Chapter 150: Torrential Rain
“Brother Mingxu, are you… okay?” Bai Miao had just finished distributing the seeds for today’s plant stimulation when she went to check on Zhuang Mingxu in his usual spot.
Zhuang Mingxu was in a daze—highly unusual for someone who normally wanted to split every minute in two just to get more done.
He shook his head. “All arranged?”
“Yeah, we’re still distributing potatoes and sweet potatoes these days. By the end of the day, we should harvest around 150 kg or so. But some of the previously stimulated plants are no longer responding. I tried it myself and it felt strange. The energy I injected just wouldn’t take root and grow,” Bai Miao said with a furrowed brow, confused.
It was probably just like Lu Weiyi had said: after five stimulations, no more growth was possible.
“If they won’t grow, just keep them for us to eat. Use the rest for stimulation. Also, go check how the ones we planted in the fields are doing—how much longer until they’re ready to harvest,” Zhuang Mingxu calmly issued instructions, as if nothing at all was bothering him.
“Alright.” Bai Miao nodded, but didn’t leave. “Brother Mingxu, I think Brother Weiyi likes you. Don’t overthink it.”
Zhuang Mingxu was momentarily stunned, then smiled and nodded. “Got it. Go ahead.”
Bai Miao hadn’t been particularly close to Zhuang Mingxu before the apocalypse. Afterward, she’d been taken care of by him. But with their age gap, she didn’t know how to comfort him now and just turned away, downcast.
Don’t overthink? Easy to say, hard to do.
He understood the reasoning, but he just couldn’t control himself. Zhuang Mingxu had always been a dominant person, someone with strong possessiveness. Now that his legs were injured, he’d buried all of that deep inside—but that didn’t mean he could just accept things easily.
When Lu Weiyi interacted with Li Zhuang, Zhuang Mingxu could see a difference. He seemed more like a real, sunny teenager—he talked back, rolled his eyes, even snapped when angry. But he never acted that way around Zhuang Mingxu.
Zhuang Mingxu didn’t want to admit it, but the truth was—he was envious. Between the two of them, there had never been any real conflicts.
Lu Weiyi used to not care about anything. Every decision was made by Zhuang Mingxu, and Lu Weiyi never objected or expressed opinions, so there was no room for disagreement.
But now, the entire squad had quietly begun to revolve around Lu Weiyi. He was starting to care about the team, taking the lead naturally, becoming a capable commander without even trying.
The traits he had once kept hidden were starting to shine through. Zhuang Mingxu had always known that people would be drawn to him—and not just a few.
And yet here he was… in his current condition.
Lu Weiyi, who was now constantly leading missions outside the base, probably didn’t even realize that every single bachelor in the Only Team had become a hot candidate for “base son-in-law.” Lu Weiyi, with his good looks and impressive abilities, stood out the most. And rumors that Zhuang Mingxu wasn’t worthy of him had already reached his ears countless times.
Burden. Deadweight. Unworthy.
He never thought those words would one day be used to describe him. Zhuang Mingxu covered his face, rubbing his knee with one hand. He wanted to laugh, but his eyes stung.
Li Zhuang was just the beginning—definitely not the end. Zhuang Mingxu had known that from the start. But now that it was truly happening, he found that he wasn’t as composed as he’d imagined he would be.
Would he get better? Or would he become another disabled person Lu Weiyi had to take care of?
Zhuang Mingxu looked up at the blazing sun overhead, unsure of how to continue facing Lu Weiyi going forward.
*
With the mutated ivy cleared away, people had started to travel this road again. After more than three months of apocalypse, those going to and from bases were generally either capable individuals or those with enough supplies to hire escort teams.
Worried about Zhuang Mingxu, and unable to leave Dean behind, Antonio and Lu Weiyi had taken a truck and were planning to take turns driving through the night to get back quickly.
“There’s a dark patch up ahead. I don’t know if it’ll reach us too, so we should hurry,” Li Qing said, pointing to the ominous black clouds on the horizon.
But even with their increased speed, what was meant to come still came. By 3 p.m., dark clouds had rolled in, thunder crashed, and a torrential downpour began—along with hail the size of baby fists.
“We need to find shelter from the rain!” The hail had already broken the windshield wipers. If they didn’t stop soon, the front windshield might not hold either. Li Qing, who was driving, said urgently.
In a situation like this, they had to find proper cover. Otherwise, even stepping outside could mean getting injured by the hail. As for hiding in the truck?
One look at those dark clouds and no one could say when it would stop. Even parked on the roadside, the truck might not be safe.
“We’re close to the place we stopped at last time. Let’s head there to rest. Stop—I’ll drive.” They were already past the location where the mutated ivy had grown. Going back wasn’t realistic, so it was better to head to the village where they’d previously stayed.
Lu Weiyi swapped places with Li Qing and extended both his mental power and Little Green Tendril outward to scout.
The headlights barely lit the road ahead, and the torrential rain quickly formed a small stream along the path. Accumulating hail blocked the way, and the truck was moving at a snail’s pace.
Slow as it was, nothing went wrong—even though the windshield was already covered in cracks.
Inside the cabin, the only sound was their breathing.
“There’s someone up ahead. Looks like… their vehicle broke down.” Lu Weiyi frowned and suddenly slammed on the brakes.
The truck jolted. Li Qing, in the passenger seat, asked, “What is it?”
“They’re trying to stop the car,” Lu Weiyi said, just as he saw someone beside the door pointing toward the truck bed. He nodded—unsure if the other party saw it—but he still gestured for the people in the small truck cabin ahead to head toward the back.
“Need help?” Antonio, who was sitting in the back, asked.
“They’re already in,” Lu Weiyi replied, starting the vehicle again.
They drove for nearly another hour before finally reaching the courtyard where they had previously stayed.
Hail was still pounding down with loud pitter-patter noises. Lu Weiyi took a few umbrellas out of his space and handed them out to the group—better than nothing.
As the vehicle stopped, the people on the truck bed had already dashed into the central house. Lu Weiyi’s group of five chose the room on the far left, the one they had stayed in before.
“Damn, is the sky trying to kill us?” Li Qing was hit on the arm by a chunk of hail as he entered, the entire patch of skin turning red. “Pretty sure that’s going to bruise.”
“This weather…” Li Zhuang stood at the door, looking at the thick layer of hail that had accumulated on the ground, sighing, “It really doesn’t want to let people live.”
“Hey, got any dry clothes? I’m feeling a bit cold,” Lu Xi said—his clothes were wet, though only his shoulder was hit by the rain.
Lu Weiyi pulled out a fresh set from his space for him and threw on a windbreaker for himself. He asked the others, “Want one?”
“Yeah, I’ll take one. I’m feeling kinda cold too,” Li Qing rubbed the goosebumps on his arm, frowning. “Did the temperature really drop?”
“It did,” Antonio replied.
Lu Weiyi handed each of them a coat and pulled out a bedding set to make the kang (heated brick bed). The five of them worked together to set it up.
Outside, the sky was so dark it looked like it might fall at any moment. That kind of atmosphere inevitably weighed on people’s moods.
“I wonder how Dean is doing,” Antonio said quietly, looking worried.
Lu Weiyi was also worried about Zhuang Mingxu—especially his leg. But the trip had been worth it. Thinking about how Zhuang Mingxu would be able to walk again soon, Lu Weiyi smiled silently. At last, there was hope.
The downpour continued for a while, then the hail finally stopped. Water had pooled in the courtyard, rising past the threshold and threatening to seep indoors.
“Should we go out and drain the water? Maybe ask them to help too?” Li Qing peeked toward the adjacent room but didn’t see any movement.
“No need.” Li Zhuang got up and walked to the door, using his ability to dig a trench beside the wall and block it off at the entrance. It sealed up to shin height along both sides of the door frame, preventing a single drop from entering.
Li Qing gave him a thumbs-up and sat back down on the kang. “Same powers, huh? Why are you guys just so much better?”
“We still don’t know what your ability is,” Antonio said.
Li Qing pressed his lips together, then extended his hand outside. A fire dragon extended from his palm—this was his maximum output.
But the others had seen much crazier things, so they weren’t surprised. They even offered commentary.
“I remember when we first met Liu Rui, his powers were this strong, right?” Antonio asked Li Zhuang.
“Stronger? Hmm… about the same, I think. It’s been too long—I forgot,” Li Zhuang replied.
“…When did you guys first meet him?” Li Qing asked.
“Around… seventeen or eighteen days after the earthquake, I think?” Antonio said, shaking his head. “Man, it’s been so long. Didn’t expect we’ve known each other for this long.”
Back then, he hadn’t even awakened his powers…
Comparisons can be brutal. Li Qing let out a heavy sigh and turned to Lu Weiyi. “I’m starving. What’s for dinner?”
Lately, since he’d been helping out, meals had been handled by Lu Weiyi. After eating with them for some time, Li Qing felt like it’d be hard to readjust when they returned to the base. With the return looming, he figured he’d squeeze in as many good meals as possible.
“We already finished everything we prepped.” They had brought ten days’ worth of food, but they’d shared a big meal at the Xiangning City base, so the side dishes were all gone. All that was left were things like buns, fried dough sticks, and steamed bread. As for the pre-apocalypse stockpile Lu Weiyi had saved, he had never once taken those out—they were too conspicuous and could attract trouble.
“If there’s no food, we can cook ourselves. We’ve got ingredients, right?” Li Qing said—only to see the other four staring at him without blinking. “Why are you all looking at me? Don’t tell me we’re completely out?”
“Not quite,” Antonio pointed to the other three. “But do you have the wrong idea about us? Do any of us look like we know how to cook?”
“I can make instant noodles,” Lu Weiyi said defensively.
“…You really said that with a straight face,” Antonio replied.
“Do you know how to cook?” Li Zhuang asked Li Qing.
“…Does barbecue count?” That was Li Qing’s only specialty—he’d learned it back in the field with his instructor when he was in the field army.
“Barbecuing in a cave? You’re a real genius,” Antonio said, his exaggerated expression paired with his imperfect Mandarin making it unintentionally hilarious. “Instant noodles sound better at this point. At least Lu’s are pretty good.”
