After exchanging for the laboratory, Tang Ye was left with only eight hundred thirty energy points. She used one hundred twenty points to exchange for one set of materials for gas masks and one set for radiation-protective suits, leaving her with seven hundred ten energy points.
She first placed the gas mask materials into the machine. It immediately began to operate with a rumbling sound.
Seeing that it would take some time, Tang Ye stepped out.
The beds that had been used by the survivors needed fresh sheets. Guided by the system, Tang Ye found new bedding sets in the logistics interface.
These also required energy points to exchange, though not much. One energy point for a set of sheets, and ten energy points for a quilt.
The cost was low since they could be washed and reused.
Tang Ye directly exchanged thirteen sets of bedding and replaced them. The used bedding then became another problem.
Since she still had some energy points left, Tang Ye simply spent five hundred to exchange for a laundry room, placing it directly opposite her own room. The space was not large, but it was very practical. It contained four high-power washing machines with full functions, including sterilization and integrated washing and drying. There were also fingerprint-locked storage cabinets where clean bedding could be stored.
Survivors could also use the washing machines, but they needed to insert coins to activate them. One Level 1 mutated crystal could be exchanged for ten special coins, and ten coins allowed ten washes. The price was quite affordable.
After deducting five hundred points, Tang Ye was once again nearly back to zero, with only one hundred ninety-seven energy points remaining.
After tidying up the rooms, Tang Ye was already sweating. She had not expected such trivial tasks to consume so much energy.
“Administrator Tang, we’re heading out. We need to hunt for some mutated crystals nearby,” Jiang Qing and Jiang Hong said after exchanging for ten special coins. They put on their gas masks and prepared to leave.
“Alright. Be careful,” Tang Ye waved at them. After returning to her room to change clothes, she also headed to the surface.
Today, she planned to train nearby as well. Fighting zombies was something that dulled quickly without practice. Even though she now had a stable shelter, she did not want to rely entirely on the system. Only by strengthening herself could she truly survive.
Gripping the long blade the system had given her, Tang Ye walked straight out of the shelter entrance. Outside, scattered zombies wandered aimlessly, and not far away, there was a mutated beast.
Animals infected by the virus had long lost their original appearance. Their bodies had grown several times larger.
Poisonous insects could also be lurking in the shadows at any time.
Although Tang Ye was already immune to airborne toxins, she still wore a black mask to avoid standing out too much.
The blade in her hand let out a faint hum, as if eager for the coming battle.
Some zombies had already noticed her presence and staggered toward her. The slower ones were Level 1 zombies, while the faster ones were Level 2 and above.
Tang Ye gripped the blade with both hands and slashed diagonally toward a zombie’s head. Her movements were as swift and agile as before. Combined with the quality of the blade, killing zombies became effortless.
The large mutated beast caught the scent of a human and charged toward her. The closer it got, the more the ground trembled beneath its weight.
After clearing the zombies around her, Tang Ye focused on the approaching beast.
Its body was massive, and its coarse hair stood upright like spikes. Tang Ye had encountered such creatures before. Their outer fur was as hard as steel, making them difficult to deal with.
She sidestepped its charge and brought her blade down toward its head. She had expected the impact to feel like striking metal, but instead, the coarse hair fell away in clumps, and its flesh was split open. The beast let out a painful roar and charged at her again in fury.
This time, Tang Ye had grasped the technique. She struck again. The beast appeared to be at least Level 4 and seemed to possess some intelligence, attempting to avoid her blade.
But no matter how clever it was, it was still just a beast. It was quickly struck again.
Tang Ye used the opportunity to refine her speed and blade techniques. Her movements became increasingly fluid. Finally, the beast collapsed to the ground.
She was not completely unscathed. After fighting so many zombies and a mutated beast, her stamina was nearly depleted.
Squatting down, she dug out the mutated crystals from the brains of the zombies and the beast.
As expected, the beast contained a Level 4 crystal, along with three Level 2 crystals and two Level 1 crystals.
“System, can the mutated crystals I obtain myself be converted into energy points?” Tang Ye asked.
“Mutated crystals obtained personally cannot be converted. Only those gained through transactions can be converted,” the system replied.
Tang Ye was not surprised. She put all the crystals into her bag, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and prepared to return to the shelter.
At that moment, she heard a rustling sound coming from the nearby grass. Something was moving, accompanied by faint, strange noises.
Tang Ye tightened her grip on the blade and approached cautiously. If there were more mutated beasts or poisonous insects, she would eliminate them as well.
As she drew closer, she suddenly saw a pair of legs sticking out.
She stepped back slightly. A zombie? Just as she wondered, the figure lying on the ground let out another faint groan, sounding extremely pained.
After a moment’s thought, Tang Ye approached slowly. The figure came fully into view. Lying in the grass was a white-haired man.
His features were strikingly handsome. He appeared to be over one meter eighty tall, with strong arms and visible abdominal muscles beneath his partially lifted clothing.
His face was flushed with an unnatural redness, his brows tightly furrowed as he let out intermittent groans of pain.
For now, he appeared to be human, but it was unclear whether he had any injuries. His symptoms closely resembled someone undergoing infection.
Tang Ye stood there expressionlessly and did not immediately help. Instead, she analyzed his condition and came to a conclusion, she would not save him. However, if he turned into a zombie, she would end his life herself.
As several thoughts flashed through her mind, the man suddenly opened his eyes.
“Please… save… me,” his voice was hoarse and weak. “Not mutated…”
After saying that, he fell unconscious again.
Tang Ye frowned as she observed him. There did not seem to be signs of mutation. After a moment, she crouched down and directly removed his clothes to inspect him. Confirming that there were no bite or scratch wounds, she half-carried and dragged him back to the shelter.
“Consider yourself lucky. One second later, your head would have been pierced by my blade.”
To avoid alarming the other survivors, Tang Ye temporarily locked him inside the laundry room.
She quickly went to shower and change clothes, then returned and opened the laundry room door again.
The man was still unconscious. Tang Ye reached out and touched his forehead. It was burning hot, hot enough to fry an egg.
“System, do you know what’s wrong with him? If anything seems off, I’ll carry him out and throw him away,” Tang Ye asked with a frown.
“I detect that the energy within his body is excessively high and unstable, causing the fever and unconsciousness. His body appears to have undergone some form of modification. It is different from the bodies of survivors in this world,” the system replied, its tone unusually uncertain.
“Modification?” Tang Ye was puzzled. Survivors had indeed become physically stronger after the apocalypse, but she had never heard of experiments involving modified humans.
Nor were there people with supernatural abilities like in novels. Everyone relied on their own hands to survive.
At that moment, the white-haired man opened his eyes again and weakly said to Tang Ye, “Thank you for saving me. I have mutated crystals… in my pocket… don’t… leave me…”
After saying that, he lost consciousness again. His weak voice, combined with his strikingly androgynous features and flushed face, gave him the appearance of a fragile beauty.
Tang Ye only glanced at him before looking away. She reached into his pocket and indeed found a cloth bag filled with mutated crystals. There were many high-level ones, with hardly any Level 1 crystals.
Considering the value of the crystals, Tang Ye decided to keep him for the time being. She even dragged him from the laundry room floor into one of the rooms in Dormitory 01.
She also fed him a fever-reducing pill, whether it worked or not, it was worth trying.
After struggling to get him onto the bed, Tang Ye was sweating again. Seeing that he remained unconscious, she locked the door and left.
Until his condition was confirmed safe, it was better to isolate him.
After leaving the room, she headed to the laboratory. By now, the gas masks should be ready.
Sure enough, at the machine’s output, ten gas masks had been produced. Their design was simple, close to skin tone, and very thin, but according to the system, their effectiveness far surpassed any gas mask in this world.
Tang Ye put on gloves and packaged them one by one into sealed bags, then stored them in a cabinet. After that, she placed the materials for radiation-protective suits into the machine.
When Jiang Yufeng woke up, the violent energy within his body had gradually calmed.
He looked at his hands, a trace of gloom flashing in his eyes.
Supporting himself, he sat up. His entire body ached, as if every inch of muscle and bone had been torn apart and reassembled.
Looking around, he found himself in a clean and tidy room. There was no one else present.
He recalled that someone had saved him while he was unconscious. A face appeared in his mind, and the events from before gradually became clearer.