Chapter 71

Chapter 71: The Lingering Ghost

This was probably the most sumptuous meal people had after the apocalypse.

Gu Ning’s Wood-type Special Ability came in handy. Carrots as thick as forearms, under the influence of Gu Ning’s ability, grew to the size of thighs.

The various alcoholic beverages brought back were chilled with ice by Jia Daozhang.

Although there was no meat, hot meals and chilled drinks, especially in the apocalypse, were cherished by everyone.

Third Brother set up two long tables. The children were seated at a noticeably shorter table.

Amidst the lively atmosphere of clinking glasses, a faint sobbing sound suddenly emerged.

Everyone turned to look and saw an eleven or twelve-year-old boy, eating while crying.

Third Brother asked with a smile, “Kid, why are you crying while eating?”

The boy, wiping his tears, replied, “I miss my mom…”

The once cheerful children fell silent upon hearing this. These children were all brought back by soldiers, some separated from their parents, others orphaned. Having witnessed too many horrors, they were all exceptionally well-behaved. But no matter how resilient, they were still children. Eating hot meals perhaps reminded them of the past, hence the tears.

The soldiers exchanged glances, unsure how to comfort them.

Gu Mama and Huang Mengyao put down their bowls to comfort the teary-eyed child.

Gu Ning suddenly said to Third Brother, “Starting tomorrow, let them learn to use knives and guns.”

“Huh?” Third Brother was momentarily taken aback.

All the children looked over.

“Really?” The boy named Wu Sen stood up excitedly.

Gu Ning replied, “Yes. If you perform well, I’ll even give you Crystal Cores.”

“Wow! Can we become as powerful as you then?” another boy asked nervously and excitedly. They had secretly discussed the adults’ evolution and Special Abilities, filled with longing and anticipation for those mysterious Crystal Cores. They never expected Gu Ning to offer them Cores!

“What about us?” a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl with a messy ponytail asked bravely, referring to the group of little girls.

Gu Ning countered, “Are you willing to learn?”

The girl glanced at Xiang Xu sitting beside Gu Ning, her eyes filled with longing and hope. She nodded bravely, “I am willing.”

Being the oldest among the girls, she usually led the group. Her courage inspired the other girls to chime in with their willingness.

Gu Ning nodded approvingly, “Then starting tomorrow, you’ll all learn together.”

The excitement from this news quickly dispelled the children’s earlier sadness. Even the previously teary-eyed boy joined the boys’ excited discussions.

“Gu Ning, you’re amazing,” Zhang Xiaobai gave her a thumbs-up.

Third Brother, however, whispered, “Gu Ning, are you serious or just哄哄他们?”

“Of course, I’m serious,” Gu Ning replied.

Third Brother hesitated, “They’re still too young.” The oldest was only fourteen.

Gu Mama also seemed reluctant, “They’re so young. Making them learn these things might not be good for their growth.”

“Provided they can grow up,” Gu Ning said seriously. “I don’t expect them to go out and kill zombies with us, but at least they should be able to escape from zombies when we can’t protect them.”

“I agree with Gu Ning,” Zhuang Chen chimed in. “And don’t underestimate children. I could handle more than one adult by the time I was ten.”

Xiang Xu, like an adult, added, “Though they’re not as smart as me… I can teach them to be smarter.”

After dinner, it was past six, and the sky was completely dark. Zhuang Chen returned to White Wolf’s side.

Huang Mengyao threw a few Fireballs, illuminating the backyard.

Under the Fireballs’ light, everyone gathered to count the Crystal Cores obtained during the day. The colorful, translucent Cores shone brilliantly.

Though they had killed hundreds of zombies, evolved zombies were rare. They only found five colored Cores and thirteen supplementary Cores. One Core was given to Hong Jie, and the other four to soldiers who hadn’t received any last time. The Core from the mutated zombie’s head was handed to Gu Ning by Third Brother. Surprisingly, none of the five, including Hong Jie, evolved any Special Abilities this time, a disappointing contrast to the previous high success rate.

The failed soldiers were visibly disheartened. Hong Jie, though disappointed, took it in stride, “I’m old anyway, I’ll just handle your后勤 from now on.”

Jia Daozhang and others felt a bit庆幸 about their luck.

At night, Gu Ning set up beds brought from Haining Department Store in the rooms. Gu Papa and Gu Mama shared one, Hong Jie and Huang Mengyao another, and the smallest children took the third.

Other rooms, though bedless, were padded with thick quilts by Gu Ning.

The soldiers, lying on soft quilts insulating them from the cold ground, felt content.

The children, snuggled in warm, soft bedding, fell asleep with happy smiles. Only a few boys, excited about tomorrow’s training, chatted quietly, too thrilled to sleep.

Gu Ning made a bed on the floor beside her parents’ bed.

Gu Papa, lying in bed, asked, “Ning Ning, what are your plans for the future?”

Gu Ning, taken aback by the question, rested her head on her hands. Realizing she had been too busy lately to talk much with her parents, she felt a pang of guilt. Looking at the ceiling, she said, “I don’t know.”

Gu Ning was feeling lost.

Rejecting Zhuang Chen’s invitation was because she couldn’t abandon her non-ability companions. Moreover, the Capital was vast, with错综复杂的各种势力, and Gu Ning subconsciously felt Zhuang Chen’s background was complicated. She truly didn’t want to get involved in unnecessary power struggles.

Her initial reason for staying in the apocalypse was to protect her parents. Now, she had more people to protect and more goals, one of which was to use the resources here to ensure her parents lived a prosperous life.

She knew this Gathering Place wouldn’t last long, especially after White Wolf and others left. But she didn’t know where else to go.

Gu Siyuan wasn’t a traditional father; he enjoyed communicating with his child and listening to Gu Ning’s困惑. Under his guidance, Gu Ning had always confided in him since childhood. In a way, Gu Siyuan probably understood her better than anyone else, even more than Gu Mama.

With just a simple “I don’t know,” Gu Siyuan understood Gu Ning’s current迷茫.

He advised, “We can’t see far into the future, so let’s tackle the present first. As for the unseen, we’ll deal with it when it comes.”

Gu Ning’s brows relaxed slightly. Though she knew her father was comforting her, his words made sense. She couldn’t determine how long the Gathering Place would last, so worrying about it was pointless. Better to focus on the present.

The next morning at breakfast, Gu Ning announced, “I think we should spread the news about the Crystal Cores now.”

“Huh?” Everyone was surprised by this.

Third Brother agreed, “Yes, we’ve all completed our first evolution, and our control over Special Abilities is quite熟练. Hiding this information is pointless now. With zombies evolving so quickly, it’s better to spread the news early. More异能者 killing more zombies benefits us more than harms.”

Hearing this, the others who hadn’t caught on also agreed.

So, they spread the news that day.

The information that Crystal Cores in zombies’ heads could grant Special Abilities spread like wildfire through the two-thousand-strong Gathering Place, reaching everyone within an hour.

Previously, Yan Yu’s Fireballs at the Gathering Place entrance had attracted much attention, and their devastating effect on zombies was骇人听闻. Some had been investigating how Yan Yu produced those Fireballs without success. This new information provided the explanation.

The lifeless Gathering Place沸腾了! Specifically, the people living there沸腾了. They discussed the消息的可信度, eventually confirming it with Zhong Xu and Zhang Xiaobai, who were responsible for spreading the news.

Except for children, the elderly, and some women, people ventured out in groups through the Gathering Place gates they had been too afraid to cross, heading out to hunt zombies and obtain Crystal Cores!

Upon hearing the news, Yin Sang’s expression turned grim, “It was Gu Ning’s group who spread the news about the Crystal Cores.”

Zhuang Chen, who had somehow acquired a nail file, was专注地磨着指甲, not even lifting an eyelid at the news.

White Wolf’s reaction was equally冷淡.

Yin Sang,不满于他们的反应,恼怒地说, “Now everyone’s gone mad, rushing out to kill zombies.”

Zhuang Chen, as if unable to tolerate Yin Sang’s聒噪, said, “Isn’t that a good thing?”

Yin Sang frowned, “A good thing?! If they kill all the zombies, what will we kill? All the Cores will be taken, and more异能者 means more不利 for us.”

Zhuang Chen, inspecting his nails for imperfections,懒得理她.

Yin Qi remarked, “It’s surprising that Gu Ning is willing to let these people抢外面的晶核.”

“She’s thinking ahead, while you’re stuck in the present. At least for now, our biggest enemies are the evolving zombies outside,” he said. “But since she’s already spread the news, there’s no need for us to waste more time here.” He paused, then turned to Zhuang Chen, “Are you sure Gu Ning isn’t coming with us?”

Zhuang Chen, recalling Gu Ning’s smile and reply from last night, sighed inwardly, “Gu Ning is good in every way, just too soft-hearted.”

White Wolf’s eyes flickered, “Such people最容易死.”

Zhuang Chen shot him a不满 look, “I know you don’t like Gu Ning, but don’t诅咒她死啊.”

White Wolf斜睨了庄辰一眼, then stood up and walked out,轻描淡写地说, “谁说我不喜欢她了?”

Due to White Wolf’s sudden decision, they decided to head to the Capital that very day.

When Zhuang Chen went to bid farewell to Gu Ning, she and her group had already driven out, so he could only say goodbye to Gu Papa and Gu Mama.

Compared to before, Gu Ning encountered many people from the Gathering Place outside, all in groups of at least ten.

In several places, dozens of people围攻丧尸的场景 were visible.

At Gu Ning’s request, they didn’t intervene. If these people saw their group of异能者, they would likely cling to them immediately.

They didn’t linger at the edge of the闹市区 but headed straight into it. Unfortunately, they didn’t encounter the two变异丧尸. With Gu Ning’s变态的木系异能数量, they almost wished the变异丧尸 would appear so they could redeem themselves. The journey was relatively平静, encountering only small groups of zombies, mostly普通丧尸, totaling no more than twenty. The Crystal Core收获 was minimal, only two supplementary Cores. The only高兴地 moment was when Gu Ning led them to扫**整整一条街的店铺. Among them, when Gu Ning扫**一家大型金店, they were all puzzled.

Gu Ning非常淡定地解释道, “Might come in handy later.” She was already planning who to approach for销赃.

Though they didn’t gain many Cores, the ample物资收获 kept them in high spirits.

However, this高兴的情绪 only lasted until他们进门.

Upon entering, those who entered first saw the person sitting on the大厅沙发, and their smiles froze, all目光齐刷刷地看向顾宁.

Gu Ning was the last to enter. Seeing everyone’s目光, she was疑惑, then her gaze shifted, and the笑意 in her eyes瞬间凝固. She saw Jiang Yuezhou, Jiang Yu, Lin Meifeng, and their family sitting on the大厅沙发, and on another沙发, her不知所措的顾爸爸顾妈妈正看着她. For a moment, she was speechless…