Ch 88: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

Tang Wenjie held an orange-red crystal core the size of a grape, carefully examining it in the dim light filtering through the window. The light reflected off its surface, revealing a shimmering golden glow.

After the earlier commotion, he and Qu Weiwei had sealed every window in the two-story building. They had first reinforced them with metal, leaving only small gaps for ventilation. Then, Qu Weiwei used her ability to grow vines over those openings for additional protection.

This way, they remained safe without feeling suffocated.

The crystal core had been extracted from the mutated zombie they had just fought. Unlike the transparent cores found in ordinary zombies, this one was larger and distinctly orange-red. At first, Tang Wenjie thought it was just stained with blood, but no matter how much he washed it, the color remained unchanged.

“This really is evolution… I wonder if the base officials are aware of this yet.” Tang Wenjie sighed. It wasn’t surprising to find an evolved zombie in this place. After all, there was also a highly intelligent mutant plant lurking around, aiding zombies in hunting humans like a ghostly accomplice. With access to more prey, the zombies here were likely better fed than those elsewhere.

The others were also gathered around the mutated zombie’s corpse, studying it closely. “If more zombies evolve like this, humanity’s survival will become even harder.”

“Think about it. What’s the highest level of ability users we’ve seen so far? In other places, who knows, but Red City Base already has eighth-level ability users. So why wouldn’t zombies evolve too?”

It seemed that nature maintained an eerie balance. The world gave rise to zombies, and in response, humans developed supernatural abilities. If ability users could grow stronger, then zombies couldn’t lag behind either. There was always a balance to be maintained.

Qu Weiwei sighed in frustration and squatted down. “Why can’t fate favor us a little more?” She turned her head and saw Tang Wenjie still fixated on the crystal core. “Why don’t you absorb it and see what happens?”

At her suggestion, the ability-user couple nearby also turned their eyes toward Tang Wenjie.

A crystal core like this—rare, filled with potent energy—was something every ability user would covet. But since it was Shen Qing’s team that had killed the zombie, as hired help, they had no claim to it. They could only look on with envy.

Tang Wenjie glanced at Qu Weiwei. “Shouldn’t you be the one to absorb it?”

Technically, Qu Weiwei had the highest ability level in their team. But she shrugged. “I think you should take it first. It would benefit our team’s overall strength more.”

She had to admit, though she was two levels above Tang Wenjie, his combat prowess was far beyond ordinary. Thanks to a healer’s guidance when he first awakened his abilities, he was abnormally strong—one level for him was equivalent to two for others. If he could absorb this core and level up again, their team’s power would increase significantly.

Tang Wenjie thought it over and agreed. He didn’t hesitate, but he also wasn’t reckless. “We should wait until we get back to the base.” This was an unknown type of crystal core. If something went wrong, at least they could find a healer there.

Reluctantly, he handed the crystal core to Song Kaiji for safekeeping. It was strange—he absorbed countless transparent crystal cores every day to strengthen his abilities, yet none had ever felt this alluring. The orange-red glow, tinged with gold, seemed to exert an almost fatal attraction on him.

But Tang Wenjie had been through too much since the apocalypse. He had learned caution. The stronger the pull, the more wary he became. He forced himself to suppress his urge to absorb it immediately.

Meanwhile, Song Kaiji was lost in thought. Too many unanswered questions swirled in his mind. He had always respected Shen Qing’s privacy, never prying into his past. But this time, he couldn’t hold back anymore. Yet, with so many people around, he couldn’t ask outright.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally leaned in close to Shen Qing and grabbed his hand, intending to write in his palm to communicate silently.

But Shen Qing didn’t recognize characters. The moment he felt the unfamiliar strokes on his palm, he instinctively pulled his hand back, awkwardly rubbing it against his pants. Then, without hesitation, he grabbed Song Kaiji’s wrist and pulled him up. “Whatever you want to say, let’s talk outside.”

“Again?” Tang Wenjie looked up at them. At the moment, they were preparing to boil some hot water. They had plenty of food and drinks, but they were doing it more out of boredom—to give themselves something to do. Plus, with the cold weather, a bit of warmth wouldn’t hurt. Tang Wenjie had created a metal pot, Ge Bingbing added ice, and Sun Cheng started the fire. They worked together seamlessly.

“You two keep running outside. Can’t you just stay in here? What if you run into another zombie?” Tang Wenjie frowned. Even with the windows secured, unexpected dangers could still arise.

The two of them froze awkwardly.

Qu Weiwei elbowed Tang Wenjie. “Just focus on your hot water.” Then she turned to Shen Qing and Song Kaiji. “Don’t go too far. Keep an eye out—you don’t want that mutant plant sneaking up on you again.”

Shen Qing nodded absentmindedly, already shoving Song Kaiji toward the door.

Tang Wenjie, watching them leave, muttered in confusion, “Why’d you hit me? I was just looking out for them. This place is still unfamiliar, and if another evolved zombie shows up—”

Qu Weiwei sighed. “Didn’t you notice? Those two have… something going on. After what just happened, they probably need to talk. How could they do that with all of us standing around?”

“I know that,” Tang Wenjie replied matter-of-factly. “But I still think survival is more important.”

Now it was Qu Weiwei’s turn to be surprised. “You know? When did you figure it out?”

Tang Wenjie stirred the boiling water in the pot, his tone carrying a hint of secret smugness. “No need to guess, Old Third told me a long time ago.”

But Shen Qing and Song Kaiji clearly weren’t too worried about their safety. One wouldn’t be attacked by zombies, and the other could teleport away at any time without needing to worry about leaving someone behind.

They strolled around and once again found themselves at the stairwell. The broken glass window had already been tightly sealed with an iron plate by Tang Wenjie, but Shen Qing still had a nagging suspicion that the cunning mutant vine was lurking nearby, waiting for another opportunity to strike.

Song Kaiji hesitated for a long time before finally asking in a low voice, “I wasn’t seeing things, right? Zombies won’t attack you?” Then he quickly added, “Don’t try to fool me.”

I’m very smart.

There was an odd sense of grievance in his tone.

Shen Qing almost laughed. Earlier, when everyone was gathered around the evolved zombie’s crystal core, he had already been considering whether to tell Song Kaiji the truth. Song Kaiji had clearly noticed that zombies wouldn’t attack him, so it was inevitable that he would ask.

Shen Qing thought about it for a long time. In the end, he figured that someone who, in a life-or-death moment, chose to protect him rather than escape alone could be trusted with this secret.

After all, when he pushed Song Kaiji away, it was because he knew he wouldn’t be attacked by zombies. That was far less significant than Song Kaiji’s sincerity in refusing to abandon him.

So Shen Qing nodded and admitted easily, “You’re right, but it seems to only apply to zombies. Mutant plants still attack me.” He hadn’t encountered any mutant animals yet and had no idea what the rules were.

Song Kaiji took a deep breath. Before that mutant vine had appeared, he had actually been thinking about confessing his feelings. He had the same mindset as Qu Weiwei—this was the apocalypse. If he didn’t confess today and something happened tomorrow, wouldn’t he regret it for the rest of his life?

He wasn’t sure if Shen Qing would accept him, but he wanted to say it. If there was even a tiny chance, he wanted to take it. And even if Shen Qing didn’t immediately agree but also didn’t reject him outright, slowly building up their relationship over time would be fine too.

But then, everything changed.

If Shen Qing were simply immune to zombies, that was one thing. But as Song Kaiji sat in the corner earlier, piecing together every little thing that had happened since meeting Shen Qing, a new and even more unbelievable possibility took shape in his mind.

Song Kaiji sniffed slightly, looking even more pitiful. “Shen Qing, what I actually wanted to say just now was… I like you.”

Shen Qing’s eyes widened. He had imagined all sorts of questions and guesses Song Kaiji might have after realizing that zombies wouldn’t attack him. He had even prepared different ways to respond.

But he never expected Song Kaiji’s first words to be this.

He he he… how did it suddenly turn into this?

Shen Qing’s ears turned red. As a ger, this was the first time a man had ever confessed to him like this. It was too bold. In their village, who would ever say something so straightforward?

Besides, Shen Qing knew very well that when he had first arrived in the apocalypse, he had briefly considered finding a live-in husband for himself based on Song Kaiji’s qualities. He had even, in a moment of impulse, thought about bringing Song Kaiji back to his world.

Maybe it wasn’t the kind of romantic love shown in dramas, but Shen Qing had to admit that he had secretly considered it before, even if only in a vague, unrealistic way.

“Why are you suddenly saying something like this,” Shen Qing muttered, tugging at the hem of his clothes, unsure of what to say.

But Song Kaiji’s expression didn’t match that of someone making a confession. There was no excitement, no shyness, no anticipation of sweet happiness—only a sense of loss.

“But I probably don’t have a chance, do I?” Song Kaiji lifted his gaze and looked at Shen Qing. His voice was quiet. “Maybe this will sound ridiculous, but… you’re not from this world, are you?”

Shen Qing’s heart pounded, and his foot slipped. He nearly tumbled down the stairs.

Song Kaiji reacted quickly, catching him just in time. He moved closer, looking directly into Shen Qing’s eyes.

“Shen Qing, you came from another world.”

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