Chapter 88: Fewer Children, More Trees

The car drove out of the Safe Zone, and once they reached an empty area, Lin Mu took out a few maps from his backpack. Red pen marks highlighted certain locations on the maps.

“This is the route map. Each of you take one. The places marked in red are the cities we’ve decided to pass through. If we get separated, we’ll regroup in one of these locations.”

He handed a copy to both Shen Rangchen and He Ze. They had no idea what the future held for them, and it was always better to be prepared for any possibility.

Half an hour later, the car reached the outskirts of Wushi.

This city was one of the earliest to complete its evacuation and establish a Safe Zone.

Perhaps due to its distance from the coastal areas, by the time the R-virus reached Wushi, the government had already implemented many countermeasures.

Still, out of the city’s population of over two million, only sixty to seventy thousand people survived in the Safe Zone. This was a heartbreaking figure.

Humanity was struggling to survive through immense suffering. This was an unprecedentedly difficult battle, but one day, humanity would prevail.

—

When they set off, Fu Jingmo was driving, while He Ze and Shen Rangchen were in the back seat cultivating. Fu Jingmo’s energy reserve was nearly full, and he was close to reaching the threshold for leveling up.

He Ze and Shen Rangchen also had about one-seventh of their energy remaining before hitting their own limit. According to their plan, they all needed to successfully advance to the next level before reaching Shancheng.

At noon, they casually ate some dry food they had brought with them—just bread.

Lin Mu checked the tomatoes, strawberries, and peppers that had been planted in the space five days earlier. They were already flowering, and it wouldn’t be long before they started bearing fruit.

It seemed that in about ten days, they would be able to eat the fruits of their planting. The growth in the spatial space was clearly different from that outside, possibly due to the absorption of trace energy from the energy sphere, which accelerated the growth.

After all, the R1 element caused animals to grow larger, so it might have a similar effect on plants.

The road conditions were not ideal. After leaving Wushi, they frequently encountered fallen trees blocking the road, dilapidated vehicles, and even piles of re-dead zombie corpses. Signs of past battles were everywhere, causing significant delays.

In the afternoon, Lin Mu took over driving, while Fu Jingmo pulled out a black box and began reading through it. Over time, the messages coming through it had become fewer and fewer. The latest ones focused on the issue of ability upgrades.

In Fengcheng, there were people with Level 1 abilities who had reached the threshold for upgrading. The process required a certain amount of time. When their energy reserves were full, they needed to find a safe place to absorb the energy from the air, compress it into their energy reserves, and break through the barrier.

At the moment they broke through the energy reserve, the energy would pour out in a frenzy, depleting completely.

This is why finding a safe place to undergo the upgrade process is crucial. Once the energy is depleted from the body, encountering zombies would be extremely dangerous.

For Fu Jingmo, this wasn’t much of a concern—having Lin Mu and the others with him meant he wasn’t really in danger no matter where he was.

However, another piece of information from the black box caught his attention.

Not everyone could successfully upgrade their abilities. Those who failed during the critical moment when the energy poured out might be unable to properly channel the energy, causing their meridians to swell and resulting in their bodies exploding from the pressure, leading to death.

“Fu Jingmo, are we resting here today?”

Lin Mu’s voice interrupted his train of thought. Up ahead, a few scattered houses appeared by the roadside. It was the first set of houses they had seen since getting off the highway that afternoon.

Though the weather wasn’t too cold yet, staying in a house would certainly be more comfortable than squeezing into the car. Plus, they could start a fire and cook something to eat.

The car gradually slowed down. Fu Jingmo glanced around, and saw a two-story house with old white ceramic tiles stood against the mountainside by the road.

A bit farther ahead, there were a few more similar houses. Looking to the other side, they could see rice fields—this must have been a farming village where people once lived.

If they kept going, there would likely be a small town or village ahead, but this place seemed safer.

“Alright, let’s find a place to park.”

The car was parked in a more concealed spot, and everyone grabbed their backpacks and got out. Shen Rangchen turned around and slapped a talisman on the car.

“Xiao Chenchen, what’s this treasure of yours?” He Ze asked with curiosity.

He Ze watched Shen Rangchen’s movements and leaned in, slinging his arm over Shen Rangchen’s shoulder in a friendly gesture.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable at being called “Xiao Chenchen,” Shen Rangchen shook off the hand on his shoulder and gave He Ze a sidelong glance. “It’s a Concealment Talisman. If anyone approaches, I’ll know.”

The two of them continued murmuring to each other as they followed behind, while Fu Jingmo and Lin Mu had already reached the house.

The house was quiet. With their enhanced hearing, they could tell without going inside that there were no zombies and no people inside either.

The house had only the front side covered in white ceramic tiles, while the two sides were cement walls, half of which were covered in vibrant green creeping vines.

Below the vines, part of the wall was exposed, revealing some motivational slogans.

“If you want to get rich! Have fewer children and plant more trees!!”

“XXX fertilizer, stronger every year!”

Behind the house, a small exposed area revealed a few scattered bones that immediately caught Fu Jingmo’s attention. With just one glance, he knew they were human bones.

In this world, seeing bones was no longer surprising. After a brief look, he turned his gaze away.

Fu Jingmo pushed open the two wooden doors that were shut together and stepped inside first.

The first floor had little to offer—just the simplest furnishings, with a table and a few chairs.

“Put the things down and get something ready to eat. I’ll check upstairs,” Fu Jingmo said, lifting his leg and heading up the stairs.

He Ze cheered, tossing his backpack onto the table.

“Mumu, Mumu, what are we having for dinner?”

He definitely didn’t want to gnaw on hard biscuits again, and neither did Lin Mu. After all, with their storage and access to food, there was no need to go hungry.

“Let’s start a fire and cook.”

“Got it!”

There was a kitchen nearby, and they made use of whatever was available. They took down the pot on the existing stove and replaced it with their own smaller one, then started a fire.

He Ze’s water-based ability had improved considerably; with a casual gesture, he filled the pot with water.

Using two stoves, they set one side to cook rice and the other to stew the meat they had brought along. Lin Mu also rummaged through his storage space and pulled out two cans of luncheon meat, tossing them into the stew. He even grabbed a bottle of Lao Gan Ma^[1]Lao Gan Ma (老干妈) is a popular Chinese brand of chili sauce, known for its distinctive flavor and spicy heat. to spice things up.

After making a round upstairs, Fu Jingmo came back down with a thoughtful expression, and a hint of amusement tugging at the corner of his lips.

“What’s up?” Lin Mu glanced at him while dishing out the rice for everyone.

“Nothing, let’s eat.”

Each of them received a bowl of fragrant rice, and they grabbed their chopsticks, starting their meal right by the stove.

Fu Jingmo leaned lazily against the wooden frame. “Tonight, we’ll all sleep together in the master bedroom on the second floor.”

“Why? Is there only one room on the second floor?”

He Ze lifted his head from his bowl, shoveling rice into his mouth as he asked.

Fu Jingmo couldn’t be bothered to answer. “Just eat your food.”

They had driven around a hundred kilometers today, but due to the poor road conditions, they had to stop frequently to clear obstacles, slowing them down.

“At this rate, we’ll probably reach Shancheng in about three days. How’s your energy holding up?”

Fu Jingmo set down his bowl and chopsticks, crossing his arms in front of him with a look that said he was ready for an inspection.

“Cough, cough…” He Ze choked on a piece of meat, coughing for a while before sheepishly responding, “Just a little bit more.”

Lin Mu chuckled at the sight. Among the three of them, Shen Rangchen, like Fu Jingmo, was highly disciplined. Only He Ze needed constant supervision.

“And how much is ‘a little bit’?” Fu Jingmo pressed.

“Uh, well… anyway, before we get to Shancheng, I should, maybe, possibly, probably be able to level up,” He Ze stammered.

Fu Jingmo gave him a warning glance. “If you don’t level up, we’ll go ahead without you. You can catch up after you’re done.”

“Don’t, bro! I’ll practice, I’ll practice! I won’t even sleep tonight, I swear!” He Ze quickly promised.

Shen Rangchen, having finished his meal, set down his bowl and chopsticks. “I should be able to level up by the day after tomorrow.”

“Mm, let me know when your energy reserve is full. Don’t try upgrading on your own.”

“Got it.”

“Fu Jingmo, what about you?”

Lin Mu glanced at him, his eyes reflecting the flickering firelight, making them sparkle.

“Probably around the day after tomorrow as well,” Fu Jingmo replied.

After dinner, since He Ze ate the most, he was left to wash the dishes. The others headed upstairs—some to rest, and some to cultivate.

The sky had already darkened, and they didn’t turn on any lights to avoid drawing unwanted attention.

The small bed from another room was pulled into the master bedroom, and the two beds were pushed together. The original bedding was tossed aside, and Lin Mu pulled out a new blanket from the spatial storage.

Leaning against the headboard, Fu Jingmo closed his eyes and began cultivating, while Lin Mu, with nothing else to do, lay down on the blanket, closing his eyes as if to take a light nap.

Feeling the slight dip in the mattress beside him, Fu Jingmo opened his eyes slightly.

The room was lit only by the faint, hazy moonlight filtering through the curtains.

The person lying on the inner side of the bed had a slight arch in his back, and through the thin fabric of his shirt, the delicate outline of his shoulder blades was visible. His neck was slender and pale.

For some reason, it reminded Fu Jingmo of the day Lin Mu had been injured by the explosion, lying in a similar position.

However, after just two minutes of watching, a loud commotion from downstairs broke the silence. The sound of dishes shattering was followed by He Ze’s panicked cries for help.

“Holy crap, crap, crap!!! Help!!! Mumu!! Brother Fu!! Chenchen!!”

“What the hell is this thing?! Ahhhhh!!”

“Damn it!! Save me! Save me!!”