Chapter 125

Chapter 125

Finally, the team stopped at an open-air parking lot near the commercial district.

The parking lot still had many wrecked cars, indicating it had once been quite busy.

After clearing the nearby zombies, Zhao Lei and Lu Ningzhou simply used their respective Superpowers to wrangle the wrecked cars into a circle as cover, throwing together a makeshift shelter inside. That gave them an extra buffer.

By the time they finished disguising the area, pitching tents, and installing alarms, it was exactly seven o'clock. The sun had dipped below the horizon, but the sky was still twilight-lit.

They had only eaten energy bars/gels all day, which tasted like cardboard, but no one felt particularly hungry now.

After some discussion, everyone unanimously decided to cook a pot of instant noodles and pair it with various ready-to-eat hotpots for dinner—as a comfort meal.

The hot weather made people crave bold, savory flavors, and pairing them with ice-cold beers, beverages, or fresh fruits would be perfect.

And they had all of that.

The nine of them gathered together, chatting as they ate, inevitably bringing up the special crystal core Jiang Nian had obtained earlier.

Young Master Liao, never one to miss a storytelling opportunity, dramatically retold their trip down to the pharmacy storage.

Then it was Jiang Nian’s turn to explain the Medium Crystal Core:

"Given that it can both absorb crystal core energy and redistribute it, it’s essentially a perfect energy conduit."

"The energy extracted through this medium has no attribute distinctions—it’s raw, unaltered power. That’s why zombies can absorb it regardless of type."

Cheng Jing cut in at the right moment:

"In other words, with such a medium, we can easily extract pure energy from stable crystal cores. After conversion, it can be used as a power supply—for example, to generate electricity."

"Oh..."

"Hiss..."

"No shit!"

"That’s possible too!"

"Damn, that’s fucking brilliant!"

"Hell yeah!"

The penny dropped, and everyone nodded in realization:

No need to overthink it—just knowing that crystal core energy could be refined and converted into electricity was enough.

Putting aside other benefits, given the current scale of the South City Base, this thing alone could completely achieve energy independence.

With sufficient power, the base could develop faster and better, allowing infrastructure and resources to recover and operate under the pressure of disaster.

Moreover, as Cheng Jing had mentioned, the base’s progress in researching soil purification agents was making great strides.

Survivors were also encouraged to use various methods to improve and utilize barren lands.

There was no need to worry about Jiang Nian’s Purification Superpower being forcibly confiscated by the authorities—they could freely apply it in planned farmlands without looking over their shoulders.

If all these aspects came together, the South City Base could soon evolve from a makeshift refuge into one of the true beacons of recovery for humanity’s homeland.

This is what most major bases are working toward right now.

"..."

At first, only Jiang Nian and Cheng Jing were pumped, but now the entire team was thrilled after understanding the full picture.

Although Jiang Nian presented it as a theoretical speculation, they firmly believed it was feasible.

No explanation needed—they just knew Brother Nian had to be right.

Zhou Rongbin thought for a moment and suddenly said:

"Remember that cannibal dude at the chemical plant? He got 6,000 points for a dual-attribute mutated crystal core. This Medium Crystal Core might just be humanity’s future. How many points do you think we’ll get from the base?"

"Hmm..."

Jian Cheng rubbed his chin and first threw out a conservative guess:

"Double, at the very least."

Tang Yi shook his head:

"Just doubling is too little. They’re not even in the same ballpark."

Liao Yu gestured with his fingers:

"I’m thinking ten times, minimum. If they lowball us, we’ll just keep it for ourselves."

Since the base has clearly stated its willingness to trade for crystal cores of different grades, there’s no need to play the emotional card.

The base experts know damn well what this is worth better than anyone.

Zhao Lei smirked but kept quiet, clearly agreeing with his opinion.

Jiang Nian thought it over and said:

"I think even ten times is too little. The freakier the crystal core, the rarer it gets. Something that can serve as an energy medium while also weakening zombies’ strength might be the only one of its kind in the country at this stage."

Compared to the last mutated crystal core, ten times would only be 60,000 points. Think outside the box—shoot for the stars.

Lu Ningzhou nodded beside him:

"I agree with Brother Nian."

This bad boy could turn zombie crystal cores into usable energy sources. If put up for open bidding, big bases would go to war over this.

Huang Qian had a crazy idea for zombie recycling:

"With this medium, the base could find a place to farm zombies for energy extraction while conducting various experiments—a total win-win."

Hearing this, the team instantly switched gears:

"Hell yeah..."

"Brother Nian’s got a point—Sister Qian’s onto something big."

"We gotta try this."

"..."

After they had discussed enough, Cheng Jing finally smiled and said:

"Don't worry. That dual-element mutant core last time was a peace offering for us. Southern City Base won’t be stingy. If they offer too little, I’ll personally go talk to Department Head Wang."

He paused slightly at this point, then looked at Huang Qian and added:

"The method Huang Qian mentioned, I’ll also bring it up with the higher-ups. Whether it’s implemented will be up to the base, since it requires mass zombie farming."

After what happened with Xiao Ya and the previous mutated crystal core, he trusted Southern City Base and the officials, so there was nothing to worry about.

As for Huang Qian’s idea, he and Jiang Nian had also considered it—theoretically, it was entirely feasible:

Capture zombies and confine them in a centralized location, install a power converter there, and regularly bring in the catalyst to drive the device, siphoning energy from the whole area.

No need to get close, ensuring safety. When their core energy runs low, the zombies’ aggressiveness would weaken, and they could observe what changes would occur under such a cycle.

The extracted energy could be compressed and stored in containers, or they could even set up a power station near the zombie pen.

He'd write up a proposal and personally submit it to Department Head Wang.

By the end of the discussion, everyone was all on the same page. Jiang Nian grinned, flashing his white teeth:

"We’ll just throw out some ideas and leave the rest to Brother Jing to handle, heh."

The others nodded in agreement.

"..."

Today, their team had made good kills in a tough fight, leaving everyone covered in a funky smell, so a bath was a must.

Lu Ningzhou used his Earth Superpower to create an open-air wash area, while Liao Yu and Cheng Jing worked together to thaw ice for water and fill several buckets. Jiang Nian then brought out the toiletries.

By the time everyone had taken turns washing up, night had fully fallen.

Compared to yesterday’s resting spot, this area, though zombie-free, was noisier.

Ravens and other animals were getting restless in the darkness—perhaps because the food they cooked today smelled too enticing.

Zombies were only sensitive to the scent of human flesh and loud noises. In such a sparsely populated area, keeping a bit of distance and hiding would suffice.

But animals were sharper, tracking down all kinds of scents.

Sure enough, after a wolf’s howl pierced the night sky, Tang Yi, who was piloting a drone for aerial patrol, warned his teammates:

"Everyone, wolves incoming."