Chapter 9

After contacting the store, Zhou Yun checked the online forum again. Sure enough, discussions about the strange torrential rains in desert countries and the recent weather anomalies, such as tornadoes and hailstorms, had become hot topics.

The videos showed dark clouds and heavy rain, with streets flooded and water covering the roads.

The comment section was lively.

“Warning, a large number of second-hand luxury cars flooded by water are about to enter our country.”

“Three years have passed! The Dragon King is back!”

“Is this a doomsday movie? Has the apocalypse arrived?”

Many comments were joking and playing with memes, while others were analyzing the causes.

“Some major country is using weather weapons.”

“Are you joking? That country can’t even deal with its own tornadoes, and you’re blaming weather weapons? You’d blame that country if you couldn’t poop for three days too, wouldn’t you?”

Others gave serious analyses: “The tornadoes in that country aren’t caused by weather factors; they are due to geographical conditions. The mountains connect north and south, and the central plains have no mountain ranges to block the cold air moving south and the warm air moving north, which makes tornadoes very easy to form.”

“So, is it really a weather weapon?”

“Hehe, global weather is an interdependent and complex system, constantly influencing each other. If a weather weapon were used, there would be a butterfly effect; it would eventually backfire.”

“The only thing that can destroy humanity is humanity itself.”

“What weather weapon? It’s an IQ weapon. Weather weapons can only guide, they can’t control the weather. This is nature’s disaster, humanity still knows too little about nature.”

“Have you heard of the ‘Harp Program’ upstairs? Guess you haven’t.”

“Global nuclear wastewater has spread everywhere, even desert cities are not spared, hahaha.”

“Humanity will eventually be destroyed by technology.”

“This is the immune system of the blue planet cleaning up the virus.”

“Humanity is the greatest virus.”

“+10086, deserts turn into oases, oceans become land, the blue planet starts its self-cleaning apocalypse program, new chapters begin, great!”

“This is nature’s revenge, the blue planet has been polluted by humans.”

“Humans are just dust in the universe, and the blue planet is also just dust.”

“Hehe, some people don’t understand why others are gloating. The elites can go to Mars, they think we’re all going down together?”

“You say the blue planet is restarting, I say the whole world is evolving. This is just the blue planet system upgrading online.”

Amidst the lively discussion, many people were more realistic:

“After all, it’s an El Niño year, extreme weather is increasing.”

“I’ve never seen red skies in the place shown in the video, it’s a rumor. It’s obviously a filter, fake as hell.”

“We’ve had heavy fog here, we couldn’t even see people across the street.”

“We’ve had several days of afternoon thunderstorms, and it got dark. Recently, there was also hail.”

“We had strong convection thunderstorms at midnight, torrential rain and lightning for five hours. All I heard all night was the sound of glass shattering from the next building and the wind, it was terrifying, luckily no one was around at midnight.”

The discussion gradually shifted to strange local weather patterns, and someone joked, “Nine stars aligned, a strange phenomenon appeared, global spiritual energy is awakening! I’ve been in deep meditation for years, finally waiting for this moment!”

Zhou Yun turned off the forum and began preparing the moxibustion equipment.

The acupuncture session for Guan Yuanfeng went much smoother this time. He was clearly more cooperative and willing to lie down and allow Zhou Yun to treat more acupoints.

The rain outside continued to pour down, and Guan Yuanfeng closed his eyes, feeling the warmth from the moxibustion on his skin.

Zhou Yun held a large moxibustion stick, the size of an arm, and burned it over his forehead and temples. Most people would be scared to see it.

Guan Yuanfeng was sensitive and, although he wasn’t afraid of the flickering moxibustion, he could clearly feel Zhou Yun’s breath nearby and the faint herbal scent on his body.

Zhou Yun remained silent, but Guan Yuanfeng suddenly felt an urge to talk, maybe because the atmosphere was a bit strange.

He asked Zhou Yun, “With such heavy rain, won’t the herbs be affected?”

Zhou Yun replied, “No problem, the delicate ones are in the shed, the ones outside are resistant to flooding, easy to grow, and not valuable.”

After finishing his treatment on Guan Yuanfeng’s head, Zhou Yun asked, “Shall I treat your chest and back acupoints? The rain is heavy, the cold is strong, your blood flow is weak, and if you don’t exercise, you’ll be lacking in movement.”

Guan Yuanfeng unbuttoned his clothes and said, “Okay.”

Zhou Yun continued, “I’ve set up a gym in the attic with some fitness equipment. You can use it whenever you want.”

“You can come directly from the rooftop, no need to go downstairs. Your post-surgery rehab needs a long period of consistency.”

“I can help you plan some progressive rehabilitation exercises. Traditional medicine has excellent effects on rehabilitation.”

Guan Yuanfeng felt a bit ashamed. After returning from retirement, he had mostly stayed inside, avoiding his family and parents. He only occasionally took the dog for a walk but hadn’t done any rehabilitation exercises for his remaining body, partly out of a “what’s the point?” attitude.

He removed his clothes, exposing his shoulder and chest, which had become much thinner. Looking down at his prominent ribs, he remembered his once strong and muscular chest. It suddenly hit him that he would never have a strong body again.

Zhou Yun slowly located his acupoints with his fingers and applied moxibustion on them: Shen Zhong, Jiu Wei, Ju Que, Shen Que, and Qi Hai, then he placed a medicinal pill on his navel: “This will help your digestive system. You’re lacking exercise, which leads to poor digestion and loss of appetite.”

He helped Guan Yuanfeng turn over and applied moxibustion to his back acupoints, then inserted acupuncture needles. Finally, he covered him with a thin blanket: “If you feel like sleeping later, go ahead. After acupuncture, your appetite should improve.”

“I steamed some millet cakes downstairs, they help clear heat and nourish the stomach. You can store them in the fridge and microwave them when you want to eat.”

Guan Yuanfeng, feeling grateful for his thoughtfulness, whispered, “Thank you.”

Zhou Yun smiled. “You’re welcome. It’s just mutual support.”

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Zhou Yun went downstairs to open the door and saw the delivery man, drenched, bringing several large packages. He thanked the delivery man and gave him a bottle of ice water: “Thank you for delivering in such heavy rain.” The delivery man, sweating, brightened when he saw the water and took it. “Thank you!”

After sending off the delivery man, Zhou Yun checked the packages. His ordered compound bow, stapler, chainsaw, and outdoor gear such as tents and sleeping bags had all arrived.

He picked up the luxurious “Elven Supreme Carbon Fiber Compound Bow” and, feeling the quality, was very satisfied—it was definitely worth the high price.

He thought for a moment, packed the stapler, chainsaw, and other tools, then took the compound bow upstairs and hung it in the gym. He also placed a special target in the opposite room.

He then checked the time for Guan Yuanfeng’s acupuncture session and removed the needles. Guan Yuanfeng got up, put on his clothes, and Zhou Yun handed him a cup of wheat winter and astragalus tea, inviting him to go upstairs to see the gym.

The second floor had two rooms and a bathroom. One had been turned into a storage and tool room, while the other was the gym.

Guan Yuanfeng looked at the elliptical machine, treadmill, the climbing protrusions on the wall, the ladder on the climbing frame, and the weight-lifting equipment, nodding. “The equipment is quite complete.”

He then glanced at Zhou Yun with some curiosity, finding it strange since Zhou Yun seemed so refined, not someone one would expect to be fond of exercising or fitness.

Zhou Yun understood the look and knew what it implied. However, these pieces of equipment had only been added recently. In the past, he indeed neglected exercising.

But after the apocalypse… physical strength had become a weak point. A fever caused by an infected ability had left him bedridden for half a month. Now, with plans to stay here, strengthening his body was naturally essential.

Zhou Yun felt his ears heat up slightly, but still pointed to the composite bow recently hung on the wall. “This is good for strengthening arm and abdominal muscles. Would you like to try it?”

Guan Yuanfeng looked at the sleek, matte black carbon fiber composite bow. “Do you like this kind of thing?”

Zhou Yun smiled. “This is the only cold weapon that can be legally owned in the country. I was curious and bought one. I don’t use it much, but if you like, you can practice more. Archery is a great sport.”

He took the bow down and handed it to Guan Yuanfeng. Guan Yuanfeng noticed the bow was brand new and touched it.

Zhou Yun pointed to the opposite wall. “It’s raining outside, but you can practice here. The distance is short, but it doesn’t matter for practice arrows. Just be careful not to dry-fire the bowstring; it could hurt you.”

Guan Yuanfeng nodded. “I’ve played with carbon alloy bows at a friend’s club before, with a coach. But this is my first time with carbon fiber, it’s really light.”

Zhou Yun thought to himself: Not only light, but also corrosion-resistant, wear-resistant, heat-resistant, and high-strength. It requires almost no maintenance after the apocalypse. The most important thing is its high conductivity.

—–

In the post-apocalypse, such a perfect industrial product, especially in the hands of abilities users, would have terrifying power—particularly for lightning users.

However, after the apocalypse, such a perfect item would be priceless.

But now, with Guan Yuanfeng’s money, he had easily purchased it online. Praise for peace, praise for prosperity.

Guan Yuanfeng held the bow, touched it, and set up the practice arrow. He adjusted his posture and drew the bow towards the target.

The ease with which he drew the bow gave him some confidence. Though disabled, his arm strength had actually increased, and this should prevent him from embarrassing himself too much.

Zhou Yun watched as Guan Yuanfeng easily drew the bow with impressive arm span, thinking that if his legs were intact, he would probably be very tall.

His gaze fell on Guan Yuanfeng’s muscular arms, admiring their beautifully defined lines, and he said with anticipation, “I have a feeling this will suit you well.”

Guan Yuanfeng released the bowstring, and the arrow flew swiftly, hitting the bullseye with a loud “thunk.”

The rain outside poured heavily. Guan Yuanfeng, with his sharp, brooding eyes, stared intensely at the target, looking like a lion trapped in a wheelchair, yet still exuding power.

Zhou Yun clapped.

Guan Yuanfeng smiled faintly. “It’s too close, this is probably just six meters.”

Zhou Yun said, “Once the rain stops, we can set up an outdoor target on the balcony and connect our balconies for shooting.”

He then handed him a beginner’s archery training manual. “This comes with tutorial videos. Do you have a computer?”

Guan Yuanfeng replied, “I have a laptop.” Holding the bow and arrow, he looked at them with growing interest. “Where did you buy this? I want to get one too.”

Zhou Yun smiled. “You can practice with this one for now. I bought it on a whim and haven’t really used it. Once you’re proficient, then you can buy one if you still want it.”

Zhou Yun also showed him how to use other gym equipment and pointed to the treadmill. “This treadmill is good for Comet to run on so it won’t be bored during the rain.”

Guan Yuanfeng chuckled. “How many days will it rain?”

Zhou Yun smiled faintly but didn’t respond.