Chapter 167: Clearing Her Head, One Step Too Late

(from ""Restarting the Farm at the End of the World"")

Bian Changxi didn’t really have any particular plans—she just wanted to find something to do.

After a mix of cajoling and outright snatching, she managed to get the information she needed from Gu Pei. She dressed herself head-to-toe in black, disguised herself as a female bodyguard, and slipped out of the city as quietly as possible—she didn’t even bring any milk with her. Only when she found herself walking alone on the desolate, empty road outside the base did she finally feel like she could breathe easy.

Luckily, the base didn’t check people leaving too strictly; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to sneak out without alerting anyone.

She found a secluded spot, slipped into her space, changed into a nondescript gray tracksuit, pulled her cap low, put on glasses, and pulled a motorcycle out of her space—not the Yamaha Bian Kuang had given her, but another one. She checked her bearings and set off toward her destination.

As she sped down the road, the wind whipping harshly against her face, her mind wandered. She thought about her previous life—how a simple refusal to team up had left her and Gu Xu as strangers. She didn’t want to repeat that mistake. Then she thought of Bai Heng, and anxiety twisted in her chest, her thoughts a tangled mess.

At times, she felt like she was just making trouble for herself; at others, she felt she should just make a clean break.

It was as if she were a lazy hedgehog, convinced she could embrace everything, but after a sharp shock, her instincts forced all her spines out, rejecting the world.

This muddled state of mind vanished the moment she spotted a zombie up ahead.

Bian Changxi swung off her motorcycle, put it away, took off her glasses and hat—anything that might get in the way—and put on a large mask. In her right hand, she held a drawn Tang sword; slung across her back was a rifle—one Gu Xu had picked out for her, perfectly suited to her, and much better than the one she used to grab at random. She moved forward with steady, light steps.

She had a strange habit: no matter how anxious or irritable she felt, the moment she faced zombies or danger, or started practicing her abilities, her mind would instantly clear and calm. It was as if her body instinctively knew what was important and forced all the messy thoughts down. That was why she’d been so eager to get out.

It was just after nine in the morning—not too early, not too late. This area was on the outskirts of the city. About half an hour’s drive away was a university town, and beyond that, the port. This stretch was a main route into the city, connecting several bustling towns, so there were still quite a few survivors around, drawn by the supplies.

Bian Changxi was near a bus stop, surrounded by a jumble of abandoned, broken-down vehicles, dilapidated buildings, and twisted, dying trees—everything covered in the scars and bloodstains of the apocalypse.

Yet these sights gave Bian Changxi a strange sense of freedom and ease. The power surging within her made her feel confident and grounded. She thought she really was suited for this kind of life, dancing on the knife’s edge. All those messy feelings and relationships—those were too far away to bother with.

Her eyes grew calm as she spotted two zombies fighting over something to eat among the cars. She tried to skirt around them.

But the road was choked with vehicles, and she couldn’t just walk on the roofs, so she had to get a bit closer. The zombies seemed to sense her, snapping their heads up with unnatural flexibility, not at all clumsy.

Their eyes were a sickly yellow, no pupils—yet it felt like they were staring right at her. With a guttural, excited snarl, one crouched and leapt onto a car roof, limbs dangling like a wild beast as it bared its fangs at her.

The other wasn’t as agile. It slowly stood up, squeezing through the cars, arms stretching and clawing.

Bian Changxi took a deep breath.

On the way to the base, her group had always chosen to travel through the wilderness, even though it was dangerous. At least there, if someone got hurt, they wouldn’t die instantly. Facing zombies head-on was much scarier—they could kill with a single bite.

So it had actually been a while since she’d fought zombies herself. Last time, at the Hongri wholesale market, Gu Xu had been there, so she hadn’t needed to lift a finger.

The zombie on the car roof lunged at her. With a flick of her left hand, a deep green vine, leaves and all, whipped out and knocked it aside. Her right hand slashed with the Tang sword, slicing the other zombie’s right arm from the wrist to the elbow, splitting the bones apart. With a twist, she pried the ulna loose, sending it flying, and the zombie let out a deafening roar.

The moment she heard that sound, Bian Changxi knew she was in trouble. Sure enough, zombies started appearing from all directions. Some survivors glanced over, faces turning pale with fear, and fled in panic, terrified of being surrounded.

Some even cursed her as they ran—what kind of idiot killed zombies so loudly? How was anyone supposed to stay here now?

Bian Changxi realized she’d been careless—she hadn’t expected the zombie to be so loud. Seeing it still howling, waving its single arm, she suddenly understood: it was calling others. She quickly unslung her rifle and shot it in the head.

The other zombie, knocked aside earlier, sprang up again, denting the roofs of several vans as it came. Its head twisted grotesquely, drool flying, tongue lashing, face twisted in a snarl.

Bian Changxi calmly raised her gun. Just as it was about to leap again, two vines shot out from under a car, pinning it down like plastic straps. She immediately shot it in the head.

The whole van shook from the impact.

She didn’t have time to collect the crystal cores—she turned and ran, eyes flashing as she saw the swarm of zombies converging. Suddenly, she had an idea.

She kept moving toward her destination, making more noise along the way to draw the zombies together. With the other survivors gone, she had the whole area to herself—she could do whatever she wanted.

In the end, she even lured the zombies out of a department store, then doubled back and slipped inside the now-silent building.

Inside, it was a mess.

Over the past four months, countless waves of survivors had passed through, especially on the first and second floors. Everything worth taking had been taken—there weren’t even any clothes racks left, and all the good chairs were gone. Even the glass display lights at the counters had been stripped out—who knew which wave of people had done it.

But the cleared-out space actually made things easier for Bian Changxi—she didn’t have to hide, just walked straight ahead, gripping her Tang sword as she climbed the stairs, scanning her surroundings with her senses.

Her target was a jade jewelry shop called Min Yuxuan, on the fourth floor.

They say in times of peace, antiques are valuable; in times of chaos, it’s gold. But now, even gold was worthless—let alone jade. Even if someone liked pretty things, they wouldn’t come all the way here just to grab a sack of jade, maybe just pocket a few pieces. Plus, it was on the fourth floor, mostly surrounded by antique shops. Bian Changxi figured there was a good chance Min Yuxuan’s stock was still there.

And, according to rumor, Min Yuxuan had a batch of top-grade ""mutton fat"" jade.

Mutton fat jade is a gem-quality variety of Hetian jade, extremely rare and precious—not something you could find just anywhere. And the spatial artifact she needed required the very best mutton fat jade. She couldn’t tell quality by eye, but she’d know by feel if it was the real deal.

Gu Pei had gone to great lengths to find out that Min Yuxuan had mutton fat jade. He’d also been quietly buying it up in the base, but with little success. Besides Min Yuxuan, there were a few other places with some, but they were farther away, harder to reach, and had less stock. So this was her first stop.

She moved quickly but quietly up to the third floor, estimating how long before the zombies returned. If she got trapped at the door, she’d be in real trouble. Even with her space, she couldn’t just hide inside forever. If she didn’t get back by afternoon, Gu Xu would probably be worried sick—then her little outing would go from ""clearing her head"" to ""throwing a tantrum.""

Gu Xu. Always Gu Xu...

She shook her head and spotted the antique-looking storefront of Min Yuxuan. She approached cautiously.

Just as she’d expected, it was in much better shape than the other shops—less looted and damaged. The glass cases still held about 40–50% of their jade bangles, necklaces, pendants, rings, and ornaments.

She didn’t have time to examine each piece. Whatever jade she saw, she swept into her space. But as she handled them, she realized—there wasn’t a single piece of mutton fat jade.

Not one.

In fact, the remaining jade was all poor quality—rough and unpleasant to the touch, nothing like fine jade.

She frowned, scanning the shop. Finally, she noticed that the most solid, prominent display cases—all the best spots—were empty. Some other cases had clearly been selectively emptied. If it was just someone grabbing whatever was valuable, some of the most beautiful, expensive necklaces wouldn’t have been left behind.

She thought for a moment and let out a sigh: she was too late.

If Jiang Zhihuan could figure out that mutton fat jade was the best material for spatial artifacts, others would know too. Some people might not even need to research—they’d just remember from before and come grab everything early. The fact that the whole shop hadn’t been cleaned out probably meant they didn’t want anyone to notice someone was collecting jade on purpose.

Even though she was a step behind, since she was here, Bian Changxi still took everything she could—no point leaving empty-handed. Just as she finished, she sensed the zombies returning. She hurried to the window, and as she passed a few antique shops, she suddenly remembered something. She sent out her vines, swept up whatever she could, glanced down to pick a zombie-free spot, and jumped out the window.

Back on the street, she figured if Min Yuxuan had already been cleaned out, the other locations probably had too. No point risking it. It was still early, so she might as well kill some zombies for practice.

Thank you to Cherry Crocodile for the safety charm!

Thank you to Xiao Xiao Heyuan for the sachet!

Thank you to Luo Qin for the safety charm!

Thank you to Rank Seven for the safety charm!

Thank you to fatluo2008 for the pink ticket!

Thank you to I Love Ling Yang for the pink ticket!

Thank you to soi for the pink ticket!

Thank you to Cherry Crocodile for another pink ticket!

Whew, everyone’s so enthusiastic! I hope I’ve thanked everyone—did I miss anyone?

By the way, yesterday’s double update brought a lot of lurkers out of hiding, which I totally didn’t expect. I’m really happy and honored—even the criticism made me smile. This chapter is a transition; next chapter, we’ll return to the base, and everything that needs to be said will be said."