Chapter 371: Evolution of Ordinary People
Before long, Li Zhuang and his team returned. All remaining threats had been dealt with.
Even before they had time to report the status of the Junlin squad to base, the base had already informed them that the last two members of that squad had been exposed and warned them to stay alert on the road.
The two sides exchanged information and quickly realized the incident was connected to something that had happened on Gu Qingji’s end.
“Heading back?” Lu Weiyi asked.
They had been out for nearly a month. The surrounding resources had been thoroughly scavenged, and their original mission was already perfectly completed. Returning now meant preparing for the autumn harvest and winter dormancy.
“…Let’s wait until Brother Li upgrades before going back,” said Gu Qingyue, unexpectedly speaking up.
“Qingyue, didn’t you hear the news just now? Qingji was attacked by the remaining two members of the Junlin Squad,” Xu Sa reminded him in surprise.
“If something had really happened to him, the base would have immediately called us back,” Gu Qingyue replied calmly—too calmly for someone supposedly concerned about a loved one.
Xu Sa gave him a strange look and silently turned to Lu Weiyi for confirmation.
Lu Weiyi shook his head, finally understanding the tension between the two. Their attitude when they parted had clearly hinted at some conflict. This situation just confirmed it.
Having faced life and death with Zhuang Mingxu over two lifetimes, Lu Weiyi now found these petty relationship problems annoyingly trivial—too dramatic.
So he didn’t say a word of comfort. Instead, he told everyone to respond to the base’s message and immediately led the team to resume their journey.
As they moved out again, it was clear Gu Qingyue was distracted. He spoke less, and even reacted slower when zombies attacked.
Under such conditions, leveling up became nearly impossible. In the final half-month, Wu Yue and Li Dongsheng successfully reached S-rank, while Zheng Jun and Cui Wen broke into A-rank. All the remaining team members managed to advance to B-rank.
At that moment, news arrived from the base: Lu Xiao and Zhao Qiang were about to arrive, and Zhuang Mingxu had asked Lu Weiyi to return quickly.
They traveled day and night and finally made it back to base in three days.
As their vehicle approached the connecting bridge to the island, Xu Sa, who was driving, spotted a man and a woman talking near the corridor. The man, with his handsome face, was easily recognizable—it was the former celebrity, Gu Qingji.
And beside him, smiling as bright as a sunflower, was none other than Zhao Qianqian.
Seeing this, Xu Sa glanced into the rearview mirror at Gu Qingyue in the back seat. The latter had clearly seen the scene too. His previously blank expression froze, and when he noticed Xu Sa watching, he quickly turned away, pretending to be unaware.
Just as Lu Weiyi had warned earlier—internal relationships shouldn’t be entangled. Now the tension had surfaced, and no matter who you sided with, it would become a problem.
Xu Sa slammed the gas pedal, preparing to drive straight through the corridor.
Unexpectedly, Gu Qingji didn’t even pretend to avoid them. He quickly turned and stepped forward to greet them.
With a sudden slam on the brakes, everyone in the car lurched forward.
“Damn, are you trying to get us killed?” Xu Sa scolded, pressing the window button.
“Sorry,” Gu Qingzhi apologized politely. Through the window, he saw Gu Qingyue in the backseat, and quickly opened the car door with a joyful shout, “Brother!”
Gu Qingyue looked him over, and seeing no signs of injury, finally let out a breath of relief.
“Qingzhi~” A soft, feminine voice called out, making Gu Qingyue abruptly dodge the hand Gu Qingzhi had extended toward him.
Everyone in the car had just returned from several days of nonstop travel. Even with gossip at hand, no one was in the mood to care. Xu Sa clicked his tongue impatiently and frowned at the girl standing ahead.
Gu Qingyue gave Gu Qingzhi a shove. “She’s calling you.”
Taking advantage of the moment Gu Qingzhi was pushed aside, he quickly shut the car door and signaled Xu Sa to drive.
With a stomp on the gas, the car shot through the corridor, leaving only the echo of Gu Qingzhi’s voice warning them that the corridor would soon be submerged.
“Brother, brother—”
Gu Qingzhi called out twice, watching the car drive onto the central island. Just as he lifted his foot to chase it, Zhao Qianqian grabbed his arm.
“Qingzhi, I…”
Gu Qingzhi shook her off. “I have something to do, we’ll talk later—”
“Captain Bai from the Acceleration Garden had some issues and sent me to ask you about them,” Zhao Qianqian interrupted cleanly, getting straight to the point.
Gu Qingzhi frowned, glanced toward the central island, hesitated for a moment, then turned to head toward the north island — his injuries from the other day had been serious, and when Dean arrived, his internal bleeding had already worsened. Later, Zhuang Mingxu had approved his leave, temporarily assigning Bai Miao to oversee the Acceleration Garden.
But Bai Miao had always been in charge of the plantation and was unfamiliar with the Acceleration Garden. She frequently had to send people over to ask questions.
“What’s the problem?” Gu Qingzhi asked as they walked toward the north island.
“They said the corn seeds provided don’t match the amount accelerated — there’s a pretty big discrepancy.”
“Did anyone check if seeds were secretly stashed away?”
“I don’t know. There’s a lot going on at the plantation. Captain Bai couldn’t manage everything and told her subordinates to investigate. She sent me to ask you where the problem might be.”
As the two chatted on, they got farther and farther from the central island.
The rest of the team, having just gotten out of the car, went to shower. When they came out, Xi Shi had already set a full table of food. Everyone shared updates on their powers and level-ups, filling the room with lively chatter.
When Gu Qingyue came out of the shower, his eyes instinctively looked outside. Even after dinner, with people gradually heading upstairs to rest, he remained seated in the living room, distracted.
“He went to the north island. Go get some sleep.” Compared to the others who had worked themselves to exhaustion, Lu Weiyi had the easiest time. He neither drove nor fought, and only organized their gathered supplies with his psychic powers. Upon seeing Gu Qingyue sitting there absent-mindedly, he reminded him.
Gu Qingyue gave an awkward smile and made an excuse. “I… I’ll help Brother Xi clean up.”
“No need. Big Bear said you all have worked hard this month. Go get some rest. The corn we grew at the base just got harvested, and without acceleration, the taste is amazing. When you wake up, I’ll roast some for you all,” Xi Shi said, pushing Gu Qingyue’s hands away and nudging him toward the stairs.
“Okay.” Gu Qingyue took one last look out the window. The courtyard was still empty. He let out a deep breath and headed upstairs with large strides.
“Weiyi, aren’t you going to sleep for a bit?” Xi Shi, having cleaned up the kitchen, saw Lu Weiyi still sitting in the living room. There was a small toy car that could seat children nearby. Zhuang Ai Yi and Dean were wiping off the dirt with cloths while Lu Weiyi frowned and adjusted the car.
“I’m not tired. Brother Xi, you’ve been working all day. Go get some rest.” Lu Weiyi clumsily twisted screws for a while and finally managed to connect the battery, making the little car start running.
“Little daddy, you’re amazing!” Zhuang Ai Yi clapped and bounced excitedly, dropping clumps of dirt from her cloth onto the floor.
Taotao also jumped off the couch, curiously watching the small car that wasn’t much bigger than him.
“Come on, you two get in. I’ll take you for a ride.”
“Me too, I want in!” Dean raised his hand and squeezed himself in first. Luckily, he had a small frame, just enough to fit in the child-sized seat.
“Come on, Ai Yi, let’s go!” Dean quickly scooped the two kids into his lap. The three of them stacked together formed a little mountain taller than the car itself, leaving Lu Weiyi speechless.
Xi Shi burst out laughing. Dean, oblivious, looked at Lu Weiyi with anticipation written all over his face.
The little car was well-made. Even with three passengers, it moved just fine. After a few remote-controlled laps, Dean drove off with the two kids.
What was meant to be a toy car quickly turned into a bumper car, wreaking havoc on the courtyard trees and fences.
“The temperature has dropped a lot?” Around 2 PM, most people at the base were still napping when he had left. Now, the noise was audible from afar, especially Zhuang Ai Yi, a regular human, playing energetically outside with no signs of sunburn.
“Yes. Yesterday’s high was 34°C, which is quite manageable for normal people these days,” Xi Shi replied as he continued drying vegetables. High up in the yard, woven trays held all kinds of seeds and produce.
“Will it cause sunburn?” Lu Weiyi picked up a handful of what seemed to be dried bean seeds and helped Xi Shi pack them.
“No. Our family’s regular folks might have changed physically from eating a lot of mutated fruit. I can tolerate temperatures over 40°C. Ai Yi’s never been tested, but she can definitely handle 40°C easily,” Xi Shi explained carefully, knowing that ability users weren’t sensitive to weather changes.
“As for the rest of the base, I don’t see much change. Maybe it’s because most of what they eat is accelerated produce. Or maybe their quality of life just hasn’t been great.”
“Is there a difference between food that’s accelerated-grown and food that’s naturally planted?” Lu Weiyi had never paid much attention to this area.
“There is,” Xi Shi replied firmly. “When I was younger, I overworked myself, and as I got older, my health suffered. Last year, when we left Qingyuan, I needed Da Xiong to carry me during the journey. But now, I can help the fishermen haul their nets at sea.”
As he spoke, he stood up and hefted a large bag of sun-dried millet onto his shoulder. He turned around in front of Lu Weiyi, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes filled with joy. “See? My back and waist have gotten a lot stronger.”
“Amazing,” Lu Weiyi gave him a thumbs-up and helped store the dried seeds in the underground warehouse.
After Lu Xi left, all the lab equipment was moved to South Island, and this place had fully become a storage site for the team’s supplies. One of the two floors, previously emptied, was now completely filled—every nook and cranny packed—giving a strong sense of security.
Upon hearing that Yin Jin had already given birth, Lu Weiyi headed straight to the lab.
Yin Jin looked just as he had before. After giving birth, his belly quickly flattened, and with Dean’s ability to assist, there wasn’t even the slightest sign of physical damage. When Lu Weiyi arrived, he was doing postpartum recovery exercises.
When Yin Jin saw Lu Weiyi suddenly appear, a rare look of embarrassment flashed across his face. He paused the video on his tablet. “I wanted to do some physical recovery. Dr. Li recommended starting with rehab exercises and increasing intensity later… in a while.”
