“This… This is too…” Mother Xu couldn’t help but speak up. She hugged Mo Tiancheng and Mo Tianyou tightly in her arms, wanting to cover their ears, but upon further thought, they had already heard it, so doing so would be futile.
“Tianyou, after a mutated animal dies, can you still sense them? How long does it take before you can no longer feel their presence?”
Seeing Xu Song’s question, Mo Tianyou tilted his head and pondered, “After a mutated animal dies… I can’t feel them after a short while, it’s not long, maybe… about ten seconds?”
Mo Tiancheng raised his little hand, “Me too!”
The restless Xiao Shu waved its branches and frolicked behind the sofa.
Xu Song looked at Yue Zheng and asked, “That confirms it. My sensation is different from Tianyou’s. The moment a mutated plant or animal dies, I can no longer feel them.”
“You mean…”
“Tiancheng and Tianyou are probably sensing the ‘energy’ inside the mutated organisms, while what I sense should be their ‘vitality’!”
Xu Song breathed a sigh of relief. “Suppose that after the mutation, the world is filled with a certain kind of energy, the energy in that big glass sphere. And due to certain factors, living beings can instinctively absorb and gather that energy. Some people can’t withstand the impact of that energy and spontaneously explode and die on the spot, they were the first batch of people who died without leaving a complete corpse in the post-apocalyptic era.”
“Another group of people, although they can’t bear the energy, their bodies are not as fragile as those who exploded, they died with their bodies intact, so most of them directly turned into zombies after death. Judging from the ratio, the number of zombies is far greater than those who exploded.” Xu Song paused for a moment and took a deep breath.
“And then there are the survivors. The surviving humans and other living beings. Judging from the ratio, the vast majority of people did not develop superpowers due to the mutation. Only a small number of people, after surviving, were able to awaken their superpowers due to that unknown energy. These are the so-called superhumans we have now.”
“Let’s put aside human matters for now and talk about the mutation of plants and animals. The mutation of plants and animals is different from humans. The majority of them have undergone mutations, and the result of the mutation is what we see now, most of the mutated animals have changes in their appearance. Enormous size, giant mutated plants and animals. These creatures should store a certain amount of special energy in their bodies, and after they die, that energy dissipates into the air, invisible and intangible. But we can vaguely sense it because we have the crystal shards.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“And the animals and plants that have undergone mutation and also possess superpowers…” Xu Song picked up the peculiar package with faint blue flowing light that Yue Zheng had just taken out from the pig’s head. “The energy inside their bodies is even more abundant, to the point of forming something like this.”
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“But… didn’t you say that ordinary mutated animals also have this kind of energy? Why couldn’t those researchers figure it out?” Mother Xu couldn’t fully accept the idea of eating human flesh. If it was a matter of survival, completely devoid of food, and they had no choice but to eat human flesh, although she still couldn’t fully accept it, she could at least understand it. But those researchers actually forced their subjects to eat human flesh?!
“Because the energy inside mutated plants and animals dissipates too quickly… or at least faster than the energy inside superhumans. And the energy inside human bodies probably dissipates quickly as well, to the point that it needs to be consumed immediately.”
“Otherwise, how would Liu Shishi and the others know they were eating human flesh? Those researchers wouldn’t have processed it in a way that hides the true nature and made them eat it, just to keep their test subjects emotionally stable, would they?”
Yue Zheng silently nodded. Xu Song’s analysis was logical and reasonable.
“Now, I suspect that consuming this thing can also trigger superpowers. However, it could also cause ordinary people to explode and die on the spot, just like those people who died when the apocalypse first arrived. Wang An also mentioned that among those who ate human flesh, some people exploded and died instantly.”
Suddenly, Mother Xu exclaimed, “I remember! In the base, there were people who exploded and died after eating the flesh of mutated animals! But because it was a minority, although there were rumors that it was caused by mutated animals, there was no way to confirm it…”
Xu Song nodded knowingly, “I recall now. Back then, the original people on this RV said that eating mutated plants could be lethal. I suspect that those who ate freshly picked mutated plants, unlike mutated animals, which have to be cooked before consuming, might not have given enough time for the energy inside to dissipate.”
Mother Xu slapped her palm, saying, “Exactly! They also mentioned in the base that when eating mutated plants, they must be thoroughly cooked… According to what you said, ordinary people like me should avoid eating fresh mutated plants and animals to prevent them from exploding, right?”
Xu Song thought for a moment and frowned, “I suspect… Actually, all the survivors, including superhumans and mutated animals, have already been impacted or even transformed by this energy.”
He looked at his mother and asked, “Have you noticed any differences between yourself now and before the apocalypse?”
Mother Xu rolled her eyes, “I feel stronger, but it must be tiring.”
Xu Song was speechless. The calm and rationality he had during his analysis disappeared instantly. Yue Zheng smiled and patted his shoulder, saying to Mother Xu, “Let’s thoroughly process the food before eating it from now on.”
Mother Xu was about to nod when her expression suddenly changed. “The fruits grown by Tiancheng… I usually just wash them and eat them directly…”
Unlike animals, even after being picked, plants still retain their vitality. Mother Xu had been consuming them without any problems. Could it be that her body had already adapted to the concentration of the energy?
Xu Song concluded, “In any case, when we eat food, we should let it sit for a while before consuming it, especially you, Mom.”
Mother Xu sighed, “So you’re saying you guys eat fresh food, and I eat the leftovers!”
“Mom, that’s not what I meant…”
The wind howled outside the vehicle, and even inside the well-sealed motorhome, they could hear the terrifying sound. Xu Song rubbed his arms, wrapped himself in a blanket, and squeezed towards the middle of the bed, waiting for Yue Zheng, the natural and unpolluted human furnace, to come over.
“I checked the wolf skin, and luckily the ivy tied it tightly, so there shouldn’t be any issues.” Tonight, the wind outside was strong, and Yue Zheng was worried that the wolf skin left outside might be damaged, so he went to check on it.
He still had a chill on his body, and after crawling into the bed, he made Xu Song involuntarily take in a cold breath, he was waiting for warmth, but he ended up with a big ice cube, colder than himself!
Hearing his inhaling sound, Yue Zheng smiled and moved back a bit, but was immediately pounced on by someone. If he was cold, then let it be, he would warm up soon.
“It’s only mid-October, and it’s already this cold. I wonder if this winter will be colder than previous years.” Xu Song buried his head in Yue Zheng’s chest, his voice muffled.
Yue Zheng stroked his hair and let out a comfortable breath. The warmth in his arms dispelled the coldness he had picked up earlier. “Hard to say, but I think it might be colder. We just don’t know how long it will last.”
“Yeah, maybe the winter will be longer than usual… Should we prepare in advance?” Xu Song suggested.
Yue Zheng furrowed his brow, pondering for a moment. “Let’s rent another piece of land when we go back. I remember there are unused spaces adjacent to both sides.” Most Chinese people preferred to live in houses rather than open-air tents.
“Right, otherwise, we won’t have a place to put the shipping container… If the winter is indeed longer and we might not be able to go out for missions, let’s stock up on supplies and store them in the container! We should gather more things before it completely snows. We have plenty of mutant crops, so we can stew more meat for Abu.”
Yue Zheng nodded, also contemplating in his mind. By doing so, they could save the meat for later, and when they returned to the base, Abu’s meals could be improved. After all, the quantity of mutated crops that could be grown was much greater than before the apocalypse. They could cook more of it for him.
The two leaned against each other, planning various preparations for the future. Gradually, Xu Song’s voice became softer until he fell asleep completely.
Yue Zheng’s hand rested on Xu Song’s shoulder and neck, and he felt a slight itch from his unconscious breath. He suddenly felt that they might have eaten too much wolf meat tonight… It would be a shame. Tomorrow, he should save some more wolf meat in the refrigerator. There were still plenty of prey left, so he could let Abu have those!
The next morning, as soon as Xu Song went downstairs, he heard his mother’s astonished voice, “There’s frost on the windows!”
The north wind was strong last night, and Xu Song and the others had turned on the air conditioning inside the vehicle, so they had no idea how cold it was outside until now. They finally witnessed the power of the north wind!
Cuddled up in a ball and using his fur to keep warm, Abu had already woken up and was shaking off the ice shards on his body. Small fragments of ice were scattered all over the ground.
The group got out of the vehicle, ready for their morning exercise, but Xu Song unexpectedly discovered, “Ah! The prey we caught last night is all frozen!!”
They had planned to turn those into dried jerky, but after just one night, they turned into frozen meat!
“Well, this is not bad. Cover them with something so that the sun doesn’t directly hit them. They won’t thaw during the day.” Mother Xu waved her hand, and Xu Song and Yue Zheng quickly brought the wolf skins they had left out overnight and covered the prey with them.
Giant freezer on wheels…hahaha! Thanks for the update 🤣❤️🤣❤️🌳🦮🦗🦔
😂😂😂
Thank you for the chapter!❤️♥️❤️♥️❤️♥️❤️
Thanks for the chapter 💖