Chapter 103 — Three Ground Rules
Zhang Su had already returned by then and brought back a piece of news. “The base’s newly developed instrument has been put into use.” As he spoke, he looked at Luo Xun and Yan Fei with a peculiar smile. “It’s the device that checks whether someone has been infected with the zombie virus. No need to break the skin—just scan over the body. Apparently, it can even detect whether vehicles or clothing have been contaminated with the virus. Our luck last time we left the base really wasn’t great. We’d only been back a few days when they started using it.” He spread his hands, his face full of undisguised schadenfreude.
As if he weren’t included among those unlucky enough to miss this convenience. What exactly was he so pleased about?
Luo Xun was utterly speechless at his attitude and cast a deeply sympathetic look at Wang Duo, who stood beside Zhang Su and refused to be more than three steps away from him. Wang Duo, as usual, wore a silly grin, looking like a simpleminded fool living happily every day—making it even harder to look at him directly.
Everyone knew the base had been researching a more convenient detection device, especially with Zhang Su, an industry insider, in their group. But as for the exact completion date and its actual effectiveness, that wasn’t something an orthopedic surgeon like Zhang Su would know. He could only gather general information; more specific details would only be clear once it was officially rolled out.
Zhang Su then dropped a second bombshell. “Another thing—the legendary device that can identify ability types and levels has also been developed. It’s currently being tested within the military. If there’s no significant margin of error, it’ll be put into use.” He smiled faintly. “That news will be temporarily withheld. It probably won’t be officially introduced until later.”
“Why?” He Qianqian asked in confusion. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to let everyone test themselves? Otherwise, what’s the point of making it?”
“Apparently they want to conduct a full internal survey within the military first,” Zhang Su replied. “Some abilities are quite special. Without certain triggering conditions, even the ability users themselves may not realize they have powers.” A cold smile curved on his lips. “After that, they might customize different identity cards based on the results, and establish new squad rules, mission regulations, and so on.” He cast a meaningful glance at the still-confused group of five before finally looking at Yan Fei and Luo Xun. “What does the captain think?”
Luo Xun fell silent for a moment. “To recruit talent, probably. It’s normal to screen everyone in the military first, identify all the ability users, and reorganize them. As for outside… I think ‘squads’ might become one of the major forces in the base in the future. Some higher-ups are probably already making arrangements to win over various squads and ability users. So this device will definitely be delayed for a while—until they’re fully prepared—before being released to the public as a free, open service.”
In his previous life, he had once gone to try it out himself, still unwilling to give up hope. But an ordinary person remained ordinary—no miracle ever happened. In the end, he resigned himself to quietly farming inside the base. Later on, most of the large ability-user squads either had military backgrounds or were secretly supported by powerful factions providing logistics and resources.
Li Tie and the others still didn’t quite grasp the deeper implications. Xu Mei and the other two women weren’t particularly concerned either. No matter who came to recruit them, they planned to stay in the squad. If Luo Xun and Yan Fei decided to join some faction—and if it was reliable—they would follow. If the two chose to continue independently, they’d carry on as before. No need for any changes.
Li Tie and the others, however, were extremely interested in the device that could test for abilities. As they put it, “What if we actually turn out to have powers?! Wouldn’t all those crystal cores in our hands finally be useful?!”
Kind-hearted as ever, Luo Xun refrained from telling them directly that the vast majority of ability users had already manifested their powers in the early days of the apocalypse. Only in extremely rare, special, and coincidental circumstances would someone fail to notice their ability until detected by such a device.
It was like not telling little kids that there were no immortals in the sky and that Santa Claus was only a legend. For these five naive grown “children,” the truth would be too cruel. Better to let them dream a little longer.
Just as Li Tie and the others were debating whether they could inquire about sneaking in with the military screenings the next day to get tested, Luo Xun clapped his hands to pause the discussion and drew everyone’s attention.
“About what we just analyzed—if the base decides to implement measures like temporarily affiliating independent squads under larger teams, and if someone approaches us to recruit our squad or specific ability users—what do you all think?”
Xu Mei raised her hand first. She glanced at Song Lingling, who shrugged, indicating she’d follow her lead, before speaking. “Lingling, Xinran, and I will follow the captain’s decision. If you decide to affiliate, merge with another squad, or expand our own, we have no objections. But there’s one condition—if anyone has improper intentions toward the three of us…”
She didn’t finish, but the determination in her eyes was clear. Luo Xun nodded solemnly. “Don’t worry. That will never happen. Whether it’s someone within the squad or an outsider, if anyone tries to bully you, we won’t let them off.”
“Exactly! If anyone dares to bully you, they’ll have to step over our corpses first!” Han Li immediately jumped up, puffing out his thin chest to make a grand declaration.
Li Tie leaned over to Wu Xin and muttered, “How about we eliminate him first?”
Wu Xin nodded vigorously. “Yeah, he’s the most dangerous one. Let’s take him out!”
And so the three not-yet-grown college students, whose maturity level rivaled that of rowdy children, tumbled into a chaotic scuffle.
Zhang Su glanced at the noisy trio and then said to Luo Xun, “I have no interest in joining other factions, nor in bringing in people of unknown background—unless any newcomer passes my ‘test.’”
As soon as Zhang Su finished speaking, Li Tie and the other two stopped fooling around. They exchanged glances, ignoring Wang Duo’s fawning agreement with his beloved “queen.” Li Tie cleared his throat and looked at the remaining three before saying to Luo Xun, “We’ll follow the captain’s lead… Of course, if we really need to add new people… we’d better have some kind of evaluation system. After all…”
Their home had only just been built. It was a place each of them had contributed to, worked together on, and intended to maintain for life.
Although many matters didn’t require their attention due to their jobs, every time they returned, the five of them would help in different rooms and tend to the crops. If vegetables ripened and needed to be harvested early in the morning while fresh, they would get up without complaint. None of them ever made excuses.
Now the two floors were divided into four households, but everyone was as close as family or dear friends. There was a line between them, yet everyone respected it and never crossed it. So they had no desire to join some more powerful “major force,” nor to bring in people who didn’t know their place.
Li Tie’s words reflected the other three’s thoughts. Life now was good—go to work, farm a little, dote on the only child in the household, chat and laugh in their spare time, read shared novels, and at the end of the month head out of the base together to hunt crystal cores. It might be somewhat monotonous, but it felt steady and real.
Hearing their opinions, Luo Xun felt relieved. He turned to look at Yan Fei. Though he could roughly guess his stance, they hadn’t actually discussed this matter.
Seeing Luo Xun look at him, Yan Fei smiled. “If we join another force—whether it’s the military or someone else—we’d have to follow their rules. Even if they don’t break up our squad, they’d assign missions regularly. Besides, a squad like ours doesn’t exactly fit the most efficient combat model. So personally, I don’t recommend joining any faction.” He glanced at Luo Xun. “And as for new members… I think we’ve already made our position clear before.”
That was true. After what had happened to the two female college students who once lived with Xu Mei on the fifteenth floor, Yan Fei and Luo Xun had clearly stated their stance. Not just them—Zhang Su had also been explicit. Their resistance to new members was even stronger than Li Tie’s group’s. Xu Mei had been accepted into their “homebody squad” only because her strength, effort, and perseverance had earned their recognition.
Seeing Li Tie and the others visibly relax, Luo Xun smiled and addressed everyone. “Personally, I have absolutely no interest in joining other forces or merging with other squads. Even if one day it becomes inconvenient for us to leave the base to hunt crystal cores, we can still live well here on our own. I believe everyone agrees with that, right?”
When they all nodded, he continued, “Since we’ve brought this up tonight, let’s set down some rules for our Homebody Squad for now: We won’t join any faction. Unless there’s a special reason, we won’t team up with other squads when going out to hunt crystal cores. We’ll avoid adding new members; if absolutely necessary, it must require unanimous approval and a period of evaluation before anyone joins. Finally, no one may do anything that harms the collective interests of the squad. Anyone who betrays or damages the squad will be expelled. In serious cases… eliminated.”
The rules Luo Xun laid out were simple, but they aligned perfectly with everyone’s interests and preserved the unique style their somewhat odd squad had always maintained.
The moment he finished speaking, everyone voiced their support.
All they wanted was to live well—to survive in this apocalypse in a healthy, steady, and determined way.
The next day, Captain Guo indeed mentioned that the research department had achieved new results: the zombie-virus detection device was already in use. As for the ability-detection device, Captain Guo said the first round wouldn’t include them, but in a few days their Metal Squad would be scheduled for testing. After all, though rare, there had been cases of people previously unaware of having abilities who were confirmed as ability users through testing.
Everyone in the squad was curious. Though they didn’t hold much hope about suddenly having abilities, they were curious about what the device looked like and how it worked. But they knew such matters couldn’t be rushed. Combat units would definitely be prioritized, followed by logistics teams like theirs. Even among logistics teams, however, their squad ranked higher—slower than combat units, but faster than others.
After work that day, Luo Xun and Yan Fei drove home, locked the car, pocketed their crystal cores and points, and headed back out of the neighborhood. They had already told Xu Mei that they’d take a stroll before returning, so the little guy would stay in her place a while longer.
Though the little guy could be wildly energetic—often racing around Room 1603 and sometimes crashing headfirst into shelves—it showed impressive steadiness when dealing with Xiao Xinran, who was arguably even more childish. It would roll and play with her, but if she tried something dangerous, it would cleverly stop her.
Once, Xiao Xinran had run toward a charging socket and tried to pull the plug. The little guy had immediately clamped onto her sleeve and refused to let go. After Xu Mei and the others discovered this, the dog’s status in the household rose once again, along with its benefits.
The street outside was as bustling as ever. Private cars lined both sides again, almost like before the base’s troubles. As the weather warmed, some people dissatisfied with assigned housing had begun living in their cars, planning to save enough to rent an entire apartment instead of squeezing into pigeonhole-like rooms with strangers.
Indeed, some confiscated apartments had been converted into dormitory-style housing. In a small bedroom of a two-bedroom unit, two bunk beds could be crammed in—four people in the smallest room alone. Larger rooms and living rooms held even more.
Being driven out or leaving such housing was common. The base’s management was short-staffed and couldn’t monitor everything, so makeshift shelters had once again appeared along the streets.
Newcomers didn’t know that the Southwest Base had previously suffered an internal zombie outbreak. Those who did know were now safely housed in outer districts or secure properties. And even if someone warned the car-dwellers, it wouldn’t change their choices.
As they strolled, the two kept an eye out for crystal-core traders. Such stalls definitely existed, but one had to be cautious.
At one stall, they saw a few Level 2 crystal cores. Though there were no metal-type ones for Yan Fei, one appeared to be sand-type—useful for Xiao Xinran. When they asked, the vendor claimed he had many more of that color but didn’t know what ability they corresponded to, so he’d only displayed one. If they were interested, they could follow him back to his residence to see more.
Luo Xun glanced at Yan Fei helplessly. Yan Fei remained expressionless and pointed at the sand-type core. “We’ll take this one. Exchange or not?”
The man hesitated, sizing them up, his gaze lingering on their stuffed backpacks and the bulge in Luo Xun’s sleeve before reluctantly saying, “Fifteen Level 1 cores, or one earth-type core plus five Level 1 cores.”
Luo Xun immediately straightened and grabbed Yan Fei’s arm. “Level 2 for Level 2. No Level 1 add-ons. If not, forget it.” He shot the man a look and pulled Yan Fei away. Clearly a fishing attempt—charging extra? Did he think they were fat sheep?
Earth, fire, lightning, and water abilities were currently in high demand. Earth-type users worked for the military and weren’t stingy about upgrading. Water-type users had risen in importance after people realized the base’s water was contaminated. Fire and lightning were powerful offensive abilities.
Trading a popular earth-type core for an unknown one—and adding more on top? Even if sand-type cores were rare, they could level Xiao Xinran’s ability with Level 1 cores. Why be suckers?
The vendor didn’t stop them. He believed his rare core would fetch a high price eventually—or lure another fool to follow him home…
After walking a bit, Yan Fei asked quietly, “He was fishing?”
Luo Xun smiled and winked. “You noticed?” He muttered, “Saying he has more is just to lure people to a place with accomplices. Knock them out, strip them. If minor, dump them somewhere. If serious… silence them.” It wasn’t daily, but it happened.
Yan Fei felt slightly displeased. “Do we really look like suckers?”
Luo Xun’s smile turned mischievous as he looked Yan Fei up and down. “Look at you—clean clothes~ Can’t see your face clearly, but that skin, those hands, that build—clearly haven’t suffered much…” Without a mask, Yan Fei would look like a kept pretty boy. Even masked, he didn’t look like a hardened ability user.
Yan Fei raised a brow, pulled Luo Xun close, and murmured, “If that’s the case, you look the same. We were both targeted.”
True. Luo Xun no longer carried the gaunt, weary look of his previous life. Back then his hands were calloused, his skin rough from lack of washing, pale from years in a basement.
Teasing each other, they finally found what they needed at a larger squad’s stall: several metal-type cores and a few sand-type ones. They also exchanged some surplus Level 2 cores for Level 1 cores at a 1:11 rate.
The young man trading with them noticed their supply of Level 2 cores and tried to build rapport. “Just curious—what type were those yellow cores you exchanged?”
Yan Fei answered naturally, “Sand-type. It turns soil into sand.”
The man’s eyes lit up. “Ah! That’s great for taking down zombies or trapping people!” Clearly experienced, he understood immediately. He looked at them with admiration. No wonder they casually traded Level 2 cores—their squad must be formidable to have such a rare ability user.
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