Chapter 26: The Function of Crystal Cores
Zheng Jiahe’s leg was injured, so washing up wasn’t very convenient and took a bit longer. By the time he came out, Song Chengshu had already finished showering upstairs.
Song Chengshu had Zheng Jiahe sit on the sofa, removed the plastic wrap that had been wrapped around his leg earlier, and took out his personal medical kit. He carefully cleaned the wound and then stitched it up. This time, he used anesthetic on Zheng Jiahe, easing a lot of his pain.
When everything was finally done, Su Ruizhe came out of the kitchen carrying the food. He had cooked a simple pot of century egg and lean pork congee and fried eight sunny-side-up eggs. Su Ruizhe was truly skilled at making congee—it was thick and smooth, with an excellent texture. The savory flavor of the meat blended perfectly with the taste of the century eggs, making it delicious. The eggs used for frying came from the hens in his spatial storage; not only was there no fishy smell, they were tender and fragrant. Drizzled with a little soy sauce, they were so tasty it made one want to swallow their tongue.
Zheng Jiahe never imagined that after the world had undergone such a terrifying change, he would still have the chance to eat such delicious food. As he ate, his eyes gradually reddened.
“What’s wrong? Does the wound hurt?” Seeing his expression, Song Chengshu asked with concern.
“N-no…” Zheng Jiahe choked out. “I just thought of my parents… Last night, when I escaped from the internet café, I tried to call them, but there was no signal at all. I couldn’t get through…”
“Where are your parents? Are you from S City too?”
“No… they’re overseas…” Zheng Jiahe painfully raked his fingers through his hair. Overnight, the entire world had changed, just like the apocalypse movies he’d watched had suddenly become real, and he had nearly died in the jaws of those monsters. He didn’t dare imagine what his parents, far away in another country, might be going through.
Seeing his grief, all three of them felt a pang in their hearts. Unfortunately, under the current circumstances, flights had surely long since been suspended. No matter how worried they were, there was nothing they could do.
“Firearms are legal overseas. Maybe they’ll be okay,” Song Chengshu patted his shoulder and tried to comfort him. “Right now, all you need to do is survive. When communications are restored someday, you might still have a chance to reunite with them.”
Zheng Jiahe nodded with difficulty and continued eating.
After the meal, Song Chengshu helped Su Ruizhe clear the dishes, and the two of them went into the kitchen to wash up.
Zhan Yun then turned to Zheng Jiahe. “What are your plans from here on out?”
“I don’t really know…” Zheng Jiahe shook his head and looked at Zhan Yun nervously. “Can I stay with you? I’ll do my best to fight zombies and gather supplies…”
As he spoke, his voice grew softer and softer. After all, they were strangers who had met by chance. They had already saved his life, brought him back, and fed him such a good meal. How could he dare ask for more?
Everyone knew that in times like these, food was the most important thing. Without food, survival was impossible. If they agreed to take him along, they would have to shoulder the burden of feeding one more person…
“Sure,” Zhan Yun agreed without hesitation. He was never the type to dither. After observing him for a while, he felt that Zheng Jiahe was a decent person, and keeping him around could be a good source of support.
Zheng Jiahe abruptly lifted his bowed head, his face full of disbelief.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’ll definitely work hard! I—”
Zhan Yun waved his hand with a chuckle, cutting off his excited words. “There’s a guest room downstairs. You can stay there. Focus on healing your injury first—we’ll talk about anything else later.”
“Okay, okay, thank you, thank you…” Zheng Jiahe was genuinely overjoyed. These three were all good people, and all capable too. Being able to stay with them was wonderful.
After staying up all night, everyone was exhausted, and they soon returned to their respective rooms to rest. There weren’t many residents living in the villa area yet, so there weren’t many zombies gathered around. For now, it was relatively safe.
—
Everyone slept straight through until the afternoon. Su Ruizhe took out chilled mung bean soup from the refrigerator and called the others over to drink it. The daytime temperature was extremely hot. Even with the air conditioning on and the curtains drawn, it still felt stifling. In a few days, the water and electricity might be cut off, and life would probably become even harder then.
“Little Zhe, that crystal core you got earlier—what exactly does it do?” After taking a sip of the sweet, chilled mung bean soup, Zhan Yun suddenly thought of the translucent crystal core Su Ruizhe had dug out of the zombie dog’s head and asked.
“Of course it’s useful.” As he spoke, Su Ruizhe took out the crystal core.
It had already been washed clean with water and was semi-transparent, with a faint reddish tint. If one didn’t know where it came from, it actually looked rather pleasing to the eye.
“It’s not only being scratched or bitten by zombies that can trigger an ability—crystal cores can too.” Su Ruizhe placed the core in front of Zhan Yun so he could see it more clearly. “As time goes on, these crystal cores will condense in zombies’ brains. They contain the zombie virus, but also a huge amount of energy.”
In his previous life, crystal cores were only gradually discovered about a month into the apocalypse, and it took some time after that for their uses to be researched. Ordinary people could awaken abilities by ingesting crystal cores, while ability users could use them to replenish the energy they had expended. Being scratched or bitten by zombies could also trigger abilities, but that involved getting injured and risking being killed outright—far less convenient than crystal cores.
As a result, once the use of crystal cores was discovered, human demand for them continued to rise. Later on, crystal cores even became an alternative form of currency, second only to food.
Of course, everything had two sides. Crystal cores also contained the zombie virus, and consuming them carried a high risk of infection and turning into a zombie. But in order to survive in the apocalypse, countless people were still willing to take that risk.
“Do you want to try?” Su Ruizhe looked at Zhan Yun.
Zhan Yun glanced up at him and, without the slightest hesitation, picked up the crystal core and tossed it into his mouth.
About five seconds later, Zhan Yun toppled backward and fell into unconsciousness.
Startled, Song Chengshu quickly supported him and looked anxiously at Su Ruizhe. “H-he… he’ll be okay, right?”
“He’ll be fine.” Su Ruizhe stepped forward and, together with Song Chengshu, helped Zhan Yun lie down on the sofa.
There was no way Su Ruizhe would casually put Zhan Yun at risk. In his previous life, Zhan Yun had awakened his ability after being accidentally scratched by a zombie, which meant his body possessed antibodies. Consuming a crystal core wouldn’t pose a problem for him.
It was still the early stage of the apocalypse. The earlier one awakened an ability, the faster one could grow stronger. In the apocalypse, strength was the only real rule.
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