Chapter 118: The Only Trading Post
Lu Weiyi, with his noble demeanor, lounged comfortably in the shade while everyone else worked. Sipping on an iced drink, he casually commented, “The plants we stimulate can only be eaten. If they’re not planted in soil, the seeds won’t survive. We have to keep enough seeds for each plant.”
This was the result of numerous experiments conducted by a group of researchers from the previous life’s academy. While abilities could help growth, plants stimulated without soil couldn’t thrive, even if the seeds were left behind.
This caused issues in the past, as those who relied on ability users to plant food eventually couldn’t survive without them. At one point, wood-based ability users were held in high regard, and food seeds went through a period of scarcity.
“Also, the seeds produced from stimulated plants can only be used for up to five generations. After that, they won’t sprout anymore.” In other words, without soil, after several generations of stimulation, the plant could simply disappear.
This was a major cause of famine in the previous life.
Zhuang Mingxu, realizing the consequences, immediately thought of the ramifications. “We can’t use any abilities at all? Our seed supply is limited.”
“The growth cycle can be shortened by about half, I think,” Lu Weiyi replied, uncertain.
Zhuang Mingxu marked an “X” on his plan for “stimulating food” and silently adjusted the growth cycle to two-thirds of the original.
*
After finishing up tasks at the base, the team was preparing to head out to hunt zombies for the day, looking for crystal cores to use as the new currency for the trading post.
Wu Yue brought back news that the higher-ups at the base had already seen the crystal cores and learned that they could enhance abilities.
However, they had no intention of making it public yet. Everyone wanted to hold onto this information until their own abilities were enhanced enough before sharing it with others, which would give them an advantage in the base.
“Also, I heard that zombies now have abilities,” Wu Yue said, passing around a gray and a green crystal core he had obtained. He asked Zhuang Mingxu, “What should we do next?”
Zhuang Mingxu examined the grayish-brown crystal core. It looked dull at first, but upon closer inspection, it seemed to have a faint grayish substance inside, not very pure. He handed the core to Lu Weiyi and took a look at the green one, which looked similar. After thinking for a moment, he smiled broadly, “Let’s just reveal it to everyone and take credit for this discovery.”
“Aren’t we going to collect them first?” Wu Yue asked, thinking they should enhance their own abilities first before going public.
Zhuang Mingxu shook his head. “We’re too few. If we rely on hunting zombies to enhance our abilities, it’ll be too slow. It’s better to go public. There are many small teams outside that don’t have abilities. Even if they learn that crystal cores can enhance abilities, they won’t be able to use them. They’ll likely trade them for supplies.”
The next day, with clear weather, Lu Weiyi and the team went to the newly bought trading post, located in the trading center. A sign on the door read, “The Only Trading Post.” (Only = Weiyi)
Lu Weiyi felt indifferent. After all, Zhuang Mingxu was used to naming things like that in his company. He had long gotten used to it, but the others found it a bit awkward.
“Just ate, and now we’re being forced to eat dog food,” Xu Sa muttered to Liu Rui, leaning on his shoulder.
“I’ll open a trading post for you in the future, called Dean Trading Post,” Antonio promised to Dean.
“No, it sounds a bit silly,” Dean replied quietly, but as soon as he saw Lu Weiyi glance over, he immediately straightened up.
When the iron gate slammed shut, Lu Weiyi pushed Zhuang Mingxu into the house, glanced around, and called out, “Dean.”
“Eh?” Dean thought he had been caught and immediately wanted to explain, but before he could speak, Lu Weiyi said, “From now on, you and Bai Miao will be in charge here. Lu Xi will focus on research in the future, but for now, he’ll stay with you here.”
When it came to Lu Xi’s research, Zhuang Mingxu remembered the information he had asked his people to gather. He turned to Lu Xi and said, “I had someone check it out. There’s a research department in the Qingyuan City base, but their projects mostly focus on the zombie vaccine and medical research, so it doesn’t quite align with what you’re doing.”
“Also, all the researchers there are affiliated with the Li and Gu families, so sending you there might not be very welcoming. We’ve decided that for now, you’ll stay with the team. Once things settle down, we’ll find what you need for your research.”
Lu Xi nodded.
Lu Weiyi turned and began organizing the shelves they had prepared, while the Gu brothers helped with the heavy lifting and positioning of items, discussing which items should go where.
“These next few days, other factions from the base will likely test us in various ways. Don’t be polite. Show your strength so they’ll think twice before acting rashly,” Zhuang Mingxu advised the others who had come to settle in.
“Don’t worry, we won’t hold back,” Antonio said.
“Uh… Mingxu, if relatives come by for supplies or something…” Bai Miao hesitated.
“Relatives?” Xu Sa looked around, puzzled. “Aren’t we all without family now?” They had all traveled together for a long time, and while it was never explicitly said, most of their backgrounds were clear. Xu Sa looked toward Chen Zhong and the others.
“My wife and daughter are living in the family quarters. They won’t take anything without permission,” Chen Zhong volunteered.
“My parents are in another city. My girlfriend broke up with me when I decided to stay,” Shen Xing shrugged.
“Mm…” Bai Miao hesitated to speak. Eventually, Wu Yue couldn’t stand it anymore and subtly pointed at Lu Weiyi.
Bai Miao is from Ningyuan, knowing about Lu Weiyi’s family situation, exchanged a glance with Wu Yue, but said nothing. Zhuang Mingxu was momentarily stunned.
It had been so long since he had focused on his own condition, and with the Ji family not showing up, Lu Weiyi never mentioned anything. He had completely forgotten about the Ji family. Now, hearing Bai Miao bring it up, he remembered that Lu Weiyi did have family. He glanced at Lu Weiyi, who was organizing the things, and said, “Go ahead and take what you need.”
“Bai Miao’s parents were high-ranking in Zhuang Mingxu’s company before the apocalypse, so they know about both Zhuang Mingxu and Lu Weiyi’s situations. Bai Miao didn’t trust Zhuang Mingxu now, especially since it was obvious that Lu Weiyi had more influence within the team than Zhuang Mingxu did.”
“I’ll talk to him later,” Zhuang Mingxu said.
“Alright.”
As Bai Miao was talking about Lu Weiyi’s troublesome relatives, no one noticed a well-dressed girl outside the large window. She tugged at another beautiful girl beside her and whispered, “Ji Lin, isn’t that your gay brother? It looks like he has space ability.”
“Nonsense, Fang Wan. Lu Weiyi died back in Wutong City. How could he still be alive…” Ji Lin’s words stopped, and she turned to stare at Lu Weiyi. After watching for a while, she saw him raise his hand and shelves appeared one after another. “It must be those jade pendants from my mom.”
“What do you mean?” Fang Wan asked.
“Before the apocalypse, Lu Weiyi tricked my brother into giving him a set of jewelry. My mom said that set was antique, and it’s very likely to have space ability,” Ji Lin said, pulling Fang Wan toward her home. “I need to go back and tell my family.”
On the first day of opening, to make a good impression, Lu Weiyi brought out some chicken and pork from his space, including whole chickens, ribs, and pork belly, stacking them in the cold storage. Though it wasn’t much, it looked impressive given the current circumstances.
On the nearby vegetable rack, they placed the vegetables they had traded for on their journey. They only put a small amount of each, but the bright green color was appetizing. Next to that was a fruit rack with apples, pears, peaches, plums, and even a few watermelons.
After a sudden heavy snowstorm, most wild fruits and vegetables had frozen to death, so fresh produce was now a rare commodity.
“Isn’t this from the first village we came across after leaving Wutong City?” Antonio recognized the familiar items and remembered the missing watermelons from the field.
Lu Weiyi smiled proudly but didn’t answer.
“Give me a sweet melon. Dean’s been thinking about it for a while,” Antonio said, going for the sweet melon he had been craving. He then realized the entire watermelon field had disappeared, vines and all.
Lu Weiyi wasn’t stingy and immediately took out two watermelons to give to Antonio. He also brought out two more large watermelons and called to the others to share.
In the scorching 30-degree heat, having a watermelon felt like a luxury.
“Don’t forget to collect all the seeds, we can stimulate them again later if we want more,” Gu Qingyue said, placing a trash can in the center of the group.
“Swallowed… swam it down,” Liu Rui said.
“Then you’ll grow a watermelon in your stomach,” Zhuang Ai Yi said with a frightened expression, speaking in a childlike voice and staring at Liu Rui’s belly.
“Hahaha… When the watermelon grows, we’ll pick the biggest one for Ai Yi to eat, okay?” Xu Sa teased him.
“Uh… Uncle, can I eat it?” Zhuang Ai Yi asked, looking up at Lu Xi, who was feeding him the watermelon.
“…” Lu Xi was speechless but spooned out a piece of watermelon without seeds and fed it to him. Only then did he think of an answer. “When it grows, Uncle will check it for you to see if you can eat it.”
“Okay, I’ll come find you when it grows,” Zhuang Ai Yi puffed out his cheeks as he ate, not forgetting to tell Liu Rui, “Uncle Liu, save me one, okay?”
“Alright, I’ll save them all for you,” Liu Rui laughed.
*
Not far from the Longmen villa district, in the Zijin Garden, Ji Lin pulled Fang Wan quickly toward a small villa. As they entered, they bumped into someone—Ji Jin, the person Lu Weiyi had tricked just the day before the apocalypse.
“Ji Lin, can’t you be more careful?” Ji Jin rubbed his chest where she had knocked into him, frowning.
“Brother, do you know who I just saw?” Ji Lin said.
“I’m not interested. I’m taking the team out to look for supplies. You two can go flatter the young masters from the Li and Gu families. Don’t wander around aimlessly,” Ji Jin said, not feeling there was anything wrong with an older brother saying such things. He finished speaking and was about to leave.
Ji Lin was annoyed, but ever since their supplies disappeared and it was linked to Li Ji, her position as his girlfriend had become awkward at home.
They had no choice but to sell their house in the Longmen villa area and move into their current place. A heavy snowstorm had hit, and now their family mostly relied on Ji Jin’s abilities. Even though she wasn’t happy about it, she couldn’t complain.
