Yun Qing stored all the supplies from his home in his Space, bid farewell to the villagers, and left the village.
His first stop was the town. It had a larger population than the village, which meant there were also more Zombies.
Yun Qing never let a Zombie go when he encountered one. He used his wood element and Mental Element abilities together, and as long as they were not in a horde, he dealt with them all.
In town, he found a specialty shop for Electric Scooters. He assembled several Electric Scooters and put them into his Space. They were the best means of transportation for traveling: convenient, flexible, and silent. He then rode an Electric Scooter toward the county, continued on to the city, and kept heading in the direction of the Capital.
Although this place was closer to H City, where the male and female protagonists were, he did not want to go there. Who knew whether the plot might undergo corrections? He was merely a Cannon Fodder and could not contend with protagonists blessed by Fortune and aura. It was better to stay far away.
He had no idea how many Zombies and Mutated Animals and Plants he had killed along the way. His crystal cores were also growing more numerous. He killed Zombies during the daytime and cultivated at night.
Whenever he encountered a shopping mall, he would also collect some daily necessities, such as clothes and toiletries.
He did not collect much food. There had long since been nothing left to eat in the supermarkets, as people had already taken it all. He could still collect some of the other daily necessities, however.
He himself had no shortage of food, so there was naturally no need for him to seize it. It was better to leave it for those who needed it more.
Two months later, Yun Qing appeared in a neighboring province. It was a major city with a large permanent population, and there were even more Zombies.
The streets were full of Zombies wandering aimlessly. The survivors had long since been evacuated, leaving only various teams to clear out the Zombies while collecting supplies.
Yun Qing found a residential building, cleared it out, and planned to spend the night there.
By this point, Level Four Zombies had already appeared. Zombies of this level were more agile and faster. They had awakened a rudimentary consciousness and could think through problems. Their appearances had also changed, especially their eyes: their pupils had grown larger and were no longer completely white.
He had also collected several Level Four crystal cores. His wood-type ability had now reached Level Five, and he had subdued a Mutated Vine as a weapon, naming it Lü Xiao.
Its true form was a thorny vine, but after mutating, it had gained the ability to absorb blood and had begun developing in the direction of a bloodthirsty vine. It was extremely convenient to use. Normally, it coiled around his wrist like a jadeite bracelet, and it was quite beautiful.
His mental ability had reached Level Six, allowing him to easily slaughter Zombies below second grade and directly take their crystal cores.
Yun Qing used hot water stored in his Space to soak a bowl of noodles, extravagantly adding two sausages and a boiled egg.
After eating, he used his mental ability to set up a protective barrier. It served both as protection and as an alarm; the moment anyone approached, he would know.
Only then did he begin cultivating. He clenched the crystal cores collected during the daytime in his hand and circulated the ability within his body to absorb their energy.
Second-grade crystal cores were practically a drop in the bucket for him, but they were better than nothing, so he still collected them. In the future, crystal cores would become hard currency and could be used as money.
After finishing his cultivation, Yun Qing took out a sleeping bag, had Lü Xiao stand guard through the night, and soon fell into a deep sleep.
Around midnight, Lü Xiao sent him a signal: a group of people had entered the residential building.
Yun Qing opened his eyes and spread out his divine sense. After “seeing” the newcomers clearly, he was startled. Why was she here?
The group actually included the female protagonist Zhou Yao. At this moment, she should have been establishing a Base with the male protagonist in H City. What was she doing here?
Yun Qing put away his sleeping bag, sat down cross-legged, and continued observing them with his divine sense.
The team consisted of around a dozen people: two women and the rest men. All of them were ability users, and they were very strong.
“Captain, shall we spend the night here? It looks relatively safe, and it seems to have been cleared out before,” one of the men said.
“All right. We’ll rest here tonight. Arrange the night-watch shifts, eat something simple, and get to bed early,” the person called captain ordered.
“Understood, Captain.” Everyone busied themselves.
“A Lian, have someone patrol the area anyway. Safety comes first,” Zhou Yao said to the captain.
“I know, Yao Yao. Eat something first and get a good rest. I’ll personally lead people on patrol and see whether there’s anything useful left,” the man said.
These people were directly below Yun Qing’s floor, so he could hear their conversation clearly even without using his divine sense. It turned out that this man was the male protagonist Shen Lian. He certainly had the substance of a male protagonist. Leaving everything else aside, his looks alone put him leagues above everyone else.
He was around 185 centimeters tall, with handsome features and sharply chiseled lines that gave him an even more imposing air. With a muscular build and that bearing, he easily attracted romantic attention.
Just like now, another woman was gazing at him with infatuation, without bothering to hide it.
Oh my, this is interesting.
Yun Qing watched them but had no intention of meeting these people. It came back to the same thing: he could not afford to cross them. Although he did not know why these people had appeared here, who knew whether it was the power of the plot?
Suddenly, Yun Qing heard Zhou Yao conversing with a string of electronic sounds.
“System, can we really find the Energy Source this time?”
“Rest assured, Host. We can definitely find it. Only after finding the Energy Source can I repair my program.”
Yun Qing was startled. Zhou Yao actually had a System? The discovery frightened him. So this kind of thing really existed!
Having been frightened, he did not even dare bring his divine sense near these people. Who knew what methods this System possessed?
The conversation continued.
“System, what functions will you have after your program is repaired?”
“There will be many. There will be an exchange shop. As long as you have points, you can exchange them for anything. I can also help you monitor other people, allowing you to easily learn their every move.
Most importantly, once I’m repaired, I’ll be able to travel through time and space and take you to other worlds for some fun. We can go wherever we want!”
The System said arrogantly.
“Other worlds? Are there many worlds like this?” Zhou Yao asked, a gleam flashing through her eyes.
“Many. There are three thousand worlds, containing everything imaginable. Three thousand is only an approximate figure, not an exact count. There are great worlds, middle worlds, and Small Worlds. As long as the Soul does not perish, one can become Immortal.”
“Really? One can become Immortal?”
“Yes. When have I ever lied to you? Unfortunately, my program is damaged right now, so I can do nothing. I can only keep you company and chat with you.
It would have been wonderful if we had taken that blind date’s Jade Token back then. It was the purest Energy Source, and it could even have opened up a Space for you. Who would have thought that person would run away? It makes me furious!”
The System said angrily.
“Yes. I heard he quit because something happened at his hometown. System, do you think he noticed something?” Zhou Yao asked.
“He shouldn’t have. We communicate through consciousness, so no one can know of my existence unless they are a high-level Psychic Ability user. But people like that simply do not exist.
Mental abilities are already extremely difficult to Awaken. Among ability users, such people are one in a hundred thousand, and advancing to a higher level is even more difficult. Unless they encounter a fortuitous opportunity, they can forget about reaching a high level in their lifetime.”