TL: Moonlit
Upon seeing Niu Liangguo’s attitude, Sun Shijie knew that he probably wouldn’t let the people in the base go out on a risky adventure for just one or two individuals. Sun Shijie urgently said, “Leader, we can’t wait any longer!”
Niu Liangguo remained calm, “Shijie, is your nephew having a conflict with people outside? Otherwise, why would they take the risk of coming to the base to capture someone?”
Sun Shijie anxiously replied, “Leader, give me a team, I’ll personally lead them to pursue!”
Niu Liangguo waved his hand, “No rush. Let’s wait for Fang Shenlong to return. Even if they can’t come back, sending more people out would be a death sentence. Safety is our priority; we cannot take risks.”
Niu Liangguo was just short of directly saying that Fang Zhen and Miao Bo were not worth risking the base’s safety for. Sun Shijie choked on his words, almost suffocating in anger.
Just then, a person rushed over in a panic, “Something bad happened!”
Niu Liangguo remained steady, “What’s the hurry? Calm down and explain.”
The person gasped for breath, “Food… We’re out of food!”
Niu Liangguo widened his eyes, “What did you say? What happened to the food?!”
The messenger was on the verge of tears, “It’s gone, all the food is gone! The food stored in all four warehouses is all gone, with just a thin layer left. It’s not even enough for three days of rations.”
Niu Liangguo was taken aback, “Impossible! How can so much food just disappear? Even if it was stolen, there should be traces! Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! We must find the food!”
“I asked the patrol team. After they received the food last night, the warehouses have not been opened, and no one approached them. Just now, an outsider broke in, and I was concerned, so I opened the warehouses to check. They were empty, and all the food vanished.”
“It can’t be! How could so much food just disappear? Even if it was stolen, there should be traces! Investigate! Investigate carefully! We must find the food!” Niu Liangguo erupted in anger. Now it was his turn to be extremely anxious. That food was the entire base’s sustenance. They had been frugal and guarded it strictly, so how could it suddenly disappear?!
The messenger said helplessly, “There really is nothing. We checked around the warehouses, and there wasn’t a single grain of food.”
If it was indeed stolen, transporting such a large amount of food out of the warehouses would have to pass through the Yue County Base. It would be impossible for such a grand operation to go unnoticed.
Sun Shijie and Fang Zhen, with their cunning eyes, were calculating, “Leader, haven’t you forgotten about the frequent emergence of supernatural abilities nowadays? There’s a kind of ability called spatial manipulation. They can place their belongings in an invisible dimensional space. The mysterious disappearance of the food is definitely related to a spatial manipulator.”
Niu Liangguo suddenly remembered that he had heard of this ability. Although they didn’t have it in their base, there were people with spatial manipulation abilities outside. Undoubtedly, the vanishing food was connected to a spatial manipulator, and coincidentally, outsiders had arrived today.
It must be those people!
Niu Liangguo issued an urgent order, “All supernatural ability users and strong men, come with me. Let’s reclaim the food!”
Now it was no longer Sun Shijie who was in a hurry; Niu Liangguo had taken over the role. Everyone responded to the leader’s call. Even though they knew it was dangerous outside and didn’t want to go, they had to. Their food had been stolen, and they needed to retrieve it for their survival.
Ji Rong drove at full speed and returned to the encirclement of zombies.
The people who anxiously awaited their return didn’t expect them to come back so soon. They gathered around and saw Wen Qingling stepping out of the car, opening the trunk, and dragging a naked man onto the ground.
“Damn, my eyes!” Ji Rong covered his eyes.
Xiao Hen quickly stepped forward and stood in front of Wen Qingling, not wanting him to witness such a filthy scene.
Ji Rong was quite thoughtful. He jumped into a small inn by the road and pulled out a bedsheet from inside, tossing it over. Xiao Hen caught it and raised it to cover Fang Zhen. At least now they could see a bit.
Wen Qingling remained calm, completely unaffected. “Your transformation ability is quite useful. No wonder you’ve survived until now.”
Transformation ability: Waterman.
Indeed, there were many individuals with transformation abilities, but the vast majority only partially transformed their bodies. For example, Feng Yi’s arms transformed into large blades, which was a common ability. There were few who could fully transform their entire body. Wen Qingling only knew two people who possessed that ability: Fang Zhen and Luo Fengjue.
The transformation direction of Luo Fengjue’s ability is “Sandman.” He can transform into fine sand, hide in the soil, or use the wind to fly into the sky. Luo Fengjue despises this ability and usually relies on his weapons. Unless he’s on the verge of life and death, he won’t use his own ability. In his words, he doesn’t want to lose his equipment and be left defenseless.
As a fully transformed ability users, their greatest strength lies in escaping. It is difficult to capture or kill them, but on the flip side, their offensive power is relatively weak. In other words, it’s a double-edged sword—useful for assistance but not suitable for active attacks.
Fang Zhen tightened the sheet around his body. Seeing Wen Qingling, fear overpowered the pain in his shoulder. He realized he had experienced humble survival, ambitious aspirations, and a sense of accomplishment. He had fled and wandered for months but ultimately fell into Wen Qingling’s hands.
Fang Zhen felt that today might be his end, as the shadow left by Wen Qingling was still lingering. However, he wasn’t willing to die just like that. As long as there was a glimmer of survival, he didn’t want to die.
Trembling, he said, “I’ll cooperate. I’ll tell you anything you want to know, just spare my life.”
At such times, there was no need for Wen Qingling to force a confession. Fang Zhen would speak up voluntarily. He was indeed a cunning person who knew how to adapt to the situation.
Wen Qingling didn’t mention whether he would spare his life. He only asked if he had saved a woman named Xu Shengfei.
When Xu Shengfei was mentioned, Fang Zhen’s eyes turned red with hatred. “That woman, she’s too venomous. She’s a lunatic.”
Fang Zhen had known Xu Shengfei for a long time. It was because Meng Hua, the captain of the Ling City base, was powerful and influential in the post-apocalyptic world. Everyone admired strength, and many ability users wanted to achieve greatness by following a formidable captain like Meng Hua. Fang Zhen was no exception. However, when he went to join Meng Hua, he hadn’t met him yet, but he was attracted by the two beautiful women living with him.
Fang Zhen wasn’t handsome, but he was audacious. He didn’t dare to provoke Meng Hua’s sister, but he could flirt with her friend. As a result, the matter was reported to Meng Hua. Xu Shengfei was one of Meng Hua’s bed partners, and Meng Hua couldn’t tolerate the public humiliation. Fang Zhen didn’t get to meet Captain Meng, but he was insulted and scolded before being thrown out. His aspirations of achieving greatness were shattered.
After that, Fang Zhen didn’t pay attention to Xu Shengfei anymore. He had his self-respect and was provoked by Meng Hua. He swore to make a name for himself. During an escape, he stumbled upon an abandoned factory and found what he considered a “treasure.” After understanding the function of the “treasure,” Fang Zhen believed it was time for him to rise.
People are always greedy. He found the “treasure” in the southern city, and three plants seemed too few. He wanted more, so he took people with him again. Unfortunately, he encountered Wen Qingling and had one of the “treasures” stolen, leaving him with two in the hands of his wife and sister.
After returning to the base, Fang Zhen became more cautious. He secretly used the “treasure” to treat infected individuals, earn crystal nuclei, build a support network, and expand his influence. That was the time he felt most triumphant. While waiting to enter the base, a car passed by. The window rolled down, and the person inside talked to the gatekeeper. Fang Zhen saw Xu Shengfei in the car. She was in a terrible state, on the verge of turning into a zombie. She also saw Fang Zhen and stared at him, continuously mouthing for help.
Fang Zhen was confident that his “treasure” could save her. After rescuing her, he planned to make her his woman. When a man’s pride is wounded, he seeks compensation wherever he can. He immediately mobilized his people and secretly followed the car into the base. After handing Xu Shengfei over to Meng Hua’s men, Fang Zhen left. Meng Hua’s men didn’t think Xu Shengfei, in her condition, could escape and become complacent. Fang Zhen took advantage of their negligence and successfully abducted Xu Shengfei.
Xu Shengfei’s situation was grim, almost reaching the critical point of transformation. Fang Zhen was still in the car, and he quickly took out the “treasure” to treat Xu Shengfei. Unexpectedly, something Fang Zhen never anticipated happened.
Fang Zhen was filled with fear, “In the past, when I treated people, I let the ‘treasure’ proactively inject drugs into them. But that lunatic Xu Shengfei, when the ‘treasure’ extended its tentacles into her carotid artery, she turned her head and bit the ‘treasure.'”
Wen Qingling’s eyes twitched, “Did she swallow it?”
Fang Zhen nodded, “She swallowed it, covered in blood.”
Xiao Hen and Ji Rong, who knew how formidable blood anemone was, were shocked beyond measure. They knew blood anemones could turn zombies into civilized ones, but they didn’t know what would happen if a person consumed it… or perhaps at that moment, Xu Shengfei was no longer considered human? However, she hadn’t completely transformed and lost her rationality. When she bit into the Blood Orchid, it was evident that she still had her senses. This was indeed a delicate turning point.
Wen Qingling’s face remained calm as she asked, “What was her reaction?”
Fang Zhen seemed to recall something dreadful and said, “After I retrieved the ‘treasure,’ the zombie virus in her body hadn’t been completely cleared. She started convulsing, and her flesh and skin shriveled like a rotten apple losing its moisture. It was horrifying. I thought she had turned into a zombie, so I kicked her off the car and we drove away.”
Later, the “treasure” that was in the hands of his sister turned into a small monster because it absorbed too much zombie virus. It turned everyone in the clinic into red-eyed zombies. Fang Zhen realized he had caused a major disaster and escaped the base with the remaining “treasure.” He didn’t inform anyone and fled alone. When he stopped to rest far from Ling City, he discovered that someone was tracking him.
The person following him turned out to be Xu Shengfei, who was no longer presentable. Wrapped in a black robe, she appeared in front of Fang Zhen and expressed her gratitude to him.
Fang Zhen had saved her at that time for her beauty, but now that she had become like this, he couldn’t bring himself to do anything. He told Xu Shengfei not to follow him, but she said she had nowhere else to go and was willing to travel with him.
Fang Zhen was afraid of this madwoman and firmly refused. However, Xu Shengfei truly went insane. With a casual kick, she sent Fang Zhen flying far away. Fang Zhen was severely injured, and when Xu Shengfei leaped toward him, he didn’t care about anything else and used his ability. He left behind a pile of clothes and his backpack as he escaped.
Fortunately, they were in the wilderness at the time, surrounded by weeds. Fang Zhen’s water form was well hidden in the thick grass, making it difficult to be discovered. That’s how he narrowly escaped. He watched Xu Shengfei take his backpack, and the last “treasure” was inside it.
Fang Zhen said, “After losing the last ‘treasure,’ I had nowhere else to go. With severe injuries, I had no choice but to wander around. When I passed by the Yue County base, I almost got killed by the people there. I claimed to be half a resident of Yue County, with my uncle being a local there. Surprisingly, my uncle was still alive and inside the base. That’s how I was saved, and I’ve been staying in the base to recover ever since.”
