By the time Su Han finished the meeting, it was already ten o’clock that night.
“It’s so late. There’s no need to go now, is there?”
Wen Che asked uneasily.
“I already promised your sister.”
“…”
“Besides, all of my supplies are still with your sister.”
Every day, Wen Lan only gave him a portion of his supplies after he completed the baby’s prenatal reading session.
Wen Che followed along anyway.
He simply wasn’t comfortable with Su Han being alone with his sister.
The table was piled high with books, children’s storybooks, nursery rhymes, and picture books.
“Any one of them is fine.”
Wen Lan smiled.
Su Han picked up a book and began reading aloud.
Wen Che sat off to one side, watching him.
What was the difference between him reading and Su Han reading?
The moment Su Han opened his mouth, his voice flowed like silk dipped in honey.
It was low and mellow, with just the right hint of huskiness.
Here it comes…
There it is!
She could feel it!
The baby’s feedback energy became noticeably stronger.
Even Su Han, with his psychic ability, sensed the change.
Perhaps this was exactly why Wen Lan had asked him to read in the first place.
Beep. Beep.
“Time’s up. We’ll continue tomorrow.”
Although Wen Lan was reluctant for it to end, she was someone who kept her promises.
If they had agreed on a certain amount of time, then that was exactly how long it would be.
“Alright.”
Su Han didn’t press the matter.
“What kind of effect does Su Han reading actually have?”
Wen Che frowned.
Was it really just because Su Han had a pleasant voice?
He read just as seriously!
Yet his sister looked genuinely happy.
Naturally she was happy.
She was receiving the baby’s energy feedback.
“It’s because Su Han has a psychic ability. Maybe the baby can hear him directly.”
That was how Wen Lan understood it.
Perhaps the baby could hear him more clearly because his voice was carried directly through psychic energy.
“Oh, right, Captain Su.”
“What was discussed at today’s meeting?”
“The heavy rain mixed with zombie blood is causing plants to mutate.”
“So far, we’ve confirmed that not every plant mutates. Certain conditions have to be met first.”
“The vegetables currently being cultivated inside the safe zone are still unaffected.”
“All wood—element ability users have been ordered to remain inside the safe zone.”
“So Zhou Wen has to stay behind too?”
“For the time being.”
Su Han nodded.
“The safe zone hasn’t been peaceful lately. Try not to go outside unless it’s necessary.”
“Alright.”
Wood—element ability users could accelerate plant growth and cultivate crops.
The food they had recovered so far could sustain everyone for a while.
But that only solved their immediate problem.
Long—term survival depended on growing food.
“Things inside the safe zone are bound to become chaotic for a while.”
“We won’t be taking any missions for now. We’ll remain stationed inside the base.”
“The base will distribute food to us every day.”
Though…
It was only one meal a day.
“There’s one piece of good news.”
“Mutated pork is edible. It contains abnormal hormones, so eating too much over a long period can cause health problems.”
“But compared to starving…”
“It’s an acceptable trade—off.”
Wen Lan nodded.
“Even before the apocalypse, plenty of our food had questionable additives.”
“As long as it doesn’t kill you, it’s edible.”
Wen Che shook his head helplessly.
“You can’t eat that!”
“You might be fine, but what if something happens to the babies?”
He sounded just like an overprotective father.
Even though he hated the children’s biological father with all his heart.
“We’ve got enough food stored in the space to last us for years.”
When you had food in reserve, there was no reason to panic.
“What we’re really lacking now…”
“…are supplies for the babies.”
Wen Lan sighed.
Her storage space was limited.
She had stocked as much food as she possibly could.
But she hadn’t managed to collect many baby supplies.
She was carrying twins.
If she could breastfeed them, that would be fine.
But if they needed formula…
Given the current conditions…
Finding infant formula would be incredibly difficult.
Besides, baby formula only had a shelf life of around eighteen months.
Fortunately, anything stored inside her space remained frozen in time, effectively preserving it indefinitely.
“I’ll think of something.”
Wen Che frowned.
However, gathering more supplies meant venturing outside again.
“We should take advantage of the fact that my belly isn’t very big yet and collect as much as we can.”
“The safe zone has organized a large—scale expedition into the city to gather supplies.”
“But with that many people…”
“…won’t they make an enormous amount of noise?”
That could easily trigger another zombie horde.
“All the special squads will be split up and assigned to the larger expedition teams.”
“Every bit of recovered supplies will be turned over to the authorities before being redistributed.”
“Isn’t that going a little too far?”
“It’s a mandatory government order.”
“There are too many people inside the safe zone now, and supplies are critically low.”
“So every half month, the main force will head into the larger cities to gather supplies.”
At least that meant they would have some time to rest inside the safe zone between expeditions.
Of course, the special squads also had the responsibility of maintaining order within the safe zone.
Su Han explained the districts each team would patrol.
“Wang Hui, you’re injured, so you won’t need to patrol for the next few days.”
“I’m fine, Captain Su. I can do it!”
She would rather patrol outside than stay at home.
After nearly losing her life on the last mission, she hadn’t brought back much food.
Ever since returning…
Her family had done nothing but criticize her.
“Our assigned area is the eastern sector of the shantytown.”
“Shantytown District Three.”
Because the shantytown was especially chaotic, special squads had been stationed there.
“Here are your armbands.”
“Everyone, put them on.”
“Zhou Wen has been temporarily transferred to the Agricultural Research Institute.”
Temporarily…
But no one knew how long that transfer would actually last.
Once Su Han finished assigning everyone’s duties, no one raised any objections.
…
Xia Mo stared at her reflection.
The face she now wore had obviously been disfigured.
For now, all she could do was increase her strength.
Fortunately…
She knew something no one else did.
Using energy crystals by absorbing them externally was incredibly wasteful.
The best and most efficient method…
Was to swallow them whole.
Of course, those things came straight out of zombie corpses or mutated beasts.
Just thinking about it was disgusting.
That was why no one had considered eating them.
Xia Mo wanted to grow stronger.
The problem was…
She didn’t have any energy crystals.
Her current body possessed a light—element ability.
Everyone thought it was a useless power.
Hmph.
Light—element abilities were weak during the early stages.
Only in the middle and late stages would their true potential become apparent.
Besides…
Abilities were hereditary.
Xia Mo knew the relationship between herself—rather, the original Xia Mo—and Wen Lan.
If she asked Wen Lan for some energy crystals…
Wen Lan wouldn’t refuse.
“Wen Lan, do you have any yellow energy crystals?”
“I actually don’t have any yellow ones.”
“…I see.”
“My ability is too weak.”
“I just want to become stronger as quickly as possible so I won’t drag everyone down.”
“Just keep working hard.”
A strange glimmer flashed through Wen Lan’s eyes.
Even so, she didn’t reveal anything.
…
For the next several days, their patrol duty was in the eastern shantytown.
The living conditions there were even more chaotic.
It was perfectly normal for over a dozen people to sleep together on one large communal bed.
Ordinary people who hadn’t awakened abilities had to haul bricks and build the city walls.
Every day was backbreaking labor.
In return…
They received one steamed bun and a bowl of rice porridge.
Even pickled vegetables were scarce.
Some people still risked their lives sneaking outside to search for food.
Fights breaking out in the shantytown were an everyday occurrence.
Su Han worked the night shift.
Every evening at ten o’clock, he would head to Wen Lan’s room.
Naturally…
People with wandering eyes soon noticed.
Rumors began spreading throughout the safe zone.
Over the past few days, thanks to Su Han’s prenatal reading sessions, the babies’ energy feedback had become even stronger.
Not only had her storage space doubled in size…
Her perception had also become much sharper.
Whenever she focused…
Everything around her became as clear as though viewed through a super—powered magnifying glass.
She had never expected Su Han’s reading to be so effective.
Lately…
His stories even lulled her to sleep.
Still, these past two days, Su Han seemed preoccupied.
Every day, Wen Lan continued feeding a drop of her blood to both the fleeceflower root and the mutated cucumber seedling.
Two drops of blood a day meant almost nothing to someone whose vitality was as abundant as hers.
She also noticed another change.
The twins had begun dividing the energy between themselves.
One baby absorbed the fleeceflower root’s energy.
The little girl absorbed the cucumber seedling’s energy.
Both then fed that energy back into her.
Her large eyes became increasingly bright and clear.
Her skin remained perfectly hydrated and radiant.
The result was enough to make countless people envious.
After all…
Beautiful women like her had become incredibly rare in the apocalypse.
Before the apocalypse, there had been many attractive women.
Wen Lan would only have been considered beautiful in a more understated way.
But after receiving the fleeceflower root’s nourishment…
Combined with the cucumber’s natural beauty—enhancing effects…
Her skin had become so soft and delicate that it looked as though water could be squeezed from it.
When Xia Mo saw her…
A flash of jealousy passed through her eyes.
It lasted only an instant.
No one else would have noticed.
But Wen Lan’s perception was far too sharp.
She had long since realized something was wrong with Xia Mo.
Jealousy?
Could the apocalypse really change someone so completely?
So suddenly?
When they had first reunited…
Xia Mo hadn’t been like this.
Everything had changed after that fever.
Even though Xia Mo had once been her closest friend…
If she now harbored thoughts of harming her…
Wen Lan naturally kept her distance.
“I already told you! I’m not going out on missions right now. This is all the food I have!”
“If it isn’t enough, then go get a job yourselves!”
“There are jobs inside the base. At least you’ll have enough to eat!”
“Wang Hui!”
“We raised you all these years! Do you know how hard that was?”
“We’re your parents!”
“We’re almost sixty years old.”
“Are you expecting us to haul bricks?”
“Dad, Mom, I was talking about my brother.”
“He’s a grown man.”
“Just because he’s missing two fingers doesn’t mean he can’t work.”
He had only lost two fingers.
Did he really have to use his disability as an excuse every single day?
“I’m not going!”
“I don’t even have an awakened ability.”
“I can’t do manual labor.”
“I’m injured, and I’m still out patrolling!”
“Have any of you ever thought that I feel pain too?”
“This is all the food I have!”
“I’m giving it all to you!”
“Stop asking me for more!”
Wang Hui finally broke down.
She ran out of the house in tears—
—and nearly collided with Wen Lan, who had just returned.
The instant Wen Lan sensed her approach, she reacted in advance.
“Wang Hui, what’s wrong?”
“I’m fine!”
Wang Hui stubbornly ran past her.
A young man chased after her.
“I know you.”
“You’re one of my sister’s teammates, right?”
He sighed.
“My sister didn’t bring back much food this time.”
“Our family doesn’t even have enough to eat.”
“Next time…”
“Could you bring back a little more?”
Wen Lan frowned.
“Do you know your sister nearly lost her life this time?”
“And all you’re worried about is that she didn’t bring back enough food?”
“What happens in my family is none of your business!”
“You live off your brother too!”
“What right do you have to lecture me?”
Wang He didn’t buy a word she said.
He turned around and walked away.
Standing around the corner, hidden from view…
Wang Hui had heard every single word of their conversation.