Chapter 25

Chapter 25

"We've rested enough, let's keep going!" Tang Man said to the group sitting on the ground.

The nature park was filled with mutated plants, making bus travel nearly impossible. They had to rely on walking, and with the need to trade for weapons at the safe zone, they had to hurry.

Xiao Wu noticed that the four of them, along with the cat, took down mutant plants several times faster than a full cleanup squad could. This efficiency was largely due to their ability to replenish their superpowers with crystal cores and Tang Man's skill in quickly locating mutant plants using her abilities.

Tang Man timed everything perfectly. After estimating the time, she decided to call it a day and led the group to the safe zone.

Thanks to Xiao Wu, they entered through a special channel, bypassing the usual quarantine procedures.

Inside the safe zone, chaos reigned. Tents dotted the landscape every few feet, sewage flowed freely, and garbage littered the ground. Survivors watched them hungrily and desperately, only restrained by the presence of the soldier escorting them. In just a few days, the people's spirits had drastically deteriorated—faces showed numbness, despair, grief, or madness. The entire safe zone was oppressive.

Even the usually talkative Sheng Yao fell silent, finally understanding the true devastation the disaster had brought to their country.

Since waking up, Tang Man had been leading him in zombie kills and gathering supplies, making him feel that even in the apocalypse, as long as he worked hard and stayed safe, life wouldn’t be too different—just without the internet, racing, or going out, and a bit more exhausting.

Now, he realized that without Tang Man, he and his mother might have ended up like these survivors, brawling over crumbs of food and water. The idea of throwing dinner parties like before the apocalypse was unthinkable.

His gaze softened as he looked at Tang Man, though she didn't notice—she’d seen such grateful looks many times in her past life.

Tang Man scanned the tents, counting the number of survivors in her head, her expression grave.

At the trading post, she traded only a fifth of their crystal cores for three guns and some ammunition.

"Sis, shouldn’t we get more?" Sheng Yao asked, confused. Hadn’t they worked all day to get more firepower?

"The rest of the cores have other uses," Tang Man replied, packing the bullets into her bag.

Seeing her decision, Sheng Yao didn’t press further.

Xiao Wu hesitated throughout the exchange, but ultimately stayed silent.

After a quick crash course on guns, Tang Man ignored Xiao Wu’s lingering unease and led the group home.

"Sis, are we coming back tomorrow?" Sheng Yao was practically drooling over his new weapon.

Tang Man shook her head. "No rush. Let’s stay home for a few days and finish fortifying the perimeter first."

She’d assumed it would take time for the authorities to establish the safe zone, but they’d acted swiftly, gathering survivors much faster than expected.

With so many people, the safe zone would inevitably attract hordes of zombies. Securing the villa was a priority.

Sheng Yao agreed, knowing they could always exchange for weapons later as long as they had crystal cores.

By the time they returned, it was dark. Sheng Yao’s mother, worried sick, was waiting in the yard with two rabbits and a chicken, on edge.

"You’re finally back! No problems out there, I hope?" She pulled her jacket tighter against the chilly autumn wind.

"No streetlights slowed us down," Tang Teng explained.

"Good, you’re safe. Go wash up—I’ll heat dinner." Relieved they were unharmed, she headed to the kitchen.

Dinner was mostly veggies again, but her cooking made even simple dishes delicious.

Spicy cabbage, stir-fried shredded vegetables, and minced pork eggplant vanished quickly as the three dug in, starved after working all day.

"Rest for an hour, then meet in the gym. Dress warmly," Tang Man told the two sprawled on the sofa, eyeing the cactus on the table.

She’d noticed their close combat was decent, but they were clumsy—helpless against long-range plant attacks. By day’s end, each had ruined two jackets.

Even with their stockpile, they'd run out fast at this rate of destruction.

Remembering Tang Teng’s ordeal after Tang Man’s last "dress warmly" warning, the two bolted upstairs to layer up.

Shaking her head, Tang Man headed to the backyard to fill pots with the day’s collected soil.

An hour later, Tang Teng and Sheng Yao were screaming their heads off in the gym as a waist-high cactus shot spines at them. Tang Man ignored the chaos, focused on practicing Military Boxing.

Alarmed by the screams, Sheng Yao’s mother peeked in, saw both men suffering equally, and quietly closed the door to prepare late-night snacks—she wasn't about to make Tang Teng cook again after today.

———

The backyard fish pond was dug, bricks and cement set. Once the cement dried and it got sealed, it’d be ready for fish.

Tang Man got up at dawn, mixed the dough, then headed to Zhou Xing’s "base" to rouse the six workers.

They were dead to the world, oblivious as Tang Man used Pothos to unlock the door and wander the villa.

"Get up. You have two days to finish my villa’s wall," she said, whipping the covers off Zhou Xing with Pothos.

Bleary-eyed, Zhou Xing grabbed at empty air, then jolted up, about to curse—until he saw Tang Man. The curses died in his throat.

"Tang-jie, how’d you get in? You said the wall wasn’t urgent..." He rubbed sleep from his eyes.

"I changed my mind. Got a problem?" She arched a brow. "Be there by 6:30. Don’t be late."

Without waiting for a response, she left.

Zhou Xing, realizing his buddies were still asleep and the door had been unlocked, broke into a cold sweat.

By the time Tang Man returned, the dough was ready. She prepared three fillings—sugar, mushroom-vegetable, and pork—and made huge buns. Extra ones would be lunch for the workers.

"Manman, why so early? I was handling breakfast. You’re already working so hard..." Sheng Yao’s mother was surprised to find her in the kitchen.

"Went to bed early, woke up early," Tang Man smiled. "Could you feed the chickens and ducks with the veggies in the basket?"

The buns, each fist-sized, steamed quickly, filling the kitchen with the smell of fresh bread.

Tang Teng and Sheng Yao came down to milk and buns—Sheng Yao chose sugar, his mother mushroom-vegetable, while Tang Man and Tang Teng both went for pork.

After breakfast, Zhou Xing’s crew arrived. Tang Man joined them with Tang Teng and Sheng Yao to work on the wall.

At noon, a military jeep pulled up to the villa. Neighbors, spotting the soldiers, rushed out, eager for news.

Xiao Wu and several camo-clad soldiers knocked.

"Xiao Wu, what’s this about...?" Sheng Yao’s mother asked, bewildered by the group.

"Auntie, we’re here to see Tang-jie. Is she home?" Xiao Wu grinned widely.

"You're looking for Manman? Come on in, I'll go get her—she's busy in the backyard!" Mrs. Sheng welcomed the group into the villa and invited them to sit down.

Tang Man, hearing Mrs. Sheng's voice, removed her work gloves and walked into the living room covered in dust.

"Captain Bai, what brings you here?" Cutting the small talk, Tang Man went straight to the point with the leader.

Seeing her directness, the man didn’t beat around the bush either. "Here’s the thing. Xiao Wu told us you can precisely locate mutant plants and even use crystal cores to replenish your superpower. We need to know how you do it. This is crucial for our nation’s efforts to eliminate zombies, eradicate mutant creatures, and rebuild our homeland..."

"Of course, we’re not asking for nothing. Do you think these crystal cores are enough in exchange for these two methods..." He gestured for a teammate to fetch a suitcase from the car, which turned out to be packed with a full suitcase of crystal cores!

Tang Man agreed almost without hesitation. The method of using crystal cores had originally been spread from the Capital Safe Zone in her past life—though back then, it wasn’t discovered until two months into the apocalypse.

Truthfully, even if they hadn’t brought the crystal cores, she would have shared the method if they’d simply asked. Spreading it early would strengthen humanity’s power, allowing people to eliminate more zombies while they were still weak in the early stages of the apocalypse. Perhaps that could hasten the end of this nightmare and restore peace sooner.