fit as a member of their team. No wonder their captain agreed to let him join their team even though he was a civilian. After they discussed it for a while, they made a list of supplies to give to the Eagle Team and went to report to Zhang Yuan. Reading the list, Zhang Yuan nodded and added, "We have Qianfeng and Sister-in-law, so we don''t need so much water. Add more mineral water for them." Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 117 - 117: Disparity Hearing Zhang Yuan''s order, Yin Yusheng asked, "Vice Captain, the amount of mineral water is limited. Should we give them water stored in gallon bottles?" Zhang Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Just give it to them. If we lack a container, we can ask Wen Mo and Wen Kai to make more iron pots for us." Hearing this, Yin Yusheng nodded and added the mineral water for the Eagle Team. At this moment, they had only around 30 gallon bottles left for their own use and gave the rest to the other team. While they were preparing the supplies, Wei Ying and his team were checking several buses and trucks on the road. "Captain, this bus can be used," one of the soldiers said after he checked the engine and fuel. Wei Ying nodded and said, "Find one more bus and three more trucks." Hearing his words, Rong Mo''er asked, "Captain Wei, why do you need so many buses and trucks?" "We are going to pick up some survivors and supplies before we head to the temporary survivor camp," Wei Ying said. Rong Mo''er nodded and walked toward Gu Shaoze''s location. She saw him lying in the driver''s seat, doing something. Standing beside the car, she asked, "Shaoze, what are you doing?" Hearing her words, Gu Shaoze replied, "I''m trying to turn on this car. We can''t always rely on the soldiers, and we need a car to store our supplies." "Are you not planning to go to the survivor camp?" Rong Mo''er asked. "Mo''er, we are only going there to gather more information about the current situation. Didn''t you say you wanted to find your family?" Gu Shaoze asked in return. "I did. But you don''t have to¡ª" Before she could finish, Gu Shaoze interrupted her. "Out of all the people I know, only you warned me about the rainwater. We have already experienced life-and-death situations together. Don''t tell me you don''t even see me as a friend." After saying this, he sat up and looked at her. Noticing her silence, he asked, "You don''t see me as a friend? Seriously?" Rong Mo''er shook her head and said, "You are my friend, but we have only known each other for a few days. I don''t want to bother you with my personal matters." Gu Shaoze reached out and flicked her forehead with his fingers. He sighed and said, "Don''t be stupid. What bothers me or doesn''t bother me is for me to decide. After we find your family, you have to help me find mine." Hearing his words, Rong Mo''er rubbed her forehead and nodded. A smile appeared on her face as she said, "Okay." "Go see if you can find an SUV or a jeep. It''s better if it has a key and fuel. This car is good, but the key is missing," Gu Shaoze said as he got out of the car. "Okay." While the two of them were looking for a suitable car, the Eagle Team found two more trucks. Fifteen minutes later, Rong Mo''er drove an RV over. She leaned out of the window and said, "Shaoze, this is the only thing I could find." When the soldiers and Gu Shaoze heard her words, they turned around and were stunned at the sight of the RV. It was a Class A RV. From its design, it resembled a double-decker bus but radiated luxury. Gu Shaoze walked over and asked, "Mo''er, are you sure you want this RV? The fuel consumption will be high." Rong Mo''er patted the door from the driver''s seat and said, "It''s okay. We will find a gas station and get some fuel. Come on, check the interior." Seeing that she couldn''t be persuaded, Gu Shaoze sighed and climbed into the RV. The interior was beautifully furnished. Not only was there a couch, table, kitchen, and bathroom, but there was also a bedroom with cupboards and a table. On the upper level, he could see another bedroom, a dining room, and a set of sofa beds. Wei Ying looked at the RV and said, "It will be comfortable to live in, but it will be inconvenient on narrow streets." S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Captain Wei, we will switch to another vehicle if we find a more suitable one," Rong Mo''er said. Hearing this, Wei Ying nodded, "Okay." Since they had found enough vehicles, the Eagle Team finally continued their journey to the factory district. After another hour of driving, they finally saw the factory district signboard. Wei Ying had already received information from Zhang Yuan about the Phantom Team''s location, so he and his team didn''t stop and continued driving. When they arrived at the factory''s clothing area, a soldier spoke through the radio, "Captain, there is a barricade up ahead." "Stop the car before the barricade. That''s the Phantom Team," Wei Ying replied over the radio. "Understood." As their cars approached, Shen Jinzhe went to find Zhang Yuan and reported, "Vice Captain, the Eagle Team is here." Zhang Yuan nodded, stood up, and said, "Let''s go meet them." Aside from those responsible for guarding the supplies and keeping eyes on the survivors, the rest of the Phantom Team followed Zhang Yuan and waited behind the barricade. When they saw Wei Ying step out of one of the cars, Zhang Yuan asked, "Old Qin, is anyone in their team showing signs of mutation?" Qin Luzi checked the map in his mind for a moment before answering, "Vice Captain, no one is showing signs of mutation. But they only have a total of seven ability-users." Zhang Yuan frowned at the number. The Phantom Team had only 29 members, but most of them were ability users. Meanwhile, the Eagle Team had more members but only seven ability users. The disparity was too great. The moment Rong Mo''er and Gu Shaoze stepped out of the RV, Qin Luzi said, "Vice Captain, those two people coming out of the RV are ability-users. That means the Eagle Team only has five ability-users." Everyone was taken aback by his words. They looked at the Eagle Team and wondered how they had survived with only five ability users. Unaware that they were being pitied, Wei Ying walked over and said, "Old Zhang." Chapter 118 - 118: Right or Wrong? Zhang Yuan and his team saluted Wei Ying before Zhang Yuan reached out for a handshake. "Captain Wei, we have been waiting for you and your team." "Something happened on the road, so we were delayed," Wei Ying said with a smile. Zhang Yuan nodded and added, "Captain Wei, before you and your team can enter the camp, we need to conduct a checkup first." Wei Ying and his team were used to undergoing checkups whenever they returned to the temporary survivor camp, so he didn''t refuse and agreed readily, "Okay." Shen Jinzhe noticed a woman among the Eagle Team, so he went to ask Chu Zhimiao for help. Even though no one showed signs of mutation, they still couldn''t afford to be careless. Thirty minutes later, the Eagle Team completed their checkup and followed their captain into the camp. When they saw several iron pots placed over bonfires, they were surprised. It was normal to boil water for drinking, but what surprised them was that the pots were filled with porridge, soup dumplings, and boiled eggs. Although they were still able to have some food, it had been a while since they had a warm meal. They mostly ate biscuits or dried rations, and they didn''t dare to cook food, fearing that the scent would attract zombies. Besides that, they couldn''t afford to use too many supplies since a lot of people in the survivor camp were waiting for them to bring back more food. Now, seeing how the Phantom Team was able to have such a lavish meal, they were envious. But before their captain gave his permission, no one dared to ask for a meal. Zhang Yuan noticed the Eagle Team''s gazes and said, "Captain Wei, my captain is away at the moment. How about you and your team take a break and have some food first? We can discuss other matters when my captain returns." Wei Ying had already noticed his soldiers'' behavior the moment they entered the camp. Not to mention the soldiers¡ªeven he felt hungry when he smelled the fragrance in the air. Since his soldiers were tired and hungry, it wouldn''t hurt to delay some matters and have a meal first. So, he nodded and said, "Thank you, Old Zhang. We won''t be polite then." Zhang Yuan smiled and replied, "Captain Wei, everyone is brothers. There is no need to be polite." After saying this, he turned to his team and said, "Xiao Qi, Yusheng, show the way to our brothers." "Yes, Vice Captain," the two of them replied in unison. "Captain Wei, I still have a matter to attend to, so I won''t accompany you," Zhang Yuan said before leaving. Wei Ying nodded and followed Xiao Qi and Yun Yusheng. As they walked, Xiao Qi said, "Captain Wei, we have prepared a place for you and your team to wash up before we go to the dining area." Wei Ying nodded and asked, "Comrade, how long has your team stayed in this place?" "Today is the third day we have stayed in this area." Hearing this, Wei Ying asked again, "Has your team checked the factory area and rescued all the survivors?" This time, Xiao Qi shook his head and said, "Captain Wei, we only cleared the zombies. As for the survivors, if they come out, we will protect them until your team arrives." "What if they don''t come out?" Wei Ying asked again. This time, it was Yun Yusheng who replied, "My captain said that those who don''t even dare to come out won''t be able to survive even if we rescue them." When the Eagle Team heard this, they frowned, and one of them said, "Comrade, we are soldiers. It''s our duty to protect the civilians." "Comrade, my duty is to follow orders and complete my mission. Without my captain''s orders, I will not go rescue the civilians and put my team in danger," Yun Yusheng replied coldly. The moment they heard his words, the Eagle Team looked at him as if he were a criminal. Wei Ying frowned at his words, but he couldn''t refute them either. Their current situation was different from before. They needed to prioritize the bigger picture. With the Phantom Team clearing the zombies in the surrounding areas, the survivors would be able to leave as long as they were brave enough. So, based on this, Jin Xuyan''s decision not to rescue the survivors was not wrong. After all, he did give them a chance to survive by killing the zombies. He just didn''t ask them to come out and follow them. Before the Eagle Team''s members could say another word, Wei Ying gave them a glance. Noticing their captain''s warning, they shut up and could only glare at Yun Yusheng and Xiao Qi''s backs. Over the past few days, the Phantom Team had already gotten used to receiving lots of stares and glares. After all, they had killed several civilians who mutated into zombies. Because the civilians were not completely turned into zombies, the rest of the survivors thought they were killing the innocent. Despite eating their food and drinking their water, the survivors still condemned them as murderers. So, when they were glared at by the Eagle Team, Xiao Qi still showed a smile and said, "Captain Wei, we have arrived. You and your team can wash up first. There is water, soap, and clean towels inside." The moment they heard his words, the Eagle Team''s members were surprised. Mineral water was limited, yet the Phantom Team actually used it to wash up? Noticing their expressions, Yun Yusheng explained, "Captain Wei, my team has water-type ability users, so we have our own water resources. You and your team can use the water with ease." sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. When they heard this, they nodded in understanding. After all, Gu Shaoze was also a water-type ability user. While the Eagle Team was washing up, Xiao Qi and Yun Yusheng waited outside. An hour later, the Eagle Team finally came out. Chapter 119 - 119: Twisted Logic, Unreasonable Words Although the Eagle Team didn''t change their clothes, they looked cleaner than before, as they only wore their inner T-shirts and vests. They didn''t wear their dirty jackets. Only after there was no more black blood or rotten flesh on their bodies did Xiao Qi and Yun Yusheng bring them to the dining area. Although it was called the dining area, it was only a small space where they prepared their meals. When they walked past the survivors, they noticed the survivors'' gazes. Unlike those in the temporary survivor camp, the survivors they met here didn''t show any gratitude or relief when they looked at the soldiers. Instead, they stared at them with a hint of blame, as if they had done something wrong. Yun Yusheng noticed the Eagle Team''s discomfort and said, "Don''t bother with them. Some of them must be blaming you guys for coming late." Hearing this, one of the Eagle Team''s members asked, "Why are they blaming us? We did our best to come here at the risk of our lives." Xiao Qi shrugged and replied, "We don''t know either. Most of them think it''s our duty to rescue and protect them. They also expect us to serve them food and water." "No one cares if you are risking your life searching for supplies outside for them or not. They only know that you owe them this because you took your salary." The moment they heard this, they frowned, and another soldier said, "But that''s what we earn from working." This time, Yun Yusheng chuckled and replied, "But your salary is paid from taxes. Since they pay taxes, by their logic, you work for them." "What twisted logic!" another soldier couldn''t help but curse. "Brother, now you understand why my captain didn''t go rescue the survivors. They are nothing but a bunch of white-eyed wolves. They take our kindness and compatriotism for granted," Xiao Qi added with a sigh. When the Eagle Team heard this, they frowned even deeper. While the members didn''t fully grasp the deeper meaning behind Xiao Qi and Yun Yusheng''s words, Wei Ying understood it well. Since these people would follow them back to the survivor camp, he needed to establish some rules to keep them in check. Otherwise, they might riot and stab them in the back. As they walked over, Li Sikai, Feng Yun, and Chen Qianfeng stood up and saluted Wei Ying before saying, "Captain Wei." Wei Ying noticed a new face and asked, "Is this your new member?" Li Sikai nodded and replied, "Captain Wei, this is Feng Yun. He just joined us and wasn''t a soldier. The Vice Captain has already exempted him from military rules." Standing in front of him, Feng Yun didn''t show any fear or fawning expressions. He met Wei Ying''s gaze but said nothing. Seeing this, Wei Ying smiled and said, "He''s a good seedling." "Feng Yun, please add sausages for our brothers'' meals," Yun Yusheng said. Hearing this, Feng Yun nodded, and with a wave of his hand, several packs of sausages appeared out of nowhere and fell on the table. When the Eagle Team saw this, their eyes widened in surprise. "Captain Wei, my team has two space-type ability users, so it''s convenient for us to keep our supplies," Xiao Qi said with a smile. Wei Ying nodded and asked curiously, "How does this space-type ability work?" Instead of Xiao Qi, it was Feng Yun who answered, "Captain Wei, space-type abilities don''t consume much of our ability energy, but they drain more of our mental energy." "We can freely store or take out things from our space with our minds. But, if we overuse the ability, we will get a headache or even faint. The size of the space differs for each user. At the moment, mine is about 50 square meters." "It''s very convenient," Wei Ying said with a nod. While they were chatting, Li Sikai and Chen Qianfeng were grilling the sausages. Ten minutes later, the sausages were ready, and they divided the meal. Each person got a bowl of thick porridge, a bowl of soup dumplings, two boiled eggs, and three sausages. As for the water, the Phantom Team boiled a large pot. They can get as much as they want. When the survivors saw this, their eyes were filled with jealousy and anger. They only had a boiled egg and didn''t get any sausage. How could those people, who were supposed to prioritize their well-being, eat better than them? At this moment, most of their mentalities had worsened. Since supplies were scarce, they were unwilling to let others get more than them. Some even believed that the supplies owned by the soldiers belonged to them and that they had the right to decide their distribution. Sitting among the survivors, Aunt Wang said unhappily, "Those soldiers should treat us well, but they only give us dried food while they enjoy the good food themselves." Sitting not far from her, Sister Wen sighed and said, "Aunt Wang, those supplies were found by the soldiers. So, it''s their right to decide how to divide them. It''s already great that they still give us hot meals, dried food, and water." When Aunt Wang heard her words, she frowned and said, "Xiao Wen, how can you be so naive? Those supplies were taken from the factories. We are factory workers. So, by right, we should be the ones who own the supplies, not them." sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The moment Sister Wen heard her twisted logic and unreasonable words, she chose to stop talking. There was no use in persuading someone who refused to see the truth. While most of the survivors had slowly been brainwashed by Aunt Wang''s words, there were still some who remained clear-headed. As a result, in just two days, the survivors were divided into two groups due to the difference in their mindsets and beliefs. At this moment, Jiao Lizhi and Jin Xuyan had finally finished clearing Warehouse Areas A, B, and C and were on their way to Area D. The distance between Areas C and D was quite far, so the two of them decided to use her car. As he drove, Jin Xuyan asked, "Ah Zhi, are you planning to get the flower seeds too?" Chapter 120 - 120: Not A Good Person The moment she heard Jin Xuyan''s question, Jiao Lizhi replied, "Of course! Brother Yan, some flowers have medicinal properties, and some bushes can produce berries. It would be a pity if we didn''t get them." Thinking about the future medicine shortage, Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Okay." When they arrived at Area D, Jiao Lizhi stored the car in her space before the two of them jumped over the gate. Unlike the previous areas, there were no wandering zombies outside the warehouse building at all. Without Qin Luzi to check the surroundings, Jin Xuyan could only slow down his pace in case of an ambush by zombies or other people. As they walked, Jiao Lizhi saw a rotten leg hidden behind the bushes. She moved closer to Jin Xuyan and said in a low voice, "Brother Yan, there are zombies'' corpses behind the bushes. Someone has been here." Jin Xuyan also noticed traces of battle and nodded. When they reached the warehouse building, they heard the sound of wind swishing. Wush! Boom! The two of them took out their weapons and swung at the same time. With their weapons covered in black flames and a water blade, the incoming metal ball was split into pieces. The metal pieces flew to the side, hitting the ground and wall, creating a layer of dust. Holding his longsword, Jin Xuyan stood in front of Jiao Lizhi and said, "You all have been watching for a while. It''s time to come out." As soon as he finished his words, a group of men walked out from behind the building. An old man in his fifties walked at the front of the group and said with a smile, "Young man, you indeed have a superpower." Despite speaking to Jin Xuyan, the old man''s eyes were glued to Jiao Lizhi. His gaze moved down, observing her body as if he were admiring an object. Noticing the lust in the old man''s eyes, Jin Xuyan''s expression turned cold as he said, "You are looking for death." The moment his words fell, his figure disappeared from the spot. Even Jiao Lizhi was caught off guard by his speed, let alone the old man and his people. Crash! Before they could react, Jin Xuyan''s longsword had already chopped off the old man''s right arm. His attack was ruthless and fast, leaving no room for the old man to defend himself. Everyone was shocked as red blood splattered onto their faces. It took the old man a few moments before the pain registered in his mind. "Akhhh!!" he let out a painful scream, clutching his shoulder. When he saw his severed arm lying on the ground, covered in blood, his knees weakened. He collapsed to the ground, his pale face covered with snot and tears. Seeing him crying from the pain, Jin Xuyan''s eyes turned colder as he stepped on the old man''s back while saying, "An ant dares to be presumptuous. Tell me, should I gouge out your eyeballs, or should I chop off your head, hmm?" The moment the old man heard this, his body trembled, and he kowtowed instantly. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Bam! Bam! Bam! The sound of his forehead banging against the ground echoed clearly. Seeing their boss defeated in just one move, the rest of the group didn''t dare to resist and knelt on the ground. The old man continued to kowtow despite the blood flowing from his forehead as he pleaded, "S-Sir, please forgive me. I was blind and didn''t recognize Mount Tai. Please spare my life!" Jin Xuyan recalled how this disgusting old man had stared at his Ah Zhi lustfully, and an intense murderous intent surged within him. At that moment, he had only one thought in his clouded mind. ''Whoever intends to harm my Ah Zhi deserves to die!'' Jiao Lizhi was so shocked by what she saw that it took her a moment to regain her senses. The man stepping on the old man looked like a madman. At this moment, the image of the madman from the Phantom Team from her previous life overlapped with the man in front of her. When she saw him raise his longsword, she quickly said, "Brother Yan, wait!" Crack! Jiao Lizhi let out a sigh as she watched a head roll to the ground and red blood spurting from the old man''s neck. Jin Xuyan raised his hand, and a wisp of black flame flew toward the old man''s still-warm body. The moment the fire touched the skin, it ignited instantly. By the time Jiao Lizhi walked over, the old man''s body had already turned into a pile of white ashes, which were blown away by a gust of wind. Seeing a golden-colored crystal on the ground, she bent down and picked it up. After storing the crystal core in her space, she asked, "Brother Yan, are you okay?" The group of people kneeling nearby was stunned speechless. The young man was the one who killed Director Yang¡ªwhat could possibly be wrong with him?! When Jin Xuyan heard her voice, his sanity slowly returned. He sheathed his longsword and lowered his head, not daring to meet her gaze, fearing he would see fear or condemnation in her eyes. At this moment, Jiao Lizhi didn''t care about the old man who had just been killed by Jin Xuyan. She was not a good person, nor did she intend to be one. For her, Brother Yan was more important than a stranger. She was more worried about his condition. For a moment before he killed the old man, she noticed that his pupils were glowing red. She wasn''t sure if she had seen it correctly, but she was certain something was off with him. Seeing him standing there unmoving, she reached out and held his hands. She flipped his hands over and checked his body, leaving Jin Xuyan and the kneeling men confused. After a while, Jin Xuyan finally opened his lips and asked hoarsely, "Ah Zhi, what are you doing?" Chapter 121 - 121: A Fathers Request When she heard Jin Xuyan''s words, Jiao Lizhi replied with a smile, "I''m checking if you are injured. That old man suddenly attacked us just now. Fortunately, you reacted quickly and killed him before he could harm us. Brother Yan, you are amazing!" Hearing her words, Jin Xuyan was stunned for a moment before asking, "Ah Zhi, you don''t blame me?" "Why should I blame you?" she asked. "I killed a civilian." Tilting her head to the side, Jiao Lizhi replied, "But he attacked us. That means he had bad intentions and put himself in the position of our enemy. What''s wrong with killing someone who wanted to kill us? We were just protecting ourselves." When Jin Xuyan heard this, the corner of his lips lifted slightly. He nodded and said softly, "Ah Zhi is right." After confirming that he had fully returned to normal, Jiao Lizhi turned to look at the group of people and asked, "Who are you, and why did that old man attack us?" The group of men was afraid that they would become the next Director Yang and quickly explained. But with so many people talking at the same time, Jiao Lizhi couldn''t hear their words clearly. Feeling annoyed, she said, "Stop!" As soon as they heard this, no one dared to open their mouths. Rubbing her aching temple, Jiao Lizhi pointed at a young man and said, "You, explain." Being pointed at, the young man''s pale face turned paler. He didn''t dare to hesitate and quickly said, "S-sister, the one attacking you is Director Yang. We didn''t have any intention of attacking you or your friend." "We are factory workers and were forced by Director Yang to follow his command, or we would be killed. Sister, we only want to survive. We don''t want to harm anyone." Jiao Lizhi looked at the group and asked, "Are all the workers in this factory men?" The young man shook his head and said, "The women workers are locked in the cafeteria and guarded by Director Yang''s people. We were tasked with carrying supplies back to the cafeteria." After he said these words, another man suddenly added, "If something bad happens, we will become bait to lure the zombies away." When Jiao Lizhi heard this, her eyes turned cold. She, too, had been zombie bait in her past life before she barely escaped with her life. So, she understood the terror of the so-called bait. She clenched her fists and said, "That old man indeed deserves to die." Seeing that the two of them didn''t have any intention of killing them, a middle-aged man suddenly rushed out from behind the group and knelt beside Jiao Lizhi. He kowtowed heavily while saying, "Comrade, I beg you, please save my daughter." Jiao Lizhi was startled and quickly stepped aside to avoid his kowtow while saying, "Stand up and talk." The middle-aged man stopped kowtowing but didn''t stand up. He didn''t even wipe away the blood on his forehead as he said, "Comrade, my daughter is locked up by Director Yang and his men. I beg you, please save her life." Seeing how he was crying, Jiao Lizhi looked at Jin Xuyan and saw him nod. She pulled the middle-aged man up and said, "All of you, get up and wait here for a moment." Everyone nodded and stood up one after another. They saw Jin Xuyan melt the lock and stand guard there while Jiao Lizhi entered the warehouse. They didn''t know what she was doing inside, but after ten minutes, she came out and closed the door. They did the same thing for the rest of the warehouses. An hour later, the middle-aged man led them to the cafeteria. There were several cafeterias in the factory, and the one taken over by Director Yang and his men was the one near the Area D warehouse. Twenty minutes later, the middle-aged man pointed at the two-story building and said, "Comrade, that''s the cafeteria. My daughter and the other women are locked up on the second floor." Jiao Lizhi nodded and said, "I will go inside with my friend. You all wait here and don''t make a sound. If you dare do anything against me and my friend, you will end up like that old man. Do you understand?" When they heard her warning, the group of men quickly nodded and said, "We wouldn''t dare." Jin Xuyan glanced at them coldly and said, "You better be." After they left, the group of men finally let out a sigh of relief. A young man looked at the middle-aged man and asked, "Uncle Chen, your daughter is already¡ªwhy are you still asking them to save her?" Uncle Chen''s eyes turned bloodshot as he said through gritted teeth, "No matter what it takes, I will make sure those beasts die a gruesome death for torturing my daughter to death!" Seeing the hatred in his eyes, the young men only sighed and didn''t try to persuade him. Not far from them, Jiao Lizhi and Jin Xuyan heard their conversation. They deliberately walked slowly to see what they were up to. They thought that they might lay a trap for them. Unexpectedly, it was a father who wanted to avenge his daughter''s death. Since there was no trap waiting for them, the two of them hastened their steps and went to check the situation inside the cafeteria from the window. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The cafeteria''s design was similar to Lin''an University''s cafeteria. After confirming that Director Yang''s men only patrolled the second floor and the front hall, they sneaked into the building using the back door connected to the pantry and warehouse. As they walked past the cold storage room, Jiao Lizhi pulled at Jin Xuyan''s hand and said, "Brother Yan, let''s check the storage first." Jin Xuyan nodded and held the handle. A few seconds later, the handle melted, and the room was unlocked. When they felt the cold air blowing from inside, the two of them smiled. Chapter 122 - 122: Clench Your Teeth And Climb Back Up WARNING: GRAPHIC SCENE!!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. It seems that there was indeed a generator in the cafeteria but the power might not be enough for the entire building. Thinking about the solar panels and generators, Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi made up their minds to get the solar panels and generators later. After they opened the door, Jiao Lizhi saw row after row of shelves filled with fruits, vegetables, eggs, and mushrooms. With a wave of her hand, she collected everything into her space, including the shelves. Beside this cold storage room, there were two more storage rooms. After Jin Xuyan opened the door, they saw rows of lambs, pork, and beef hanging from the ceiling. The shelves were full of meat products, poultry, fish, and seafood. Jiao Lizhi quickly collected everything and went to the next storage room. This time, it was filled with a variety of frozen meals and dairy products. After they took everything away, the two of them sneaked onto the second floor from the back room near the kitchen. When they checked the stairs, they saw a man leaning against the railing with his back facing them while smoking. Jiao Lizhi opened her palm, and a water needle floated in the air. With a flick of her wrist, the water needle flew toward the man. Stab! Before the man could exhale, the water needle had already pierced through the side of his neck. The next moment, the man''s eyes rolled back, and he fell to the ground. Jiao Lizhi turned her head and met Jin Xuyan''s questioning gaze. She leaned closer and whispered, "He didn''t die, only fainted." Jin Xuyan nodded, and they went to the second floor. The moment they entered the second floor, the two of them were taken aback by the thick musky smell in the air. Even if they never did the deed, the two of them had experienced a lot in their previous life. They knew what the smell was and what had happened on this floor. Unlike the hall on the first floor, the second floor was used to store dried goods and seasonings, so the entire floor was divided into three rooms. They went to check the first room and saw that it was a warehouse. Since they had taken care of the only guard, they entered the room and took away the supplies before moving on to check the next room. This time, it was also used as a warehouse. After they took away the supplies in the second warehouse, they went to the last room, located in the furthest part of the second floor. Unlike the previous rooms, before they even opened the door, they could hear the sounds of debauchery inside. The laughter and groaning of men were mixed with the crying and begging of women. Jiao Lizhi''s eyes darkened, and she said, "Brother Yan, let me deal with this matter." Jin Xuyan didn''t have any objections and nodded. "Ah Zhi, be careful," he reminded her in a low voice. She nodded and took a deep breath to calm her anger. She didn''t plan to sneak attack them at all. Standing up, she pushed open the door and walked in as she took in the scene in front of her. The men inside were taken aback when they saw a woman walk into the room so casually. Before, they had needed to drag and even beat a woman when bringing them in. Seeing her delicate but curvy figure, a robust man sped up his hip movements before letting out a low growl, "Ngghh¡­ahhh!" After a moment, he pulled out from the woman''s body and pulled up his pants. He didn''t bother to zip them and walked toward Jiao Lizhi while licking his lips as he looked at her face and chest. Jiao Lizhi glanced at the woman he had pushed away and noticed that her lower body was bleeding while she gasped for breath. Judging from her condition, she wouldn''t be able to survive if her wound was not treated as soon as possible. When she saw the other women''s conditions were similar to that woman''s, she waved her hand, and a water blade flew toward the robust man at a fast speed. The moment they saw the water blade, their eyes widened in shock. "ARRHHHH!" But before they could react, they heard the robust man scream like a pig being slaughtered. The next moment, they saw that his lower body was covered in blood, and he was twitching on the ground. "W-who are you?!" one of the men asked as he backed away from Jiao Lizhi, clutching his family jewel. Jiao Lizhi didn''t want to waste her breath on them. With a wave of her hands, three more water blades flew toward the men. As the water blades flew in the air, a head rolled to the ground one after another. Spurt! Spurt! Spurt! "Khhkk!" "Arghh!" "Ugh!" In less than five minutes, the ground was covered with red blood and headless bodies. Jiao Lizhi looked at the group of women and took out several bottles of pond water and anti-inflammatory medicine from her space. She gave each of them a bottle of water and a strip of medicine. Afterward, she handed them a set of clean clothes and said, "I don''t have morning-after pills. I''m sorry for what happened to all of you, but if you want to survive, you must clench your teeth and climb back up." "The soldiers will come to pick up the survivors and send them to the survivor camp. If you want to go with them, come with me." Some of the women regained their will to survive as they struggled to take the medicine and drink the pond water before putting on clean clothes. But most of them only looked at her in a daze. Seeing that they had lost their will to survive, she sighed and said, "Are you willing to give up your life because of these beasts? What about your family, who are worried about you?" Chapter 123 - 123: Severed Their Tendons When those women heard Jiao Lizhi''s words, one of them said, "They killed my boyfriend in front of me and defiled me. How can I face the world and continue living? You know nothing!" Jiao Lizhi went silent after hearing her words. After a moment of hesitation, she took out a kitchen knife from her space, threw it to the ground, and said, "If you feel that you can''t continue living, you are free to take your own life. Rather than let others bully you, it''s better to end everything." The woman was stunned by her words. She thought she would try to persuade her. Unexpectedly, she gave her a knife instead. Tears rolled down her eyes as she covered her face and burst out crying. She didn''t want to die! "We are facing the apocalypse, and no one will protect you anymore. You can only depend on yourself. Only when you are strong will you be able to live as a human being and protect people you love." Jiao Lizhi''s words were harsh, but they struck their hearts. After a while, the woman stopped crying and took the medicine. She drank the water and changed her clothes before pushing herself up. Standing on her trembling legs, she said hoarsely, "I want to kill those beasts with my own hands." "Okay," Jiao Lizhi nodded and turned to leave. The women followed after her. When they saw a tall, handsome man leaning against the wall outside, they took several steps back and looked at him with fear. Jiao Lizhi held Jin Xuyan''s hand and said, "Don''t be afraid. He is my man. He won''t harm you." At this moment, Jin Xuyan no longer cared about the women''s gazes but stared at Jiao Lizhi. His heart was thumping so loudly that he couldn''t hear anything else. ''Ahhh~! Ah Zhi said I''m her man! So happy!!'' Despite his cool, indifferent behavior, his eyes burned with intense emotions toward her as he squealed in his mind. Seeing their intertwined fingers, the women nodded but still distanced themselves from him. Before leaving, Jin Xuyan burned the body inside, leaving piles of ashes and charred ground. Those women looked at the piles of ashes on the ground and felt that what had happened to them was like a nightmare. Those beasts had tortured and beaten them. In their eyes, those men looked like mountains they could never escape from. Turns out, those men were as weak as ants when faced with someone with superpowers. At this moment, some of them regretted not being brave enough to fight those men. At least, even if they couldn''t kill them, they wouldn''t have had to be humiliated and abused. Not knowing what they were thinking, Jiao Lizhi turned to them and said, "Follow closely and don''t make a sound." The group of women nodded and followed after her. When they reached the stairs, Jiao Lizhi clenched her fist, and the water needle inside the unconscious man flew out from his temple. Seeing the man, the woman who had been given a kitchen knife swung it at the man''s neck. Crack! In an instant, blood splashed onto her face as she continued swinging her hand. This man was the one who had humiliated her in front of her boyfriend before killing him. Even if this beast was already dead, she would never let him have a complete body! After a while, the woman finally stopped and wiped the blood from her face. She followed the group and descended the stairs. Some of the women distanced themselves from her when they saw the blood dripping from the kitchen knife. Jiao Lizhi noticed this but said nothing. She could only help them so much; the rest would depend on themselves. Only those who were strong would be able to survive at the end of the world. When they came down, Jin Xuyan unsheathed his longsword, ready to kill Director Yang''s men. But before he could take a step, Jiao Lizhi held his wrist and said, "Brother Yan, don''t kill them. Just cut off their tendons." Although he didn''t know why his Ah Zhi wanted to spare those men''s lives, he didn''t argue and readily agreed, "Okay." The moment Jin Xuyan pushed open the door, everyone turned to look in his direction. Seeing that he was a new face, one of the guards asked, "Who are you?!" Jin Xuyan observed the situation and rushed toward the guards. Seeing him holding a longsword, the guard raised his hand and swung the fire axe in his grip. Clang! Duagh! Crack! In the blink of an eye, the fire axe flew from the guard''s hand, and he was sent flying, slamming against the wall. No one saw what had happened just now. But the next moment, they saw the young man rush toward the guard and swung his longsword. "Argh!!" The guard let out a scream as he fell to the ground. Blood flowed from his limbs, dyeing the ground red. Seeing one of their men being attacked, the rest of the guards rushed over with their weapons. Jin Xuyan narrowed his eyes and bent his knees. These men were ordinary people and had no chance of winning against him. As he dashed past the guards, his longsword severed their tendons. Blood spurted from their limbs as they fell to the ground with a thud, one after another. In less than five minutes, all the guards had been taken care of. They lay on the ground, groaning in pain. Jin Xuyan swung his longsword to clean the blood on the blade and sheathed it before looking at the door connecting the hall to the kitchen. "Ah Zhi, it''s done," he said calmly. As soon as he finished speaking, the door was pushed open, and Jiao Lizhi entered the hall, followed by a group of women. When the survivors saw them, their eyes widened in surprise. Some were delighted to see their family members alive, while others looked at them with disgust and disdain. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 124 - 124: The Hardest First Step The group of women didn''t go to their families but instead grabbed the weapons on the ground. They walked toward the guards and aimed the weapons at the guards as if possessed. The group of survivors watched in horror as the women hacked at the guards or crushed their bones. Those with sharp weapons not only chopped off the guards'' limbs but also their heads. As for those with blunt weapons, they kept smashing the guards'' lower bodies while screaming hysterically. For a while, the entire hall was filled with the screams of the guards begging for mercy, accompanied by the women''s curses and cries. Twenty minutes later, Jiao Lizhi finally said, "It''s enough. They are already dead." Only after hearing this did the women finally stop and slump to the ground while crying. "You should all wash the blood away, or it will attract zombies," Jiao Lizhi said as she walked over to them. Raising her hands, she created two big water balls. She gestured for the women to come and wash the blood away. Seeing how considerate she was, the group of women nodded and followed her instructions. They not only admired her for her strength and power but were also grateful for her life-saving act. When they finished cleaning the blood from their bodies, Jiao Lizhi clenched her hands, and the water balls started to boil. It took her ten minutes to turn the water balls into water vapor. When she was done, Jin Xuyan had already burned all the flesh, bones, and blood on the ground into ashes. Since the sky had started to darken, he looked at Jiao Lizhi and said, "Ah Zhi, we should go back to the camp first and come back tomorrow." Jiao Lizhi nodded and said, "Okay." Seeing them leaving, one of the survivors asked, "Where are you going?" Jiao Lizhi opened the door and said, "We are leaving. You are free to stay or follow us." After she finished speaking, she left with Jin Xuyan without looking back. The survivors hesitated to follow her, but the women did. They didn''t even look at their families when they left. No matter how happy their families were to see them return alive, they couldn''t let go of the disappointment towards their families in their hearts. When they had been bullied, their families had done nothing to save them. Some had even exchanged them for a pack of instant noodles or a bottle of water. These kinds of relatives¡ªit was alright not to have them! Seeing them leave, the rest of the people in the cafeteria quickly picked up their belongings and followed after them. Since there were a lot of people following, Jiao Lizhi didn''t take out her car from her space and instead walked back with Jin Xuyan. With the two of them leading the way, the survivors didn''t dare to talk loudly, fearing they might be killed. This time, the two took a different route to leave the factory. Perhaps due to the large number of people, they attracted nearby zombies. Hearing the distant roars of zombies, Jin Xuyan said, "There''s a group of zombies ahead." At his words, the survivors'' faces turned pale and their bodies trembling in fear. Jiao Lizhi took out her dagger and said, "If you want to live, fight. We won''t protect you." S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. As soon as she finished speaking, zombies appeared from several directions, gathering into a group and blocking the road. Level-one zombies were not as fast as humans when running. In fact, their movement speed was on par with humans at a brisk walk. If these survivors weren''t too scared to think, they would realize they could simply run away. Unfortunately, most were blinded by fear and overlooked this fact. "Roarr!!!" The moment the survivors heard the zombies'' growls, they screamed and scrambled to find a place to hide. When the zombies were several meters away, Jiao Lizhi said, "If you don''t dare to kill them, go hide. But don''t make a sound, or you will attract more zombies." With that, she rushed toward the zombies, swinging her dagger. With a single strike, a rotten head with sparse hair fell to the ground with a thud. Seeing this, Jin Xuyan sheathed his longsword. In the blink of an eye, black flames erupted, covering the blade. Standing his ground, he bent his knees and slashed horizontally. Boom! A crescent-shaped blade of flame shot toward the zombies, slicing them in half. As their bodies split, black flames ignited instantly and burned the zombie''s corpses. Seeing this, everyone''s eyes widened in shock. They knew the two were strong, but they hadn''t expected them to be this powerful! Most survivors had already hidden, but some of the women remained. They gripped their weapons tightly, their faces pale. Jiao Lizhi noticed their trembling bodies and frightened expressions, but she also saw their determination¡ªtheir desire to live. Since all they lacked was courage, she didn''t mind helping them. Duagh! Crash! After kicking away a zombie lunging at her, she swung her dagger. A crescent-shaped water blade, nearly a meter wide, shot forward, instantly beheading several zombies. Thud! Thud! Thud! With just one move, several heads rolled to the ground, followed by headless bodies collapsing one after another. Turning around, she said, "Don''t be afraid. These zombies are slow. As long as you stay alert and keep your eyes open, you can dodge their attacks." "If you want to kill them, aim for the head. Whether you chop it off or crush it, you must destroy the brain." The group of women nodded at her words, but their legs still trembled and their knees weak. Among them, the woman holding the kitchen knife finally gathered her courage and ran toward the zombies. "Roar!!" When she was less than two meters away, a zombie lunged at her, aiming its sharp teeth at her throat. Seeing the rotten face closing in, she clenched her jaw and forced herself not to shut her eyes. With teary eyes, she shifted her body to the side, barely dodging the attack. Chapter 125 - 125: Mixed Emotions As the woman bypassed the zombie, a rancid stench assaulted her nostrils, making her stomach churn. She gagged but swung her kitchen knife regardless. Recalling Jiao Lizhi''s instructions, she aimed for the back of the zombie''s head. Crack! The knife struck the zombie''s skull, and the sound of bone cracking echoed in her ears. However, her strength wasn''t enough¡ªthough the skull cracked, the brain remained intact. "Roarr!!!" The zombie turned and swung its arm at her. Seeing the claws rushing toward her throat, the woman let go of her knife. When she took a step back, she stepped on a stone and lost her footing. "Growll!" Sitting on the ground, she watched the zombie pounce on her in horror. Duagh! Just when she thought she was about to die, a baseball bat smashed into the knife lodged in the zombie''s skull. The impact drove the blade deeper, splitting the zombie''s head open. Black blood and rotting matter splattered onto the woman and the ground. As the zombie collapsed, she quickly stumbled away. Looking up, she saw a young woman standing before her, breathing heavily. Their gazes met, and in each other''s eyes, they saw both fear and exhilaration. After a moment, the woman wiped the black blood from her face and hoarsely said, "Thank you." The young woman nodded and replied with determination, "Sister, we will live." With that, she pulled the kitchen knife from the zombie''s skull and handed it back. Before they could continue fighting, they heard Jiao Lizhi''s voice. "Break the skull and look for a crystal. If you find one, keep it." Although they didn''t know what the crystals were for, they hardened their hearts and split the zombie''s head open before using their fingers to look for the crystal. Watching them rummaging through the rotten brain, several women nearby turned away and vomited. After a while, the young woman felt something against her fingertips. She pulled it out and saw a transparent crystal the size of a fingernail glistened under the sunset. Smiling, she handed it to the woman and said, "Sister, you keep it." The woman shook her head and replied, "You are the one who killed the monster. It''s yours." Hearing this, the young woman didn''t refuse and pocketed the crystal. After killing their first zombie, their fear lessened, and they realized the best way to fight was together. By teaming up against a single zombie, they could protect each other and reduce the risk of injury. Jiao Lizhi watched them with a smile in her eyes. Once in a while, she would let a zombie pass by her each time they successfully killed one, giving them a new target. Not far from her, Jin Xuyan''s gaze followed her closely. Seeing her actions, he knew his Ah Zhi was still soft-hearted. Glancing at the darkening sky, he said, "Ah Zhi, we should hurry back." Jiao Lizhi knew that when the red moon rose, zombies would become even more dangerous. So, she agreed readily, "Okay." Raising her hands, she conjured five water blades. With a flick of her wrist, they shot toward the zombies. "Roar!!" Slash! Crack! Crack! Slash! Slash! Wherever the blades passed, heads rolled to the ground. At the same time, Jin Xuyan waved his hand, sending wisps of black flame at the zombies. Wush!!! The flames ignited, reducing the zombies to ashes within minutes. The temperature around them rose instantly. Hiding nearby, the survivors wiped the sweat from their foreheads, watching the two slaughter zombies as easily as chopping vegetables or roasting potatoes. In less than ten minutes, the horde was gone, leaving piles of ashes that were swept away by the breeze. Jiao Lizhi stepped forward and collected the crystal cores. Thanks to Jin Xuyan, she didn''t have to dirty her hands digging through rotting brains. When she was done, she turned to the two women and said, "Sisters, let''s go. We need to reach the camp before dark." The two women were taken aback by her friendly words. After a moment, they smiled and nodded, "Okay." The four of them walked away without looking back. Seeing the cleared path, the other survivors quickly followed. By the time they reached the camp, the sun had set, and the red moon had begun rising into the sky. Watching the dots move in his mind, Qin Luzi said, "Captain and sister-in-law are back. They have a group of survivors with them." Hearing this, Shen Jinzhe and several soldiers grabbed thermometers and headed toward the barricade to meet them. Not long after, they saw their captain and Jiao Lizhi walking side by side, followed by a group of women covered in blood. At the very end of the group was a mix of women and men with haggard faces but without blood on their bodies. Seeing this, the soldiers quickly understood what had happened. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. When Jin Xuyan reached the barricade, the soldiers saluted him and greeted him in unison, "Captain, Sister-in-law." Jin Xuyan nodded at them and said, "In the future, there''s no need to salute me. We will retire from the military and, from now on, we are just a civilian team." When Shen Jinzhe and the soldiers heard this, their emotions were complicated. It hadn''t been easy to pass the rigorous exams and countless tests required to join the special forces. But now, with the world facing a crisis, their captain had decided to retire. Although they understood his disappointment with the higher-ups, some of them still believed that staying with the military was the better option. At least then, they could ensure they had supplies. Noticing their expressions, Jin Xuyan said, "Settle them first, and we will have a meeting tonight." The soldiers nodded and replied, "Understood." Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi entered the camp directly, but the survivors were stopped outside the barricade. Seeing this, one of them asked, "Comrade, why can''t we enter the camp?" Shen Jinzhe looked at them and repeated the camp''s rules. When the survivors heard that they needed to be inspected, most of them refused and decided to wait for two hours instead. Unexpectedly, it was the group of women who agreed without hesitation. Chapter 126 - 126: She Prefers Mint Flavor This time, Chu Zhimiao didn''t need to be called. The moment she saw the group of survivors, she approached them. Noticing the bruises and red marks on the women''s bodies, she averted her gaze and said, "You can follow me for the inspection." The women knew that others would look down on them because of the humiliation they had experienced. So, some lowered their heads in shame. But those who had fought against the zombies or lost their loved ones refused to bow. With their heads held high, they followed Chu Zhimiao into the metal partition room. Inside the camp, Zhang Yuan reported to Jin Xuyan, "Captain, the Eagle Team has arrived. Here is the list of supplies we have prepared for them." Jin Xuyan checked the list and said, "Reduce the amount of instant noodles and staple food. We found rice and coarse grains at the seed factory. Tomorrow, we will go with the Eagle Team to collect the supplies." Zhang Yuan nodded and replied, "Understood." S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Old Zhang, inform our brothers that we will hold a meeting in an hour. Besides those assigned to guard the perimeter, all team members must attend," Jin Xuyan instructed, handing the list back to Zhang Yuan. "Yes, Captain." After Zhang Yuan leaves, Jin Xuyan turns to Jiao Lizhi and says, "Ah Zhi, I will be busy later. If you are tired, you can rest first." Jiao Lizhi nodded and said, "Let''s go to the temporary bathroom first. You should clean up the blood before meeting your guests." Jin Xuyan agreed, and the two headed to the public bathhouse built by the Wen brothers. When they arrived, they saw a line of people waiting for their turn outside the bathhouse. A soldier guarding the area noticed them and walked over and said, "Welcome back, Captain, Sister-in-law." "There are women using the bathhouse now, so my sister-in-law can go in first," he added. Jiao Lizhi nodded and said, "Okay, I will refill the water, too." "Thank you, Sister-in-law!" While waiting for his turn, Jin Xuyan took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. But before he could light one, he hesitated. After a while, he put the cigarette back into the pack and handed it to a soldier. "Take it." The soldier knew his captain was a heavy smoker. For him to suddenly give up smoking, something must have happened. He hesitated before asking, "Captain, why are you giving this to me? Aren''t you going to smoke?" "I won''t smoke anymore," Jin Xuyan replied while popping a piece of mint candy into his mouth. Curious, the soldier asked, "Why?" Jin Xuyan glanced at him and replied as a matter of factly, "Your sister-in-law dislikes the smell of cigarettes. She prefers mint flavor." The moment he heard his captain''s bragging words, the soldier''s face twisted in dismay. He glanced at his captain with silent complaints in his heart. If he had known he was about to be force-fed dog food, he would never have asked! Seeing his soldier''s envious and sour expression, the corner of Jin Xuyan''s lips lifted. Inside the public bathhouse, Jiao Lizhi was unaware that a certain someone was spreading rumors about her preferences. At this moment, she worked diligently, like a busy bee. Since the water in the bathtub was no longer clean enough for washing up, she drained it by heating the dirty water until it turned into vapor, leaving an empty bathtub. When the women saw her throwing away so much water, they felt a pang of regret¡ªsuch a waste ah! But before they could complain, they saw her create several balls of water and refill the bathtub. This time, she not only filled it to the brim but also said, "Those who brought basins or containers, get in line. I will help you fill them." The moment they heard this, everyone cheered and quickly formed a line. Jiao Lizhi wanted to use this opportunity to drain her energy and push the limits of her energy pool. So, she was generous, filling their containers to the brim and even lending a large basin for them to wash their clothes and underwear. Once she finished, she quickly took a shower and took a seat of clean clothes from her space when no one was looking. After she had changed her clothes, she walked to the washing area. Seeing that she wanted to wash her dirty clothes, one of the women stepped forward and said, "Sister, you must be tired after filling so many containers. Let us help you wash them." Jiao Lizhi didn''t refuse and replied with a smile, "Thank you." While they washed her clothes, she walked out of the bathhouse and saw the nearby soldier. She waved at Xiao Qi to come over. "Sister-in-law, do you need something?" Xiao Qi asked. Jiao Lizhi nodded and said, "Xiao Qi, tell the survivors to bring their empty containers. I will help them fill the water container. Also, ask your comrades to make several big basins so people can wash their clothes." "Even if we need to be frugal with water and food, we still need to be careful with hygiene. If people get sick, it will be troublesome to find the medicine," she added. Xiao Qi nodded and said, "I will inform Brother Wen and the survivors." "Okay." Not long after, the Wen brothers arrived and created three large basins. After they had created the basins, the two of them left to join the meeting. Jiao Lizhi filled them to the brim with water. Once she was done, she saw Xiao Qi approaching with a group of survivors, mostly women and young men. Seeing them, she said, "Everyone, although we don''t have soap or detergent, you can wash your clothes with this water." Hearing her words, one of the survivors asked, "Sister, why don''t you give this water to us for drinking instead?" Jiao Lizhi looked at the survivor and said, "Even though drinking water is important, hygiene is just as crucial. If you fall ill, it will be hard to get medicine." Chapter 127 - 127: Staying Or Leaving? She glanced at everyone and continued, "As you all know, hospitals are always packed, even during holidays. Now, they are one of the most dangerous places, filled with zombies." "Not to mention us¡ªeven strong ability users might not be able to get medicine from a hospital. So rather than getting sick, it''s better to prevent illness in the first place." Hearing her reasoning, the survivors found it logical and nodded in agreement. "But Sister, we are short on drinking water. Is it really okay to use so much for washing clothes?" a young man asked. "Brother, don''t worry. Before you leave with the soldiers, I will make sure to fill up everyone''s water containers. That way, you will have your own supply, in addition to what the soldiers provide," Jiao Lizhi assured him. Hearing her promise, everyone finally felt at ease. Since arriving at the camp, they had seen how the soldiers prepared meals and drinking water for them. Although they didn''t know where the supplies were stored, they had witnessed one of the soldiers creating water out of thin air and using it for their drinking water. While everyone was either bathing or washing clothes, Jin Xuyan and his team were meeting with the Eagle Team. Instead of asking Wen Mo and Wen Kai to create a metal partition, Zhang Yuan and Zhou Huajian used their wood and earth-type abilities to construct a simple room, 20 square meters in size. In the center of the room stood a wooden table with several wooden chairs. Jin Xuyan, Zhang Yuan, and Wei Ying sat around the table, while the rest of their teams stood behind them. Zhang Yuan handed a supplies list to Wei Ying and said, "Captain Wei, this is the list of supplies we have prepared for your team and the survivors. For now, we don''t have any medicine, so we will have to ask you to find some on your way back to the camp." Wei Ying scanned the list, then frowned. He put down the list and asked, "Old Zhang, the supplies on your list are only enough to last us two weeks." At this, Zhang Yuan glanced at his captain but remained silent. Noticing this, Wei Ying turned to Jin Xuyan and asked, "Didn''t you promise me a month''s worth of supplies? Are you going back on your word now?" Jin Xuyan tapped his finger on the table and replied, "Wei Ying, I found rice and coarse grains at the seed factory today¡ªenough for us to divide. I plan to take you and your team to collect the supplies tomorrow." "But if you''d prefer instant noodles or ready meals instead of rice and grains, I can arrange that for you," he added with a smile. Hearing this, the Eagle Team''s eyes lit up. If they could have rice and grains, why would they settle for instant noodles? Wei Ying considered it for a moment before asking, "How much did you find?" Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi hadn''t checked the rest of the warehouse district, but based on the survivors'' reactions and the size of the warehouse buildings, he was sure the amount wasn''t small. "It should be enough for your team and the survivors to last at least half a year," he replied casually. Wei Ying was excited but kept a calm expression. After a brief silence, he said, "Alright, my team will go with yours tomorrow." Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Then prepare your team and trucks first. If you need anything, just ask my team members¡ªthey will arrange it for you." S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Okay." Wei Ying stood up, and since they had reached an agreement, he and his team left the room. Once they were gone, Jin Xuyan looked at his team and said, "I believe by now, everyone has realized that I have no intention of returning to the military. I have decided to retire. Some of you may think this decision is absurd given the current chaos." "After tomorrow''s trip to the seed factory, we will part ways with the Eagle Team. Those who wish to remain soldiers can go with Wei Ying. I won''t stop you." The soldiers were taken aback when they heard his words. Raising his hand to stop them from talking, Jin Xuyan continued, "For those who choose to stay with me, you are welcome to stay. But from now on, we will establish our own rules and no longer follow military regulations." At this, Gao Bohai raised his hand and asked, "Captain, what''s your plan?" Jin Xuyan met his gaze and replied, "When our brothers sacrificed their lives for us to escape, I promised to find and protect their families in their place. So, I will be traveling to their hometowns to locate their families." "Captain, do you have any plans to build a base?" Shen Jinzhe asked. Jin Xuyan shook his head and said, "For now, my priority is fulfilling my promise to our fallen brothers, so I don''t plan on settling in one place. Instead, I want to establish a mercenary team. In the future, we will take on missions to earn rewards." After hearing his plan for the future, some of the soldiers hesitated, but no one voiced their thoughts yet. Noticing this, Jin Xuyan added, "If you follow me, you will be risking your life with no guarantees of enough supplies or stable life. So, think carefully before making your decision." As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Luzi stepped forward and said without hesitation, "Captain, I will follow you." One by one, the Wen brothers, Zhang Yuan, Gao Bohai, Shen Jinzhe, Chen Qianfeng, Zhou Huajian, Li Sikai, Xiao Qi, Feng Yun, and Yin Yusheng followed suit. They looked at him and said in unison, "Captain, we will follow you." Jin Xuyan saw their determination and nodded with a smile, "Good." Then, he turned to the others and asked, "What about the rest of you? It''s okay if you choose to join Wei Ying. Everyone is free to make their own decision. I won''t force you, and you don''t need to feel guilty if you decide to leave." Chapter 128 - 128: Walking On A Different Path After a long silence, one ability-user finally stepped forward and said, "Captain, it wasn''t easy for me to get into the special forces. I don''t want to retire." Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "I understand. Thank you for your service all these years. Before you leave, I will divide some supplies and crystal cores for you." Hearing this, the rest of those who wanted to leave finally spoke up. Most were unwilling to retire after working so hard to join the special forces. While Xiao Qi and the others felt upset, seeing them as traitors, Jin Xuyan had no objections. He would rather they leave than follow him unwillingly. Once their decisions were made, Jin Xuyan stood up and saluted them. The soldiers returned his salute. Lowering his hand, he said, "Brothers, I wish you all a bright future and safety. Meeting adjourned." With that, he turned and left the room. Watching his firm steps as he left, those who chose to leave lowered their heads. Most had only been in the Phantom Team for a year or two, and though their attachment wasn''t deep, they had received their captain''s care and even owed him their lives. Now that they were leaving, guilt weighed heavily on them. Noticing this, Zhang Yuan turned to them and said, "Raise your heads and stand tall." The soldiers obeyed, despite looking at him with teary eyes. Zhang Yuan let out a long sigh before he said, "Brothers, from today onward, the duty of protecting our country falls on your shoulders. Since you have made your choice, walk your path with confidence." "Captain and us don''t blame you¡ªhe understands your concerns. Don''t burden yourselves with guilt. We regret that we won''t be able to watch your backs and fight alongside you anymore, but we wish you all a safe and sound future." "Those leaving, pack your belongings and report to the Eagle Team. Those staying, remain here." The soldiers who chose to leave saluted him before walking out, one by one. Now, only 12 people remain in the room. Fifteen had left, including four ability-users. Noticing the heavy mood, Zhang Yuan smiled and asked, "Why do you all look like you lost a million dollars?" Xiao Qi frowned and said, "Vice Captain, aren''t you angry? After everything we have been through together, they just left." Zhang Yuan patted his shoulder and said, "Xiao Qi, throughout life, many people will only stay for a moment¡ªguests passing through your life. If you get angry every time someone leaves, won''t you wear yourself out?" "I understand how you feel, but in the end, everyone has the right to choose their own path. Just because we think differently doesn''t mean their decision is wrong." "You are still young. You will understand more in time," he added patiently. Seeing that everyone had calmed down, he continued, "I asked you all to stay because we will be heading to the seed factory with the Captain to collect supplies." "Today, the Captain and Sister-in-law found rice and coarse grains there. From the information he gathered, the amount is significant." "For now, Li Sikai will temporarily lead the camp. Wen Mo, Wen Kai, and Yin Yusheng will stay behind to help. With our team members and some from the Eagle Team, the survivors won''t dare cause trouble." "The rest of you will go with the captain. Tonight, get some rest. We leave at first light." Everyone nodded and replied in unison, "Understood." After the soldiers left the room, a young woman walked over and asked, "Brother, can you let me sleep in that room for a night? My stomach is in pain, and I can''t sleep outside." When she walked closer, Qin Luzi smelled the thick scent of blood coming from her. He frowned and checked the map in his mind. Seeing the white dot, he frowned and asked, "Are you injured?" The woman was stunned by his words for a while before she realized something. In an instant, her face turned red, and she stammered, "N-No, I''m not injured." S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Then why is the scent of blood around you so heavy?" Qin Luzi asked again. As a straight man who spent most of his life studying in military school and then lived in the wilderness during missions, he had no idea about women''s matters at all. Seeing that he had no clue what was happening, the woman hesitated for a long time but was still unable to tell a stranger about her period. When she was contemplating whether to just forget about it, Jiao Lizhi saw them and walked over. The moment she smelled the blood and saw how the woman pressed her lower abdomen, she understood immediately. She stood beside her and asked in a low voice, "Sister, do you use that?" The woman shook her head and replied in a low voice, "I forgot to bring any with me." Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi said, "I have some. Come with me." "Thank you, sister," the woman said gratefully. Qin Luzi was confused when he saw the young woman suddenly following his sister-in-law after they whispered for a moment. Since he couldn''t understand, he just put it at the back of his mind. Meanwhile, Jin Xuyan saw his Ah Zhi bring a woman to her car and followed them. When he saw her rummaging through her backpack and taking out a piece of clean underwear, a strip of pain relief medicine, and two packs of sanitary pads, he decided not to go over. "Sister, remember to wash the blood off properly. Zombies have a very keen sense of smell. If the scent is too strong, it will attract them," Jiao Lizhi said as she handed the items to the woman. Accepting the items, the woman nodded and said, "Thank you, sister." Using her backpack as cover, Jiao Lizhi took out two sachets of brown sugar ginger soup. This instant drink was convenient to have¡ªthey only needed to mix it with hot water to drink it directly. She used a paper cup to prepare the brown sugar ginger soup for the woman and said, "Drink this and then go rest. You can go to the new room, it''s less windy there." This time, the woman accepted the hot soup with reddened eyes. Not to mention the apocalypse; even in normal times, not many people were as generous as this girl. After thanking her one last time, the young woman went to find a place to change her underwear and rest. Chapter 129 - 129: Zombies Horde Not long after the woman left, Jin Xuyan walked over to Jiao Lizhi''s car and said, "Ah Zhi, I have some women''s products for you in my backpack." Jiao Lizhi had already noticed his footsteps and asked, "What things?" "Go have a look, and you will know," Jin Xuyan replied mysteriously. Feeling curious, Jiao Lizhi grabbed Jin Xuyan''s backpack and opened it. The moment she saw those products, her face turned red. She turned to look at him and asked, "Why are you¡­ getting these?" "Since I came to find you, I had to prepare for an emergency. I don''t know what brand you use, so I took some of each. If you need more, we can go to the supermarket and get them," Jin Xuyan said. Jiao Lizhi was speechless at his matter-of-fact tone and checked the underwear. When she saw the size was perfect for her, doubts flashed in her mind. In their past lives, they had never interacted. So how did he know her size? Seeing that she only looked at the items but didn''t collect them into her space, Jin Xuyan asked, "Ah Zhi, what''s wrong?" Hearing his voice, Jiao Lizhi snapped back to her senses. Feeling embarrassed, she quickly stored the items in her space. Then, thinking about the danger they might face, she took out five bottles of pond water from her space and put them into his backpack. Jin Xuyan noticed this, smiled, but said nothing. His Ah Zhi always worried that he wouldn''t have enough water to drink. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. As the guards and survivors rested for the night, inside several factories, the people hiding in the dormitories noticed that the number of zombies had been reduced by more than half. It had been a few days since they heard the commotion outside the dormitories, and they had thought that the soldiers would come to rescue them. But until now, no one had ever come. Fear, desperation, and anxiety filled their hearts as they huddled together in their rooms. Some of them, who no longer had any food or water, finally decided to leave at sunrise. The night was long, but it eventually passed. When the sun rose and the red moon set, the survivors came out of their small rooms one after another. Before leaving, they gathered everything that could be used as a weapon and left the buildings. Thanks to Jin Xuyan''s team, most of the zombies had been cleared, and they only encountered some wandering zombies. But even though they outnumbered the zombies, the moment the survivors saw the zombies, they screamed and ran away instead of fighting. Due to their screams, more and more zombies were attracted to their location. Similar situations occurred in several factories visited by Jin Xuyan''s team. Only those factories in the distance, still full of zombies, remained unaffected. When the sun rose higher, Qin Luzi suddenly opened his eyes and stood up on high alert. The moment he saw the dense clusters of red dots and white dots, mixed with a few green dots, his expression turned solemn and cold sweat broke on his back. Xiao Qi, who had just finished washing his face, saw his strange reaction and asked, "Brother Luzi, what''s wrong?" After confirming that the number of zombies heading their way was several times greater than before, he said, "Xiao Qi, go inform the Captain. A zombie horde is coming our way. The number might be more than several thousands." The moment he heard this, Xiao Qi''s smile vanished instantly. He quickly ran toward Jin Xuyan''s tent. While Xiao Qi went to inform his captain, Qin Luzi woke his brothers and said, "Everyone, a zombie horde is coming! Wake the survivors and evacuate them as soon as possible!" As soon as the soldiers heard his words, their drowsiness disappeared instantly. At this moment, Xiao Qi had already woken up Jin Xuyan and said, "Captain, a zombie horde is coming!" Awakened by his shout, Jin Xuyan ordered calmly as he put on his clothes, "Inform the Eagle Team and ask them to evacuate the survivors. Those who decide to leave, go with them to protect the survivors." "Captain, what about the supplies?" Xiao Qi asked again. "Go find Feng Yun and give the supplies to the Eagle Team." After saying this, Jin Xuyan went to find Jiao Lizhi. Xiao Qi didn''t waste time and quickly went about his task. When he found Feng Yun, he had already taken out four military trucks and filled them with a variety of supplies. Seeing this, Xiao Qi said, "Feng Yun, come with me." The two of them went to the survivors'' resting area and saw Wei Ying and his team organizing the survivors to board the bus. "Don''t push! Get inside faster!" one of the soldiers shouted as he shoved the survivors'' belongings into the bus''s trunk. The survivors were confused and annoyed at being woken up so early and forced onto the bus without explanation. Seeing the soldiers carelessly throwing their belongings into the trunk, one of them said, "Hey, be careful! If you break my things, I will ask you for compensation!" When the soldier heard this, he replied, "There''s a horde of zombies coming, and you still want to argue? If you want to die, step aside and don''t block other people''s way!" At first, the survivors didn''t believe the soldier''s words. But the moment they heard the roars of zombies mixed with the screams of people in the distance, their faces turned pale as they realized the soldier was telling the truth. Out of fear, they began pushing each other, desperately trying to board the bus first. Seeing this, the soldier panicked and said, "Stop pushing! The more you push, the slower you are!" Perhaps fear made them more obedient. After hearing the soldier''s words, they stopped pushing, and their speed increased. Even after the seats were full, the soldiers kept telling them to make room so the rest of the survivors could get inside. Chapter 130 - 130: Trump Card ( 1 ) Being pushed and squeezed, the survivors didn''t dare to complain and could only resign themselves to their fate of being packed like sardines. The moment the bus could no longer hold any more people, the soldier climbed into the driver''s seat and drove away. In front of them, several buses and trucks were already on the move. Some soldiers sat on the buses'' rooftops, their guns and rifles ready to shoot at the zombies. While the soldiers evacuated the survivors, Xiao Qi found Wei Ying, pointed at the military trucks, and said, "Captain Wei, you can take those supplies." Wei Ying followed Xiao Qi''s direction, saw four military trucks full of supplies, and said, "Thank you!" Xiao Qi saluted and said, "Captain Wei, we will leave the survivors to you!" Knowing this might be the last time they met, Wei Ying returned the salute, and said, "Stay alive!" Afterward, he turned, and walked away. After ordering his soldiers to drive the military trucks away, he went to find Pei Yijun and his team. When he saw them preparing for battle, he said, "Young Master Pei, you are coming with us." Hearing this, Pei Yijun said, "I will stay and block the zombies." Seeing his stubborn gaze, Wei Ying didn''t have time to argue. With a swift motion, he struck the back of Pei Yijun''s neck. The next moment, Pei Yijun rolled his eyes and collapsed. Seeing this, Han Jie asked, "What are you doing?!" Wei Ying hoisted the unconscious Pei Yijun onto his shoulder and said, "If you want to live, follow me. If you stay, you will die." Leaving those words behind, he walked toward his car. Han Jie hesitated for a moment before following him. As for Li Yang and Chu Zhimiao, they looked at each other, then at the Phantom Team. After a moment of hesitation, Li Yang grabbed his childhood friend''s wrist and said, "Let''s go!" Being pulled along by a strength-type ability-user, Chu Zhimiao could only follow behind him. As she walked, she glanced back at Shen Jinzhe, worry clear in her eyes. Before she was pushed into Li Yang''s jeep, her gaze met Shen Jinzhe''s calm gaze. The next moment, the car sped away, and all she could hear were the roars of zombies and the screams of people running frantically. When she turned her head, she was no longer able to see anything. While the Eagle Team led the survivors to evacuate, the Phantom Team was preparing for battle. At this moment, besides Jiao Lizhi and Jin Xuyan, there were only 12 people in their team. "Check your ammunition and guns. If you are wounded, run out of energy or stamina, retreat and rest," Jin Xuyan said as he looked at his team. Jiao Lizhi carried her backpacks over, handed two bottles of pond water to each of them, and said, "Drink this when you are tired." After distributing the water, she used her backpack as cover and took out the transparent crystal cores from her space. At this moment, she didn''t have time to count the number of crystals. She gave a handful to each of them and said, "Absorb the energy from the crystals to recover if you run out of energy." The soldiers pocketed the crystal cores and water. Just after they finished distributing the supplies, they heard the screams getting closer. "Akh! Help! Please save me!" "Roarr!!!" "Stop pushing! Ahk!!" Seeing the chaotic situation, Jin Xuyan said, "Build a wall!" As soon as they heard his words, Wen Kai and Wen Mo clasped their hands together before spreading them apart. In less than a few seconds, a three-meter metal wall appeared in front of them, blocking the road. When the survivors saw this, their eyes filled with despair as they continued shouting and cursing. "No! Save me!" S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Why are you blocking the road?! Open it!" "Ugh! Arkh!!" "Roar!" The sound of people cursing, begging, and screaming mixed with the roars of zombies. At this moment, Jin Xuyan couldn''t take the risk of letting the people pass. They didn''t know if any were infected. So, he jumped to the top of the wall and said, "When you reach the wall, stay put!" The moment the soldiers saw him going up, they followed after him. Seeing that they were a group of people wearing soldier uniforms, hope ignited in the survivors'' eyes. Since they had no other choice, they could only listen to the soldiers. When the survivors were five meters away from the wall, Zhou Huajian opened his palms, and two vines shot out. Crack! Boom! With a swing of his hands, the vines made a loud cracking sound and rushed toward the zombie crowd. When the survivors saw the incoming vines, they covered their heads and squatted down. When they felt cold, stinking blood splash onto their backs, they didn''t dare to turn around and kept running. Moving swiftly like snakes, Zhou Huajian''s vines whipped the zombies back while crushing several heads in the front line. His attacks create distance between zombies and survivors, allowing them to reach the wall safely. The moment they reached the wall, the Wen brothers created another two-meter metal barrier to block the zombies'' advance. Trapped in between, the survivors let out a sigh of relief with pale faces. "Old Qin, check the survivors'' condition and kill those who are mutating," Jin Xuyan said and jumped to the front wall. "Yes, Captain!" Taking his order, Qin Luzi checked the map in his mind. With the wall separating the survivors and zombies, he could see some of the white dots flickering to red. Pulling out his dagger, he jumped down from the wall and rushed toward the red dots. "Roarr!!" One of the wounded turned into a zombie and pounced on the nearest person, biting her neck. "Akhh!! Help!" Seeing some of them turning into zombies, the survivors panicked and screamed as they ran for their lives. Qin Luzi frowned at the noise but said nothing. STAB! Chapter 131 - 131: Trump Card ( 2 ) Qin Luzi''s dagger pierced the zombie''s skull in one swift movement before it could bite a young woman. As he pulled out the blade, he turned and kicked another zombie beside him. Crack! The zombie''s neck snapped from his roundhouse kick, and it fell to the ground with a loud thud. "Roar!" Another zombie lunged at the young woman with its mouth wide open. Seeing this, her knees gave out, and she fell to the ground. With fear filling her heart, she squeezed her eyes shut as she screamed, "Ah!! Save me!" Crash! When she thought she was dead, black blood splattered across her face. Feeling the sticky liquid, she opened her eyes and saw a pair of military boots in front of her. Looking down at the woman, Qin Luzi said with annoyance clear in his eyes, "Shut up if you want to live." Before finishing his words, he was already moving again, stabbing another zombie in the temple. The survivors, watching him kill the zombies, quickly scrambled to another direction. Meanwhile, the rest of the Phantom Team was busy harvesting the zombies'' heads. Standing atop the wall, they unleashed their abilities. Amidst the colorful attacks, Xiao Qi stood beside Feng Yun and said, "Look at them¡ªflashy but not so effective. Today, Brother will teach you how to kill fast and accurately." Feng Yun raised an eyebrow when he heard his words. As a space-type ability user, he lacked offensive skills, so he was curious to see what Xiao Qi meant. CRASH! BOOM! The next moment, a massive boulder materialized out of nowhere and smashed the zombies. His eyes widened as he watched Xiao Qi repeatedly summon and withdraw the massive rock into his space. While the attack wasn''t flashy, it was brutally effective¡ªjust as he said. One move wiped out entire groups of zombies, turning them into mince meat paste. Seeing Feng Yun''s astonished expression, Xiao Qi smirked and said, "How''s that? We space-type ability-users have the best AOE skills. So, don''t feel ashamed and puff up your chest." Feng Yun nodded, giving him a thumbs-up while saying, "Amazing." Satisfied with the praise, Xiao Qi continued his attack, using the zombies to play whack-a-mole game. Watching Xiao Qi kill zombies using the boulder, an idea formed in Feng Yun''s mind. Since his space ability functioned similarly to a space portal, could he create a space blade or space crack? Looking at the horde below, he thought, ''With so many test subjects, I should be able to test my theory.'' Channeling his energy into his forefinger and middle finger, he felt the space in his mind fluctuate as it slowly connected to his surroundings. Flicking his wrist, he sent the energy downward. He had no expectations¡ªbut what happened next stunned him. Wouuummm! CRASH! SPLASH! A space tear appeared for a split second. Before he could process what was happening, a group of zombies stretched like spaghetti before being torn apart into small chunks. No one saw what happened in that brief moment¡ªonly that a group of zombies suddenly exploded. Black blood and rotten matter rained down, covering the ground. Xiao Qi, standing beside Feng Yun, jumped and exclaimed, "What the hell was that?!" Despite his shock, Feng Yun stared at his fingertips in disbelief. Just now, he felt his space energy stir and flow out of his body as the crack appeared. It had only lasted a moment, but he had seen it¡ªthe tiny crack, no bigger than a soybean, pulled surrounding zombies into it. They had stretched grotesquely before bursting. Testing his theory again, he concentrated and flicked his wrist. WOUUMM!!! Crash! Splash! This time, the space crack was marble-sized and lasted for two seconds. A powerful suction force erupted in the center of the zombie horde and tore the zombies into pieces. Jin Xuyan''s eyes flickered as he watched part of his black flame also being pulled away by the suction force. Turning his head, he saw Feng Yun kneeling on the wall with a pale face. Due to the increased size of the space crack, Feng Yun''s energy was almost completely drained. Feeling the severe headache and pain in his body, the corner of his lips lifted. Watching an entire section of the horde reduced to a rain of black blood, he was ecstatic. If he had more energy, his skill could destroy a city. Using this attack skill, he noticed that while his ability energy was nearly depleted, the other type of energy he used to store or retrieve items from his space remained untouched. This discovery made him realize that space-type ability users might be fundamentally different from others. While he was lost in his thoughts, the Wen brothers glanced at the bent metal wall, then at Feng Yun. Although they said nothing, they all noted this moment. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. None of them had expected a space-type ability to be so terrifying. With one move, Feng Yun killed hundreds of zombies. If he continued to hone this skill, he could become the strongest ability user in the future. While everyone was shocked, Jiao Lizhi only spared him a glance. In her past life, Feng Yun had been a level-four ability user yet could fight those stronger than him. She had thought his space blade was his trump card. Turns out his real trump card was this. No wonder he was able to destroy a zombie den by himself. Xiao Qi noticed Feng Yun''s condition and said, "Brother, why are you smiling like a pervert? Quickly absorb the energy from the crystal and recover your energy. There are still a lot of zombies coming." Hearing his words, Feng Yun regained his senses and took out a transparent crystal core from his pocket. Feeling a trace of warm energy seeping into his palm, he focused his mind on drawing the energy out of the crystal. When the energy entered his body, it circled his whole body once before ending in his head. The moment the energy was absorbed by his body, he felt something changing, but he couldn''t pinpoint what it was. After a few minutes, the crystal core in his palm turned into fine dust. Chapter 132 - 132: Mental Breakdown Feeling his headache lessen, Feng Yun continued to absorb another crystal. This time, he tried to guide the energy in his body and was surprised to find that he was able to do it. Every place the energy passed through was no longer as sore as before. Before he could soothe the soreness of his muscles and joints, the crystal turned into dust. After experiencing the refreshing feeling of absorbing the energy, he no longer hesitated. When the fourth crystal turned into fine dust, he finally felt that the emptiness in his body caused by the lack of energy had been filled. Standing on the wall, he created another space crack. Woommm! Crash! Learning from his experience, he aimed his skill far away from the wall. Since he still didn''t know how to completely control it, he only created a bean-sized space crack that lasted for a second. Even at a smaller size, he could only use his skill six times before draining all of his ability energy. Seeing that he was absorbing crystal cores again, Xiao Qi said, "Brother, how about you kill the zombies using a boulder like me? Even if your attack is ruthless and fast, it uses too many crystals." "Do these crystals have any other use?" Feng Yun asked curiously while absorbing the crystal. Xiao Qi shook his head and replied, "So far, we only know that these crystals can help us recover our energy and increase our ability level. But judging from our situation, money won''t have any value anymore, and we might have to use barter in the future." "These crystals are not easy to get, as not every zombie has one. So, we might be able to use them to exchange for supplies in the future." Hearing his words, Feng Yun found it made sense. So, after absorbing two more crystals, he stopped and chose to kill the zombies using a big boulder. This time, he didn''t feel any space fluctuation but noticed that his focus and concentration slowly decreased as he collected and took out the boulder. It was as if he were staying up late and overusing his brain. While the Phantom Team was fighting against the zombies, the Eagle Team successfully left the factory district. As they drove in the opposite direction, the soldiers sitting on the bus rooftop saw colorful lights flashing from the factory''s direction, and everyone could feel the ground shake following the sound of explosions in the distance. At this moment, the survivors squeezing inside the buses and trucks only felt fortunate that they had survived the calamity. Most of them felt guilty as they thought about those who stayed behind to ensure their escape, while at the same time feeling helpless and suffocated due to their inability to help the soldiers kill the zombies. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Even Aunt Wang, who believed it was the soldiers'' duty to protect them, was lost in her thoughts and her fear after brushing so close to death. Out of everyone, only Situ Bani stood in the corner, looking at the rising sun in a daze. After her mental attack against Jiao Lizhi failed and her energy was absorbed instead, she only had the intelligence of a three-year-old child after waking up. At the front of the fleet, the modified car hit the wandering zombies blocking the road. During their stay in the Phantom Team''s camp, the Wen brothers had helped them reinforce their cars. Even though their cars were not armored vehicles like those owned by the Phantom Team, with the addition of metal planks and metal barbs, their cars'' defenses and attack ability increased, allowing them to crush the zombies without a problem. Behind them, the buses and trucks filled with survivors and Pei Yijun''s team followed closely. In the middle of the fleet, four military trucks carried supplies given by the Phantom Team. At the rear of the fleet were two military cars, where Wei Ying and the newly joined soldiers sat. Sitting inside one of the military cars, the ex-members of the Phantom Team sat with their heads lowered. When they left, they saw the number of zombies. Staying behind meant they were ready to die. They had thought of staying and fighting alongside their captain, but before they could voice their intentions, Zhang Yuan gave them his last order as vice captain¡ªto join the Eagle Team and survive. Under his order, they could only leave with heavy hearts. Noticing their moods, Wei Ying wanted to comfort them, but he didn''t know what to say. In the end, he let out a long sigh but said nothing. When everyone thought that the Phantom Team had sacrificed their lives to allow them to escape, Jin Xuyan and his team were harvesting crystal cores. After almost two hours of fighting, most of them had run out of energy. Besides Li Sikai and Yun Yusheng, who hadn''t awakened their abilities, the one in the worst condition was Xiao Qi. Due to his overuse of space, he was having a mental breakdown. Unlike other ability users, he couldn''t recover his energy by absorbing crystal cores. At this moment, he was sitting on top of the wall, crying while eating chocolate. As he chewed the chocolate with teary eyes, he looked at Feng Yun and asked hoarsely, "Brother Feng Yun, tell me, why do I feel so tired, sad, and stressed?" Feng Yun, who also felt the overwhelming negative emotions hitting him stronger the more he used the big boulder to smash zombies, said, "I don''t know." "Don''t you feel depressed, too?" Xiao Qi asked again. After confirming his guess, Feng Yun stopped using his space and took a rest. Sitting beside Xiao Qi, he drank the water given by Jiao Lizhi before saying, "I think the negative emotions you are experiencing now are due to overusing your space." Hearing this, Xiao Qi pointed at his brothers and asked, "Why don''t they feel depressed? Why is it only me?" As soon as he finished speaking, he opened his mouth and bawled his eyes out. Chapter 133 - 133: Energy Transfer ( 1 ) Feng Yun looked at Xiao Qi, who was crying, with amusement in his eyes, and said, "If my guesses are correct, there are two types of energy used by ability users." Wiping his tears, Xiao Qi asked curiously, "What energy?" After finishing the water, Feng Yun felt the overwhelming negative emotions in his mind lessen. He pointed at the soldiers and replied, "The energy they use and the energy we use to control our space are different." "How do you know?" Xiao Qi asked again. Feng Yun thought for a while before explaining, "When I create a space crack, my body feels pain, and I get severe headaches after using up my energy, but my mind is clear, and my emotions are stable. The energy absorbed from the crystals can recover the lost energy and lessen the pain." "But when I use the boulder to smash the zombies, my body feels nothing. However, overusing space to take out and collect the boulder makes my mind clouded, and negative thoughts surge into my head." "From what I know, thoughts and the mind are connected to mental health. If we use that as a basis, then accessing space must be consuming our mental energy." "Meanwhile, using our space ability to create the space crack consumes our ability energy. That''s why our bodies are fine, but our minds are affected when we overuse our spaces." After hearing his explanation, Xiao Qi looked at him and said in disbelief, "According to your words, don''t we turn into idiots if we keep using our spaces?" Feng Yun chuckled at his words and shook his head as he said, "I have no idea. But after draining my energy and recovering it, I can feel that something is expanding inside my body." "The second time I absorbed energy, I needed more crystals than the first time. Perhaps the amount of energy our bodies can store increases each time we drain and recover it." "Maybe overusing our space will not affect us in a bad way. Who knows, we might even gain something unexpectedly from continuing to overuse our space," he added with a smile. While the two of them were chatting, the soldiers, Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi, were paying attention to their discussions. When Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi heard Feng Yun''s words, they were surprised. They knew all of that information regarding space-type ability because they had lived in the apocalypse for years. But for Feng Yun, today was only the eighth day of the apocalypse, and he had only just awakened his space-type ability. Yet, he had drawn this conclusion in just a few days. Just based on his observation skills, he would be able to survive in the apocalypse for a long time. After another thirty minutes, the soldiers finally couldn''t hold on anymore. Even if they continued absorbing the crystal cores, their stamina was still depleted after using their skills nonstop for more than two hours. It wasn''t that their energy was running out, but their hands and arms were sore. To use and aim their abilities, they needed to wave and raise their arms. If it was for a short period, they wouldn''t feel anything, but waving their arms for two hours was too much even for trained soldiers. Qin Luzi checked the red dots in his mind and said, "Captain, the number of zombies has been reduced by one-third." When everyone heard this, they couldn''t help but take a sharp breath. They had killed so many zombies, yet the number had only been reduced by one-third. From this alone, they could guess that the number of zombies was more than 30,000, if not more. Seeing their exhaustion, Jin Xuyan said, "Take a break. Eat and drink to recover your stamina." Hearing this, Zhang Yuan said, "Captain, we will take turns." "No need, just rest. Ah Zhi and I can handle it." After he finished speaking, he jumped from the wall and swung his longsword. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. BOOM! A huge energy blade covered in black flames flew toward the zombies and exploded upon contact. The black flames burned the zombie corpses on the ground and created a huge empty area. The moment he landed on the ground, he dashed toward the remaining zombies. Seeing this, Jiao Lizhi gripped her dagger and jumped from the wall, following him without hesitation. When she landed, she quickly rushed toward the zombies. "Roar!!" Crack! With her dagger covered in a thin water blade, she slashed a zombie that pounced at her in half. Before the black blood splattered onto her, she turned to the side and stabbed her dagger into another zombie''s head. "Roar!!" Noticing several zombies pouncing at her from three directions, she gripped her dagger, kicked one zombie, and pulled out her dagger. Using the force from the kick, she jumped and flipped in the air. Stab! Stab! Stab! While mid-air, she waved her hand, and several ice needles flew toward the zombies, piercing their skulls. After killing several zombies, she saw four zombies pouncing at Jin Xuyan from behind. With a flick of her wrist, the ice needles flow out from the zombies'' heads. With another flick of her wrist, the ice needles flew toward the zombies behind Jin Xuyan. Stab! Stab! Stab! Turning his head, Jin Xuyan saw Jiao Lizhi staring at him with a frown. He smiled apologetically when he realized she was angry. Fearing that she would ignore him later, he jumped back, dodging the zombies'' claws, and stood two meters away from her. Looking at her, he said, "Ah Zhi, don''t be angry. I will be more careful." Jiao Lizhi was too busy killing zombies to respond. Even though she absorbed crystal cores and drank her pond water, her energy recovery couldn''t keep up with its usage. The reason she was able to hold on for so long was thanks to her absorption skill. When he saw the thin layer of sweat on her forehead and her pale lips, Jin Xuyan waved his hand. Boom! Chapter 134 - 134: Energy Transfer ( 2 ) A black fireball flew at a fast speed and burned a group of zombies nearby. Taking advantage of the opening, Jin Xuyan rushed to her side and held her left hand. Feeling the pull on her hand, Jiao Lizhi looked at him and asked with disbelief, "Brother Yan, what are you doing? Let me go." Just after she finished speaking, she felt a surge of warm energy entering her body. The throbbing headache from overusing her energy lessened with the energy flow. Realizing that he was transferring his energy to her, her eyes widened in shock. The energy transfer skill was unique to healing-type ability users since their energy was gentle and had no property. As for other types of ability users, they could only transfer their energy to the same type of ability users. Water-type and fire-type abilities constrained each other. Not to mention transferring energy to each other, it was even difficult for them to conceive a child. Therefore, when she realized that Jin Xuyan was able to transfer his energy to her, Jiao Lizhi''s shock couldn''t be described in words. BOOM! Another fireball struck the zombies that pounced on them, burning them into black ashes. "Ah Zhi, don''t think too much. Use your ability to attack," Jin Xuyan said. The next moment, black flames ignited and burned fiercely, turning the zombies into a pile of black ashes. Although he could kill the zombies quickly, the energy being absorbed by his body was too much. Therefore, he didn''t dare to kill too fast, fearing that his body wouldn''t be able to handle it and might explode from over-absorption. The more his black flames burned the zombies, the more cold energy entered his body. As he refined the energy, he sent the warm energy into Jiao Lizhi''s body. Feeling her energy recover faster than when she absorbed crystal cores, Jiao Lizhi looked at him with concern. Only when she saw that he was fine did she refocus her mind on the battle. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. With Jin Xuyan taking care of one side, Jiao Lizhi only needed to handle the other. With energy supplied by him, she didn''t hold back and summoned several water blades. Wush~ Crack! Crack! Crack! With a flick of her wrist, the water blades flew at high speed toward the zombies'' necks. The water blades spun rapidly and sliced through the rotting flesh as if it were butter. While the two of them fought below, the Phantom Team members sat on top of the wall, eating and drinking the pond water. They watched the fire burning and water splashing below with excitement. After resting for a long time and eating a lot of chocolate, Xiao Qi''s mental energy had already recovered by half, and he was no longer having a mental breakdown. Sitting beside Qin Luzi, he asked hoarsely, "Brother Luzi, can you guess what level our Captain is now?" After finishing a bottle of pond water, Qin Luzi looked at the deep blue dots in his mind and said, "I don''t know." "Judging from our Captain''s power, he should be at least level three," Zhang Yuan said after thinking for a moment. "Vice Captain, do you know the power of level three ability users?" Shen Jinzhe asked. "No, but we fought against a level three zombie and a level two mutated zombie before. The difference in strength between a level two and a level three zombie is huge. Our Captain can kill a level two zombie by himself, so he should be stronger than level two," Zhang Yuan said. Recalling their fight in the gas station, the soldiers nodded at his words, finding that it made sense. After an hour, the soldiers jumped down from the wall and joined their captain and sister-in-law to clear the zombies. When the sun rose above their heads, they finally killed the last zombies. With Jin Xuyan''s black flame burning the zombies'' corpses into black ashes, only the crystal cores left behind, glistening on the ground. Since Jiao Lizhi didn''t want to let others know about her space, Jin Xuyan looked at Xiao Qi and said, "Xiao Qi, collect the crystal cores." "Yes, Captain!" While Xiao Qi went to collect the crystals, Jin Xuyan looked at Wen Mo. Without his captain telling him what to do, he raised his hands and turned the first layer of the metal wall into bunches of metal bullets. Seeing this, Feng Yun asked, "Brother Wen Mo, can you give me the metal bullets?" Since he could make more and he had no place to store these metal bullets, Wen Mo was generous and said, "Sure." Feng Yun thanked him and collected the metal bullets into his space. He had a new idea of how to use his space to attack when he saw these metal bullets. While he was thinking about how to utilize his idea, Qin Luzi checked the survivors and saw several white dots flickering on the map in his mind. He looked at Jin Xuyan and said, "Captain, there are nine people mutating." The moment he said this, the survivors looked at the people near them with fear. "Check on their conditions," Jin Xuyan said. Qin Luzi walked toward the survivors, followed by Gao Bohai and Shen Jinzhe. When the survivors saw them approaching, they stared at them. No one dared to move, fearing they would be killed. Qin Luzi pointed at several people and said, "Four of them almost turned into zombies." The moment he said these words, Shen Jinzhe pulled out his dagger and stabbed it toward a man beside him. STAB! His dagger pierced the man''s wide mouth, going through his skull. When he pulled back his dagger, dark red blood spurted out. Before the dark red blood splashed on his body, he kicked the zombie away. "Ahhh!" Seeing him kill one of them, the survivors let out a scream. As the zombie''s corpse fell to the ground with a thud, they realized the man''s flesh was rotten, and his mouth was split in half with rows of sharp teeth inside. Chapter 135 - 135: An Example Qin Luzi looked at the survivors with annoyance and said coldly, "If you let out another scream, I will throw you to the zombies." After experiencing the horror of being chased by zombies, everyone understood that their screams attracted them. So, after hearing the warning, no one dared to make a sound. Soon after Shen Jinzhe killed one of the mutating survivors, Gao Bohai had already tied up the rest. Out of eight people, two had already lost their minds and completely turned into zombies, while another still had some consciousness left. She looked at Gao Bohai and pleaded hoarsely, "Kill¡­me¡­please¡­" Looking into her dull white eyes, Gao Bohai sighed and said, "Farewell, Comrade." As his words fell, his dagger plunged into the woman''s forehead, killing her instantly. Everyone watched with mixed emotions. Those zombies were once their colleagues. But now, they were killed as monsters. Shen Jinzhe burned the corpses with his blue flame after killing the zombies. As for the five wounded survivors, Gao Bohai checked on them and said, "Captain, they have a high fever and didn''t show any mutation signs." Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Feed them medicine and water. Check on their condition every ten minutes." "Understood." Then, he looked at the rest of the survivors and said, "We will give you supplies and water. The road ahead has been cleared of zombies, so you can leave." When they heard this, they were unwilling to leave. Even though they didn''t see how this group of soldiers killed the zombies, they knew for sure that this group was very strong. If they followed this group, they wouldn''t have to worry about their safety. With this thought, a young man said, "Comrade, can I follow you? I promise I will do as you say." Jin Xuyan looked at them and saw that everyone had the same thought as the young man. He understood the responsibility and troubles of taking a group of civilians with him in his previous life. If he had to say it bluntly, protecting civilians was a thankless job. Not only did he receive no reward, but he also had to bear their complaints and scolding. He had already had enough of it in his previous life, so he had no plans to do it again in this one. With his hand in his pocket, he looked at the young man and said, "My team is not soldiers. We are mercenaries. We don''t have any plans to recruit members. If you want us to protect you, you have to pay us." The moment the young man heard this, he pulled out his wallet and said, "Comrade, I only have 500 yuan." Raising his eyebrows, Jin Xuyan chuckled and said, "Comrade, you don''t think money still has value, do you?" Hearing this, the young man asked, "What do you mean by that?" Jin Xuyan pointed at the pile of black ashes and said, "With zombies around, do you think people still accept that waste paper?" Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "If you don''t want money, then what do you want?" the young man asked again. "Supplies or crystal cores," Jin Xuyan said. "Crystal cores?" The young man was confused. At that moment, Xiao Qi returned, handed two backpacks to him, and said, "Captain, I have collected everything." Jin Xuyan nodded and took out a crystal core from the backpack. He showed it to the survivors and said, "This is a crystal core. You can get it from killing zombies. If you are lucky, the zombie you kill might have this crystal in its brain." When everyone heard his words, they were devastated. How could they obtain the so-called crystal cores if they couldn''t even kill zombies? Jin Xuyan handed all the crystal cores to Jiao Lizhi before adding, "Since you don''t have any supplies or crystal cores, you can''t join my team." "What if we insist on following you?" one of the survivors asked stubbornly. When Jin Xuyan heard this, he chuckled and replied nonchalantly, "We can''t stop you if you want to follow us. But we won''t protect you or wait for you. If you can keep up with my team, then you are free to do so." "But if you choose to leave, we will give you some supplies and a dagger. Whether you survive in the apocalypse or become food for the zombies will depend on yourself." As soon as he finished his words, Wen Mo raised his hands and turned the metal wall behind the survivors into a lump of metal. Afterward, he turned the metal into a pile of daggers. The blades gleamed under the sunlight, showcasing their sharpness. When he was done, Feng Yun and Xiao Qi consulted with Zhang Yuan before taking out enough food and water from their spaces to last the survivors a week. Looking at the pile of food, water, and daggers, the survivors hesitated. After a while, the young man finally stood up and said, "Comrade, please give me the supplies and a dagger." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan gave Xiao Qi and Feng Yun a nod. With his permission, Feng Yun handed the supplies to the young man while Xiao Qi gave him a dagger. Since the young man had no bag, he could only use his T-shirt as a temporary back and use it to hold his supplies. When he got his supplies, he thanked them and left. With someone setting an example, the rest of the survivors followed suit one after another. An hour later, the survivors had already gotten their supplies and left. After they left, a woman walked over to Jin Xuyan and asked, "Comrade, can I stay with my brother?" Pointing at one of the men tied by the soldiers, she said, "That''s my brother." Since she was his family, Jin Xuyan had no objection and said, "You can stay. When your brother wakes up, you will leave with him." "Thank you." The woman bowed to him. Jin Xuyan nodded and walked toward Jiao Lizhi. He took the backpacks from her and asked, "Ah Zhi, are you hungry?" Chapter 136 - 136: We Are Rich ( 1 ) After fighting from morning till noon, Jiao Lizhi felt as if her back and front had already become one. She was tired, hungry, and thirsty. So, when she heard Jin Xuyan''s question, she nodded and said, "Brother Yan, I''m tired. I don''t want to move anymore." Jin Xuyan smiled and turned his back to her. As he squatted in front of her, he said, "Come up, I will carry you back." Jiao Lizhi had no concern about face or reputation. Without hesitation, she climbed onto his back and leaned her head on his shoulder. After she lay on his back, Jin Xuyan transferred his energy to her so her tiredness would lessened. The Phantom Team members were already used to seeing their captain spoiling his girlfriend over the past few days. So, they no longer reacted to their PDA. Some of them carried the survivors who had fainted due to high fever, while the rest checked the road for any crystal cores left behind. After they returned to the camp, they started cleaning up the mess. They took showers and changed into clean clothes. While Qin Luzi, Feng Yun, Li Sikai, and Xiao Qi went to cook lunch, the rest of the soldiers washed their dirty clothes. As for the room created by Zhang Yuan and Zhou Huajian, it was used as their temporary residence. Inside the room, Gao Bohai was monitoring the survivors'' conditions. After feeding them fever medicine and some jelly, he gave them water every fifteen minutes. At the same time, Jiao Lizhi went to take a shower. While washing her hair, she noticed it was longer than before. Her hair had already grown past her shoulders. It seemed like it would reach her waist in no time. Thinking about the trouble of washing it made her let out a long sigh. It took her half an hour to wash her hair and scrub the rancid smell from her body. When she came out, she saw the woman leaning against the wall. Seeing Jiao Lizhi come out, the woman walked over and asked, "Sister, do you have spare underwear?" Jiao Lizhi looked at the woman''s dirty clothes and said, "Wait here." She went to her car and took out a T-shirt, pants, and a set of women''s underwear from her space. Thinking about the inconvenience of not having a bag, she checked the boxes she had collected from the clothing factory and found some bags inside. She took out a sling bag and placed the clothes inside. Then, she added a bottle of shampoo, two bars of soap, a bottle of sanitizer, two packs of sanitary pads, and two menstrual cups. As a woman, she knew the risk of illness was higher compared to men during certain times if hygiene wasn''t properly maintained. After adding a strip of pain relief medicine, she zipped the bag and walked back to the public bathhouse. Seeing the woman squatting there, she walked over and handed her the bag. "After you take a shower, you can wash your clothes inside." The woman accepted the bag and said, "Thank you, Sister." Jiao Lizhi nodded and walked back to her car. After she stored the crystal cores they obtained into her space, she went to a shaded area. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. She sat on a boulder and closed her eyes. Using her mind, she checked on the seeds she had obtained. Since 100 square meters of black soil hadn''t been used, she decided to plant all the mutated fruits, mutated plants, and mutated trees. There were a total of 98 mutated fruit trees, 21 mutated strawberry bushes, 6 mutated nuts trees, and 3 mutated coffee plants. When she finished planting, she opened the space settings and checked the oxygen level in her space. The grassland increased the oxygen level to 20%, and the crops added 10%. After planting the mutated fruits, trees, and plants, the oxygen level reached 60%. She checked the new information regarding the oxygen level. With a minimum requirement of 30%, she could raise one animal per 0,5% of the oxygen level. With her current 60% oxygen level, she could raise 60 animals at the maximum. After gaining a better understanding of her space, she couldn''t help but feel grateful for obtaining it. Now, she only needed to find mutated or normal animals to raise in her space. In the future, she wouldn''t have to worry about running out of meat. With her mood improved, she continued organizing the supplies in her space. She divided them by type and stacked them neatly in a corner of the grassland. This way, she would know how much space was left for storage. Afterward, she checked her granary and saw that the amount had increased a little compared to before. Feeling satisfied with the results, she started filling the empty bottles with pond water. When she was done, she divided the crystal cores by type and placed them inside separate boxes. Besides the transparent crystal cores and element-type crystal cores, she was surprised to find mutated-type crystal cores. The lightning-type crystal core was silver, the wind-type crystal core was transparent with silver lines, and the ice-type crystal core was blue with silver lines. Although the number of mutated crystal cores was not large, she was delighted with the unexpected gain. Compared to normal ability-type cores, mutated-type cores were rarer. Looking at several boxes of crystal cores, she felt more confident. If they had to face a zombie horde again, they could absorb crystal cores according to their ability types instead of relying on the transparent ones. The transparent crystal cores would be saved as currency in the future. While she was busy organizing her space, the soldiers finished washing their clothes and built a rack to dry them. Then, they helped prepare lunch. After the woman took a shower and changed into a clean set of clothes, she went to the room. Seeing Gao Bohai feeding her brother water, she walked over and said, "Comrade, let me do it." Chapter 137 - 137: We Are Rich ( 2 ) Hearing the woman''s voice, Gao Bohai handed her the water bottle and said, "Remember to give them water every fifteen minutes and check their temperature every half hour. If their temperature rises, inform me immediately." The woman nodded and said, "Okay." After leaving the room, Gao Bohai took a shower and washed his clothes. By the time he finished, lunch was ready. Since everyone was tired, they decided to cook instant noodles. They added some dried vegetables, dumplings, eggs, and sausage. Due to their increased appetites, they had to cook two big pots of noodles for everyone. Jin Xuyan saw that lunch was ready and went to call Jiao Lizhi. When he found her, he thought she was sleeping. Only when he walked closer did he hear her giggling and mumbling softly. He squatted in front of her and asked, "Ah Zhi, are you awake?" Hearing his voice, Jiao Lizhi opened her eyes and said with a bright smile, "Brother Yan, we are rich!" Raising his eyebrows, Jin Xuyan asked, "Did we find treasure?" Jiao Lizhi nodded and said, "Brother Yan, I organized the crystal cores. Thanks to the zombie horde, we have more than 26,000 level-one crystal cores and 434 level-two crystal cores!" Hearing this, Jin Xuyan was taken aback. "We have that many?" he asked. Jiao Lizhi nodded and replied, "That includes the ones we obtained before." Seeing how happy she was, Jin Xuyan rubbed her head and said, "We will get more tomorrow." Thinking about the supplies in the seed factory, Jiao Lizhi nodded and said, "It''s a pity that the Eagle Team had to leave first and couldn''t get their share." Jin Xuyan smiled and said, "It couldn''t be helped. We weren''t sure how many zombies we would face or if we could even survive. The best course of action was for them to leave first. Before they left, Zhang Yuan gave them four trucks of supplies." "With Pei Yijun''s team and some of our members joining them, they will be able to find more supplies and won''t lack water. As for the supplies in the factories, we will share them with the survivors trapped there." After hearing his words, Jiao Lizhi nodded and said, "Good, we will do as you say." "Lunch is ready. Let''s go eat first," Jin Xuyan said, holding her hand as he pulled her up. While everyone was eating, Xiao Qi scooped a bowl of noodles and grabbed a bottle of water before walking to the room. He placed the noodles and water on the table and said, "Sister, you go eat first. I will take care of them." The woman nodded and said, "Thank you." Xiao Qi sat beside the unconscious men and asked, "Sister, I''m Xiao Qi. What''s your name?" After drinking some water, the woman smiled and replied, "My name is Jian Huan¡ªHuan as in ''lustrous.''" Then, she pointed at her brother and said, "This is my younger brother, Jian Ziqin. Zhi as catalpa and Qin as zither." Looking at the siblings, Xiao Qi said, "Sister Jian, your brother looks so young. Were both of you working in the factory?" Jian Huan shook her head and said, "My brother is a university student. He came to visit me when the zombies appeared." "We both panicked and hid in my dormitory room. Fortunately, my brother had brought some food, and I had stocked up some water, so we were able to hold out for a long time." "We just never expected that when we left the factory, others would come out too. We told them not to scream, but no one listened. After a while, more zombies gathered, and, well¡­ you know the rest." Xiao Qi thought about the number of zombies that had chased after the survivors and shuddered. If he had been in their position before awakening his ability, he might not have survived¡ªeven as a trained soldier. This thought flashed through his mind as he looked at Jian Huan and the others with a trace of admiration. It wasn''t easy for them to have survived the calamity. After Jian Huan finished her noodles and water, Xiao Qi took away the empty bowl but left the bottle. Before leaving, he said, "Sister Jian, the bottle is for you. Later, we will help you fill it again." Jian Huan nodded and said, "Thank you." When Xiao Qi returned, most of the noodles had already been eaten. Seeing the nearly empty pots, he quickly grabbed his bowl and started eating. Sitting across from him, Qin Luzi asked, "What information did you get?" Xiao Qi swallowed his food and replied, "Brother Luzi, I only know their names and occupations. The woman''s name is Jian Huan, and her brother is Jian Ziqin. He is a university student, and she is a factory worker." "When the apocalypse began, the two of them hid in the dormitory. But when they decided to leave, the other survivors'' screams attracted zombies." sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Hearing his words, Jiao Lizhi glanced at the room and fell silent. Stories like this were common in the apocalypse¡ªmost survivors had similar experiences. But that woman was too calm. Also, her name sounded familiar. Jin Xuyan noticed her gaze and said, "Don''t worry about them. That woman and her brother can be trusted." The moment she heard this, Jiao Lizhi looked at him. Seeing his smile, she finally remembered where she had heard that woman''s name¡ªJian Huan was one of the Phantom Team''s members. But in her previous life, she didn''t have a brother. Thinking about their situation just now, it seemed that her brother had died in their previous life. No wonder she hadn''t remembered the name Jian Ziqin. Now that she had a full stomach, her mind was more active. As she rested, memories from her previous life surfaced. In her previous life, Jian Huan had been the only woman close to Jin Xuyan, and many people had believed she was his girlfriend. Now that they had met again in this life, would they end up together? Chapter 138 - 138: Deep Kiss Knowing that Jin Xuyan has the memories of his past life, Jiao Lizhi wanted to ask him about Jian Huan. But after hesitating for a long time, she decided not to ask. Noticing her gaze, Jin Xuyan said, "Ah Zhi, if there is something you want to know, just ask." Feeling uncomfortable, Jiao Lizhi thought she was tired. So, she stood up and said, "Brother Yan, I''m going to rest." Leaving those words behind, she walked to her car and climbed into the back seat. She didn''t close the door and simply lay down, taking a nap. Jin Xuyan watched her walking away with a frown. He had clearly noticed that something was on her mind¡ªso why wouldn''t she say anything? Feeling uneasy, he walked over to the car to ask her. But when he saw her sleeping, he couldn''t bring himself to wake her. So, he climbed into the car and used his lap as a pillow. He placed her head on his lap and caressed her cheek. As he watched her sleep, he played with her hair. He liked her hair¡ªit was smooth and smelled good. When it grew longer, it would feel even better between his fingers. Once asleep, Jiao Lizhi slept until the next morning. When she turned her body, her nose bumped into something hard but warm. For a moment, she thought she was sleeping on a soft bed and reached out to touch the "wall." When her palm touched the warm wall, she felt it seemed to be growing and squeezed it with a frown. "Hiss!" The moment she heard the sharp hissing, her eyes opened wide instantly. When her gaze landed on where her hand was squeezing, she felt her mind explode. It took her a while before she let go of her hand and sat up in panic. Leaning on the seat, Jin Xuyan watched her with his half-closed eyes, amusement flashing in them. He smiled lazily and asked hoarsely, "Ah Zhi, are you satisfied with it?" Jiao Lizhi''s eyes widened when she heard his words and asked, "Brother Yan, what are you talking about?! It was an accident!" Raising his eyebrows, Jin Xuyan stared at her and said, "Ah Zhi, you touched it for a long time but still call it an accident. Do you want to touch it longer to check more carefully, hmm?" Looking at her flushed cheeks, neck, and ears, he leaned closer. As he moved forward, Jiao Lizhi backed away. Without noticing, she was cornered, her back pressing against the door. Jolted back to her senses, she said, "B-Brother Yan, I really didn''t mean to offend you. I don''t even know how I ended up sleeping on your lap." Hearing her denial, Jin Xuyan lowered his gaze and asked aggrievedly, "Ah Zhi, did I do something to make you angry?" "No," Jiao Lizhi shook her head. "Then why are you distancing yourself from me? I thought after sharing a kiss and killing zombies together, we were already in a relationship. It seems that was just my wishful thinking," Jin Xuyan said sadly. Seeing how sad he was, Jiao Lizhi felt as if she was a scum girl. She knew she shouldn''t give him all her trust when they had only reunited not long ago. But for some reason, she couldn''t bring herself to harden her heart and reject him. After hesitating for a long time, she finally reached out to brush away the hair covering his eyes and said, "Brother Yan, I''m not sure about my feelings toward you. Although we were childhood friends, we only met again after so many years." "The current me is different from the past me. You might want to take some time to think about it before making your decision." "What''s more, don''t you want to get back with your girlfriend?" she added softly, lowering her gaze. Hearing her words, Jin Xuyan frowned and asked, "Ah Zhi, what do you mean by getting back with my girlfriend?" Jiao Lizhi clenched her fists and replied, "Weren''t you and Jian Huan a couple in the past?" When he heard her words, Jin Xuyan realized she was talking about their previous life. He cupped her face and stared into her eyes. The moment he saw the flickering emotions in her gaze, his anxious heart finally settled. He was sure his Ah Zhi was jealous and it delighted him. Instead of feeling angry or wronged, he was feeling so happy that he almost couldn''t stop himself from laughing out loud. After a while, he let out a chuckle and said, "Silly girl, who told you that? She is just a member of my team. If you dislike her, we will send her away when her brother wakes up." "Ah Zhi, I have never had a girlfriend. You are my first and will be my last. Besides you, I don''t want anyone else. I''m sure of my feelings toward you. So, Ah Zhi, can you please trust me and give me a chance?" he asked. Jiao Lizhi''s heart skipped a beat when she heard his words. After a moment, she finally asked, "Brother Yan, are you and Jian Huan really not in a relationship?" This time, Jin Xuyan didn''t explain with words. He lowered his head, and the moment their lips met, he used his actions to prove his feelings. His kiss was gentle yet domineering. He licked and bit her lips lightly. When Jiao Lizhi parted her lips to take a breath, his tongue slipped into her mouth, not giving her a chance to resist. The moment he entered the warm mouth, he pulled at her tongue, entwining with it. He deepened the kiss, brushing his tongue against her gums and teeth. Feeling her soft body become even softer in his embrace, his gaze darkened, and his body throbbed with desire. Jiao Lizhi was overwhelmed by the intensity of the kiss and couldn''t help but pull back to catch her breath. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. When he felt her retreating, Jin Xuyan placed his palm on her nape and pulled her closer. Fearing he might crush her with his weight, he placed his left hand on the window to support himself. Chapter 139 - 139: Shadow-type Ability Jiao Lizhi felt dizzy from the kiss. It was as if her breath had been taken away as his soft, nimble tongue plundered her mouth wildly. After a long time, Jin Xuyan finally let her go¡ªreluctantly. He lowered his gaze and saw her gasping for breath, her cheeks flushed and her teary eyes were covered with a layer of mist. When he saw her wet, swollen lips, he couldn''t help but lean down and give her another kiss. Outside the car, Xiao Qi saw his captain''s palm pressing against the window and how the car moved slightly. He felt his blood rush to his head as images unsuitable for children flashed through his mind. After a moment, he finally decided not to disturb his captain''s good time and walked back to the camp. When Zhang Yuan saw him return in a daze, he asked, "Xiao Qi, did you ask the captain about his next plan?" Xiao Qi sat on a boulder without saying a word. Sensing that something was off, Zhang Yuan patted his shoulder and asked again, "Xiao Qi, what are you thinking about?" Startled by the pat, Xiao Qi came back to his senses and raised his head. When he met his vice captain''s gaze, he said, "Vice Captain, I didn''t ask." "Why didn''t you ask?" Zhang Yuan asked with a frown. "That¡­ Captain is busy." When Zhang Yuan heard this, he checked his watch and said, "It''s not even seven o''clock yet. What could the captain¡ª" Before he could finish his words, realization dawned on him. He looked at Xiao Qi''s reddened ears and immediately understood what his captain was "busy" with. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Feeling awkward, he coughed and said, "Since the captain is busy, we will ask him later." After saying this, Zhang Yuan went to wake the rest of the team. While they washed up and prepared breakfast, Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi finally stepped out of the car. The soldiers noticed her flushed cheeks and swollen lips. To avoid embarrassing her, they pretended not to see anything but scolded their captain in their hearts. They were still outside, yet the captain didn''t hold back and did that in the car. He should think more about the girl. How can he just do it anywhere? Even though the soldiers treated Jiao Lizhi as usual, they glared at their captain, leaving Jin Xuyan confused. While they were having breakfast, Jian Huan came out of the room with joy clear in her voice, "Comrade, my brother has woken up." Hearing this, Gao Bohai finished his porridge in several gulps and went to the room. The moment he entered, his eyes flashed with surprise. Standing before him, a young man was looking at another person with a pale face. When he saw his sister return, Jian Ziqin asked, "Sister, am I going to die?" Jian Huan quickly walked over and said, "You are not going to die." Gao Bohai noticed the "person" standing beside the young man was actually a shadow in the shape of a person. He walked closer to inspect it and found that it had the exact features as Jian Ziqin. Lowering his gaze, he noticed a thin shadow connecting Jian Ziqin to the figure. Squatting down, he took a small flashlight from his pocket and turned it on. The moment he aimed the light at the shadow connecting them, the shadow person disappeared. When he turned off the flashlight, it reappeared. After testing several times, he was sure that this shadow figure was Jian Ziqin''s ability. Standing up, he pocketed his flashlight and said, "Don''t worry, this is your ability." Then, he took a thermometer and checked Jian Ziqin''s temperature. He nodded and said, "37.1 degrees. You are fine now. My team is having breakfast¡ªboth of you should go eat something first." At the mention of breakfast, Jian Ziqin''s stomach growled. He was so hungry after he woke up that he felt like he could eat a cow. He rubbed his stomach and licked his lips. Noticing her brother''s small movements, Jian Huan nodded and left the room with him. Even if she felt embarrassed, she had to put her pride aside for his sake. Seeing the soldiers eating, she walked over and asked, "Comrade, can I have a bowl of porridge for my brother?" Jiao Lizhi turned to look at her and said, "Take a seat." Xiao Qi took two bowls and filled them with egg porridge. Then, he handed them over and said, "Sister Jian, if you want water, just use the boiled water in that pot." "Thank you," Jian Huan said before going to get some water for her brother. While the soldiers stared at the shadow person behind Jian Ziqin, Jin Xuyan didn''t even spare them a glance. Since his Ah Zhi was jealous, he wouldn''t let them stay in his team. Even though the rumor about him and Jian Huan wasn''t true in his previous life, there must have been a reason it spread in the first place. Rather than letting her stay and risk causing a rift between him and Ah Zhi, it was better not to keep her around. Sitting across from Jian Ziqin, Jiao Lizhi was intrigued by his ability. She had heard of a rare ability-user renowned for his assassination skills. No one knew who that person was or what their ability was. All that was known was that hiring him cost a fortune, and even with a high bounty, there was no guarantee he would take a mission. While she pondered the possibility that this young man was the renowned master, Jin Xuyan suddenly asked, "Ah Zhi, is he that good-looking?" Noticing the sourness in his tone, Jiao Lizhi was speechless. She looked at him and said perfunctorily, "Brother Yan, you are the most handsome." Unhappy with her casual response, Jin Xuyan glared at Jian Ziqin and said, "After you finish breakfast, we will give you and your sister some supplies and weapons. Both of you can leave." At his words, the soldiers exchanged thoughtful glances. They had assumed he would let the Jian siblings stay due to Jian Ziqin''s unique ability. Unexpectedly, their captain stayed true to his word¡ªhe wouldn''t let them stay. Chapter 140 - 140: Distributing Supplies ( 1 ) Although Jiao Lizhi was surprised by Jin Xuyan''s decision, she found it understandable when she recalled their conversation in the car. Initially, Jian Huan had planned to stay, hoping to negotiate by using her brother''s ability as leverage. Unexpectedly, before she could even speak, the captain had already shut down the possibility. Even though it was a pity, she knew that pestering them further would only make them dislike her, which might put her and her brother in danger. So, she nodded and said with a smile, "Comrade, thank you for saving my brother and me. After we finish our meal, we will leave." After breakfast, the soldiers cleaned up, and Jiao Lizhi went to her car. She took out two backpacks from her space and filled them with dried food, medicine, some candies, two sets of clean clothes, and several bottles of her pond water. She also put fifty crystal cores in the side pocket for them. Although the number of crystal cores she gave them was nothing compared to the ones she owned, it was more than enough for them to survive at the beginning of the apocalypse. She didn''t give them more, just in case it would make them greedy and have bad intentions. After she zipped the backpacks, she walked toward Jian Huan and handed them over while saying, "I put some crystal cores in the side pocket for both of you. You can use them to increase your brother''s ability level or exchange them for supplies." Jian Huan took the backpacks and said, "Thank you, Sister. If we are fated to meet again, I will definitely return your life-saving grace." Jiao Lizhi shook her head and said, "The ones saving your life are not me but the soldiers. I also don''t need you to repay me. I only hope that you will lend a helping hand to the soldiers in the future." Hearing her words, Jian Huan nodded and said, "I will keep your words in mind. Sister, we are leaving." Jiao Lizhi nodded and said, "Stay alive." After the Jiao siblings left, she walked toward Jin Xuyan and asked, "Brother Yan, are you letting them go just like that?" "This is the first time I have met someone who awakened a shadow-type ability. If you trained him, he would become a valuable asset to our team. What''s more, what if they meet danger and Jian Huan dies?" Jin Xuyan looked at her and said, "With that ability, they should be able to survive even without my team." Then, he leaned closer, looked into her eyes, and added, "Ah Zhi, I don''t care about other people''s lives and deaths. I only care about you. Rather than letting her stay and making you unhappy, it''s better to send them away." Jiao Lizhi met his gaze and saw a flash of madness in his eyes. They looked at each other for a while before she finally let out a sigh and said, "Since you have made up your mind, then I will listen to you." The moment he heard this, a smile appeared on Jin Xuyan''s face. He gave her a peck on her lips before saying, "My Ah Zhi alone is enough for me." "Captain, we are ready to go." Hearing Zhang Yuan''s voice, Jin Xuyan straightened his back and said, "Ah Zhi, we will go to the seed factory and get the rest of the supplies." "Okay." Since four survivors hadn''t woken up yet, Gao Bohai stayed behind with Li Sikai and Yin Yunsheng. The rest of them left the camp in their armored cars. They used two armored cars since there were only nine people in their team. Inside the car, Qin Luzi checked the area and saw that there were still white dots inside the factories. After they had cleaned up the zombie horde, he didn''t see any red dots anymore. Even when they reached the seed factory, the area was clear. After they got out of the cars, Feng Yun stored the armored vehicles in his space before they entered the factory. As they walked to the warehouse, Qin Luzi said, "Captain, there are survivors in the surrounding buildings, but there are no zombies." Jin Xuyan nodded and asked, "How many of them?" Qin Luzi went silent for a moment before saying, "Around 100 to 200 people." "Ignore them for now. We will leave some supplies for them," Jin Xuyan said. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. With Wen Mo around, they didn''t have to melt the lock. With a flick of his wrist, the padlock unlocked and fell with a loud clang. Opening the door, Jin Xuyan said, "This area only has mushroom spores. Xiao Qi, Feng Yun, the two of you follow Zhang Yuan and check Area G. There should be rice stored there." Hearing this, the soldiers nodded and continued to the next area. After they left, Jiao Lizhi entered the warehouse and saw the spores. With Jin Xuyan guarding the door, she stored everything happily. It took her almost an hour to store all the mushroom spores in the warehouses into her space. When they finished, the two of them went to Area F, where the coarse grains were stored using her car. There were eight buildings in the area, and each warehouse stored different seeds. Opening the doors, they found wheat, corn, millet, oats, sorghum, quinoa, brown rice, and rye. While they were collecting the coarse grains, the soldiers were busy collecting the rice. Since there were supplies inside Xiao Qi and Feng Yun''s spaces, they only managed to store three out of twelve warehouses. After Feng Yun took out the military trucks, he collected more rice into his space. With two military trucks loaded, they managed to clear another warehouse. Looking at the remaining supplies, Zhang Yuan said, "We will wait for the Captain''s decision." "Okay." Not long after, they saw Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi walk over. "Are you done collecting the supplies?" Jin Xuyan asked. "Captain, we were only able to get four warehouses. There are eight left," Xiao Qi replied. Chapter 141 - 141: Distributing Supplies ( 2 ) Thinking about Lin''an City''s situation in the next three months, Jin Xuyan said, "Zhang Yuan, go gather the survivors. We will divide the supplies among them and let them leave." "Captain, even if we divide the supplies, there will still be a lot left," Zhang Yuan said. "It''s okay. Just go and gather the survivors. After we finish here, we will check the rest of the factories. This factory district is no longer safe. We should inform the survivors and let them leave as soon as possible," Jin Xuyan said solemnly. Everyone thought about the zombie horde from yesterday and understood the hidden danger. In fact, the number of zombies shouldn''t have been that high. Most of the zombies they killed yesterday were survivors who had been wounded and mutated. Rather than leaving the hidden danger hanging over their heads, it was better to clear the zombies and let the survivors go to the government''s temporary camp. Reaching this conclusion, Zhang Yuan nodded and said, "Understood." After they left, Jin Xuyan looked at Jiao Lizhi and said, "Ah Zhi, can you take all the supplies?" Jiao Lizhi nodded and said, "No problem." While she collected the rice, Zhang Yuan and his team went to the dormitory. Under Qin Luzi''s lead, they found the survivors'' hiding place. Wen Kai and Wen Mo created a metal tower and let Zhang Yuan stand on it. At a height of three meters, the survivors hiding in the dormitory rooms could see him clearly. He cupped his hands around his mouth and said, "Everyone, the zombies have been killed. You can come out and leave now. We will give you food and water so you can go to the survivor camp." After he said this, there was only silence. Five minutes later, a window opened, and a middle-aged man asked, "Who are you? Why should we believe you?" Zhang Yuan looked at him and replied, "We are just a mercenary team. You can choose not to believe me, but this is your only chance to survive." "We will only wait for fifteen minutes. When the time is up, we will leave. Whether you listen to us or not is up to you." The moment Zhang Yuan finished speaking, Wen Mo raised his hand and controlled the metal tower, slowly changing its shape. Zhang Yuan jumped down when the tower was one meter above the ground. As soon as he left, Wen Mo clenched his fists, and the metal tower turned into a lump of metal. With a movement of his hands, the metal lump transformed into countless metal bullets. When he finished, Feng Yuan quickly stored the metal bullets in his space, leaving none behind. The survivors were surprised to see them controlling metal and making it disappear. Some of them knew that there were people with superpowers. After all, some people who left yesterday had superpowers. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. But after they left, they heard the roars of zombies and their screams. Everyone saw how they were torn apart by the zombies and eaten alive. Feeling scared, no one dared to leave the dormitory anymore. After a long time, they had finally seen a group of people coming to lure them out. While the survivors were full of suspicion, Zhang Yuan checked his watch. Seven minutes had passed, and no one had come out yet. When he thought that no one would believe him, he saw a group of people coming out. Seeing their chapped lips, he said, "Xiao Qi, give them some water and biscuits." Xiao Qi nodded and took out a box of mineral water and a box of biscuits from his space. Due to the zombie horde, he hadn''t had the chance to give the supplies to the Eagle Team. Now, he could give them to the survivors. The moment they saw the water, they rushed over and said, "Please give me some water." Before they could reach Xiao Qi, an earth wall appeared out of nowhere and blocked them. Zhang Yuan looked at them and said, "Get in line, or you won''t get any." Everyone was hungry and thirsty, so they got in line obediently. Seeing that they were no longer pushing and rushing, Zhang Yuan waved his hand, and the earth wall disappeared. Xiao Qi handed two bottles of water and a pack of biscuits to each of them. The moment the survivors in the building saw this, they no longer doubted Zhang Yuan''s words and came out one after another. When the fifteen-minute time limit was up, Zhang Yuan said, "We are leaving." With that, he turned and left the dormitory area, walking back to the warehouse. Those who were still hiding panicked when they saw them leaving and quickly came out. Unfortunately, by the time they left the buildings, Zhang Yuan and his team were no longer there. Fearing that they would be killed by zombies, the survivors could only return to the building and continue hiding. When Zhang Yuan returned with the survivors, Jiao Lizhi had already finished collecting all the rice in the warehouse. Seeing the number of survivors, Jin Xuyan knew that there were still people who refused to come out. Since the survivors didn''t believe them, there was nothing they could do. "Captain, these are the survivors hiding in this factory. There are some still hiding and refusing to come out," Qin Luzi reported. "Since they are unwilling to leave, then let them be. Xiao Qi, give them enough supplies for a week and let them leave," Jin Xuyan said. Hearing this, the survivors finally smiled and thanked them. Before they left, the Wen brothers gave them a dagger for protection and told them to go to Jiangning City. After the survivors left, Jin Xuyan and his team went to the next factory. Maybe due to the sound of their fighting yesterday attracting the zombies, when they arrived at the factory, they saw that the gate was broken. Instead of coming out of the armored vehicles, they drove into the factory. Chapter 142 - 142: Exchanging Supplies Sitting in the leading car, Qin Luzi said, "Captain, there are no zombies in the area." Jin Xuyan nodded and asked, "Can you find the warehouse area?" Qin Luzi checked the map in his mind and said, "There is a huge building 100 meters to the right." Shen Jinzhe drove the car in the direction pointed out by Qin Luzi and saw a cafeteria. As they got closer to the building, Qin Luzi frowned and said, "Captain, there are people inside, around 30 to 40." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Let''s go check on them." While they got out of the armored cars, the people inside saw them through the window, and one of them quickly ran to the second floor to report. "Brother Xie, a group of people is coming." On the second floor, a big table was placed in the center where several people were having a discussion. When they heard the report, they turned to look at the man in surprise. It had been more than a week since the zombies appeared, and they were running out of food. At this moment, they were discussing their plan to leave the factory and find supplies. "How many people?" Xie Changqian asked. "Eleven people, but they are driving military vehicles. Brother Xie, they might be soldiers sent by the government to rescue us," the man who reported said, joy in his tone. Unlike the man, Xie Changqian frowned when he heard this. He looked at the people sitting around the table and asked, "What do you guys think?" "Brother Xie, I think they came for another purpose," a young man said. "Brother, we should meet them first before deciding our next move," a young woman said. Xie Changqian thought for a moment and said, "Let''s go see who they are and what they want." After saying that, he turned and descended the stairs. When they came out, they saw a group of men chatting while a woman was eating duck feet, lost in thought. Xie Changqian glanced at the armored cars and then at the group. Although the vehicles were indeed military, this group wasn''t wearing any military gear. But judging from their physiques and demeanor, they were clearly people who had fought many battles. Reaching this conclusion, he softened his sharp gaze and asked with a smile, "Hello, Comrade. I wonder what your purpose is for coming here." Hearing his words, Zhang Yuan smiled and said, "Comrade, we came looking for supplies and didn''t know that you and your group had already taken this area." When everyone heard his words, they looked at them in confusion. "Comrade, this factory is a daily necessities factory. You can find anything but food and water here," Xie Changqian said. When Jiao Lizhi heard that this place had daily necessities, she tugged at Jin Xuyan''s sleeve and said, "Brother Yan, let''s get some shampoo and soap. We also need toilet paper, tents, and some tools." Seeing her interest, Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Okay." Since his Ah Zhi wanted the items, they would get some. He walked toward Xie Changqian and stopped five meters away from him. Qin Luzi had already told him that there were a total of seven ability users in this group. Although the number wasn''t large, it was more than enough for them to survive in the early days of the apocalypse. "Are you sure there is no food or water in this place?" he asked. Xie Changqian nodded and replied, "The only place where we could get food was the cafeteria, but we have used up the supplies. At this moment, we are planning to go to the neighboring food factory to find more." "You don''t have to go. The supplies have already been taken by the soldiers." When they heard his words, they were taken aback. One of them asked, "Comrade, are you saying the soldiers came here before?" Jin Xuyan nodded and Xiao Qi asked in return, "Brother, you didn''t hear the commotion yesterday? For some unknown reason, a group of survivors attracted a large number of zombies. The soldiers were forced to leave with the survivors." The moment they heard this, despair flashed in their eyes. If the soldiers had already come to this area before, they wouldn''t return. That meant they could only rely on themselves now. "Brother Xie, what should we do now?" Xie Changqian looked at Jin Xuyan and his group for a moment before asking, "Comrade, how do you know what happened yesterday?" "It was my team who killed the zombies," Jin Xuyan replied casually. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. As soon as they heard this, their eyes widened in surprise. They had fought against zombies before. While it was still possible to kill them, it wasn''t as easy as it had been before the rain. They had heard the sounds of fighting lasting for hours yesterday. This group only had eleven people¡ªhow could they have survived if they really fought against a horde of zombies? Noticing their disbelief, Jin Xuyan didn''t bother explaining and said, "We need the factory district''s map. Do you have it?" Xie Changqian didn''t answer and asked instead, "What do you need the map for?" "We will exchange the map for supplies." Hearing his words, Xie Changqian and his group took several steps back. These people had shown up suddenly and wanted the map. They must be planning something. They couldn''t be trusted. "Xiao Qi, take out a week''s worth of supplies for 50 people," Jin Xuyan said. Receiving the order, Xiao Qi stepped forward, and with a wave of his hand, piles of food and boxes of mineral water appeared out of thin air. "Hand over the map, and you can take the supplies," Jin Xuyan said. Looking at the pile of supplies, Xie Changqian hesitated. A young woman leaned closer and said, "Brother, just give them the map. With these supplies, we can leave this place and find more later." After listening to his sister''s words, he looked at his team and saw them nodding. Since everyone agreed, he had no reason to refuse. He took a map from his pocket and handed it to Jin Xuyan. Chapter 143 - 143: Sunflower After getting the map, Jin Xuyan turned to his team and said, "Let''s go." Not long after they left, Xie Changqian said, "Wanyue, keep the supplies." "Yes, brother." Xie Wanyue touched the boxes and stored them in her space. Her space was only 30 square meters, but it was enough to store supplies that could last them a month. These supplies took up only a small portion of the space. With the supplies, Xie Changqian and his team packed up and left the factory. They had no specific destination in mind, so they decided to go to the nearby city, Yunshan City. Meanwhile, the Phantom team went to the warehouse area. With the map, they were able to get a rough idea of the factories in the district. Besides this daily necessities factory, there was a solar panel factory, a pharmaceutical factory, and a military ration factory. When Jiao Lizhi and Jin Xuyan saw the factory list, their eyes flashed with joy. In their previous life, one of the reasons why the government base had sent so many teams to clear Lin''an City was because of these factories. After the apocalypse, the power needed for base operations was limited, so most bases would pay a high price for solar panels. Although they could get solar panels from hotels or big companies, the number was far from enough for the entire base''s consumption. So, the solar panel factory was one of their main targets. As for the pharmaceutical and military ration factories, the reason was none other than the food and medicine shortages. While the mission rewards were high, most teams were wiped out due to the high-level zombies in the factory district. Now, they could eliminate the zombies and take the supplies away. This way, the government wouldn''t have to send so many people to their deaths to get the supplies, and they could earn money. Reaching this conclusion, Jin Xuyan said, "After we finish cleaning up this factory, we will go to these three factories first." Looking at the red circles drawn on the map, everyone nodded. "Understood." When they reached the warehouse area, everyone got out of the cars. Jin Xuyan walked toward Xiao Qi and Feng Yun, handed them a folder, and said, "Xiao Qi, Feng Yun, both of you get the things on the list. If you have any questions, ask Zhang Yuan." "Yes, Captain." Then, he looked at the rest of the soldiers and said, "The rest of you follow Old Qin and check the perimeter." "Yes, Captain." After assigning the tasks, he turned and saw Jiao Lizhi looking around. Feeling curious, he walked over and asked, "Ah Zhi, what''s wrong?" Pointing to a shrub, Jiao Lizhi said, "Brother Yan, don''t you think the area around that shrub is too clean?" The moment he heard her words, he frowned and looked in the direction she was pointing. Compared to the other areas, which were covered in blood, dust, and rotten flesh, the space around that shrub was indeed too clean. "Ah Zhi, wait here," he said before walking toward the shrub. As he got closer, his body tensed as if there was a hidden danger that could threaten his life. When he was two meters away, Jiao Lizhi suddenly shouted, "Brother Yan, be careful!" Wush! Crack! A thick vine shot out from the shrub, slicing through the air, aiming for Jin Xuyan''s head. Thanks to Jiao Lizhi''s warning, Jin Xuyan managed to dodge the attack. The vine was only an inch away from his throat when he jumped back. As he landed, the vine retreated as fast as it had struck. Jiao Lizhi rushed over and asked, "Brother Yan, are you hurt?" Jin Xuyan shook his head and replied, "I''m fine." He opened his palm and a black flame floated above it. With a flick of his wrist, the black flame shot toward the shrub, igniting upon contact. While the fire burned, he felt something absorbing his energy and frowned. He waved his hand and extinguished the fire. Seeing the scene in front of them, Jiao Lizhi''s eyes widened in surprise. In front of them, a small plant swayed in the wind, standing in the center of burned soil and white ashes. She looked closer at the plant and said, "Brother Yan, this plant looks like a sunflower." Although it had been years since she had read her college books, she still recognized common plants. From its vibrant color, the sunflower was clearly a mutated plant but not a zombie plant. "Captain, the surrounding area is clear." As soon as they heard Zhou Huajian''s voice, the small plant, which had been swaying slightly, suddenly shot out a needle-like vine toward him. Stab! Before they could react, the vine stabbed Zhou Huajian''s wrist. "Ugh!" Feeling a sharp pain, Zhou Huajian let out a grunt. The next moment, the small plant flew toward him and attached itself to his wrist. Seeing the strange plant, his heart turned cold, and he frantically tried to peel it off. Jiao Lizhi quickly pulled out her dagger and rushed over, intending to cut off the plant. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. As if sensing her intention, the small plant shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye. In just a few seconds, it had turned into a tiny dot and burrowed into Zhou Huajian''s vein. The moment the plant entered his bloodstream, Zhou Huajian felt a burning pain spread through his body. "Argh!" He collapsed to the ground, clutching his wrist. The wound from the vine had already closed, and aside from a small bulge moving along his vein, there was no visible sign of anything unusual. Jin Xuyan''s eyes flashed as he grabbed his comrade''s arm and sent his energy into his body, attempting to expel the plant. Unexpectedly, the moment his energy entered Zhou Huajian''s body, it was absorbed by the small bulge. However, instead of growing larger, the bulge shrank smaller and smaller until it was no longer visible. "Brother Yan, what''s going on?" Jiao Lizhi asked, a hint of panic in her voice. Chapter 144 - 144: Nail Gun Jin Xuyan focused his mind and used his energy to search for the plant. But aside from a green-colored energy and his own black energy, there was nothing else in Zhou Huajian''s body. Fearing he might harm him instead, Jin Xuyan could only retract his energy and shake his head. "I don''t know." While the two of them were baffled and worried, Zhou Huajian lost consciousness. At that moment, a small dot of light green energy swam through his veins, slowly making its way to his brain. The moment it entered, the energy dissolved and merged with the dark green energy swirling inside. The merging process took less than five minutes. When the energy fully merged, a small sunflower popped out from Zhou Huajian''s head. While he remained unaware of this, Jiao Lizhi and the Phantom Team were shocked. Due to Zhou Huajian''s condition, they decided to postpone their schedule and check on him first. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. They planned to carry him to the car and wait for him to wake up. But before they could move him, they saw a small sunflower growing on top of his head. "This¡ªwill Brother Huajian become a plant?" Xiao Qi asked in disbelief. Jiao Lizhi looked thoughtfully at the small sunflower. If she remembered correctly, this sunflower was the mutated plant that had killed numerous mercenaries in her previous life¡ªone of the overlords of Lin''an Zombie City. It had become an overlord due to its high regeneration ability, powerful attacks, and, most terrifying of all, its ability to absorb others'' energy and turn it into its own. By the fourth year of the apocalypse, it had already reached level six. Now, seeing the overlord swaying atop Zhou Huajian''s head cutely, she felt conflicted. Her rebirth had changed too many things¡ªboth the ones she actively altered and those indirectly affected by her actions. As she stared at the sunflower, an idea flashed through her mind. She reached out and created a ball of water. The moment the sunflower noticed the water, it stretched out its leaves. Using its small leaves, it hugged the water ball and dipped its flower head into it. As soon as the sunflower finished drinking, Zhou Huajian frowned and slowly opened his eyes. The sunflower bent its stalk to look at his face. Seeing that he had awakened, it disappeared into his head and reappeared on his shoulder. When Zhou Huajian regained his senses, he noticed his team looking at him with complicated expressions. He pushed himself up and asked hoarsely, "What''s wrong with me?" Xiao Qi pointed at his shoulder and said, "Brother Huajian, you seem to have become a potted plant." Hearing this, Zhou Huajian frowned and asked, "What nonsense are you talking about?" "I''m not saying nonsense¡ªyou have a sunflower on your shoulder," Xiao Qi replied. Turning his head, Zhou Huajian''s gaze landed on the small sunflower on his shoulder. Lowering his eyes, he realized that the sunflower was growing out of his body. The moment this realization hit him, a chill ran down his spine. He reached out, grabbed the sunflower, and yanked it off his shoulder. "Wait a moment!" Before Jiao Lizhi could finish speaking, Zhou Huajian had already pulled at the sunflower¡ªand immediately clutched his head. The moment he pulled it, he felt an excruciating ripping pain on his head, as if his brain were being torn apart. The pain gradually subsided after he let go of the sunflower, and he let out a sigh of relief. Turning his head, he no longer saw the sunflower. He checked his body but found nothing. Thinking he had successfully removed the plant, he felt relieved. Unbeknownst to him, the sunflower had transformed into a small green dot and hidden inside his body. Since its master seemed to hate it, it wouldn''t reveal itself unless necessary. While everyone else was feeling relieved, only Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi knew this matter wasn''t so simple. But since they have no information about this situation, they decided to observe the situation first. "Captain, I''m fine now," Zhou Huajian said. Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Let''s go get the supplies." At his words, everyone headed to the warehouse to help Xiao Qi and Feng Yun retrieve the listed supplies. There were a total of six warehouses in the area. After collecting supplies from one, they moved on to the next. Once the team had taken what they needed, Jiao Lizhi entered alone and took the rest. In this factory, she found cleaning supplies such as disinfectant wipes, microfiber towels, multipurpose cleaners, vacuums, buckets, trash bins, and other items. There were also kitchen supplies¡ªpots, pans, knives, cutting boards, kitchen scissors, bowls, plates, cutlery, and food storage containers. She even found coffee makers, blenders, air fryers, toasters, refrigerators, and microwaves. Since they had solar panels, she took everything. When Jin Xuyan built his base, these items could serve as rewards. With enough solar panels, they wouldn''t have to worry about power shortages. After collecting those items, she moved to another warehouse and found laundry essentials. Detergents, stain removers, dryer sheets, drying racks, ironing boards, irons, and laundry baskets. Alongside them were additional kitchen items such as racks and storage boxes. Thinking about the supplies piling up in the grassland within her space, Jiao Lizhi took everything. These items would be useful when she decided to organize her stockpile. The other half of the warehouse contained bathroom and closet essentials. Since she still had plenty of space, she emptied the warehouse and moved on to the next with Jin Xuyan. This time, the warehouse stored hardware and tools. While rarely used in the peaceful era, these items could become valuable weapons in the apocalypse. Even nail guns alone were enough to kill zombies. Perhaps due to their durability, it was not easy to sell these things. So, these products filled the entire warehouse. She took everything, planning to distribute the nail guns to the Phantom Team later¡ªespecially to Xiao Qi and Feng Yun, as they would use them to kill zombies. Chapter 145 - 145: Forming Group ( 1 ) The next warehouse contained emergency and safety essentials such as first-aid kits, bandages, splints, gauze, antibiotic ointments, flashlights, emergency candles, oil lamps, tents, matches, batteries, fire extinguishers, tarps, emergency blankets, and solar-powered phone chargers. The last two warehouses held different supplies. One stored toiletries like toilet paper, sanitizers, and trash bags. Alongside them were rain gear, sunscreen, sleeping bags, and insect repellents. The final warehouse contained water-related equipment such as purifiers, heaters, and storage tanks. By the time they finished collecting everything, the sun was already high in the sky. Jin Xuyan checked his watch and said, "Let''s go to the solar panel factory." While the Phantom Team was busy hoarding supplies, the Eagle Team was having a headache. After they left the factory district, they went directly to the border area where the temporary survivors'' camp was located. Based on their experiences coming out for supplies, it would take them at least 40 hours and at most 60 hours to reach the camp. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He had made a plan to escort Pei Yijun and his team to Jiangning City as soon as he sent the survivors to the camp. Unexpectedly, his plan was ruined by the survivors. At this moment, they were resting at a gas station since they needed to refill the gas. Checking his watch, Wei Ying frowned and let out a sigh. They had been traveling for almost 30 hours, yet they had not even covered one-third of the journey to the camp. He glanced at the survivors, who were having lunch with smiles on their faces. The atmosphere was relaxed, as if they were on a trip and not escaping for their lives. Standing beside him, Pei Yijun asked, "Captain Wei, do you have any plans for those people?" Wei Ying glanced at him and asked in return, "Young Master Pei, do you have any suggestions?" "I think it''s better to let them start killing zombies so they can learn how to protect themselves. If your team continues to protect them like this, not only will they become a burden, but they might also bring trouble in the future," Pei Yijun replied. Wei Ying thought for a moment and said, "Young Master Pei, what you said is right. But it won''t be easy to train the civilians and ask them to follow the rules." Pei Yijun looked at Wei Ying and asked, "Captain Wei, what do you think is the most important thing in the apocalypse?" "Besides medicine, it should be food and water." Pei Yijun nodded and said, "If you stop giving them free food and water and use them as a reward for killing a zombie instead, I believe some people will do it. With several examples, more people will join." Raising his eyebrows, Wei Ying thought for a while and said, "Using sticks and candies tactic is indeed a good solution. Thank you for your suggestion." When he finished speaking, he walked over to the survivors and said, "Everyone, form a group of five people and wait for further orders." Hearing his words, the survivors looked at each other in confusion. After a moment, one of them asked, "Captain Wei, why are you asking us to form a group?" Seeing that no one took his words seriously, Wei Ying thought about Pei Yijun''s words and the information given by the Phantom Team as he said, "Due to limited supplies, we won''t be providing food or water anymore." "Those who want food or water must exchange it with a crystal core. You can use one crystal core to exchange for a bottle of mineral water and a pack of biscuits." The moment the survivors heard his words, they were shocked and looked at him as if he were a sinner. The Eagle Team members, Rong Mo''er, Gu Shaoze, Pei Yijun''s team, and the ex-members of the Phantom Team all saw their reactions. Thinking about how these survivors demanded things from them as if they were entitled to their protection and supplies, they walked over and stood behind Wei Ying. Seeing this, the survivors'' eyes flashed with worry and fear. They didn''t want to be left behind after enjoying the soldiers'' protection and having full bellies. But they also didn''t dare to fight against the zombies. Now that they were told they would no longer get food or water, they were feeling angry. Aunt Wang stood up with her hands on her hips and said, "Comrade, I see there are still several trucks of food and water. How can you lie with your eyes open and say there aren''t enough supplies? Are you treating everyone as blind fools?" "This aunt is right. Comrade, those supplies came from the factories. As factory workers, we should have our share. You can''t just cut off our supplies and tell us to kill those monsters. You are the soldiers¡ªit''s your duty to kill those monsters and protect us, the civilians," an old man added with a frown. Following their example, more and more people started to complain, speaking with righteousness as if they were the victims and Wei Ying was the bad guy. Wei Ying took note of their expressions and words. He waited until everyone finished talking before he said, "There are thousands of people waiting for these supplies back at the camp. If we let you eat and drink to your heart''s content, then what about those people?" The survivors thought that what happened to those people was none of their concern, but no one dared to voice their thoughts aloud. So, at this moment, the area fell silent. Noticing their reluctance to fight the zombies, Wei Ying continued, "If you feel that it''s unfair to you, you can choose to leave. We will give you some supplies and water, and then you can go on your way. By then, you don''t have to listen to us and you can eat to your heart''s content." "Comrade, are you chasing us away?" one of them asked after hearing his words. Chapter 146 - 146: Forming Group ( 2 ) This time, before Wei Ying could reply, Chu Zhimiao said, "All of you only know how to complain and demand things. Even in a peaceful era, you still had to pay for what you eat and drink, let alone in our current situation." "Do you know what price the soldiers have to pay to get those supplies? They risk their lives! You don''t even want to risk your life to get your own food, so, on what basis do you demand that they feed you?" Aunt Wang was unhappy at being rebuked by her and felt that she had lost face. So she said, "Little girl, what do you know? We are¡ª" But before she could finish her sentence, Chu Zhimiao cut her off sharply, "I know very well because my friend died when we went to get supplies!" Thinking about how helpless she was as she watched Luo Jing die, her eyes reddened as she said, "The ones who know nothing are all of you." "How shameless of you to act so entitled when you do nothing yet expect to be protected? All of you are nothing but a burden. It''s better for you all to take some supplies and leave before you put us in danger!" Aunt Wang was so angry that she could only point at Chu Zhimiao and stammer, "You, you¡ª" After listening to Chu Zhimiao''s words, most of the survivors felt ashamed and reflected on their behavior. As for the rest, they were indignant and angry, feeling that they did nothing wrong. Sister Wei stood up and asked, "Captain Wei, do we have to form a group with five people?" Wei Ying thought for a moment and said, "You can have more or fewer than five people in your group. I asked you to form groups of five to ensure your safety." "With more people in your group, the chance of being injured or killed while fighting against zombies would be lower." "But if you are confident in your skills and strength, you can go kill zombies by yourself. My team won''t interfere with how you form the teams or split the rewards." When they heard his words, everyone quickly looked at those who had awakened abilities. Sister Wei nodded and said, "Understood." After she sat back down, Xiao Jiu said, "Sister Wei, can I join your group?" Sister Wei nodded and agreed readily, "Of course." "Sister Wei, I also want to join your group," a young man said. "Okay." "Wang Jie, aren''t you going to join your aunt?" Xiao Jiu asked. "I still want to live a few more days. Besides, it''s not like you don''t know how bad my relationship is with my aunt," Wang Jie said with a snort. "Alright, the three of us will form a group," Sister Wei said with a smile. While the three of them were discussing their plan, Chu Zhimiao looked at Rong Mo''er and asked, "Junior Rong, Senior Gu, what about you two? Do you want to join our team?" Gu Shaoze glanced at Pei Yijun and Han Jie before saying, "Thank you for your invitation, but Mo''er and I are not used to fighting in large groups." Since they had refused, Chu Zhimiao didn''t insist and said, "That''s a pity. If you change your mind, you can come and find us." Pei Yijun looked at Gu Shaoze for a moment before saying, "Miaomiao, let''s go." After his team left, Rong Mo''er asked, "Shaoze, why didn''t you want to join Senior Pei''s group?" Gu Shaoze raised his eyebrows and asked, "Mo''er, do you think their team is strong?" S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Rong Mo''er nodded and replied, "Of course! You saw how Senior Li Yang sent Teacher Cao flying with a punch." Gu Shaoze nodded and asked again, "Then, do you know that Pei Yijun is a young master of the Pei family?" This time, Rong Mo''er shook her head. She had just enrolled in university and finished her military training when the world suddenly turned into hell. How would she know about Pei Yijun''s family background? Gu Shaoze pinched her nose and explained, "As someone born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he is arrogant and often overestimates himself." "If we were in a peaceful era, his personality would be fine. But in our current situation, where one wrong move could cost you your life, his arrogance is a fatal flaw." "With such a powerful lightning-type ability, he will definitely challenge stronger opponents, thinking that he is stronger than others. His pride won''t allow him to retreat or escape." "Also, did you notice that his team is missing two people? Now, if you follow him, do you think your chances of survival will be higher or lower?" When Rong Mo''er thought about it, she realized Pei Yijun''s team was indeed missing two members. Just considering what might have happened to them made her shiver. She held Gu Shaoze''s arm and said, "It''s still Senior Gu who is wise." Gu Shaoze glanced at her and said, "In the future, you must consider all possibilities¡ªthe advantages and disadvantages of every situation. Don''t blindly trust people''s words or judge things only by their surface." Hearing his words, Rong Mo''er smiled and replied, "I will listen to you. But with you around, I''m sure no one will be able to take advantage of me." Gu Shaoze knocked her lightly on the head and said, "I won''t be able to stay by your side forever. Sometimes, humans are scarier than zombies. You have to learn how to protect yourself." Rong Mo''er rubbed her forehead but said nothing. She knew that one day, he would leave. Although they were a team, they had only known each other for a few days. If he decided to leave, she would have nothing to make him stay. An hour later, Wei Ying stood in front of a group of survivors and looked at them. The group consisted mainly of middle-aged people. He wasn''t sure if they could survive on their own, but he still asked, "Are you all sure you want to leave?" Chapter 147 - 147: Training ( 1 ) Aunt Wang nodded and said, "Comrade, since you can''t tolerate us any longer, it''s better for us to leave. I don''t believe we can''t survive without you." Hearing her words, Wei Ying simply stared at her without responding. Seeing that they were determined to leave, he nodded and said, "Since you have made up your mind, we won''t stop you." After saying this, he gestured to one of his soldiers and ordered, "Go get them some supplies and let them leave." The soldier nodded and replied, "Yes, Captain!" Aunt Wang and her group followed the soldier to the military truck. The moment they saw the supplies, their eyes lit up. There was not only food and water but also medicine and daily necessities. When Aunt Wang saw the soldier only packing some food and water for them, she frowned and asked, "Comrade, why aren''t we getting any medicine?" "These medicines will be brought back to the camp," the soldier replied. Aunt Wang glanced at the others, and they nodded at her. After exchanging glances, one of them suddenly fell to the ground, shouting, "Aiya, my stomach!" The soldier was startled by his sudden shout and quickly went to check on him. Holding onto the middle-aged man''s body, he asked, "Comrade, what''s wrong with you?" The middle-aged man clutched the soldier''s arm and groaned, "Comrade, my stomach is in so much pain. Please save me!" "Comrade, let go of me first. I will go inform my captain," the soldier replied with a frown. The middle-aged man glanced at Aunt Wang and the others. Seeing that they were ready to act, he cried out even louder, "Quickly, I''m dying! Aiyoo, my stomach!" Although the soldier was annoyed by his behavior, he still nodded. When the middle-aged man finally released him, the soldier stood up and went to find Wei Ying. The moment he left, Aunt Wang and her group quickly grabbed the supplies. The middle-aged man rushed over and snatched several boxes of medicine. As they were busy stuffing the supplies into their bags, the soldier returned with Wei Ying. Seeing that they were stolen supplies, he instantly realized he had been tricked. "Stop!" As soon as they heard his voice, Aunt Wang and her group no longer hesitated and quickly ran away. The soldier wanted to chase after them to reclaim the stolen supplies, but Wei Ying stopped him. "Let them go." S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Captain, they took a lot of medicine," the soldier said reluctantly. "We can get more medicine later. Right now, we have more important things to do," Wei Ying said, patting the soldier''s shoulder. The soldier lowered his head, feeling guilty. He had thought that no matter how unruly the survivors were, they wouldn''t dare to steal their supplies. Unexpectedly, their shamelessness exceeded his expectations. "Go find some people to guard the supplies," Wei Ying added. "Yes, Captain." Ten minutes later, the soldier returned with his comrades. Wei Ying looked at them and said, "You will stay here and guard the supplies and vehicles. If anyone tries to steal from them, just tie them up." "Understood," the soldiers responded in unison. Half an hour later, Wei Ying stood in front of the remaining survivors and said, "Since none of you have experience killing zombies, we will head to a nearby road to practice." "Although zombies look scary, their movements are slower than humans. As long as you observe their movements, you can dodge their attacks." "Their weakness lies in their brains. So, don''t waste your energy hitting other parts¡ªfocus on aiming for their heads. As long as you destroy their brains, they will die." "Each group will be led by two soldiers. All of you must follow their orders to reduce the risk of injury or death. Does anyone have any questions?" he asked. After he finished speaking, Xiao Jiu raised her hand and asked, "Captain Wei, do we have to share the crystals or supplies with the soldiers assigned to our team?" Wei Ying smiled and replied, "You don''t have to. They are here to teach you how to kill zombies. We will stay here for two days to practice. After that, you can decide whether to follow us back to the camp or go your own way." Seeing that no one had any more questions, he assigned two soldiers to each team and sent them to the nearby road to practice killing zombies. Since Sister Wei and her group only had three people, the soldiers brought them to a smaller road where the number of zombies was lower than on the main road. Standing outside the road, they could hear the distant sound of zombies roaring. Noticing their trembling hands and pale faces, one of the soldiers encouraged them, "Don''t be afraid. We will be guarding you. If you are in danger, we will kill the zombies." Sister Wei''s hands trembled as she listened to the roars growing closer. Although they had been given weapons, most were just iron rods or wooden sticks. They had witnessed how Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi killed zombies. Even with their rotten heads, zombie skulls were not easy to break. "Roarrr!!" Without giving her more time to prepare, the first zombie finally reached their location. The moment it caught their scent, it let out an excited roar and pounced at them. Seeing the incoming claws, they instinctively closed their eyes. "Open your eyes and watch the incoming attack!" Hearing the soldier''s command, Sister Wei forced herself to open her eyes. As she saw the zombie''s claws swinging toward her, her body swayed, and she lost her footing¡ªaccidentally dodging the attack. The zombie, missing its target, stumbled and nearly fell to the ground. Noticing the opportunity, the soldier shouted, "Hit the back of the head!" The moment they heard the instruction, Sister Wei, Xiao Jiu, and Wang Jie raised their iron rods and wooden sticks, swinging them down. Duagh! Crack! The sickening sound of the skull cracking echoed in their ears. Seeing the zombie collapse with its back facing them, they gritted their teeth and kept striking. Duagh! Duagh! Duagh! The soldiers watched as they smashed the zombie''s head into a pulp before one of them finally said, "Enough. It''s dead." Chapter 148 - 148: Training ( 2 ) After killing the zombie, their initial fear lessened. Looking at the black blood and rotten flesh, Xiao Jiu let out a dry heave but still used her stick to stir the rotten brain. Five minutes later, she saw a small crystal glistening under the sunlight. Feeling excited, she reached out and picked it up before flicking her hands several times to remove the black blood and rotten flesh. The soldiers nodded and said, "Congratulations, Comrade. You have successfully killed a zombie and obtained a crystal." At this moment, the crystal represented food and water. With this thought, the three of them found a new goal¡ªto kill as many zombies as possible to collect more crystals. While Sister Wei''s group was making progress, the other teams were struggling. Stab! A soldier drove his dagger into the back of a zombie''s head, killing it instantly. As the zombie fell to the ground with a thud, he looked at the survivors squatting with their hands covering their heads. Turning to his companion, he asked, "What should we do? It seems impossible to get them to kill zombies. They won''t even dare to look at them." sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. His friend thought for a moment and said, "If we take them back like this, the Captain will blame us." "But they are too cowardly. If they don''t have the courage to fight, there is no way to train them," the soldier said frustratedly. Hearing their conversation, a young man hesitantly raised his head and said, "C-comrade, we are not cowards¡­ We are just not used to it." The soldiers looked at them in disbelief. The men were slightly better¡ªthey had only closed their eyes and run away. The real problem was the women. The moment they saw a zombie, they screamed instead of attacking. Fortunately, they weren''t on the main road, or their screams would have attracted more zombies, dooming them all. After hesitating for a moment, one of the soldiers said, "We will try one more time. If you still can''t kill a zombie, we will take you back to the gas station. Whether or not you get food or water after that isn''t our concern." Hearing his words, the survivors finally realized the truth¡ªif they didn''t kill zombies, they wouldn''t get crystals, which meant they would starve. Seeing the shift in their expressions, another soldier said, "I will go pull a zombie over. Get ready." After he left, the group pushed themselves up and gripped their wooden sticks tightly. Not long after, they heard a zombie''s roar in the distance. When they saw the soldier returning, they looked behind him and spotted a female zombie chasing after him¡ªits intestines hanging out, swaying with each step. The women''s mouths opened, ready to scream, but before they could, the soldier snapped, "If you dare to scream and attract more zombies, I will leave you behind to feed them." At his warning, they clamped their hands over their mouths, letting out only muffled whimpers. They didn''t dare make a sound and could only stare at the zombie in horror. By the time the soldier reached them, there was still some distance between them and the zombie. Just from this, they should have been able to gauge its speed. After the soldier returned, he and his friend took several back, letting the group face the zombie. "Roar!!" The zombie let out a deafening roar, baring its sharp teeth as it lunged at the young man. Seeing the incoming zombie, the young man glanced at the soldiers, only to see them standing to the side, watching. The moment he saw this, his heart sank¡ªhe realized they had no intention of helping him this time. Faced with the possibility of being bitten and eaten alive, his will to survive surged out from his heart. He raised his wooden stick and swung it hard. Crack! The stick lodged in the zombie''s teeth, showing signs of splintering. With its mouth blocked, the zombie couldn''t bite him and could only swing its arms wildly. "Open your eyes and watch the direction of the attack," a soldier ordered when he saw the young man wanting to close his eyes again. Hearing this, the young man opened his eyes, focused on the rotten arms reaching for him and quickly stepped back. The claws missed, causing the zombie to stumble. "Kick it!" another soldier said. Following the command, he lifted his leg and kicked the zombie''s side. Thud! The force of his kick sent the zombie crashing to the ground. As it struggled to get up, the soldier instructed, "Use your weapon and hit its head." With no weapon left, the young man snatched a wooden stick from a nearby woman''s hands. Before the zombie could rise, he brought the stick down hard on the back of its head. Thud! Thud! Thud! Crack! The sickening sound of bones shattering mixed with the splatter of black blood and rotten flesh. As the other survivors watched his brutal attack, they instinctively stepped back, distancing themselves from him. A few minutes later, he finally stopped and slumped to the ground when the head of the zombie turned into a pool of rotten paste. His stomach churned violently, and he turned to the side, vomiting. A soldier pulled out a bottle of water from his backpack and handed it to him. He patted the young man''s back and said, "Well done. Now check the brain¡ªsee if there is a crystal." The young man rinsed his mouth, took a few gulps of water, and forced his nausea down before checking the zombie''s brain. Fortunately, luck was on his side¡ªhe found a small transparent crystal. Seeing this, the group cheered, and one of the women exclaimed, "Brother, we are so lucky! With this, we can at least get a bottle of water and a pack of biscuits." The young man wiped his lips and scoffed, "When I was in danger, all of you just watched. Now that I have a crystal, you want a share? Dream on." With that, he pulled the wooden stick from the zombie''s mouth, tossed it back to the young woman, and, gripping his own weapon tightly, walked toward the road¡ªdetermined to kill more zombies on his own. Chapter 149 - 149: Invitation Meanwhile, on the main road, several groups were fighting against zombies, with soldiers providing support and instructions from the sidelines. While every group had at least five or more people, a robust man was fighting the zombies alone. Crack! The moment the iron rod on his hand smashed into a zombie''s head, it cracked the zombie''s skull, and its rotten flesh split open. Black blood splattered across the ground as the zombie collapsed with a thud. "Roar!" Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Before he could check for the crystal cores, two zombies rushed forward, pouncing toward the man''s back. Hearing their roars, he turned swiftly and swung his iron rod with full force. Duagh! Bam! The impact not only broke the zombie''s neck but also sent it flying, crashing into another zombie beside it. As the fallen zombie struggled to stand up, he dashed toward it and raised his iron rod. Crack! Splash! The rod struck the zombie''s head, killing it instantly. "Roar!!" Noticing the zombie beneath him reaching out with its sharp claws, the man stomped on its arm. Crack! The sound of bones snapping echoed in the surroundings. He looked down at the zombie, no longer feeling fear¡ªonly excitement and hatred remained in his eyes. Crack! Crack! Crack! He swung his iron rod down repeatedly until the zombie finally stopped moving. Unlike the others, who used their weapons to stir the brain, he reached in with his bare hands, searching for the crystal. Standing on the sidelines, the soldiers assigned to guide him exchanged glances. This man was a promising recruit. He was fearless, and it seemed he had awakened an ability. After a while, he found only one crystal and tucked it into his pocket. As he turned to walk back to the road, the soldiers approached him. "Comrade, please wait." Hearing this, He Yupeng turned around and asked, "What''s wrong?" "Comrade, have you awakened an ability?" one of the soldiers inquired. "I''m not sure. But after recovering from a high fever, my strength increased drastically. Does that count as an ability?" He Yupeng asked in return. The soldiers exchanged knowing smiles, and one of them said, "Comrade, are you interested in joining the Eagle Team?" He Yupeng was taken aback by the offer. After a brief hesitation, he asked, "Isn''t your team a military unit? I''m just a civilian. How can I join?" "Comrade, the situation has changed. Many of our comrades sacrificed their lives during missions, and we need strong people to join us. If you are interested, you can come with us and discuss the details with Captain Wei." Initially, He Yupeng had no intention of joining any group. But after witnessing the terrifying scale of the zombie attack in the factory district, he realized that being in a team would increase his chances of survival. He had planned to seek out strong individuals and form a group himself, but he hadn''t expected the soldiers to take an interest in his strength. While joining the military would mean restrictions on his freedom, it would also provide stable access to supplies and crystal cores as payment. After weighing the pros and cons, he nodded and said, "Alright." The soldiers were pleased with his decision and led him to meet Wei Ying. They had seen how Jin Xuyan recruited ability-users into his Phantom Team. Even though he claimed his team would no longer be military and would become a mercenary team, his decision to strengthen his team was wise. After that day, Wei Ying had already instructed them to observe the survivors. If they found anyone with abilities, they were to invite them to join the Eagle Team. As He Yupeng followed the soldiers, some survivors glanced in their direction. Most of them were ordinary people, but a few had awakened abilities. If they could join the military, they wouldn''t have to worry about food and water anymore. With these thoughts in mind, several people trailed behind the soldiers, eager to see if joining the Eagle Team was truly an option. At the same time, a young man was hiding on the rooftop of a two-story shop. A pile of stones was stacked beside him. The number of zombies wandering in this area was several times higher than near the gas station. With so many people fighting for zombie kills near the gas station, he hadn''t been able to collect any crystals. Confident that he wouldn''t be injured or killed, he had ventured here alone. Now, gripping a stone in his palm, he narrowed his eyes. The moment a zombie turned its head, he threw the stone with precision. Wush! Crack! The ordinary stone shot forward with the speed of a bullet, piercing through the back of the zombie''s skull. Watching the zombie collapse, the corners of his lips curled into a grin. "One down," he muttered under his breath. With his hidden position and the short distance, killing zombies was effortless. In less than twenty minutes, he had taken down more than ten zombies. Standing on the rooftop, he scanned the area. Once he confirmed no more zombies were approaching, he jumped down onto the first-floor balcony, then onto the ground. He walked toward the zombie''s corpse, pulled the machete from his back, and swung downward. Crack! With a single movement, he split open the zombie''s head. Using the machete, he stirred the rotten brain to find the crystal. Out of sixteen zombies, he only found seven crystals. After securing the crystals in his belt bag, he sprinted back toward the gas station. A journey that would take others half an hour only took him less than ten minutes. His figure blurred as he moved at an astonishing speed. As he ran, his sharp eyes scanned the surroundings. He had once witnessed a woman transform into a zombie back in the factory district. From that moment, he knew he had also been infected with the virus¡ªbecause he too was scratched by a protruding iron covered with black blood. At first, he believed he was doomed. He had planned to end his life before turning into a mindless monster. Chapter 150 - 150: Unconventional Fighting Style When his body temperature began dropping, he decided to at least die with a full stomach. So, he had finished off all the water and food given to him by the soldiers. Unexpectedly, after a night of mild fever, he woke up the next morning feeling completely normal. Not only that, but his eyesight and strength had improved dramatically. At that moment, he realized he had awakened an ability. And with his speed-type ability included, he was now a triple-ability user. This was why he dared to hunt zombies alone in this dangerous area. Not long after he returned to the gas station, he noticed a group of people chatting instead of killing zombies. Curious, he walked over and asked, "Brother, what''s going on? Why aren''t you all killing zombies?" Hearing his question, one of them replied unhappily, "How can we kill zombies when an ability-user is busy showing off his power?" "Who is it?" the young man asked. The survivor pointed toward the main road and said, "I heard this person is part of a powerful man''s team." Before the young man could ask more questions, someone patted his shoulder. Turning around, he saw a woman looking at him with displeasure. "Lin Fei, where are you going?" she asked. Raising an eyebrow, Lin Fei replied, "I had a stomach ache, so I went to relieve myself. Why? You want to join me?" The woman frowned at his nonchalant reply and asked, "Lin Fei, what''s with your attitude? Didn''t we agree to practice killing the zombies together?" "With so many people in the group, losing one person won''t make a difference, right?" Lin Fei said casually. "Lin Fei, if you keep acting like this, I won''t be able to help you when Manager Wang kicks you out of the group," the woman said, a hint of anger in her voice. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Lin Fei stared at her for a moment before saying, "Su Ling, let''s break up." Su Ling''s eyes widened in disbelief when she heard his words. She grabbed his arm and demanded, "Lin Fei, what do you mean by that?! After everything I have done for you, you actually want to break up with me?" Lin Fei met her gaze, pushed away her hand, and said, "Su Ling, do you think I don''t know what you have been doing behind my back? If you don''t want me to air your dirty laundry, you''d better stay out of my business." Before leaving, he added, "If you want to please that old man, that''s your choice. But stop thinking you can use me as your stepping stone." Su Ling''s body stiffened at his words. She stared at his back in shock. She had always been careful whenever she met with Manager Wang¡ªso how did Lin Fei know? After leaving, Lin Fei headed to the main road to see the person who was showing off. Before he even arrived, he could already hear the roars of zombies. Boom! Hearing the loud sound, he frowned and quickened his pace. After several days of observation, he knew that such a noise would attract even more zombies. "Does that person have no brain?" he muttered, his frown deepening. When he finally saw the situation, he was speechless. At the front line, Han Jie was throwing wooden balls at the zombies, smashing their heads. Although the wooden balls could kill the zombies, it took several hits to destroy their brains. Wooden balls were scattered all over the road, and due to his missed attacks, the pavement was cracked and damaged. Would they have to find another road later when they left? While Lin Fei was silently criticizing Han Jie, Wei Ying pinched the bridge of his nose. Watching Han Jie fight gave him a headache. He had assumed that everyone in Pei Yijun''s team would be at least as resourceful as their leader, if not as strong. But after observing them, he realized that Chu Zhimiao only knew how to produce water and couldn''t use her ability in combat. As for Han Jie, he was the type to sacrifice 800 soldiers just to take down 1,000 enemies. Not only was he wasting his energy with ineffective attacks, but he also relied too much on his ability. In Pei Yijun''s team, only Li Yang had decent attack power. Compared to other strength-type ability users, he was stronger. From what Li Yang had mentioned, he should already be at level one. With such an unbalanced team, they would surely lose when facing stronger enemies. While Wei Ying analyzed the situation, Pei Yijun did the same. He had been observing Han Jie for over a week. Seeing him show off his power now, Pei Yijun made up his mind to kick him out of the team once they reached Jiangning City. With that decision made, he shifted his gaze to Rong Mo''er and Gu Shaoze. Even though they were only two people, they had already killed more than thirty zombies. Their attack patterns were unconventional yet effective. They skillfully used the terrain and surroundings to their advantage. If he could invite them into his team, they could improve his team''s overall strength. Boom! A fireball the size of a baseball struck a zombie''s head, engulfing it in flames. "Roar!!" The zombie roared and pounced at Rong Mo''er. Before its sharp claws could reach her, Gu Shaoze appeared from the side and swung his dagger, stabbing the back of the zombie''s head. Seeing this, Rong Mo''er clenched her palm, and the flames burning the zombie''s head extinguished instantly. Gu Shaoze pulled his dagger from the zombie''s skull and said, "Mo''er, be more careful next time. I was almost roasted to a crisp by your fire." Ignoring his complaint, Rong Mo''er said while breathing heavily, "Shaoze, check for the crystal." Using his dagger, Gu Shaoze split open the zombie''s head and searched for a while before saying, "There''s no crystal." Hearing this, Rong Mo''er let out a sigh and said, "It seems crystal cores aren''t easy to come by." Chapter 151 - 151: Flying Gu Shaoze chuckled when he heard Rong Mo''er''s words and replied, "If they were easy, we wouldn''t be able to trade them for food." Both of them had run out of energy and walked back to the gas station. Using the last of his strength, Gu Shaoze created a water ball so they could wash their hands and clean the crystal cores. When they were done, he handed the crystals to Rong Mo''er and said, "You keep these." Holding the crystals, Rong Mo''er hesitated before asking, "Why don''t we split them evenly?" Raising an eyebrow, Gu Shaoze leaned in closer and asked, "Mo''er, are you planning to join another group?" Seeing his handsome face come so close, Rong Mo''er took a step back, and said as she avoided his gaze, "I''m not." Putting his hands on his hips, Gu Shaoze narrowed his eyes and asked again, "Then why are you distancing yourself from me?" "I''m not. You are overthinking things." "If you are not, then why don''t you want to keep the crystals? Don''t tell me you want me to manage our supplies. I''m no good at that kind of thing. It''s better if you handle it." After saying those words, he turned and walked to the rest area, leaving Rong Mo''er standing there in dilemma. Since he didn''t give her a chance to refuse, she could only put the crystals in her bag and follow him. While the Eagle Team was busy training the survivors, the Phantom Team was facing another zombie horde. Boom! Wushh!! "Roarr!!" Standing on top of the metal platform, Qin Luzi looked at the raging fire tornado and said, "Not bad, Jinzhe." Shen Jinzhe gritted his teeth as he struggled to keep the fire tornado under control. Sweat formed a thin layer on his forehead as he channeled more energy into his palms to stabilize it. As the fire tornado swept through the area, zombies were either burned to ashes or sucked into the vortex. The moment the zombies entered the tornado, their bodies shredded into pieces. With this wide-range attack, the number of zombies roaring beneath the platform decreased by one-tenth in an instant. Watching the tornado cut through the horde, an idea flashed in Qin Luzi''s mind. Opening his palm, he summoned a small tornado that hovered above it. He focused his energy, reshaping the spinning air. As he compressed the tornado, it slowly transformed into a flat, disc-like shape. Although it looked like a piece of flatbread, the disk spun at an incredible speed, its edges razor-sharp. Even from a distance, his teammates could feel the sharpness radiating from it. Once the wind disk stabilized, Qin Luzi continued compressing it until it was as thin as paper. He was surprised to find that creating this disk consumed significantly less energy than maintaining a tornado. He turned his gaze to the approaching zombies and, with a flick of his wrist, hurled the wind disk toward them. Crash! Crash! Crash! Spinning rapidly, the wind disk sliced through the zombies as if they were made of butter. Heads and limbs were severed cleanly, and within seconds, the zombies collapsed to the ground. Black blood splattered everywhere, thickening the already rancid stench in the air. Unlike the tornado, which required significant effort to control, Qin Luzi realized he could manipulate the wind disk with ease. With a simple flick of his wrist, the disk made a sharp turn and flew back toward the platform. Seeing this, Xiao Qi shouted in alarm, "Brother Luzi, be careful! Your attack is coming back at you!" S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Qin Luzi smiled when he heard his panic''s voice. When the wind disk was two meters away, he raised his hand, and it halted an inch from his palm. Lowering his hand slightly, the disk floats steadily above his palm. Watching this, Jiao Lizhi smiled. His attack resembled her water blade technique. While the others were still amazed by his new skill, Qin Luzi focused his energy on his feet. The next moment, he bent his knees and jumped. Everyone was shocked by his sudden movement. They expected him to fall into the zombie horde, but to their shock, he remained floating in midair! Even Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi were stunned. It wasn''t impossible for a wind-type ability user to fly, but the energy consumption was enormous, and precise control over the ability was essential. Qin Luzi floated in the air with ease as he created another wind disk. With a wave of his hand, he sent it slicing through another group of zombies. As the Phantom Team watched him kill zombies while floating like an immortal, envy filled their hearts. He was already good-looking¡ªnow, he could even fly. How were they supposed to find girlfriends with someone like him on the team?! While everyone was howling with envy, Feng Yun was busy experimenting with his skills. Although he could eliminate a large number of zombies with his space crack, it wasn''t a sustainable solution for a prolonged battle. If he could create a space crack that absorbed everything into it, then theoretically, he should also be able to use his space to shoot out metal bullets. With this idea in mind, he concentrated his space ability at his fingertips and flicked his fingers toward the zombies. Instead of severing his connection with the space energy, he stretched it like rubber. In that split second, he saw a projection of his space storage in front of him. Using his mind, he retrieved a handful of metal bullets from his space. Shuu~ Crack! Crack! Crack! The next moment, the metal bullets shot out from the connected area created by his space energy. Perhaps due to the difference in gravitational force between his space and the outside world, the bullets flew at an incredible speed. The bullets hit the zombies, but he couldn''t control their direction. Some bullets managed to hit the zombies'' heads, piercing their skulls and killing them instantly. Others missed their targets. Although he lacked precision, Feng Yun was thrilled. If he could master control over the attack direction, these metal bullets would become a deadly weapon in his hands! Chapter 152 - 152: Clearing Up The Factories ( 1 ) As the Phantom Team continued to kill zombies, the sun slowly set on the western horizon. Seeing this, Jin Xuyan said, "We should clear these zombies as soon as possible before the red moon rises." Hearing his order, the soldiers nodded and replied in unison, "Understood." Following his command, they no longer held back and unleashed their skills one after another. Boom! Boom! Boom! The sound of explosions echoed across several hundred meters. As the sun disappeared and the red moon rose, the zombies let out roars one after another. "Roar!!" Boom! Zhou Huajian''s vines were blocked when it flew toward a zombie''s head. Seeing this, his eyes flashed with surprise as he pulled the vines back. "Roar!!" A zombie grabbed onto his vine and yanked it forcefully. Compared to the daytime, the zombies'' strength had increased by at least 50%. In addition to their enhanced strength, their agility had also improved. Seeing Zhou Huajian about to be pulled down from the platform, Jiao Lizhi flicked her wrist, sending water blades flying toward the zombies. Crash! Crash! Crash! The water blades slashed off the zombies'' arms, freeing the vines. With another flick of her wrist, the blades made a sharp turn and cut off the zombies'' heads. Besides Zhou Huajian, the rest of the team was also struggling to fend off the zombies. Seeing that fewer than 500 zombies remained, Jin Xuyan ordered, "All of you, retreat!" As soon as they heard his command, the soldiers leaped from the platform onto the metal wall. From their elevated position, they saw their captain holding Jiao Lizhi''s hand while launching a series of fireballs at the zombies. As the black flames engulfed the zombie horde, the energy absorbed by Jin Xuyan was transferred to Jiao Lizhi through their clasped hands. If the energy wasn''t released from their bodies, both of them would suffer internal injuries¡ªif not outright explode from over-absorption. Raising her hands, Jiao Lizhi created a water ball. Unlike before, she didn''t use her ability to attack since Jin Xuyan alone was enough to clear the zombies. Instead, she focused on expanding the water ball''s size. Thirty minutes later, the entire horde had been reduced to ashes. When Jin Xuyan finally released Jiao Lizhi''s hand, he glanced at the massive water ball floating in mid-air. Judging by its size, it contained at least 10,000 gallons of water. While the soldiers wondered why she had created such a massive water ball, Jiao Lizhi let out a sigh of relief. She had used the energy transferred by Jin Xuyan to form the water ball. However, upon seeing the final size, she was surprised to realize that the energy he had transferred was nearly twice her current energy pool''s maximum capacity. Since Xiao Qi and Feng Yun couldn''t store the water ball directly, she had no choice but to put it in her space. Raising her left hand, she glanced at the soldiers. After thinking for a moment, she flicked her right wrist while at the same time waving her left hand. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. SPLASH! At the exact moment she stored the giant water ball in her space, she created several smaller water balls and burst them. Using those smaller splashes as a distraction, no one noticed the large water ball''s sudden disappearance. When the soldiers saw the water ball explode, they sighed in disappointment. If they had been able to store that water ball, they wouldn''t have had to worry about a water shortage for months. What a waste of energy ah! Seeing that his Ah Zhi had finished, Jin Xuyan said, "Xiao Qi, collect the crystals." "Yes, Captain!" Xiao Qi responded, jumping onto the metal platform before leaping to the ground. While he gathered the crystal cores, the rest of the team jumped down from the wall and platform. Wen Mo then converted the metal wall and platform into metal bullets. The moment he finished, Feng Yun quickly stored the bullets in his space. With the Wen brothers around, he doesn''t have to worry about running out of ammunition. Once Xiao Qi finished collecting the crystals, he handed them to Jiao Lizhi before they returned to camp. When no one was looking, she quietly stored the crystal cores in her space. By the time they arrived, the survivors had woken up. Jin Xuyan didn''t allow them to stay and instructed them to leave the next morning. After washing up and having dinner, the team took turns patrolling while the others rested for the night. When the sun rose the next morning, Jiao Lizhi took out four backpacks from her space and filled them with enough food and water for two weeks. She then added some medicines before handing them to Jin Xuyan. Carrying the backpacks, Jin Xuyan walked over to the survivors and said, "There is enough food and water for two weeks inside. You can head to Jiangning City and join a survivor base built by the government there." The survivors knew that this group of people were soldiers. But since the team was unwilling to take them in, they didn''t insist. After receiving the backpacks and weapons, they had breakfast with the Phantom Team before parting ways. Once the survivors left, Jin Xuyan looked at his team and said, "Pack up. We will leave after checking the rest of the factories." "Yes, Captain!" By the time they had packed everything, it was already seven o''clock in the morning. They boarded their armored vehicles and drove straight to the solar panel factory. Since they had already cleared the zombies the day before, they proceeded directly to the factory. While Qin Luzi and the rest of the team searched for survivors, Jiao Lizhi and Jin Xuyan headed to the warehouse. There were ten warehouses in the factory. Besides monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar panels, there were also thin-film solar panels. The panels varied in size and energy absorption efficiency. Jiao Lizhi didn''t know much about solar panels, so she simply stored everything in her space. She then went to check the surrounding area and found additional solar panels installed throughout the factory. Chapter 153 - 153: Clearing Up The Factories ( 2 ) An hour later, Qin Luzi returned with the others and reported, "Captain, there are no survivors." Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Let''s go." After leaving the solar panel factory, they headed to the pharmaceutical factory. This time, Xiao Qi and Feng Yun also joined the warehouse team to collect medicines, while Qin Luzi led the rest in searching for survivors. While Zhang Yuan drove the armored vehicle, Qin Luzi checked the map in his mind. Besides scattered red dots on the map, there was nothing else. The size of the pharmaceutical factory was larger than the solar panel factory and it took them thirty minutes just to reach the dormitory area. This time, he saw white dots mixed with some green and red dots in the dormitory buildings. He pointed at the building and said, "Vice Captain, there are survivors in the building." Zhang Yuan nodded and drove the car into the dormitory area. After they exited the armored vehicles, he said, "Li Sikai, Yin Yunsheng, both of you stay here and guard the cars. The rest of you, come with me." Since the two of them hadn''t awakened their abilities, they didn''t insist on going and stayed to guard the cars. When they were ten meters from the building, Qin Luzi said, "Vice Captain, there are a total of twenty-nine zombies on the ground floor and seven zombies in the guard post." With his warning, Zhang Yuan divided their team and said, "Jinzhe, Bohai, the two of you go to the guard post. The rest, follow me to the building." "Yes, Vice Captain!" "Roar!!" The moment Zhang Yuan opened the door, the zombies were attracted by their scent and rushed over. Perhaps due to being locked inside the building, the zombies weren''t drenched by the rain and were still at level zero. So, despite their roaring like wild beasts, their movements were slow. After fighting against level-one and level-two zombies, the Phantom Team''s members found these zombies kind of cute as they wobbled toward them. Taking out their blades, they hacked the zombies'' heads and chopped them off like cabbages. Even without using their abilities, they could kill the zombies with ease. It took them less than ten minutes to clear out the zombies. Afterward, they split open the rotten heads to find the crystals. Fifteen minutes later, Zhou Huajian said, "Vice Captain, there are no crystals at all." Feeling disappointed, Zhang Yuan said, "It seems that only those zombies outside have crystals. Let''s not waste time and clear the rest of the zombies." Everyone nodded and climbed the stairs. Although the dormitory building had six floors, there was no elevator, only stairs. The moment they stepped onto the first floor, a rancid smell hit their noses. Qin Luzi checked his map and said, "There are no zombies." Hearing his words, they lowered their blades and proceeded to the next floor. It took them almost an hour to clear out the zombies in the entire building. When they were done, Qin Luzi knocked on one of the doors on the sixth floor. After waiting for a while, he realized that the people inside were unwilling to come out. So, he said, "We have cleared the zombies in this building. You can come out and inform the rest of the survivors." Seeing that there was no response, he added, "If you want to leave, we will give you some supplies and water." Not long after he said this, the door finally opened. A man with sunken cheeks stared at them from the small opening and asked hoarsely, "Who are you?" Qin Luzi looked at him and said, "We are a mercenary team." "Why are you helping us? What do you want?" the man asked again. "We want nothing from you. We only help you because we want to stop the increase of zombies. If you can survive, at least you can help kill some zombies," Zhang Yuan replied. After hearing his words, the man asked again, "Are you really going to give us supplies?" Zhang Yuan nodded and said, "If you come with us, we will give you enough supplies for you to go to Jianning City and join the survivor base there." Since the Eagle Team and Pei Yijun''s team were going to Jianning City, it was okay to send these survivors there. With this thought, Zhang Yuan didn''t feel any guilt about sending more people. The thin man closed the door and reopened it a few minutes later. Besides the thin man, there were several people in the room. When they saw their chapped lips and pale faces, Chen Qianfeng asked, "Comrade, do you have any water containers?" Hearing his words, a thin woman nodded and handed over her empty bottle with trembling hands. Chen Qianfeng took the bottle and opened the lid. With a flick of his fingers, water appeared out of thin air and flowed into the bottle. In less than a few minutes, the bottle was full. When it was done, he handed it back to the woman. The moment they saw the water, they licked their lips. Although they were thirsty, they didn''t know if the water was safe to drink. They had seen people turn into zombies after drinking water from the faucet or rainwater. So, no one dared to drink water carelessly. Even though the woman noticed their gazes, she was so thirsty that her throat felt like it was burning. She looked at the people outside the room and decided to trust them. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Closing her eyes, she drank the water as if she were taking poison. The moment it entered her mouth, a cool sensation flowed down her throat, soothing the burning sensation. After taking a few sips, she blinked several times before she finished half a bottle of water. Seeing that she was fine after drinking the unknown water, the rest of them looked at Chen Qianfeng as if he were a golden goose. One of them asked, "Comrade, can you give me some water too?" Chapter 154 - 154: Rescue ( 1 ) Chen Qianfeng took the man''s empty bottle and filled it with water. Afterward, he filled the rest of their bottles. Once they drank, he refilled them again. Realizing how generous this group was, they no longer doubted their words and were willing to follow them. With the group as an example, more people came out of their rooms after hearing the conversation and asking for water. After receiving their water, they followed Zhang Yuan and his team. Due to the fact that the number of survivors was more than 200 people, they walked to the warehouse area while Wen Mo and Wen Kai drove their armored vehicles. Those who were unable to walk due to hunger took the cars and were given some jelly to reduce their hunger. Meanwhile, Xiao Qi and Feng Yun were busy collecting the medicines on the list while Jiao Lizhi waited for them. Since it would take a while for them to finish, she said, "Brother Yan, I want to check the laboratory." When he heard this, Jin Xuyan knew what she wanted to do. As a pharmaceutical factory, there would be laboratories to research new medicines. After the apocalypse, medicines became scarce not only due to the limited ingredients but also because they lacked tools and researchers. Thinking about those tools, he nodded and said, "Let''s go." Before leaving, he went to Xiao Qi and said, "Xiao Qi, we will go check out something. When you and Feng Yun are done, guard the door. If Zhang Yuan brings survivors back, give them enough supplies for two weeks and let them go to Jiangning City." Xiao Qi was used to following his orders, so when he heard his words, he nodded without questioning the decision. "Understood." After leaving some instructions, Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi left the warehouse area and went to check the other areas. The two of them checked the map of the factory on the roadside and went directly to the laboratory area. Thirty minutes later, they stood outside a three-story building. Without Qin Luzi, they couldn''t be sure that there were no zombies inside, so they took out their weapons before entering the building. The moment they opened the door, they heard the humming sound of electricity. Unlike the rest of the world, where a rancid stench filled the air, the laboratory smelled like disinfectant¡ªcold and clean. As they walked, Jiao Lizhi looked around and saw the map on the wall. The two of them checked it and realized that the first, second, and third floors were used as the researchers'' offices, while the research laboratory was built underground. "Brother Yan, let''s go get the data first. We can get the tools later," Jiao Lizhi said. "Okay," Jin Xuyan agreed readily. Although it was only a pile of data, its value was immeasurable. As long as they could get the data, they wouldn''t have to start from scratch if they wanted to produce medicines in the future. Jiao Lizhi and Jin Xuyan had zero knowledge of medical research. Since their time was limited, they just took everything¡ªincluding the desks, chairs, and cabinets¡ªleaving only four bare walls when they left. It took them thirty minutes to clear out the offices. With the electricity still running, they used the elevator and went to the underground laboratory. The moment the elevator door opened, the rancid smell of rotten flesh hit their noses. The two of them exchanged glances and walked slowly. Besides their footsteps, there was no sound at all in the laboratory. When they reached the first room, they saw a group of zombies wandering inside through the glass. The door was made of metal, and the walls were covered with tempered glass. Even when they stood close to the glass, the zombies showed no reaction. To avoid leaving any hidden dangers, Jiao Lizhi said, "Brother Yan, we should kill these zombies." Jin Xuyan nodded and replied, "I will go inside." Since he couldn''t use his fire inside the building, he planned to kill them with his longsword. But before he could open the door, Jiao Lizhi stopped him and said, "No need to open the door." Jin Xuyan was confused by her words. Without opening the door, how could they kill the zombies? As he looked at her, Jiao Lizhi opened her palm and created five ice needles. The needles were thin and small. With a flick of her wrist, they shot through the small gaps in the door panel and entered the room. Standing outside, she clenched her fist, and the ice needles merged into one before transforming into a water blade. Slash! Slash! Slash! S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The water blade beheaded the zombies easily. Compared to the zombies roaming outside, the ones in this room were only at level zero. In less than three minutes, she had killed them all. When she was done, Jin Xuyan melted the lock and opened the door. He sent a wisp of black flame that engulfed the corpses, controlling it so that it only enveloped the zombies without spreading. Although he avoided triggering the fire alarm, it still took him ten minutes to reduce all the corpses to black ashes. When they were done, they continued to check their surroundings. Seeing tools in another room, Jiao Lizhi collected everything into her space. They didn''t find any more zombies and cleared out the first underground floor. So, they took the elevator to the second underground level. This time, the situation was vastly different from before. Before the door even opened, they could already hear the roars of zombies and smell the rotten stench in the air. Taking out their weapons, they waited with narrowed eyes. Ding! "Roar!!!" The moment the doors opened, three zombies pounced at them. Duagh! Crack! Slash! Jin Xuyan kicked the nearest zombie in the chest, sending it flying. At the same time, Jiao Lizhi swung her dagger and cut off two zombies'' heads in one smooth motion. When they raised their gazes, surprise flashed in their eyes. Chapter 155 - 155: Rescue ( 2 ) In front of Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi, the corridor was packed with zombies. The walls and floor were smeared with black and dried blood. "Roar!" Their surprise only lasted for a second before the zombies rushed toward them. Seeing the incoming sharp claws, Jiao Lizhi waved her hand and two water blades shot forward at high speed. Slash! Slash! Slash! As the water blades cut through the zombies, Jin Xuyan saw the opening and rushed out as he swung his longsword. The zombies were packed so tightly that with every slash, several were killed. With black flames enveloping his longsword, any zombie his blade touched ignited and turned to ash. While he fought at the front, Jiao Lizhi covered his back and blind spots. Standing two meters behind him, she had a clear view of the battle situation. She used her water blades to kill the zombies attacking Jin Xuyan''s back or sides. The two of them cooperated seamlessly, cutting down zombies with ease. Inside a room at the end of the corridor, a group of people heard the commotion outside. Their faces were pale, their cheeks sunken, and their lips cracked. They hadn''t eaten in five days and hadn''t had a sip of water for almost three days. At this moment, their bodies were so weak that they could only lie on the ground, conserving what little energy they had left to hold onto their last breaths. Their dull eyes slowly regained their light as they heard the sounds of fighting outside. One of them forced himself to open his eyes, turned his head to the woman beside him, and said hoarsely, "W-wife, someone is here¡­" When he saw his wife lying beside him, unmoving, he reached out and weakly pulled at her fingers. "Wife, don''t sleep. Someone is here¡­ we will survive¡­" he said as his eyes slowly turned red. He could feel his wife''s cold fingers and had a guess in his heart, but he was unwilling to accept it. Half an hour ago, his wife had still told him to hold on. So, she would definitely hold on and keep her word. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Beside him, two more people opened their eyes. As for the rest, they just lay on the cold ground with their eyes closed. No one knew if they were still alive or not. The man looked at the door, hoping that whoever was coming would be able to open it. After locking the door, they had hidden in this room for more than a week. Now, they didn''t even have the energy to move, let alone open the door. Five minutes later, he saw the lock slowly melting, and hope ignited in his eyes. A moment later, the door opened, and he saw a man and a woman. Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi were shocked when they saw a group of people in laboratory coats lying on the ground. Judging from their condition, some of them had died, probably from starvation or dehydration. They entered the room and saw a man raising his thin arm. Seeing this, Jiao Lizhi walked toward him and took a bottle of water out of her pocket. She opened the lid and fed him some water before asking, "Comrade, can you hear me?" The man swallowed the water before nodding and saying, "Please, save my wife." Jiao Lizhi saw him holding onto the woman beside him. Reaching out, she checked her pulse but found nothing. She thought the woman had died, but before she let go of her wrist, she felt a pulse. Although it was slow and fleeting, she clearly felt the weak throbbing under her fingers. Without wasting time, she fed her pond water and transferred her energy to the woman. As her energy entered the woman''s body, she could detect the faint life force still lingering. As she worked to save the woman, Jin Xuyan did the same for the other survivors. Unlike Jiao Lizhi''s gentle water-type energy, his fire-type energy was more domineering. "Ughh¡­" The moment he transferred his energy to them, they felt burning pain spreading throughout their bodies and let out low groans. Though the process was painful, their bodies recovered faster. When he finished pulling several people back from the brink of death, Jiao Lizhi finally finished saving the woman. A moment later, the woman opened her eyes and looked at her husband in a daze. She parted her pale lips and said, "Husband, did you die too?" Hearing his wife''s words, the man smiled with teary eyes and replied, "Wife, both of us are alive." Jiao Lizhi let out a sigh of relief when she saw them finally regain some energy. It wasn''t that she had suddenly developed a saint''s heart or found her conscience to save others. She only saved them because they might become valuable assets for Jin Xuyan''s base. With this group of researchers, even if they couldn''t produce rare medicines, they could at least be able to recreate medicines to treat common illnesses. This would help them a lot when recruiting ordinary people to build the base. They checked the rest of the group with heavy hearts. Out of twenty-three people, only seven survived. The rest had either long died or had just died. Jin Xuyan carried their cold bodies outside and burned them, while Jiao Lizhi took out her backpack from her space outside. When she entered the room, she was carrying a backpack full of food and water. No one had any doubts and only thought that she had left her backpack outside the room when she entered. Opening her backpack, she took out several cartons of banana milk and handed them to the survivors while saying, "Drink some milk first before you eat something." Everyone was grateful for her generosity and accepted the milk. They quickly opened the lids and finished it. The milk was fresh and didn''t have much sugar. After drinking it, they felt the burning pain in their stomachs lessen. Chapter 156 - 156: New Members ( 1 ) While they drank the milk, Jiao Lizhi took out several loaves of bread. These were the last loaves she had in her space. After they finished them, there would be no more fresh bread for her. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. She couldn''t take out too much food for them in order to avoid suspicion. So, after giving them a loaf of bread each, she gave them a bottle of pond water. As the survivors ate, she looked at the thin man, and asked, "Comrade, are you researchers of this laboratory?" A thin man nodded and said, "Comrade, thank you for saving our lives. After being trapped here for more than a week, we thought we would have to die." Jiao Lizhi looked at them and asked, "Comrade, do you have any plans after leaving this place?" They looked at each other and saw the helplessness in each other''s eyes. Not to mention their current situation¡ªeven before the apocalypse, they had been a bunch of nerds who had no time to exercise. So, even if they left this place, it was still a question of whether they could survive outside with their meager strength. Noticing their concerns, Jiao Lizhi asked again, "If you don''t have any place you want to go, how about joining my team?" "Comrade, are you a soldier?" a woman asked. "No, my team is a mercenary team. We came here to collect supplies and, along the way, kill zombies. It''s also fate that we met, as we found this place accidentally," Jiao Lizhi replied. Her speech was unhurried, and her eyes were clear. When they looked into her eyes, they felt that they could trust her. So, after a moment of hesitation, the woman looked at her husband and said, "Husband, let''s go with them." The young man only had his wife as his family, so he didn''t object. He nodded and said, "Wife, you can make the decision. I will follow wherever you go." The woman nodded, looked at Jiao Lizhi, and said, "Comrade, we are willing to join your team. My name is Jiang Lixin, and this is my husband, Chen Zhiyi." "My name is Jiao Lizhi." Just after she introduced herself, Jin Xuyan walked into the room and said, "Ah Zhi, the area is clear. After they finish their food, we can leave." Jiang Lixin noticed the intimacy in his tone, looked at Jiao Lizhi and asked, "This is¡ª" Jiao Lizhi smiled and said without hesitation, "Sister Jiang, this is my boyfriend, Jin Xuyan. He is also the captain of our team." When they heard her words, Jiang Lixin and her husband greeted him, "Hello, Captain." Standing up, Jiao Lizhi pulled at Jin Xuyan''s hand and informed him, "Brother Yan, these are Sister Jiang Lixin and her husband, Brother Chen Zhiyi. They will join our team." "The two of them are researchers. With them joining our team, we won''t have to worry about lacking talent in medical research," she added meaningfully. Jin Xuyan understood her intentions in inviting them and nodded. He looked at them and said, "Welcome to the team." When the rest of the researchers heard their conversation, a young man asked, "Comrade, can I also join your team? Although I''m still an undergraduate, I studied under my professor for years. I can help with the experiments and laboratory work." Hearing his words, others also asked to join their team. Rather than going outside and trying to survive by themselves, it was safer to join a team. From how this couple killed the zombies outside, they knew that these two were strong. Following them would ensure their safety, and at the very least, they wouldn''t have to starve, even if they couldn''t have a full meal. Jiao Lizhi was delighted when she heard their words. She looked at Jin Xuyan and hinted for him to accept them. Seeing how she kept winking at him, Jin Xuyan chuckled and said, "Everyone, welcome to the Phantom Team." Hearing his agreement, they were delighted and said, "Thank you, Captain." After they finished their meal and rested for a while, they left the laboratory together. Since they couldn''t run or walk fast, Jiao Lizhi and Jin Xuyan could only slow down their pace. When they returned to the warehouse area, it was already noon. Seeing that his captain had finally returned, Xiao Qi walked over and said, "Captain, we have finished collecting the medicine." Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Xiao Qi, bring them to rest on the side. When Zhang Yuan and the rest return, we will go to the last factory." "Yes, Captain." Xiao Qi nodded and went to complete his tasks. Feng Yun also went to help Xiao Qi when he saw the group of weak people. While they were busy settling the new members down, Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi went to collect the rest of the medicine in the warehouse. At first, they thought that the medicine produced by this factory was common medicine used daily. Unexpectedly, they found a wide range of medicines used mostly in hospitals. There were anesthetics, which included inhalational medicine, injectable medicine, local anesthetics, and preoperative medication and sedation for short-term procedures. There was even oxygen stored in the warehouse. Besides anesthetics, they also found anti-inflammatory medicine, such as acetylsalicylic acid, ibuprofen, and paracetamol; opioid analgesics; and medicine for other common symptoms in palliative care in another warehouse. When they went to the next warehouses, they found antiallergic medicines, antidotes for poisonings, anticonvulsant medicines, anthelmintic medicines, antibacterial medicines, antifungal medicines, antiviral medicines, and antiprotozoal medicines. They even found antimigraine medicines, condoms, and various medicines that they didn''t know the usage or purpose of inside the rest of the warehouses. Even though she didn''t know the function of these medicines, Jiao Lizhi still collected everything stored in the warehouse into her space, including the raw ingredients. After they were done, they heard the sound of people chatting outside. The moment they left the warehouse, they saw that Zhang Yuan had already returned with a huge group of survivors. Chapter 157 - 157: New Members ( 2 ) Zhang Yuan walked to Jin Xuyan and reported, "Captain, we found a total of 618 survivors and have cleared out the zombies." Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "We are going to the next factory, so we can''t bring them. Give them enough supplies for two weeks and let them go find Old Wei." When Zhang Yuan heard his words, he laughed and replied, "Okay." While their team and the Eagle Team were rivals, they always respected Wei Ying. Despite him looking honest, his belly was actually full of bad ideas. Even if it would be troublesome to manage so many survivors, they believed that with Wei Ying''s shrewdness, he would be able to use them to his advantage. He would also ensure that the survivors wouldn''t starve to death. After a brief conversation, Zhang Yuan went to managed the survivors. Two hours later, the survivors had left. Checking his watch, Jin Xuyan said, "Let''s have lunch first before we go to the last factory." The team members were famished and agreed readily. They found a place under the shade and built three campfires. Xiao Qi took out three iron pots, two medium-sized metal basins, and ingredients for lunch from his space. Jiao Lizhi filled up the basins and the iron pots with water. Two pots were used to boil drinking water, while another pot was used to cook bone soup noodles. Since she couldn''t cook, Jiao Lizhi was tasked with washing the vegetables and preparing the ingredients with Feng Yun, Yin Yusheng, and Li Sikai. As for the noodles, they were left to Jin Xuyan and Qin Luzi. The two of them kneaded the dough with practiced movements. They only wore their T-shirts due to the hot temperature. Whenever they kneaded, their muscles tightened, showing their strength. Jiao Lizhi was someone who appreciated beauty, so when she saw this scene, her eyes were glued to them. Although Qin Luzi looked paler than Jin Xuyan, he unexpectedly had tight muscles despite his lean arms. The veins on his arms and the backs of his hands added a masculine aura to his cold yet gentle features. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. While she was enjoying the beautiful scenery, Jin Xuyan was staring at her. The longer she stared at Qin Luzi, the colder Jin Xuyan''s gaze became. Noticing the coldness emitting from their captain, Feng Yun bumped Jiao Lizhi''s arm and said, "Junior sister, stop staring at my mentor. Your man almost bore a hole in your face with his gaze, and you still dare to stare at another man." Being bumped by him, Jiao Lizhi came back to her senses. The moment she moved her gaze, she met Jin Xuyan''s cold stare. Instead of feeling guilty, she smiled sweetly at him and said, "Brother Yan, I want my noodles a little bit chewy." When Feng Yun heard her request, he raised his eyebrows. As a man, he understood another man. When men were jealous, they would ignore their girlfriends'' small requests and wait for their girls to coax them. Their captain was clearly jealous, yet she still dared to make a request. It seemed that this junior of his was either a fool in the romantic field or she was just courageous and dared to pull at the tiger''s whiskers. He had already guessed that she would be ignored by Jin Xuyan. Unexpectedly, Jin Xuyan only hesitated for a moment and replied unhappily, "Okay." Feng Yun was dumbfounded by his captain''s reaction. He looked at him with disbelief and finally recalled Luo Jing''s words, ''When a man falls in love, he will have no bottom line toward his woman.'' Now, he could understand why his friend had told him this. He shook his head and continued washing the vegetables and peeling the garlic. While they were preparing lunch, the group of researchers watched them in shock. They had an intuition that this team was strong, but they never expected them to be this strong. They had witnessed and experienced the so-called living hell when most people turned into zombies, so they knew how hard it was to go out and find supplies. Not to mention having three meals a day¡ªit would be a blessing to be able to eat once a day. But this team¡ªnot only could they find so many supplies, they even had the leisure to cook hot meals. Seeing this, Chen Zhiyi held his wife''s hand and said softly, "Wife, it''s still you who knows how to judge people. Your decision to join them was very wise." Jiang Lixin smiled and replied, "Husband, I decided to join them not only because they are strong but because they saved our lives. From this, we can see that they have their bottom lines and are not a cold blooded team." "I just don''t understand why they agreed to let us join them. We are weak and can''t help with anything," Chen Zhiyi said. Jiang Lixin looked at her husband and said, "Husband, everyone has their roles in this world. Even if we are weak and can''t fight the zombies, we have our strength in the medical field." "As long as we have value, there will always be a place for us in this team. So, we must do our best to contribute to this team. This way, we will be able to ensure our safety and have hope for the future," she added solemnly. The moment he heard his wife''s words, Chen Zhiyi recalled how they were tricked and betrayed by their friends and colleagues. If not for them, they wouldn''t have been trapped in that place and almost starved to death. He doesn''t know if those people are still alive, but if he sees them one day, he will definitely repay them tenfold! Two hours later, the Phantom Team finished their lunch and were already on their way to the next factory. They had killed two zombie hordes, so the number of wandering zombies in the factory was small. When they reached the military rations factory, Xiao Qi took out several blades from his space and handed them to their new members. Chapter 158 - 158: A Test ( 1 ) Xiao Qi looked at the researchers'' pale faces and said, "Comrades, this blade is your weapon. From now on, you will follow us to get supplies and practice killing zombies. Although we can protect you for a while, we can''t protect you forever." "The best way to survive in the apocalypse is to get stronger and protect yourself. So, we won''t give you fishes, but we will teach you how to fish," he added with a grin. Although the new members were hoping that they would be protected, they also understood that depending on themselves was more reliable than depending on others. So, after they heard Xiao Qi''s words, no one raised an objection and held their blades tightly. Seeing this, Xiao Qi was satisfied. Not long after, Shen Jinzhe and Gao Bohai walked over. Standing in front of them, Gao Bohai said, "Welcome to the team, Comrade. From today onward, I will be your mentor." He pointed at Shen Jinzhe and added, "He will be your vice mentor. We will protect everyone during your training, but we also hope that everyone won''t be reckless and will follow your orders and instructions." "Now, make a team of two people and follow us," he added. As husband and wife, Jiang Linxi formed a group with Chen Zhiyi. The rest of the researchers were divided into two teams, one with three people in the team. At first, the new members were worried and nervous. But after they walked for a while, they slowly let down their guards since they didn''t meet any zombies. Walking on their side, Shen Jinzhe and Gao Bohai watched their reactions and behaviors. Out of seven people, two of them were more relaxed compared to the rest. They didn''t check their surroundings and were busy chatting. As for the other five people, they held their weapons and looked around. Although their alertness was not as high as before, they still did not relax and remained vigilant. Seeing this, the corner of Gao Bohai''s lips lifted. This round was a test for the new members. Although they welcomed them into their team, they wouldn''t accept members who couldn''t protect themselves and would drag the team down. With Qin Luzi leading the way, they reached the warehouse area in less than an hour. As usual, Xiao Qi and Feng Yun went to get the supplies first, while Jiao Lizhi took the rest later. As for Zhang Yuan and the rest, they went to check the factory for any survivors. Since it was a test for the new members, Qin Luzi deliberately chose the road where they might meet zombies. "Roar!!!" The moment they took a turn, a group of zombies wandering on the road smelled their scent and let out a roar as they rushed over. Seeing this, the new members'' faces turned pale and their bodies trembled with fear. This time, the soldiers took several steps back and stood behind the new members. The new members stood rooted in place as they faced the zombies head-on and smelled the rotten stench in the air. "Roarr!!" The zombies reached their location and pounced on them with their mouths wide open. Seeing that the new members were still doing nothing, Shen Jinzhe frowned and said, "What are you doing? Are you waiting to be eaten alive?" As soon as they heard this, two of them turned around and ran away while the rest dodged the zombies. Seeing this, the soldiers let the two go, not even bothering to pursue them. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Open your eyes and watch their movements. After you dodge the attack, find an opening and aim at their heads," Shen Jinzhe said calmly from a distance. With a group of people near the zombies, the zombies didn''t pay much attention to those in the distance. The Phantom Team members watched them dodge the zombies'' attacks nervously. These new members were ordinary people. For them, fighting the current zombies was not easy¡ªlet alone three zombies at once. "Brother Jinzhe, should we kill two zombies and leave one for them to practice?" Xiao Qi asked. "No need. They need to face a life-threatening situation to get stronger as soon as possible," Shen Jinzhe replied. While they were discussing the situation, Chen Zhiyi saw a zombie aiming its sharp claw at his wife''s back. The moment he saw this, his mind went blank and he rushed over without hesitation. Before he could use his body to block the attack, he heard Shen Jinzhe''s voice. "Use your blade!" The moment he heard this, Chen Zhiyi raised his blade instinctively. CLANG! Krit! The sound of metal colliding with sharp objects echoed in his ears. His heart was thumping wildly while adrenaline rushed through his body. He looked straight into the zombie''s grey eyes. His hands felt numb from the attack, and he was so scared. When he almost gave up, he saw his wife struggling, fighting another zombie nearby. Just the thought of losing his wife made his blood rush to his head. A silver light flashed for a second in his eyes as he pushed the blade. Pushed by him, the zombie staggered back. "Aim for its head!" Hearing Shen Jinzhe''s instruction, Chen Zhiyi swung his blade while shouting, "Ahhh!" Crash! His blade chopped at the zombie''s head and split it open like a rotten melon. Black blood and rotten matter splashed onto his hands and dripped to the ground. The rotten stench and the disgusting scene made his stomach churn. "Roar!" But before he could vomit, he heard another roar coming from behind him. At this moment, he no longer had the mind to think about vomiting. Pulling out his blade, he turned his body while swinging his blade. Crack! This time, Chen Zhiyi''s blade struck the zombie''s shoulder. Seeing that his attack failed to kill the zombie, his eyes widened with fear. "Roar!" The zombie didn''t feel any pain and raised its arms as its sharp claws aimed at his chest, not giving him any time to rest. Chapter 159 - 159: A Test ( 2 ) Seeing the incoming attack, Chen Zhiyi let go of the blade and took several steps backward, barely dodging the attack. Not far from him, a young man saw this and rushed over. Before the zombie was able to pierce Chen Zhiyi''s chest with its claws, he swung his blade and chopped at the zombie''s head. Crack! This time, his attack hit the target, but his strength was not enough to split the rotten head open. His blade was stuck in the zombie''s head. He wanted to pull out his blade, but his strength was not enough. "Roar!" The zombie was angered and opened its mouth to bite him. When he saw this, the young man closed his eyes and waited for the pain. Boom! He waited for a while but felt no pain. Opening his eyes, he saw the zombie in front of him had been killed. Its head was blasted off, and blue flames engulfed its body. Standing in the distance, Shen Jinzhe looked at him and said, "Open your eyes. Take your weapon and help your comrade!" The young man came back to his senses and quickly picked up his blade. He quickly ran to the side and joined his team to kill the last zombie. With five people killing one zombie, they were able to kill it in less than five minutes. After they killed their first zombie, the initial fear had lessened. They stood there, breathing heavily, but their eyes were bright and the corners of their lips were lifted. Everyone was delighted to see them successfully kill the zombies and showered them with praises and encouragement. Shen Jinzhe shook his head and poured a bucket of cold water on the new members as he said, "From how you fought just now, at least two of you are confirmed to be dead, and three of you have a low chance of survival." He glanced at Chen Zhiyi and said, "When you fight, don''t scream or shout. Zombies are sensitive to smell and sound. If you shout during a fight, you will attract more zombies and end up being surrounded." He then pointed at Jiang Linxi and the other two men before he said, "The three of you fight as if you are alone. When you are fighting in a group, you must coordinate your attacks with your teammates." "Without coordination, you not only limit your strength and chance of attacking, you might even hinder your teammate''s attack and be killed instead." Then, he looked at the young man and said, "Your reaction and observation are good, but you are too weak. If you are unable to take the zombie head-on, then you have to hit and run." He looked at the new members and concluded, "All of you did well for your first battle against the zombies. But you have a lot of room for improvement. The most urgent things are to improve your stamina and strength. At the same time, we need to train your teamwork." Standing by his side, Gao Bohai laughed, patted his shoulder, and said, "Jinzhe, you are right. Since you can see their strengths and weaknesses, then I will let you handle them." When he finished his words, he walked away in a good mood. Watching his brother dump this trouble on him, Shen Jinzhe sighed and said to the new members, "Go check the zombies'' heads for crystals. You can keep the crystals if you find them." The new members looked at the rotten matter and felt nauseous. Seeing that they didn''t want to search for the crystal, Shen Jinzhe just burned the corpses and picked up a crystal. He handed the crystal to Chen Zhiyi and said, "This crystal is a good thing and can save your life in an emergency. It can be used to exchange for supplies too." Since there was only one crystal, they agreed to let Chen Zhiyi keep it. Each of them would take turns if they found more later. As they checked for survivors, Shen Jinzhe let the new members kill the wandering zombies. With the goal of getting more crystals and under Shen Jinzhe''s instructions, they no longer felt afraid and were able to fight more effectively. At the same time, Xiao Qi and Feng Yun stuffed their spaces to the brim and managed to collect a total of two warehouses'' worth of supplies. When they were done, Jin Xuyan said, "Go check the perimeter and see if there are any survivors." "Yes, Captain," the two of them replied in unison and left the warehouse area. After they had left, Jiao Lizhi entered the warehouse. She looked at the boxes piled so high that they almost touched the ceiling and said, "Brother Yan, with these supplies, we don''t have to worry about a food shortage if you want to build a base." Jin Xuyan chuckled and said, "Ah Zhi, in this life, I don''t want to build a base anymore." Jiao Lizhi was stunned by his words. Turning around, she looked at him and asked, "Why? Isn''t it good to own a base? You can get a lot of crystal cores just from the tax and entrance fees alone." Hearing her words, Jin Xuyan shook his head and replied, "Although it looks profitable, managing a base is not easy and very tiring. Rather than worrying about the safety of a base and other people, I prefer to spend more time with you." "Isn''t it good to become a mercenary team?" he asked her back. Jiao Lizhi thought for a moment and said, "Well, it''s not bad." S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Seeing her frown, Jin Xuyan held her hands and said, "Ah Zhi, I want freedom so I can be with you. Therefore, I won''t build a base." "If you want to stay at a base, we will choose one and stay there. If you want to travel, we can just pack up and leave. We can find lots of supplies and kill lots of zombies. We don''t have to worry about anything or anyone." Chapter 160 - 160: Return To Linan University Jiao Lizhi looked at Jin Xuyan and noticed his seriousness. Since he didn''t want to build a base, then she wouldn''t force him. She smiled and said, "Brother Yan, if you don''t want to do it, then we won''t do it." "Good," Jin Xuyan nodded. After their brief conversation, Jiao Lizhi started collecting the military rations. There were not only compressed biscuits and self-heating meals stored in the warehouse, but also various rations with a long shelf life. Besides the main entr¨¦es such as staple food, meat, seafood, and fish dishes, there were also side dishes, desserts, snacks, powdered drink mixes, various sauces, and seasonings. Looking at the variety of military rations, Jiao Lizhi finally understood why the size of the warehouses was several times larger than the other factories. It took her almost two hours to collect all the military rations into her space. Not long after, Zhang Yuan and the rest returned, followed by a group of survivors. When Jiao Lizhi noticed that only five new members returned, she knew that the other two had either run away or died. With so many Phantom Team members with them, it was impossible for them to die. So, the only reason was that they ran away. As for the survivors, fewer than twenty people returned with the team. As usual, Xiao Qi gave them enough supplies for two weeks and told them to go to Jiangning City. With a clear direction, the survivors finally had some hope to continue. After receiving their supplies and daggers, they left together. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Jin Xuyan walked over to his team and asked, "Old Qin, have you found another survivor?" Qin Luzi nodded and said, "There is a group of ability-users staying in the main building and refusing to leave. We already checked their situation, and they have enough supplies that could last them for at least six months." Since they had enough supplies, Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "We will return to Lin''an University." The moment everyone heard his words, they were surprised. Zhang Yuan looked at him and asked, "Captain, why do you want to go back?" Jin Xuyan looked at his team and explained, "There are still a lot of survivors staying in this area. The distance between this place and Lin''an University is too close. If we don''t clear out the zombies, there will always be a hidden danger of a zombie horde." "We all know that the number of survivors is low compared to the zombies. If we don''t remove this hidden danger, what if one day a high-level zombie appears and triggers a zombie horde?" "The survivors might not have a chance of survival. If they are infected and turn into zombies, the number of zombies in this city will increase, and the situation might get out of hand. By then, it will be too late to control the zombie population and save the survivors." "Although we have retired from the military, we should still have our bottom line. We can also use this chance to improve our level and earn more crystal cores. No matter the reason, this only benefits us." After they heard his reasoning, the Phantom Team members thought that their captain''s decision actually made sense. Therefore, no one had any objections¡ªexcept the new members. They thought that they would be able to live a more stable life. Unexpectedly, after joining the team, their risk of being wounded and killed was even higher as they were forced to fight against the zombies. The new members hesitated for a while before one of them said, "Captain Jin, I think I can''t fit into your team. Can you give me some supplies instead? I want to go to the survivor camp." As soon as he said this, another man added, "I also want to go to the survivor camp." When Jin Xuyan heard this, he nodded and said, "You are free to leave. Xiao Qi, give them the supplies." "Yes, Captain," Xiao Qi nodded, and with a wave of his hand, a pile of supplies appeared in front of them. The two researchers had backpacks, so they divided the supplies evenly. Before leaving, one of them said, "Thank you for saving my life, comrades." The other also thanked them and left with the man. After they had gone, Jin Xuyan looked at the rest and asked, "Have the three of you made up your mind? You can still leave now." "Captain, I want to stay in this team," Chen Zhiyi said without hesitation. "Me too," Jiang Lixin said firmly. Jin Xuyan looked at the young man and asked, "How about you?" The young man clenched his fists, thought for a moment, and said, "Captain, I also want to stay and get stronger." Seeing his determination, Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Good. From today onward, you are officially joining my team. To stay in my team, I want total loyalty. If one day you betray the team, I will kill you with my own hands." Hearing his words and seeing his cold eyes, the three of them shuddered and felt a chill run down their spines. "Understood." The next moment, a smile appeared on Jin Xuyan''s face. He pointed at the young man and asked, "You haven''t told us your name and age." "Captain, my name is Yu Fuyun. Yu as in ''remain,'' Fu as in ''scent,'' and Yun as in ''sunlight.'' I''m 22 years old this year." When the members heard his name, they nodded and thought that it somehow suited him very well. Since they had finished collecting the supplies in the factory district and there were still several hours before sunset, they left the factory in their armored vehicles and drove toward Lin''an University. At the same time, in Lin''an University, a female zombie was standing on the rooftop. Her dress was tattered and covered in black blood. As the wind blew, her sparse hair fell off her rotten head. When she saw the hair fluttering in the air, her dull grey eyes flickered for a second. Raising her head, she opened her mouth and let out an angry roar. "Roar!!" The moment the surrounding zombies heard the roar, their bodies stiffened, and they stood unmoving, raising their heads in her direction. The female zombie lowered her head and looked at her hands without moving. Not long after, another roar echoed from the distance. Chapter 161 - 161: Emerging Of A High-level Zombie "Roar!" As the roaring sound got closer, the female zombie turned her head, and the corner of her torn lips lifted. The moment she saw a blurred figure appear in the distance, she bent her stiff knees and leaped into the air. Boom! The collision between two punches sent a wave of wind through the surroundings, raising dust and debris. Although the two zombies were at the same level, the male zombie¡ªwith a pair of muscular, massive arms¡ªwon in the battle of raw strength. Boom! Crack! The female zombie was sent flying, crashing into the ground. A huge crack appeared beneath her stiff body. Her right arm was shattered from the impact of the punch. When she saw the male zombie rushing toward her, she rolled to the side and used her limbs to leap into the air. Boom! The male zombie missed his target, and his punch landed on the ground. His fist buried itself into the earth from the force and got stuck. Seeing the opening, the smile on the female zombie''s face widened. As she clasped her hands, her shattered arm had already recovered. Duagh! Crack! Her clasped hands smashed the back of the male zombie''s head, burying it in the ground. As the female zombie pinned him down with her legs, she opened her palms and stabbed her sharp claws into his nape. Crash! "Roar!!" The male zombie let out an angry roar and struggled to free himself. But before he could throw the female zombie off, she pulled out her claw and pierced his neck again. Crack! This time, her sharp claw finally managed to break the male zombie''s neck. The sound of cracking bones echoed in her ears. The next moment, the female zombie''s eyes flashed with light before she ripped the male zombie''s head off and split it in half. Black blood and rotten matter splashed on her dress and body, but all she cared about was the rotten brain matter. She scooped it up and devoured it as if it were a delicacy. Crack! Crack! As soon as she found the crystal core, she threw the rotten head away and swallowed the crystal. The next moment, her dull gray eyes turned black, and she let out a roar. "Roar!!!" Energy waves spread out from her body, rippling toward the surrounding zombies. The lower-level zombies instantly knelt down with their heads lowered, their bodies trembling in fear. The female zombie raised her head and let out another roar, "Roar!!" This time, the dull black eyes slowly regained some light. After the energy in her body calmed down, she looked to her left and let out a broken, hoarse voice, "Khk¡­illh¡­Ji¡­gh..ao..Zhi¡­Grhhk¡­" "Roarr!!" After letting out another roar, she grabbed the nearest zombie and split its head open. As she devoured the rotten brain, the light in her dark eyes grew brighter. When the sun was setting on the western horizon, Jin Xuyan and his team found a gas station. Using the radio, he gave out his order to his team, "We will stay here for the night." "Understood," Shen Jinzhe''s voice came from the radio. As they entered the gas station, Qin Luzi checked the map in his head and said with a frown, "Captain, there are no zombies within a 100-meter radius." When they heard this, everyone''s expressions turned solemn. An area without zombies was never a good sign. Thinking about the distant roar they had heard not long ago, Zhou Huajian said, "Captain, maybe there is a zombie horde." Jin Xuyan shook his head and said, "More likely, a high-level zombie has emerged." The moment they heard this, everyone was stunned. Besides Jiao Lizhi, no one on the team had broken through yet. If they encountered a high-level zombie, the risk of casualties would be high. Noticing their worries, Jiao Lizhi said, "Don''t worry. Even if a high-level zombie appears, it likely can''t think yet. Most of its attacks will be based on instinct. As long as we work together, we will have a better chance of killing it." The team members nodded at her words, but worry still lingered in their eyes. Once inside the gas station, they refueled and checked the warehouse. Xiao Qi and Feng Yun went to collect the supplies while the rest went to prepare dinner. After sharing their resources with the survivors, they had more room to store goods from the mini-market. As for the warehouse, they could only store five drums of oil. Jiao Lizhi waited until the others had gone to the mini-market before she returned to the warehouse to take the remaining oil and supplies. She even found more than 500 LPG portable cylinders¡ªmost of them full, with only a few empty. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. As she walked back toward the mini-market, she recalled that every gas station should have underground tanks to store fuel. Judging from the size of this station, there should be several such tanks. She went to the pump to check the types of fuel available. There were four gasoline pumps, three diesel pumps, and two liquid natural gas pumps. Based on that, there were likely at least nine underground tanks. Just thinking about how much oil she could collect if she managed to store those underground tanks made her excited. But she had never tried collecting such a massive object before, so she wasn''t sure if it would work. "I will just try it tomorrow before we leave," she muttered under her breath. Having made up her mind, she walked to the mini-market, had dinner with her team, and then went to rest. As the night deepened, the red moon shone brighter than it had the previous night. From afar, the sound of zombie roars could be heard from time to time. The team members were already used to the silence of nighttime and no longer felt depressed or anxious. While taking turns on night watch, they would pass the time by chatting with each other. At this moment, Yu Fuyun was unable to sleep. When he heard the faint sound of voices, he sat up and looked toward the entrance. Seeing two members chatting there, he got up and walked over to them. Chapter 162 - 162: Similar Experiences Hearing the faint footsteps, Feng Yun and Qin Luzi stopped talking and turned around. When they saw Yu Fuyun, Feng Yun asked, "Can''t sleep?" Yu Fuyun nodded and sat beside them. He raised his head and looked at the red moon while saying, "Brother, do you think this hellish world will get better one day?" Qin Luzi played with his dagger and replied casually, "I doubt it." Hearing this, Yu Fuyun let out a sigh and muttered, "I wonder if my family will be able to survive." This time, no one answered him because no one knew the situation in other places or whether their families had turned into zombies, been killed by the zombies, or managed to survive. After a long silence, Yu Fuyun asked again, "Brother Qin, why did you decide to retire from the military? Isn''t it good to work as a soldier?" Qin Luzi glanced at him and asked in return, "Fuyun, do you think the government is still the same as before?" "Brother Qin, do you mean the government is no longer the same?" Feng Yun asked with surprise. Qin Luzi let out a chuckle and said, "When people turn into those mindless monsters, no one can decide who turns and who doesn''t, including the leaders." "What if the leaders turn into zombies? Who is sitting in the highest position now? Is he worthy or capable of managing the country?" "Right now, we can''t find any information at all since communication is cut off. We can only use the satellite phone. But how many satellite phones are out there?" "So, this is your reason?" Yu Fuyun asked again. Qin Luzi looked at the dagger in his hand and replied, "Not really. When the world turned into this hell, my brothers and I were also caught off guard. We didn''t know where these monsters came from until some of us turned into zombies." "They killed and ate our brothers in front of us. We hesitated to kill them since they were once our brothers, and it worsened the situation. Until our captain killed them, we weren''t able to control the situation. When we were able to control the situation, we had lost more than half of our team members." Raising his head, he looked at the hazy night sky and continued, "Soon after, we were ordered to pick up a young master from a wealthy family by the commander in the Capital. During the mission, we lost lots of brothers until we were left with 52 people." He turned to them and asked, "Do you know how it felt to kill your own brother with your own hands?" Feng Yun and Yu Fuyun went silent as they listened to him. Qin Luzi let out a bitter chuckle and said, "Their last words were to ask us to find and protect their families. They begged me to kill them before they turned into monsters. They died to give the team a way to escape. So, how could we ignore their last plea?" Yu Fuyun lowered his head and said, "Brother Qin, I''m sorry." "As soldiers, it''s not uncommon to lose our lives during missions. We were already prepared for it," Qin Luzi replied. "Brother Qin, how did you all awaken your abilities?" Feng Yun asked. Qin Luzi thought for a moment and said, "The first one to awaken an ability was our captain. Three days before the apocalypse, the captain suffered from a high fever." "We thought that he would die from the fever. Fortunately, he woke up and the fever subsided. Afterward, more members got sick and soon awakened their abilities." S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "How about you?" Yu Fuyun asked. Qin Luzi smiled and said, "Me? I came back from the gate of hell." "I was severely injured by the zombies and infected. At that time, eight of us were injured while some of us were dead. We thought we would definitely become zombies, so we requested permission to fight to the death." "When we were losing hope, the captain told us that we had a chance to awaken our abilities and that being injured by zombies didn''t mean we would definitely turn into one of them." "Out of the eight people, seven of us didn''t show any signs of mutation and developed a high fever¡ªshowing signs of awakening an ability." Feng Yun looked at him and asked, "What about the other one?" Hearing this, Qin Luzi rolled up his sleeves and showed his arm to them. There was a deep scar on his arm as if his flesh had been bitten off. Around the scar, they could see dark blue lines, similar to those on the zombies'' bodies. Seeing this, their eyes widened in shock, and they looked at him in disbelief. Meeting their gaze, Qin Luzi said calmly, "The last one already turned into a zombie." Yu Fuyun looked at him and said, "Brother Qin, you¡ª" "At that time, I only felt cold, as if I was thrown into an ice cave. Even though my consciousness was drifting, I could still hear people talking around me. I was sure I was going to die, but I heard the captain''s voice telling me to hold on," Qin Luzi said as he recalled his experiences back then. "I don''t know what he did, but the next moment, I felt warm energy entering my bloodstream, giving me the strength to hold on to my last bit of consciousness. After a long time, I woke up and awakened my ability," he added. When they heard his story, Yu Fuyun was shocked, amazed, and relieved. But Feng Yun was thinking about his own experiences. Qin Luzi''s experience and his own experience during the awakening were similar. He looked at his hand and stared at the scar. After a long time, he turned his head and looked in Jiao Lizhi''s direction. ''What did she give me at that time that pulled me back from death?'' he thought inwardly. After the conversation, they were lost in their own thoughts. When the second half of the night came, they went to sleep while Gao Bohai and Li Sikai replaced them for the night watch. Chapter 163 - 163: Exposed Early the next morning, before sunrise, the Phantom Team''s members were already awake and cooking breakfast after washing up. Everyone knew that today would be a tiring day since they were going to the zombie''s den. So, they cooked a filling breakfast for today. They made a pot of rice, a pot of vegetable soup, scrambled eggs, grilled sausages, and bacon. Although the dishes were simple, everyone ate with gusto, especially the new members. Not knowing when they would die, they ate to their heart''s content and finished it with a cup of pond water. After breakfast, Jin Xuyan briefed the plan to his members while Jiao Lizhi listened on the side while counting the crystal cores. Everyone was focused on the briefing, and no one noticed her using her backpack as a cover to take out the crystal cores from her space. They had a lot of elemental-type crystal cores, and she already knew the members'' abilities. Thinking about the number of zombies in Lin''an University, she prepared 50 crystal cores for each of them. This amount was more than enough for them to fight without rest for more than 20 hours. When she was done, she went to Xiao Qi and asked, "Brother Xiao, can you give me some empty water bottles?" Xiao Qi nodded and asked,"Sister-in-law, we have a lot. How many do you need?" There were 17 members in their team right now, including herself. If each of them was given three bottles, then they needed at least 51 bottles. Since she had her own bottle, she said, "Can you give me 48 bottles?" Xiao Qi nodded and took out the empty bottles from his space. After they drank the water, they had to give the empty bottles to him so they could be reused again after he washed them. This time, she didn''t go to the corner and directly filled the empty bottles with her pond water. She put her fingertips above the bottle''s mouth and took out the pond water from her space. With water flowing from her fingertips, everyone thought she was using her ability¡ªincluding Jin Xuyan. At this moment, only Feng Yun was watching her attentively. He had tasted the water given by Chen Qianfeng and Jiao Lizhi. Compared to mineral water, the water produced by the water-type ability-users tasted better. Chen Qianfeng''s water tasted fresher than mineral water, with a faint hint of a sweet aftertaste. Jiao Lizhi''s water tasted sweeter than Chen Qianfeng''s, with a vague mint fragrance. But the water given to them during the battle against the zombie horde was different. The sweetness of that water was less than Jiao Lizhi''s and lacked the mint fragrance. But it was more refreshing, and whenever he drank it, he could feel a faint warm energy spreading through his body. Although minuscule, he could feel that his ability and mental energy recovered after consuming that water. Even the fatigue and soreness in his muscles were lessened after consuming that water. He had been observing her for a while and noticed that despite being given a lot of crystal cores by their Captain, she didn''t carry them with her. At first, he thought that she had hidden them in her car and went to check it. But no matter how he searched, he couldn''t find a trace of those crystal cores. At that time, a guess flashed through his mind. Perhaps, like Qin Luzi, she was also a dual-ability user. So, he continued his observation and finally caught her. Her backpack was clearly flattened¡ªa sign that there weren''t many items inside. But she was able to take out so many crystal cores and other items from it. Due to this, he was sure that besides her water-type ability, she had also awakened a space-type ability. Recalling how their Captain always guarded the warehouse entrances while she went inside, the corners of his lips lifted. Since their Captain was aware of her space, it might have been his decision not to disclose her second ability as a backup plan. If that was the case, then he wouldn''t expose her second ability and would have to help her cover it instead. After the mystery of the supplies and crystal cores was unveiled, the only question left was her water. He watched her fill the empty water bottles, and suddenly, a bold guess appeared in his mind. Back then, several of his high school classmates were avid fans of fantasy novels and movies. They always talked about Qiankun bags, spatial space, and spiritual palaces that could host living beings such as plants, animals, and humans. He always thought that was nonsense¡ªif that were possible, the human race would be able to travel across universes or even visit parallel worlds. But now, with humans awakening their superpowers and himself owning a spatial space, those possibilities no longer sounded impossible. Perhaps Jiao Lizhi''s space was different from his, and she had something called a spiritual spring in her space. If she really owned that kind of space, wouldn''t the human race have hope for the future? She could plant food and raise animals, solving the issue of food shortages. With the spiritual spring, she could improve ordinary people''s conditions and lower the risk of them turning into zombies. But even if she could benefit lots of people, would she be willing to share her treasure? When he reached this conclusion, he looked at Jin Xuyan''s side profile and wondered if he also knew what type of space Jiao Lizhi owned and what his plans were regarding that space. Averting his gaze, he made up his mind. Since his life was saved by his Captain and Jiao Lizhi, then no matter what their decision was in the future, he would stand by their side. As their friend and a member of the Phantom Team, his loyalty lay with them. Having resolved his confusion and made up his mind, Feng Yun no longer cared whether Jiao Lizhi''s space was a spiritual space or not. He only needed to cover up her actions so no one would find out about her space and put her and their team in danger. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 164 - 164: Underground Oil Tanks After the briefing, Jiao Lizhi divided the pond water and crystal cores with everyone. She also gave the new members a belt bag to store their crystal cores and emergency medicine. When they finished the preparations, they left the mini-market. Before leaving, Jiao Lizhi tugged at Jin Xuyan''s sleeve and said, "Brother Yan, can you leave with them first? I will catch up as soon as possible." The moment he heard her words, Jin Xuyan instantly refused with a frown, "No way." Jiao Lizhi wanted to take away the underground tanks, and she couldn''t do it in front of everyone. So, she wanted to stay behind and take the tanks after they left. Unexpectedly, a certain someone would refuse her without even thinking. "Then how about telling them to leave first and you stay with me?" she negotiated. Jin Xuyan stared at her and asked, "Tell me what you want to do first." Jiao Lizhi glared at him, but seeing how stubborn he was, she had no choice but to tell him. "Brother Yan, I want to see if I can take away the underground tank. Right now, only you know about my space. So, I need them to leave first before I can try it." When he heard her plan, Jin Xuyan said, "Ah Zhi, the size of the underground tank is massive. Are you sure you will be alright after storing the tank in your space? What if you end up like Xiao Qi from overusing your space?" Noticing his worries, Jiao Lizhi softened her tone and said, "That''s why I want to try it. If I can get the underground tanks, then we don''t have to worry about running out of gas. It will save us during emergency situations." After hearing her words, Jin Xuyan thought for a while before saying, "Alright. But if you can''t do it, then you should stop right away. I don''t want you to harm yourself just because of this matter." "Okay!" Jiao Lizhi agreed readily. Jin Xuyan glanced at her for a moment before going to inform Zhang Yuan about the change in their plan. After a while, the rest of the members left the gas station, leaving only the two of them behind. Jiao Lizhi thought about how to collect the underground tanks as she walked around the gas station. After a while, she looked at the oil pumps and decided to take them together with the tanks. The pumps and tanks were connected. If she only took one of them, what if the oil or LNG leaked and it exploded? She would die without a trace, ah! After she made up her mind, she placed her hands on the oil pump and took a deep breath. When she was ready, she muttered under her breath, "Collect!" Boom! The next moment, the oil pump disappeared, the ground shook, and it crumbled into a deep, big hole. "Ah Zhi!" Jin Xuyan rushed over to her the moment he saw the ground collapse. In the blink of an eye, he had already wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his embrace as they fell into the hole. Jiao Lizhi was startled by the sudden change. By the time her mind reacted, she was already in Jin Xuyan''s arms and couldn''t do anything but let him hug her. After they landed, Jin Xuyan lowered his head to check on her and asked, "Ah Zhi, how are you? Are you injured? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?" The worry and anxiety in his voice were so obvious that Jiao Lizhi swallowed the casual words at the tip of her tongue. She shook her head and replied, "Brother Yan, I''m fine." With her current ability level and physical condition, even without Jin Xuyan, she wouldn''t have been hurt from falling into the hole. Hearing her soft voice, Jin Xuyan rested his head on her shoulder and said, "You scared me to death." The moment he saw her fall, memories of his past life flashed through his mind. Back then, he had failed to catch her, and she ended up torn apart by the zombies. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The fear and desperation he felt at that moment couldn''t be washed away, even after his rebirth. That would forever remain his worst nightmare, and he didn''t want to experience it again. Jiao Lizhi noticed his trembling arms, and a blurry figure of a man jumping off a building with his hands reaching out toward her flashed through her mind. After a while, Jin Xuyan finally calmed down and let her go. He stood up and steadied her before releasing her. When Jiao Lizhi looked into his eyes, the blurry figure in her memories became clearer. Before, she had only remembered his voice calling her name. Now, she could finally recall that person clearly. She held his hand and said, "Brother Yan, I''m fine." Jin Xuyan looked at her and nodded. Not wanting to recall those bad memories, he changed the topic. "Ah Zhi, did you get the underground tank?" he asked. Jiao Lizhi checked her space and saw the massive tank with the oil pump on the grassland. She nodded and said, "Brother Yan, I didn''t feel uncomfortable at all. I can get the rest of the tanks." Since she was fine, Jin Xuyan had no objections. After he had carried her out of the hole, Jin Xuyan stood beside her. The two of them stood at a distance as Jiao Lizhi collected the remaining oil pumps and underground tanks. Once she was done, she moved the tanks and pumps to a corner of the grassland in her space. Then, she took out her car from her space. "They should be waiting for us. Let''s go," Jin Xuyan said as he started the engine. When they left the gas station, only empty buildings and a massive hole remained. At the same time, the Phantom Team members were waiting for them by the roadside. Their current location was eight kilometers away from Lin''an University, and they could already hear the roars of zombies in the distance. Chapter 165 - 165: We Meet Again Twenty minutes later, Jin Xuyan parked Jiao Lizhi''s car and said, "Ah Zhi, let''s walk." Jiao Lizhi nodded at his words. After they got out of the car, she stored it in her space and walked toward Lin''an University. After walking for another twenty minutes, they finally saw their team members. Noticing the two of them, Zhang Yuan looked at everyone and said, "Captain is here. Everyone, get into the car." Although no one knew what their captain had done, no one asked any questions and followed Zhang Yuan''s order. Only the new members cast curious glances at them. When they reached the armored vehicles, Jin Xuyan sat in the passenger seat while Jiao Lizhi climbed into the back seat. As they got closer to Lin''an University, the roaring of zombies grew louder and clearer. Fifteen minutes later, Qin Luzi said, "Captain, we are entering the zombies'' den." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan said, "Stop the car. We will go on foot." Following his order, Shen Jinzhe informed the car behind them before parking at the roadside. After everyone had gotten out, he stored the vehicles in his space. At this moment, everyone was already taking out their weapons and checking their gear. Seeing this, the new members also began checking their gear. "I think the three of you should take off your white coats. They will hinder your movement when you fight. Also, you need to wash them." When they heard this, they turned and saw Jiao Lizhi looking at their coats. Their previously white coats were no longer clean¡ªthey were covered with black blood and smelled like rotten flesh. The three of them were unwilling to throw away their white coats and hesitated. Seeing this, Jiao Lizhi asked, "How about I keep them for you? When we are done killing the zombies, I will return them." Hearing this, Yu Fuyun thought for a moment and finally took off his coat. He handed it over to her and said, "Sister, sorry to trouble you." "No problem," Jiao Lizhi said with a smile. Then she looked at Chen Zhiyi and Jiang Lizin and asked, "Sister Jiang, Brother-in-law, what about you two?" They had already experienced fighting zombies and knew that what she said was true. So, they took off their coats and handed them to her. Jiao Lizhi smiled and said, "Sister Jiang, I will help you wash them before giving them back. I promise there won''t be any stench or smell." After saying this, she walked toward the car and used it to block people''s view before putting the coats into her space. The moment she stored them, she checked her space and saw that the black blood and rotten matter on the coats had turned into a wisp of mist and disappeared instantly. Using her mind, she filled a basin with pond water, added some laundry detergent, and soaked the coats in it. When they finished killing the zombies, she would wash them and ask Jin Xuyan to dry them. Ten minutes later, the Phantom Team left the area, following Qin Luzi''s lead. With every step they took, they got closer to the zombie den. "Roarr!!" When they were fifty meters away from the university, they heard a zombie''s roar. The next moment, the new members froze in place, their faces pale. Their eyes were unfocused and filled with horror. Seeing their condition, Jiao Lizhi quickly rushed toward them and sent her energy into their bodies, protecting their minds. A few minutes later, they regained their senses and realized that their clothes were soaked with cold sweat and blood trickled down from the corner of their lips. Jin Xuyan raised his head and looked toward the tallest building in the university. Standing on the rooftop, he saw a small figure with long limbs. Without averting his gaze, he said, "It''s a level-four zombie." The moment they heard his words, they were shocked. Before they could react, they heard another roar and saw the small figure leap from the rooftop. Seeing this, Jin Xuyan said, "I will take care of the level-four zombie. The rest of you, kill the low-level ones." "Yes, Captain!" Once he finished speaking, he bent his knees and leaped forward. With just one leap, he was already more than twenty meters ahead. Seeing this, Jiao Lizhi quickly followed after him. Despite being only level one, she was able to match his speed, though she couldn''t catch up. Suddenly, she felt a gust of wind in front of her and instinctively dodged to the side. BOOM! The ground was struck by a heavy object, raising a cloud of dust and debris. Both Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi stopped and turned around, weapons in hand. "Aoo...khhhh¡­illl¡­Roarr!!" Before the dust settled, a strange roar echoed from its center. Feeling a wave of murderous intent aimed at her, Jiao Lizhi raised her dagger. CLANG! Crack! In a split second, a sharp claw collided with her dagger with a loud sound. The force of the attack numbed her arm and pushed her back several meters. The ground cracked beneath her feet, leaving two broken lines on the road. She felt the metallic taste of blood in her throat and swallowed it forcefully. When she raised her gaze, a flash of surprise appeared in her eyes. Instead of fear and despair, excitement surged in her heart. Parting her lips, she said, "Mo Bingxue, we meet again. I''m glad you are not completely dead. Otherwise, how could I take your dog''s life with my own hands?" As soon as she finished speaking, she opened her palm and struck the female zombie''s chest. Crack! Crash! A disk of water flew from her palm into the zombie''s chest, creating a hole. She looked into its eyes and saw anger and hatred flashing in the black depths. Seeing this, Jiao Lizhi was momentarily stunned. "Roar!" The female zombie opened its mouth and lunged toward her neck. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Jin Xuyan''s eyes widened as he saw this and shouted, "Ah Zhi!" Duagh! Boom! Chapter 166 - 166: Atoms Combination ( 1 ) Before its sharp teeth could pierce her skin, the female zombie was kicked away by Jin Xuyan. It flew through the air and crashed into a roadblock, shattering it instantly. Standing in the distance, everyone was shocked by the battle between the level-four zombie against their captain and sister-in-law. Although they wanted to help, their bodies refused to move under the pressure of a high-level zombie. Only when the zombie was knocked down did they regain control of their bodies. Feeling the danger of staying here, Zhang Yuan made a decision and said, "Everyone, follow me closely!" After saying this, he rushed toward Lin''an University without hesitation. Seeing their vice-captain already on the move, the rest of the team quickly followed. Since they couldn''t help their captain directly, they could at least stop the incoming zombies. Yu Fuyun watched their backs and gritted his teeth as he followed. He had already suffered internal injuries before the battle even began, making him realize just how weak he truly was. Recalling the words he spoke when he joined the team, a wave of determination filled his eyes. He refused to live a life dependent on others. He would get stronger and find his family! Boom! As they ran toward the crowd of zombies, the sound of battle erupted behind them. Despite their worries, none of them looked back. "Roarr!!" Ahead of them, zombies were rushing forward. At the front, a few stood out¡ªfaster and more agile than the rest. "There are five level-two zombies in the lead. Wen Mo, Wen Kai, create the wall!" Zhang Yuan commanded. In the next moment, the Wen brothers clasped their hands. As they waved their arms, a block of metal¡ªsix meters wide and four meters high¡ªappeared out of nowhere. Boom! The metal wall pierced into the ground, blocking the zombies'' path. As soon as it stabilized, the members jumped up and landed atop it. With a thickness of two meters, they stood steadily on its surface. Seeing the zombies fast approaching, the Wen brothers continued creating metal walls until there was no gap left for them to pass through. Once done, they took out five metal-type crystal cores from their belt bags and began absorbing the energy. In less than five minutes, the cores had turned to dust and were blown away by the wind. None of them noticed how frighteningly fast their absorption rate was, including the Wen brothers, as they were fully focused on the incoming horde. "Roarr!!" Blocked by the metal wall, the zombies could only reach upward with their rotting arms, trying to grab the "delicacies" standing above them. Having been through several battles, Xiao Qi was much calmer now and no longer wasting his energy to show off like before. CRASH! With a wave of his hand, a massive boulder was taken out from his space and smashed the zombies below into a gory rotten meat paste. Following his attack, the rest of the team launched their own attacks. Meanwhile, Chen Zhiyi, Jiang Lixin, and Yu Fuyun stood at the base of the wall. Even after being embedded in the ground, the wall was still over three meters high. There was no way for them to climb it, let alone kill zombies from below. Seeing this, Jiang Lixin looked at her husband and asked, "Husband, what should we do now?" Chen Zhiyi had no better idea and could only say, "I guess we just have to wait." While the couple had no objection to staying idle, Yu Fuyun was different. He was desperate to get stronger¡ªand that meant fighting zombies and gaining real experience. After a moment''s thought, he looked up and asked, "Xiao Qi, can you help me to go up there?" sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Hearing this, Xiao Qi stopped his attack and jumped down from the wall. He looked at Yu Fuyun and said, "Hold on tight." The next moment, he wrapped an arm around Yu Fuyun''s thin waist and carried him up to the wall. As they stood atop the wall, Xiao Qi resumed attacking the zombies. Yu Fuyun finally witnessed firsthand how powerful his team truly was. Boom! At the same time, Jin Xuyan clashed with the female zombie in midair. A shockwave of energy burst from the collision, spreading across the surrounding area. The energy wave struck Jiao Lizhi and sent her flying. Blood trickled from the corner of her lips as she clutched her chest. She stared at Mo Bingxue with reddened eyes. The gap in their strength was far too wide¡ªkilling her seemed impossible. What''s worse, Mo Bingxue was now a zombie with a terrifying regeneration rate. Not only was she immune to pain, but even her severed limbs regrew at a shocking speed. Duagh! Boom! While Jiao Lizhi was searching for a way to kill her, Jin Xuyan was kicked in the chest and slammed into the ground with a loud crash. "Cough!" He coughed up a mouthful of blood. The ground cracked beneath him, leaving him lying at the center of a massive crater. Seeing an opening, the female zombie rushed toward him after landing, madness flashing in her eyes as she aimed her sharp claws at Jin Xuyan''s chest. The moment Jin Xuyan saw the incoming attack, he forced himself up, trying to block the attack. Crash! But before the claws could land, a water disk flew through the air and sliced off the zombie''s rotten arm. "Roarrr!" The female zombie let out a furious roar and turned to glare at Jiao Lizhi. Seeing her standing unsteadily, she abandoned Jin Xuyan and charged toward her new target. Jin Xuyan was seriously wounded. Even with his regeneration ability, he couldn''t recover fast enough. Watching the zombie rush at Jiao Lizhi, he gritted his teeth and swung his longsword. Wush! A black crescent of flame flew at the female zombie with a fast speed. Even after noticing the incoming attack, the zombie ignored it, keeping her focus on Jiao Lizhi and aiming her claws at her head. A moment before the claws could hit her, Jiao Lizhi raised her hand and shouted, "Collect!" Chapter 167 - 167: Atoms Combination ( 2 ) In the blink of an eye, the female zombie disappeared instantly. At the same time, Jiao Lizhi coughed up several mouthfuls of blood and collapsed. "Ah Zhi!" Jin Xuyan rushed toward her and caught her before she hit the ground. He gently patted her cheeks and called out in panic, "Ah Zhi, open your eyes. Ah Zhi!" At the same time, inside Jiao Lizhi''s space, the female zombie sprawled on the ground. She raised her head and growled at Jiao Lizhi, hatred burning in her black eyes. Seeing the emotion in those eyes, Jiao Lizhi asked coldly, "Mo Binxue, you have your consciousness, don''t you?" "Grrhhh¡­!" Getting a response, Jiao Lizhi smiled faintly and said, "In our previous life, you lived like a princess thanks to my care and support." "You were the only friend I had¡ªmy trusted aide. I treat you even better than how I treat myself. I thought we were a team and you have my back. But you... you pushed me to the zombies and watched as I was torn apart and eaten alive." A flicker of confusion passed through the female zombie''s eyes as she listened. Jiao Lizhi''s expression turned cold as she continued, "Mo Binxue, without me, you were nothing. Look at yourself now. You are no longer human¡ªso why bother clinging to life?" As soon as she said these words, she raised her hand and swung it down. In an instant, the pressure on Mo Binxue increased by a hundred fold. Boom! Crack crack crack! The female zombie was crushed by an invisible force, pinned to the ground so hard she couldn''t even lift her head. Her bones were crushed and regenerated continuously. But the regeneration of her bones couldn''t catch up with the speed of them shattering. Though she appeared calm, Jiao Lizhi''s mind was on the brink of collapse. She was only at level one, so it was nearly impossible for her to control a level-four zombie, even with the help of her space. To prevent any mishap, she walked toward the zombie. When she reached her, she created an ice dagger and stabbed it into the zombie''s skull. Crack! With a twist of her wrist, she split the rotting head open. Before the black blood or decaying flesh could touch the ground, it turned into mist and was absorbed by the space. She stood still, watching as her space absorbed Mo Binxue piece by piece. Unfortunately, the zombie was no longer human and couldn''t feel pain. Otherwise, it would have been far more satisfying to watch her suffer. The pain must be so painful¡ªperhaps even more so than being devoured alive by zombies. When Mo Binxue completely disappeared, Jiao Lizhi let out a long sigh of relief and closed her eyes. A moment later, she lost consciousness and fell to the grassland. At that moment, the fog surrounding the edge of the space and the sky receded by 200 meters. Her mental power had increased after finally taking her revenge Outside the space, Jin Xuyan was still anxious and panicked. As he carried her on his back, running toward his team to find Gao Bohai, he suddenly heard a soft snore. He stopped in his tracks and turned his head slowly, staring at her in disbelief. After a long pause, he finally let out a soft chuckle. Glancing up at the high metal wall, he decided to let his team handle the zombies for now. Feeling exhausted, he sat down on the ground, hugging Jiao Lizhi close. While she slept peacefully in his arms, he drank some water and ate a few bites of compressed biscuit to recover his strength before he absorbed some fire-type crystal cores. Meanwhile, on top of the wall, Yu Fuyun observed the battle for a while before walking over to the Wen brothers. Standing beside Wen Mo, he asked, "Brother Wen Mo, can you help me make an air gun?" When he heard his words, Wen Kai laughed and commented, "Kid, that''s a good idea." Wen Mo, a huge weapon enthusiast, was very familiar with air gun designs. He nodded and got to work, creating three BB guns, nine CO? cartridges, and fifteen magazines. Afterward, he filled the magazines with 6mm BBs. Once done, he handed a BB gun and five magazines to Yu Fuyun. He looked at the empty cartridges and reminded him, "Without CO? cartridges, these won''t work." Just then, Qin Luzi walked over and said, "Give the cartridges to me." Wen Mo passed them to him and asked, "Luzi, you think you can fill these?" "I will give it a shot," Qin Luzi replied casually. He focused his mind and began sensing the air around him. After a few moments, he picked up on tiny sparks of energy¡ªatoms. A smile formed on his face as he guided his energy to draw in the atoms, combining them inside the cartridge. As he compressed the CO?, it slowly turned into liquid and filled the containers. Everyone nearby glanced at him in amazement. Not far off, Feng Yun watched with great interest. It seemed elemental-type abilities weren''t limited to manipulating their element¡ªthey could also create things, as long as the base materials were present and could be controlled by the ability users. Thinking of this, Feng Yun recalled the composition of methane¡ªone carbon atom, four hydrogen atoms. It was highly flammable, and even a small spark could cause an explosion. Once Qin Luzi finished filling the cartridges, he handed them back to Wen Mo and said, "If you need a refill, just let me know." "Okay," Wen Mo nodded. Now, with a new weapon option, they didn''t have to worry about running out of ammunition. Seeing this, Feng Yun walked over and said, "Brother Wen, I want one too." Knowing he had plenty of metal bullets stored in his space, Wen Mo gave him a gun, three cartridges, and five magazines. Feng Yun then walked up to Qin Luzi and asked, "Brother Qin, can you feel the atoms in the air?" S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 168 - 168: 100% Accuracy Rate Raising an eyebrow, Qin Luzi asked Feng Yun back while casually slicing zombies below with a wind blade, "Why do you ask?" "Brother Qin, if you can create CO?... then you can also create CH?," Feng Yun replied with a meaningful look. As soon as he heard his words, Qin Luzi thought for a moment and his eyes lit up immediately. He nodded and said, "This is a good idea!" S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Eager to test it out, he raised his hands and began combining atoms above the crowd of zombies. Boom! The moment the methane formed, it exploded¡ªtriggered instantly by the high temperature from Shen Jinzhe''s blue flame. The explosion wiped out a group of zombies and startled everyone. Thrilled to have found the perfect use for his ability, Qin Luzi turned to Feng Yun with a grin and praised him generously, "Feng Yun, you are a genius!" "I''m just glad I could help," Feng Yun replied modestly, then turned to try out his new gun, leaving his mentor having fun with his newfound skill. Feng Yun often played airsoft with his friends, so he knew how to use air guns. The main differences between the airsoft guns he used before and this one were the weight and the bullets. Although it was heavier, he had already awakened his ability, and both his strength and stamina had improved by leaps and bounds. He held the gun steadily as he aimed at the zombie''s head. Pop! A soft popping sound rang out as he pulled the trigger. Thanks to the built-in suppressor, it was much quieter than the air guns he had used before. The metal bullet hit the zombie below and left a hole in its head. Seeing this, Zhang Yuan nodded and said, "Good accuracy." Feng Yun smiled but said nothing. He continued killing the roaring zombies below, in a good mood. Using this gun was less tiring than using his skill to shoot bullets from his space. At the same time, Yu Fuyun was struggling to hold his gun steady. When Wen Kai saw this, he said, "Xiao Yu, if you can''t hold the gun steadily, lie on the ground and use your arm as support." Hearing this, Yu Fuyun nodded and lay down. With the ground supporting his arms, he could hold the gun much more steadily. He aimed and pulled the trigger. Pop! As the bullet shot out, his eyes flickered for a split second. For some reason, he could predict the bullet''s movement pattern. Crack! The bullet hit the zombie''s head, killing it instantly. Seeing this, Wen Kai whistled and said, "Xiao Yu, looks like you are born to be a sniper." Yu Fuyun was stunned by his own accuracy and felt something was off. When he aimed his gun, he could feel a faint warmth circulating inside his body. He aimed again, but this time, he didn''t pull the trigger right away. Instead, he focused on the warm feeling inside. Suddenly, his dark pupils turned lighter, and several silver lines appeared within them. A sharp headache hit him, and he closed his eyes in pain. When he reopened them, he was stunned to see transparent lines in front of him, like something out of a shooting game heads-up display. As he blinked, the lines vanished. Thinking he was hallucinating, he rubbed his eyes. But when he thought about the lines again, they reappeared. This time, he didn''t dwell on the strangeness. He aimed his gun and watched as the lines moved along with it¡ªguiding him toward the target. He raised his gun slightly, and the curve of the line extended, ending at the head of a zombie at the far edge of the crowd. Pop! The moment he pulled the trigger, the bullet shot out and hit the distant zombie dead center in the head. Wen Mo and Wen Kai''s eyes widened in shock the moment they saw this. Even for a veteran, landing a headshot from that distance without a sniper rifle was an almost impossible thing to do. At this moment, Yu Fuyun was too busy analyzing his situation to notice their reactions. Along with the guiding lines, he also realized the bullet had been wrapped in a thin layer of wind¡ªboosting its speed and range. "Did I awaken my ability?" he muttered under his breath. As the realization sank in, joy filled his eyes. He felt like he had been reborn. To confirm it, he quickly aimed his gun and pulled the trigger again. Pop! Pop! Pop! Each bullet hit a zombie hidden behind the crowd, all perfect headshots. This time, even Zhang Yuan and Qin Luzi noticed his 100% accuracy. The soldiers around him were stunned. They had trained with firearms for years, yet their marksmanship couldn''t compare to that of a medical student. If the Eagle Team found out about this, wouldn''t they laugh until their teeth fell out? With Yu Fuyun and Feng Yun using BB guns to kill the zombies, and Qin Luzi combining atoms to create explosions, their speed in eliminating the zombies increased drastically. At the base of the metal wall, Chen Zhiyi and Jiang Lixin sat on the ground, leaning against it. Although they couldn''t see what was happening on the other side, they could feel the ground shaking, and occasional explosions echoed in the distance. Leaning on her husband''s shoulder, Jiang Lixin said with her eyes closed, "Husband, I''m tired. When it''s over, please wake me up." Chen Zhiyi, enduring pain from internal injuries, nodded. He put his arm around her shoulders and replied softly, "Get some sleep." "Mn," Jiang Lixin murmured as she drifted off to her sleep. Not long after, Chen Zhiyi also closed his eyes and fell asleep. Unbeknownst to them, both had developed a high fever, and their body temperatures continued to rise. An hour later, the temperature around them began to change. While Jiang Lixin''s temperature kept rising, Chen Zhiyi''s temperature dropped drastically. His body turned stiff, his skin grew pale, and frost began to form on his body. Chapter 169 - 169: Deadly Passive Skill In less than ten minutes, a thin layer of ice covered Chen Zhiyi''s body entirely. His hair, eyebrows, and newly grown beard were now coated with frost. The ice spread to the ground around him, forming a thick sheet in an instant. Even Jiang Lixin, who was still leaning against him, gradually became covered in a thin layer of frost spreading from him. Half an hour later, Jiao Lizhi finally woke up. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw Jin Xuyan''s handsome face. Seeing that she was finally awake, Jin Xuyan heaved a sigh of relief and placed his palm on her forehead to check her temperature. Then, he sent his energy into her body to check her condition. When Jiao Lizhi felt the scalding hot energy flow inside her, she relaxed her guard and let him probe. Five minutes later, Jin Xuyan retracted his energy and said, "Ah Zhi, fortunately, you are alright. Did you know I was almost scared to death when I saw you facing that zombie?" Noticing the complicated emotions in his eyes, Jiao Lizhi hugged his waist and said, "Brother Yan, sorry for making you worry, but I had a plan¡ªand it worked." Jin Xuyan hugged her and didn''t ask about the zombie''s whereabouts. As long as his Ah Zhi was fine, that was all that mattered to him. After a while, he let her go and asked, "Ah Zhi, are you hungry?" Jiao Lizhi rubbed her stomach but didn''t feel hungry, so she shook her head and said, "Brother Yan, we should go help our brothers." Since she was fine, Jin Xuyan had no objection. He helped her up and said, "Let''s go." The two of them ran toward Lin''an University. From afar, they could see the high metal wall. When they saw that the wall was blocking the road entirely, they weren''t surprised. If not for this wall, they would have been in much more danger when fighting Mo Binxue. As they got closer to the wall, they noticed a thin layer of ice on the ground. Crash, crash, crash! S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The sound of ice breaking beneath their feet was crisp and sharp. Noticing the anomaly, the two of them quickened their pace. Not long after, they saw Chen Zhiyi and Jiang Lixin covered in ice as they sat at the base of the metal wall. Seeing this, Jin Xuyan opened his palm, and a black flame floated above it. As he increased the temperature of the black flame, the surrounding temperature rose sharply. In less than two minutes, the ice on the road melted and seeped into the ground. He walked toward them to melt the ice around their bodies. Walking beside him, Jiao Lizhi noticed that while the ice covering Jiang Lixin''s body was melting, the ice covering Chen Zhiyi only lessened slightly before solidifying again. The moment they saw this, they looked at each other and nodded. As soon as the ice on Jiang Lixin''s body completely melted, Jiao Lizhi pulled her away from Chen Zhiyi and sent her energy into Jiang Lixin''s body. After checking her condition, she fed her some pond water and fever medicine. Thanks to the thin layer of ice, her fever had been kept under control. Otherwise, she might have died from the high fever. As for Chen Zhiyi, Jin Xuyan placed him by the roadside and checked his condition. Seeing that Chen Zhiyi was unharmed by the black flame, he created a wisp of it to warm him up. Even if he was awakening his ice-type ability, if he continued to be covered in ice, he could die from hypothermia. With the black flame floating beside him, he was no longer being covered by frost and gradually regained warmth. Not long after, Jiao Lizhi walked over and handed the medicine and water to Jin Xuyan while saying, "Brother Yan, we should feed him some water first." Jin Xuyan nodded and fed him a bottle of pond water. Afterward, he used his energy to continue warming Chen Zhiyi''s body. The reason why ice-type ability users were so rare in their previous life wasn''t because it was a mutated ability but because most people died during the awakening process. The mortality rate of awakening a mutated ability was as high as 99%, even if it was a natural awakening and not due to infection from the zombie virus. With the addition of the strange phenomena that happened during the awakening process, those who didn''t have people to guard them would die for sure. Fortunately, Chen Zhiyi had joined the Phantom Team, and with his captain and Jiao Lizhi''s care, he wouldn''t face any life-threatening danger. Since someone needed to stay and take care of them, Jin Xuyan said, "Ah Zhi, how about you stay and look after them, and I will go check the situation on the other side?" Feeling tired, Jiao Lizhi nodded and agreed readily. "Okay." Jin Xuyan gently patted her head for a moment before leaping to the top of the wall. The moment the team members saw him, their eyes lit up. They observed him for a while and didn''t spot any injuries on his body. Judging by his complexion, they were sure he didn''t have any internal injuries either. Indeed, their captain was as invincible as always! Jin Xuyan watched the battlefield and quickly noticed the new attack patterns among his team members. When his eyes landed on Yu Fuyun, he raised an eyebrow. As far as he knew, Yu Fuyun was one of the top researchers who helped create the zombie virus vaccine. Although it wasn''t a cure and the success rate was low, the vaccine had saved countless ordinary lives. Even though they had never met in his previous life, Jin Xuyan had heard of his name. That was the reason he agreed to recruit him¡ªeven if he was originally as weak as a chicken. But now, it seemed he had awakened an ability. He stood beside him and quietly observed as Yu Fuyun killed zombies with 100% accuracy, and he understood immediately¡ªthis must be a psychic-type accuracy ability. While the ability itself had no direct offensive power, in the hands of a marksman, it was a deadly passive skill. Chapter 170 - 170: Healing-type Ability After checking the situation for a while, Jin Xuyan looked at the number of zombies filling the road and said, "Old Zhang, I will go check the situation in the university. I will leave this place to you." Zhang Yuan nodded and replied, "Okay." As soon as he finished speaking, Jin Xuyan bent his knees and leaped down from the wall. Just as everyone thought he would be swarmed by zombies, he flipped midair and threw a black fireball at the zombies below. Boom! Using the force of the explosion, he propelled himself sideways and landed on the rooftop of a shop near the roadside. Without stopping, he ran and jumped to the next building. The soldiers were full of awe as they watched their captain leap from one building to the next like a martial arts expert from a storybook. Even after awakening their abilities, they could barely jump four meters at full strength. But their captain could easily leap more than ten meters without breaking a sweat. Ten minutes later, Jin Xuyan finally saw the end of the zombie horde. He stood at the guard post of Lin''an University and saw no zombies in sight. Hearing explosions in the distance, he was sure the zombies within a one-kilometer radius had already been drawn toward his team. Jin Xuyan looked toward the university''s main building and went to investigate. In his previous life, a high-level fire-type zombie had gained consciousness. It became one of the overlords of Lin''an University and was the one who was responsible for leading a massive horde that destroyed several bases near the city''s border. This time, he planned to find it and eliminate it before it had a chance to grow stronger. While Jin Xuyan was scouting the university, Jiao Lizhi stayed behind to guard Chen Zhiyi and Jiang Lixin. After giving them more pond water and sending energy to stabilize their hearts, their conditions finally improved. Although frost no longer appeared on Chen Zhiyi''s body, his body temperature was still dangerously low. Fortunately, Jin Xuyan''s black flame was still burning and showed no sign of going out. As for Jiang Lixin, her fever had reduced and she was beginning to show signs of waking up. Noticing this, Jiao Lizhi quickly pulled out her backpack from her storage space and filled it with food, medicine, and several bottles of water. Before long, Jiang Lixin opened her eyes and let out a groan, "Ugh¡­" Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi raised her head and asked, "Sister Jiang, are you feeling better?" "What happened to me?" she asked hoarsely. "Sister Jiang, you had a high fever while awakening your ability. Do you feel anything different in your body?" she asked again. Jiang Lixin held her head and said, "I feel dizzy and weak." After a moment, she asked, "Where is my husband?" Jiao Lizhi pointed to the roadside and replied, "Brother-in-law hasn''t woken up yet. He is still in the process of awakening his ability." S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Upon hearing this, Jiang Lixin pushed herself up and walked toward her husband. Seeing this, Jiao Lizhi quickly stepped in to stop her and said, "Sister Jiang, you can''t get too close. He is awakening a mutated ability¡ªit''s more dangerous than a regular awakening." "We don''t know what could happen if the process is disturbed," she added solemnly. Jiang Lixin froze in her tracks and asked, "Is he in danger?" Shaking her head, Jiao Lizhi said, "Right now, everything is under control. He''s not in danger at the moment." Fearing she might endanger her husband, Jiang Lixin didn''t approach him and instead sat on the road, leaning against the metal wall. Jiao Lizhi handed her a cup of instant noodles and said, "Sister Jiang, you should eat something first." At that moment, Jiang Lixin was indeed hungry, so she accepted the food and began eating. While she ate, Jiao Lizhi asked, "Sister Jiang, can you feel any energy inside your body?" Jiang Lixin focused for a moment and shook her head. Aside from feeling weak, she didn''t notice anything different. The two were chatting when suddenly they heard a harsh cough. "Cough! Cough!" Jiang Lixin immediately recognized the voice. She dropped her noodles and rushed to her husband''s side. Chen Zhiyi was coughing up blood, and sharp ice needles were emerging from his body. His flesh was tearing apart, and blood poured from the wounds, staining the ground red. "Husband!" Jiang Lixin cried out in panic. Chen Zhiyi''s body temperature plummeted, and his blood began to freeze. Even Jiao Lizhi, despite her years of apocalyptic experience, was stunned by the sight. As Chen Zhiyi''s body began turning into an ice sculpture, Jiang Lixin could no longer stay calm. She hugged him tightly, trying to warm him with her body as she called out, "Husband, open your eyes! Wake up!" Tears streamed down her face as her hands and body were slowly covered in ice spreading from him. Her heart pounded rapidly, and despair gripped her. She could feel her husband dying. "No, you can''t die. You promised me. Husband, please wake up!" she pleaded. Jiao Lizhi held Chen Zhiyi''s wrist and tried to send energy to warm him, but her water-type ability was naturally cold. Even with her efforts to manipulate the temperature, she couldn''t raise his temperature high enough to melt the ice on his body. "If only Brother Yan were here," she muttered with a frown. She glanced at Shen Jinzhe but decided against trying. Ice and fire were incompatible. Even if Shen Jinzhe could get his energy inside Chen Zhiyi''s body¡ªwhich was unlikely¡ªhe might end up killing him instead. Just as she was racking her brain for a solution, a soft light suddenly emerged from Jiang Lixin''s body and enveloped Chen Zhiyi. Jiao Lizhi''s eyes lit up and she exclaimed in surprise, "Healing-type ability!" "Sister Jiang, focus on the energy inside your body and guide it to your palms. Use your mind to control the energy flow into your husband''s body through his pores. You need to calm the chaotic energy inside him. Right now, only you can save him." Chapter 171 - 171: Next Move Jiang Lixin followed Jiao Lizhi''s instructions without hesitation. The moment she pulled the energy from her body, she felt a burning pain in her veins. She gritted her teeth and endured it. As her energy entered Chen Zhiyi''s body, she sensed the raging cold energy surrounding her calmer energy. Wrapping her power around it, she carefully guided it through his meridians and veins. Though it seemed simple, the act consumed a vast amount of energy and carried a high risk of death from the backlashes. Jiao Lizhi saw Jiang Lixin''s face turn pale as paper, and her clothes were soaked in sweat, which froze in less than a few seconds. Acting quickly, she took out a handful of transparent crystal cores from her space and stuffed them into Jiang Lixin''s hand. The moment the crystal cores touched her hands, the energy seeped into her body, replenishing her insufficient energy. In under twenty minutes, the energy within the crystal cores was fully absorbed, leaving behind only dust. Soon after, the wounds on Chen Zhiyi''s body healed completely, and the chaotic energy inside him finally calmed. Jiang Lixin opened her eyes and saw that her husband was no longer in danger. Relief washed over her, and she let out a long sigh. Then, without warning, her eyes rolled back and collapsed. Jiao Lizhi caught her just in time and moved her to a safer spot to rest. Jiang Lixin had nearly drained all her energy and fainted from exhaustion. After thinking for a moment, Jiao Lizhi slipped another handful of crystal cores into her hand. Seeing her body begin to absorb the energy unconsciously, she fed her some pond water before turning to check on Chen Zhiyi. Meanwhile, Jin Xuyan had already finished inspecting Lin''an University. Aside from the zombies trapped inside the buildings, there was no sign of a high-level zombie. He tried to recall memories from his past life and was certain that the high-level zombie in this area had been a fire-type. But apart from that female zombie with high regeneration, the others were only level-one or level-two. Considering the possibility that the fire-type zombie had not yet emerged in the current timeline, he decided not to dwell on it further. As long as they eliminated most of the zombies in the area, even if the fire-type zombie appeared later, it wouldn''t have enough crystal cores to consume. Without the crystal cores, it would be impossible for it to evolve to level-six or higher. Having made up his mind, he turned and left the university. This time, he didn''t head back directly but began clearing zombies from the rear. Concerned about absorbing too much energy, he used his longsword to chop off the zombies'' heads. The black flame engulfed their heads and disappeared moments later, leaving a pile of ashes. The energy accumulated from burning the rotten heads would be enough to offset the energy he used. With his level on the verge of breaking through, he killed the zombies effortlessly. Even level-two zombies couldn''t lay a scratch on him. With Jin Xuyan and his team clearing the area swiftly, the last zombie was eliminated before sunset. From the top of the wall, Zhang Yuan watched his captain burning the zombies'' corpses below. Raising his head, Jin Xuyan called out, "Jinzhe, Old Qin, Xiao Qi¡ªgo check if there are any wandering zombies that we missed and clean up the rest of the corpses." Following his orders, the three of them leapt from the metal wall and got to work. At the same time, the other soldiers jumped down, and Wen Mo turned the metal wall into countless BB gun bullets, which Feng Yun collected into his space. With the wall removed, they could finally see Chen Zhiyi''s condition. Unlike Jiang Lixin, who had already recovered, he was still unconscious. "Brother Gao, please help me check on my husband," Jiang Lixin said anxiously. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Gao Bohai nodded and replied, "Let me take a look." Feng Yun took out the medical equipment from his space and assisted him in sterilizing the tools. After examining Chen Zhiyi for a while, Gao Bohai said, "Brother Chen''s condition is stable¡ªjust a slight fever. He should wake up soon." After he fed him fever medicine, he added, "Sister Jiang, be sure to keep him hydrated and monitor his temperature. If there''s any change, let me know right away." Jiang Lixin breathed a sigh of relief when she heard his words and said, "Thank you, Brother Gao." "We will find a place to spend the night once Old Qin, Jinzhe, and Xiao Qi return. Everyone, rest up and recover your strength," Jin Xuyan said. "Captain, we have finished clearing the zombies in this area. What''s our next step?" Zhang Yuan asked. Jin Xuyan thought for a moment before answering, "We will head to the central city tomorrow. We will clear out any remaining zombies and assess the situation." Zhang Yuan nodded and asked, "Captain, do you plan to send all the survivors to Jiangning City?" Jin Xuyan shook his head and explained, "No. If we send them all there, Jiangning won''t have enough supplies to support them. We will direct some to Yunshan, Xianning, and Jinwu City instead. These three border Lin''an, and they are closer than Jiangning." "If we manage to clear out more zombies, people may even establish a base here. That would make relocation much easier for the survivors. Old Zhang, start listing the family names of our brothers¡ªwe will keep an eye out for them along the way." Zhang Yuan nodded and replied, "Got it." When the red moon rose into the sky, Qin Luzi returned with Xiao Qi and Shen Jinzhe. Xiao Qi handed a sack full of crystal cores to Jin Xuyan and said, "Captain, these are the crystal cores." Jin Xuyan took the sack and nodded. "It''s late now¡ªwe should find a place to rest." They headed back to their armored vehicles and drove in the direction of Lin''an University. This time, instead of returning to the factory area, they took the route that led toward the central city. About thirty minutes later, they spotted a small gas station and pulled into its yard. Chapter 172 - 172: Divided After they entered the gas station, Qin Luzi checked the surroundings and said, "The area is clear of zombies." With his words, everyone relaxed. Sitting in the back, Chen Qianfeng said, "Brother Qin, your ability is so useful." Qin Luzi didn''t respond to his praise at all. Only he knew how exhausting and annoying it was to have a map with blinking dots in his mind all the time. No matter how hard he tried to ignore the moving dots, they never disappeared. If not for his high level of concentration, the constant activity would have driven him mad. After parking their cars, they headed to the minimarket to prepare dinner. Since both Feng Yun and Xiao Qi''s storage spaces were full, they didn''t take any more supplies for now. Meanwhile, Jiao Lizhi went to check the warehouse. Just as she reached for the door, she suddenly froze. Memories from her past life surged through her mind. After escaping from Lin''an University, she had come to this very gas station. It was where she first met the government soldiers who were searching for supplies. She had followed them back to a temporary survivor camp and stayed there for a few months¡ªuntil the second rain came and Lin''an city completely turned into a zombie city. Thinking about those days, she wondered, if she had killed that old man earlier, would fewer people have died? Lost in her thoughts, she didn''t notice Jin Xuyan walking over until he asked, "Ah Zhi, what are you doing?" Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. His question snapped her out of her daze. She shook her head and said, "Brother Yan, I''m checking the warehouse." Jin Xuyan studied her for a moment but saw nothing unusual, so he nodded and said, "Go ahead. I will stand guard." Jiao Lizhi nodded and went inside to collect supplies. This small gas station didn''t have oil drums or gas cylinders, but there was plenty of instant food stored inside. After she had collected everything into her space, the two of them returned to the minimarket. Once dinner was over, the group took turns doing a night watch while the rest of the team rested. While the night passed peacefully for them, the same couldn''t be said for the Eagle Team. After finishing their training and enforcing the new rule of exchanging crystal cores for supplies, the divide between the strong and the weak became more obvious. At that moment, the Eagle Team and Pei Yijun''s group were holding a meeting in a small office inside the gas station, while the survivors stayed in the minimarket. "Captain Wei, what do you plan to do with the survivors who can''t kill zombies?" Pei Yijun asked. "Young Master Pei, do you have any suggestions?" Wei Ying replied calmly. Pei Yijun smiled when he saw him tossing the question back to him and said, "Captain Wei, you were the one who took them in. You should be the one to decide." Wei Ying chuckled and replied, "Young Master Pei, I''m a soldier. I''m not good at managing people." Pei Yijun thought for a moment, then said, "With the new rules in place, it''s no longer feasible to give out food and water for free. If they want supplies, they need to offer something in return." "You mean money?" one of the Eagle Team members asked skeptically. "What good is that waste paper now?" Li Yang said while rolling his eyes. "Then what''s the alternative?" another asked. Pei Yijun looked briefly in the direction of the minimarket and said, "If they can''t fight, then figure out what they are good at. We will eventually need all kinds of specialists¡ªit''s better to start recruiting from now on." "After you find out their specialization, have them register as workers. Once they are on the roster, they will get supplies as wages. You can pay them daily, weekly, or monthly¡ªthat''s up to you." The group nodded in agreement. It was a practical solution. They then began discussing salaries and which roles they needed to fill immediately. While Wei Ying and his team were busy finding a solution, the survivors inside the minimarket were shrouded in a gloomy mood. At this point, they had split into three distinct groups. The ability users saw themselves as special and no longer wished to mingle with ordinary people. Meanwhile, the ordinary people were caught between fear and envy toward those with powers and couldn''t bring themselves to lower their pride to bootlick them. Then there was a third group¡ªa mixture of both ability-users and ordinary people, mostly made up of families who couldn''t afford to abandon one another. The family members with abilities had no choice but to share whatever supplies they managed to exchange with their ordinary family members. In a dim corner of the minimarket, a group huddled together after finishing two packs of biscuits and two bottles of water. A woman sat slightly apart from them, her eyes cold and distant as she watched them. She had risked her life to kill lots of zombies and exchanged two crystal cores she found for the biscuits and water. But before she could even take a sip of water, her father and siblings had snatched everything from her. No one had asked if she wanted any. No one thanked her. They devoured everything as if it were only natural for her to sacrifice herself for them. As the last crumbs of biscuits were eaten, a young man¡ªher younger brother¡ªpatted his round belly and complained, "Father, I''m still hungry." Hearing his son''s words, the old man sighed and said, "Son, bear it for now. Tomorrow, let your sister kill more zombies and find crystals to exchange for food." "Father, I don''t want to eat the dry biscuits. I want to eat noodles!" the young man said unhappily, frowning in dissatisfaction. "Okay, okay, we will exchange for noodles then," the old man agreed instantly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Upon hearing her father''s words, the woman couldn''t help but sneer. Chapter 173 - 173: The Sole Target ( 1 ) The woman''s voice was cold and sharp as she said, "If you want to eat, then go kill zombies yourself. All you know is how to eat and complain¡ªwhat good are you, really?" The moment the young man heard her words, he was enraged. He stood up and stormed toward her. Seeing him walking over, the woman knew exactly what he intended¡ªto beat her again like he always did. In the past, she might have cowered, too afraid to fight back. But that was before she lived through hell, before she killed those men and zombies. Now, fear no longer had a place in her heart. Before her brother could reach her, she was already on her feet. Her grip tightened around the iron rod in her hand as she watched him raise his arm. "You bitch! How dare you talk back to me with that attitude? Are you tired of living?" he shouted. Thud! Crack! As his hand came down, she swung the iron rod with all her strength. The sound of bones breaking echoed in their ears. It took the man a moment to register the pain. He looked at his sister with disbelief. He couldn''t believe that his once-timid sister had actually fought back and broken his arm. Clutching his arm in agony, he howled in pain, "Argh!" Everyone turned when they heard his shout and glared at him. Someone muttered angrily, "If you want to die, go do it alone. Don''t drag the rest of us down." The man writhed in pain on the ground, too overwhelmed by the pain to care about a stranger''s words. While not many people know, the woman knew clearly that his scream would attract zombies. Without hesitation, she grabbed a filthy rag from the ground and shoved it into his mouth. Gripping his hair, she yanked his head up until their faces were inches apart. Her voice was cold as ice as she warned her in a low voice, "Make another sound, and the next thing I break will be your neck." The man froze the moment he heard her words, staring at her in shock. He couldn''t believe this was the same sister he used to beat without resistance¡ªthe same girl who never dared to even look into his eyes when she talked. When she saw the fear in his eyes, she chuckled and said with disgust, "I can''t believe I used to be scared of trash like you." Then, she shoved him to the ground and turned her gaze to her father. It took a moment for the old man to come to his senses. When he did, he shouted, "You unfilial daughter! Who gave you the guts to hit your brother?!" He raised his hand to slap her, but before he could touch her, she caught his arm and pushed him away with ease. Standing on her spot unmoving, she watched him fall to the floor. For the first time, she realized¡ªthis man wasn''t strong anymore. He had no power over her like he did before. Her eyes swept past him and landed on her stepsister, who didn''t even dare meet her gaze. They were both women, but her father had always favored his lover''s children. To him, she and her mother were just tools¡ªdisposable the moment they lost their values and got in the way. Taking a deep breath, she declared, "From this moment on, I, Chen Anhe, will throw away your surname. You are no longer my father. Chen Anhe is dead. From now on, I am Lin Anhe! If you dare to come bother me again, don''t blame me for being ruthless!" After she finished her words, she turned and walked across the room toward a small group of women seated in the opposite corner. As she stood in front of them, one of them said softly, "Anhe, you finally made up your mind." "Sister Jiao, you were right," Lin Anhe replied. "Even if we share blood, he doesn''t deserve to be called my father." Sister Jiao nodded and said, "As long as you have thought it through, it''s never too late to start over." Lin Anhe looked at the three women before her and gave a firm nod before she took a seat beside them. One of them reached out, handing her a bottle of water and said, "Here, Sister Anhe. Drink some." "Thank you, Wan Ling." After she took the first step, the rest didn''t feel that hard anymore. Instead of feeling sad, she felt relieved and free. Even though she was hungry, the pain in her body was no longer unbearable when she thought of the hope in the future. Without those burdens, she was confident she would be able to survive in this living hell. After a tiring day, everyone slowly drifted off to sleep, yet no one dared to sleep deeply, as the roars of zombies could be heard from a distance once in a while. Outside the minimarket and small office, several soldiers were on night patrol. At three o''clock after midnight, the time when people sleep the deepest and relax, even the patrol guards couldn''t help but yawn and doze off. Everyone thought that after the practice session, they had cleared the nearest zombies and that it was safe to spend the night in this place. Unbeknownst to them, just a kilometer away, a group of zombies was slowly gathering in one place. Under the red moon, their movements became faster, and soon, the roads were blocked and a thick, rancid stench filled the air. Standing on the rooftop of the tallest building, a tall figure raised its head and opened its mouth. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Roarr!!!" The sound of its roar was louder than the others and carried a heavy pressure. The moment the zombies heard it, their bodies stiffened and slowly bent their knees. When all the zombies knelt on the ground with their heads lowered, the figure on the rooftop looked down at them. Unlike the ordinary zombies, the one commanding them looked more like a human. Chapter 174 - 174: The Sole Target ( 2 ) There were no wounds or rotten parts on the male zombie''s body. Instead, his bluish-pale skin added a mysterious charm to his handsome face. If not for the black eyes and sharp nails on his hands, one might never have associated him with a zombie. Not long after, four zombies leapt onto the rooftop and knelt in front of him. "Rrrhh... Roarr..." "Grhhh hrhh rrhhh..." After one of them let out several low growls, the handsome zombie looked toward the gas station and growled in a low, hoarse voice, "Grhhh!" As soon as they heard the growl, the four zombies nodded and jumped down from the rooftop. Raising their heads, they let out a roar in unison, "Roar!!" In the next moment, the huge group of zombies divided into four smaller groups. The four zombies went in different directions, each leading a group with them. Still standing on the rooftop, the handsome zombie looked down at his sharp nail. Hatred and anger flashed in his black eyes as he clenched his fists tightly. Half an hour later, at the gas station, Pei Yijun suddenly opened his eyes and stood up. His sudden movement startled Li Yang, who was sleeping beside him. Rubbing his eyes, he asked, "Brother Pei, what''s wrong?" After a moment of silence, Pei Yijun said, "Li Yang, go wake everyone up. We must leave this place as soon as possible." When he heard this, Li Yang was stunned. "Brother Pei, it''s not even dawn yet. If we leave now, it will be dangerous." "Stop wasting time. If we don''t leave now, it will be too late!" Pei Yijun said solemnly and left the small room. Noticing the seriousness of the situation, Li Yang quickly woke up Chu Zhimiao and Han Jie before heading off to inform the soldiers. When Pei Yijun found Wei Ying, he said, "Captain Wei, we must leave this place immediately." Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Hearing his words, Wei Ying replied with doubt, "Young Master Pei, it''s not even dawn yet. If you don''t want to stay here any longer, we will leave in the morning." Pei Yijun felt the looming danger and his heart was pounding loudly. A strong sense of foreboding made him anxious as he insisted, "No, we must leave now or it will be too late!" Roar roar! Just after he finished speaking, they heard the roars of zombies coming from all directions, followed by the ground trembling slightly. "It''s too late. Captain Wei, inform everyone to get ready to fight!" "Roarr!!!" Boom! Suddenly, an explosion rang out outside. This time, Pei Yijun no longer had the mood to persuade Wei Ying and turned to leave. The moment he stepped out, he saw several large groups of zombies approaching from every direction. They were trapped in the middle! Seeing this, he turned to the survivors and said, "Ordinary people, hide inside the minimarket. Metal-type ability users, use the surrounding metal to reinforce the gate and block the entrance!" After he finished speaking, he noticed that everyone was shivering and no one dared to step forward. Furious at their cowardice, he added, "If you keep delaying, all of us will die here!" "Everyone, follow his orders!" Wei Ying said. The moment he spoke, the Eagle Team quickly led the ordinary people to safety. Those with ability went to reinforce the surrounding walls and gate. Aside from the ex-members of the Phantom Team, the rest of the people, including the Eagle Team members, were panicked and disorganized. Seeing this, Wei Ying realized that even though his team and Jin Xuyan''s team held the same rank, his team was promoted because of their numbers¡ªwhile the Phantom Team earned their rank through their ability and skills. "Roar!!!" Before the gate and wall were fully reinforced, the first wave of zombies reached the gas station. Pei Yijun thought for a moment and said, "Miaomiao, throw a water ball at the zombies." Although Chu Zhimiao didn''t know his intention, she still followed his command. She waved her hands, and a water ball the size of a melon flew toward the zombies. Splash! Seeing that the water ball didn''t deal any damage, she was embarrassed and felt useless. Crack! Boom! The next second, a lightning bolt flew from her side and struck the zombies. With the water on the ground, the lightning''s power increased, electrocuting the zombies and stunning them in place. Seeing this, Li Yang rushed over and swung the blade given to him by Wen Mo. Crash! Crack! Crash! With each swing of his blade, he chopped off a zombie''s head. After breaking through to level one, his strength, energy pool, and stamina had doubled. After fighting several battles with zombies, he found the best way to use his ability. Unlike Teacher Cao''s power, which was pure strength, his power-type ability felt different. Though he wasn''t sure what made it different, he knew his metabolism was unusually high. He needed a lot of food to maintain his body''s functions¡ªbut he also gained more strength compared to other power-type users. "Roar!" Suddenly, a zombie pounced at him from the side. Seeing the incoming attack, he ducked to the side¡ªbut before he regained his footing, sharp claws slashed toward his throat. Clang! He raised his blade to block the attack, but still staggered back several steps due to the impact. "Roar!!" the zombie opened its mouth wide and pounced at him. Boom! Before the zombie could bite him, a fireball flew past his shoulder and hit the zombie in the head, blasting the rotten head instantly. Looking up, he saw a young woman holding a flame-covered blade rushing toward the zombies. Boom! Crack! Her blade severed the zombie''s head, and she kicked away another zombie to the side. She turned to him and said with a frown, "Stand up and fight! Are you waiting for the zombies to carry you home?" Hearing her words, Li Yang snapped back to his senses. He quickly got up and continued to fight the zombies, coordinating with Rong Mo''er and Gu Shaoze. Chapter 175 - 175: The Sole Target ( 3 ) Behind them, Chu Zhimiao, Pei Yijun, and Han Jie held another section of the wall, while the Eagle Team split into two groups to defend the remaining sides. As for the rest of the ability users, they stared at the endless swarm of zombies with pale faces and didn''t dare move. Standing in the middle of the survivors, Sister Wei clenched the iron rod in her hand and said, "Xiao Jiu, I''m going out to fight." Xiao Jiu''s eyes widened when she heard her words and said, "Sister Wei, it''s dangerous outside! If you go out now, you will die!" Sister Wei looked at her and replied, "If I do nothing, I can only wait for death. But if I go out and fight, at least I will be fighting for a chance to survive. I don''t want to die with regrets." "Sister¡ª" Xiao Jiu was choked by her words. Sister Wei patted her shoulder and said, "You are still young and don''t have any ability power, so stay here." After finishing her words, she pushed through the people in front of her and walked to the door. Seeing her approach, a soldier standing guard said, "Where are you going? Stay inside and don''t cause trouble." "Comrade, I want to go out and fight," Sister Wei said firmly. The soldiers looked at her for a moment, then finally opened the door to let her through. As soon as she stepped outside, she finally saw the situation clearly. Looking at the number of zombies surrounding them, it would have been a lie to say she wasn''t scared. But fear wouldn''t save her life. So, she gritted her teeth and joined the soldiers defending one of the walls. Not long after, a group of people walked out from the crowd of survivors and joined the battle. When Sister Wei saw Xiao Jiu and Wang Jie, she was taken aback. "Why did the two of you come out?" she asked. "Sister Wei, we are a team. Of course, we should fight side by side," Wang Jie replied with a smile. "Sister Wei, even if we have to die, we don''t want to die without a fight," Xiao Jiu added. "Since you have made up your mind, then kill as many zombies as you can. But don''t push yourselves too hard," Sister Wei said. "Okay!" At the same time, near the entrance, He Yupeng and Lin Fei joined the fight. Daugh! Crack! S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Wielding an iron rod, He Yupeng swung it with brute force, the muscles on his arms bulging as he attacked the zombies. His attacks were rough but effective¡ªone strike smashed half of a zombie''s head. Black blood and rotting flesh splattered everywhere, some splashed on his clothes. Seeing this, Lin Fei instinctively took several steps back to avoid the smelly blood. He didn''t have a spare set of clothes, and if he got dirty with black blood or rotten bits, he would have to go naked just to wash them. "Roarr!!" As a distant roar echoed, the zombies attacking the gate grew agitated. They began banging on the gate, pushing harder and harder to break through the fragile defenses. Bang! Bang! Bang! While Li Yang and He Yupeng continued brawling with the zombies, Lin Fei scanned the area. He bent his knees, then lightly pushed off the ground and leaped onto the top of an oil pump. From higher ground, he spotted a zombie at the back of the horde. Strangely, it didn''t seem agitated like the rest. Narrowing his eyes, Lin Fei had a hunch that this one might be the one controlling the others. Trusting his instincts, he took a stone from his pocket and threw it at the zombie. Wush! Crack! The stone flew fast, aimed straight for the zombie''s head. But just before it hit the target, a rotten palm intercepted it. The zombie glanced at the hole in its hand, then turned to glare in Lin Fei''s direction. It didn''t feel pain, but it clearly wasn''t happy about the additional hole in its palm. "Roar!!!" It let out a furious roar and leaped toward the gas station. Seeing it coming, Lin Fei''s eyes widened with surprise as he cursed, "Shit!" He jumped down from the oil pump and hid behind Pei Yijun. Spotting the incoming zombie, Pei Yijun thought it was targeting him. He immediately raised his hand and created a lightning net. Crack! Zap!!! The moment the net appeared, the zombie sensed danger. But with the momentum of its speed, it couldn''t stop in time and crashed straight into the lightning net. "Roarr!!" The zombie roared as its body stiffened under the electric current. Pei Yijun didn''t give it time to recover and clasped his hands together, tightening the lightning net. As the net shrinks in size, the zombie''s body is both cut and roasted by the lightning. Seeing that the zombie couldn''t move, Lin Fei quickly threw several more stones at it from behind Pei Yijun. Crack! Crack! Crack! Crash! Imbued with his wind energy, the stones were faster and sharper than normal. As they repeatedly hit the same spot, they managed to shatter the zombie''s shoulder. Black blood splattered onto the ground as the rotten arm fell to the ground with a thud. "Roar!!" Furious, the zombie grabbed the lightning net with its remaining arm and pulled it hard¡ªbreaking it apart. "Cough!" Pei Yijun coughed up a mouthful of blood from the backlash. Clutching his chest, he gritted his teeth as he stared at the zombie. The gap in their strength was far too great¡ªhe couldn''t afford to make the same mistake again. While Pei Yijun was still trying to figure out how to deal with the zombie, Lin Fei had already bolted toward the wall. Since he couldn''t win, the only logical choice was to run for his life. The moment the zombie noticed his escape attempt, it roared again, "Roar!!" and leapt over the wall to chase after him. The second the roar rang out, the zombies attacking the entrance abruptly stopped. Chapter 176 - 176: The Sole Target ( 4 ) As if following a command, the zombies turned and rushed in the direction the special zombie had gone. Lin Fei glanced over his shoulder, and his scalp went numb when he saw the entire horde chasing him. "What the fuck?! Why are you chasing me? I have got no meat on my body and my brain is small! Go eat the big guys at the gas station, ah!" he shouted while running for his life. Thanks to his unintended distraction, the number of zombies at the gas station dropped dramatically. Wei Ying looked toward where Lin Fei had lured the zombies away and said with admiration and sadness in his eyes, "What a brave man." Then he turned to his team and said, "We can''t let him sacrifice himself in vain! Everyone, hold the line and kill as many as you can!" "Yes, Captain!" the soldiers responded in unison. Thinking of the young man risking his life to buy them a chance at survival, everyone''s blood boiled. Their morale soared and they no longer felt that there was no hope. At that moment, another group of survivors come out from the building to join the fight¡ªled by Sister Jiao and the women who had been saved by Jiao Lizhi. They were ordinary people, and it was natural for them to feel fear. The fact that they could still gather the courage to step forward and fight was already far more admirable than the men who were hiding inside the building. While the Eagle Team and the survivors breathed a sigh of relief after surviving the ordeal, Lin Fei cursed the eighteen generations of the zombie chasing after him. He had been running for almost an hour and had managed to shake off the horde, but the big guy refused to give up and was still hot on his heels. Even with his current stamina, it was impossible to keep running forever. Unlike zombies, he felt fatigue so he needed rest. Just when he thought he was about to die and become a zombie''s food, he spotted a man and woman not far ahead. Since he couldn''t take down the zombie alone, he figured it was time to drag someone else into this mess. They might hate him for it later, but he didn''t have time to care about it now¡ªhe needed to stay alive first so they could hate him later. After he made up his mind, he bent his knees and took a sharp turn. Boom! The zombie was unable to stop in time and slammed straight into a building. The wall cracked, and part of the structure collapsed due to the collision. "Roarr!!!" The zombie roared in fury, frustrated at having lost sight of its prey again. Climbing out of the rubble, it resumed the chase. Hearing the sound behind him, Lin Fei glanced back¡ªand nearly cursed aloud. The zombie was completely unharmed, even after crashing through a two-story building. Seeing that, Lin Fei picked up the pace and shouted, "Brother! Please help me!" Jian Huan and Jian Ziqin turned toward the voice. When they saw a young man being chased by a zombie, their expressions darkened instantly. They both drew their daggers, and with a flick of his arm, Jian Ziqin summoned a shadow clone wielding an identical weapon. Just before crashing into them, Lin Fei twisted his body and slashed his hand through the air. In a split second, a small wind blade shot out at high speed toward the zombie. Wush! Slash! The zombie hadn''t expected that he would have this trick. It tried to dodge, but the wind blade still cut deep into its shoulder, and black blood flowed out from the wound. "Roar!" Now truly enraged, the zombie spotted Jian Huan and Jian Ziqin and assumed they were allies of its prey. Raising one arm, a fireball materialized above its palm. With a swing, it throws the fireball at them. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Sister, dodge!" Jian Ziqin shouted. Jian Huan leapt to the side without hesitation, thinking that her brother would do the same. But when she looked up, she saw him still standing there. Her eyes widened in panic, and she shouted, "Ziqin!" Clenching his jaw, Jian Ziqin raised his hand, and shadows surged from his feet, forming a shield that blocked the fireball. Boom! The explosion sent a wave of energy spreading through the area, kicking up dust and debris. Before the smoke settled, Jian Ziqin shot forward from the cloud of dust and swung his dagger straight at the zombie''s head. Clang! The blade was blocked by the zombie''s sharp claws. Its grey, soulless eyes stared back at him with a chilling, murderous intent. "Roar!" The zombie opened its mouth¡ªfire began to gather inside. Seeing this, Jian Ziqin narrowed his eyes and launched a powerful kick aimed at the zombie''s neck. Duagh! Although the kick hit the neck, it didn''t cause any damage at all. The zombie didn''t even flinch and watched him as if he was a dying prey. Not far from them, Lin Fei was sitting on the ground, gasping for breath. He watched the scene in front of him with guilt and fear¡ªif that zombie spat out the fireball from its mouth, the young man would surely die. Gritting his teeth, Lin Fei forced himself to stand and grabbed a handful of stones. He throws them toward the zombie, one after another. The zombie had suffered from his stone-throwing and learned its lesson. When it saw the incoming stones, it leapt into the air, easily dodging them. Stab!! Crack! It thought it would finally get its meal. But before it could spit out the fire from its mouth, a black dagger pierced its skull from behind. The blade sliced clean through its head as it landed on the ground. Thud! The zombie falls to the ground with its head split open. Jian Ziqin flipped mid-air and landed safely beside the body. He glanced down at the corpse, then at the shadow clone standing nearby. Chapter 177 - 177: A Deal ( 1 ) The shadow clone walked toward the corpse, stirred the zombie''s brain, retrieved a small transparent crystal about the size of a thumbnail, and handed it to Jian Ziqin before merging with the shadow beneath his feet. Seeing that the zombie was finally killed, Lin Fei finally let out a breath of relief and slumped to the ground. At this point, he didn''t care how dirty his clothes were. He just wanted to lie there and take a break. Just after he pocketed the crystal core, his arm was pulled by his sister. Jian Huan checked her brother from head to toe and let out a sigh of relief when she found no wounds on his body. She glared at him and said, "Jian Ziqin, what do you think you were doing just now? Are you tired of living and looking for death?!" Noticing the worry and anger in his sister''s eyes, Jian Ziqin didn''t dare to reply and lowered his head. Whenever he used this trick, he would be able to brush off his sister''s anger and scolding. Unfortunately, it was no use this time. Jian Huan was angry because of her worry. In this world, her brother was the only family she had. As for those relatives, she never counted them as family. What kind of family would sell their daughter to an old man? "Sister, I''m sorry. Next time, I will be more careful," Jian Ziqin admitted softly. Hearing this, Jian Huan widened her eyes and asked, "You still want there to be a next time?" Although both of them knew it was impossible to stay safe in their current situation and that they would have to face dangerous times, Jian Huan was still unwilling to see her brother act so recklessly. "Sister, I''m sorry." Since her brother had already apologized, Jian Huan also stopped scolding him. Now that the worry and fear in her heart had settled, she turned and glared at the person who caused this situation. She walked toward Lin Fei, who was lying on the ground, in large strides. When she was two steps away from him, she asked, "Who are you? Why did you lure the zombie toward us?" When he heard this, Lin Fei turned to look at her and noticed the wariness, anger, and murderous intent in the woman''s eyes. After a short break, he felt much better. Pushing himself up, he sat on the ground and replied helplessly, "Sister, I''m sorry for pulling you and your friend into this situation. But I really had no intention of harming either of you." Hearing his words, Jian Huan didn''t believe him at all. If he had no intention of involving them, why did he come their way? Seeing her disbelief, Lin Fei stood up and said, "Sister, I''m grateful for your help, but this zombie has been chasing me for hours. I really didn''t have the energy left to run or lead it in another direction." Before Jian Huan could ask, Jian Ziqin walked over and asked, "Brother, why was this zombie chasing you?" Lin Fei also wanted to know the answer but had no one to ask. He could only shake his head and reply, "I have no idea either." S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He knew that if he didn''t explain, these two would never let him stay with them. So, he continued, "At dawn, a group of zombies suddenly surrounded the gas station where I and the rest of the survivors were staying." "The soldiers who came with us had no way to kill them all, so some ability users, including me, decided to help. Since I''m not good with close combat, I decided to throw stones at the zombies." "Why did you throw stones? Can you even deal any damage with that?" Jian Huan asked. Hearing this, Lin Fei bent down and picked up a stone. Then, he threw it toward a roadblock. Crack! The moment the stone hit the roadblock, it shattered instantly. Seeing this, both Jian Huan and Jian Ziqin were stunned. The way they looked at him changed instantly. "Sister, Brother, to be honest, my ability is kind of useless. I awakened a speed-type ability. Except for luring away zombies or escaping, my ability has no use at all in battle," he added with a sigh. When they heard this, the Jian siblings looked at each other. Although speed-type abilities were limited, as long as he had awakened an ability, his five senses, strength, and stamina would have increased. He could still kill zombies more easily than ordinary people. "What happened to the people in the gas station after you left?" Jian Huan asked. Lin Fei shook his head, pointed at the zombie''s corpse not far from them, and replied, "I don''t know, but most of the zombies followed that one and chased after me. Fortunately, I was able to shake off the rest¡ªonly this one was so stubborn and kept chasing me." After they heard his words, Jian Ziqin pulled his sister a few meters away from Lin Fei and said, "Sister, how about we let him stay with us? It''s hard for the two of us to travel to Jiangning City. But if he joins us, he could help us in emergencies." "Ziqin, even if he can help us, his ability is speed. It''s better not to trust him too much," Jian Huan said with a frown. Jian Ziqin glanced at Lin Fei and explained in a low voice, "Sister, even if he can''t kill the zombies, he can lure them away. With his speed, he will be able to lead them away and shake them off before rejoining us." When she heard this, Jian Huan looked at her brother with wide eyes and asked with a hint of anger, "Ziqin, are you planning to use him as bait? Don''t you know how dangerous that is?" "Both of us were used as bait by those people, and you know it yourself the helpless and devastating feeling. How can you do the same thing as them and treat a human''s life so lightly?" she added. Chapter 178 - 178: A Deal ( 2 ) "Sister, we will ask him, and if he refuses, we won''t force him. It will just be a deal between us," Jian Ziqin quickly explained when he saw that his sister misunderstood him. Although Jian Huan was unhappy with her brother''s suggestion, she knew they needed more people to ensure their safety. She also realized that kindness was a luxury in their current situation. After thinking for a while, she finally nodded and said, "You can ask him. If he is unwilling, you should let him go." "Sister, I understand. I won''t cross the bottom line and turn into someone like them," Jian Ziqin promised. After they reached an agreement, the Jian siblings walked back. Seeing them coming over, Lin Fei smiled but said nothing. When he had lured the zombie toward them, he wasn''t only betting on them helping him kill it¡ªhe also wanted to find people and join them. It''s better to move in a small group, looking for supplies while killing zombies, than to go with the soldiers. There were too many rules and restrictions when he was with the Eagle Team, and it hindered his plans to improve his ability. Jian Ziqin smiled and asked, "Brother, do you have any plans after this?" Lin Fei sighed and replied, "I don''t have any plans. I just want to find some supplies and survive." "You don''t want to search for your family?" Jian Huan asked. "I''m an orphan. I only have myself," Lin Fei replied casually with a shrug. Hearing his casual reply, for a moment, she felt sorry for him. Knowing his sister would become soft-hearted, Jian Ziqin quickly said, "Brother, do you want to join us?" "My sister and I plan to go to Jiangning City and join the survivor base there. If you come with us, we can split the supplies evenly." "Why do you suddenly want me to join your team?" Lin Fei asked with a guarded expression. "Brother, it will be safer to travel with more people. With your speed, you can lure away the zombies if we are trapped and return safely. In return, we will give you some supplies now if you join us. It''s a win-win situation," Jian Ziqin said. Lin Fei looked at them for a while before he said, "Let''s say I join your team and we get trapped by zombies. Wouldn''t it be dangerous and unfair for me to be the one luring them away while you can survive unscathed?" "Brother, you have seen my ability and strength. I can ensure your safety on a daily basis. You would only need to lure the zombies in times of crisis," Jian Ziqin replied calmly. After thinking for a moment, Lin Fei asked again, "Then how about we split the supplies and crystal cores?" Hearing this, Jian Ziqin replied, "For supplies, we will split them evenly¡ªeveryone gets the same amount. As for crystal cores, whoever kills the zombie gets the core." Lin Fei looked at them and considered the pros and cons. After a long pause, he finally nodded and said, "Okay. But I want some food and water now. I''m hungry and thirsty." The moment he agreed, Jian Ziqin opened his backpack and took out a pack of biscuits and a bottle of mineral water. He handed them to him and said, "Brother, now that we are a team, can you tell us your name and your age?" sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Lin Fei took the supplies and replied, "My name is Lin Fei. I''m 23 years old this year." "Brother Lin, my name is Jian Ziqin. I''m a year younger than you. And this is my sister, Jian Huan¡ªshe is two years older than you." When he heard this, Lin Fei looked at Jian Huan and said in surprise, "I didn''t expect that it''s an older sister instead." "Even if I look like a young girl, I''m an adult," Jian Huan said with a frown. Because of her baby face, people often thought she was a university student¡ªor even a high schooler. She hated it when people treated her like an immature brat. Noticing her displeasure, Lin Fei chuckled and said, "Sister, I didn''t mean anything by it. It''s just that you are beautiful and look so young. If someone didn''t know, they might think you are Brother Jian''s younger sister." When she heard his words, Jian Huan snorted but said nothing. She was still unhappy with him, even if he didn''t mean to harm them. "Brother Lin, you can rest first. After you recover, we will continue our journey," Jian Ziqin said. "Okay," Lin Fei nodded. After they found an abandoned small store, the Jian siblings went to check for supplies while Lin Fei rested and ate. When they went to the back room, the corner of his lips lifted. ''Ah, I should have become an actor, not a factory worker. What a waste of my acting talent,'' he thought inwardly. Meanwhile, at a small gas station in the opposite direction, Jiao Lizhi and the Phantom Team were getting ready to leave. Since they were no longer soldiers, they didn''t use the armored vehicles and instead found several abandoned cars. While Zhang Yuan and the other members found a minivan and a few SUVs, Jiao Lizhi brought out her SUT. She emptied the car so they could use it to carry supplies later. After driving the cars over, they filled the tanks, and the Wen brothers reinforced the vehicles with metal, greatly improving their defense. Once everything was ready, they set out to look for more supplies and clear out the zombies. As before, Jiao Lizhi and Jin Xuyan stayed behind while the team left first so she could collect the underground fuel tank. When she was done, the two of them drove off and rejoined the team. Without communication devices in their vehicles, they couldn''t talk while on the road. Fortunately, they all knew Morse code, so it wasn''t a problem for them to relay messages. After checking the map, Jiao Lizhi said, "Brother Yan, we are near a commercial district. How about we go check it out and see if we can get more satellite phones?" Chapter 179 - 179: New Crops ( 1 ) Meanwhile, at a small gas station in the opposite direction, Jiao Lizhi and the Phantom Team were getting ready to leave. Since they were no longer soldiers, they didn''t use the armored vehicles and changed their clothes. Now, they wear shirts, T-shirts, and jeans instead of their military uniform. This way, no one would know that they were soldiers. As for the vehicles, they found several abandoned cars. While Zhang Yuan and the other members brought back two minivans and four SUVs, Jiao Lizhi brought out her SUT from her space. She emptied the car so they could use it to carry supplies later. After driving the cars over, they filled the tanks and also filled the empty petrol cans they had found at the back of the gas station. Each large can held 30 liters and was placed in the minivans. As for the smaller cans, they can hold 10 liters and are loaded onto the SUVs and Jiao Lizhi''s SUT as backups. When they were done filling the tanks, the Wen brothers reinforced the vehicles with metal, greatly improving their defense. Once everything was ready, they set out to look for more supplies they lacked. As before, she and Jin Xuyan stayed behind while the team left first, allowing her to collect the underground fuel tank. When she was done, the two of them drove off and rejoined the team. Without communication devices in their vehicles, they couldn''t talk while on the road. Fortunately, they all knew Morse code, so it wasn''t a problem. After checking the map, Jiao Lizhi said, "Brother Yan, we are near a commercial district. How about we go check it out and see if we can get more satellite phones?" When Jin Xuyan heard Jiao Lizhi''s words, he nodded and said, "Okay." Seeing how easily he agreed, Jiao Lizhi couldn''t help but ask, "Brother Yan, don''t you have your own plan? Is it okay to agree to my suggestion like this?" Jin Xuyan chuckled and said, "I don''t have any specific plan. For now, our team''s main goal is to clear as many zombies as we can and collect supplies before the next rain." Thinking about the changes brought by the next rain in her previous life, Jiao Lizhi said, "Brother Yan, there are several husbandries near this area. How about we go there first before heading to the commercial district?" Hearing this, Jin Xuyan glanced at her through the rearview mirror and asked, "Why does Ah Zhi suddenly want to go there?" "I want to see if we can get some animals. It''s hard to find meat now since there is no electricity and most of it has gone bad. If we can get animals, I can store them in my space," Jiao Lizhi replied. "Well, although they will die when stored in your space, at least we will have meat to eat for while," Jin Xuyan said after a moment. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. When she heard this, Jiao Lizhi pointed at the map and said, "Brother Yan, it''s twenty kilometers from here. We need to take the left road." "Okay." Afterward, Jin Xuyan used the car''s headlights to send a message in Morse code. Up front, Qin Luzi and the rest received the message and took the road on the left. As soon as they left the main road, they had to slow down due to its poor condition. Besides zombies roaming about, the road was also blocked by abandoned cars. Seeing this, Jin Xuyan relayed a message with the car''s headlights, and shortly after, they stopped their vehicles and got out. The moment they exited the cars, the zombies caught their scent and rushed over while roaring. Some were blocked by the cars, unable to climb over, while others managed to reach them. "Roar!" The zombies opened their mouths wide and let out a roar as they pounced. Pop! Pop! Pop! Seeing the approaching zombies, everyone pulled out their airguns from their holsters and fired. At such close range, each shot pierced the zombies'' skulls and killed them instantly. When Zhang Yuan saw this, he nodded and said, "Fuyun''s idea of using airguns is really good. They are effective in close combat and quieter than firearms." Nodding at his words, Qin Luzi added, "We also don''t have to worry about running out of ammo with Wen Kai and Wen Mo around." Zhang Yuan and the others nodded and continued clearing out the zombies. At the same time, Zhou Huajian used his vines to drag the abandoned cars to the roadside. They were clearing the path to make it easier for survivors to escape in case of an emergency. Impressed by how effective the airguns were, Jiao Lizhi moved closer to Jin Xuyan and said, "Brother Yan, I want a gun too." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan readily agreed. "Okay, I will ask Wen Mo to make one for you later." "Thank you, Brother Yan! You are the best!" Jiao Lizhi praised him as she held his hand. She knew that he liked her to act like a love-brained girl with him and shower him with praises. Since he liked it, she would be generous and do it to make him happy. Not knowing what she was thinking, Jin Xuyan was over the moon when he saw her acting coquettishly with him and felt proud that he could make his girl happy. Thanks to the airguns, they easily dealt with the zombies. Afterward, Shen Jinzhe burned the corpses while Xiao Qi collected the crystal cores. As for the metal bullets they had used, Wen Mo retrieved them with a wave of his hand. When he saw that the metal was stained with black blood and rotting matter, he sighed and said, "I thought we could reuse this metal, but it''s been tainted with the zombie virus." Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi''s eyes lit up. She walked over and asked, "Brother Wen, how about I help you clean it with my water?" Although he didn''t know whether water could remove the virus, Wen Mo still nodded and said, "Okay." Chapter 180 - 180: New Crops ( 2 ) Jiao Lizhi stepped forward and created a water ball. Using her body to block Wen Mo''s gaze, she secretly collected the metal ball into her space for a few seconds. Then, she took it out and smiled when she saw the shiny surface of the metal ball. To cover up her sneaky move, she washed the metal with the water ball and said, "Brother Wen, it''s done." Wen Mo walked over and was surprised to see how clean the metal looked. He checked the metal ball and said, "Sister-in-law, you cleaned it really well. We can definitely reuse this." "I''m happy to help. If you need to clean more next time, just let me know," Jiao Lizhi replied with a smile. "Okay." Once they were done clearing the road, they got back into their vehicles and drove toward the husbandry area. Sitting in the car, Jiao Lizhi stared blankly out the window. Jin Xuyan noticed but assumed she was just tired and let her be. Unbeknownst to him, Jiao Lizhi was actually checking her space using her mind. Thanks to the team clearing out so many zombies, she could no longer keep track of how many crystal cores were stored in her space. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Being frugal, she didn''t want to use crystal cores to support her space if she could avoid it. Instead, she often collected items stained with black blood or zombie remains into her space so the space could just absorb the energy. Thinking about her space''s ability to absorb the zombie virus, she wondered if she could just put zombies into her space and let it absorb them like it did with Mo Binxue. If this method is feasible, then she could save energy to kill zombies, and at the same time, save crystal cores to support her own space. ''Maybe I can try it later when we are clearing zombies again,'' she thought to herself. After checking the crystal cores, she turned to the granary. The amount of corn stored there was steadily increasing. However, there were no other crops. Since she had obtained seeds for other types of plants, she wanted to plant them. With that thought in mind, she checked her farmland¡ªand was stunned by what she saw. The trees and bushes she had planted earlier had grown so fast that she doubted her eyes. The strawberry bushes were already bearing small fruits, while the trees had grown taller and begun to sprout flowers. She thought for a moment and decided to move the trees to the grassland then using the black soil to plant rice instead. As for the corn, she planned to replace it with wheat and potatoes to produce more flour. Opening the settings, she saw that she needed to wait fifteen minutes before the corn was ready for harvest. While waiting, she moved the trees from the farmland and replanted them behind the house. By the time she was done, the corn was ready for harvest. After collecting the crops, she used 100 m2 of black soil to plant paddy, 50 m2 for wheat, and 50 m2 for potatoes. She then checked the oxygen level and noticed that it had increased by 10% after adding more crops. Just as she finished planting her farmland, she heard Jin Xuyan''s voice, "Ah Zhi, we are here." Hearing this, she withdrew her mind from her space and looked outside. The area was filled with zombies and animal bones scattered on the road. Judging from the scene, the chances of finding any living animals were very low. Before leaving, everyone checked their airguns and communicated using the car''s headlights. "Roar!" As soon as they stepped out of the cars, several zombies rushed over. Raising their guns, the Phantom Team members killed them in less than ten seconds. Pop! Pop! Pop! The metal bullets pierced the zombie''s skulls and killed them instantly. While they took down the zombies, Shen Jinzhe used his blue flame to burn the corpses, and Xiao Qi picked up the crystal cores. "Captain, there are people inside that warehouse," Qin Luzi said while pointing to the building not far from them. "How many people?" Jin Xuyan asked. "Thirty-four ordinary people and six ability-users," Qin Luzi replied after a moment. Jin Xuyan thought for a second and said, "Since there are ability users there, we won''t check on the survivors. Let''s go inspect the pens." "Understood." While the Phantom Team walked toward the livestock pens, killing zombies along the way, Xiao Qi looked around the road and felt disappointed. They had killed so many zombies but only found three crystal cores. The number of cores was far less compared to the zombies they killed in the factory districts. Inside the warehouse, a young man was watching them from a window. When he saw the team leaving, he quickly ran to the second floor and said, "Boss, those people just killed the zombies and left." Hearing this, a man rubbed his chin and said, "Interesting. There is a warehouse right in front of them, but they didn''t even check it. Instead, they killed the zombies and left." After thinking for a moment, he looked at the young man and asked, "Are they soldiers?" The young man shook his head and replied, "They didn''t wear any uniforms, but they had guns." "What about their cars?" the man asked again. "Two minivans, four SUVs, and a SUT." Hearing this, the man went to the window to confirm. When he saw the vehicles parked outside, his eyes lit up and he said, "Tell everyone to pack their things. Someone''s come and delivered us cars¡ªwe can finally leave this place." The young man was delighted by his order. Although they still had some supplies left, it wasn''t enough for everyone. If they wanted to leave, they needed vehicles. After all, this place was far from the city and completely desolate. "Yes, boss!" After giving the order, the man quickly went to pack his belongings¡ªunaware that outside, Feng Yun had returned and stored the cars into his space before rejoining the team. Chapter 181 - 181: Mutated Animal ( 1 ) Fifteen minutes later, the warehouse''s iron door was pushed open, and a group of people came out with smiles on their faces. They thought they were finally able to leave this place, but when they looked across the road, the cars were nowhere to be seen. Everyone was stunned, especially the young man and his boss. The two of them had seen the vehicles just now¡ªhow could they suddenly disappear? If those people had come back and driven the cars away, they would have heard something. But they heard nothing! "Boss, you said we have cars and can leave now. Where are the cars?" one of the men asked. "The cars were here," the boss said, feeling confused. Hearing this, another man asked, "Boss, are you sure you didn''t see it wrong? There is no car at all." Seeing that his boss was starting to get angry, the young man quickly said, "Brother, there really were cars here! I saw them with my own eyes. They were here fifteen minutes ago!" "If what you say is true, then where are the cars now?" a man asked unhappily. Noticing their doubts and disbeliefs, the boss said, "If you don''t believe me, you can go back inside. Whether there are cars or not, I''m leaving this place today!" A middle-aged man frowned when he heard those words and said, "Boss, are you going to leave us here? You said yourself that as long as we followed you, we wouldn''t have to worry about food and shelter. But after so many days, we only get a sip of water and a piece of biscuit." The moment the man heard this, a flash of disappointment appeared in his eyes. He stood there, looking at the workers he had tried to save for a moment before he said, "I did say that, and I apologize for my ignorance. I thought the situation wasn''t that bad, and as long as we worked together, we could survive this crisis." "But after I went out with my brothers, I realized things were worse than I imagined. Supplies are limited, and the risk of dying just to find food is extremely high." "We have lost several brothers trying to find food for all of you. But how did you repay that effort and sacrifice?" he asked. Hearing his words, no one responded. They avoided his gaze in silence. After a moment, a woman suddenly spoke up. "Boss, you are the owner of this place and you hired us. Isn''t it your responsibility to protect your employees? Why are you acting like we owe you something?" The young man beside the boss immediately exploded with anger the moment he heard her words. He pointed at her and shouted, "Say that one more time!" Unfazed by his anger, the woman retorted, "Did I say anything wrong? What''s so hard about going out to find food and water?" S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "You ungrateful bitch! If it weren''t for our boss, your husband would have killed you when he turned into a zombie!" the young man said angrily. "After our boss fed and protected you and your children, now you think it''s just what he is supposed to do? Aren''t you ashamed of yourself for taking other people''s kindness for granted like this?!" he asked. His outburst sparked a heated argument between him and several others. Seeing his team and the rest of the group arguing, the man finally said, "Enough!" Everyone went silent at his words and glared at each other with hatred. He took a deep breath and said, "Since you think it''s so easy to find food, then go find it yourself. From today on, my team and I will no longer protect or gather food for you. Whether you survive or not will be up to you." With that, he turned and walked away. His team quickly followed after him, while the rest of the survivors hesitated. After some discussion, they decided to return to the warehouse and wait for government rescue. At the same time, the young man asked, "Boss, where are we going now?" The man thought for a moment and said, "Let''s go find that group of people first and see if we can buy some food and water from them." "Okay." While the small team was looking for them, the Phantom Team reached the animal pens'' location. The moment they walked closer to the map, they were stunned by the information written there. They thought that the husbandry in this area was only one type of farming. Unexpectedly, this area had poultry farming, cattle farming, pig farming, goat farming, sheep farming, fish farming, apiculture¡ªwhich is also known as beekeeping¡ªcuniculture, and horse breeding. Seeing this, Jiao Lizhi was delighted and said, "Brother Yan, let''s go check the animals." "Okay," Jin Xuyan agreed readily. The rest of the members didn''t have any objections and followed them closely. As they walked, Qin Luzi kept his focus on the surroundings and the map in his mind. Twenty minutes later, he suddenly said, "Captain, there is something in the right direction." When they heard his words, they took out their guns and walked in the right direction. This was the area of pig farming. Not long after, they could hear a series of grunting and squealing coming from the pens. "Oink! Oink!" As soon as they heard this, everyone was surprised. Xiao Qi smiled and said, "There is pig!" He was so excited that he wanted to rush into the pen. But before he could enter, Qin Luzi stopped him and said, "That pig is not normal." When he heard this, Xiao Qi was stunned and asked, "Brother Qin, why did you say so?" "The color of the pig inside is yellow," Qin Luzi said with a frown. This was the first time he encountered this color. "Color?" Xiao Qi was confused. Qin Luzi nodded and explained, "In my map, ordinary people are represented by a white dot, a zombie is a red dot, and an ability user is a green dot. I don''t know what the yellow dot represents." Chapter 182 - 182: Mutated Animal ( 2 ) After he finished his words, Qin Luzi glanced at Jiao Lizhi and Jin Xuyan. Until now, he still couldn''t figure out why they had blue dots instead of green dots. But since there was nothing wrong with them, he didn''t say anything. But today, he actually encountered another color¡ªyellow. After thinking for a moment, Jin Xuyan said, "I will go inside and check it. All of you wait here." The members knew how strong their captain was, so when they heard his suggestion, they nodded. Jin Xuyan glanced at Jiao Lizhi and asked, "Ah Zhi, do you want to go inside with me?" "Of course!" Jiao Lizhi had a feeling that the animal had already slowly mutated. The one inside might be a mutated pig, and if she could get it, she could raise it in her space. The moment the two of them entered the pen, they saw several pairs of red eyes staring at them warily. Due to the mutation, the size of the pigs had increased by several folds. Their strength and breeding ability also increased by more than twice. At this moment, there were a total of seven mutated pigs in front of them. Judging from their sizes, there were two male pigs and five female pigs. When Jiao Lizhi saw them, her eyes lit up and she couldn''t hide her excitement. She pulled at Jin Xuyan''s hand and said, "Brother Yan, it''s a living animal!" Jin Xuyan smiled at her and nodded. "Mhmm, it''s a living animal." After thinking for a moment, he added, "Ah Zhi, I will ask them to check other areas first." "Okay." Jin Xuyan went out and said, "Zhang Yuan, bring our brothers and check the other areas for survivors and supplies. Ah Zhi and I will take care of the mutated animals." When they heard his words, Qin Luzi asked, "Captain, are the animals inside mutated?" "Yes, it''s a mutated animal. We don''t know if the meat is edible, so we will kill it first to avoid the hidden danger." After getting confirmation from his captain, Qin Luzi nodded and said, "Be careful." It turns out, the yellow dot on his map means that it''s a mutated animal. Now that he already knew what it represented, he could warn his team in advance if they encountered the same situation. After they left, Jin Xuyan entered the pen and saw Jiao Lizhi in the middle of a staring contest with the mutated pigs. Seeing this, he chuckled and said, "Ah Zhi, let''s kill them first before you store them in your space." Both of them knew that the mutated animal was edible; it was just that the meat was hard and tasteless. Hearing his words, Jiao Lizhi shook her head and said, "Brother Yan, there is no need to bother. I will just store them directly. After all, they will die as soon as they enter my space." "Okay then." Although he agreed, Jin Xuyan still kept his eyes on the situation, fearing that the mutated pigs would harm her. He was ready to become a hero saving the damsel in distress. Unfortunately, the beautiful scene in his mind was shattered in a matter of seconds. Jiao Lizhi raised her hands, and with a wave, seven massive mutated pigs disappeared instantly. Seeing this, Jin Xuyan was disappointed. Having a powerful girlfriend was not really a good thing for him. It was hard to find an opportunity to show off his strength and handsomeness. Not knowing the small thoughts of a certain person, Jiao Lizhi quickly checked the mutated pigs in her space. She was worried that they would be absorbed by her space and turned into wisps of energy instead. At the current oxygen level inside her space, she could raise 80 animals. Therefore, after entering the space, the pigs were not suffocated¡ªonly slightly frightened. They let out low grunts and squeals as they observed their surroundings. Since they were alive, Jiao Lizhi moved them to the corner of the grassland, far from the house and supplies. Opening the settings panel, she limited the area around the pigs, confining them to a 50 m2 area. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. While she was setting the grassland, she noticed that the oxygen level decreased a little after the animals entered the space. But with the crops, grassland, bushes, and trees continuing to produce more oxygen, the level slowly increased again. She thought for a while and wondered¡ªif the oxygen level could increase even after the animals entered her space, then wouldn''t it mean that her previous guess was wrong? She had thought that with the minimal requirement and the oxygen consumption for raising animals, she could only raise at most 80 animals in her space. But if her previous thoughts were wrong and the new conclusion was right, then wouldn''t it mean she could raise unlimited animals in her space? When this thought appeared in her mind, she was overjoyed. She would know the truth after she collected more animals. After being moved suddenly, the pigs were frightened. The female pigs gathered together and shivered, while the male pigs let out threatening grunts, ready for battle. They waited and waited, but after a while, there was nothing. When they thought that it was a false alarm, two huge basins appeared out of nowhere. One basin was filled with water while the other was filled with feed. Outside the space, Jin Xuyan watched his Ah Zhi collect everything in the pen and asked, "Ah Zhi, why are you collecting the pig feed?" "Brother Yan, we might need it in the future. We never know if one day we want to settle down and raise animals. Then these things will be useful," Jiao Lizhi said with a smile. Hearing her words, the image of him and her sharing a house and building their small family together flashed in his mind. He could even imagine what their children would look like and was thinking about what name he should give to their children. Chapter 183 - 183: A Granny And A Baby ( 1 ) Not knowing that Jin Xuyan''s thoughts were wandering too far off to the future, Jiao Lizhi took everything inside the pigpen and said, "Brother Yan, let''s go check another area." Coming back to his senses, Jin Xuyan nodded and replied calmly, "Okay." While the two of them went to check other farms, Zhang Yuan and the rest of the team were checking the residential area. Due to the remote location of the husbandries, the owner had built lots of houses for the workers and their families. So, the residential area covered a vast piece of land and even had a small school, a clinic, and a small shop selling daily necessities. As they walked, Qin Luzi said, "Be careful, there are lots of zombies inside." Hearing this, the Phantom Team members pulled out their guns and nodded. The Wen brothers walked in front while holding metal shields, and the rest followed behind them. The moment they entered the gate, Qin Luzi said, "Right side!" Clang! "Ugh!" Wen Kai let out a grunt as his shield blocked a zombie''s claw. Krittt! The sound of the zombie''s sharp nails scratching the shield was harsh and sharp to the ears. The next moment, Wen Kai pushed the zombie back using his shield and stepped aside. Pop! Pop! Pop! Zhang Yuan and Yu Fuyun raised their guns and shot at the zombies, killing them instantly. Seeing this, Chen Zhiyi and Jiang Lixin were surprised. After they awakened their abilities, Jiang Lixin found out that she had a healing-type ability. While it was a rare ability that could save lives, she didn''t have any attack power, so she was protected in the middle of the group. As for Chen Zhiyi, even though he survived the awakening process, his internal organs were injured and had not yet fully healed, so he was also protected in the middle of the group. Noticing their expressions, Wen Mo said, "When we are done clearing the zombies, I will make one airgun for each of you." Hearing this, the two of them nodded and said, "Thank you, Brother Wen Mo." "Both of you are older than me, just call my name," Wen Mo said with a smile. Chen Zhiyi nodded and said, "Okay." Pop! Pop! Pop! While they chatted, their team had already killed the surrounding zombies. As usual, Shen Jinzhe burned the corpses while Xiao Qi picked up the crystals. As they walked, Qin Luzi suddenly pointed at one of the houses and said, "There are people inside that house." Hearing this, the team nodded and went to check the house. Inside the house, an old woman was hugging a baby in her arms as she hid inside the wardrobe. She had already seen the people outside and prayed that they wouldn''t be able to find her. Unfortunately, no matter how much she prayed, the group still entered her house. "They are inside the cabinet." The moment the old woman heard this, she clenched the knife in her hand and was ready to strike at the people outside. Not knowing that the person inside was ready to attack them, Wen Kai opened the cabinet door. The next moment, he saw a knife aimed at his head. Clang! Seeing this, he raised his shield and blocked the attack. Clang! Clang! Clang! "Ahhh! Die!!" the old woman shouted as she swung her knife repeatedly. When Zhang Yuan saw that the one attacking them was an old woman, he said, "Granny, please calm down! We are not bad people!" Hearing this, the old woman stopped swinging her knife, but she still glared and said, "Liar! They also said they weren''t bad people. But they used my son as bait and humiliated my daughter-in-law until she died!" From her words, the Phantom Team members could guess what had happened to the old woman and her family. "Granny, we are not in the same group as those people. If you don''t believe us, we will leave," Zhang Yuan said. Just after he said this, the baby hidden behind the old woman suddenly woke up and let out a weak cry, "Waa!" S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Due to malnutrition, the baby''s cry was not loud. After two weak cries, the baby stopped and sucked on his little fingers with his eyes closed. After the apocalypse, this was the first time they had seen a baby. Everyone''s gaze was locked on the small bundle. Seeing this, the old woman quickly hugged her grandson tighter and pointed the knife at them while saying, "If you dare come closer, I will fight you to death!" At this moment, they didn''t know what to do. If they left the old woman and the baby here, they would surely die. If they brought them along, the baby''s cry could attract zombies. After thinking for a moment, Zhang Yuan finally said, "Granny, we won''t take the baby away. It''s not safe here, and if you stay too long without food or water, you will die from starvation or dehydration." "Even if you don''t think about yourself, you have to think about the baby. Without food, the baby won''t survive. Come with us, and we will send you to a safe place." The old woman looked at him, weighing the pros and cons. She didn''t fear death but was unwilling to die and take away her grandson''s chance to grow up and see the world. After a while, she finally lowered her knife and said, "I will go with you." When they heard this, they let out a sigh of relief. After the old woman came out of the cabinet, they finally saw the criss-cross wounds on her wrist and the bloodstains on the baby''s collar. Seeing this, they looked at the old woman with more respect. To ensure the baby''s survival, she had used her own blood to feed him. Xiao Qi checked his space and found several boxes of oatmeal cereal in the corner. He took out a box and handed it to the old woman. Chapter 184 - 184: A Granny And A Baby ( 2 ) "Granny, you can feed the baby with this first. After we leave this place, we will cook some porridge for him," Xiao Qi said. The old woman was stunned when she saw the oatmeal. She accepted it and knelt down in front of them, saying, "Thank you, benefactor. Thank you!" Everyone was shocked by her gesture. Xiao Qi quickly helped her up and said, "Granny, please stand up." The old woman no longer resisted them and quickly fed the oatmeal to the baby. "Granny, how old is the baby?" Xiao Qi asked. "My grandson is four months old," the old woman replied while feeding him. They looked at the thin baby, who looked more like a two-month-old, and sighed. The baby was malnourished and starving¡ªno wonder he looked like that. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. After feeding him, Xiao Qi took out the corn water he had stored earlier and handed it to the old woman. "Granny, this is corn water. You can give it to your grandson, and you should drink some, too," he said. When the old woman heard this, her eyes lit up. For people her age, they knew corn water had many health benefits and could nourish the body. This was good stuff! "Thank you, benefactor." Xiao Qi was embarrassed to be called a benefactor, so he said, "Granny, my name is Xiao Qi. You can just call me by name." "Okay, Xiao Qi," the old woman agreed. After feeding the corn water to her grandson, she took a sip. The corn water was delicious and refreshing. She took several more sips and felt her energy slowly returning. Worried that she wouldn''t have food later for her grandson, she was reluctant to drink more and saved the rest for him. "Granny, just drink more. We still have water and food," Xiao Qi said and handed her a pack of compressed biscuits. Under his urging, the old woman finished the biscuits and corn water. After she regained her energy, Zhang Yuan said, "Let''s go." When they came out, Jiang Lixin noticed the baby''s condition and said, "Vice-captain, can I take a look at the baby?" Hearing her words, the old woman hugged her grandson closer and said, "My grandson is fine." "Your grandson has some rash and shortness of breath. His face is flushed and he is shivering. He might have a fever," Jiang Lixin said. Seeing the old woman still unwilling to let her check, she added, "I''m a doctor. I can help you check the baby''s condition." "Granny, she is one of us," Xiao Qi said. After hearing his words, the old woman finally nodded. Jiang Lixin reached out and checked the baby''s pulse and body. Five minutes later, she said, "Your grandson has a fever. We don''t have any medicine or tools, so we can only lower his temperature manually." Just after she said this, Feng Yun took out a pack of fever medicine for babies and a pack of compresses from his space. He handed them to her and said, "Here." Jiang Lixin took the medicine, read the instructions, and fed the syrup to the baby. Then, she placed the compresses on the baby''s forehead and armpits to lower his body temperature. When she was done, she took off her husband''s shirt and used it to cover the baby. Left with only a T-shirt, Chen Zhiyi glanced at his wife speechlessly. "Give the baby more water during this period," she reminded the old woman. After they finished treating the baby, they continued clearing the zombies while checking the supplies and looking for survivors. Some houses still had uncontaminated supplies, and Xiao Qi took everything, including the gas cylinder and stove. At the same time, Jiao Lizhi and Jin Xuyan were facing a group of people in the poultry farming area. The two of them observed the group and noticed that some had deformed body parts. One of them had a huge arm, while another had a huge leg. These deformed body parts were signs of strength-type ability users. Unlike elemental-type ability users, the basic sense-type users were easier to recognize due to the physical changes in their bodies. For example, the increase in the strength of strength-type ability users came from their muscles, bones, and joints mutating after being affected by the zombie virus. As for vision-type ability users, the changes were found in their pupils. Except for strength-type users, the other basic abilities caused minimal changes to the body. So, after a moment of observation, they knew this group was made up of ability users. Four of them were strength-type ability users, but only one seemed experienced. The other three might have only recently awakened their abilities. As for the rest, they need to observe more to find out their abilities. After a moment, Jin Xuyan asked, "What do you want?" The man with the biggest arm pointed at Jiao Lizhi and said, "You came into our territory and need to pay the price. Leave that woman and everything you have behind, and you can walk away with your life. Otherwise, we will kill you." When he heard the man''s words, Jin Xuyan''s eyes turned cold. It was one thing to rob him since robbery was common in the apocalypse, but it was an entirely different matter if they dared to covet his Ah Zhi. Before anyone could react, he flicked his fingers, and a small fireball the size of a bean flew toward the man at high speed. No one noticed the small black flame except Jiao Lizhi, who stood beside him. When she saw his attack, she pulled out her dagger, ready for battle. "Argh!" In the blink of an eye, the man suddenly screamed as the black flame engulfed his fingers, burning them to ashes. Seeing his fingers disappear so suddenly, everyone was stunned. Just as they thought the flame would reduce him to a pile of ashes, Jin Xuyan flicked his finger and retrieved the black flame. He played with the wisp of fire floating above his palm and said with a smile, "If you dare to point your finger again, it won''t be just your fingers that turn to ashes." Chapter 185 - 185: No Different From Livestocks The moment they heard Jin Xuyan''s voice and saw his smile, a chill ran down their spines. No matter how gentle his smile appeared, they only felt fear and terror when they faced him. Kneeling on the ground, the big-armed man clutched his hand as blood flowed from the wound to the ground. Since his fingers were completely burned, it was impossible to reattach them. No matter how strong he had been, without fingers, he could no longer form a proper fist or hold a weapon¡ªrendering him useless. He looked at Jin Xuyan with hatred, but he didn''t dare act recklessly. With just one move, Jin Xuyan had crippled his power. From that alone, he knew it was impossible for them to defeat him. Since he couldn''t use force, he could only rely on schemes. After a moment, he raised his head and said, "Brother, please spare us. We only wanted to survive and didn''t have any bad intentions." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan chuckled and said, "Didn''t have any bad intentions¡ªyet you dared to covet my girlfriend." The moment he finished his words, something flew toward the man''s left eye. Stab! "Arghh!" The man screamed and rolled on the ground. No one knew what had just happened and could only take several steps back, trying to distance themselves from him. At this point, the man no longer had any intention of scheming against Jin Xuyan. He only hoped for a quick death. The pain of losing both his fingers and an eye was too much to bear. Watching the man twitching on the ground in agony, Jin Xuyan said with a smile, "As you said, one needs to pay the price. Since you dared to stare at my girlfriend with that disgusting gaze, then you will pay for your crime with one of your eyes." Only after hearing his words did everyone realize he was the one who had attacked their boss. If before they still held out hope that their boss might outsmart him, now they only wished to become invisible so as not become his next target. While Jin Xuyan used a metal bullet to destroy the man''s eye, Jiao Lizhi watched without flinching. People like him only dared to bully the weak. Although such people wouldn''t survive long in the apocalypse, the crimes they committed in that short time were unforgivable. She looked at the group and noticed there wasn''t a single woman among them. It seemed they were no different from the beasts at the factory. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Five minutes later, the man died from the pain, and Jin Xuyan burned his corpse with his flame. When he was done, he looked at the group and said, "Lead the way to your base." After witnessing how he killed their boss, no one dared go against him. They quickly nodded and led him and Jiao Lizhi to the warehouse. When they opened the gate, Jiao Lizhi frowned. Amid the rancid stench in the air, she could smell body odor, sourness, and musky, metallic stench. As they entered the warehouse, her eyes turned cold when she saw a group of women tied to pillars with torn clothes, while the children and elderly were locked up in a cage. Jin Xuyan also saw the situation but remained as calm as ever. His expression didn''t change in the slightest as he looked at the women, children, and elderly being treated like animals. He had experienced decades as a zombie in his past life and had long since lost any sense of human morality. To him, these people were no different from livestock. He only saw Ah Zhi and his team members as human. As for everyone else¡ªhe simply didn''t care. If not for his worries that Ah Zhi would loathe or fear him, he wouldn''t have bothered to save the survivors at all. As they walked, everyone inside looked at them with various gazes. The children and elderly gazed pleadingly, while the women looked at them with dull, lifeless eyes. Looking at them, Jiao Lizhi recalled her own past and said, "Release them." When the men heard this, one of them gathered his courage and said, "S-sister, we can''t release them. Those people are very important for us to get supplies. If we release them, no one will lure the zom¡ª" Slash! "Cough!" Before the man could finish his words, his neck had been slashed. The next moment, he fell to the ground while clutching his bleeding neck. In less than two minutes, he breathed his last and died with his eyes open. Hot, red blood dripped from the tip of Jiao Lizhi''s dagger as she looked at the group of men and repeated her words coldly, "Release them." This time, no one dared voice any objection. They quickly moved to open the cage and untie the women. As soon as they were released, the children and elderly rushed to the women, covering their wounded bodies with their clothes. They hugged them and cried. The men looked at them with disgust and impatience. But when their gazes shifted to Jiao Lizhi, only fear remained. Ignoring them, Jiao Lizhi walked up to the group of women and asked, "Do you want to kill them?" At first, the women didn''t react, even after being released. But when they heard her words, light slowly returned to their eyes, and tears began to fall. "I want to kill them," one of them said weakly. Despite her hoarse, soft voice, the hatred in it was unmistakable. Jiao Lizhi nodded, placed her dagger on the ground in front of the woman, and said, "I will lend you my dagger. You can kill them yourself." As soon as she finished speaking, she turned and walked back to Jin Xuyan, waiting silently. The woman stared at the cold dagger on the ground in a daze. Suddenly, she pushed away the old woman and man who were holding her and picked it up. She then dragged her wounded body and walked to the group of men slowly. Chapter 186 - 186: Untying The Knot When they saw this, the old woman covered her mouth and cried, while the old man reached out to stop her. But after a moment, he clenched his fists and lowered his head, crying silently. Their grandson had been taken by those people. Their son-in-law had been used as bait to lure away zombies. They didn''t know if he was still alive or already dead. Now that there was a chance, they had no reason to stop their daughter from seeking revenge for her husband and son. When the group of men saw her approaching with the dagger, they glanced at Jiao Lizhi and Jin Xuyan. Seeing that neither of them had any intention of helping the woman, their expressions changed. One of the men stepped forward and said, "Bitch, if you know what''s good for you, put down your weapon. If you follow me obediently, you won''t have to worry about food anymore. I promise not to share you with my brothers and keep you for myself." After he spoke, the men burst out laughing. One of them added, "Brother, you can''t do that. She is the most beautiful in the group, and you want to keep her for yourself? Aren''t you being too selfish?" The man looked at him and asked, "Didn''t I let you taste her yesterday?" Hearing this, they all looked at the woman with lust in their eyes. They had all taken turns with her, and among the group of women, she was the best. That was why she was used the most and now bore bruises and wounds all over her body. Standing in the distance, Jin Xuyan leaned closer to Jiao Lizhi and asked, "Ah Zhi, won''t you help her?" Jiao Lizhi shook her head and said, "Only by untying the knot with her own hands will she be able to move forward." Even though she said that, her attention never left the woman. Since she intended to save her, she wouldn''t allow those men to harm her. The woman hated those men to her bones, but her face remained expressionless as she approached the one who had spoken. She wore only a scrap of clothing draped over her body, so from up close, the man could clearly see her bare figure. Staring at her perky breasts, he licked his lips and said, "Serve me well, and I will give you enough food for your parents and yourself." S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The woman raised her eyes to look at him and smiled. When they saw her smile, they thought she had finally given in. The men laughed proudly. To make a woman obedient, she just needed to be beaten and broken. Before they could finish laughing, the woman narrowed her eyes and swung her hand. STAB! "Arrghhh!" The man let out a piercing scream as pain exploded from his lower body. Feeling the warm, sticky liquid cover her hand, madness flashed in the woman''s eyes. She pushed the dagger in deeper and twisted it slowly as she said, "Beast, you deserve to die!" After she finished her words, she pulled the dagger back and stabbed his lower body again and again, turning it into minced meat. "Cough! You¡ª" The man choked up mouthfuls of blood before collapsing, his eyes wide open in disbelief and unwillingness as he breathed his last. Everyone was stunned at the sudden situation. It took the other men a moment to react, but by the time they did, she had already stabbed another one nearby. Seeing this, the rest of them exploded in anger and rushed toward her, full of murderous intent. Facing them, the woman showed no fear. She was ready to die. She had already lost her son and husband. The only thing keeping her alive now was her desire for revenge. So when one of the men punched her in the stomach, she didn''t even try to dodge. Duagh! "Cough!" She felt her organs shift from the blow, the pain was unbearable and cold sweat broke out all over her body. But compared to the pain in her heart, her physical suffering was nothing. Gritting her teeth, she raised her hand and stabbed the man''s arm. "Argh!" he screamed as she dragged the dagger downward. A long, deep gash appeared on his arm. His muscles were torn open and his bone was visible¡ªit was clear how much strength she had put behind this attack. "Bitch! You are looking for death!" The man reached to strangle her, but before his hand could touch her throat, the dagger had already pierced his throat. Splash! Blood spurted from his neck as he collapsed to the ground while coughing blood violently. Blood splattered across the woman''s face and body, but she didn''t flinch or scream. "Bitch, go die!" Just after she had killed another of them, another man swung a boning knife at her back. "No!" The elderly couple screamed when they saw this. Crack! Just when everyone thought the woman would be killed, a water blade flew at a fast speed and severed the man''s arm clean off. "Ugh! My arm!" The woman felt a cold gust of wind rush past her. Turning around, she saw the man kneeling and groaning in pain. Without hesitation, she raised the dagger and stabbed him in the nape. As time passed and the more she killed, her movements became more ruthless as her entire body radiated killing intent. With Jiao Lizhi''s covert support, she was able to fight the group of men. Nearly an hour later, she stood surrounded by mutilated corpses. Her body was drenched in blood, and the ground beneath her feet was soaked red. She was breathing heavily, gasping for air. Turning around, she looked at Jiao Lizhi and said softly with teary eyes, "Thank you." As soon as she spoke, the dagger slipped from her hand, and she collapsed to the ground with a thud. Seeing this, her parents rushed over to check on her. When they realized she was still breathing, they looked around and cried out, "Please save our daughter." Chapter 187 - 187: Two Choices The old woman kowtowed again and again, pleading, "I beg you, anyone, please save my daughter." Dong! Dong! Dong! The sound of her forehead striking the ground echoed through the warehouse¡ªbut no one stepped forward. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Even though the woman had saved them by killing the group of men, no one was willing to help. One reason was that they had no ability to offer real help. The other reason was their fear of Jiao Lizhi and Jin Xuyan. They could see that the couple was different from the others. They could kill without hesitation. What if they wanted to kill the woman, too? And they helped her? Wouldn''t they just be inviting disaster onto themselves? When the old couple thought they would lose their daughter, they saw the young couple walk over. She looked at them warily, but also hopefully. "Comrade, please¡ªsave my daughter," the old woman pleaded as she kowtowed to them. Jiao Lizhi didn''t stop her but reached out to check on the old woman''s daughter. Even without any medical knowledge, she knew the woman''s condition was not promising. She had suffered abuse, and her wounds were infected. Some were already festering, and she also had a high fever. Due to how those men treated the women, the chance of them being infected by the zombie virus was very high, as the infection could be caused by their wounds coming into contact with zombie blood or rotten flesh. After checking her for a moment, Jiao Lizhi took a small bottle of pond water and a strip of fever medicine from her pocket and fed them to the woman. When she was done, she said, "Take off her clothes." Hearing this, the old couple were surprised and unwilling to follow her instructions. Their daughter had already been humiliated¡ªthey didn''t want to expose her bare body to the public eye again. While they were hesitating, Jin Xuyan said, "Ah Zhi, you treat her. I will take care of the bodies." Jiao Lizhi wasn''t so petty as to mind him seeing another woman''s body. As she has seen Pei Yijun''s body before. But when she heard his words, she felt more comfortable and agreed readily. "Okay." Unbeknownst to her, even with so many barely dressed women around, Jin Xuyan didn''t spare them a glance. From the moment they entered the warehouse, his gaze had been focused on his Ah Zhi. After all, he had no interest in copulating with livestock¡ªso, he wouldn''t have any desire for them. After he walked away, Jiao Lizhi said, "If you keep hesitating, I won''t be able to save your daughter''s life." Upon hearing her words, the old couple finally relented. The old woman undressed her daughter and asked, "Comrade, can my daughter be saved?" "That will depend on her." After saying that, she took out a bar of soap and reached out to touch the woman''s skin. As her palm glided over her bare body, water began to flow from her hand. Everyone was surprised to see water pouring from her palm, which she used to clean the woman''s body. What they didn''t know was that the water came from the pond inside her space. The pond water had mild healing properties. It could help the woman fight against the zombie virus in case she was infected and increase her chances of survival. After cleaning away the blood and filth, she used the soap to wash every nook and cranny of the woman''s body. Using the soap helped remove bacteria and viruses, reducing the risk of complications. Once she finished, she rinsed the soap with more pond water, then took out a bottle of wound medicine from her pocket. This time, she handed it to the old woman and said, "Apply this medicine to her wounds. Don''t miss any part¡ªespecially her lower body." The old woman nodded as she accepted the medicine. While she was applying the medicine, Jiao Lizhi went to check on the other survivors. Before approaching the women, she visited the children and the elderly. Standing before them, she asked, "Do you want to survive?" It took them a moment, but eventually, they nodded. Seeing this, she continued, "If you want to survive, then you have to get stronger and fight for your life. Go find a clean container¡ªI will give you water." The moment they heard this, a glimmer of hope returned to their eyes. Since the children were too weak, the elderly were the ones who went out to find containers. In less than ten minutes, they returned with various items¡ªbottles, basins, and even broken glasses. Jiao Lizhi conjured a water ball and said, "Clean the containers first." Hearing this, everyone washed the containers one after another. Once cleaned, she filled each with pond water. She let them drink until they were satisfied, then refilled their containers for later. When she was done, she finally approached the group of women. Looking at them, she threw her dagger to the ground and said, "You have two choices now. Either give up and kill yourselves, or stand up and fight." The women raised their heads to look at her. Meeting their eyes, Jiao Lizhi could see that most of them had lost the will to live. She didn''t try to persuade them, as no one could help them except themselves. If they couldn''t overcome this hurdle, then death would be a relief¡ªbetter than living a nightmare. After a while, one woman suddenly crawled toward the dagger and, without hesitation, sliced her own throat. Before breathing her last, she looked at Jiao Lizhi with gratitude. Everyone was stunned by this. But before long, another woman picked up the dagger and stabbed herself in the heart. She smiled as she closed her eyes, her expression peaceful, as if she had finally escaped a nightmare. Watching this, Jiao Lizhi remained calm. Her expression didn''t change, and there was no ripple in her eyes. She didn''t even pity them as they took their own lives in front of her. Chapter 188 - 188: Rare Kindness Everyone was terrified as they watched the women kill themselves one after another. Twenty minutes later, out of more than thirty women, only two remained. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Jiao Lizhi looked at them and asked, "What about you two?" One of the women gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as she said hoarsely, "I refuse to die before I kill that pair of dog man and bitch! Even if I end up in hell, I will definitely take their lives with my own hands!" Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi nodded and walked toward her. She squatted in front of her, reached out her hand, and said nothing. The young woman stared at her in a daze for a moment before she reached out and took her hand. As she grabbed her hand, Jiao Lizhi pulled her up and said, "Until you are strong enough, I will teach you how to kill. Whether it''s zombies or humans, you have to become strong to protect yourself." The young woman nodded, and determination flashed in her eyes. Jiao Lizhi turned to the other woman and asked, "How about you?" The woman pushed herself up and said with a weary smile, "Sister, I''m afraid of pain and even more afraid of death. Even if living is painful, I still want to keep living." "Good." Since the two of them had made their decisions, Jiao Lizhi brought them to a corner, filled an empty drum with her pond water, and gave them a bar of soap so they could clean themselves. While they were washing up, she went to find something to cover their bodies. Twenty minutes later, they finished washing. Jiao Lizhi handed them two pieces of fabric she had found and said, "Use this for now. When we join the team, we will find proper clothes for you." Accepting the fabric, the two of them said, "Thank you, sister." Jiao Lizhi gave them a bottle of water and some medicine for fever, inflammation, and wounds. "Take care of your injuries and drink the medicine." After she finished tending to them, Jin Xuyan walked over and said, "Ah Zhi, I have cleaned up the bodies. We should go out and look for the animals first." Jiao Lizhi hadn''t forgotten their goal and replied, "Okay," Before leaving, she took out all the food she and Jin Xuyan had carried in their pockets and said, "Rest and recover your strength. When my team comes back, we will leave this place." Hearing this, the elderly and the children looked at her, and one of them asked, "Comrade, can you take us with you too?" Jiao Lizhi thought for a moment and said, "It''s not impossible for me to take everyone with me, but you have to listen to my instructions and follow my rules. When we reach a survivor camp, we will part ways." Everyone was deeply grateful for her kindness and quickly agreed. When they stepped out of the warehouse, Jin Xuyan looked at her and asked, "Ah Zhi, why did you suddenly help them?" Jiao Lizhi let out a sigh and replied, "Brother Yan, in the past, I was also used as bait. So I understand their plight. Helping them wasn''t out of kindness¡ªit was selfishness. I wanted to free myself from that dark memory." "If, back then, someone had pulled me out of that place, maybe I wouldn''t have been deceived, trusted the wrong person, and died so tragically," she added softly. Hearing this, Jin Xuyan felt a sharp pain in his chest. If only he had found her earlier, perhaps she could have lived more comfortably. But there were no ''what ifs'' in this world. What had happened couldn''t be changed. All he could do now was protect her in this life and eliminate every danger in front of them. The two of them went to the building where the chickens were raised. From afar, they could hear the clucking of the chickens. "Brother Yan, we are lucky! Although most of the animals are dead, we can still get some mutated ones," Jiao Lizhi said excitedly. Jin Xuyan saw that she was no longer in a bad mood and smiled. He reached out to intertwine their fingers and replied, "Mhmm, let''s check the animals." They entered the building and saw a total of twenty chickens inside¡ªthree roosters and seventeen hens. Unlike the fully mutated animals from her previous life, the chickens in front of her still retained their original characteristics. Aside from their size, which was now as big as ostriches and shinier feathers than normal chickens, everything else was the same. Seeing this, Jiao Lizhi was delighted. With their size, just one chicken would be enough to feed their whole team. She quickly stored them in her space and looked around. She collected all of the chicken feed in the building and even found a pile of chicken eggs at the corner. Picking up an egg, she needed both hands to hold it. It was as big as an ostrich egg. "Brother Yan, look at the size of this egg! We only need one to make a big pot of egg porridge later," she said with a wide grin. Jin Xuyan nodded and smiled at her. As long as she was happy, he was happy too. The two of them gathered everything from the building before checking another area. Two hours later, they finally returned to the warehouse on the chicken farm and saw Phantom team members walking over from a distance. Following them was a group of survivors. Yu Fuyun had good eyesight and spotted them. He waved his hand and greeted them, "Captain, sister-in-law!" As they regrouped, Zhang Yuan reported, "Captain, these are the survivors we found in the residential and other areas." Jin Xuyan looked over and noticed that most of the survivors were either children, the elderly, or women. There were only a few teenage boys among them, but no adult men at all. Seeing this, he raised his eyebrows and asked, "There are no male survivors at all?" Chapter 189 - 189: Exchanging Supplies ( 1 ) When they heard Jin Xuyan''s words, one of the survivors raised her hand and said, "C-Comrade, our brothers, husbands, and fathers were taken away by a group of men." After she said that, a young boy nodded and added, "They weren''t from our farm and came suddenly. They not only robbed us, but they also took away my sister and brother-in-law." Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi asked, "Besides that group, was there anyone else?" The moment she asked this, the Phantom Team members understood she was referring to the group they had seen hiding near the entrance of the farm. The young boy shook his head and replied, "I don''t know." After thinking for a moment, he added, "But the farm''s owner gathered everyone before to look for a safer place, before that group of men came. My sister and brother-in-law said it was safer to stay home and wait for the rescue team. So, we didn''t go with them." Jiao Lizhi looked at the survivors and said, "Rather than waiting for the government to send people to rescue you, it''s better to rely on yourselves." "Sister, what do you mean by that?" the young boy asked. "Our current situation isn''t just happening in this area¡ªit''s a global apocalypse," Jiao Lizhi replied. When everyone heard her words, they were shocked and began murmuring in panic. They had always thought this was a temporary crisis, and that they would return to their previous lives once the government arrived to rescue them. But if this situation were global...what should they do then? Jiao Lizhi waited a moment before continuing, "Those monsters are zombies, and they act purely on instinct. They are sensitive to sound and scent. So if you get close to them or make a loud noise, they will detect you immediately." "When ordinary people are wounded by zombies¡ªeven just a small cut¡ªthey will be infected. Aside from that, there is a chance of infection through digestion, such as contaminated food or water. Once you are infected, the mortality rate is as high as 99%." As she finished speaking, the survivors'' faces turned pale. Most of them had already experienced the horror of being nearly killed by their loved ones. Some had even been forced to kill family members who had turned into zombies. After a long silence, one of them asked, "Comrade, is there any chance of survival after infection?" Jiao Lizhi nodded and replied, "If your immunity is strong, you might survive. But the chance is only 1%. And if you do survive, there is a 0.01% chance you will awaken an ability." As she spoke, she opened her palm, and a ball of water suddenly appeared out of thin air, floating above her hand. When they saw this, their eyes widened in amazement. Some, parched and weak, couldn''t help but lick their chapped lips as their gazes were glued to the ball of water. Seeing this, Jin Xuyan said, "Xiao Qi, give them some water." At his command, Xiao Qi nodded and took out several boxes of bottled water from his space, distributing one to each person. As for food, they would wait for their captain''s decision. "Let''s go to the warehouse first," Jin Xuyan said. They followed him into the warehouse on the chicken farm. As soon as they entered, they wrinkled their noses at the strange smell lingering in the air. Seeing that they had finally returned, the survivors already inside breathed a sigh of relief. They had waited for hours without knowing what had happened to the young couple, but fortunately, they came back alive. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The Phantom Team members weren''t surprised by the survivors'' condition. After seeing so many people in similar states, they had become somewhat numb. Even so, their eyes darkened when they saw the three women''s condition. They also noticed the black ashes on the ground and understood that their captain must have killed something or someone. Jiao Lizhi walked over to Xiao Qi and asked, "Xiao Qi, do you have women''s clothes?" Hearing this, Xiao Qi nodded and replied, "Sister-in-law, I collected some at the factory before. How many sets do you want?" "Give me three sets of T-shirts and pants. Also¡­ do you have women''s underwear?" she asked. At first, Xiao Qi nodded. But when he heard the second part of her sentence, his eyes widened, and a blush crept onto his cheeks. He opened and closed his mouth several times before replying in a low voice, "Sister-in-law, I''m not a pervert. How could I have women''s underwear?" Jiao Lizhi glanced at Jin Xuyan. He had given her several pairs of underwear before¡ªdid that mean he was a pervert? Noticing her look, Jin Xuyan smiled and replied calmly, "Ah Zhi, I''m different. I''m your man¡ªit''s only natural for me to prepare things for you." The moment they heard his words, the Phantom Team members looked at him speechlessly. Only their captain could say something like that with such confidence. His skin was indeed thick! Jiao Lizhi didn''t want to continue the topic. So, she turned to Xiao Qi and said, "Then just give me the clothes." Xiao Qi quickly handed her the clothes and asked, "Sister-in-law, do you need anything else?" Jiao Lizhi nodded and said, "Give the survivors some food. When we find a survivor camp, we will let them stay there and part ways." "Understood!" Xiao Qi replied and left to carry out the task. Holding the clothes, Jiao Lizhi discreetly took out three sets of women''s underwear from her space, concealing them beneath the clothes so no one would notice. Standing in front of the elderly couple, she said, "Here, help your daughter get dressed." The old couple accepted the clothes and bowed to her. "Thank you, benefactor." "I''m not a good person, and I''m not your benefactor. So don''t call me that." After saying that, she walked away and handed the clothes to the other women. Not long after, they heard a series of footsteps outside. With Qin Luzi and Shen Jinzhe standing guard outside, no one could approach unnoticed. So, they didn''t panic and continued with their own task. Chapter 190 - 190: Exchanging Supplies ( 2 ) Qin Luzi looked at the newcomers and checked his map. Seeing that all of them were ability-users, he stepped forward and said, "This place is taken. You can go somewhere else." A young man among the group took a step closer and said, "Brother, this is the owner of the place¡ªBoss Lin." "So?" Qin Luzi asked, raising an eyebrow. Boss Lin noticed their auras and physiques were different from ordinary people and said, "Brother, I just want to ask if you have any food or water. If so, can we buy some from you?" Hearing that they came to buy supplies, Qin Luzi turned to Shen Jinzhe and said, "Jinzhe, go inform the Captain." "Okay." After Shen Jinzhe left, Qin Luzi said, "You can wait here." Boss Lin nodded and subtly signaled his team members with his eyes. They had been ordinary people before the apocalypse. Even after awakening their abilities, they still didn''t dare to kill people. If they could avoid conflict and resolve things peacefully, that would be best. So, after seeing their boss''s signal, none of them dared to act recklessly and waited patiently. Less than ten minutes later, Shen Jinzhe returned with a tall, handsome man. When they saw him, they knew that he must be the captain. "Captain, these people want to buy our supplies," Qin Luzi said. Jin Xuyan looked at them and asked, "You want to buy my team''s supplies?" Boss Lin nodded and said, "Brother, we are willing to pay you triple the market price." Hearing this, Shen Jinzhe replied, "Do you think we want your money in the current situation?" Boss Lin knew that his words were foolish and asked, "Then, what do you want in exchange for the food?" "Crystal cores," Jin Xuyan replied. When they heard his words, Boss Lin and his group looked at each other for a while before he took out a small pouch from his backpack. Opening the small pouch, he showed the contents to them and asked, "Brother, is this what you want?" Shen Jinzhe looked at the items inside and replied with a nod, "Yes." Receiving their confirmation, Boss Lin and his team were delighted. They found these crystals after they killed the zombies. Although they didn''t know the function, they kept the crystals just in case. They never expected that these crystals were valuable and could be exchanged for food. If they had known, they would have gone out and killed more zombies. "Brother, with this amount of crystals, how much food can we get?" Boss Lin asked. Jin Xuyan thought for a moment and said, "I have to ask my girlfriend first." After leaving those words, he turned and went inside, leaving Boss Lin and his group dumbfounded. They thought that the captain would be able to make the decision. Unexpectedly, even if he held a high position, he still had to listen to his girlfriend. They exchanged glances and decided that women were indeed a dangerous race. If they want to have a good life in this chaotic period, they should stay away from women. Not long after, Jin Xuyan returned with Jiao Lizhi. When Jiao Lizhi saw the group of men outside, surprise flashed in her eyes, and memories of her past life flashed in her mind. The man standing in the front was her ex-captain! She never expected to meet him so early in this life. She thought that she would only be able to meet him if she went to Jinwu City. Noticing that his Ah Zhi was staring at the middle-aged man without blinking, Jin Xuyan frowned and squeezed her hand. Coming back to her senses, Jiao Lizhi turned to look at him and saw him staring at her. He was unhappy. She smiled and leaned closer to whisper, "Brother Yan, that person was my captain in the previous life." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan frowned and replied, "Wasn''t your captain a young man? I remember he treated you quite well, and he was also very good-looking." Noticing his sour tone, Jiao Lizhi explained, "That person was my vice-captain. After my captain sacrificed his life to save me from a mutated animal, he took over the team." "Since everyone blamed me, I was ostracized by my members. So, my vice-captain treated me well because he pitied me. We didn''t have any romantic relationship at all." After he heard this, Jin Xuyan''s expression improved, and he reminded her, "In this life, he doesn''t know you. So you should be careful with your behavior." Jiao Lizhi smiled and replied, "I know." When they finished whispering, they finally walked out. Seeing them coming, Boss Lin smiled and asked, "Comrade, how is it? Have you discussed it with your girlfriend?" Jiao Lizhi was used to Jin Xuyan introducing her as his girlfriend, so she didn''t fuss over the title. Instead, she looked at her captain and said, "Comrade, I heard that you are the owner of this husbandry." Boss Lin nodded and replied with a sigh, "I am. Unfortunately, the animals died from disease, and there is nothing left." "Comrade, since you are the owner of this place, you can use one crystal to exchange for ten kilograms of rice," Jiao Lizhi said. The moment she said this, everyone was stunned, including Qin Luzi and Shen Jinzhe. They knew that the crystal was valuable, but it wouldn''t be able to be exchanged for so much food. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Although they had their doubts, the two of them didn''t say a word. Since their captain tacitly agreed with their sister-in-law''s words, they only needed to trust her. "Comrade, are you sure we can exchange ten kilograms of rice for one crystal?" the young man beside Boss Lin asked. Jiao Lizhi nodded and replied, "If you want to exchange for water, you can get five gallons of water for one crystal." This time, Boss Lin and his team were so happy that they wanted to dance. Compared to food, water was harder to find. Mineral water was limited, and the water sources were contaminated. Chapter 191 - 191: Her Own Doing ( 1 ) After a while, Boss Lin and his team finally calmed down. The young man quickly took out his crystals and said, "Boss, these are all of my crystals. Let''s use them to exchange for food and water." Seeing this, the other three men also took out their crystals and handed them to their boss. Boss Lin nodded and said, "Okay." They had been killing lots of zombies, but the amount of crystals was limited. At this moment, they only had 37 crystal cores. After they discussed it for a while, they finally reached an agreement. Boss Lin looked at Jiao Lizhi and said, "Comrade, we have 37 crystals. We want to exchange them for 250 kilograms of rice and 60 gallons of water." Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi nodded and agreed, "Okay." "Jinzhe, call Feng Yun over," Jin Xuyan said. "Yes, Captain." Not long after, Feng Yun came over and asked, "Captain, are you looking for me?" Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Take out 250 kilograms of rice and 60 gallons of water." Feng Yun nodded, and with a wave of his hand, rice and water appeared in front of them. After he decided to follow Jin Xuyan, he never questioned his captain''s decision. As long as it didn''t cross his bottom line, he would follow his orders without hesitation. When Boss Lin and his men saw the food and water, they were excited. After a moment, one of them asked, "Boss, now that we have food and water, are we still leaving this place?" Boss Lin nodded and said, "We can''t stay here forever. We have to find out about the situation outside and make a plan." After they heard his words, they nodded and said, "We will follow you if you leave this place, Boss." "Okay, I will go find a car first. The four of you wait here for me," Boss Lin said. "Okay." Since they had finished the transaction, Jin Xuyan pulled Jiao Lizhi into the warehouse and asked, "Ah Zhi, are you thinking of helping him?" Jiao Lizhi shook her head and said, "He died because of me before. Without me, he wouldn''t have met the mutated animal and would have been able to survive." She turned to look at the group of men and added, "With those supplies, they should be able to leave this place and reach the survivor camp. This time, they won''t have to die for those ungrateful people anymore." S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. While she never met those four men, she knew about them from her captain. The four of them died because they stayed behind to protect the survivors. After the second rain, the animals fully mutated, and staying in this husbandry was equal to staying in a beast den. While the survivors and her captain were able to escape, the four of them became the mutated animals'' food instead as they lured the animals away. In this life, she hoped they would be able to change their fates. After Boss Lin found a pickup truck, he and his team loaded the food and water before they left in a good mood. As for the Phantom Team, they decided to stay for a day before leaving tomorrow. While the members were treating the wounded and distributing supplies and water, Jiao Lizhi sat in a corner and checked her space. After the mutated plants were replanted in the grassland, their growth slowed. From this, she deduced that the black soil in the farmland had better nutrients and could hasten the crops'' growth cycle. She checked the oxygen level and noticed that the percentage kept increasing, albeit slowly. While she was rearranging the animals in her space, she was startled by a shout. "Give me back my son!" Opening her eyes, she saw the woman who had killed the group of men glaring at an old woman who was holding a four-month-old baby. "This is my grandson. He is not your son!" the old woman retorted. The elderly couple had seen the baby''s face and recognized him as their grandson. The old woman said, "He is my family''s grandson. Comrade, you are abducting my grandson and now you still refuse to return him to us? How can you do this?" The older woman glared back and said stubbornly, "This is my grandson." Due to the commotion, Jin Xuyan and the rest of his team had already walked over. When Jiao Lizhi arrived, she saw that the woman had already woken up. Though still weak, she looked anxious and worried. From her expression, Jiao Lizhi could tell she was telling the truth. As for the old woman, she narrowed her eyes and studied her. After a moment, she stepped closer and asked, "Granny, since you say this baby is your grandson, do you have any proof?" "Why should I need proof? This baby is my grandson!" Jiao Lizhi turned to the woman and asked, "Sister, do you have any evidence that this baby is your son?" The woman nodded and replied, "My son has a birthmark on his waist. It''s a red crescent moon." Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi nodded and said, "Granny, if this baby is really your grandson and not this sister''s son, all we need to do is check his waist. If there is no birthmark, then he is yours. If there is, then he is hers." Everyone nodded in agreement. The old woman shook her head and said, "I don''t have any obligation to do that! This woman saw me changing my grandson''s diapers. She must have seen the birthmark!" "So the baby does have a birthmark," Jiao Lizhi said meaningfully. "Granny, you said you changed your grandson''s diapers. Where are the used ones?" she asked. The old woman was stunned by her question and stammered, "I-I threw them away." "Where did you throw them?" Jiao Lizhi asked again. Avoiding her gaze, the old woman muttered, "I forgot." Jiao Lizhi stared at her for a moment, then said, "Granny, if you can show us the used diapers, it will prove that you are not lying and this sister is the one at fault." Chapter 192 - 192: Her Own Doing ( 2 ) After a pause, Jiao Lizhi added, "But if you can''t, then it means you never changed this baby''s diapers and this sister had no way of seeing the birthmark. That means this sister must be his mother¡ªshe would naturally know about the birthmark." Under her questioning, the old woman finally snapped and shouted, "I''m not his grandmother but I picked him up and fed him with my blood. So he is mine! No one can take him from me!" The old couple and the woman were stunned. They had only been focused on getting the baby back and hadn''t thought to ask anything else. Now that they heard this, they didn''t know whether they should take the baby by force or not. The next moment, Wen Kai stepped forward and said, "Sister-in-law, when we found this granny and the baby, she was protecting him. And we did see traces that she fed him her blood." Jiao Lizhi looked at the old woman and said, "Granny, even if you saved the baby''s life, he is not your grandson. You need to return him to his family." "As for whether you can continue to have a relationship with him, that is up to his family. But refusing to return him to his mother is unfair to him. He is just a baby¡ªhe needs his mother." When she heard her words, the old woman lowered her head and cried, "I killed my real grandson with my own hands after he turned into a monster. I can''t lose this one too¡­ or I will die." Despite her words, Jiao Lizhi felt no pity for her. Separating a mother and child was a cruel act. Whatever her reasons, this old woman had no right to do that. Since she still refused to return the baby, Jiao Lizhi walked over and snatched him from her arms. The baby was startled and began to cry. "Waa¡­ waa¡­" Before he could cry louder, Jiao Lizhi pulled a pacifier from her pocket and placed it in his mouth. The baby immediately quieted down and started sucking on it. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Give him back!" the old woman shouted, lunging at Jiao Lizhi. Jiao Lizhi sidestepped, avoiding the attack, and asked, "Brother Qin, do you sense anything wrong with this Granny?" Qin Luzi nodded and said coldly, "She is infected." As soon as he said that, everyone backed away in a panic, no longer daring to stay and watch. "I''m not infected!" the old woman retorted in panic. Just after she said this, she saw a small scratch on her wrist and was stunned. The flesh around the scratch was already festering and starting to rot. She tried to remember when she had gotten it. After a moment, she laughed bitterly. Earlier, she had snuck off to eavesdrop on the conversation between these people and the husbandry''s owner. When she came back, she felt a sting on her wrist but ignored it. She hadn''t realized that little sting was a death sentence for her. If she hadn''t gone to eavesdrop, she wouldn''t have been scratched¡ªand wouldn''t have been infected. In the end, everything that happened was her own doing. She raised her head and said, "Please kill me. I don''t want to turn into a monster." Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi said, "Granny, are you sure you want to die now? Who knows¡ªyou might still have a chance to survive." The old woman shook her head and replied tiredly, "My son, daughter-in-law, and grandson all died, leaving me alone in this world. I''m tired. I just want to rest now." Jiao Lizhi looked at her for a long time before saying, "Since that''s the case, then I will fulfill your wish." The old woman looked at the baby in her arms and said, "Please take good care of him." Jiao Lizhi handed the baby to the woman and said, "He has his family to take care of him." Hearing this, the old woman smiled faintly and nodded, "You are right." When Jiao Lizhi walked over to the old woman, the Phantom Team members instinctively tried to stop her. But before they could speak, they saw their captain watching them with a firm gaze. Seeing this, they could only stand there and watch. Jiao Lizhi squatted in front of the old woman and said softly, "Granny, close your eyes. When you wake up, everything will be fine." The old woman smiled and whispered, "Thank you." She knew the girl was lying to her. She would become a monster soon¡ªhow could anything be fine? Even if she knew that, she still let out a long sigh and closed her eyes. Jiao Lizhi placed two fingers on the old woman''s forehead and channeled her energy into the woman''s body. As her energy entered the old woman''s veins, it transformed into a hair-thin needle that moved through her body and pressed her nerves. Suddenly, the old woman collapsed to the ground and lost consciousness. Seeing this, Jiao Lizhi took out her dagger and carefully cut away the rotten flesh on the old woman''s wrist. She washed the wound with water from her space pond, applied medicine, then took out a small water bottle from her pocket and fed her more pond water. Afterward, she guided her energy back through the woman''s body, steering the needle from her nerves toward the wound. Then she transformed the energy into a thin membrane and wrapped it around the infected area. She didn''t know if this method would work, but she had once heard of a healer using a similar technique to save a leader''s life. Standing up, she turned to the woman and said, "Sister, no matter what she did before, this granny saved your son''s life. So, you need to return the favor." "I will give you medicine, food, and water for her. Later, you will need to check her temperature and monitor her condition. Make sure she stays hydrated. If you see any signs of the rot spreading, inform me immediately." Chapter 193 - 193: Kindness And Hypocrisy Hearing Jiao Lizhi''s words, the woman nodded and said, "I understand." The old man, worried the old woman might suddenly turn into a monster, said, "Daughter, you can''t¡ª" Before he could finish his words, the woman interrupted him, "Father, this sister is right. We owe this granny a debt, and I have to repay it." Meeting his daughter''s firm gaze, the old man finally sighed and said, "Be careful." "I will." After kissing her son, she handed him to her mother and walked over to take care of the old woman. Jiao Lizhi turned to Xiao Qi and said, "Xiao Qi, I will have to trouble you to give them some medicine, food, and water." "Sister-in-law, leave it to me," Xiao Qi replied with a smile. As a former soldier, he hated seeing innocent people die needlessly. So he felt both surprised and impressed when he saw Jiao Lizhi doing her best to save the old woman. To Jiao Lizhi, although the old woman had been unreasonable, she wasn''t a bad person. Her determination to protect the baby showed that. So she deserved a chance at survival. As for eavesdropping on their conversation¡ªshe was just trying to survive. There was nothing wrong with that. They stayed at the warehouse for the night, and when the sun rose the next day, the woman noticed the old woman''s skin had turned bluish, and the rotten area on her wrist had spread to her arm. Alarmed, she quickly went to find the soldier. "Comrade, something''s wrong with the granny," she said while tugging at Gao Bohai''s sleeve. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Hearing this, Gao Bohai rushed over to check the situation. From a few meters away, he saw the old woman suddenly twitching on the ground. Her fingernails were growing at a speed visible to the naked eye. Seeing this, he shouted, "Everyone, get away from her!" "Roar!" The moment he spoke, the old granny opened her eyes and let out a deep, hoarse roar. Crack! Before the newly transformed zombie could stand up from the ground, a water bullet struck its head, killing it instantly. Everyone was stunned by the sudden turn of events and retreated to a far corner of the warehouse. Chen Qianfeng looked at them and said calmly, "Don''t worry. It won''t move again." Shen Jinzhe walked over and saw the small hole in the zombie''s forehead. While burning the corpse, he commented, "Brother Qianfeng, your accuracy and control over water bullets have improved so fast." Hearing this, Chen Qianfeng smiled and replied casually, "Practice makes perfect." While the Phantom Team could still joke around, the survivors watched them with a mix of fear, envy, and admiration. Despite their complicated emotions toward the Phantom Team, they had no other choice but to follow them. No one dared to comment on how casual they seemed after killing someone. Unlike usual, the Phantom Team didn''t prepare a hot meal but instead distributed dry rations to the survivors. Each person received three packs of biscuits, three bottles of mineral water, a protein bar, and two pieces of caramel candy. Although it wasn''t much, it was enough to fill their stomachs and give them some energy. Some people ate until they were full without a second thought, while others saved part of the food for emergencies. After breakfast, Feng Yun took out two buses from his space. These had been left behind by the Eagle Team during their evacuation. Given four military trucks by the Phantom Team, the Eagle Team had discarded a luxurious RV and three buses. Before they left the factory district, Feng Yun had collected the buses and an RV into his space. Now, the buses were finally being put to use. After packing up, Jin Xuyan gathered his team members and said, "Zhang Yuan, Shen Jinzhe, and Wen Mo¡ªtake the second bus. Wen Kai, Li Sikai, and Zhou Huajian¡ªyou are on the first bus." "Old Qin, lead the way with Feng Yun and the research team. Yin Yusheng and Gao Bohai will guard the left side. Xiao Qi and Chen Qianfeng will guard the right side. Ah Zhi and I will cover the rear." "Understood," the members replied in unison. After organizing the team, Feng Yun collected the unused minivans and put them into his space. Under the team''s supervision, the survivors entered the buses without pushing or bickering. Fifteen minutes later, the team departed from the warehouse. As they passed a warehouse near the entrance, a group of people saw the convoy leaving the husbandry compound. Seeing this, an old woman shouted, "Everyone, they are leaving! They really have buses and cars!" Hearing this, everyone rushed out of the warehouse, waving their hands and shouting, "Wait! Please wait for us!" Driving at the rear of the convoy, Jiao Lizhi and Jin Xuyan both heard the cries and saw the crowd in the rearview mirror. But no matter how loudly the group shouted or pleaded, he didn''t stop the car and left with the team. Watching the vehicles drive away without slowing down, the people left behind broke into tears and began blaming one another. Inside the buses, some survivors had also seen what happened. After hesitating for a moment, one of them asked, "Comrade, there are still so many people left. Why don''t we stop and let them come?" Hearing this, Shen Jinzhe turned to the young woman and said, "If you feel so bad for them, how about you stay behind and give your seat to one of them?" The moment he said this, the survivors fell silent. Everyone knew who those people were, and they also knew Boss Lin had been taking care of them. They had seen Boss Lin go out to find food and water with his men for them, but eventually, even he had stopped helping them. No one knew what happened that caused Boss Lin to give up on them, but if even someone like him couldn''t tolerate them, those people must have had serious problems. Now that they relied on the Phantom Team for survival, the survivors chose to ignore those left behind. Chapter 194 - 194: Establishing Authority Seeing the survivors'' reaction, Shen Jinzhe sneered, his tone laced with mockery as he said, "In our current situation, you should think about your own survival first. Kindness is a luxury. If you want to be kind by sacrificing yourself, that''s your own choice." "But if you want to act kind by forcing others to help through guilt and moral pressure, that''s not kindness¡ªthat''s hypocrisy." "All of you should know that if not for my captain''s girlfriend, my team wouldn''t have bothered to help you at all. So, if you still want to stay, you had better shut your mouths and keep your fake kindness and little schemes to yourselves." "Next time I hear anyone question my team''s decisions again, I will throw you out and let you be as kind as you want. Do you understand?" he asked coldly. As his sharp gaze swept over them, the survivors quickly lowered their heads. Compared to the man they called Vice-Captain, this young man''s gaze was far more terrifying. After a long silence, the survivors finally nodded and replied in low voices, "U-understood." While the Phantom Team had no significant issues with the survivors, the Eagle Team was starting to have a headache. Thanks to their previous training, the team and the survivors had improved significantly as more and more people awakened their abilities. But with the rise of more ability-users, it became harder for the Eagle Team to control them, as most of the Eagle members were still ordinary people. Even with guns, it wouldn''t be easy to subdue someone with powers. Not to mention, after the last time they were surrounded by zombies, the Eagle Team had lost several members¡ªfurther weakening their strength. At that moment, as they were preparing to leave the gas station, a group of ability-users stepped forward and blocked their path. Seeing this, Wei Ying asked, "Comrade, what are you doing?" Standing across from him, a man with bulging muscles on his left leg said, "Captain Wei, we want to leave¡ªand we came to ask for supplies." Wei Ying frowned as he looked at them. The group totaled seventeen people, most of whom were ability-users. Only two women in the group were ordinary people. If they left now, it would mean fewer fighters and more burden on the rest. But given their current power, the Eagle Team couldn''t force them to stay either. After a moment of thought, he nodded and said, "You can get supplies by exchanging crystal cores." Hearing his words, the group laughed, and the man replied, "Captain Wei, you are joking, right? We have been protecting these people and your team, and now you are asking us to pay?" At that moment, Wei Ying understood they had never intended to pay. Although the Phantom Team had said they would provide extra supplies for survivors, it still had to be done under proper rules¡ªfree handouts would violate the system he had just established and would cause chaos in his team. "Comrade, you know the rules. There are no free supplies. Either you exchange them for crystal cores, or you get nothing," Wei Ying said firmly. As soon as he finished, the man was angered and said, "Such arrogance! You are asking for it!" Crack! The next moment, he bent his knee and, in the blink of an eye, disappeared from his spot, leaving a deep crack on the ground. Duagh! Wei Ying raised his right arm and blocked the incoming kick. Both were strength-type ability users, but Wei Ying was a dual-ability user. His enhanced senses and physical strength far surpassed the man''s. Narrowing his eyes, he said coldly, "Comrade, I already said¡ªeither crystals or no supplies." Duagh! Crack! As he finished speaking, he grabbed the man''s leg and delivered a liver punch into his stomach. The sound of bones cracking was loud and clear. "Cough!" S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The man''s eyes widened in disbelief as he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Crack! Wei Ying followed up by throwing him to the ground. As he landed with a thud, the man coughed up another mouthful of blood. Everyone around them was shocked by the ruthlessness of Wei Ying''s counterattack. Not only had he broken the man''s ribs¡ªhe had also shattered his ankle. No matter how strong he was, without a functional leg, he couldn''t use his ability now. Wei Ying stood a few steps away from the group and asked in a cold voice, "Do any of you want to fight me too?" Upon hearing this, they quickly shook their heads and stepped back. Seeing this, Wei Ying nodded and added, "If you don''t want to fight, then exchange your crystal cores for supplies. If you don''t want to pay, you can leave now." Fearing they wouldn''t be able to find supplies elsewhere, the group reluctantly pulled out their crystals and exchanged them for dry food and mineral water. After receiving their rations, they didn''t dare linger and quickly left, without even bothering to take the man, their supposed leader, with them. Watching them leave, one of the Eagle Team members asked, "Captain, what should we do with that person?" Before Wei Ying could make up his mind on how to deal with that man, Gu Shaoze walked over and said, "Captain Wei, if you want to establish order, you can''t be soft-hearted. Since that man dared to challenge your authority, you have to punish him¡ªor others will follow his example." Hearing this, Wei Ying was silent for a moment before he said, "That man is banished from the team. Everyone, get on the buses. We leave in five minutes." When his team members heard this, none of them showed pity for the man or resentment toward their captain''s heartless decision, unlike how they had felt watching the Phantom Team handle things before. Over the past few days, after leaving the factory district, they had witnessed firsthand how unreasonable and cruel the survivors could be. They had come to realize that ordinary people were often more ruthless than powerful ability users. After enduring repeated betrayals from the survivors, they finally understood why the Phantom Team treated survivors so coldly. Chapter 195 - 195: Enjoy Life To The Fullest Thinking back to how they had once looked down on Jin Xuyan and his team for choosing to leave the military during a national crisis, they now felt ashamed. They didn''t know what the Phantom Team had gone through in the past¡ªbut now they understood. The team must have been deeply disappointed by the people they once protected and no longer had the will to serve a country that stood behind such citizens. Five minutes later, the Eagle Team left the gas station, followed by Pei Yijun''s team. Lying on the ground, the man watched them leave, despair filling his eyes. If he had known it would end like this, why had he acted tough and gone against the captain? Now, he could only blame his own arrogance. With such heavy injuries, he didn''t even know if he could survive¡ªlet alone make it out of there. After leaving the gas station, the Eagle Team drove straight toward the border. Inside one of the vehicles, Wei Ying used his satellite phone to contact the base. After several attempts, the call finally connected. "Speak," came a cold voice from the other end. "Commander, we have almost reached the temporary survivor camp on the border of Lin''an city." "Good. The personnel from the base have been waiting for you and your team. When you arrive, hand over the mission target to them." "Commander, we encountered the Phantom Team. They handed over a large group of survivors, along with all their supplies." Upon hearing this, the commander replied with a hint of joy, "Did they return with you?" "No. Captain Jin said he and his team will no longer serve as soldiers. They promised their fallen comrades that they would search for their families. He hopes the leaders will allow them to retire in peace," Wei Ying responded. As soon as he finished, the commander snorted and said, "As a soldier, it''s not up to him to decide. Contact him and tell him to come back." S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Wei Ying was silent for a moment before replying, "Commander, I''m afraid that''s not possible." "Why? Are you trying to protect him and go against the orders too?" the commander asked angrily. "To ensure the safety of the mission target and civilians, the Phantom Team stayed behind to hold off a zombie horde. The number of zombies in the factory district was over two hundred thousand," Wei Ying said, his voice filled with regret. There was no need for him to explain in detail. This information alone was enough to convey his meaning. With so many zombies, there is no way the Phantom team can survive. There was a long silence on the other end. Then the commander let out a long sigh and said, "I understand. Settle the survivors in the temporary camp. We will send teams to escort them back to the base." "Understood." After ending the call, Wei Ying sighed deeply. The soldiers in the car had overheard the conversation, and all of them were filled with complex emotions. There was pity and gratitude¡ªbut above all, admiration for the Phantom Team''s courage. Even trained soldiers feared death. Yet, when danger came, the Phantom Team had sacrificed themselves without hesitation. Their courage alone was enough to earn them the title of heroes. While the atmosphere in Wei Ying''s car was heavy, Rong Mo''er and Gu Shaoze were in another vehicle, busy counting their wealth. "¡­56, 57, 58!" Rong Mo''er looked at Gu Shaoze with sparkling eyes and said, "Shaoze, we have a total of 58 crystals. We won''t need to worry about food for a while!" Seeing her so happy, Gu Shaoze chuckled and replied, "We were lucky this time. No one picked up the crystals at the entrance, and we earned a lot from it." Rong Mo''er tucked the crystals into a bag and asked, "Shaoze, do you think things will be better at the temporary survivor camp?" Gu Shaoze thought for a moment, then shook his head as he looked out the window. "I''m afraid it will be worse." Before she could ask why, he turned to her and continued, "Mo''er, you have seen how hard it is for soldiers to control the survivors. As more ability users appear, the law of the jungle will take over sooner or later." "But¡­ we still have the government and laws," Rong Mo''er said. Shaking his head, Gu Shaoze lightly flicked her forehead and asked, "Do you really think people with superpowers will follow laws now?" Rong Mo''er fell silent. Even she didn''t want to be controlled anymore. It was impossible to expect others to follow rules she herself was unwilling to obey. Seeing her expression, Gu Shaoze knew she understood. He patted her head gently and said, "Mo''er, this world isn''t the same as before. Laws and governments no longer exist. The so-called government now is just a remnant of the past." "They can only use military law to control people for now. However, with the production lines shut down, supplies will become more and more scarce. When that time comes, the ability users will be the ones who control the power. By then, true hell will begin." Rong Mo''er''s heart trembled with fear as she listened. Clenching her fists, she asked, "Shaoze, what should we do then?" Gu Shaoze reached over and held her hand. With a soft smile, he said, "Mo''er, since we don''t know how long we will live, why not forget the rules and just do our best to survive and enjoy our life to the fullest each day?" Rong Mo''er looked at him and saw the hidden emotion in his eyes. When their gazes met, she quickly looked away, flustered. She pulled her hand out of his grip and said, "Shaoze, you deserve someone better. You know that I¡ª" Before she could finish, Gu Shaoze gently covered her mouth with his hand and said with raised eyebrows, "So what? What happened back then wasn''t your fault." "If you want to blame someone, blame those beasts who hurt you. Blame me for not saving you. Blame anyone¡ªbut never blame yourself." Chapter 196 - 196: Commercial District ( 1 ) After he finished his words, Gu Shaoze moved his hand from her mouth to the back of her neck. With a soft tug, he pulled her closer and kissed her. Feeling the sudden warmth of his lips, Rong Mo''er''s eyes widened in shock. Taking advantage of her surprise, Gu Shaoze pry opened her lips and deepened the kiss, ignoring the stunned Eagle Team members around them. Eventually, one of the soldiers couldn''t hold back and said, "Young man, we are still here, you know." That snapped Rong Mo''er back to her senses. Embarrassed, she pushed Gu Shaoze away. He let her go, afraid she would get upset and ignore him. Flustered and unable to face anyone, Rong Mo''er shut her eyes and pretended to sleep. Meanwhile, Gu Shaoze licked his lips, savoring her taste and shot an unhappy glare at the soldier who had interrupted him. Seeing this, the soldiers glared back, envy clear in their eyes. They had been busy protecting the country and remained single for so many years. Now, a brat was showing off his affection right under their noses. How could they possibly tolerate that? At noon, the Phantom team finally entered the main road and headed toward the city center. When the survivors saw this, they started to feel restless. But thanks to Shen Jinzhe''s warning earlier, no one dared to question them. Twenty minutes later, they finally stopped at the roadside. Coming out of the car, Qin Luzi walked toward the last vehicle. Seeing him approach, Jin Xuyan lowered the window and asked, "What''s going on?" "Captain, the road ahead is blocked and broken. We can''t use the cars." "Are there any zombies around?" Jin Xuyan asked. Qin Luzi nodded and replied, "There are some wandering zombies on the road, but they can''t get past due to the cars blocking it. But those trapped in the buildings are countless." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "We will go on foot." sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Captain, what about the survivors?" Qin Luzi asked again. After thinking for a moment, Jin Xuyan said, "We will clear out a building and let them stay there. In a few hours, someone will come to pick them up." Hearing this, Qin Luzi assumed the Captain had contacted the base and nodded. He turned and went to inform the rest of the team. Receiving the order, Shen Jinzhe came out of the bus and said, "Everyone, get out. We will go on foot." The moment the survivors heard this, their faces turned pale as fear surged in their hearts. They were unwilling to come out, but under Shen Jinzhe''s sharp gaze, they had no choice but to follow orders. After everyone came out of the buses and cars, Feng Yun collected the vehicles and stored them in his space. While they were arranging the survivors, Jiao Lizhi walked to the nearest car blocking the road. "Roar!" The moment she approached, a rotten hand slammed against the window as two zombies inside roared at her. She looked at them without changing her expression before glancing at the fuel meter. She then checked the fuel cap and saw it had been opened. Just like in her previous life, the fuel in the car''s tank had already been pumped out by the soldiers. Although there were gas stations, the number of zombies in the surrounding area was too high for the soldiers to handle. So they pumped out fuel from abandoned cars. Because they often went out to find supplies and search for survivors, their fuel consumption was very high. To avoid having more zombies after the second rain, she had to help them evacuate. In her previous life, many people had been unable to evacuate due to a lack of gas¡ªeven if they had enough vehicles. In this life, she would help them clear out a gas station so they could refuel. That way, she might be able to change the fate of her hometown¡ªLin''an City. While she was thinking, Jin Xuyan walked over and asked, "Ah Zhi, what are you thinking about?" Coming back to her senses, she said, "Brother Yan, do you know where the nearest gas station to the temporary survivor base is?" Jin Xuyan thought for a moment and replied, "There''s a small gas station near the border." "It''s not that base. I''m talking about the one in the central city," Jiao Lizhi clarified. Hearing this, Jin Xuyan said, "Oh, that one." He thought for a moment and said, "If I remember correctly, there''s a highway near that base, and there''s a rest area on the highway. The nearest gas station should be in that rest area." After he said this, he looked at her and asked, "Ah Zhi, what are you planning to do?" "Brother Yan, last time, because of the lack of gas, many people couldn''t evacuate and died. I was thinking... if we help them get fuel, maybe they will be able to survive this time." Raising his eyebrows, Jin Xuyan replied in an affirming tone, "So, Ah Zhi wants to help them?" Jiao Lizhi nodded adn said, "They saved my life before. I want to repay them this time." Since it was something she wanted to do, Jin Xuyan had no objections. He brushed her hair on her forehead and said, "We can clear out the zombies in that area after we visit the commercial district." "Okay." Jin Xuyan looked at her for a moment before he took out a hair tie from his pocket and said, "Ah Zhi, turn around." Jiao Lizhi didn''t know what he wanted to do, but she still listened to him. With her back facing him, she felt his fingers brush against her scalp as he tied up her hair, sending shivers to her body. His palm was calloused, but his movements were gentle. He finished tying up her hair without tugging at it. After almost two weeks, her hair had grown so long that it nearly reached her waist. Once he was done, Jin Xuyan leaned down and kissed her cheek before saying, "It''s done." Chapter 197 - 197: Commercial District ( 2 ) Feeling embarrassed, Jiao Lizhi touched her cheek and said, "Thank you, Brother Yan." Interlocking their hands, Jin Xuyan said, "Later, we have to find more hair ties for you. Your hair is beautiful¡ªit would be a pity to cut it. So, don''t cut your hair anymore." "Okay," Jiao Lizhi agreed readily. Fifteen minutes later, the survivors were equipped with blades and supplies. Jin Xuyan looked at them and said, "We will find a safe place for you to stay, but we have to go on foot. There will be a lot of zombies in the area, so keep your voice down." "Now, you have weapons, medicine, food, and water. As long as you stay within the group and keep quiet, you won''t die. For those who want to learn how to kill zombies, come forward now. We will teach you." After he finished speaking, he observed the group. After a while, only three women stepped forward. One of them was the young mother. Seeing this, Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "The three of you can join the first team." "Yes, Captain," the women said in unison. The old couple looked at their daughter''s back with worry, but they didn''t stop her. They understood they couldn''t depend on others forever. Since they were old and no longer able to fight, the responsibility now fell on their daughter''s shoulders. No matter how worried they were, they could only help her by taking care of their grandson while their daughter fought for their chance of survival. When Jiao Lizhi saw the women, she smiled and said, "Sisters, later just stay close to me." The three of them had been saved by her and were grateful, so they were more than happy to follow her. After the short briefing, they finally departed. Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi walked in front, while Qin Luzi stayed in the middle of the formation to monitor the surroundings. The survivors were protected in the center, with the team members forming the outer layer. The Wen brothers were stationed at the rear in case of an ambush. With their metal-type abilities, they could adjust their formation easily, whether to go for offense or defense. "Roar!" As they neared the cars, zombie roars erupted from within. Since their time was limited, they wouldn''t deal with the zombies trapped inside the vehicles and focus on clearing the road. Zhou Huajian used his vines to move the cars blocking the road aside as they walked forward. As soon as the path was cleared, the trapped zombies rushed toward the team. Seeing the oncoming zombies, the three women turned pale and their bodies trembled with fear. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Noticing this, Jiao Lizhi said, "Don''t be afraid. These monsters look disgusting, but they move like old men. As long as you watch their movements, you can dodge their attacks." "When you strike, aim for the head. Since you don''t have much strength, it''s better to dodge and go for the back of the head. If possible, stab your blade into the temple. It will destroy the brain without cracking the skull." "Roar!" Just as she finished speaking, several zombies charged over. Jiao Lizhi glanced at the women and said, "I will show you how it''s done." Duagh! Stab! She kicked the nearest zombie, knocking it to the ground. Stepping aside, she plunged her dagger into another zombie''s temple. Duagh! Stab! Next, she pulled out the blade, crouched low, and swept another zombie''s legs. As it hit the ground, she stabbed it in the eye. Black blood splattered as she retrieved her dagger. Looking at the women, she said, "Another soft spot is the eyes. Angle your blade upward, and it will pierce the brain." Crack! After she finished her words, she rushed forward and stabbed her dagger at another zombie''s forehead, killing it instantly. Seeing how easily and ruthlessly she killed the zombies, the women were stunned. Admiration and respect filled their hearts. If someone as petite as her could kill zombies, why couldn''t they? Following her instructions, the women gathered their courage and began killing zombies. With Jin Xuyan handling the front, Jiao Lizhi was free to teach them without worry. At first, it took the women a long time to kill a single zombie, and they were almost injured by the sharp claws. But after a few more kills, their courage grew, and their movements became sharper and more decisive. Seeing their improvement, Jiao Lizhi reminded them, "Don''t forget to check the brain for crystals." "Yes," they replied in unison. After seeing how Boss Lin used crystals to trade for food, they understood their value. Even without her reminder, they were already cracking open the rotting heads, searching for them. Due to the number of zombies on the road, it took them three hours to reach the commercial district. Qin Luzi checked the map in his mind and said, "Captain, there are too many zombies up ahead. We should find a place to stay the night and continue tomorrow." Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Find a building where we can rest." After a moment, Qin Luzi said, "Captain, there''s a building about twenty meters away with fewer zombies." Jin Xuyan turned to the members and said, "Everyone, we will go check that building." "Understood," the members replied in unison. With that, the team moved forward slowly. When they finally saw the building, Jiao Lizhi smiled. No wonder there were fewer zombies inside. It was a family restaurant. When the apocalypse began, it probably hadn''t opened for business yet. The zombies inside were likely the restaurant''s staff. As they stood outside the building, Wen Mo stepped forward to open the lock. The moment it clicked open, three zombies lunged at him. Pop! Pop! Pop! Before they could reach him, several metal bullets pierced their foreheads. Turning around, Wen Mo looked at Yu Fuyun and said, "Kid, with that accuracy and reflexes, you will make a great sniper." Grinning at the praise, Yu Fuyun said, "Brother Wen, it''s all thanks to you. This gun is amazing!" Chapter 198 - 198: Commercial District ( 3 ) "There are five zombies on the second floor and one at the back," Qin Luzi said as he checked the map in his mind. Following his information, the Phantom team moved in and swiftly cleared the remaining zombies. Shen Jinzhe then burned the corpses before allowing the survivors to enter. Since the restaurant was a family restaurant, the dining area was vast but full of tables and chairs. Zhang Yuan looked at the survivors and said, "Everyone, move the tables and chairs to the corner. Those injured and weak can use them as beds. The stronger ones make do and sleep on the ground." Although the survivors were exhausted, they still followed his order and got to work. While they were getting busy making space for everyone to rest, Feng Yun and Xiao Qi went to the kitchen and pantry to check the supplies. Since the restaurant could be considered popular during the pre-apocalypse era, the amount of supplies they stocked up in the kitchen and pantry was enough for them to last for several weeks. When Xiao Qi saw Feng Yun collecting everything in the pantry, he asked, "Brother Feng Yun, won''t you leave some for others?" Feng Yun didn''t bother to even give him a glance and replied while storing the supplies in his space, "Xiao Qi, you are surely kind and generous." Suddenly being praised, Xiao Qi scratched his head and said, "Brother Feng Yun, you are overpraising me. I''m not that good." After he said this, Qin Luzi shook his head and said, "Xiao Qi, you are getting scolded and still proud of it?" Hearing this, Xiao Qi was confused. He looked at his teammate and saw them laughing at him. He looked at Feng Yun and asked, "Brother Feng Yun, are you scolding me?" "I''m praising you," Feng Yun replied casually. Looking at his foolish expression, Li Sikai sighed and asked, "Xiao Qi, if we leave behind the supplies, how high is the chance of someone coming here to find supplies?" Xiao Qi scratched his head again and said, "I don''t know." Li Sikai smiled and said, "This place is near the factory district, and everyone with a brain will know that the number of workers there is at least several hundred thousand in total. Logically speaking, the number of zombies in that area will be high." "Since the risk of danger in that area is higher than in other places, the surrounding areas near the factory district will be included in a high danger area too." "Not only is it far, but the danger is also high. Even the military will not easily send teams to search for supplies in this place. With high temperatures, the supplies will spoil faster. So, leaving the supplies behind will be a waste." After he finished his words, Feng Yun said, "Rather than leaving the supplies to rot, isn''t it better if we take them away? Who knows, we will meet with our comrades in need of supplies like the Eagle team. By then, we can just give them the supplies. It will save them trouble and also avoid the risk of wasting food." Xiao Qi nodded at their words and agreed with them, but he still didn''t understand which part of the conversation he was being scolded at. But before he could ask again, everyone had already left to do their things. Before leaving, Qin Luzi said, "Xiao Qi, go help Qianfeng and Yusheng wash the utensils and pots. We need to use them to cook dinner later." "Okay!" With the order, Xiao Qi no longer thought about the previous conversation and went to do his task. At the same time, Jiao Lizhi went to the second floor to check the situation. The second floor was used as offices and a small warehouse. The items stored in the small warehouse were rice, flour, and dried ingredients. She took everything and also found medicines, several blankets, and beds. Thinking about the baby, she took out some baby formula, a thermos flask, two packs of diapers, some baby clothes, and a diaper bag from her space. These things were taken by her from the supermarket near Lin''an University. To avoid suspicion, she opened the formula and diapers. As for the thermos flask, diaper bag, and baby clothes, she cut off the tags. Using the washing machine, she washed and dried the baby clothes. Then, she put everything inside the diaper bag. When she came down from the second floor, she heard a weak baby cry and noticed everyone''s annoyed expressions. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. While the old couple and woman tried to calm the baby, everyone glared at them. The surrounding areas were full of zombies¡ªif they were attracted by the baby''s cry, wouldn''t everyone have to die with them? The old woman hugged the baby, while the woman coaxed him while feeding him some water, "Baobei, please stop crying." She knew that her son was hungry, but due to malnutrition, she no longer had breast milk. What''s more, she didn''t dare to feed her son after what she experienced, even if she still had some milk. "Xueli, what should we do now?" the old woman asked worriedly. When Shen Xueli was out of ideas, she saw a pair of black sneakers in front of her. Raising her head, she saw Jiao Lizhi holding a diaper bag. "Sister, I found this on the second floor. I checked the items inside, and there was some formula and diapers. This is for your son," she said. Shen Xueli looked at her for a moment and accepted the bag. She bowed and said, "Thank you." It had been years since Jiao Lizhi saw a baby, so she was curious and felt that the baby was cute. She sat beside them and asked, "Sister, can I hug the baby?" The old couple were beaming with smiles when they heard this. Everyone saw her kill the zombies. As long as she liked their grandson, she would be willing to protect him in the future. Chapter 199 - 199: An Old Acquaintance Before her daughter could object, Mother Shen quickly handed her grandson to Jiao Lizhi while saying, "Of course." With the baby placed in her arms, Jiao Lizhi''s body tensed, and she didn''t dare to move. The moment the baby was hugged by her, he stopped crying suddenly. They looked at each other for a moment before the baby suddenly snuggled close to her chest and let out a series of blabbering. Seeing this, Mother Shen''s smile became wider as she said, "It seems that he likes you very much." Jiao Lizhi didn''t know if that was the truth or if she only said that to make her happy. She looked at the little human and smiled. Raising her gaze, she said, "Sister, you should make some milk for your son. I can give you hot water." Hearing this, Shen Xueli nodded and said, "Sister, sorry to bother you." S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "It''s not a bother at all," Jiao Lizhi replied casually. While holding the baby with one arm, she filled the thermos flask with hot water. When the milk was ready, Shen Xueli taught her how to feed the baby. Unbeknownst to them, a sliver of energy seeped out from Jiao Lizhi''s pores and entered the baby''s body as she held him, which made him no longer feel the pain in his small body. After feeding the baby some milk, Jiao Lizhi filled up Shen Xueli and her parents'' water bottles before she went to the kitchen to help out. Meanwhile, Jin Xuyan, Zhang Yuan, and Qin Luzi were marking the map and making plans for tomorrow on the second floor. As for the rest of the members, they were guarding the entrance and managing the survivors. At the same time, a group of soldiers were fighting against zombies in the area a kilometer away from them. Bang! Bang! Bang! Crash! Crack! The sound of gunshots and vehicles crashing against the zombies echoed in the area. "Captain, there are more zombies coming toward us!" Hearing the report, a man in his twenties looked at the map and said, "Follow the road. After we cross the bridge, we will be able to shake off the zombies." The soldier driving the military vehicle nodded and stepped on the pedal, increasing the speed. As they drove, they had to avoid the abandoned cars and holes in the ground. It took them almost thirty minutes to finally shake off the zombies. After surviving the ordeal, the soldiers finally let out a sigh of relief. "Check your ammo and take a rest," the captain said while checking the surroundings. The sky darkened, and the red moon rose in the sky. The zombies would become stronger, and it wasn''t a wise decision to continue travelling. He looked around and saw light coming from one of the buildings. Pointing at the family restaurant, he said, "Go to that building." "Yes, Captain." With their captain taking the lead, the rest of the fleet followed closely. Before they reached the building, Qin Luzi had already informed Jin Xuyan about their arrival. "Captain, a group of people is coming. There are a total of 32 people¡ª7 of them are ability-users, the rest are ordinary people. They will arrive in three minutes." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Prepare more food. They will stay with us tonight." "Captain, we don''t know who they are. Isn''t it better to let them go somewhere else?" Shen Jinzhe asked. "They are not bad guys. Tomorrow, they might join us to get the supplies," Jin Xuyan replied casually. Just after he finished his words, they heard the sound of car engines from outside. Due to the headlights facing the building, the survivors inside the restaurant could only block the light with their palms and squint their eyes. From the outside, they could see the group of people inside. "Captain, there are a lot of people inside. I never expected to see so many survivors hiding here," one of the soldiers said. "Let''s go inside." After they came out of the military vehicles, they noticed that the door had been opened and a man was standing at the entrance, smiling at them. Looking at the familiar face, Jin Xuyan said, "Captain Xun, long time no see." Xun Che was taken aback when he saw him. He walked over and asked, "Jin Xuyan?" Noticing his surprise, Jin Xuyan chuckled and said, "After not seeing each other for a few years, you already forgot about me?" "Didn''t you perish during the battle against a zombie horde?" Xun Che asked. Raising his eyebrows, Jin Xuyan asked, "Where did you hear that nonsense? My team and I are doing very well." Before he could ask more questions, he added, "Come inside and talk. It''s dangerous to stay outside at this time." Hearing this, Xun Che came back to his senses and followed him into the building. Since their captain knew the other group, the soldiers lowered their guard and followed in. Once they were inside, they realized that the number of survivors was not small. Seeing this, they thought the situation of the Phantom Team shouldn''t be as bad as the news they had heard. But when they saw that the total number of Phantom Team members was only 17 people, including several new faces, they realized they were wrong. Jin Xuyan brought them to the second floor before he introduced his team members to his friend. After the short introduction, he asked, "Captain Xun, are you here to search for supplies?" Xun Che nodded and said, "My main mission is to find solar panels and more satellite phones. It would be better if we can find more supplies." "It''s just that the number of zombies around the commercial district area was too high. So, we were unable to get close to the mission location before we had to retreat." "Captain Xun, my team also plans to go to the commercial district to find satellite phones. How about you join us, and we can go together tomorrow?" Jin Xuyan asked. Chapter 200 - 200: Join Hands Hearing Jin Xuyan''s suggestion, one of Xun Che''s team members asked, "Captain Jin, if you go to the commercial district, how about those survivors?" Jin Xuyan smiled and replied, "I guess everyone has already heard about my team''s retirement. Since my team is a mercenary team now, it''s not suitable for us to take care of the survivors. So, I hope Captain Xun can send the survivors back to the temporary camp." When they heard this, they looked at each other but said nothing. Noticing their hesitation, Zhang Yuan asked, "Captain Xun, do you need to contact your leader first before you can make a decision?" Xun Che shook his head and said, "We can send the survivors back to the camp, but the problem is we don''t have enough supplies at the moment. If there are more survivors joining the base, I''m afraid we won''t be able to hold on for more than three days." "If the matter is about supplies, Captain Xun can rest assured. My team will give you supplies to solve the urgent situation in your camp as long as you take in the survivors," Jin Xuyan said. "But if we send people back, we will lack manpower to complete our mission," one of Xun Che''s team members said. "About that, you don''t have to worry. We will help you get solar panels and satellite phones. Besides that, we will help you collect supplies too," Jin Xuyan replied casually. After thinking for a moment, Xun Che asked, "How much supplies do you have at the moment?" When they came in, they didn''t see any trucks with supplies and thought they stored them in the building. But now that they were inside, they also couldn''t find the supplies. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Although it''s their duty to help the survivors, they couldn''t act rashly when the situation in the camp was already unstable. Noticing his concern, Jin Xuyan said, "Xiao Qi, show them the supplies." "Yes, Captain!" Receiving the order, Xiao Qi went to the empty area and raised his hands. In less than five minutes, the empty area was filled with supplies that came out of thin air. Sacks were stacked neatly until they reached the ceiling, filled with rice, flour, and other grains. Besides that, there were also countless boxes of mineral water filling the area. After he took out the supplies, he stored them back into his space. When he came back, he looked at Xun Che''s team and said, "My team''s supplies are stored inside my space. They can be taken out whenever needed. We have enough supplies for you." It wasn''t the first time Xun Che and his team had seen ability-users, as they also had some in their team. But it was the first time they met someone whose ability was space storage. Feeling excited, one of Xun Che''s team members asked, "Comrade, do you want to join our team? We will ask the commander to give you double the salary." Hearing this, Xiao Qi snorted and replied, "Comrade, are you poaching me in front of my captain? Even if you give me tenfold, I won''t join your team. I have retired from the military¡ªnow, I''m just a mercenary." Being refused like this, the soldier was not embarrassed at all. He only felt it was a pity. If their team also had a space storage ability, it would be convenient when going out to get supplies. "Captain Xun, have you made up your mind?" Jin Xuyan asked. "As long as Captain Jin can fulfill his promise, I will send my men to escort the survivors back to the camp tomorrow," Xun Che replied. "Good. Now that we have reached an agreement, let''s have dinner together," Jin Xuyan said as he stood up and walked away. For dinner, the Phantom Team prepared soup dumplings and mantous. Although the food was simple, it was filling and warm. The survivors thought they could only eat dry biscuits. But when the food was ready, they also received a portion. Each of them got three mantous and a bowl of soup dumplings, with five dumplings and a boiled egg. When Xun Che and his team saw this, they were shocked. No matter how generous one was, food was scarce and hard to come by, so they should eat less to survive longer. While they were still surprised by Jin Xuyan''s generosity, they saw a young woman sitting behind the counter, saying, "Line up and bring your water bottle." As soon as she said this, the survivors quickly lined up in an orderly manner. Sitting behind the counter, Jiao Lizhi used her pond water to fill the survivors'' water bottles. They had been starving for days, and their bodies were dehydrated. With the limited water they drank every day, their bodies would get weaker with each passing day. If their bodies were weak, they wouldn''t be able to survive against the zombie virus during the second rain. So, to avoid having more zombies, she gave them the pond water, hoping that they could get stronger and not become zombies. While she was doing this for her own goal, in other people''s eyes, she was a good person. Ten minutes later, Jiao Lizhi saw a military hydration bladder and two water canteens placed on the counter. Raising her head, she saw an unfamiliar man. Judging from his military uniform, he must be one of the soldiers who have just arrived. "Comrade, can you give me some water too?" the soldier asked. "Sure," Jiao Lizhi nodded and filled the canteens and hydration bladder. When she was done, the soldier thanked her and left as another soldier came. Each of them had two one-liter canteens and one three-liter hydration bladder¡ªa total of five liters of water. Jiao Lizhi used 160 liters of her pond water just to fill up Xun Che''s team''s water containers. When she was done, she used her mind to check the pond in her space. After a moment, she let out a sigh. Chapter 201 - 201: Sharing Information Since Jiao Lizhi used the pond water every day, the water surface had gone down by three centimeters. While she still had a lot of pond water, it proved that her pond water was not unlimited. It still took time for the pond to refill itself. Reaching this conclusion, she realized that she still had to depend on herself to provide water for others on a daily basis. Since the pond water was not unlimited, she had to use it only for emergencies. After dinner, the Phantom Team members took turns doing the night patrol, while Xun Che''s team was finally able to have a good rest. Early the next morning, when the sun started rising on the eastern horizon, Qin Luzi, Chen Qianfeng, and Yin Yusheng were busy preparing breakfast, while Xiao Qi and Feng Yun were preparing supplies for Xun Che''s team. When Xiao Qi saw Feng Yun take out three trucks from his space, he asked, "Brother Feng, why are you storing these trucks? They not only take space but also need a lot of mental energy when you keep or take them out." "Aren''t they useful now?" Feng Yun replied nonchalantly. Xiao Qi thought for a moment and agreed with him. If he hadn''t stored these trucks, they would have to find trucks to carry the supplies, and it would take longer to prepare. "Then, we should find a few more trucks later, just in case we need them in the future," he said. This time, Feng Yun nodded at his words. His space was big, and he had divided some areas to store the trucks and buses. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Even if they took space, he could just put supplies on those buses and trucks while they were stored in his space, so he didn''t lose much storage. Jin Xuyan asked them to prepare five trucks of supplies for Xun Che''s team. So while Xiao Qi filled up the trucks with supplies, Feng Yun went to find two more usable trucks. He searched for a while before he found two trucks with almost full gas. Since the surrounding cars no longer had fuel, he decided to let Xun Che''s team find more gas by themselves later. When he returned with the two additional trucks, Xiao Qi had already filled three trucks. In order to balance the supplies in their spaces, Feng Yun filled up the rest of the trucks. Besides grains and mineral water, they also gave them medicines, dried food, and some compressed biscuits. Compressed biscuits and dried food could be given to the soldiers who went out on missions and the grains would be given to the people in the camp. After they were done, Feng Yun took out two buses from his space before they returned to the building for breakfast. While they ate, Xun Che pointed at the ability-users in his team and said, "Besides the six of you, the rest will escort the supplies and survivors back to the camp." Hearing this, the vice captain said, "Captain, the commercial district is full of zombies. It''s too dangerous with only seven people going." Xun Che swallowed his food and said, "We are ability-users so we will be able to escape if the situation becomes too dangerous." "I need you to lead the rest of our team back. With the amount of supplies you are bringing back this time, that side will definitely try to cause trouble. So, you have to stay behind to control the situation in the camp." After hearing this, the rest of his team members could only follow his order. Yesterday, they had seen the situation in the commercial district and knew that even if they went, they would only become a burden¡ªor even lose their lives. Their captain was right. They had to do what they could. While the atmosphere in Xun Che''s team was tense, the Phantom Team was relaxed. While they were eating, Shen Xueli walked over and said, "Sister, can I talk with you for a moment?" Jiao Lizhi looked at her and nodded, "Sure." The two of them went to the counter area, and she asked, "Sister, what do you want to talk about?" After hesitating for a moment, Shen Xueli said, "Sister, I heard that the survivors will go with the soldiers to the temporary camp today. Is that true?" Jiao Lizhi nodded and confirmed her question, "Yes." "Can my family stay with you?" Shen Xueli asked. Raising her eyebrows, Jiao Lizhi asked, "Sister, why do you want to stay with me? My team is a mercenary team, and you have your old parents and a baby. Isn''t it better for you and your family to stay at the temporary camp? At least, that place is safer than outside." Hearing this, Shen Xueli didn''t know what to say and went silent. After thinking for a while, Jiao Lizhi said, "Sister, if you are worried about lacking supplies in the temporary camp, you can join the soldiers and go out to find supplies." "I heard that some camps have already started issuing missions and that lots of people form groups as mercenaries. You can exchange your rewards for a place to stay or supplies." "If you want, you can also go out by yourself or with your team. It''s just that some places might ask you to hand over half of the supplies you find outside as the tax." Hearing this, Shen Xueli asked, "Sister, how do you know about these?" "My team has our own information channel. Since we can be considered to have fate, I will share this information with you. Also, when you get crystal cores from killing zombies, remember to keep them safe. You might need them in the future," Jiao Lizhi replied. "Sister, is there really no way for me to join your team?" Shen Xueli asked, unwilling to give up. "Sister, it''s not that I don''t want you to join. But with your parents and your son, it''s really unsuitable for you to follow me and my team. We go to the most dangerous areas to kill zombies and collect supplies." Chapter 202 - 202: Discrepancy In Power ( 1 ) After hearing Jiao Lizhi''s explanation, Shen Xueli understood that the problem wasn''t just her weak, old parents, but because of her baby. Zombies were sensitive to sound¡ªif her son cried, it would bring trouble to the team. So, it was understandable that Jiao Lizhi rejected her. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. When she reached this conclusion, she nodded and said, "I understand. Sister, thank you for helping me and my family. If we have fate and meet again in the future, I will definitely repay your kindness." "I''m just helping you along the way. There is no need to be so polite. Just live well and kill more zombies¡ªthat will be the best repayment for me," Jiao Lizhi replied with a smile. Shen Xueli smiled and said, "Okay." After their brief conversation, Jiao Lizhi went back and finished her breakfast. While Xun Che''s team was arranging the survivors, she went to the second floor and packed up three backpacks of supplies for Shen Xueli. With a baby with her, it would be harder to find supplies. So, she gave her ten cans of baby formula, three boxes of baby cereal, five packs of diapers, and some baby and women''s products. Besides that, she also gave her medicines and compressed biscuits. Thinking about the small baby, she hid a handful of crystal cores inside one of the backpacks. When she came back from the second floor, she walked over to Shen Xueli and said, "Sister, I found some baby and women''s products on the second floor. Here, these are for you and your son." Seeing the backpacks, Mother Shen and Father Shen were stunned. Although they knew it was hard to get supplies, they still accepted them. The old couple bowed to Jiao Lizhi and said, "Thank you, Comrade." Jiao Lizhi patted their shoulders and said, "Uncle and Aunty, I hope you all stay safe and sound." Not long after, they heard the soldiers say, "It''s time to depart. Everyone, get into the buses." With that, the survivors left the family restaurant and boarded the buses one after another. The soldiers entered their military vehicles, with some driving the buses and trucks. With the armored vehicles guarding the perimeter, the supplies and survivors were protected in the middle. Before they left, the survivors waved at the Phantom Team as they said their goodbyes and thanked them. After they left, Jin Xuyan said, "Pack up, we are leaving too." "Yes, Captain!" Compared to the survivors, they only needed five minutes to pack up and leave the family restaurant. Before leaving, Jin Xuyan said, "Captain Xun, we will lead the way. You only need to follow us closely." "Okay," Xun Che agreed readily. Unlike Xun Che''s team, whose used a military vehicle, Jin Xuyan''s team only used SUVs. As usual, Jin Xuyan drove Jiao Lizhi''s SUT while the rest of the members split into three cars. After driving for a while, Qin Luzi said, "There''s a group of zombies up ahead. We have to get down and clear the road." Hearing this, Shen Jinzhe used the taillights to send a message using Morse code. Seeing the message, they responded with a message using the headlights. When they were about twenty meters away from the zombies, they parked their cars and got out. Seeing this, Xun Che and his team also exited their vehicle. "We will clear the road first before we continue," Jin Xuyan informed them. Before Xun Che could warn them about the number of zombies, the Phantom Team members had already taken out their airguns and started shooting the zombies. Pop! Pop! Pop! "Roar!!" The moment the zombies caught their scent, they rushed over with their mouths wide open. Seeing this, Xun Che and his team pulled out their guns and prepared to shoot. "Don''t use guns¡ªyou will attract more zombies," Gao Bohai reminded them. Hearing this, one of the soldiers asked, "Comrade, if we don''t use guns, then how do we kill the zombies?" Pop! Gao Bohai killed a zombie pouncing at them from the side as he said, "You either use an airgun or a blade." Xun Che looked at the airguns in the Phantom Team''s hands and asked, "Comrade, where did you get the airguns?" "Our team members made them. We can make some for you, but you will need a wind-type ability user to fill the CO? cartridges. Otherwise, it''s better to use blades," Gao Bohai replied. Crack! Bam! While they were talking, they heard noise from the front. Turning their heads, they saw Zhou Huajian using his vines to move cars off the road. He stacked the vehicles together so they wouldn''t block the way. Seeing this, Xun Che was stunned. His team was considered one of the strongest in the camp, thanks to having seven ability-users. But compared to the Phantom Team, they suddenly seemed weak. Not only did the Phantom Team have wood-type, metal-type, and wind-type ability users, but their marksmanship and close-combat skills were far superior. His team only awakened basic-type abilities, such as vision, hearing, smell, and strength. "Captain, should we help them?" one of his team members asked. Xun Che shook his head and said, "No need. Observe their fighting style and learn from them." "Understood." In less than fifteen minutes, all the zombies had been eliminated. When Xun Che and his team thought they would be leaving, they saw Shen Jinzhe burn the zombies'' corpses with his blue flame, while Xiao Qi collected the crystal cores. This time, they finally realized that the Phantom Team might have more ability-users than they had initially thought. "Captain, we are done," Xiao Qi reported. Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Let''s go." As they got closer to the commercial district, the number of zombies increased, and the road was either blocked by abandoned cars or destroyed by the battles that had taken place there before. Seeing this, they decided to continue on foot. After Feng Yun stored their vehicles in his space, Wen Mo and Wen Kai created seven metal blades and handed them to Xun Che and his team. Chapter 203 - 203: Discrepancy In Power ( 2 ) "Captain Xun, you and your team should stay in the middle," Zhang Yuan said. Even though they felt humiliated being treated like the weak survivors, they couldn''t object. After all, they were indeed weaker in comparison. Before they entered the commercial district, they saw that the road ahead was packed with zombies. The roars of the zombies echoed clearly through the air. Seeing this, Jiao Lizhi frowned and said, "Why are there so many zombies here? Isn''t the apocalypse supposed to have started at dawn?" S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Before the apocalypse, there was a night event held in this commercial district. They were doing a 50% sale for all stores," Xun Che explained. "No wonder," Jiao Lizhi sighed. Seeing her talking with Xun Che, Jin Xuyan leaned closer and said, "Ah Zhi, don''t be afraid. Brother Yan will protect you." Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi rolled her eyes and walked away. She wasn''t some delicate flower who needed him to protect her. Jin Xuyan chuckled when he saw her eye roll and said, "Ah Zhi, wait for me!" Watching the famously stoic Captain Jin act like a teenager in love, Xun Che and his team were visibly shocked. Before they continued deeper into the commercial district, Wen Mo and Wen Kai created BB guns for Xun Che and his team. They watched with wide eyes as the Wen brothers created the guns with several waves of their hands. Once the airguns were ready, Qin Luzi filled the CO? cartridges. This time, they didn''t even know how to respond. At the temporary survivor camp, there was a wind-type ability-user. Due to his ability''s offensive power, he held an important position in the camp and was part of the decision-making team. They had thought that person was already very powerful¡ªbut now, compared to the Phantom team members, he looked like a joke. After Qin Luzi finished filling the CO? cartridges, he handed the guns over and said, "If the cartridges are empty, just find me. I will refill them for you. Unless necessary, don''t use your abilities." Xun Che accepted the gun and said, "Okay." Not long after, Zhang Yuan walked over and asked, "Is everything ready?" Qin Luzi nodded and replied, "Vice captain, we are ready to go." Jin Xuyan divided the team into two groups¡ªone would open the way, and the other would guard the rear. They would take turns every hour so that everyone could rest and recover their energy. Xun Che and his team would remain in the center of the formation. "Let''s go!" With Jin Xuyan''s command, they moved toward the biggest shopping mall in the commercial district. The moment they entered the perimeter, the surrounding zombies noticed them. "Roar!" Pop! Pop! Pop! The moment the zombies pounced, they fired their airguns, killing them efficiently. Due to the high number of zombies, they could only move forward slowly. Pop! Pop! Pop! Crack! Crack! Crack! As they advanced, they continued killing the zombies one by one. While the team members killed the zombies, Shen Jinzhe and Jin Xuyan burned the corpses, and Jiao Lizhi and Xiao Qi checked the crystal cores. Watching the seamless coordination, Xun Che and his team carefully observed and took mental notes of their teamwork. Forty minutes later, they finally reached the shopping mall. This time, the number of zombies exceeded tens of thousands outside the building. "Roar!" "Be careful. There are several level-two zombies and one level-three zombie in this area," Qin Luzi warned. Just as he finished speaking, a fireball the size of an exercise ball came flying at them at high speed. Boom! Before it could hit them, a blue fireball the size of a watermelon shot forward and collided with it in the air. Although the blue fireball was smaller, its temperature and power were higher. After extinguishing the red fireball, it continued flying and hit a group of zombies, killing them instantly. "It''s a level-three zombie!" At Qin Luzi''s warning, the Phantom team members holstered their guns and drew their blades. Fighting higher-level zombies with guns was ineffective; it was hard to aim properly, and the chance of being unable to block the attack was too high. Rather than waste ammo and risk injury, it was better to fight with blades. Just as he finished speaking, two more fireballs flew at them. This time, Jin Xuyan unsheathed his longsword and slashed horizontally. Wush~ Boom! Boom! A crescent-shaped black fire blade flew out and collided with the fireballs mid-air. The resulting explosion sent waves of wind, dust, and debris flying. "Stay in formation. I will handle that zombie. The rest of you, keep clearing the rest of the zombies." "Yes, Captain!" The moment he finished speaking, Jin Xuyan bent his knees and leapt into the air. CLANG! The sound of his blade clashing with sharp claws echoed through the area. Meeting the pair of black eyes, Jin Xuyan narrowed his eyes and slashed down. Duagh! Boom! Sensing the danger, the zombie kicked Jin Xuyan, sending him crashing to the ground. The impact cracked the ground, while the zombie landed atop a nearby car. "Roar!" The zombie let out a furious roar and spit three fireballs at him. Boom! Boom! Boom! The fireballs hit the ground where he fell and exploded on impact. Seeing the explosion, the Phantom team members'' eyes widened in shock. "Captain!" Before their voices faded, Jin Xuyan shot out of the dust cloud. While still airborne, he slashed downward his longsword, sending another flame blade toward the zombie. Unlike before, this flame blade was larger and faster. BOOM! Before the zombie could react, the flame blade reached its target. To avoid being killed, the zombie twisted its body. Crash! "Roar!!" It narrowly avoided death¡ªbut not injury. Its shoulder was severed, and its arm fell to the ground, both covered in black flames. Seeing this, the corner of Jin Xuyan''s lips lifted slightly. After landing, he raised his hand. The next moment, the wisp of black flame on the zombie''s body suddenly blazed up. "Roar!" Chapter 204 - 204: Discrepancy in Power ( 3 ) The zombie rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish the fire. But instead of dying out, the black flames grew larger, eventually engulfing its entire body. With Jin Xuyan pouring more energy into the flames, the zombie soon turned into a pile of black ash. At the same time, the surrounding zombies were also reduced to ash. Seeing the crystals glistening on the ground, Xiao Qi quickly collected them into his space. With the level-three zombie defeated, Jin Xuyan and his team resumed clearing the remaining zombies with their BB guns. It took them several hours before they finally reached the entrance of the shopping mall. By this point, Xun Che and his team were already feeling tired. Even if they didn''t use their abilities to kill the zombies, holding onto the guns for so long had still caused their arms to feel sore. With the addition of tense nerves and full focus, they were mentally drained. Noticing their fatigue, Jin Xuyan said, "We will clean up the ground floor and rest first." "Understood," his members replied in unison. Seeing that they were still full of energy and stamina, Xun Che and his team could only grit their teeth and continue to follow them. This time, they finally realized the true strength of one of the strongest teams in the country. "Captain Xun, can you hold on for another half hour?" Suddenly hearing a sweet, soft voice beside him, Xun Che turned his head and saw Jiao Lizhi looking at him with concern. Besides a thin layer of sweat on her forehead and nose, she didn''t show any signs of fatigue. Feeling embarrassed at being weaker than a young girl, he nodded and said, "I''m fine." Seeing how his clothes were drenched in sweat, Jiao Lizhi thought for a moment, then took a crystal core from her pocket and handed it to him. "Captain Xun, you are an ability-user, so you should try to absorb the energy in this crystal. Although I don''t know what your ability is, absorbing the energy should help you recover some stamina and strength." Xun Che was surprised when he heard her words. Thanks to the doctors and researchers whom they rescued from the hospitals, they knew that the crystals found inside zombies'' heads contained an unknown energy. But not many people knew this, let alone know how to use that energy. Seeing he was lost in thought, Jiao Lizhi called out, "Captain Xun?" Snapping back to his senses, Xun Che accepted the crystal core and asked, "How do I absorb the energy?" "Captain Xun, when you hold the crystal, can you feel energy flowing into your body from it?" Jiao Lizhi asked. Focusing his mind, Xun Che felt a faint warmth seeping into his body through his pores. He nodded and waited for her next words. "Try to guide the energy into your body." Following her instructions, Xun Che concentrated. The faint energy soon became a steady stream, entering his body. As it flowed through his veins, it washed away his fatigue and muscle soreness. When the energy reached his brain, it was absorbed by an unknown force. In that moment, his energy and stamina recovered instantly. Feeling the changes in his body, he looked at Jiao Lizhi with astonishment. Meeting his gaze, she knew he had succeeded. She took out a handful of crystal cores from her pocket and handed them to him. "Captain Xun, distribute these to your team and teach them how to absorb the energy. We still have a long day ahead, and everyone needs to recover quickly," she said with a smile. After finishing her words, she moved to the back of the formation. Walking beside Jin Xuyan, she glanced at him but didn''t see any change in his cold expression. Even so, she could feel the low pressure around him. She knew he was angry¡ªand probably jealous. While she thought his feelings were domineering and overbearing, she understood. After all, she also got annoyed when she saw him talking to another woman. While she was observing him, Jin Xuyan waved his hand and burned the surrounding zombies into ashes. He couldn''t vent his irritation on Ah Zhi, so he took it out on the zombies. Once he had absorbed a large amount of energy, he took her hand and silently transferred some to her. Seeing this, Jiao Lizhi chuckled and intertwined their fingers while asking playfully, "Brother Yan, are you jealous?" Jin Xuyan glanced at her but didn''t answer. He didn''t want to lie to her, but he also didn''t want to admit it. So he stayed silent. "Brother Yan, don''t be angry. I only taught Captain Xun how to absorb the energy from the crystal core. If they collapse from exhaustion, they will drag us down. I did it for our team," she explained. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Hearing her explanation, his mood improved, and he finally asked, "Really?" "Of course! Brother Yan, you know you are the most important to me. So, can you stop ignoring me?" Jiao Lizhi asked softly. Feeling better, Jin Xuyan cleared his throat and replied, "I wasn''t ignoring you. It''s Ah Zhi who was ignoring me." "Okay, okay, it''s my fault. I apologize. Don''t be angry anymore, alright?" Jiao Lizhi gave in and coaxed him. Since they were still surrounded by zombies, Jin Xuyan simply nodded and said, "Okay." While the two of them whispered to each other with pink bubbles practically floating around them, their attacks were fierce and brutal. The Phantom Team members watched them and felt a chill run down their spines. With energy from Jin Xuyan, Jiao Lizhi summoned water blades and beheaded the zombies around them. As the blades flew past their heads, they sliced through the rotting skulls and split the brains clean in half. As the zombies collapsed, black blood and rotten matter splattered across the ground. The dried, cracked pavement was quickly covered in sticky blood, and the air was thick with a rancid stench. With Jiao Lizhi covering the left and right areas, Jin Xuyan guarded the rear. Chapter 205 - 205: Discrepancy in Power ( 4 ) Jin Xuyan raised his hands and created a wall of black flame that moved at a fast speed, covering a hundred-meter radius behind them. Any zombie that came into contact with the black flame turned to ash in under a minute. When Qin Luzi saw that his captain and sister-in-law were enjoying themselves, he holstered his gun and leaped into the air. Xun Che and his team were stunned to see him suddenly jump into a group of zombies. Before they could react, they saw him floating midair. In an instant, their jaws dropped in shock. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Hovering above the zombies, Qin Luzi raised his hand. With a snap of his fingers, the atoms in the air shifted and compressed. Boom! Boom! Boom! In a split second, several groups of zombies exploded. Over a hundred were instantly killed and turned into pools of blood and rotten flesh. "Captain, it''s faster to use our abilities," Qin Luzi said casually while continuing his attacks. Checking his watch, Jin Xuyan said, "Clear the area in thirty minutes." The Phantom Team members'' eyes lit up the moment they heard his words. Finally, they could go all out. Following his order, Shen Jinzhe launched a blue fireball at the horde. Wussh~ Boom! While Qin Luzi manipulated atoms with one hand, he used the other to summon a tornado. When the tornado collided with the blue fireball, it transformed into a raging fire tornado. As Qin Luzi maintained control over the tornado, Shen Jinzhe let go of his control and narrowed his eyes. After a moment of thought, he raised both hands above his head, gathering energy in his palms. Soon, a visible blue membrane formed around them, and a massive fireball with a diameter of two meters appeared above his head. The temperature increased sharply, yet he was still as calm as usual. With a smile on his handsome face, Shen Jinzhe threw the fireball into the air. When it was a hundred meters away, he clapped his hands. BOOM! The giant fireball exploded, turning into a shower of smaller fireballs that rained down across the area of a hundred meter radius. The initial explosion killed over two hundred zombies and the falling fireballs killed another three hundred zombies. Though his blue flame wasn''t as hot or destructive as Jin Xuyan''s black flame, its power was still two levels above an average fire ability. In just two minutes, the zombies were reduced to ashes. Seeing this, the other members thought the same thing inwardly, ''Show-off!'' Not wanting to fall behind, they unleashed their own area attacks. Even Jiao Lizhi couldn''t hold back and joined in. With her increased energy pool, she created two massive crescent shaped water blades¡ªeach two meters wide. With a wave of her hands, the blades spun through the zombies group, beheading multiple zombies at once. Thanks to their size, each blade beheaded at least three to five zombies in a single pass. Crack! Crack! Crash! Crash! Xun Che and his team stood frozen, stunned by the display of raw power from the Phantom Team. "Captain¡­ they are monsters," one of his team members said. Hearing this, Xun Che replied, "This is no longer a matter of skill. This is a discrepancy in power." With the Phantom Team releasing their full attacks, they finally entered the shopping mall after thirty-seven minutes of intense battle. Due to the loud sound of their attacks, even the zombies from three hundred meters away were attracted and rushed over. So, after they finished, there wasn''t a single zombie wandering on the road. As for those on the shopping mall''s ground floor, they were cleared in half an hour. When they were finally able to take a rest, everyone slumped to the ground and breathed heavily. Standing in front of them, Jin Xuyan shook his head and said with disappointment, "Just fight for a while and all of you are already as tired as dogs. Even my Ah Zhi is stronger than you all." Hearing her name being called, Jiao Lizhi walked over to him and said, "Brother Yan, there is a restaurant there. I already checked inside and there are no zombies." Reaching out, Jin Xuyan patted her head gently and said, "Well done, Ah Zhi." When his members saw how proud their captain was, they turned their faces away, unwilling to be abused by him. After resting for a while, they pushed themselves up and walked to the restaurant. As Jiao Lizhi said, there were no zombies inside and the area was clean. Besides the faint rancid stench in the air, everything was good. "After lunch, we will check the ground floor and find the supplies," Jin Xuyan said. "Understood," they replied in unison. Today, they didn''t cook a warm meal for lunch but ate compressed biscuits instead. While everyone was eating biscuits, Jiao Lizhi unzipped her backpack and took out two cups, two packs of instant coffee, and two self-heating hotpots. While she waited for the hotpot to cook, she prepared two cups of coffee for herself and Jin Xuyan. The moment the hot water was poured into the cups, the aroma of coffee spread in the air. Smelling this, everyone perked up. They looked at her, and Xiao Qi asked, "Sister-in-law, do you have more coffee?" Jiao Lizhi nodded and took out more instant coffee. While they thought she had prepared it beforehand, she had actually taken it out from her space and used her backpack as cover. At this moment, only Jin Xuyan and Feng Yun knew that her backpack was filled with lightweight items such as instant noodles, paper bowls, and paper cups. To boost everyone''s energy, she used her pond water to prepare the coffee. With her ability to control water, she only needed to heat the temperature, and the coffee was ready. After lunch and drinking some coffee, they took a short nap. When it was two o''clock in the afternoon, Jin Xuyan said, "Pack up, we are leaving." The moment they received the order, their drowsiness disappeared, and they were ready for battle. As for Xun Che and his team, their energy had recovered thanks to drinking Jiao Lizhi''s pond water and absorbing the crystal cores'' energy. Chapter 206 - 206: Evolving Process With Qin Luzi leading the way and acting as their map, they saved a lot of time clearing out the zombies trapped inside the stores. The ground floor''s stores were a mix of clothing stores, accessories stores such as bags, jewelry, and shoes. Besides that, there were also stores selling beauty products such as makeup and skincare products. Between the stores, there were some selling snacks, drinks, and even restaurants. Xiao Qi and Feng Yun only took important supplies due to limited space, while Jiao Lizhi took everything after they left. She had lots of space, and women love beauty. Even if the accessories and makeup would become useless, there was no harm in collecting them. But out of all the stores, her priority was the jewelry, especially the jade stores. In her previous life, there was a research result stating that some jade contained energy purer than that inside the crystal cores. While the number of this kind of jade was low, the number of people willing to buy them was countless. Not to mention, the amount of energy inside the jade varied from less than a level-one crystal core to more than a level-six crystal core. The pure energy itself was enough to attract everyone. With purer energy, they would be able to absorb more energy during the absorption process. During the breakthrough process, it''s crucial to absorb more energy in case they lacked energy and caused backlashes. So, jade was the best option. When she entered the jade store, Jin Xuyan followed after her. Walking to her side, he asked, "Ah Zhi, are you planning to take the jade?" Jiao Lizhi nodded and said, "If we are lucky, we can find some with energy inside." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Then I will guard outside. You can take your time." "Thank you, Brother Yan," Jiao Lizhi replied with a smile. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. When she was alone, she waved her hands and collected everything into her space. She would slowly check the jade later. Unbeknownst to her, the moment the jade entered her space, the surrounding energy entered the pile of jades. While some could absorb more energy, others could only absorb a little. At the same time, the transparent crystal cores stored inside the boxes slowly turned into energy and were absorbed by the space. During the process, the energy that couldn''t be absorbed by the jade seeped into the soil, water, and merged with the air. Not long after, a small transparent box appeared out of nowhere. [ Maximum energy capacity has been reached. Entering the evolving process. Time: 5 hours. ] Not knowing that her space was changing, Jiao Lizhi continued to collect supplies. Two hours later, they finally finished clearing up the ground floor. Checking the shopping mall map, Jin Xuyan said, "The underground floor is the supermarket. We will go there and get the supplies before we check the upper floor." "Understood," the members nodded. Since there was no electricity, they used the emergency stairs. But before they could open the door, they heard the sound of roaring coming from behind it. Bang! Krit! The sound of banging and the collision between metal and sharp objects echoed in the area. "Captain, there are a total of 79 zombies on the staircase," Qin Luzi said. Hearing this, Xun Che glanced at him thoughtfully. He was confused as to how the Phantom Team was able to avoid so many sudden attacks from the zombies and know the location of hidden zombies. Now that he heard Qin Luzi''s words, a bold guess flashed in his mind. He had seen how they fought and knew that Qin Luzi was a wind-type ability user. But with his precision in pinpointing the location and number of zombies, there was a high possibility he had another ability. At this moment, the Phantom Team members didn''t notice his thoughts as they were focused on their tasks. Since there were zombies on the other side of the door, Jiao Lizhi said, "Let me do it." Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Everyone, move back." With everyone taking several steps back, Jiao Lizhi created several ice needles and sent them to the other side through the keyhole. Afterward, she controlled the temperature and changed them into a water blade. Since she couldn''t see the situation, she just let the water blade fly randomly. Crash! Crash! Crash! "Roar!!" Standing not far behind her, Qin Luzi said, "Sister-in-law, there are seven zombies on the upper left and eighteen on the bottom right." Following his instructions, Jiao Lizhi controlled the water blade toward the direction he told her. Five minutes later, Qin Luzi checked the map in his head and said, "Sister-in-law, there are three more zombies on the right side, two meters forward." Crack! Crack! Crack! When the last red dot disappeared from his mind, Qin Luzi nodded and said, "All the zombies are cleared." As he said this, Jiao Lizhi opened the door. The ground and stairs were filled with mutilated zombie corpses. Seeing this, Jin Xuyan waved his hands and burned the corpses. Out of the 79 zombies, there was not a single crystal found. "These zombies were trapped here and so weak, there are no crystals at all," Xiao Qi complained. After he said this, the Phantom Team felt there was no challenge at all in killing these zombies, while Xun Che and his team remained silent. For them, killing even these weak zombies took a lot of effort. But when it came to the Phantom Team, it sounded as if they were unhappy dealing with such weak zombies. As they went to the underground floor, the number of zombies was less compared to the ground floor. Since the night event was held by the stores at midnight, the supermarket had been closed. Besides some wandering zombies outside the gate, Qin Luzi didn''t find any zombies inside. After checking the surrounding areas, he said, "Captain, there are no zombies inside." When Jin Xuyan heard this, he nodded and said, "We will stay here for the night and continue tomorrow." Chapter 207 - 207: Revealing The Space ( 1 ) Hearing this, Wen Mo went to the gate. With a flick of his wrist, the padlocks unlocked with a click. He opened the door and waited for everyone to enter the supermarket before locking the gate again. Before they went to rest, Qin Luzi, Shen Jinzhe, and Feng Yun went to check the entire supermarket. The supermarket had three floors, and each floor covered an area of more than 80,000 square meters. The area used to display products was 18,000 square meters, and the rest was used as warehouses. Seeing the amount of supplies in the supermarket, Xun Che and his team were delighted. While they were delighted, they also fell into a dilemma. Their team didn''t have any space-type ability-users. So, it would take a long time to transport these supplies. If they left the supplies behind, they were afraid they would be destroyed by others. When they went out to find supplies, most of the time the goods weren''t destroyed by zombies or spoiled due to weather. Instead, they were damaged because some people took supplies for granted and didn''t handle them carefully during transportation. They would take away some supplies but didn''t want to leave anything behind for others. So they would either open the packages or half-eat the supplies. This was one of the reasons why the amount of supplies they found was not enough to sustain the base''s consumption. While they were discussing the solution, Qin Luzi had already returned and reported, "Captain, the area is clear." "Good, go take a rest," Jin Xuyan nodded. While the members prepared dinner, Xiao Qi and Feng Yun went to collect some supplies they lacked. At the same time, Jiao Lizhi went to the warehouses and took half of the supplies stored inside. After thinking for a moment, she took another portion, leaving only one-fifth of the supplies. The number of survivors at Xun Che''s survivor camp was less than 5,000 people. With the amount of supplies in the warehouse, combined with those in the store, it was more than enough to sustain them for a year. The rest of the supplies she took today would be kept for other survivor camps. Based on her memories, there were a total of more than 230 survivor camps in Lin''an City. If she wanted to use supplies to evacuate them to another city, she had to find more supplies. After a while, Xun Che went to find Jin Xuyan to discuss the supplies. They sat inside a small office room near the warehouse area on the first underground floor. "Captain Jin, since your team has two space-type ability-users, I want to ask for your help to transport the supplies," Xun Che said. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. When they saw the amount of supplies in the supermarket, Jin Xuyan had already guessed that Xun Che would come to ask for help. After all, if they had to transport the supplies using trucks, not to mention the amount of gas needed, the time and manpower required would not be small either. Therefore, when he heard Xun Che''s words, he nodded and said, "Captain Xun, we can help you transport the supplies. But we want one-third of the supplies." Hearing this, Xun Che''s mind spun at a fast speed. With their current daily consumption, the amount of supplies they found was enough for them for at least one and a half years. Even if they split the supplies, they would still be able to last for a year. Even if they rejected the request, with the strength of the Phantom Team, it would be impossible for them to defeat them. Rather than creating a rift and getting nothing in the end, it was better to cooperate. After considering the pros and cons, Xun Che said, "Okay, it''s a deal." "Captain Xun, you and your team can leave the rest to me and my team," Jin Xuyan said as he stood up. Xun Che stood up as well and said, "Thank you in advance for your help." Jin Xuyan smiled and replied, "Each of us takes what we want, so there is no need to thank me." After saying those words, he left the office and went to gather his team. The small office was given to Xun Che and his team, while the Phantom Team took the second underground floor''s office. Inside the 30-square-meter room, everyone sat around a long square table. Jin Xuyan looked at them and said, "Xun Che asked for our help to transport the supplies to his temporary survival camp, and I agreed to his request." Hearing this, Xiao Qi said, "Captain, I don''t have any more space. How do you plan to transport all those supplies?" "I can only load at most one-tenth of the total amount of supplies in this supermarket," Feng Yun added. When they heard this, the members looked at Jin Xuyan, waiting for his decision. At this moment, Jin Xuyan looked at Jiao Lizhi. When she met his gaze, she understood what he wanted to do. She looked at everyone and thought for a while. Although they had met less than ten days ago, she and Jin Xuyan''s team had already experienced many life-and-death situations together. Even if she couldn''t trust them 100% and fully reveal her space''s secrets, it was alright to let them know she had one. By revealing her space to her team members, it would be easier to collect supplies in the future. After considering everything, she looked at Jin Xuyan and nodded. Seeing this, he held her hand and squeezed it lightly before saying, "Besides Xiao Qi and Feng Yun, Ah Zhi is also a space-type ability-user." As soon as he said this, Feng Yun smiled. They were finally revealing it to the team. While he was calm, the rest of the members were surprised, especially Xiao Qi. He looked at Jiao Lizhi and asked, "Sister-in-law, when did you awaken your space-type ability?" Jiao Lizhi scratched her nose and replied, "On the same day I awakened my water-type ability." Chapter 208 - 208: Revealing The Space ( 2 ) "When was that?" Xiao Qi asked again. "The first day of the apocalypse," Jiao Lizhi replied with a smile. The moment she said this, realization and understanding flashed in everyone''s eyes. They had always thought their Captain was a gentleman, guarding the door when his girlfriend was resting inside. Turns out, he was guarding the door while his girlfriend collected the rest of the supplies. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. After the shock passed, Feng Yun asked, "Sister-in-law, how big is your space?" Jiao Lizhi checked her space and thought for a while before she said, "It should be about half the size of Lin''an University." The actual size of her space was much bigger than Lin''an University. But, if she told them the truth, they might have treated her as a monster, so she decided to downplay it. While she thought the size sounded small enough, everyone thought the opposite. Compared to Feng Yun''s space, Lin''an University was at least ten times bigger. So, her space was five times bigger than Feng Yun''s space! After reaching this conclusion, they all looked at her as if she were a rare species. Feng Yun had guessed her space was bigger than his, but he never expected the difference to be this big. For a moment, he didn''t know what to say. Noticing their silence, Jiao Lizhi said, "My space has already reached level one, so it has expanded quite a bit." This time, as soon as she said this, Xiao Qi asked, "Sister-in-law, how did you upgrade your space''s level?" Jiao Lizhi thought for a moment and said, "It''s the same as my water-type ability. When I broke through with my water-type ability to level one, my space also had a breakthrough. The energy used to activate the space is different from the water-type ability, but the principle is the same." "As long as you push the limit and use up the energy, when you recover it, you will take a step closer to a breakthrough. You just need to keep repeating this until you hit the limit." She paused for a moment and added, "Since the space-type ability uses mental energy, you have to be careful when attempting a breakthrough. You might lose consciousness during the process, so it''s better to have someone guarding you." When Feng Yun and Xiao Qi heard her words, they looked at each other and saw devastation in each other''s eyes. Using up mental energy could cause a mental breakdown. While they could endure the humiliation and embarrassment of crying in front of everyone, the feeling itself was too uncomfortable. Not knowing their dilemmas, Jin Xuyan said, "Now that everyone knows about Ah Zhi''s space, I want you all to keep it a secret. In front of others, we will only use Xiao Qi and Feng Yun''s spaces." "Captain, are you planning to use Sister-in-law''s space as our backup?" Zhang Yuan asked. Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "No matter how strong we are, there will always be someone stronger. It''s wise to have a Plan B. If one day we are forced to hand over Xiao Qi and Feng Yun''s supplies, we will still have Ah Zhi''s." When everyone heard this, they agreed with their captain''s decision. "Captain, we will follow your plan," they replied in unison. Jin Xuyan knew he could trust his brothers. He smiled and said, "Good. While Xun Che and his team are resting, Xiao Qi and Feng Yun will accompany Ah Zhi to collect the supplies in the supermarket." "Tomorrow, we will continue clearing the zombies on the upper floors and collecting supplies. When we are done, we will head with Xun Che to the camp." "Understood," they replied in unison. After the brief meeting, everyone went to do their tasks. At the same time, the Eagle Team finally arrived at the temporary survivor base camp located on the border of Lin''an City. As they approached the entrance gate, the soldiers on guard raised their weapons, ready for battle. After the car came to a complete stop, Wei Ying lowered the window and said, "Comrade, we are the Eagle Team. Please help us report to the higher-ups." The moment they heard this, one of the soldiers went to report, while the rest checked the survivors and Eagle Team members for wounds. While they underwent the checkup procedures, the soldiers also recorded the supplies brought back by them. Due to half of the survivors choosing to leave, two buses were used to carry the supplies they had found along the way. Besides food and water, they had also found medicines, clothes, and baby and women''s products. These were essential items they desperately needed. So even when they found more food and water, they still prioritized gathering baby and women''s products instead. Two hours later, as the sun was setting on the western horizon, the Eagle Team and the survivors were finally allowed to enter the base. The moment they drove past the gate, they saw a group of people waiting for them. Seeing the man standing at the front, Wei Ying and his team got out of the cars. They saluted the group before Wei Ying said, "Colonel." The Colonel nodded at him and walked toward Pei Yijun. Reaching out, he greeted him with a smile, "Young Master Pei, welcome to the camp. The team sent by your father has been waiting for you." Pei Yijun accepted the handshake and replied, "Thank you, Colonel." "Young Master Pei, we have prepared rooms for you and your team. This way, please," the Colonel said while gesturing for him to walk first. Before leaving, Pei Yijun turned to Wei Ying and his team. He gave them a salute and said, "Comrades, thank you for your help. In the future, if you need anything, feel free to contact me. I will help you as long as I am able to." Hearing his words, the dissatisfaction in the Eagle Team members'' hearts lessened. They returned his salute and nodded. After the brief farewell, Pei Yijun joined the Colonel in his car, and they drove to the only three-story inn in the area. Behind them, Li Yang followed with his SUV, while Han Jie drove Pei Yijun''s jeep. While driving, calculation and envy flashed in Han Jie''s eyes. He gripped the wheel tightly as he pushed the negative emotions down. Chapter 209 - 209: Selling Water ( 1 ) After they left, Wei Ying turned to his team members and said, "Everyone will have three days off before reporting to work. Go back and have a good rest." S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Yes, Captain!" When his members left, he finally turned to Gu Shaoze and Rong Mo''er and asked, "What about you two? Do you have other plans or want to stay here?" Gu Shaoze glanced at Rong Mo''er and said, "I will follow Mo''er''s decision." "Captain Wei, I want to find more information about the situation in this city and other nearby cities. After two days, I will leave to find my family," Rong Mo''er replied. Hearing this, Wei Ying nodded and said, "Since you have made up your mind, then I will help you find out the latest information about the neighboring cities." "Thank you, Captain Wei," Rong Mo''er said with a smile. Wei Ying smiled and replied, "Both of you saved my team and my life, this is just a small matter. You don''t have to worry about it. It''s just a pity that the two of you can''t stay." Hearing his words, the two of them only smiled but said nothing. After a moment, Wei Ying said, "The two of you can follow the soldiers and register your names. Later, you will be given some supplies and a place to stay." "Thank you, Captain Wei." With Wei Ying''s order, a young soldier came over and led them to the reporting area. As they walked, Gu Shaoze asked, "Comrade, how is the situation in this camp?" Thinking that they worried about safety, the young soldier replied, "Comrade, you can stay here with ease. We have several groups of soldiers clearing the zombies in the surrounding area. Within a 300-meter radius, there are no zombies." "How about the supplies and residence?" Rong Mo''er asked. When the young soldier heard this, he let out a sigh and said, "We are barely able to keep the people from starving to death." "Every day, each person is only able to get a bottle of mineral water and two small packs of biscuits. The space is also limited, so most people have to share a room with fifteen to twenty people." "Comrade, even if this is the border area, there should be a lot of places having supplies. What''s more, there are several factory districts near the border. How did the situation come to this?" Gu Shaoze said. The young soldier looked around for a while before he leaned closer and whispered, "It''s not that we didn''t find supplies. But the supplies brought back by the soldiers have to be registered, and half of it is taken by the higher-ups and used to subsidize the wealthy families or the politicians." When he heard this, Gu Shaoze narrowed his eyes. The situation was already so bad, yet those people still couldn''t see the bigger picture and instead pursued profit. Not knowing about his thoughts, the young soldier continued, "What''s more, there are less than twenty ability-users in the military. Most of the soldiers are ordinary people." "So, the higher-ups decided to hire the ability-users coming from civilians. But they are hard to control and often use their power to suppress others." "Did the higher-ups know about this?" Gu Shaoze asked. The young soldier nodded and replied, "They know, but we are in need of manpower, so they choose to close an eye. As long as they didn''t kill anyone, the higher-ups won''t do anything about it." Hearing this, both Gu Shaoze and Rong Mo''er exchanged glances. If even the place under the government was this chaotic, then the situation outside must be worse. Thinking about her family, Rong Mo''er frowned deeper. It seemed that she couldn''t stay here for too long. Noticing her anxiety and worry, Gu Shaoze held her hand and said, "Mo''er, don''t worry, your family will be fine. We will leave as soon as we get the information from Captain Wei." Even though she knew that he was comforting her and his words might be wrong, Rong Mo''er still felt better after hearing those words. She nodded and said, "Okay." The young soldier looked at them but said nothing. After all, there were a lot of people who posted missing person notices in the center of the camp looking for their family. Thinking about this, he said, "Comrade, there is an information board in the center of the camp. You can go there and check it out. Lots of people posted missing person notices there. Maybe you can find your family." When they heard this, Rong Mo''er''s eyes lit up. She nodded at the young soldier and said, "Thank you, Comrade." Gu Shaoze unzipped his backpack and took out two bars of protein bars. He handed them to the soldier and said, "Thank you for your help, Comrade." Seeing the protein bars, the young soldier quickly pushed them back to Gu Shaoze''s hand and said, "Comrade, I just said some words, you don''t have to give me this. Keep this for yourself." Knowing that the resources were limited but still honest, Gu Shaoze''s impression of the soldier improved. He put it in the soldier''s pocket and said, "Comrade, my girlfriend and I are ability-users. We will be able to find more of this in the future. Just keep it." Hearing this, the young soldier asked, "Comrade, if I may ask, what is your ability?" Gu Shaoze raised his eyebrows when he heard this question. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "I''m a water-type ability-user." The moment he said this, the young soldier''s eyes lit up as he asked, "Comrade, can you give me water instead?" "Don''t you get any from the camp?" Rong Mo''er asked. "The amount of mineral water we found is barely enough for the survivors. So, after being taken by half, the soldiers only receive a bottle every two days," the young soldier said with a long sigh. They looked at him and noticed that his pale lips were chapped and his tongue had changed into a pale red with a white coating. This was the sign of dehydration. Chapter 210 - 210: Selling Water ( 2 ) Reaching this conclusion, Gu Shaoze nodded and said, "Comrade, I can give you some water." When the young soldier heard his words, he was delighted and took out his hydration bag. There was a little water inside the bag and he finished it before he handed the empty bag to him. "Comrade, this hydration bag can hold five liters of water. If you can''t fill it up, it''s okay," he said. After fighting against zombies and using up his energy for so many days, Gu Shaoze was on the brink of breaking through. With his maximum energy, he could create 250 liters before he ran out of energy. To recover his energy, he needed two crystal cores or three hours of rest. So for him right now, five liters of water was nothing. He nodded and placed his forefinger at the mouth of the bag. The next second, water flowed from his fingertips and went to the hydration bag. It only took him two minutes to fill it up. After he closed the cap, he returned the bag to the soldier and asked, "Do you have other water containers? I can help you fill them up." The moment he heard this, the young soldier asked, "Comrade, how much water can you get every day?" "At my current state, I can only get at most 200 liters before I run out of energy. It takes me ten hours to recover, so I can only get 400 liters at most per day," Gu Shaoze said calmly. Hearing this, Rong Mo''er glanced at him. She knew that he was lying but she didn''t have any intention to reveal this. For her, she would rather he hide the fact that he was a water-type ability-user. Unfortunately, the Eagle team and the survivors that came with them knew about this. So, there was no use in concealing his ability. "Comrade, can you help us fill some water tanks?" the young soldier asked. Gu Shaoze nodded and said, "But I can''t promise you to give you 100 liters. After all, I used my energy to fight against zombies on the road." The young soldier nodded and replied, "Comrade, just do as much as you can. You don''t have to force yourself. We are very grateful that you are willing to share the water with us for free." When they heard this, both Gu Shaoze and Rong Mo''er felt that something was wrong but they couldn''t pinpoint it. The two of them followed the young soldier to the area where they stored the water. The area was surrounded by a barbed fence and was guarded by several soldiers with weapons. When they arrived at the gate, one of the guards stopped them and said, "Comrade, this is a restricted area. Those without permission cannot enter." Hearing this, the young soldier said, "Comrade, this comrade is a water-type ability user and he came to help us fill the water tank." The moment the guards heard this, they were taken aback. They looked at Gu Shaoze and one of them asked, "Comrade, are you really giving us water for free?" This time, Gu Shaoze finally caught the point and asked, "Comrade, what do you mean by that?" The soldier hesitated for a moment before he said, "Comrade, you might not know, but there are three water-type ability-users in our camp. If we need water, we have to exchange supplies with them for water or use crystals from the zombies to buy the water." When he heard this, Gu Shaoze asked, "How much supplies do you need to buy the water?" "If you use supplies, you need a kilogram of rice, flour, or other things with equal value to exchange for a liter of water. If you use crystals, you need two crystals for a liter of water." Hearing this, Gu Shaoze and Rong Mo''er were stunned. They knew how hard it was to get a crystal. Out of forty zombies, there might not even be one crystal found. To ask for two crystals just for a liter of water, the price was very high. Seeing their expressions, the young soldier was worried that they would regret their decision and asked, "Comrade, about the water tank¡ª" Gu Shaoze looked at him and said, "Comrade, since I have promised you, there is no reason for me to take back my words. Please lead the way." As soon as they heard his words, the guards quickly opened the gate and said, "Comrade, this way please." Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Although it was called a restricted area, there was only a barbed fence and a gate surrounding the area. Even with the guards, if an ability-user wanted to get the water, it would be as easy as picking up money from the ground. They walked for a while before they reached the small wooden house where they stored the water tanks. After entering the house, Gu Shaoze saw ten water tanks, each capable of holding at least 3,000 liters of water. He walked over and knocked on the tank. He thought that no matter how bad the situation was, they should at least have one or two tanks in stock. Unexpectedly, he heard a loud sound from all the tanks. Turning around, he looked at the soldiers and saw them lowering their heads. Seeing this, Gu Shaoze let out a sigh and said, "I will try my best." Knowing that he was too soft-hearted to refuse, Rong Mo''er looked at the soldiers and asked, "Do any of you have crystals from the zombies?" Hearing this, the soldiers nodded and took out all of the crystals they had. Rong Mo''er took the crystals and handed them to Gu Shaoze. There were a total of 17 crystals and it was enough for him to fill up one tank. While it wasn''t much, 3,000 liters of water should be enough for the soldiers to use for a few days. After the soldiers removed the water tank''s lid, Gu Shaoze raised his hand and a water ball appeared out of nowhere, floating above the water tank. Chapter 211 - 211: Selling Water ( 3 ) With a flick of his wrist, the water slowly flowed into the tank. With him constantly creating the water, the water ball stayed afloat while the water flowed. When the soldiers saw his control over the water, they were surprised. Compared to the water-type ability users in the camp, his proficiency in using his ability was several times higher than theirs. Ten minutes later, Gu Shaoze''s face had turned pale. His forehead and back were covered in sweat as he felt dizzy. Seeing this, Rong Mo''er said, "Shaoze, enough. Take a rest first." With a wave of his hand, the water ball entered the water tank. The next moment, his knees bent and he almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Rong Mo''er was there, and with a leap, she caught him and landed on the ground safely. As she supported his body, she asked, "Shaoze, how are you feeling? Quickly absorb the energy." S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Gu Shaoze leaned on her and held the crystal cores in his palm. Twenty minutes later, one of the crystal cores turned into fine dust. After absorbing another crystal core, he finally recovered his energy and no longer felt dizzy. Sitting up, he let out a sigh and said, "Mo''er, I''m fine now." Rong Mo''er reached out to wipe the sweat on his forehead and said, "Shaoze, how about you continue later? Just rest for a while." Gu Shaoze felt that he would be able to break through to the next level if he used up his energy a few more times. So, he shook his head and said, "I''m fine." Knowing how stubborn he was, Rong Mo''er could only let him do what he wanted. When the soldiers saw him continue filling the water tank after absorbing the crystals, they were stunned. They thought that the crystal cores were the payment for the water. Unexpectedly, they used the crystal cores to recover and continue providing water. After thinking about it, wasn''t this equal to using their crystals to create more water? In the end, the couple got nothing while they got a lot of water. Reaching this conclusion, one of the soldiers went to find Wei Ying to report this matter. Although this water warehouse was known as one of the camp''s facilities, the truth was that this warehouse was owned by the Eagle Team and had nothing to do with the group controlling the camp. While Gu Shaoze worked like a dedicated honey bee in the water warehouse, the soldier reached Wei Ying''s place fifteen minutes later. His place was a small house with two bedrooms, one kitchen, and one living room. Staying with him were several members of the Eagle Team. The rest of the team stayed at the next house. The soldier knocked on the door and waited for a moment. When the door was opened, he gave a salute and said, "Captain Wei." Wei Ying gestured for him to enter and asked, "Did something happen in the water warehouse?" The soldier nodded and replied, "Captain Wei, there are two ability-users who came to visit the warehouse and one of them was a water-type ability-user. At this moment, he is filling up the water tank." Hearing this, Wei Ying raised his eyebrows and asked, "Are these ability-users a couple?" The soldier nodded and asked, "Captain, how did you know?" "They just arrived at the base and came back with me. They are trustworthy," Wei Ying replied casually. "Captain, they used the crystal cores to recover his energy and continue filling the water tank. So, I came to ask if you have more crystals. If we can provide more crystals, he might be able to fill up all of our water tanks," the soldier said. After hearing this, Wei Ying thought for a moment and said, "Wait here." "Yes, Captain." Not long after, Wei Ying returned with a backpack and said, "Let''s go. I will go with you to the water warehouse." When the two of them reached the warehouse area, Gu Shaoze was resting as he absorbed the crystal cores. Seeing him coming with the soldier, Rong Mo''er asked, "Captain Wei, why are you here?" Wei Ying nodded at them and said, "I heard that a water-type ability-user was helping us to fill the water tank, so I came to take a look. I already guessed that it was you two." Gu Shaoze smiled and replied, "Captain Wei, you are not coming just to say those words, are you?" "Of course not," Wei Ying replied with a chuckle. He placed the backpack in front of Gu Shaoze and said, "Comrade Gu, these are all of the crystal cores my team has. If you can help us fill the water tanks, these are yours." Gu Shaoze opened the backpack and saw that the crystals were not only the transparent type but also elemental types. After calculating for a moment, he nodded and said, "Okay." When Rong Mo''er heard this, she frowned and said in a low voice, "Shaoze, even if you can recover your energy, your body wouldn''t be able to withstand the constant overuse of your energy." "Comrade Rong, we are not in a rush. Comrade Gu can take his time. As long as he can fill the water tanks, it''s okay even if it takes several days," Wei Ying said after hearing her words. Rong Mo''er wanted to say more, but Gu Shaoze held her hand and said, "Mo''er, don''t worry. I know what I''m doing." Since he had made up his mind, Rong Mo''er no longer objected, albeit still feeling worried. After he persuaded his girlfriend, Gu Shaoze looked at Wei Ying and said, "Captain Wei, I can try to fill the water tanks as soon as possible, but I don''t want to be disturbed." Nodding at his words, Wei Ying looked at his soldiers and said, "Everyone, guard outside and make sure no one comes to disturb Comrade Gu." Receiving their order, the soldiers nodded and replied in unison, "Understood." Chapter 212 - 212: Selling Water ( 4 ) After Wei Ying and the soldiers left, Gu Shaoze said, "Mo''er, I will try to attempt a breakthrough. During the process, I need you to guard me." Finally understanding his intention, Rong Mo''er asked, "Shaoze, will you be alright?" "Don''t worry. Now, with so many crystal cores, I will be fine," Gu Shaoze reassured her. "Okay." Gu Shaoze took out the water-type crystal cores and continued filling up the water tank. When he was running out of energy, he would absorb a crystal. Since he was absorbing the same element as his ability, he only needed one crystal to fully recover his energy. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He repeated the process several times until he filled up the second tank. After he finished absorbing the crystal for the nth time, he suddenly felt the energy inside his body go out of control. Chapter 213 - 213: Selling Water ( 5 ) After he took his seat, the Colonel gestured to his adjutant, and shortly after, breakfast was served. On the plate were two roasted tomatoes, two grilled beef sausages, scrambled eggs, a scoop of baked beans, three slices of thick bacon, and five pieces of toast. For an ability user, the amount of food was enough to fill them up. Gu Shaoze raised his gaze and observed everyone. While most seemed delighted by the food, a few frowned. Thinking about the soldiers who had to risk their lives searching for supplies, yet still lacked enough food and water, his impression of the Colonel plummeted. He noted those who were frowning and not touching their utensils. These, he thought, were the ones who truly cared about the people. When he looked at Pei Yijun''s team, he saw Han Jie eating with relish and sneered. He had assumed they would all behave the same way. Unexpectedly, Pei Yijun, Li Yang, and Chu Zhimiao hadn''t touched their food at all. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 214 - 214: Selling Water ( 6 ) Shaking his head, Gu Shaoze replied, "I sold the water to Captain Wei at a low price because he saved my life." After a brief silence, the Colonel asked, "Then how much do you want?" "Since the Colonel wants to buy water to help everyone, of course I will offer a lower price. One crystal core per liter of water," Gu Shaoze said before taking another sip of coffee. As soon as he said this, several military officers frowned. One of them spoke up, "Comrade, in times of emergency, we should work together. How can you ask for such a high price?" Gu Shaoze finished his coffee and responded, "Sir, even though I''m an ability-user, providing that much water isn''t easy. Overusing my energy causes pain, dizziness, and headaches which could harm my health. I''m not going to suffer just for being praised as a good person." S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 215 - 215: Selling Water ( 7 ) After a moment of silence, one of the military officers said, "Comrade Gu, we need time to gather the crystals, but we need the water urgently. Could you provide the water first? Once we have the crystals, we will send them to you right away." Hearing his words, Gu Shaoze chuckled and said, "Comrade, we don''t know each other, so I can''t trust you that easily. What if I give you the water and you refuse to pay afterward?" "As the ones in control of this camp, it would be easy for you to go back on your word. But if you pay me upfront, I can''t run since this camp is filled with your people." He smiled faintly and added, "So, isn''t it better for both of us if you pay first?" sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Seeing the officers'' uneasy expressions, he continued and his voice turning cold, "Or did the Colonel never intend to pay me at all and planned to trick me instead?" As he spoke, killing intent flashed in his eyes, and the atmosphere grew tense. Chapter 216 - 216: Recruiting Team Members ( 1 ) Meanwhile, the Colonel was receiving a report from his subordinates in his office. When they finished reporting, they stood with their heads lowered, and didn''t dare to breathe too loud. The Colonel slammed his hand on the table and said through gritted teeth, "That Gu Shaoze really doesn''t know what''s good for him! He dares to defy me again and again. Looks like if we don''t teach him a lesson, he will never understand his place!" After a moment, one of his subordinates stepped forward and suggested, "Colonel, how about we arrest him? As long as his life is in our hands, he will have no choice but to follow orders no matter if he is willing or not." The Colonel fell silent for a moment, considering the idea, then said, "Find an excuse and arrest him tonight." "Understood!" the subordinates saluted in unison and left the room. Once alone, the Colonel stood up and looked out the window at the bustling road below. If not for the death of the Commander-in-Chief, he would have never risen to his current position. Since he successfully eliminated the biggest obstacle in his career, dealing with someone as insignificant as Gu Shaoze would be nothing. Once he secured control over the camp''s water supply, he would have another powerful bargaining chip. And when the entire camp was firmly under his control, even Wei Ying and his team would have to bow their heads and follow his orders. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Satisfied with this plan, the Colonel''s mood improved. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, the faint glow reflecting the ambition in his eyes. At the same time, Gu Shaoze and Rong Mo''er made their way to visit Wei Ying. Their presence in the slum area surprised the Eagle Team members stationed there. In the entire camp, this was the dirtiest and most lawless area. Survivors who couldn''t afford to trade crystal cores or supplies for residence were placed here. With a severe lack of resources, the people here were often gloomy, weak, and desperate. The slums had become a dangerous place, so the Eagle Team patrolled it regularly to maintain order. "Brother Gu, what brings you and Sister Rong to this place?" one of the team members asked. Gu Shaoze glanced around and replied, "I came to speak with Captain Wei. I wonder if he is available right now." The soldier shook his head and replied, "Captain is busy at the moment. How about you return first? I will report it to him, and once he is free, I will inform you." Gu Shaoze nodded with a smile and said, "Since Captain Wei is busy, we can talk another time. Brother, go ahead with your duties. Mo''er and I will head back ourselves." "Alright," the soldier nodded and returned to his patrol. However, Gu Shaoze and Rong Mo''er didn''t leave the slum area. Instead, they wandered the area, observing the situation closely. Aside from the children, women, and elderly, there were quite a number of young men¡ªpeople who were clearly capable of working. But due to the Colonel''s tendency to curry favor with the wealthy and suppressing the weak, camp management had become disorganized and filled with corruption. Even when these men went to work on camp construction, they were given only one bottle of water and two packs of biscuits for a full day''s labor. That meager amount wasn''t enough even for themselves, let alone to share with their families. Eventually, many saw no point in working. But not working wasn''t a solution either. Without work, they would be forced to leave the camp in search of supplies. And without any abilities, going outside was practically a death sentence. It was a vicious cycle, and the situation was deteriorating with each passing day. After his encounter with the Colonel and the subsequent visit from his subordinates, Gu Shaoze realized it would soon be impossible to refuse them without consequences¡ªand even if he complied, there was no guarantee they would pay him. Therefore, before he and his girlfriend left the camp, he had to find a way to remove the Colonel from power and pushed Wei Ying to take the position as the Commander-in-Chief. Only then could they leave without fear of being pursued or assassinated. An hour later, Gu Shaoze finally made up his mind. Leaning closer to his girlfriend, he said, "Mo''er, what do you think about inviting others to join us?" Rong Mo''er turned to look at him and asked, "Shaoze, are you thinking of starting a mercenary team?" Gu Shaoze nodded and explained, "It''s not a long-term solution for just the two of us to travel outside. If we have more people with us, our chances of survival will be much better." "Besides, we still don''t know the exact location of your family. It''s impossible for us to settle down in one place for too long. But if we form our own team and split the loot fairly, I''m sure the benefits will outweigh the risks." Rong Mo''er thought about his words for a while before saying, "Shaoze, even if we want to recruit members, most of the ability users already have teams. Where would we find our new members?" Gu Shaoze glanced around at the people nearby and said, "Aren''t we in the perfect place already?" Hearing this, Rong Mo''er was stunned. It took her a while to respond, "Shaoze, you want to recruit these people?" Instead of answering directly, Gu Shaoze looked at her and asked, "Mo''er, do you trust me?" "Of course I trust you," she replied without hesitation. "Then just follow my lead," he said with a smile, taking her hand as they walked toward a group of children. When the children saw the two of them approaching, they only glanced up for a moment before lowering their heads again. Their bodies were thin, their faces sallow, and their lips pale. Judging by their condition, if they went another day without food or water, they would likely die. Chapter 217 - 217: Recruiting Team Members ( 2 ) With death looming over them, the children had already lost the will to survive. Even if they still had the will, their bodies were too weak to hold on. Since the outcome seemed inevitable, why bother struggling? Gu Shaoze crouched down in front of them and asked, "Kids, do you guys want to live?" At the sound of his voice, the children finally lifted their heads and looked at him. After a moment, one of them opened his chapped lips and said hoarsely, "Even if we want to live, we can''t." "If you came here to make fun of us, go ahead," another child added, his eyes dull. Gu Shaoze chuckled at their response and said, "I didn''t come to make fun of you. I came to offer you a job." Seeing the disbelief in their eyes, he didn''t try to convince them with words. Instead, he reached for an empty bottle lying behind the children. The outside was caked with dirt, but the inside was still relatively clean. With a snap of his fingers, a small ball of water appeared in midair, floating above the bottle. He used the water to rinse the outside and inside thoroughly before filling it up. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The moment the children saw him waste water just to clean the bottle, they couldn''t help but feel a pang of heartache. Lately, they had been forced to drink muddy puddle water. Now, faced with clear water, they instinctively licked their cracked lips. Gu Shaoze handed the bottle to the boy in front of him and said, "I''m a water-type ability-user. If you work for me, I will pay you with five liters of water every day. You know how valuable water is and you can use it to exchange for other supplies." The boy clutched the bottle and asked, "Are you serious?" Gu Shaoze nodded and replied, "Of course. This bottle is for you and your friends." After a moment of hesitation, the boy opened the bottle and took a small sip. The water was cool and refreshing¡ªfar better than any bottled water he remembered. He only took two sips before passing it to the others. The youngest of the group was a three-year-old girl, and the oldest was the boy himself, who was around fourteen. After drinking the water, they regained some of their energy. Seeing that his friends were no longer at death''s door, the boy looked at Gu Shaoze and said, "Brother, my name is Zeng Changchao. I accepted the job. Tell me, what should I do?" When he heard this, Gu Shaoze smiled and said, "Before that, you and your friends should follow me first." This time, Zeng Changchao didn''t ask any more questions. He packed up their belongings and followed Gu Shaoze and Rong Mo''er, leaving the slum area. After leaving the slum area, Gu Shaoze brought them to the house he was staying at the moment. When his roommates saw him bring back a group of children, they were stunned. The young girl looked at them and asked, "Brother, why did you bring these beggars back?" The moment she said this, Rong Mo''er frowned and said, "Comrade, these children are not beggars. They are unfortunate for losing their families and forced to depend on themselves to survive. Even if you have no intention to help them, please watch your words." The young woman was embarrassed being called out like this. But when she thought about Gu Shaoze, she held back her anger and said, "Sister, I misspoke. Please don''t be angry." Rong Mo''er was too lazy to bother with this kind of petty-minded person, so she snorted and said, "Shaoze, let''s go." Gu Shaoze smiled and followed his girlfriend to the backyard. In the backyard, they found several unused oil barrels and cleaned them up. Afterward, he filled the oil barrels with water until they were almost full. Then, Rong Mo''er used her fire to heat up the water. When she was done, she turned to the children and said, "Undress and take a bath first." The younger children had no embarrassment and quickly undressed, but those older children were standing there unmoving. Noticing their awkwardness, Gu Shaoze found several drying racks and curtains at the house and used them to block the view. "All of you can go wash up now," he said. With the partitions, the older children no longer felt shy and went to take a bath. While they were bathing, Gu Shaoze and Rong Mo''er went to check their supplies. Since they didn''t have any space-type ability-users, they could only store all of their supplies in their room. Thirty minutes later, they went to check up on the children and brought some clothes over. Before the children could wear their dirty clothes, Gu Shaoze gave them the new clothes and said, "Change your clothes. Those clothes are too dirty. If you are not careful, you will be infected and become zombies." Hearing this, the children didn''t dare to wear dirty clothes and changed into new clothes. Since the water had turned color, Gu Shaoze threw it away and filled up half an oil barrel before he threw the dirty clothes into the barrel. After he added some clothes detergent, Rong Mo''er heated up the water until it boiled and soaked the clothes there. Inside the house, their roommates watched them with curiosity. When they entered their room and closed the door, their roommates looked at each other and decided to return to their rooms. Inside the room, Gu Shaoze took out some food and water for the children. As they sat on the ground, he said, "Eat." After hesitating for a moment, Zeng Changchao finally opened one pack of biscuits and started to eat. Seeing the eldest of them eat the food, the younger ones felt at ease and started to eat. While they were eating, Gu Shaoze asked, "Who has had a high fever before?" Hearing this, the children looked at each other before they raised their hands. Besides the youngest girl, everyone had a high fever before. Seeing this, Gu Shaoze asked again, "After the high fever, do you feel anything different with your body?" Chapter 218 - 218: Recruiting Team Members ( 3 ) Zeng Changchao drank half a bottle of water before he replied, "Brother, why are you asking this?" "I want to recruit you all into my team. But I need ability-users. No matter what your ability is, as long as you awaken your ability, you can join my team," Gu Shaoze said with a smile. When they heard his words, the children went silent and looked at Zeng Changchao. After he thought for a while, he said, "Brother, most of my friends are only awakening their basic abilities. But my ability is different. As long as you agree to let Jiaojiao join us, then we will follow you." Hearing her name called, the youngest girl raised her head and smiled at them. Looking at her sunken cheeks, Rong Mo''er found her pitiful and carried her into her lap. The little girl didn''t feel any animosity from her and leaned on her body as she ate the biscuit. Seeing this, Gu Shaoze nodded and said, "I can accept Jiaojiao, but I need to know what your ability is first." After he said this, Zeng Changchao nodded and said, "Brother, I will show it to you." As soon as he finished his words, his body slowly turned transparent until he couldn''t be seen anymore. When Gu Shaoze and Rong Mo''er saw this, surprise flashed in their eyes. Not long after, Zeng Changchao reappeared and said, "While I can turn invisible, I can''t cover my body smell. So, this ability is useless against zombies." Although the children thought so, for Gu Shaoze and Rong Mo''er, his ability was rare and important. If they trained him properly, he would become an important person in their team. His ability might be useless against zombies, but to gather intelligence and be used to go against humans, his ability is very useful. After a moment of silence, Gu Shaoze smiled and said, "No matter if your ability is useless or useful, as I said before, we will recruit everyone, including Jiaojiao." The moment the children heard this, their eyes lit up. After their families died at the hands of the zombies or turned into zombies, they no longer had anyone they could depend on. Now that someone was finally willing to take them in, they were grateful. "Thank you, Brother!" Zeng Changchao and the children said with teary eyes. "My name is Gu Shaoze. This is my girlfriend, Rong Mo''er. From now on, we are a team, a family. We will do our best to raise you all, but I demand total loyalty. If you dare to betray me or our team, I will kill you with my own hand." When they heard this, they felt a chill run down their spines. Since they had made up their minds, they clenched their fists and said, "Brother, Sister-in-law, we will be loyal to you for the rest of our lives." "Good. Now, all of you should eat and rest. We will leave this place in a few days," Gu Shaoze said with a smile. "Okay." After he settled the children, Gu Shaoze and Rong Mo''er went out again. This time, they didn''t go to find Wei Ying but went to the water warehouse instead. When they arrived, they saw the Eagle team members distributing water to the survivors. Although they only gave each of them two bottles of water, it was enough to save their lives for now. Seeing them coming over, one of the soldiers came over and greeted them, "Comrade Gu, Comrade Rong, what brings you two here?" Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "We came to fill the water tank," Gu Shaoze replied casually. Hearing this, the soldier was stunned. He looked at him for a moment before he said, "Comrade Gu, the captain and our team are still outside killing zombies. So we don''t have any crystal cores right now." Waving his hands, Gu Shaoze said, "I have a lot of energy. It would be a waste not to use it." After he said that, he went to the wooden house and climbed the ladder. Without wasting any more time, he started filling the water tanks. When he was almost out of energy, he took out the water-type crystal cores and, while absorbing the energy, he filled the water tank. Rong Mo''er understood that her boyfriend didn''t do this to help the survivors but to give Wei Ying a bargaining chip to take over the camp. With someone controlling the colonel, they would be able to leave smoothly. When the sky darkened, Gu Shaoze finally filled up the water tank. In just one day, the Eagle team had already used up more than eight tanks of water and were left with one and a half tanks. Coming down from the ladder, he looked at his girlfriend and said, "Mo''er, do you blame me for wasting crystal cores like this?" Shaking her head, she replied, "This is a necessary move. So I won''t blame you. What''s more, we can find more crystals later." Gu Shaoze let out a sigh and hugged her while saying, "We might have to wait for a few days before we are able to leave." Hugging him back, Rong Mo''er replied, "It''s okay." After he used up his energy several times, Gu Shaoze felt his energy pool increase, albeit a little. Noticing this, he said, "Mo''er, it seems that we have to go out to kill zombies so you can increase your energy too." Rong Mo''er nodded and said, "Okay, I will listen to you." The moment they left the wooden house, the Colonel and his subordinates came over. Seeing them walking out of the water warehouse, the Colonel narrowed his eyes. Before he and his men could pass through the gate, they were stopped by members of the Eagle team. "Colonel, this is a restricted area. Please stop." "Insolent! How dare you block the Colonel?!" one of the soldiers brought by the Colonel shouted angrily. Standing in front of them, one of the Eagle team members said, "Colonel, this is the private property of my team. Even if you are the Colonel, you can''t barge in like this." Chapter 219 - 219: Caught ( 1 ) Hearing the soldier''s words, the Colonel snorted and said, "I''m the Commander-in-Chief of this camp. I can go wherever I want!" Then, glaring at the Eagle team members, he added, "You better step aside, or don''t blame me for being ruthless!" As soon as he said this, a fireball the size of an apple flew at high speed toward his face. The Colonel and his subordinates quickly jumped aside, barely dodging the attack. Boom! The fireball hit the ground, leaving a charred pit behind. A layer of cold sweat appeared on the Colonel''s forehead when he saw this. He straightened his back and shouted, "Who is it?! Come out!" Not long after, Rong Mo''er walked out from behind the soldiers and said, "It''s me." When the Colonel saw her, he was enraged. He pointed a finger at her and yelled, "You are trying to murder an officer! Everyone, catch her!" As soon as he said this, his soldiers pulled out their guns and aimed at Rong Mo''er. Compared to zombies, she felt these people were no threat at all. Raising her hand, countless wisps of flame appeared out of thin air. With a wave of her hand, the flames flew toward the soldiers and entered the barrels of their guns. In less than two seconds, the guns turned red-hot as if forged in a furnace. The heat became unbearable, and the soldiers screamed in pain as they dropped their weapons one after another. "Ouch!" "Ah!" Those who reacted too slowly suffered severe burns. When they looked at their palms, they saw blistered, charred skin. Some even bled from the higher degree of the burns. As the guns hit the ground, Rong Mo''er increased the fire''s temperature. In moments, the weapons were engulfed in red flames and melted into puddles of molten metal. The Colonel was stunned as he watched this. These guns were one of his most important bargaining chips. Without guns, how could he control the survivors and ability-users? At this moment, he could only stare at Rong Mo''er, fear and anger filling his eyes. He had met other elemental ability-users before, but none could control their powers to this degree. Everyone thought she would stop there¡ªbut unexpectedly, Rong Mo''er bent her knees and, in the blink of an eye, appeared behind the Colonel. Before anyone could react, she grabbed the Colonel by the nape with one hand and held a dagger in the other. As she pressed the blade to his neck, the Colonel froze, not daring to move. "Y-you, what do you want?" he asked tremblingly. Rong Mo''er didn''t reply and simply dragged him toward the Eagle team''s location. Realizing how easily she had subdued the soldiers, one of the Colonel''s aides quietly slipped away. If they were going to fight an ability-user, they would need other ability-users of their own. After she walked back to Gu Shaoze, Rong Mo''er stood to the side, the dagger still pointed at the Colonel''s throat. Seeing this, the surrounding soldiers froze, unsure of what to do. They looked at each other hesitantly before the Colonel''s aide stepped forward and said, "Comrade, if you let go of the Colonel, we will treat it as if nothing happened." S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Comrade, this is a military camp. You had better release the Colonel, or you will be punished by the law for harming an officer," another soldier added. Gu Shaoze chuckled when he heard this and asked, "Comrade, do you really think the law still exists? It''s been two weeks since the zombies appeared. Don''t be so naive as to think the government can still control the people¡ªespecially ability-users." He took a step forward, glanced around at the soldiers, and said, "You keep talking about the law, but deep down, you know exactly what this scoundrel and his cronies have done." "Using his position to bully ordinary citizens, is that what you call an officer? Corrupt, greedy, bootlicking the wealthy while suppressing honest officers, is he even worthy of being the Commander-in-Chief?" After saying this, Gu Shaoze snapped his fingers, and a ball of water floated in front of the Colonel''s face. Turning to him, he said, "Colonel, didn''t you come to capture me and my girlfriend just so you could force me to supply water to your people for free? Since you like my water so much, I will let you enjoy it to the fullest!" As soon as he finished speaking, he flicked his wrist, and the ball of water enveloped the Colonel''s head. The Colonel''s eyes widened in horror as he struggled to free himself. But with Rong Mo''er gripping his nape and a dagger pointed at his throat, the Colonel didn''t dare struggle too hard. One careless move, and the dagger might slit his throat¡ªif that happened, escaping would be the least of his worries. Seeing this, the soldiers shouted, "Let go of the Colonel!" Gu Shaoze smiled and said, "Letting him go isn''t impossible¡ªbut you will have to meet my conditions." "We won''t negotiate with a terrorist!" Gu Shaoze blinked in surprise at the accusation, then burst out laughing. After a moment, he said, "I never thought I would be labeled a terrorist one day." "Well then, if you are not going to negotiate, forget it. But I should remind you¡ªyour Colonel might suffocate if you keep stalling." The soldiers turned to look at the Colonel. His eyes were beginning to roll back, and his face had turned bright red from lack of oxygen. At that moment, several water balls flew toward Gu Shaoze and Rong Mo''er. Boom! Boom! Boom! Seeing the incoming attack, Rong Mo''er launched a fireball the size of a watermelon. When it collided with the water balls, they exploded into vapor, but the fireball continued its trajectory. "Fuck!" Boom! Before the fireball could hit the water-type ability-users, they leapt back, narrowly avoiding the attack. Duagh! Crack! When they landed and looked up, Gu Shaoze was already in front of one of them. With a powerful roundhouse kick, he sent the man flying as the cracking of his bones could be heard clearly. Chapter 220 - 220: Caught ( 2 ) The other ability-users were stunned by Gu Shaoze''s attack. Unsure whether to run or fight, they hesitated. But Gu Shaoze didn''t wait for them. He pulled out his electric baton and sent another water ball toward them. Splash! At first, the ability-users thought it was a harmless move¡ªjust water. They were even about to laugh at his "weak" attack. But before they could, Gu Shaoze jabbed his electric baton into the puddle beneath their feet. Even for ability-users, electrocution was no joke. Within twenty seconds, the group rolled their eyes and fainted. Everyone watching was stunned by his shameless attack. They had underestimated how dangerously effective his "useless" water ability could be in battle. The Eagle team, having seen him fight zombies before, broke into cheers. After dealing with the enemy ability-users, Gu Shaoze snapped his fingers. The water suffocating the Colonel exploded. The blast knocked him out, sending a few teeth flying. Blood poured from his nose and cheeks. Seeing this, the Colonel''s aides were enraged. Drawing their daggers, they charged at Rong Mo''er, trying to save the colonel with killing intent radiating from them. They thought numbers would give them the upper hand. But Rong Mo''er shoved the unconscious Colonel at them, using him as a human shield. Afraid of injuring him, they instinctively pulled back. In that split second, Rong Mo''er appeared behind them. With a swing of her hand, she knocked them out one after another. In under five minutes, she and Gu Shaoze had taken down all of the Colonel''s men. After the one-sided battle, Gu Shaoze turned to the Eagle team and said, "Brother, as repayment for me filling your water tank, please help tie up these people." "Okay!" The Eagle team members agreed readily. When they finished tying up the Colonel and his people, Wei Ying and his team returned to the camp. The moment he heard about the confrontation between the Colonel and his team, his eyes turned cold. He was ready to confront his superior, but when he arrived at the water warehouse, he found the Colonel and his men tied up like dumplings on the ground. Seeing him, Gu Shaoze waved and said, "Captain Wei, you are finally back." "This... what''s going on?" Wei Ying asked. "I helped you clean up the camp. From now on, you will be the one in charge here. Your team members have gone to deal with the rest of the Colonel''s men and take over the warehouse," Gu Shaoze replied casually. Recalling something, Wei Ying asked, "What about Pei Yijun and his team?" Hearing this, Gu Shaoze said, "They left the camp at noon. You don''t have to worry about the people from the capital either. With how bad communication is right now, it''s impossible for the capital to control every base or camp." "Captain Wei, my team will leave as soon as we get the information we need. But in order to protect the survivors, you need to take over this camp. If you don''t, those people won''t survive." Wei Ying fell silent for a long moment before replying, "I understand. I will take the leadership position and reorganize the camp. But what should we do with the Colonel?" "Since he and his men liked using people as bait to lure zombies, let them experience it for themselves. But I had to remind you¡ªdon''t leave any trouble behind. When you pull the weeds, you need to pull out the roots too," Gu Shaoze said. At his words, a flicker of surprise crossed Wei Ying and his team''s faces. After a brief silence, Wei Ying said, "I know what to do." Turning to his team, he ordered, "Take care of them." His team members nodded and dragged the Colonel and his men away without hesitation. This time, they wouldn''t let them go. "What about the ability-users?" Rong Mo''er asked. "They are still useful," Wei Ying said with a smile. His team dragged the water-type ability-users into the wooden house and chained them up. From now on, they would be fed and given water daily¡ªbut they would have to work for it and produce water for the camp''s use. Once the matter of the Colonel and the ability-users was handled, Wei Ying handed Gu Shaoze a bag of crystal cores and said, "Comrade Gu, these are the crystals my team found today. I will have to trouble you to help us fill the water tanks again." Gu Shaoze accepted the crystals and replied, "It''s done." S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Wei Ying was surprised and looked at his team. When he saw them nod, he realized that Gu Shaoze had helped him without asking for anything in return. In that moment, his heart was filled with gratitude and admiration. Before leaving, Gu Shaoze asked, "Captain Wei, when will I get the information I asked you before?" "It will be handed over to you by tomorrow evening at the latest." Nodding, Gu Shaoze said, "Then I will stay one more day. Thank you for your help, Captain Wei." When the Eagle team finally took full control of the camp, the sky had already darkened. Word quickly spread about the colonel and his men''s disappearance. Many assumed they had abandoned the camp after taking all the valuable supplies with them. Even those who had come to purchase water and supplies from the colonel were shocked. With leadership having changed hands, they could no longer buy anything, so they left the camp shortly after arriving. Amid the discussions surrounding the situation, another day passed. Early the next morning, Gu Shaoze was woken by the sound of knocking on the door. He pushed himself up and opened it. Seeing a soldier standing outside, he asked, "Comrade, do you need anything?" The soldier gave a salute and replied, "Comrade, here is the information you requested." The moment he heard this, all sleepiness vanished from Gu Shaoze''s eyes. He took the folder and began to read. He had expected Wei Ying to provide only a brief overview of the current situation. Chapter 221 - 221: Another Healer ( 1 ) Unexpectedly, the documents contained not only detailed information about Lin''an City and the surrounding areas, but also a map showing estimated zombie populations in different regions. In addition, there was a report about the Gu family in the capital. After reading it, Gu Shaoze let out a sigh of relief¡ªhis family was safe and well. Now, he could fully focus on helping his girlfriend find her family. As he flipped through the final document, a smile spread across his face. He closed the folder and said, "Please help me thank Captain Wei. Before I leave, I will fill the water tanks one last time as a thank-you gift." The soldier nodded and replied with a smile, "Thank you, Comrade." While Gu Shaoze and his team were preparing to leave the survivor camp, Jin Xuyan and his team finally finished clearing out all the zombies in the shopping mall. After the members learned about Jiao Lizhi''s space ability, they no longer held back when it came to collecting supplies. They would lead Xun Che and his team away to kill any remaining zombies while she quickly stored everything. Compared to her, they were even more ruthless¡ªthey didn''t leave behind a single bag of pet food. As the sun rose higher, they exited the building. Feng Yun brought out their vehicles, and everyone boarded the cars. Before departing, Jin Xuyan handed long-range walkie-talkies to each of his team members and to Xun Che. Standing outside his car, Xun Che said, "Captain Jin, we will head straight back to the base. It''s been several days since we left, and the supplies won''t last if we delay any longer." Jin Xuyan nodded in understanding and said, "Okay. We will follow behind your team." After the brief exchange, Xun Che''s team took the lead as they made their way back. It took them ten hours to reach the base from the commercial district. Although the road had been partially cleared by the people from Xun Che''s base, there were still zombies roaming around, making it too dangerous for ordinary survivors to venture out in search of supplies. Unlike the government-built survivor camp located on the border of the city, this base was located on the city''s third ring. While not right in the center, it wasn''t far from it either. From a distance, Jiao Lizhi noticed several wooden watchtowers near the walls of a residential complex. Each tower had two guards stationed on it. The wall itself had been reinforced¡ªit stood at least three meters high and half a meter thick. Sharp metal rods protruded from the top, serving as an additional layer of defense. Before they reached the gate, Xun Che''s voice came through the walkie-talkie, "Captain Jin, we will need to undergo inspection before entering the base." "Okay," Jin Xuyan replied. When they arrived at the gate, soldiers stopped them outside the barricades and knocked on the window. The moment they recognized Xun Che, their eyes lit up. "Captain Xun, you are finally back!" one of the soldiers exclaimed in joy. Xun Che nodded and asked, "Have the people my team brought back been settled?" The soldier hesitated before answering, "Captain Xun, the Mayor had sent them away. He said the base couldn''t support so many people, so not long after your team left, he ordered the gates closed." S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Xun Che frowned at his words and asked, "Didn''t my team bring back several trucks of supplies? That should have been enough to support everyone for a while." "This¡­" The soldier scratched his head, avoiding Xun Che''s gaze. Sensing something was off, Xun Che pressed, "What''s going on?" Under his stern gaze, the soldier finally confessed, "Captain Xun, your team was detained by the Mayor the day they returned. He claimed they violated base regulations." "As for the supplies your team brought back¡­ the Mayor seized everything. The warehouse, armory, and water reservoir are now under his control." Xun Che''s expression turned cold when he heard this information. He had believed that, no matter how power-hungry the Mayor was, he wouldn''t go so far as to harm the soldiers or abandon the survivors. But he had been wrong. In times of chaos, the ugliest parts of human nature revealed themselves. The Mayor had sacrificed lives and betrayed trust for his own selfish ambitions. If a person like that remained in charge, disaster was inevitable. After a long silence, Xun Che finally said, "I will take care of this matter. For now, relay my orders to the soldiers¡ªstay alert and wait for further orders. We might have to use military law soon." The moment the soldiers heard this, they were taken aback. But as soldiers, they were strictly trained to follow orders. So, they didn''t ask any questions, saluted, and replied in unison, "Understood." After a brief conversation, the soldiers conducted some inspections before allowing them inside. As they drove toward Xun Che''s team''s base, Jiao Lizhi noticed the survivors in the area looked dehydrated and malnourished. While it was normal to appear thin in the apocalypse, it had only been two weeks since the disaster began. Logically, no matter how dangerous the outside world was, the soldiers should have been able to gather supplies¡ªespecially since this base was located near the city center, where resources were abundant. The survivors'' condition shouldn''t have deteriorated to this extent. As she considered the possibility of internal conflict among the base leadership, the Phantom Team members observed the situation in silence. Meanwhile, Li Sikai and Yin Yusheng, who had suffered from high fevers over the past two days, finally regained consciousness the previous night. Both had awakened abilities¡ªYin Yusheng developed a wood-type ability, while Li Sikai gained a lightning-type ability. At that moment, Yin Yusheng was curiously observing Zhou Huajian''s vine and asked, "Huajian, how did you create this vine?" "I''m not sure. I just focused my energy into my fingertips, and the vine appeared. Yusheng, why don''t you try channeling your energy the same way?" After hesitating for a moment, Yin Yusheng nodded and said, "Okay." Chapter 222 - 222: Another Healer ( 2 ) Ten minutes later, a thin layer of sweat covered Yin Yusheng''s forehead and back. Despite his efforts, nothing formed on his fingertips aside from a faint green glow. Feeling drained, he stopped and sighed, "Looks like my wood-type ability is different from yours." Zhou Huajian patted his shoulder reassuringly and said, "You just awakened your ability. Maybe once you have fully recovered, you will be able to create a vine too." Although doubtful, Yin Yusheng nodded and didn''t respond. Sensing his brother''s frustration, Zhou Huajian chose not to push him further, giving him space to think about his ability more. Unbeknownst to them, the small green energy hidden in Zhou Huajian''s brain suddenly trembled with excitement. Using his meridian as a channel, the green energy traveled to his fingertip. At that precise moment when Zhou Huajian''s fingers brushed against Yin Yusheng''s arm, the green energy seized the opportunity to quietly enter Yin Yusheng''s body. The amount of energy was so small that neither of them noticed any immediate changes. Once inside Yin Yusheng''s body, the green energy merged with the dark green energy located in his brain. In the next instant, it transformed into the shape of a tiny sprout. As this transformation occurred, Yin Yusheng suddenly felt his mind clear up. The irritation and exhaustion disappeared instantly, as if he had taken a refreshing shower or drank a calming tonic. He glanced at his wrist and noticed a faint tattoo in the shape of a sunflower. As he stared at it, a sprout appeared on his palm. "Hm? What is this?" Hearing his words, Zhou Huajian turned and saw the sprout. A smile formed on his face as he said, "Maybe this is your ability?" Feeling curious, Yin Yusheng poked the sprout. The moment his fingertip touched it, two green leaves unfurled and wrapped around his finger. When they uncurled, the small wound on his fingertip had disappeared. Both of them stared in stunned silence. It took him a moment before he asked, "Huajian, did you see that?" Zhou Huajian nodded and replied, "I saw it." A moment later, Zhou Huajian said with joy evident in his voice, "Yusheng, it looks like your wood-type ability is for healing. Even though we already have Sister Jiang, having another healer is a huge blessing for our team." Hearing the excitement in his voice, the others couldn''t help but ask, "What''s going on?" "Did Brother Yusheng figure out how to use his ability?" Xiao Qi chimed in. Zhou Huajian nodded and quickly explained what had happened. When the team learned they had gained another healer, they erupted in cheers. They all knew how scarce medicine had become. A second healer meant another safeguard for their survival. Once they confirmed the sprout''s healing function, they immediately reported the news to Jin Xuyan. Not long after receiving the report, they arrived at a two-story house. After getting out of the car, Xun Che waited for the Phantom Team to approach before saying, "Captain Jin, this house is prepared for you and your team. My team lives next door." Jiao Lizhi looked at the house, then asked, "Captain Xun, what about the survivors?" Xun Che smiled and explained, "This residential complex covers a large area. It''s divided into three villa zones, eight housing blocks, and twenty apartment areas." "We have reclaimed one villa zone, three housing blocks, and two apartment areas. The survivors are housed in the apartment areas. The villas and housing blocks are reserved for leaders, ability-users, and soldiers." Jiao Lizhi nodded, then asked again, "Are there any rules about supplies found by ability-users or ordinary people?" Shaking his head, Xun Che replied, "So far, we haven''t enforced any rules. Whatever supplies the ability-users or survivors find belong to them." Jin Xuyan frowned at his words and asked, "Captain Xun, are you saying the supplies gathered by the soldiers are used to support the base, but the base doesn''t offer anything in return?" "It''s not that I haven''t raised the issue," Xun Che said. "But the Mayor insists that, as leaders, we should be generous and not touch supplies earned through others'' hard work." S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. As soon as he said that, one of his team members scoffed and said, "That old man only knows how to use our efforts to build his reputation. If he is so generous, why doesn''t he send out his own people¡ªor go himself?" "We lost so many comrades to get those supplies, and in the end, not to mention we didn''t get a work of thanks, we even got less supplies than those bootlickers." The rest of Xun Che''s team quickly joined in, voicing their frustrations. "Enough!" Xun Che cut them off and reminded them, "Talk less, or you will cause more trouble." After hearing their complaints, Jin Xuyan said, "Captain Xun, we can discuss the supply situation later after you have handled your own matters." Understanding the underlying message, Xun Che nodded and replied, "Alright. I will come find you once I have dealt with everything." "Good." After the brief conversation, Xun Che and his team went to find the Mayor, while Jin Xuyan and his team went to check the house. Although the floor and furniture were covered in a layer of dust and some blood stains, the house was in good condition. When they were done checking the house, Jin Xuyan said, "Old Qin, help us clean the dust. Wen Kai, Wen Mo, the two of you go seal up the faucets and the pipes. Old Zhang, you go reinforce the wall." "Understood!" After he gave the orders, Jiao Lizhi asked Xiao Qi to take out the iron pots and fill them up with water. At the same time, Qin Luzi stood in the yard and, with a wave of his hand, a small tornado appeared in front of him. He controlled the tornado and sucked away all the dust inside the house. With his control over the wind and the air pressure, they didn''t need any vacuum cleaner at all. Chapter 223 - 223: Taking Over The Base ( 1 ) Ten minutes later, Qin Luzi waved his hand, and the small tornado came out of the house. The previously clean tornado was now full of dust, grime, and dirt. Seeing this, Xiao Qi quickly opened the big trash bin in the yard and stepped aside. Qin Luzi controlled the tornado, and as it floated above the trash bin, it slowly dispersed. The next moment, the dust, grime, and dirt fell into the trash bin. "Alright, it''s done. All of you can go mop the floor now," Qin Luzi said casually. Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi took out three mopping tools from her space and a bottle of floor-cleaning fluid. While the members were mopping the floor, Feng Yun and the others were scrubbing the pots, pans, and utensils found in the kitchen. Even if they couldn''t live here for a long time, they could take away these things later. What''s more, they needed to use these things during their stay. So, it wasn''t a waste of effort to clean them up nicely. Meanwhile, the Wen brothers finished sealing up the pipes and faucets and went to help Zhang Yuan reinforce the wall. After Zhang Yuan used his earth-type ability to increase the thickness and height of the wall, the Wen brothers added thirty-centimeter-long metal needles densely on the wall. Now, even if the zombies broke into the base, they would be pierced by the needles before they could do anything. While everyone was busy with their tasks, Yin Yusheng went to the backyard''s warehouse and found several sacks of seeds. Looking at the label, these seeds were flowers and vegetables. He untied the opened sacks and grabbed several seeds. As he held the seeds to get a closer look, he felt the wood energy inside his body stir. Before he could process what was going on, he saw the seeds on his palm start sprouting one after another. As the seeds sprouted, he felt his energy was drained. Despite his heart being full of fear and panic, he quickly calmed down and controlled his energy flow. Five minutes later, his energy was finally brought under control, and the seeds stopped growing. After taking a moment of rest, he quickly went to find his team. When his team members saw him coming back with a pale face, they were taken aback. "Yusheng, what''s wrong with you?" Zhou Huajian asked worriedly as he helped him sit down. Jiang Lixin walked over and said, "Let me take a look." Yin Yusheng sat on the ground and leaned on the wall. While Jiang Lixin used her energy to check his condition, he didn''t let go of the sprouts in his hand. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. After a while, Jiang Lixin said, "Brother Yin only overused his energy. He will be fine after some rest and absorb some crystals." The moment they heard this, the Phantom team members let out a sigh of relief. They handed him a bottle of water and a few wood-type crystal cores. "Yusheng, what''s going on? Why are you overusing your energy so recklessly?" Qin Luzi asked with a frown. Yin Yusheng drank the water and absorbed a crystal core before he recovered his energy. Opening his palm, he said, "Brother Qin, I think my wood-type ability is not healing but controlling plants." When everyone saw several sprouts on his palm, they looked at him with confusion. "Brother Qin, I found several sacks of seeds in the backyard''s warehouse. When I grabbed some seeds, my energy suddenly went out of control. At the same time, the seeds sprouted at a fast speed," Yin Yusheng continued. "Is that why you ran out of energy?" Zhou Huajian asked. Nodding at him, Yin Yusheng said, "I think if I am able to control the growth of the seeds, I might be able to control the plants and use them in battle." The moment they heard this, they were delighted. If he could use plants to fight, he would be able to protect himself better during a battle. But compared to that, his ability to induce growth in seeds was more valuable. After a moment of silence, Qin Luzi said, "The matter regarding your ability to induce plant growth must be kept confidential. As for your ability to control plants, it''s fine to let others know. We can use that as a cover for your real ability." As soon as he said this, everyone understood the implication of having such an ability. Right now, they were able to find supplies, but what about several years later, when the supplies were used up or spoiled? At that time, humanity might have to depend on ability-users to grow food and create water. If people learned about his ability to induce plant growth, he would become the target of people''s ambitions, greed, and schemes. Everyone nodded in agreement and decided not to talk about this matter anymore. As for informing the captain, they would leave that matter to Qin Luzi. At the same time, Xun Che and his team were standing in front of the Mayor and the leaders in the meeting room. Sitting around the oval-shaped table, the Mayor and the officers looked at them with various expressions. After a moment of exchanging glances, the Mayor finally said with a smile, "Captain Xun, it''s great to have you back. I heard from the soldiers that you brought back a group of ability-users. Is that true?" Xun Che didn''t answer his question. Instead, he asked him back, "Mayor, where are the rest of my team members?" When the Mayor heard this, his smile became more amicable as he said, "Captain Xun, you might not know, but the situation in the base is not good, and we can''t accept more people. So, we decided not to accept anyone into the base in the future." "Since your team brought so many survivors back, we couldn''t just let them go. To appease the public, we could only wrong them and lock them up for a few days." Chapter 224 - 224: Taking Over The Base ( 2 ) The moment the mayor finished his words, Xun Che let out a chuckle and said, "Mayor, I think you are old and senile." As soon as he heard this, the smile on the Mayor''s face disappeared, and he asked with a frown, "Captain Xun, what do you mean by that?" Xun Che looked at them for a while before he said, "Outside of this base, the world has changed. The roads are full of zombies, and the number of survivors is so small that the human race is at the brink of extinction." "It''s true that we will need a lot of supplies to support a large number of people. But those survivors are very important for us to build the base and fight against the zombies." "Not only you didn''t think far ahead, you even tried to cut off the only path of survival with your own hands. If you are not old and senile, then what are you?" After a moment of pause, he asked, "Mayor, you don''t think that by keeping these useless people, controlling the soldiers, and hoarding supplies, you can survive the apocalypse, do you?" Being called useless to their face was never a good experience. So, the leaders and officers stood up and scolded Xun Che one after another. The more he looked at them, the colder Xun Che''s eyes became. After a few minutes, he finally pulled out his gun and aimed it at the Mayor. "Since you are useless, then there is no use to keep you around." BANG! As soon as he finished his words, he pulled the trigger. Everyone was shocked when they saw the Mayor lean back in the chair with a hole in the center of his forehead. He was killed so suddenly that even after he died, he still looked confused. The meeting room went silent suddenly. After a while, one of the officers turned to look at Xun Che. He pointed his trembling finger at him and said with a pale face, "C-Captain Xun, you killed the Mayor!" Following his words, another officer shouted, "Someone, come in and arrest this criminal!" They shouted for a long time but no one came in. Looking at them, Xun Che smiled and said, "You can save your energy. Those soldiers are my men. How do you expect them to arrest me?" He walked to the main seat and pulled the Mayor''s body from the chair. Afterward, he sat down and said, "From now on, this base will follow the military law." As soon as he said that, the Mayor''s right-hand man refuted, "I don''t agree! You are just a soldier¡ªwhat do you know about being a leader?!" Bang! The next moment, another person was killed on the spot. This time, everyone was so scared that they didn''t dare let out a sound. Looking at them, Xun Che said, "Who else has objections?" Ten minutes passed, and no one said a word. Looking at their cowardice, Xun Che sneered. He stood up and said, "From now on, all of you are removed from your post and will join the team building the wall and reclaiming the area." Hearing this, the officers and leaders were stunned. It was alright to build the wall, but if they were sent to reclaim the area, they would have to fight the zombies. They had never once faced the zombies directly¡ªhow could they survive if they had to fight those monsters? "Captain Xun, please spare my life! I will serve as your dog, please don''t send me to reclaim the area!" one of the leaders knelt on the ground and begged. Ignoring his plea, Xun Che glanced at his team members and said, "Take them away and let our brothers out. Call everyone over, and we will have a meeting in an hour." The soldiers saluted and replied in unison, "Yes, Captain!" After the soldiers and his team members left, Xun Che exited the meeting room and went to find Jin Xuyan. Not long after, the news about him taking over the leader''s position and removing all the officers and leaders from their positions spread throughout the base. Everyone saw two bodies being carried out from the base''s central control, so the people under the Mayor and those officers went into a panic. While some of them decided to leave the base, others chose to stay, adopting a ''wait and see'' attitude. When the sun set on the western horizon, Xun Che knocked on the door of the Phantom team''s residence. Not long after, the door was opened, and he saw Jiao Lizhi. Wearing a casual T-shirt, she was eating a duck neck. Seeing him, she stepped aside and said, "Captain Xun, please come in." Xun Che raised his eyebrows when he saw that she didn''t ask anything and simply led him to the living room. When he walked in, he saw Jin Xuyan and his team having dinner. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Captain Xun, have you eaten?" Zhang Yuan asked. At first, Xun Che wanted to tell them that he had eaten. But before he could say a word, a rumble came from his stomach. Hearing this, Zhang Yuan smiled and said, "Tonight, Old Qin cooked a lot. He also braised a big pot of duck neck and duck feet. Captain Xun, why don''t you have a seat and eat with us?" When he finished his words, Xiao Qi had already scooped a big bowl of rice for him and said, "Captain Xun, please." Looking at the steaming hot white rice, Xun Che looked at them and asked, "You guys know how to cook?" "Well, Old Qin and Jinzhe dislike eating takeout. So, they would cook by themselves when they were not on a mission. Now, the two of them are our cooks," Jin Xuyan replied. Xun Che pointed at the rice and asked, "This rice¡ª" "We used a rice cooker," Jiao Lizhi replied. Hearing this, Xun Che was taken aback. He looked around the house and saw several candles placed in the room, offering dim illumination. The base didn''t have any electricity at all, so how could they use a rice cooker? Chapter 225 - 225: Establishing Rules ( 1 ) Noticing Xun Che''s doubts, Li Sikai smiled and opened his palm. The next moment, the sound of electric crackling was heard and a few seconds later, a ball of lightning floated above his palm. Seeing this, Xun Che stood up in shock and asked, "Is this a lightning-type ability?" Li Sikai nodded and replied, "I just awakened my ability. At first, I was experimenting with it. Unexpectedly, I can use my ability to run the rice cooker." As soon as he finished his words, Xiao Qi chimed in, "Captain Xun, if you want to recharge your phone, you can ask Brother Sikai for help." S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. When he heard this, Li Sikai glanced at his brothers and nodded helplessly. Now that everyone had found out about his ability, he could only resign himself to his fate as a charger for everyone. After the surprise passed, Xun Che looked at Jin Xuyan and said with a sigh, "Captain Jin, your team is so capable. If only I had capable helpers, I wouldn''t be stuck in this situation." Jin Xuyan had already heard about what happened to the mayor and his men. In his previous life, he had even killed an innocent baby after it turned into a zombie. So, when he heard about Xun Che killing the mayor and an officer, he didn''t even bat an eye. "Eat first, and we can talk about this matter later," he said as he picked a piece of sausage for his girlfriend. Seeing how relaxed he was, Xun Che let out another sigh and started eating. The moment he tasted the dishes, he couldn''t help but speed up. It had been a long time since he''d eaten warm rice and delicious home-cooked dishes. After dinner, they sat in the living room while having a cup of tea. "Now, you can tell me why you are here," Jin Xuyan said. Placing his cup on the low table, Xun Che said, "Captain Jin, I want to hire your team to clear out the zombies in the base''s unreclaimed areas. The crystals you find will be yours, and the base will pay you 500 crystals for the mission." Jin Xuyan thought for a moment and said, "No problem. But when we do our mission, I don''t want you or your men following us. We like to do things alone." "Okay," Xun Che readily agreed. After a moment of silence, Jin Xuyan asked, "Is there anything else?" "Well, I want to ask your opinion about the rules in the base. I plan to establish some rules regarding the survivors, and also pricing for supplies and residence," Xun Che said awkwardly. As a soldier, he had limited knowledge when it came to managing a base. Jin Xuyan finished his tea and said casually, "I think you can start with how you want to manage the survivors first. While it''s fine to support them by giving supplies for free, it''s not a long-term solution." "To operate the base, you need good management and strong finances. In our current situation, we can''t use our previous currency." Hearing his words, Xun Che asked, "You mean using the crystals?" Jin Xuyan nodded and replied, "While we still don''t know all the uses of these crystals, we can be sure there is energy inside them. In the future, we might be able to use them as fuel or even as an energy source. So, having more crystals is always a good thing." "But not everyone can get crystals. Most ordinary people are unable to fight zombies," Xun Che said with a frown. "Therefore, you need to establish another currency so that ordinary people can earn their own food and be independent," Jin Xuyan said meaningfully. Xun Che looked at him for a long time but didn''t hear anything more. So, he asked, "Another currency, like what?" Jin Xuyan let out a long sigh and gave him a side glance. This man really was unfit to handle a base. "You can use points instead," he replied. Noticing his annoyance, Jiao Lizhi let out a chuckle and explained, "Captain Xun, you can issue missions or hire ordinary people to help build the base. Then, you pay them using points issued by the base." "These points can be used to exchange for supplies or rent a place to stay. But the point system will only work within this base. For trading with another base, it''s still better to use crystals." "As for ways to earn crystals, you can send your men to clear zombies in the area. One, it can prevent a zombie horde. Two, you can find more crystals." Xun Che nodded and said, "That''s a good idea." "As another method, you can establish an entrance fee. Whether they are ability-users or ordinary people, they have to pay to enter the base," Jiao Lizhi said. "Sister-in-law, how do we set the rule for the entrance fee?" Xun Che asked. After thinking for a moment, Jiao Lizhi replied, "The entrance fee is paid each time they enter the base. But if they register as members of the base, they don''t have to pay the entrance fee." "Instead, they will need to pay 10% to 30% of the supplies they find to the base or just give a fixed amount they have to hand over. If they don''t have supplies, they can pay the tax to the base using crystals." "Sister-in-law, how do we manage member registration?" Xun Che asked again. Hearing his question, Jiao Lizhi smiled and said, "Even the government asked citizens to pay a fee when registering a newborn. You can use the same rule." "If they want to join the base as permanent residents, besides paying monthly tax, they have to pay a registration fee. You can decide the amount. You can allow payment in supplies or crystals." "With this method, you can collect more supplies and sell them at a fixed price to the residents using points. This way, the base won''t have to shoulder the burden of feeding so many people, and survivors will have a goal to work toward." Chapter 226 - 226: Establishing Rules ( 2 ) Xun Che thought for a long time before saying, "We might be able to get more food, but water is hard to come by." sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "When you establish these rules, you can hire more water-type ability-users. You can pay them daily using supplies, points, or crystals. Each day, they will need to provide a fixed amount of water to get their base payment. If they can provide more, you can increase their pay," Jiao Lizhi replied. Jin Xuyan nodded and added, "As long as the base has clear rules and strict management, you don''t have to worry about not having enough ability-users working for you." "Most water-type and wood-type users are weak and can only play support roles in battle. If you hire them, they will definitely prefer to stay in the base rather than go out and fight zombies." Xun Che thought for a moment before asking, "Captain Jin, what can wood-type ability-users do for the base?" As soon as he said this, Zhou Huajian raised his eyebrows and asked, "Captain Xun, you don''t think wood-type users can only throw wooden balls, do you?" "Of course not," Xun Che quickly said. "You can have them build wooden houses and rent those cheaply to ordinary people. Or let them try to grow some crops. You can also hire earth-type users to see if they can improve soil conditions to grow crops," Jin Xuyan said. When he finished speaking, he waved his hand and said, "Alright, we have given you plenty of ideas. The rest, you can think over yourself or discuss with your team." Noticing that the sky had darkened, Xun Che stood up and said, "Thank you for your help today, Captain Jin, Sister-in-law." Jin Xuyan nodded, and Xiao Qi stood up to see Xun Che off. Since it was late and they didn''t have electricity, everyone headed to their rooms to sleep. While the members shared rooms, Jiao Lizhi was given a single room on the second floor. At first, she thought she would be living alone. Unexpectedly, not long after she finished showering, a certain someone walked in and lay down on the bed without an ounce of shame. Standing beside the bed, she reached out to pull him up. But when she saw he was already breathing evenly and snoring softly, her heart softened. In the end, she could only climb to the inner side of the bed and close her eyes. Not long after she fell asleep, Jin Xuyan opened his eyes and pulled her into his arms before drifting back to sleep with a satisfied smile on his face. The next day, the news about new rules being established in the base was announced by the soldiers. They didn''t use a megaphone to broadcast the message across the base, but instead had the soldiers visit the survivors personally. They explained the rules and answered any questions. While some ability-users thought it was ridiculous for the base to take part of the supplies they found outside, others considered it normal. After all, the base had to support a large number of staff and soldiers to manage and maintain operations. As for the ordinary people, after learning about the point system, they finally found a glimmer of hope in the living hell they had been enduring. They no longer had to worry about going out to find supplies or being worked to death with nothing in return. As long as they had points, they could exchange them for supplies and even rent a house. Ability-users with weak attack powers¡ªor those who couldn''t fight at all¡ªchose to register themselves and work for the base. Since most of them didn''t have crystal cores to pay the registration fee, Xun Che decided to allow them to borrow the crystals from the base. Once they earned points, they could use them to pay off their debt. Although the conversion rate of points to crystals was high, this system was well accepted by everyone. While Xun Che and the soldiers were busy implementing the new policies, Jin Xuyan, Jiao Lizhi, Feng Yun, and Xiao Qi went to the warehouse area led by the soldier. The warehouse area was located near the soldiers'' dormitory. So, the security was tight. The area was part of the house residence, and they used metal fences to secure the area surrounding ten three-story houses. Before they entered the warehouse area, they were checked by the guards and then allowed to enter. As they walked, the soldier leading them said, "Captain Jin, these houses are used as warehouses, so they are empty inside. Later, you can just send over the supplies, and we will organize them." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan said, "My team has space-type ability-users. We will put the supplies inside directly. You can just wait outside." When the soldier heard this, he was surprised. This was the first time he had heard of this kind of ability. But Captain Xun had already ordered him to follow Jin Xuyan''s instructions, so he nodded and said, "Understood." After walking for a while, they reached the first warehouse. Standing outside the house, they couldn''t see anything inside since the window had been sealed with metal rods and wooden planks. The soldier opened the door and said, "Captain Jin, please." Jin Xuyan nodded and walked into the house with his team. The moment they entered, they were shocked to see how empty the so-called warehouse was. Besides twenty boxes of instant noodles, fewer than ten boxes of biscuits, and thirty boxes of mineral water, there was nothing else stored inside. Seeing this situation, they now understood why Xun Che was so anxious. The supplies brought back by Xun Che''s team had been taken away by the colonel and had been sold to the wealthy families and some ability-users. So, they couldn''t get them back anymore. After a moment of shock, Jin Xuyan said, "Xiao Qi, Feng Yun, take out half of the supplies stored in your space. We need to make space so we can get more supplies when we go out later." Chapter 227 - 227: First Mission ( 1 ) As soon as Xiao Qi and Feng Yun heard their Captain''s words, the two of them nodded and said in unison, "Understood." Since the amount of supplies they had could fill up three to four houses, the two of them divided the task. Each of them went to a different house and filled it up from the top floor before filling up the lower floor. While the two of them were busy, Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi went to fill up the rest of the warehouses, while the soldier who led them waited outside the warehouse area, chatting with other guards. Jin Xuyan guarded the outside while Jiao Lizhi went inside the house. She took out the supplies based on their categories. Besides grains, flour, and mineral water, she also gave them instant food such as instant noodles, canned food, dried food, including compressed biscuits. She filled up four warehouses with food and water and filled the other two warehouses with medicine, daily necessities, women and baby''s products. She even took out all of the baby formula she found before. Even after she filled up a total of six three-story houses, it was only the tip of the iceberg compared to the number of supplies in her space. So, she felt that the amount was not much. After all, she could get more supplies when they go out later. It took them half an hour to fill all the warehouses. When they walked out from the warehouse area, Jin Xuyan looked at the soldier and asked, "Comrade, are these the only warehouses you have?" When the soldier heard this, he thought for a while before he said, "Captain Jin, this area is empty, and we can use the houses as warehouses. It''s just that we need to clean them up and seal the windows first." Jin Xuyan thought for a moment and said, "Then inform your leader and ask them to clean up ten more houses. We only took out half of the supplies brought back by Captain Xun." The moment the soldier heard this, his eyes widened with joy as he asked, "Captain Jin, do you mean that the ten warehouses are filled and we need ten more warehouses?" Xiao Qi looked at the soldier and said, "Comrade, that''s what my captain said." After he confirmed the information, the soldier nodded and replied with a smile, "Understood! I will inform my leader now." "When the warehouses are ready, just send someone to inform us, and we will take out the rest of the supplies," Jin Xuyan said. "Understood!" After they left the warehouse area, they returned to their temporary residence and prepared to carry out their mission. Thirty minutes later, they left the house, driving two SUVs that had been enhanced by the Wen brothers. To facilitate settlement for the survivors, their first priority was to clear out the apartment complex areas. After driving for an hour, they reached the edge of the base. Between the complexes, a wall and gate had been constructed to keep the zombies out. At this moment, the soldiers guarding the gate gestured for them to stop and walked over. Before the soldier could knock on the window, Zhang Yuan had already rolled it down and greeted him, "Good morning, Comrade." S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The soldier nodded, glanced into the car, and said, "Comrade, this area is off-limits. Please turn back." Zhang Yuan took out an emblem from his pocket and showed it to the soldier. The moment the soldier saw it, he immediately saluted and said, "Captain!" Waving his hand, Zhang Yuan replied, "I''m not a captain. But this emblem was given by Captain Xun. My team accepted a mission from him, and we are here to clear out the zombies in the surrounding area." Hearing this, the soldier was momentarily taken aback. He looked at them again and said, "Please wait a moment." "Okay." The soldier walked back to the guard post and contacted someone. Not long after, he nodded at his team and said a few words. Then, they moved the barricades and opened the gate. As they drove through, Xiao Qi rolled down the window and tossed a box of compressed biscuits and ten bottles of mineral water to the soldiers. He waved at them and said with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work, brothers." The soldiers were caught off guard by his sudden generosity. But before they could return the biscuits and water, the Phantom Team had already driven off. Looking down at the box and bottles, the soldiers exchanged glances and decided to hold onto them for now and report to their superiors. They couldn''t just accept things from others without reason, as it could be considered bribery. After driving past the metal gate, the Phantom team drove toward the nearest apartment complex based on the map given by Xun Che. Sitting in the back seat, Qin Luzi focused his mind to check the surroundings. After using his ability day and night without stopping, he realized that the map in his mind had become larger than before. The area of observation increased from 100 meters to 200 meters, with him as the center point. Before, he could only check the general area, but now, he could use his mental ability to check in a specific direction. Not only that, the distance also increased from 200 meters to 500 meters whenever he used it to check in a specific direction. Ten minutes later, they finally reached the apartment complex and could hear the roars of zombies even before they saw them. Qin Luzi checked several specific directions for a while before he said, "Captain, there are around a thousand zombies scattered within a 500-meter radius around us." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan said, "We will go on foot from here. Everyone, check your equipment and get ready for battle." "Understood." Today, they drove two cars. After receiving his order, Yin Yusheng contacted their team members using the walkie-talkie. When they were 100 meters away from the apartment complex''s main entrance, they got out of the cars, and Jiao Lizhi stored them in her space. Chapter 228 - 228: First Mission ( 2 ) Not long after, they heard the sound of roaring coming from the distance. Qin Luzi checked his map and said, "Captain, it might be a high-level zombie." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan frowned and muttered, "The location of this zombie is close to the base. Why didn''t it attack and hide here instead?" Recalling the zombie lords in her past life, Jiao Lizhi leaned closer to him and said, "Brother Yan, could it be the psychic zombie?" As soon as she said this, his eyes flickered as memories from his past life flashed in his mind. After a moment, he said, "Everyone, keep up your guard." "Understood!" They walked toward the apartment complex but didn''t see any zombies at all. Qin Luzi frowned as he checked his map. His map was full of red dots, but they didn''t see any zombies at all. This was the first time he doubted his own ability. Besides the sound of wind blowing and plastic bags rustling as they were blown away, there was only the sound of their footsteps. Everyone''s hearts were stuck in their throats, while a thin layer of sweat appeared on their foreheads and backs. The atmosphere was so strange that they could feel the tension in the air. It was as if they would be lying on the ground, dying, in the blink of an eye. While the members were unfamiliar with this feeling, both Jin Xuyan and Jiao Lizhi were very familiar with it. This was the suppression coming from a high-level zombie. Combined with the killing intent, it was draining their mental power. With this, they could confirm that the zombie lurking in secret was a psychic-type zombie. "ROARRR!!" The sound of the roar came so suddenly that it startled everyone. Following the roar, countless zombies suddenly appeared out of nowhere, trapping them in the middle. "Shit!" Xiao Qi let out an exclamation due to shock. "Roar!" The zombies rushed at them, aiming their sharp claws at their heads and chests. BOOM! Seeing this, Jin Xuyan unsheathed his longsword and slashed it horizontally. The black flame covering the longsword flew toward the zombies, creating a crescent-shaped flame blade, killing a group of zombies instantly. His reaction was so fast, as if he already knew that there were zombies around them and only waited for the right moment to attack. "Wen Mo, Wen Kai!" he shouted. Following this call, the Wen brothers clapped their hands and slammed them on the ground. The next moment, a metal wall in the shape of a cylinder was created, surrounding them and blocking the zombies'' attacks. Since they didn''t have any time to prepare, the wall was only ten centimeters thick and two meters high. The zombies slammed and clawed at the wall, creating ear-piercing sounds. At the same time, they continued to rush forward, even crushing the zombies at the front. With more and more zombies being stepped on, they slowly reached the top of the wall. Qin Luzi grabbed Shen Jinzhe''s arm and leaped into the air. With him supporting Shen Jinzhe, he couldn''t fly too high, barely able to see the situation outside the wall. Understanding his meaning, Shen Jinzhe raised his hand, created a massive blue fireball, and threw it at the zombies. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! While he was throwing the fireballs, Qin Luzi snapped his fingers, and the air above the zombies exploded one after another, killing group after group of zombies near the metal wall. Inside the wall, Zhang Yuan placed his palms on the ground, and the next moment, the ground under their feet shook, and a platform made of stone appeared. The platform rose higher and higher and only stopped when they were five meters above the ground. The next moment, Qin Luzi brought Shen Jinzhe and joined them on the platform. Standing on the high ground, they were finally able to see the situation clearly. The area around them was packed with zombies, and they were trapped in the middle without any escape route. "Save your energy and kill them with the guns," Jin Xuyan said. When everyone heard this, they replied in unison, "Understood." At first, Chen Zhiyi and Li Sikai wanted to try out their abilities. But after they received the order, they didn''t use their abilities and killed the zombies with the guns instead. Fortunately, the bullets and cartridges were refillable, so they didn''t have to worry about running out of ammo. While they were killing the zombies, Jin Xuyan narrowed his eyes and observed their surroundings. After a moment, he suddenly leaped from the stone platform and swung his longsword. Crack! BOOM! The collision between his black flame and a white lightning bolt sent an energy wave through the surroundings, killing the zombies below them. Jin Xuyan flipped mid-air and landed back on the stone platform. Raising his head, he met a pair of black eyes across the sea of zombies. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. In the middle of the horde, a teenager stood still, staring at them. As he stood there, the surrounding zombies didn''t dare to get closer, forming a ten-meter empty circle around him. If not for the pair of black eyes, no one would have guessed that the teenager was a high-level zombie. When Jin Xuyan saw the zombie, he let out a chuckle and muttered softly, "It''s really you." The next moment, the zombie opened his mouth and let out a roar, "ROAR!" In the blink of an eye, several level-two zombies suddenly leapt out from the crowd and attacked them. Fireballs, tornadoes, metal spears, and lightning bolts appeared one after another, flying toward them at high speed. When the Phantom team members saw this, they raised their hands and launched their skills to counterattack the zombies'' attacks. Jiao Lizhi held her gun, bent her knees, and leapt up. While mid-air, she raised her hand toward the nearest zombie and said, "Collect!" In the blink of an eye, the tornadoes disappeared and reappeared inside her space. Everyone was busy fighting zombies and didn''t notice her action except for a certain person. Chapter 229 - 229: First Mission ( 3 ) Jin Xuyan''s eyes flashed with disbelief when he saw the scene, while Jiao Lizhi herself was shocked. She had wanted to collect the zombie into her space to test whether it could absorb the zombie like it had with Mo Bingxue. But instead of the zombie, her space took the tornadoes. When she landed back on the platform, she quickly checked her space, afraid the tornadoes might destroy her farm or the supplies stored inside. Unexpectedly, after her mind entered her space, she saw that the tornadoes simply floated above the grassland, unmoving. At that moment, she could sense that the tornadoes were no longer under the wind-type zombie''s control. Suddenly, a thought surfaced in her mind. If these tornadoes were no longer under control, could she use them to attack the zombies instead? As soon as the thought came to her, she waved her hand and took the tornadoes back out from her space. Wush~ BOOM! The next moment, the tornadoes flew toward the zombies at high speed. Zombies were either sucked into them or flung away. After a moment, the tornadoes collided and merged into a larger tornado. Seeing this, everyone was shocked. "Sister-in-law, since when did you awaken a wind-type ability?" Gao Bohai asked in surprise. "It''s not my ability. I just took the zombie tornadoes into my space and took them back out. I have no control over them," Jiao Lizhi replied. At this moment, not to mention the others, even she was puzzled by her own space. It couldn''t collect the zombie, so why was it able to collect and absorb the zombified Mo Bingxue? Even if she was puzzled, she was in the middle of a battle. So, she threw those questions to the back of her mind and focused on killing the zombies. Everything had happened in less than thirty seconds, and only those close to her had witnessed it. With the emergence of several level-two zombies, Jin Xuyan said, "Ah Zhi, Old Qin, Jinzhe, Feng Yun¡ªtake care of the level-two zombies. The rest of you, keep the low-level zombies at bay. Don''t let them reach the platform!" "Understood!" After giving the order, Jin Xuyan leapt from the platform and threw a black fireball at the zombies below. BOOM! As the fireball exploded, black flames ignited and turned the surrounding zombies into ash. Landing on the ground, he gripped his longsword and dashed toward the high-level zombie. Seeing this, the zombie smiled and raised his hands. CLANG! Jin Xuyan''s longsword was stopped by a transparent barrier ten inches from the zombie''s raised palm. It was a mental barrier. The zombie swung its arm and aimed a punch at his chest. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Boom! Before the punch could land, Jin Xuyan turned his body and kicked the zombie in the neck. The zombie was unharmed, but the impact against the mental barrier sent it flying by more than ten meters. As the zombie hit the road, the mental barrier shattered. Due to the backlash, the zombie''s mind buzzed, leaving it unable to move for a moment. Boom! Seeing the opening, Jin Xuyan waved his hand and threw a black fireball. It exploded on contact, and black flames engulfed the zombie''s body. Not wanting to give it any chance of escaping, he increased the intensity of the flames, focusing on the zombie''s legs and arms. In less than ten seconds, the zombie''s limbs were burned to ash, leaving it lying on the ground with rage flashing in its black eyes. Jin Xuyan rushed forward and stared coldly at the zombie. Raising his longsword, he said, "This time, I won''t give you a chance to grow stronger and cause Ah Zhi''s death again." Crack! With those words, he swung down his longsword and severed the zombie''s head. As the head rolled on the ground, he raised his foot and stomped down hard. Crash! The head cracked like a watermelon under his foot, and black blood stained the ground, releasing a sickening stench. As soon as the psychic-type zombie was eliminated, the surrounding zombies lost their leader and could no longer attack in an organized pattern. Jin Xuyan picked up the transparent crystal and put it in his pocket. He looked toward his girlfriend and saw her effortlessly take down a level-two zombie. Seeing this, the corners of his lips lifted slightly, and he continued clearing out the remaining zombies. Now that the high-level zombie was gone, the risk of Ah Zhi being killed in a zombie horde had been reduced by half. As long as he removed the rest of the obstacles, he was confident he could change his girlfriend''s fate this time. Due to the sound of explosions, zombies from a distance were attracted and rushed over. It took them more than an hour to clear the surrounding zombies. Compared to the zombies in the factory district, there were more level-two zombies here. So, while the total number of zombies was lower, killing them wasn''t any easier. As usual, Xiao Qi and Shen Jinzhe were tasked with picking up the crystal cores, while Qin Luzi checked the surrounding area. After they finished cleaning up the area, they walked toward the apartment buildings. The number of zombies wandering the roads had been reduced by their previous battle, so they only used their guns to kill the remaining ones while they recovered their energy. As for the zombies trapped inside the buildings, since they hadn''t undergone the baptism of the first rain, they weren''t as strong as the ones wandering outside. By noon, they had finished clearing out all the zombies in two buildings. They found a relatively clean apartment and took a rest. Jiao Lizhi took out the food they had prepared beforehand and handed it out to everyone. Sitting in the living room, they ate their lunch in silence. Afterward, they absorbed some crystal cores to recover their energy and stamina. The apartment complex had a total of six buildings, and they had only cleared out two. At their current pace, it would take two days to finish clearing out the entire complex. Chapter 230 - 230: First Mission ( 4 ) Since the zombies inside the buildings were weak, Jin Xuyan said, "Everyone, form teams of five. Each group will be responsible for clearing zombies in one building. Ah Zhi and I will take the last one." "Captain, what about the supplies? Should we collect them?" Xiao Qi asked. Jin Xuyan shook his head and replied, "Since this area is part of Xun Che''s base, we won''t take the supplies. Just leave them for him. After we finish this mission, we will collect supplies from the commercial district." Because of the urgent situation, they had only gathered supplies from the shopping mall. The rest of the commercial district was unexplored, and it would be a waste not to retrieve anything from there. So Jin Xuyan planned to return once the mission was completed. After lunch and some rest, they divided into four teams and began clearing out the remaining buildings. By the time they were done, the sun was slanting toward the west. At that moment, Jiao Lizhi and Jin Xuyan had already finished and were waiting for the others in the open field. She had taken out the cars and was sitting in the passenger seat, munching on spicy strips. Thinking about the supplies and equipment she had collected earlier, she turned her head and asked, "Brother Yan, are you really not going to build a base?" Jin Xuyan was checking the map when he heard this. Raising his head to look at his girlfriend, he asked, "Does Ah Zhi want me to build a base?" Jiao Lizhi thought for a moment before shaking her head. "After seeing the condition of Xun Che''s base, I know it''s too troublesome to manage one. It''s better not to build a base." S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Hearing her words, Jin Xuyan chuckled and said, "Okay." After a brief pause, Jiao Lizhi added, "Brother Yan, we have collected a lot of solar panels and generators. Should we give some to Captain Xun?" Jin Xuyan thought for a moment before asking, "Do you want to help him build this base?" "I don''t really want to," she replied, "but if he is able to build a solid base, he might be able to save more people during the second rain." "This way, fewer people will turn into zombies. And if there''s a base in this city, maybe it won''t become a zombie city," she added. Both of them knew that in their past life, the reason so many zombie hordes had formed was because over 70% of survivors had turned into zombies during the second rain. With that many zombies preying on the remaining humans, the human race had fallen to the bottom of the food chain. Without manpower to build bases and without enough soldiers or ability-users to fight back, survival had become nearly impossible. So, if she could help prevent Lin''an City from becoming a zombie city, it might increase humanity''s chances of survival. While she wasn''t sure if this change would truly help, she wanted to try. The pain of dying in a zombie horde was too terrifying¡ªand she didn''t want to experience it again. Jin Xuyan observed his girlfriend''s expression closely. When he noticed the flash of pain in her eyes, he clenched his fists for a moment before reaching out to hold her hand. As he interlocked their fingers, he said, "Ah Zhi, don''t worry. Just do what you want to do. With me here, I won''t let anyone hurt you again." Feeling the warmth from his palm, Jiao Lizhi was pulled back from her thoughts. She looked at him and replied with a smile, "Okay." Just as she finished her spicy strips, the rest of the members finally walked out of the apartment building. During the zombie clearing, they hadn''t used their abilities and relied on their guns and blades as they worried about damaging the buildings. Seeing their captain and sister-in-law already waiting, Zhang Yuan reported, "Captain, we have checked the complex. All clear." Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Old Zhang, Wen Mo, Wen Kai, go reinforce the wall around the complex." "Understood," the three of them replied before heading to the opposite side of the complex. Surrounding the apartment complex was a wall that had originally been built to separate the premises. However, it was only about one and a half meters tall, with a thickness of less than ten centimeters. While that might have deterred trespassers during peaceful times, it was practically useless against zombies. As the team''s only earth-type ability-user, Zhang Yuan had to work harder to increase the height and thickness of the wall. When he ran out of energy, he absorbed crystal cores to recover. While he repeated this cycle, the Wen brothers added metal barbs along the top of the wall and installed metal cones along its outer edge. Each metal cone was forty centimeters long with a diameter of ten centimeters¡ªthin, sharp, and deadly. Under the sunlight, the metal cones gleamed menacingly. While the three of them worked like diligent honeybees, the rest of the Phantom team members began preparing dinner. Since the sun was about to set, they planned to eat before heading back. With the wall reinforced, the area inside was now as safe as a base. At the same time, Xun Che was busy supervising the cleanup of the houses designated as warehouses. In the morning, he had been tied up attending meetings with his team and recruiting people. To build a functioning base, they didn''t just need engineers. They also required medical professionals such as doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. In addition, they needed researchers, administrative staff, chefs, laborers for heavy-duty work, and more. Just the task of recruiting people for the base required careful consideration. On top of that, they still had to establish the rules for the point system and define how missions would be assigned. They also needed to form a guard team to maintain order and safety within the base. Laws and punishments had to be drafted and implemented. Just handling these foundational matters had already taken up the entire day, with the team spending hours inside the meeting room. Chapter 231 - 231: Trapped ( 1 ) At this moment, Xun Che was eating a self-heating rice box as he sat on a roadblock, watching the soldiers clean up the houses. The rice box had been taken from the warehouse. When he received the report that morning about Jin Xuyan''s request for ten additional warehouses, he was taken aback. Based on his calculations, the supplies they had brought back could only fill at most seven or eight warehouses. Since he had been in the middle of a meeting, he had simply given permission for the soldiers to clean up the empty houses. Now that he finally had some time, he went to inspect the warehouses himself. As soon as he opened the first warehouse''s door, he saw the room filled to the brim. Except for a thirty-centimeter-wide path to walk through, the entire space was packed with boxes and sacks. He checked the warehouses one by one, and when he reached the last one, he was surprised to find it stocked with medicines, baby formula, self-heating food, and compressed biscuits. From this, he realized that the Phantom team had not only given him the supplies they found in the shopping mall, but also those they had collected earlier. After finishing his meal, Xun Che stood up and said, "Everyone, take a break and have dinner first. Go grab a self-heating rice box and some mineral water from the warehouse. We still have a lot of work to do, so eat well and restore your energy." When the soldiers heard this, they paused their work and responded in unison, "Thank you, Captain!" While everyone was full of hope for tomorrow, Pei Yijun and his team were currently in panic. At this moment, they were being followed by a convoy of cars and trucks. Behind them, a large group of zombies was in pursuit. Due to the poor road conditions, they couldn''t drive fast enough to shake the zombies off. As the sun dipped toward the western horizon, Pei Yijun scanned the surroundings and steered the car toward a nearby three-story building. The moment he parked, he jumped out and drew the blade given to him by Wen Mo. Not long after, Li Yang and the escort team also pulled over and quickly got out of their vehicles. Without wasting any time, Pei Yijun swung his blade and broke the padlocks on the building''s entrance. As soon as he pushed the door open, two zombies lunged at him. "Roar!" Having fought countless zombies since the beginning of the apocalypse, Pei Yijun was no longer the same person he had once been. Without flinching, he calmly swung his blade and decapitated both zombies. Duagh! Suddenly, another zombie comes from behind. Pei Yijun swiftly kicked it away. Before it could get up, Li Yang rushed over and chopped off its head with one clean strike. The escort team stood frozen, stunned by how calmly and efficiently the two of them dispatched the zombies. Before they could react, the cars and trucks were parked outside and a group of survivors ran into the building in panic. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Seeing this, Pei Yijun ignored them and said, "Close the door and block it. Han Jie, Miaomiao, check the windows. Li Yang, you come with me to check for any zombies." Snapping out from their thoughts, the escort team shut the door and locked it. They stacked tables and chairs to barricade the entrance. Fearing that the zombies might smell them, they sealed all gaps and openings around doors and windows with duct tape they''d found. Just as they finished clearing out the remaining zombies and sealing the building, they heard the sound of roaring grow louder. "Close the curtains and stay silent," Pei Yijun whispered. The escort team hurriedly drew the curtains and backed away into the corner, while the group of survivors who were following them hid themselves. Soon, the ground began to tremble, accompanied by the thunderous growls of approaching zombies. Hiding in the darkness, no one dared to even breathe too loudly. The escort team weren''t trained soldiers. They were ability-users recruited by the Pei family. When they had first accepted this mission, they thought it would be easy, just escort the young master home. As long as they flattered him and stayed on his good side, they wouldn''t have to worry about food or water again after they go back. Now, trapped inside with a horde of zombies outside, they bitterly regretted that decision. Unaware of their thoughts, Pei Yijun pulled a bottle of water from his backpack and took a sip. His gaze moved over the escort team before landing on Han Jie. He had noticed something off about Han Jie since yesterday morning. He looked paler and more sluggish than usual. At first, Pei Yijun assumed he was just tired and would recover after some rest. But when they entered the building, he caught Han Jie clutching his left waist. Narrowing his eyes, Pei Yijun took a closer look. The dark circles under Han Jie''s eyes had deepened, and his eyes now looked disturbingly lifeless, glazed over like dead fish. If Pei Yijun hadn''t been watching closely, he wouldn''t have noticed the faint white membrane forming over them. As he silently observed him, Han Jie was consumed with hatred and anger, unaware of the observation. He kept his head down with his hand resting on his injured waist. ''I should have killed her,'' he thought angrily. Before they had left the survivor camp, Han Jie had run into his senior from university¡ªa woman he had always liked. Confident that being part of Pei Yijun''s team would impress her, he thought she would agree to be with him if he showed interest. But instead of appreciating his good intention, she had rejected him without hesitation and even attacked him with a dagger tainted with zombie''s blood. He had feared he would turn into a zombie the moment his waist was injured by her dagger. Yet, after surviving the night without transforming, he felt a wave of relief. Chapter 232 - 232: Trapped ( 2 ) Still, when Han Jie thought of the disgust in her eyes when she looked at him, the humiliation burned inside him. If he ever saw her again, he vowed to take her by force before he killed her. Just imagining her begging under him made his blood boil. ''That arrogant woman needs to be taught a lesson until she knows her place,'' he thought with a stiff smile. While Han Jie was entertaining himself with thoughts of punishing someone, the situation outside the building wasn''t getting better¡ªin fact, it was getting worse. The zombies'' roars grew louder as their numbers increased by the minute. Among the survivors were several children who had managed to stay alive under the protection of their parents. Some still had one parent with them, but most had lost both. They trembled in fear but didn''t dare make a sound. Hands pressed over their mouths, they shut their eyes tightly and tried to hold in their sobs. Time crawled by as the red moon rose higher in the sky. The zombies outside grew more frenzied. By 2 a.m., everyone was physically and mentally exhausted, yet the constant growling outside and the sharp pain of hunger kept them from sleep. Chu Zhimiao was so hungry that her vision blurred and she felt faint. Although she could create water, in her current state, she didn''t even have the strength to summon it. Leaning on Li Yang''s shoulder, her thoughts drifted back to a dark joke Jiao Lizhi once made. Back then, she had looked down on her for laughing, but now she realized how true it was. Never mind worrying about other people''s love lives, it was already hard enough just to survive. While she was lost in thought, Li Yang quietly peeled open a piece of caramel candy and brought it to her lips. Seeing how weak she was, he shifted slightly to let her rest against his chest. Gently, he coaxed in a low voice, "Miaomiao, open your mouth." Recognizing his voice, Chu Zhimiao slowly parted her lips. A moment later, something soft and sweet touched her tongue. As the caramel melted in her mouth, a bit of light returned to her eyes. After a while, she raised her head to look at her childhood friend. Her gaze landed on his chin, where the newly grown beard was unshaved. Then her eyes moved up to his pale, cracked lips. She reached out and touched his lips with her finger. Li Yang stiffened at her touch. He lowered his head and said with astonishment, "Miaomiao, you¡ª" Before he could finish, Chu Zhimiao slipped her forefinger into his mouth and focused her energy on the fingertip. A moment later, water trickled out. Li Yang''s eyes widened in shock. He instinctively tried to pull her hand away, but she softly said, "Li Yang, you are dehydrated. Drink." Hesitating for only a second, he swallowed the water that had pooled in his mouth. He thought she would only give him a sip, but to his surprise, she didn''t stop and continued until he had swallowed several mouthfuls. When she finally withdrew her finger, she pulled a blue crystal core from her pocket and began absorbing the energy. They had fled in such a hurry that they hadn''t managed to retrieve their backpacks from the car. With no food, no water, and no medicine, they were relying on whatever they had on them. Fortunately, Chu Zhimiao always kept her crystal cores close. At the very least, she could provide a small amount of water to keep them going. After eating the candy, her strength slowly returned, and she no longer felt quite as weak. Leaning against Li Yang, she took over thirty minutes to finish absorbing the crystal core. But just as she completed the process, her expression twisted in pain. A surge of energy stirred violently in her body, as if trying to tear her apart. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. She sat up straight, frowning deeply. Her voice was weak but urgent and she said with a hint of fear and panic, "Li Yang, my energy is getting out of control." Li Yang''s expression changed at once the moment he heard her words. Seeing her pale face, he quickly took out several crystal cores from his waist bag. Picking out a few water-type ones, he pressed them into her hand. "Miaomiao, you are going to break through. Close your eyes and calm your mind. Absorb the energy from the crystals and guide it through your body. Use it to balance the energy that''s rampaging inside you," he said, voice tight with worry. He knew all too well how painful a breakthrough could be¡ªand how dangerous. He didn''t know exactly what happened if someone failed, but he was sure the consequences were severe. Chu Zhimiao bit her lip to endure the tearing pain coursing through her. Gritting her teeth, she did as Li Yang instructed and focused on circulating the energy. While she struggled through the breakthrough, Li Yang remained by her side, silently guarding her. Meanwhile, at the border of the city, Gu Shaoze and Rong Mo''er stood frozen in shock at the scene before them. From the top of an office building, they looked down at a sea of zombies. No one knew why the zombies were suddenly gathering in this area, but one thing was clear¡ªthe situation was extremely dangerous. Alongside them were several children. Staring at the horde below, Zeng Changchao asked, "Brother Shaoze, what should we do now?" Gu Shaoze thought for a moment before making up his mind. He looked at his team and said, "We can''t fight against that many zombies. Right now, the best option is to retreat and inform the nearest survivor camp." "Then we should leave now. The longer we delay, the more dangerous it becomes," Rong Mo''er added. Nodding in agreement, they quickly left the office building. It had been pure coincidence that they came across this scene. After leaving Wei Ying''s camp, they had been following clues to search for Rong Mo''er''s family. Chapter 233 - 233: Trapped ( 3 ) During their journey, some of the children developed high fevers¡ªsigns of awakening their second abilities. As a result, in addition to Zeng Changchao, Gu Shaoze, and Rong Mo''er, they now had three more ability-users on their team. The youngest, Lin Jiaojiao¡ªjust three years old¡ªhad awakened a psychic-type ability. She could detect zombies or people with malicious intent within a 50-meter radius. Though the range wasn''t far, it was enough to save lives in dangerous situations. Alongside her were Xu Danyu and Fu Leizhen, both thirteen years old. Each had awakened their second ability. Xu Danyu, whose first awakening had enhanced his vision, now gained a space-type ability with a 100-square-meter storage capacity. Fu Leizhen, who had previously awakened a speed-type ability, now possessed a lightning-type ability. He had become one of the main combatants on their team, second only to Rong Mo''er. Compared to Pei Yijun''s lightning, which was a deeper shade, Fu Leizhen''s lightning was light blue. Gu Shaoze and Rong Mo''er noticed the difference, but assumed it was simply due to individual variation and didn''t dwell on it. The rest of the children either had no awakened abilities or had only enhancement-type abilities. Since they had only gone out to gather supplies, they left the others resting at a small house near the city''s border. As Gu Shaoze drove, Rong Mo''er used a handy talkie they had found to try and contact anyone within a five-kilometer radius. "How is it?" Gu Shaoze asked. Rong Mo''er kept trying, but shook her head. "I can''t reach anyone." Just as she finished speaking, the static suddenly cleared, and a hoarse voice came through. "Hello." The voice sounded familiar. Rong Mo''er asked immediately, "Li Yang?" "Who is this?" "It''s me, Rong Mo''er. Where are you?" she asked quickly. Through the speaker, she could hear the faint roars of zombies. Her expression turned grim. "Li Yang, are you fighting zombies right now?" After a moment of silence, Li Yang answered, "No. My team and I are trapped inside a building. We don''t know what''s happening outside, and we have no supplies at all." Rong Mo''er and the others exchanged alarmed looks. "We just saw a huge number of zombies gathering near the border of Jiangning City. Are you there?" she asked urgently. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Mhm." As soon as they heard that, Gu Shaoze asked, "How long can you hold out?" "Not long." Hearing the exhaustion in his hoarse voice, Rong Mo''er said, "We are heading out to request help. Hang on as long as you can." "Contact Jin¡ª" The connection was abruptly cut off before he could finish. The handy talky returned to static. Rong Mo''er looked at Gu Shaoze and asked, "Do you think Li Yang was trying to tell us to find Captain Jin?" Gu Shaoze shook his head and replied, "Unlikely. Captain Jin and his team were wiped out during the zombie horde in the factory district." Hearing this, Rong Moer lowered her eyes and continued to change frequencies, trying to contact someone. Inside the building surrounded by the zombie horde, Li Yang lowered the handy talky and slipped it back into his pocket. Fortunately, he hadn''t thrown it away when he found it earlier and had kept it with him. Now, he could only hope that Rong Mo''er would be able to find someone to rescue them. Otherwise, they would die¡ªwhether by zombies or from starvation and dehydration. As they waited, another day passed. The red moon finally set, and the sun slowly rose on the eastern horizon. The zombies were calming down even if they were not leaving yet. After ten hours of breaking through, Chu Zhimiao finally opened her eyes. Unlike Li Yang, who had felt energized after his breakthrough, her body was covered in a thin layer of black, gooey substance emitting a foul stench. The moment she regained her senses, she almost vomited from the smell of her own body. But before she could fully assess her condition, someone grabbed her shoulder and asked, "Miaomiao, how are you feeling?" Turning her head, she saw Li Yang looking at her with a smile on his pale face. She smiled back and replied, "Besides being tortured by my body odor, I feel great." "That''s great!" Li Yang whispered happily. "Li Yang, can you help me find something to wipe off this black stuff?" Chu Zhimiao asked. Hearing this, Li Yang let her go and immediately took off his inner clothes, handing them to her before pulling his T-shirt back on. Chu Zhimiao hesitated for a moment as she accepted the clothes, then stood up and walked to the back room. Seeing her leave, Li Yang felt uneasy and followed her. As she cleaned herself inside the small room, he stood guard outside. Not long after, she returned, looking refreshed. Handing the clothes back to him, she said, "I washed them but you will need to dry them before wearing them again." Li Yang nodded and put his inner clothes away. Then he took out a protein bar from his pocket and said, "Miaomiao, you must be hungry. Eat this." Taking the protein bar, Chu Zhimiao looked at him and asked, "What about you?" Li Yang shook his head and said, "I''m not hungry. You eat." Her eyes reddened at his words. After a moment, she whispered, "You are so stupid." She sighed and opened the wrapper. After taking two bites, she handed the remaining half to him and said with a commanding tone, "You still have to protect me, so you need to eat." Li Yang smiled at her tsundere behavior and replied, "Okay." After sharing the protein bar, Chu Zhimiao searched the room and managed to find three unopened bottles of mineral water in a corner. She handed two to him and said, "Drink it all so I can refill them." He was so thirsty he didn''t hesitate and finished a bottle. Chu Zhimiao also drank one, then refilled both using her ability. When she first awakened her power, she could only produce seven liters of water before running out of energy. But after continued use and practice, she could now produce up to 40 liters. Chapter 234 - 234: Trapped ( 4 ) After this breakthrough, though, Chu Zhimiao felt her energy reserves had multiplied. She thought for a moment and said, "Li Yang, let''s share the water with everyone." Li Yang frowned and looked at the gathered survivors. While their numbers weren''t overwhelming, they were far from few. Just through rough calculation, there must be around 100 people in the survivor''s group. "If you give water to some but not to all, it could cause problems," he said. "They might blame you instead of being grateful. In our situation, it''s better to protect ourselves first." Chu Zhimiao thought about his words and said, "I think I can produce at least 200 liters of water now before running out of energy. That should be enough to share with everyone." Still seeing the concern on his face, she continued, "Li Yang, we need everyone''s help. We don''t know when the zombies will disperse or if we will face more danger soon." "If we don''t help others now, we can''t expect anyone to help us later. I''m doing this to improve our chances of survival. Please trust me, okay?" Li Yang looked at her for a long moment, then finally nodded. Chu Zhimiao beamed and said, "Let''s go back now." "Okay," he said helplessly. When they returned to the main area, Pei Yijun glanced at them and noticed the water bottles in their hands. Raising his eyebrows, he asked hoarsely, "Did you find water in the back room?" "Senior Pei, I made a breakthrough," Chu Zhimiao replied. "I can now produce around 200 liters of water before running out of energy," she added with joy. Pei Yijun looked surprised when he heard her words. After a moment, he smiled and said, "Congratulations, Miaomiao." Li Yang handed him a bottle and asked, "Senior Pei, now that Miaomiao can provide more water, should we share some with the others?" S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Pei Yijun drank half the bottle before replying, "We can share it, but we need to limit the amount, and require a condition." "What kind of condition?" Chu Zhimiao asked curiously. "We exchange water for food or crystal cores," Pei Yijun said. Recalling what had happened with the Eagle team and the survivors who were used to being given free supplies, both Chu Zhimiao and Li Yang agreed. After their discussion, Li Yang walked toward the crowd of survivors and spoke in a low voice, "Our team has water. You can exchange it for food or crystal cores. If you are interested, come find us." When he finished his words, he returned to their group. Sitting down beside Pei Yijun, Li Yang looked toward Han Jie, who was curled up in a corner, unmoving and asked, "Senior Pei, should we check on Han Jie? He hasn''t moved all night." Pei Yijun lowered his eyelids for a moment before he nodded and said, "I will go. You two stay here." "Okay." As Pei Yijun walked toward Han Jie, an uneasy feeling crept over him. His instincts screamed at him to turn around and run. Normally, he would have followed his instinct without hesitation. But now, trapped in a building surrounded by zombies, running wasn''t an option. Instead, he drew his blade from its sheath and stopped a few steps away from Han Jie. "Han Jie," he called softly. Sitting in the corner with his head lowered, Han Jie didn''t move or respond. "Han Jie, are you okay?" he asked again. This time, Han Jie''s fingers twitched slightly, but he still gave no answer. Pei Yijun took another cautious step forward and called again, "Han Jie." After several tense moments, Han Jie finally moved and slowly lifted his head. The moment their eyes met, a chill ran down Pei Yijun''s spine. Staring back at him were dull, nearly white eyes. Han Jie''s skin had taken on a bluish hue, and the veins under were visible through the pale skin. His fingernails had already turned black, though they hadn''t become long and sharp¡ªyet. Pei Yijun tightened his grip on the blade and said, "Han Jie, if you can still understand me, nod your head." Han Jie looked at him for a long moment before parting his lips. In a hoarse, broken voice, he whispered, "S-save... me¡­" Just as the words left his mouth, one of the survivors who had come to exchange food for water spotted his condition and screamed, "Ah! There is a zombie!" Bang! Bang! Bang! The scream immediately attracted the horde outside. Roars grew louder as the zombies slammed into the windows and doors with renewed ferocity. Pei Yijun shot the woman a glare and cursed under his breath, "Damn it!" Hearing the noise, Li Yang and Chu Zhimiao rushed over. When they saw Han Jie, both of their expressions changed in shock. "Senior Pei, this¡ª" Chu Zhimiao said with uncertainty. Pei Yijun glanced at the cracking windows and said grimly, "We need to evacuate. This place won''t hold much longer." "Then what about Han Jie?" Li Yang asked. Pei Yijun hesitated, looking into Han Jie''s clouded eyes. Then he said solemnly, "Han Jie, I can''t save you. The only thing I can do¡­ is let you die as a human." Without another word, he drove the blade through Han Jie''s forehead, ending his mutation in one swift motion. The survivors, stunned by the sight of Pei Yijun killing someone they thought was his friend. They moved toward the walls and distanced themselves from him in horror. A few women screamed again, and the noise drew even more zombies. Seeing that these survivors were too weak to run but still had enough strength to scream, Pei Yijun made a quick decision and said, "Those who want to live, stop screaming and follow me!" Then he turned to Li Yang and Chu Zhimiao and said, "Get to the third floor!" The moment he finished speaking, Pei Yijun turned and climbed the stairs to the third floor. Li Yang and Chu Zhimiao followed closely behind. As for the survivors, even though they were exhausted and terrified, they gritted their teeth and trailed after them. When they reached the third floor, they finally caught a glimpse of the outside world through a nearby window. Chapter 235 - 235: Risky Move What the survivors saw made their blood run cold. The zombies packed the roads like a living sea, trapping them from all sides. One of the women couldn''t hold back her fear anymore and burst into tears, shouting, "I don''t want to die!" Annoyed by her scream, Chu Zhimiao strode over and raised her hand. SLAP! The sharp sound of the slap echoed through the area, stunning the woman and silencing everyone else. Standing in front of her, Chu Zhimiao glared and said coldly, "If you dare to scream again, I will kill you myself." At her threat, the loud sobbing stopped. The other survivors, who had been wailing in panic, quickly covered their mouths and struggled to hold back their tears and voices. After a pause, Chu Zhimiao added, "There is no use in screaming or crying. All it does is drain your energy and attract more zombies. That''s not helping anyone." She squatted down, locked eyes with the woman, and said firmly, "If you don''t want to die, then stand up and fight. As long as you don''t give up, there is still a chance to survive." The woman hiccuped and replied hoarsely, "How can I survive when I don''t even have the energy to run?" Chu Zhimiao noticed her dry, cracked lips and said, "I will give you some water. After that, we will figure out a way to escape." The survivors'' eyes lit up with a glimmer of hope. Encouraged by her words, they quickly searched for anything that could be used as a water container. Chu Zhimiao distributed a cup of water to each person, giving everyone a share. Once she was done, she walked over to Li Yang and Pei Yijun. Seeing her walking over, Li Yang asked with concern, "Miaomiao, are you okay?" Chu Zhimiao nodded and replied, "Don''t worry. I only used about 10% of my energy. Based on that, I think I can produce at least 500 liters of water." S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Nodding at her, Li Yang said nothing and started looking for a way to reach the rooftop. As he leaned out the window, he saw zombies stretching their hands upward, trying to grab him. Seeing this, he turned and began moving furniture to block the door. That way, even if the zombies managed to break into the building and climb the stairs, they could buy themselves a little more time. While they were racking their brains for a way to survive, not far from their area a group of people stood on the rooftop of a five-story structure, observing the zombies'' movements. "Brother Mo, it looks like we won''t be able to go through this road. Let''s turn back and find another route," a young man said, turning toward a tall, pale man. Though he looked sickly, the man was very handsome. He covered his mouth with a handkerchief and let out a few coughs before sighing and saying, "If we take a detour, it will take us a few more days to reach Lin''an City." At his words, the group exchanged looks. A young woman spoke up, "Brother Mo, even if you are in a hurry to find your cousin, you should prioritize your safety. With so many zombies out there, how can we go on?" Lowering his head, the man coughed twice more before replying, "Can''t we just fight through?" Before anyone could object, he continued, "Judging from the zombies'' movements over the past twenty hours, something must be attracting or guiding them to gather in that area. If we avoid that, we might be able to get through." "How are we supposed to avoid it when we don''t even know what it is?" another young man said with a frown. The pale man smiled faintly and pointed at a nearby building before he said slowly, "Isn''t that something inside that building?" The group followed his gaze and saw the zombies pouring toward the building he had pointed at. At the same time, a narrow path was beginning to clear through the horde as they split off in two directions. The young woman looked at him in surprise and said, "Brother Mo, are you planning to drive through that road?" "Otherwise?" the man replied with a smile. "Impossible! Even if we could drive through, the sound of the engine would draw all the surrounding zombies. We would be surrounded in no time," a young man rejected the idea immediately. The man coughed several times again, then said casually, "If you are afraid, stay here or find a detour. I won''t force anyone to follow me." With that, he turned and headed toward the stairs. As he left the rooftop, the same young man muttered through clenched teeth, "What are you so proud of? If it weren''t for your family, no one would bother being your friend." The man didn''t stop or turn around and simply continued down the stairs. After he left, the young woman hesitated, then stepped forward to follow him. But before she could go far, the young man grabbed her wrist. He stared at her in disbelief and asked, "You are really going to follow that madman?" She bit her lip and said, "Brother Mo isn''t a madman. He is a genius. Following him might actually benefit us." The young man sneered and replied, "Bullshit. You are just attracted to his face, his body, his money, and his family name. Who would like him otherwise with that awful personality?" Furious at being seen through, the young woman yanked her hand free. She glared at him and asked, "What right do you have to judge me? Aren''t you all the same? Who gave you the audacity to look down on me when you are no better?!" As soon as she finished her words, she turned and ran down the stairs to catch up with the man. Cursing under his breath, the young man chased after her. The rest of the group, with no better plan, followed behind. When they reached the entrance, they found only one car parked there. With nine people in total, it would be far too cramped for them to ride together. Chapter 236 - 236: Narrow Escape ( 1 ) After a brief discussion, the group went to search for another vehicle, then drove off toward the zombie horde. None of them dared to slow down¡ªworried that the man might pass through while they missed their only chance. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Not long after they departed, the sickly man stepped out from behind a building and said coldly, "What a bunch of idiots." He climbed into his SUV and drove in the opposite direction. With that group distracting the zombies, he could use a different road¡ªabout 500 meters away¡ªto safely leave the area. An hour later, the group reached the area near the zombie horde. Sitting inside the car, the young man looked at his friends and asked, "Are we really doing this? I don''t see Brother Mo''s car at all. He might have taken another road." The young woman sitting in the passenger seat glared at him and said, "Brother Mo must have left already. It''s all your fault!" When they heard her throwing a tantrum again, another man said, "Shut up!" Being scolded like this, the woman was unhappy and glared at him. But when she saw the killing intent in his eyes, she could only let out a snort and ignore him. The man looked at the situation outside and said, "Although we don''t know what Brother Mo was looking for, we all know that he has good intuition. Since he insists on taking this road, then the chance of survival might be very high." Hearing his words, the young man nodded and added, "As long as we follow him, we won''t have to worry about having no food or meeting danger." The group of people met on their way of escaping and, by coincidence, met the man surname Mo. No one knew who he was or what his ability was. But one thing was for sure¡ªthey knew that he had sharp intuition, as if he knew what would happen next. After witnessing his luck in avoiding danger and finding supplies, they decided to cling to this golden thigh. That''s how they had come from the center of Jiangning City to this border. After they discussed it for a while, they finally agreed to drive past the road. Before leaving, they made sure to lock the doors and windows. Holding onto the steering wheel tightly, the young man said, "We are going now." The moment he said this, he stepped on the pedal, and the car drove toward the zombie horde. They thought they had made a good decision and would be able to survive without a problem. Unbeknownst to them, their Brother Mo was drinking banana milk while waiting for them to pull away the zombies. The road he took was not far from the road he showed them¡ªonly a kilometer away. If something happened in that area, he would be able to notice it. Fifteen minutes later, he heard the sound of explosions coming from the distance, and the corner of his lips lifted. He threw away the milk box and let out a chuckle as he said, "They really use explosives I gave them." When the zombies were attracted by the sound of the explosion and rushed away, he finally stepped on the pedal and drove toward Lin''an City. Meanwhile, Pei Yijun and his team heard the sound of an explosion and saw the zombies were attracted in another direction. After thinking for a moment, he turned to Li Yang and said, "Someone is fighting there. We will wait until the number of zombies lessens before we leave." "Okay." The survivors heard his words, and their eyes finally regained their light. Since these people already said they could escape, they chose to believe them. After another ten minutes, the number of zombies surrounding their place was halved. Opening the window, Pei Yijun said, "I will lead the way. The two of you will follow after me." Li Yang and Chu Zhimiao nodded. Turning to the survivors, Chu Zhimiao said, "After we clear out the zombies outside, go to your cars and leave this place." Crack! BOOM! As soon as she said this, Pei Yijun already waved his hand, and a lightning bolt flew toward the zombies below the window. The lightning killed a group of zombies, and he jumped out the window. Seeing this, the survivors were shocked. Before they could react, Li Yang and Chu Zhimiao had already followed him and jumped. For ability-users, jumping from the third floor was not a problem at all. The three of them landed on the ground one after another. "Roar!!" As soon as they stood up, the zombies around them turned and pounced at them with their claws and teeth aimed at their necks and chests. Pulling out their blades, the three of them started killing the zombies. Although Pei Yijun was only at level zero, his lightning ability was strong. While using his blade to kill the zombies, he would use his lightning to stun them. While the zombies were stunned, Li Yang and Chu Zhimiao would harvest the zombies'' heads. The three of them had already fought together so many times and developed a tacit understanding with each other. While they were fighting, the group of people tricked by Brother Mo was trapped in the middle of the horde. Their cars were surrounded by zombies, and they had no way to escape. The young woman screamed in horror and fear of death when a zombie face was glued to the window, "Ahhh!!" Those men no longer had time to bother with her. They were also terrified and shocked by the sudden change in the situation. At this moment, one of them finally realized and said, "Damn it! That bastard tricked us!" As soon as he said this, the young man sitting in the driver''s seat looked at the woman, and malicious intent flashed in his eyes. He only hesitated for a split second before he suddenly moved toward the passenger seat. Noticing his sudden movement, the young woman asked, "W-what are you doing?" Chapter 237 - 237: Narrow Escape ( 2 ) "Bitch, you are my girlfriend, but you always flirt with that bastard. Since you never thought about me, then you can''t blame me for not thinking about you," the young man whispered coldly. When he finished his words, he opened the car door and pushed the woman out. "Ahhh!" The moment the woman fell from the car, the zombies lunged at her and tore her apart. The young man quickly closed the door and returned to the driver''s seat. Since the zombies were busy eating, the car was no longer surrounded like before, and he was able to drive the car. As he stepped on the pedal, it sped up and crashed into the zombies blocking the road. The rest of them saw how he used the woman as bait to escape and looked at him with fear. While they feared him, they were also relieved that he did that. As long as they could escape, they didn''t care what method they used. When the car behind saw the situation at the front, it quickly followed closely. They thought that by sacrificing that woman, they would be able to escape. Unfortunately, the number of zombies was too great. Even if they crashed into the zombies using their cars, another group would appear. The fuel they had was limited, and before they could escape, they ran out of gas. In the end, they were trapped in the cars and could only wait for death. On the other side, Pei Yijun and his team were finally able to clear up the zombies around the building. Chu Zhimiao turned and said the survivors were already waiting inside. After she killed another zombie, she looked at them and signaled for them to come out. Despite their fear, the survivors still trusted her and came out. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Unlike usual, Pei Yijun didn''t leave them behind and continued killing the zombies so they could get into the cars and buses safely. While he fought, he glanced at the escort team sent by his father. He didn''t know what his father was thinking by sending these useless people to protect him. So when he saw them go inside one of the survivors'' buses, he pretended to see nothing. After another thirty minutes, Pei Yijun raised his hand and swung it down. Crack! Boom! The next moment, a bolt of lightning struck the group of zombies. Seeing that the road was finally open, he said, "Get in the car!" When Li Yang and Chu Zhimiao heard this, they quickly got into the car and started the engine. Pei Yijun also went into his car, started the engine, and left the parking area, followed by Li Yang. Behind them, the survivors also followed closely. BOOM! Another explosion was heard from a distance. In order to avoid the horde, Pei Yijun took a sharp turn and went off the main road. It was safer to take a smaller road at their current situation. When they finally managed to leave the zombies behind and escape, another car also managed to leave the border and drove to Lin''an City. At noon, Gu Shaoze and Rong Mo''er returned to the house near the border to pick up the children. Since they had a total of nine children with them, each of them drove a car. Sitting inside the car, one of the children asked, "Brother Gu, can I have some water, please?" When Gu Shaoze heard this, he smiled and replied, "There is water on the third row. Go get it yourself. If you are hungry, you can pick something to eat too." Then, he glanced at the children through the rearview mirror and added, "Since you are all still growing, you shouldn''t starve yourselves. If you are hungry, just tell me. We can find more supplies, so eat and drink with ease." The moment the children heard this, they exchanged glances with each other. After a moment, one of them asked, "Brother Gu, can we really eat and drink as we like?" Gu Shaoze nodded and said, "As long as you finish the food and don''t waste it, you can eat as much as you like." After he said this, he refocused on the road while the children cheered and went to pick food and water from the third row. With their small bodies, they could easily reach it from the second row. The same thing happened in Rong Mo''er''s car. Inside, the children were eating and drinking with smiles on their faces. Seeing their happy expressions, a faint smile appeared on hers as well. But after a moment, she thought about her family. She sighed and tried to stop imagining the worst-case scenario. After driving for another hour, they finally saw the barricades and the entrance to the temporary survivor camp. When the soldiers spotted their cars, two of them stepped forward and signaled for them to stop. Gu Shaoze stopped the car, rolled down the window, and greeted them, "Hello, Comrade. I would like to meet with Captain Wei Ying. Can you please inform him?" The news of him donating a large amount of water had already spread among the soldiers. So when they saw him, they saluted and said, "Comrade Gu, it''s you. Please wait in the side tent while we inform Captain Wei." "Thank you," Gu Shaoze said and drove the car to the side. After parking, he opened the trunk and took out some food and mineral water his team had found earlier. He handed the supplies to the soldiers and said, "These are some of the supplies and water my team found outside. Please share them with everyone." "Thank you, Comrade Gu!" the soldiers said, accepting the supplies gratefully. Since they had to wait for two hours before being allowed to enter the camp, Gu Shaoze and his team rested in the tent and chatted with the soldiers. Half an hour later, Wei Ying arrived with a group of soldiers. Seeing them, he was surprised and said, "Comrade Gu, it really is you. I thought you and your girlfriend had already left the city. What brings you back?" Chapter 238 - 238: Her Yearning Gu Shaoze stood up and replied, "Captain Wei, we did leave and made it to the border of Jiangning City. But on our way, we saw a large group of zombies near the border area. So, we decided to come back and inform you." The soldiers'' expressions turned solemn as soon as they heard this. The smile on Wei Ying''s face disappeared. "Comrade Gu, how many zombies did you see?" he asked. "From a rough estimate, the number should be around 1,000 and still growing." Everyone gasped in shock. Even 500 zombies would be difficult to fend off. 1,000 zombies was nearly impossible for them. Before they could recover from the shock, Gu Shaoze added, "Besides that, we were also able to contact Li Yang and learned that they were trapped in a building in the middle of the horde." "How''s the situation on their side?" Wei Ying asked, frowning deeply. Even though Pei Yijun was no longer his responsibility after being handed over to the escort team, the time they had spent fighting side by side had built a sense of camaraderie. "For now, they are safe," Gu Shaoze said. "But they don''t have any food or water, so they won''t be able to hold out for much longer." Wei Ying went silent for a moment before saying, "I will contact the people from Jiangning and see if we can work together to clear out the zombie horde. If we leave it unchecked, it will cause serious trouble later." "Captain Wei, my team and I will stay here to see if we can help with anything," Gu Shaoze offered. Wei Ying nodded and said, "Thank you. I will arrange a place for you and your team to stay." After their brief conversation, Wei Ying and his group returned to the base to begin preparations. Gu Shaoze and his team waited outside for two hours before being led to a house near the Eagle Team''s residence. While Wei Ying was busy discussing countermeasures with the leaders of the temporary survival camp and the officials from Jiangning City, the Phantom Team had already cleared out two apartment complexes. By the time the sun was setting, they had finished clearing the area. As they rode back to base, Zhang Yuan said, "Captain, we have cleared a total of three apartment complexes. But there are still two villa areas, five housing blocks, and fifteen apartment complexes left." Sitting in the back seat, Jin Xuyan checked the map and said, "We are not in a rush, so there is no harm in clearing the area while training our new members." Zhang Yuan nodded and added, "Captain Xun sent someone to inform us that the warehouses were ready this morning." Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi swallowed the strawberry in her mouth and said, "He is really efficient. It''s only been a day, and he has already cleaned up ten houses." When Jin Xuyan heard this, he turned to look at his girlfriend and said, "Seems like Ah Zhi thinks Xun Che is pretty impressive." Jiao Lizhi laughed when she noticed his jealousy. She sniffed dramatically on her boyfriend''s neck before teasing, "Where is this sourness coming from, huh?" Then, she reached out and pinched her boyfriend''s cheek lightly before adding, "Oh, it''s coming from my boyfriend~" Jin Xuyan''s heart fluttered the moment he heard her words, and his jealousy disappeared like smoke. He held her hand and said, "Be good. Old Zhang is right here." Sitting in the driver''s seat, Zhang Yuan acted as if he saw nothing, heard nothing, and knew nothing. He didn''t even bother to glance at them through the rearview mirror. Thanks to their captain spreading dog food every time he had the chance, no one was willing to ride in the same car as him and his girlfriend. In the end, it was this old single dog who got stuck driving. As the vice captain, he couldn''t shove the task onto someone else and torture the young ones. So, he could only watch them flirt with a deadpan face. After being force-fed dog food several times, he had gotten used to it and no longer felt annoyed or envious. So even when the pair of lovebirds were joking and hugging each other in the back seat, his mind and heart were as calm as the empty sea. Five minutes later, Jin Xuyan finally remembered that they were discussing supplies. He pulled his girlfriend into his embrace to stop her fooling around. He cleared his throat before saying, "Old Zhang, let Xun Che know we will be filling the warehouses tomorrow morning." "Also, tell him we are heading out to find more supplies, so we won''t be back for a few days. He can start distributing the apartments to the survivors. When we return, we will continue the mission." "Understood," Zhang Yuan replied calmly. After the Phantom Team returned to their residence, Jiao Lizhi filled the water tanks so they could shower, then headed to her bedroom to take a bath. When she came out of the bathroom, she saw her boyfriend sitting on the carpet, counting and sorting crystal cores. She walked over and sat on the bed. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. She watched him quietly for a while before asking, "Brother Yan, when will we give the solar panels to Xun Che?" "We can give them to him after we come back from outside," Jin Xuyan replied without stopping his count. After a moment, he glanced at his girlfriend and asked, "Ah Zhi, do you like this place?" Jiao Lizhi thought for a moment before saying, "This place isn''t bad, but it''s not safe enough. If we want to survive the second rain, there is still a lot we need to prepare." Jin Xuyan nodded and said casually, "If Ah Zhi likes it here, it''s not impossible for us to work together with Xun Che to build this base. With our help, there shouldn''t be any problems when the second rain arrives." Chapter 239 - 239: Changes In Her Space ( 1 ) Hearing his words, Jiao Lizhi was moved. As an orphan, she had been adopted several times but never stayed long with any family. She always ended up back at the orphanage after a few months. Most of the families sent her back because of her rebellious and stubborn nature. After so many years of drifting like duckweed on the sea, she longed for a place she could finally call home. She leaned down and gave her boyfriend a loud kiss on the cheek before saying, "Thank you, Brother Yan!" The moment he heard this, Jin Xuyan knew she liked the idea. He cupped her chin and asked, "Ah Zhi, are you going to thank me with just that?" As he leaned in to kiss her, Xiao Qi suddenly appeared on the door and said, "Captain, Sister-in-law, dinner is ready." When he saw what they were doing, Xiao Qi froze. After a moment, he snapped back to his senses and blurted out, "S-sorry for disturbing! Captain, you can continue. I saw nothing!" As Xiao Qi''s footsteps retreated, Jin Xuyan sighed and let his girlfriend go. Even if he wanted to kiss her, that brat had completely ruined the mood. Jiao Lizhi laughed at his frustrated expression and said, "Brother Yan, I''m hungry. Let''s go eat first!" Before heading to the dining room, she collected all the crystal cores into her space. After dinner, Jin Xuyan followed her to her bedroom and lay on the bed as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Seeing how the shameless man closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, Jiao Lizhi''s heart softened. They had been fighting all day, and both of them were too exhausted to do anything else. Thinking that even if he had the will, he wouldn''t be able to do anything in his current state, she threw caution to the wind, closed the door, and climbed into bed. Perhaps because she felt his presence beside her, she didn''t feel as guarded as she did when sleeping alone. Closing her eyes, she soon fell into a deep sleep. Not long after, Jin Xuyan opened his eyes and moved closer to her. Only after he pulled her into his embrace did he smile and finally drift off to sleep. Early the next morning, the Phantom team woke up before dawn. They took a shower, had breakfast, and checked their equipment. Since they were heading out to fight zombies, Jiao Lizhi changed into a set of short-sleeved black tracksuits. She also wore a well-fitted sports bra and a pair of black sneakers. Her tracksuit was made of light, breathable, and stretchy material, making it comfortable even in hot weather. Before she could zip up her jacket, Jin Xuyan opened the door, and the two of them looked at each other in surprise. His eyes traveled down and landed on her perky, round, and considerable-sized chest. In an instant, his throat felt dry, and he couldn''t help but swallow. Noticing his gaze, Jiao Lizhi quickly zipped up her jacket and asked, "Where are you looking?" Realizing he had been caught, Jin Xuyan raised his eyes to meet her glare. He closed the door and walked toward her. Reaching out, he held her slim waist and said with a chuckle, "I''m looking at my own girlfriend." Leaning down, he kissed her on the lips before adding, "Feng Yun and Xiao Qi are already waiting for us." Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi remembered that they had to head to the warehouses and make room in her space to store more supplies. Since it was an important matter, she no longer felt annoyed about him staring at her chest and said, "Then we should go now." Seeing that his girlfriend was no longer upset, Jin Xuyan smiled and held her hand as they left the room. When the two of them came down, Feng Yun said, "Captain, Sister-in-law, we are ready to go." S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Opening the car door for his girlfriend, Jin Xuyan said, "Later, the two of you follow us. We still need to cover up Ah Zhi''s space." "Understood," Feng Yun and Xiao Qi replied in unison. While they went to the warehouse area, the rest of the Phantom team was busy with preparations. Qin Luzi was tasked with refilling their airgun cartridges, while the Wen brothers were preparing more metal bullets. Fifteen minutes later, Jin Xuyan and his team arrived at the warehouse area. When the soldiers guarding the area saw them, they saluted and quickly opened the gate. After being informed by Xun Che, the soldiers no longer blocked the Phantom team as they were free to enter or leave the area as they pleased. This time, they drove the car to the newly prepared warehouses. Upon getting out of the car, Jiao Lizhi noticed that not only had ten houses been cleaned, but more than expected were ready. Turning to her boyfriend, she asked, "Brother Yan, didn''t you ask them to prepare ten more warehouses?" Jin Xuyan looked at the houses and said, "Maybe Xun Che hopes we will give him more supplies. Yesterday, I heard that the survivors who had been chased out by the colonel before returned and have now settled in the base." "Besides them, some survivors from the factory district also joined the base. With so many people arriving every day, the amount of supplies needed has increased at least threefold. So, it''s normal for him to make extra preparations," he added. Nodding at his words, Jiao Lizhi said, "Since that''s the case, I will give him more. That way, I can have more space for the supplies we find later." "Okay, but don''t give him too much, or he will get suspicious," Jin Xuyan reminded her. Jiao Lizhi nodded and said with a smile, "Don''t worry, I know the limit." The four of them walked to an empty house, and with Jin Xuyan guarding outside, Feng Yun and Xiao Qi followed Jiao Lizhi inside. They stood at the door while she took out supplies from her space. Chapter 240 - 240: Changes In Her Space ( 2 ) Compared to the amount of supplies stored by Feng Yun and Xiao Qi, hers were a hundredfold greater. It took her five minutes to fill a three-story house to the brim. One and half an hour later, she had filled 18 empty houses with supplies. In addition to food, water, and medicine, she also provided clothes, shampoo, soap, and detergent. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Hygiene was important to prevent sickness. To lower the risk of infection from the zombie virus, they had to wash their bodies with soap and clean their clothes with detergent. Ten of the houses were used to store clothes and daily necessities. When they were finished, Jiao Lizhi checked her space and noticed that the area seemed to have grown larger. "Ah Zhi, are you alright?" Jin Xuyan asked when he saw her standing still. As fellow space-type ability-users, both Feng Yun and Xiao Qi understood the risks of overusing mental energy and looked at her with concern. Chapter 241 - 241: Visiting The Market Area ( 1 ) Looking out the window, Jiao Lizhi saw that the team members had already exited the vehicles. She unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out of the car. Everyone carried a backpack filled with emergency rations, medicine, water, and crystal cores. Before they departed, Jiao Lizhi collected the armored vehicles into her space. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Opening the map, Jin Xuyan pointed at the commercial district and said, "Today, we are going to the market area. Besides searching for supplies, our priority is finding seeds." When they heard this, everyone understood that their captain wanted to seize the initiative and secure the seeds for future development. "From the market area, we will head to the office district. Our target is the Global Company''s building," he added. Everyone nodded and replied in unison, "Understood." Chapter 242 - 242: Visiting The Market Area ( 2 ) Thirty minutes later, Jiao Lizhi and her team finished clearing all the stores in the south area and were about to head west. But before they could leave, the sounds of battle drew closer. Boom! Soon after, a group of people came running toward them, followed by a large horde of zombies. Upon spotting them, one of the people screamed, "Help!" Jin Xuyan frowned as he observed the ability-users in the group randomly throwing their abilities at the zombies. Not only were their attacks ineffective, but the noise was also attracting even more zombies. Seeing that the Phantom Team didn''t move to help, a woman sprinted ahead of the others. When she reached them, she stretched out her hand to grab Jin Xuyan''s arm while shouting, "Brother, save me!" Slap! Before her hand could touch him, Jiao Lizhi stepped in and slapped the dirty claw away. Looking at her coldly, she said, "Touch him, and I will cut off your hands." The woman was stunned by her hostility and stared at her in fear. Ignoring her, Jiao Lizhi grabbed her boyfriend''s hand and said with clear displeasure, "Brother Yan, can''t you dodge when someone tries to grab you?" Jin Xuyan was amused by her possessiveness and replied with a smile, "If you hadn''t slapped her, I would have kicked her. Since I''m yours, no one else can touch me." Hearing his words, she let out a snort and said, "Sweet talker. Let''s deal with the zombies first." As soon as she finished speaking, the group finally reached their position. Judging by their clean clothes and tidy appearance, they were clearly well-equipped and strong. Noticing this, they quickly hid behind the Phantom Team. "Roar!" The Phantom Team members were stunned by the sheer number of zombies coming their way. The horde was nearly triple the size of the one they had just cleared. Although the number of zombies was less than 1,000, due to the small area, their movements were limited. They couldn''t recklessly use their abilities, or they would burn out the market area. Jin Xuyan assessed the situation in a moment and said, "Ah Zhi and I will go to the front. The rest of you stay here and assist us." "Understood!" Everyone pulled out their guns at his order, and at the same time, Jin Xuyan rushed toward the zombies while unsheathing his longsword. Following behind him, Jiao Lizhi pulled out her dagger and infused her energy into it. Crack! As the dagger was covered by a thin layer of water blade, she swung it and severed several zombies'' heads in one smooth motion. "Roar!" Several zombies pounced on her from every side. Seeing this, she bent her knees and leaped into the air. As she flipped, she waved her hand and several ice needles flew toward the zombies'' foreheads. Stab! Stab! Stab! The ice needles pierced the zombies'' skulls, killing them instantly. Landing on the ground with one knee bent, Jiao Lizhi placed her palm on the ground. The next second, the ground was covered with a layer of water, which quickly turned into solid ice. As the ground froze, the zombies slipped and fell one after another like dominoes. Seeing the zombies struggling to stand up, Jin Xuyan let out a chuckle and moved farther away from her, ensuring that his flames wouldn''t melt her ice. Standing in front of the survivors, the Phantom Team killed the fallen zombies with their air guns while chatting leisurely. "Sister-in-law''s control over her ability is so good," Yin Yusheng said, clicking his tongue. Chen Qianfeng nodded and added, "Not only does our Sister-in-law have good control, but her imagination is also vast. She can think of so many ways to use her ability to the fullest. Her adaptability in battle is equal to most of us." "Was our Sister-in-law really just an ordinary university student? The way she fights seems more like that of a trained mercenary," Shen Jinzhe said thoughtfully. While they were chatting and killing zombies, Boss Lin and his team finally reached the east area. But the area was filled with scattered zombies, and they couldn''t find another group of people. Seeing this, one of his team members asked, "Boss, what should we do now? We are trapped!" Boss Lin''s back and forehead were covered with cold sweat as he observed his surroundings. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Go to the south area. That area has fewer zombies, and we can escape from there." Hearing this, his team members nodded and changed direction. They didn''t use the wide road but chose a narrow alley instead. Though the risk of being eaten alive was higher if they got trapped in the narrow alley, it also had its advantages. Due to the narrowness, the zombies couldn''t flood the alley all at once. At most, three zombies could pass at a time, and they could handle that. As they ran, the zombies were slowly left behind. They heaved a sigh of relief but didn''t dare to stop. When they entered the south area, they heard the roars of zombies coming from the entrance. "Boss, should we go or hide?" one of his team members asked. Boss Lin thought for a moment and said, "We underestimated the number of zombies in this area and overestimated ourselves. If we hide now, we might be trapped here for a long time. Without supplies, we will die." "So, the only chance we have now is to go to the entrance. Even if we have to fight, we need to leave this market area," he added. His team members exchanged glances and, after a moment, nodded and said, "Boss, we will follow you!" Boss Lin was delighted by their decision and moved by their trust. He reached out to pat their shoulders and said, "Good brothers!" After taking a short breath, they held their iron rods tightly and continued running toward the south entrance. They expected another tough battle to await them. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Chapter 243 - 243: Nothing Is Free In This World Unexpectedly, when they arrived, Boss Lin and his team saw a man wearing a black tracksuit, holding a longsword covered in black flame, effortlessly killing the zombies with a slight smile on his handsome face. Whenever he swung his longsword, several zombies would be beheaded or split into half. Black blood and rotten flesh scattered on the ground but none touched his clothes nor his body. The moment they recognized him, Boss Lin and his team were stunned. They stood there, unmoving, watching him in awe. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Jin Xuyan had already noticed them when they appeared. When he saw their faces, he recognized one of them as his Ah Zhi''s captain from her previous life. While killing the zombies, he wondered what they were doing here and how fate could be so mysterious. Even though they had departed from the husbandries at different times, they were still able to meet here today. Ten minutes later, all of the zombies were killed, and Jin Xuyan burned the corpses into piles of black ash. Before anyone could react, Xiao Qi had already collected all the crystal cores scattered on the ground, leaving none behind. Qin Luzi walked over to his captain and scanned the area for a moment before saying, "Captain, there are no more zombies in this area. But the north and west areas have around 3,000 zombies in total. The east area has around 500." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Take a ten-minute break. We will go to the east area first before cleaning up the rest." "Understood," Qin Luzi nodded and went to inform the team. Jin Xuyan swung his longsword to clean off the black blood and rotten flesh from the blade before sheathing it. He gave Boss Lin a glance before walking toward his girlfriend. Standing in front of her, he noticed a thin layer of sweat on her forehead. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and gently wiped it while saying, "Ah Zhi, I saw Boss Lin and his team." Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi paused her movement of cleaning her blade and looked at him. "They are here?" she asked. Jin Xuyan nodded and asked her back, "Ah Zhi, should we send them and the others to the base?" Jiao Lizhi thought for a moment and nodded. Sheathing her dagger, she said, "Since we want to help Captain Xun build the base, having more people is always a good thing." "The ordinary people can help build the wall, and Boss Lin and his team can assist in clearing out the surrounding zombies." Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Then I will let Zhang Yuan handle it." Knowing her boyfriend was the Lord of vinegar, Jiao Lizhi didn''t insist on talking to Boss Lin herself and agreed to let him handle everything, "Okay." Seeing how obedient she was, Jin Xuyan felt like his heart was soaked in honey. He always worried that she would disappear suddenly, and all of this was just a dream. Only when she treated him differently from everyone else did he feel a little bit of security. After a moment, Jiao Lizhi took the handkerchief from his hand and helped wipe his sweat. Then, she pulled out a small bottle of water from her waist bag and said, "Brother Yan, drink some water." "Thank you." While the two were lost in their own world, Zhang Yuan had already walked over to the survivors and said, "Everyone, the number of zombies in this area is very high. I suggest you leave and find somewhere safe." The moment the survivors heard his words, one of them protested, "Comrade, we came here first to look for supplies. You can''t just force us to leave." "I''m not forcing you to leave," Zhang Yuan replied expressionlessly. "If you want to stay, you are free to do so. But my team won''t protect you. And if you use us as a shield again, don''t blame us for being ruthless," he added. "Comrade, you are so strong. What''s wrong with protecting us ordinary people?" another survivor asked shamelessly. Standing nearby, Shen Jinzhe sneered and replied, "We are strong because we fought to get stronger. We don''t owe you anything, and we are not obligated to protect you." "If you insist on staying in this dangerous place, then you are responsible for your own safety. If you get killed by zombies, it''s because of your own decision and because you didn''t have the ability to protect yourself." As soon as he finished, everyone''s expressions changed. Some were angry as they found his words were too harsh, while others were embarrassed or even scared. Noticing that the situation could escalate, Zhang Yuan shot Shen Jinzhe a glance. Seeing his vice captain''s warning, Shen Jinzhe shrugged and walked off toward Feng Yun. After sending the troublemaker away, Zhang Yuan turned to the survivors and said, "What he said was harsh, but it''s the truth. If you can''t get stronger and always rely on others, you won''t survive." A woman then asked, "Comrade, we are just ordinary people. How can we fight those monsters?" Just then, Jin Xuyan walked over and said, "If you can''t kill zombies, then you need to find another way to survive." "There''s a base two hours from here, built by a group of ability-users. They accept anyone, even ordinary people. You will be able to earn food and water as long as you are willing to work." The survivors were stunned by his words. They had been driven out of government camps and other ability-user shelters for not being able to contribute anything. This news sounded too good to be true. "Comrade, can we really go there and find shelter?" an old man asked. Jin Xuyan looked at him and replied, "Nothing is free in this world." Hearing this, the hope they had just regained began to shatter. But before they could fall into despair, he continued. "At that base, you have to work to get paid. You can exchange your earnings for food, water, and even housing. Even if you can''t kill zombies, you can contribute by helping the leaders build the base. They will assign you work based on what you can do." After pausing, he added, "Even old people and children are accepted." Chapter 244 - 244: Entering Her Space ( 1 ) The survivors looked at each other and began murmuring among themselves after hearing Jin Xuyan''s words. After a moment, one of them asked, "Comrade, can you tell us where this base is?" Instead of answering, Jin Xuyan looked at Zhang Yuan and said, "Old Zhang, take a few members and escort these people back." The moment he heard that, a thought flashed in Zhang Yuan''s mind. He looked at his captain and asked, "Captain, are you planning to help Xun Che?" The two had fought together through countless battles, and their tacit understanding was deep. Just one glance from Jin Xuyan was enough for Zhang Yuan to understand what he intended. Since his captain had decided, he would support him. He nodded and said, "I will bring Shen Jinzhe, Xiao Qi, Chen Qianfeng, and Li Sikai with me." Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "After you send the survivors back to the base, return as soon as possible. We will wait here." "Understood." After their brief discussion, Zhang Yuan turned to the survivors and said, "We will take you to the base. Everyone, follow me." Then he walked to his team and said, "Jinzhe, Xiao Qi, Qianfeng, Sikai¡ªyou are with me." Since there were quite a lot of survivors, they told them to find usable cars or buses. As not all had fuel, they siphoned gas from abandoned vehicles to fill the tanks. Before leaving, Xiao Qi handed out food and water to the survivors and said, "When you reach the base, work hard, and you won''t have to worry about going hungry." "Thank you, Comrade," the survivors said gratefully. Waving a hand, Xiao Qi replied, "If you want to thank someone, thank my captain. Without his orders, we wouldn''t be helping you." The survivors looked out the window and saw the young man smiling at a girl while they chatted. Witnessing how powerful the couple was, those who had previously harbored ulterior motives now quietly gave up their delusions. After they left, Jin Xuyan looked at Boss Lin and asked, "Why didn''t you and your team go with them?" Boss Lin let out an embarrassed chuckle as he walked over. When he was a few steps away, he said, "Comrade, we came to look for supplies. We didn''t want to go back empty-handed." After pausing for a moment, he added, "If possible, can we join your team? We promise not to compete for the supplies your team finds. We will find our own. Just let us follow you." Raising an eyebrow, Jin Xuyan said, "So what you are saying is¡ªyou want to reap the benefits while my team does all the work?" The moment he said this, Boss Lin quickly waved his hand and explained, "Comrade, you have misunderstood us. My team and I never intended to take advantage of yours." "Oh? Then what exactly do you want by following my team?" Jin Xuyan asked. Scratching his head, Boss Lin replied, "Well, after we left the husbandries, we picked up several children and women along the way, and we almost used up all our supplies. "If we can''t follow your team, then¡­ Could you sell us some of the supplies you find later? We have crystal cores, and we are willing to pay." S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Hearing this, Jin Xuyan looked at Jiao Lizhi and asked, "Ah Zhi, what do you think?" Jiao Lizhi glanced at her former captain and said, "If they want to follow us, then let them. With them around, we can relax a little." Nodding, Jin Xuyan turned back to Boss Lin and said, "Since my girlfriend said so, you and your team can follow us. You can take the supplies you find, but we want all the seeds." Boss Lin and his members were delighted by this. They quickly nodded and said, "No problem at all!" Right now, their priority was food and water. As for the seeds, they had no land to grow anything, so they were useless to them. It was better to trade them for something they needed. After resting for a while, Jin Xuyan''s team headed toward the east area. As she walked past Boss Lin and his team, Jiao Lizhi handed each of them a bottle of water and a pack of compressed biscuits from her backpack. "Eat something to regain your energy," she said. Then she quickened her steps to catch up with her boyfriend. Without the survivors screaming or shouting, the zombies were more scattered, making it easier to clear them out. In less than half an hour, they had already eliminated all the zombies with their airguns and began checking the stores. Seeing Boss Lin''s team still standing there unmoving, Jin Xuyan said, "Go check the stores and take what you need. The rest will go to my team." "Comrade, how much can we take?" Boss Lin asked. "Take as much as you can," Jin Xuyan replied casually. The moment Boss Lin and his team heard this, their eyes lit up, and their impression of the Phantom team improved greatly. They had thought the team was a cold-blooded and profit-driven team, but unexpectedly, they turned out to be strong, generous, and kind. Unaware they had just received the ''good person'' card from Boss Lin and his team members, Xiao Qi and Jiao Lizhi were busy collecting everything in the market. It took five hours to clear all the zombies in the area and gather supplies. When they returned to the south entrance, Boss Lin asked, "Comrade, are you heading back to the base now?" Jiao Lizhi shook her head and replied, "We won''t go back for now. We still want to visit the commercial district." Boss Lin looked disappointed but said, "Then we won''t bother you any longer. My team will head to the base your boyfriend mentioned. If fate allows, we will meet again." Jiao Lizhi nodded and replied with a smile, "Captain Lin, have a safe journey." When Boss Lin heard her calling him Captain, he was stunned for a moment before he replied with a chuckle, "Thank you." Chapter 245 - 245: Entering Her Space ( 2 ) Not long after Boss Lin''s group departed, Zhang Yuan and the others returned. Before leaving the market area, the team had lunch together. To avoid unnecessary trouble, Jiao Lizhi took out several boxes of self-heating meals from her space and shared them with everyone. After eating, they took turns keeping watch while the rest napped. Sitting in the car, Jiao Lizhi leaned against the passenger seat with her eyes closed. Her mind entered the space, and she began organizing the seeds. Besides grains, they had also found medicinal herbs seeds and even ginseng seedlings. Since the farmland was designated to grow grains, she decided to plant the medicinal herbs and ginseng on the grassland near the husbandries. After pulling the weeds, she tilled the soil, watered it with the pond water, and scattered the seeds. When she finished, she opened her eyes and saw her boyfriend staring at her intently. Startled by his sharp gaze, Jiao Lizhi asked, "Brother Yan, what''s wrong?" Jin Xuyan reached out and touched her cheek. After a moment, he asked,"Ah Zhi, are you hiding something from me?" "Brother Yan, why do you suddenly ask that?" He observed her for a while before saying, "If you don''t want to tell me now, I will wait." After he let out a long sigh, he opened the car door and stepped out. Watching his retreating back, Jiao Lizhi covered her fast-beating heart and murmured, "Did he find out anything different about my space?" While she was still confused, Jin Xuyan turned to look at her again. Whenever she slept, he would often observe her in silence. Sometimes, her breathing was so shallow it seemed as if she was in a coma¡ªlike she could disappear at any moment. And yet, during those times, he always felt a strange connection between their minds. Just now, while she was asleep, he saw a flash of grassland in his mind. In the vast field, the mutated animals they had collected before were running freely. On the opposite side, there were heaps of supplies they collected. But what shocked him the most was seeing Jiao Lizhi planting ginseng seedlings they had just found. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. After everything he had experienced, he no longer doubted the existence of supernatural things. The idea of a spiritual space didn''t seem impossible for him. He didn''t know how he had been able to glimpse her space, but since she hadn''t told him, he would wait until she was ready to open her heart completely. The thought of her not trusting him completely made him feel like he was being pulled into an abyss. Helplessness, anxiety, fear, and uncertainty gnawed at him from the inside. Just before he lost himself in his dark emotions, a pair of soft hands wrapped around his hand. Feeling the warmth seeping into his cold body, he snapped out of his trance. Unaware of the turmoil in her boyfriend''s heart, Jiao Lizhi took a deep breath and said, "Brother Yan, I want to show you something. Will you come with me?" Jin Xuyan''s heart pounded so fast he thought it might leap out of his chest when he heard her words. He looked at her and nodded. Seeing this, Jiao Lizhi pulled him toward one of the nearby empty buildings. After entering, she closed the door and said, "Brother Yan, please don''t be surprised by what you see later." "Okay." "I don''t know if it will work, so¡­ please don''t be disappointed either if I can''t show you anything," she added. "Okay." After a moment of hesitation, Jiao Lizhi finally took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and whispered, "Enter." As soon as she spoke, the two of them disappeared from that place and reappeared inside the space. When Jiao Lizhi opened her eyes, she saw her boyfriend standing in front of her, staring at the surroundings in shock. She blinked in disbelief, realizing she had actually brought him into her space. Grinning widely, she said, "Brother Yan, we are inside my space!" Jin Xuyan was stunned by what he saw. When he took a breath, the fresh air filled his lungs and warmed his entire body. It had been a long time since he had breathed such clean air¡ªhe felt refreshed and rejuvenated. Turning around, he took in the vast expanse of grassland and rich black soil. The farmland was planted with rice, wheat, and potatoes. Near the edge of the fields, rows of fruit trees and strawberry bushes lined the grassland. Jiao Lizhi, excited to finally have someone else inside her space, said, "Brother Yan, let me show you my house!" Grabbing his hand, she pulled him toward a two-story house. The moment it came into view, Jin Xuyan''s body stiffened. This house looked incredibly familiar. As they stepped inside, memories from his past life surged back. This wasn''t just a familiar house¡ªthis was the exact one he had bought before the apocalypse, the one he had prepared to be their wedding home. Back then, he had planned everything before even finding her. But the apocalypse had arrived too soon, and the house was destroyed. In this life, he hadn''t bothered to buy it again, choosing instead to focus on other preparations. Yet here it was¡ªstanding perfectly before him in her space. Unaware of the emotions brewing in her boyfriend''s heart, Jiao Lizhi cheerfully led him to the second floor. Pointing at one of the rooms, she said, "Brother Yan, this is the junior master bedroom. You can stay here whenever you come to my space." Jin Xuyan turned to her, his voice slightly hoarse as he asked, "Then where are you sleeping?" "Of course, I will be in the master bedroom," she replied with a smile. Hearing this, Jin Xuyan pulled her into his arms and said unhappily, "Ah Zhi, who am I to you?" Caught off guard by the question, Jiao Lizhi blinked and replied, "You are my boyfriend." "Since I''m your boyfriend, why would I stay in a separate room? Don''t you want me to sleep with you in the same room? Hmm?" he asked again. Chapter 246 - 246: Entering Her Space ( 3 ) When Jiao Lizhi heard her boyfriend''s words, she detected a dangerous warning in his tone. Meeting his intense gaze, she swallowed nervously and asked, "Brother Yan, you want to sleep in the master bedroom?" Jin Xuyan let out a low chuckle and traced her lips with his thumb as he said slowly, "Ah Zhi, I only want to sleep in your bed. I don''t care whether it''s in the master bedroom or not." The moment she heard that, Jiao Lizhi felt her mind explode and go completely blank. It took her a while to recover before she stammered, "Brother Yan, let''s talk about this later. We should leave now, or our team members might start looking for us." Jin Xuyan saw through her attempt to escape and said firmly, "Ah Zhi, your bed is mine. Only I''m allowed to sleep beside you." Leaning down, he kissed her lightly before adding, "Even if we share a bed, I won''t do anything without your permission. So don''t push me away, okay?" Being hugged so tightly, Jiao Lizhi recalled his words and the way he had behaved over the past few days when they shared a bed. He had only ever held her while they slept¡ªnothing more. She wasn''t someone who was naive about such matters. Even if she hadn''t experienced it herself, she had seen plenty of people doing it in public in her past life. Glancing at her handsome boyfriend, she thought, ''If I really end up sleeping with him, wouldn''t I be the one gaining the most? Since I wouldn''t be at a disadvantage, why should I refuse him?'' After making up her mind, she nodded and replied, "Okay, then." The moment she said this, Jin Xuyan smiled and kissed her for a while. When he finally let her go, he said with a smirk, "Thank you, Girlfriend." Jiao Lizhi glared at him and took several deep breaths to calm her racing heart. Only when she was no longer breathless did she bring him out of her space. When they reappeared inside the abandoned store, Jin Xuyan held her hands and said, "Ah Zhi, thank you for trusting me." At first, she hadn''t planned to let him know that her space could grow crops and house living beings. But when she saw him walking away, she was suddenly overwhelmed by the fear of losing him if she kept hiding things. After spending so many days together, she could no longer treat him as indifferently as she had in her past life. She didn''t know exactly when it started, but now, the thought of losing him was unbearable. Before her mind could weigh the pros and cons, she had already chased after him, grabbed his hand, and brought him to the empty store. Now that she had shared her most important secret, she felt relieved and free. Looking at him, she asked softly, "Brother Yan, are you happy?" Jin Xuyan nodded with a wide grin as he replied, "Happy." "As long as you are happy, then it''s worth it." Just as her words fell, Qin Luzi''s voice came from outside. "Captain, Sister-in-law, we are ready to go." Hearing this, the two of them opened the door and stepped out. After they left, Qin Luzi walked into the store and looked around. He was sure that his captain and sister-in-law had disappeared for a while before reappearing. The only blue dots on his radar had vanished without moving, meaning something in this store had blocked their location. He searched the place thoroughly, but found nothing. Although he was still confused, he eventually gave up and left. Once they packed up, everyone boarded the vehicles and began heading toward the Global Company''s headquarters. It was the largest corporation in the country, and its Lin''an office building was the biggest in the city. From the market area to the Global Company''s buildings, the drive should have taken about forty minutes. But with countless abandoned cars and roaming zombies blocking the road, it took them two hours to reach the area. This time, they parked directly beneath the buildings and were immediately surrounded by zombies. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Bang! Bang! Bang! "Roar!" The zombies roared and slammed against the cars while the Phantom team remained inside. At that moment, Zhang Yuan used the walkie-talkie and asked, "Captain, we are surrounded. Should we use the machine gun to clear a path?" Their armored vehicles were equipped not only with machine guns but also with cannons. They could easily wipe out the zombies in the area using the weapons, but the noise would attract even more zombies and might also damage the roads. Unless absolutely necessary, they tried to avoid using such weapons. Before Jin Xuyan could respond, Li Sikai spoke up, "Vice Captain, let me try clearing them." Zhang Yuan looked at him and asked, "Sikai, you have an idea?" Li Sikai nodded and replied, "I have never tried it before, so I''m not sure it will work." "It''s okay. Just give it a try," Jin Xuyan''s voice came through the walkie-talkie. Li Sikai nodded and placed his palm on the car''s body, channeling his energy into his palm. Crack! Crack! Crack! In the next moment, indigo-colored lightning crackles, appearing out of nowhere and surrounding the entire armored car. The lightning moved like agile snakes, weaving into a net that pushed the zombies back. Crack! Crack! Crack! As the net spread, it electrocuted the surrounding zombies, burning them into charred corpses. The lightning net continued to expand until it enveloped all the armored cars, forming a dome-shaped barrier that blocked the zombies outside. Li Sikai pulled his hand back from the car and said with a gentle smile, "Vice captain, we can go out now." When he opened the door, everyone saw the lightning net outside. Xiao Qi''s eyes widened in amazement and he gave him a thumbs up as he said, "Brother Sikai, your ability is awesome!" Li Sikai chuckled at the praise and replied modestly, "It''s nothing compared to others." Chapter 247 - 247: Another Blue Dot The dome-shaped lightning barrier had a 50-meter diameter. Judging by how easily the zombies were roasted, Li Sikai''s ability power was far from ordinary. Jiao Lizhi and Jin Xuyan exchanged glances. When they saw the indigo hue of Li Sikai''s lightning, they both realized the same thing. His ability wasn''t just strong¡ªit was a high-grade mutated ability. Standing beside Li Sikai, Yin Yusheng asked, "Brother Sikai, do you have to keep using your energy to maintain the lightning barrier?" Li Sikai rubbed his chin and replied, "After I expand the barrier to the desired size, I don''t need to continuously supply energy after that. I can cut off the connection, too. I think the barrier will stay up until the energy runs out." "Can you still control it after you cut the connection?" Xiao Qi asked curiously. Raising his hand, Li Sikai went silent for a moment before nodding. "I can reconnect." To prove it, he flicked his fingers. Crack! Crack! Boom! Boom! Suddenly, two lightning whips shot out from the barrier, lashing at the zombies nearby. With every flick of his fingers, the whips struck with destructive force, tearing the zombies apart. Turning to Xiao Qi, Li Sikai explained, "If I attack like this, though, I need to actively use my energy." Watching the ferocity of his attack, Xiao Qi couldn''t help but ask, "Brother Sikai, how long can you maintain the barrier and attack at the same time?" Li Sikai closed his eyes briefly, feeling out the energy reserves in his body. After comparing the energy stored in his body and the consumption needed to maintain the barrier and launching attacks, he replied, "With my current energy reserves, I should be able to hold out for about three hours before running out of energy." As soon as he said this, everyone around him sucked in a sharp breath. They had always thought their own abilities were impressive¡ªbut compared to this late-bloomer, their powers felt like child''s play. Noticing their stunned expressions, Li Sikai smiled modestly and replied, "No matter how much energy I have, it''s still more practical to use guns." With that, he clenched his fist, and the lightning whips retracted back into the barrier. Then, he pulled out his airgun and started shooting zombies. Seeing this, the rest of the team snapped out of their daze and joined him. As they killed the zombies outside the building, a man was watching them from the top floor. After observing for a moment, he turned and walked into a hidden room concealed within the wall. Inside, he changed out of his suit and into a set of nanotechnology clothing. The moment the fabric touched his skin, it changed color, seamlessly blending to match his skin color. The outfit was highly advanced¡ªdurable, water-resistant, fireproof, and resistant to UV radiation and harmful substances. It also provided protection against viruses, fungi, and bacteria. Moreover, the suit could generate power to activate a self-defense system, while automatically regulating temperature and humidity. As long as he wore it, climate change posed no threat. Creating this nanotech had cost him an immeasurable fortune and effort. He had recruited researchers from all over the world and poured years of effort into the project. And after all that, they had only succeeded in producing thirty sets. After donning the suit, the man opened a glass box and retrieved three rings forged from an unknown metal. Before wearing them, he let a drop of blood fall onto each one. A moment later, the rings pulsed with a soft blue light. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Satisfied, he smiled and slid them onto the fingers of his left hand. With a simple wave, weapons, nanotech clothing, gold bars, and several vials of unknown medicine were collected into one of the storage rings. He then changed into a casual outfit, a blue shirt over a white T-shirt, black trousers, and matching blue sneakers. Once dressed, he walked toward the exit and opened the door. The corridor was covered with mutilated zombie corpses, and the once-white walls were now stained with congealed black blood. Unfazed by the gory scene, the man stepped through the corridor unhurriedly. His footsteps squelched against the sticky blood and rotting flesh. Checking his expensive watch, he smiled faintly and murmured, "It''s time to leave this place." Outside the building, Jin Xuyan and his team had finally finished clearing out the zombies in the area. Despite having blocked so many zombies, the lightning barrier was still intact, crackling with indigo sparks. With a wave of Li Sikai''s hand, the lightning barrier disappeared in an instant. Seeing this, Xiao Qi clicked his tongue and said, "Brother Sikai, your barrier is so strong. With this, we won''t have to worry about zombie hordes anymore." "It might work against normal zombies. But, I don''t think my barrier could hold off a high-level zombie''s attack for long," Li Sikai replied modestly. "Brother Sikai, you are too humble," Xiao Qi sighed. Before entering the building, Jiao Lizhi had stored their armored cars inside her space. When they stepped inside the lobby, they found the ground was covered with black blood and the corpses of zombies scattered everywhere. Seeing the gruesome scene, Jin Xuyan frowned and burned the corpses with his black flame. As they moved forward, he warned, "Be careful. Something is hiding in this place." At that moment, Qin Luzi suddenly said, "Captain, someone is coming." He was paying attention to the map in his mind, where a single blue dot was approaching their location. Aside from his captain, sister-in-law, and Pei Yijun, this was the fourth blue dot he had ever seen since he awakened his psychic-type ability. Not long after, they heard the sound of a metal door opening, followed by a series of light footsteps. They immediately raised their guns, aiming toward the source of the sound. Five minutes later, a man appeared from the corridor and turned to face them. Seeing so many weapons pointed at him, he chuckled and said casually, "Comrades, you come to my place uninvited and aim your guns at me? Isn''t that a little rude?" Chapter 248 - 248: Thick Skin The moment Jiao Lizhi heard his voice, her heart skipped a beat. She stepped forward and, upon seeing the familiar handsome face smiling at her, her eyes widened in shock. "Vice Captain!" she exclaimed. When everyone heard this, they turned to look at her. Jin Xuyan was taken aback and turned his gaze to the man. The moment his eyes landed on the handsome face, he muttered softly, "It''s him." Raising his eyebrows, the man walked slowly toward them and asked, "Little sister, do you know me?" Hearing the familiar voice speak unfamiliar words, Jiao Lizhi snapped out of her daze. She shook her head and replied, "I mistook you for someone else." The man didn''t believe her for a second. Her reaction, gaze, and behavior all told him that she knew him and that their relationship had once been close. But he had no memory of meeting this girl before, so it shouldn''t have been possible. At that moment, he felt a sharp killing intent directed at him. When he turned his gaze, he met Jin Xuyan''s cold eyes. The corner of his lips lifted in amusement. ''Well, well, well¡­ These two are quite interesting. I should stick around and see what''s going on,'' he thought to himself. Having made up his mind, he stepped forward with a gentle smile and said, "Comrades, my name is Li Qixuan. I came here looking for supplies, but there is nothing useful left." As he finished, he placed his well-maintained fingers on his defined abs and added pitifully, "I haven''t eaten in two days. Could you spare me some food?" The moment Jiao Lizhi heard this, her heart ached. Her vice captain had always held a special place in her heart. He was the only one who had treated her kindly and protected her for many years. To her, he was family¡ªlike a big brother. Now that she had the ability to produce food, she couldn''t bear to see him go hungry. His pitiful tone, lowered gaze, and seemingly weakened state only added to her sense of guilt. Without hesitation, she nodded and said, "I have some food with me. You can have it." She unzipped her backpack as she walked over to him. Standing before him, she pulled out a lunch box filled with five rice balls, a self-heating hotpot, two ready-to-eat sausages, and a bottle of water. Li Qixuan had only been testing the waters, he never expected the girl to be so generous. Holding the food and water in his arms, he looked at her in mild surprise. But the expression faded quickly, replaced by his usual gentlemanly demeanor. He smiled at her and said, "Thank you, little sister. You are a good person." Receiving a good person card from her long-lost "brother," Jiao Lizhi grinned like a fool and replied, "It''s nothing. If you need more, just let me know." Just after she spoke, her wrist was grabbed, and she was pulled back by Jin Xuyan. Looking up, she saw her boyfriend glaring coldly at her "brother." Wrapping his arm around her, Jin Xuyan said, "My girlfriend is generous but she is already taken. If you need more food or water, ask Xiao Qi or Feng Yun." Then, lowering his eyes to her, he asked sourly, "Ah Zhi, did you change your heart?" Jiao Lizhi was stunned by his sudden question. Even though she was close with her vice captain, her feelings for Jin Xuyan were far deeper. Noticing his jealousy, she quickly held his hand and said, "No! You are the only one I like. Don''t overthink it." Jin Xuyan said nothing, but his cold gaze returned to Li Qixuan, full of silent provocation, a clear declaration of dominance. Seeing this, Li Qixuan chuckled and said, "Comrade, don''t worry. I have no interest in someone else''s girl." "You better not," Jin Xuyan replied coldly. Then, turning to his team, he said, "We are heading to the next building." "Yes, Captain!" the team replied in unison. Without sparing Li Qixuan another glance, Jin Xuyan took Jiao Lizhi''s hand and led her toward the entrance. Just before they left, Li Qixuan called out, "If you are looking for supplies, check the warehouse instead of the office buildings." Hearing this, Zhang Yuan turned back and asked, "Comrade, do you know where the warehouse is?" Li Qixuan nodded and said, "I can show you the way." Zhang Yuan glanced at his captain, clearly uneasy about the man and Jiao Lizhi''s strange behavior around him. Jin Xuyan weighed the pros and cons, then said, "Lead the way." "Okay," Li Qixuan said, joining them. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Walking behind, Qin Luzi frowned as he checked the mental map in his mind. The color of this man''s aura was a shade bluer than Jiao Lizhi''s, but still lighter than the captain''s. That meant this man''s ability was very strong. "The warehouse area is located in the suburbs. If you are searching for supplies, this office district is a dead end," Li Qixuan explained as he sat in the back seat. With Jin Xuyan driving and Jiao Lizhi sitting on the passenger seat, there was enough room for Li Qixuan to sit comfortably on the back seat. As he ate, he noticed the girl repeatedly glancing at him through the rearview mirror. He was aware of how good-looking he was. Many girls had admired him over the years. But her boyfriend was just as attractive in a different way, so he couldn''t understand why this girl kept sneaking glances. Of course, since he noticed it, so did Jin Xuyan. His grip on the steering wheel tightened as he asked irritably, "Ah Zhi, is he good-looking?" "Huh?" Jiao Lizhi blinked, confused by the sudden question. "Is he more good-looking, or am I?" he asked again. As soon as he said that, Li Qixuan choked on his food and coughed violently. He quickly grabbed the water bottle and took a few gulps. He never expected this man, who looked so solemn, could uttered those shameless words without changing his expressions. His skin was thick! Chapter 249 - 249: A Refined Gentleman ( 1 ) Seeing how he coughed so violently, Jiao Lizhi asked, "Brother, are you alright?" Waving his hand, Li Qixuan replied hoarsely, "I''m fine. But¡­ your boyfriend doesn''t seem fine." Jiao Lizhi nodded matter-of-factly and replied, "Well, my boyfriend is very jealous. It''s normal for him to say things like that. Just pretend you didn''t hear it." Li Qixuan was speechless by her casual response. He had been curious about them, but now he just wanted to avoid becoming their third wheel. At that moment, he finally understood why everyone else had insisted on squeezing into the other car. The sweetness between this couple was overwhelming, he felt like his teeth might rot from it. Unaware of his internal suffering, Jiao Lizhi reached out to stroke her boyfriend''s arm and asked, "Brother Yan, why are you angry?" She looked at him earnestly. They both knew the man in the backseat had once been her benefactor, so she couldn''t understand Jin Xuyan''s cold attitude. "Ah Zhi, I''m angry. I don''t want to talk right now," Jin Xuyan said coldly. Jiao Lizhi sighed deeply and coaxed him, "Even if you are angry, you can''t ignore your girlfriend." And she meant it. She didn''t give him a single moment of silence. For the next two hours, she talked nonstop. Her chatter was louder than a parrot''s. Li Qixuan nearly lost his mind but Jin Xuyan clearly enjoyed it. Two hours later, they finally arrived in the suburban area. As they parked the car, Li Qixuan stepped out looking more exhausted than when they had first seen him. Xiao Qi observed him and commented, "This comrade''s mental strength is impressive. After being tortured for two hours, he was still able to keep his cool. He''s definitely not simple." Feng Yun nodded in agreement and replied, "But I doubt he will ever want to ride in the same car with Captain and Sister-in-law again. Looks like we will need to take out another vehicle. It''s getting too crowded anyway." As they chatted, Qin Luzi kept his eyes on Li Qixuan and said quietly, "Don''t lower your guard. We don''t know who he is or where he came from. Even if he looks weak, he is very strong." Hearing this, Xiao Qi asked, "Brother Qin, is there something wrong with him?" Qin Luzi didn''t respond but his expression said everything. Li Qixuan was dangerous. After they got out of the armored vehicles, Li Qixuan said, "We have to walk for 500 meters to reach the warehouse." "Can''t we use the cars?" Yin Yusheng asked. "I''m not sure. Last I heard, the road was damaged and needed repairs," Li Qixuan replied. Glancing at him, Qin Luzi asked, "How do you know so much about Global Group? Who are you?" Li Qixuan smiled casually and said, "Ah, I forgot to tell you. I''m the grandson of Global Group''s owner." The moment he said this, everyone looked at him in surprise. No wonder he looked like a young master from a wealthy family, he was a third-generation rich kid. Qin Luzi checked the map in his mind and said, "There are several groups of zombies scattered within a 500-meter radius." S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Hearing this, Li Qixuan''s eyes flashed with surprise. He looked at him and asked, "Comrade, how did you know that?" Before he could answer, Jin Xuyan said, "Check your equipment. We need to clear the zombies before sunset." "Understood!" With the captain''s order, everyone quickly checked their ammo and gear. While the others were busy, Jiao Lizhi walked over to Li Qixuan and asked, "Brother, do you have any weapons?" Thinking she was asking to borrow one, Li Qixuan shook his head. "I don''t use weapons," he replied. Then he opened his palm, and a wisp of red flame floated above it. Smiling, he added, "I fight with my ability." When everyone saw his red flame, they only gave him a glance. For someone to survive alone in the office district, they assumed his ability would be something powerful. Unexpectedly, it seemed to be a basic fire-type. While the others lost interest, Qin Luzi never took his eyes off Li Qixuan. He didn''t believe this person had only a standard fire ability. From what he observed, Li Qixuan had at least an extraordinary ability-user, possibly a dual ability-user. Otherwise, there was no explanation why his energy showed a blue dot instead of a green dot in his map. Under everyone''s gaze, Jiao Lizhi pulled out her dagger, intending to lend it to him. But before she could hand it over, Jin Xuyan appeared at her side and said meaningfully, "Ah Zhi, he doesn''t need a weapon." Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi remembered how strong her vice-captain was. She looked at her boyfriend and said with a smile, "I forgot about that. Brother Yan, you have an excellent memory!" Jin Xuyan patted her head and replied, "I remember everything related to you." Standing beside them, Li Qixuan sighed and walked away. Even with a strong mental state, being force-fed dog food for two hours was enough. He was already too full to digest more. Seeing him walk over, Xiao Qi patted his shoulder in sympathy and said, "Brother, you will get used to them eventually." Then he handed him a backpack and said, "Here. There is some dried food, water, and emergency medicine inside. Take this with you just in case you need them later." "You shouldn''t rely on your ability alone. If you run out of energy mid-battle, you could lose your life," Wen Mo added as he handed him a blade. Taking the blade and the backpack, Li Qixuan said, "I''m not used to blades. Comrade, do you have any other weapons?" Raising an eyebrow, Wen Mo asked, "What kind of weapon do you want?" "I learned wushu when I was young. So, I can use spears, longswords, and fans," Li Qixuan replied casually. Surprised by this information, Xiao Qi asked with disbelief, "Brother, you can use a fan as a weapon?" Chapter 250 - 250: A Refined Gentleman ( 2 ) Li Qixuan nodded at Xiao Qi''s words and replied, "If you channel internal energy into it, even a folding fan made of paper can become a powerful weapon." Intrigued by his words, Wen Mo said, "Then I will make you an iron fan." Two minutes later, the blade had been reshaped into an iron fan. It didn''t have sharp edges, but when Li Qixuan held it, he smiled and said, "Comrade, this iron fan is very well made. Thank you." "Brother, try it out!" Xiao Qi urged. "Okay," Li Qixuan nodded. With a flick of his wrist, the iron fan unfolded smoothly. Li Qixuan smiled, and with a wave of his hand, fire burst from the fan like a flamethrower. The fire stretched more than six meters, burning everything in its path. The air around them grew noticeably hotter as time passed by. Startled by the fire, Xiao Qi exclaimed, "Whoa!" Li Qixuan chuckled at his reaction. With another wave of the fan, the flame shifted direction and surged toward the roadblocks. Boom! The flame took the form of a dragon, crashing through several roadblocks. After the obstacles were destroyed, the fire dragon soared upward and burst into countless fireballs that scattered across the open field. Boom! Boom! Boom! Each fireball exploded on impact, leaving deep craters and filling the air with the acrid scent of burning. Standing with one hand behind his back, Li Qixuan folded the fan with a flick and looked like a refined gentleman from an ancient era. He smiled at the group and asked, "Comrades, would you like me to show more?" Everyone was shocked by the power of Li Qixuan''s ability. Even Jiao Lizhi was taken aback. "I never knew my vice-captain was this powerful," she muttered. Hearing her words, Jin Xuyan reached out and pinched her cheeks. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Girlfriend, he is not your vice-captain anymore." With her cheeks squished, Jiao Lizhi''s mouth looked like a fish gasping for air when she said, "Boyfriend, your sourness is overwhelming." Feeling annoyed, Jin Xuyan leaned down and bit her lips lightly before saying, "I am jealous. So, pay more attention to me." "Okay, okay, I won''t care too much about him anymore," she replied helplessly. "Good." After giving his girlfriend another kiss, Jin Xuyan checked his watch and said, "Let''s go." Before they left, Feng Yun stored the armored vehicles into his space. With Qin Luzi in the lead, the group began making their way toward the warehouse. Along the way, Li Qixuan observed the Phantom team''s zombie-clearing tactics. They handled their airguns with ease, moving smoothly and killing with precision. Their teamwork and coordination were top-notch. From how they operated, he was certain these people were no ordinary civilians. They looked more like trained soldiers. Aside from them, only four in the group looked like actual civilians. Even the girl who had called him vice-captain didn''t seem ordinary. Her movements were sharp, calculated, and full of killing intent. She scanned her surroundings with sharp eyes, reacting quickly to any threat. Rather than a soldier, she resembled a cold-blooded mercenary more. After walking for half an hour, they finally arrived at the warehouse entrance. Without wasting time, Wen Mo waved his hand and unlocked the gate. As the big padlock fell to the ground, the gate was pushed open. "Roar!" The moment the gate opened, a horde of trapped zombies rushed at them. Without hesitation, Wen Mo raised his hand and created a two-meter-high wall, instantly blocking the zombies. Everyone then leaped up and positioned themselves on top of the metal wall. Pop! Pop! Pop! Crack! Crack! Crack! The sound of metal bullets piercing skulls echoed through the air as they pulled their triggers. Feeling curious, Li Qixuan jumped up to join them. From his vantage point, he could see the warehouse interior more clearly. The moment he saw the situation, his expression darkened. There were far more zombies inside than he had expected. He frowned deeply and went silent. Back when the chaos began, he had personally ordered his subordinates to let the workers in the warehouse evacuate and provided them with supplies. They were supposed to return home safely. But based on what he was seeing now, it was clear his orders had been ignored. The number of workers here wasn''t massive, but it wasn''t small either. Judging by the zombies with many with missing limbs, rotting wounds, and torn uniforms, these people had never been let out. They had been locked in. While Li Qixuan stood there, lost in thought, Qin Luzi kept his gaze fixed on him while he killed zombies. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Noticing this, Xiao Qi leaned closer to Feng Yun and whispered, "Brother Feng Yun, don''t you think Brother Qin is paying a little too much attention to the new guy?" While pulling the trigger and killing a zombie, Feng Yun replied, "What makes you say that?" "Just look at him. He hasn''t taken his eyes off that guy, even while killing zombies! I have noticed it since earlier. Doesn''t the way he looks at him remind you of how our captain looks at our sister-in-law?" Xiao Qi said seriously. Hearing this, Feng Yun nearly choked on air. He glanced at Xiao Qi with disbelief. "Have you been reading too many of those romance novels lately? Or did you drown yourself when taking a shower that your brain is flooded now?" he asked dryly. "I''m serious!" Xiao Qi insisted. "You don''t know Brother Qin like I do. He''s never paid attention to anyone except our captain. Now that the captain''s focused on sister-in-law, of course, Brother Qin would feel lonely." He pointed subtly toward Li Qixuan and added, "And that guy? He is super good-looking, easily on par with our captain. If Brother Qin''s attracted to him, I think it''s totally normal." Feng Yun rolled his eyes at his words and said, "You really have been corrupted by those romance novels." "What do you mean by corrupted? Love is universal! It''s not limited by gender or race!" Xiao Qi argued passionately. Chapter 251 - 251: Who Would Believe It? Too lazy to debate with Xiao Qi, Feng Yun just replied nonchalantly, "Okay, okay. Whatever you say." Seeing he was being brushed off, Xiao Qi sighed dramatically and said, "Young man, you are still too green to understand the world of mature men." "I''m two years older than you," Feng Yun reminded him flatly. Hearing this, Xiao Qi was left speechless. He couldn''t find any words to refute the fact. While the two of them were gossiping, Qin Luzi suddenly noticed something strange. The blue dot representing Li Qixuan on his mental map flickered. The color deepened briefly, then returned to normal. Alarmed by this, Qin Luzi narrowed his eyes. If this fluctuation meant Li Qixuan was preparing to attack his team members, he wouldn''t hesitate to strike first. Quietly, he moved closer to him, fully prepared to act the moment he sensed danger. After more than an hour, they finally finished clearing the area. With a wave of his hand, Jin Xuyan threw a black fireball and burned all the corpses, while Xiao Qi efficiently collected the crystals left behind. Jumping down from the wall, Li Qixuan walked over and asked, "Comrade, what are these crystals?" "Brother, you don''t know?" Xiao Qi looked surprised. "These are crystals found inside zombies'' heads. They contain energy. We can absorb it to recover our strength and stamina. Plus, they can be exchanged for supplies," he explained. "These crystals sound pretty useful," Li Qixuan said. Nodding, Xiao Qi replied, "You should keep any you find in the future. You never know when you will need them in an emergency." After giving his explanation, he walked over to Jiao Lizhi and handed her the bag full of crystals. She poured them into her backpack, zipped it up, and slung it onto her back before rejoining the team heading deeper into the warehouse. As she fastened her backpack, Li Qixuan''s eyes flashed with subtle surprise. His gaze lingered on her back with a thoughtful look in his eyes. Then he chuckled quietly and muttered under his breath, "Interesting. So, that''s how it is." After witnessing how Xiao Qi and Feng Yun used their space-type ability, he realized that Jiao Lizhi''s backpack was different from others. She took out so much food for him before, but her backpack didn''t show any change in size. Now that she poured so many crystals into her backpack, it also didn''t bulge. From this alone, he could draw the conclusion that she was a space-type ability-user. But from how these people behaved, he was sure that they didn''t want him to find out about that girl''s space. As for the reason why, he still didn''t know. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. When they reached the first warehouse, Zhang Yuan stopped him outside and said, "Comrade, you can take a rest here. We will take care of the supplies." Raising his eyebrows, Li Qixuan said, "Comrade, by rights, this place is owned by my family. You are stopping me from entering and planning to take all of the supplies. Isn''t that too much?" Zhang Yuan hesitated for a moment before he said, "I understand your point of view. I will discuss this matter with my captain. But you can''t enter the warehouse." Li Qixuan stared at him for a while before he said, "Alright." Seeing that he was willing to cooperate with them, Zhang Yuan''s impression of him improved and he said, "Thank you for understanding." Li Qixuan said nothing and walked towards the flowerbed area. The flowers and bushes had dried up, leaving only some dried branches and rotten leaves. He sat on the flowerbed border and watched them with interest. Meanwhile, Jiao Lizhi, Xiao Qi, and Feng Yun entered the warehouse while Jin Xuyan and the rest guarded outside. The moment they saw the items stored inside the warehouse, they exchanged glances and quickly went to work. Xiao Qi had the smallest space, so he only took one-tenth of the items inside the warehouse. Feng Yun had a bigger space, so he took three-tenths of the items, while the rest were taken by Jiao Lizhi. While collecting the supplies, she realized that this warehouse stored various medicines for common illnesses. While the medicine wasn''t as valuable as those they found in the factory district, these common medicines were crucial during the awakening process of ability, especially the fever medicine and antibiotics. Ten minutes later, the three of them came out, and they went to the next warehouse. When they finished collecting all the supplies, the sun had started to set. Checking his watch, Jin Xuyan said, "We will spend the night here." With his order, the members went to one of the warehouses and built two bonfires, while the rest started building tents. Seeing this, Li Qixuan walked over and asked, "Comrade, you took away my family''s things and stayed in my family''s warehouse. Don''t you have anything to say to me?" Jin Xuyan turned to him and asked back, "What do you want for compensation?" Li Qixuan thought for a moment and said, "How about you let me join your team? You see, I''m alone and weak. I won''t be able to survive for long without any help. If I join your team, my chance of survival will be higher." As soon as he said these words, Jiao Lizhi choked on her water and coughed. After calming down, she looked at him as if she were looking at a scammer. Despite his lean figure, he was anything but a weak man. In her previous life, he even boasted about how powerful his waist was and compared his family jewel''s size with their teammates, behaving as if he was the bandit leader. Now, he was talking as if he were a weak gentleman. Who would believe it?! While she, Jin Xuyan, and Qin Luzi didn''t believe him, the rest of the team members seemed to believe him. After a moment of silence, Chen Zhiyi said, "Captain, how about letting him join us? His ability is not bad, and with more training, he might be able to boost our team''s combat power." Chapter 252 - 252: Rejection "Captain, we don''t have many members. In the future, some of our members might have to stay in the lab to do research. So, it''s not a bad thing to recruit more members," Shen Jinzhe added. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Jin Xuyan had no intention of keeping this man in his team. But what his members said also made sense. In the future, the situation would become more dangerous, and with their current strength, it might not be enough. After he considered the pros and cons, he turned to his girlfriend and asked, "Ah Zhi, what do you think about this matter?" When she heard this, Jiao Lizhi replied without hesitation, "Brother Yan, I will follow your decision." Hearing her reply, Jin Xuyan made up his mind. Since his girlfriend didn''t care too much about this man, then it was alright to let him join his team. After all, this person would become one of the big guys in the future. Roping him into his team was not a bad thing. After a moment of pause, he walked closer to him and said, "You can join my team, but you have to keep your distance from my girlfriend. She is mine." "Captain, I don''t know what makes you have the impression that I''m interested in your girlfriend. But you can rest assured. As I said, I don''t have any interest in becoming a third party," Li Qixuan replied with a smile. Jin Xuyan glanced at him for a moment before he said, "Old Qin, I will leave him under your supervision. Feng Yun, you will learn under Li Sikai." "Understood." Since they had a new member, everyone introduced themselves and decided to have a hotpot to welcome him to the team. When Jiao Lizhi heard this, she pulled Xiao Qi to the corner and took out a pot of soup she had cooked before. "Sister-in-law, when did you prepare this?" Xiao Qi asked. "When I have nothing to do, I prepare some soup," Jiao Lizhi replied casually. Then, she took out some fresh ingredients, such as eggs, meat, and vegetables. She also took out some glass noodles and said, "Keep it. The new member doesn''t know about my space, and your captain doesn''t want him to know. So, you have to act as my cover." Xiao Qi nodded and replied seriously, "Sister-in-law, leave it to me. I will become a good shield for you." After he stored the ingredients in his space, the two of them walked back as if nothing had happened. That night, they had hotpot for dinner before they took turns to sleep. Meanwhile, Wei Ying and his team almost turned bald from worry. At this moment, several leaders, including Wei Ying, were sitting in the meeting room while they were having a phone call using satellite communication. "Captain Wei, we hope you can understand our difficulty. The situation on our side is not better than yours. We really cannot spare any people to help you clear the horde." Hearing the rejection for the nth time, Wei Ying''s face darkened. He took a deep breath to calm down before he tried to change the other party''s mind, "Comrade Pei, you have to understand that if we leave the zombie horde alone, the situation will get out of hand one day. This is not the time for you to preserve your strength and ignore the big matter." "What''s more, your son and his team are still trapped in the middle of the zombie horde. Are you not going to do anything to save him?" he asked. As soon as he said these words, the other let out a chuckle and said, "Captain Wei, I forgot to inform you. My son and his team have already returned safely. They also cleared out one-fourth of the zombies." "Since my son already helped you clear out some zombies, I think we have done enough. Regarding this matter, my base won''t intervene. You can do as you see fit." The moment he finished his words, the call was hung up. When they heard the busy tone coming from the phone, one of the leaders slammed the table and said angrily, "Those capitalists only know how to calculate their benefits and never think about the consequences of their actions!" Everyone had the same thoughts as him, but no one had the time to complain. Right now, their priority was how to handle the zombie horde. With each passing day, the number of zombies continued to grow. If they didn''t act as soon as possible, their chance of victory would be less than 1%. By then, forget about clearing the zombies, they could only do their best to escape. "Captain Wei, what should we do now?" one of the leaders asked. Wei Ying frowned deeply as he thought. After a long silence, he finally said, "Everyone, right now, we don''t have enough manpower to clear the zombie horde." "I will find a way to contact other survivor camps to see if we can get some help in two days. Before that, I need everyone to organize our people and prepare for evacuation." He looked at everyone and said, "If there is no solution in two days, my team will stay behind to buy time while everyone evacuates." The moment he said these words, the leaders were taken aback. While they had also experienced battle in their youth, it had been years since they retired from the battlefield and went behind the screen. Now facing a crisis, they didn''t fear death, but they no longer had the power to fight, leaving them feeling helpless. After a moment of silence, one of the leaders finally said, "Captain Wei, we will follow your decision." Wei Ying nodded at him, stood up, and left without looking back. His vice captain nodded at the leaders and followed him. When they were outside the meeting room, the vice captain asked, "Captain, we have tried to contact other survivor camps, but so far, there has been no reply at all." "There is one more camp we haven''t contacted," Wei Ying replied. Hearing this, the vice captain''s eyes flashed for a moment before he asked, "Captain, you mean Xun Che''s camp?" "Prepare the car. I will go visit him personally tomorrow," Wei Ying said. "Understood." Chapter 253 - 253: Wei Yings Visit ( 1 ) The next morning, Wei Ying left the survivor camp with three of his team members at sunrise. When the soldiers saw him leaving, they quickly opened the gate and said, "Captain Wei, good luck on your journey." Wei Ying nodded and said, "If something happens, go find my team. I will return as soon as possible." "Understood," the soldiers nodded and said in unison. As they drove, Wei Ying checked the map and said, "Don''t take the highway and stop at the gas station first." "Yes, Captain." After driving for forty minutes, they reached the gas station, and after refueling, they continued their journey. Due to the bad condition of the road, they had to take some detours and fight against zombies. When they arrived at Xun Che''s base, the sky had changed color and the sun was setting. Seeing two lines of people waiting to enter the base, one of his men looked at Wei Ying and said, "Captain, there are so many people here." Wei Ying pointed at the side gate and said, "Go to that gate." Noticing that the side gate was used as an entrance for vehicles, his soldier drove the car over. When the guards saw their car, one of them raised his hand and said, "Stop!" After the car had fully stopped, the guard walked over and knocked on the window. The moment the window was lowered, the soldier was surprised. He quickly gave a salute and said, "Captain Wei Ying." Wei Ying nodded at him and said, "We came to find Captain Xun Che. Please inform him." The soldier nodded and said, "Captain Wei, please wait in the tent." Wei Ying and his team didn''t make things difficult for them and parked the car to the side before they came out and entered the side tent. Inside the tent, the soldiers took their temperature and checked their bodies for any wounds. After they were done, the soldiers gave them a bottle of mineral water, two pieces of rice ball, and a piece of sausage. Seeing the food, Wei Ying and his team were surprised. Compared to the thin porridge they ate in their camp, the food given by Xun Che and his team was much better. When the soldier noticed they didn''t eat or drink, he said, "Captain Wei, these foods and water are freshly made and safe for consumption. You don''t have to worry." Hearing this, Wei Ying shook his head and said, "I''m not worried about that. I''m just surprised that your base is able to give up these foods." The moment the soldier heard this, he smiled and said, "Well, it''s all thanks to Captain Jin and his team. If not for them helping us clear the zombies and find supplies, we might not even have plain water, let alone rice and sausage." Wei Ying was stunned by his words, and it took him a while to regain his composure. He looked at the soldier and asked, "Comrade, this Captain Jin you are talking about¡ªis it the one from the Phantom team?" sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The soldier found his question strange, but he still nodded and replied, "It''s indeed Captain Jin Xuyan." As soon as he said this, Wei Ying and his team members broke out in smiles. They thought that the Phantom team had fallen in the factory district. Fortunately, they managed to survive! "This is great! With Captain Jin and his team around, our chance of winning will be higher," one of Wei Ying''s team members said excitedly. Just after he finished his words, Xun Che entered the tent and asked, "What chance of winning?" Hearing his voice, Wei Ying stood up, placed the water and food on the table, and then walked over. After they exchanged salutes, he said, "Captain Xun, I came today to discuss an important matter regarding the zombie horde located near the border." When he heard this, Xun Che''s expression turned solemn and he said, "Captain Wei, let''s change to another place to talk. This way please." With him leading them, the soldier quickly opened the gate and let them in. As they drove the car, Wei Ying and his team realized that the survivors living in this base didn''t look as depressed as those living in the survivor camp. Even though they still looked thin, their steps were brisk and their eyes were full of light and hope. While they were amazed by the difference, they arrived at the tallest building in the base. The building was one of the property management office buildings before the apocalypse. After they settled down, they chose this place as the main building for their operational office. Although there were solar panels, the energy was only enough to operate the lamps and some computers. So, they could only use the stairs to reach the meeting room located on the fifth floor. While they climbed the stairs, Wei Ying asked, "Captain Xun, why don''t you find more solar panels? Climbing stairs every day will be too tiring." When he heard this, Xun Che smiled and replied, "Now that we are busy handling the operation of the base, we have no time to exercise. Climbing stairs is a good way to keep our bodies fit." The moment he said these words, his team nodded and said solemnly, "Captain is right. We have to keep training in case of an emergency." At the same time, Wei Ying and his team were speechless. They had heard about how crazy Xun Che was regarding training his team. They thought that no matter how much he loved exercising, there would be a limit. Unexpectedly, he did go beyond their expectations. He was still able to find a way to train even during his daily duties. Perhaps due to their daily practice of climbing stairs, they didn''t even break a sweat when they walked onto the fifth floor. Opening the meeting room door, Xun Che said, "Captain Wei, this way, please." After everyone took their seats, one of Xun Che''s men poured a cup of water for them before taking his seat and opening a notebook, ready to record the meeting progress. Chapter 254 - 254: Wei Yings Visit ( 2 ) Wei Ying drank some water before he said, "Captain Xun, I heard that Jin Xuyan and his team are staying here. Is that true?" Xun Che nodded and said, "Captain Jin and his team are indeed staying in my base, but they are currently outside gathering supplies." Hearing this, Wei Ying frowned and asked, "Do you know when they will return?" "Captain Jin said it should be around a few days," Xun Che replied. After a moment of pause, he asked, "Captain Wei, why did you ask about the Phantom team?" "This time I came to ask for your help. A few days ago, a group of mercenaries spotted a zombie horde near the Lin''an border area. The number of zombies is around 1,000 and it keeps increasing. By now, the number should be around 2,000 or more," Wei Ying said. Xun Che was taken aback by this news and asked, "Have you asked Jiangning base to send over people to help?" Wei Ying nodded and replied, "I did, but they said they couldn''t spare anyone. What''s more, Pei Yijun was trapped before in the center of the horde and he cleared out some of the zombies during his escape." The moment he heard this, Xun Che frowned and said, "So, they are using this as an excuse to wash their hands of the matter?" "The situation in the survivor camp is messy, and the number of soldiers is not enough to hold off the zombie horde. We tried to hire the ability-users, but none agreed to stay," Wei Ying sighed. Xun Che frowned deeply at his words. After a moment of thought, he asked, "What plan do you have?" "I have contacted several camps to ask for reinforcements, but so far, none have given any positive response. I already told my people to prepare for evacuation. If I can''t gather enough manpower to clear out the zombies, we might have to abandon the camp," Wei Ying replied. Xun Che tapped his fingers on the table for a moment before he said, "I will send my people and help you evacuate the people. Bring them to my base. Until we take care of the zombie horde, we can only abandon the camp." Wei Ying didn''t expect him to take in so many people and said, "The number of survivors in the temporary camp is more than 30,000, while the amount of supplies we have at this moment is only enough for at most three days. Are you sure you want to take in so many people?" S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Raising his eyebrows, Xun Che asked him back, "Besides this, do you have any other plans?" Wei Ying was stunned by his words. It was as he said, the risk of staying at the border with a zombie horde nearby was very high. Instead of waiting for reinforcements, evacuation was a better move, as it had a higher chance of survival. "But, what about the supplies?" he asked. "You don''t have to worry about supplies. My team and the Phantom team will take care of that," Xun Che replied casually. Then, he took out a folder from his soldier and handed it to Wei Ying while saying, "These are the regulations of my base. I don''t have a problem taking in the survivors as long as they agree to follow the rules." "As for the ability-users, they are free to join or not. You can read this first before you make your decision," he added with a smile. At first, Wei Ying thought that the rules were about controlling the crime rate in the base. But after he read the regulations, he looked at Xun Che with surprise. Placing down the folder, he said, "Captain Xun, your method is very good! Following the rules, even ordinary people will be able to earn their supplies and it won''t burden the base. It can also solve the lack of supplies and crystals." Not wanting to take the credit, Xun Che replied, "It''s not entirely my idea. Most of the important rules and regulations were suggested by Captain Jin and his girlfriend. I only added some punishments according to military law." Hearing this, Wei Ying asked with disbelief, "Girlfriend?" "You don''t know Jin Xuyan has a girlfriend?" Xun Che asked him back. Wei Ying thought for a while before he recalled a young woman who had a good relationship with the Phantom team. He nodded and said with realization, "So that''s how it is. No wonder she was willing to stay behind and fight alongside Jin Xuyan. Turns out, they are a couple." Xun Che wasn''t interested in gossip and said, "We don''t have much time to waste. You and your team should take a rest today. Tomorrow, my team will go with you and help with the evacuation." Wei Ying nodded and said, "Then I will inform them to prepare and wait for us." "Good." After the brief meeting, Wei Ying and his team were led to one of the houses in the residential area. Before the soldier left, he gave them some water and supplies and said, "Captain Wei, if you need anything else, you can just inform us." Looking at the pile of food and water, Wei Ying smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Comrade." The soldier saluted him and said, "This is my duty. Captain Wei, I will take my leave now." "Go ahead." After the soldier left, Wei Ying made a phone call using his satellite phone. Not long after, the call was picked up, and his vice captain''s voice came through the receiver. "Captain." "Xiao Han, prepare for evacuation." The moment he heard this, Xiao Han asked, "Captain, did Captain Xun refuse to help?" "At the moment, we don''t have enough manpower, so we have decided to evacuate everyone to Xun Che''s base first. We will discuss how to deal with the zombie horde when the Phantom team returns," Wei Ying said. As soon as he said this, Xiao Han asked in disbelief, "Captain, you mean Captain Jin and his team are still alive?" Chapter 255 - 255: Change Of Plan Hearing Xiao Han''s question, Wei Ying said, "Mhmm. We will wait until they return to the base before we make a plan to clear out the zombie horde. For now, I need you to inform Gu Shaoze and his team to help keep an eye on the ability-users." "Understood." After the brief phone call, Wei Ying smelled a fragrant aroma coming from the kitchen. When he walked to the dining room, he saw his team members already preparing dinner. Seeing him come in, one of them said, "Captain, we cooked steamed rice and some side dishes. It''s been a long time since we had a hot meal. Let''s eat first." As he sat down, Wei Ying looked at the steaming, plump rice, a plate of stir-fried vegetables, and a bowl of egg drop soup on the table. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. He let out a sigh and said, "When I compare the condition in our camp and Xun Che''s base, even I have the urge to join him." When they heard this, one of the members said, "Captain, you are not good at management. I think it''s better for us to join Captain Xun''s base and just focus on doing missions." "With Captain Jin and Captain Xun handling the base operations, we won''t have to worry about those old foxes making trouble and can finally relax," another member chimed in. Hearing this, Wei Ying nodded and said, "Let''s talk about this after we evacuate everyone first. Once they have moved in, we can find an excuse and just join them directly." When the members heard the first half of his words, they thought their captain wanted to be a leader. But after hearing the latter part, they finally grinned and said, "As expected of our captain, very wise!" "Alright, let''s eat and rest early," Wei Ying said with a chuckle and started eating. While they were enjoying their dinner, Xun Che was on a phone call in his office. "Captain Jin, when will you and your team be back?" he asked. "We have only been gone a day and you are already asking about my return. Is something urgent happening in the base?" Jin Xuyan replied. "Wei Ying came to visit today and brought information about a zombie horde near the Lin''an border. Currently, the estimated number is around 2,000, but we don''t know the exact situation yet," Xun Che explained. "Has he contacted the people from Jiangning?" Jin Xuyan asked. "He did, but they refused to cooperate. Right now, we plan to evacuate everyone to the base first and discuss a countermeasure when your team is back," Xun Che replied. Jin Xuyan went silent for a moment, then said, "Once I''m done with things here, I will check out the situation at the border. Send more people to help with the evacuation." Xun Che was taken aback by his decision and asked, "Captain Jin, are you sure your team can handle the zombie horde?" "My team has faced more dangerous situations and come out alive. You just focus on managing the base. Once those people join the base, keep an eye on those old foxes. If they dare to cause trouble, just kick them out," Jin Xuyan said casually. Xun Che was speechless for a moment before he said, "Those old foxes have military rank. Do you think it''s that easy to kick them out?" Jin Xuyan let out a sigh and asked, "Xun Che, do you really think the government is still the same as before?" "Right now, the ones holding power are the ability-users. If you have decided to take over leadership of the base, then you need to change your mindset." "You are no longer working under the government. Now, countless lives rest on your shoulders. You have a responsibility to protect them. If you can''t make up your mind and take full control of the base, then I don''t see the point in helping you." After saying that, he glanced at his girlfriend and added, "Think about it yourself. My girlfriend is waiting for me to eat. Hanging up now." Before Xun Che could say another word, the call ended with a busy tone. After hanging up, Jin Xuyan put the satellite phone into his pocket and walked toward his girlfriend. Noticing his frown, Jiao Lizhi asked, "Brother Yan, what''s wrong?" Sitting beside her, Jin Xuyan said, "Tomorrow, we need to go to the border. Xun Che informed me that a zombie horde was spotted nearby Wei Ying''s camp." Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi frowned and said in a low voice, "There shouldn''t be a zombie horde near the border at this time." Jin Xuyan nodded and replied, "I found it strange too. That''s why we will investigate it tomorrow. As for the supplies, we can return to deal with them after handling the horde." "Alright, we will do as you say," Jiao Lizhi nodded. While the two of them whispered, Li Qixuan sat not far away, watching them with interest. Sitting across from him, Qin Luzi''s gaze never left him. Noticing the sharp stare, Li Qixuan smiled and asked, "Brother Qin, did a flower grow on my face? Why are you staring at me for so long?" Despite the teasing, Qin Luzi didn''t change his expression and said, "Li Qixuan, now that you have joined the team, you had better behave. If you ever betray us, I will make sure you regret being born." Hearing the warning, Li Qixuan laughed. After a moment, he calmed down and said, "Brother Qin, I don''t know why you dislike me so much, but I really don''t have any bad intentions toward the team." He observed everyone for a moment before he added with a smile, "If you don''t believe me, at least trust your captain''s decision." Although Qin Luzi didn''t understand why his captain accepted this man, he trusted his judgment. Still, there was something about Li Qixuan that put him on edge, a dangerous aura he couldn''t ignore, and the flickering blue dot on his mind. Chapter 256 - 256: Evacuation ( 1 ) Early the next morning, the Phantom team woke before dawn. After a quick wash-up, everyone checked their equipment and began preparing breakfast. Li Qixuan was woken by the soft murmur of conversation around him and the mouthwatering aroma of food in the air. When he opened his eyes, he saw Xiao Qi and Feng Yun stirring a pot while Qin Luzi and Jin Xuyan were busy wrapping dumplings. He sat in a daze for a while, slowly remembering that he had joined a mercenary team and was no longer alone. Rubbing his face, he tried to clear the lingering drowsiness. When he lowered his hand, he noticed a basin of water with a set of washing items in front of him. Looking up, he saw the young woman smile at him and say, "Brother, these are for you. Wash up, then come eat with us." Li Qixuan accepted the items and watched her skip away happily. He couldn''t understand why she treated him so kindly when they had just met yesterday. The way she spoke to him felt oddly familiar, like they had known each other for a long time. After giving the items to Li Qixuan, Jiao Lizhi went to find her boyfriend. Seeing him wrapping dumplings skillfully, she said, "Brother Yan, I want ten vegetable dumplings and ten meat dumplings." Jin Xuyan glanced at her and asked, "Will twenty dumplings be enough for you?" As ability-users, their appetites were far greater than ordinary people''s, especially dual ability-users. Since everyone in their team was an ability-user, the dumplings were larger, and they made more than usual. Besides egg porridge, they had made dumplings with both vegetable and meat fillings. A hearty breakfast like this would give them the strength needed to fight zombies later. "It''s enough. I want porridge too," Jiao Lizhi nodded. "Okay," Jin Xuyan replied. An hour later, breakfast was finally ready. Sitting in a circle, five large iron pots were placed in the center. Two pots of porridge, two pots of dumplings, and one pot filled with milk. Everyone eyed the milk with curiosity until Xiao Qi finally asked, "Captain, where did this milk come from?" "It''s from the husbandry area. Ah Zhi and I found several tanks of milk in the warehouse. Since it was still good, we just brought some back," Jin Xuyan replied casually, scooping a large bowl of dumplings for his girlfriend. Hearing this, Li Qixuan smiled and asked, "So, Captain''s girlfriend is also a space-type ability-user?" Since Jin Xuyan had accepted him into the team, he knew it was only a matter of time before Li Qixuan learned about Jiao Lizhi''s space ability. Rather than trying to hide it, he decided to let things unfold naturally. And as expected, Li Qixuan had figured it out after just one day, his powers of observation were impressive. While Jin Xuyan remained calm, the rest of the team, including Jiao Lizhi, turned to look at him, awaiting his response. After a moment, he looked at them and said, "What are you all doing? Not eating?" Everyone understood that their captain had silently acknowledged Jiao Lizhi''s ability. Li Qixuan chuckled and said, "Captain, thank you for trusting me." "Since you have joined my team, you are one of my people. Trust the ones you use, that''s my principle. If I didn''t trust you, I wouldn''t have let you join in the first place," Jin Xuyan replied. Hearing this, the rest of the team realized just how serious their captain was about accepting Li Qixuan. Qin Luzi, in particular, was struck by his words. With a quiet sigh, he decided to give the new member a chance to prove himself. With that change in mindset, he stopped scrutinizing Li Qixuan so closely and returned to his usual aloof self. Sitting across from him, Xiao Qi nudged Feng Yun and whispered with curiosity, "Brother Yun, did you notice that Brother Qin stopped watching the new guy?" Feng Yun held his bowl tighter as it almost fell from the nudge and said helplessly, "Xiao Qi, stop paying attention to Brother Qin''s business. If you keep running your mouth carelessly, you will get punished." Just after he finished his words, Li Sikai sat down beside them and said, "Old Qin is strict, but not unreasonable. As long as you don''t cross his bottom line, he is actually pretty lenient and gentle. He is just a bit awkward when it comes to having contact with people." "Brother Sikai," Feng Yun greeted him politely. "You two are still growing, eat more," Li Sikai said as he handed them two large cups of milk. Taking the cup, Xiao Qi said, "Brother Sikai, I stopped growing ages ago. If I keep growing, I will end up a two-meter giant." Li Sikai glanced at him and replied, "Your height is average on our team. You should grow a few more centimeters so you don''t drag down our height advantage against Old Wei''s team." S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Xiao Qi pouted in frustration the moment he heard his words. Even if he was average on their team, he was still 180 centimeters tall, it wasn''t like he was short! Thinking this, he turned to Feng Yun and asked, "Brother Yun, how tall are you?" "181.7 centimeters," Feng Yun answered casually. "You are just a student! How can you be that tall?" Xiao Qi asked in disbelief. "My family''s genes are good. I was born tall and handsome," he replied matter-of-factly. Hearing such shameless words, Xiao Qi was left speechless. After a moment, he muttered, "Indeed, when you are close to a cinnabar, you are stained red. When you are close to ink, you turn black. Brother Yun, you learn bad things from the captain!" At that, both Li Sikai and Feng Yun laughed, but didn''t bother teasing him any further. They quickly finished their breakfast and began cleaning up. Once they finished packing up, the team gathered around. Jin Xuyan stood in front of them and said, "Yesterday, I received information from Xun Che." Chapter 257 - 257: Evacuation ( 2 ) Jin Xuyan looked at everyone and continued calmly, "A zombie horde was spotted near the Lin''an city border. The location is close to Wei Ying''s camp, so we will head there to investigate. Since we don''t yet know the exact situation, we will divide into two teams." After a brief pause, he continued, "Ah Zhi, Old Qin, Qixuan, Wen Mo, and Wen Kai will come with me to scout the horde. The rest will follow Old Zhang and assist the Eagle Team with evacuating survivors. Any questions?" "No, Captain!" the members responded in unison. Checking his watch, Jin Xuyan said, "We leave in five minutes." "Understood!" After exiting the suburban area, Feng Yun took out the armored vehicles from his space. Since she no longer needed to conceal her space, Jiao Lizhi took out five buses and two trucks she had collected along the road previously from her space. Then, she stored away the extra armored vehicles into her space, leaving only one for their use. They fueled up the vehicles and boarded the buses and trucks. Before departure, Jin Xuyan turned to Zhang Yuan and said, "Old Zhang, I''m leaving the team in your hands while I''m gone. Contact me if anything urgent comes up." Zhang Yuan nodded and replied, "Understood. Be careful." S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Jin Xuyan gave his shoulder a firm pat before he went into the armored car. This time, Wen Kai was driving, with Qin Luzi in the passenger seat serving as the navigator. Jin Xuyan and the rest sat in the back with Jiao Lizhi by his side, and Li Qixuan and Wen Mo across from them. Once they left the narrow road behind, the team headed straight for the border. At the same time, Wei Ying and his team had been waiting at the base entrance for a while before they saw Xun Che''s team drive five buses and five trucks over. Seeing them waiting, one of the soldiers said, "Captain Wei, sorry for making you wait." Wei Ying nodded and said, "It''s not early anymore, we have to leave now." "Understood." After a brief exchange, Wei Ying entered the car, and they drove away. Since the road had been cleared up and fixed by Xun Che''s team, it only took them four hours to reach the survivor camp. It was eleven o''clock in the morning when they arrived. Seeing the familiar car, the guards quickly moved the roadblocks and greeted them. When they saw the buses and trucks, they thought they would come back with reinforcements. Therefore, when they noticed the buses and trucks were emptied, their hearts sank. Wei Ying rolled down the window and asked, "Have the survivors been informed of the evacuation?" One of the soldiers nodded and replied, "Vice Captain Xiao already informed everyone, and we have made the preparations. At this moment, the survivors have been moved to the field and are just waiting for your order." Hearing this, Wei Ying nodded and said, "Inform everyone to prioritize the elderly, children, and women. We will evacuate them first and come back for the rest." "Understood," the soldier nodded and quickly went to convey the order. While Xun Che''s team waited outside to organize the evacuation, Wei Ying and his team entered the camp. They drove directly to the main building and walked to the temporary office. Not long after he took his seat and read the report, the door of his office was pushed open, and several leaders entered with darkened faces. Hearing their footsteps, Wei Ying didn''t even bother to raise his head and asked, "For all of you to come here at the same time, is there an urgent matter?" When the leaders saw his nonchalant attitude, one of them frowned and said, "Captain Wei, what do you mean by prioritizing the elderly, children, and women? Shouldn''t you evacuate the leaders and important people first?" After he said this, another one chimed in, "They are sick and weak. Even if you evacuate them, they wouldn''t be able to contribute anything to the camp or people. We should focus on the bigger picture and not be bound by old rules." Wei Ying''s hand stopped when he heard his words. After a moment, he finally raised his head and asked, "Colonel, are you telling me to abandon the civilians and focus on saving you all first?" "Captain Wei, you know the chance for the children, women, and elderly to survive in our current situation is very low. Rather than wasting resources on a lost cause, we should focus on grooming more people to increase our combat power," the colonel replied with a frown. Hearing this, Wei Ying stood up and said, "Colonel, as soldiers, we vowed to protect our country. Without the country, we have no home. People are the foundation of our country. You telling me to abandon the people is equal to asking me to destroy my home, my country." Taking a deep breath to calm down, he continued, "I won''t change my decision. Either you leave by yourself or wait until we evacuate all the people." The leaders were angry with his reply, and one of them said, "Wei Ying, do you think we want to stay if we can leave by ourselves?" "Since you think my decision is wrong and you don''t want to stay, then you are free to return to the capital. You can take your soldiers with you, but my team won''t escort you," Wei Ying replied firmly. The moment he said this, the leaders'' faces turned red with anger. The colonel pointed at him and said, "Wei Ying, are you going to rebel? Do you have to force us to give a military order before you listen?" As soon as he heard these words, Wei Ying finally recalled Jin Xuyan''s words. He had stubbornly refused to listen to his advice and had firmly held on to his belief all this time. But today, he finally realized that the so-called government and country had collapsed on the day the zombies appeared. He shook his head and let out a chuckle. "What are you laughing about?" the colonel asked with a frown. Chapter 258 - 258: Evacuation ( 3 ) Looking at the colonel, Wei Ying took off his military jacket and his military emblem. He placed them on the table and said coldly, "From today onwards, I''m no longer a soldier. You can''t use military law to punish me." As soon as he said this, his team members were shocked and exclaimed, "Captain!" "Since I''m not a soldier, you don''t have any right to order me. Right now, this camp is under my control. You only have two choices. Follow my order, or pack up and leave," Wei Ying said firmly. The leaders were shocked by his sudden decision. The Phantom team had retired, and they couldn''t afford to lose another high-ranking team anymore. Seeing that Wei Ying was serious, the colonel thought for a moment and softened his tone, "Captain Wei, we can discuss anything. There is no need to say those words. I will treat it as if you said nothing, let''s forget what happened today." Knowing how shameless these old foxes were, Wei Ying ignored his attempt to reconcile and said, "Colonel, I still have lots of work to do. If you have nothing else, please leave." The colonel glared at him. Even after he lowered his head, this man was still unwilling to change his mind. It seemed that they couldn''t control him anymore. With a snort, the leaders turned and left the office. Not long after they left, they met with Gu Shaoze and Rong Mo''er outside. Seeing the leaders'' bad expressions, Gu Shaoze smiled and asked, "Colonel, are you leaving already?" The colonel raised his chin and said, "It''s none of your business." Gu Shaoze shook his head and said, "Colonel, if you and your people decide to leave, you better leave as soon as possible." Hearing this, the colonel asked with doubts, "What do you mean by that?" "I received new information that the zombies started to move toward our direction. If nothing happens, they will reach this camp in three days," Gu Shaoze replied. When they heard his words, the leaders'' faces turned pale, and they quickly left, not even saying a word. After they took several steps, Gu Shaoze added, "Ah, I almost forgot to tell you. The number of zombies has reached more than 8,000. This time, our chance of survival is nearly zero." With his words, the leaders no longer walked but already ran away. Looking at their backs, Rong Mo''er glanced at her boyfriend and said, "Shaoze, you are so bad." Gu Shaoze held his girlfriend''s waist and replied with a chuckle, "Those old men ran faster than rats. It''s good if they really leave so as not to bring more trouble to us." After a moment of silence, Rong Mo''er asked, "Did the zombies really amount to 8,000 by now?" "No, I lied to them," Gu Shaoze said with a smile. "Mo''er, do you want to go to Xun Che''s base to take a look? Maybe your family is there," he asked. Rong Mo''er thought for a moment and said, "My brother''s office is located not far from that area. I want to go and take a look." "Okay, then we will go with Captain Wei," Gu Shaoze nodded. After the two of them made a decision, they went to find Wei Ying to discuss the evacuation. At the same time, the soldiers were busy arranging people to board the trucks and buses according to the list. Since they had limited vehicles, the buses and trucks were filled to the brim. An hour later, a total of eight buses and seven trucks were full of people. Standing at the entrance of the camp, the men looked at their families with a smile, while the elderly, children, and women were crying as they watched their families stay behind. Despite the gloomy atmosphere of separation, Xiao Han walked toward Xun Che''s team members and said, "Comrade, this is the name list of the survivors." Taking the list, the soldier nodded and said, "We will return tomorrow to pick up more survivors." "Okay, be careful on the road," Xiao Han nodded. Just after they boarded the buses and trucks, another group of vehicles arrived. Seeing this, Xiao Han frowned and waited for them. As the group parked their buses and trucks, Zhang Yuan came out of the leading truck. The moment Xiao Han saw him, his eyes lit up and he walked to him in a large stride. Standing three feet from him, he gave him a salute and greeted him with a smile, "Comrade Zhang!" Zhang Yuan returned the salute and said, "My captain sent us over to help with the evacuation." "That''s great. With seven more vehicles, we can evacuate more people," Xiao Han said excitedly. "Comrade Xiao, we won''t go inside. Let''s not waste time and progress faster," Zhang Yuan said while checking his watch. "Okay!" Xiao Han quickly went to inform the soldiers, and they arranged more people. With the addition of the Phantom team escorting the survivors, the soldiers finally heaved a sigh of relief. Another hour passed before everyone boarded. Before leaving, Zhang Yuan turned to Chen Qianfeng and Feng Yun and said, "Qianfeng, Feng Yun, the two of you stay behind. Help them cover the water and food during the evacuation process." "Understood." After giving some instructions, the Phantom team left with Xun Che''s team and returned to the base. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Not long after they left, Chen Qianfeng looked at Xiao Han and asked, "Comrade Xiao, where is the warehouse area? We brought some supplies and water." Hearing this, Xiao Han looked at their empty hands and asked, "Comrade Chen, where are the supplies?" Feng Yun waved his hand, and a pile of instant noodles appeared in front of him. He pointed at the supplies and said, "It''s in my space." Afterward, he collected the supplies back into his space. Glancing at the thin, depressed survivors, he said, "Let''s divide the supplies first." Hearing this, Xiao Han regained his senses and said, "Oh, this way please." Chapter 259 - 259: Scouting As he led them to the camp, Xiao Han was surprised that the Phantom team had gained another space-type ability user. The last time he met them, he only knew that Xiao Qi was the space-type ability user. Today, he met another one. He glanced at Feng Yun and noticed that he didn''t seem like a trained soldier, but from how he walked and acted, he didn''t seem like a simple person either. While the two of them went to the warehouse area, Jin Xuyan and his team had already reached the border. Before they even crossed the border, Qin Luzi''s expression turned solemn. He checked the map in his mind and said, "Captain, there are two groups of zombies within a 500-meter radius in the left and right directions." "Can you estimate the number?" Jin Xuyan asked. "It should be around 3,000 on the left side and more than 5,000 on the right side. But the number is just a rough calculation," Qin Luzi replied after a moment. As the car crossed the border, he added, "Captain, the number is more than my prediction. It seems that we need a full team to clear them out." Jin Xuyan thought for a moment and said, "Today, we only came to scout the situation. Wen Kai, continue driving." "Understood," Wen Kai nodded and stepped on the pedal. Sitting in the passenger seat, Qin Luzi''s frown deepened. When they were ten kilometers away from the border, he suddenly said, "Stop." As soon as he said this, Wen Kai stepped on the brake and parked the car in the middle of the road. He turned to look at Qin Luzi and asked, "Luzi, what''s wrong?" "There is a zombie horde 500 meters in front. The number of zombies far exceeds our prediction," he replied. After a moment of pause, he turned to look at Jin Xuyan and added, "Captain, the number of zombies has reached 30,000 and keeps growing. Mixed in the horde, there are two level-four zombies and more than fifty level-three zombies." This time, Jin Xuyan''s expression turned solemn after hearing his words. After a moment, he said, "We will come back to clear up this group later. Wen Kai, go to the left. The location of the other two groups is too close to the camp. We have to clear them up first." "Understood," Wen Kai nodded and turned the car. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Thirty minutes later, the car stopped on the roadside, and they got out. Jiao Lizhi stored the armored vehicle into her space before she handed a backpack to each of them. When she handed a backpack to Li Qixuan, she said, "Brother, there are some crystal cores inside. When you run out of energy, just use them." Li Qixuan looked at her for a while before he said, "Okay. Thank you, little sister." Jiao Lizhi smiled and walked back to her boyfriend''s side. They pulled out their airguns as they walked toward the horde. Fifteen minutes later, they finally saw the zombies. As the zombies let out roars, some of them were killing each other. The winners ate the losers'' brains and continued to fight. Looking at them, Jiao Lizhi felt a chill run down her spine. The situation of the zombies was similar to how ancient people trained Gu insects. The last winner would be the strongest, and the most poisonous. If the zombie situation was like the Gu insects, then she couldn''t imagine how strong the last standing zombie would be. Perhaps this was how the Zombie Commander was born in her previous life. Noticing her change in mood, Jin Xuyan squeezed her hand lightly and said, "Don''t worry. As long as we kill them all, nothing will happen." Jiao Lizhi snapped out of her thoughts and nodded. When they were twenty meters away from the zombies, the Wen brothers raised their hands and created a metal platform ten meters in diameter and five meters tall. They bent their knees, and with a jump, stood on top of the platform. As the wind carried their scent away, the zombies finally noticed their presence. Turning around, the zombies let out roars and rushed toward them. Standing on the platform, Jiao Lizhi aimed her airgun at the zombies below and started firing. Pop! Pop! Pop! Crack! Crack! Crack! "Roar!" The sound of skulls pierced by metal bullets mixed with the roars of zombies. As the team started killing, Li Qixuan watched them for a moment before he took out his metal fan. With a flick of his wrist, the fan unfolded. He glanced at them and shook his head. He had thought this team was strong and decided to join them. In the end, they were just like the others, dependent on their guns. Unwilling to waste more time, he waved his fan, and a red flame dragon burst out. The flame dragon flew toward the zombies and burned every zombie it touched. While the zombies were covered in fire, they didn''t know pain or fear. Despite their limbs and bodies being broken from the flames, they continued crawling toward the metal platform. Standing beside his girlfriend, Jin Xuyan glanced at Li Qixuan for a second and frowned. His ability in this life was too weak compared to his previous life. From what he knew, Li Qixuan was one of the ability-users who awakened their abilities a few days before the apocalypse. His fire-type ability was also a high-grade blue flame. So it was impossible for him to have the lowest-grade fire-type now. While he was thinking, Li Qixuan put away his metal fan and raised his hand. In less than two seconds, a huge fireball appeared in front of him. As the temperature around him rose, Jiao Lizhi and Jin Xuyan turned around and noticed the blue flame at the center of the fireball. Boom! The next moment, Li Qixuan threw the fireball at the zombies. The fireball flew at high speed and exploded upon contact, killing more than fifty zombies instantly and leaving a deep hole in the ground. Chapter 260 - 260: Wrong Perception Due to the sound of the explosion, more zombies were attracted to their direction. Seeing this, Qin Luzi said, "Wen Mo, you should make an airgun for him too. If he keeps going, he will attract all the zombies in this area." As soon as he finished speaking, Li Qixuan looked at him and asked, "Brother, isn''t it faster to kill them with our ability?" "It''s fast, but it''s noisy. We don''t use our abilities unless it''s unavoidable," Qin Luzi replied. When he heard this, Li Qixuan''s eyes flickered for a moment. He looked at them and noticed they didn''t show any fear or anxiety despite being trapped on this platform, surrounded by zombies. ''It seems that I was wrong about them,'' he thought inwardly. Jin Xuyan observed the situation for a moment and said, "Everyone, use your abilities. We have to speed up and clear the group on the right side before dark." As soon as he gave the order, the members nodded and holstered their guns. The next moment, Qin Luzi suddenly leaped from the platform. Li Qixuan was surprised by his sudden action and said, "What are¡ª" But before he could say another word, he saw Qin Luzi fly away and float above the zombies, fifty meters from the platform. This was the first time he had ever seen someone actually fly in his entire twenty-four years of life. As he floated in mid-air, Qin Luzi snapped his fingers, and several areas above the zombies exploded suddenly. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! With one move, he cleared hundreds of zombies. Seeing this, the Wen brothers shook their heads and said in unison, "Showing off again." As they said this, Wen Kai created a huge ball of metal while Wen Mo clasped his hands and turned the ball into countless metal needles. The needles were ten centimeters long with diameters less than 0.5 centimeters. They were sharp and glistened under the sunlight. With a wave of his hand, the needles flew toward the zombies like a swarm of bees. Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! The sound of metal piercing zombies'' skulls echoed through the area. Wen Mo continued controlling the metal needles while Wen Kai used two airguns to keep shooting. "Roar!!" As the number of zombies decreased rapidly, a level-three zombie let out a roar and jumped toward the metal platform. Seeing this, Jin Xuyan said, "Leave it to me." In the next moment, he bent his knees and leaped toward the zombies while unsheathing his longsword. CLANG! BOOM! The sound of metal colliding echoed in the area as his longsword met the zombie''s sharp claws. A wave of energy burst out at the point of contact, blowing away nearby zombies into pieces. Both of them were pushed back by the shockwave and fell to the ground. With a flip in mid-air, Jin Xuyan landed lightly on the ground, while the zombie crashed down with a loud thud, leaving a deep crack under its feet. "Roar!!" Standing on the metal platform, Jiao Lizhi saw zombies rushing toward her boyfriend from all sides. Seeing this, she waved her hands, and two water blades shot toward them at high speed. Crack! Crack! Crash! In less than three seconds, the water blades beheaded several zombies pouncing at Jin Xuyan. With her covering his back, Jin Xuyan could focus on fighting the level-three zombie. While protecting her boyfriend, Jiao Lizhi also kept an eye on the others. When she saw a level-two zombie jump onto the platform and lunge at Wen Kai''s back, she raised her hand. CLANG! Before the zombie''s sharp claw could pierce Wen Kai''s back, an ice shield appeared out of nowhere, blocking the attack. Noticing the sudden attack, Wen Kai turned and drew his blade. "Roar!!" The zombie roared and tried to pull back its hand. Unfortunately, before it could free itself, the ice shield transformed into ice needles that burrowed into its body. As they did, the zombie''s body was gradually covered in ice, rendering it immobile. Taking advantage of the opening, Wen Kai swung his blade and chopped off the zombie''s head in one smooth motion. After killing it, he returned to shooting the zombies below. Not far from them, Li Qixuan finally realized that his new team was not only much stronger than he had thought, they also had a deep, tacit understanding of one another. Their teamwork was flawless, and they covered each other''s weaknesses seamlessly. While killing zombies and protecting her boyfriend, Jiao Lizhi noticed her vice-captain standing still, watching them fight with a deep frown. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Thinking that it might be because it was still early in the apocalypse and he wasn''t used to the gore scene yet, she moved closer to him and asked, "Brother, are you okay?" Li Qixuan noticed the hint of worry in her voice and asked teasingly, "Little sister, your boyfriend is fighting a high-level zombie over there, and you are worrying about another man here?" Jiao Lizhi blinked and replied, "My boyfriend is very strong, he will be fine. But Brother, are you okay? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? If you feel nauseous, just vomit it out. Holding it back will make you feel worse." When he heard her words, Li Qixuan was speechless. He thought, ''Little sister, are you saying I''m weak, so you came over to check on me?'' Seeing that he said nothing, Jiao Lizhi unzipped her backpack and handed him a bottle of water while saying, "Brother, if you are tired, drink some water and take a rest. We will take care of the rest." Before Li Qixuan could respond, she had already turned around and resumed killing zombies. Holding the water in his hand, he looked at her back and burst out laughing. It took a while for him to calm down. Lowering his head, he let out a sigh and muttered, "She is more interesting than I thought." When he raised his head again, his eyes flashed with killing intent as he said coldly, "I wonder what her reaction would be if she saw her boyfriend die in front of her." Chapter 261 - 261: Sickly Gentleman Two hours later, Jin Xuyan and his team finally cleared out all of the zombies in the area. With a wave of his hand, he burned all the zombies'' corpses, leaving black ashes behind. Since Xiao Qi was not present, Jiao Lizhi was the one who collected the crystal cores. For an unknown reason, she noticed that the number of crystal cores appearing in the zombies was higher than usual. While she was feeling doubtful and uneasy, she still welcomed the unexpected gain. Standing beside her, Jin Xuyan smiled when he saw his girlfriend grinning like a cat that had successfully stolen a fish. He patted her head gently and said, "We will get more later." Jiao Lizhi nodded and said, "Brother Yan, let''s finish the task and go back." "Okay." S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Before leaving, Wen Mo waved his hand, and the metal platform was turned into two airguns, several cartridges, magazines, and countless metal bullets. He handed the cartridges to Qin Luzi and filled the magazines with metal bullets. Li Qixuan watched them with interest and asked, "Brother Wen Mo, since Brother Wen Kai can create metal, why not use new metal?" Wen Mo looked at him with disapproval and said, "According to our ancestors'' teaching, wasting resources is a sin. Recycle if you can." Li Qixuan thought of countless reasons, but he never expected that the reason was as simple as this. They were stingy. In the midst of his chuckles, the team rode the armored vehicles and went in the opposite direction. They needed to clear out one more zombie horde before they could go to Wei Ying''s camp. At the same time, Zhang Yuan and his team had already reached the Lin''an university area when they saw a man leaning on a car door. Zhou Huajian noticed the man''s car was emitting white smoke. It seemed that his car had broken down. He picked up his walkie-talkie and said, "Vice Captain, there is a man up front. It seems that his car is broken. Should we stop and check on him?" Receiving the message, Zhang Yuan leaned out the window to check the situation. Seeing the man was pale and looked sickly, he said, "Let''s check on him first." "Understood." After receiving his vice captain''s order, Zhou Huajian slowed down the bus and stopped a few meters from the man. He leaned out the window and asked, "Comrade, do you need any help?" Hearing his voice, the man raised his head, and his deep, sharp eyes met his. Zhou Huajian was startled by how sharp his gaze was. This sharp gaze didn''t match his pale, sickly appearance. He thought the young man wouldn''t respond and considered leaving. But before he could step on the gas pedal, the young man pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, coughed a few times, and then said, "Comrade, my car is broken. Can you give me a ride to the nearest camp?" When he heard his voice, Zhou Huajian thought of a gentle young master from ancient times. His speech was slow but firm. Despite his coughing, his breath was steady. The moment these thoughts flashed through his mind, he knew that something was off with this young man. After hesitating for a moment, he opened the door and said, "Come up." Before heading to the bus, the young man opened the car door and took out a backpack. Judging from the size, the backpack must contain his supplies. The young man climbed into the bus and said with a smile, "Thank you, Comrade." Zhou Huajian closed the door and continued to drive. Since the bus was crowded, he said, "Come and sit in the front." Hearing this, the young man didn''t refuse and walked to the front. As he sat on the stairs beside the driver''s seat, several young women looked at him with disappointment. They thought that even if the man looked sickly, he was handsome and seemed capable. If they could squeeze in next to him and let him hug them, he might feel something for them. Then, they could depend on him and no longer worry about not having supplies. Not knowing that he had ruined several people''s plans, Zhou Huajian glanced at the young man and said, "Brother, you look so young. Are you a university student?" The young man smiled and replied, "Yeah." "What''s your name?" Zhou Huajian asked again. This time, the young man didn''t reply and looked at him with a gentle smile. After a moment of silence that made Zhou Huajian feel awkward, he finally said, "My name is Mo Junjie." Hearing this, Zhou Huajian silently let out the breath he was holding and said, "Oh. My name is Zhou Huajian." After he said this, he heard Mo Junjie cough a few times and couldn''t help but ask, "Brother, are you okay? If you are sick, I can help you find a doctor when we arrive at the base later." Mo Junjie covered his mouth and let out another cough before he said, "It''s fine. A doctor can''t help me." The moment he heard this, Zhou Huajian felt a pang of pity, and his gaze softened when he glanced at him. He let out a sigh and said, "Brother, you are still young. You shouldn''t give up on your life so easily. Maybe the doctor can find a solution and cure your illness." When he heard this, a flash of amusement flickered in Mo Junjie''s eyes. He knew that he looked sickly and on the brink of death, but he was far from death''s door. After controlling his expression, he smiled and replied, "Brother Zhou, I''m not that young. I''m already 23 years old this year." Zhou Huajian was taken aback by his words and said, "We are the same age, but you look like you are only 20!" Mo Junjie smiled but said nothing. While the two of them were chatting, Pei Yijun was having an argument with his father at Jiangning City''s base. Standing in front of his father''s desk, he asked, "Father, what do you mean by that?" Chapter 262 - 262: A Crane Among The Chickens Looking at his stubborn son, Pei Xun said with a sigh, "Yijun, you are no longer a kid. You should understand that the current situation is different from before." "We will prepare for the zombie attack and continue recruiting the ability-users to increase our base''s strength. As for the matter of the zombie horde at the border, just let the Lin''an side take care of it." The moment Pei Yijun heard his father''s words, he felt a chill run down his spine. He looked at his father as if this was the first time he had known him. He clenched his fists tightly and asked, "Father, do you know that there are several survivor camps near the border?" "I know. Wei Ying mentioned it before," Pei Xun replied. Taking a deep breath, Pei Yijun asked again, "Since you know that there are several survivor camps on the border, then you must know the consequences of leaving the zombie horde uncontrolled, right?" Pei Xun looked at his son as if he were a fool and asked, "Yijun, what exactly do you want to say?" "Father, you clearly know that countless lives will be lost if the zombie horde moves toward Lin''an City''s border and attacks the camps. Since we have the manpower and ability to help, why won''t you help?" Pei Yijun asked. Pei Xun let out a long sigh, pinched the bridge of his nose, and said, "I have told you the matter is not as simple as that. Beside our base, there are at least five bases that stand at the same level as us." "You saw it yourself. The number of zombies is at least 80,000. The chance of surviving the battle is lower than 5%. If we send our people to help, it is equal to cutting off our power." "The moment our strength weakens, those bases won''t let us off. Compared to those weak and old people, preserving our own people and territory is the priority." Even after hearing his father''s explanation, Pei Yijun still couldn''t accept his father''s view and replied angrily, "Father, those weak and old are human lives! They are not just a number!" Angered by his son''s behavior, Pei Xun slammed his hand on the desk and said, "Pei Yijun, you better watch your attitude! Do you think I won''t punish you just because you have your mother''s protection?!" "I''m no longer a child, I don''t need anyone to protect me!" Pei Yijun shouted back. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. As soon as he said those words, the two of them stared at each other, neither willing to back down. After a long silence, Pei Yijun took a deep breath and said, "Since you won''t help, then I will help." The moment he said those words, he turned around and walked to the door. Seeing that his son was determined to leave, Pei Xun was furious. Standing up, he shouted, "Rebellious son, stop right there!" Ignoring his father''s words, Pei Yijun pulled open the door. But before he could step out of the room, a man in his thirties blocked his way and said with a smile, "Young master, please calm down." Pei Yijun looked at the man and said coldly, "Get out of the way." The man smiled at him but didn''t move at all. Seeing this, Pei Yijun reached out to push him away. But before he could touch him, the man raised his hand and said, "Young master, I''m sorry for offending you." Pei Yijun frowned when he heard his words and said, "What are you¡ª" But before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly felt dizzy and lost consciousness. As he fell to the ground, the man caught him and said, "Master, what should we do with the Young master?" Pei Xun looked at his son coldly and said, "Send him back to his room and lock him up. Without my permission, no one is allowed to enter or leave his room." The man nodded and replied, "Understood." After Pei Yijun was taken away, Pei Xun walked to the large window and looked at the sky. His gaze was deep as he lost himself in thought. Despite the argument between the father and son, Zhang Yuan and his team finally arrived at Xun Che''s base in the afternoon. When the guards saw the buses and trucks from afar, one of them had already gone to inform Xun Che. Therefore, when they parked the buses and cars at the base''s entrance, Xun Che and a group of soldiers were already waiting for them at the entrance. Seeing them come back safely, he walked over to Zhang Yuan''s car and greeted him with a smile, "Comrade Zhang, welcome back." Zhang Yuan nodded at him and said, "Captain Xun, we brought back some of the survivors. Please help arrange people to manage them. We have to go back to pick up the rest." Hearing this, Xun Che was taken aback and asked, "Comrade Zhang, your team didn''t plan to take a rest first?" "My team still has to join my captain later to clean up the zombies. So, we want to transport as many survivors as possible. The situation at the border can''t be delayed any longer," Zhang Yuan replied. This time, Xun Che nodded and said, "I will let my men manage the survivors. It might take one to two hours at most." "Okay," Zhang Yuan nodded. While the survivors were led to undergo inspections and registration, Mo Junjie waited in line while observing the situation. Mixed among the survivors, he noticed that the soldiers treated a man with respect. Based on how he interacted with the team escorting the survivors, he must have held a high position in this place. Due to his tall height, he looked like a crane among chickens. Because of this, he attracted lots of attention. Noticing this, he took out his handkerchief, covered his lips, and coughed softly as he lowered his head. He thought that people would ignore him when he showed his weakness. Unexpectedly, while he was coughing with all his might, someone tapped his shoulder. Chapter 263 - 263: A Loss For The Human Race ( 1 ) Turning around, Mo Junjie saw Zhou Huajian smiling at him. After another cough, he took a deep breath and asked softly, "Brother Zhou, is something wrong?" Zhou Huajian patted his back for a moment before saying, "Brother, come with me. One of my teammates is a doctor, he can help check your condition." Hearing this, Mo Junjie sighed and said, "Brother Zhou, it''s no use." Seeing how easily he gave up on his life, Zhou Huajian frowned and said, "Brother, even if living is hard, you can''t throw your life away so easily. Come with me and at least give it a try." After hesitating for a moment, Mo Junjie finally nodded and stepped out of the line, following him to the tent. When they entered, the Phantom team members turned to look at them. Seeing a sickly, pale man coming in with one of their members, Gao Bohai stood up and walked over. Before Mo Junjie could even introduce himself, Gao Bohai pulled him to the nearest chair and pushed him down to sit. The next moment, he opened his backpack and took out some medical tools. He first checked his blood pressure, then examined him using a stethoscope. The more he listened, the deeper his frown became. Standing beside them, Zhou Huajian asked, "Brother Bohai, how is he?" Gao Bohai took off his stethoscope and said, "There is nothing wrong with his lungs, but he might have anemia and malnutrition." Just after he said this, Mo Junjie started coughing violently, nearly out of breath. Seeing this, Jiang Lixin said, "How about I give it a try?" Upon hearing this, they nodded and stepped back to make room. Jiang Lixin pulled a chair beside Mo Junjie and sat down. As she reached out, she said, "Relax and don''t struggle." At first, Mo Junjie didn''t understand what she meant. But the moment she pressed her fingers to his wrist, he was surprised to feel a flow of warm energy entering his body. Before his mind could process it, he instinctively used his own energy to push the warm flow out. But before the energy inside his body could clash with hers, he stopped himself and tried to relax. Jiang Lixin used her energy to examine his condition and noticed that his meridians and internal organs were wounded and marked with black spots, as if burned by chemicals. As her energy flowed inside him, it gradually healed the injuries in his meridians and organs. As the healing continued, Mo Junjie''s eyes widened in shock. The burning pain in his body eased under the flow of warm energy. He looked thoughtfully at the woman in front of him. After half an hour, Jiang Lixin''s face had turned pale, and her forehead was covered with sweat. The moment she healed the last injury in his lungs, she let go of his wrist and let out a long sigh. Seeing his wife''s pale face, Chen Zhiyi placed two transparent crystals in her hand and said, "Wife, absorb some energy first." Jiang Lixin nodded and closed her eyes to recover while her husband gently wiped away her sweat. "Thank you, Sister," Mo Junjie said after a moment of silence. Noticing that his complexion was no longer pale but now held a hint of rosiness, Zhou Huajian asked, "Brother, how are you feeling?" Taking a deep breath, Mo Junjie smiled and said, "I feel much better now." Ten minutes later, Jiang Lixin finally recovered her energy and opened her eyes. After drinking some water, she asked, "Comrade, your body''s condition is very strange. There were many burn-like injuries in your internal organs and meridians." Everyone was taken aback when they heard this. "Comrade, when did you first fall ill?" Jiang Lixin asked. Mo Junjie shook his head and said, "It should have been at the beginning of this year, around February." Hearing this, Jiang Lixin said in disbelief, "Judging by your body''s condition, you shouldn''t have survived more than two months." After she spoke, Shen Jinzhe asked, "Is it possible that his condition is caused by his ability?" At his question, everyone turned to look at Mo Junjie. Using his handkerchief to wipe away sweat, he hid his surprise. After a moment, he shook his head and said with a smile, "Comrade, if I had an ability, my body wouldn''t have ended up like this." Considering his condition, they found his answer reasonable. Suddenly, Mo Junjie began coughing again. Seeing this, Zhou Huajian asked, "Brother, why are you coughing again?" Too busy coughing to answer, Mo Junjie could only shake his head. Sensing something was wrong, Jiang Lixin used her energy to check again. The moment she saw black spots reappearing on his meridians, she said in shock, "Why did the black spots return again?" Hearing this, Gao Bohai said, "Sister-in-law, maybe your healing can only temporarily relieve his condition." As they thought of this possibility, Zhang Yuan said, "I will contact Captain and ask if we can let him stay with us. Even if the healing is only temporary, it''s better than letting his condition worsen." When Mo Junjie heard this, he said, "Comrade, it''s alright. I know my own condition well. There is no need to trouble Sister." sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Yu Fuyun frowned at his words. The moment he saw this man, he felt a sense of familiarity. After thinking for a long time, he finally asked, "Comrade, are you Mo Junjie?" Hearing this, Mo Junjie looked at him and replied, "Do you know me?" His words were as good as confirming his identity. Yu Fuyun stood up in excitement and said, "Senior Mo, it''s really you!" "Fuyun, you know him?" Zhang Yuan asked. "Everyone knows Mo Junjie! He is a genius in the research field. At age 20, he received a Nobel Prize for his work on DNA-based nanotechnology!" Yu Fuyun replied, nearly breathless with excitement. Stunned by the reaction, Mo Junjie didn''t know what to say. Though he was called a genius, he had never had friends, as most of his time had been spent in the lab. While others admired him, they were also jealous of his achievements. Chapter 264 - 264: A Loss For Human Race ( 2 ) Mo Junjie had long grown used to being ostracized by his peers. So, when someone openly admired him like this, he didn''t know how to react. Before he could speak, Zhang Yuan said, "It would be a loss for the human race if a genius like him died from illness. I will contact the Captain now and inform him of the situation. Sister Jiang, Brother Bohai, we will leave his health in your hands." "Vice-Captain, don''t worry. We will do our best to help him," both replied in unison. After the decision was made, Zhang Yuan went to make a call using the satellite phone, while the rest of the team surrounded Mo Junjie, offering him water and food, and checking on his well-being. Without even being able to refuse, he unknowingly was added to the team. Outside the tent, Zhang Yuan was making a phone call. After several tries, the call finally connected, and the sound of zombies roaring came from the other side. Noticing this, he asked, "Captain, are you killing zombies?" On the other side, Jin Xuyan raised his hand and threw a huge black fireball toward the zombie crowd below, burning them as he said, "Did something happen?" Hearing his captain''s casual tone, Zhang Yuan knew the situation on the other side was under control. "Captain, on our way to the base, we found a sickly man. After we brought him back, we learned that he is a genius in the research field," he said. "His condition is weird, and Sister Jiang''s ability could only heal him temporarily. He is a valuable asset to humanity, and I want to recommend him to join our team." "What''s his name?" Jin Xuyan asked. "Mo Junjie." The moment he heard the name, memories of his past life flashed through Jin Xuyan''s mind. Recalling the young man''s condition and his contribution to the human race in the previous timeline, a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes. After a moment, he said, "Permission granted." Zhang Yuan had thought he would need to persuade his captain more to accept Mo Junjie. After all, their team was a mercenary group focused primarily on combat power. He didn''t expect the captain to agree so easily. It seemed his captain truly was someone generous and appreciative of talent. "Thank you, Captain!" After the brief conversation, Zhang Yuan hung up and returned to the tent. As he entered, he heard Mo Junjie coughing again. It seemed that even with Jiang Lixin''s healing ability, a complete cure wasn''t possible. Taking his seat, he said, "I have informed the captain, and he agreed to let Mo Junjie join our team. From today onwards, he will be part of the research unit." The moment he said this, everyone was delighted, except Mo Junjie, who hesitated. He had something to do, and it would be inconvenient for him to join a team. Thinking about his purpose in coming to the city, he wanted to refuse. But seeing how happy the team members were, he swallowed the words at the tip of his tongue and nodded instead. ''That matter can wait,'' he thought inwardly. Now that Mo Junjie was officially a member of the Phantom team, Xiao Qi no longer had to hold back. He quickly took out a pot of meat stew, grilled fish, a plate of stir-fried vegetables, a plate of fried eggs, and a big bowl of steamed rice from his space. He also brought out some orange juice and utensils and said, "Brother Mo, you should eat more so your body can recover faster." Looking at the home-cooked dishes, Mo Junjie''s earlier hesitation vanished. He swallowed and licked his lips before asking, "These are for me?" Xiao Qi glanced at his lean frame and nodded, "You can eat as much as you want." The moment he heard this, Mo Junjie picked up the chopsticks and the rice bowl. They thought he would scoop some rice into a smaller bowl, but unexpectedly, he ate directly from the big bowl. He chewed the rice slowly, savoring the taste, before trying the dishes. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. They watched him with wide eyes. At first, they had assumed that someone so ill wouldn''t have much of an appetite. That was why Xiao Qi had taken out more dishes for him to choose from. But watching him eat now, they doubted whether he was even sick as his appetite was bigger than a healthy person. If not for Jiang Lixin checking his condition personally, they might have thought he was faking it. Despite his speed in devouring the food, his movements were elegant, as if he were eating in a Michelin-starred restaurant rather than a small military tent. It only took him twenty minutes to finish everything. After drinking the last drop of orange juice, he let out a long sigh and said with satisfaction, "This is the best meal I have had in three weeks." Hearing this, the Phantom team members finally snapped out of their daze. Xiao Qi looked at Mo Junjie''s lean body and asked, "Brother, you eat so much but you are still so thin. Where does all the food go?" Mo Junjie wiped his lips with a napkin and replied casually, "I have a high metabolism, so even if I eat a lot, I don''t gain weight." Not long after he said this, Xun Che entered the tent and said, "Comrade Zhang, everything had been arranged." Hearing this, Zhang Yuan stood up and said, "Captain Xun, I need to ask a favor." "Comrade Zhang, feel free to speak," Xun Che nodded. "My team just accepted a new member. I would like to trouble you to help us register him under our team," Zhang Yuan said. "Oh? What''s his name?" Xun Che asked. Being mentioned, Mo Junjie stood up and walked toward them. Standing in front of Xun Che, he greeted him, "Hello, Captain Xun. My name is Mo Junjie." The moment he heard the name and saw his face, Xun Che was stunned. He looked at him for a moment before saying, "Comrade Mo, what brings you here?" Chapter 265 - 265: Gu Shaoze’s Proposal ( 1 ) Hearing these words, Zhang Yuan asked curiously, "You two know each other?" "I once attended Comrade Mo''s seminar in the Capital as a government representative two years ago. His research on nanotechnology helped improve our military weapons and armor," Xun Che explained. Then he turned to Mo Junjie and asked again, "Comrade Mo, I thought you would have stayed in the Capital." Mo Junjie smiled and replied, "I came to look for my cousin and met the team on the road. They saw my car was broken and brought me along." "Cousin? Do you need any help? We can post a missing person notice to help you find your cousin," Xun Che offered. Thinking it wasn''t a secret, Mo Junjie nodded and replied, "Then I will have to trouble you with that, Captain Xun." "No problem at all," Xun Che replied and handed him a paper and pen. "Just give us your cousin''s name and information. If we get any news, we will inform you." "Thank you," Mo Junjie nodded and wrote down the information. After he finished, he handed the paper to Xun Che. With his help, Mo Junjie was registered under the Phantom team. When he received his information tag, he finally learned the team''s name. Phantom Team, a good name, and one he was satisfied with. The tag resembles a military name tag, made of stainless steel. It had his name, registration number, and general information, such as his status. Since he was now part of a team, the general information listed his team''s name. For those without a team, the general information would display their status as ability-users or commoners. After the registration was done, the Phantom Team left the base, followed by Xun Che''s team members. When they found usable buses and trucks on the road, they pumped gas from the abandoned cars, filled the fuel tanks, and brought the vehicles back to the survivor camp. As the sun was setting on the western horizon, they finally arrived at the camp. The moment the guards saw them returning, they quickly moved the barricades and opened the gate. Seeing that the number of buses and trucks was greater than before, the guards heaved a sigh of relief. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Not long after they entered the camp, some soldiers approached and said, "Vice Captain Zhang, Captain Wei has prepared places for your team to stay the night. Please follow us." Zhang Yuan nodded and said, "Okay." Ten minutes later, the buses and trucks were parked in an open field near the warehouse. After everyone disembarked, they followed the soldiers to several houses prepared for them. When they reached the houses, they saw Wei Ying and his team already waiting at the entrance. Seeing them approaching, Wei Ying became emotional. Even after meeting Feng Yun, he still couldn''t fully believe that all the Phantom Team members had survived the zombie horde. Now that he finally saw them in person, he walked over, gave Zhang Yuan a bear hug, and said, "It''s really great that you all survived! It''s great!" Surprised by the sudden hug, Zhang Yuan stiffened slightly. But hearing Wei Ying''s hoarse voice, he smiled and said, "Old Wei, we are back." After a moment, Wei Ying let go of him and grinned, "Welcome back, Old Zhang!" The soldiers around them, aware of the Phantom Team''s sacrifice during the zombie horde, looked at them with respect and admiration. "Let''s go inside. I have prepared the best house in this area for you and your team," Wei Ying said as he led the way. When they entered, they saw the house was clean and bright. Lamps were turned on, powered by a small generator. Seeing this, Zhang Yuan said, "Thank you, Old Wei." Wei Ying shook his head and replied, "I should be the one thanking you and your team. If not for all of you, I wouldn''t know what to do in this situation." "I reached out to so many survivor camps and bases in nearby towns and cities, but no one was willing to help. Only your team and Captain Xun came to my aid," he added with a sigh. Zhang Yuan understood his frustration and disappointment. As a soldier, Wei Ying had a strong sense of duty and took his vows seriously. Even when facing life-and-death situations, he would choose to sacrifice himself to protect others. So when he was rejected by his comrades, who not only refused to help but revealed their greed and hunger for power, it was understandable that he would question his beliefs. Patting his shoulder, Zhang Yuan said, "Old Wei, this is human nature. We can''t force others to share our beliefs or mindset. All we can do is do our best and take responsibility for our own actions. As for the others, they will have to face the consequences of their decisions." Wei Ying sighed and said, "I understand, but what they did...it chills the heart. How could they treat human lives as a mere number?" As they chatted, they walked to the living room. Hearing their voices, Feng Yun walked out from the kitchen while Chen Qianfeng came down from the second floor. Seeing them, the two greeted, "Vice Captain, Captain Wei." Zhang Yuan nodded at them and said, "We will escort the rest of the survivors tomorrow. Captain will join us tonight." "Understood." Since the sky had darkened and everyone was tired, Wei Ying didn''t stay long and left with his team. Xun Che''s team members were staying in the neighboring house. Chen Qianfeng had spent the whole day filling water tanks at the warehouse while the soldiers distributed water to the people. After several rounds of draining his energy, he could feel he was on the verge of a breakthrough. So, as he filled another tank for his team to wash up, he continued absorbing water-type crystal cores given to him by Jiao Lizhi. Before the tank was full, he suddenly felt the energy in his body spiraling out of control. Alarmed, he shouted, "Huajian!" Chapter 266 - 266: Gu Shaoze’s Proposal ( 2 ) Hearing Chen Qianfeng''s shout, everyone rushed to the backyard. Zhou Huajian was shocked to see his friend had fainted and been enveloped in a ball of water. "Qianfeng, what''s wrong with you?" he asked, worry etched on his face. Fearing something bad had happened, he ran toward him. But just as he was about to reach out, someone said, "You can''t disturb him!" Startled, Zhou Huajian stopped in his tracks and turned his head. He saw a young man and a young woman standing atop the wall. Recognizing them, he said, "It''s you two." Gu Shaoze and Rong Mo''er leapt from the wall and landed lightly in the yard. They walked over to the Phantom Team and stood a few meters away from Chen Qianfeng. "Why did you stop me?" Zhou Huajian asked. "Your friend is in the middle of a breakthrough. If you disturb him, the consequences could be dire," Gu Shaoze said calmly. "How do you know?" Zhou Huajian pressed. "Because I have experienced it myself. I recently broke through and became a level-one ability-user," Gu Shaoze said with a smile. Surprised by his words, Zhou Huajian said, "Congratulations, Brother!" "Thank you." "So, what should we do now?" Zhou Huajian asked. This time, Rong Mo''er replied, "All we can do is wait and guard him until the breakthrough is complete." After hearing this, the Phantom Team exchanged glances. Zhang Yuan then said, "In that case, Brother Bohai and Sister Jiang will stay here to guard Qianfeng. The rest of you will take turns watching the backyard." "Understood," the members responded in unison. Once he was done giving instructions, Zhang Yuan turned to Gu Shaoze and said, "Comrade Gu, I didn''t know you and your friend were staying here." "We were planning to leave and search for my girlfriend''s family, but because of the zombie horde, we decided to stay and help out," Gu Shaoze replied. Zhang Yuan nodded in approval and said, "Comrade Gu, thank you for lending a hand." "When friends are in trouble, it''s only natural to help." With those words, Gu Shaoze had shifted their relationship from acquaintances to friends. Zhang Yuan noticed his intention but didn''t refute it. Even in peaceful times, it was rare to meet people willing to help in dangerous situations, let alone in the apocalypse. Since Gu Shaoze and his friend had no ill intent toward the Phantom Team, it was fine to befriend them. More friends meant more allies. Zhang Yuan smiled and replied, "Brother Gu, you are right." Hearing Zhang Yuan call him "Brother Gu," Gu Shaoze smiled in turn and said, "Brother Zhang, I would like to discuss something with you." Zhang Yuan nodded and said, "Let''s talk inside." Sitting in the living room, Zhang Yuan gestured for them to take a seat and asked, "Brother Gu, what do you want to discuss with me?" Before answering, Gu Shaoze waved his hand, and suddenly, a boy appeared beside him. Seeing this, everyone was stunned. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Noticing their reactions, he said, "Brother Zhang, this is Zeng Changchao. He is 14 years old and an ability-user. His ability is stealth." "While he can turn invisible, he still has body temperature and scent. Although his ability is useless against zombies, it''s a great ability when facing other ability-users." Hearing this, Zhang Yuan nodded and said, "His ability is indeed unique." After laying the groundwork, Gu Shaoze continued, "Besides Changchao, there are three more children who have awakened their abilities, and five who haven''t." Zhang Yuan thought for a moment, then said, "Brother Gu, if you have something to tell me, you can say it directly." Gu Shaoze smiled and said, "Mo''er and I are looking for her family, so we will be traveling a lot. If possible, I would like you to accept the children into your team." As soon as he said this, Zeng Changchao spoke up, "Brother, I don''t want to join them, I want to follow you." Zhang Yuan observed the boy for a while before saying, "I can''t make that decision on my own. How about we wait until my Captain returns and discuss the matter with him?" "No problem. We will be staying in the camp until the zombie horde situation is resolved," Gu Shaoze said with a nod. Having stated his purpose, he stood up and said, "Brother Zhang, it''s late. We won''t bother you and your team any longer." Zhang Yuan nodded and saw them off. After they left, the Phantom Team had already finished washing up and were preparing dinner. While some took turns guarding Chen Qianfeng, the rest sat down to eat. At the same time, Jin Xuyan and his team were on their way back to the camp after clearing out the two zombie hordes. While he drove the car, his girlfriend slept in the passenger seat, and the rest of the team napped in the back seats. He lowered the window and drove with one hand, leaning against the door. The drive back to the camp was peaceful, as the red moon was nowhere to be seen tonight. When they arrived at the gate, a guard walked over and said, "Comrade, the gate has been closed. If you want to enter, you will have to wait until dawn." Hearing this, Jin Xuyan replied, "Comrade, please inform your captain. Just tell him that Jin Xuyan is waiting for him at the gate." The moment the guard heard this, he nodded and said, "Please wait a moment." After the guard went to report, Jin Xuyan stepped out of the car and stretched. While waiting, he leaned against the car and stared at his girlfriend''s sleeping face through the windshield. Perhaps his gaze was too intense, because Jiao Lizhi stirred from her sleep and opened her eyes, only to meet a pair of dark, deep eyes filled with intense emotions. Startled by his gaze, she sat up and blinked a few times. When she looked at him again, he was watching her with a gentle expression and asked with a smile, "Girlfriend, why are you so startled? Did you have a nightmare?" Chapter 267 - 267: Dangerous Breakthrough ( 1 ) Jiao Lizhi took another look at her boyfriend and didn''t see anything wrong with him. Opening the car door, she stepped out and stretched her sore body, yawning. Rubbing her teary eyes, she asked hoarsely, "Brother Yan, why are we waiting outside?" Noticing her hoarse voice, Jin Xuyan took a bottle of water from his backpack. He opened the cap, handed it to her, and said, "Drink some water first." Jiao Lizhi was indeed thirsty and drank half the bottle. "We are waiting for Wei Ying," Jin Xuyan replied to her earlier question. Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi looked around and noticed the shabby gate and the several barricades in front of them. Looking up at the two-meter-tall wall, she said, "With this kind of defense, the camp will be wiped out the moment a zombie horde arrives." Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Xun Che made the right decision this time. Rather than taking a risk and evacuating at the last minute, it''s better to move the people out immediately." S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Jiao Lizhi nodded and asked, "Brother Yan, after the people move to the base, will they come back here again? After the second rain, the situation will change drastically. If they stay here, they will be wiped out sooner or later." Jin Xuyan reached out and held her hand. While playing with her fingers, he replied casually, "That will depend on how Wei Ying makes his choices." Just as he said that, the gate opened and the barricades were removed. Not long after, Wei Ying, followed by several others, came out of the camp. The moment he saw Jin Xuyan and his team, Wei Ying''s eyes reddened. He strode toward him, arms outstretched, clearly intending to give him a bear hug. But before he could touch him, Jin Xuyan took a step back and said coldly, "Only my girlfriend can hug me." Blocked from giving the hug, Wei Ying wasn''t embarrassed at all. Grinning, he said, "Captain Jin, it''s great that you are alive." Jin Xuyan raised an eyebrow at his words and asked, "Captain Wei, do you think I die that easily?" Hearing this, everyone agreed with his words. Because of the conversations, Qin Luzi and the others woke up and came out of the car one after another. Wei Ying looked them over and was relieved to see they were unharmed. When his gaze landed on an unfamiliar face, he asked, "Captain Jin, this is¡ª?" Jin Xuyan glanced at Li Qixuan and said, "My team''s new member, Li Qixuan." Taking a few steps forward, Li Qixuan reached out his hand and said, "Hello, Comrade." From his demeanor, Wei Ying could tell he wasn''t a soldier. He shook his hand briefly, then turned to Jin Xuyan and said, "Captain Jin, when your team returned this afternoon, they also brought back a new member." Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "I know." Noticing that Jin Xuyan had no intention of discussing his team further, Wei Ying said, "Captain Jin, we have prepared a place for your team to rest. Xiao Han will show you the way." "Thank you. Captain Wei, please inform your men and the leaders to attend a meeting tomorrow morning at 8 o''clock. The situation at the border isn''t as good as we thought," Jin Xuyan said as he opened the passenger door for Jiao Lizhi. Hearing this, Wei Ying''s expression turned solemn as he replied, "Understood." After everyone got into the car, including Xiao Han, Jin Xuyan drove toward the house prepared for his team. Standing at the entrance, Wei Ying and his team exchanged glances. After a moment of silence, he said, "Let''s go back. Everyone worked hard today. Rest early and gather at 7 o''clock tomorrow morning." "Understood," his team members replied in unison. After driving for another ten minutes, Jin Xuyan parked the car outside a house. Standing outside the gate, Xiao Han smiled and said, "Captain Jin, we will inform everyone about tomorrow''s meeting." "Thank you," Jin Xuyan nodded. "Captain Jin, this is what I should do. I will take my leave now. Have a good night," Xiao Han said before he left. Wen Mo unlocked the gate and locked it again after they entered the yard. Not long after, they heard Qin Luzi''s voice coming from inside the house, "Everyone, Captain and Sister-in-law are back." In less than a few minutes, they saw the members coming out to greet them one after another. Jiao Lizhi looked at them and noticed a new face, but also didn''t see some of the members. As they walked into the house, she asked, "Where are Sister Jiang, Brother Bohai, and Brother Qianfeng?" "Sister-in-law, Qianfeng is undergoing a breakthrough process, so Sister Jiang and Brother Bohai are guarding him in the backyard," Zhou Huajian replied. Hearing this, Jiao Lizhi frowned and said, "Brother Yan, I will go take a look." Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "Go ahead." It only took her a few minutes to reach the backyard. The moment she saw Chen Qianfeng was enveloped by a big sphere of water, her eyes widened in shock as she said, "It''s not good!" Before Zhou Huajian could ask what wasn''t good, he saw her walk over to the sphere of water and touch it. Seeing this, he said, "Sister-in-law, wait!" But before he could stop her, he saw her hand had already gone into the sphere of water and pulled out Chen Qianfeng. The moment he was pulled out, the sphere of water turned into a pool of water and splashed the ground. After she pulled him out, Jiao Lizhi quickly checked Chen Qianfeng''s breath. When she noticed his weak breathing, she placed both of her palms on his chest. Closing her eyes, she sent her energy into his body. The moment her energy entered, it clashed with a violent energy inside Chen Qianfeng''s body. Feeling the blood rushing to her throat, she gritted her teeth and swallowed it back. Focusing her mind, she sent more energy into his body, trying to control the raging energy that was destroying the meridians and injuring the internal organs. Noticing that the situation was not good, Zhou Huajian quickly went to report to his captain.