Chapter 117: The Team Begins to Form
Most of the time, this place was used for gatherings. The first floor had only two rooms: one for Lu Weiyi and Zhuang Mingxu, and the other temporarily assigned to Li Zhuang. He was an ability user with high vigilance, so staying on the first floor would keep him alert in case anything happened.
In addition, there was a shared bathroom, a large kitchen, and the rest of the space was the living room. Normally, furniture would divide the living and dining areas, but during gatherings, everything would be cleared away. Even with the living room set up, the dining area alone could accommodate three or four tables, enough for dozens of people to eat.
The second floor had the most rooms, with several suites and single rooms. Each person had enough space for themselves. There were even couples among them, and everyone chose the rooms with the best natural light, leaving some rooms vacant.
As for the third floor, which had originally been Zhuang Mingxu and Lu Weiyi’s master bedroom, it was now assigned to Lu Xi and Zhuang Ai Yi.
The rooms were ample, and the gym and piano room remained unchanged. The greenhouse, however, was converted into a vegetable garden under Lu Weiyi’s orders.
After selecting their permanent rooms, the group began settling in. Lu Weiyi also provided everyone with five sets of clothes and shoes, a sort of initial employee benefit.
“We should probably find a fabric factory later and stock up on cloth. Otherwise, we might not have any clothes to wear in the future,” Xiong Jie said as he rummaged through a pile of clothes to find the right sizes for himself and Xi Shi.
“We should stock up on salt, but right now it’s best to stock up on food,” Zhuang Mingxu said. He had already prepared his clothes in advance and, watching the others change, he asked Chen Zhong, “Brother Chen, when we entered the base, we took salt. Whose idea was that?”
“It should have been the military’s. Collecting supplies has always been their job,” Chen Zhong replied. “But I’ve also heard that some of the big families are storing salt.”
Qingyuan is a typical inland city, and things like salt are usually transported from other provinces. If they don’t take the initiative now, they will inevitably be caught in a bind later. Zhuang Mingxu tapped the armrest of his wheelchair, deep in thought. “Do they have a location?”
“At first, they were eyeing the salt mines in Zhoujia County, but people who came from there said the salt mines disappeared after the earthquake. Recently, they’ve been focused on a large distributor in Qingyuan, but rumors say there’s not much salt there. Now, with this heavy snow, there’s no news,” Chen Zhong said.
Zhuang Mingxu listened and began drawing a map of Qingyuan on a tablet, marking all the places they had passed through, the routes clearly outlined.
By the time it was almost lunchtime, Wu Yue, excited, came downstairs with his newly awakened earth-based ability.
After a round of congratulations, while everyone was gathered, Zhuang Mingxu spoke up about their future plans.
The team was small, and there were still people who weren’t fit for going out to gather supplies, so Zhuang Mingxu divided everyone into two groups. One group, mainly composed of Lu Weiyi and other ability users, along with a few capable individuals, would go out to find supplies.
The rest would stay at the base, handling logistics. For now, they were tasked with food and farming.
Naturally, Xi Shi would be in charge of food.
“As for farming, we haven’t found anyone suitable to manage it yet. Gu Qingji, who has wood-based abilities, can directly stimulate plant growth. In the future, we can actively recruit more wood-based ability users to help us grow various crops, ensuring we have a solid backup in case we can’t find supplies outside,” Zhuang Mingxu explained.
He continued, casually scanning everyone’s reactions. “Finally, we have trading. Lu Weiyi and I have decided to open a trading post at the base, where we’ll exchange various supplies we collect using crystal cores.”
Lu Weiyi took out a white crystal core from his space and handed it around. “Like this one. After processing, it can enhance abilities. You should have felt it before,” he said, looking at Li Zhuang, Antonio, and Liu Rui.
“This is the one you asked me to trade for earlier, right?” Wu Yue observed, examining the crystal core.
“You got it?” Lu Weiyi asked.
“I traded for quite a few, along with jade and similar items. They don’t have space capabilities,” Wu Yue said. “Should I have them sent over soon?”
“Yeah, as soon as possible. Have people continue collecting,” Lu Weiyi said.
“Everyone will receive a certain amount of supplies daily. You can either take your share or consume it as a group. The supplies for logistics personnel will definitely be less than for those going out. Additionally, anyone going out to search for supplies will be given crystal cores to help enhance your abilities. The quantity will be decided based on circumstances, but no one will be treated unfairly,” Zhuang Mingxu paused for a moment, then looked at each person in the room.
“Lastly, if someone encounters trouble while outside the base, their family will receive compensation from the team’s supplies to help them survive in this apocalypse.”
“If anyone has any questions or concerns, feel free to ask now. We can discuss and resolve them together.”
“Is this upgrade reliable?” Wu Yue was the first to speak, holding a crystal core in his hand, asking Lu Weiyi. “Is your ability related to this upgrade?”
“No, it’s just an auxiliary effect. It’s like taking a pill to enhance your cultivation in the cultivation world. At the same level, eating this won’t make your ability as strong as someone actively fighting,” Lu Weiyi explained.
The others passed the crystal core around and exchanged glances. The white crystal core was obviously different from the one Lu Weiyi had previously given to others. Antonio and Li Zhuang exchanged a glance without saying anything, returning the core.
Seeing that no one had any objections, Zhuang Mingxu quickly arranged for the upcoming days: from securing a store to recruiting wood-based ability users and reinforcing the yard. He had thought through every detail and had already found his indispensable role in the team in the shortest time.
With supplies and connections in place, they secured the shop the same day. In the evening, Wu Yue arrived with Li Dongsheng, who had been posing as his “lover.” They unloaded two large backpacks filled with jade and dozens of crystal cores in a candy box. Lu Weiyi’s eyes immediately brightened.
“I’m not sure about the quality, so I asked someone knowledgeable to appraise it. They said these were sold for over 100,000 before,” Li Dongsheng said, opening the backpack for Zhuang Mingxu to inspect.
Li Dongsheng was an honest farmer who had always been poor and single. Before the apocalypse, he worked as a security guard at Zhuang Mingxu’s company. After learning that his elderly mother was seriously ill, Zhuang Mingxu established a charity fund within the company to help employees’ families with medical treatment. Li Dongsheng had always been grateful to him. When the apocalypse broke out, he immediately followed Zhuang Mingxu.
Seeing Zhuang Mingxu sitting in a wheelchair, Li Dongsheng’s expression was full of excitement. “President Zhuang, your leg… can it still be treated?”
“It will get better. You’ve worked hard. If it weren’t for you informing Wu Yue, they might have been wiped out,” Zhuang Mingxu patted his shoulder. “From now on, you’ll still be a member of our team.”
“Well, good people will be rewarded. You’ll be fine for sure,” Li Dongsheng said clumsily, unable to say much more.
Lu Weiyi had already stored the jade into his space. Feeling a slight twinge near his navel, he thought about how his space could expand again and became happy. “Xi Shi, let’s have chicken stewed with mushrooms for dinner tonight.”
“Okay,” Xi Shi agreed.
“…Thank you, Young Master Lu,” Li Dongsheng, thinking it was because of himself, hurriedly thanked Lu Weiyi, his whole body filled with awkwardness.
Lu Weiyi waved his hand, his beautiful face still cold, though his eyes were filled with a smile.
“For the next couple of days, don’t go out searching for supplies. You should practice your abilities with Gu Qingji. He’s also a wood-based ability user, and you two can exchange ideas,” Zhuang Mingxu introduced Li Dongsheng to Gu Qingji, letting them communicate on their own.
That night, Xi Shi did indeed cook chicken stewed with mushrooms, along with stir-fried tomatoes, lettuce, and green beans, paired with big steamed buns. One person could easily eat several.
Lu Weiyi watched as Lu Xi ate one and a half buns and drank a big bowl of porridge, worrying that he might eat too much.
*
Later that night, just before bed, Zhuang Mingxu pulled out his little notebook and showed it to Lu Weiyi.
“This is the list of supplies I think we’ll be lacking in the future. We need to start collecting them soon. Take a look and see if there’s anything that needs to be changed.”
The list covered everything from oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and clothing, to coal and even some machinery, like flour mills and oil presses—everything was meticulously planned. It clearly indicated that things could be expedited or postponed if needed, making sure everything was organized down to the last detail.
Lu Weiyi lay on the bed, feeling helpless. If Zhuang Mingxu had been the one reborn, he would have done it much better than he did. “It’s already great,” he said.
Lu Weiyi seemed a bit down. “I just didn’t think of it.”
“You’ve done really well,” Zhuang Mingxu took the notebook and placed it on the bedside table, then lay on Lu Weiyi’s stomach. “After the apocalypse started, Ai Yi kept falling ill. I was worried about you all the time—zombies are terrifying, what would you do alone?”
“Later, when I got hurt, I reflected on it. I hadn’t taught you properly; I was only thinking about protecting you, completely forgetting that if something happened to me, there’d be no one to protect you. What would you do alone? So at that time, I didn’t even dare to die.” Zhuang Mingxu turned his head to look at Lu Weiyi, his eyes filled with appreciation.
“I didn’t expect my little Yi not only to live well on his own but also to find strong teammates and save me. That’s amazing.”
Lu Weiyi gave a shy smile. “In the future, you stay at the base. If you need anything, I’ll lead people out to find it.”
“Okay, but it has to be safe. Others listen to me because you’re here. If something happens to you, no one will take care of me anymore.” Zhuang Mingxu placed the burden of his safety on him, hoping he would take care of himself.
“Don’t worry, I know,” Lu Weiyi assured him seriously.
*
The next morning, several new ability users appeared in the team.
Bai Miao had awakened a wood-based ability, Gu Qingyue had awakened water, and Xiong Jie had awakened earth. Zhuang Mingxu also revealed his space ability at the right moment.
This gave others hope of awakening their own abilities, and there was much chatter and excitement even at breakfast.
Outside, the mud hadn’t cleared up, so no one went out. Li Zhuang and Liu Rui, along with a few others, dug out a basement from the villa’s underground. The rest stayed inside the villa, organizing the supplies in Lu Weiyi’s space.
Gu Qingji led the newly recruited wood-based ability users to stimulate potatoes and sweet potatoes to prepare for planting.
The small yard of the villa was turned into a half-acre temporary planting area. Xi Shi and Li Dongsheng, who had farmed before, were planting the germinating potatoes.
With a dozen or so ability users, they couldn’t keep up with the work of two people.
“I was thinking of gathering a batch of wood-based ability users to specialize in food cultivation, but at this speed…” Zhuang Mingxu observed all morning, his tone filled with disappointment. “They’ll probably starve.”
