Plant Ability

As he left the shack, Zhang Yi could not help glancing back. Every time he went out, he felt uneasy, afraid he would come back to find nothing but an empty shack. Even though he knew perfectly well that, because Yangyang spent almost all day hiding in the shack and the little hole behind it, hardly anyone nearby knew he had a child at home.

Preoccupied, Zhang Yi collected an entry pass at the town exit, carrying a steel rod about a meter long and as thick as a small child's arm, sharpened at one end, with a thick-backed bone cleaver tucked into his waistband. He followed the ordinary people heading out to hunt for a while, then quietly fell behind. Once he was certain no one was ahead of or behind him, he quickly turned onto a side road a little over ten minutes' walk from town. Farmland still lined both sides of the road, but all the crops had withered, exposing the dry, cracked black earth beneath. Withered black weeds and vines were everywhere, along with trees that had lost all their leaves and vitality. There was no wind, and the world was as quiet as if it had died.

The water was contaminated, plants had died out, and animals had vanished without a trace. Only hordes of living corpses remained, occupying cities and towns, roaming everywhere in search of surviving humans. Zhang Yi felt there was no hope left in this world, but he still gritted his teeth and wanted to keep himself and Yangyang alive, wanted to see Yangyang grow up.

After about half an hour along the potholed gravel road, scattered houses began to appear ahead. Everything within a five-kilometer radius of town had been swept clean. Not only were there no zombies in the nearby villages, but not a scrap of food or anything else that could be carried away had been left behind, so hardly anyone was willing to waste the time and effort coming here.

After passing several two-story houses built by the locals themselves, Zhang Yi finally stopped outside one set a little farther back. He pushed open the gate and entered a courtyard so quiet he could have heard a pin drop. A battered Xiali was parked inside. He turned back to close the gate and stood in the courtyard for a while before walking into the house.

The front of the house was faced with white tiles, while the other three sides still had bare cement walls. Three doors stood in a row on the ground floor, with the main room in the middle. The main room was a complete mess, having been searched countless times. Even the sofa had been overturned, and cushions, slippers, newspapers, and other things lay scattered everywhere. There could not have been so much as a grain of rice left to find. Zhang Yi went up the stairs at the side and finally entered the largest bedroom on the second floor.

The bedroom was just as chaotic. The wardrobe stood open, and all the wearable clothes had been taken, while things like underwear and bras had been tossed all over the floor. Because of the hot weather, however, the cotton bedding on the bed had hardly been disturbed. Dried black bloodstains remained on the floor and walls, showing that a fierce struggle had taken place here. The bathroom door was half open, revealing a white porcelain washbasin inside. Zhang Yi walked in and pulled aside the curtain separating the toilet from the bathtub. He looked at the man bundled up in ropes inside the tub, only to unexpectedly meet a pair of dark eyes.

The man's hair was somewhat disheveled, his face pale and his eyes bloodshot. Bluish stubble had sprouted on his chin, his shirt was torn and bloodstained, and his long legs were cramped awkwardly in the bathtub. He looked in very bad shape, but none of that could hide his handsome looks and sharp presence, very different from the gentle refinement Zhang Yi remembered. Still, they had only met once. How could he possibly have truly seen through the man?

"Can you talk?" Although he could see that the man's gaze was clear, Zhang Yi did not want to take any risks. Until the man personally confirmed that he had not mutated, he would not untie the ropes around him.

"You saved me?" The man was silent for a moment before speaking. His voice was a little hoarse, yet somehow sounded rather sexy.

Zhang Yi gave a noncommittal grunt, set the steel rod aside, and bent down to start undoing the ropes binding the man's whole body. When he had been a criminal investigator, the demands of solving cases had led him to study knotting techniques extensively. Any knot he tied was not only difficult for the person bound to escape from, but took considerable effort for someone else to undo as well.

"Why did you save me?" Freed, the man slowly sat up in the bathtub, rubbing his bruised, numb wrists as he asked. In times like these, saving a complete stranger could just about be understood as kindness, but saving a stranger who had already been bitten by a zombie was far too strange.

Zhang Yi picked up the steel rod again and glanced at the man when he heard the question, realizing that he no longer remembered him. That made sense. How could someone who would, without hesitation, have his chauffeur drive a stretch Maybach into a Ferrari that had illegally pulled into another lane to overtake and run a red light remember someone whose shadow might never even have been reflected in his eyes? The man had never intended to demand repayment for his kindness, but Zhang Yi could not pretend it had never happened.

"My son was almost hit by a car. You saved him," he said, brief and to the point.

The man really did not remember, so he fell silent again. Feeling that his body was no longer so stiff, he braced himself against the wall and slowly stood up in the bathtub, then stepped out. He was very tall. Zhang Yi was 180 centimeters tall, yet standing beside him, he was still several centimeters shorter.

"I'm Nan Shao." Seeing Zhang Yi head outside, the man instinctively followed him and spoke. "May I ask your name?"

"Zhang Yi," Zhang Yi answered. Noticing that the man was unsteady on his feet, he took the half piece of bran cake and the small bottle less than half full of water he had brought along out of his trouser pocket and tossed them to him.

Chapter 4: Plant Ability

Nan Shao caught them without thanking him. The man had already saved his life; owing him a little more hardly mattered. He took a sip of water and could not help frowning at its strange taste, but still took another two mouthfuls. As for the bran cake, although it scraped painfully against his throat, all he had eaten over the past several days was a slice of bread that had already grown mold. Resisting the virus last night had also used up a great deal of energy, and now he was so hungry that cold sweat beaded on his forehead and his legs trembled. He was in no position to be picky. He slowly swallowed the half piece of cake with the water. With something in his stomach, he immediately felt considerably more energetic. He had to admit that the apocalypse had made his stomach much tougher.

"Wangyang Town isn't far from here. If you have an ability, you can enter for free, but you have to participate whenever the town organizes clearing operations or group missions. If you don't have an ability, you have to pay three Corpse Crystals." Zhang Yi did not ask much about the man's circumstances. In times like these, everyone had their own misfortunes. No matter how many questions he asked, he could not help, so he might as well stay silent. Since this man had survived the zombie virus, he had presumably gained an ability. It was not that Zhang Yi did not want to take the opportunity to suggest teaming up with him, but ability users were rarely willing to team up with ordinary people. Especially since he not only had a lame leg but also had a child with him, he had not brought it up.