Full mobilization, a new superpower!

Two days later.

The temperature had climbed back to ten degrees above freezing. The gray mist hidden in the water, the culprit behind the apocalypse, had vanished without a trace.

In its place was a faint, lingering stench.

With no water to flush toilets, the sewers had largely fallen into disuse.

The surviving residents could only toss their waste out from high above.

Plastic bags hit the ground, splattering in circles.

But not everyone did things that way.

A few gentlemen chose to reduce plastic pollution by sticking their asses out and spraying directly.

If any neighbors downstairs were still alive, they tacitly chose to throw their bags upward.

Then there were the gutted zombies and the bodies of residents who had killed themselves.

The world had become one enormous toilet and morgue.

That small glimpse alone showed how vicious the apocalypse was!

Over those two days, Su Jin moved constantly between buildings, avoiding Strawberry Tower and hunting zombies.

The three members of the Fu Family, along with Cheng Du and Sister Liu, followed behind and watched Su Jin work.

First, it was preparation, helping these ordinary people who had never experienced a fight to the death adapt and become desensitized as quickly as possible.

Second, bringing them along meant they could carry more supplies.

After all, the occupants of many apartments were gone, and their supplies needed to be gathered and redistributed.

Third, they numbered and registered the surviving residents who seemed, for the moment, to be fine.

Cheng Du and Sister Liu were originally still under observation, but on closer consideration, there was really nothing left to observe.

One had an abundance of supplies at home, while the other had been cautious enough to drink lubricant and urine instead, with half a cup still left at home. That was already convincing evidence.

Besides, they needed manpower now, so they could only release them early.

On the morning of the third day.

A gunshot shattered the silence of the residential complex.

Su Jin broke through a door and was met by an elderly male zombie, with a tall one behind him.

Fu Qingdai and the others watched from the doorway.

Su Jin drew the extra-long screwdriver tucked at his waist, plunged it straight into the old zombie's heart, then swept a leg out and sent him flying.

Immediately afterward, he flipped through the air and landed astride the tall zombie's shoulders.

Before he came down, Fu Qingdai tossed him a fish tank. He caught it and dropped it over the zombie's head.

He hooked his legs around the zombie's arms, pinning them down.

Reaching behind his back, Su Jin pulled out a long strip of cloth and whipped it toward one of the zombie's arms.

A few quick loops neatly wrapped up the zombie's right fist, and he repeated the process with his other hand.

He jumped off the zombie's shoulders and circled it with a few nimble movements, securing the bundles of cloth around both fists.

Finally, he took out an extremely thick dog leash and fastened it around the zombie's neck, then waved toward the door.

Fu Qingdai and the others hurried downstairs. The zombie chased after them, with Su Jin holding its leash from behind.

Once they reached the ground floor, the zombie was tied to a window security grille.

Su Jin stepped forward, put his hands on his hips, and said, "Qing Dai, you and your dad don't need to do anything else today. Stay here and practice archery! Before, you used quilts. Today, we're officially practicing on a real target, so don't get careless."

Fu Qingdai licked her lips, feeling a wave of nerves.

After watching zombies being killed over the past two days, she could just about handle the gore, but now that she had to do it herself, she still couldn't help feeling creeped out.

"Su Jin... what if the security grille falls off? What if the fish tank breaks?"

"It's fine. I've thought it all through. Give me your backpack." Su Jin beckoned to Fu Qingdai.

Fu Qingdai hurriedly took off her backpack and tossed it to him.

He caught the bag and pulled out a can of expanding foam. They had found it in the apartment of a zombie who seemed to have worked in hardware.

Su Jin held the zombie's head steady with one hand, letting its fists pound him as he injected the foam into the fish tank through a gap.

Then he took out a large bottle of glue and poured it over the fish tank on the zombie's head.

Finally, he took out a crudely made chest plate and strapped it onto the zombie.

Su Jin turned and pointed behind him. "Go up close and get used to looking at it first. Start practicing once the glue dries. If the security grille falls off and you still can't outrun it while it's dragging that grille... even I won't be able to save you."

"Fu Hu, keep holding on to the shotgun. Watch your daughter."

"Understood, Director."

Once he received that answer, Su Jin waved and led the others back into the building.

They continued knocking on doors and searching. Whenever someone answered, Zhang Wan and Sister Liu questioned and registered them from outside the door.

After a few simple questions and words of reassurance, they left supplies by the door while Su Jin stood to one side with his gun ready, guarding against any accidents.

Like the other residents, the occupant opened the door in tears and wanted to open it farther to talk. But seeing the gun pointed at them, they could only take the supplies through the gap and retreat inside.

At the doorway, Zhang Wan called out as she had before, "Keep the water bottles! Don't throw them away! We'll collect them next time and reuse them!"

The water containers were plastic bottles scavenged from the complex's trash bins. Sealed containers were best for distributing water, and at the moment, they really were rather scarce.

With one household taken care of, they moved on to the next.

This time, no one answered. Instead, they heard a zombie banging against the door.

Su Jin broke the lock and killed the targets.

Both zombies inside were brought down.

Expressionless, Su Jin picked up his knife to cut out their hearts.

He had repeated this process so many times that he had grown somewhat numb.

By now, he had become completely desensitized to gore.

He deftly cut open a zombie's chest and searched for its heart.

Su Jin's hand suddenly stopped, and his numb expression came alive.

Looking at the flesh ball he had dug out from behind the heart, he was instantly filled with wild joy!

Seeing him stop, Cheng Du hurried forward to check.

When he saw the round lump of flesh in Su Jin's hand, his eyes widened in excitement. "Director, that's the flesh ball you told us about, right?"

Honestly, after seeing Su Jin's overwhelming strength against the zombies these past two days, he had been terribly envious.

He had been told that a flesh ball was what had made Su Jin so extraordinary, and Su Jin had even promised to let him use one.

He had been longing for one ever since!

Now that he had seen it with his own eyes, he felt an even stronger urge to eat it.

"That's right. This is it!" Su Jin closed his eyes and let out a long breath.

After going so long without finding another, he had genuinely feared that the first had just been a lucky, one-off discovery.

Now, a huge weight had been lifted from his mind.

There were still so many apartments left to search. Judging by this drop rate, they definitely had a chance of finding another within three days.

With Fu Hu and Cheng Du both possessing superpowers, their chances of securing supplies from Dragon Mountain Medical University would increase dramatically.

"All right, stop staring. Get back to work."

Su Jin cut off the flesh ball, stood up, and resumed working.

Night fell, and the city sank into utter darkness, without a single light.

A zombie with its facial features sealed off and its fists wrapped into balls, looking like a humanoid Doraemon, stood tethered downstairs all alone.

The sixth-floor living room, meanwhile, was bustling.

Eight people gathered around a large table.

There were chairs, but no one sat. Everyone leaned forward, their eyes fixed on the bloody lump of flesh resting on a tissue in the center of the table.

The five candles on the table flickered under their breaths, casting a red glow that made everyone's faces look eerily flushed.

Every one of them stared wide-eyed, mouths slightly open, with faint traces of saliva moving inside.

It looked as though they were performing some cult ritual.

"Hah... Director." Cheng Du breathed heavily. "This thing looks like a tumor. Does it really do what you said?"

"This isn't an ordinary tumor. Have you ever seen a tumor on a heart? Eat it, and you'll gain miraculous power."

"Let's begin... Cheng Du, you first. Pick it up with the tissue." Su Jin signaled to Cheng Du with his eyes.

He was the only person who had ever used a flesh ball, so its safety wasn't completely certain.

He trusted Fu Hu more than Cheng Du, and he didn't dare let Fu Hu try it first.

Cheng Du hesitated, then finally reached out and lifted the tissue with the flesh ball on it.

After a brief internal struggle, he raised it toward his mouth.

The two old men wrinkled their faces into chrysanthemums, looking ready to vomit.

"Urgh... Director, it reeks of blood and rot. Pah! It stinks, but it's so tempting... can you really eat this? Is this how you ate yours?" Cheng Du's face twisted, yet was still full of anticipation.

"You're certainly eager! Who told you to eat it? Just hold it!" Su Jin snapped furiously. "Put it down! Put it down!"

With a bang, Zhang Wan had already forcibly tucked Fu Qingdai under her arm and taken her back into the bedroom.

Su Jin let out a deep breath and extended the tip of his knife toward the flesh ball.

As the blade pierced it, Su Jin's pupils widened.

He saw that enchanting rainbow glow again, and at the same time, his appetite surged once more.

Once the flesh ball was fully slit open, Su Jin flicked his knife tip, and the ball of water containing the rainbow glow dropped onto Cheng Du's wrist.

The water ball dispersed, and the colored light sank into his flesh.

Everyone else's gaze immediately shifted to Cheng Du's face.

"How do you feel?" Su Jin asked quickly.

"I... feel... a little hot..."

Before he could finish, Cheng Du's legs gave out, and he collapsed face-first onto the table.

"A little hot?" Sun Ya hurriedly asked Su Jin, "Xiao Li, were you like this back then?"

Su Jin shrugged. "I didn't feel hot at all. Let's observe him for now."

The night passed, and the sun rose.

In the darkness, Cheng Du slowly opened his eyes and immediately jumped in fright!

Seven large faces were right in front of him.

"Hah!! What are you doing?"

"How do you feel? Do you notice any unusual changes?" Su Jin asked seriously.

Cheng Du sat upright and touched his face.

"Last night... I felt like I was going to burn up!! Now it feels like there's a current of heat running around inside me."

"Can you control it?"

"Let me try. Move back a little." Cheng Du rose, trembling with excitement.

He really had changed. He might have superpowers! He could feel that power inside him clearly, as though it were instinctive.

Everyone backed away. Cheng Du raised his hands, looking as if he were holding his breath.

With a roar, flames coiled around both his arms!

"Holy shit!!" Cheng Du cried in shock.

Everyone else was stunned at the exact same moment.

"My God... this is magic." Sun Ya clutched his chest, overwhelmed by mixed emotions.

Beside him, Wei De wore much the same expression.

He could just about accept the changes to Xiao Li's strength and speed.

But now a human body was producing fire outright. What exactly had he spent his whole life studying, and would any of it still be useful?

Cheng Du continued testing his ability. The flames around his arms vanished, then he opened his mouth, and a huge fireball erupted from it with a roar.

But the recoil from this move seemed considerable. The moment he spat out the fire, Cheng Du toppled backward.

"Great Fireball Technique, huh." Su Jin's eye twitched as he hurriedly caught Cheng Du.

"That's incredible, Cheng Du. Can you shoot it out of anywhere besides your mouth? Can you fly? Even hovering would do! Experiment a little more and show me."

Looking drained, Cheng Du glanced around, then leaned close to Su Jin's ear and whispered.

"I feel like this superpower is pretty flexible... Director, I'll show you in private."