Chapter 14: Lotus in the Water

Chapter 14: Lotus in the Water

Zhou Yun opened his eyes in a daze, his eyes swollen. He immediately saw Guan Yuanfeng gazing at him with a furrowed brow. He couldn't help but call out, "Guan Yuanfeng!"

He thought he was using all his strength, but only a hoarse whisper came out, making his throat throb in pain.

Guan Yuanfeng was gazing at him and gently touched his forehead. "Awake?" Comet leaped onto the edge of the bed, licking him with its warm tongue.

Unlike in his dream, Guan Yuanfeng wasn’t frowning or closing his eyes; instead, he was watching him with sharp, clear eyes.

Zhou Yun slowly regained his bearings, shaking off the confusion of past and present, as he felt every muscle in his body ache and tire.

He tried to reach out to pet Comet, who was eagerly licking him, but heard a click. He turned his head with difficulty and saw that his right hand was actually handcuffed to the iron bar of the bedhead.

Guan Yuanfeng explained, "According to the neighborhood group chat, people with high fevers often turn into zombies. Zombies attack the living and feed on corpses. Your fever wasn’t coming down, so I had to lock you up just in case."

Zhou Yun smiled weakly. "It’s fine, safety first. You can keep me locked up for now," he rasped, his voice still rough and strained.

But Guan Yuanfeng unlocked the handcuffs and handed him a tissue. "Zombies don’t cry," he said softly.

Zhou Yun took the tissue, still dazed, until he saw Guan Yuanfeng’s gentle smile. Then he realized what had happened and wiped his face, finding it soaked with tears.

Guan Yuanfeng’s expression softened. "You’ve been crying in your sleep for days, and it really worried me."

Zhou Yun’s face flushed as he searched for an explanation. "Maybe... the fever made my tear glands go haywire..."

Guan Yuanfeng noticed his discomfort and brought a glass of water to his lips. "Drink some water. Don’t strain yourself talking; your throat must be killing you."

Zhou Yun took the water and drank a few sips, noticing honey had been added to it.

Guan Yuanfeng said, "I found honey in your fridge and added a bit of salt. Since I couldn’t get you to take any medicine, this was the best I could do."

Zhou Yun nodded, and Guan Yuanfeng went out to bring a cup of milk. "Have some milk, I made it following your method, added some ginger juice and heated it."

Zhou Yun slowly drank the ginger milk, feeling a bit better. He saw Guan Yuanfeng busy in the kitchen for a while before bringing in a bowl of dumplings, their aroma filling the room. He said, "Thank you, I appreciate your trouble."

Guan Yuanfeng replied, "No need to thank me, these were the frozen dumplings I found in your fridge. I just boiled water and cooked them."

"I've been surviving on these for the past few days. Surprisingly, they're quite rich in flavor, the meat filling is very substantial, not like the ones sold outside. It seems you made them yourself."

"I saw not only dumplings but also frozen buns and zongzi. You're quite prepared for emergencies."

They were neatly organized in a glass container, and through the transparent lid, you could easily see everything inside.

One layer held cooked food, another raw meat and shrimp, and the rest were layers upon layers of frozen dumplings, buns, zongzi, and glutinous rice cakes.

Clear labels indicated the fillings, ready to be steamed in an electric steamer without any hassle.

He was shocked when he opened this huge double-door fridge.

He had never seen someone like Zhou Yun. Was he really not a little obsessive-compulsive?!

He even saw frozen rice balls, eight-treasure porridge, and mung bean porridge, all ready to be boiled and eaten at any time.

The fresh food section was also filled with milk, rice wine, and various long-lasting vegetables and fruits.

Eggs, salted eggs, preserved eggs—just the eggs had several varieties, all neatly and cleanly arranged.

Zhou Yun was amused by him and asked, "How's the situation outside in the neighborhood?"

Guan Yuanfeng gazed at him deeply. "Fortunately, you had someone install an iron door before all this happened. A lot of zombies surged forward, but they were stopped by the iron door and eventually moved on."

"A day later, the military arrived in armored vehicles at the entrance and broadcasted a message for survivors to go to the nearby hospital base. They asked survivors to hang something red in their windows to signal for help. They cleared a path, eliminated some zombies, and helped a few survivors escape. There weren't many survivors, so the rescue team left soon after."

Just like in his previous life, Guan Yuanfeng stayed behind for reasons he couldn’t fully explain.

Guan Yuanfeng explained without being asked, "I was worried about you, and it's inconvenient for me to travel. I need to bring too many things, and going to the base would only be a burden to others. It wasn't necessary, so I stayed. If you want to go to the base, I'll go with you."

Zhou Yun shook his head. "The iron door can stop the mindless zombies, and we have supplies. It's safer to stay and defend upstairs. Can we still access the internet?"

Guan Yuanfeng replied, "The signal is unstable, probably due to a solar storm. It's mostly down, but the broadcast mentioned that survivors should try to get to nearby hospitals, which are serving as temporary emergency shelters."

Zhou Yun asked hoarsely, "Did they say what's happening? Zombies... how do they transform? Fever?"

Guan Yuanfeng shook his head. "Before the internet went down, someone posted that cities were overrun by zombies. This red fog induces fever, and those who contract it have a high chance of turning into zombies, so we need to stay away from anyone with a fever."

"Also, if it's a weaker zombie, slow and sluggish, you can try to cut off the zombie's head with a knife to completely stop them."

Zhou Yun glanced at the long blade by Guan Yuanfeng's side, the same battle sword he remembered from his previous life.

Seeing Zhou Yun's gaze, Guan Yuanfeng picked up the long sword and drew it for him to see. "I was stationed in the Ice Ridge Plateau for a while and had the locals make this. It's very sharp."

"If you get bitten by a zombie, the bite will infect you with zombie poison, causing a fever and eventual transformation."

Seeing that Guan Yuanfeng didn't say more, Zhou Yun knew that psychic abilities weren't widely known yet. He had only gradually learned to master his abilities under the guidance of experienced individuals at the base in his previous life.

He asked in a low voice, "Aren't you worried I'll infect you with the zombie virus?" Guan Yuanfeng had been by his bedside for three days without rest.

Guan Yuanfeng replied, "Why worry about that? We’ll face whatever comes our way. I couldn't just leave you here."

Zhou Yun said, "You should go rest too. I'm much better now. You must be exhausted."

Seeing that Zhou Yun's eyes were clear and his mind sharp, Guan Yuanfeng felt slightly relieved. "Alright, you keep resting and recovering. Call me if you need anything. I'll sleep in my place for a while. If you need me, you can go to my place through the balcony without going through the front door, to avoid attracting zombies with the scent of fresh human flesh."

Zhou Yun agreed, "Okay."

Guan Yuanfeng further advised, "Don't force yourself to cook. I noticed your freezer is well-stocked with food. We have enough to last us for several months."

"There are also vegetables and fruits on the rooftop. Just scald them with hot water, and they're edible. I’ve been taking care of your vegetable and herb garden and feeding your fish over the past few days. No need to worry."

He once again admired Zhou Yun's habit of being prepared for emergencies. Over the past few days, he had seen the power generation equipment, which included wind and solar power. There was also a rainwater purification system, and the power equipment could run on diesel and gasoline. Even if the power and water were cut off because of the zombie outbreak, they could survive for a long time with rainwater purification.

He believed that even if they went to the survivor base, the food wouldn't be as abundant, nor would they live as safely and comfortably as they could here.

As a disabled person himself, plus Zhou Yun being ill, going out would only burden others. Zhou Yun, who had a fever, would also be viewed with suspicion.

Without more information, staying put was the best option.

Zhou Yun smiled wryly, knowing that Guan Yuanfeng was worried he would insist on tending to the vegetable garden and herbs upstairs, and nodded in agreement.

Only then did Guan Yuanfeng feel relieved and went upstairs, returning to his room via the balcony.

After Guan Yuanfeng left, Zhou Yun sat cross-legged, letting his shoulders drop naturally and his elbows sink. He relaxed his chest and lifted his back, his expression serene, his tongue touching the roof of his mouth, focusing on his lower dantian (a key energy center in traditional Chinese practices). He began to regulate his breath and channel his psychic abilities using the method of the eight extraordinary meridians.

In the empty room, a pure white light seemed to appear. His mind was clear and bright, and through inner vision, he saw his lower dantian. Sure enough, he felt the familiar water and wood dual-element core from his previous life.

Though it was small at the moment, just a hint of energy, Zhou Yun had mastered its power through years of practicing psychic abilities in his previous life.

The jade lotus, crystal clear, emitted a fine thread of energy, rising from the lower dantian to the middle dantian, ascending to the diaphragm.

He guided the energy to the outer sides of his elbows, passed through the middle fingers, and reached the Laogong Points in his palms, feeling the cool and refreshing sensation of the Laogong Points. The energy then returned from both hands, along the inner sides of the elbows, back to his chest, and descended to the lower Dantian, before separating and traveling down the outer sides of his legs to the tips of his toes, reaching the Yongquan points. Once again, the energy rose from the lower Dantian to the middle Dantian.

Carefully, he guided that thin stream of energy through his body's extraordinary meridians, and immediately, the small core radiated brilliantly, making his entire body feel light and full of vitality, with the previous pains alleviated.

He had always been skilled in acupuncture and was extremely familiar with the human acupoints. Moreover, after long periods of cultivation during the apocalypse, he had compiled this method into a manual for teaching and training.

At this moment, it was second nature to him, and within a few breaths, he had subconsciously utilized his water and wood psychic powers.

He extended his palm and indeed saw a cluster of crystalline water droplets forming in his hand—a first-level psychic power, core manifestation, summoning his psychic powers, marking him as a first-level psychic.

He turned his palm over and poured the water droplets onto the ground.

Water was incredibly valuable in the apocalypse, especially when turned into ice for attacks. Therefore, in his previous life, he had focused on boosting his water powers for offensive use, with wood powers becoming his focus later.

But in this life, he needed to quickly enhance his wood psychic powers. In his previous life, he had been the only one to reach the fifth level of wood psychic powers.

Only he knew that wood psychic powers, which seemed useful only for promoting the growth of crops and medicinal herbs, could rejuvenate life and restore balance when raised to higher levels.

In this life, with ample preparation and numerous plant varieties available for cultivation, he needed to raise his skills to the third level as soon as possible. Only at the third level or higher could he perform "grafting" and potentially activate psychic powers.

In the secret laboratory of the Dark Valley in his previous life, fifth-level light psychics were used to aid in wound healing and force core transplants, but due to rejection, the failure rate was high.

However, with his expertise in both medicine and the body's meridians, he was confident he could activate Guan Yuanfeng's psychic powers and help restore his legs.

The activation mechanism of the red fog was unclear, and he had only heard from Guan Yuanfeng's comrades that he had an affinity for lightning powers, but this was not fully confirmed. He could not take risks. He needed to ensure the safest possible method for transplanting psychic powers to Guan Yuanfeng.