Chapter 159

Xie Zhou saw the box of chocolates; the packaging looked very familiar.

Back when they first started wandering together, he would specifically look for this brand of chocolate every time they entered a supermarket.

At that time, it was because a certain little glutton loved eating them. Whenever the boy threw a tantrum, bringing out this chocolate was a guaranteed way to coax him back to a good mood.

But it seemed the baby had forgotten about that later on, mistakenly believing that Xie Zhou was the one who liked eating them.

Xie Zhou reached out to take them, whispering a raspy thank you.

An An tilted his head, leaning against his father’s arm. To Xie Zhou, the scene before him was incredibly evocative, reminding him of the more difficult times in their past.

But to An An, the sunset tonight was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

When a large group of people gathered, they certainly couldn’t make do with simple meals like one or two people might; among these ability users, there were people specifically responsible for cooking.

Their skills were excellent. Even in the outskirts of the city, they could still whip up a feast that excelled in color, aroma, and taste^[1].

Today, the ingredients they brought included meat, and they even went as far as caramelizing sugar^[2] for the braise.

Zhou Li hadn’t quite understood before why the ability users he met on the road would try so hard to convince him to end his wandering life and join a base.

Now that he was experiencing the joy of a group gathering, he finally understood. He didn’t know if there was truly strength in numbers, but the food was definitely better.

If he were alone, there was no way he would be eating such a steaming hot meal!

The fact that An An couldn’t eat human food was something Xie Zhou had only mentioned in passing before, yet the person in charge of catering had taken note of it.

They brought over a small bowl filled with crystal cores for him. Various types of crystal cores were mixed together, filling the bowl and looking exceptionally beautiful.

An An held his bowl and a spoon, found a random spot to crouch down, and began to eat, looking just like everyone else.

It wasn’t just An An; even Pingping and Xiao Guai weren’t left out.

After noticing this small detail in their preparations, Xie Zhou was finally willing to believe that they truly didn’t mind having zombies and mutant beasts around them.

So much time had passed since the beginning of the apocalypse, and Xie Zhou had developed his own methods for identifying whether someone was faking their intentions.

No matter how good a person’s acting was, they would eventually show their true colors over time.

It was very difficult to fake certain details, such as the look in one’s eyes or subconscious movements.

The eyes of these team members when they looked at the baby were filled with nothing but pure affection, and they had even thoughtfully prepared crystal cores for their dinner.

Perhaps to others, this was just a small, effortless gesture, but just like the swing prepared for the baby in that small base to the west, these details moved Xie Zhou deeply.

After traveling for three days, they finally successfully reached the city where the crops were being grown.

When the several rounds of acid rain had fallen, almost all the land had been contaminated. Even if things were forced to grow, they couldn’t possibly survive until harvest.

After field investigations by experts, it was finally determined that the soil pollution in this city was the lowest.

The Doctor had developed a special fertilizer that could purify the land. The soil in the city where the Red Star Base was currently located could not be successfully purified, or rather, the purification was incomplete, and the survival rate of the improved seeds remained very low.

After many experiments, this location was chosen for grain cultivation.

Aside from the transportation being slightly troublesome, there were no other issues.

Wood-type ability users at the Red Star Base did not work in logistics. Zhou Li, who originally thought he would only be planting vegetables and fruits, was taught how to fight by several other Wood-type ability users after arriving here.

To him, this was like opening the door to a whole new world!

When they reached the city where the grain was grown, there weren’t even any ability users guarding the main gate. This abnormality quickly put them on high alert.

To prevent the hard-won plants from being destroyed by zombies, the area had been fenced off, with fourth-grade ability users stationed at regular intervals.

If they wanted to enter, they would normally need many permits.

But today, from the moment they arrived in the city until now, they hadn’t seen a single living person. When they walked into the experimental fields, all the grain had already been harvested. On a nearby ridge between the fields lay two corpses.

From the identification they carried, it was clear these were people from the Red Star Base.

These ability users were very skilled at handling various emergencies and quickly began investigating the surrounding area.

Based on the traces left behind, as well as the direction and tire tracks of the departing vehicles, they could judge that it was likely people from the Dawn Base.

The Team Leader in the lead took out a device and relayed the news to the base. Upon receiving orders to return, they briefly packed their things and prepared to head back.

On the way back, they encountered some wandering ability users.

When people wandered outside for a long time, their information became exceptionally well-informed. Some ability users looked down on the conduct of the Dawn Base, and after learning they were from the Red Star Base, they shared what they knew.

In the Dawn Base, Wood-type and Water-type ability users were not valued because their abilities lacked offensive power and their physical constitutions were relatively poor.

Compared to other ability users with strong combat power, their treatment was significantly worse.

While not true for everyone, the vast majority of ability users in the Dawn Base were selfish. Faced with such differential treatment, they were naturally unwilling to accept it.

When one or two started making trouble, Fang Sinian didn’t look for ways to improve their treatment. Instead, he simply used force to suppress them, making them realize just how important strength really was.

At first, Fang Sinian’s approach was indeed very successful. Many people began to feel fearful and chose to compromise.

But later, ability users of other elements began to bully them more and more aggressively. Even a clay figurine has a bit of spirit^[3], let alone these naturally selfish ability users.

One by one, they made excuses and left the Dawn Base directly.

Fang Sinian was furious when he heard the news; he certainly couldn’t allow them to just leave.

The Dawn Base seemed to maintain a very delicate balance, but in reality, as long as a tiny mistake occurred, this superficial balance would be shattered.

Fang Sinian knew this very well, so he could not tolerate anyone who wanted to disrupt that balance.

After discovering that the Wood-type and Water-type ability users had fled, he took the high-level ability users from the base and captured them all.

Some died on the spot, and those who were brought back were no longer as diligent as before.

However, the vast majority of ability users in the Dawn Base were accustomed to luxury. After living the good life, asking them to go back to hardship was practically asking for their lives!

Seeing that the grain stored in the Dawn Base’s warehouse was about to run out, while the crops planted by the Red Star Base in this city were nearing maturity, Fang Sinian simply sent people over to rob them.

Not only did they steal all the grain, but they also slaughtered every single one of the ability users the Red Star Base had sent to harvest and guard the area.

From the traces left at the scene earlier, it could be judged that the Dawn Base was involved. Now, the words of these wanderers confirmed their suspicions.

Everyone was furious. One man punched the vehicle hard; his hand was scraped and bleeding, but he seemed unable to feel the pain. The people of the Dawn Base had truly gone too far!

Red Star Base had always been very generous to the outside world, including other bases.

After producing waste materials that could purify soil and successfully developing improved seeds, they had already sent messages to notify other bases, telling them that if they had a need, they could bring other items to exchange for them.

At that time, Fang Sinian felt the planting process was too long, and coupled with the fact that it required a lot of manpower to maintain, Dawn Base had no such idle people to spare. Thus, he rejected the offer without a second thought.

Xie Zhou and Zhou Li had originally planned to leave An An behind if they confirmed Red Star Base was reliable, and then return to seek revenge on Fang Sinian.

But looking at it now, the conflict between the two bases had reached a fever pitch; it seemed it was no longer just a matter involving the two of them.

Upon returning to Red Star Base and undergoing an inspection, they compiled everything they had seen and heard during this trip.

Everyone in the base was furious to the extreme upon hearing the news. In the past, it was one thing for Dawn Base to rely on its strength to bully people, but now they had directly moved to kill the base’s ability users and snatch their grain.

Such behavior was simply cruel to an appalling degree!

Having been outside for so many days, Xie Zhou and Zhou Li had not slept well. Once the inspection ended, they went back to lie down on a large bed and fell into a deep sleep.

Zombies and mutant beasts do not need rest. In the past, for safety’s sake, whenever his father fell asleep, An An would obediently lie in the covers next to him and wait.

But now, inside Red Star Base, An An could feel that the other people harbored no ill will toward him.

Before his father went to sleep, An An sought his permission first, using his fingers to gesture to his father that he wanted to take Pingping and Xiao Guai out to play.

Xie Zhou thought about it and realized that children of this age did indeed need playmates, so he nodded in agreement. He specifically instructed him that he must never bite people and must not leave the base.

An An nodded obediently, agreeing to each point.

For safety’s sake, the base still sent someone to keep an eye on them.

Although they all retained their reason and ability to think, they were, after all, a zombie and mutant beasts, and they were still young.

If an unexpected situation occurred, they might do something irreversible in a moment of impulse.

Having someone watch them was both to ensure they didn’t harm others and for the sake of their own safety.

Inside Red Star Base, people young and old all had their own tasks to keep them busy.

For instance, simple tasks like cleaning were basically handled by the elderly.

The pay was very low, barely enough to let them eat their fill every day.

When An An was led down the street by Auntie Song, everything he saw felt incredibly novel, making him look like a little country bumpkin zombie who had just arrived in a big city.

There were actually lamps that could light up and emit multicolored glows!

An An had originally thought the toys he owned were quite impressive, but it wasn’t until he came to Red Star Base that he realized his things were simply not worth mentioning.

After Auntie Song took An An for a stroll around the base, she also took him to meet some other zombie friends within the base.

There were a total of five high-level zombies in Red Star Base. Before being infected by the zombie virus, they had been members of the Red Star Base community.

After discovering they were infected by accident, they did not turn into monsters without memory or reason. The several individuals, who had already picked out a good spot to end their own lives, secretly ran back.

Red Star Base hadn’t been able to accept zombies and mutant beasts from the start. Some people had paid a certain price, and there were even zombies and mutant beasts who lost their lives to save humans.

Through this subtle influence, these people came to understand that zombies with memories and reason were still their compatriots.

And mutant beasts could be as loyal as domestic pets.

After a round of playing and seeing the world, little An An was somewhat dazed when Auntie Song brought him home. Pingping and Xiao Guai, who were with him, weren’t much better off.

Xie Zhou and Zhou Li rested for an entire day and night. No matter how hard one tried in the wild, it was impossible to rest well in that environment.

Both of them had been wandering and drifting outside before. Maintaining vigilance at night had long since become a habit. Only in an environment they could confirm was completely safe could they enter a deep, restorative sleep.

While they rested, the little zombie and the two mutant beasts were being looked after by Auntie Liu.

Auntie Liu was an ordinary person. After settling down in Red Star Base, she had been working in preschool education, which barely allowed her to survive in the apocalypse.

She was a very meticulous person. After noticing that An An didn’t like eating Wood-type and Water-type crystal cores, she stopped bringing them over.

Pingping and Xiao Guai finally didn’t have to pick up the crystal cores An An didn’t like; instead, their bowls only contained the ones they liked for every meal.

The strength of Red Star Base was indeed formidable, having accumulated many crystal cores since the base was founded.

The treatment they provided certainly couldn’t match the “ask and you shall receive” style of Dawn Base, but it was basically allocated according to individual needs.

Whether it was An An or the other two mutant beasts, each of them was a very heavy eater. If one carefully calculated the crystal cores consumed every day, anyone would find it heart-wrenching.

This was a direct order from the base leader: no matter how much they ate per meal, they must be allowed to eat their fill.

Powerhouses who had broken through to level ten, as long as they remained in the base, could basically guarantee the base’s safety.

Besides this, Red Star Base had always had an idea, but due to their strength, they could only endure it.

Now that the base had Xie Zhou and Zhou Li, as well as a little zombie above level ten, it was time for them to strike back.

Dawn Base had previously been very keen on snatching things from their hands. Their style of conduct was very flamboyant, as if they were using that method to tell others that Dawn Base was stronger than Red Star Base.

Several times their actions had provoked public anger, but because there were too many powerful ability users cultivated under that cruel system, everyone had to swallow their resentment.

This time, they had even snatched the crops they had worked so hard to grow for so long and killed so many ability users and ordinary people from their base.

If they continued to endure, putting aside what others might think, even the families of those who had sacrificed themselves in the base would have grievances against them.

Red Star Base and Dawn Base had lived together in this hostile manner for several years with constant friction; a war had long been on the verge of breaking out.

Xie Zhou could guess the gist of these complicated matters. Only the little zombie understood nothing, spending his days looking forward to Auntie Liu coming to see him early.

Once Xie Zhou confirmed that the leader of Red Star Base indeed intended to deal with Dawn Base, he told Zhou Li about it.

After the two of them discussed it, they planned to reveal everything they had experienced.

The fundamental reason Dawn Base had such strong combat power was that they had eliminated everyone who wasn’t excellent or strong enough, and their methods were extremely unscrupulous.

Red Star Base and Dawn Base were far apart. Previously, they had only heard that the leader of Dawn Base had a very cold personality, but they hadn’t expected him to be perverted to such an extent.

An An was taken to the kindergarten by Auntie Liu. Without worrying about corrupting the little zombie, Zhou Li poured out everything he had inquired about previously, like beans spilling from a bamboo tube.

“A daughter who only wanted her elderly parents to live out their years in peace was lured by Fang Sinian with the promise of a stable life to join the Dawn E-sports Team. Then, the very next day while the daughter was out on a mission, he sent people to insult and abuse her parents.”

“Exploiting the love parents have for their children to force the elderly couple into suicide.”

“Using the excuse of having someone to look after the children to lure in ability users who have children or younger siblings, only to turn around and have people blame those children for being burdens.”

The longer they lived in the post-apocalyptic world, the more these people felt that having someone to care about was actually a form of extreme happiness.

Once they attained a certain level of strength and earned everyone’s respect, they would return to their rooms only to face cold, bare walls. At those moments, they would begin to desperately miss the days when their families were whole.

They were all human, and they all had attachments and weaknesses. No matter how indifferent a person appeared on the surface, Zhou Li refused to believe they didn’t care about those relatives at all.

Especially a relative or friend they had once been willing to sacrifice their own interests to protect.

Perhaps the decadent, dream-like life in Dawn Base could briefly numb their nerves and keep them from dwelling on those things, but it only took someone to cast a hook for the memories to come rushing back instantly.

“Fang Sinian… he simply isn’t human!”

The base leader couldn’t help but curse after hearing this.

Using children to threaten parents, and in turn using parents to coerce children; as long as those vulnerable people had something to care about or someone they loved, they would definitely compromise.

Moreover, surviving in the harsh environment of the apocalypse made emotions prone to extremes, leading people to make choices in moments of impulse.

One of the people present, after listening to Zhou Li speak so eloquently, couldn’t help but ask a question.

“How do you know all this so clearly?”

Zhou Li froze for a moment upon hearing the question, then forced a bitter smile and replied:

“My younger brother died because of this.”

The atmosphere in the room fell silent for a time. The person who had asked the question moved his lips several times, not knowing how to apologize to Zhou Li.

Finally, a sudden knock on the door broke the awkward silence.

“Heh, heh…”

Hearing that familiar, tiny toddler voice, Xie Zhou knew it was his baby. He stood up quickly and walked toward the door.

Opening the door, he leaned down to pick the baby up and asked softly:

“What’s wrong? Daddy is discussing things with others right now.”

An An rubbed his head against his father and didn’t speak. Finally, he buried his head in his father’s chest, trying to deceive himself into thinking that others couldn’t see him.

In truth, nothing was wrong; An An just missed his father after playing outside for a few hours.

After all, before arriving at Red Star Base, he and his father were rarely apart.

They were discussing matters related to Dawn Base, which were of great importance. No one intended to speak after An An entered, until finally, the base leader took the lead.

“Continue. I think Fang Sinian’s ambition is vast; what he wants is definitely more than just Dawn Base.”

Xie Zhou sat down on a stool while holding An An, helping him straighten his messy clothes.

Previously, he had always thought the baby was relatively steady like other zombies, but after arriving at Red Star Base, he discovered that once the child had playmates, he became incredibly mischievous.

His clothes basically had to be changed every day, otherwise they would become filthy beyond recognition.

Sometimes when Xie Zhou was tired, he would try to let the child make do, but the boy was incredibly fond of cleanliness. He absolutely refused to go to bed unless he was changed into clean clothes.

Once they finished their conversation, during a lull, Xie Zhou brought up the small base to the west. It had been destroyed by Fang Sinian, who lured a zombie tide to wipe it out simply because they had taken in ordinary people fleeing from Dawn Base.

“Pingping is the Mutant Beast raised by that base leader’s younger brother.”

Everyone present had thought that what they knew of Fang Sinian’s actions was already excessive enough, but there was always something even more outrageous waiting.

To make his base’s strength grow, he truly had no humanity left.

A thin man wearing a white shirt, sitting in the corner, suddenly spoke up:

“If… if we succeed, can we rescue the zombies that Fang Sinian used as test subjects?”

After he spoke, Xie Zhou’s peripheral vision caught the man’s face. He suddenly felt the person looked familiar; they must have met somewhere before.

The base leader knew the man’s situation perfectly well. He frowned and thought for a moment, but for the sake of caution, he did not agree immediately.

“If they are still alive, it’s possible. But the human experiments they conduct are extremely cruel; no one can guarantee they will still be alive by then.”

“I see. Thank you.”

The brief meeting ended. As they walked out, Xie Zhou kept staring at the young man.

Gu Wen noticed that Xie Zhou was staring at him and simply stood by the side of the road to wait for him to approach.

“Have we met somewhere before?”

Xie Zhou held An An in his left arm. An An had both hands wrapped around his father’s neck, and after his father spoke, the little boy also began to use his small brain to think.

“Yes. I really didn’t expect we would meet again in this place.”

“At the time, I also didn’t expect that the child you were carrying would actually be a zombie.”

“Back then, for the sake of my own safety, I didn’t tell you that my ability is Healing-type. I’m sorry. Has your body fully recovered now? Are there any lingering effects?”

From his appearance, Gu Wen had an aura that was cold yet carried a hint of gentleness. He spoke at a measured pace with a certain charm that was very comforting to hear, perhaps due to the nature of his ability.

Reminded by these words, Xie Zhou suddenly remembered that when he and the baby had encountered that Space-type zombie, his arm had been bandaged by the man in front of him.

“Healing-type?”

“Yes. People who awaken this kind of ability are quite rare. Within half an hour of being infected by the zombie virus, I can help purify it. Even after half an hour, I have a fifty percent chance of allowing the infected person to retain their memories.”

Gu Wen took the initiative to introduce his ability to Xie Zhou. When he first met Xie Zhou, he only thought the man himself was quite powerful; he never imagined that the Little Zombie he was carrying was the truly formidable one.

Now that they had both joined Red Star Base, he had set aside all his previous wariness.

“After my younger brother was bitten by a zombie, my younger sister was too panicked and used her Healing-type ability right in front of many people. It happened to be seen by people from Dawn Base… then, they were captured to become test subjects on an operating table.”

Gu Wen felt a bone-deep hatred for the people of Dawn Base. Previously, because he was a Healing-type with no combat power, he could only pretend not to care about the matter.

Red Star Base also conducted similar experiments, but they didn’t tie him to an operating table; they only occasionally needed him to cooperate by providing a few vials of blood.

“If Red Star Base really intends to fight back, someone like me with no combat power and poor physical strength probably won’t be taken along.”

“Could you do me a favor, for the sake of me helping you with your bandages back then?”

Gu Wen could see that Xie Zhou was a good person, so he didn’t bother playing mind games like he used to and stated his purpose directly.

“I can, if it’s within my power.”

“When you go to Dawn Base, if you see a five-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy zombie in the laboratory, please help me bring them back. Thank you.”

After saying this, Gu Wen bowed deeply to Xie Zhou.

An An subconsciously reached out his small hand to steady him, but as soon as Gu Wen looked over, he pulled it back and gave him a little smile.

At the time, Xie Zhou had always found it strange. His injuries were so severe that he shouldn’t have recovered so quickly. He had originally assumed it was because his ability level had increased, causing his regenerative powers to grow stronger.

Only now did he realize that An An had been helping him behind the scenes.

Xie Zhou was still thinking about this when they arrived home. An An struggled to be let down, heading over to the coffee table in the living room where a few new items seemed to have appeared.

He unzipped his small backpack to find several books inside. An An tilted his head in confusion; he couldn’t seem to understand a single word.

His small brows furrowed as the bewilderment in his eyes grew deeper.

Heh?