Chapter 79

Chapter 79

"What is this..." Cheng Mo stared at the flashy cover, bewildered.

"Oh, you'll get it once you read it, hehe." With a mysterious smile, Zhou Min retreated to his room.

Cheng Mo glanced at the book in his hand and instinctively flipped it open. The protagonists were two men. Lacking patience, he skipped ahead a few pages.

After just two pages, the two were already embracing. Wait, hadn't they just met?

He patiently flipped a few more pages, then his eyes widened at something he saw. He instinctively snapped the book shut.

In his room, Cheng Zhiyu tossed and turned, unable to sleep. How strange—where had Cheng Mo gone? He still wasn't back.

Just as he was wondering whether to go out and check, he heard the doorknob turn.

Cheng Zhiyu lay back down, watching Cheng Mo enter, close the door, and then stand motionless for a long moment.

Cheng Zhiyu: "What's wrong? Why are you standing there spacing out?"

Cheng Mo pursed his lips, his throat feeling dry. "Nothing."

"Oh, if it's nothing, then come to bed." Cheng Zhiyu said casually, then yawned. Traveling outside was truly exhausting.

Cheng Mo's Adam's apple bobbed. He walked over and lay down beside Cheng Zhiyu.

Cheng Zhiyu closed his eyes and waited for a while, only to realize that today was truly unusual—Cheng Mo hadn't snuggled up to hug or kiss him.

Cheng Zhiyu found it strange: "What's wrong with you?"

Cheng Mo mumbled evasively: "Nothing?"

"Oh." Cheng Zhiyu waited a moment, then turned his head, squinting at him. "You're acting weird. Really weird."

Cheng Mo's eyes darted nervously, unsure where to look. "Cough... not really."

Cheng Zhiyu: "?" He was definitely acting strange. What had this guy been up to? He was acting so oddly and wouldn’t even look him in the eye.

Meanwhile, Cheng Mo's mind was filled with what he had just seen. Unconsciously, he replaced the faces of the two characters in the book with his own and Cheng Zhiyu's... He felt feverish all over.

He was hesitant to touch Cheng Zhiyu now—his thoughts were no longer pure.

No, they were outside. He shouldn't try anything.

But then he wondered, what exactly was *anything else*?

"Big Black, your nose is bleeding!" Cheng Zhiyu exclaimed, quickly grabbing tissues to wipe it.

Cheng Mo was momentarily dazed. He felt his nose warm up and reached to touch it, only to find his hand covered in blood: "..."

Cheng Zhiyu hurriedly helped him rinse it with cold water. Fortunately, the bleeding stopped soon after. He breathed a sigh of relief and frowned. "Why did your nose suddenly start bleeding?"

Cheng Mo didn't know either. He had been thinking about Cheng Zhiyu, and then suddenly...

Cheng Zhiyu eventually attributed it to the heat getting to him. He rummaged through his storage space and pulled out a packet of chrysanthemum tea for Cheng Mo to drink.

Cheng Mo held the chrysanthemum tea: "..."

Drinking this probably wouldn't help.

But he drank it anyway, downing every last drop.

Cheng Zhiyu lay back down, closed his eyes, and yawned. "Let's sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow."

Although being outside the base was interesting, it wasn't as comfortable as being inside. If possible, they should find what they were looking for quickly and return to the base.

As Cheng Zhiyu drifted in and out of sleep, he felt Cheng Mo put down the cup, rinse his mouth, then lie down beside him and pull him close.

That was more like it. But... it seemed the chrysanthemum tea hadn't worked. He was still hard.

Cheng Zhiyu frowned. He was too tired to move. "You... handle it yourself."

He forgot—Cheng Mo couldn't manage alone.

He offered his hand, but in the end, Cheng Mo didn't do anything. Cheng Zhiyu soon fell asleep and had no idea what happened after.

The next day, Cheng Zhiyu woke up refreshed, shoved Cheng Mo's arm off, and went to wash up.

Cheng Mo was still out and didn't stir as he usually did. In the past, the moment he moved, Cheng Mo would immediately follow him like a loyal puppy.

But now, he was still sleeping.

He let him be. After washing up, he left the room.

Han Ping was already up. The two of them were busy making breakfast. Soon after, Han Tingting also came to the kitchen.

With so many people, they decided to make xiaolongbao. After wrapping them, they put them in the steamer. Cheng Zhiyu returned to the room to wake Cheng Mo.

"Time to get up, lazybones," Cheng Zhiyu patted him.

Then Cheng Mo pulled him onto the bed, holding him tightly and nuzzling him like a big dog. "I don't want to get up. I'm exhausted."

He hadn't slept well last night.

Cheng Zhiyu pushed him away. "Then sleep by yourself. I'll wake you when it's time to leave."

Hearing that, Cheng Mo no longer wanted to sleep. He sat up, looking groggy.

After washing up, he finally perked up.

The aroma of steamed buns wafted from the kitchen. Zhou Min zoomed into the kitchen. "So fragrant, so fragrant! Are they ready to eat?"

Cheng Zhiyu checked the time. "Almost."

They kept breakfast light, making pickled cabbage and vermicelli buns, as well as three-delight buns with ham, egg, and dried shrimp.

Cheng Zhiyu loved both and switched between them.

He even praised, "Han Ping prepared the fillings. His skills are really good."

Han Ping smiled. "It's nothing. The ingredients are just good."

Cheng Mo suddenly felt the bun in his hand didn’t taste as good anymore. It seemed he needed to learn how to cook too, so that Zhi Yu would like him more.

Cheng Zhiyu had no idea what he was thinking. He had only casually complimented Han Ping—the fillings he prepared were truly delicious.

After eating and drinking their fill, they headed out.

The Han siblings came along this time as well. Han Tingting didn't have any powers, but she could handle regular zombies without issue. She was worried about slowing the group down and thought it might be better if she stayed behind in the apartment.

Cheng Zhiyu said, "No, what if you run into danger? It's safer to come with us."

Han Ping was also concerned for his sister, so he agreed she should join them.

Cheng Zhiyu planned to bring out Little Roll later to protect Han Tingting.

In the end, Han Tingting decided to go with them. After all, staying alone in the apartment would only make the others worry. It was better to stay together so no one would be anxious.

She just felt a bit embarrassed, as if she were a burden.

On the way, Cheng Zhiyu suddenly asked, "I remember you studied veterinary medicine in college."

Han Tingting nodded. "Yes, I originally planned to open a pet shop."

"So, can you treat farm animals too?" Cheng Zhiyu wasn't sure about the difference between treating pets and livestock—he assumed there was one.

Han Tingting scratched her head. "I'm not entirely sure, but I can give it a try."

After all, the two fields were quite related.

Cheng Zhiyu smiled. "Then you’ll need to stay safe. The base really needs a veterinarian right now."

Hearing this, Han Tingting realized Cheng Zhiyu was trying to make her feel useful, and she was touched. She quickly nodded and said with a smile, "Now that you mention it, I’ll be extra careful."

Cheng Zhiyu wasn’t exaggerating. As the base’s livestock numbers gradually increased, smaller animals had indeed become prone to illness, so a veterinarian was urgently needed.

He hadn’t even started thinking about where to find one when he unexpectedly ran into Han Tingting. Perfect—no more searching. Once they returned, she could start working immediately.

Knowing she had something valuable to contribute, Han Tingting finally stopped feeling like a burden. Hmm… she had to protect herself so she could be useful once they reached the base.

The group had originally planned to head straight to the city’s research lab today, but they passed by a seed shop along the way, and Cheng Zhiyu suggested they check it out.

No one objected, so they all got out of the car. After clearing the zombies near the shop, they went inside.

The seed shop had an interesting rustic woodland design, complete with a rockery and a water feature in the center. However, it seemed long abandoned—the stream had dried up completely.

The shop was in disarray. When the apocalypse began, the shop must have been open. Items had been knocked over, whether by panicked people or zombies, and strange dried stains covered the floor.

It was hard to imagine what the shop had once looked like, but Cheng Zhiyu thought it must have been beautiful.

The shop wasn’t large, only about five or six square meters. The walls were lined with large drawers, similar to those in traditional herbal medicine shops, each labeled with the type of seeds stored inside.

"Mostly flower seeds," Zhou Min glanced around and shook her head. "Flower seeds aren’t useful, right? You can’t eat or drink them."

Cheng Zhiyu said, "Let’s take them anyway."

To obtain special seeds, they’d have to start by planting ordinary ones. Most bases were running low on grain and vegetable seeds, so everyone focused on those. Flower seeds were often ignored.

Over time, Cheng Zhiyu feared flower seeds might vanish entirely. Personally, he wanted to preserve them—he didn’t want them to disappear forever.

Since Cheng Zhiyu insisted, the others helped collect the flower seeds. After all, seeds didn’t take up much space.

Besides flower seeds, the shop also carried some vegetable and fruit seeds.

These, of course, were obvious choices to take.

"Hey, there are durian seeds here!" Tian Qiao exclaimed in surprise, clearly not expecting to find them.

Hearing this, Cheng Zhiyu immediately walked over. "Let me see. I was just saying it’s a shame we couldn’t find durian seeds."

Although durians thrive in tropical climates—unsuitable for their region—Cheng Zhiyu had his personal space. He planned to grow them there and enjoy unlimited durians.

Imagining a bright future, Cheng Zhiyu quickly collected the precious durian seeds, intending to germinate and plant them in his space later.

In the end, they cleared out nearly everything from the seed shop. The group returned to the car and headed toward the research institute.

They weren’t exactly sure of the precise location, so they took a wide detour but eventually arrived.

Cheng Zhiyu stored the off-road vehicle in his inventory, and everyone looked at the research institute in the distance. "Let’s go."

There appeared to be many zombies around the institute. As soon as they entered, they encountered a level 3 zombie hiding in the shadows, preparing to ambush them.

But the moment it emerged, Cheng Mo used his Water Power to decapitate it.

The energy core was even washed clean by water.

Han Ping, standing nearby, was stunned. "You have Water Power in addition to teleportation?"

While some superhumans did possess dual abilities, Han Ping was mainly shocked because Cheng Mo’s teleportation ability was already impressive—now he also had Water Power.

Moreover, his Water Power clearly wasn’t weak—it was actually very strong.

"Hey, are you blind?" Zhou Min said while scanning the surroundings. "Think back—where did the water come from yesterday?"

Han Ping suddenly remembered and realized he must have missed it. Cheng Mo had used Water Power the day before, and he hadn’t noticed at all.

Soon, they had no time to talk. Zombies began emerging from the research institute in small groups, none of them low-level—the lowest were level 3, with some level 4 mixed in.

Han Tingting knew she couldn’t contribute much, so she stayed in the middle of the group, doing her best not to slow them down.

Level 4 zombies weren’t a major problem, but Cheng Zhiyu frowned, sensing a higher-level zombie nearby.

If it was level 5, it would still be manageable—with Xiao Er present, they could handle it.

Besides, there was also Cheng Mo.

So far, the highest level they had encountered was level 5. No one had seen anything beyond that, and they weren’t sure whether zombies couldn’t evolve further or simply hadn’t appeared yet.

If the former were true, that would be excellent news.

Fortunately, the final zombie appeared—a level 5 with Water Power.

Cheng Zhiyu frowned. This ability was a direct counter to Xiao Er. He turned to Cheng Mo and said, "Leave this one to you."

Han Ping was busy fighting other lower-level zombies nearby. Hearing this, he frowned and said, "Water against water—it’s not guaranteed to win. Luckily, he also has teleportation."

Zhou Min laughed beside him. "Who said Brother Mo only has Water and teleportation?"

Zhou Min chuckled beside him. "Who said Brother Mo only has Water and teleportation?"

If so, that would be completely overpowered!

Just as he was thinking this, a lightning bolt as thick as a bowl shot toward the distant zombie.

Han Ping: "!!!"

He actually has another ability? And every single one is incredibly powerful?

He was starting to question his entire existence.

Zhou Min was hacking away at zombies while dodging their attacks, still managed to talk to Han Ping: "Don't feel discouraged—since when can regular people compare to Brother Black?"

Han Ping chuckled and said, "It's not that I feel discouraged, just... pretty stunned."

Zhou Min had an "I get it" look; if Han Ping had acted too calm, he would’ve found it strange instead.

Meanwhile, Cheng Mo and the others worked together—the zombie's body was already half-charred from lightning strikes. Being a Water-type, whenever it used its ability, Cheng Mo just zapped it quicker. The poor thing didn't stand a chance.

The zombie desperately tried to control lower-level zombies to attack Cheng Mo, but unfortunately, low-level zombies were barely worth noticing—they'd blow up before getting anywhere close.

Seeing it was no match, the zombie tried to flee, but how could Cheng Mo let it escape? He blocked its path and finally finished it off.

Still, it wasn’t exactly easy for Cheng Mo—he was sweating on his forehead, and his abilities were nearly drained.

Cheng Zhiyu didn’t even stop to dig out the zombie’s crystal core yet; he wiped Cheng Mo’s sweat and took out some mutant beast meat from his space for Cheng Mo to eat.

After eating a bit, Cheng Mo’s color looked better.

Cheng Zhiyu let out a sigh of relief and asked with concern, "Head hurting?"

Cheng Mo actually felt okay—it wasn’t that bad—but how could he resist Cheng Zhiyu’s concern? He rested his head on the other’s shoulder, looking weak and pitiful: "...It hurts."

With the others sneaking glances, Cheng Zhiyu cleared his throat: "...Alright, cut it out."

Cheng Mo: "...I’m not pretending."

Cheng Zhiyu thought to himself, Don’t I know you? If Cheng Mo were really in pain, he’d tough it out because he’d think it's embarrassing to show weakness. If he outright said he was hurting, it was mostly an act. This guy might not even realize he had this habit.

"Ahem!" Tian Qiao felt so awkward he didn’t know what to do with himself.

Cheng Mo scowled and looked at him: "If you’re sick, go see a doctor."

Tian Qiao ducked his head: "Haha, I’ll go dig out the crystal core."

Zhou Min: "Me too, me too—let me see the level-5 zombie’s crystal core as well."

Tian Manman wasn't that interested, but since Zhou Min dragged him over, he had no choice but to join in.

As for the Han siblings, not only was this their first time seeing a level-5 zombie crystal core—it was their first time seeing a level-5 zombie at all. Of course they wanted to take a look.

Tian Manman, being the strong one, started digging it out.

"Wow, it’s as big as a palm."

"Level-5 crystals seem to be this big."

"Have you seen one before?"

"Encountered them twice."

"Ah... not sure if I should say you’re really strong or just unlucky. If my brother and I ran into a level 4 zombie, let alone a level 5, our graves would probably have grass a meter tall by now."

"Haha, don’t we have experts with us? Cheng Zhiyu and Brother Black are awesome."

"It’s light blue... so pretty. Who would’ve thought such an ugly thing could have something this beautiful in its head? It’s like a diamond."

"Isn’t this thing more useful than diamonds?"

The group chatted together, chiming in. Cheng Zhiyu felt awkward and poked Cheng Mo: "Hurry up and get up, stop messing around."

Cheng Mo grumbled: "No one’s watching. I’ll get up if you give me a quick peck."

Cheng Zhiyu: "..."

He sneakily glanced at the others. Seeing they weren’t paying attention, he gave a quick peck and cleared his throat: "Satisfied?"

Cheng Mo, an expert at pushing his luck, said: "Not satisfied—that was way too perfunctory."

Cheng Zhiyu said coldly: "Cheng Big Black..."

Cheng Mo immediately stopped fooling around, though he still muttered under his breath: "Really, if you won’t agree, just say so. No need to be so mean."

Cheng Zhiyu thought to himself, If I weren’t harsh, would you even listen?

With the level-5 zombie dealt with—and since it had summoned all the lower-level zombies in the area—the research institute was now cleared of zombies.

They didn’t run into any more zombies after that.

The research institute had a lot of equipment. Cheng Zhiyu wasn’t sure exactly what Chi Hongyi and the others needed, so he decided to take everything that could be moved.

Before leaving, he had emptied his storage space of everything except essentials for the road. He had previously stored many solar panels and power generation equipment, but he had deliberately left a large amount of space free to grab whatever they found.

After all, Chi Hongyi and the team were researching a zombie vaccine—something critical for humanity’s future. Though they couldn’t help in other ways, at least they could provide more equipment. Every bit helped.

After taking everything that looked usable, Cheng Zhiyu made sure nothing was missed and said to the group: "Let’s go, time to head back."

Originally, they thought if they were busy until late, they might spend another night at the apartment, but it wasn’t even noon yet.

They decided to find a spot nearby to eat lunch and then head straight back to the base.

Lunch was simple: grilled meat rice. The meat, grilled earlier and stored hot in the space, was taken out still steaming. It was served with rice, a fried egg, and some pickled vegetables.

Honestly, though simple, it was quite delicious.

Cheng Zhiyu mixed the rice, meat, pickles, and egg together, eating it with a spoon. Every scoop had a bit of meat, pickle, and egg—so tasty!

Cheng Mo watched and copied him. Mmm... really good.

After eating, everyone rested for a bit. When they felt ready, they set off back to the base.

Han Ping volunteered to drive, feeling he hadn’t contributed much and wanting to do something.

The others let him—if he got tired, they could always switch drivers later.

On the road, Han Tingting curiously asked about the base.

Cheng Zhiyu: "It’s located in our village. After the apocalypse began, Captain Lin organized a team of Superhumans, cleared out the zombies, and fortified the village. It’s called a base, but it’s more like a village. It might not compare to the big bases, and there aren’t many people."

Han Tingting listened enviously: "That’s already really good. If only someone like that had appeared in our neighborhood back then..."

She trailed off, unable to finish.

When the apocalypse broke out, all four members of her family were at home. They hid for the first few days, but living in the city without a habit of stockpiling food, they had no choice but to go out searching for supplies.

Her parents were bitten by the infected while searching for food... After that, her brother awakened his powers; otherwise, she might have been bitten too.

Han Ping, who was driving up front, also fell quiet.

No one really knew how to comfort the siblings. After the apocalypse, there were just too many cases like this, too many goodbyes and losses...

Han Tingting smiled and dropped the subject, thinking that she and her brother needed to keep living. If their parents were still around, they would surely want them to keep living.

"So how much longer until we get there?" Han Tingting asked again.

Tian Qiao responded: "We should arrive tomorrow. Although it's not far, we can't take the highway now and have to take detours the whole way."

Han Tingting nodded, figuring they’d have to spend the night outdoors. But she wasn't bothered—when they were trying to get to Chaoyang Base before, they had also slept outside.

It was just a bit nerve-wracking, always worried about mutated animals or the infected showing up.

Sure enough, they ended up spending the night outside the base.

But unexpectedly, Cheng Zhiyu pulled out... a tree?

"It’s just a treehouse. We’ll sleep here tonight," Zhou Min said, watching as the siblings stared in shock and disbelief.

He smirked to himself—ha, so he wasn’t the only one who hadn’t seen something like this before. Everyone was just as amazed.

Han Tingting sighed with emotion: "With you guys around, we don't have to rough it at all!"

Before, when Cheng Zhiyu said that Small River Base didn’t have the same amenities as other bases, she believed him. But now... she couldn’t help feeling that Cheng Zhiyu was probably just being modest.

Tian Qiao and Tian Manman shared one room, Han Ping slept in Zhou Min’s room, freeing up a room upstairs for Han Tingting.

The next day, they set off early to try and reach the base as soon as possible.

Zhou Min was driving.

Suddenly, the car screeched to a halt. Tian Qiao bumped his head against the seat, rubbing his forehead and frowning: "Why the sudden brake? What’s going on?"

Cheng Zhiyu was fine—Cheng Mo had quickly protected his head. You had to admit, Cheng Mo’s reflexes were really fast.

Han Ping, sitting in the passenger seat, said: "There seems to be someone lying on the road ahead."

Zhou Min nodded: "It scared me. Lying right in the middle of the road—I almost ran over them."

Even though he’d killed plenty of the infected since the apocalypse, accidentally running over a person would definitely leave him messed up.

People and the infected were just not the same.

"Probably a person, doesn’t look like one of the infected," Zhou Min mumbled.

Cheng Zhiyu opened the car door: "I’ll go check."

Cheng Mo immediately followed.

As they got closer, the person on the ground moved, desperately crawling toward them: "Please... give me some food..."