Chapter 53

Chapter 53

"Chengzi, didn't you sleep well last night? Yikes, look at those dark circles," Tian Qiao leaned in.

Cheng Zhiyu tried to maintain a poker face. "Yeah, a bit of insomnia."

As for why he had insomnia, he chose not to elaborate.

"No worries, Zhou Min and I will drive today. You can catch up on sleep in the back," Tian Qiao said considerately.

When they set off, Cheng Zhiyu headed for the last row, and Cheng Mo naturally followed. However, before he could even get in, the car door was shut.

Cheng Mo, left out in the cold: "..."

What's going on? Is Zhi Yu angry?

He quickly got into the front row and leaned over to speak to Cheng Zhiyu, only to find him already reclined on the seat, eyes closed, fast asleep.

Cheng Mo hesitated but ultimately decided not to disturb him, settling sullenly in the front row.

When Zhou Min got in the car, he noticed Cheng Mo's stony expression.

"Hey, why aren't you glued to Brother Cheng?" Zhou Min found it a bit unusual.

*Bringing up an awkward topic.* Cheng Mo didn't want to talk.

Zhou Min: *Ooh, trouble in paradise?*

He didn't dare say more, glancing at Cheng Zhiyu, then at Cheng Mo, frantically shooting Tian Qiao meaningful looks.

Tian Qiao: "? What's up, you want to drive?"

Zhou Min: "..."

Tian Manman volunteered, "I... want to learn how to drive."

That way, he could also take turns at the wheel.

Tian Qiao immediately said, "Sure, when we get to a smoother stretch of road, I'll teach you."

Tian Manman nodded, determined to learn seriously.

Zhou Min: *Sigh, no one understands me.*

Cheng Mo, who had been coldly staring out the window, finally gave in. He turned around, leaning over the back of the seat to look at Cheng Zhiyu in the rear.

The other was breathing steadily, clearly already asleep.

But the seat was a bit narrow and not long enough, making his sleeping posture awkward and uncomfortable.

No way, sleeping like this would leave him sore all over.

Zhou Min watched as Cheng Mo beside him transformed into a handsome Big Black, jumped to the back, and curled up in the space between the rear seats.

With Cheng Mo filling the gap, the originally narrow seat instantly became much more spacious.

Cheng Zhiyu slightly opened his eyes, saw Big Black, and still groggy, lay on top of him, hugging Big Black and rubbing against him. "Big Black..."

Cheng Mo wagged his tail, wrapping it around Cheng Zhiyu's waist to prevent him from bumping into anything if the car jolted.

Zhou Min, witnessing this: "..."

He felt like a total third wheel.

When Cheng Zhiyu woke up again, he felt soft fur again after so long. He opened his eyes and said delightedly, "Big Black? So you can turn back into your beast form?"

Cheng Mo guiltily replied, "Yeah... suddenly I can."

Cheng Zhiyu looked skeptical but didn't press the issue, rubbing Big Black's dog head. After not seeing him for days, he'd missed him a little.

Cheng Mo decided to stay in beast form for now, at least until Zhi Yu wasn't mad at him anymore.

Cheng Zhiyu glanced at the sky and realized how long he'd been asleep, feeling a bit embarrassed. "You guys haven't eaten yet, right? Why didn't you wake me if you were hungry?"

All the ingredients were stored in his spatial ability.

"I'm okay, not that hungry," Tian Qiao waved it off. "Besides, I've got snacks in my bag."

Zhou Min was actually a bit hungry, but he said, "Superhumans aren't that easily starved. Besides, it's only been half a day."

Seeing how tired Cheng Zhiyu was, he could handle being hungry for a bit.

Although Cheng Zhiyu usually cooked for them, they didn't take it for granted. On the contrary, when Cheng Zhiyu was busy cooking, they would find something to do themselves.

It wasn't about how close they were; even in the best relationships, it's not right to let only one person work while the others rest.

They felt it was normal to also be doing something while Cheng Zhiyu was busy.

Well, what could they do? Their cooking skills weren't up to par.

If any of them could cook decently, they'd be willing to take on the cooking duty.

They stopped the car to have lunch.

Cheng Zhiyu directly took out the meals he'd prepared earlier from his storage space.

The same people who'd just said they weren't hungry: *devouring their food.*

Cheng Zhiyu placed a meal in front of Cheng Mo. "Aren't you turning human to eat?"

Cheng Mo wrapped his tail around Cheng Zhiyu's wrist. "Are you still mad at me?"

Cheng Zhiyu: "...I'm not mad, just a bit tired."

He was telling the truth; he really wasn't angry, just a bit unsure how to face Cheng Mo.

Cheng Mo still wasn't reassured. "If I turn back, will you talk to me? You won't ignore me again, will you?"

Cheng Zhiyu was both helpless and amused. "If I ignore you, you're not planning to turn back?"

Cheng Mo nodded, clearly that was exactly what he thought.

What could Cheng Zhiyu do? He could only assure him, "I won't ignore you."

Satisfied with the promise, Cheng Mo got into the car, turned back into human form, got dressed, and returned, sitting closely next to Cheng Zhiyu.

Cheng Zhiyu was used to this behavior, and the two ate together.

After eating, they washed the lunchboxes and put them back into the space.

They got in the car and continued on their way, not encountering any strong zombies along the route.

It just so happened that Tian Qiao was teaching Tian Manman how to drive on a flat road. Tian Manman was a bit nervous at first but gradually realized that driving wasn’t too difficult, and the car soon became much steadier.

Tian Qiao praised him: "Manman, you’re amazing! You picked it up so quickly."

Zhou Min also exaggerated: "This is practically a natural-born talent! Manman, you’re awesome!"

Cheng Zhiyu listened to their chatter with a smile. In the past, he preferred quiet, but after the apocalypse, perhaps because he'd been alone for too long, he began to enjoy the liveliness instead.

"Zhi Yu, your hand is a whole inch smaller than mine," Cheng Mo remarked, holding Cheng Zhiyu’s hand and comparing them. Their palms pressed together as he looked back and forth, as if just noticing this for the first time.

Cheng Zhiyu’s palm was slightly sweaty, and he unconsciously clenched his hand into a fist.

Cheng Mo took the opportunity to wrap his hand around Cheng Zhiyu’s fist, grinning widely.

Cheng Zhiyu shook his hand but couldn’t break free. He reached out with his other hand and pinched Cheng Mo’s waist.

It was solid as a rock, and Cheng Mo didn’t react at all, steady as a mountain. Instead, Cheng Zhiyu’s hand hurt from the pinch.

Frustrated, Cheng Zhiyu refused to give up. An idea struck him, and he stopped pinching, switching to tickling Cheng Mo’s waist instead.

Cheng Mo’s hand trembled as he burst out laughing: "Hahaha..."

Zhou Min, who was sitting in the front, turned around curiously and leaned over: "Brother Black, what’s so funny?"

Tickled into letting go of Cheng Zhiyu’s hand, Cheng Mo put on a deadpan expression: "Nothing, you probably don’t want to hear it."

Cheng Zhiyu nodded in agreement. Yeah, better not say anything.

Their reaction only made Zhou Min more curious: "What is it? You seemed really happy."

Cheng Mo cleared his throat, dropped the pretense, glanced at Cheng Zhiyu, then turned to Zhou Min: "You really want to know?"

Zhou Min nodded without hesitation: "Of course, of course!"

Cheng Mo cleared his throat again, crossed his arms, and with a proud look on his chiseled features, said: "It’s nothing much, just that Zhi Yu probably thinks I have a great figure. He was just touching my waist."

Cheng Zhiyu, who was being misrepresented right in front of him: "...? I wasn’t touching! I was tickling!"

Cheng Mo put on an 'oh, I see' expression: "So you were tickling? Well, it’s pretty much the same."

Cheng Zhiyu emphasized coldly: "...It’s very different."

He made it sound like Cheng Zhiyu was some kind of pervert, getting fresh in front of everyone.

Dammit, his innocence!

Cheng Zhiyu glared fiercely at Cheng Mo.

Cheng Mo leaned in closer to him: "Zhi Yu~"

Zhou Min: "..." Can't even look.

Was he the only one who felt that something was off about Cheng Zhiyu and Cheng Mo?

Ah, the loneliness of being the only sober one in a crowd of drunkards.

Just then, the car suddenly came to an abrupt stop. Cheng Zhiyu frowned: "What happened?"

Tian Manman, who had just learned to drive, was startled and pointed ahead: "There’s a person."

Tian Qiao saw the person standing rigidly in the middle of the road, deliberately spreading their arms to block the car. He rolled down the window and started swearing: "Are you insane? What are you doing standing in the middle of the road? Move aside, now!"

This guy was intentionally blocking the road. If they accidentally hit him, who would be to blame?

But as soon as Tian Qiao finished speaking, the person suddenly knelt down in front of them.

Tian Qiao was dumbfounded: "No way, even if you’re blocking the road, there’s no need to kowtow like this."

Cheng Zhiyu was puzzled. Seeing that the person was a regular person, he got out of the car.

The others followed suit.

Cheng Zhiyu glanced at the kneeling man and said calmly, "What are you doing? You’re blocking our way."

The man burst out crying: "Wah—" and began kowtowing repeatedly, pleading: "Please, save me, save me! I don’t want to die, wuwuwu..."

Cheng Zhiyu was completely exasperated.

The man continued: "I... I’m being hunted by a Superhuman. Wuwu, I don’t know how I offended her. I’m just a poor ordinary person. I just want to live. Please, help me. I really have nowhere else to turn. If you’re willing to help me, I’ll serve you hand and foot, I’ll do anything."

Cheng Zhiyu and the others stayed silent and looked at Zhou Min.

Zhou Min tsk-tsked and said bluntly: "He’s lying."

The man’s crying paused. Tearfully, he looked at Zhou Min: "I... I’m telling the truth..."

Cheng Zhiyu tsked, not wanting to waste any more time: "Big Black, move him out of the way. Let’s go."

The man watched as they got back into the car. One of the Superhumans with a cold expression raised his hand, and the man was instantly thrown aside.

Seeing that they were about to drive off, the man scrambled forward, clinging to the car window: "Please, I’m really being hunted. Help me."

Cheng Zhiyu: "Your personal business is none of our business."

The man, Zhao Ming, never expected that after finally running into a group of Superhumans while fleeing, his attempt to play pitiful and gain their sympathy would fail so miserably.

How could he have such bad luck to run into such a heartless group?

Zhao Ming gritted his teeth. He estimated that woman would catch up soon. He couldn’t let these people abandon him, or he would surely die.

Before the apocalypse, he was a rich kid. Who would have thought that after the apocalypse, he’d have such bad luck—remaining an ordinary person? To make matters worse, a woman with whom he had past grievances had gained Superhuman abilities and was now hunting him down to kill him.

Fortunately, some of his bodyguards had also become Superhumans. But in the apocalypse, these bodyguards weren’t loyal enough to protect him unconditionally, especially since he'd always treated them poorly, bossing them around disrespectfully.

Still, Zhao Ming had a way to rope them in. He told the bodyguards that his family had a large food storage facility. Moreover, since his parents had turned into zombies after the apocalypse, he was the only one who could open that warehouse now.

In the apocalypse, money had become worthless—just useless paper. What mattered were resources, and food was the most critical resource.

He figured the bodyguards would be tempted.

Sure enough, the bodyguards bit and agreed to protect him, but on the condition that he take them to the food warehouse.

Zhao Ming pretended to agree but had an agenda of his own. He did have a food warehouse—after all, his family had been in the food business before the apocalypse.

But he wasn’t stupid. Why would he willingly hand over the warehouse to the bodyguards? He intended to use it to recruit powerful Superhumans, put them to work for him, and make a comeback.

Even without Superhuman abilities, he wanted to boss around these Superhumans, have them at his beck and call. When that time came, if that woman dared to show up again, heh—he'd make sure she got a taste of the same treatment she got before.

But he never expected those bodyguards to be so useless. Despite being Superhumans, they couldn't defeat that woman. He fled all the way here, with the bodyguards either running away or dying, leaving him all alone now.

He desperately needed new bodyguards. Fortunately, as luck would have it, he ran into a few more Superhumans.

Since acting pitiful didn’t work, he had to play his trump card, claiming he had a grain warehouse. Pretending to be generous, he said, "As long as you’re willing to protect me, I’ll give you the grain warehouse."

Zhou Min said, "He’s not lying about the grain warehouse. He really does have one."

Cheng Zhiyu pondered. Although they weren’t short on food or drink, how could they not be tempted knowing there was a grain warehouse?

He asked, "About how much grain is in the warehouse?"

Zhao Ming gave a rough estimate.

Tian Qiao’s eyes widened slightly. That much? He was tempted and asked Zhi Yu, "What do you think, Zhi Yu?"

Under Zhao Ming’s expectant gaze, Cheng Zhiyu said, "Sure, we’ll keep you alive."

Zhao Ming felt there was something odd about that statement but couldn’t pinpoint what. He swallowed hard and said, "Only I can open the grain warehouse. Of course, you have to guarantee I stay alive."

Cheng Zhiyu nodded. He was only doing it for the sake of the grain warehouse; otherwise, he wouldn’t have bothered with Zhao Ming, who might as well have 'scheming' written on his face.

Zhao Ming climbed into the car and sat in the back row next to Cheng Mo, who had been assigned by Cheng Zhiyu to keep an eye on him.

Not being able to stick close to Cheng Zhiyu, Cheng Mo was in a sour mood, understandably, his face icy. Zhao Ming had initially wanted to strike up a conversation to build rapport, but seeing Cheng Mo like this, he didn’t dare say a word and felt extremely frustrated.

These people really didn’t know a good thing when they saw it! That grain warehouse of his could feed who knew how many people, yet they weren’t fawning over him and were so cold instead!

Hmph, just wait. Once he found other Superhumans and recruited new people, these guys wouldn’t get a single benefit from him.

Zhao Ming was used to being high and mighty before the apocalypse. Even after the world ended, he still hadn’t faced reality and clung to his ridiculous ideas.

As he was thinking this, he looked up and met Cheng Mo’s gaze, and he shuddered for a moment. He felt as though the other had already seen right through him.

When it was time to eat, Zhao Ming watched as they cooked a large pot of meat, stir-fried vegetables, and made soup. He was drooling uncontrollably.

Life after the apocalypse had been hardly livable. He couldn’t even eat well, let alone fill his stomach. How long had it been since he’d seen so much delicious food?

Zhao Ming swallowed hard, looking forward to dinner.

Then, a stale piece of bread was tossed into his hands.

Zhao Ming was stunned. "What does this mean?"

Tian Qiao said, "Your dinner for today. You’re welcome."

After all, in the apocalypse, any food that could fill your stomach was precious.

Zhao Ming’s expression darkened. He pointed at the fragrant, full table of dishes. "You’re eating so well, and you’re giving me this?"

Tian Qiao was speechless. How could this guy be so thick-skinned? "We’re eating well because it’s our own food. What’s it to you? Our supplies are tight too. Besides, we’re protecting you and even giving you food. We’ve already done more than enough, okay?"

Zhao Ming didn’t know Cheng Zhiyu had a spatial ability and assumed they’d taken the food from the trunk. Even so, how could they only give him bread? They could at least give him a bowl of meat.

Zhao Ming swallowed hard, his craving getting the better of him. "Give me some meat, and when we get to the grain warehouse, I’ll... I’ll give you ten times as much!"

The group laughed.

Zhao Ming was confused. "What... what are you laughing at?!"

Zhou Min asked, puzzled, "We agreed to protect you. Isn’t the grain warehouse the payment you’re giving us?"

Zhao Ming: "..." Have I run into bandits?

Sure, the previous bodyguards probably thought the same thing, but who would outright say it like that!

Zhao Ming wanted to say more, but the group ignored him, acting as though he could take it or leave it. Resentful, he tastelessly nibbled on the bread, while the aroma of the food tormented him.

"Haha, feels great to be the villain," Zhou Min muttered.

Cheng Zhiyu said, "I’m not a villain."

Villains always get their comeuppance.

Cheng Mo agreed, "Zhi Yu is kind-hearted. Zhao Ming clearly isn’t a good person, yet Zhi Yu is still willing to agree to protect him."

Cheng Zhiyu coughed lightly, feeling a bit embarrassed by the praise. "I’m doing it for the grain warehouse." He wasn’t that kind, after all.

Cheng Mo grinned mischievously. "If it’s for the grain warehouse, we could just find out where it is and then kill him to save us the trouble."

Not far away, Zhao Ming suddenly felt a chill down his spine. The night weather was too cold.

Cheng Zhiyu tapped Cheng Mo’s head. "Don’t talk about killing like it’s cutting watermelons."

Even in the apocalypse, Cheng Zhiyu had no problem killing zombies, but killing people always came with a psychological burden for him.

Cheng Mo took the opportunity to nuzzle Cheng Zhiyu’s palm, like a big dog.

Zhou Min: "..." Feeling full already.

Tian Qiao laughed goofily. "You two are so close, you’re almost as tight as my childhood friend status."

Cheng Mo was displeased. What did he mean, "almost"? He and Zhi Yu were the closest in the world.

He pressed closer to Cheng Zhiyu and asked, "Zhi Yu, who are you closest to?"

Cheng Zhiyu met the gazes of Tian Qiao and Cheng Mo: "..."

He was exasperated. "Eat your food. Aren’t you being childish?"

Really, like little kids, asking who he was closest to.

Tian Qiao thought it was indeed a bit childish and laughed sheepishly while rubbing his nose.

Cheng Mo looked at Cheng Zhiyu with puppy-dog eyes. The latter sighed helplessly and gently squeezed his hand.

Cheng Mo’s lips curled into a smile. Zhi Yu was definitely closest to him and was even secretly comforting him. Feeling victorious, he glanced smugly at Tian Qiao.

Tian Qiao: Really want to hit someone.

But since he couldn’t win, better to drop it.

"So, how are we sleeping tonight?" Zhou Min asked, finishing his last bite of food and starting to clean up.

With an outsider around, they generally didn't sleep in the treehouse.

Cheng Zhiyu: "We’ll sleep in the treehouse. As for him, just knock him out."

Tian Qiao clapped his hands. "Hehe, you’re so smart, Zhi Yu, haha."

He then asked Tian Manman to go over, as the latter had great strength and could knock him out cold, preventing him from suddenly waking up in the middle of the night.

Although Zhao Ming was unwilling to eat stale bread, he had no choice. He was too hungry, and seeing that these people really weren’t going to care for him, he could only cuss under his breath while eating the bread.

Hah, originally he had thought that if these people treated him decently, he might be willing to save them spots on his team once he became the leader of the superhumans by relying on the grain in the warehouse.

But now, he had decided not only to deny them any positions but also to kill them to get his revenge.

Just as he was happily fantasizing, he saw Tian Manman walking over and raising a hand toward him. He stammered, "You're doing what?"

Tian Manman was a social anxiety case and, of course, didn’t answer his question. The next moment, Zhao Ming felt darkness before his eyes and blacked out right away.

After dealing with Zhao Ming, to prevent him from freezing to death outside, Cheng Zhiyu even found a quilt to cover him with.

Cheng Mo mused beside him, "Zhi Yu is really kind-hearted."

They entered the treehouse, with Little Roll guarding outside.

When he woke up the next day, Zhao Ming realized he had been knocked out, and his face fell.

After several days of travel, Cheng Zhiyu got some good news on this day: Ball had hit level one!

The farmland in his system space expanded from 15*15 meters to 16*16 meters, and the storage space increased to 40 cubic meters.

As for Ball, it was a defensive plant—a cactus placed outside the treehouse. Whenever danger approached, its spines would shoot out.

Now, not only was Little Roll guarding outside the treehouse, but Ball was also there, adding an extra layer of defense.

Cheng Zhiyu received a new plant and planted it. The seedling of this new plant was peculiar, resembling a small umbrella, so Cheng Zhiyu named it "Little Umbrella."

Although Zhao Ming claimed there was a grain warehouse, Cheng Zhiyu still hadn’t given up on growing crops.

The wheat planted next to Big Strong had already matured, dried, and been threshed, with each grain almost palm-sized.

Cheng Zhiyu tried grinding one head of wheat into flour. While ordinary wheat had about 30 grains per head, Big Wheat, possibly due to its larger size, generally had over 20 grains per head—up to 26 at most, and as few as 22 or 23.

Even so, because the wheat grains were exceptionally large, grinding just one head of Big Wheat gave them a whole bag of flour.

Wheat was really filling, and one head of Big Wheat was enough to feed all of them.

Cheng Zhiyu specifically tested the taste of Big Wheat. It was similar to ordinary wheat but had a better flavor.

He planned to test whether Big Wheat seeds could be grown in regular ground.

He had previously tried growing these mutated plants in flowerpots, and they could be cultivated, but further large-scale planting experiments were needed.

They traveled nonstop, and on the night just before reaching home, an unexpected incident occurred.

The superhuman pursuing Zhao Ming had found them. Cheng Zhiyu went outside and saw the opponent wrapped up by Little Roll, while Ball was going crazy shooting spines at her.

The female superhuman raised her hand, and the spines shot by Ball were immediately corroded. Then, the section of vine wrapping around her was also melted away, and the female superhuman broke free.

Seeing Cheng Zhiyu and the others appear, her face turned cold, and her eyes flashed with killing intent. "Are you the new hired help that Zhao Ming picked up? Perfect. I’ll kill you first, then take care of Zhao Ming."

Zhou Min quickly said, "Miss, let me explain."

"There’s nothing to explain. Anyone associated with Zhao Ming can’t be any good," she spat, sure they were no good, and came right at them.