Chapter 94

Jiang Cheng had barely stepped inside her home when Mo Li slipped in through the window at almost the exact same moment.

Although Jiang Cheng and Mo Li were too far apart to communicate directly, they could still sense each other’s presence. Mo Li no longer needed to curl up in her shoulder bag and accompany her everywhere.

When Jiang Cheng was in the courtyard, she could generally sense his approximate location.

The second outbreak of the zombie virus was completely different for Jiang Cheng and Mo Li than the first had been.

Neither of them felt the slightest bit nervous.

New zombies had appeared in the residential complex, including intelligent third-generation zombies, yet Mo Li gave no warning and showed no signs of tension. This meant that, as far as Mo Li was concerned, the situation around them posed no threat.

Jiang Cheng assumed this was because there probably weren’t many zombies nearby.

That was simply how the suburbs were.

In the morning, huge crowds of people poured into the city; in the evening, huge crowds returned to the suburbs. The population traveled back and forth in mass between their homes and workplaces. During the day, the city became deserted.

Today’s outbreak had occurred before the end of the workday. In other words, the residents of the complex had listened to Jiang Cheng’s advice and hurried home in time.

But as far as the entire Science and Technology New District was concerned—or at least its residential areas—it was a ghost town.

The neighboring Jixiang Jiayuan and Yujing Xiangyuan communities probably held only a few elderly people and housewives.

Most of the younger children had died during the previous disaster, while the older ones had been at school and had not returned.

Now, compared with the zombies she was already familiar with, Jiang Cheng was more interested in the newly emerged superpowers.

With a wave of her hand, two keys appeared in her palm.

The storage space was simply too convenient. She had taken the two keys from the property management center without anyone noticing.

Not a single person had discovered what she had done.

So much had happened over the past two months.

Some things had seemed important at first, but later became insignificant and were forgotten.

The conference room was one example. Back then, everyone had possessed only limited protective gear and weapons, and no one had any experience. They had treated injuries with extreme caution and had even welded the doors shut.

Later, everyone had weapons and armor, and they had killed so many zombies that their hands ached. No one cared about the conference room anymore.

At most, there were only a few zombies inside.

By then, a few zombies were no longer worth anyone’s attention.

The appearance of third-generation zombies had indeed been unexpected, but they were merely second-generation zombies that had gained intelligence. When it rained, they knew to run home. Their combat abilities had not increased by any significant degree.

Fortunately, they had not caused any serious harm.

Another thing people had forgotten was the supplies taken from the Fifth Ring Road and locked behind the civil-defense door in the underground parking garage.

Jiang Cheng had casually asked Little Fang about them and learned that the supplies were still there. No one had touched them.

The things that had once been used to save their lives had become so unappealing after the disaster that everyone was too lazy even to look at them.

They had all eaten until they were sick of them.

After the temporary committee had naturally disbanded, the conference room and the supplies in the underground garage were considered to have been handed over to the property management office.

The property management staff would deal with the zombies, and they would manage the supplies.

The two keys Jiang Cheng had obtained using her spatial ability were the key to the civil-defense door in the underground garage and the key to the chain lock hung on the door to prevent others from getting in.

As the representative of the temporary committee, Jiang Cheng had reclaimed control of those supplies.

She put the keys back into her storage space.

The space was still too small for the keys to be of any use for the time being.

She would save them for later.

Like everyone else, Jiang Cheng spent the evening repeatedly practicing her ability. She had already tested the storage space’s limit before meeting Li Jiangbing. During her practice, she immediately pushed it to its maximum capacity and then tried to force more things inside.

For example, a roll of toilet paper.

A roll of toilet paper was naturally very light. It successfully went in, pushing the upper limit just a tiny bit further.

Then she tried another roll.

Jiang Cheng wasn’t afraid of the stabbing pain in her brain.

Something in her mind had been locked away: the memories of the world she had lived in before transmigrating.

She even wanted to know whether continually increasing the strain on her brain might shatter those chains.

Most people stopped practicing as soon as they began to suffer nosebleeds, or at most when their ears started bleeding, realizing that they were in danger.

But there were two lunatics here—Li Jiangbing and Jiang Cheng.

Mo Li suddenly raised a paw and pressed it against her, then gestured toward her face with a claw.

Jiang Cheng wiped at her face and only then discovered that even her eyes were bleeding.

She went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. The sight was rather eerie and sinister. If she went out at night to frighten people, the effect would probably be no worse than that of a zombie.

Jiang Cheng suddenly froze.

She couldn’t help wondering what connection there was between awakening a superpower and mutating into a zombie.

Both appeared to involve changes at the genetic level. The only difference was the direction in which those changes developed.

From that perspective, could one say that they were essentially no different—that they were actually the same thing?

Jiang Cheng lowered her head and washed her face.

Mo Li stood guard on the sink.

The zombies in the residential complex no longer made Mo Li nervous. Instead, the cat was more concerned about the human girl pushing her ability past its limits at such an intense pace.

Jiang Cheng dried her face with a towel. When she raised her eyes and saw Mo Li, another question occurred to her: could her storage space hold living creatures?

She reached out and placed her hand on Mo Li’s head.

Mo Li glanced upward. “?”

Jiang Cheng rubbed the top of his head.

Of course, she couldn’t use Mo Li as a test subject. What if something went wrong?

That evening, Song Jingshuo spoke with his parents on the phone.

He was lucky. Neither of them had mutated during either outbreak.

On his way home, he had called to tell them not to leave the house and to isolate in separate rooms.

His parents were business owners. They weren’t extraordinarily wealthy, but their family was comfortable and well-off.

The two of them were now semi-retired and had bought a seaside villa for their old age. Fortunately, they had been staying there during both outbreaks.

Because the villa was far from the city, shopping was inconvenient, so Mrs. Song had stocked the house with a large amount of food and household supplies.

The villa community had a very low population density, which meant there were particularly few zombies. During the first outbreak, the residents had joined forces to eliminate the zombies in the community.

The community had originally been designed for retirees. After experiencing the first zombie disaster, many of the elderly had developed a different perspective on life and had left to reunite with their surviving children.

As a result, the already sparse population had become even smaller.

When the virus broke out, the community was the ideal place to take refuge.

Especially after the previous disaster ended, Mrs. Song became even more convinced that stockpiling supplies was useful and stored even more things. She had even bought another chest freezer.

After Song Jingshuo told Mr. Song about the mass murder in Shanshui Yayuan, Mr. Song hurriedly had sturdy security bars and a reinforced security door installed at their villa.

He also purchased protective armor, riot shields, and weapons.

Strictly speaking, ordinary people could not buy riot shields or weapons under normal circumstances. They were controlled items.

But these were no longer normal times.

During the month after the first wave of the zombie disaster ended, large quantities of such equipment had circulated on the market. They were things that had been distributed to the public for use during the disaster but had never been collected afterward.

Mr. Song didn’t even need to go into the city. He could find everything he needed at markets on the outskirts.

Some of the stains on the armor hadn’t even been washed off.

The disaster had clearly already ended. Even Song Jingshuo had believed at the time that it was “over.”

But his parents were determined to buy one, and money wasn’t an issue for them. Song Jingshuo didn’t stop them.

Who would have thought the virus would erupt a second time?

During the phone call, Mr. Song kept asking, “What kind of person is this friend of yours? How could she have known in advance? Someone with connections and a background like that must be extraordinary. You need to stay close to her. That way, if anything happens, you’ll have a better chance of staying alive.”

What background or connections did Jiang Cheng have? None at all. She didn’t even have parents anymore—only a cat to whom she could entrust her feelings.

Song Jingshuo gave a vague acknowledgment.

But he couldn’t stop wondering why Jiang Cheng had been able to predict it in advance.

Everyone had definitely wanted to know today, but they had all held back from asking. There were more urgent matters to deal with, and Jiang Cheng wasn’t going anywhere.

They could ask her tomorrow.

But Song Jingshuo was in a terrible mood.

If your entire team suddenly got promoted while you alone remained at your original level, you would feel just as awful.

Song Jingshuo had always believed that, whether in intelligence, physical fitness, or mental resilience, he was outstanding among ordinary people. He was a strong person. So how had everyone else evolved together while leaving someone as exceptional as him behind?

Where had he fallen short?

His stomach began to growl, and he realized he was hungry.

Normally, he wouldn’t eat this late at night, since it would interfere with managing his figure.

But there were zombies now. Eating his fill was the first priority. He had to make sure he always had enough energy and stamina.

Song Jingshuo opened the refrigerator and decided to cook himself some noodles.

Noodles, eggs... Then he reached for the vegetables.

The bok choy was blocked by a cabbage, so he reached in to move it aside.

His fingertip touched the cabbage.

...

Song Jingshuo remained in that position for a full half minute.

He simply couldn’t believe what he had sensed.

He found it difficult to accept.

Someone as well-rounded and outstanding as him should naturally have become part of the evolved army. He should naturally have awakened a superpower.

He had actually spent the entire evening thinking about it.

Even if he couldn’t gain an obviously offensive ability like metal or fire, he should at least have a special ability such as spatial manipulation or a mental power. If all else failed, he could reluctantly accept an earth-based ability with defensive properties.

At the very least, he could settle for water, which didn’t seem to be particularly useful.

There was a reason for that, after all: water was associated with wealth. People in finance believed in that sort of thing.

Song Jingshuo picked up the cabbage and stared at it.

But no matter what, it couldn’t be wood.

Zhao Yi and Gao Yuxuan had spent the entire night muttering, “Why isn’t there a wood ability?” and “Wood is the only one missing.”

Actually, Song Jingshuo felt that “wood” was merely a term based on the theory of the Five Elements. A more direct and accurate name would be “plant ability.”

Song Jingshuo focused his mind and gathered his strength.

Without blinking, he stared at the cabbage in his hands, watching for any changes.

This was incredibly frustrating.

Song Jingshuo was the kind of person who could perform mental calculations, analyze situations, and make predictions at lightning speed. In practically one second, he had already calculated the future applications of the superpower he had just awakened.

After all, during the previous zombie disaster, everyone had nearly eaten themselves sick on canned food and desperately wanted a bite of fresh vegetables.

This did not suit his style at all!

Furious, Song Jingshuo pressed his forehead against the refrigerator door.

This superpower was worse than having none at all!

The next day, the overcast skies cleared. It was a crisp autumn day, with endless blue skies and not a cloud in sight.

Everyone still alive in the Youth Apartments came downstairs to gather in the small plaza. This included Aunt Pan, Manager Wang, Yang Xinyan, the security guard Little Fang, and the others.

Every surviving resident of the complex was there.

When Jiang Cheng appeared, everyone stared at her.

The previous day, they had first needed to eliminate the zombies and secure a space to survive, so everyone had held their questions in all night, waiting for this moment.

Sure enough, someone in the crowd couldn’t hold back and called out, “Jiang Cheng—how did you know the zombie virus was going to erupt again?”

The plaza instantly fell silent. Every eye turned toward the young woman with the little black cat perched on her shoulder.

That included Song Jingshuo, Li Jiangbing, Zhao Yi, and all the other devoted supporters and trusted followers of Jiang Cheng. None of them said a word, because they also needed to know exactly how she had found out.

This was a question Jiang Cheng had to answer.

Yet Jiang Cheng said, “I didn’t know. I just guessed.”

The crowd was silent for a moment before erupting into a buzz. Naturally, no one was willing to believe her.

“How could that possibly have been a guess?”

“Because yesterday’s situation was exactly the same as what happened on June 15,” Jiang Cheng said, raising one finger. “First, the sky was purple. Second, my head hurt terribly, as if something were about to explode.”

She looked around at everyone. “Did not a single one of you notice those two things?”

The crowd froze, looking at one another.

“Was it purple?”

“Yes, it was purple. I saw it yesterday.”

“No, I mean on June 15.”

“I don’t remember that.”

“Who remembers what happened that day? All I remember is the zombies.”

“I remember a little. I was worried it might rain that day, so I brought an umbrella. I think the sky really was purple on June 15.”

When people thought of that Saturday, June 15, what they remembered most vividly was the sudden loss of consciousness and the horrifying shock that followed upon waking.

As for the weather that day, it was blurred in their memories.

The main reason was that no one had connected the weather that day with the zombies. So even if they had seen the purple sky on June 15, their brains had classified it as irrelevant information.

People naturally forgot things like that—just as you might not remember what you were doing on this date last year.

The brain’s memory was selective.

“Does no one remember?” Jiang Cheng turned the question back on them. “My head hurt terribly on June 15. Didn’t any of you feel that? Everyone said yesterday that you did.”

Zhao Yi and Gao Yuxuan exchanged a glance. After hesitating for a moment, Zhao Yi raised his hand and said, “Yesterday, we did feel as if our heads were about to explode. But we didn’t feel that way on June 15.”

He asked, “You already had that feeling on June 15?”

The sensation of one’s head seeming ready to explode was extremely painful.

But after it did, people gained superpowers.

That was why Zhao Yi and Gao Yuxuan were so concerned about it, and why they had asked.

“Yes. I had it that time on June 15, and I paid particular attention because the sky looked so strange. I heard someone say that there might be a thunderstorm, so I went home early instead of staying in the courtyard. That’s how I survived, which is why I remember it so clearly.”

“Yesterday, I started feeling the same way from the morning onward. But I didn’t realize it immediately.”

“Only after I got off the plane and looked up at the sky did I suddenly understand. The two things that had happened on June 15 were happening again.”

“That’s it?” someone asked. “What if it was just a coincidence?”

Jiang Cheng smiled.

“If it had only been a coincidence...”

“Then it would have cost everyone half a day of work and made you all come back for nothing.”

“You would have been angry. You might have cursed me or laughed at me.”

“Jiang Cheng is crazy. She’s so desperate to become the leader that she’s making a spectacle of herself, spreading rumors and causing trouble.”

Jiang Cheng said, “I can accept all of those consequences.”

“But that’s the kind of person I am.” She remained composed, just as she had every time she made the final call in front of everyone during those six weeks. “Even if there’s a very high chance it’s merely a coincidence, I—I’m still going to issue this warning to all of you.”

“Because that’s the kind of person I am.”

“Otherwise, I wouldn’t be standing here in front of you.”