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墨書 Inktalez
"That's the theory! But we can't overlook the importance of physical training."
Bai Dad was excited: "Then I need to train hard in both my body and abilities. Once I meet the minimum requirements to pilot a mech, you have to take me back. I want to crush zombies in a mech!"
Bai Tang was taken aback; she never knew her dad could be so passionate and violent!
"I'll keep an eye out for you. If I find something suitable, I'll bring it back!" Bai Tang swallowed hard.
The system had not yet fully rebooted, and even though Bai Dad had agreed to leave, they couldn't go just yet. After returning home, Bai Tang relaxed and took a long nap. The next morning, she went out with Bai Dad and Wu Xuemei to complete missions, kill zombies, and gather supplies. Thanks to Warm Jade, the three of them were not afraid of the cold and worked efficiently, always exceeding their mission goals, earning admiration from others. During their missions, Bai Tang encountered Lin Wenbin, Yuan Mingyi, and Tian Yanran. They were also out on missions to exchange for supplies. Although the Dongshan faction's base was safer than City D, they still relied on resources from City D. Lin Wenbin was bundled up too tightly, which hindered his movement, so Bai Tang gave him a piece of Warm Jade. He immediately took off his cumbersome coat, and his speed tripled. Perhaps he had been restricted by his clothing for too long; Master Lin charged ahead as soon as he saw a zombie, leaving no chance for the younger ones to intervene. Bai Dad happily followed behind Lin Wenbin to pick up scraps; the two "old-timers" handled all the zombies—thankfully, the current zombies were frozen stiff by the heavy snow and had low combat effectiveness. If they were at normal levels, even if they could defeat them, they would surely get injured. Yuan Mingyi and Wu Xuemei resignedly followed behind the two men to collect Crystal Cores. To enhance High Master-level combat capabilities and ensure humanity could contend with evolved zombies after the snowstorm, Bai Tang had no intention of hiding anything; when she first met Captain Zhang, she told him about the evolution of zombies and the existence of Crystal Cores as well as how to absorb their energy. Captain Zhang immediately reported this to his superiors, and the leaders of D City Base quickly relayed it through the hard-won satellite communications to the capital government, which then communicated it to various bases. Now everyone knew that Crystal Cores could enhance the abilities of ability users. During this snowy period, many ability users braved the cold to hunt first-level zombies in hopes of obtaining Crystal Cores for cultivation.
Bai Tang kept a few Crystal Cores for Bai Dad's training but gave all the others to Yuan Mingyi and his companions—Wu Xuemei was thinking about going to the peaceful world of Dream of the Red Chamber; having higher abilities wouldn't be very useful for her now, so she didn't have any intention of cultivating anymore and thus didn't need Crystal Cores—making the three immensely grateful. They needed every bit of strength they could muster to survive in this perilous apocalypse.
Crystal Cores could replenish the power needed for system rebooting but were not the only source; Bai Tang had stored several energy blocks from the future world at home. Originally meant for spacecraft use, she had already given away her spaceship to a research institute and didn't know how to use these energy blocks anymore. Now they came in handy; these energy blocks could provide power for the system. The progress bar that had been moving at a snail's pace surged forward like a car after using a first-level Crystal Core; once she used an energy block, it shot up like it was on a high-speed train.
"To celebrate our departure with dumplings and welcome with noodles," upon hearing that her daughter's system would soon reboot, Bai Ma decided to make dumplings for a feast with friends since there might not be another chance to meet them again!
The Bai family began preparations; Bai Dad took out all his cabbage seeds and sprouted an entire room full of cabbages. Bai Tang exchanged half of her supplies in her backpack for two hundred pounds of mutated pork—Captain Zhang led people to sweep through all breeding farms around City D, bringing back truckloads of mutated animals. These animals were raised by specialists, providing enough meat for soldiers to fill their stomachs. Ability users also enjoyed eating this mutated meat; it tasted good and contained energy that enhanced their abilities—she contributed all the flour collected along their journey as well. Five hundred pounds of flour filled ten large wooden basins for fermentation. Bai Tang took on the task of chopping meat filling; after chopping two hundred pounds of meat, her hands were sore but there was no time to rest as she had to continue kneading dough. By the time Bai Tang finished kneading all the dough, Bai Ma and Bai Dad had prepared the dumpling filling—a pork and cabbage mix with sesame oil and thirteen spices that smelled delightful.
Next came wrapping dumplings; Bai Tang and Bai Dad were responsible for rolling out the skins while Bai Ma and Wu Xuemei wrapped them up. The two men also helped out; they were clever and skilled with their hands. After being taught by Bai Ma and Wu Xuemei how to wrap dumplings, they managed quite well. Together as a family, they wrapped five thousand dumplings in total—each one generously filled with at least half an ounce.
The three women used leftover materials from their backpacks to prepare a large feast: twice-cooked pork, boiled meat slices, Kung Pao chicken, garlic roasted ribs, ants climbing trees (a noodle dish), Dongpo pork knuckle, minced eggplant with meat sauce, steamed beef with rice flour, spicy shredded potatoes, smashed cucumbers, stir-fried cabbage... Once common dishes before the apocalypse now became rare delicacies that one couldn't easily find.
Bai Tang and Bai Dad split up to invite people from Dongshan faction along with Captain Zhang and his instructors as well as all squad leaders over for dinner. Upon seeing such a spread of delicious food laid out on the table, everyone's eyes widened in surprise.
"Uncle Bai! What special occasion is this?" Yuan Mingyi thought about Bai Tang's space so he wasn't as surprised as everyone else.
"Our family is leaving City D soon. Before we go, we wanted to have a nice meal together and say goodbye," Bai Dad welcomed everyone to take their seats. The table was a large round one that Bai Tang specially sought out from a restaurant; if squeezed together, it could seat more than ten or twenty people.
“Old Bai, where are you all going?” Lin Wenbin asked, reluctant to part with Bai Dad, his close friend.
“Uncle Bai, although most zombies are lying low due to the anger, it’s still not as safe outside as it is in the base. If you can avoid leaving, please do!” Captain Zhang advised.
Bai Dad smiled slightly, “Thank you for your kindness. My family has reasons we must leave. Old Lin, the place we are going is far away; I fear we may never meet again. This drink is to honor you, thanking you for your guidance and care.”
“Why be so formal? Your daughter Bai Tang has helped me and Ming Yi a lot; I haven’t even properly thanked her.” Lin Wenbin felt a warm current within him; this Warm Jade was indeed a rare treasure. Even if it was just a fragment, he felt deeply indebted to Bai Tang.
“Hehe, let’s say I misspoke. Come, let’s finish this drink!” Bai Dad raised his glass and downed it with Lin Wenbin.
Bai Dad then toasted several other guests, inviting them to eat. This invitation was the most welcomed; several big men swept through the table's delicacies like locusts. Bai Ma noticed several plates were empty and quickly pulled her daughter and goddaughter into the kitchen to make dumplings for everyone. Tian Yanran volunteered to help in the kitchen but found no place to assist, so she stood by the kitchen door chatting with several women, with Tang Yun doing most of the talking.
“Jun is very active and just wants to run outside. The teacher’s wife can only watch her closely to prevent the child from sneaking out and catching a cold…”
“Yanran, since you love children so much, why not have one with Yuan Mingyi?” Wu Xuemei teased.
Tian Yanran’s face turned red, and she sighed, “Mei Mei, in this world today, how can I dare to have children? Whether or not I can raise them is one thing; if I get pregnant, my chances of survival will decrease.”
Wu Xuemei and Bai Ma fell silent upon hearing this; a thread of guilt arose in their hearts. After all, they were about to live a stable life while others were still struggling through hardships.
Bai Tang comfortingly patted Wu Xuemei and Bai Ma on the shoulders and smiled at Tian Yanran: “You and Yuan Mingyi are still young; there’s no rush to have children. Moreover, this apocalypse will pass quickly; it won’t be too late to have kids then!”
“Yes, yes! The apocalypse will surely pass soon!” Bai Ma echoed repeatedly.
Tian Yanran smiled slightly and nodded: “Yes, I have confidence in the future!”
The plump dumplings steamed with heat and fragrance filled everyone up. Several big men leaned back on their chairs, unable to stand up straight. Bai Ma packed one-tenth of the remaining dumplings (over four thousand six hundred left) for Tian Yanran, allowing her to take them back to Dongshan School to enjoy slowly. The remaining four thousand dumplings were all handed over to Captain Zhang and his group for them to treat the soldiers. Captain Zhang and several comrades placed down their bags of dumplings and saluted the Bai Family.
"Beep, energy replenishment complete, system reboot finished!" A wonderful mechanical voice echoed in Bai Tang's mind. Bai Tang joyfully rushed out of the room and shouted, "Dad, Mom, Mei Mei, hurry up and pack your things, we're about to set off!"
With the system rebooted, the skills remained unaffected, and the gang's base was fully operational. The scenery was even more beautiful than before the reboot. The supplies stored inside had not been formatted by the system during the restart. Bai Tang took out some local delicacies that had been stored earlier and enjoyed a delightful meal with the family.
After dinner, Bai Tang asked Bai Ma and Bai Dad, "Are you ready?"
Bai Dad and Bai Ma nodded, and Wu Xuemei nervously nodded along.
"Shall I begin then?"
"Go ahead!" Bai Dad said seriously.
With a wave of his hand, Bai Tang activated his skill and knocked out Bai Dad and the others.
No living person could enter the gang's base except for Bai Tang himself. Only those who were in a state of false death or unconsciousness could enter, but they couldn't stay too long; otherwise, they would transition from false death to true death.
After bringing several members of the Bai Family into the gang's base, Bai Tang quickly walked to the first Time-Space Gate. He pressed the doorknob, and in the next moment, Bai Tang fell into the "Washing Machine"... (More fresh content from "Time-Space Merchant Life" will be available on the official WeChat platform, along with a 100% lottery gift for everyone! Open WeChat now, click the "+" button in the upper right corner to "Add Friends," search for the public account "qdread," and follow it quickly!)(To be continued...)
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