Chapter 41: Surprise—Changes on the Farm

Shadow was dead. The one who felt it the most was Gu Xu, and the one who felt the most embarrassed was Gu Pei.

If Gu Pei hadn’t asked, if Gu Xu hadn’t insisted, if they hadn’t gone to the city to pick up those students’ families, how could Shadow have gotten scratched by a zombie and lost his life?

Maybe even without this incident, Shadow would have gotten hurt, maybe even died. But now that it had happened, Gu Xu would blame himself for the rest of his life.

Qiu Yun knew this too, but…

“I feel awful! Bro, how did things end up like this? Shadow, he…” He clutched his hair and slid down the wall, banging the back of his head against it.

Their team had been through thick and thin together, risking their lives on countless missions. Over the years, some had died, some had quit, and now only five of them were left—close as brothers. Qiu Yun was the youngest and had always been looked after the most. Shadow, though quiet and reserved, was attentive and caring. Everyone was just as fond of him as they were of the others. His death felt like a piece of their hearts had been gouged out—painful beyond words.

Qiu Feng turned his head away.

The atmosphere in the supermarket was suffocating. No one spoke; everyone clenched their jaws, eyes red with unshed tears.

Suddenly, Gu Pei cried out, “Bro! Shadow’s still breathing! Come look!”

The others rushed over in shock and delight, voices rising in a jumble of disbelief and joy. Gu Xu turned, elated—only to find Bian Changxi was gone.

Not far away, by a shelf stacked with tissues, Lin Rongrong was trying to comfort Bian Changxi, though she was at a loss herself. “Changxi, don’t mind those brutes. They’re being unreasonable. It’s not your fault someone died.”

Before she could finish, cheers of “He’s alive! He’s alive!” erupted from the other side. Lin Rongrong froze. He wasn’t dead? Then why did they say he was? What a bunch of drama queens!

“Let’s see what they have to say now!” Lin Rongrong looked at Bian Changxi smugly, but saw no sign of surprise or happiness on her face. “You… you knew all along?”

Bian Changxi simply held the broken jade bracelet in her hands, closed her fingers around it, and said, “I’d like to be alone for a while.”

“Oh, okay, I’ll leave you be.” Even a fool could see she was in a bad mood—after being blamed like that, and with her bracelet inexplicably broken, who wouldn’t be upset?

As Lin Rongrong walked out, she happened to run into someone coming her way. She shone her flashlight warily—only to see the handsome team leader. She immediately put on a stern face. “What, here to apologize now that he’s alive? Save it. She’s not in the mood.”

Before Gu Xu could speak, Qiu Yun hurriedly blurted out, “Miss Bian, I didn’t mean what I said earlier. I was just too worked up and spoke without thinking. I—I’m an idiot. You can yell at me, no, hit me if you want.”

Lin Rongrong rolled her eyes inwardly. That was a pretty smooth apology.

Bian Changxi came out and said coolly, “No need to apologize. It’s only human. Besides, I didn’t lose anything.” Then she turned to Gu Xu. “Shadow is fine now. The rest depends on when he wakes up. We’ll stay here for the night.”

Gu Xu saw how pale and exhausted she looked, too tired even to speak much. All his questions had to be swallowed back. He nodded quickly. “We’ve cleared out all the zombies in this building, and the main entrance is blocked. We’ll take turns keeping watch tonight, so you can rest easy. There are some dangerous people downstairs, so don’t go down. We’ve left plenty of food upstairs—later we’ll cook something hot, you should eat too.”

Bian Changxi’s expression was indifferent; she just nodded slightly. Gu Xu looked at her and said quietly, “Miss Bian, I’m sorry. And… thank you very much.”

Bian Changxi curled her lips slightly, accepting it.

Qiu Yun really did feel guilty. He ran back and forth, bringing over Bian Changxi and Lin Rongrong’s bags, along with plenty of dried food, fruit, and several cases and buckets of bottled water. His eager-to-please attitude finally made even the annoyed Lin Rongrong crack a smile.

“He’s annoying, but at least he knows when he’s wrong. Still, he’s got a thick skin.” She rummaged through the food he brought—jerky, chicken legs, sausages, all lightweight and practical. There was only a little canned porridge and bread, plus a bunch of soft candy and chips. The fruit included a big Hami melon, a few apples, oranges, and bananas—all fresh and unspoiled.

These must have been grabbed after they entered the supermarket.

She wondered aloud, “Why bring so much water? We can’t drink it all. Planning to take a bath?”

Bian Changxi picked up a bag filled with sparkling crystal nuclei—the reward she’d agreed on with Gu Xu, nearly two hundred pieces, and pretty heavy. She glanced over. “Actually, we could take a bath.”

“That’s such a waste.”

“If we don’t use it, it’ll just go to waste anyway.”

“How could—” Lin Rongrong suddenly understood. None of those men had spatial abilities, so with all this stuff in the supermarket, of course they’d just use it up. Unlike her, always thinking of saving things for later.

“When I came in earlier, the second floor was a mess. So much food, just a bite taken and then tossed on the floor. It broke my heart. If they couldn’t finish it, they could have left it for someone else. Now it’s all wasted.” Lin Rongrong grumbled quietly.

Sitting on a treasure trove but unable to take it with you—of course you’d splurge. Bian Changxi felt the same. She’d experienced long, desperate hunger, and knew the crushing disappointment of finding a supermarket only to discover it was empty. That’s why she cherished food, and never liked to clear a place out all at once.

But honestly, Jiangcheng had fallen so early and so fast that, no matter how well things were preserved, few people would ever come to take them. If it got wasted, so be it.

“There’s everything we need here. I’m definitely taking a bath. Do as you like.” Bian Changxi handed Lin Rongrong five white nuclei. “Half a second-tier green nucleus.”

“I thought you wanted information in exchange? I can’t take this.”

“I never said I’d tell you about the nuclei.” Bian Changxi waved her off, grabbed her flashlight, and soon gathered everything she needed for a bath—shampoo, soap, even a full change of clothes from top to bottom. There wasn’t much food on the third floor, but there were plenty of daily necessities. Then she headed for the bathroom.

The bathroom was filthy, but the staff lounge had a suitable one. She checked it out, found it acceptable, grabbed two 4-liter bottles of Nongfu Spring, and went in. As soon as she closed the door and leaned against it, she slid down, unable to hold back anymore.

So tired. So much pain. Every inch of her body ached. If all her energy hadn’t been pouring into the jade bracelet, she probably would have exploded like an overfilled balloon.

But why did the jade bracelet break? For a moment, she’d felt like she was losing her mind. Thankfully, she’d quickly checked and found the farm space was still there, which calmed her down a bit.

She raised her hand. On her left wrist was a faint ring-shaped mark. She touched it and thought about entering the farm. The next instant, her vision brightened—she was already inside.

Her eyes widened. The farm seemed to have doubled in size—both the fields and the lawn had expanded, and the stream was wider and deeper. She took a deep breath; even the air felt fresher, and all her discomfort vanished. The sky above was bluer and higher, sunlight spilling down like golden silk, the breeze gentle and soothing. It was like paradise.

She turned and saw, at the edge of the black soil, a small wooden house and a warehouse standing side by side, shrouded in white mist. Even the house had appeared now?

With each upgrade, the farm would gain a residence—from a wooden hut to a brick house, from one story to two, eventually becoming a lovely little villa. In her spare time, she loved spending time in the villa—reading, drinking tea, cooking, sleeping, with not a care in the world. She’d wake up to find only a few minutes had passed outside, as if she’d stolen an extra life out of thin air.

******

Thank you to dear shannee for the reward—so generous, thank you!"