196

No matter how big and fat the sparrows on the road were, Luo Xun and team had no time to get out of the car and fight these strange animals. Their fridges and freezers were filled with a variety of frozen, dried and pickled meat. Enough to enjoy themselves for a month, so for the time being they did not have to worry about the roadside food.

They went straight to their destination, back and forth from home and both sides of the road. Occasionally also digging up useful trees and plants to transport home. It was a full 10 days of hard work.

During the time, they ran out five times, each time mostly collecting metal. The car space was also filled with a variety of dried wood. At last, a sufficient amount of metal was barely collected to renovate the new base.

The main building, garage, barn and farm were all completely covered with metal shelves after repeated refinements.

The four walls and ceilings of the basement floors were all covered with refined metal in case something tried to drill from the soil. Yan Fei increased the robustness and thickness of the tunnel walls again.

When this was done, their metal reserves had been reduced by one-third. Luo Xun had spent the past two days drawing designs, ready to change the entire building to resemble the base in the southwest with the geothermal flooring and plumbing.

Not only there, the underground planting spaces should also have temperature regulation equipment added. The original things were advanced but too complicated, once there was a problem, there would be no way to repair it. It would be better for them to change to something they would monitor and repair when needed.

Finally there was the outside open space. Luo Xun would wait until the plumbing was finished before thoroughly covering the space with metal and creating a greenhouse for fruit and flowers.

They were ready to extend the metal shed to the edge of the mutant plants after four weeks. They had previously experimented with throwing metal things next to the plants, some pieces were damaged. But once the metal stopped moving, it did not attract the plant's attention. After confirming that the things did not move on their own and were not edible, they ignored them.

This was good news for Luo Xun, they could safely use metal planks to create walls and it should be safe so long as they were thick enough to hide their presence.

These days Luo Xun and Yu Xinran scouted around the land. They did not explore the entire scope but still sifted out a dizzying number of nuclei. Who knew how many dead zombies and animals were buried after the apocalypse started?

There was enough nuclei for them to spend for a long time. For the time being, they had not continued to search deeper and gave the little girl a vacation. She and Puppy played around in the building.

Now, Luo Xun and the others rubbed their hands together for their next task – it was time to harvest all the matured rice and wheat from the southwest base.

"This is a harvester, this is a dryer and this is for tying things like straw." Luo Xun patted the two devices on the ground. "In a moment we can temporarily modify the shelf to deal with it directly."

"It's a lot easier than when we harvested last autumn!"

"There's a machine on top so that the dry food can be directly transported and the flour can be ground with the machine."

What was one of the best things about this new base? No doubt it was that there was a complete set of agricultural equipment.

Maybe the school was rich? Had special funding? Anyway, regardless of size or how many students had been there, the place was jaw-droppingly well-equipped. All available and in good condition. Although some things were inefficient but it was just right for Luo Xun's group!

"Luo Xun! There is also a press that can make noodles, let's try when we go? Anyway most of the harvest is wheat this time!" He Qiankun asked with shining eyes.

"Yeah, but don't have much cooking oil. Maybe we should return to base or find another place to collect supplies." Luo Xun added with a smile, "But we have to set aside some seeds this time. After sorting out the harvested crops, we have to open some space especially for growing grain."

Last autumn they had harvested too little rice. If not for the variety of vegetables, potatoes and corn which could be used as an alternative, their rice would have been all gone. They were also lucky hunting the rabbit, coupled with leftover bacon and dried meat, they had eaten well until now.

Now they only used one room to grow grain, around an acre of land which would provide the team with half a year of food. Setting up more would let everyone life more richly and let them sell food back at base or something.

After Luo Xun mentioned seeds, the crowd nodded excitedly with smiles. "We have to set aside more seeds to plant devil vines."

They had been able to receive satellite photos from time to time, as well as messages sent to other bases through signals. Among them, a part of their location had been shown which let them determine the distribution of mutant farmland. The area was not small and he could use it to increase the area of the land defenses.

Devil vine seedlings were not lethal and it was relatively simple to cultivate. Since it was one of their defense mechanisms, the more the better. This way, they could increase the area of underground cultivation. As long as they did not plant the vines too close to open road, even metal users passing by would not be able to find them.

"No problem, right Luo Xun, we're going to have to paint?" These days, on the one hand they were responsible for building metal shelves, protective walls, on the other hand they would paint the metal a mottled pattern of green, black and brown. It seemed to have been quite successful in hiding them from the satellites.

"Need to paint and when the grain is processed, some will focus on painting, while the others will deal with the wood...there are too many things to do." Now it was the end of the month, Luo Xun quickly added, "These days are fine, after two days if we go out then we need to see if there are any animals to hunt and freeze in the fridge."

They had almost finished the rabbit meat at home. Since they had to set aside a portion of seeds to continue growing and to grow mutant plants, they were more nervous about their food stores. Need a variety of sweet and regular potatoes, corn and other things along with meat. Eating more barbecue would solve the problem, right?

Happily harvesting grain, Li TIe and others rode the elevator to the ground floor. Then entered the buildings for storage and food processing – there was specialized equipment. Yan Fei made a metal channel in between the two buildings in case any animals appeared to make trouble.

A shower of wheat and rice were shelled. The wheat was ground into powder and the smell of grain filled the air, making the people break into smiles.

There was trouble with the noodle maker since they did not have enough fuel, Luo Xun did not bother for the moment. Xu Mei and Song Lingling cleaned out the presser and even kneaded the noodles. That night they used the remaining sheep bones to make some soup to eat. With their own grown herbs and onions, the fresh taste burst out on their tongues.

"Having machines help with harvesting this season was much easier than by hand." Everyone was busy with a lot of things every day, the two ladies did not always have the time or energy to cook. Luo Xun was the same, since all kinds of foods were already made, he had not cooked for a while.

"There's a noodle machine in the kitchen!" Song Lingling's eyes lit up. "Me and Xu Mei are not good, each time we tried they would go flat, and there isn't a cook here..."

Luo Xun could technically do it but he does not have time. After hearing her words, Luo Xun had to dampen her enthusiasm, "Even if you make buns with the machine, you need to have yeast for fermenting."

Song Lingling's face froze before turning to Xu Mei and acting like she had heard nothing, "Xu Mei, do you want to try making noodles with the machine?"

Luo Xun helplessly waved a hand, "Try tomorrow for a change in taste. Before we only had porridge or dry pasta, having soup noodles would be great."

That kind of machine could make things like instant noodles but the seasoning and taste would be different. They made pure flour, unlike some manufacturers before the end who added things to affect the taste.

197

For a group of eaters, nothing was more pleasing than a device that increased food diversity. The only thing better was naturally a bountiful harvest or a mutant animal with a lot of meat.

Luo Xun and the others were busy for two days as they processed the grains at home. The straw could be used as fuel for fire, fertilizer and other uses. At the moment it was stacked in the granary with some set aside for the kitchen. After all, they currently did not lack vines and leaves to make fertilizer.

After the food related tasks were completed, Luo Xun and company helplessly looked at the time – the month was reaching an end. They could stay at home for a few days but it was best to return soon and see the situation at the southwest base. If the team tasks were more and more difficult, they could only pause their preparations for the sake of keeping their other base.

"These days we will set up the geothermal pipes on the first floor, the rest will wait until next time. He Qiankun and Wu Xin found some places where we can grab materials." Luo Xun advised the group.

They had quite a few things to finish. He Qiankun and Wu Xin had searched the surroundings to find many possible places for materials, this combined with occasional information from satellite helped them determine the best places for resources.

Some of the locations were already marked on the map which helped determine what supplies could potentially be there, but they were not sure what with the apocalypse or if other people had already passed through. But the satellite photos could give a general idea – at least to see if the building was damaged.

Otherwise if they took a trip to those places, there may be a large number of zombies. Now that satellite footage was available, they could assess if the number of zombies in the area would pose a threat. At the very least, a zombie wave would be seen in advance.

Now that a plan had been set, all they had to do was follow. Luo Xun went with some others to move all things and clear the room so that Yan Fei could lay down the pipes according to the design. He had done it before and was familiar with the process. It took the last few days of April to finish the flooring on the first floor.

Finishing on time, they had a day to prepare some metal and rations. Luo Xun also brought some of the recently harvested leafy vegetables into the car. They did not drive their remodeled truck instead drove a few cars towards base.

"Salt and gasoline...let's go back and aim for these things."

Gasoline was something they could find outside but it would not be long before the military took control of diesel and gasoline sources. Cars outside used to have some gasoline, now they were mostly gone.

If Luo Xun wanted to get some gasoline to use, they could only exchange from the military for the time being.

"I don't know if there are any restrictions if we want to buy these things now." Yan Fei's brow wrinkled.

While they had not been searching specifically for gasoline, whenever they did find some it was too little to use. After all, they had to go out several times to collect supplies. Supplying five cars at a time with gasoline, they did not have much stock at home.

Luo Xun tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and asked, "Didn't Wang Duo find a few places that sold solar cars before the apocalypse? Let's go over when we can. We'll buy as much petrol as possible."

They could only do this, at least until they could find an alternative.

Since they were not in a hurry to go back and grab things, Luo Xun's team did not leave the new base until the 30th. After a night outside, they reached the gate at noon for registration.

There was not much in their bags and the car only had some scattered metal shelves, wooden boards and other things of little value. The people who checked the material had contemptuous expressions before letting them through.

Although they saw it from the side mirror, it was just an entrance, not a net. After driving back into base, they parked on the side of the road. Yan Fei exited the car and and lifted the flooring to reveal fresh, tender and colorful vegetables. The roof also had a layer of metal hiding most of their dry food and various crystal cores to be exchanged at base.

Luo Xun had Yan Fei ready the hiding spots before hand. No other way, if they came back to base with so many fresh vegetables, first time others might think that there were gardens in the wild. But afterwards it would be suspicious, no to mention the cores, meat and noodles they carried.

"Let's go home first and I'll call the teams who want to buy food later." The last time he contacted them, those who were interested would buy during the first few days of May.

These two days happened to be when the base released mandatory missions. Generally barring special circumstances, the vast majority of teams would be on base.

"Yeah, there were a lot of cars and people on the road today."

The weather had warmed up so the number of roadside vendors had increased. Many people were doing business – they would find a broken car, or place a tarp on the ground and display their products.

The group of people only drove three cars this time and returned to their neighborhood. Luo Xun turned the corner but before reaching the parking spot, slammed on the brakes.

*Yip* Puppy hit the back of the car seat with the sudden stop and turned to look at Luo Xun and Yan Fei with an aggrieved expression.

"What's going on?" Yan Fei asked after pausing a moment.

Luo Xun only stared and pointed a trembling finger upwards. Yan Fei looked and his pupils shrank – half of the house walls had collapsed! Exposing the silver grey metal inside...

The two men were fixed in place and looked at the house – the glass terrace and almost all of the rest were gone...It had collapsed and fell to one side of the building, leaving a pile of debris.

"Luo Xun, what's going on?" Li Tie and Wang Duo came to inquire from the back car. They had not noticed the situation above, but had green faces when they followed Luo Xun's finger.

"Oh no! How could this have happened!"

"...Even the walls on the 15th floor were broken! Who could have done this!"

"Go up and see." Luo Xun's face darkened, his hands quivered.

This was his home, a nest set up before the apocalypse. He originally thought that he would live here for a lifetime, even if they had found a new base and was ready to unofficially disband the team, he was not ready to give up the house. He could pay the rent to the base and would only return for a few days each month.

But now? His house was half torn down! If there had not been metal supports, who knew if only the floor would have remained.

Stopping the car, Yan Fei used his ability to seal the whole car in metal, see who dared attack their property!

After climbing to the 15th floor even without going further Luo Xun found that several rooms had been broken into – there was actually a big hole in the living room of 1502!

The same was true of two floors in the 16th level. Except for Li Tie's and Luo Xun's home which were okay because the metal flooring had not been removed.

Taking a deep breath, Luo Xun stood in front of his home with a dark expression. "This has gone too far! They have crossed the line!"

All the people present were indignant, there was no damage to the roof but their floor was broken into! It was enough for a fight even if nothing had been stolen!

Suddenly, Luo Xun grabbed and loaded his crossbow. The others followed and checked their own weapons.

"There are traces of people in several rooms on the 15th and 16th floors." Luo Xun had not finished when there were sounds of movement.

They looked down and saw some climbing up a ladder from the 14th floor. When the man came face to face with Luo Xun, his face colored with anger. Luo Xun sneered, "So you created this hole."

The man's expression changed again and shouted, "There are people upstairs..." At the same time he lifted a hand holding a gun!

But before he could do anything, there was a buzzing sound and the metal arrow pierced his forehead and sent the body flying.

"Tongtong."

"Ah!"

"Guys do you copy!"

"Dead, dead!"

"Not good, the people from upstairs came back..."

There was a cacophony downstairs. Luo Xun had a cold expression and did not put down his crossbow. Then he suddenly remembered that he had not shed killed another human since he had been reborn.

198

"Bomb, bomb!"

Near the Hongjong district, several loud explosions went off. The strong wind and a huge fire blew a hole into the 14th floor. People who saw and heard the noise quietly huddled in safer areas. On one hand gossiping and on the other hand, watching the action.

A loud explosion rang out and there were sounds of abilities being used from time to time. People obviously guessed that ability users were fighting, the chaos lasted about half an hour before it stopped. After ten minutes, a few cars left the neighborhood. The crowd was not sure whether the cars had anything to do with what had happened so they watched from afar.

Half an hour after the cars left the area, the crowd confirmed there was no movement before approaching the building.

In addition to the missing wall on the 16th floor, there was a large hole blasted through the 14th floor. The edges of the hole were charred black with a plume of smoke trailing upwards. Apparently the fight had not lasted long.

A man who saw the collapse suddenly pointed and shouted, "The metal in that house is gone!"

Last month, there was a rumor that the two top floors of the building were filled with food, cloth and other goods.

Some people said there were hidden crystal cores, gasoline and other materials in those homes. The more rumors spread, the more people came to watch and try their luck. Some had tried to get in from the roof and window, but they were blocked by the heavy metal. It was not until a room on the 14th floor was changed that a small group of men managed to open a hole and enter the 15th floor.

More than one team knew so they reluctantly came in together but they only saw a layer of empty rooms with nothing inside.

There people were not willing to give up and they climbed further. Unfortunately they did not find anything but then found a corner that they could not enter. Even if they forced open the door, there was a metal plate behind it. They broke down the walls but there were still thick metal plates blocking their way.

There must be treasure hidden behind the unopened room! It was regrettable that no one could get past the metal, who knew how thick the plates were?