Chapter 22

Zhou Yun focused on the construction and transformation of his new nursery, spending almost entire days there.

Guan Yuanfeng, on the other hand, was using a drone to search around. Over these days, he had become proficient in controlling the drone, venturing out of the residential area and exploring the entire Danlin City as far as he could.

What he saw was an overwhelming number of zombies everywhere—schools, shopping malls, hospitals, and markets were all empty, with no survivors in sight, only dense swarms of zombies, presenting a doomsday scene. His heart was heavy and oppressed.

Even if they could leave the residential area, it would be meaningless. In a city filled with zombies, they could only exist in survival on top of this high-rise building.

Guan Yuanfeng guided the drone, which was running out of power, back to charge it, then went to the dome restaurant to find Zhou Yun.

The restaurant had changed drastically. The previous tables and chairs were moved aside, and the middle was filled with neatly arranged planting pots. These pots now held the vibrant medicinal plants that were previously cultivated on Guan Yuanfeng’s balcony. They had been transplanted into deeper pots, absorbing the special energy, and every plant was thriving.

In addition to the planting pots, there was also a whole row of newly built hydroponic racks.

On the racks were white hollow tubes filled with nutrient solution. Zhou Yun had placed many medicinal plant seedlings, which he had grown in the herb garden, into these tubes.

The sight was magnificent. Guan Yuanfeng couldn’t help but wonder where Zhou Yun had gotten so many materials from. He even suspected that although Zhou Yun’s profession was a doctor, he might secretly have the desire to switch careers and run a farm.

Zhou Yun was adding nutrient solution to the hydroponic rack while asking, “Aren’t you playing with the drone anymore?”

Guan Yuanfeng frowned. “It’s almost out of power, so I’m charging it. There are no living people in the neighborhood, and I’ve gone out to nearby rescue hospitals and survivor bases, but they’re all empty. They must have evacuated somewhere.”

Zhou Yun turned to look at him, noticing the frown and the downcast expression on his face. After thinking for a moment, he took off his gloves, walked over, and opened his palm in front of him. “Brother Guan, look.”

Guan Yuanfeng looked down at his hand. Zhou Yun’s skin was pale, and his palms and fingertips were calloused. His fingers were long—what was there to see?

Just as Guan Yuanfeng was about to ask, he suddenly froze. He saw a crystal-clear water droplet emerging from Zhou Yun’s palm, growing from small to large, turning from a drop of water into a fist-sized sphere in a single breath.

He reached out in surprise to touch the water droplet, and it burst like a bubble as soon as his fingers brushed it, scattering to the ground, leaving a damp spot.

“Is this a special ability?” Guan Yuanfeng looked at Zhou Yun, his gaze inquisitive.

Zhou Yun smiled. “Yes, I’ve been feeling something unusual in my body for a few days. When I practiced Baduanjin, I felt the energy flow becoming more noticeable. Today, I suddenly realized that I could summon clean water. I’ve fed it to the pigs and chickens without any problems, so it should be clean water.”

Over the past few days, he had absorbed quite a few water-type crystal nuclei, and with the boost from his previous life’s experience, he had easily advanced to the second level.

Guan Yuanfeng nodded. “I also heard from the old captain before that some people who had a fever seemed to have developed special abilities. The common types nowadays are water, wood, earth, and fire abilities. It seems that’s true; I also heard it on the broadcast.”

There were, in fact, more types of abilities, but those were less obvious and harder to upgrade.

Many awakened individuals had already been killed by zombies before they even discovered their abilities, and only those with more noticeable abilities had been found.

Currently, most of the ability users were still stuck at the first-level threshold, solidifying their crystal nuclei, which wasn’t easy for ordinary people.

Zhou Yun added, “With this, we no longer have to worry about water.”

He looked at Guan Yuanfeng earnestly. “Why don’t you practice Baduanjin with me? I think the development of this ability might be related to my long-term practice of Baduanjin. I can feel the energy flow when the ability activates, and it’s related to the acupoints and meridians in the human body.”

Guan Yuanfeng knew, though, that the old captain had once asked him with concern if he had had a fever that night. As far as they knew, all the abilities had appeared after that night of the red mist.

It was speculated that that night, the world had undergone a transformation. Those who survived became ability users, while those who couldn’t make it became zombies.

Afterward, getting sick and having a fever likely wouldn’t result in developing abilities.

Unless another event like that night’s transformation occurred, but that was clearly not very likely now.

Astronomers had observed that the night was marked by a massive solar storm, and Blue Star had experienced a geomagnetic storm, with auroras erupting at both poles and the mysterious red mist arriving.

Even if such an event happened again, there would likely be more zombies than ability users, and as of now, the abilities of the observed users were still weak, needing time to level up.

Resources were rapidly dwindling, humanity was steadily retreating, and the ecological balance was collapsing. Humanity had no time left.

Evacuating to the safe Mars base to rebuild strength, preserve technological civilization, and research methods to enhance abilities was the safer path chosen by the elites.

He was destined to be an ordinary person—no, he wasn’t even as good as an ordinary person now.

But when he saw Zhou Yun’s bright and concerned gaze focused on him, he still nodded.

Zhou Yun tidied up the planting trays and took Guan Yuanfeng over to check the fish pond. Suddenly, they heard a growl, and Comet, who was by Guan Yuanfeng’s side, started barking to alert them, its neck hairs standing on end.

Guan Yuanfeng’s face changed color, but Zhou Yun said happily, “Looks like the trap worked.”

Guan Yuanfeng didn’t react immediately, but when Zhou Yun pushed him past the fish pond, they saw a zombie caught in a huge animal trap outside the iron gate of the restaurant. The zombie was howling and trying to tear at the trap. It was strong, but the trap held firmly, and the sharp spikes had pierced its calf.

As soon as they turned around, the zombie, still struggling with the trap, quickly turned its head toward them. It looked like a wild animal spotting food, baring its fangs and growling lowly. However, since the trap was stuck, it couldn’t break free. It stared at them, letting out a sharp, high-pitched scream.

Zhou Yun said, “I found the key to the iron gate and unlocked it. I set a trap this morning, and it worked.”

The zombie seemed to feel no pain. Unable to tear the trap off, it lowered its head and started gnawing at its own leg with its sharp fangs. After a few bites, the rotting flesh on its calf crumbled, but the bone was too hard to chew through. The zombie grew its fangs even longer and started gnawing on the bone, the grinding noise sending chills down their spines.

Guan Yuanfeng grabbed Zhou Yun’s wrist. “Go get my bow.”

Zhou Yun replied, “It’s too late.” He took a long-handled machete that he had prepared earlier. “I’ll go cut off its head. The crystal core is precious, I need it.”

Guan Yuanfeng furrowed his brow. He watched as Zhou Yun retrieved the key, unlocked the gate, and pulled it open. He grabbed Zhou Yun’s hand and said decisively, “It’s too dangerous, I’ll do it!”

Zhou Yun didn’t refuse. After all, Guan Yuanfeng was much stronger than him. He handed the machete to Guan Yuanfeng, who took it and saw that it was very sharp. But then Zhou Yun pulled out another machete from under the counter. This one had a slightly shorter handle, but the blade was just as sharp. Guan Yuanfeng was speechless.

He couldn’t understand why Zhou Yun had such a hobby of collecting these things, but he had to admit they were useful in the apocalypse. He opened the iron gate, and the zombie turned its head, growling threateningly at them.

Comet, standing beside Guan Yuanfeng, also howled and charged forward, but Guan Yuanfeng stopped it. “Go to the other elevator entrance, attract its attention, but don’t attack!”

Sure enough, Comet ran to the other elevator entrance and started barking at the zombie. The zombie was provoked and turned to growl at Comet.

The smell of rot filled the entire hallway.

Zhou Yun pushed Guan Yuanfeng’s wheelchair. “I’ll push you over, you cut off its head.”

Guan Yuanfeng pointed to the side where the zombie’s leg was caught. “Go there.”

Zhou Yun quickly pushed him to the designated spot. Guan Yuanfeng took the machete and swung it with force. The head of the zombie rolled off in no time.

Comet rushed up to grab the zombie’s head, but Guan Yuanfeng quickly ordered it back. He frowned and patted Comet’s head. “Eat something fresh. That’s dirty, never bite it.”

Then he saw Zhou Yun walking over with the machete in hand, wearing gloves. He pressed the zombie’s rolling head down and, using the machete, struck between its eyes.

Guan Yuanfeng watched Zhou Yun’s proficient movements, and his brow twitched. He realized that Zhou Yun, being a doctor, was probably familiar with dissecting bodies and cutting open corpses, so he didn’t pay much attention to it. Instead, he looked at the inside of the head.

The zombie’s brain had turned into a dark, sponge-like tissue. Zhou Yun used the knife to pick at it, eventually extracting a bright red crystal core.

Zhou Yun set the crystal aside, took off his gloves, and a stream of clear water emerged from his right hand. He washed the crystal clean, revealing its transparent brilliance.

He put it in a plastic bag and handed it to Guan Yuanfeng. “The last one you shot also had a crystal core in its brain. I thought this one would have one too, and sure enough, it’s a bit bigger than the last one.”

Guan Yuanfeng took the bag and carefully examined the crystal core, asking, “What’s it useful for?”

Zhou Yun replied, “I’m researching it. Using instruments, it seems like some kind of energy entity.”

He then pulled out a plastic bag from his pocket, opened the animal trap, shook out a large black garbage bag, and discarded the zombie’s remains through the opposite window.

Guan Yuanfeng was speechless.

This proficient action made him wonder if Zhou Yun was experienced in killing and disposing of bodies.

Zhou Yun poured more water from his hand to clean the floor, repositioned the trap, and finally pushed Guan Yuanfeng back into the restaurant, locking the iron gate securely.

Guan Yuanfeng watched Zhou Yun move fluidly, showing no fear of the new zombies. He thought to himself, “Is this how doctors behave?”

Still, he reminded Zhou Yun, “Don’t be reckless. Next time, don’t go alone. Wait for me to bring the bow. If they bite you, you might mutate.”

Zhou Yun obediently agreed, “Okay, I’ll definitely call you to bring the bow next time.”

He took Guan Yuanfeng back to the restaurant, where he grabbed a long piece of sugarcane. “I harvested a lot of snow grass today. We can make sugarcane juice and use it to stew lamb meat.”

Snow grass was drought-resistant and could grow well. A few days ago, to help it grow faster, Zhou Yun had used some wood-based energy on it. As a result, it had grown vigorously, and the roots were extensive. It had spread a large area in just a few days, taking up too much space.

He decided to pull it all out, using the tender leaves to stir-fry meat. Since the restaurant also had sugarcane, it was perfect for making juice. It was delicious, had cooling properties, could detoxify, and reduce swelling—ideal for the hot weather.

Given the extreme heat lately, Zhou Yun noticed that Guan Yuanfeng wasn’t feeling well. His pulse suggested he was stressed, so he thought a glass of snow grass sugarcane juice would help him feel better.

Back in the living room, Zhou Yun immediately turned on the air conditioning, poured some lamb bone soup for Comet, and then started making the sugarcane juice.

The freshly cleaned snow grass and cut sugarcane pieces were placed into the juicer, and the sweet sugarcane juice and snow grass juice flowed out from the juicer’s spout.

On the television, a light-hearted, funny cop-and-robber movie was playing. Zhou Yun had deliberately chosen it for Guan Yuanfeng to watch. He handed the freshly squeezed sugarcane juice to Guan Yuanfeng, who took it and thanked him.

In fact, Guan Yuanfeng hadn’t relaxed or entertained himself for many years. It wasn’t until he had surgery, then moved around in various hospital departments, and eventually retired and returned home, that he finally had time to rest.

Sitting in the wheelchair, he watched the movie, holding the sugarcane juice in his hand and taking a sip. His face was toward the screen, but his gaze was empty.

Zhou Yun unintentionally turned his head and glanced at him. Seeing his expression, his heart suddenly sank a little.

In his past life, at this moment, they were exhausted from fighting off the zombies that kept intruding upon them, constantly filled with unease and anxiety about the apocalypse.

In this life, he had built a safe iron gate, keeping the zombies outside. They had a safer haven, with food, water, and electricity.

Yet, he had never seen an expression like Guan Yuanfeng’s in his past life.

It was an expression of indifference, detached from everything, exuding a desolate calm.

He had seen terminally ill patients who had completely lost their will to live. They had pale, withered faces and eyes that didn’t care about anything. They were numbed by suffering and begged the doctors for a quick release.

Some people appear calm and strong, like mountains, but giving up everything often only takes a moment, and once they have accepted death, their resolve becomes even more unshakable than ordinary people’s.