Chapter 72 – The Little Zombie That Can Spit Fireballs
When Yan Fei and the others began their work, Luo Xun and the four soldiers assigned to defense remained at their posts, guarding their respective targets. The rest were busy with their assigned tasks—some transporting materials, others fighting zombies, dredging corpses, or digging out crystal nuclei.
Luo Xun didn’t immediately join the fighting. Those who retrieved zombie corpses had to work directly over the fallen bodies, so if he started attacking zombies near Yan Fei, it might cause unnecessary trouble. He decided to wait until Yan Fei was ready to move before starting to shoot.
Suddenly, Luo Xun’s heart jolted violently. Instinctively, he reached out to grab Yan Fei and crouched down at the same time. “Watch out!”
Whoosh! A fireball streaked past the very spot where the two of them had just been standing!
An ability! A zombie with an ability!!
Everyone was startled by the noise, then saw the blazing fireball fly past and crash in an arc onto the open ground inside the city wall, leaving behind a sizable crater.
Could zombies… actually use powers now?! Or was it a sneak attack from an ability user?
No—impossible. Even if an ability user wanted to attack them, they wouldn’t launch fireballs from outside the base into it!
The team captain immediately raised a shield and climbed up onto the wall, cautiously peering outside. There—he saw it with his own eyes. A zombie spat out another blazing fireball—aimed directly at the top of the wall!
“Watch out! The zombies can use powers now! They can attack from a distance!” the captain roared, pointing at the fire-type zombie.
“Shoot! Prioritize that one!”
Zombies had evolved powers?!
That was horrifying! What next—would they start flying in a few days?!
Everyone focused their firepower on the target. A metallic gleam flashed in Yan Fei’s eyes as he stared grimly down at the scene below. He’d actually let his guard down just now—if not for Luo Xun’s warning, that fireball would’ve hit him square on!
The gunfire from the wall merged into a continuous roar. In the distance, from the direction of the gate, came faint bursts of gunfire too. Luo Xun couldn’t tell if there were more ability-using zombies attacking the main gate, but for now their top priority was the ones under their wall. Who knew how many more like that fire-spitting one might be lurking below?
Their luck wasn’t great—but not terrible either. There was only that one zombie with a ranged ability among the horde. Once they killed it, the rest were much easier to deal with.
The captain ordered the team to haul up the corpse of the fire-type zombie. They cleanly chopped off its head, wrapped it up, and sent it straight back to base camp for the higher-ups to inspect and forward to the research lab for testing.
Luo Xun imagined the scene of the base leaders opening the bag and seeing the severed zombie head inside—their stunned expressions—and couldn’t help but chuckle quietly to himself. He hadn’t even finished picturing that ridiculous scene when he heard the captain ordering two soldiers to fetch riot shields.
These shields had been standard equipment for armed police maintaining order before the apocalypse. Since no one had ever expected zombies to develop ranged attacks, the team had only brought one along. Now that such a threat clearly existed, they needed to take precautions before it was too late—better to prepare now than regret later when all the zombies turned into ranged attackers.
Their squad’s luck was pretty good. Because they’d been the first to discover that zombies might have ranged capabilities, the two soldiers sent to fetch the shields returned with ten of them!
Captain Guo’s eyes widened. “They let you take that many?”
One of the soldiers grinned proudly. “Reporting, sir! When we got there, no one else had come to claim them yet. These were just spares stored inside the base—teams heading out already got their standard issue. Normally, no one ever comes for these, so we said a few nice words and they let us have extra.”
The other soldier laughed as well. “When we came back, we ran into a patrol team—they’d also encountered zombies with abilities that could attack from range. They were on their way to get shields too, but we beat them to it!”
Some things were like that—ignored when no one wanted them, but as soon as one person asked, others would follow. The quartermasters didn’t mind handing out extra the first time or two—but after repeated requests, they’d start getting stingy.
The patrol team those soldiers met wasn’t a combat unit—the actual fighting squads had long since been equipped with such protection, and unless their gear was damaged, they wouldn’t need replacements. The patrols just inspected the walls for weak spots and noted zombie concentrations. They usually didn’t engage in combat, so they hadn’t been issued much protective gear. Chances were, they’d run into the same situation as Yan Fei’s team—getting attacked by a power-using zombie—and had gone to request shields for the same reason.
Captain Guo laughed and gave each of the two clever young soldiers a light slap on the shoulder.
“Alright, alright—you two are the smart ones,” he said with a grin.
He then had the riot shields distributed to the soldiers stationed along the wall for defense—each person received one. Luo Xun also got his own. If any zombies appeared below, he’d use the shield to protect both himself and Yan Fei, preventing another surprise attack like before.
While the captain sent people to retrieve the shields, the four ability users rested behind the wall, recovering their mental strength. Now that they had shields and protection from their teammates, they resumed their work.
Yan Fei straightened up and reached over to pinch Luo Xun’s cheek—not gently either.
Luo Xun blinked, confused by the sudden gesture. Since it didn’t hurt, he just assumed Yan Fei was being affectionate. He didn’t realize that Yan Fei was actually feeling frustrated—because Luo Xun had ended up protecting him. The thought that he had failed to notice the danger first filled him with both lingering fear and deep annoyance.
As the head of the household, and someone stronger in combat, he hadn’t even sensed the threat beforehand. Yan Fei felt a heavy sense of defeat. Though he suppressed that unpleasant feeling, he swore to himself he would never let such a blow to his pride happen again.
He sped up his movements, using his powers more intensely. Each of the ability users pushed themselves to work as fast as possible, manipulating the metal materials efficiently. The rest of the team also picked up their pace—some hauling supplies, others fighting zombies and digging out crystal nuclei.
Around noon, the food truck arrived near their section of the wall. The rich smell of hot food drifted through the air, making everyone’s stomachs growl after a whole morning of hard labor. One by one, their eyes turned green as they stared at the vehicle.
“Half-hour break! Eat up, fill your stomachs, and we’ll continue this afternoon!”
Captain Guo, equally tired from the morning’s work, waved his hand and led everyone down the wall to wash up and get their meals.
Yan Fei and Luo Xun exchanged a glance and whispered,
“Should we eat with them? What if there’s something wrong with the food?”
“It should be fine,” Luo Xun reasoned. “The problems the other day were with the food stalls open to the public. Haven’t heard of any issues inside the military.”
“Right. And after what happened, the army must have tightened food safety checks.”
They both agreed it was safe enough to eat. After all, unless the military had gone insane, there was no way they’d neglect hygiene after such a major incident within the base. Even if that previous event hadn’t been caused by food or water contamination, no one would dare take chances now.
The meal consisted of only a few large, oddly yellowish steamed buns that looked a little strange, a pot of mixed stew with assorted ingredients, and a thin millet-green bean porridge so watery you could barely find a grain of rice in each scoop.
Everyone was too hungry to complain at first, but as they ate, a few older soldiers started grumbling to the service staff who had delivered the food.
“The food’s getting worse and worse! Look at this stew—there isn’t a single chicken leg with any meat on it, just bones!”
The service soldiers could only laugh awkwardly. “Ah, maybe it was cooked too long—the meat probably fell off into the pot!”
Captain Guo poked at his own bowl, frowning. “I can’t find much meat either. Did you lot scoop the good bits into someone else’s portions?”
“How could we, sir? It’s all ladled out the same way. Depends on what comes up with each scoop.”
“Tomorrow, make sure you give us a better batch. We’re doing hard labor here—if we don’t have the strength to work on the walls and something goes wrong, who’s gonna take responsibility?” Guo’s tone wasn’t too harsh, wary of provoking them. If the staff decided to take petty revenge by cutting their rations, they’d be worse off than just eating at the army canteen.
“Alright, alright, we’ll see what we can do. We’ll bring you something better tomorrow,” one of the service soldiers promised with a nod before they packed up the containers and drove off once the group had finished eating.
“Back to work! The sooner we finish, the sooner we rest!”
The team ate quickly, and after a brief ten-minute break, the captain clapped his hands to signal it was time to get back.
It wasn’t ideal to start working right after eating, but fortunately, they had already moved the heavy materials near the wall earlier. Now it was just a matter of steady progress.
Everyone returned to their posts. Luo Xun propped the riot shield—its surface as clear as glass—in front of him and Yan Fei, blocking the view from the zombies below. Yan Fei casually snapped off a piece of metal, stretching it downward like a thin stream of liquid, and their afternoon work began once more.
Their exhausting day finally ended around three in the afternoon. After loading their equipment, the two rode back to base, then drove toward their residential complex.
Unlike the usual noon bustle, the streets were now almost deserted—quiet and still, with only the sound of their car engine echoing faintly. Many of the parked cars that used to serve as makeshift homes were gone.
After the incident two days ago, those who had preferred living in their cars within the inner base quickly changed their minds. In the apocalypse, crowds didn’t always mean safety.
Just look at what happened the other day—an outbreak of the zombie virus inside the inner base infected several people, who then spread it further. But the outer base? It had remained completely clean—not a single zombie sighted!
After the outbreak, robberies and assaults had also surged in the inner base. The chaos Luo Xun’s neighborhood had faced wasn’t unique; almost every residential area had similar stories. Many women who stayed home alone had fallen victim that day.
Ironically, the outer base, once considered far more dangerous and vulnerable to zombie attacks, turned out to be completely fine. Those who had gone outside the walls to fight zombies or collect supplies returned safely that night and stayed in the outer base without issue.
The stark contrast changed everyone’s perception overnight. People who once thought the inner base was safer and superior began favoring the outer base instead. After all, there were plenty of empty houses outside. Many who’d been crammed into shared rooms in the inner base immediately applied to move out—living with others wasn’t just inconvenient, it also meant constantly worrying that neighbors might steal from you while you were gone. In some cases, neighbors were even more likely to rob you than strangers. So why stay?
Thus, when Luo Xun and Yan Fei returned home that afternoon, they passed through streets that were unusually quiet—most of the moving crowds had already left.
Along some roads and intersections, they could still see scattered debris, shards of glass, and damaged public facilities—the aftermath of the chaos from the past two days. In certain places, like the gate of their Hongjing community, dark stains marked where blood had dried.
Now that he thought about it, the traces left from Zhang Su’s killings before weren’t that different—just concentrated in a smaller area. The base had long stopped talking about the “psychopathic killer” case. Instead, people were now whispering paranoid theories—that the zombies had been created by someone, deliberately unleashed to wipe out the base population.
Some with even wilder imaginations speculated that intelligent zombies had already emerged, and that the entire incident had been orchestrated by one such creature.
Driving back to their building, the two men dragged their exhausted bodies up the stairs. Like the streets outside, the building was utterly silent, with barely a sound. Even if someone was home, it was the middle of afternoon nap time—quiet enough to make it feel as if no one was there at all.
After climbing all the way up to the sixteenth floor, the two of them dragged their exhausted bodies through the front door—only to be greeted by their little one’s enthusiastic welcome. The half-grown dog leapt up on its hind legs and pounced straight into Luo Xun’s arms. One overexcited paw landed squarely on his poor pelvis, sending a sharp jolt of pain through him that made him double over, just in time for the dog’s head to ram right into his chest.
Coughing twice, Luo Xun pushed away the overly affectionate dog and collapsed onto the sofa, playing dead with what felt like a half-ruined body.
After closing the door, Yan Fei came over and pulled him up a little. “Come on, go upstairs and sleep.”
“I’ll just rest a bit,” Luo Xun muttered. “Still have to go next door to plaster the wall later.”
“Sleep first, then we’ll work together.”
Today’s workload had been much heavier than usual—if they didn’t rest properly now, neither of them would be able to get up tomorrow. Yan Fei’s mental strength was showing signs of fatigue again, but after his recent gradual training, a short rest should be enough for him to recover.
Luo Xun thought about it and decided he was right, so he got up again and followed him upstairs.
The little dog wagged its tail, watching the two climb the stairs. Tilting its head for a moment, it turned and bounded toward the big glass tank on the balcony, continuing its lively conversation with the little quails inside.
The two slept straight through to six in the evening. When they woke up, they still felt a bit tired, but their spirits had greatly improved. Luo Xun immediately went into the kitchen to prepare dinner.
He took down a piece of cured meat hanging from the ceiling, sliced off a portion, and hung the rest back up. On the other side of the kitchen floor sat several jars of pickled vegetables. He took out some pickled cowpeas, radishes, and green peppers, washed and diced them. Then he washed and sliced the cured meat. Once stir-fried with a bit of garlic, it would be ready—a salty, spicy, appetizing dish perfect with rice. He’d also pick a few greens from the balcony to stir-fry quickly, which would be enough for the two of them.
“Huh? Why does the lettuce look smaller again?”
When Luo Xun went to the balcony for vegetables, he frowned at the lowest row of planters. They were all leafy greens, but the chives in the neighboring row were thriving—lush, tall, and full. Why did the lettuce on the bottom shelf seem to have even fewer leaves than before?
He frowned deeper, put the picked greens into the kitchen sink, and went upstairs to retrieve a long-unused treasure—his phone.
Back on the first-floor balcony, he snapped several photos of the lowest shelf for reference, then returned to the kitchen to continue cooking. Yan Fei wasn’t there—judging from the sounds, he was busy working in the next room. Luo Xun set aside his suspicions for now and sped up dinner prep—they were planning to finish painting the walls next door before bedtime.
Garlic sizzled in the pan, and as the cured meat hit the oil, it released even more fat, turning glossy and fragrant within moments. The diced pickled vegetables went in next, and the tangy-spicy aroma quickly filled the kitchen, making Luo Xun’s mouth water uncontrollably. He hadn’t felt hungry upon waking up—but one whiff of this, and his appetite came roaring back.
The other greens were much simpler: high heat, quick stir-fry, seasoning before the juices came out. Some were even better when slightly undercooked, crisp and fresh.
Two dishes were done in no time. Luo Xun also made tomato-and-egg soup using frozen tomato chunks stored in small packets in the freezer, and with the rice that had been cooking while he stir-fried, the meal was complete. He carried the dishes to the living room table, then pushed open the big black door between the two rooms.
“Dinner’s ready!”
Yan Fei raised an eyebrow, setting down his paint roller. “That was fast.”
He was used to Luo Xun’s cooking speed, but even so, today seemed quicker than usual.
“There’s still one more room to paint,” Luo Xun replied hurriedly. He hadn’t taken much time on dinner—after all, who in the apocalypse had the leisure for elaborate cooking?
The two of them devoured two big bowls of rice with the sour-and-spicy cured meat stir-fry. The greens and tomato soup were also finished clean. After washing up quickly, they returned next door to keep painting.
Neither of them had ever done it before, but they’d watched the “white mouse” neighbors experiment enough to know the steps. A few tries later, they had the technique down.
Luo Xun and Yan Fei were still busy painting at home. Their afternoon nap had restored their bodies and spirits, and dinner had replenished their strength and stamina—so much so that they completely lost track of time. It wasn’t until they heard the sound of the main door outside that they snapped out of it and hurried out to greet the others.
Li Tie and the others trudged back with weary steps. At the rear, Wang Duo was fussing over Zhang Su with exaggerated concern. When he saw Luo Xun and Yan Fei coming out, Wang Duo ran forward a few steps, excitement lighting up his face.
“Brother Yan! Brother Yan! We got the materials! We can bring them back tomorrow!!”
Yan Fei blinked, realizing he meant metal materials, and nodded. “Our work hours have been longer these past few days. When you bring them back, just leave them in the hallway for now. If there’s nothing urgent at home, once we finish our work this evening, we can help you start building slowly.”
“No problem!” Wang Duo nodded quickly. “Whenever you’ve got time is fine, no rush. We don’t have time to grow vegetables anyway right now.”
Li Tie chimed in from behind, emphasizing, “Yeah, we’ve just been super busy lately. Once things stabilize and all the data entry is done, we’ll have more free time.”
Zhang Su raised a hand to stifle a yawn as he walked to the door of 1602. He stuck the key into the lock but hadn’t even turned it before he started nodding off, nearly hitting his head on the metal door. The hospital had been packed full of those damned patients who’d been picking fights for no reason—he’d been run ragged today.
Wang Duo quickly stepped forward to steady his delicate-looking “beautiful wife,” opened the door himself, shot Yan Fei and Luo Xun a fawning grin, and guided his “queen” inside to rest.
Li Tie and the others behind him stifled their laughter for quite a while before they managed to compose themselves. Then Wu Xin suddenly remembered something and hurried forward.
“Oh, right—we forgot to tell you. When we came back yesterday, there was a fight in the neighborhood—two groups of ability users, and they nearly hit us. Brother Zhang stopped them with his ability. The leader of one group tried to recruit him afterward, but Brother Zhang wasn’t interested…”
Yan Fei looked surprised. “Tried to recruit Zhang Su? An ability-user squad?”
Li Tie nodded, joining in quickly. “Yeah! Two groups were fighting in the open area yesterday—both leaders were ability users. One had fire powers, the other used lightning. The one who tried to recruit Brother Zhang was the lightning guy. Their team’s called… Chaos, I think?”
Luo Xun nearly choked on his own saliva, coughing several times. Wait—what? In his previous life, wasn’t Zhang Su the deputy leader of Blaze? And now Chaos’s boss had tried to recruit him? What kind of absurd twist was this?
Or… maybe in his past life, Chaos had also tried to recruit Zhang Su first—but something must’ve happened later that made him switch sides and join Blaze, Chaos’s mortal enemy?
Wait a second—wasn’t the team leader fighting Chaos yesterday also a fire-type user? Could that have been Blaze? Were those two rival groups already at each other’s throats this early in the apocalypse?!
Luo Xun’s imagination went into overdrive, mentally replaying all the tangled grudges and alliances between the two factions from his last life—though he had no idea that Chaos and Blaze had actually been rivals even before the apocalypse, long used to scheming how to kill each other.
Thank you for reading 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
