Chapter 81

Chapter 81

"Where did you get your mutant wheat?" Zhou Min asked the "Great One," staring at him.

"Of course, I developed it myself," the "Great One" declared confidently, then eyed him warily. "How did you know I have mutant wheat?"

"He's lying," Zhou Min stated.

The "Great One" had a bad feeling and quickly warned, "Everyone, be careful! This guy must be after our mutant wheat—he wants to steal our treasure!"

Hearing this, the others grew anxious again. They knew how precious the mutant wheat was and feared that Cheng Zhiyu and his group had indeed come to steal it. They all watched them with suspicion.

Liu Pingan hadn't expected the "Great One" to say such a thing and hurriedly explained, "No, no, Zhiyu would never do something like that. It must be a misunderstanding."

Whether it was a misunderstanding or not, the "Great One" sneered, his triangular eyes scrutinizing Cheng Zhiyu and the others. They had mentioned mutant wheat as soon as they arrived, making him suspect they knew something. After all, the source of his mutant wheat... Besides, these people looked healthy and well-nourished and clearly didn’t lack food. He decided to tie them up first—maybe he could get some good stuff from them.

"Misunderstanding, it must be a misunderstanding!" Liu Pingan kept insisting.

"What misunderstanding? I think you tipped them off and planned to join your so-called nephew in stealing everyone's mutant wheat! You're a traitor too!" The "Great One" stirred up the crowd's emotions. Seeing their tension, he smirked inwardly. "Tie them all up! Question them thoroughly! I refuse to believe they’d know about the mutant wheat for no reason!"

The crowd hesitated, thinking that if these people were really after the mutant wheat, they could just drive them away. Why tie them up?

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and... Ah! What are you doing? Let me go!" The "Great One" was urging everyone when suddenly, a vine shot out and trussed him up.

The "Great One" struggled desperately, trying to burn the vine with his feeble flames, but it was useless. Finally scared, he pleaded with the others to help him.

"What are you doing?" someone frowned, demanding Cheng Zhiyu release him. "Let our 'Great One' go now!"

"Release him!" They surrounded Cheng Zhiyu and his group, their eyes filled with suspicion.

"What kind of 'Great One' is he?" Tian Qiao couldn't help but laugh. "Your so-called 'Great One’s' mutant wheat was stolen from us, wasn’t it?"

"What? How is that possible?" Some refused to believe it. "He said he developed the mutant wheat himself. How could it be stolen?"

"Yeah, don’t talk nonsense."

Cheng Zhiyu thought to himself, *Luckily, I stored some mutant wheat in my space.*

He took out a bag and asked, "Is this the same mutant wheat?"

Everyone looked—it was exactly the same.

"We had a traitor in Small River Base," Zhou Min explained. "He fled with a dozen or so grains of mutant wheat. This wheat isn’t even that rare—our base distributes it in batches of tens of pounds. We didn’t bother tracking him down, but now this 'Great One' has it. Tell us, where did you get this mutant wheat?"

The others were fixated on one thing: *What? The people at Small River Base distribute this mutant wheat in batches of tens of pounds?*

Earlier, when Cheng Zhiyu mentioned taking them away, they had been hesitant. Now, they were greatly tempted. For a moment, they forgot all about the so-called "Great One."

Pah! What kind of "Great One"? Clearly, he’s a fraud!

Everyone had long been dissatisfied with this "Great One." He ordered them around all day, exploiting them and treating them like servants. If it weren’t for the mutant wheat, why would they listen to him?

"Tell us, where did it come from?" Cheng Zhiyu stared at the bound "Great One."

The "Great One" struggled desperately, his face flushed red, still sticking to his story. "What do you mean, where did it come from? I developed it! What, only you can create mutant seeds? I can’t? Did you put a mark on the seeds? How dare you claim they’re yours! I made them! Let me go!"

"You’re telling me that you, a Fire Power user, created mutant seeds that only a Plant Superhuman can produce?" Tian Qiao laughed uncontrollably. "Your power is that amazing? Well then, let me take you back for some research."

Tian Qiao immediately put on the act of a "research enthusiast."

Terrified, the "Great One" gulped and finally admitted, "Alright, fine, I didn’t develop them. But... but I brought them from another base! They’re definitely not your seeds!"

"He’s still lying," Zhou Min said.

"Tsk, so much nonsense." Cheng Mo frowned impatiently and raised his hand. "Let’s cut out his tongue first."

Seeing a knife appear before him, the "Great One" was scared out of his wits and screamed, "I’ll talk! I’ll talk! Don’t cut out my tongue!"

Cheng Mo withdrew the knife, looking almost disappointed.

Reluctantly, the "Great One" said, "These seeds... I stole them from an old man. He said he had something valuable and asked me to take him to a major base. He promised to give me half as a reward, and this is the half he gave me."

"Still lying," Zhou Min said.

The "Great One" was on the verge of madness. No matter what lie he made up, how did this guy always know he wasn’t telling the truth?

Afraid of losing his tongue, he didn’t dare try any more tricks and said, "I’m not stupid. The road to the nearest major base is too far. My power isn’t strong enough—I’d probably die with him."

"That old man, carrying such valuable stuff, was bound to get robbed sooner or later. So I just took it first." The "Great One" had his own twisted logic.

"What happened to him?" Cheng Zhiyu asked.

The "Great One" hesitated but finally told the truth. "I killed him. You should actually thank me, shouldn’t you? He was a traitor from your base. By killing him, I avenged you."

Cheng Zhiyu asked for some details about the man and confirmed it was Xiang Qizheng.

Xiang Qizheng had originally planned to take the seeds to a major base to make a fortune. But the outside world was too dangerous, and he didn’t know the way. He had to ask this "Great One" for help, hoping the man would guide him.

But the "Great One" refused. Xiang Qizheng had no choice but to show him what he had, not realizing it would cost him his life.

He knew zombies were terrifying, and mutant animals were dangerous, but he forgot that sometimes, people are the most terrifying of all.

In the end, the "Great One" killed him and casually dumped his body by the roadside. Since the major base was too far away, and to avoid being killed and robbed himself, the "Great One" decided to pose as a powerful "Great One" and set himself up in this out-of-the-way valley he’d stumbled upon, where he began swindling people.

But his comfortable days didn’t last long before he was exposed.

Tied up, the "Great One" cursed his luck inwardly. How could it be such a coincidence that he ran into these people?

After hearing his confession, the others were furious. "Well, well! This guy lied to us! He said he developed the mutant wheat himself!"

"Pah! I knew it was impossible! Think about it—if he could develop mutant wheat, why would he only have a dozen grains? And why would he exploit us, eating our food? I always thought something was off." This sounded like hindsight wisdom.

"Exactly! So he’s just a fraud. If it weren’t for the mutant wheat, I would never have believed him!"

"Hey... does Small River Base really have a lot of this mutant wheat? Distributing it in batches of tens of pounds?"

"If that’s true, I want to go too. I just don’t know if I can."

"Haha, I have relatives in Small River Base. If I go, maybe I can rely on them."

"What should we do with this guy? I heard he killed someone."

The "Great One" quickly pleaded, "I had no choice, really! I never intended to kill anyone. I've confessed everything truthfully, so please let me go."

Even without Zhou Min pointing it out, everyone could tell the guy was lying.

He didn't intend to kill, yet he still did it?

However, Cheng Zhiyu didn’t want to kill either, so dealing with this person became a dilemma.

Of course, he didn’t want to bring this person back to the base, but simply letting him go seemed too lenient.

Cheng Mo seemed to read his thoughts and said, "How about we strip him of his superhuman ability?"

Upon hearing this, the "Great One" panicked and struggled frantically. "No, you can’t do this! If you strip me of my superhuman ability, I’d be better off dead!"

Although his superhuman ability was extremely weak now—any Superhuman could take him down—he still considered his status as a Superhuman superior, nothing like these regular folks.

Besides, as long as his superhuman ability remained intact, even if it improved slowly, it would still grant him a way to defend himself.

If they really stripped him of his superhuman ability and turned him into an ordinary person, how's he supposed to survive?

Just like Xiang Qizheng, any run-of-the-mill Superhuman could easily kill him.

Moreover, without his superhuman ability, how could he go to another base? After all, there wouldn’t be mutant wheat or a bunch of suckers for him to scam.

*Who's he threatening? If he wants to die, so be it.*

Cheng Zhiyu’s expression turned cold as he nodded slightly. "Do it."

Cheng Mo said gently, "Alright, leave it to me."

Honestly, he thought it was too much hassle—just killing the guy would be simpler. But who made Zhiyu so kind-hearted?

Little Roll released the "Great One," who, before he could even feel relieved or attempt to escape, found himself trapped inside a large water bubble. Cheng Mo walked ahead while the water bubble rolled along behind him.

It was just like rolling a ball.

The "Great One" screamed his head off.

Soon, the man and the ball moved far away. Moments later, Cheng Mo returned from outside, and the "Great One" was gone.

Cheng Zhiyu didn’t press further. Instead, he asked the people there if they were willing to leave with him. If they were, they should pack their things; if not, he wouldn’t force them.

Upon hearing this, everyone was more than willing. Staying in this remote valley where nothing could be grown, they would eventually starve to death.

Leaving with them might mean reaching Small River Base and living a stable life.

They hurriedly went to pack their belongings, worried they’d get left.

Cheng Zhiyu went with his uncle Liu Pingan to the cave dwelling where Liu Pingan’s family lived. The family of three didn’t have much—just a little mutant wheat, some pots and pans, a blanket, a few pieces of clothing, and nothing else.

His aunt seemed in a daze, finding it hard to believe. "When your uncle said he heard your voice earlier, I didn’t believe him. I never thought it would really be you."

Long Long happily circled around Cheng Zhiyu. "Brother, you’re awesome!"

Cheng Zhiyu smiled, but his heart sank seeing how thin the child had become. During the New Year visit to his uncle’s house not long ago, Long Long had been plump, and his uncle had even joked that he needed to lose weight.

How could so much change in such a short time?

He pulled out some snacks from his space and offered them to Long Long.

Long Long’s eyes widened in excitement, nearly over the moon. So much food! And all his favorite snacks.

Over the past six months, Long Long had grown up a lot. Instead of taking the snacks directly, he looked at his parents.

Liu Pingan smiled. "Your brother gave them to you, so go ahead and eat."

Long Long nodded happily, accepted the snacks, carefully opened a pack, swallowed hard, had to try a bite, then his eyes lit up, and he quickly offered some to his parents.

Liu Pingan automatically said, "You eat it, Dad doesn’t want any."

His aunt initially also said she didn’t want any, but seeing how thin her husband was, she added, "You should have some too."

In the end, all three family members tasted the snacks, their faces breaking into happy smiles. Before the apocalypse, they might have called snacks junk food, but now, eating them felt like pure bliss.

Outside, everyone had packed their things. Cheng Zhiyu had already put the off-road vehicle away in his storage space because driving was too quick for these people to keep up on the way to Small River Base.

Since it wasn’t that far anyway, they decided to walk.

In the group, everyone watched Liu Pingan’s family eating with envy, their mouths watering.

"It’s so nice that his nephew came just to find him. Even if my nephew were capable, he wouldn’t come looking for me."

"What are you talking about? It’s the apocalypse—who’s got time for anyone else?"

"I have relatives in Small River Village—my aunt. I don’t know how my aunt’s family is doing or if they’ll take me in when I get there."

"Sigh, I don’t have any relatives there." The person who said this seemed anxious, afraid that life at Small River Base might be worse than in the remote valley.

But since everyone else was leaving the valley, he had to go along too. Staying alone would be suicidal.

He just didn’t know if Small River Base was really as good as they said or if they were being deceived.

And so, the group moved slowly toward the base, feeling a mix of anxiety, excitement, and unease.

These people hadn’t had enough to eat for too long and had little energy, so they walked very slowly.

Straggling along, after more than an hour, they encountered a group of Superhumans from Small River Base who were out on a mission.

Everyone was delighted to see Cheng Zhiyu. "Brother Cheng, you’re finally back! Everyone’s been talking about you!"

"Yeah, Brother Cheng! Hey, why are there so many people here?"

Among those calling him "Brother Cheng" were some older than Cheng Zhiyu, but after the zombie horde attacked the base, everyone respected him, and "Brother Cheng" had become a sign of respect.

Just as Cheng Zhiyu was about to speak, someone in the crowd shouted, "Er Zhuang, Er Zhuang, is that you?"

Er Zhuang was stunned when he heard his name.

The person quickly said, "I’m your aunt!"

Er Zhuang finally recognized her and hurried over. "Aunt, is it really you?"

Er Zhuang’s aunt nodded repeatedly. "It’s me, it’s me! I was planning to go find your family, but I never expected to bump into you on the way."

Er Zhuang asked about the rest of her family, and his aunt wiped away tears. "Your uncle, along with your younger brother and sister, were all bitten by zombies. At the time... I felt like dying myself."

She was the only one left in her family, and her heart was heavy. Every day in that remote valley, she was just going through the motions, thinking she’d take it one day at a time. Even if she died the next moment, it hardly mattered.

Especially seeing others with their families, she couldn't even put into words how she felt.

Earlier, when she decided to follow the group to Small River Base, she thought of her younger brother’s family. She wanted to come and see if any of her relatives were still here.

Unexpectedly, by sheer coincidence, she ran into Er Zhuang.

Aunt Er Zhuang couldn’t hold back her tears. Before, she had no one to cry with, but now she finally had the chance to pour out the sorrow in her heart.

Hearing this, Er Zhuang also started crying. "Wahh," he sobbed, "Auntie, why has life been so hard for you?"

Aunt Er Zhuang held his hand and asked, "How’s your dad? And your grandparents, are they okay?"

"I… Grandpa didn’t survive, but Grandma and Dad are both fine," Er Zhuang wiped his tears.

Hearing that her father was gone, Aunt Er Zhuang felt a pang of sadness, but she was also relieved that her mother and younger brother were safe. At least she still had family!

With that thought, she pulled herself together and resolved to follow Er Zhuang back to the base.

Seeing that Aunt Er Zhuang had found her relative, the others in the group felt both hopeful and anxious as they continued their journey back to the base.

When they reached the base entrance, they were told they had to be quarantined.

Even Cheng Zhiyu and his group had to wait outside.

But news had already spread inside the base, and many came hoping to see if any of their relatives were among the newcomers.

Grandpa Zhao had been busy in the agriculture department when Fang Guowei came to tell him about the situation at the entrance. "Aren’t you going to check? Maybe your relatives are there."

Grandpa Zhao quickly asked, "Which villages are they from?"

His daughter had married into another family, and he wasn’t sure if her village was among them.

Fang Guowei named a few villages, and a glimmer of hope appeared in Grandpa Zhao’s eyes. "I… I’ll go take a look," he said hurriedly.

Seeing how anxious he was, Fang Guowei quickly added, "Hey, don’t rush! Take your time."

Grandpa Zhao replied, "I know, I know," but his feet wouldn't slow down. How could he? The thought that his daughter might be at the entrance made him wish he could fly over to see.

When he reached the base entrance, the crowd was chaotic, and Grandpa Zhao scanned the crowd but couldn’t spot anyone.

Luckily, Cheng Zhiyu noticed him and called out across the quarantine distance, "Grandpa Zhao, are you looking for someone?"

"I’m looking for Zhao Xiang, Zhao Xiang—my daughter!" Grandpa Zhao said urgently. "Xiao Cheng, please help me find her."

Cheng Zhiyu agreed, hoping to find Zhao Xiang. Earlier, after losing his son and grandson, Grandpa Zhao had been devastated, even trying to starve himself at one point. It was only after joining the agriculture department and having work to do that his spirits improved somewhat.

If Zhao Xiang couldn’t be found, Cheng Zhiyu feared Grandpa Zhao might not be able to take the news.

"Zhao Xiang! Is there anyone named Zhao Xiang?" Cheng Zhiyu called out.

Cheng Mo and the others also joined in calling for Zhao Xiang, but after a while, there was no response. Cheng Zhiyu’s heart sank with worry. Could it be that she wasn’t here?

Just then, an anxious voice rang out, "Here, I’m here…"

A thin woman with messy hair holding a little girl’s hand quickly said, "I’m here…"

Cheng Zhiyu breathed a sigh of relief and quickly led her to the edge of the quarantine area. Before he could say anything, Zhao Xiang started crying. "Dad! You’re okay… that’s enough, that’s enough."

Zhao Xiang’s daughter also wiped her tears. "Grandpa!"

Grandpa Zhao was both happy and sad. His daughter had arrived with only her granddaughter—the rest of the family was likely gone.

But no matter what, at least his daughter and granddaughter were safe.

The entrance was filled with voices calling out names—those who found their relatives laughed and cried, while those who didn’t looked disappointed.

Those without relatives in the base seemed lost, full of worry about the future.

After quarantine ended, those with family were allowed into the base, while those without waited outside, fearful and unsure what would happen next.

Cheng Zhiyu asked Tian Qiao to take his uncle’s family of three home first while he went to find Lin Kang to discuss how to deal with the people at the entrance.

Most of them were ordinary people, with only a few Superhumans.

When he arrived, Cheng Zhiyu explained the situation apologetically. "I brought them back without consulting you first."

"We’ve talked about this before—the base is short-handed. Besides, we’ve harvested the mutant ratoon wheat, and the base’s stores are full. Taking in a few hundred people won’t be a problem," Lin Kang said with a smile. "What’s more, we already agreed that you’d take over the base when you returned. I’ll gradually hand over my responsibilities to you."

Lin Kang couldn’t hide his relief and joy—finally, he wouldn’t have to deal with headaches from managing every day.

He really wasn’t meant to be a leader!

Cheng Zhiyu fell silent.

"My thought is, we can’t just let all these people into the base. The existing housing is already occupied, and there’s no room for them," Cheng Zhiyu said. "Besides, bringing them all in at once would be hard to manage."

Lin Kang nodded, agreeing with his reasoning. "That's what I was thinking too. So what’s your plan?"

Cheng Zhiyu: "We only enclosed part of the larger village to build the base initially. There are still many houses outside—we can arrange for them to stay there first and slowly expand the walls later."

Lin Kang fully supported his decision. "I knew you must have already had a plan when you brought them back. Let’s do it that way."

So the arrangements were made. Even living on the outskirts of the base was safer than other places. After all, if zombies reached this area, they’d be targeting the base, so we’d have to deal with them fast.

The several hundred people were given places to stay. As they settled in, hungry and exhausted, they caught the scent of food and their mouths watered. Cheng Zhiyu hadn’t lied—it seemed the base had good food. They wondered when they’d get some too.

Fortunately, they still had a little food left to hold them over for a few days, though they weren’t sure when they’d be allowed into the base.

"Come and get it! Food's ready!" someone called out.

The crowd was stunned. Food? For them?

Before they could process it, they instinctively moved closer and saw several base residents—men and women wearing aprons—pushing carts with buckets of steaming noodle soup.

"This… this is for us to eat?" someone asked in disbelief.

One of the women smiled. "Of course! Today’s meal is on us—eat as much as you want. But starting tomorrow, you’ll have to work on building the walls. You’ll get two meals a day then."

The people were too surprised to speak. They had assumed they’d only get food once inside the base, never expecting to be fed outside as well.

"Do you have bowls? If not, we have some here, but you’ll need to wash and return them after eating," the woman added.

"Yes, we have bowls!" everyone said urgently, afraid that if they hesitated, there’d be nothing left to eat.