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Guan Yuanfeng was in a state of profound confusion.
He felt as if his body were light as wind, and the heaviness, the pain that had tormented him, seemed to have faded, replaced by agility.
He felt light and full of strength. He saw Comet lazily yawning and lying in his bed. He noticed Zhou Yun washing vegetables at the sink, likely preparing to cook, and went over to offer help.
As soon as he approached, Zhou Yun lifted his gaze, reached out, and enveloped him with a smile.
Zhou Yun’s messy hair was blown by the wind, revealing his bright eyes, and his smile lingered at the corners of his eyes and eyebrows. Guan Yuanfeng was so close to Zhou Yun that he almost felt his breath.
It felt like he could hear a heartbeat, though he wasn’t sure whether it was Zhou Yun’s or his own. But the proximity was too much… He suddenly opened his eyes, realizing he was still in bed, and the tingling sensation in his legs reminded him of his broken body.
Was it a dream?
The scene he had just witnessed felt too real. Zhou Yun was wearing a blue canvas shirt and thick canvas pants, with some fresh mud on the cuffs. In the vegetable basket beside him were several freshly washed crystal cores, gleaming.
Zhou Yun’s palms had a unique line pattern, where the wisdom line and the emotional line crossed the palm. Though he didn’t understand it, he recalled that one of his subordinates used to love reading palm lines and had once called it a “broken palm,” meaning the person was stubborn and easily broken due to rigidity.
But when he looked at Zhou Yun, he didn’t seem stubborn; his temperament was rather gentle, although still somewhat self-centered.
He could hear the sound of water still rushing from the faucet outside. Though the water supply had been cut off, there was still water inside the house from the rainwater filtration system Zhou Yun had set up. He wondered if it was truly a vivid dream. He could verify it by going outside, but for some reason, he didn’t hurry to the wheelchair.
Footsteps approached, and Zhou Yun entered, holding a fruit plate with slices of honeydew melon, each cut into small cubes with toothpicks inserted.
Zhou Yun placed the fruit plate on the bedside table. Guan Yuanfeng couldn’t help but look at Zhou Yun’s palms.
Zhou Yun didn’t notice, smiling as he spoke: “Can you summon small whirlwinds now?”
Guan Yuanfeng: “…”
Zhou Yun said, “You have a high aptitude. It took me over half a month to realize I had powers.” In his previous life, it took him even longer to discover his abilities after reaching the survivor base.
His face was filled with joy, clearly pleased for him. Guan Yuanfeng stared at him in a daze: “What did you see?”
Zhou Yun raised his eyebrows in surprise: “The whirlwind just now in the room, wasn’t that you who summoned it?”
Guan Yuanfeng: “… I thought that was a dream.” Zhou Yun seemed confident that Guan Yuanfeng’s abilities were awakening, so certain as if it were a given.
Zhou Yun smiled: “The way to use abilities is quite mysterious, and I can’t tell you any effective methods. You should try practicing with the energy methods I’ve shown you. It’s from the Ba Duan Jin, an ancient method I believe might have been useful when spiritual energy existed.” He offered a cube of melon with a bamboo skewer.
Guan Yuanfeng nodded, but his eyes involuntarily shifted to Zhou Yun’s hand. Zhou Yun’s hand, freshly washed, was fair and slender, with neatly trimmed nails and a very clean palm. Indeed, a line crossed the center of his palm. He took the melon from Zhou Yun and tasted it. It was sweet and refreshing.
Zhou Yun asked with concern: “Is there any other discomfort?”
Guan Yuanfeng replied: “Only my legs, which feel numb and itchy, like being pricked with needles.”
Zhou Yun frowned: “You’ve already tolerated the painkillers. Should I try acupuncture to relieve the pain?”
Guan Yuanfeng shook his head: “No, I can bear it. Let me practice the energy method more… I can feel the dead nerves coming back to life. Perhaps this is the feeling of revival.”
He had successfully used his powers, and his heart was full of hope. He longed to meditate again, for now, the pain in his body no longer symbolized “weakness” or despair, but instead, it symbolized “rebirth,” which was a completely different feeling.
Zhou Yun felt his pulse: “Your pulse is very healthy now. I won’t prescribe any medicine. Just take some calcium and multivitamins. Practice meditation, but don’t rush it. Tomorrow, I’ll do some acupuncture for your meridians and acupoints. It might help promote the growth of your legs.”
Guan Yuanfeng nodded.
Zhou Yun reminded: “Don’t use a prosthetic for now, to avoid disturbing the new tissue and skin.”
Guan Yuanfeng didn’t know why Zhou Yun was so certain that his amputated limb would regenerate, but doctors’ orders shouldn’t be disobeyed, so he obediently nodded.
Zhou Yun, relieved, said: “I’ll go to the rooftop. The fish pond is free now. I’ll transfer the fish from the lotus tank. We can have fish for dinner.”
Guan Yuanfeng replied: “Whatever.”
Zhou Yun thought for a moment: “You need to replenish protein and calcium. I’ll make sesame balls for you. Tonight, let’s have steamed fish and egg-beef porridge. We have fresh eggs from the chicken coop, great for nutrition. Unfortunately, the beef isn’t that fresh, but we’ll make do. Let’s slice it thinly.”
Guan Yuanfeng felt like he was in a postpartum recovery, being fed nourishing soups and liquids by Zhou Yun. Just as he was about to say it wasn’t necessary to go to such trouble, Zhou Yun quickly moved out of the room.
Guan Yuanfeng was both amused and helpless. He thought about going to the bathroom and, supporting himself with the handrail, got out of the wheelchair.
He was wearing loose shorts, and the ugly, severed stumps of his limbs were exposed to the bright light. He wasn’t used to it and noticed a light blue gauze blanket hanging on the armrest. He casually pulled it over to cover his lower body. It was just the right size to cover him, soft and lightweight, neither too cold nor too hot.
He suddenly realized that the blanket was meant for him to use like this.
A complex feeling stirred in his heart. Zhou Yun’s thoughtfulness and gentleness were reflected in many small details—meticulous yet never making him feel uncomfortable.
On the rooftop.
Zhou Yun held a fish net and transferred some of the larger fish from the lotus flower tanks into the pond. The big fish, suddenly given more space, swam happily and freely.
Zhou Yun selected the fish he planned to eat tonight and placed them in a separate bucket for keeping. Then he went to the poultry section, taking the freshly laid eggs he had collected that morning. He watched the chickens eating their vegetables in their cages.
He looked at each cage, and when his gaze landed on a pair of geese with broad heads and clear calls, he thought that once the plants at Yuexi No. 3 were stable, he could raise a pair of geese in the garden there. Geese were lively and full of vitality, and long-term confinement in a cage wasn’t good for them. Plus, they smelled…
The fat rabbits in their cages were slowly eating grass, and when the weather got cooler, he could prepare hot pot… but the female rabbit was pregnant and would probably give birth soon.
Zhou Yun had read books on rabbit birth and care, so he picked some dandelions and purslane to put in the rabbit’s food bowl. It was important to give the mother rabbit some herbs before delivery; they could relieve the mother’s ailments and purify her milk for the baby rabbits.
He estimated that the birth would happen in the next few days, so he brought over a disinfected box, lined with soft, sterile gauze, prepared as the mother rabbit’s delivery box.
However, rabbits reproduced quickly, and if they continued to be raised like this, there would soon be too many. Instead of overcrowding, it would be better to build a rabbit nest at Yuexi No. 3, where he could feed them sweet potato leaves and other vegetables. Even if they were discovered and eaten by someone or other mutated animals, the loss wouldn’t be significant.
The sheep and pigs had gotten much fatter and took up more space, so he decided to move the pigs to Yuexi No. 3 as well.
Zhou Yun thought about the poultry and livestock he had raised, none of which had mutated. Wild animals probably mutated more easily, while domesticated animals had been selectively bred, which likely affected their chances of mutation.
After inspecting all the poultry and livestock, Zhou Yun, feeling quite wealthy, went to the greenhouse.
His mutated ginseng, various precious mutated herbs, and his prized cacti had been partly transferred to Yuexi No. 3 for planting, but the remaining ones were still growing vigorously.
Several of them had excellent wood-type crystal cores, and he planned to use these as the mother plants to begin grafting in some non-mutated varieties of succulents and aloe.
He also planned to plant a few large aloe plants at Yuexi No. 3 and later add some mutated ones.
Zhou Yun was making plans in his heart when he went to the dome restaurant. After months of careful cultivation, the herb seedlings in the greenhouse were full of life.
—–
In the bountiful autumn, he thought about harvesting a batch of honeysuckle, ban lan gen, dangshen, sanqi, and purslane, and using them to make Chinese medicine and mutant energy reagents.
There were so many things to do.
Harvesting, cleaning, drying, and processing—time passed quickly when he was busy. In less than a week, the greenhouse smelled of herbs.
Guanyuan Feng’s aptitude was also remarkable. Soon, Zhou Yun saw little whirlwinds spinning around, even reaching the seedling area and rustling the leaves of the herbs, like a group of mischievous children.
Zhou Yun couldn’t help but laugh, reaching out to catch the little whirlwinds. To his surprise, he was zapped by electricity.
He was startled and quickly retracted his hand. Not long after, Guanyuan Feng wheeled himself over, his face filled with concern and guilt. “Did it shock you?”
Zhou Yun smiled and opened his palm to show him. “It’s fine. It just tingled a bit. I didn’t expect the whirlwind to carry electricity. Your ability is really good, very practical.”
But Guanyuan Feng, with a serious expression, grabbed his hand to check repeatedly, even feeling it. After confirming it was just a little redness in his palm and that there was no other injury, he finally relaxed. “It’s my fault for not controlling it well,” he said, sounding a bit frustrated.
Zhou Yun reassured him, “Both attributes can be trained, and it’s such a useful long-range skill. You’re very strong.”
Indeed, it was impressive. The dual attribute crystal core had been implanted, but for him to master and use it so quickly was a testament to Guanyuan Feng’s talent. In his previous life, implanting the fire attribute core had delayed him. Yet, he still managed to use fire abilities for so long, which was extraordinary.
Guanyuan Feng didn’t seem overly excited. He glanced around the herb garden and asked, “Are you harvesting herbs?”
Zhou Yun nodded. “Yes, they’re growing well. It’s autumn now, and soon it will be winter. The medicinal properties are at their peak, so the effects are better.”
Guanyuan Feng asked, “Do you need any help?”
Zhou Yun shook his head. “No need. Focus on training your abilities. You could try combining them with your archery skills.” Since he could summon lightning in the whirlwind, adding lightning to his arrows wouldn’t be difficult.
Guanyuan Feng seemed inspired and pondered the suggestion.
Zhou Yun took out a gray, non-attribute crystal core and showed it to him. “It seems like you’ve mastered energy circulation. Let me teach you how to absorb the energy in crystal cores.”
He handed the crystal core to Guanyuan Feng, who didn’t take it right away. “You go first. I’ll stabilize it first.”
Zhou Yun understood he didn’t want to take the valuable resource and explained, “This non-attribute crystal core is no longer useful to me. Its level is too low.”
The unique thing about lightning abilities was that all crystal cores were useful to them, and the same applied to light abilities. That’s why major bases favored recruiting lightning and light-type ability users.
Guanyuan Feng took the crystal core. Zhou Yun placed it in his hand, on his labor palace point, and said, “Channel the energy here.”
Guanyuan Feng’s gaze fell on the fingertip Zhou Yun had placed on his palm, and he couldn’t help but become slightly distracted.
Zhou Yun cupped his hand around Guanyuan Feng’s palm. “Close your eyes and try it. Once you can absorb it, quickly circulate the energy through your body, allowing it to merge with your natural power and flow freely.”
Guan Yuanfeng closed his eyes and began attempting to absorb the energy from the crystal core.
Zhou Yun observed him. Although his brows were furrowed, the previous dark, grim expression had faded, and his spirits seemed much better.
His gaze fell on Guan Yuanfeng’s leg—based on past experiences, it would probably take around three months for the leg to gradually regrow.
Since those with special abilities have strong physical constitutions, and with the added benefit of high-level healing abilities, it is possible for severed limbs to regenerate.
Every other day, Zhou Yun would perform healing techniques under the guise of acupuncture to speed up the process.
Suddenly, Guan Yuanfeng opened his eyes, meeting Zhou Yun’s gaze. He had wanted to say something but suddenly forgot.
Zhou Yun smiled and asked, “How is it?”
He looked down at Guan Yuanfeng’s palm, and sure enough, the crystal core had disappeared.
Guan Yuanfeng then remembered what he had wanted to say: “It seems like it’s too little… it disappears as soon as I absorb it. Did I do it wrong?”
Zhou Yun was surprised and checked his pulse: “There’s nothing unusual. If there was an issue with absorbing the crystal core, your pulse would be erratic. Right now, everything seems calm, so you’re absorbing it well.”
Zhou Yun carefully examined Guan Yuanfeng’s complexion and checked his pulses again, pondering for a while. “Before you lost your limb, were you in particularly good physical condition?”
Guan Yuanfeng replied, “It was okay, I was told my health was fine in regular checkups. My physical fitness was also excellent in all areas.”
Zhou Yun recalled the situation from his previous life and concluded, “Your physical constitution is better than most people, and you’ve been trained for a long time, so your meridians are stronger than average. You can accommodate more energy from special abilities.”
He examined Guan Yuanfeng’s body again. “Once your body fully recovers, it should be even better.”
Guan Yuanfeng furrowed his brows. He didn’t feel happy about this because what it meant was that he would use more crystal cores than the average person.
Now that he had awakened his ability, he was still weak and dependent on others. Even the crystal cores had to be retrieved by others. He had always been proud in the past, so he felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Zhou Yun pushed his wheelchair back to the room and then handed him a crystal core with no attributes. “Try this. Absorb two more and see how many it takes to feel the flow of energy for a week.”
He explained, “These crystal cores are just ordinary low-level, non-attribute crystal cores from zombies. They don’t contain much energy, so the absorption rate isn’t high. But you have excellent innate conditions, so meditate more and refine the energy.”
Zhou Yun was a little distressed. In his previous life, Guan Yuanfeng’s excellent innate constitution was ruined by incompatible crystal cores that were implanted!
Guan Yuanfeng looked at the pile of crystal cores, took a deep breath, and thought to himself that he had to become stronger to obtain more crystal cores. He reached out and took another one, closing his eyes to absorb it.
He absorbed five crystal cores in a row before he began to feel a flow of warmth rising from his palm and moving into his meridians.
It was a very comfortable feeling. He closed his eyes and guided the energy into his dantian’s crystal core. Suddenly, it seemed like he saw the crystal core in his abdomen—it was a bright diamond-like crystal, shining brilliantly, just like the most expensive giant diamond he had seen at a jewelry exhibition.
The diamond’s light was dazzling, and his entire body felt warm and full of strength.
Unconsciously, he fell into a meditative state.
Zhou Yun saw that his breathing had evened out and his face was calm. He knew that Guan Yuanfeng had entered a meditative state. In just a few days since his ability awakened, he had already reached the intermediate level of a first-tier ability user.
Guan Yuanfeng’s innate physical condition and mental understanding were far superior to any gifted student Zhou Yun had encountered. In his past life…
Their fates had been too short, and they were both too weak when they met.
Zhou Yun slowly walked out of the room and closed the door. He returned to his nursery, but instead of going to the main area, he went to the glass greenhouse. He picked up two sturdy medical masks, stacking them, and stood before a large pot of mutated purple dragon horn plants he had cultivated.
Purple dragon horns were a hardy succulent with dragon-like protrusions on the stems. Some time ago, Zhou Yun had cut a slit in a mutated plant, inserted some purple dragon horn cuttings, and catalyzed their mutation before transplanting them into a deep pot.
After a long period of drought, the purple dragon horns had received plenty of sunlight and, with the right temperature difference, the stems now displayed dark purple and silver patterns. The entire meter-long pot was crowded with them, and it was time to divide them into separate pots.
Zhou Yun used his growth ability and, under the green glow, the purple dragon horns seemed to come to life, growing rapidly. The stems bloomed with star-like black-purple flowers, opening in a five-pointed star shape with white fur on top.
As the flowers bloomed, the room began to fill with a pungent odor.
Comet, who had followed him into the nursery earlier, now darted out of the glass greenhouse and sat outside, watching him warily with bright, alert eyes.
Zhou Yun couldn’t help but laugh. Even though he had already prepared with two layers of masks, he could still faintly smell the terrible odor.
He took scissors and began to cut off the flowers, as well as the long stems, filling a basket with purple dragon horn flowers and branches. This would be the main ingredient for the zombie lure agent.
In his previous life, they had experimented with many plants with strong odors and found this to be the most effective.
Of course, plants like fish mint and stone heather had also been proven to work in zombie lure agents, but ordinary plants weren’t as effective. Only mutated plants had significant results, and mutated plant cultivation was not easy. Only succulents, like mutated cacti, could be used as rootstocks to induce mutations.
Purple dragon horns were originally very easy to cultivate, and mutated purple dragon horns were even easier to grow in large quantities, making them ideal for zombie lure agents.
With the knowledge from his past life, Zhou Yun no longer had to take the long way around.
And with a zombie lure agent, naturally, there was also a zombie repellent agent.
Zhou Yun continued to walk to another deep pot, this one containing mutated large-flowered rhinoceros’ horns. Under his careful cultivation, the stems, which had silver stripes, had already developed several buds, like light, balloon-shaped cones.
The large-flowered rhino horn has enormous blossoms, about 15 to 20 centimeters in size, with purple-red veins on the petals. The flowers are large and vibrant, and after blooming, they emit a strong foul odor to attract flies for pollination, similar to the purple dragon horn.
The stench is pungent, resembling decaying flesh, which most people avoid. However, the mutated large-flowered rhino horn has an even more intense smell, almost like a biochemical weapon.
For instance, now, as Zhou Yun brushes past, the deep green stems of the large-flowered rhino horn whip around like four-edged whips, densely covering the entire deep pot. The buds pop out like balloons, “bang!”—one after another, blooming like stars twinkling on dark green velvet.
The strong foul odor fills the entire glass herb garden, and Zhou Yun notices that Comet, outside the door, has already run further away, tail tucked in. Even nearby chickens, ducks, and geese are making restless noises.
Although both flowers emit a foul odor, the extract of the purple dragon horn attracts zombies to fight over food, while the extract of the large-flowered rhino horn repels zombies.
In their previous life, researchers hypothesized that the strong, rotting meat-like scent of the mutated large-flowered rhino horn might act like a powerful zombie king’s warning scent, similar to how an alpha predator in a herd will dominate or warn, or drive away other beasts.
However, the repellent scent is so terrifying that humans can’t bear it, so it’s only suitable for use in outdoor combat or when surrounded by zombies as an emergency measure, to quickly drive zombies away and avoid being trapped.
For everyday use around humans or in homes, it’s better to use other floral scents, like Osmanthus or others to mask the human scent. Zhou Yun thought about the mutated Osmanthus downstairs and, with a spark of inspiration, decided to transplant it to Yuexi No. 3 when he got the chance.
He quickly cut the flowers and branches of the large-flowered rhino horn and placed them in another glass container, soaking them in purified water and sealing it, preparing to make an extract.
Both the zombie repellent and zombie trap extracts were incredibly popular and rare in his previous life. Whether among ability users, zombie-hunting teams, or ordinary people, everyone kept a few packs on hand for emergencies.
After developing a mass-production method in his previous life, he had earned quite a few crystal cores through these products in the laboratory.
Zhou Yun sealed the glass containers and turned on the ventilation system to quickly disperse the horrifying smell from the glass room.
These two medicines must be quickly prepared into finished products now.
As for Guan Yuanfeng’s constitution, a large number of crystal cores were needed for his ability upgrade, so large-scale zombie hunting was inevitable.