Chapter 162: Invitation—Come With Me

Behind the door was a massive warehouse, currently stacked high with military supplies.

Wooden crates were piled one atop another; only a few at the front had their lids open, revealing guns and ammunition nestled in straw, as well as bags of explosives. These things looked familiar—she’d come across the same kind of stuff under the 4S dealership in Jiangcheng New District before, even the packaging was identical.

Gu Xu seemed not to notice her expression. He strolled inside, saying, “I got some intel from a kind-hearted person. On the way here from Jiangcheng, I followed the map and detailed instructions, quietly raided a few arms smuggling dens, and got all this.”

He picked up a submachine pistol, its style almost exactly the same as the one Bian Changxi had used in the woods before. She instinctively pinched her forehead. Was that “kind-hearted person” supposed to be her?

Gu Xu found her reaction amusing, but his eyes soon turned deep and unreadable. “In a year—no, in half a year, maybe even within five months—I’ll have to return to the capital. The journey will be full of dangers. These are my third most important bargaining chips for survival.”

Bian Changxi was stunned. “Return to the capital?”

Going back voluntarily, not being chased out by zombies?

She did a quick calculation. It was now September, the fourth month of the apocalypse. According to her previous life’s timeline, there were only eight months left before this place would be finished. Gu Xu was planning to leave two or three months earlier than that.

The news came too suddenly—she was caught off guard.

“Mm.” Gu Xu nodded. His face was hidden in shadow, his tone calm and indifferent. “My old commander is in the capital. He once ordered that if I couldn’t return before the apocalypse, I should go back a year later.”

Bian Changxi covered her mouth. “He knew the apocalypse was coming?”

Could he be a reborn person too? Was this world getting too chaotic?

But why wait a year to go back?

Gu Xu looked just as puzzled, his brows furrowed. “I don’t know. But at the time, he must have sensed something unusual was about to happen.” Back then, his old commander had been extremely agitated—a man who’d weathered countless storms without flinching, yet something had rattled him. Gu Xu couldn’t imagine what could have thrown him off like that.

Bian Changxi glanced at the warehouse full of weapons and voiced her concern. “Forgive me for saying this, but by the time five or six months have passed, these things might not be as useful. You know, the zombies and monsters are evolving.”

Gu Xu pulled himself from his thoughts and swept his gaze around, his eyes cool and rational. “I know. I didn’t think that far ahead at the time. Now I have to adapt. I plan to trade most of this stuff away, keep only the most powerful, and use some for modifications.”

Bian Changxi nodded. That sounded reasonable. But she was still curious. “So why did you call me here?”

“This building is about to be inspected by the base. It’s no longer safe to keep these things here, but moving such a large quantity is tricky.”

She immediately understood—this was the real reason he’d called her over. She didn’t mind. “So you want to temporarily store them in my space? As long as you trust me, I’m totally fine with that.”

After she made her offer, she noticed he didn’t respond. She looked over in confusion. Gu Xu stood sideways, his posture strangely silent. After a moment, he spoke quietly, “This might sound abrupt, but actually, I wanted to ask if you’d come with us.”

—

When they left the office building, the sun was already high in the sky—it was lunchtime. But today’s temperature was noticeably lower than usual. Normally, at this hour, the ground would be scorching, and no one could stand to walk under the sun.

In the distance, a few new buildings were under construction. The workers sat in the shade, eating from big bowls of food made in the factory, chatting as they ate. “The weather’s finally cooled off. Not bad, not bad.”

“Not bad? Yesterday it was still boiling. The temperature dropped so much in a day—I bet it’s going to change again.”

“Let it change. What the heavens do isn’t up to us. We’ll just wait and see.”

The foreman walked over. “Eat up and get to work. While it’s cool, let’s get more done—the more progress, the more pay.”

Everyone cheered and dug into their food with gusto.

Bian Changxi looked away and saw two people downstairs anxiously peering into the building. When they saw her and Gu Xu come out, they hurried over, both excited and uneasy. “Captain Gu, we’re from the meteorology department. We have an urgent situation to report. Do you have a moment?”

Gu Xu oversaw many departments—basically, he’d set up a full pre-apocalypse system. Every day, these departments would write up reports on important matters, which first went to his direct team for review, and only the most critical made it to him. Qiu Feng also supervised the process, much like the memorial system in ancient times.

This showed how strictly Gu Xu managed things—many criticized him for being too power-hungry because of it.

But this system also meant that if something couldn’t be handled below, there was always a way to report up and ask for help. Now, with the meteorology team blocking the door instead of waiting for the formal report, things must be serious.

Given the weather changes, Bian Changxi could guess what they wanted to say. She told Gu Xu, “Go ahead. I’ll head back myself.”

“I’ll have a car take you.” The villa was quite far from here.

“I’m not short on cars.” Bian Changxi waved her hand breezily and walked into the gentle sunlight.

Honestly, she admitted, she didn’t quite know how to face Gu Xu right now.

She kept telling herself there was no way, but… oh, never mind. Gu Xu had so much to do, and he was so self-controlled and cold—how could he have any of those thoughts? It must be because she was such a great doctor and a walking warehouse. Traveling with her would be a huge advantage, so that’s why he wanted her to come along.

Ah, people really shouldn’t be too outstanding.

Bian Changxi muttered to herself, trying to hypnotize herself into calm.

As a result, she didn’t even notice someone running up behind her until a hand slapped her hard on the shoulder. “What are you daydreaming about?”

She turned—Lin Rongrong!

“How’d you get out? Off work already?”

“Nothing for me this afternoon, so I slipped out.” Lin Rongrong had a small backpack and a playful bun, looking lively and energetic. She rolled her shoulders in frustration. “Every day I have to pour my powers into those stones, and only one in three works—and the space created is tiny! Do you think it’s my ability, my method, or what? It’s so discouraging.”

“Isn’t research always like this? Edison failed a ton of times before inventing the lightbulb,” Bian Changxi said. “It was the lightbulb, right?”

“I’m no Edison. I’m not even a match for one of Jiang Zhihuan’s fingers, honestly…” She sighed, then let it go. “Whatever. I should be grateful. I’m well-fed—what’s there to complain about? By the way, Sasa was talking about you the other day, saying you never visit her. We can’t go to your place, either. So, what’s your villa like? Is it super fancy? I heard you have electricity 24/7—what about water? How do you guys assign rooms?”

Bian Changxi sweatdropped—this topic was all over the place!

She said, “I’m not in the mood today, and I have things to do at home.”

“What things?”

“Farming.”

After a few steps, Bian Changxi turned back. She stood still for a moment, then pulled a sack from her space. “Some fresh veggies, just picked. The fruit at the bottom is from the freezer. Share it with Sasa. If you don’t have a fridge, eat it soon.”

Lin Rongrong peeked inside. “Whoa, eggs too? And fresh milk—this stuff is priceless now!” She hesitated. “You’re giving me so much—won’t Captain Gu mind…?”

Bian Changxi smiled. This was why she stayed friends with Lin Rongrong—she was always considerate and genuinely kind.

“Take it. If anyone sees, it’s your problem,” she said. “Gu Xu and the others don’t care what I do with my stuff. I know my limits.”

Lin Rongrong happily stashed it in her space. “If you went into business, you’d make a fortune. Oh, I heard you went to the wholesale market yesterday. Some people are gossiping that your wallet’s bursting again—be careful.”

Bian Changxi didn’t care. “Let them talk. But to avoid trouble, keep this bag with you. Tell Sasa to take a little at a time—her family isn’t great.”

She handed over more nutritious, ready-to-eat food. It was true—her own supplies were abundant, so she was generous. These things were nothing to her, but to Lin Rongrong and Sasa, they were a treasure. Since they were friends, there was no reason to hoard while her friends had to scrimp.

Back at the villa, people came and went as usual. After eating the lunch Aunt Zhao had left, she took a small stool to the edge of the vegetable patch. Against the wall, a patch of watermelon had already sprouted tender green shoots under her catalysis.

She gently stroked the seedlings, watching them grow visibly, and gradually felt at peace. Her powers flowed through her, calming her body and mind, clearing away all distractions—she entered her best state.

She sat on the stool, hands off the watermelon vines, fingers lightly pressed to her knees, eyes fixed on the vines, focusing her mind. It was as if there was an invisible giant hand in the air, and she was its master, willing it to move the vines.

Telekinesis—no matter the type of ability, it was hard to achieve. Bian Changxi tried for a long time, but it didn’t work.

Maybe control-type powers couldn’t be trained this way.

She pressed her hands to the earth, channeling her ability into the soil, letting it seep out, enter the watermelon vine, and flow along its veins to the tip, pushing upward.

Suddenly, the tip of the vine, which had been still, trembled.

ps:

I put everything else aside and poured all my energy into writing, and actually finished before nine o’clock—what a relief!

This chapter is to thank Rain Palace Gonglu for the Heshibi reward on July 1st, and to celebrate this book’s first helmsman (also my first helmsman in two years of writing). Sorry it took so long.

At least I can finally cross this off my list. Starting tomorrow, there will be two chapters a day. Three chapters a day is exhausting, so I’ll take two days to adjust. On the 23rd, there’s another big recommendation, so there’ll be three chapters a day for three days straight—bittersweet but happy, pain and joy together.

Maybe that’s the meaning of writing.

Okay, enough rambling. Good night, everyone!"