Chapter 127 — Staying Away from Gossip
As they climbed upstairs, Luo Xun occasionally reached out to grab the fluffy tail of the “little guy.” Although it had already grown into a “big guy,” well… no need to worry about such details in its name.
The two men and one dog returned home. Luo Xun and Yan Fei changed clothes, preparing to shower first. The dog ran straight to the mat beside the sofa, placing its head on a crystal-clear stone the size of a volleyball.
This was the crystal core taken from the giant duck’s head during their last outing. For some unknown reason, ever since bringing it back, the dog had become extremely attached to it. It no longer clung to the two of them while sleeping or used their knees as pillows—instead, it either rested on or curled around that crystal.
As Luo Xun put it, “Let it hug it while sleeping. Anyway, this thing isn’t useful right now. Maybe it’ll develop an ability from sleeping with it.” So they simply let the dog treat it as a pillow-toy.
—
That evening, after dinner, everyone gathered again for a meeting. Sitting around the table, they began discussing—
Should they go out to hunt crystal cores tomorrow? Or go look for a toilet paper factory?
…Alright, even they felt the topic sounded a bit strange.
“The problem is,” Zhang Su said, glancing sideways at Luo Xun while swinging his slipper loosely on his foot, “if we go to a pre-apocalypse toilet paper factory, can we even find finished products?”
With each question he threw out, Luo Xun felt like he was being shot through the knees—both knees now completely useless.
“Even if we find a production line,” Zhang Su continued, “do you think we can transport it back?”
Yan Fei coughed lightly to help Luo Xun out. “I think we should consider upgrading the toilet instead—something automatic, that uses water to flush upward. It consumes electricity, but… saves paper.”
Consumables would eventually run out anyway. There was no need to obsess over it. But for Luo Xun’s sake, he still felt it was worth installing a better toilet.
Luo Xun rubbed his hair, silently blaming himself for not thinking of this earlier. But if he had checked the price back then, he probably would’ve given up—better to spend that money on supplies and seeds.
“But we don’t even know where to find something like that in the city,” Li Tie raised his hand.
Yan Fei stood up. “Check the internet. The pre-apocalypse maps we still have should mark some relevant locations.”
Luo Xun scratched his head awkwardly. “I just brought it up casually… we don’t have to go out of our way for this…”
He Qiankun patted his shoulder. “Actually… I’ve always had some difficulty, uh… going to the bathroom. If we had something like that, it’d be great.”
Xu Mei and Song Lingling burst into laughter, covering their mouths. “Let’s go take a look. If we can find one, even better.”
For the two women, the issue was even more troublesome—especially during certain days each month when paper consumption increased. After all, there were no sanitary products being produced anymore.
After searching around, everyone finally settled on a location—
Jinlong Home Furnishing Plaza.
It wasn’t far from them, and they had been there once before, back when the team had just formed. It was also likely unaffected by the earlier bombings in the city.
Although they couldn’t be certain they would find what they needed there, it was far more reliable than other places—and relatively close.
Luo Xun originally wanted to say they didn’t have to go, but everyone unanimously agreed—it would be a good chance to explore intact buildings.
After all, the places they had been visiting recently were all heavily bombed ruins. There was nothing left to find, and even the metal along the way had mostly been scavenged by Yan Fei.
Exploring the northern part of the city might be safer as well. The southern areas had stronger zombies, and last time they had even encountered a massive mutated beast.
More importantly, they still hadn’t fully absorbed all the crystal cores from their last trip. Even if they didn’t encounter many zombies this time, it wouldn’t be a problem.
And just like that, the decision was made.
Early the next morning, the group gathered downstairs, fully equipped and ready to depart.
This trip was different from their usual outings—more unknowns, more variables.
And with that came both greater anticipation… and greater unease.
Several vehicles—far more menacing-looking than usual, their original forms almost unrecognizable except for the chassis—were lined up in a row, driving toward the base gate.
They passed by the dark, massive “castle” of the military camp, went through the tall and wide inner walls of the base, and finally arrived at the fierce and imposing outer defensive wall.
“Hey, that section of wall we passed earlier—what was that? Is the base building something new again?” He Qiankun in the back seat couldn’t help asking as they neared the exit.
“You mean that area just now? That should be the New City, right?” Luo Xun recalled and glanced at Yan Fei for confirmation.
Yan Fei nodded. “Yeah, that should be it.”
“The New City is building walls too?!” Wu Xin exclaimed. The New City was supposed to be a residential area for ability-user teams. If they also got those massive dual-layer metal-and-earth defensive walls, wouldn’t that make things unfair for everyone else? They were ability users—shouldn’t ordinary people be the ones needing more protection?
“No, it’s probably something they built themselves by hiring earth-type ability users,” Yan Fei said, spreading his hands. “I haven’t heard of any new assignments for the military’s earth-type users. Right now they’re either helping build the metal sky bridges, working on outer defenses, or doing logistics for teams going out. And no one has contacted the metal team for anything new either.”
So most likely, the walls around the New City were either self-built defenses by the ability users living there, or privately commissioned—just like the makeshift constructions popping up everywhere in the base.
“Our residential complex…” He Qiankun started, but then shook his head and swallowed the rest. He wanted their area to be safer too, but the residents were too mixed—most were renters paying monthly points, with high turnover. Even if they wanted to build walls, they couldn’t coordinate everyone. It was impossible for now.
—
For this outing, to ensure safety and maximize combat strength, they had evenly distributed their team across the vehicles.
Luo Xun’s car had Yan Fei as the ability user, Luo Xun as the best shooter, along with He Qiankun and Wu Xin.
The middle vehicle had Song Lingling and Xiao Xinran, plus Han Li and Li Tie.
The last vehicle carried Zhang Su and Xu Mei, with Wang Duo driving.
Compared to the others, the middle car had slightly weaker firepower—but Xiao Xinran’s ability to restrain targets was extremely effective. And after long training, Song Lingling could now compress water into high-pressure arrows, nearly as powerful as crossbow bolts. While not very effective against high-level zombies with hardened bodies, they worked well when targeting weak points like the eyes.
—
After receiving their mission and registering out, the convoy left the base together with several other teams.
Their destination today was the city area with buildings that hadn’t completely collapsed—similar to many other teams’ goals. Along the way, they saw plenty of vehicles traveling together, while others were returning to the base.
There weren’t many zombies on this route. Occasionally, a few could be seen shambling after passing vehicles in the distance. Compared to the southern ruins Luo Xun had explored before, the zombies here were fewer and more scattered.
—
Less than half an hour into the drive, the convoy ahead suddenly stopped.
Luo Xun’s group slowed down and pulled over—only to realize that up ahead, people were fighting.
Yes, not humans versus zombies—
—but team versus team.
Three vehicles parked side by side near what was nearly a ruined building, watching from a distance. Other teams either stopped to spectate or detoured around.
“Damn, this is even more exciting than fighting zombies,” Wang Duo said, craning his neck eagerly to get a better look.
Luo Xun observed for a moment, then frowned slightly. “Back in the car. Prepare to detour.”
“Boss, if we detour, time-wise…” He Qiankun glanced at his phone, then at the chaotic fight ahead.
Just then, with a loud boom, an ability attack slammed directly into a nearby building. A huge hole blasted open, and debris—bricks, stones, glass—came crashing down.
“Let’s go,” Luo Xun said, waving his hand.
The team immediately lost all interest in watching. This wasn’t a show—it was brutal infighting between survivors.
They quickly got back into the vehicles.
—
Inside, Luo Xun checked the map and chose a smaller road slightly away from the elevated highway. Turning the wheel, he picked up the walkie-talkie they had recently acquired.
“Follow my car. Turn back one intersection, then head east.”
“Roger, boss. What was going on back there?” Li Tie’s voice came through, slightly strained. While fights did happen inside the base, they rarely saw such large-scale clashes up close due to their routine schedules.
Luo Xun and Yan Fei, on the other hand, had seen plenty—from construction sites, high vantage points, and frequent travel through the base.
“Either old grudges settled outside the base, or mission conflicts…conflict of interest,” Luo Xun replied calmly.
He wasn’t surprised at all.
In this life, his routine was steady—he rarely got close enough to witness such events. But in his previous life…
Even without seeking it out, he had heard countless stories from other vendors and survivors. And in the end—he had even died in the middle of such a clash.
Thinking about it now, staying away from gossip really is the safest way! Look at him—this life he doesn’t gossip, doesn’t watch the excitement, and not only has his quality of life improved a lot, he also avoids all those terrifying dangers and hardships!!
—
The group took a detour and left. Originally, they had planned to drive straight along the road beneath the elevated highway to the building materials market—but since that route had already been unsafe not long after the apocalypse began, and now it was blocked by people fighting, they had no choice but to change course.
After more than an hour, they finally approached their destination.
To be honest, entering the city proper this time felt very different from before. It wasn’t as barren as the southern ruins—where everything looked like complete devastation—but the buildings, streets, and even the trees here had all been battered and damaged, thanks to the combined efforts of scavenging survivors, ability users, and zombies.
Most buildings had shattered windows—or no windows at all. Every shop stood wide open, many with their doors completely gone. Anything that could be carried away had long since disappeared.
Of course, there were still items left behind—mostly things people didn’t bother with. What had been completely stripped were food-related goods, clothing, and anything involving wood, such as furniture and cabinets.
—
As they drove, Yan Fei casually gathered nearby metal materials. Since this route had other scavenger teams passing through, he didn’t dare form a giant rolling metal sphere like before. Instead, he could only “plate” metal onto their vehicles—but that had its limits.
After turning a corner and confirming no one was around, Luo Xun signaled to stop and gave Yan Fei a look.
“Make a car out of metal.”
“…Huh?” Yan Fei couldn’t follow immediately.
“I mean—shape metal into a car and let it follow us. Start with a hollow shell, then fill it gradually as we collect more materials. If we gather enough, we can even upgrade it—from a sedan to a jeep, then to a truck!”
“…”
Yan Fei had to admit—it was actually a very practical idea. Low-profile and efficient.
Behind them, He Qiankun and Wu Xin burst into praise:
“Brother Luo is a genius!”
“Too amazing!”
Yan Fei leaned over and kissed Luo Xun as a reward.
The two single guys in the back immediately clung to each other, mock-crying:
“You’re doing this on purpose, bullying us singles! No shame!”
“You can just get together yourselves,” Luo Xun replied lazily, not even bothering to roll his eyes.
The two stared at him in silence.
—
Meanwhile, Yan Fei waved his hand, gathering nearby metal and beginning to… build a car.
Whether it was because his ability had grown stronger, or simply because no metal-type users had scavenged here yet—either way, the area was practically a goldmine.
With just a casual motion, he assembled a solid metal sedan. After a moment’s thought, he reshaped it into a semi-hollow small truck.
Without even searching thoroughly or expanding his range, he could already make a vehicle. If he tried harder, they could easily bring back several full-sized trucks worth of metal.
But they didn’t need that much—most things at home were already built.
Though… reinforcing the building further was always an option.
After finishing, Yan Fei smiled at Luo Xun. “When we get back, we should reinforce the parking area.”
Space in the residential complex was becoming increasingly contested. If someone caused trouble near their vehicles, better to be prepared.
Luo Xun nodded. “Then make more. You’ll probably use it anyway.”
Yan Fei agreed and gestured for him to keep driving. He could gather materials along the way with minimal effort.
—
After a couple more turns—detouring around blocked roads filled with collapsed buildings and abandoned cars—they finally reached their destination.
“Damn… it’s become like this.”
The building materials market they had visited before was now in ruins. The glass at the entrance was shattered, metal shutters gone, plastic curtains missing. The supermarket next door had half a wall collapsed.
The streets were littered with debris, trash, and wrecked vehicles.
A few zombies wandered nearby. As soon as they saw the cars, they rushed over excitedly—
Bang bang bang.
Within seconds, the low-level zombies were eliminated. Luo Xun and the others didn’t even spare them a glance. Xiao Xinran used her sand ability to extract the crystal cores and handed them to Song Lingling, who handled logistics.
—
“…Does anyone remember where toilets are sold?” Luo Xun asked, peering into the pitch-dark interior.
Everyone exchanged looks.
Zhang Su said, “Usually first floor, right?”
“Then let’s go.”
They locked the vehicles—Yan Fei sealed the windows with metal and secured everything. He formed a mesh-like metal shield in front of the group, and they slowly entered the dark building.
They had been here before, but last time their target was the warehouse. Now they needed to confirm whether the store had the type of toilet they wanted—automatic flushing ones.
Honestly, risking a trip outside the base just for toilets… if others heard about it, they’d probably laugh to death.
—
“Roar—!”
A shadow suddenly dropped from above.
Before anyone else could react—
Boom! Boom!
Xu Mei instantly blasted the zombie apart.
“Level two,” she said calmly, as if she had just stepped on an ant.
After collecting the crystal core, they continued deeper, scanning the area with flashlights.
Fortunately, since most scavenging teams practiced total looting, anything useful here had already been taken—especially given how close this place was to the base.
Still, after some searching, they found a section for bathroom fixtures.
“Damn, even the partitions are gone!”
“And the flooring too!”
“Wait—there are still toilets!”
They gathered around the stall. The display structures had been dismantled, useless items scattered everywhere. Two toilets had already been smashed.
After careful inspection, they identified two models with automatic water functions.
If display models existed, then the warehouse must have stock!
Realizing this, everyone immediately grew excited and headed toward the warehouse area.
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