Chapter 68: The New Captain, Fu Jingmo

When Lin Mu woke up, the daylight had just started to break.

The others were already up, and he noticed that Fu Jingmo seemed to only need two or three hours of sleep each day.

Every time he woke up, it was as if Fu Jingmo had timed it perfectly, just finishing his ability enhancement and opening his eyes.

“Fu Jingmo, how do you know when your ability reaches the critical point?”

Due to the matter of the storage orb, Lin Mu was also curious about how they stored energy.

Fu Jingmo got up from his chair, lifted his eyes to look at him, and said, “There’s an energy bar in the body. When it’s completely full, it stops collecting energy, and that’s when you can level up.”

He turned around and tossed the jacket that had been washed and hung outside the window yesterday to Lin Mu.

“Is yours almost full? What’s it like when you level up?”

The jacket was still Fu Jingmo’s camouflage one. As Lin Mu put it on, he asked the question while getting up from the bed.

“I don’t know. Mine is still a quarter short.”

He glanced at his own clothes on Lin Mu, which were slightly too long, and frowned slightly. “Do you want them to get you a new jacket? This one doesn’t fit very well.”

“Ah,” Lin Mu looked down, rolling up the overly long sleeves to reveal a section of his slender, pale forearm. Without having time to think, he spoke before he realized, “No need, I’m used to wearing it…”

Not sure why he felt pleased by those words, Fu Jingmo nodded, opened the door, and walked out. Where Lin Mu couldn’t see, he curled his lips slightly.

Downstairs, He Ze and Shen Rangchen were reheating the leftover beef from the night before, mixing it with rice and eating it with relish.

He Ze took a bite and, hearing the sound of footsteps coming downstairs, asked with his mouth full, “Mumu, want to eat?”

Lin Mu responded, served two bowls of rice, and sat down at the table with Fu Jingmo.

“What are we doing today?” He Ze swallowed the food in his mouth.

“Heading out for a bit.”

Since they had already agreed last night to go out and gather supplies, Lin Mu answered directly.

Upon hearing this, Shen Rangchen raised his head, wiped his mouth, and slowly asked, “Can I go out too?”

“Why?”

“My talismans are almost used up; I need to find some materials.”

“What materials do you need?”

For some reason, Lin Mu always felt that Shen Rangchen’s talismans were a bit strange. Who draws talismans with black ink instead of cinnabar?

Shen Rangchen looked at him with a calm gaze. “I need talisman paper. I’ve run out of it. And, by the way, can I pick up a freshly dead person?”

“…A freshly dead person?”

“Yes, a person, not a zombie. Someone who’s been dead within seven days.”

Lin Mu felt a wave of nausea, inexplicably sensing that whatever Shen Rangchen wanted the corpse for couldn’t be good. “What do you need that for?”

“To draw talismans, burn the body into ash, and mix it with the ink.”

Shen Rangchen’s voice was calm, as if he were discussing something completely ordinary, and he even took another bite of rice.

…

“Wha— are all your talismans made like that?” He Ze couldn’t hold back anymore, dropping his chopsticks.

Shen Rangchen lifted his eyes to glance at him, “Of course. Talismans infused with this kind of energy are the only ones that are effective. Do you really think cinnabar and talisman paper can actually tear apart zombies?”

Even Lin Mu was at a loss for words. “Shen Rangchen, are you really a proper Taoist?”

The other shook his head and replied earnestly, “There’s a bit of a difference. Our temple follows its own path. Others say we’re practitioners of unorthodox methods.”

…

So, it turns out he really is practicing unorthodox methods.

Lin Mu didn’t doubt Shen Rangchen’s character. As for his abilities, as long as they could help them survive, that was all that mattered in the apocalypse. The rest wasn’t important, and as for the corpses—there were plenty of those outside.

The group quickly finished their meal, but before they could head out, Yu Hong arrived. 

Even before entering, his excited voice could be heard, “Captain Fu! Captain Fu!”

He jogged inside, stopped in front of Fu Jingmo, and saluted. “Captain Fu, Lieutenant Wen said she’d like you to join us on a mission today.”

Fu Jingmo raised his eyebrow. “A mission?”

“Yes, our A2 team is going to the commercial district across the river bridge to gather supplies. Captain Wen mentioned that you came from that direction and asked if you could help lead the team?”

It was as if A2 didn’t have a captain of its own. Fu Jingmo let out a cold laugh.

“What’s in it for me?” he asked casually, sitting down on the sofa as if it were only natural to do so.

Yu Hong nodded eagerly, like a pecking chick. “Yes, yes, there is! You get first pick of all the supplies, and we’ll also provide weapons.”

Fu Jingmo was unimpressed. With their abilities, weapons were merely supplementary. Besides, with Lin Mu’s spatial ability, they could easily find an excuse to scatter and gather as many supplies as they wanted.

“And what else?” he prompted.

Yu Hong scratched his head. As expected, Lieutenant Wen had predicted that this wouldn’t be enough to entice Fu Jingmo.

“Also, remember that mutated zombie we mentioned to you before? The lieutenant said she’ll tell you its secret once you return.”

A secret? Wen Tang wanted his help to deal with that luring zombie, so this secret was something that would eventually be revealed to him anyway.

However, since the location was close to the river bridge, Fu Jingmo actually had a legitimate reason to go.

“Got it. Lead the way.”

He stood up, and Lin Mu along with the others followed suit. As they reached the door, Fu Jingmo paused and glanced at He Ze.

“What are you going for?”

“To fight, of course! To kill zombies, Brother Fu,” He Ze replied, shrinking his neck with a puzzled expression.

“Did your water droplet kill any zombies yesterday?”

“…”

“Take He Ze to the training base,” Fu Jingmo instructed Yu Hong, “and have that doctor from yesterday study his ability.”

“What the—Brother, Brother Fu, you’re sending me to that dissecting doctor? No way, Brother!”

He Ze bolted forward and clung to Fu Jingmo’s arm, wailing dramatically.

Fu Jingmo mercilessly shook him off, and He Ze turned to Lin Mu with a pitiful expression.

Lin Mu smiled and raised his hand in agreement, “I think it’s a good idea. Go on.”

They had even greater goals ahead. Wushi was just a temporary stop. The distance from Yichang City to Wushi was just over 200 kilometers, and it had taken them more than a month to cover it.

When they eventually leave Wushi and head to Fengcheng, with a distance of over a thousand kilometers, who knows how long it will take.

It wasn’t just He Ze; they all needed to grow faster.

Yu Hong quickly called for someone to take He Ze away.

The A2 team was already waiting at the entrance of the safe zone. Leading the group was a man approximately 175 cm tall, standing on a rock with a displeased expression.

There were five others with him. The safe zone’s ability teams consisted of more than a dozen members, and only those who had mutated could join.

These teams were responsible for going out to find supplies, taking turns patrolling the area around the safe zone, and maintaining its security.

In return, they enjoyed certain privileges within the safe zone. Each team was allocated a separate house as their base, and they received a substantial amount of points on their magnetic cards every month.

The leader of A2 was this 175 cm tall man named Zhao Rui. Before the apocalypse, he was a zookeeper specializing in black bears. When the apocalypse struck, in a moment of desperation, he locked himself in the bear’s cage, where he fused with the black bear and mutated.

The remaining members consisted of three strength mutators, one speed mutator, and one with a rather peculiar ability: metal control.

However, unlike those who could mutate with elemental abilities, he could only control metal that already existed in the environment.

The vehicle pulled up in front of the gate, and Yu Hong called out to Zhao Rui, “Brother Rui, Captain Fu is here. Let’s get in the car and head out.”

Yu Hong was someone close to Wen Tang, so most people would give him some respect. However, Zhao Rui showed no such courtesy. Dressed in a tank top, his exposed arms were covered with a ring of black bear fur.

Lin Mu glanced at him, feeling relieved that he hadn’t fused with Xiao Yuan. Otherwise, having a layer of bark on his body would indeed be terrifying.

“So, what’s this? Not calling me Captain Zhao today? Got a new captain, eh, Xiao Yu?” Zhao Rui responded sarcastically.