Chapter 217: Wintering in Hejin
A little after nine, Lin Minghong arrived with his two daughters to personally see them off. The girls had washed up and changed clothes, looking fresh and pretty.
Since they were in a hurry, they only exchanged a few polite words. Before they left, Lin Minghong took a case from an aide and handed it over. “This is a new injection we developed at the base. When administered, it renders an ability user unable to use their powers. It’s still unstable and may have side effects. Materials are scarce, so we haven’t produced many. We’d like to give you one, in case it’s useful in a critical moment.”
They had just discussed this very topic in the morning. Now that it was being offered, Ning Yuan even suspected it was a test of their intentions. Still, it would be foolish to refuse something handed over for free. “Then we’ll thank you, Brother Lin. Once the country stabilizes, you’re welcome to come visit us in the capital.”
“Safe travels,” Lin Minghong said.
Chen Guozhong personally led a group to see them out of the base.
It wasn’t until they had traveled a good distance that Lu Weiyi opened the case. Inside was a single blue injection stored in a cryogenic container. It looked mysterious. Lu Weiyi had never even heard of such a thing in his previous life, making him all the more curious.
“Lin Minghong is really something. If he can develop something like this, then ability users don’t stand a chance against him,” Ning Yuan said, eyeing the injection. He wanted to touch it but was afraid it might be too fragile.
“Shouldn’t the first priority be researching a cure or vaccine for the zombies?” Wu Yue asked. “I’d really like to know what purpose he had in mind when developing this.”
“Don’t tell me he’s planning to expand his territory and conquer other bases?” Xu Sa asked.
“It’s not that extreme. This thing isn’t that powerful,” Lu Weiyi replied. “If it were truly effective, someone would’ve spread it secretly by now. It has to be injected, and unless it’s someone close, how would you even get the chance?”
“What if they modified it into something like a tranquilizer gun?” Li Zhuang suggested.
Lu Weiyi shook his head. “Ability users can block bullets as long as they’re on guard. How would you even get close? This might be useful for shady business behind the scenes, but in open confrontation it won’t do much. If you really want to expand power, the best way is crystal-core weapons. Those can wipe out an entire base.”
Lu Weiyi thought back to the weapon Lu Xi had designed in his past life. Its effects were incredibly powerful. He realized he hadn’t been following Lu Xi’s recent research much. Ever since Lu Xi leveled up, he seemed to have gained new insights into his experiments.
The group resumed their journey, traveling day and night. They only stopped for a day or two when reaching a city, usually to hunt zombies.
B-class zombies were becoming more frequent. Along the way, the group often cycled through getting wounded and recovering, gradually becoming more proficient in controlling their powers. Some even developed new techniques in combat.
By late March, daytime temperatures dropped to -30°C. The cold and heavy snowfall came one after another.
The snow no longer felt soft—it was frozen solid like icy blades. It wouldn’t melt in your hands and piled up quickly. Within two hours, the road was completely buried.
“I can’t see the road. Should we keep going?” Li Dongsheng, who was driving, had already slowed to a crawl, but the car still kept slipping and sliding dangerously.
“We’ve reached the outskirts of Pingjin City. The city center is about two or three days away, but in this kind of weather, it might take even longer,” Zhuang Mingxu said, studying the map.
“Let’s find a place to rest nearby. I need to level up anyway,” Ning Yuan said, holding an unlit cigarette to his nose now and then, just to smell it.
Lu Weiyi went to check with Liu Rui and Antonio. Both were lagging in power due to a shortage of same-type crystal cores. Liu Rui nodded, and Antonio gave a double thumbs-up while holding the sleeping Dean.
They decided to stop in Hejin County on the edge of Pingjin City.
Before the apocalypse, Hejin County wasn’t very large—only about 100,000 people. The entrance to the city was a bus station.
The second-floor ticket hall was completely empty, blanketed in white snow, hiding any grime that might lie beneath.
Lu Weiyi scanned the area with his mental power. “No danger,” he said. More precisely, there was nothing at all.
They dug a basement and set the entrance behind the ticket counter. Even if someone came in, the counter would block their view, making it easy for the group to monitor things from inside.
With an earth-type ability user, a basement was easily created in just a few minutes. Fire-type users made it dry and warm—good enough for short-term living.
Once lights and basic supplies were set up, the temporary shelter was complete. Aside from being a little stuffy, there weren’t any real issues. After dinner, they began preparations for leveling up.
“On the upper-level ticketing hall. Patch up the broken glass area with an earthen wall,” Lu Weiyi made the final decision and confirmed the location.
The B-level zombies they had previously hunted had only yielded three to four hundred crystal cores. Other than what he had used himself, Lu Weiyi had saved the rest. Now was the perfect time to bring them out and help the others level up.
He divided the crystal cores into several portions and handed them to the three people. “I’m not exactly sure how many you’ll need. These are one hundred B-level crystal cores, and these are three thousand primary-level ones. Start with the primary ones. When you feel you’re about to level up, switch to the B-level ones. The process should feel similar to the last time. If anything goes wrong, tell me immediately.”
The three of them nodded and sat in different spots to begin absorbing the crystal cores.
Lu Weiyi sat on the ticketing counter while the others gathered nearby—some sitting, some standing—quietly monitoring the situation.
At higher levels, the speed of crystal core absorption naturally increased. A handful of cores disappeared in an instant in their hands.
At first, everyone silently stared. After an hour, they were still absorbing the crystal cores in silence.
“I can’t hold on anymore. I’m going to sleep. Call me if anything happens,” Xiong Jie, feeling groggy, stood up. Xi Shi, who had been accompanying him, was yawning nonstop as well.
“Go ahead and sleep. I’ll keep watch,” Xu Sa said, playing a single-player game on his phone while occasionally glancing at Liu Rui. As someone experienced in keeping watch, he spoke with confidence.
Lu Weiyi had to stay alert for any problems—higher level upgrades tended to be riskier. He folded his arms and remained silent.
Dean, bundled up like a ball with only his eyes showing, shook his head and mumbled, “David would definitely want to see me first.”
“I slept during the day. I’m not sleepy,” said Xu Sa, who, unlike the others, was only wearing a down jacket and fleece-lined boots despite the cold—looking like he was in a different season compared to Dean.
Thanks to the prepared B-level cores, the trio faced situations similar to what Li Zhuang had experienced earlier but barely managed to pull through.
“What was that?” All three had felt that they were just a step away from leveling up but couldn’t make the breakthrough. As soon as they were done, they didn’t even bother testing their abilities.
“Not enough crystal cores. If we had more B-level ones, it would’ve been much better,” Lu Weiyi explained.
“What if I hadn’t pulled through…?” Ning Yuan asked tentatively.
“You’d fail the upgrade…” Lu Weiyi thought back to the people in his previous life who had failed their upgrades, paused a moment, and added, “It’s not something you’d want to experience.”
Ning Yuan quietly closed his mouth.
“Starting tomorrow, we continue hunting zombies,” the seasoned Li Zhuang suggested.
Those who had just gone through the dangerous upgrade process nodded solemnly.
*
The snow had not stopped.
The snow piled from ankle-deep to knee-deep, frozen hard like blocks of ice. A step would only leave a faint imprint.
There were no signs of life in Hejin County—only zombies remained.
Since they couldn’t leave, Lu Weiyi and several A-level ability users devised an intense training plan, customized to each person’s fighting skill and ability type, with the goal of helping the lower-level ones make a solid advancement.
It was essentially a grueling one-on-one forced training plan, repeatedly pushing the participants to drain and replenish their powers, compelling them to upgrade.
“I want everyone’s abilities to reach at least A-level by the time the temperature rises,” Lu Weiyi said, distributing the plan documents.
Combat and support abilities were split into different training regimes.
Though all three—Gu Qingji, Bai Miao, and Li Dongsheng—were wood-types, their training differed: Gu Qingji would face nonstop battles with zombies, while Bai Miao and Li Dongsheng focused on stimulating plant growth.
“If you have objections, speak now,” Lu Weiyi, now bearing the air of a leader, declared. He had begun to consider the whole team and felt responsible for everyone. “If anyone doesn’t want to participate, say it now. Once you accept, you can’t back out halfway.”
Everyone glanced at their own plans and felt they were tragic. But when they peeked at the others’ plans, they realized—there was no “most tragic,” only “more tragic.”
The people who helped draft the plan wore gleeful smirks.
“Uh… is there a deadline? Like rest days or something?” Xu Sa tentatively stuck out his little foot and asked.
“…Until you level up or an accident happens,” Lu Weiyi answered, standing tall among the group. His youthful face was resolute.
Xu Sa, who had awakened his lightning powers the latest and had never encountered any matching crystal cores, looked at his training plan like he was staring at a future filled with endless suffering. He slumped dejectedly.
Since no one objected, Lu Weiyi moved on to assign groups. “One-on-one supervision and protection: Li Zhuang and Xu Sa, Antonio and Gu Qingji, Ning Yuan and Wu Yue, Liu Rui and Xiong Jie.”
He then took four pouches from his spatial storage, each containing fifty B-level and a hundred primary-level cores. “This is your pay. I ask that you complete your tasks at any cost, as long as it’s safe.”
The four A-level ability users glanced at one another, then at their teammates, took the crystal cores, and broke into identical mischievous grins.
“Gu Qingyue, Bai Miao, and Li Dongsheng will remain at the base under Zhuang Mingxu’s supervision. If you fail to meet expectations, you’ll go zombie hunting with them. Don’t think you can get away with slacking,” Lu Weiyi concluded, then turned to Lu Xi, “That includes you. At least reach mid-tier. If not, I’ll personally train you.”
Also a mental-type, Lu Xi recalled the feeling of being overwhelmed by Lu Weiyi’s power and quickly swore, “I’ll train hard, I promise.”
Lu Weiyi nodded. “We begin tomorrow. Meeting adjourned.”
After everyone left, Lu Weiyi kept the A-levels behind, unfolded the map of Hejin County they had scouted, and divided it into specific regions. He went over the detailed implementation plans and potential dangers.
Zhuang Mingxu, who left with the rest, glanced back. Under the lights, the remaining group was deep in discussion. They looked like true comrades.
Up ahead, several people holding their training plans glanced at each other and sighed in unison. They shared the same bitter fate.
It was a situation he couldn’t join, as if he had been silently excluded.
