Chapter 26: Fiery Comet

Chapter 26: Fiery Comet

After looking around, Zhou Yun said to Guan Yuanfeng, "There's no damage for now, and no one is likely to come by. Property isn't useful these days, and there aren't many supplies left. The food in the fridge is mostly spoiled too; we'll clean it up when we have time." The fridge was stocked with expensive seafood and salmon, but Guan Yuanfeng had been ordering takeout instead.

Guan Yuanfeng shrugged. "Sure."

Zhou Yun, however, said, "The basement is quite useful; it can store supplies that are inconvenient to move upstairs." There were some rice, flour, oil, and daily necessities that Guan Yuanfeng had previously placed in the basement, which Zhou Yun left untouched.

Guan Yuanfeng said, "Just store the gasoline there."

Looking out through the floor-to-ceiling windows towards the back of the villa, Zhou Yun saw a backyard by the lake. Most people had planted flowers there, but Guan Yuanfeng had only laid some grass since moving in.

Zhou Yun said, "In this garden, I'd like to plant some low-maintenance crops, like pumpkins, sweet potatoes, and potatoes. The weather is too harsh to grow delicate plants."

Guan Yuanfeng replied, "Suit yourself."

Zhou Yun got more excited. "Hey, I just thought of something perfect for this weather—date palm trees. They're heat-resistant, drought-resistant, salt-alkali tolerant, and cold-resistant. They're also high in sugar and nutrition, making them a great fit!"

Guan Yuanfeng, who had been feeling a bit down, perked up at Zhou Yun's enthusiasm. "Will they take up a lot of space?"

Zhou Yun said, "No, let's plant a batch by the lake first. It's been so dry lately, and the water level has dropped."

Guan Yuanfeng searched for date palm fruits in the "Complete Plant Encyclopedia" e-book downloaded by Zhou Yun and recalled that he had eaten them before. He only remembered them being extremely sweet but quite fragrant.

He nodded. "Sounds good. Take whatever you need from the villa."

Zhou Yun didn't hold back. "I see your vacuum cleaner and floor scrubber are very advanced; I'll take them up to use. This large screen TV is great too—a frameless ultra-thin big screen. The latest projector in the media room is also top-notch; we can watch big-screen movies in the hall."

"This imported rice cooker is said to cook particularly fragrant rice. This air fryer with a glass viewing cover is much more convenient than mine, perfect for roasting chicken wings and egg tarts. There's also a fully automatic bread maker and a blender, all top-quality items. I'll try them out. The fully automatic bread baking... sigh, such great stuff, too expensive for me to afford."

"It's a pity the air conditioner is hard to dismantle, but these air circulator fans are good..."

As Guan Yuanfeng listened to Zhou Yun's chatter, he glanced around the rooms through the drone. This was his first time really seeing the villa since he had only briefly sat in the living room before being sent to the temporary housing.

He wasn't one to indulge, having previously thought that such a county-level city, with its cheap land and convenient access to his parents, was ideal. The villa was spacious and suitable for the whole family, so he chose it.

Initially, he gave his parents a sum of money to help with the decoration and purchase of appliances, intending for the whole family to live together, hence the best appliances.

Now, hearing Zhou Yun praise these items one by one, he suddenly felt quite wealthy. The investment he hadn't expected a return on now seemed meaningful.

He couldn't help but slightly raise the corner of his lips and reminded Zhou Yun, "The elevator is inconvenient. When you come back, don't choose too cumbersome items, just in case you encounter zombies."

Zhou Yun sighed regretfully. "Maybe later. You can install some solar panels on the rooftop and connect them to a generator."

"When we get a chance, let's go to the power distribution room in the community's back hill and bring back the backup generator to connect your house's electricity. That way, you can plant more things in this garden and even plant the neighboring garden. I'll plant some canna flowers by the lake; they're beautiful when they bloom and can purify water. We can also plant some cacti by the wall to deter zombies."

Guan Yuanfeng, listening to his future plans, felt a bit more relaxed. "You arrange it. It's getting late, and zombies might come out soon; better return."

Zhou Yun nodded, grabbed a few portable appliances for his backpack, and headed back upstairs. Along the way, the stairwell doors were frozen, so no new zombies had emerged.

Zhou Yun easily ran back to the rooftop, relocked the iron door, and rinsed the entrance floor to prevent zombies from being attracted by the smell of fresh human flesh.

After dinner, Zhou Yun noticed a box of dried dates on the table and eagerly offered them to Guan Yuanfeng. "Try some! And save the seeds for me—I’ll see if I can get them to sprout."

Guan Yuanfeng couldn't help but laugh and cry, picking up a seed as he asked him, "How did you end up keeping this?"

Zhou Yun replied, "This is really good; it's known as 'desert bread' because it's high in fructose and pairs well with tea or coffee."

Before the cataclysm, he had stocked up on a bunch of dried fruits and nuts during a sale event. The dried dates were discounted, so he grabbed a lot of those too. He brewed a pot of Pu'er tea for Guan Yuanfeng.

In the evening, Guan Yuanfeng used the new floor scrubber to clean the floors. He saw Zhou Yun soaking the pointed double-ended seeds in water and asked, "Are you waiting for these to sprout?"

Zhou Yun nodded. "Yes, I've also cut some nice potato and sweet potato pieces to sprout first. Once they're ready, we'll plant them in your backyard. Then, I'll select some seeds to sow."

He fell into thought. "Hollyhocks would be nice; they're easy to grow from seeds and have beautiful flowers. Radishes might work, but with the heat, I doubt regular bugs will survive. Radish seedlings are also tasty. I'll also throw in some coriander and wormwood. I'll plant some purslane too; it's useful and grows well."

Guan Yuanfeng asked, "What's the use of purslane?"

Zhou Yun explained, "Did you know that in ancient times, purslane was called the 'Five Elements Grass' because it has five colors: green leaves, red stems, yellow flowers, white roots, and black seeds. According to the Five Phases theory, green represents wood, red is fire, yellow is earth, white is metal, and black is water, hence the name Five Elements Grass."

Guan Yuanfeng listened, unsure why Zhou Yun was explaining in such detail, but nodded. "So, it can cure many diseases?"

Zhou Yun said, "Yes." The significance of the Five Elements Grass lies in its ability to detect the attributes of psychic crystal cores, but he couldn't reveal this to Guan Yuanfeng just yet.

He casually added, "I always feel that maybe in ancient times, there were psychic abilities, which is why it's called the Five Elements Grass."

Guan Yuanfeng tried to keep up with him. "Hmm... maybe."

Zhou Yun, however, was in high spirits. "In the Battle of Zhuolu, the Yellow Emperor and Chi You both used divine powers. Chi You sent wind and rain masters into battle, which in today's terms would be wind and water psychic abilities. The Yellow Emperor sent the goddess Ba to counter them, which seems like fire psychic abilities. The battle between Zhu Rong and Gong Gong looks like a fight between a fire psychic and a water psychic. Nuwa patching the sky seems like earth psychic abilities."

Guan Yuanfeng looked at him with clear eyes. "Are you saying that psychic abilities existed in ancient times, and their reappearance now is like a return to the past?"

Zhou Yun said, "Maybe, or as often said in novels, it's the resurgence of qi... Actually, in foreign myths, many of the gods' battles involve similar psychic performances, often manifestations of a certain natural element or phenomenon."

Guan Yuanfeng: "..."

Zhou Yun continued, "Our civilization has never been interrupted, so the training and cultivation methods in ancient books might not be fake. It's just that there was no qi before, but now that there is, we should experiment more."

Guan Yuanfeng couldn't help but smile. "You make sense." He was indirectly encouraging him to practice Ba Duan Jin.

After dinner, Zhou Yun went to check on Comet's recovery. Half a month had passed, and under Guan Yuanfeng's careful care, Comet had recovered quickly.

Zhou Yun removed the splint from Comet's hind legs and saw that it walked as healthily as before. Its fur was shiny, its eyes were black, and its overall body seemed to have grown a bit. After its recovery, Comet became much closer to Zhou Yun, responding eagerly to his touch, looking at him with bright, eager eyes.

Zhou Yun stroked its thick, shiny fur, guessing that the psychic grafting had likely succeeded. Comet instinctively sensed the wood element healing power from him, which was why it was so close to him. It was time to test the effect.

He looked for a gray unattributed crystal core that had been retrieved today and picked one out to place in front of Comet.

Guan Yuanfeng was somewhat puzzled but did not stop him.

He watched as Comet looked down, licked the crystal core, and then swallowed it.

Guan Yuanfeng: "..." He touched Comet's neck, seeing that it had indeed swallowed it, and carefully observed its spirit. Seeing that it lay down as if full and ready to sleep, he looked at Zhou Yun. "Is it safe to eat?"

Zhou Yun said, "I'm not sure, but animals have instincts. I guess its psychic abilities have already awakened successfully, which is why it needs the crystal core."

He picked up a gray crystal core and held it between his fingers to show Guan Yuanfeng. "This is an unattributed crystal core. It can be absorbed in the early stages, but after a certain point, it can no longer provide energy. For example, my water psychic abilities can only absorb water-attributed crystal cores now. It's believed that in the early stages of developing psychic abilities, one can absorb energy from these crystal cores to boost their powers. But after reaching a certain level, these low-level cores become ineffective, and one must rely on crystal cores that match their own attributes."

"This logic is consistent with the fact that only the weakest zombies produce these kinds of crystal cores."

"The better the core, the harder it is to obtain."

Guan Yuanfeng watched Comet doze off. "Is it digesting and absorbing the psychic energy right now?"

Zhou Yun said, "It's possible. Its vital signs are normal now. I've frozen the liver of the mutated eagle I froze earlier. I'll find it tomorrow and steam it for him to eat, to help with his recovery."

Animal livers have always been nutritious, and the livers of mutated creatures were precious food for psychics in the previous era, prized for restoring their psychic abilities.

Seeing that Comet had fallen asleep, he went up to the rooftop to tend to his plants.

Today, we had a satisfying fight against several zombies and gathered quite a few crystal cores. He threw a gray crystal core into the electric eel pool, and sure enough, the eel surfaced, opened its mouth, and swallowed the crystal core in one gulp. It then lazily sank to the bottom of the pool to slowly absorb and digest the core's energy.

Mutated animals instinctively know what's good for them to eat. Comet should have succeeded.

With Comet guarding Guan Yuanfeng, and Guan Yuanfeng not being helpless himself, he had managed to protect them for so long even without psychic abilities in his previous life. With this in mind, he could now focus on fighting the zombies and go downstairs without worry.

He looked towards the rooftop's dedicated elevator power distribution room—once the backup generator was connected, they could briefly activate the elevator.

Being able to freely go up and down, clearing the zombies in the neighborhood and gathering supplies, Guan Yuanfeng wouldn't feel so depressed.

Once his psychic abilities upgraded to near fourth level, he would be confident to try.

He stared at the electric eel. By then, the core inside the eel should be at a much better quality. Combined with the wind crystal core from the mutated eagle, he would be able to successfully activate at least one psychic ability for Guan Yuanfeng.

If the compassionate deity is still watching over them, having both wind and lightning psychic abilities would be even better.

=====

The next day, it rained torrentially. After nearly half a month of drought, the rain came down with thunderous claps and lightning. The previously hot outdoors immediately cooled down, making the indoors feel chilly and somewhat uncomfortable.

Zhou Yun felt a bit regretful, "I was planning to plant some seeds in your villa garden."

But he also felt fortunate, "Luckily I didn't plant them. If I had, the heavy rain would have washed them away. It might rain for half a month like last time."

He took the frozen bag of mutated eagle liver out of the freezer to thaw naturally.

Guan Yuanfeng smiled, "Didn't you bring back a projector? We can watch a movie too."

But Zhou Yun said, "On a rainy day like this, it's boring. How about we test Comet's psychic abilities? We can check out the 29th floor and see if there are any lone zombies. We'll go floor by floor and come back when we don't feel like checking anymore."

Guan Yuanfeng's eyes lit up, clearly interested, "Can I come along too?"

Zhou Yun continued to tempt him, "Of course. Just like when we cleared the nearby restaurant. There are only two units per floor. We'll go unit by unit. If we clear a few floors each day, the building will be safer."

Guan Yuanfeng agreed. He had always hated that feeling of helplessness. Now that he had the chance to go out and train, improving his survival skills, it was the best option.

After breakfast and feeding Comet, they started preparing to go out. Zhou Yun went to get a set of protective gear for Guan Yuanfeng, who was a bit surprised, "Your size might not fit me. I have a camouflage combat suit that works too."

Zhou Yun said, "This one is a size larger. I was thinking of modifying it, and protective gear is usually bought slightly larger, so I didn't return it. Later, I bought another brand that I thought was better, so I kept this one."

Guan Yuanfeng said, "...Alright, thank you."

While Zhou Yun was out, Guan Yuanfeng first put on the camouflage shirt and then wore the brand new protective gear, which fit perfectly.

He buckled his belt and grabbed his long knife and bow. He remembered how, in the past, before every mission, he would always check his clothing, weapons, and communication devices in the same way...

A long-forgotten fire reignited in his heart. He actually felt like a rookie soldier, eagerly anticipating a battle.

As he left the room, he saw that Zhou Yun had already put on his own protective gear and helmet. Zhou Yun was attaching a protective cover to Comet's tactical vest, which was designed for military dogs, and he smiled, "You're really thorough."

Zhou Yun said, "I took it from an old set of protective gear. I don't know if Comet really has psychic abilities, but just in case he doesn't, if there's something like that mutated eagle from the other day, this might provide some protection."

Comet wagged his tail wildly, clearly excited.

They were both ready to go out. Zhou Yun opened the iron door and recalled, "The 29th floor... I remember the couple living downstairs from me were teachers. They took their kids back to their hometown during the vacation, so there should be no one at home. The other unit seems to be vacant and has been up for rent without getting rented out."

Guan Yuanfeng nodded. "What about the 28th floor?"

Zhou Yun said, "The 28th floor was rented by a gym. It was renovated not long ago, and they even gave me a flyer when it opened. The zombie outbreak happened late at night, so there probably weren't any customers. It should be quick too."

Guan Yuanfeng said, "It’s not likely to be profitable there."

Zhou Yun replied with a smile, "Well, it's still a high-end villa area, after all."

They left the iron door and locked it behind them. It was raining that day, so the stairwell was dark. Zhou Yun walked to the corner and shone his flashlight, gesturing back.

Guan Yuanfeng understood this meant it was safe and slowly maneuvered his wheelchair down the stairs. The electric wheelchair made heavy sounds as it descended step by step.

He also had a strong flashlight hanging on him, casting unsteady shadows on the stair railings.

Comet faithfully followed by his side, probably excited from not having been active for so long, running up and down.

The stairs were high, and even with the electric wheelchair, it took about ten minutes to reach the 29th floor.

They went to the previously vacant unit first. Zhou Yun used an electric drill to drill through the lock and open the door. They went inside and found it mostly empty, with only minimal furnishings.

Zhou Yun said, "We can use this as our storage room and stock some supplies that we might not need now but could be useful in the future."

Guan Yuanfeng nodded.

They went to the other unit, which indeed seemed to belong to a teacher's family.

The walls were lined with bookshelves full of books, and the walls were adorned with the kids' certificates and drawings.

The fridge had spoiled, with black water leaking out. Fortunately, they were both wearing masks and helmets, so it wasn't too bad.

They searched the place but found no usable supplies. Most of the items were regular household goods. There was some rice and oil nearing its expiration date, and the balcony had some scallions, garlic, and flowers that had long withered.

Zhou Yun and Guan Yuanfeng only collected some basic medicines from the first aid kit before heading down to the next floor.

The two units on the 28th floor were combined and turned into a gym, with a glass door at the entrance. The oak floor in the entrance corridor was stained with large patches of blood. Through the glass door, they could see the carpet, mirrors covering the walls, and various colorful fitness equipment.

A massive, colorful poster covered one wall, featuring a black deer-headed figure raising a muscular arm. "Mr. Deer Gym: Lazy People's Joy / Personal Training / Pilates New Store Opening!" the poster proclaimed. Blood splatters stained the poster.

With a bone-chilling howl, a zombie lunged out from the doorway, its hollow eyes fixed on them. Its mouth was wide open, sharp fangs exposed. Its tall, strong body was clad in fitness gear, now stained with blood. Its rotting muscles were still visibly powerful, and it even wore a sports watch on its wrist.

The stench hit them as the wind blew through the stairwell.

Zhou Yun immediately froze the zombie's feet with an Ice Prison spell and then leisurely shot ice arrows from a distance.

Guan Yuanfeng quietly commanded Comet to attack. Comet darted close to the zombie, stopped behind it, planted its paws on the ground, and bristled its black fur. Its eyes shone brightly as it opened its mouth and roared!

A golden-red flame surged out from its mouth, engulfing the zombie!

Both Guan Yuanfeng and Zhou Yun felt the heat rushing towards them.

The zombie, engulfed in flames, let out a sharp, desperate howl and almost immediately collapsed. Comet approached and sprayed another burst of flame, leaving the zombie completely still, its surface charred like charcoal.

Zhou Yun walked up, laughing. "Alright, Comet, no need to waste your powers. Save them for later."

He breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling a wave of relief wash over him. He reached out and patted Comet's head, then took a long knife and split the zombie's skull open, retrieving the crystal core inside. He examined it and said, "It's non-attributed. No wonder. It probably never went out after the disaster. But it’ll make a nice snack for Comet."

He placed it in a pitch-black leather bag and then hung it on the side of Guan Yuanfeng's wheelchair. "The psychic abilities transplant was successful."

Guan Yuanfeng's eyes showed some excitement as he reached out to caress Comet's head. "Wonderful." Comet proudly howled in response.

Zhou Yun, observing Guan Yuanfeng's expression, knew he must be feeling invigorated. If they could successfully transplant psychic abilities into a dog, there might be a chance to do the same for humans. Even if the chance was slim, it was still a glimmer of hope.

Zhou Yun checked the watch on the zombie's rotting arm. "Damn, it's fried."

Guan Yuanfeng smiled. "These sports watches are meant to be used with phones. Nowadays, only old-fashioned mechanical watches are useful."

Zhou Yun said, "Maybe when civilization rebuilds, these chips will be valuable and can be repurposed. After all, they can monitor heart rate, blood pressure, and such." In the later stages of the apocalypse, these sports watches were modified into zombie detection alarms and worked quite well.

Guan Yuanfeng pondered. If humans gained psychic abilities and new evolutionary directions, and if more survivors appeared, perhaps they could continue to develop technological civilization? A spark of hope ignited inside him.

Zhou Yun entered the empty interior. He guessed that when the zombie outbreak occurred, it was nighttime, and there were no members present, only a zombie fitness coach on duty.

Zhou Yun said, "It's convenient. We can come here for workouts in the future. With some modifications, this could be a great archery range, with enough distance and convenience for your training." The balcony was too far away after all.

Guan Yuanfeng nodded. "Yes."

On the twenty-sixth floor, a young couple had turned into zombies. With Zhou Yun's ice ring freezing them, Guan Yuanfeng and Comet used a crossbow to take one down. Zhou Yun focused on freezing the zombie's feet, allowing Guan Yuanfeng and Comet to practice.

The rain lasted for two weeks, and every day, Zhou Yun and Guan Yuanfeng cleared the building floor by floor with Comet.

In the meantime, Zhou Yun took the chance to refuel the backup generator in the elevator’s power distribution room on the rooftop, restarting the backup generator and getting the elevator operational again.

With the elevator functional, it became much easier to transport useful supplies to the empty room on the twenty-ninth floor.

During this time, Zhou Yun and Guan Yuanfeng collected various useful supplies: quilts, clothing, heaters, household appliances, rice, flour, oil, cigarettes, tea, coffee, candy snacks, mineral water, wires, tools, tissue paper, and more, categorizing and stacking them in the empty room.

Knowing they would face a long winter ahead, Zhou Yun made sure to gather space heaters, electric blankets, hot water bags, and other heating and cold-protection supplies during their sweeps.

Among the supplies, weapons such as baseball bats, drones, steak knives, cleavers, and medical supplies like anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, painkillers, and hemostatic powder were particularly precious. Zhou Yun carefully collected and labeled them, storing them in sealed boxes.

The best item they found was a small gasoline generator for camping. The owner had clearly been a solo camping enthusiast, with various tents, grills, flatbed carts, sleeping bags, windproof torches, portable oxygen absorbers, and generators—all very practical in the apocalypse.

The abundant supplies gathered during their sweeps gave them a sense of security for the long apocalypse ahead.

Their sweeps weren't without emergencies. On the second floor, a very fast zombie suddenly rushed up from the underground parking's fire door passage and lunged at Comet, but Zhou Yun quickly froze it with a wave of his hand.

The zombie's body below its head was solidly frozen in ice, yet it continued to howl helplessly, hungry after a long time. It had finally seen fresh human flesh and let out sharp, eager howls. Its frozen limbs were twisted and incomplete.

Zhou Yun swiftly passed by the zombie frozen in ice and, without hesitation, sealed the door to the underground parking with a solid ice wall to prevent more zombies from coming up.

Guan Yuanfeng snapped out of it, realizing the zombie was frozen for easy decapitation to harvest its crystal core.

Such precise control over ice...

Was it that all psychics were this strong, or was it just Zhou Yun?

Guan Yuanfeng looked at the densely sealed ice wall leading to the underground parking. With a swift motion, he sliced off the zombie's head. As it rolled with a still terrifying expression, its decayed mouth wide open, sending chills down the spine.

He looked up at Zhou Yun. It looked like combat really did improve psychic abilities.

Zhou Yun walked out of the room and said, "No other zombies. Next is the underground parking. It has two levels, complex terrain, many vehicles, and too many zombies. There are probably hundreds of zombies. Comet's fire breath could easily ignite the vehicles, making it unsuitable for us to fight freely."

Guan Yuanfeng knew Zhou Yun was right but felt a slight melancholy. "Yeah."

Zhou Yuanfeng looked at him with a serious expression, as if about to say something important. Guan Yuanfeng's heart raced. He sensed what the young doctor was about to say and had been anticipating it with excitement, his blood seeming to burn and roar in his veins.

Zhou Yun indeed solemnly said, "Guan, I want... to try transplanting psychic abilities to you."