Chapter 62: Carefree South Mountain

Chapter 62: Carefree South Mountain

Snowflakes gently fell on the mountain rocks, ravines, tree boughs, and mine carts; the air was cold and dry.

Guan Yuanfeng stood under a tree, a thin layer of snow on his shoulders. His gaze was gentle as he picked up his phone. "Zhou Yun?"

Zhou Yun sat at the dining table, a bowl of noodles in front of him, just finished. The house felt unusually empty without the comet, but fortunately, the call went through. "Brother Guan, the signal is finally through. Are you busy? Am I disturbing you?"

Guan Yuanfeng, gazing at the mist-shrouded Yanling peaks in the distance, where snow-covered mountains blended into a sea of clouds like an exquisite ink painting, whispered, "No, not at all. Just taking it easy. Why were you unreachable all day?"

Zhou Yun, feeling a bit guilty, replied, "My phone ran out of battery; I didn’t notice."

Guan Yuanfeng, recalling his initial reason for trying to reach him, said, "Xiao Zhou mentioned you're thinking about going out to sea?"

Zhou Yun paused, then lightly coughed. "Well, I was considering collecting some water crystal cores, but don’t worry—it’s just a quick coastal trip, two or three days max."

Guan Yuanfeng sternly replied, "Absolutely not. It’s too risky. The weather’s unpredictable, satellites are down, and getting lost in the open sea would be disastrous. We have to respect nature."

"While in Yanling, we faced deadly mutated vines that strangle any creature passing by for food—extremely dangerous."

"As for crystal cores, I recently killed a group of frost mutated wolves and collected many. They’re different from regular water crystal cores, especially the head wolf's core, a king-grade. I've saved it for you. There are also some wood-type crystal cores and some mutated plant species of unknown viability. I'll send someone to bring them to you; don’t risk yourself."

Zhou Yun quickly caught the keywords. "You went to Yanling?"

Guan Yuanfeng replied, "Yes, the base was short on food, so I led a team to kill some mutated animals and bring them back. We found many mutated animals that were previously not much of a threat but are now extremely fierce, and their skills are unpredictable. Even psychics may not be able to protect themselves. So, you must be cautious."

Zhou Yun nodded. "Yes, I understand; I'll be careful. If it's Yanling, there are some shadow-attribute plants. Could you help me keep an eye out for them? Like Shadow Flax and Shadow Vine."

Guan Yuanfeng pondered. "If you need them, I’ll take a mission to gather them."

Zhou Yun added, "That would be fantastic, thanks! Also, if you come across any high-quality shadow crystal cores, grab those for me too."

Guan Yuanfeng replied, "They’re pretty inexpensive and not particularly useful, but they’re rare. If you need any, I can put out a request. Actually, I killed a mutated bat yesterday, and it dropped a king-grade shadow crystal core. If you're interested, I can trade it for merit points."

But instead of being happy, Zhou Yun asked sensitively, "How did you encounter a mutated bat? Was there a cave mission?"

Guan Yuanfeng lightly coughed. "We’re leading teams to clear out old mines around Yanling. Once we’ve cleared out the zombies, we’ll set up guards and re-open the mines to ease the pressure on our supplies. By the way, I saw a pool of water in the mine, and beside it, there was a patch of shadow moss, as dark as a shadow, covered with small, dense black crystals. It’s quite special. If you want, I'll dig it up and bring it back."

Zhou Yun, delighted, replied, "Keep it moist and avoid direct sunlight; these mutated plants are tough. Moss, in particular, is incredibly resilient. The Mars bases grow a lot of it."

Moss was easy to cultivate in large quantities. Since he learned that Qin Mu had shadow psychic powers, some ideas needed immediate testing. If his method worked, he’d have a reliable industry.

Pleased, he started chatting with Guan Yuanfeng. "By the way, there's also a gold mine in Yanling."

Guan Yuanfeng chuckled. "Yes... once mined, we can exchange it for supplies with other bases."

Zhou Yun asked, "Have you used it?"

Guan Yuanfeng replied, "No, keeping it safe."

Zhou Yun said, "Use it when necessary—material things are secondary; people matter most."

Guan Yuanfeng, smiling as he looked at the distant snowflakes dancing in the wind, said warmly, "If it's mine, I'll use it. If it's yours, I'll cherish it."

As Zhou Yun stood up to close the window, he felt his ears warm, a smile involuntarily tugging at his lips. Outside, thunder rumbled.

Guan Yuanfeng heard it. "Is it thundering there?"

"It looks like we're in for a heavy downpour. How’s the weather on your end?"

Guan Yuanfeng said, "Originally, it was the beginning of spring, and I even sent you a few pots of flowers, but suddenly there was a late spring cold, and it snowed in June. The weather experts say it's unpredictable, but things should improve once this snow passes."

Zhou Yun asked with concern, "Then you really need to pay attention to keeping warm. If it keeps snowing, we won’t be able to start planting, and that could lead to a serious food shortage, right?"

Guan Yuanfeng said, "Yes, we have water and plant-based psychics planting vegetables in greenhouses, cultivating potatoes and sweet potatoes, and we’re only getting some harvest. Right now, crystal cores are being prioritized for water and plant-based psychics. However, I've kept some king-level crystal cores. The crystal cores obtained from missions can be exchanged with contribution points."

Zhou Yun nodded, "Yes, be careful and don’t keep taking on such dangerous missions. Working in mines sounds really risky."

Guan Yuanfeng, with a smile but still mindful of his purpose, said, "With the current unpredictable weather and no satellites, you have to promise me not to go out to sea alone. Wait for me to come back, alright?"

Zhou Yun lightly coughed, "Well, I'll listen to you. But I already went out to sea two days ago. I found some experienced crew members, and it was fine. I even got a king-level lightning crystal core for you."

Guan Yuanfeng: "..." Sure enough, he knew he couldn’t relax. This guy always had his own ideas. Who could control him? Not a moment of peace.

He emphasized, "I'll let it slide this time, but don’t go again. Wait for me to return. I'm mainly busy with the city lord conference. After it's done, I should be able to apply for leave. Then I'll go back and accompany you to the sea. You can get as many crystal cores as you want, and I'll help you."

Zhou Yun said, "Got it. The city lord conference is scheduled for July, right? Xiao Jiang should have told you. I have an agent named Qin Sheng who sells medicine for me. He will also go with City Lord Gong from Beiming City. I’ll have him deliver the lightning crystal core to you. Let me know if there's anything else you need, and I'll pack it up for you."

Guan Yuanfeng, recalling the stranger, frowned and reminded Zhou Yun, "Is he reliable? I heard from Xiao Jiang that you let him enter and leave the residential area. These medicine formulas are precious. Why didn’t you tell me you were selling medicine? I could have arranged it for you in Central Base."

Zhou Yun laughed, "Don’t worry, Xiao Qin and his brother can be trusted. He’s also a psychic, metal-type. He's going to Central Base to look for cooperation opportunities with other base's medicine traders. I'll have to trouble you to look after him."

Guan Yuanfeng wrinkled his brows, "Alright, I'll take care of it for you."

Zhou Yun said, "Xiao Jiang also told you about the Gong family's matter, right? It's best to make early plans for the alliance here in Beiming."

Guan Yuanfeng said, "I've spoken with General Tan. General Tan knows him. For the sake of the overall situation, there is still a tendency to unite the city lords of the current bases."

"Gong Yanqing has relatively strong organizational abilities, and Beiming City is governed quite well. He has accommodated many survivors. Although he has some personal plans, he generally aligns with the alliance and is willing to give up some benefits. He’s privately reached out to General Tan, hoping to arrange early treatment at the Psychic Research Institute. Additionally, there may be plans to support his son-in-law and daughter in taking up some positions in the alliance government."

"If his illness is confirmed to be untreatable, the alliance will likely send someone to take over the governance and take care of his daughter and son-in-law."

Zhou Yun nodded, "That’s a solid plan for a smooth transition."

Guan Yuanfeng said, "Don’t worry. Since Xiao Qin is coming, will you come? I can arrange a flight for you through General Tan."

Zhou Yun paused, "I have some new medicines to test, and the rainy season might be coming. If I leave for too long, there might be problems with the mutated herbs."

Guan Yuanfeng was disappointed but understood, "I know your precious plants need attention. It's okay. I'll come back to see you as soon as the conference is over. Since Xiao Qin is coming, I'll have him bring some crystal cores back for you." Actually, with all the extreme weather lately, flying isn’t safe either.

Zhou Yun felt a bittersweet pang but steeled his heart, "Yes, you be careful too."

Guan Yuanfeng sighed deeply, "Zhou Yun, I'm very worried about you. Don’t take risks."

Zhou Yun comforted him, "Don’t worry. I have plenty of water-type crystal cores now, and I need to focus on making medicines to supply the market. I basically won’t be going out anymore."

Guan Yuanfeng felt slightly relieved, "Alright. Is Comet behaving?"

Zhou Yun laughed, "He’s being good. He’s gained some weight, and he’s still growing. He’s a very strong combat force now." It’s unknown how he’s doing with the Qin brothers though.

A flash of lightning outside signaled the heavy rain had finally started, and it was getting dark.

Guan Yuanfeng heard the sound of pouring rain from Zhou Yun's side and could almost imagine the heavy rain pouring into the Cloud Top Residential Area, bringing the fragrance of wet earth. The rooftop veggies swayed under the rain, while the flower vines were rinsed clean, creating a watercolor-like scene.

As he stood on the rooftop watching the rain and picking vegetables, the smell of garlic frying and the spicy aroma of chopped small chilies sliding into the wok often drifted up from below, followed by the sizzling sound of vegetables.

His homesickness had never been stronger. He felt a sense of melancholy and said, "It's raining, isn’t it? Go arrange your precious flowers and plants first. I'll contact you again another day." After hearing Zhou Yun’s amused reply, he hung up and slowly walked back.

The snow fell heavier, covering him completely, only sliding off as he moved. He paid no attention to it, brushing it off before walking back to the mine cave. He saw his team members returning one by one and gave a low order: "Find a sheltered mine cave, set up separate camps, and take shifts on watch."

==========

Beiming City.

In the pouring rain, the grand hall of the Four Seas Gang was adorned with gleaming chicken-wing wood furniture. A statue of Guan Yu, the God of War, stood on the offering table beside the hall, and a large plaque with the words "Four Seas Gang" hung above, giving the place an imposing air.

Sitting in the first grand teacher chair was Qin Sheng, who curiously examined a purple clay teapot on the table. Qin Mu sat in the right grand teacher chair, leisurely drinking water, observing the psychics kneeling below them.

At the front was the leader of the Four Seas Gang, Wu Jiao, also known as "Brother Jiao." His clothes and hair were singed, his face scorched red from burns. Sitting next to him was Comet, glaring fiercely at him.

Behind Wu Jiao, three psychics were chained, one with wood abilities, one with earth, and one with water, all at the second tier but with a superior status in the gang.

Following them were the gang's notable leaders and enforcers, all bound and kneeling in the outer martial arts hall. The Four Seas Gang had established both a martial arts hall and a security company in Beiming, with their headquarters located there.

It happened to be a gang meeting, where the heads were reporting their achievements, when Qin Sheng, accompanied by Comet, stormed in. With a single flame, he burned the beautiful chicken-wing wood long table, causing chaos and rounding everyone up.

Qin Sheng brought Wu Jiao and the psychics to the main hall but left the negotiations to Qin Mu.

Wu Jiao said, "We are all locals of Beiming. City Lord Gong has forbidden gangs from private fights. You stormed into our headquarters. When the Gong family questions you, your Old Street Gang will also be in trouble."

"How about this: my subordinates were at fault for occupying the Laojie Gang's territory without permission. I wasn't aware of this. I'll return the territories to you and compensate you with an additional port base. The fees from ships alone will be more than enough, alright?"

Qin Mu replied, "Who saw us fighting? We came here peacefully to have a chat with Brother Jiao. Just a friendly exchange of psychic powers, that’s all."

Qin Mu looked at the psychics kneeling below. "The Four Seas Gang sure has many psychics, but none of them can enter the City Lord's residence. Is it because the residence doesn’t accept psychics with criminal backgrounds?"

Wu Jiao coldly said, "Qin Mu, leave a way out for future encounters!"

Comet bared its teeth and shot a small flame.

Wu Jiao immediately fell silent.

Qin Mu continued, "Actually, I'm in desperate need of manpower, but none of your gang members have clean hands. I've heard that to join your gang, one must first kill someone as a token of loyalty. Is that right?"

Wu Jiao remained silent for a moment before replying, "If you need people to work, I can have all my gang members work for you." He looked up at Qin Mu with a suppressed fierce expression. "In the world of psychics, the strong command respect. For us to be willing to follow your orders is already a significant force."

Qin Mu said, "But that's not reliable enough. Who can trust you?"

Qin Mu leisurely extended his slender fingers and lightly flicked them. Instantly, countless black shadow masses appeared, dense and eerie, hovering ominously above the hall. All the captives from the Four Seas Gang instinctively looked up, unable to suppress the fear welling up in their hearts.

What kind of psychic ability was this? It looked too eerie.

Qin Mu said, "It’s said that psychics above the second tier are less susceptible to the zombie virus."

"I’m actually quite curious why it's not absolutely immune. There's a legend that the zombie virus and psychic powers share the same origin, so where is the line drawn?"

"Brother Jiao awakened his fire psychic abilities after the apocalypse and is now a high-tier third level, which is why even City Lord Gong has to be polite to you, despite knowing you've committed arson and countless bloody cases..."

"A high-tier third-level fire psychic can summon volcanoes and meteoric fire showers at will. Someone like you, a fire psychic, is generally not to be messed with... But you were run ragged by a dog, using up all your abilities. Now you're trying to stall, waiting for your psychic powers to recover, right?"

With a gentle flick of his wrist, a soft shadowy orb floated in the air and slowly descended, hovering just above Wu Jiao’s brow.

Wu Jiao warily watched the shadowy mass. "What are you going to do? You're a psychic?"

He looked at Qin Mu and suddenly realized. "You're a shadow psychic?"

Qin Mu smiled faintly. "You must resist, alright? Let's see how far I can go."

He lightly flicked his finger, and the shadowy orb flew in front of Wu Jiao's brow, swiftly submerging into his forehead in the blink of an eye.

Wu Jiao felt a sudden chill in the center of his forehead and struggled desperately. "What is this? What did you do?"

Qin Mu grinned and said, "I named this skill 'Plague Seed.'"

Wu Jiao felt the shadowy mass seep into his forehead and immediately spread wildly inside him. He quickly summoned the last of his fire psychic energy, hoping to buy time since there was a fire psychic dog watching him closely.

However, the icy energy was spreading through his entire body, making him feel as if he had sunk into a freezing sea. He couldn't wait any longer!

The fire psychic energy erupted from his lower abdomen, dispelling some of the cold, oppressive feeling, and his previously pale face regained some color.

Qin Mu observed him closely. "Indeed... third-order is third-order." He felt a bit regretful and moved his fingers slightly. The shadows above suddenly surged down like a swarm of furry black bees, a large group pouring into Wu Jiao's head.

Wu Jiao felt a freezing, terrifying force pouring in from the top of his head, like the legendary mercury torture.

The Plague Seed erupted in a shocking manner, distorting his face instantly as he let out a heart-wrenching wail.

Everyone watched in horror as his body and face changed dramatically. His skin became rigid, shifting between blue and red, and his eyeballs bulged. Even more terrifying was his desperate attempt to use his psychic powers to fight back, his face alternating between smooth and normal, then turning a sickly blue-gray.

The process was obviously painful, and the hall fell into a deathly silence. Even Qin Sheng was somewhat stunned, holding a purple sand teapot without saying a word.

Only Comet tilted its head, looking curiously at Wu Jiao writhing on the floor.

In a moment, Wu Jiao transformed into a grotesque zombie, howling with his mouth wide open but firmly bound by steel chains, only able to roll on the floor. The captives around him avoided him like the plague, even though they were also bound, crawling as far away as possible.

Comet leaped forward, opened its mouth wide, and sprayed a ball of flame.

In the blink of an eye, the howling zombie was burned to a charred corpse, and the acrid smell of burnt flesh filled the air.

The hall was silent, with only the sound of torrential rain outside, as if it were the end of the world.

A few moments later, Qin Mu let out a chuckle. "We only tried one skill. There are a few more, and the night is long; we can take our time."

Three days later, the heavy rain finally stopped.

====

Qin Mu had some time and brought the crystal cores and pearls extracted from a sea clam, along with some useful parts of the fish, and headed to Zhou Yun's place with Comet.

Comet entered the neighborhood first, and after a while, Zhou Yun came down to open the hidden side door, letting Qin Mu in.

This was Qin Mu's first visit to the neighborhood, and he was amazed by the sight of what looked like genetically enhanced plants. The peach and plum trees in the grove were heavy with ripe fruit, and the pasture grass beneath them had grown unrestrained, reaching knee-high. The soybeans were full of plump pods, and everywhere, various lush plants thrived. The rice crops by the lake were a magnificent sight.

Qin Mu said, "These will need people to harvest."

Zhou Yun replied, "It's okay; we'll get a harvester. It's a bit troublesome, but that's a future problem."

"The real challenge now is mass-producing these medicines."

Zhou Yun was somewhat helpless. After three days of seclusion, he had slowly absorbed those king-level crystal cores and continuously infused wood psychic energy into the neighborhood's psychic plants, releasing the energy from the absorbed crystal cores constantly, feeling utterly drained.

With his unrestricted spellcasting, all the crops and various plants in the neighborhood flourished, and the succulents used as medicinal raw materials grew explosively.

He used ice blades several times to cut them and put them into machines for extraction. After the city lord conference, distributors from various cities would definitely need a large supply.

However, even with machines, the process was too cumbersome.

He told Qin Mu, "Originally, I didn't expect things to develop so quickly. It wasn't a big problem for me to supply medicine to Beiming Base. But if we're going to supply all these cities at once, we'll definitely need a proper pharmaceutical production line."

"If we discuss this with the Gong family, it should be relatively convenient. We only provide semi-finished products—process the raw materials into extracts and mix them with some confusion-inducing extracts. They can handle the drying, crushing, and packaging. That could work."

Qin Mu shook his head firmly. "We can't trust the Gong family. To stay in control, we can’t depend on them. I’ll handle this. No need for you to worry."

Zhou Yun looked surprised. "Got any good ideas?" Back then, he was just trying to survive and hadn’t paid much attention to the complex relationships between these factions. Even now, he was taking things step by step. The city lord conference was a rare opportunity, but the issue of large-scale supply was becoming urgent.

Considering the current situation, Zhou Yun thought the best option was to rely on the Gong family. Sure, there were risks, but as long as the formula stayed in his hands, he’d still have the upper hand.

He led Qin Mu to the ground floor lounge and offered him a glass of water.

Qin Mu took out a map from his bag. "I came today to discuss this with you."

"You talked about recruiting wood-element cultivators to grow herbs in small plots around the city, but that wouldn’t be efficient and would take too long. At first, I considered growing herbs at our base in Jinjicun, but security there is weak, and confidentiality is a problem."

"Also, dealing with the prisoners from the Four Seas Gang is tricky. We’ve captured hundreds of their key members. We can’t kill them all, and setting them free would be a waste. The brothers fought hard, but letting them go wouldn’t serve as a deterrent."

"If we could use those strong workers to help grow herbs, wouldn’t that be perfect? Since you mentioned setting up a drug production line today, why don’t we combine both tasks and do them together?"

Zhou Yun pondered. "Have you found a good location?"

Qin Mu unfolded the map. "This idea came from capturing Brother Jiao of the Four Seas Gang. Look here." He pointed to a spot on the map. "Nanshan Prison."

"Wu Jiao escaped from this prison and started his gang from here. More than a hundred of Wu Jiao’s key followers from the Four Seas Gang were escapees from this prison."

"The location is ideal, right between Beiming and Danlin. The prison was built in the wilderness and already has a farm where prisoners cultivate crops. There are factory buildings, prison cells, office buildings, dormitories for guards, a cafeteria, and ready-made barbed wire, electric fences, and high walls, with all kinds of monitoring equipment in place. The Four Seas Gang even used it as a base. There’s a generator too."

He looked at Zhou Yun. "The captives from the Four Seas Gang that I’ve detained—I’ve already sent Xiao Sheng and his group to escort them there and lock them up. We plan to start turning the soil and planting in the next few days. All we need is tight security to control who comes and goes. Is there any place more suitable for growing and producing herbs?"