Chapter 113

The next day dawned bright and sunny again. It was also a Saturday.

On such a wonderful Saturday, people should have gone for a run and a picnic in the forest park, gone on a date, or gone shopping and watched a movie with friends.

However, the remaining more than 400 residents in the youth apartment complex had all gathered in the small square.

Compared with the situation more than two months ago, it was obvious that everyone was much more relaxed.

Zombies were just that. Once you got used to them, they weren't that scary.

Once they weren't scary, it was just a matter of whether you could defeat them and a matter of who would live and who would die.

Especially this time, the urban area was the hardest - hit area, and the pressure in the suburbs was much lighter.

The science and technology new district was already considered the near - suburbs, and Brother Dong's yard was in the far - suburbs.

People from Jixiang Jiayuan came over in a scattered way. It had always been like this. Their sense of organization was much worse than that of the youth apartment complex.

Now that there were only old men and women left, it was even more so.

But when you looked around and saw all these old people, it felt quite pitiful. The residents of the youth apartment complex found that they couldn't even get angry.

They could only offer them a share of the soup when they had meat, just to soothe their conscience.

Li Jiangbing was walking around with a bottle of water and asking people to smell it. "It's pure water. I refined it," he said.

He offered it to Zhao Yi and Gao Yuxuan to smell. Both of them put their noses to the bottle and sniffed hard, then nodded in approval. "There's no smell at all. It's just water."

Li Jiangbing corrected them. "It's pure water."

To be fair, he used to only control water, and he used ordinary tap water. Jiang Cheng told him to refine pure water, which he had never thought about before.

But at the moment when he really succeeded, when the "water" was separated from other substances, he felt something in his mind clear up.

Li Jiangbing knew that his superpower had advanced.

Sure enough, after refining pure water several times, when he controlled ordinary tap water again, the intensity and sensitivity had improved a lot.

He could now create a water shield with a diameter of one meter in mid - air.

However, a toothbrush thrown at it could penetrate the shield.

He, a well - built fitness coach, had actually awakened a non - combat - type superpower.

It was really a pity.

Zhao Yi wanted to take a sip.

Li Jiangbing, still with a shred of conscience, quietly put the bottle away. "I'll practice more and get purer water for you later," he said.

Then he turned to Song Jingshuo. "Come on, smell it, smell it."

Song Jingshuo didn't take the bottle. He stared at the seemingly very clean water in the bottle for a moment, then looked up. "What did you refine it from?"

He was so shrewd. Li Jiangbing replied calmly, "Just ordinary liquid."

The two of them looked at each other for a while.

Song Jingshuo and Li Jiangbing were completely different in terms of appearance, education, occupation, and personality. In peaceful times, they were almost impossible to become friends.

But now, they knew each other like the back of their hands.

Li Jiangbing looked upright and his eyes were bright.

Song Jingshuo pointed out the truth. "Urine?"

Zhao Yi/Gao Yuxuan: "......!!!"

Jiang Cheng came down and saw several boys chasing after Li Jiangbing.

Even though they were muscle - bound gym guys, they didn't run. Li Jiangbing was out of breath from running, but he still argued for himself. "It's been refined! It's pure water! Don't you understand what pure water is! You wasted your time in college!"

Finally, he was pinned to the ground and given a good rub.

The residents had gained some experience from the previous meetings. Many of them brought their own small stools, and those who didn't have stools brought magazines and sat cross - legged on them.

An old man from Jixiang Jiayuan fanned himself and said, "It reminds me of when I was a kid watching outdoor movies in my hometown..."

Zhao Yi and Gao Yuxuan pushed the property management's whiteboard to the small square and commandeered the property management's electric loudspeaker. "Ahem, hello, everyone. Please find a place to sit. Let's start."

Mo Li saw Jiang Cheng coming and jumped down from the tree onto her shoulder. Jiang Cheng reached out and stroked his little head.

Zhao Yi was the main speaker. "I guess everyone is most concerned about superpowers now. Yuxuan and I have studied for a whole day and summarized some information. Of course, since the sample size is limited, it may not be completely correct. Please judge for yourselves and feel free to add. We just hope it can be helpful to everyone."

First, he said, "I heard someone say that they awakened their superpowers last night. Is there anyone else? Raise your hands so I can see."

Seven people in the audience raised their hands, and one of them was actually an old man from Jixiang Jiayuan.

Zhao Yi asked, "Uncle, may I ask if you usually exercise?"

A resident from the youth apartment complex answered quickly, "Uncle killed zombies with us yesterday!"

The old man said proudly, "I can do eighty pull - ups in one breath. How many can you do?"

Laughter rang out, accompanied by whistles and applause.

He was a typical "park morning - exercise old man".

"I can't match you. Thank you, uncle," Zhao Yi said. "Can the other people stand up so I can have a look?"

The other six people stood up one after another, and two of them were property management security guards. Zhao Yi and Gao Yuxuan scanned them, then looked at each other and nodded.

"Okay, please sit down."

"Seeing everyone's situation, it turns out that it doesn't go beyond our speculation. I'm relieved. It means the probability that we're right has increased a little."

Then they got to the formal part.

Gao Yuxuan wrote on the whiteboard: What is my superpower?

Zhao Yi said, "Actually, rather than 'What is my superpower?', what everyone should be more concerned about is 'What kind of people or which people will have superpowers?'."

Gao Yuxuan wrote on the whiteboard again: What kind of people can have superpowers?

This was exactly what everyone was most concerned about. Why did you have superpowers while I didn't? Why did he have superpowers while I didn't?

Exactly why? Where were the differences between us?

"Through our observation and summary, superpowers are affected by many factors, but the basic condition for having superpowers is the same," Zhao Yi said.

"That is the material basis with the body as the carrier."

"We speculate that the zombie virus actually acts on everyone without discrimination. All of us have actually been infected with the zombie virus."

"This virus transforms us. Some people's transformation fails. Yes, yes, you're right. Those whose transformation fails turn into zombies."

"For the others who didn't turn into zombies, it can't be considered a failure. It can only be said that the degree of transformation or the success rate is different."

"Those with the most successful transformation show superpowers."

"Those with less successful transformation at least remain human. In fact, many people may have actually had their physiques improved, but the improvement is so slight that they haven't noticed it."

"Has anyone noticed that I'm not wearing glasses today? I've been wearing glasses since junior high school, but now I don't need them. My high - degree myopia has been cured."

"Is there anyone like me?" he asked. "If so, raise your hands."

Several voices in the crowd shouted, "Yes!", and a few people raised their hands sparsely.

Among them, there was actually an old man who said, "I noticed yesterday that I can see clearly without wearing reading glasses."

This was another piece of evidence for Zhao Yi. "See, it acts on everyone without discrimination. Regardless of gender, age."

"However," he said, "Among so many people, men, women, old and young, everyone has a different physique, so the effects are different."

"Superpowers," Zhao Yi concluded. "Only those with strong and healthy bodies can possess them."

Before anyone could start discussing, he added, "Here, the 'body' can be divided into two parts: the torso and limbs make up one part, and the brain is the other."

Gao Yuxuan drew an outline of a human figure on the whiteboard. He used a red pen to draw a circle around the part below the neck and then circled the head separately.

Li Jiangbing was a bit confused. "What does that mean?"

Gao Yuxuan waved at him impatiently. "Jiangbing, come here."

Still feeling guilty about that bottle of water, Li Jiangbing obediently went over to serve as their human model.

Zhao Yi said, "Look, everyone. Jiangbing is a typical example of someone with a strong and healthy body, referring to the torso and limbs here."

Everyone burst into laughter.

Zhao Yi continued, "And Jiancheng is also like that."

Wu Jiancheng was the building leader of Building One during the previous zombie disaster. He was a tall and sturdy man.

Zhao Yi said, "Cao Jiacai from the property management graduated from a martial arts school."

Cao Jiacai looked around proudly.

Zhao Yi continued, "That uncle just now can do 80 pull - ups. Many people in our community can't do that, right?"

The old man comforted them, "I was a soldier. You're different. You're all students who study a lot."

Zhao Yi said, "And Aunt Pan. Yesterday, Yuxuan had an arm - wrestling match with Aunt Pan and got badly beaten."

Everyone laughed even louder.

Gao Yuxuan said stubbornly with his neck stuck out, "You have no idea how strong Aunt Pan is! If you don't believe it, try it yourself!"

The laughter grew even more intense.

Aunt Pan said, "How can you who sit in the office all day compare with me who works physically every day?"

Zhao Yi patted Li Jiangbing, and Li Jiangbing went back to his seat.

Zhao Yi said, "The people I just listed prove our first point - the strength of the torso and limbs, that is, physical strength."

"However," he changed the topic, "besides them, there are also people like me and Yuxuan."

He even made self - deprecating remarks, and everyone laughed uncontrollably.

Zhao Yi usually looked like an honest homebody, but when it came to his favorite field, he could handle it with ease.

After all, he was a top student. Being a homebody didn't mean he was stupid.

This was exactly what he was going to talk about next.

"Besides us two who don't like sports, there are also some female compatriots."

"Su Yu, Zhang Lesi, and Auntie Lin, Auntie Qian."

Auntie Lin and Auntie Qian were the two wood - type superpower holders in Jixiang Jiayuan.

"I've asked. Auntie Lin and Auntie Qian both like to do square dancing and travel. Although they are older, their bodies are much better than their peers. Of course, they still can't compare with young people."

"As for Su Yu and Lesi, they are healthy, but definitely not strong. At best, they are at the same level as me and Yuxuan. So are the aunts."

"Jiangbing could probably knock all of us down with one punch. Then why can we also have superpowers?"

Zhao Yi began to reveal the mystery. "Everyone knows Lesi is an intern doctor and a postgraduate. Su Yu, may I ask what your educational background is?"

Su Yu replied, "I have a master's degree in education."

"What about Auntie Lin and Auntie Qian?"

The answer was that one was a university professor, and the other was a senior high school teacher and a special - grade teacher.

"One last example, Little Huang." Zhao Yi called Little Huang. "Little Huang, tell us which school you're from."

Little Huang said, "I'm from No. 14 Middle School. It's a key junior high school in City S. I'm in the experimental class, and my grades have always been in the top five in the grade." The smart kid had completely understood what Zhao Yi meant and voluntarily said everything that needed to be said.

Zhao Yi pointed at the whiteboard with a pen. "Our conclusion is that a basic condition for obtaining superpowers is physical condition."

"Among us, there are those who are very strong and those who are not that strong, but there is no one who is weak and frail."

"But this physical condition doesn't just refer to the strength of the torso and limbs. It's a comprehensive evaluation of both the physical body and the brain."

"If your body is strong and healthy enough, you are qualified to obtain superpowers."

"If you're not that strong but you meet the standard of being healthy, then you'll get an additional score, which is the level of your brain's development."

"Little Huang is the most typical example among us. He hasn't had his growth spurt yet and is thin, which is common for junior high school students. But his brain must be very good."

"So, you can see. He's a junior high school student who hasn't fully developed yet, but his additional score is high enough to meet the standard."

"You can be not strong, but you can't be weak."

"Now, I don't think this is a virus. I think it's evolution."

"You can be not strong enough, or you can be not smart enough. But you can't be both not strong and not smart."

"In this evolution, the weak and the inferior won't make it. Only the strong and the smart are selected."

"Perhaps this virus is a screening for humanity."