Chapter 73: Departure, But the Person Hasn’t Arrived

Bian Changxi swung her straight blade in a hook, sending a bench crashing down in front of a mutant rat. In her left hand, an axe appeared out of nowhere, slashing toward another rat.

This wasn’t the battered, discarded fire axe from before, but one of the many cold weapons from the exhibition hall. Compact and sturdy, beautifully designed, extremely sharp—she could wield it smoothly with just one hand. The rat jerked its head back, but its two front paws were still in reach. Bian Changxi twisted her axe mid-swing, splitting one paw lengthwise from tip to base.

The mutant rat shrieked in pain.

Unlike zombies, mutant beasts weren’t infectious, but most were sentient. And, unlike zombies, they weren’t grotesquely decayed—most looked intact, just with significant changes in size and features.

At that moment, the rat blocked by the bench finally leapt over it. Bian Changxi’s right hand flashed, her blade slicing horizontally along the rat’s mouth, blood spurting instantly, leaving its jaws forever agape.

The flesh at the corners of the mouth was indeed more tender.

Bian Changxi quickly finished off both rats.

She crouched down and dug into their skulls—mutant beasts sometimes had crystal cores in their brains.

Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on her side. Neither rat had a core.

She lifted the curtain and entered the kitchen.

The kitchen was a mess. A human corpse lay on the floor, face gnawed beyond recognition. Nearby was a zombie’s body, its head chopped off. It looked like someone had come in searching for supplies, killed the zombie, only to be ambushed and killed by the mutant rats.

She checked—the zombie’s head was intact. She cracked it open and found a bright, crystalline white core.

Good quality, almost at the second stage of evolution.

Right now, there was no official distinction between first-stage and second-stage cores, but this white core, though not truly second-stage, probably held as much energy as three regular first-stage white cores. It would be a waste to trade it as a mere first-stage core.

A true second-stage core could be exchanged for ten of the same type of first-stage cores. When Bian Changxi got that second-stage green core, she told Lin Rongrong it could be swapped for ten first-stage white cores. In reality, that green core’s quality and energy hadn’t reached true second-stage, so its value was much lower.

These assessments were all based on personal judgment. Later, when crystal cores became more common and the wealthy and powerful sought convenience, they wouldn’t care about these details. They’d just count by stage, like ancient silver. On TV, even broken bits of silver are clearly marked by weight, and you just toss out a chunk when paying—no change needed.

In reality, silver had to be weighed to avoid discrepancies. Eventually, special instruments would be invented to measure the exact value of crystal cores.

But for now, there was no “scale,” no experience—so things were a mixed bag.

She poked around the kitchen, found some withered, shriveled vegetables, picked out the barely edible ones, and tossed them into the basket to supplement the chickens’ and ducks’ meals.

Everything else was either spoiled or not worth taking. She headed out, grabbed the two dead mutant rats, and went to a busy intersection with lots of escape routes. She tossed the rat corpses on the ground, letting the bloody scent drift on the wind. Before long, zombies arrived.

An hour later, Bian Changxi had collected five new white cores and a yellowish-brown earth core. She wiped them clean, held them up to the light, and grinned, showing her teeth.

Not bad—not bad at all. Even though it was just an earth-type core, it should be enough to trade for a green one. She rested for a bit, packed up, and headed back.

The exchange point was also at the train station, originally a ticket hall, now with three windows set up for crystal core trading.

One window was for white-to-colored core exchanges, one for colored-to-white, and the third for trading cores for supplies.

Some people wanted to trade supplies for cores, but unfortunately, that wasn’t allowed.

There weren’t as many people inside as in the morning. Bian Changxi, thinking about which window to use for colored-to-colored exchanges, walked straight to the white-to-colored window. “I’d like to exchange for a green core.”

The staff member inside wore a stiff expression, pulled out a green core from the drawer—it was pale and poor in quality.

Bian Changxi frowned. “How many green cores do you have? Can I pick one myself?”

The staffer glanced up, a bit annoyed, but didn’t dare offend someone who could bring in cores. Reluctantly, he took out a small plastic box with five green cores inside, but kept it out of Bian Changxi’s reach, afraid she’d snatch it. “You can look, but not touch. Tell me which one you want, and I’ll get it for you.”

“That’s all you’ve got?”

“Green cores are the most traded, even more than blue ones. I hear it’s because a wood-type expert appeared, and now every wood-type wants to be like them.” The staffer sounded dismissive, but envy flashed in his eyes.

Blue cores were in high demand because they related directly to water resources. With enough energy, water-type ability users could produce more water.

Bian Changxi touched her nose. Was this all because of her?

She looked over the five cores—none were particularly good. Oh well. She picked the best one. “I’ll take that one—”

“Um, I’d like to trade this green core for two white ones, and the rest in food, if possible?” came a voice from the next window.

Bian Changxi turned and saw Chen Haitao. Her eyes lit up when she saw the green core in his hand. “Wait.”

“Huh? Miss Bian, you’re here too?”

Bian Changxi walked over. “Would you trade your green core with me? I really need it. I have both white cores and food—uh, but I only have one white core right now. Can I owe you the other? I’ll bring it to you this afternoon.”

“Of course, no problem! No need to worry about owing me, Miss Bian—you saved my grandfather. I should give you this green core as thanks. It’s just…” Just that he was strapped for resources and under a lot of pressure to survive, so he couldn’t be too generous. Chen Haitao quickly handed her the green core.

Bian Changxi waved him off. “Wait here a second.” She traded ten white cores and the earth core for two green cores, then said to Chen Haitao, “The food’s at my place. Come with me.”

Of course, there wasn’t any food at her place, but there was still some in her basket. The food she’d bought before the apocalypse hadn’t run out yet. Later, Qiu Yun had given her some from the supermarket, and she’d “borrowed” a bit more. Yesterday, a patient she’d treated had sent her a little as thanks, so she wasn’t facing a food crisis for now. When she got home, Wei Xiaodong wasn’t there, nor were the neighbors, so she took out half a box of instant noodles, two cans of eight-treasure porridge, a can of beef, some cookies, and a few bottles of water.

She thought about it—now that Chen Haitao wasn’t with Gu Xu anymore, his family of four only had one and a half people who could fight. It couldn’t have been easy. That green core was second-stage—not perfect, but even better than the one she’d gotten before. It must have been hard for them to get it. She was already getting a good deal and didn’t want to take advantage.

So she only packed four instant noodles, four cans of eight-treasure porridge, kept two beef cans for herself and gave him three, added extra sausages and marinated eggs, tossed in a few chocolate bars, and filled the box. The water and cookies had to be carried separately.

“Take these. Most were given to me yesterday—I can’t carry them all, and if I leave them in my room, I’ll just worry about them being stolen. Your green core is worth this much.” After much persuasion, Chen Haitao finally accepted. She sent him downstairs, pocketed the green core, and hurried to Area B—ah, now she owed another white core. Time to keep working.

Meanwhile, Chen Haitao walked a while and stopped in front of someone. “Captain Gu, she accepted the green core. Here’s the stuff…”

Gu Xu looked up, his gaze skipping over the mouthwatering food to the white core, which he picked up and examined. “If she gave it to you, keep it. This white core is worth three regular ones—be careful when absorbing its energy.”

That second-stage green core obviously wasn’t something Chen Haitao could have gotten himself—it was given by Gu Xu. Chen Haitao figured Captain Gu must have known Miss Bian needed green cores and came up with this way to help her.

Still, it was strange. Why were those two so dead set on being at odds? He saw Miss Bian trade for that earth core—before, she would have given it straight to Wu Dalang.

Lost in thought, he suddenly heard Gu Xu’s words and gaped in surprise. “But Miss Bian said she’d pay me back another one.”

Gu Xu smiled faintly, as if thinking of something. “She doesn’t like taking advantage. If she wants to pay you back, just accept it.”

If Bian Changxi knew the green core had come from Gu Xu, who knows if she’d still be smiling. Anyway, she was in a great mood now—so long as she had food, weapons, and green cores, she was satisfied and wanted nothing more. She was content, killing zombies—tiring and dangerous, but she felt fulfilled and free.

By sunset, she’d collected more than ten crystal cores. When she checked at the train station, the green cores were already gone. She sighed in disappointment, found Chen Haitao, and returned the white core she owed.

Chen Haitao was now a member of the Brave Squad. His father hadn’t made the cut, but thanks to Gu Xu, he’d gotten a spot in the management team. Father and son each had a family member quota, so the four of them were assigned a small room by the military, with daily rations of food and water—though in very limited amounts.

But this peaceful life didn’t last long. The next day—the thirteenth since the apocalypse—the remaining troops from Jiangcheng Military District, more than 75,000 people, finally arrived. Commander Qu Shangjin, the leader of the Jiangcheng Military District, finally appeared, gave an important speech, and announced that the next day, they would depart, leaving the new district for the Sucheng Base.

With that announcement, the newly stabilized district was thrown into a frenzy of activity.

Bian Changxi had nothing to pack and could leave at any time. She stood quietly in the wind, looking toward the city, her brows furrowed.

Bian Kuang still hadn’t come.

It made no sense. In her previous life, the Bian family had left for Sucheng with the army.

She looked up from under her hat brim. The sunlight fell in sheets, the world a giant oven, heat shimmering off the distant ground like rising smoke.

It was the hottest part of the day. If she returned to the city now, she could still make it back before dark—if all went well.

She put on her sunglasses and was about to leave, but the soldier guarding the entrance to the new district stopped her with an outstretched arm. “Where are you going? Orders from above—no one leaves the new district.”"