Ch 72: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

The sudden change happened too quickly, and for a moment, everyone in the room was frozen in place. It was Tang Wenjie who reacted first, swiftly stepping forward to seal the window tightly with metal, preventing the wisteria vine from attacking again.

Fortunately, the mutated wisteria didn’t seem particularly bold—it only dared to launch a sneak attack from behind. Having suffered from its failed strike, it curled up its severed tendril and slowly retracted, remaining motionless, pretending once again to be just an ordinary plant.

“Was that teleportation just now?” Qu Weiwei was in shock. She had never seen any ability like that before—so spatial ability users could teleport?

Thinking about it, though, it didn’t seem too surprising. Since it was called a spatial ability, the powers it granted naturally had to do with space—moving from one point in space to another fit perfectly within that logic. The Space Blade ability that appeared after reaching level five, despite its name, wasn’t exactly a blade—it was more like tearing apart space along with anything within it, truly embodying the phrase “ripping through the void.”

As far as Qu Weiwei knew, no other spatial ability users had discovered the ability to teleport—at least, she had never heard of it before. It was likely that Song Kaiji had unintentionally triggered it in a moment of urgency to protect Shen Qing, which had caused him to overexert himself and pass out.

Tang Wenjie was quite familiar with this phenomenon. When he had attempted to split his mental energy into sixteen different threads, he had gone through several painful episodes like this! Moreover, since Song Kaiji had never found a proper method to train his ability, suddenly pushing himself to the limit had overstimulated his mental energy, making him pass out—this was normal.

Qu Weiwei glanced at the severed half of the wisteria vine still writhing on the floor. “Tch, I didn’t expect such a powerful mutated plant to be lurking here… Ah!” She suddenly let out a sharp scream.

She had just reached out to pick up the severed vine, wanting to see if she could use it for herself. But unexpectedly, despite being cut off, it still retained some instincts. The moment she extended her hand, the vine coiled around her wrist and viciously stabbed into her veins.

The tip of the vine acted like a mouthpiece, piercing into her arm. Qu Weiwei gritted her teeth and forcibly tore it off, but it had already drained nearly half a tube of blood. The green outer layer of the vine had been stretched so thin that the red blood flowing inside was clearly visible.

“Damn it…” Qu Weiwei cursed under her breath. The sudden loss of blood drained the color from her face and lips. She instinctively wanted to ask Song Kaiji for a couple of sugar cubes to recover, but of course, Song Kaiji was still unconscious. “I underestimated this thing. This vine is stronger than it looks. If it weren’t so cowardly, I’m afraid we might not have been its match.”

Their iron mesh strategy worked well against zombies, but while it could keep zombies at bay, the gaps in the mesh were far too wide to stop a thin tendril. Shen Qing held Song Kaiji in his arms, feeling a growing sense of fear. On one hand, he realized they had become a little too arrogant after perfecting their iron cage strategy—they had never considered whether they could also defend against mutated plants or animals. On the other hand, seeing how quickly that severed vine had drained Qu Weiwei’s blood, he couldn’t help but imagine what would have happened if it had successfully ambushed him and stabbed into his neck.

Shen Qing lowered his gaze, looking at Song Kaiji’s tightly shut eyes and furrowed brows. He whispered softly, “…You saved me again.”

Even though Song Kaiji was unconscious, both he and Shen Qing weren’t crucial for the iron cage strategy. So, Tang Wenjie sealed off the library and left Shen Qing to take care of Song Kaiji while he, Qu Weiwei, and Xing Ye went out to hunt more zombies.

Tang Wenjie hadn’t forgotten about the zombies devouring crystal cores and their potential for evolution. As for the wisteria vine, it was a tricky problem—unfortunately, they didn’t have a fire-type ability user on the team; otherwise, burning it would be the best solution. With no better options, they decided to avoid it for now. Luckily, the vine was growing on the other side of the school building.

However, after three or four more rounds of zombie hunting, by the time they had nearly cleared out the school and gathered a large bag of crystal cores, Song Kaiji still hadn’t woken up.

“What’s going on?” Qu Weiwei, her face still pale from blood loss, squatted beside him, absorbed a few more crystal cores, and reached out to touch Song Kaiji’s forehead. “He feels a little hot. Could he be on the verge of leveling up?”

Thinking about it, it made sense. She and Song Kaiji had both been receiving the boss’s resources, and she had already leveled up once—he should be getting close. She just hadn’t expected it to happen under these circumstances!

Shen Qing was extremely anxious, fidgeting in place. “Maybe we should go back first. We can find a healer at the base.” He clenched his teeth and looked around the library. “Forget the books! Leave them!”

He had been sitting beside Song Kaiji for so long now. Every time he thought about how, just before collapsing, Song Kaiji had shielded him, his nose stung with emotion. Compared to Song Kaiji’s safety, what did a few books matter?

Shen Qing lowered his head, looking at Song Kaiji’s still-unconscious face, his expression locked in pain. All his life, Shen Qing had been the one standing in front of others—he had stood in front of Miao Shi, gritted his teeth and endured for himself, and even when wild boars harassed the village, he had stood at the front to protect everyone.

Now, he couldn’t even remember—had anyone ever stood in front of him like this before?

However, this wasn’t the first time Song Kaiji had protected him.

Sure, Shen Qing had recruited teammates and shown them kindness in hopes of receiving something in return—but when it actually happened, he couldn’t deny the way it stirred something inside him. And in all honesty, he felt like he hadn’t done nearly enough for Song Kaiji to deserve this level of sacrifice.

Qu Weiwei looked at Shen Qing and couldn’t help but find the situation amusing. She wasn’t too worried about Song Kaiji. She had gone through multiple ability upgrades herself and had witnessed Tang Wenjie’s awakening and the mental strain caused by splitting his spiritual power. While it was undoubtedly painful, it was never truly life-threatening. Yet, Shen Qing looked like he was on the verge of tears.

Of course, everyone’s condition was different, and it wasn’t fair to assume Song Kaiji’s experience was the same as hers. But considering he had been eating well, absorbing crystal cores properly, and wasn’t even struck by the mutated vine, he was probably in better shape than she had been.

This must be what they meant by being too concerned to think clearly. Qu Weiwei observed Shen Qing’s expression a little more closely and secretly wondered—could it be that Song Kaiji’s unspoken little crush actually had a chance?

“Alright then, let’s head back,” she suggested. Their mission had always been about fulfilling the boss’s request. Now that the boss didn’t even want the books and insisted on returning, what was there to argue about? She stood up and dusted off her clothes.

Even though she wasn’t too worried about Song Kaiji, she was a little worried about herself—if Song Kaiji ended up passing out for two days like Tang Wenjie once did, wouldn’t she starve? All their food was stored in Song Kaiji’s space!

Tang Wenjie also agreed that it was better to head back quickly rather than linger in an unsafe place. That wisteria vine was still a hidden threat. It wasn’t very active during the day, but who knew what would happen at night? “Let’s stick to the same formation as before. This time, we won’t bother digging out crystal cores. Let’s get back to the car first, and then Weiwei and I can come back to finish up,” he instructed. “Boss, you and Xing Ye can help support Old Song, and Weiwei and I will take point.”

“No need,” Shen Qing shook his head. “You focus on your job—I can carry him myself.” Song Kaiji wasn’t that heavy. Shen Qing had carried wild boars and even Tang Wenjie before.

Shen Qing carefully hoisted Song Kaiji onto his back, handling him with far more care than he had ever given Tang Wenjie. If Tang Wenjie had been conscious back then and saw the difference, he would have certainly complained about the unfair treatment. Just as Shen Qing was about to stand up, he heard a weak voice from behind his neck.

“Wait… I’m fine.”

Shen Qing was overjoyed. “Song ge, you’re awake! You finally woke up!”

Song Kaiji kept his eyes shut for a moment before slowly tightening his grip on Shen Qing’s hand. “Are you alright? That vine—did it hurt you?”

After teleporting and delivering that strike, he had lost consciousness and had no idea that the wisteria vine had retreated.

Shen Qing felt his nose and eyes sting at the same time. “You’re still worried about me? How could I be hurt? You’re the one we should be worried about!”

The corners of Song Kaiji’s lips barely curled into a weak smile. Just as Qu Weiwei had guessed, he had indeed leveled up—he had broken through to the third tier. The sudden expansion of his spatial awareness and the strain of his first teleportation had caused a temporary mental overload, but now that he was awake, he was recovering quickly. “I can fit as many books as you want now.”

---

They hurried back, finally reaching the base before dark. Song Kaiji settled Xing Ye’s payment for the day, leaving the man absolutely thrilled.

More than the paycheck, what really excited him was the massive haul he had personally collected. With that iron mesh strategy, their team had managed to take down dozens of zombies each time. Xing Ye alone had probably killed at least a hundred today, and all those crystal cores were now his!

“If you ever need me again, just let me know! I swear, I won’t breathe a word about what I saw today!” Xing Ye hesitated for a moment before asking, “If I wanted to join your team, do you think there’s a chance?”

For an ordinary person like him, the iron mesh strategy was too tempting to pass up. It allowed anyone to kill zombies safely, without even needing an ability.

Song Kaiji thought about it—he wasn’t sure if Shen Qing was still looking to recruit more people. “I’ll ask our boss for you.”

Just the fact that he hadn’t been outright rejected already gave Xing Ye hope. And after observing the interactions between Shen Qing and Song Kaiji all day, a sly grin crept onto his face. If Song Kaiji was the one speaking on his behalf, then surely he had a real chance. “Thanks, Old Song! I’ll be waiting for your answer.”

Back at their place, Shen Qing was still fussing over Song Kaiji. “Are you sure you’re alright? Does your head still hurt? Do you need to see a healer?”

Last time, they had called a healer for Tang Wenjie. Shen Qing felt it would be unfair not to do the same for Song Kaiji—besides, what if another treatment helped him advance even further?

“I’m fine, really.” Song Kaiji checked in with himself—now that he had leveled up, not only was his headache gone, but he actually felt stronger. “Shouldn’t you be checking out all those books we brought back? See if there’s anything useful.”

“Oh, right!” Shen Qing had nearly forgotten. Once Song Kaiji had woken up, they had, of course, taken all the books from the library—plus, they had looted the dormitories, faculty offices, and even the cafeteria. There was no food left, but plenty of pots, pans, and utensils. The school’s trays were made of metal, so Song Kaiji had collected them all to see if Mother Tang could use any; whatever she didn’t need would be reforged into more nets by Tang Wenjie.

Since Song Kaiji’s space had expanded, they could fit pretty much everything now.

Song Kaiji divided the books into separate piles and released them into the living room. Instantly, their not-so-spacious room was filled to the brim.

Shen Qing had already planned for this moment. He quickly found the copy of Three Character Classic that he had secretly slipped into the collection—the one handwritten by Tongsheng Miao.

“Huh?” Shen Qing pretended to act surprised as he picked it up and flipped through it.

Song Kaiji leaned over for a look. “Huh?”

“What are you two ‘huh’-ing about?” Qu Weiwei, sipping a large cup of hawthorn, red date, and ginger tea, was still recovering from her rough day. When she saw the book, she was stunned. “Huh? Why is there a handwritten copy? And it’s in traditional characters? What kind of high school library stocks this? Is this an antique?”

Shen Qing latched onto the keyword and pulled out the printed version of Three Character Classic they had also taken from the library. “I can barely read the traditional characters.”

“Same,” Song Kaiji admitted, flipping through it. He rubbed the pages between his fingers. “This book looks new, though—doesn’t feel like an antique. Maybe it was bought from the Special Administrative Region? They still use traditional characters there.”

“But even then, wouldn’t it be printed? Why would anyone handwrite it?” Qu Weiwei found it fascinating. “Maybe it’s a real treasure! If the apocalypse hadn’t happened, this could probably sell for a fortune—maybe even count as an artifact!”

Song Kaiji scoffed. “If the apocalypse hadn’t happened, would you have been able to steal from a school library?”

Shen Qing held both versions of Three Character Classic in his hands, then randomly grabbed two more books with lots of pictures and few words—one looked like a cookbook, the other seemed to be about weaving. He wasn’t sure. He just needed to grab something as a distraction. “I’ll start with these. You can keep the rest for now—I’ll ask for more later.”

Qu Weiwei squatted down beside them. “Hey, let me pick some too. Any good novels?”

As they sifted through the books, the bedroom door suddenly creaked open. Mother Tang hesitated in the doorway, looking at Song Kaiji with an uneasy expression.

“Xiao Song, you’re back.”

“What’s wrong, Aunt Tang?” Song Kaiji turned around. “We found a lot of books, including some cookbooks. Do you want to check them out?”

Mother Tang forced a smile. “I’ll look at them later. Xiao Song… you asked me to keep an ear out for any news about your family, right? I think… I think there’s finally something.”

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