Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Tang Teng patrolled the streets of the safe zone every day, repairing windows and often gathering intel about other safe zones.

To the survivors in the capital's safe zone, the area appeared more developed, with infrastructure growing more complete, and the number of zombies outside the safe zone declining. It seemed as though everything was improving.

Most survivors, seeing the decreasing number of zombies outside the city, believed the disaster was only temporary and that peace would soon return.

But Tang Man heard a different story from Tang Teng. The new survivors arriving in the safe zone didn't only come from other parts of the country—many had fled after their original safe zones were overrun by the undead, leaving them no choice but to flee to the capital.

From the information broadcasted, the capital’s safe zone was currently the strongest in the country. Having lost their homes twice already, these survivors didn’t want to lose a third, so they sought shelter in the most secure place available.

Since her last encounter with Ye Min at Villa No. 16, Tang Man had rarely ventured out except to tend to the crops. She had been waiting for Ye Min to show up again, but she never appeared, leaving Tang Man increasingly frustrated.

That afternoon, she sat on the sofa with Sheng Yao’s mother, crocheting cotton slippers for everyone. They had chosen thick soles, lined with pure cotton fabric, and tightly woven yarn on the outside, stuffed evenly with cotton in between. The result was a pair of slippers that looked incredibly warm.

Sheng’s mother had a good eye for aesthetics. Under her guidance, the old-fashioned slippers, made with various color combinations, turned out far from unsightly—in fact, they were quite stylish.

Originally, Sheng’s mother didn’t know how to make cotton shoes. But after coming across a book titled *Home Knitted Cotton Slippers* at the supply exchange point, she bought it and studied it, remembering that Tang Man had collected a lot of yarn stored in the wine cellar.

To her surprise, when she got home, Tang Man told her she already knew how to make cotton slippers. Before long, they found themselves knitting slippers for the whole family—Tang Man making pairs for herself and Tang Teng, while Sheng’s mother made them for herself and Sheng Yao.

"Manman, you missed a stitch here..." Sheng’s mother pointed out. "You seem distracted today. Tired of making shoes? Maybe we should do something else..."

Tang Man glanced at the half-finished slipper in her hands—indeed, she had messed up. Frustrated, she set down the yarn and crochet hook. "Auntie, I’m not feeling quite myself today. Let’s continue tomorrow."

Sheng’s mother checked the antique clock on the wall. Tang Teng and the others would be back soon. After a moment’s thought, she said, "Xiao Teng should be back any minute. He said he was craving rice pudding the other day. I’ll make some for everyone to have when they return..."

"Let me help you, Auntie!" Tang Man stood up from the sofa.

Sheng’s mother waved her off. "No need. It’s just rice pudding—it won't take long. But could you go next door and fetch A Yao? Once it’s ready, I’ll need him to use his ice superpower to flash-freeze it..."

Hearing this, Tang Man hesitated briefly but nodded. "Alright."

Rice pudding only required cooking rice with milk and sugar over low heat for a few minutes before refrigerating for two hours. With Sheng Yao around, the last step could be skipped entirely.

Ten minutes later, a bowl of smooth, milky pudding sat before Tang Man. Served in a light-blue pudding dish and topped with half a sliced strawberry, it looked delicious.

The chilled pudding was soft and chewy, the grains of rice with just the right chew. The blend of rice and milk sweetness melted in her mouth, comforting her soul with every spoonful.

"Delicious!" Tang Man couldn’t help but give Sheng’s mother a thumbs-up.

"It’s all due to the premium quality of the new rice you harvested. Everything tastes good with it..." Sheng’s mother replied modestly.

Over ten days had passed since their return from the hospital. The energy Sheng Yao recovered daily was almost entirely spent on the room full of rice plants, supplemented by some energy cores. Finally, the rice had ripened. After Zhongqiu used her superpower to dry them, Tang Man used a household rice mill to process them, making the grains ready to eat.

The new rice they’d been eating these past few days tasted far better than anything Tang Man had bought before the apocalypse.

The entire room of rice plants had yielded 100 pounds of rice—an impressive yield that satisfied Tang Man greatly.

Even the rice husks weren’t wasted, being fed directly to the chickens in the backyard.

A new batch of chicks had hatched, eagerly devouring fruit peels, pumpkin skins, and other kitchen scraps. Aside from plastic packaging, the household hardly generated any trash now.

In a few more months, they’d likely achieve complete poultry independence.

With the incubator now free, they started hatching another batch of eggs. These chicks were intended for sale in their shop, and some regular customers had already put down deposits. Before the eggs even hatched, every chick had been claimed.

"Oh, Manman," Sheng’s mother added, "this time of year usually marks the start of snowfall and dropping temperatures. Make sure to pack extra winter clothes when you go out..."

"Don’t worry, Mom. We’ve brought ample supplies this time. We could last a month outside if needed..." Sheng Yao assured her, thumping his chest.

Learning from their last trip’s space constraints, Tang Man had called in favors with Captain Bai, using crystal cores to rent a military transport truck.

Buying one outright was impossible—these sturdy, high-capacity vehicles were in short supply even for the military. The only reason they rented one to Tang Man was because she was one of the rare Level 2 Superpower Users in the safe zone.

While Tang Man sought to build good relations with the safe zone’s higher-ups, they, too, wanted to win over this highly skilled superpower user.

With everything prepared, the next three days flew by. This time, neither Sheng Yao nor Tang Teng overslept, rising early on the day of departure.

Knowing they were leaving, Sheng’s mother and Xia Qinxue woke before dawn to prepare multiple trays of buns for the road.

With temperatures dropping recently, the buns would keep for days without spoiling. Sheng’s mother had even thoughtfully portioned them into meal-sized packs using ziplock bags, making reheating over a fire or on an alcohol stove quick and easy.

Dong Mingxu had gained substantially from their last hospital trip, using his earnings to buy a two-bedroom unit in the safe zone, where he now lived with his mother and sister.

The purchase had drained his savings, so he planned to join this trip to earn more crystal cores. Strangely, though, he hadn’t shown up for breakfast that morning. Xia Qinxue said he’d drive separately to the meeting point, so Tang Man’s group set off after their meal without waiting.

Upon arrival, they found Dong Mingxu already there, though the energetic young man from the night before now looked exhausted. A middle-aged man sat in the passenger seat—his father, cheeks hollow from prolonged hunger.

Tang Man had met him once before. From the fragments of conversation she’d overheard from Xia Qinxue and the others, she’d gathered he wasn’t a good man. So she only greeted Dong Mingxu, deliberately overlooking his father.

The older man seemed annoyed but didn’t dare complain.

This mission differed starkly from their last. At a glance, the area outside the safe zone was jammed with civilian cars, stretching farther than the eye could see.

*What kind of mission could require so many people?!*

Tang Man had only known that Captain Bai’s destination this time was near the store selling solar panels that she wanted to visit, so she’d hitched a ride. She never expected such a huge mobilization.

Checking her watch, she saw they still had fifteen minutes before departure. After a moment’s thought, she tossed out, "I’m going to find Captain Bai," and stepped out of the truck.

"Hey—" Sheng Yao, who’d been about to say something, hesitated before following her.

She found Captain Bai organizing the vehicle formation.

"Captain Bai, what’s the mission this time? Why are there so many people?" Tang Man cut to the chase.

"The higher-ups plan to clear the zombies from the northern part of the city—to retake the capital from zombie control." After a few seconds of hesitation, he decided honesty was best. Even if he didn’t tell her, she’d find out soon enough.

"What?" Tang Man was shocked. Before the apocalypse, the capital’s population had topped 20 million. How could a few hundred people possibly eliminate so many zombies?

"We have no choice. Time’s running out..." Captain Bai’s face grew grim.

Not long ago, they’d captured a live Level 2 Zombie from the city for research. Before studies could begin, it evolved into a Level 3 zombie inside the facility. Had the research institute’s construction not been so sturdy, casualties would have been severe.

Only then did they realize that zombies didn’t just evolve by consuming crystal cores—they also underwent natural evolution over time.

Now, Level 2 zombies had become widespread outside, while humanity had only managed to "create" barely twenty Level 2 Superpower Users after consuming millions of crystal cores.

The gap between human and zombie strength was widening. To secure humanity’s future, the higher-ups had ordered an all-out effort to eradicate the undead before they grew even stronger.

Seeing Tang Man silent, Captain Bai pressed on, "Your combat abilities rank among the best in the entire safe zone. This operation is crucial for our future. I hope you’ll participate..."

His gaze was earnest, his tone carrying an urgent appeal.

Sheng Yao, who was following behind Tang Man, naturally overheard their conversation. He tugged at Tang Man's sleeve and whispered, "Maybe we should skip this trip. We can exchange for more diesel at the supply exchange point. As long as we have the generator, we won’t run out of power..."

Tang Man remained silent. She wrestled with herself, torn by doubt. In her past life, she had fought relentlessly for ten years to eradicate the zombies, only to meet such a fate. Did she want to go down that road again?

The faces of those she had come to know in this life flashed through her mind one by one—Sheng Yao's mother, Sheng Yao, Dong Mingxu, Dong Mingyao, Xia Qinxue, Lao Li, Lin Yan...

Seeing Sheng Yao's reluctance, Captain Bai gritted his teeth and kept pushing, "Didn’t you always want a military truck? If you agree to join this mission, your reward points will be doubled, and I’ll help you apply for the purchase rights to the military truck you’re driving now."

Tang Man’s eyes instantly lit up. "Deal!"

It was just killing zombies, and with double the points—totally worth it!

Captain Bai fell silent.