There really was noise outside, and it had been going on for a while. It was just that the two people inside the room had been a little too lost in the moment to hear it.
When Qi Yue came out, he saw two figures sneaking around, using metal rods to pry at the car door. The moment they saw him coming out, they dropped their tools and tried to run. Qi Yue chased after them. Tang Ke happened to come out at that moment as well. He raised his hand and released plant vines, binding the two in place. After subduing them, they dragged the two back inside, tied them up with rope, and prepared to question them slowly.
The two of them were villagers from the same village where the school was located. They had climbed over the wall to get in. During the day, they had accidentally seen Tang Ke and the others arriving at the school by car. After secretly observing from afar and noticing there were only two of them, they guessed there must be a lot of supplies in the car, which emboldened them to target the car and whatever was inside. After discussing it, they decided to come after dark, planning to pry open the car and steal it.
To think someone was actually targeting their car again—Qi Yue was furious! He opened his enormous black bag that he always carried, pulled out the chain lock he had originally used to lock his previous car’s steering wheel, and locked one of the front wheels. Still not satisfied, he rummaged through the bag again and this time pulled out two more chain locks, locking up three wheels in total. He felt secretly proud, he was simply too clever; thank goodness he had prepared thoroughly!
Tang Ke pressed a finger to his forehead, feeling a headache come on. That bag! It really was something else! Just how much did he have crammed in there?
After finishing, Qi Yue turned and called out to Tang Ke, gesturing that they should both go… sleep. For now, no zombies had been spotted around the school, and the two thieves were securely tied up in another room with strong rope. They wouldn’t be escaping. There was no need to waste energy on pointless things.
—
Ten days after the apocalypse began
The next morning, they woke up early. Since neither had taken night watch, they were full of energy. They decided to save the supplies stored in the space for later and first deal with the items they had collected. They had swiped quite a lot from the supermarket, and the boxes in the minibus contained rice, flour, and other staples. They took out pots, bowls, meat sauce, and seasonings and used bottled water from the supermarket. Qi Yue cooked a big pot of hot noodle soup. With the small dishes he had prepared earlier, the two of them ate until they were sweating, their stomachs full and round. After eating, Tang Ke felt his spiritual power had become even fuller!
They discussed their next steps. Tang Ke suggested staying at the small base in Yuejin Village for a while: kill zombies, collect crystal cores, and level up. They had already encountered two level-1 zombies earlier, which meant some zombies were evolving. Before, they hadn’t known about crystal cores, but now that they did, it was even more important to strengthen their abilities and level up. Otherwise, their future road would be long and dangerous, especially since Qi Yue’s ability had no attack power. Moving forward blindly would be unsafe.
The base there might be small, but with many people inside, it was relatively safer. They could also gather information, see if there was any valuable intel and learn how things were in other places. He had been single-mindedly thinking about going straight to S Base to take revenge and then heading to Base B afterward, completely forgetting that in this life he had no offensive ability at all. As a homebody, Qi Yue’s thoughts were simple, he immediately nodded. Wherever Tang Ke went, he would go. There was nowhere safer than following someone with dual abilities! And it seemed that every time they encountered danger, Tang Ke had always protected him.
They dragged the two depressed car thieves onto the vehicle and set off for the Yuejin Village small base.
Yuejin Village originally had 500 households and a population of 1,200. After the apocalypse, nearly two-thirds turned into zombies. The survivors moved into the government compound. The government building was newly built before the apocalypse, with spacious grounds and walls separating it from the outside. They reinforced the walls with barbed wire and broken glass, forming a small base.
Over the past days, more and more people came seeking refuge. The number of survivors rapidly increased, reaching around a thousand. Some families who had moved to the city brought their whole family back. Some were villagers who had been working or studying elsewhere. Some were relatives, anyone even slightly connected could move in. Recently, even more outsiders wanted to stay. But because of limited supplies, the villagers had become very exclusionary.
Qi Yue had been here before, though he couldn’t remember in which lifetime. That time, he had come with a team to gather supplies. But back then, the base had already fallen. Two months into the apocalypse, zombies attacked at night. Only a few survivors escaped and spread the news. Now, with only ten days having passed, it should still be safe.
Villagers rotated shifts guarding the base, lying on ladders at the top of the wall to inspect the surroundings. When the two arrived, they called out to the guards to notify the person in charge.
A young man in his thirties came out, wearing silver-rimmed glasses, looking refined. His name was Zhao Yi, the younger brother of the village chief. The base was temporarily managed by his elder brother. Zhao Yi had no abilities; before the apocalypse, he had been the vice principal of the primary school where Tang Ke and the others stayed their first night. With his brother away leading villagers to search for supplies, he handled communication with newcomers.
Zhao Yi was very good at dealing with people. When he heard that Tang Ke and Qi Yue had captured two thieves, he confirmed that they were indeed villagers, idlers before the apocalypse who often stole chickens or petty things. The night before, they had gone out under the pretense of gathering supplies and never returned. Everyone thought they had run into zombies. No one expected they had gone to steal.
When Tang Ke and Qi Yue expressed their desire to enter the base, Zhao Yi explained that due to the high population and limited supplies, newcomers had to contribute materials. Ability users didn’t need to, but they were required to join teams that went out to gather supplies. Ordinary people needed to pay 50 jin of rice or equivalent food.
Zhao Yi guessed from their demeanor: young, good-looking, and not panicked like other refugees that they were likely ability users. He explained everything politely.
They had rice in the car left by its previous owners so they only paid for one person. Tang Ke stated he was an ability user and willing to join supply missions. Zhao Yi happily welcomed them, the base had nearly 1,000 people, but fewer than 20 ability users. They badly needed more.
They entered smoothly. As soon as their car rolled in, villagers surrounded it to gawk, many looking envious. After getting out, Qi Yue once again locked three wheels. He wanted to lock all four, but he had only brought three locks. It wasn’t that he was overly suspicious, if they lost the car now, even surviving would become difficult. Tang Ke approved. One should always prepare for the unexpected; people’s hearts were unpredictable.
Ability users received better treatment, they were assigned a small private room with only a simple wooden bed. Many ordinary people had to squeeze several families into one room. Tang Ke was very satisfied, one bed meant the possibility of cohabitation with Little Yueyue.
Supplies brought in by individuals remained theirs. Those without supplies could go out on their own or join base teams. Teams were self-organized; they submitted a small portion of what they collected, and the rest was distributed among themselves.
Seeing it was still early, Tang Ke went out to socialize. Qi Yue cleaned the room and moved necessities from the car. Before long, Tang Ke returned excitedly, he had already found a team and would be going out to search for supplies. Qi Yue had to stay behind and wait. When he turned to leave, Qi Yue grabbed his sleeve pitifully: “I want to go too. Don’t even think about leaving me behind.”
Tang Ke looked at his big, blinking eyes, his heart softened instantly. “Alright. But you must stay safe. If there’s danger, run. Don’t worry about anything else.”
“Mm, mm!” Qi Yue nodded earnestly. “I’ll protect myself.”
—-
The team was led by a middle-aged man everyone called Brother Li. Before the apocalypse, he had run the village convenience store. They were going to his house. There were ten people in total, split between a jeep and a small truck. Three had abilities: Brother Li had speed ability; a young woman named Yan Zi had earth ability. Her father and brother worked out of town, leaving only her grandmother and mother at home, so she had to gather supplies for survival. She had practiced mixed martial arts in the city for a few years, so her fighting skills were decent. And then there was Tang Ke, though no one knew he actually had dual abilities.
Most zombies were concentrated in the central area of the village, where the population had been higher. The convenience store was at the eastern edge, with only a few households nearby. According to plan, the cars drove straight to the front of the convenience store. A few zombies staggered after them. The ability users guarded the vehicles and cleared zombies. Others entered the store to move goods. Since Qi Yue and Tang Ke came together, they were assigned to guard the vehicles and drive.
Yan Zi erected an earthen wall in front of them to block zombies coming from that direction. Tang Ke used wood spikes from afar. Though his plant ability was only level 1, he could use it a dozen or so times before running out of spiritual power. For closer zombies, he used a knife to prevent them from approaching the cars or store.
Brother Li kept urging, telling the ones inside to hurry. Zombies came in waves. Besides those trailing the car, more emerged from every corner upon hearing noise. As they increased, Brother Li shouted, “Forget the rest! Come out! Get in the cars! We’re leaving!”
Suddenly, screams erupted from inside! Several people fled in panic. A dog lunged after the last person, biting straight through his neck. Then it lifted its head, eyes locked on the group, blood dripping from its mouth.
Cold sweat broke out instantly.
It was a level-1 mutated dog!
They had to deal with it. If it chased them back to the base, the consequences would be unimaginable!
