Chapter 365: Yin Jin Gives Birth
Li Zhuang used his power to grab a dirt rod to shield Xu Yi from constant attacks, allowing him to focus on healing the injured.
Seeing this, he looked up at Lu Weiyi and silently asked a question.
Zheng Jun’s team hadn’t realized what was happening and became more alert.
Then they heard Lu Weiyi—who hadn’t moved since they left—finally speak: “Let’s have a meeting.”
They chose the only standing building nearby. Lu Weiyi stored all the vehicles and instructed, “Liu Rui, Xu Sa, defend the area.”
“Got it,” the two responded. Once everyone was on the third floor, they took positions to monitor the surroundings.
Once gathered, Lu Weiyi asked Zheng Jun about their recent power development.
After going through everyone’s progress, Zheng Jun concluded, “Vice-captain Li’s training has been effective.”
“Still a long way to go,” Lu Weiyi said, looking around. He pointed at Wu Yue and handed him a standard long knife used by the team. “Go kill some zombies up close.”
He took a few people to a window without glass and used his mental power to summon a dozen zombies from a distance to gather below.
Wu Yue, unsure what this was about, grabbed the knife and jumped into the courtyard alone. As the zombies approached, he wielded the long knife with force and precision, slicing through half a skull with one stroke. With the movement of the crystal core, the zombie dropped dead instantly.
This was the spot Lu Weiyi had always told them was the best to strike. Compared to the neck, it was harder to hit precisely, but a clean skull strike ensured a one-hit kill.
Not everyone in the team could do this, but some trained specifically to build this muscle memory—Wu Yue was one of them.
“He makes it look so effortless. I feel like I’m not even in the same league.”
“Is it because he’s stronger? Looks like he’s slicing watermelon.”
“Maybe his knife is sharper?”
“Could be his power level. He’s at least a full level above us.”
The chatter continued. Lu Weiyi didn’t explain, but instead took out another identical knife and asked who wanted to try.
Zheng Jun was about to reach for it when Cui Wen quickly stepped forward with a grin. “Let me give it a go.”
“Be careful,” Zheng Jun advised.
Cui Wen nodded and jumped down decisively.
A new batch of zombies was summoned. Cui Wen was agile, but clearly lacked Wu Yue’s precision. He tried to replicate the same skull slice, but the knife embedded into the zombie’s head instead of slicing cleanly.
As he struggled to pull it out, another zombie attacked from the side. He kicked out and yanked the blade free to counter, but unfamiliarity with the technique and continuous attacks soon threw off his rhythm. In the end, only years of combat experience allowed him to barely finish off the dozen zombies.
Compared to Wu Yue’s ease and unscathed performance, Cui Wen had scratches from zombies on his clothes and even had a torn corner of his shirt. In the end, he had to be supported by Wu Yue, panting heavily as he came back up.
“Did Vice-Captain Li ever tell you that when attacking zombies at close range, you must imbue your weapon with your ability?” Lu Weiyi finally spoke after they had seen the difference.
Zheng Jun nodded. “That’s the reason for the difference in performance?”
“Yes,” Lu Weiyi replied. “There’s a problem with soldiers in combat—their instinct for physical fighting is deeply ingrained. When facing an opponent, you instinctively think of many ways to engage physically. That’s your strength, but it also makes it harder for you to integrate your powers, which becomes a disadvantage.”
“Most zombies now are beyond the stage where conventional weapons are effective. You’re still using the old methods that are time-consuming and inefficient. More importantly, you’re trying to level up. If you only exhaust your physical strength and not your powers, how are you going to improve them?”
“Is that how you all trained as well?” Cui Wen asked while adjusting his clothes.
“Yes,” Wu Yue answered. “But we started earlier—more than a year ago. By now, it’s instinctive for us to use our abilities throughout our bodies when we fight.” As he spoke, he infused his power into his hand, clenched his fist, and punched a half-collapsed wall. The two-layer-thick wall was pierced through by his blow.
“Let me try,” Zheng Jun stepped up. He carefully recalled the method Li Zhuang had taught him, slowly gathering power into his hand, and then struck the wall near where Wu Yue had hit.
A deep fist-sized dent appeared in the wall. Zheng Jun calmly retracted his hand. While his teammates came up to admire the dent with envy, he stood behind them, gritting his teeth in pain.
Lu Weiyi, catching this from the corner of his eye, tactfully pretended not to notice, saving face for Captain Zheng. He explained, “Differences in power levels also cause performance gaps. But in any case, that’s the method.”
“For the next day, Captain Zheng will lead everyone in real combat drills here to practice using their powers.”
Lu Weiyi then pulled out matching standard long knives from his storage and handed one to each person. He instructed Li Zhuang to watch over them and took a few others to continue collecting supplies elsewhere.
From close-range power application to long-range attacks, Zheng Jun’s team had new assignments every day. Their sweep operations gradually took them farther from the base.
*
Meanwhile, at the base:
Gu Qingji took over Li Dongsheng’s duties, leading the wood-type ability users under him to accelerate the growth of crops each day.
With a higher level and the help of his mutated vines, Gu’s results were significantly better. Daily food output had noticeably increased, prompting Zhuang Mingxu to consider encouraging more wood-type users to level up.
“That could work. I’ve asked around—many of the wood-type users are already at the brink of leveling up, but they don’t have enough crystal cores to make the breakthrough,” Gu Qingji reported his findings.
“But if we help them upgrade, what happens if they leave or join another team? I’ve heard that some squads have been trying to poach our people,” Zhuang voiced his concern.
Zhuang Mingxu thought for a moment. “Ability users serving the base signed contracts from the start. They’re not allowed to transfer teams during their service term. If they break the contract, they can’t afford the penalty. We’ll have them sign new contracts.”
Gu Qingji doubted how effective contracts were in today’s world.
“The base is ours—are they going to breach contract with the people in power?” Zhuang said with a smirk. As long as they held tight control over the base, not just individuals, but even small squads wouldn’t dare cross them.
“I’ll have new contracts drafted. You go over them with those who want to level up and continue serving the base. Get me a headcount and we’ll—”
Knock knock knock! A frantic knocking on the door interrupted them.
Before Gu Qingji could get up, the door was pushed open. Xi Shi’s panicked face appeared at the entrance.
“Mingxu, a message just came over the radio—someone in the lab is about to give birth!”
Zhuang Mingxu was momentarily stunned, then quickly stood and rushed toward the backyard, shouting, “Call Dean back immediately! Tell him to get here as fast as possible!”
Gu Qingji and Xi Shi exchanged bewildered looks, both completely confused.
*
At that moment in the lab, Yin Jin was already on the operating table, sweat dripping from his forehead. His hands clutched the bed tightly, veins bulging, and his swollen belly looked like a small mountain. Occasionally, tiny feet or fists could be seen pressing against the skin.
Xiaomei, the nurse who usually cared for him, was trying to soothe him. When Zhuang Mingxu walked in, she cried out anxiously, “The baby is premature—he’s going into labor!”
Zhuang stepped forward, watching the man on the bed biting through his lower lip. Maybe it was because he had once imagined a child with Lu Weiyi that he couldn’t help but feel moved seeing this.
“All surgical equipment is ready. A healing-type ability user is on the way. You’ll be fine,” he said gently.
“Ugh… mn!” Yin Jin groaned, trying to endure the pain. Staring at the man in front of him, he said, “Lu Weiyi promised me…”
“I know,” Zhuang replied before he could finish. “Once the baby is born safely, you can go live on the island.”
With that reassurance, Yin Jin finally relaxed and focused on the birth. Soon after, several doctors entered in surgical attire and quickly transformed the room into a simple operating room.
Zhuang Mingxu watched through a glass panel. Not long after anesthesia was administered, the doctor picked up a scalpel and began making an incision in the tall mound of Yin Jin’s belly.
“Zhuang!” came Dean’s voice from the end of the hallway, with Antonio behind him.
He gave them a push toward the operating room door. “Hurry up and help. It’s in your hands now.”
“Don’t worry,” came the reply.
As the operating room door opened a crack, the newborn’s loud cry echoed out.
Antonio looked on with curiosity, his face unusually gentle. “It’s incredible.”
“Yes,” Zhuang Mingxu nodded with deep emotion. “The continuation of life.”
The surgery inside proceeded quickly. All the doctors were seasoned professionals, and with Dean’s assistance, the baby was delivered smoothly. An ability user stepped in right away—there wasn’t even a scratch left behind.
The cleaned newborn was shown briefly to Yin Jin before being carried out by the doctor. Dean followed closely, peeking at the baby.
“It’s a boy. Should we run a more detailed examination?” Li Wenliang carefully held the baby and asked.
“Yes,” Zhuang Mingxu moved closer to the swaddled baby and glanced inside. The wrinkled little child had eyes barely open, his jet-black hair sticking to his head. Honestly, he looked a bit ugly.
“A little monkey,” Dean commented, gently poking the baby’s cheek in amazement. “So soft.”
After a few moments of curiosity, they let the doctor take the baby for examination. Inside the operating room, Yin Jin had already fallen asleep under the effects of anesthesia.
“Have the kitchen prepare postpartum recovery meals. If anything is needed, report it immediately. Also, keep an eye on the baby’s abilities and have Zhuang Mobai assist with an ability-related examination,” Zhuang Mingxu instructed, then turned to Li Wenliang.
