Chapter 116: Run Faster, Those Troublesome Zombies

Bian Changxi glanced at everyone and slowly spoke up: “If no one else has anything to say, I’ll go ahead. Crystal cores are extremely important in the apocalypse. There aren’t many of us, and I don’t want us to fall out over a bit of profit. From now on, whoever kills a zombie gets the core. If it’s a joint effort like today, we’ll divide it according to everyone’s contribution. Since this one is hard to split, we’ll just convert it into first-tier white cores for distribution.”

She paused, then continued, “Back when I was with the main group, we only had first-tier crystal cores. There wasn’t a set exchange rate between first and second-tier, but since we’re all ability users, we can more or less sense the energy inside. I suggest we use that as a temporary standard for now. Any objections?”

No one objected. Next came dividing the loot based on contribution. Since Bian Changxi had done most of the work holding the enemy at bay, she took four first-tier white cores. Chen Guanqing contributed the second most and landed the final blow on the mutant plant, so he got three. George and Chai Zhong both helped, so each got one. There was one left, and since Chai Zhong’s four brothers had also pitched in a little—though honestly, not very usefully—they got one core to share as a gesture of goodwill, with Chai Zhong holding onto it for them.

All these white cores were provided by Bian Changxi. Otherwise, dividing the loot would just be empty talk, and everyone would be left staring at that one second-tier core, which would definitely cause friction.

Bian Changxi turned to Chu Hao and said, “You—”

Chu Hao quickly cut her off: “I didn’t help at all, and I even caused trouble. I can’t accept anything.”

I wasn’t planning to give you any anyway, and besides, it’s all been divided already.

Chai Zhong hurriedly added, “Little Chu only did that to save me. I should give you half my share.”

The two of them started a tug-of-war over whether to split the share or not. Bian Changxi just shrugged and walked over to Bald Qiang. “Thanks for your help. You didn’t quite do enough to earn a full share, but here, take this.”

Bald Qiang looked down at the first-tier white core she handed him, his lips twitching. “I don’t need charity.”

“This is just for good luck, since it’s our first time splitting the spoils. Besides, you really did help me out. This is from my share, so no one else will mind.”

Bald Qiang stared at her. At nearly two meters tall, he was quite intimidating, but Bian Changxi didn’t seem the least bit uncomfortable. In the end, he took the core—he did need it, after all, since he’d already used up all his previous stash. “I owe you for this. Is it good for healing injuries?”

Bian Changxi didn’t mind. Doing people favors is always a double-edged sword; unless someone is as likable as Chu Hao, she preferred to keep her distance. Better to leave the “good guy” role to someone patient and broad-minded like Chu Hao.

“It is. Absorbing energy yourself is the best way for an ability user to heal, as long as your body can handle it.”

Bald Qiang nodded. “How do you exchange those colored cores?”

The others perked up at that. Everyone had a few colored cores, but over the past two months, plenty of people had died from using them recklessly. So these things were like ticking time bombs—everyone knew they were useful, but no one dared to touch them. If Bian Changxi hadn’t explained a bit, they’d still think only white cores could be absorbed, and the rest were just for show.

Coincidentally, aside from Chen Guanqing, everyone here used white cores. Even Chen Guanqing had never used a red core—he’d gone straight to black, leaving Bian Changxi unsure what attribute he even counted as.

After thinking for a moment, Bian Changxi said, “Back then, the exchange rate was one colored core for ten white ones, but that’s a bit much. If you need to trade, I’ll give you three same-tier white cores for one colored core. I need green ones, so I can offer a bit more for those, but that’s the limit. If we find colored cores together in the future and need to divvy them up, we’ll use this rate.”

Everyone hesitated. Colored cores were rare, and since the old rate was one for ten, they were reluctant to trade at such a low rate now. They didn’t need colored cores, so there was no temptation to swap a few white ones for a colored one.

As for future trades, with Bian Changxi as the only functioning “bank,” what she said went.

Bian Changxi didn’t mind. Once they reached Sucheng, colored cores wouldn’t be worth as much, and the exchange rate would be two, three, or four to one. Her offer was already fair. Honestly, she didn’t really want to trade anyway—otherwise, she wouldn’t have mentioned the old one-for-ten rate. If she hadn’t just recovered, she wouldn’t even have spare white cores, let alone want to trade for colored ones. She was already offering a good deal; if they didn’t believe her, there was nothing she could do.

She turned to find An Ran, who was sitting in the classroom on the bed from last night. Bian Changxi sat down beside her. “An Ran, can you tell me why you warned me earlier? I mean, no one else noticed—how did you spot that branch?”

An Ran thought for a moment. “I saw a light underground, and it kept glowing up to that branch. Then I saw it move.”

A light?

“I remember last night when you realized those two people had died, you said they’d ‘gone dark.’ How exactly do you ‘see’ people?”

An Ran closed her eyes. “Everyone glows. I saw those two were gray, which was strange, and then I realized they were dead. There are still lots of glowing things around us. That monster plant that attacked you all glowed too, but then it suddenly got really bright…”

Bian Changxi more or less understood. An Ran’s ability was like infrared vision—she could sense the heat or energy living things gave off. When someone died, the energy disappeared. The “glowing things” around them were probably mutant plants and animals. When the second-tier mutant plant attacked, it got especially bright—maybe because it was mobilizing energy, causing a surge or transformation, which An Ran perceived as increased brightness.

This kind of ability was unheard of, but in her previous life, there were plenty of people with sensing or detection abilities. Maybe she just hadn’t met one like this before.

She thought for a moment. “Try ‘looking’ at me. Do I suddenly get brighter?”

As she spoke, she activated her ability and summoned a vine.

An Ran was silent for a while, then said uncertainly, “Maybe a little? But maybe not.”

Bian Changxi rubbed her forehead—there was no clear pattern. If only she had an ability to detect enemies and danger; it would be much more effective than her own plant-based sensing.

An Ran said anxiously, “Sister Bian, am I useless? I’ll work hard…”

Bian Changxi wanted to say something comforting, but it sounded too cheesy, so she just offered a few words of reassurance. In the end, she gave An Ran a white core and taught her how to absorb its energy. She planned to nurture this girl and see what would happen. If things worked out, it would make their journey much safer.

Now that the biggest threat was dealt with, it was time to leave the kindergarten. After a hearty breakfast, they packed all the large items into Chu Hao’s spatial storage, and everyone got ready to set out. They’d driven here before, but the roads were now impassable. Only Chai Zhong managed to get a tricycle for two patients who couldn’t walk; everyone else went on foot.

Bian Changxi gripped her Tang sword and walked on the right side of the group, staying alert to their surroundings. She could sense which mutant plants were strong or weak, which were dormant, and which were active. For the dangerous ones radiating hostility, she’d warn the group in advance. If possible, they’d avoid them; if not, Chen Guanqing and the other fighters would cover everyone else. Progress was slow and exhausting, with constant stops and starts, and they had to deal with tangled vines and branches everywhere.

When they finally reached the intersection, they barely had time to breathe before their faces fell. The rampant plants were gone, but there were residential houses up ahead—and where there were houses, there were zombies. They could already hear the guttural, screeching noises, like a call from the Grim Reaper.

“If we take this side road, we’ll be out of town soon,” Chu Hao whispered, pointing at a fork. “But there are a lot of trees and flowers outside the city.”

Compared to the plants, zombies were still scarier.

They immediately turned down the side road.

Bian Changxi had a sudden feeling and glanced back. On the roof of a six-story apartment building stood a humanoid figure. At first glance, it looked like a statue, but suddenly its head turned, as if it had spotted Bian Changxi’s group, and it toppled off the roof.

Bian Changxi’s eyelids twitched instinctively, but there was no loud crash. A few seconds later, the figure reappeared on the roof of a nearby two-story building, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, rapidly closing in.

“Holy crap…” Bian Changxi was horrified. She turned and shouted, “Run!”

The others had seen it too. They turned and bolted. Chai Zhong ordered his men to pedal the tricycle as fast as possible, while the others pushed and pulled, moving at top speed.

Bian Changxi sprinted to the front, used a vine to swing herself onto a third-floor rooftop, crouched, and aimed her gun. She fired, but the creature dodged the bullet with a twitch of its head, even glancing back at her. As it turned to look at her again, a second rapid-fire shot hit it right in the head. It fell off the building.

“Nice shot! You got it!” Chu Hao called out.

Bian Changxi jumped down. “It’s not dead! Run!”

What kind of zombie had a head like that? The sound of the bullet hitting its skull was off—it must have gotten stuck. And this was a rifle, for crying out loud!

Sure enough, the next moment, the zombie sprang back up, half a bullet embedded in its skull. With a furious roar, it charged at them even faster.

Bian Changxi grabbed Chen Guanqing and whispered a few urgent words. He nodded, sprinted ahead, and pulled Chu Hao with him. The two of them suddenly vanished. Bian Changxi took off at full speed, using vines to leap and slide, quickly putting hundreds of meters between herself and the group. She darted between the last few buildings on either side of the road, setting up something, then clung to a drainpipe on the third floor and shouted to Chai Zhong and the others: “Run!”

The zombie was getting closer—fifty meters, twenty, ten…

The tricycle finally shot past the buildings, and the zombie, mouth wide open, leapt after them.

Bian Changxi’s eyes narrowed. She raised her left hand, and one of the thick vines camouflaged with the dirt suddenly sprang up, snapping taut between the two buildings—right in the zombie’s path.

ps:

Second update will be a bit late.

"**Restarting the Farm at the End of the World**