Chapter 22: All is Vanity

Chapter 22: All is Vanity

Zhou Yun focused on the construction and renovation of his new nursery, spending nearly entire days within it.

Meanwhile, Guan Yuanfeng scouted the area with his drone. Over time, he had become skilled at maneuvering it, flying in and out freely, and began exploring the far reaches of Danlin City.

Wherever he looked, the streets were overrun by zombies. Schools, malls, hospitals, and markets were all deserted, devoid of survivors. In their place were hordes of zombies, painting a post-apocalyptic scene that weighed heavily on his heart.

Even if they could leave the neighborhood, it would be meaningless. With zombies infesting the city, their only option was to cling to life atop this high-rise.

Guan Yuanfeng guided the drone, which was running low on battery, back to charge. Then, he headed to the domed restaurant to find Zhou Yun.

The domed restaurant had been transformed into a thriving greenhouse. The previous tables and chairs were moved to one side, and the center was filled with neatly arranged planting basins. These basins were already planted with flourishing medicinal seedlings that had been cultivated from Guan Yuanfeng's balcony and transferred into deeper pots. Infused with psychic energy, each plant thrived.

In addition to the planting basins, there was a row of newly set up vertical gardens.

The vertical gardens consisted of white hollow tubes filled with nutrient solution, and Zhou Yun had placed many of the medicinal seedlings from his herb garden inside.

The sight was impressively spectacular. Guan Yuanfeng marveled at the abundance of materials Zhou Yun had gathered, half-jokingly wondering if the doctor harbored a secret desire to switch careers and run a farm.

Zhou Yun was adding nutrient solution to the water by the vertical garden when he asked, "Not playing with your drone anymore?"

Guan Yuanfeng frowned. "The battery's almost dead, and it's charging. There are no living people in the neighborhood. The nearby rescue hospitals and city hospital survivor camps have been evacuated. They're probably gone somewhere."

Seeing Guan Yuanfeng's furrowed brows and gloomy expression, Zhou Yun thought for a moment before taking off his gloves and extending his palm. "Brother Guan, look."

Guan Yuanfeng looked down at Zhou Yun's hand. His fair skin had calluses on his fingertips and palm, and his fingers were long. What was he trying to show me?

Before Guan Yuanfeng could ask, he was startled to see a crystal-clear water orb materialize in Zhou Yun's palm, growing larger within a breath until it was the size of a fist.

Surprised, Guan Yuanfeng reached out to touch the water orb, but it burst like a bubble, falling to the ground and leaving it wet.

"Is this a psychic ability?" Guan Yuanfeng looked up at Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun smiled. "Yes, a few days ago, I started feeling something was off with my body. When I practiced Ba Duan Jin, I felt the energy more intensely. Today, I discovered I could summon clean water. I've fed it to the pigs and chickens with no abnormalities. It should be safe water."

Over the past few days, Zhou Yun had absorbed plenty of water cores and, with the experience from his previous life, had easily advanced to the second stage.

Guan Yuanfeng said, "I heard the former captain mention that some feverish people seem to develop psychic abilities. Currently, water, wood, earth, and fire psychic abilities are more common. It was also mentioned on the radio."

In fact, there were more types of psychic abilities, but they were less obvious and harder to upgrade.

Some who had awakened to psychic abilities had already perished at the hands of zombies before realizing their powers. Only those with more noticeable abilities were discovered.

Most psychics were still stuck at the first stage, struggling to condense their crystal cores, which wasn't easy for ordinary people.

Zhou Yuan said, "With this ability, we won't have to worry about water anymore. I can summon clean water at will, which could be a game-changer for us."

Looking at Guan Yuanfeng sincerely, he continued, "Why don't you practice Ba Duan Jin with me? I feel the emergence of this psychic ability might be related to my long-term practice of Ba Duan Jin. I can sense the correlation between the flow of psychic energy and the acupuncture points and meridians of the human body."

Guan Yuanfeng, however, recalled the former captain's careful inquiry about whether he had a fever that night. All currently known psychic abilities emerged after the fever from the red fog that night.

It was speculated that those who survived the night of mutation became psychics, while those who didn't turned into zombies.

Unless something like that happened again, there wouldn't be any more psychic abilities. And for now, that seemed unlikely.

Guan Yuanfeng couldn't help but wonder if they would ever witness another night like that, one that could change the world once more. For now, it seemed unlikely.

Astronomers observed that on that night there was a massive solar flare, and the Blue Star experienced a magnetic storm, with spectacular auroras erupting at both the north and south poles, along with a mysterious red fog descending.

If such a night were to happen again, there would be even more zombies than psychics. Currently, the psychic abilities of most psychics are very weak and need time to develop.

Now, resources are depleting rapidly, humanity is retreating steadily, the ecosystem is out of balance, and humanity is running out of time.

Evacuating to the safe Mars bases to regroup, preserve technological civilization, and research methods to enhance psychic powers is the more prudent path chosen by the elite.

He was just an ordinary doctor, but now, he felt like he was less than that.

But looking at Zhou Yun's bright and concerned gaze, he still nodded.

Zhou Yun had tidied up a few planting trays and brought Guan Yuanfeng over to check the fish pond when they suddenly heard a roar. The Comet beside Guan Yuanfeng started barking loudly to warn them, its neck hair standing up.

Guan Yuanfeng's expression changed. Zhou Yun, however, smiled and said, "Looks like the trap caught something."

Guan Yuanfeng didn't react in time, and by the time Zhou Yun pushed him past the fish pond, outside the iron door of the restaurant's entrance and the elevator exit, a zombie was caught by a huge bear trap, howling and trying to tear the trap apart with its hands. It had great strength, but the trap still held tight, with sharp spikes piercing its calf.

As soon as they turned around, the zombie, still struggling with the trap, suddenly turned its head toward them. Its eyes widened, and it let out a low, menacing growl, like a wild animal sensing prey.

Zhou Yun grinned. "I found the key and unlocked the door earlier. Set a trap this morning, and it worked."

The zombie, seemingly unaware of the pain, unable to tear the trap apart, actually lowered its head and used its sharp fangs to gnaw at its own leg. After a few bites, the zombie's leg was reduced to shredded flesh. The bone was too hard to break immediately, so it opened its jaws wide and bit down without hesitation, the sound sending chills down the spine.

Guan Yuanfeng gripped Zhou Yun's wrist tightly. "Go get my bow."

"It's too late for that," Zhou Yun said, taking out a long-handled machete from the side of the door. "I'll chop off its head." Crystal cores were rare, and he desperately needed one. They might hold some kind of power or value in this new world.

Guan Yuanfeng frowned, seeing that Zhou Yun had indeed taken the key from the side, opened the lock, and pulled the iron door open. He held Zhou Yun's hand firmly, his tone sharp and decisive. "Too dangerous, I'll do it!"

Zhou Yun didn't refuse. After all, Guan Yuanfeng's arm strength was far superior to his. He handed the long-handled machete to Guan Yuanfeng. As Guan Yuanfeng took the machete, he saw that the blade was sharpened well, but then noticed Zhou Yun pulling out another curved machete from under the counter, its handle slightly shorter but the blade gleaming. Guan Yuanfeng raised an eyebrow, wondering why Zhou Yun had so many weapons stashed away. But in the apocalypse, it made sense—these tools could be lifesavers.

Guan Yuanfeng opened the iron door, and the zombie cautiously turned its head toward them, growling threateningly.

Comet howled and lunged forward but was stopped by Guan Yuanfeng, who commanded, "To the opposite elevator entrance, attract its attention, don't attack!"

Comet darted to the other elevator entrance and howled at the zombie, which turned its head in fury and growled back.

The stench of rot filled the entire corridor.

"I'll push you there, and you chop off its head," Zhou Yun said, pushing Guan Yuanfeng's wheelchair.

"Go to the side of its trapped leg," Guan Yuanfeng instructed.

Zhou Yun quickly pushed Guan Yuanfeng to the designated spot. Guan Yuanfeng swung the machete down forcefully, and with a single stroke, the zombie's head rolled off.

Comet rushed forward to grab the zombie's head but was scolded back by Guan Yuanfeng, who frowned and patted the dog's head. "Eat something fresh; that's filthy, absolutely cannot bite."

Zhou Yun, carrying the knife, went over and, wearing gloves, pressed the rolling head. He used the machete to chop between the zombie's eyes.

Guan Yuanfeng's eyes narrowed as he watched Zhou Yun's precise movements, a mix of admiration and unease creeping over him. The zombie's brain had turned into a grayish-black sponge-like tissue. Zhou Yun pried open the brain tissue with the tip of the knife and pulled out a bright red crystal core.

Zhou Yun placed it aside, removed his gloves, and a sudden surge of clear water appeared from his right hand, washing the crystal core clean, making it glisten.

He put it in a plastic bag and handed it to Guan Yuanfeng. "The one you shot last time also had a crystal core. I thought this one would have one too, and indeed, it's larger than the last one."

Guan Yuanfeng examined the crystal core closely. "What do you think it does?"

Zhou Yun shrugged. "Who knows? But it's worth keeping an eye on."

Zhou Yun said, "I'm researching it. Using instruments to detect it, it seems to be some kind of energy entity."

He fished out a plastic bag from his pocket, opened the beast trap, and shook open a huge black garbage bag. He stuffed the zombie's limbs into it, then easily tossed the bag out of the window across the room.

Guan Yuanfeng: “……”

His fluent movements made it seem like he was an expert at disposing of bodies.

Zhou Yun then produced a stream of water from his hand to wash that section of the floor clean, reset the trap, and only then pushed Guan Yuanfeng back into the restaurant, locking the iron door securely behind them.

Guan Yuanfeng watched his fluid movements and noticed he didn’t seem afraid of the newly spawned zombie. He couldn't help but wonder if all doctors were this calm.

But he still reminded Zhou Yun, "Don't get overconfident. Next time, don't act alone and wait for me to get my bow and arrows. Otherwise, if they bite you, you might turn into one of them."

Zhou Yun obediently agreed, "Alright, next time I'll definitely call you to bring the bow over."

He led Guan Yuanfeng back to the living room and took a long sugarcane from the restaurant. "We happened to collect a lot of pennywort today. Fresh sugarcane juice will be great, and we can use some for lamb stew."

The pennywort was drought-resistant and grew well. A few days ago, he had given some pennywort seedlings a bit of wood element energy to level up. As a result, the grass grew rapidly, with well-developed roots, covering a large area in just a few days, taking up too much space.

So, he pulled them all out. The tender leaves were used to stir-fry meat slices, and since there was sugarcane in the restaurant, it would be great for making sugarcane juice, which was cooling, detoxifying, and perfect for relieving summer heat.

The heat had been unbearable lately, and Zhou Yun could see that Guan Yuanfeng wasn't handling it well. On top of his emotional distress, every time he took his pulse, it felt heavy with worry. Drinking some pennywort and sugarcane juice would do him good.

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

After washing the pennywort and slicing the sugarcane, he placed them in the juicer. The sweet sugarcane juice and pennywort juice flowed out from the juicer's spout.

Zhou Yun had picked out a lighthearted police comedy for Guan Yuanfeng, and it was now playing on the TV. He handed the freshly made sugarcane juice to Guan Yuanfeng, who took it and even said thank you.

Guan Yuanfeng hadn't relaxed or entertained himself for many years, not until he underwent surgery and was transferred between various hospital departments. It wasn't until he retired and returned to his hometown that he finally had some leisure time.

He sat in his wheelchair, watching the show with the sugarcane juice in hand. His gaze was fixed on the screen, but his eyes were distant and empty.

Zhou Yun glanced over and noticed the look on Guan Yuanfeng's face, which made his heart sink.

At this time in his previous life, they were exhausted from constantly fending off zombies that were drawn to their scent, filled with unease and anxiety about the apocalypse.

In this life, he had built a secure iron door, keeping the zombies outside. They had a safer haven compared to the outside world, with food, water, and electricity.

Yet, in his previous life, he had never seen Guan Yuanfeng with such an expression.

It was the kind of empty look that didn't care about anything, without any attachments, exuding a kind of grey stillness.

He had seen terminally ill patients who had lost all will to live, their faces pale and gaunt, their eyes vacant as they begged for a quick release from their suffering.

Some people seemed unshakable, calm as a mountain, but they could give up everything in an instant. Once they made the decision to die, their resolve became unbreakable, stronger than anyone else's.