Chapter 158

The baby’s smug little expression was, of course, fully witnessed by Xie Zhou.

An An was the precious treasure he and his wife had welcomed after careful preparation. During his wife’s pregnancy, he had read many books and understood very clearly that a father’s role occupies a vital position in a child’s growth.

A child raised surrounded by love would have a greater sense of security and more confidence when facing the storms of life as an adult.

Therefore, from the moment the apocalypse began until now, Xie Zhou had been telling An An that he was Daddy’s treasure, an irreplaceable treasure.

Even as a little zombie, An An still maintained the innocence and liveliness of a human child.

Driving along the flat road, Zhou Li also took a distracted glance back. He had to admit that in certain matters, he indeed did not do as well as Xie Zhou.

Ever since his younger brother left, every detail of their past time together seemed to be deeply engraved in his mind.

Xie Zhou controlled his emotions very well; no matter what happened, he would never release his stress onto An An.

An emotionally stable father who could provide positive output for An An was truly a treasure that could not be bought for any price.

A map lay on the passenger seat, allowing them to judge their position based on surrounding landmarks or objects.

The number of people rushing toward Red Star Base was clearly not as bustling as those heading toward Dawn Base. If Zhou Li encountered people on the road who needed help, he would lend a hand.

As long as it was within his capabilities and did not affect him personally, he would help. However, if someone was tactless enough to make excessive demands, Zhou Li would not indulge them.

Xie Zhou saw everything he did but had no intention of interfering with his actions.

After all, although they were traveling together now, Zhou Li was still an independent individual.

Furthermore, since his own baby was so greedy for the other man’s little black snake, Xie Zhou felt too embarrassed to say much.

Pingping was very afraid of small things like Xiao Guai. Every time Xiao Guai got close, it would jump three feet high in fright.

Xiao Guai would always take advantage of Pingping’s inattention to quietly coil around its paws or lie on its nose. Once Pingping noticed, Xiao Guai would enjoy the sight of the husky being so scared that its four paws moved in different directions.

Xie Zhou felt embarrassed because his baby was constantly grabbing the other’s snake, and Zhou Li felt equally guilty because his Xiao Guai was constantly teasing the other’s husky. The two of them became increasingly polite toward each other.

Before the weather turned completely cold, they finally saw the walls of Red Star Base.

The screening at the gate was very strict, also involving blood tests. If it was determined that the blood carried the zombie virus, the individual needed to stay in a specific observation room for three days.

Those who mutated into mindless zombies would be shot on the spot.

If they possessed rationality, they would be placed in a special area to stay. If everything remained peaceful, it was naturally for the best.

Xie Zhou and Zhou Li queued up for the inspection. When it was their turn, Xie Zhou took the initiative to explain that Pingping and the baby, as well as the little black snake hanging around the baby’s neck, were not normal creatures.

After saying this, Xie Zhou stared tensely at the person responsible for registration, fearing he might show some strange expression, his heart hanging in his throat.

If they showed any intention of harming the baby, he would leave with the baby without hesitation.

“Zombie?”

The expression on the registrar’s face did not change at all. He looked up and stared at An An for a moment. An An, who had not been in contact with humans for a long time, nervously hugged his father’s neck.

“Yes.”

“Take this and go stay over there for three days. After three days, if it’s confirmed you haven’t lost your mind, you can come out.”

Xie Zhou felt the strength with which the baby was hugging him and knew he would be afraid in a strange place, so he took the initiative to ask, “Can I go in with him?”

“Yes. Once you enter, you cannot come out midway. You must stay for the full three days.”

Not just An An, but Pingping and Xiao Guai were the same. Zhou Li couldn’t bear to be separated from his Xiao Guai, so he also entered the isolation area.

During the three days, the base provided them with simple food and water.

After the three days were up, someone came to check on them. Once it was confirmed that Pingping, An An, and Xiao Guai could all understand instructions and possessed the ability for independent thought, they were released.

They were led to a new room for registration. The registrar sitting there looked up at Xie Zhou and asked:

“Name, ability, rank, age.”

“Xie Zhou, Lightning-type, Rank Seven, thirty-nine.”

Rank Seven?!!

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the room was stunned into silence. The person in charge of registration even stood up subconsciously.

Red Star and Dawn were currently the two strongest bases after the apocalypse, but they had never produced a single Rank Seven ability user.

The strongest among them were at Rank Five; only last month had someone luckily broken through to Rank Six.

At Dawn Base, it was said the strongest was only at the mid-stage of Rank Six.

Out of caution, the registrar spoke up:

“Would you mind if we test your strength?”

“I don’t mind.”

The survival environment outside was far too difficult. No matter how powerful Xie Zhou was alone, he could no longer live outside with An An as they had before.

Currently, besides Dawn, there was only Red Star. Between the two, he naturally chose the one that could accept his baby.

The scientists in Red Star Base had previously developed a machine that could detect ability ranks, but this news had not been made public, and the machines were rarely put into use.

An assistant in a white coat came and taught Xie Zhou how to use the machine.

He channeled his spiritual power into the instrument. The dial showed that he was only a tiny distance away from Rank Eight. The alarm sound from the machine drew everyone in the room to gather around.

Zhou Li was also curious and, following what he had overheard, stepped forward to try it.

The numbers on the dial stopped at the Rank Six and a half mark. He withdrew his hand with some regret.

He couldn’t even touch the tail of Rank Seven, while Brother Xie was already about to break through to Rank Eight.

He was just a logistics worker who could only grow fruit in the rear, while Brother Xie had the highly aggressive Lightning-type ability and a son with an extremely powerful Space-type ability.

He had known there was a significant gap between him and Brother Xie, but he hadn’t expected the gap to be this large. Truly, comparisons are odious^[1].

Red Star Base supported many ordinary people, and it had been a long time since someone with such a high ability rank appeared. Someone even ran off to notify the base’s leader, and they all came to watch.

Pingping, who usually loved to join in the excitement, also offered its paw at this time.

The people in that small base in the west had only treated Pingping as a relatively smart dog, but after raising it for a while, Xie Zhou could roughly guess from the crystal cores Pingping preferred that it should be a mutant beast with a Water-type ability.

Sure enough, the electronic screen displayed Water-type, with the rank stopping at Rank Four.

Xiao Guai was also curious now. It slithered down from An An’s neck and approached. Metal-type, Rank Three and a half.

The others had all finished testing, so An An also reached out his hand.

In this group, one was a peak Rank Seven they had never seen before, and another was a Rank Six and a half who would be considered a top powerhouse even in their base. Even the two inconspicuous mutant beasts were Rank Four and Rank Three and a half.

Therefore, almost everyone took it for granted that perhaps this last one lacked talent.

An An focused his mental energy and struck at one of the points. Under everyone’s curious gaze, a crisp cracking sound rang out. The noise startled An An so much that he immediately pulled his hand back and hugged his father’s leg.

“What happened?”

An An’s eyes went wide. He looked at the broken device and then at his father, shaking his head with a face full of innocence.

It wasn’t him! It definitely wasn’t him!

The registrar had never encountered a situation where the machine broke before, so he had the assistant go invite the doctor responsible for developing the device.

Before Dr. Li arrived, the leader of the Red Star Base showed up. After learning about the situation, he took the initiative to walk over and shake hands with Xie Zhou and Zhou Li.

“Welcome to the Red Star Base.”

Pingping also squeezed over, extending his paw in an attempt to shake the old man’s hand.

Xiao Guai, hanging off Pingping’s body, offered up his tail.

The old man had seen all sorts of bizarre mutant beasts since the apocalypse began; a dog and a snake weren’t particularly outrageous. Without changing his expression, he reached out and shook each of their “hands” in turn, saying with a smile:

“You are welcome as well.”

When the grey-haired Dr. Li was called over, her face was written with displeasure. She was still arguing with the assistant who had summoned her even before she stepped through the door.

“Impossible! The machine I developed used the best materials. It’s absolutely impossible for it to break!”

After entering the room, she saw the damaged instrument sitting on the table, along with a Little Zombie who was trying his best to bury his head in his father’s chest to minimize his presence.

Dr. Li took her glasses out from her coat pocket, put them on, and leaned in to carefully inspect the damaged equipment.

As she observed it, her expression grew increasingly solemn.

“This…”

Her vast professional knowledge told her that nothing had gone wrong with the machine itself; the detection process had been normal.

That left only one possibility: a powerhouse above the tenth rank had appeared in this world, and the machine simply couldn’t withstand the pressure.

“Who was the last person to touch this instrument?”

Dr. Li’s gaze swept over everyone in the room. She was inclined to suspect the man standing in the center; one look at him told her his ability level was not low.

An An had already pulled open his father’s coat, trying to stuff himself inside. It would be best if no one could see him at all.

He could tell how precious this machine was from the serious looks everyone gave it. Even though the machine had only broken because he did exactly what they told him to do, An An still felt guilty, fearing they would demand compensation.

To others, compensation meant crystal cores, but to An An, that was his food!

Even the bad-tasting crystal cores were starting to run low. Between feeding Pingping and Xiao Guai, An An had to start calculating his stored crystal cores very carefully.

Xie Zhou could feel the baby in his arms constantly tapping his hand. He leaned down and whispered in his ear:

“It’s okay. This isn’t your fault. Daddy is here; just let Daddy handle it.”

Since a valuable machine had been damaged, even though Xie Zhou didn’t think the responsibility lay with his baby, he still apologized to them.

“I’m very sorry. We didn’t know the machine would break because of this.”

Even Xie Zhou wasn’t entirely sure of An An’s exact ability level. He only vaguely remembered that ever since he discovered his baby-turned-zombie could fill his stomach by eating crystal cores, the boy had eaten a great deal every day.

Xie Zhou specifically chose coats with large pockets for him, and every pocket would be stuffed full of crystal cores.

He’d eat two if he was happy, and a few more if he wasn’t. If Daddy was asleep and couldn’t play with him, he’d eat two more to relieve his boredom.

Occasionally, while riding on his father’s shoulders during their travels, the baby would pop a few into his mouth as snacks.

After his father finished speaking, An An was practically pricking up his ears to listen, feeling incredibly guilty.

Regarding the damage to the machine, Dr. Li, its creator, did feel a bit sad and thought it a pity, but she knew very well that it had nothing to do with the people in front of her.

When she first created this machine, she hadn’t considered that there would be powerhouses above the tenth rank.

“It’s fine. It was a lack of foresight on my part.”

With the best materials currently available, the machines she built could only withstand ability testing up to the tenth rank. Dr. Li had her assistant pack the item up so she could take it back to the lab for repairs.

“By the way, the various experimental instruments from the underground laboratory in G City are currently stored in An An’s space.”

If he hadn’t seen Dr. Li, Xie Zhou might have forgotten about this.

He had originally chosen that mission to repay the people of that small base for building a swing for An An.

No one expected that while he did bring the items back, that base would no longer exist.

He had thought those things would just sit there, but now it seemed they had found a use.

“The underground lab in G City? Really? What did you bring?”

The elderly Dr. Li rushed over to Xie Zhou to inquire.

Before the apocalypse, the underground lab in G City was among the top-tier facilities in the world. She had mentioned many times that if there was a chance, she hoped to retrieve the equipment from there.

With the technological level available after the apocalypse, it was impossible to recreate such precision instruments.

Most importantly, before the end of the world, that lab had been conducting a classified experiment. The security measures were excellent, so the equipment shouldn’t have been destroyed.

“All of the experimental equipment was brought back. Where do you think would be appropriate to place it?”

Dr. Li grabbed Xie Zhou’s wrist and started pulling him toward her laboratory. An An took this opportunity to cautiously observe the old lady’s expression.

“Heh heh?”

Oh right! His space was still filled with those useless but space-consuming metal lumps!

If this grandma was willing to let him take those things out as compensation for the broken machine, An An would be more than happy to clear them out immediately.

After passing through several layers of security and entering the inner laboratory, Xie Zhou had An An bring out the machines.

Just as they had guessed, the machines were in perfect condition and hadn’t been affected at all. At most, there were a few minor scratches, but nothing that hindered their use.

The wrinkles on Dr. Li’s face deepened as she broke into a wide smile. She waved her assistant over, planning to start a new research project immediately.

Because of their high ability levels and the fact that they had brought advanced experimental equipment, they were granted the privilege of a private reception.

After seeing off the enthusiastic staff, Zhou Li finally approached An An, staring at him as if he were a rare animal.

“Sigh, I never realized before… your ability level is actually higher than Brother Xie’s?”

Throughout their journey, Zhou Li had always thought An An was just a little parasite being raised by Brother Xie. Since he was young and cute, Zhou Li felt he would want to raise him too.

When Xiao Guai had been scared into hiding on his arm for several days, Zhou Li had always assumed it was because Pingping was there and the snake was afraid of the dog.

Later, when he saw Pingping acting afraid of Xiao Guai, Zhou Li felt a sense of satisfaction, as if his Xiao Guai had finally gotten revenge.

Previously, when they encountered danger and Brother Xie was occupied, Zhou Li would even proactively move closer, wanting to protect the little guy.

After learning that An An’s ability level had broken through the tenth rank, Zhou Li looked back on his previous actions and felt like a clown, somewhat overestimating his own importance.

A little zombie whose ability level had already surpassed the tenth rank had no need for his protection.

He leaned over and gave An An’s chubby cheeks a firm squeeze, only letting go after he felt fully satisfied, ignoring An An’s resistant and struggling gaze.

“How come I didn’t know you were this powerful before?”

An An frowned and let out a threatening “He-he” sound. He didn’t like people rubbing his face like that. Daddy said that if children get their faces rubbed too much, they’ll drool, and he didn’t want to be a drooling little zombie.

The word “drool” easily made An An think of those zombies wandering outside, with their disgusting, rotten appearances.

“Stop growling, I’m your Uncle Zhou.”

Once Zhou Li thought it through, he was actually quite happy. He helped tidy up An An’s messy hair and said with a chuckle:

“Actually, it’s pretty good this way. At least I don’t have to worry about you being bullied by others anymore. In the future, if Uncle Zhou gets bullied, I can even have An An help me get even.”

An An frowned and slapped his uncle’s hand away, then ran over in a huff and tied Xiao Guai into a knot.

Xiao Guai struggled hard to untie himself. After finally managing to get free, he lay on Zhou Li’s shoulder and whipped him twice with his tail.

Every debt has its debtor. As a very observant snake, Xiao Guai always sought revenge only against those he knew he could afford to provoke.

Inside the Red Star Base, they were granted the right to live in a detached villa. Both of them expressed their willingness to accept assignments and complete tasks distributed by the base.

Because of their significant strength, they were both assigned to the strongest team currently in the base.

Xie Zhou didn’t have many requirements regarding completing tasks, only stipulating that no matter the time, he must bring the baby and Pingping along with him.

Xie Zhou liked the atmosphere of the Red Star Base and was willing to believe they wouldn’t do anything to harm the baby, but caution had become a habit. He couldn’t feel at ease without keeping them by his side.

Neither the person nor the dog was a burden. After the news spread that the little zombie had broken a machine just after entering the base, many people were curious about him.

When out on missions, there were many times when they needed to bring items back. Having a powerful space-type ability user along also lightened their burden considerably.

According to the rules of the Red Star Base, An An could only follow his father on weekends. At other times, he had to go to school in the kindergarten.

Due to his special circumstances, he was given six months to adapt, allowing him to report for school next semester.

In the Dawn Base, children without combat power were the first to be abandoned. When ability users could no longer fight due to injury or if their ability levels dropped, they were likewise discarded.

But in the Red Star Base, these children were still very well protected.

They studied and learned to read in school, and they even had homework and exams. Every day, the school provided a nutritious meal to ensure they had a balanced diet.

They had physical education every day to exercise their bodies. Those who had already awakened abilities had specialized courses, while those who hadn’t awakened had to train their physical strength and free combat.

The Red Star Base had a relatively complete system. The flowers of the motherland^[2] remained flowers even in the apocalypse; in fact, because children were so rare, they were protected even more diligently.

For their first mission, their goal was to bring back a group of people who had been out of contact for three days.

That team had lost contact with the base while traveling to a neighboring city to transport newly ripened crops.

The Red Star Base had developed new wireless equipment with very strong signals that could be received under almost any circumstances.

Under normal conditions, collecting ripe crops was a simple task and shouldn’t have resulted in such a long loss of contact.

The only possibility was that they had encountered an unexpected situation.

Out of caution, the ability users sent out this time were of relatively high levels and possessed rich combat experience.

Sitting in the back of the large truck’s canopy, the team members had even arranged a small, exclusive seat for the baby.

Xie Zhou took off his jacket, folded it, and placed it down as a cushion before letting the baby sit.

In this world, his little zombie was probably the only one who would feel that his bottom hurt after sitting on a hard bench for too long.

In the past, when they traveled on the motorcycle for a long time, he would look just like a little monkey hanging off Xie Zhou’s body.

For Xie Zhou, this kind of interior vehicle arrangement was very familiar.

The journey was tedious, so most of them gathered together to chat.

Xie Zhou and Zhou Li, who had just joined their team, along with the little zombie whose ability level had reportedly broken through the tenth rank, were points of curiosity for everyone.

“Xie Zhou, looking at you, are you quite familiar with this kind of setting?”

“Yes, I used to be a soldier.”

Xie Zhou admitted it straightforwardly. Their shared experience gave them a sense of closeness, making them feel less like strangers.

“Is your son really a little zombie? Was he born a zombie or something? Were you scared at the time? Can zombies eat food?”

Seeing another uncle trying to come over and pinch his face, An An hurriedly buried his head in his father’s arms, reaching out to hug his father’s arm to block their stares.

“Yes, he really is. He was bitten by a zombie when he was over two years old, so he just stopped growing.”

“He’s my son, of course I wouldn’t be afraid. Besides, even if he turned into a little zombie, he’s very well-behaved and obedient.”

“Zombies can’t eat human food; they can’t digest it.”

Xie Zhou answered patiently one by one. He hoped that after explaining things clearly to these people, they would set aside their prejudices against zombies.

In the future, when An An was in the base, it would be best if no one looked at him with strange eyes.

“Since zombies can’t eat, how did you feed your son until he’s so chubby?”

This adjective wasn’t an exaggeration at all. They were, after all, relatively strong ability users in the Red Star Base who had encountered countless zombies, yet it was their first time meeting one that clearly looked like he had a very high quality of life.

“He was like this before he turned into a zombie.”

At that time, Xie Zhou felt guilty for not providing An An with good enough living conditions, so he tried his best to make up for it in other ways.

Furthermore, his lightning ability was already very high back then. Among the people he encountered, almost none had a higher level than him. Every time they reached a new place to scavenge for supplies, he would always pick out the things the baby liked.

“What about that husky? A husky can actually become a mutant beast? I used to think only wild animals could.”

Pingping knew they were talking about him and that they were looking down on him. He let out a dissatisfied “He-he” sound and started arguing with them right there in the carriage.

For every word someone said, he would let out two growls. Judging by his expression, this husky was cursing quite foully.

At dusk, they found a flat, open area to stop and rest.

Most of the road surfaces were severely damaged. For safety reasons, they wouldn’t travel at night. In the evening, Zhou Li produced a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables for them.

The fruits, freshly ripened from accelerated seeds, didn’t even need washing. One of the ability users in the team picked up a green radish and started munching on it.

Xie Zhou wasn’t quite used to such an overly lively environment. Although he had been the same way with his comrades during his service, returning to this atmosphere after so many years felt like a dream from a lifetime ago.

The last time his comrades had gathered together was for their farewell party. Back then, his heart had been full of joy and anticipation as he looked forward to building a home with his girlfriend.

Thinking of his wife caused Xie Zhou’s mood to sink.

The setting sun gradually dipped behind the mountains, leaving only the evening clouds, thick and crimson like blood, spread across the horizon.

Xie Zhou found a patch of grass and sat down, his silhouette appearing exceptionally desolate.

Not far away, the others were working with feverish energy, and even Pingping was helping out.

An An searched around for a long time before finally spotting his father. He hurried over on his short little legs, but as he drew closer, he sensed that his father seemed unhappy, so he gradually slowed his pace.

He walked over and sat down beside his father, searching carefully through his Space until he finally managed to pull out a box of chocolates.

Like someone presenting a precious treasure, he held it out to his father, making soft “he-he” sounds in his milky little voice.