At this moment, Luo Mei truly admired Yu Yao.
After all, not just anyone could still be in the mood to read online novels under circumstances like these.
At least, she certainly didn’t have the mood for it right now.
Yu Yao, on the other hand, was still holding up the tablet, looking earnest as she continued to recommend it.
“Take a look? You’re idle anyway.”
Another slightly stronger tremor struck, nearly knocking Luo Mei off balance.
“Th-this… won’t reading novels in a situation like this make you get motion sickness?”
Yu Yao froze for a moment and actually felt that she had a point.
“Then maybe you could listen to an audiobook?”
After saying that, she carefully listened to the noisy sounds around them and felt that this suggestion wasn’t much better either.
After a brief daze, Luo Mei suddenly laughed.
Before Yu Yao could react again, Luo Mei snatched the tablet in one swift motion, crossed her legs, and struck a ready posture.
“Whatever—let’s read first and talk later!”
With that, she started flipping through it, not forgetting to take the water and bread with her other hand.
“I won’t stand on ceremony. I’ll pay you back—definitely!”
Luo Mei was someone who understood gratitude. She knew that the world had changed, and food and water would inevitably become scarce resources.
Yu Yao had not only saved her, but was now proactively offering her food and water as well. She would remember this kindness firmly and never betray it.
At the same time, Luo Mei was also very self-disciplined.
Even though she was starving, she only drank a few small sips of water and ate less than half a bun before stopping.
Twenty minutes later, she finally couldn’t hold on and put the tablet down.
“No, no, this won’t do—I’m really going to get dizzy.” Reading small text on an electronic screen in such violently shaking conditions was truly a test of endurance.
Even after enlarging the font to the maximum, it still made her feel lightheaded and dizzy.
Luckily, she hadn’t eaten much—otherwise she would’ve thrown up already.
Her face was frighteningly pale. Yu Yao knew this was because her ability was overdrawn and quickly said, “Put the shield away. You can’t sustain your ability anymore.”
“Oh right—forgot, forgot!” Luo Mei exclaimed. Having just read some apocalypse novels and gained a rough understanding of zombies and abilities, she hurriedly withdrew the shield.
The moment she did, a loud crash sounded from somewhere unknown, accompanied by several shrill, miserable screams.
Luo Mei froze slightly, a rare trace of confusion appearing on her face.
“You know… how did the world change just like that?”
Just a few days ago, she’d still been discussing with her teammates about going out to have some fun and relax together after a while.
Yet in the blink of an eye, the world had turned into something she no longer recognized.
Even Yu Yao—who had already “experienced” one apocalypse—couldn’t make sense of this question.
Maybe the world was sick, no longer able to provide a beautiful living environment for its creatures;
Maybe it was punishment for humanity’s excessive consumption of resources; maybe it was a natural disaster, maybe a man-made calamity.
In short, even after ten years in her previous life, humanity had never figured it out—and Yu Yao couldn’t figure it out either.
She could only shake her head.
“I don’t know.”
Luo Mei’s brows twitched slightly. Her fingertips tapped lightly on the tablet. After a moment, the corners of her lips slowly lifted into an excited curve.
“…This is really thrilling~”
“……”
Sure enough, a woman’s heart was like a needle at the bottom of the sea!
Impossible to guess!
Absolutely impossible!
Seeing Yu Yao’s blank, speechless expression, Luo Mei burst out laughing and continued, “The novels say zombies have crystal cores. Do you think that’s real?”
She had already put away her confusion, and her tone turned excited as well.
“Mm.” Yu Yao responded.
She took out a translucent white crystal about the size of a jujube pit from her backpack compartment and showed it to her.
“Got this from a fight yesterday.”
Luo Mei was startled. She hadn’t expected that a casual question would actually bring out the real thing.
She took the small crystal core and examined it closely, clicking her tongue in admiration.
“Gotta say, it’s pretty nice-looking. What type is this? Why is it this color—white but not quite, transparent but not fully?”
“Psychic type.”
Different types of zombies had different crystal cores in their brains.
Red was fire-type, watery blue was water-type, gold was metal-type, green was wood-type, and yellow-brown was earth-type.
Purple was lightning-type, icy blue was ice-type, cyan was wind-type.
Semi-transparent white was psychic-type, milky white was light-type, black was dark-type, and other special types were completely transparent.
Just like in many online novels, ability users can enhance their powers by absorbing crystal cores from zombie brains.
However, there are certain limitations. Elemental ability users can only absorb crystal cores of their own element, while special ability users can only absorb transparent crystal cores.
For example, a fire-type ability user can only absorb fire-type crystal cores.
Meanwhile, special ability users such as those with spatial abilities, healing abilities, strength evolution, or speed evolution can only advance by absorbing transparent crystal cores.
A psychic-type ability like Luo Mei’s, however, can absorb both psychic-type crystal cores and transparent crystal cores.
After all, psychic-type crystal cores are extremely rare, and she isn’t considered a pure elemental ability user.
Put simply, the crystal core in Luo Mei’s hand was exactly what she needed most right now.
Yu Yao had originally thought Luo Mei might grow greedy, but to her surprise, after hearing the explanation, Luo Mei merely nodded calmly and said, “So that’s what it looks like? Alright, I’ll remember it.”
With that, she was about to return the crystal core to Yu Yao, her eyes showing not a trace of greed.
Yu Yao glanced sideways and didn’t take it.
“Consider it a loan,” she said. “Take it and absorb it. It can ease your ability overdraw and also help you level up.”
A crystal core that was useless to her in exchange for someone’s gratitude.
No loss at all.
“No way! This is yours,” Luo Mei refused immediately, forcefully stuffing the crystal core back into Yu Yao’s hand.
Yu Yao held the tiny crystal core in her palm and froze for two seconds.
“Didn’t I say it’s a loan? Did I ever say I was giving it to you for free?”
“Aren’t you afraid I won’t be able to pay it back? Or that I just won’t?”
“Why don’t you try?”
“……”
Luo Mei went blank for a moment.
Yu Yao said seriously, “This crystal core is useless to me. You use it first. When you get one that I need later, just return it to me.”
With that, she once again handed the crystal core to Luo Mei.
She was a free-spirited person. Although she’d only exchanged a few words with Luo Mei, she felt quite comfortable getting along with her.
She’d treat it as making a friend.
Yu Yao’s eyes were too clear. Luo Mei stared at them for a long time and still couldn’t find even a hint of falseness.
After thinking it over, she stopped refusing. “Alright. If I get one, I’ll definitely pay you back.”
“Mm.”
Only after Yu Yao agreed did Luo Mei pick up the crystal core, hold it in her palm, and close her eyes to sense the energy within it.
Very quickly, she felt the energy inside the crystal core turn into a stream of warmth that flowed from her palm into her mind.
In an instant, her headache eased, and she could clearly feel her ability becoming much stronger.
After losing its energy, the crystal core turned into a lifeless stone. With a light touch, it crumbled into a pile of fragments.
Absorbing a crystal core for the first time, Luo Mei was overjoyed. She opened her eyes, which were filled with delight.
Not even bothering to brush the fragments off her palm, she exclaimed, “It really works!”
Yu Yao chuckled softly. “Mm.”
……
Time quietly slipped by as the two chatted back and forth.
The smell of sulfur in the air grew heavier and heavier, to the point of becoming pungent.
After noticing this, Yu Yao took two N95 masks out of her space.
She handed one to Luo Mei and said, “Put it on. It’s probably a volcanic eruption.”
With land volcanoes and undersea volcanoes erupting across the world at the same time, the resulting air pollution was extremely severe.
Under normal circumstances, this could have led to even more terrifying consequences, such as extreme cold or polar night.
But with the arrival of the apocalypse, nothing unfolded in a natural order anymore.
Extreme cold and polar night would come—but not now.
And thankfully, not now!
……
Luo Mei wrinkled her nose and sniffed, too lazy to complain further about this damned world. She said thanks, took the mask, and put it on.
Feeling that the shaking had lessened, Luo Mei stepped off the mattress and slowly stretched her body.
And so she didn’t notice Yu Yao lowering her gaze.
Yu Yao didn’t consider herself some great savior concerned with the fate of the world, yet she still couldn’t help wondering—at this moment, how many coastal cities had already been swallowed by tsunamis?
And in the end… how many people had managed to escape?