The Reborn Otaku’s Code of Practice for the Apocalypse – CH111

Chapter 111 — Level-Three Crystal Cores

“Zombies choosing easier targets… how is that possible?!”

“Would they ignore food that’s right in front of them? Don’t forget how many survivors are inside this base! How could creatures driven purely by hunger restrain their instincts?”

“And not all the zombies left! Think about how many we killed in the past few days. Think about how long the corpses burned!”

“But you said yourself—they’re creatures that only know how to eat people. Logically, once they discovered survivors here, they should surround the walls endlessly no matter the cost. Even if they couldn’t break in, they wouldn’t leave. Yet they did leave—most of them! Only a small portion remained! That’s why I think something might truly be commanding them. Don’t forget how strategic their attacks on our walls were! As for the ones left behind… even in the military there are soldiers who refuse to follow orders.”

The room fell silent again.

Among the scattered photographs on the table, a few revealed glimpses of ruined cities.

Tiny black dots filled the landscape—like watching an entire colony of ants moving along a road.

And those dots surrounding a small circular area protected by walls were only a tiny fraction of the total.

—

On the final day of the three-day holiday, Luo Xun spent the entire day lying in bed under a fan, recuperating.

There was no helping it—someone had apparently been very hungry and had been rather rough.

As a result, Luo Xun’s whole body ached, forcing him to remain in bed to recover.

After the holiday ended, Luo Xun and Yan Fei loaded half a truck with vegetables and headed to the military cafeteria to sell them.

The cafeteria had been relocated after the military camp was reorganized. Several cafeterias were merged into one three-story building, with different floors serving different groups.

Captain Li was still the person handling their deliveries, though he had been promoted slightly—from managing only Cafeteria No.1 to overseeing all the merged cafeterias.

Several service soldiers carried and weighed the vegetables.

Captain Li took out half a cigarette and sniffed it, sighing.

“The vegetables we planted beside the cafeteria were all harvested two days ago. Most of them mutated—there wasn’t any real vegetable taste left. By the way, have you seen the vegetables grown in the ‘vegetable building’ yet?”

Luo Xun shook his head. In his previous life he had seen them, but in this life he hadn’t had the chance.

“They discovered several mutated varieties that grow extremely fast and produce high yields. After testing, they decided they’re safe for humans. They’ve started supplying them to the cafeteria.”

As he spoke, Captain Li’s expression twisted.

“The taste… about the same as the stuff we grow near the walls.”

Then he patted Yan Fei’s arm heavily.

“Don’t let your vegetables run out. Real vegetables with their original flavor are getting rarer.”

Luo Xun smiled.

“As long as they don’t mutate when we grow them… But if the vegetables in that building use clean water produced by water-type ability users, how did they still mutate?”

Captain Li spread his hands.

“I heard they found a mutated variety that grows faster than the original. Since tests showed no harm, they expanded planting to experiment. The yield is pretty good, even if the taste isn’t.”

Although the situation differed slightly from Luo Xun’s previous life, the result was the same.

There were too many people in the base, and it was too dangerous outside.

To feed everyone, the base had no choice but to grow crops with high yields, even if their taste was mediocre.

Otherwise, why would the price of unmutated plants and beneficial mutations keep rising in the apocalypse?

After receiving the crystal cores from selling the vegetables, the two of them headed to the gathering point.

When they arrived, Captain Guo and the other team members were already there.

Seeing them, Captain Guo motioned for them to join the formation.

“Starting today, our tasks will change. We’re heading back to the outer wall. The elevated bridge construction inside the base is temporarily suspended.”

He raised a blueprint.

“Remember the plan to install metal spikes along the top of the wall? These spikes are meant to stop zombies from climbing over. After the recent siege, we realized something—zombie animals can be thrown onto the walls by wind-type abilities. If those spikes had already been installed, they could have slowed them down.”

He continued.

“Another task—deepening the wall’s foundation. This is critical. The positions have already been planned, but there are water pipes and sewage lines in some areas, so be careful not to damage them.”

Besides the work assignments, Captain Guo also brought several large bags of crystal cores.

Smiling, he said, “These are special rewards for everyone. Your contribution during the defense was huge. I specifically asked them to gather as many metal-type cores as possible for you!”

Not only ability users received rewards—ordinary team members did as well.

The base leadership had decided not to distribute reward points widely to avoid devaluing them.

Instead, because the victory in the zombie siege yielded so many crystal cores, they decided to give everyone crystal cores directly—whether they were ability users, soldiers, or ordinary workers.

As for whether crystal cores might lose value…

With so many ability users in the base, they would eventually exchange them with others anyway.

Even if the value dropped slightly, it would mostly benefit the ability users.

So it wasn’t considered a problem.

Everyone took the heavy bags, their faces filled with joy.

When Yan Fei opened his bag, he paused slightly and took out a crystal core, holding it in his palm.

“What’s wrong?” Luo Xun asked immediately when he noticed the surprised look on his face.

“A level-three crystal core.”

“Right! Level three.” Captain Guo’s smile was especially bright. “When they cleared the battlefield this time, they found some level-three cores. I asked for all the metal-type ones for you. The higher-ups wanted to reward you anyway, and nobody else in the base can use them. If we didn’t give them to you, what—keep them to lay eggs?”

The other three ability users quickly opened their own bags.

Sure enough—they had them too.

Yan Fei knew that before the siege his ability had already reached a certain limit, just like when he was about to advance from level one to level two before. His power felt as though it had reached a ceiling, and without external help it would not rise further.

He had been wondering how he might find a level-three metal-type zombie.

Yet after this siege, such an opportunity had arrived unexpectedly.

Closing the bag, Yan Fei remained cautious. Unlike the other excited ability users who planned to use the energy consumption during work to attempt a breakthrough, he decided to wait until he returned home before upgrading.

After all, his ability was somewhat different from the others’. If the process looked unusual, advancing in front of everyone would attract too much attention.

After discussing this, Captain Guo gave everyone another warning.

“Because the base successfully defended the siege, the higher-ups are very pleased with everyone who participated. In a few days the military will hold a celebration ceremony. Not only will all the soldiers who defended the walls attend, but some ability users who made outstanding contributions will also be invited.”

As he spoke, he glanced meaningfully at Luo Xun and Yan Fei.

“All the base leaders will be there, and medals will be awarded publicly.”

The soldiers’ faces flushed red with excitement.

Luo Xun, however, glanced worriedly at Yan Fei.

Yan Fei looked calm, as if he had no concerns about the matter at all. Luo Xun could only pretend to remain calm as well.

They climbed onto the truck with their rewards. Luo Xun placed the bag of crystal cores beside the ones they had earned from selling vegetables and zipped the backpack closed.

While they were traveling, Captain Guo quietly approached them and whispered with a wink:

“You probably won’t be able to skip the ceremony. The leaders specifically want to meet you.”

After all, the metal-type ability users had been extremely eye-catching during those days.

That enormous iron wheel had rolled around the entire base wall again and again—everyone had seen it.

When the higher-ups asked about it, they even said that the four metal-type ability users had performed excellently and should be especially commended.

What could Captain Guo say?

That one of them was just temporary help? That they didn’t want the reward? That they looked down on the ceremony?

That would be insulting the leadership.

Yan Fei smiled faintly and shook his head.

“It’s fine. We’ll attend.”

Then he paused and asked, “Other ability users who performed well during the defense will also be invited?”

“Of course,” Captain Guo said, relieved that he hadn’t refused.

“And the wind-type ability user who worked with the fire-type ones at the main gate—will he be invited too?”

“You mean the one standing at the main gate who looked… looked…”

Captain Guo struggled to find the right word.

Beautiful? Well, he was beautiful—but he was still a man.

Pretty? Wasn’t that basically the same thing?

Handsome? That would be completely dishonest.

Yan Fei could be called handsome—aside from the slightly enchanting tear mole near his eye. But that Zhang Su… he was a completely different type.

“Cross-dresser,” Luo Xun muttered beside him, casually labeling Zhang Su—after all, that guy loved provoking him.

“Ahem… maybe ‘demon-like’ sounds better,” Captain Guo coughed.

Actually, both descriptions seemed quite fitting. That man was more seductive than many women.

“I remember seeing you talk to him before. Do you know him?”

Yan Fei nodded.

“We’re neighbors. Sometimes we go out together to hunt zombies and collect supplies. Will he be attending too?”

Captain Guo sighed inwardly—birds of a feather flock together.

“He has to be invited! His results those days… almost matched the efficiency of an entire company.”

Yan Fei’s smile became more genuine.

“That’s good.”

Captain Guo was puzzled.

What did Zhang Su attending have to do with Yan Fei?

Could there be some sort of relationship between them?

Thinking of that possibility, Captain Guo subconsciously glanced at Luo Xun with a hint of sympathy—he suddenly felt that Luo Xun might be wearing a slightly green hat.

Meanwhile, Luo Xun himself also wanted to ask why Zhang Su attending was supposedly a good thing.

What exactly was Yan Fei thinking?

Unfortunately, this was not the right moment to ask.

When their group arrived at the outer wall, they were greeted by extremely enthusiastic stares.

The story of the giant iron wheel had already spread throughout the entire base.

It was now considered one of the two most legendary abilities in the base—the other being the mysterious ability user who could create a massive fire-and-wind explosion, rumored to be a dual-element ability user.

Of course, the rumors were highly inaccurate.

For example, many believed that the giant iron wheel was controlled by a single person, when in fact there were four.

And they believed Zhang Su possessed two abilities.

Xu Mei didn’t care at all, and little Xinran simply didn’t understand.

In any case, metal-type ability users were extremely rare. Even in the entire base, only the military supposedly had a few.

Before this siege, many ability teams didn’t even know such an ability existed.

Not only the survivors, but even soldiers were curious about them.

So the moment Luo Xun’s group stepped out of the truck, they noticed many soldiers nearby secretly—or openly—watching them.

Under those gazes, everyone felt slightly uncomfortable.

They quickly climbed onto the wall and began working with the crane equipment, finally managing to ignore all the attention.

—

After the battle ended, the number of injured people in the base increased greatly.

As a “combat doctor,” Zhang Su had personally gone to the front line.

Because of that, he had skipped the busiest days at the hospital and even received several days off afterward.

None of his colleagues could help feeling jealous.

But there was nothing they could do—after all, that guy was practically a monster.

Before Zhang Su even returned to work, his legend had already spread throughout the hospital.

As a doctor, he had stood on the city gate cutting down zombies, with combat power comparable to an entire company.

Even if someone wanted to cause trouble for him, they had to consider whether their life was tough enough first.

So on his first day back at work, Zhang Su found things surprisingly easy.

Although the number of curious glances had increased, the number of people daring to provoke him had sharply decreased.

Even those who used to glare at him now kept their heads down when passing by.

Honestly, it felt quite nice.

It saved him a lot of trouble.

Dr. Zhang, holding a relaxed attitude and planning to coast through the day, had not even stepped into the office when he heard someone inside asking:

“Why hasn’t Dr. Zhang arrived yet? How can I feel at ease if he doesn’t take a look at my injury?!”

Zhang Su paused slightly. The voice sounded familiar—he seemed to have heard it somewhere before. But why would he remember the voice of some middle-aged woman? Even if he had encountered her before, he would normally forget such things quickly.

When he pushed the door open, he saw chestnut-colored hair and a somewhat familiar face. Zhang Su raised an eyebrow and smiled meaningfully.

So it was—his neighbor’s mother.

“Ah, Dr. Zhang, you’re here!” Liu Xiangyu immediately smiled brightly, then frowned at her hand. “I accidentally cut myself at home the other day. When I came here for a tetanus shot you weren’t here. The wound looks a little darker these past two days, so I wanted you to take a look…”

Zhang Su glanced at the fingertip she was pointing to.

The wound had already scabbed over and healed completely.

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

The nurse who had originally been attending to the patient lowered her head, afraid that if she looked up the patient would notice she was suppressing laughter.

“The wound has already healed. There are no signs of infection,” Zhang Su said as he placed the folder of test reports aside and sat at his desk.

“A young doctor treated me that day, and I didn’t think he seemed very reliable. My finger has felt strange these past few days. Could you check again? It feels swollen here—could it be infected? Could it…”

When Zhang Su first encountered this woman, he had assumed she was like the other infatuated patients who used illness as an excuse to linger around him.

As a natural, pure, one-hundred-percent zero, he had absolutely no interest in women who tried to get close to him.

Of course, he got along fine with straightforward, tomboyish women who treated him purely as a friend. After all, he wasn’t some twisted psychopath—he was still a normal human being who had friends.

But after more contact—and after seeing this woman treat other senior specialists in exactly the same way—he finally realized something.

She had no interest in him at all.

She was simply a hypochondriac.

She believed that every tiny abnormal sensation in her body might develop into a life-threatening illness.

Zhang Su didn’t know whether this psychological problem existed before the apocalypse or developed afterward from fear of the zombie virus.

But the three medical record books she had already gone through since the apocalypse showed how vividly her imagination worked.

Rubbing his chin, Zhang Su narrowed his eyes and smiled brightly.

The young nurse beside him looked conflicted yet unable to look away.

She knew Dr. Zhang was gay, but that didn’t stop her appreciation for beauty.

Such an eye-catching handsome man standing here radiating charm—was she not allowed to look a little longer?

Liu Xiangyu also found Zhang Su’s smile pleasant, but she was more worried about her health and stubbornly kept holding up her finger.

Zhang Su suggested cheerfully, “How about I reopen the wound and check it again? Then disinfect it.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Liu Xiangyu nodded.

“That would trouble you. Also… could you stitch it again? I’m afraid it didn’t heal properly.”

Zhang Su smiled even more brightly.

“Two stitches? No problem.”

The nurse’s hands trembled slightly as she bit her lip to stop herself from laughing.

That tiny wound didn’t even need one stitch, yet the patient was asking for two—and to reopen the wound for it.

Well, it wasn’t her money or her pain.

With absolutely no sense of medical ethics at the moment, Zhang Su scribbled an entire page of illegible notes in the medical record and prescribed a long list of unnecessary medications.

While he was treating the wound, someone knocked on the door.

The nurse quickly opened it.

A man in his thirties entered. His facial features were firm and stern, and his expression looked somewhat unpleasant.

He handed a medical record book to Liu Xiangyu.

Liu Xiangyu frowned and covered her eyes, not daring to look at her wound.

“Can’t you see I’m having surgery here? What now?”

The man’s expression darkened. He threw the record onto the bed.

“Look for yourself.”

“Can’t you just say it?!”

“Pregnant. Two months.”

Zhang Su raised an eyebrow slightly and calmly finished the final stitch.

“Who? Who’s pregnant?” Liu Xiangyu looked stunned, not even noticing Zhang Su bandaging her finger.

“Who do you think? Didn’t you have a routine checkup yesterday?” The man sneered.

Liu Xiangyu suddenly sat upright, trembling.

“How is that possible? We’ve always used protection… No, I can’t have this child! I’m already too old! And this is the apocalypse—how could there be safe conditions for childbirth? What if something goes wrong and I hemorrhage? …Wait! But if I abort it, the current medical facilities aren’t reliable either!”

As she spoke, she unconsciously bit the nails of her other hand, her brows tightly furrowed.

The man sneered again.

“Forget whether you want to keep it or not. If Secretary Yan finds out, he’ll divorce you.”

He had wanted to get rid of this woman for a long time.

But he had relied on her family since before the apocalypse. If he abandoned her now, where would he find another supporter? The base was now dominated by military power, and he had no connections there.

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