Chapter 138

The burly man examined the Crystal Core, tossed the item over, and kept observing the young girl standing at the other end with his eyes.

From the time they met until now, he had not seen her expression change.

“You… alone?” The burly man couldn’t help being vigilant.

Chuzheng gave a noncommittal hum, her voice cold and distant, making it difficult for anyone to continue the conversation.

The three men muttered and consulted among themselves for a long time without speaking to her or asking her to leave.

Night gradually enveloped the earth.

The entire city plunged into darkness; once bustling and lively, it was now scarcely populated by living people, leaving only the revolting zombies.

“I think she really is alone,” the male student whispered, “She probably got these Crystal Cores by accident.”

“Yi Xiao, don’t get soft-hearted; remember what happened last time,” the burly man glared at him.

Yi Xiao scratched his head and didn’t dare to say more.

The other skinny man continued, his words cautious, “It’s the end of the world now, I think it’s better to be careful. Should we leave this place?”

Yi Xiao glanced towards Chuzheng, “Let’s talk about it in the morning. Anyway, besides our lives, we don’t have much else to hope for.”

Oh!

And the Crystal Cores they had just acquired.

Thinking this, Yi Xiao hurried the burly man, “Brother, hurry up and absorb the Crystal Core, so we don’t have any more trouble.”

The skinny man was of the same opinion.

The Crystal Core in hand needed to be absorbed quickly to be safe.

The three of them made a decision, gathered their things, and found a room.

–

The next day.

The burly man came out first, having absorbed the Crystal Core, his strength had significantly increased.

He looked around the corridor; the young girl from yesterday was gone.

“Did a pie really just fall from the sky?”

The burly man muttered and told the other two to get up, pack their things, and leave.

They now needed to find supplies and a car.

Cars were easy to find, but gasoline was the hardest.

After half a year, places that could have been scavenged were already picked over, leaving supplies and gasoline very scarce.

The burly man led his two burdens, walking cautiously down the street.

The shops on both sides either had shattered glass or wide-open doors.

Food and other essential stores had been completely looted.

Shops selling furniture or things that were useless in the apocalypse remained intact.

“Roar!”

“Ah!”

The skinny man was pounced on by a zombie leaping out from the dark, instinctively crying out.

The burly man reacted quickly, slamming his iron rod onto the zombie’s head.

The rotting, disgusting zombie with its brain exposed, thudded to the ground.

The skinny man was yanked to his feet by Yi Xiao, “You okay?”

The skinny man frantically checked himself and shook his head, “I’m fine.”

The burly man gripped his iron rod tightly, wary of the surroundings as shuffling zombies started appearing from the streets and the shops.

Their vision was nearly non-existent, but their hearing and smell were amplified.

The cry from the skinny man earlier had attracted those zombies lurking in the shadows.

“Brother Bao!” Yi Xiao called out nervously.

“To the left,” the burly man immediately said, “Run!”

All three men ran to the left as the shuffling zombies, as if a switch had been flicked, started roaring and chasing after them.

They crossed the street with a lot of noise, drawing more and more zombies into the fray.

Screech—

A pure black SUV suddenly stopped in front of them.

The three men didn’t care who was in the car, they ran over as fast as they could. Seeing no opposition, they pulled the door open and jumped in.

Zombies threw themselves at the side of the SUV; the vehicle moved forward, then slammed the brakes, flinging zombies off, then turned and sped away down another road.

Safe within the vehicle, the three men sighed in post-adversity relief.

“`

The burly man glanced at the driver, slightly surprised, “It’s you… Thank you.”

The girl driving wasn’t just anyone, but Chuzheng, the one they had traded with yesterday.

Without taking her eyes off the road, as the burly man spoke, she fished out a bag of Crystal Cores, “I hire you to go to Qingan Base.”

The burly man was taken aback.

The two in the backseat were dumbfounded.

Just yesterday she had pulled out so many Crystal Cores, and today again this many?

Was this girl a Crystal Core making machine?

“Hire us?” The burly man was wary, “Little sister, look at the three of us, we have trouble protecting ourselves, let alone someone else.”

“Mhm.” I just wanted to spoil myself and incidentally find someone who could drive for her.

After all, there were only these three living people around, she didn’t have a choice.

“…” What does your ‘mhm’ mean? The burly man expressed his inability to understand.

Chuzheng maintained the pose of offering the Crystal Cores.

She showed no signs of taking them back.

“Brother Bao…” Yi Xiao gave the burly man a meaningful look.

The burly man, scratching his head in confusion, just had been saved by this girl and to refuse her now would be ungrateful, especially since she was offering such a good reward.

In the end, the burly man accepted the Crystal Cores, “Let’s get one thing straight, our abilities are limited, I can only try my best to protect you.”

Chuzheng nodded.

She suddenly slammed on the brakes.

The car stopped, and Chuzheng got out.

Her actions left the three men dumbfounded, as zombies behind them howled in pursuit.

“What are you doing?”

Chuzheng opened the car door on the burly man’s side and said indifferently, “You drive.”

The burly man: “…” Couldn’t she wait until they’d shaken off the zombies?

As the zombies chaotically chased them howling, the burly man, without paying attention to Chuzheng’s disruptive maneuver, directly switched from the passenger to the driver’s seat.

–

“I’m Yi Xiao.” The boy introduced, “This is our Brother Bao, big name Cai Xiaobao.”

Brother Bao glared at Yi Xiao, wasn’t Brother Bao enough? Did he really need to introduce him as Cai Xiaobao?

“This is He Cheng.” Yi Xiao, not afraid of the fierce-looking Brother Bao, introduced the other man.

The man raised his hand in greeting, “Hello…”

The combination of these three was odd.

Yi Xiao looked like a college student and had no Special Ability.

He Cheng seemed very timid and also had no Special Ability.

Brother Bao was a muscular tough guy, seemingly strong in combat and the only Special Ability User in the team.

Leaning back against the seat, Chuzheng’s voice was cool and clear, “Chuzheng.”

“Ah? Which character is that?” Yi Xiao asked, curious.

Too lazy to speak, Chuzheng took out a piece of paper and a pen from her bag and wrote down the two characters for Chuzheng.

The font was beautiful and neat, like printed text.

“I thought it was ‘Chu Cheng’ as in ‘set out for battle’.” Yi Xiao scratched his head.

“You can’t leave the city over there.” He Cheng suddenly spoke up.

Brother Bao immediately switched to another route.

Chuzheng glanced at He Cheng.

Yi Xiao explained, “He Cheng has an impressive memory, he can remember the maps of cities all over the country.”

He Cheng remained somewhat cautious and said nothing.

Chuzheng could understand why they brought He Cheng along, despite his timid appearance.

In the apocalypse, having someone who knew the city streets was much more useful than them aimlessly wandering like headless flies.

“Why would he remember maps for no reason?” What kind of devilish hobby was that?

“He was planning to participate in the Guinness World Records.” This time, He Cheng took the initiative, “Too bad… But now, having been in the apocalypse for so long, I don’t really serve much of a purpose.”

He was right about that.

But sometimes it could still save lives.

“`