“After this, I won’t dare to let Mom and the others go out alone. Even if they go out, they must go with Abu!” Xu Song took a deep breath, and the atmosphere inside the base changed. Due to factors such as the snowstorm surrounding the city and limited supplies in the base, everyone in the base was in a state of inexplicable worry and despair. Who knows what other unexpected events will occur in the future.
“Have you forgotten? Mom is a lightning-element ability user. You should know that there are not many elemental ability users inside the base. Among them, the lightning element users, besides the brilliant Li Wenkai we encountered last time, are hardly known by anyone.”
Currently, the base had a variety of abilities, but most of them were power-based ability users, such as speed, physical transformations, and bodily enhancements, which constituted the majority.
In addition to these, there were various elemental ability users, but their numbers were extremely limited, especially in the powerful attack categories like fire and lightning. On the contrary, there were more wind and water elemental ability users.
However, wind elemental abilities had relatively low lethality, and water abilities tended to be used for logistical support. The safest water source in the base was provided by these water elemental ability users. But this water was not meant for ordinary people; it was specifically allocated to Zone A.
The original water supply system had been completely destroyed during the major earthquake, and the water used by ordinary people in the base was the unfiltered river and well water. After bringing it back, they had to boil it several times and add water purification tablets before it could be used.
As for earth elemental abilities, they were primarily used for construction purposes. Most earth elemental ability users had been gathered into urban construction teams, accompanying the army on various missions to earn their keep.
There were also special ability categories, but they were even rarer, with most of them being like Yue Zheng and Xu Song, unknown to the public.
After returning home in the car, Xu Song’s expression relaxed. He briefly explained the chaotic situation outside to his mother, suggesting that it was better not to go out lately. His mother immediately understood, saying, “I know. Who would go wandering around in this freezing weather? Besides, there’s no shopping mall or anything for people to go to.”
At home, she had two children, two grandchildren, plus a dog to keep her company. With no physical labor to do, she could spend her days leisurely, occasionally handling firearms and electrical equipment. Life was more comfortable than before the apocalypse.
“In that case, let’s hibernate for the winter. It’s not even November yet, and the weather is already so cold. We should stay at home and keep warm,” Xu Song stretched lazily, feeling much more relaxed after returning home. As for those people outside… the base’s management wasn’t in a hurry, so there was no need for him to be either.
“Starting tomorrow, we’ll train Abu to use his wind abilities,” Yue Zheng said with a smile as he sat down on the sofa.
One advantage of having Xiao Shu at home was that heavier objects could be entrusted to it, which seemed to have no concept of fatigue. It saved them a lot of trouble— even the bullets they retrieved were moved to the “warehouse” by Xiao Shu on its own.
“Yeah! Abu’s abilities have just been awakened, and he’s not good at controlling them yet,” Xu Song remembered and perked up.
He took a piece of paper and a pen, contemplating, “Although people say that wind abilities have weak attack power and are often overshadowed by speed-type ability users, I don’t think developing them should be too difficult.” After all, they were all elemental abilities, and the wind element couldn’t be weaker than the others.
“Will Abu be able to fly?” Mo Tianyou’s little head popped up, and he rested his chin on Xu Song’s leg.
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.
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He scribbled on the paper, setting it on fire, and said, “Let’s not do it today. Let Abu rest for another day. Starting tomorrow, we’ll let him try to control the wind abilities and see how they can complement my abilities.”
Yue Zheng looked at Xu Song’s notes and nodded with a smile. “You should explain it to Tianyou first and let him control Abu to work with you.”
Everyone’s individual combat abilities were not weak, but if they could work together, it would be even more efficient. Right now, everyone’s combat methods were just taking shape, but after a careful analysis of each person’s strengths, they would soon find a direction for cooperation. At that time, it would definitely be more than just one plus one equals two.
“Roast duck is ready!” Mrs. Xu looked at the perfectly roasted duck, crispy and red in color, with a sense of pride. She pointed towards the RV, “Tell those lazy ones to come down and serve the duck!”
Xiao Shu twisted its waist and raised its roots, swiftly running towards the RV. In no time, one root lifted Tiancheng, and another root lifted Tianyou. The two children screamed and laughed while being carried, with Xu Song and Yue Zheng following behind.
“Be careful! Don’t drop them!”
Xiao Shu continued running forward until it reached Abu’s den. It gently placed the two children onto Abu’s soft fur, eliciting even louder laughter.
Mrs. Xu looked at Xu Song with a look of disdain. “They play like this every day.”
…Since when did this start? Why didn’t I know?
Yue Zheng smiled and took Xu Song’s hand, leading him to the makeshift grill.
The grill was still a product of Tiancheng’s ivy’s friendly support. The ivy had grown after being planted alongside the crystal for over a day. While other special properties hadn’t been discovered yet, it had certainly become more heat-resistant and a bit more resilient.
Now, the ivy had twisted into a “hanging stove” big enough to fit a whole roast duck. It hung a massive duck inside, with a fire burning underneath to roast it.
The aroma of the duck made everyone’s mouths water. Xiao Shu sprayed some water, extinguishing the fire in the “stove,” and then helped take out the roasted duck, placing it on a large table made from twisted ivy. Ivy was indeed quite versatile! Its plasticity was excellent, and for this reason, Xu Song and the others were reluctant to get rid of this plant.
They preferred to let it evolve slowly; speed wasn’t a concern as long as it continued to evolve.
Mrs. Xu rolled up her sleeves and began to carve the duck. She hadn’t done this before, so her movements were a bit slow, but luckily, the duck was large, making it easier to handle.
Xu Song and Yue Zheng also took knives and joined in. Surprisingly, Yue Zheng’s knife skills outshone the other two.
In no time, the massive duck was dismembered by the three of them. Xiao Shu almost had a plate on each of its roots, twisting and delivering them to the RV. Tiancheng and Tianyou also helped carry plates.
The remaining duck bones were separated, and a large pot was placed over the fire in the courtyard to make duck soup.
Abu continued to sniff around. Why did he have to wait for the duck to cool down before eating it? His heat-intolerant tongue was suffering.
The air was filled with the aromatic smell, filling the entire RV. Mrs. Xu had already prepared a pile of spring pancakes, which were now warming in a pot. The cucumber strips and green onion shreds were freshly harvested by Tiancheng today. Combined with the fragrant roast duck, it was an extremely satisfying meal.
Thinking about the fifty-nine ducks stored in the container behind them, Xu Song couldn’t help but feel that the future days were something to look forward to!
After eating their fill, drinking, washing up, and getting into bed… It seemed like these had become daily routines for some people.
They woke up early the next morning, got out of the RV, exercised for a while, and then trained Abu to use his wind elemental abilities under the supervision of Xu Song’s mother who provided cover fire. Tianyou explained to Abu how to use his abilities, manipulate them, and so on.
They had a busy day that lasted until the afternoon when Xu Song, Yue Zheng, and Xiao Shu’s crystals were fully charged once again. Afterward, they repeated the same routine as the day before.
In the darkness of the night, B City’s base finally welcomed another relatively calm night. Inside the RV in Zone G, Xu Song leaned against Yue Zheng’s chest, completely drained of energy, poking his chest with resentment, “Doing it every day… aren’t you afraid of kidney deficiency?!”
Yue Zheng didn’t seem concerned at all. He smiled and lowered his head to gently kiss Xu Song’s forehead. “No, I’m not. I’m afraid that if we do it less now, we’ll regret it when we’re too old to move.”
He gave Xu Song’s firm chest a strong poke and suddenly noticed the crystals hanging around his neck were sparkling.
“What’s happening? Why are they flashing?”
“Hmm?” Yue Zheng looked down and saw his own crystals were flashing too. He then looked at Xu Song and saw the same phenomenon.
Suddenly, a warm sensation flowed from their chests throughout their bodies, as if they had instantly immersed themselves in a warm spring…
“What… just happened?” Xu Song and Yue Zheng had the same feeling, and after recovering from the warmth, their eyes still held a hint of confusion.
“Could it be… our abilities…”
“Abilities?” Xu Song raised his hand, and a small, bright flame appeared between his index fingers. When he saw the small flame, both of them were shocked. “Upgraded?! Golden flames!”
Their abilities had upgraded, and there was no way they could sleep now.
During this sleepless time, they tried to figure out the reason for the upgrade.
“It seems that about ten sacs can upgrade us once. But as for how many we’ll need for the next upgrade… we’re not sure yet, but the requirement will definitely increase.”
Yue Zheng’s hand unconsciously slid up and down Xu Song’s back as he said, “So, after the next crystal charging session, Tiancheng and Tianyou should also level up, but it will probably take two more days to see results from Xiao Shu.”
Plant upgrades seemed to work differently from humans and animals; they appeared to evolve slowly and constantly, like a continuous process. Since Tiancheng and Tianyou were charged one cycle later than Xu Song and Yue Zheng, they would likely upgrade three days later.
“Indeed, the sacs have proven to be very useful!” Xu Song couldn’t wait to investigate the differences in his abilities, but unfortunately, it was too late in the day and too cold outside.
“Of course.” Fortunately, they had accidentally discovered the use of the sacs before, otherwise, even if they carried them around like Abu and Mother Xu, they would only absorb a minimal amount of energy.
With the help of the crystals, it took them three full days to absorb the energy from two and a half sacs.
If they didn’t have the crystals, it would take an eternity to absorb the energy from ten sacs in order to upgrade.
Pfft! Happy family eating roast duck, playing and leveling up while the apocalypse rolls on… Thanks for the update 🤣❤️🤣❤️🌳🦮🦔🦗🐝