A Dual-type Ability User—that was real talent. A bit ugly, maybe, but still a treasure.
“No thanks. I need to go find my family now. I’m off!” Yan Tingting turned around, no longer caring whether her Spatial Dimension was exposed or not.
She moved the car from earlier out of her Spatial Dimension, got in, and started it up. In less than a minute, the car shot off like an arrow released from a bowstring, quickly vanishing into the night.
“What a pity—a rare Dual-type Ability User.” Fu Jun shook his head regretfully. She ran so fast, leaving him no chance to make his move at all.
Nan Huaixu stared at Yan Tingting’s retreating figure, the doubt in his eyes not fading. Could it be that he had traveled for days without rest and mistaken her for someone else?
Time flew by, and the off-road vehicle drove into Minghe City the following evening. In the book, the female lead had arrived in Minghe City half a month later, following Nan Huaixu and his group.
Before the Apocalypse, Minghe City had been the territory of the Wen family. The Wen family were merchants who controlled the nation’s economic lifeline, and Minghe City was a major grain-producing province with abundant food reserves.
In the original story, Jiang Xinyue had come to Minghe City with Nan Huaixu, and while Nan Huaixu and the others were weakened from battling Zombies, she had secretly swept the entire stock of the largest granary into her Spatial Dimension.
To avoid suspicion, Jiang Xinyue claimed that her Spatial Dimension was the same as other Level-One Ability Users’, with a capacity of only ten cubic meters.
It wasn’t until later, when Jiang Xinyue betrayed the Xuan’an Base and defected to Xianghua Base, that she brought out this grain to support the male lead, Chen Xuan. That grain quickly helped Jiang Xinyue establish a firm foothold in Xianghua Base.
Since this opportunity was supposed to fall into Jiang Xinyue’s hands, it would be a shame not to snatch it away.
“Host, Minghe City is described in the book as one of the most dangerous cities. Are you going there to die?” Ever since Yan Tingting entered Minghe City, the System had been wailing in her mind.
Unfortunately, Yan Tingting turned a deaf ear. Once she made a decision, she wouldn’t change it.
“Host, the System has detected that your death is a critical turning point for the world’s destruction. As long as you don’t die, the world won’t be destroyed, and our mission will be complete. Don’t do anything reckless!” Seeing Yan Tingting ignore it, the System felt like the sky was about to collapse.
“Stay calm. If anything happens, just hide in the Spatial Dimension. Since I want to survive, I need the ability to protect myself. Abilities don’t fall from the sky—I have to practice.” Yan Tingting glanced sideways at the mountain of crystal cores piled in the passenger seat, her expression calm.
After shaking off Nan Huaixu, she had found plenty of Zombies to practice on along the way.
It was disgusting at first, but after killing enough of them, she became immune.
She discovered that when her Supernatural Ability was nearly depleted, absorbing crystal cores in her palm quickly restored it, and her ability grew stronger and stronger, while her techniques became much more skilled.
The Apocalypse had arrived. She lacked neither abilities nor a Spatial Dimension. Since she couldn’t just lie back and relax, she might as well grind hard.
Speaking of which, she was somewhat envious of Jiang Xinyue’s water-type ability. Once Jiang Xinyue’s water ability reached Level Seven and above, she could instantly drain all the blood from an opponent’s body—killing without a trace.
The System felt somewhat gratified. Who would have thought the vicious female supporting character would be so ambitious? Saving the world was as good as done.
Zombies were most active at night. The sky had already darkened, and Yan Tingting was in no hurry to enter Minghe City.
Along the road, they spotted a village of a few dozen households. Yan Tingting chose a house at the very edge—its door hung wide open, large bloodstains smeared across it. It didn’t look like anyone was still alive inside.
Yan Tingting stored the car in her Spatial Dimension, a faint green glow surfacing in her palm as she walked in warily.
The moment she stepped into the courtyard, a faint rustle of wind came from behind. Vines in her hand grew rapidly, lashing out fiercely behind her. A sharp whistle cut through the silence of the courtyard, and she quickly dispatched two zombies.
Inside the house, bloodstains trailed all the way toward the bedroom, where two skeletons—one large, one small—lay on the floor.
Looking at the photo hanging on the bedroom wall, Yan Tingting could easily piece together what had happened.
She found a white cloth to gather the family’s remains together, had the vines dig a pit, and then, with a clear conscience, picked a relatively clean bedroom to rest in.
Her haul for the day was decent. The Apocalypse had only just begun, so there weren’t many zombies with abilities, and the crystal cores obtained weren’t plentiful—but a rough count came to twenty or thirty.
Unfortunately, only five of them were Wood-type Ability crystal cores, and she’d already used two on the road.
Yan Tingting carefully stowed the remaining three cores, then slipped into the Spatial Dimension. Thinking of the day’s dangers, she decided to eat hotpot to calm her nerves.
As a native of Jincheng who couldn’t live without spice, she naturally went for the numbing, rich, spicy flavor. The moment a bite of beef tendon hit her mouth, Yan Tingting’s nerves lit up with joy.
Suddenly she remembered something important and hurriedly grabbed a mirror to look at her face. The water she’d just swallowed sprayed right back out, and she doubled over laughing.
With a face like this, she wondered if Nan Huaixu would have nightmares tonight.
“System, how long will this look last?” Yan Tingting studied her own eyes, finding them rather novel.
“Twelve hours. You’ll recover around daybreak,” the System replied cheerfully.
“Three times? Counting it as one reward—you Systems are the real swindlers.” Yan Tingting gazed at the still-parched land in the Spatial Dimension, heart aching.
“Host, you could have declined it just now.”
Yan Tingting shut her mouth grudgingly, channeling her frustration into appetite. Once she’d eaten and drunk her fill, she lay down in the Spatial Dimension and fell straight asleep.
At daybreak the next day, Yan Tingting drove slowly along the road into Minghe City. The Acid Rain was still two days away—she had to collect that batch of grain within two days, or once the Acid Rain fell, it would be far harder to gather.
“Host, don’t go any further. Minghe City is so dangerous. There’s still time to turn back,” the System pleaded persistently.
Yan Tingting only heard the part she wanted to hear. “I agree, there’s still time to go in. Be patient—the Acid Rain hasn’t come yet, so Minghe City shouldn’t be that dangerous right now.”
In the book, Jiang Xinyue arrived at Minghe City only about ten days later, by which time the second Acid Rain had already fallen.
The zombies, animals, and plants had undergone a second mutation and grown stronger. As for the Zombie King wreaking havoc in Minghe City, that didn’t happen until a year into the Apocalypse.
Xiao Yuan’s mind grew muddled, and she nodded half in doubt, half in belief. It did seem to make some sense!
The scenery outside the car window flashed backward. The closer she got to Minghe City, the more wrecked vehicles littered the surroundings, black smoke drifting through the air.
From time to time, violent sounds of something colliding came from the distance, and many grotesque-looking zombies wandered shakily along the roads.
Yan Tingting studied the map. Once inside the city, she tried to avoid the more crowded areas and detour around them. The grain depot was also on the city’s outskirts.
But unfortunately, in the other direction, Minghe City’s terrain was peculiar—flanked by mountains and water on both sides, making it very difficult to circle around by another route.
“Boss, look at that car coming over there.” Although Yan Tingting’s car was well-modified, it had still attracted some people’s attention.
“Just one person? Round up the boys—we’ve got a fat sheep coming.” The figure hidden behind the curtain exhaled a puff of smoke, eyes brimming with acquisitive ambition.