This material could not be dug open. After a few attempts, Lin Po gave up; it was likely an inherent setting of the Space itself. Seeing as it was futile, he stopped struggling.
By the time he had finished loading all the harvested corn and fruit into the vehicle and covered them with oilpaper, he pulled out his phone to check the time. It was already night. Fortunately, his labor in the Space didn’t make him feel fatigued; otherwise, his arms would definitely be too heavy to lift right now.
When Lin Po returned home, Wang Yurong had already woken up. This instance of ability awakening had an unusually large impact on her, causing her to sleep for quite a long time. However, the results were obvious: his mother looked significantly younger, and even the chronic joint pain she had lived with for years had vanished.
Lin Po parked the car, keeping the tarp covered to prevent others from seeing the contents. He ran upstairs in a few quick strides to find Wang Yurong in the bathroom, testing out her ability.
“Mom, how are you feeling?”
Hearing her son’s voice, Wang Yurong turned around quickly. As a result, she lost control of the water ball in her hand, and it splashed directly onto Lin Po’s father, who was standing nearby watching the excitement.
Lin Chuansen: “…”
Without a hint of guilt, Lin Po’s mother offered a perfunctory apology: “Well, it’s dark out anyway, and you’ll have to shower eventually. This just saves time.”
With that, she took her son’s arm and led him out, saying she wanted to give him a proper explanation of how the ability felt.
Showing zero sympathy, Lin Po laughed at his dad and followed his mother out.
Having just gained an ability, Lin’s mom was as curious as a child. She called Yun Zhuan over, and the three of them sat in the living room to watch her demonstrate.
Water was soft and lacked a sense of power. Wang Yurong could only gather it into a sphere, making the ability look more like a toy.
Lin Po’s eyes glazed over for a moment. In his past life, he had died at the hands of a high-level water-ability user. He couldn’t help but shudder at the memory of the pain—his body pierced by countless ice blades.
However, it was incredibly difficult for water-type users to reach high levels. In the early stages, they were decent against humans but struggled against zombies; it was often more effective to just grab a weapon and fight physically. Consequently, any water-type user who managed to survive long enough to reach a high level was definitely not someone to be trifled with.
“Xiao Yun, come spar with me a bit,” Wang Yurong said excitedly, forming another water ball with an eager expression.
Yun Zhuan: “…”
From a current perspective, their abilities weren’t even in the same league. He didn’t know how to handle the situation without making her feel too discouraged.
Luckily, Lin Po immediately smoothed things over: “Mom, what’s there to spar about? It’s not worth it if someone gets hurt by accident, right?”
Wang Yurong was easy to persuade. Hearing this, she agreed; with medicine and doctors in short supply, it was best to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Once Lin Chuansen came downstairs, Yun Zhuan recounted what the villagers had said during the day.
“Their idea is that it’s safer for everyone to live together. Lin Po, what do you think?”
Lin Po pondered for a while before saying, “My thought is that we shouldn’t live with them. However, if they need help, we’ll go help. We should try not to antagonize them and maintain a good relationship.”
Yun Zhuan had already guessed Lin Po would say this, but Wang Yurong didn’t understand. She asked, “Isn’t it good to live with them? There’s strength in numbers.”
Lin Po replied, “Mom, if we live with them, now that you have an ability, it’s almost certain you’d be sent out to scavenge for supplies. But if our family lives together, Dad, Yun Zhuan, and I will all protect you.”
Wang Yurong felt a bit unhappy. “I have an ability too. I don’t need you guys to protect me.”
Lin Chuansen quickly comforted her: “Of course, dear. You’re very capable—stronger than both me and our son. But we want our family to live together safely and peacefully; we don’t want any one of us taking huge risks.”
Wang Yurong wasn’t unreasonable. Once the situation was explained clearly, she naturally understood.
“Then we’ll live on our own. Thinking about it now, having so many people together isn’t great either—it’s easy to have conflicts. Let your father go talk to them tomorrow. You’re a junior, so it’s not as appropriate for you to speak up.”
Lin Po nodded. With that settled, they prepared to turn in early. He had barely slept the last few days and was utterly exhausted; now that he had relaxed, drowsiness hit him uncontrollably.
He rubbed his eyes. Seeing this, Yun Zhuan said, “Uncle, Auntie, you should get some rest. These past few days must have been draining. You need to get enough sleep.”
Lin Chuansen also saw that his son was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. “Alright then. You two get showered quickly too. Who knows how many days the running water will last. Enjoy the hot showers while you can.” He then pulled Wang Yurong upstairs.
Yun Zhuan looked back at Lin Po, who had already fallen asleep leaning against the sofa. Due to the late nights, there were faint dark circles under his eyes. Despite having just recovered from an illness, he always insisted on looking after everyone around him.
He didn’t know what Lin Po had been up to during the day, but the boy had been rubbing his eyes since he got back, yet forced himself to finish the discussion before falling asleep.
Yun Zhuan stared at Lin Po for a moment, then reached out, scooped him up, and carried him upstairs.
Just as he placed Lin Po on the bed, the latter opened his eyes briefly and mumbled, “Let’s just sleep together… it’s safer.”
Clearly, there was no ulterior motive behind the statement, but Yun Zhuan suddenly became tense. He turned off the light and lay down gently beside Lin Po. Because it was so quiet, the sound of his own heartbeat was deafening.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
His pulse raced in sync. Yun Zhuan felt his entire body go stiff. It should be perfectly normal for two guys to sleep in the same bed, so why was he overthinking it? Yet, he couldn’t control his mind. Various thoughts whirled at high speed until he finally drifted into a muddled sleep.
Lin Po slept for a very long time. It was a rare, dreamless sleep since his rebirth. He sat up in bed and stretched; as he brought his hands down, he accidentally brushed against something warm and soft beside him.
Startled, Lin Po turned his head to see a sleeping Yun Zhuan.
Lin Po rubbed his head. It seemed he had asked Yun Zhuan to stay and sleep there yesterday? It seemed that when he was dazed, he became exceptionally blunt. However, his only intention had been that two people staying together for mutual support was safer; there was no other meaning behind it.
Yun Zhuan seemed to still be sound asleep. Lin Po quickly got out of bed. Having fallen asleep directly the night before without showering, he felt sticky and uncomfortable, so he grabbed some clothes and headed to the bathroom.
The sound of splashing water woke Yun Zhuan. He had slept very late and his rest had been fitful, filled with all sorts of dreams. One moment he was fighting zombies with Lin Po, the next he was dreaming about that night he had promised Lin Po… everything was a jumble. His brain hadn’t rested at all.
After a while, Lin Po emerged wearing only a bath towel. Yun Zhuan knew Lin Po was fair-skinned, but he hadn’t expected the rest of his body to be even whiter. Because he didn’t exercise, Lin Po looked thin, yet there was a bit of soft flesh at his waist that looked very soft to the touch.
Yun Zhuan quickly averted his gaze. “I woke up late.”
Lin Po said, “It doesn’t matter. We don’t have classes anymore. Though, this leisure time will only last for a few days.”
Yun Zhuan: “Then I’ll go take a shower too. You go down and eat first.”
Lin Po: “Mm, okay.”
He changed his clothes and went downstairs. His mom had already made breakfast and was enthusiastically practicing her ability.
Lin Chuansen was by her side, playing along. Lin Po couldn’t help but smile; his parents had always had a great relationship. They used to be reserved with their affection, but now they were frequently making him feel like a third wheel to their romance.
“Come eat. Where’s Xiao Yun?” Lin Chuansen asked.
Lin Po said, “He’s in the shower. Dad, did the Village Chief come by to talk?”
Lin Chuansen nodded. “They came by early this morning. They said they spent all night getting the primary school ready. There weren’t many people there—just the live-in teachers and the guard. They took care of the zombies themselves. Apparently, they’re all happy to use the school as a stronghold. Though, I suspect even if some weren’t happy, they wouldn’t dare say so, given the strength in numbers on the other side.”
Lin Po: “Then when are you going to tell the Village Chief we aren’t moving in?”
Lin Chuansen: “I intended to say it this morning, but it was just a messenger I didn’t know well. I was worried the message might get distorted if passed along. Plus, Liu Hongwei said there’s a meeting today for everyone to discuss what to do next. I figured it would be more appropriate to tell him in person after the meeting.”
Lin Po nodded while sipping his porridge. “Dad, you’re right to be thorough.”
Lin Chuansen said proudly, “Of course. Look who you’re talking to.”
For Lin Po, living with a large group wasn’t a good choice. What Village Chief Liu Hongwei was doing was already the prototype of a survival base, which was very beneficial for preserving the strength of a large group. If Lin Po hadn’t been reborn and didn’t have the Space, he certainly would have brought his parents to join. “Strength in numbers” was no lie.
But the situation was different now. He had things he wanted to do and secrets he couldn’t tell outsiders; it was naturally better to remain independent.
For instance, the supplies he brought back yesterday—while they belonged to him, if he lived in the organization, he would inevitably have to share them. His plan to use them to help his classmates would be even more impossible; by then, the group would have assumed those supplies belonged to everyone. How could they let him take them to help outsiders?
The people of Xiping Village united were a force, but they would also be quite exclusionary. Furthermore, since he had Yun Zhuan with him, he worried that if a mission became too risky one day, Yun Zhuan would be the first one pushed out. This was something Lin Po was unwilling to see.
These weren’t just idle fantasies. Lin Po had cycled through several survival bases in the past and had no shortage of days being used as bait or forced labor. If he hadn’t been fast enough, he probably would have died many times over.
However, since Lin Po intended to use Xiping Village as a temporary stronghold and didn’t want to move easily, maintaining a good social standing with the Village Chief was exceptionally important.