Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Bring Me Along

Up on the mountain, at the research institute…

With the zombie hound dead, the remaining two zombies were no longer a threat.

Qin Xi stepped forward without hesitation, taking them down one slash per target to resolve them quickly.

She looked down at the two zombies on the ground.

Less than twenty-four hours had passed since the outbreak of the zombie virus, yet the physical appearance of the zombies had already begun to change.

Their skin, which originally possessed the skin tone of normal humans, had turned pale and dehydrated.

The color of their fingernails was darkening as well, growing at an accelerated rate; the bloodshot red eyes from when they first mutated were beginning to fade, eventually turning pitch-black.

Qin Song walked over to stand beside Qin Xi, following her line of sight to look down at the floor as he spoke: Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

“The speed of evolution is still the same.”

It was still the same as in their past life.

In their past life, on the very first day of the apocalypse, the physical characteristics of the zombies began to show obvious transformations; starting from the third day, crystal cores would begin to form inside their heads.

At the same time, the movement speed and attack power of the zombies would increase exponentially, eventually allowing them to scale walls and leap high into the air.

By that time, if the evolutionary speed of human supernatural abilities couldn’t keep pace, surviving would become exceedingly difficult!

Qin Xi looked at the tightly shut door ahead and knocked on the door panel:

“Is anyone in there?”

Dead silence reigned inside the room. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Just as she raised her hand to knock once more, however, a cautious male voice suddenly came from within:

“Who is it?”

Qin Xi’s hand paused, and she answered immediately:

“We’re passing by. We saw zombies blocking the way here and guessed someone was inside.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the room fell quiet for a few seconds before a click sounded, and the house door swung open slowly.

To Qin Xi’s surprise, the person who stepped out of the room looked very young.

Around thirty years old, he had very fair skin, was tall and lean, wore glasses, and appeared quite refined and scholarly.

Walking to the doorway, he glanced at the two corpses on the ground, his face turning somewhat pale. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

He then raised his eyes to look at the three people at the door:

“You… come on in!”

The three entered the room.

This was an office; a leather sofa was wedged at an angle against the doorway, looking as though it had previously been used to barricade the door.

“You guys…”

The young man’s voice echoed nearby: “Where did you come from? What’s going on with those… monsters outside now?”

Qin Xi turned her head, sizing him up from head to toe.

It appeared this person hadn’t stepped outside once since the apocalypse began! Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

It was Qin Song who answered him:

“It’s the apocalypse. A zombie virus has broken out alongside torrential rain, and law and order have collapsed. We came up from the foot of the mountain to look for supplies!”

With every sentence Qin Song spoke, the refined man’s face grew a shade paler.

By the time the words ended, visible panic washed across his face.

Qin Xi stood by the door and asked him:

“Are you a staff member of this experimental base?”

The man looked over at her, nodding his head slowly:

“I’m a researcher here; my name is Li Zekai.” Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

As his words fell, his gaze swept in a circle across the three of them, finally settling on Qin Xi—who seemed to hold some standing in the team while appearing a bit easier to talk to—as he probed tentatively:

“Um, where are you heading next? Could you bring me along?”

After speaking, seemingly realizing his words were too direct, he added hurriedly:

“I won’t drag you down! I’m very strong—whatever you need me to do, I can do it.”

Qin Xi raised an eyebrow, looking at this fragile-looking man before her. Very strong?

She didn’t quite believe it, but that didn’t matter.

She genuinely needed teammates right now.

Dangers in the apocalypse mostly occurred without warning. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Before one’s supernatural ability reached Level 5, traveling alone outside was never a wise approach.

Therefore, even having lived through her past life, Qin Xi no longer planned to go about building bases or saving humanity in this life.

Yet regarding temporary team-building during the apocalypse, she wasn’t averse to it.

Having two extra people traveling together meant having an extra person to take shifts during night watch.

Otherwise, if it were just her and Qin Song, they likely wouldn’t be able to get a full night’s sleep for a long time to come!

What’s more, Li Zekai was the person designated by the system task, so she felt he was trustworthy.

And so, without overthinking, Qin Xi answered:

“We’ll likely stay up on the mountain for the next few days. You can follow along; however, I won’t be responsible for your food and drink!” Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Li Zekai was stunned!

Snapping back to his senses quickly, he agreed repeatedly:

“No need, no need! I still have some food in my dormitory, and I’ll bring it all along in a moment. Just being able to travel with you is something I’m already deeply grateful for!”

The apocalypse had come so suddenly that his mind was still somewhat bewildered; left to himself, he probably wouldn’t even dare step out the door!

In the end, he would likely starve to death here.

The moment Li Zekai uttered the word “Okay,” the system prompt rang out in Qin Xi’s mind:

[Ding—Task: Rescue Li Zekai completed. Reward: Spatial area increased by 100 sq meters.]

So completing the task required her to agree to bring Li Zekai into the team for it to count? Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Qin Xi was somewhat surprised yet relieved; thank goodness she had agreed.

Looking at the newly added open area on the spatial grassland, she couldn’t help but smile.

Then she felt the palm at her side pinched gently by someone.

Qin Xi raised her head, meeting Qin Song’s downward gaze, and raised an eyebrow at him.

Qin Song knew instantly that the system task was completed.

However, this was merely a random task; for Qin Xi, what mattered far more was the system’s upgrade task.

With that thought in mind, Qin Xi raised her head and asked Li Zekai opposite her:

“Do you know how many tomato varieties this base has in total? Besides tomatoes, are there other crops?” Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Li Zekai didn’t know why she was asking this, but thought it over and answered:

“The base currently has 189 tomato varieties in total. Aside from tomatoes, we also cultivate peppers and cucumbers, with around a hundred varieties of each as well.”

As his words fell, he looked at Qin Xi curiously:

“Though, since it’s the apocalypse now, why are you asking about this?”

He really is a researcher; his mind moves fast, catching the key point right away.

Listening to Li Zekai’s subconscious question, Qin Xi couldn’t help but soft-chuckle. Pulling a sickle out from her space—one she had retrieved from Wu Dashan’s house—she handed it to him:

“Even in the apocalypse, people still have to eat. I want to take away some seedlings of each variety.”

Li Zekai stared wide-eyed at the sickle that had materialized out of thin air in Qin Xi’s hand. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

“You… is this a supernatural ability?”

Qin Xi was somewhat surprised that he actually knew about it. She looked at Li Zekai’s hands:

“You know about it? Have you awakened one too?”

However, Li Zekai quickly waved his hands:

“No, no, I’ve read web novels—that’s how they’re all written!”

Qin Xi: “…”

Fair enough. In their past life, the names for these zombies and supernatural abilities were originally coined gradually by survivors who were constantly reading novels and watching shows!

Li Zekai reached out to take the sickle, pondering Qin Xi’s question: Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

“So, do you want mature vines that are already fruiting, or young seedlings that haven’t been transplanted yet?”

Qin Xi froze for a second, thought it over, and asked:

“Are all the young seedlings located together?”

Li Zekai nodded:

“They’re split into plots, but all within the same field.”

Qin Xi was instantly delighted; wouldn’t that make things so much easier!

So she looked at Li Zekai right away, her tone brisk and cheerful:

“Head for the seedlings first, then pick some fully ripe fruits to take along!” Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

The group quickly exited the room.

Heading downstairs together, Qin Xi and the others learned what had happened at this research base from Li Zekai’s account.

Li Zekai had only been transferred here to work a few months ago, living directly in the base dormitory.

When the zombie outbreak occurred in the dead of night, hearing the commotion made him step out of his dorm, only to witness terrifying, man-eating scenes outside.

He saw colleagues running outside, while he himself was chased upstairs by approaching zombies.

Fortunately, he was quick on his feet and hid inside an office, preventing himself from turning into a zombie!

He just hadn’t dared step out since!

After finishing his story, his mood suddenly sank: Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

“I just don’t know how my parents are doing!”