The Reborn Otaku’s Code of Practice for the Apocalypse – CH130

Chapter 130 — Extra Income?

By November, the weather had turned completely cold. Fortunately, Luo Xun’s household had finally gotten through the busiest farming season. Most of the crops had already been harvested—those that needed processing were processed, those that needed drying were dried. Even the sunflowers on the balcony had yielded fully ripened seeds and were all picked.

Aside from keeping some raw sunflower seeds as future planting stock, the rest were shelled and pressed into sunflower oil for daily use. Their peanuts and soybeans had also been harvested and processed the same way—peanut butter made from pressed peanuts was especially good, perfect for spreading on steamed buns.

As for soybeans, besides being used for oil extraction, they could also be dried and later turned into tofu.

The pressing tool they used was a small stone mill Luo Xun had acquired before the apocalypse. It wasn’t large, and it was second-hand, but still quite practical. During the farming downtime, the two women handled most of the work while taking care of Xiao Xinran.

Although the yield wasn’t large, they still managed to produce a fair amount of oil. After dividing it among the households, it could last them for some time.

After all, cooking oil had basically disappeared from the base’s market. Whether it was because no oil-producing crops were grown, or because all such crops had mutated beyond usability—no one knew.

In any case, after realizing this, the homebody team became even more careful with their stored oil, using it sparingly every time.

Stacks of satellite images lay spread out, accompanied by a room full of stunned expressions.

The base’s high-level officials sat around a large round table, silent for a long time, exchanging uneasy glances before someone finally spoke:

“So… what do we do about this?”

“Do something? How? How do we even take down things like these?”

“Send ability users! Let the ability users handle it!”

“And what makes you think ability users can defeat them? Those missing teams haven’t even been found!”

“That still doesn’t prove those things are responsible! Don’t forget, there are other dangers in the city!”

A cold laugh followed.

“Then who do you think caused so many buildings to collapse? Ability users collecting supplies? Or are you saying these buildings all naturally decayed and fell down? Or maybe the gas—cut off for a whole year—suddenly came back on and got ignited by fire-type zombies, blowing everything up?!”

“Enough! Everyone calm down. Focus on the issue!”

The real question was—how to deal with the monsters in those images.

Scattered across the table were satellite photos and reconnaissance reports from scouts sent into the city.

Gigantic, powerful figures—over three meters tall, with gray-black skin—were roaming through the city. These massive zombie giants could easily lift and twist a car in half. Wherever they appeared, collapsed buildings were often found nearby…

“Back to reinforcing the outer wall again?!” The metal-type ability team members looked at the nearly completed overpass, then at the already massive outer wall nearby, completely baffled.

“What are the higher-ups thinking now? Didn’t we just finish building it?”

“This time, you’re required to refine the metal on the wall,” the official explained patiently. “Increase its hardness and toughness to match the metal used in the overpass.”

He handed them a material ratio chart.

“You’ll need to extract the elements separately and recombine them according to this proportion…”

Captain Guo rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then suddenly asked:

“Did you discover some new kind of zombie? Something with high destructive power?”

The man stiffened slightly, then forced a laugh.

“Haha… haha… you’re overthinking it, how could that—”

Before he could finish, he met the collective skeptical stares of the entire team and awkwardly swallowed the rest of his words.

“…Anyway, just keep it in mind. The wall needs to be reinforced as soon as possible.”

Luo Xun and Yan Fei exchanged a glance. Both immediately understood—this must be related to what they had encountered that day. The timing was too coincidental.

Even without concrete information, they still had to follow orders.

Since the bridge project was nearing completion and the wall required urgent reinforcement, the leaders of both projects argued for quite some time before reaching a compromise:

From now on, mornings would be spent working on the wall, and afternoons would return to bridge construction.

Fortunately, both tasks involved similar metalwork, so the difficulty level remained about the same.

And so, Yan Fei’s team began running back and forth every day—morning here, afternoon there—like performers rushing between venues.

Thankfully, they weren’t asked to extend working hours. Otherwise… it would have been unbearable.

To be honest, the only reason Luo Xun and Yan Fei were still working was because of the daily allowance of points and crystal cores. With the current quality of food provided by the military, they were already close to quitting. If the workload increased, Yan Fei would absolutely resign—he’d rather go out hunting crystal cores and eat meals prepared by Luo Xun.

Under the biting autumn wind, with no real protection, everyone could only pile on more clothes and endure the cold. It felt like they were just one step away from singing “The North Wind Blows.”

Whether it was just their imagination or due to worsening living conditions, everyone—including Luo Xun and Yan Fei—felt that this winter was colder than usual, and the wind harsher.

They endured this routine for several days.

One morning, Luo Xun and Yan Fei packed up surplus vegetables—far more than they could consume—and drove to the military camp to sell them at the cafeteria’s back entrance.

To their surprise, Captain Li from the cafeteria seemed to have been waiting for them early in the morning. When he saw them, he even personally came forward to greet them, causing the two to exchange a subtle glance.

“Ah, you two haven’t been coming as often lately,” Captain Li said with a smile, handing each of them a cigarette.

Neither of them smoked, but they accepted them anyway—such things were valuable in the post-apocalyptic world.

This was unusual. Normally, they were the ones trying to build connections with him. Now, he was taking the initiative.

“Well, the weather’s been too cold. Even our crops aren’t growing well. We can’t help it,” Luo Xun replied with a smile, slipping the cigarette into his pocket.

Even the cheapest, worst-quality cigarettes—damp, stale, expired—were considered luxury items now. Wasting them was out of the question.

Captain Li led them inside through the cafeteria’s back door. It was their first time being invited in. The two exchanged another glance, curious about his intentions, and followed.

At the entrance, assistants were weighing the vegetables, while the three of them sat on stools in the back kitchen.

Lowering his voice, Captain Li smiled and asked:

“The vegetables you grow at home… you use clean water produced by ability users, right?”

The two of them just smiled and said nothing.

Captain Li didn’t insist on pressing further. Anyone with common sense knew that the more polluted the water used for cultivation, the more likely crops were to mutate. For Luo Xun and the others to produce so many non-mutated vegetables, the key must lie in the water.

Seeing they wouldn’t answer, Captain Li didn’t pursue it and instead said:

“Now that the weather’s getting colder, the greenhouse yields aren’t great either. But our cafeteria still has to ensure the whole army gets fed, right? The external procurement window at the base has also been receiving fewer people selling vegetables lately…”

He rambled on for quite a while, and in the end, his main point was:

“If you bring more than ten jin each time in the future, we can raise the price a bit.”

Yan Fei didn’t speak—this wasn’t something he could decide. Luo Xun smiled and gave a measured reply:

“That depends on our harvest… You know how it is—once it gets cold, things grow slower. We’ll do our best.”

With that, Captain Li felt somewhat reassured. The vegetables had already been weighed, and after settling the payment, Luo Xun and Yan Fei took their leave.

—

After parking in a lot inside the military camp, the two got out and headed toward their team’s gathering spot, quietly discussing along the way.

“He’s raising the price just because vegetable supply in the base has dropped?” Yan Fei frowned. “Doesn’t feel quite right.”

“Vegetables may be fewer, but not to the point where he’d raise prices like that.” Luo Xun chuckled softly. “I think it’s partly because the supply of non-mutated vegetables in the logistics department has dropped. And also—some teams in the base are probably buying vegetables at higher prices.”

“Buying at higher prices?” Yan Fei raised an eyebrow with interest.

“Yeah. Xu Mei mentioned that since last week, the external sales windows in the base haven’t been selling fresh vegetables anymore—only pickled food, preserved vegetables, or cooked meals. If people want fresh veggies to cook themselves, they have to find them in the market.

“And with so many ability-user teams gathering in the New City… once one team leader starts eating homegrown vegetables and fruits, others will want the same. Of course the price goes up.”

Luo Xun spoke casually, as if it were obvious.

He had only started large-scale planting in his previous life when vegetable prices in the base had risen high enough to become profitable. Before that, he had even worked for a time in vegetable greenhouses. Even in winter, yields were never so low that cafeteria managers had to proactively raise purchase prices.

There was only one real reason for Captain Li’s offer—

Non-mutated vegetables in the base had become expensive.

Who would deliberately torture their own taste buds? Just look at what happened when new grain came out—old grain vanished overnight. The higher-ups were clearly keeping the better food for themselves, and naturally they would also prefer non-mutated vegetables.

As for the other team leaders outside—if they wanted to eat better, they had no choice but to buy.

—

After hearing Luo Xun’s analysis, Yan Fei immediately understood.

He had only found it strange before because their household produced so much food—grain, vegetables—more than enough for themselves.

Now, he saw clearly—

Luo Xun could completely support the two of them… and a dog… just by farming and selling vegetables.

—

So when the two of them finished work and returned to their heavily reinforced vehicle, only to find two men waiting nearby, neither of them was surprised.

The two men carefully looked them over. When they saw Luo Xun and Yan Fei about to get into their rather unusual vehicle, they stepped forward:

“You two… are you the ones delivering vegetables to the cafeteria this morning?”

The metal covering on the windows had already been partially withdrawn and integrated into the car body, leaving only bar-like reinforcements.

If not for the fact that high-tech control systems were basically nonexistent now, they would have thought those metal panels were being remotely operated. They hadn’t even seen how the metal was retracted.

Still… metal-type ability users making a living selling vegetables? That was quite something.

Yan Fei spoke coldly, expression indifferent:

“What do you want?”

The two exchanged a glance, then one stepped forward with a smile:

“We’re from XX Team. We heard you supply vegetables to the military cafeteria regularly. We were wondering… how you set your prices?”

—

They had come to cut in—hoping to intercept Luo Xun’s supply and possibly even resell at a profit.

But with Luo Xun, who knew market trends from his previous life, and Yan Fei, who had been a boss before the apocalypse, the two visitors ended up revealing their own bottom-line purchasing price instead.

In the end, they left dazed, without even getting Luo Xun’s contact—only leaving their own.

—

“The price they offered isn’t bad,” Luo Xun said afterward. “But I’ve never heard of that team.”

Did he want to earn more? Of course.

But he wouldn’t risk selling to an unreliable team that might disappear overnight. What if they agreed on a deal, brought the goods… and the buyers were gone?

Still, if someone genuinely wanted to buy, they were open to it.

Just not right now.

Recently, they had adjusted their planting ratio to ensure enough food for themselves. If they wanted to sell, they’d need to re-adjust again—always prioritizing their own survival first.

—

Back home, they gathered Xu Mei and the others to discuss the matter.

Everyone agreed—

Even if they didn’t sell to outside teams, if the military cafeteria offered higher prices, they were willing to grow more vegetables.

The key issue was adjusting planting arrangements.

—

Soon, Li Tie and the others returned, followed shortly by Wang Duo and Zhang Su.

The moment Zhang Su entered, he gave Yan Fei a sharp sideways glare and snorted heavily.

Everyone immediately looked at Yan Fei.

What had he done now?

Yan Fei frowned slightly, puzzled:

“What’s your problem?”

Zhang Su rolled his eyes again, leaning back in his chair:

“Some nurses told me today that someone’s trying to get me fired. Told me to be careful.”

“Someone’s targeting you?” Wang Duo immediately flared up, rolling up his sleeves. “Who is it? Tell me! Is it some old geezer jealous of your talent? Or someone coveting your beauty—”

No one paid him any attention.

Zhang Su continued with a cold smile:

“I asked around. Turns out it’s a patient I refused to help with something illegal. She even went to the hospital leadership to try to get me dismissed.”

He sneered.

“I really don’t know where she got the confidence. Even if she were the base’s top leader, firing me right now wouldn’t be easy.”

—

Luo Xun and Yan Fei exchanged a helpless look.

It had to be Liu Xiangyu.

If she really had connections, would she still be begging around just to get an abortion?

And the hospital leadership surely already knew about her situation—otherwise some doctor would’ve taken the job privately.

Fortunately, Zhang Su was just venting and didn’t drag Yan Fei into it.

Everyone wisely dropped the topic and shifted back to discussing vegetable planting.

—

After hearing Luo Xun’s explanation, everyone immediately agreed:

“Why hesitate? Plant more!”

The only issue was space.

All the rooms were already fully utilized according to previous plans. The only remaining option—The corridor.

—

With winter approaching, the corridor—drafty and exposed—had been left unused after previous harvests.

Now, it would be transformed.

Sealing gaps, installing heating pipes and metal flooring—everything could be handled quickly with Yan Fei’s ability.

Lighting wasn’t an issue either. Their solar panels provided more than enough electricity.

So after dinner, everyone rolled up their sleeves and got to work.

—

For Yan Fei, this was effortless.

While others moved items around, he had already completed the renovation of the sixteenth-floor corridor.

Metal floors, metal walls—every draft sealed.

By the time the others finished clearing the fifteenth floor and stairwell, everything was already done.

They reorganized the space, leaving only necessary access areas.

Yan Fei even upgraded the large metal door between floors, improving insulation and security—while still ensuring proper ventilation.

After all, without airflow, nothing would grow.

Thank you for reading 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉