Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Tang Man didn’t dwell on the research institute visit, heading out as usual the next day to gather supplies.

This time, she only brought Sheng Yao’s mother and Zhongqiu, forcing Sheng Yao to stay home and recover from his injuries. Tang Teng and Dong Mingxu remained at Villa No. 16 to work on the yard.

They found some flower pots at a shop outside the safe zone. Tang Man had initially planned to visit the flower-and-bird market, but it was too crowded. Moreover, Captain Bai had mentioned an increase in Level 2 zombies in the city, so she decided not to venture too far to avoid risking Sheng Yao’s mother.

Searching for flower shops street by street was inefficient. They drove the bus around all day, finally gathering enough containers. Besides flower pots, they also collected foam and plastic tubs. By the end, their standard had become "whatever works," even if it looked ugly.

By the time they returned to the villa with their haul, the wall around Villa No. 16 had been repaired. The yard was now covered with three layers of tightly woven wire mesh, and the ground-floor windows were reinforced with thick metal plating.

The exterior wall of their current villa had been raised to four meters, with jagged spikes protruding outward, making it resemble a metal fortress—visibly more secure.

"Sis, I’ve got one good news and two bad news. Which do you want to hear first?" Tang Teng asked, looking somewhat guilty.

Tang Man paused while carrying a plastic basin and quickly guessed what he was about to say. "The bad news."

"We used about 5,000 crystal cores to fix the wall today, all taken from your room. Also, the safe zone announced today that they’ll no longer provide free food. Ordinary people have to help build the walls to keep receiving rations. Earth and metal superpower users are required to work four hours a day, or they’ll be fined. But they can pay with rent or crystal cores instead..."

"And the good news?" Though Tang Man felt a pang at the loss of so many crystal cores, what was spent couldn't be unspent. As for the required shifts at the safe zone, it wasn’t dangerous—she could consider it Tang Teng's part-time gig.

The current "walls" of the safe zone were just three-meter-tall metal mesh fences, the kind used for outdoor sports fields before the apocalypse. They could block Level 1 zombies without issue and barely withstand a single Level 2 zombie. But a Level 3 zombie like the one Tang Man had encountered could tear through them in one swipe, not to mention if it used its superpower—then the entire safe zone perimeter would be shredded like paper.

"The good news is Mingxu and I used our superpowers to reinforce the underground of both villas with metal. We won’t have to worry about safety at home anymore," Tang Teng said cautiously.

"I see. Come help me move this stuff!"

"Sis, aren’t you mad that I used up so many of your crystal cores?" Tang Teng stared at her intently, gauging her reaction.

"Aren’t you planning to open a high-end produce store? I’m sure you’ll earn back what you spent soon enough." Tang Man patted his shoulder and smiled, sending an inexplicable chill down his spine.

With only the four of them left in the villa, Tang Man didn’t rush to deal with the flower pots after dinner. Instead, she sent Tang Teng and Sheng Yao’s mother to the gym. With zombies outside growing stronger, they needed to improve their own strength.

Today’s training session was extended to three hours, leaving all three completely wiped out. They face-planted into bed as soon as they returned to their rooms.

The next day, everyone except the recovering Sheng Yao slept in. The three of them were only woken up when Sheng Yao knocked on their doors after Dong Mingyao and her mother had finished preparing breakfast.

After a night’s sleep, Tang Man felt completely refreshed. She got up energetically for breakfast, ready to fill the flower pots with soil and plant the seeds they had dug up the day before.

Tang Teng and Sheng Yao’s mother, however, struggled to get out of bed, their muscles screaming in agony.

Sheng Yao’s mother stretched her arms wearily. "I’m not as young as I used to be. Even a little exercise leaves me exhausted."

"Just power through this adjustment period. Once you adapt to the intensity, it’ll get easier. Increasing numbers of Level 2 zombies outside—we need to get stronger..." Tang Man reassured her. "There’s a massage gun in the gym. I’ll give you a session later—it’ll make you feel much better."

"I know. You’re just trying to make sure we can protect ourselves." After the incident at the toy factory, she had understood the massive gap between her strength and those monsters. Any pride from solo zombie kills had completely vanished.

If they had gone with Tang Teng that day, she and her son might not even have had complete corpses to bury.

After breakfast, Dong Mingxu and Tang Teng left to work on the walls. Knowing they’d be busy, Dong Mingyao and her mother stayed behind to help with planting.

The wooden racks Lao Li had made were gradually filled. Once Tang Man’s superpower recovered, she used it on the flower pots on the shelves. By the time they finished, faint green sprouts peppered the pots.

Around noon, Sheng Yao’s mother returned from an hour-long grocery run, carrying a pork leg. Her clothes were rumpled, her hair tousled, but she wore a bright smile.

"I didn’t bring enough crystal cores today, so I could only get one pork leg. Tomorrow I’ll bring more and stockpile meat and ribs before they run out... Manman, you and A Yao should share the trotters later. You’re both injured—you need to heal up right..."

Tang Man, who had just washed her hands and returned from next door, was stunned at the sight of the pork leg, which easily weighed twenty pounds. Meat was so expensive—had Sheng Yao’s mother spent all the crystal cores she’d saved up?

"Auntie, from now on, you can take crystal cores from my room when you go shopping." Tang Man hauled the pork leg to the kitchen. There was no way they could finish it in one meal—it would have to be chopped into smaller pieces and stored in the freezer.

Since power was still limited for their household, they hadn’t been using the fridge.

But now that Sheng Yao had awakened his ice superpower, while conjuring ice from nothing was tough, freezing water was easy. The freezer drawers were filled with ice he had made, keeping the meat fresh for a while.

"It’s fine. I can afford this much meat," Sheng Yao’s mother said, helping her pack the chopped pork.

"Son, do you want the trotters braised or stewed?" Sheng Yao’s mother turned to Sheng Yao, who stood silently at the kitchen door.

Sheng Yao’s gaze was distant, staring blankly ahead as if lost in thought.

"Son? Son?"

"...Mom? Did you need something?" Sheng Yao snapped out of it after being called several times.

"I asked if you wanted the trotters braised or stewed. What are you daydreaming for?"

"Doesn't matter... Tang Man, what do you want?" Once he regained focus, his eyes locked onto Tang Man again.

"Stewed," Tang Man said after a moment’s thought. Sheng Yao was so vain—if soy sauce darkened his scars, he might throw a fit.

She also pondered what dipping sauce would pair best with stewed trotters.

After finishing with the pork leg, Tang Man stayed in the kitchen to help Sheng Yao’s mother prepare lunch.

By the time lunch was ready, Tang Teng and Dong Mingxu returned, filthy with dust and carrying four large steamed buns each.

"Mingxu, is this today’s payment?" Sheng Yao weighed the bag of buns Dong Mingxu had placed on the table—they were quite substantial.

"That’s breakfast and lunch. The construction site provides two meals. This is the real payment." Dong Mingxu pulled out a small handful of crystal cores from his pocket. Sheng Yao peeked—about ten in total.

"That’s not much. You’d earn more killing zombies!" Sheng Yao’s mother frowned. She could make more than that in half a morning.

"No choice. It’s for everyone’s safety," Tang Teng said, stripping off his dirt-caked shirt before fetching a basin of water to wash up. Within moments, the water turned muddy.

"Actually, it’s not so bad. At least the buns are pure flour now, no weird additives. It gives the unemployed a way to survive..." Dong Mingxu had a different perspective. He was getting sick of the stale, rock-hard buns after eating them daily.

They quickly sat down to eat. Dong Mingxu’s family of three set up a small table by the outdoor stove, eating their buns with two stir-fried vegetables Xia Qinxue had prepared.

Sheng Yao’s mother had tried multiple times to get them to eat together, but they insisted on keeping to themselves.

Today, Sheng Yao’s mother had stewed a large pot of trotter soup in the pressure cooker. There was enough for everyone, so she gave each person a bowl—though all the meat went to Sheng Yao and Tang Man, who each received a large bowl piled high.

Tang Man figured that after finishing this bowl of trotters, she would be stuffed.

She prepared a small dish of spicy dipping sauce, put on disposable gloves, and tore the trotters into smaller pieces. Dipping the tender meat into the fiery red chili oil, she savored each bite.

Sheng Yao’s mother had painstakingly prepped the trotters—removing all the hair, searing off the sweat glands with a torch, and using plenty of aromatics to remove any off-flavors. The meat was lean, packed with collagen, and absolutely addictive when coated in the sesame-laced chili oil.

Between bites of trotters, rice, and sips of the rich broth, Tang Man demolished half her portion in no time.

Tang Teng, seeing how much she was enjoying it, reached over to steal a piece. After one taste, his eyes lit up, and his chopsticks kept darting back to her bowl.

Sheng Yao looked on jealously. "Tang Man, can I try some too?"

Before she could answer, Sheng Yao’s mother cut in, "Your wounds haven’t healed yet. No heat for those wounds."

"Tang Man got hurt too," Sheng Yao felt it was unfair.

Tang Man took a moment to push up her sleeve and show everyone the wound that had already started scabbing. "My ability level is higher than yours, so my injuries heal way faster."

"Mom, how about giving me some soy sauce? This meat looks so bland and gross..." Sheng Yao made another request.

"Eating soy sauce will leave scars," Tang Man glanced up at him with a disapproving expression.

Seeing her concern, Sheng Yao immediately backed down and lowered his head to eat obediently.

Tang Man hadn’t experienced the feeling of eating meat heartily in a long time, so this meal made her totally stuffed. After eating, she plopped down in the chair, rubbing her full belly to digest.

Her ears perked up—she thought she heard something cracking. Zhongqiu put down its toy ball and ran to the incubator, crouching low to stare inside.

Tiny "peep" sounds came from the incubator.

Tang Man counted the days and realized it was indeed the day for the chicks to hatch. She stood up from the chair and crouched beside the incubator with Zhongqiu.

Carefully opening the incubator, she saw five fluffy little yellow chicks chirping inside.

"The chicks have hatched!" Tang Man called out to everyone in the living room, and they all put down what they were doing to gather around.

"So fluffy and cute!" Tang Teng couldn’t resist poking one of the little fluffballs. "So soft!"

"Since they’ve hatched successfully, let’s move them out and start incubating the next batch. I’ve saved up quite a few eggs for hatching lately..." Sheng’s mother also looked pleasantly surprised.

"Then I’ll make a nest for them first. Once they’re a bit bigger, we can mix them with the chickens in the backyard." Tang Man picked up the ever-watchful Zhongqiu and headed toward the basement garage. "Zhongqiu, from now on, they’re your little siblings. Don’t think about eating them, okay?"

She tapped its forehead lightly with her finger.

"Meow~" Zhongqiu rubbed against her finger and let out a soft, cooing sound.

Tang Man found a large box, layering it with several layers of plastic bags to keep it dry, followed by fermented bacteria for decomposing chicken droppings, and then a thick layer of wood shavings left over from Lao Li’s carpentry work.

The bacteria for decomposing waste were something Tang Man had exchanged for with crystal cores at the supply exchange point. The variety of supplies there was very comprehensive, but the only issue was the crazy high prices—especially for niche items. A small bag of bacteria had cost her 80 crystal cores.

Because of this, unless something was particularly hard to find, Tang Man would rather go find it herself.

At the top of the box, she set up a wire frame to hold an electrified light bulb.

The tungsten bulb would generate heat when powered, providing warmth for the newly hatched chicks.

Sheng Yao had followed her at some point. Seeing she was done, he quickly grabbed the box and carried it toward the living room.

"I’ll move it for you. You should rest."

Tang Man shook her head helplessly, brushing herself off, picked up Zhongqiu, and followed.

Once the nest was ready, Sheng’s mother carefully transferred the chicks from the incubator. For the first two days after hatching, the chicks could only drink warm water, so Tang Man poured a small dish of warm water and placed it in a corner of the box.

From then on, a warm golden glow lit up a corner of the living room, accompanied by frequent "cheep-cheep" sounds. Everyone in the villa eagerly awaited the chicks’ growth, anticipating the day they’d give them more to eat.

In the afternoon, they took two recharged batteries to a print shop. After powering up the computer and printer, Tang Teng used Word to create a basic flyer and ran off thousands of copies until the printer ran out of ink.

After a brief discussion, they decided to name their shop "Manman Grocery Store." Since deciding to open the store, Tang Teng had made many plans.

He believed their household had many items they could sell next door—like the incubator, which could hatch 30 eggs at a time. Once the chicks and ducklings they hatched grew a bit, they could sell them in the store.

In these times, who wouldn’t want to raise a hen or duck that could keep laying eggs?

There were also the fabrics and silk cotton they had brought back. Selling them as linings would fetch a much better price than selling them to the supply exchange point. Plus, they wouldn’t have to make them themselves—hiring Lin Yan was very cheap.

After printing the flyers, they returned to the job center and hired a few people to post them all over the safe zone. News of a new store offering stable food supplies—aside from the supply exchange point—quickly spread throughout the safe zone.

During this time, there had been wood superpower users selling vegetables, but their supplies were scarce and inconsistent. Common vegetables from before now had to be grabbed if you were lucky.

Though Tang Teng had written on the flyer that the first three days would have a 20% discount, the prices were still pretty pricey for ordinary people—something they couldn’t afford daily, just for special occasions.

The opening was set for three days later, by which time Sheng Yao would have mostly recovered and could help with simple tasks in the store.

For the next three days, Tang Man was basically camping out in Villa No. 16. Aside from arranging shelves and decorations on the first floor, she spent her time using her superpower to speed up the growth of vegetables on the second and third floors and in the yard.

With the number of people eating in the villa increasing, Tang Man picked a room on the second floor and had Tang Teng build a massive metal planter covering the entire space. After filling it with soil, she had Stripes, Scissors, and Red Comb fill it with water to grow rice.

Unfortunately, the three weren’t very efficient. Even after consuming over 200 crystal cores, the water they produced wasn’t enough. Tang Man had to put the rice project on hold for the time being and let them take their time.

Combining wood superpower and earth superpower made planting vegetables a piece of cake. After Dong Mingxu used his superpower, the soil was ready in seconds. He even uprooted the flowers and plants in his own yard to plant corn and sweet potatoes.

Tang Man worried about mutant plants appearing, so she helped check on them twice.

The relatives living in his house were very invested in the crops. They had already claimed ownership of each plant as soon as they sprouted. By the time the crops matured, Dong Mingxu would likely have to engage in another power struggle with them to protect the food.

Since the safe zone stopped providing free food, Dong Mingxu’s relatives had no choice but to start pulling their weight. However, the skills they’d learned before the apocalypse were useless now, leaving them no choice but to join others in working on the compound's walls.

But they only worked half a day, barely enough to get by.

Reportedly, Dong Mingxu and his family had repeatedly hinted—both subtly and directly—that the relatives should pay rent, but they all pretended not to hear or changed the subject. Dong’s father even got embarrassed and scolded the three of them.

Xia Qinxue had broken down about it in front of Sheng’s mother several times.

Tang Man made a wooden sign and placed it at the entrance of Villa No. 16. Sheng’s mother used a brush and paint to write "Manman Grocery Store" in bold, beautiful brush strokes—she had practiced calligraphy as a child, giving the words a unique charm.

Small wooden arrows were placed from the neighborhood entrance all the way to Villa No. 16, so anyone who found their neighborhood would easily locate the store.

Tang Man even asked Captain Bai about applying for a permit. He said there was nothing like that before but still managed to get her a handwritten one stamped with the safe zone’s official seal.

The grocery store would only operate for half a day. In the mornings, Tang Man and Dong Mingyao’s mother would run the store, while Sheng Yao and Sheng’s mother handled housework at home. Tang Teng and Dong Mingxu would work on the walls.

The afternoons were their own time. If the weather was good, they could go out to gather supplies or kill zombies. If not, they could stay home chatting, snacking, or playing cards—whatever they felt like.

Tang Man believed that even with a stable income, Tang Teng and the others still needed to go out and kill zombies.

Though survivors had been clearing zombies near the safe zone, based on her past life’s experience, a siege by zombies above level three was bound to happen. They had to prepare for future crises in advance.

Hiring Dong Mingyao and her mother was Tang Teng’s idea. Tang Man thought they were trustworthy and didn’t object.

However, Xia Qinxue seemed more and more quiet lately. Tang Man asked her twice but was brushed off both times, so she let it drop.

After all, everyone had secrets they didn’t want to share.

Three days passed in a flash. Tang Man spent hundreds of crystal cores to fill half the shelves on the first floor of Villa No. 16. All the fruits and vegetables in both villas had been accelerated to maturity, ready for restocking if sales ran high.

On the fourth morning, everyone woke up early. Since it was their first day, Tang Teng and Dong Mingxu postponed their wall-building work to the afternoon, as did Lin Yan.

After a quick breakfast of boiled noodles, they opened the doors of Villa No. 16—officially marking their grand opening.

Perhaps they opened too early, as there wasn’t a single customer outside. The seven of them (plus the cat) stood in the living room, staring at each other in silence.

"Since there’s nothing to do now, let’s go to the yard and register our fingerprints," Tang Man broke the silence.

Although the yards of Villas 16 and 18 are connected, Tang Teng installed a fingerprint-locked gate in the middle to prevent customers from accidentally entering Villa 18. The lock was sourced from outside, and closing the gate requires fingerprint input to access Villa 18 from Villa 16.

Previously, with no outsiders in the villa, the gate had always been left open, so apart from Tang Teng and Dong Mingxu, who installed it, no one else had registered their fingerprints.

After struggling with fingerprint registration for a while, there were still no customers, so the group moved chairs into the living room to chat.

Everyone except Tang Man looked uneasy, worried that half the house’s fruits and vegetables would go unsold and spoil.

The six of them waited anxiously in the living room until 7:30 a.m., when finally, an elderly woman with a vegetable basket appeared at the door.

Sweating and panting from exhaustion, she complained the moment she stepped inside, "Your shop is way too far! It took me an hour and a half to walk here."

Only then did the car-owning group realize this wasn’t pre-apocalypse anymore. Most people in the safe zone could only travel on foot, with bicycles being a rarity. Many would need one or two hours just for a round trip.

"Granny, what would you like? We’re offering a 20% discount for our grand opening today," Dong Mingxu greeted her with a smile.

The old woman circled the entire room, startled by the prices on the shelves. But the variety of goods was impressively complete, resembling a pre-apocalypse supermarket—unlike the ration distribution centers, where only cabbage and potatoes were available, and even those required scrambling to obtain.

Under the watchful eyes of the six, the old woman eventually picked a bunch of chives and three ripe red tomatoes. She was quick-witted, insisting that the dirt on the chives added weight and persuaded Sheng Yao into throwing in a few scallions and a piece of ginger for free.

Tang Man remained uninvolved the whole time, quietly petting her cat behind the register.

After seeing the old woman off, Sheng Yao wiped sweat from his forehead. "I had no idea doing business was this hard! Are all customers going to be like this?!"

Glancing at the 12 crystals in the drawer, Tang Man suggested, "How about putting up a 'No Haggling' sign and offering free scallions, ginger, or garlic for purchases over a certain amount of crystals?"

Even Tang Man had haggled at markets before the apocalypse, but spending half a day bargaining with customers daily would make her prefer selling cheaply to the exchange points.

"Let’s try it Sister Manman’s way first!" Dong Mingyao quickly chimed in.

During the earlier exchange, she could only watch helplessly as her brother and Sheng Yao dealt with the old woman. With her mother’s condition making social interactions difficult and Tang Man being reserved, the shop’s future would largely depend on her. If every customer haggled like that, she’d be overwhelmed!

"I’ll go get paper and pens," Sheng Yao's mother agreed that Tang Man’s idea was worth trying.

After putting up "Fixed Prices" signs in prominent spots by the door and walls, noticeably fewer customers tried bargaining.

As time passed, more customers arrived steadily, with almost everyone assisting one or two customers at a time while Tang Man stayed at the counter managing transactions.

The promotion—free scallions, ginger, or garlic for purchases over 20 crystals (the post-apocalyptic currency)—meant those items were quickly depleted, forcing Tang Man to step out twice to regrow more.

By 11 a.m., all the fruits and vegetables from both villas were sold out, along with a good portion of the silk-lined decorative items. If Tang Man hadn’t set aside some vegetables in the kitchen, they’d have had just rice for lunch.

After hanging a "Sold Out Today" sign outside, Tang Man closed the shop for the day.

Exhausted, everyone collapsed into chairs.

"Tang Man, you’re really foresighted. If we had to keep this up all day, I’d never manage," Sheng Yao sighed.

Tang Man handed out the day’s wages to everyone except Tang Teng, giving each a little extra. "We made more today, so consider the bonus a red envelope."

Dong Mingxu, who helped with tilling the soil, earned 40 crystals daily, while the other four received 20—unusually good pay for ordinary jobs in the safe zone.

Sheng Yao and his mother initially refused, since they only helped with watering and harvesting in the evenings, but Tang Man insisted on clear accounts even among family, so they modestly accepted a symbolic amount of crystals.

"Rest up. I’ll cook next door. To celebrate our grand opening success, we’re having a feast today!" Tang Man announced, cradling Zhongqiu.

The previously dozing cat perked up instantly, eyes wide and neck stretched as it stared at her.

"Meow~" The little cat urgently reminded its owner that it, too, deserved to "celebrate."

Tang Man understood immediately. She kissed its head, smiling softly. "Got it. Bonus freeze-dried chicken treats and five dried fish strips today."

"Mew~" Zhongqiu happily pressed its paws against her shoulders, rubbing its face against hers.

"Sis, you spoil it too much. A cat shouldn’t eat that much," Tang Teng grumbled, eyeing the cat’s affectionate behavior. No matter how many treats he offered, it only let him touch its paws when in a good mood.

The cat ignored the annoying human, continuing to cuddle its beloved owner.

"She’s pregnant, of course she needs extra nutrition," Dong Mingxu suddenly remarked from the sidelines.

Tang Man: "..."

Tang Teng: "..."

Zhongqiu: Meow?

Under everyone’s silent stares, Dong Mingxu frowned. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Zhongqiu is male," Tang Man stated flatly.

"And neutered," Tang Teng added.

"Then that swaying belly... is just fat?"

"It’s a primordial pouch," Tang Man explained, though it was indeed excess skin and fat—but even cats had their dignity.

She discreetly assessed the weight of Zhongqiu in her arms. Had it gained more weight despite her recent efforts to control its diet?

Dong Mingxu: "..."

Though Tang Man had claimed she’d handle lunch, everyone recovered enough to help in the kitchen. The celebratory meal featured seven dishes and a soup—a rare post-apocalyptic feast even for meat-eaters like them.

The table was laden with pork rib and corn soup, red-braised pork, sliced beef stir-fry, fish head with chopped chilies, sweet corn pancakes, savory steamed egg custard, sautéed string beans and eggplant, and blanched lettuce with oyster sauce.

Sheng Yao's mother even retrieved some bottled drinks from the wine cellar for everyone to enjoy with the meal.

"Let’s toast—to the shop’s success and early closings every day!" Dong Mingxu raised his glass cheerfully after pouring drinks for all.

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

After a few sips, everyone’s attention turned to the dishes. The aromas while cooking had already made mouths water.

The red-braised pork and sliced beef stir-fry were instant hits. The beef, thinly sliced and marinated, was tender and spicy, perfect with rice.

The red-braised pork, coated in a rich brown glaze, was so tender it fell apart at the slightest touch, the fat melting on the tongue while the lean meat remained juicy.

Anticipating their popularity, Tang Man had prepared two pounds of pork and a pound and a half of beef—yet both dishes disappeared quickly, with the leftover sauces mixed into rice.

The meal stretched over an hour as everyone ate and chatted.

Afterward, they immediately began working, clearing withered plants and replanting in the neighboring villa.

Tang Man had left ripe fruits on the plants, as today’s sales showed freshly picked produce was more popular. With mornings typically slow, they could harvest and organize then.

After spending hundreds of crystals to speed up growth, the day’s planting was done.

Dong Mingyao and her mother went home, Dong Mingxu and Tang Teng headed to wall repairs, while Tang Man emptied the cash drawer into a small box and retreated to her room to count the day's crystal earnings.

The shiny crystal cores piled up into a small hill on the carpet, with Tang Man sitting in the middle, counting her treasures one by one like a hoarding dragon surrounded by gold.

Sheng Yao sat opposite her, propping his chin on his hand as he watched her, his eyes curved like peach blossoms, filled with obvious amusement.

Although Tang Man had been avoiding direct contact with him these past few days, trying to keep her distance, this guy clung to her like a sticky plaster—no matter how cold she acted, he always found a way to stick by her side, grinning all the while. Faced with that expression, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything harsh.

Tang Man counted several times. After deducting the cores used to hire others and miscellaneous costs, they had actually earned over 3,000 cores in just one morning!

Her grocery store sold common vegetables like potatoes and corn at the same price as the ration exchange, but other rare fruits and vegetables were priced at 1.5 times the market rate. Even so, they flew off the shelves—by the end of the day, when stock ran low, survivors snapped up whatever remained.

Still, every vegetable she sold was guaranteed to be fresh and delicious.

Though she heard daily about how difficult life was for ordinary people in the safe zone—how without the free food provided by the authorities, survival was nearly impossible—she hadn’t expected so many people to still have cores. Just the first day had already brought in such a huge haul.

"How much did we make?" Sheng Yao casually pulled out the small carry-on suitcase she used to store cores from the cabinet and began helping her gather the ones on the floor.

"Over 3,000. We won’t have as much stock tomorrow, so it’ll probably be less..." Tang Man didn’t hide it from him—everyone had seen how much they sold today.

"If you want to grow more, I can help," Sheng Yao said seriously, his tone earnest as he looked into her eyes.

"No, this is plenty..." Tang Man refused without hesitation. Seeing him still staring, she quickly changed the subject. "If you’re really that free, go practice the Military Boxing I taught you in the gym. Soon, I plan to go to the city center with Captain Bai and the others—don’t slow us down when the time comes..."

"Why go to the city center?"

Dong Mingxu and the others, who worked daily on wall repairs, had extensive connections and knew the latest news. From them, he’d learned that the city center was becoming increasingly dangerous. Many teams that ventured there never returned, and those who barely escaped suffered heavy casualties.

Now, aside from official teams, almost no one dared to go to the city center.

Over a month into the apocalypse, the authorities had organized at least seven or eight large- and small-scale rescue ops across the city. Those who hadn’t made it to the safe zone by now—their fate was clear.

Despite this, the safe zone continued expanding, with survivors surpassing a million. People still traveled from all over the country, crossing thousands of miles to seek refuge—even if the best they could hope for was a 2*1-meter "bed" in a basement.

The unlucky ones didn’t even get a basement spot, only a place in an outdoor tent.

"The villa’s electricity isn’t enough. I want to go to the city center to find some solar panels to boost our power," Tang Man explained.

Just keeping the chicks warm ate up 2.4 kWh a day, not to mention occasionally charging phones, lamps, and powering kitchen appliances.

The kitchen’s propane tanks were also running out fast—the second one was nearly empty after just a month. With enough electricity, they could switch to induction stoves and electric rice cookers!

Tang Man had asked Sheng’s mother before—the villa had central air conditioning, which she used to run in previous years. But central AC consumed too much power, so they definitely couldn’t use it this year.

Tang Man had exchanged some cores at the supply depot for a few hydronic blankets, which didn’t dry out the skin like electric blankets and supposedly retained heat well. Running them for a few hours before bed would use about 1 kWh for all four people combined overnight.

Every aspect of their daily lives relied on electricity. Plus, her superpower had evolved, so she planned to strike while the iron’s hot, when Level 2 zombies weren’t too numerous, to venture to the city center.

"Can’t we just get more batteries? Or ask the supply exchange if they have solar panels..." Sheng Yao frowned. After what happened last time, he instinctively didn’t want her going to densely populated areas.

"I already asked—they don’t have any. We’ll have to collect them ourselves..." Tang Man closed the suitcase’s combination lock and stood up. "Let’s go downstairs. The chicken coop hasn’t been cleaned today, and Auntie’s worked all morning—we can’t leave all the work to her."

Once Sheng Yao learned about the upcoming trip to the city center, he started thinking about how to improve his offensive capabilities. At Tang Man’s reminder, he quickly got an idea—turning his attention to Scissors, Stripes, and the strutting rooster in the yard, Red Comb.