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墨書 Inktalez
Sitting at the desk in the bedroom, Zheng Yifan tidied up the table, placing freshly steamed soup dumplings and several bowls of various congee on it. The congee included a mixed glutinous rice porridge, goat milk and red date porridge, and a tofu skin and pig liver porridge.
Accompanied by special pickled vegetables, the aroma was truly enticing. The entire room was filled with the fragrant scent of rice.
The other congee had already been sent out by Zheng Yifan, and in just a moment, not a single bowl was left.
In response, Zheng Yifan could only smile wryly. This group of fellows was simply beyond words. This morning, after seeing the bill for the dishes purchased at the hotel last night, he realized that these fellows could eat even more than he could... well, perhaps they were just a bit better than him.
Anyway, Zheng Yifan would never admit to being a glutton.
“Hmm!” Perhaps it was the enticing aroma of the congee that stirred the beauty from her sweet dreams. As she inhaled the comforting scent filling the room, she let out a soft moan of pleasure.
Opening her sleepy eyes, she was greeted by Zheng Yifan's tall figure and the table full of delicious food. Instantly, her heart felt sweet; this was her gamble—not some romantic notion or love story. The harshness of the apocalypse had made them abandon unreliable things in pursuit of safety and warmth.
Even this moment of emotion made her eyes misty. She had treasured her most precious possession for over twenty years, something that even her boyfriend during college had never taken away from her, yet she had given it to this man she had only met once last night.
She knew this was her only chance; if abandoned, she didn't know how long she could hold onto herself. During this year of apocalypse, she had often made herself look dirty and ragged like a beggar. It wasn't until she followed Hope Mall that she managed to tidy herself up a bit, hoping to find a way out.
She understood this was her only opportunity; the upcoming battle at Han Sui City Gathering Place could cost many lives. Among those people might be him.
“What are you still dawdling for? Hurry up and brush your teeth and wash your face; the congee will get cold soon,” Zheng Yifan said kindly, completely unlike the decisive man he was on the battlefield.
“Hmm!” She replied softly but then realized something awkward—Zheng Yifan was watching her from across the table. Although she had become his woman last night, it still felt uncomfortable to dress in front of him, especially with a lingering pain below.
“Alright. I'll go get you an outfit; what size are you?” After asking for her size, Zheng Yifan went into reality to buy her some clothes.
To be honest, Zheng Yifan wasn't great at matching outfits; he almost directly stripped an entire set off a model whose figure was similar to hers and then asked the sales clerk to pair it with other clothes.
When Zheng Yifan returned after swiping his card, the girl was already sitting at the table as if eagerly awaiting her husband’s return, shyly lowering her head.
“My name is Zheng Yifan. You can call me Yifan or husband; it's all up to you. If you have any relatives, feel free to invite them over. Although our Gathering Place isn't large, the conditions are quite good,” Zheng Yifan rambled on about many things.
He was now feeling completely anxious, as if he had returned to his days as an Otaku. Of course, while it was easy to change the landscape, it was hard to change one's nature. He could be decisive against enemies like Zombies, but when it came to women, especially his own woman, he truly found it hard to be ruthless. He certainly didn't have the aura of a harem master.
"Hu... Husband," Guo Ketong's delicate face instantly flushed with embarrassment.
Zheng Yifan slowly pushed the porridge in front of Guo Ketong, gesturing for her to eat while he lowered his head and quietly drank his own porridge.
"My name is Guo Ketong; you can just call me Tongtong," she said, then began to eat.
This was the best meal she had eaten in a year. All the food she had consumed over the past year had been earned at the cost of her life. Although she had barely survived, she knew that her figure was no longer what it used to be after the Post-Apocalypse; she had become more bony than plump. In the days to come, she needed to bind this man before her to survive in this world. She was just a woman, nothing more. As for her family, they were long gone; she had escaped from university, and her relatives were far away in her hometown—she might never return.
During the meal, neither of them spoke; they simply focused on eating porridge. Unbeknownst to them, more than half of the food on the table had ended up in Zheng Yifan's mouth. Fortunately, he remembered that Guo Ketong was at the same table and did not eat with abandon.
Like a couple, they finished their meal warmly. Zheng Yifan shared some of his own matters with Guo Ketong before he had to leave this tender moment.
Of course, the clothes he bought for Guo Ketong remained in the room, and two girls in the hallway became her personal maids.
Without any hesitation, Zheng Yifan arrived at Li Ning's residence. Everyone was already preparing for battle; supplies were urgently needed. The weapons and equipment among people in the Gathering Place were simply too poor. They required Zheng Yifan's support—at least ordinary Crossbows could deal significant damage against their kind and could serve as strategic weapons.
A large supply was necessary, but those who used them must be original members of Hope Gathering Place or have passed assessments; otherwise, there would be too much uncertainty during combat.
Of course, he would keep some ready in Storage Space for immediate distribution.
Each person must at least be given arrows, including all registered participants.
To be honest, this registration had already become quite sensational. From early morning onward, people came one after another to sign up. Although it was for battle, they showed no fear because Zheng Yifan had promised them that they could join the forces behind Hope Mall and even distributed benefits to some outer members. Moreover, as long as they participated in combat and officially recorded Military Merit afterward, they could exchange it for supplies or have friends and family redeem them directly.
They were not afraid of battle.
Of course, many others viewed it as a gamble; if they succeeded this time, they might gain an identity that others found hard to obtain.
With their fighting spirit high, Zheng Yifan greatly appreciated these people with a fighting spirit because in this apocalypse, if one didn’t fight back once, they would never dare to struggle again in their lives—and that would be the end of it.
"Report, Leader. Cui Long requests to return to the team; Superpower has completed its evolution." Cui Long stood behind Zheng Yifan with a smile, and just by looking at him, one could tell that the Superpower Activation had gone exceptionally well.
"The Second-Stage Evolution Essence is sent to you in advance. Use it wisely; just don’t break it, or I won’t give you a second bottle," Zheng Yifan handed a vial of Second-Stage Evolution Essence to Cui Long.
However, that statement was almost a joke. The current vial was made of high-strength metal, with a rubber protective layer inside. The sealing was done exceptionally well.
It could even be injected directly at critical moments, minimizing the risk to the lowest possible level.
Cui Long excitedly looked at Zheng Yifan and nodded vigorously before describing his Superpower.
Upon hearing about Cui Long's Superpower, Zheng Yifan felt dizzy; this guy had definitely struck gold.
The Superpower he received was called Explosive Maniac.
As the name suggests, he could turn any non-living material into a bomb in his hands and cause a complete explosion based on the energy contained within that material.
He could now make an explosive equivalent to one kilogram of TNT detonate.
The resulting power could even be directed. With each evolution, the explosive force could increase geometrically.
This meant he could also use firearms. Firing bullets from guns would enhance the power even further.
But Zheng Yifan already had better targets in mind. Since such power could be unleashed, what about grenades? What about a Rocket Launcher? All of these could be utilized; he just needed a few assistants to load ammunition while he focused on firing.
Because it was guided by Superpower, the interference from Vital Energy would be minimized, allowing firearms to function effectively.
Zheng Yifan even considered acquiring close-in weapons used on warships to see just how much power Cui Long could unleash.
However, he quickly abandoned that thought. Those things were national-level weapons. It would be easier to navigate through the Apocalyptic World than to try and purchase one.
For instance, the weapons Cui Long prepared for himself would definitely exceed Zheng Yifan's experience.
It was a nearly full-body firearm, with a backpack containing nearly a thousand rounds of ammunition.
The entire system was fixed in place. The muzzle extended directly from the right arm, as if it were an extension of the limb itself. In the middle was the firing mechanism, complete with an aiming adjustment system that automatically calibrated the target's position based on external conditions such as wind speed, distance, and humidity.
Although it was only semi-automatic aiming and required personal adjustment for firing timing, it was already considered one of the more common weapons available.
This was a treasure of Cui Long, obtained through trade with resources from others at the Han Sui City Gathering Place, standard equipment from the 1st Division's weapon cache.
Originally, the 1st Division planned to unleash it when firearms could be used again, but unfortunately, there was only one person capable of using firearms normally. The other superpowered individuals could barely manage to fire a few shots at best. Even so, they remained the dominant force in Han Sui City Gathering Place.
"Your superpower is impressive. Make sure to use the Second-Stage Evolution Essence as soon as possible to see how much your evolution can enhance your abilities. In the future, firearms will be prioritized for you. Spend some time thinking about how to utilize your superpower effectively and see if there are ways to increase its damage," Zheng Yifan thought to himself. He had many ideas on how Cui Long could more effectively utilize his superpower, but ultimately, it would be more beneficial for him to research these methods independently for future development. Zheng Yifan couldn't propose usage strategies for everyone.
At the same time, he decided to have those fellows in the lab start providing superpower application plans for all superpowered individuals in the Gathering Place. They could even establish a dedicated university to research and train in superpower utilization, forming a sustainable development system.
As this system grew, there would be more superpowered individuals in his Gathering Place who had undergone systematic training, allowing for natural selection and better utilization of their superpowers—unlike his generation, which had been haphazardly experimenting without direction.
After bidding farewell to Cui Long, he continued to check on the situation in the Gathering Place and made calls in the real world to Tang Hao and Li Jun to order compound bows and crossbows.
These items needed to be prepared early.
While Zheng Yifan was deep in thought, over thirty burly men slowly approached him from across the way. Behind Zheng Yifan was a recruitment point set up by Li Ning.
"Hey guys! Those fellows from Ice King Mercenary Corps are crazy! They actually want to implement a policy of elite soldiers. If that ridiculous policy goes through, how many people will survive in Han Sui City Gathering Place? A thousand? Or two thousand?" one man shouted loudly from the crowd.
Others around him echoed their agreement.
"One or two thousand? If we can even have one or two hundred people left, that would be good enough! They want to build a team composed entirely of second-tier or higher superpowered individuals—only strong ones allowed! The rest will attract zombies from Hansui City to seek opportunities for them. Apparently, it's all for that so-called Third Stage evolution Essence Fruit. They want to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of people! It's utterly insane," one of the leaders' fellows remarked.
"Exactly! Hundreds of thousands of people just to feed zombies for something that might not even exist—mutated plants? When we escaped from Han Sui City Gathering Place, we only saw that the city museum building had been destroyed by mutated plants; we have no idea what they are. It could just be some ridiculous idea they came up with while trying to restore Hansui City. Are they asking us to risk our lives? No way! Let's go sign up and fight back against them; at least those fellows from Hope Mall promised some decent benefits."
"Boss, can they really deliver on that? It feels like a mirage—like flowers reflected in water. Fighting against 1st Division and Ice King Mercenary Corps just for military merit used internally? To exchange for supplies? That exchange rate is way too cheap; they can't be trying to trick us!" Doubts began surfacing among the crowd.
"You didn't see their extravagance. When they first opened, you weren't at the lottery event, were you? I was there in person. The atmosphere was electric; everyone went wild. Those who won truly became rich overnight. Did you hear? The actual rewards for the First Prize and Second Prize were entry into Hope Mall, which guaranteed them the activation of their Superpower. That guy with the surname Tian and Master Wu are now powerful Superpowered Individuals, and they're not far from advancing to the Second Tier. Do you see that? Those are Second-Stage Espers, figures who could shake the ground just by stomping in Han Sui City Gathering Place. Hope Mall cultivates one after another; they really have deep pockets."
The speaker seemed to be glowing with excitement from having participated in the first lottery, recounting every detail to his companions, from the moment the first prize was announced to the end of the draw, filled with envy and jealousy when he mentioned Wu Yingzhou and Tian Ye becoming Superpowered Individuals.
It was as if he himself had won the First Prize.
"I even saw the true leader of Hope Mall. The aura, the decisiveness—I'm telling you, even if Ice King leveled up two more times, he wouldn't stand a chance against him," he said as they brushed past Zheng Yifan.
"At that moment, I caught just a distant glimpse of him, and right then I decided he would be my lifelong idol. With that appearance, he was definitely a super handsome guy, just like..."
Just like that guy who walked by just now.
Suddenly, a cold wind swept through, causing several people to stop in their tracks and mechanically turn their heads.
But there was no one behind them.
(To be continued)
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