Ch 126: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

That night, they stayed on the first floor of the mall. To ensure safety, Tang Wenjie and Qu Weiwei reinforced the main entrance, the staircase leading to the second floor, and the escalators once more. Perhaps due to the poor ventilation of the metal barriers, the zombies gradually stopped frantically pounding on the walls. The building grew much quieter, with only the occasional bored growl echoing from the upper floors.

This time, they had no intention of venturing further upstairs. Just the goods from the first floor had already filled Shen Qing’s spatial storage to capacity. After resting for over an hour and indulging in plenty of snacks and drinks, Qu Weiwei finally regained her energy. She then wandered around, helping Shen Qing decide what to take and what to leave behind.

Her judgment was much better and more experienced:

“Don’t even look at these acrylic gems; they’re worthless. Take this instead—these zircon stones look better and are much shinier!”

“Cigarettes, grab the cigarettes!”

“These are fake pearls—look, if you scratch them hard enough, the coating comes right off. And among fake pearls, these are the worst quality… Now, this one is real. Though the size is small and the quality isn’t great, look at the natural growth lines on the surface…”

“Take these! Tahitian pearls! Australian white pearls!”

“This is real crystal, but it’s not that valuable… Look at it under the light—see those black spots? The flaws are too noticeable. If you like it, just grab a couple of bracelets for fun.”

“Don’t bother with these hairpins; they’re ugly… All dark and dull-looking. These used to be sold in the bargain bins of two-yuan shops. Fine, fine, they don’t take up much space—just take these instead; they look much better.”

At first, Qu Weiwei was just casually browsing, but as she continued, she started to feel the excitement of shopping before the apocalypse. She got caught up in the thrill of a ‘zero-cost shopping spree.’ When it came to accessories, girls definitely had a better eye than guys. Before long, Qu Weiwei completely pushed Song Kaiji aside—he couldn’t even get a word in and was relegated to carrying the bags behind her.

For some items that Shen Qing liked but were too numerous to take all at once, they piled them up in an empty room, planning to have Lu Yao seal it off before they left so they could retrieve them next time.

Meanwhile, Song Kaiji also gathered a few practical supplies they could use immediately. It was getting dark, and since they were staying overnight in the mall, he picked up some flashlights, emergency lights, and candles to bring back to their makeshift camp.

Batteries were another essential—something they would absolutely need! More importantly, the likelihood of battery production resuming in the next year or two was practically zero.

Seeing how engrossed Shen Qing and the others were in picking out supplies, the rest of the group gradually joined in. After all, if they had come all this way, why not grab some souvenirs for their families? As Shen Yan and the others looked at the small trinkets in their hands, they couldn’t shake the surreal feeling that they weren’t in a post-apocalyptic survival mission but rather on a leisurely shopping trip.

It was hard to believe that such an excellent team had sent just an ordinary person—a barely adult girl—to recruit new members. Back then, many mid-to-high-level ability users had taken one look at Yu Le and dismissed her team without a second thought, opting for other groups instead. That had allowed them—low-tier ability users who were often overlooked and rejected by other teams—to get lucky and join.

Now, they were probably living far better lives than those mid-to-high-level ability users ever could.

They couldn’t quite make sense of it, but at the same time, they felt a deep sense of gratitude toward Shen Qing.

For safety, all eight of them squeezed into a single shop for the night, ensuring they could quickly respond to any emergencies.

Shen Qing contentedly took stock of the treasures that now filled his entire space. With these goods, he could finally open a “Cuihua Shop” in the county. The stock was enough to last for years, and even the alloy hairpins that Qu Weiwei dismissed as two-yuan store junk would make him a huge profit!

Qu Weiwei was also in high spirits. She had somehow found a few bottles of gel nail polish and was happily painting her nails. Hair clips, necklaces, and earrings adorned her from head to toe, making her sparkle from every angle. She had long since forgotten the fatigue of the journey. “Boss, let’s come back in a few days, and bring Bingbing and Lele along.”

Shen Qing had the same idea and nodded repeatedly. “Next week, then. As soon as the sun rises tomorrow, we’ll rush back and deal with the seed issue. Once we’re back at the base, I’ll rent a warehouse…” He also needed to make a trip back to Lantang Village. These items wouldn’t spoil, so he could store some of the cheaper ones in his county house. If he ran out of space, he’d just buy another house!

Originally, they had planned to visit the clothing wholesale market next door after leaving the small goods market, but now, having barely cleared a single floor, their storage space was already full. They had no choice but to abandon that plan.

There were just too many good things here. Shen Qing even eyed the lit candles in the shop with longing. In his world, candles were a luxury item, typically made from sheep fat. Even in the city, ordinary families mostly used oil lamps—who could afford to burn candles?

Oil lamps smelled bad and stung the eyes, but they were much cheaper than candles. As for villagers, they simply went to bed when it got dark rather than waste money on lighting.

Yet here, candles were not only molded into various shapes but even scented. Shen Qing touched them repeatedly before squeezing more space out of his storage and stuffing in two rose-shaped candles.

However, the next morning, as Shen Qing and his team prepared to return to the base quickly, they discovered that someone was already waiting for them.

Not far from the main entrance, several military jeeps were parked. As soon as Shen Qing’s group exited the mall, the people in the jeeps, knowing zombies couldn’t hear sound, honked their horns wildly to signal them.

At the front were two men, one older and one younger, both dressed in military-green uniforms. Behind them were around twenty to thirty people, wearing a variety of colors. Song Kaiji scrutinized them for a while but couldn’t immediately determine their identities. However, since they openly honked to get their attention rather than approaching stealthily, it seemed they weren’t hostile—at least they were acting aboveboard.

Still, with such a large group and no knowledge of their true strength, it wasn’t wise to make direct contact. Song Kaiji thought for a moment and had Tang Wenjie lower the metal cage to the ground, keeping it in defensive mode. Meanwhile, he pulled out a newly acquired electronic megaphone from the small goods market. After a familiar power-up jingle, Song Kaiji spoke loudly into it: “What do you want? Just say it from there!”

The other side: “…”

Qu Weiwei stared at Song Kaiji in shock. What was with these two? Shen Qing’s obsession with trinkets was one thing—at least they were pretty—but what was Song Kaiji doing with this?

“It’s fun,” Song Kaiji admitted sheepishly. “Since zombies can’t hear sound anyway, I also grabbed a little flag. Next time we go on a mission, we can wave it around like a tour group and not worry about getting lost.”

Everyone else: “…” This really was turning into a sightseeing trip!

The other group didn’t have such advanced equipment, so after a few minutes, they rolled down their car windows. Several people swiftly dispatched approaching zombies while one man leaned halfway out of the window and shouted at the top of his lungs, “We’re a search team from Red City Base, out on a mission! That metal cage of yours—how does it work? Can you help us? We’ve hit a problem!”

Fortunately, the distance wasn’t too far. After the man repeated himself two or three times, Shen Qing and his group finally made out their request.

“The officials?” Well, wasn’t this convenient? They had been trying to figure out how to connect with someone in the administration so they could hand over the seeds. They weren’t sure if this group was linked to the research institute, but it was worth testing the waters.

Besides, they were only asking about the metal cage, which wouldn’t harm their interests.

Shen Qing’s team had never kept the metal cage tactic a secret. Since returning from Zizhou, they had frequently gone on missions outside the safe zone, often encountering other ability-user squads. As long as inquiries were made in good faith, they were always willing to explain how the cage was constructed and how it worked.

In fact, they actively wanted to spread the method. If humanity as a whole mastered the metal cage tactic and used it safely to kill zombies, they might not be able to end the apocalypse, but at least zombie crystal cores wouldn’t be left unattended to mutate.

Fewer people would die.

Unfortunately, not everyone had Tang Wenjie’s talent or powerful abilities. Many people had asked about the technique, some had even tried to learn, but so far, no one had successfully replicated it.

With that in mind, Song Kaiji switched the megaphone back on. “Sure, send a few people over. No more than six!”

Even if they claimed to be from the government, there was always the chance they were lying. Letting 20-30 people approach all at once would be reckless.

Luckily, they seemed to be telling the truth. After receiving the response, they quickly withdrew into their vehicle. Soon after, one jeep slowly drove toward them while the others remained in place.

In reality, this tactic wasn’t all that complicated—it was easy to think of but hard to execute.

Tang Wenjie’s abilities were exceptionally strong, partly due to Qi Zhan helping him regulate his powers during awakening. Unlike most metal ability users, he was naturally gifted. Controlling countless strands of metal simultaneously took years of training. Most metal ability users, even after learning the method, simply couldn’t replicate it in a short time.

That was precisely why these people had come directly to Shen Qing’s team.

Shao Nan had been a deputy battalion commander in Red City’s garrison before the apocalypse and had remained in the military afterward. Due to the casualties among military personnel, his rank had risen, making him one of the more recognizable figures in Red City Base. He had been promoted to regiment commander.

Red City’s military and official government had long been at odds, mainly due to differing views on how to handle refugees. High-ranking officials had been in near-constant conflict. However, after the base had secured stable supplies of radish, cabbage, and celery seeds—and with optimistic expectations for future agricultural advancements—the government had started making small concessions.

Notably, they had begun reclaiming gold and slightly lowering entry fees. Refugee treatment had also improved somewhat.

In truth, the conflict between the military and the government was merely a matter of differing philosophies and interests. Now that resources were a bit more abundant, the government had less incentive to be harsh. The tension had eased, leading to this joint operation.

This operation was part of Red City Base’s forward-looking plan: now that food shortages weren’t as dire, they aimed to overhaul Red City Hospital. Currently, the hospital primarily relied on healing ability users. Treatments were expensive, and chronic illnesses remained largely untreatable. Many essential medicines were in critically short supply—sometimes impossible to obtain, even for those who could afford them.

With the base’s situation slightly stabilized, they decided to split the hospital into two branches. One would continue operating under healing ability users, mainly for injuries, while the other would be restored to pre-apocalypse conditions. They had already begun recruiting doctors, nurses, and medical students from the refugee camps. Those selected could bring one family member into the base for free, while two family members could enter at half the cost.

At the same time, they had dispatched search teams to recover medical equipment and supplies.

The military, having reconciled somewhat with the government, had also joined the effort. The young man, Shao Nan, represented the military, while the older man, Hou Weimin, was a mid-level government official leading the operation.

Two kilometers from the small goods market was a hospital they had been trying to enter for two days. However, it was closer to the high-speed rail station, meaning it was overrun with zombies—so densely packed that their team of 20-30 ability users simply couldn’t break through.

After an intense battle, they hadn’t even managed to enter the building and had already lost two team members, forcing them to retreat and temporarily rest in this area.

While using binoculars to observe the hospital, they had unexpectedly spotted Shen Qing’s group. The metal cage tactic made Shao Nan and Hou Weimin envious to the point of desperation.

Their team also had several metal-type ability users, so they immediately decided to replicate Shen Qing’s strategy. However, while the idea seemed simple—just a scaled-up birdcage—the reality was far more difficult. What they had assumed to be easy turned out to be impossible, even after an entire night of attempts. Left with no other choice, they stationed themselves outside the shopping mall, waiting for Shen Qing’s team to emerge.

When their vehicle approached, Qu Weiwei immediately used her metal-infused vines to enclose them, sealing off the surrounding zombies. Shao Nan and Hou Weimin were even more astonished by the metal-wrapped vines. Once the zombies within the barrier were eliminated, Tang Wenjie opened a section of the metal cage, allowing Shen Yan and the others to dig for crystal cores while Shen Qing and Song Kaiji approached the jeep, knocking on the door.

“You claim to be from the government—what proof do you have?”

Hou Weimin and Shao Nan quickly pulled out their identification. Song Kaiji examined them carefully before finally relaxing. “Apologies for the caution. It’s the apocalypse, after all; we have to be careful.” Seeing that not only were they dealing with government officials but also military personnel, which suited their interests even more, Song Kaiji’s smile grew noticeably warmer.

“Completely understandable!” Shao Nan responded. It was the apocalypse—people were unpredictable, and being cautious was the key to survival. They didn’t mind Shen Qing’s wariness. Shao Nan then explained their mission and the difficulties they had encountered at the hospital. “It’s fortunate we ran into you. We sincerely request your help. Can your metal-type ability user teach ours how to create that cage? We don’t need to clear out all the zombies in the hospital—just retrieving the necessary medical equipment and supplies from the list would be enough.”

As he spoke, Shao Nan glanced at the metal-infused vines encasing them. “This… was also done by a metal-type ability user?”

Song Kaiji shot him a glance. “No, it’s a combination of wood and metal abilities. A pure wood-type user could do it too, but the vines would be weaker and wouldn’t last as long.”

They still weren’t sure if Qu Weiwei was the only known case of a mutated ability user. Given the research institute’s track record, who knew if they’d try to capture her for experiments? It was best to keep it under wraps for now.

Tang Wenjie, on the other hand, was indeed capable of coating vines with a layer of metal, but his control wasn’t as seamless as Qu Weiwei’s. Comparatively, he was simply an exceptional metal-type ability user. It was like a classroom of students—most metal ability users would score around 60-70 on a test. Just because Tang Wenjie was scoring 100 didn’t mean he should be taken for research, right?

His ability wasn’t particularly abnormal—it was just stronger and more refined than most.

Since Shen Qing’s group had intended to build goodwill with the government and military, they readily agreed to train their metal-type ability users in constructing the metal cage.

Freshly emerged from the shopping mall, they turned right back around, this time bringing Shao Nan’s entire team with them.

The combined government and military team, including Shao Nan and Hou Weimin, consisted of 36 people, all high-level ability users. Apart from four space-type and one water-type ability user, the rest were all high-offense types—fire, lightning, metal, and earth. They hadn’t brought a single wood-type user.

“That’s not really an issue,” Tang Wenjie said. He and Qu Weiwei had previously planned to alternate shifts once their abilities leveled up further. If he could simultaneously control two different-sized metal cages, and Qu Weiwei could create two separate vine nets, they could sustain a continuous defense.

With four metal-type users in this team, their strategy became even more feasible.

However, when it came to actual training, Tang Wenjie quickly realized the difficulty. He had been controlling the metal cage for so long that he had completely forgotten how painful it was to manipulate multiple metal spikes when he first started.

He had spent days just learning how to shape a simple, decorative bracelet from metal—how could these ability users master such intricate control in a single lesson?

Two of the four government metal-type users were even at a higher ability level than Tang Wenjie. However, they were used to unleashing large, sweeping attacks, hurling metal spikes like throwing knives. Fine control was an entirely different skill, let alone controlling multiple metal strands at once.

After two hours of effort, the four metal users stared at Tang Wenjie in frustration, having achieved absolutely nothing.

Tang Wenjie: “…”

Was this really that hard? He rubbed the back of his head, suddenly recalling the time Shen Qing had asked him to shape silver bars into ingots.

His boss truly had the wisdom of a grandmaster!

“What should we do now?” Shao Nan and Hou Weimin were growing anxious. Watching their own metal users struggle fruitlessly, they couldn’t understand—why did metal behave like putty in Tang Wenjie’s hands but refuse to budge for their people?

One of the metal users scratched his head awkwardly. “It’s not that we can’t learn it at all… it’s just that this requires a lot of fine control, which is very different from what we’re used to. We need more time to practice.” He had begun to grasp Tang Wenjie’s techniques, but understanding and execution were two entirely different matters.

He had to admit, though—Tang Wenjie’s ability talent and comprehension were far superior to his own. After two hours of practice, he felt he had learned a lot and could even sense a possible breakthrough in his previously stagnant ability.

Time, though… While the base hadn’t given them a strict deadline, seeing how easily Shen Qing’s group moved in and out of the shopping mall, Shao Nan didn’t have the patience to wait for his people to slowly train! After some hesitation, he looked at Tang Wenjie, then at Shen Qing and Song Kaiji, clearly embarrassed. “It’s hard to say how long it’ll take for them to master this, and the base is waiting… Would it be possible for you to help us out, Mr. Tang and Miss Qu, by taking us into the hospital?”

Shen Qing and Song Kaiji had actually anticipated this request. They had hoped to use this mission to build stronger ties with the government and military, allowing them to introduce the seed topic and secure these people as allies.

Song Kaiji swore he hadn’t deliberately influenced Tang Wenjie to teach poorly, but seeing the four metal users fail to grasp the technique so quickly was honestly a delightful sight.

Exchanging glances with the group, Song Kaiji beamed. “Of course! We’re all from Red City Base, doing missions for the same cause. Wenjie is even a local. Contributing to our base’s development is an honor. We just finished our own task and were about to head back. We’ll take you into the hospital, and when we’re done, we can return to the base together.”

Hou Weimin gave Song Kaiji a second, more thoughtful look—this young man was sharp. Meanwhile, Shao Nan excitedly gripped Song Kaiji’s hand, momentarily speechless with gratitude.

There really were good people in this world!

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