Chapter 4

The water in the fish pond had long been sun-dried and disinfected, but Zhou Yun still carefully immersed the entire fish bag in the pond first to allow the electric eel to get used to the environment.

This type of fish is nocturnal and inactive during the day. He placed it in a shaded area beneath the fake mountain to help it acclimate.

This was a fully grown jade knife eel, very aggressive. In the water, it looked like a green feather gliding slowly, almost like a sharp blade.

It could release a 600-volt electric shock, powerful enough to kill an adult alligator.

In the post-apocalyptic world, lightning abilities were extremely valuable, with strong combat potential.

Zombies were highly afraid of lightning. A single lightning strike could paralyze or burn a zombie, and the zombie hordes would instinctively flee. The lightning ability was incredibly useful for dispersing zombie groups.

Compared to other elemental abilities like wood, water, and fire, lightning abilities were relatively easier to upgrade. All types of energy essence could be absorbed and converted into upgrades for lightning abilities, unlike other abilities that could only absorb energy essences of the same attribute.

High damage, easy upgrades—one in ten thousand ability users might have the lightning ability. As a result, lightning users were highly regarded by major bases and factions and were supported by large powers.

After the apocalypse, researchers focused on studying the catalysis of lightning abilities. Catalysis required a large amount of lightning attribute essence, but it was incredibly difficult to generate, making it extremely expensive on the market. As soon as it appeared, it could be auctioned for a high price.

However, later scientific research surprised many by discovering that natural electric creatures such as electric rays, electric catfish, and electric eels, as well as some electrified deep-sea fish, all contained lightning essence in their bodies after the apocalypse. During stormy weather, they naturally absorbed even more lightning essence.

After this discovery, live fish that could generate electricity became high-value rewards in the Hunter Guild’s task points system. Bases would buy them at high prices to cultivate them and experiment with catalyzing lightning abilities.

Unfortunately, an electric eel could only be kept in one fish pond, and it was difficult to breed. He didn’t have much space on his balcony and still needed to raise some fish for food and water worms for bait.

But as long as he carefully took care of it, one eel was enough.

Zhou Yun walked over to check on the other large ceramic fish tanks. The fish inside were very lively, which pleased him. In fact, many of the fish were ready to be eaten, but tonight, he was having pig’s feet.

He sprinkled some fish feed into the tanks and then went downstairs. From the freezer, he took out a half slab of pork, cutting off one of the back legs, one front elbow, and the shoulder.

Using a bone knife, he slowly removed the large bones, throwing the fatty and lean meat into the food processor to mince and marinate it. He packed the bones into a bag, took it outside with the trash bag, and rang the doorbell across the street.

There was no sound behind the door, as though no one was home.

But Zhou Yun patiently waited at the door. After a while, the door opened, and Guan Yuanfeng, with his dog, stood at the threshold, looking at him indifferently. “What’s the matter?”

Zhou Yun raised the bag with the bones in it, showing it to him. “I’m your neighbor from across the street. I apologize for scaring your family today.”

“I was making sausages and had some leftover pork leg bones. I saw that you have a dog, so I thought I’d give them to you as dog food. Is that alright?”

Guan Yuanfeng didn’t speak. His thin face was filled with coldness and rejection.

The dog next to his wheelchair stared intently at the bones in Zhou Yun’s hand, its nose twitching as if eager to come over and sniff them. However, it didn’t receive any commands and sat obediently, panting with its mouth open. Its ears twitched restlessly, and its shiny black neck fur stood up, alert and sensitive.

This was a retired military dog, and Guan Yuanfeng treated it with great care, never willing to let it go hungry, even if he himself did.

Guan Yuanfeng’s face was serious and stern, exuding a heavy, oppressive aura, likely a result of his tough, commanding presence during his time in the military.

But Zhou Yun smiled slightly, as if unaware of the tension. He shifted the other hand holding the trash bag, looking like it had grown a little tired from holding it for so long.

Guan Yuanfeng’s gaze fell on Zhou Yun’s pale fingers, which had turned red from the weight of the heavy trash bag. He took the bag of bones from him. “Thank you.”

Zhou Yun smiled again and asked, “I’m going downstairs to throw out the trash. Do you want me to take your trash with me?”

Guan Yuanfeng replied, “No, thank you.”

Zhou Yun nodded, not overly enthusiastic, and turned briskly toward the elevator. When the elevator doors opened and he stepped inside, he finally felt the sensation of being scrutinized from behind vanish. He wasn’t surprised—he knew that Guan Yuanfeng had probably been watching him the whole time with a sharp, evaluating gaze.

He threw the trash away and passed by the fruit shop in the neighborhood. He saw the shopkeeper peeling a pineapple. He picked two pineapples with particularly thick and sturdy crowns. The shopkeeper offered to peel them for him, but he shook his head and instead asked, “Can I have the pineapple skins?”

The shopkeeper was surprised and looked at the skins in the foam box. “What do you want them for?”

Zhou Yun replied, “To make compost.”

The shopkeeper suddenly understood. “Oh, then you can take them. You save me the trouble of throwing them away. Take the whole foam box too, I’m about to close the stall and go have dinner.”

Zhou Yun thanked the shopkeeper, picked up the two pineapples and placed them in the foam box. He then grabbed some packaging string nearby and tied it into a handle, but as he did, he noticed the middle-aged couple from earlier with bright smiles, along with a young couple, putting their luggage in the car while chatting happily.

He looked at them for a while, and the shopkeeper, noticing his gaze, commented with a bit of envy, “Do you know them, Lao Guan?”

Zhou Yun said, “I think I saw them celebrating something recently.” He remembered that the middle-aged couple had mentioned a new house earlier, so he asked cautiously.

The shopkeeper replied, “Yes, they are from our village. Their son has done well. The eldest son retired from the army and came into a large sum of money, and he bought a big villa here in our relocation community. It cost millions! The second son and daughter-in-law are also wealthy; they even took the old couple on a honeymoon abroad, and I heard they’re going to some island.”

Zhou Yun’s eyes flashed. “But I saw their eldest son seemed to be living in the relocation house, not the villa.”

The shopkeeper clicked his tongue and quietly said, “He’s disabled. If he lived in the villa, his second daughter-in-law might have run away before even entering the house. Fortunately, it’s in the same community, so it’s easier to take care of him.”

Zhou Yun asked, “But the villa was bought with the eldest son’s money, right?”

The shopkeeper sighed, “What can you do? They are a family, and they are willing to do it. It’s hard for him to find a wife now that he’s disabled. We can’t have everyone in the family struggling to get married. It’s tough for him to get married now, and he’ll probably rely on his younger brother’s kids to take care of him in the future.”

Zhou Yun didn’t respond. He grabbed the foam box of pineapple skins and said, “I’ll go now. Thank you.”

He walked back and, while waiting for the elevator on the first floor, ran into Guan Yuanfeng coming down the stairs. He was in a wheelchair, with a dog following him and a trash bag hanging from the chair.

Zhou Yun held the foam box with one hand and pressed the elevator button with the other, chatting casually, “Walking the dog?”

Guan Yuanfeng seemed to be distracted by the foam box of pineapple skins in Zhou Yun’s hand. Even the dog sniffed the box as it passed by, then turned its nose away in disdain.

Once the elevator arrived, Zhou Yun naturally carried the pineapple skins into the lift. Before the door closed, he gave Guan Yuanfeng a friendly nod and went back home.

Layer by layer, Zhou Yun processed the pineapple skins, covering them with soil, then covered them with a lid to ferment into organic fertilizer.

He then opened the plastic bag of the electric eel, watched it leisurely swim under the fake mountain stone, and added a spoonful of water worms and some fish feed.

He turned to feed the chickens and ducks, and then slowly watered the rooftop garden with the hose.

The orange evening glow lit up the sky, and the whole city of Danlin was enveloped in a gentle, peaceful light. The rooftop vegetable garden emitted the fragrant smell of grass, plants, and soil that had been heated by the sun.

Zhou Yun found a corner, loosened the soil, and cut the tops off the pineapples he had just brought back. He then picked aloe leaves and used their crystal-clear juice to apply to the cut pineapple crowns before planting them in the soft soil and watering them.

Pineapples weren’t suitable for growing in this area, but with the changing weather in the post-apocalyptic world, any plant could mutate.

His wood-based abilities required practicing with different types of plants to upgrade. This was why he had bought as many seeds and plant books as possible.

Zhou Yun picked a bunch of tender water spinach, looked at the darkening sky, and went downstairs to the kitchen. The pig’s trotters he had put in the pressure cooker earlier were soft and fragrant.

He served it, washed the water spinach leaves, and threw them into the pot with the pig’s trotters’ soup to stir. After a minute of cooking, he had a shiny, fragrant dish.

He ate alone, making do with a simple meal. If there were more people, he would cook more seriously. He glanced out the window; night had fully fallen.

He casually ate his dinner, washed the dishes, and took out the minced pork he had marinated in the afternoon to start making sausages.

The well-mixed pork stuffing flowed endlessly into the sausage casing through the sausage-making machine. Zhou Yun operated the machine absentmindedly while occasionally glancing outside.

Without realizing it, he had made twenty pounds of pork sausages. Zhou Yun hung them up to dry inside the room, then tidied up, took a shower, and went to bed.

—–

In the middle of the night, he woke up, got up, and instinctively opened the window to look outside. Guan Yuanfeng’s house was opposite his, and he couldn’t see his room.

But Zhou Yun knew he was likely awake because, after his amputation, he suffered from severe phantom limb pain, which woke him up every night.

He had no family to help, and he had to wear prosthetics himself, causing friction and unbearable pain.

The weather was hot, and his wounds were easily inflamed. He had to take a lot of medicine but had little appetite, which is why Zhou Yun noticed he didn’t look well earlier.

He had retired due to his injury and had just returned home after surgery, but his family had rejected him. They took the villa he bought with his retirement pay and gave it to his younger brother as a new house, leaving him in the relocation housing. His family didn’t support him, but his pride made him coldly reject others’ sympathy and help.

In the past, Guan Yuanfeng and Zhou Yun were just ordinary neighbors. To Guan Yuanfeng, helping Zhou Yun was just a small favor. If Zhou Yun hadn’t been reborn in this world, he probably wouldn’t have known him.

To him, Zhou Yun was just one of the many people he had helped. It just so happened that they lived across from each other when the apocalypse arrived, and he needed help.

The long years of survival in the apocalypse and wandering had dulled his senses, but today, seeing Guan Yuanfeng, the details he had overlooked in his past life all came rushing back to him.

Zhou Yun climbed up to the high platform and looked at the rooftop garden under the moonlight. The trumpet creeper was in full bloom, and the chickens and ducks huddled together, sleeping peacefully, with the occasional cluck of a hen.

The electric eel moved slowly in the water, and the fish in the aquarium swam energetically, splashing their tails and creating ripples in the water.

Originally, Zhou Yun had planned to slowly build trust, like a steady stream of water slowly wearing down stone. He extended his finger to touch the heavy grape clusters under the vine and glanced at the empty rooftop across from him. He made a decision: he wouldn’t wait any longer. He would knock on the door tomorrow.