Chapter 80

Chapter 80: Rapid Growth – The Door to Rebirth in the Apocalypse

The Door to Rebirth in the Apocalypse

More than an hour had passed.

Yi Shaoqing, who initially had a smug smile on his face, now looked increasingly serious. He watched as Gu Ning, who had been knocked down by Zhuang Chen in just three minutes, was now holding her own against Zhuang Chen’s attacks for over ten minutes. Just an hour ago, Gu Ning had no foundation in close combat whatsoever.

Zhuang Chen, on the other hand, was growing more and more astonished. From the initial ease, Gu Ning’s attacks now began to exert pressure on her, even as she gradually started to unleash more of her strength. Although it wasn’t enough to force Zhuang Chen to use her full power, it was sufficient to make her drop her previous underestimation of Gu Ning. This was entirely due to Gu Ning’s terrifying learning ability. In the midst of such intense combat, Gu Ning could still spare the mental energy to memorize Zhuang Chen’s moves and quickly use them against her. This ability was undeniably frightening. Moreover, during the fight, Zhuang Chen also noticed that Gu Ning’s physical fitness was extraordinary…

With exceptional reaction speed, physical fitness, and a terrifying learning ability… Zhuang Chen was secretly alarmed.

Zhuang Chen knocked Gu Ning down again. This time, Gu Ning had lasted twenty minutes, even though Zhuang Chen was holding back. It was still impressive.

Gu Ning stood up, her eyes shining with excitement. Despite being knocked down repeatedly by Zhuang Chen, she felt an incredible surge of energy, both mentally and physically. Previously, killing zombies had been more about brute strength and agility, with little technique involved. She could handle un-evolved zombies, but now that zombies had evolved and become more agile, her reliance on strength and agility alone was no longer enough. Close combat skills, however, could fully utilize the strength and agility she already possessed.

In just over an hour, Gu Ning had already felt the impact of close combat training on herself.

Seeing Gu Ning’s bright eyes and eager demeanor, Zhuang Chen had to call a halt: “Wait! Aren’t you tired, Gu Ning?”

Gu Ning replied, “Not really.” More than just “not really,” she felt fantastic.

Zhuang Chen sighed, “Well, I’m tired. Let’s call it a day. It’s only the first day; no need to rush.”

Gu Ning felt that she had already learned enough from Zhuang Chen to keep her busy for a while.

Zhuang Chen grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat off her face and looked at Gu Ning’s smooth, sweat-free face in surprise. “You’ve been training for so long, and you haven’t even broken a sweat?! Freak.”

Gu Ning smiled, “I don’t sweat much.”

“Alright, you guys can practice here for a bit. I’m going to take a shower.” Zhuang Chen called out to Yi Shaoqing, and the two of them left together.

In the small conference room, Zhuang Chen gave her evaluation of Gu Ning’s performance that afternoon: “Gu Ning’s reaction speed, physical fitness, and learning ability are all astonishing. From this perspective, she doesn’t seem like someone who’s never trained before.”

Yi Shaoqing flipped through the documents in his hand and said, “According to the information we’ve gathered, Gu Ning was the type of person who flew under the radar in college. She never participated in school sports events or learned any martial arts like Taekwondo. Her family background is very simple—her father has been a high school teacher for over twenty years, and her mother is a housewife. Her social connections are also clear. The only odd thing is that after graduation, she went on a trip and was out of contact for three months. Her parents even filed a missing person report, but we found records of her using her ID to check into hotels and stay in the area.”

“Then how did she know about the Five-Star Brigade?” Yin Sang raised a crucial question.

Yi Shaoqing continued, “The third company commander said it was a friend of hers who told her. I also had someone investigate this friend. It seems to be a police officer named Method, who has been in close contact with Gu Ning recently. Method graduated from a military academy, served in the army, and even participated in the selection process two years ago but didn’t make the cut. There’s nothing suspicious about him. Gu Ning’s identity is very clean.”

Zhuang Chen nodded, “If she had ulterior motives, she would have hidden these extraordinary traits to avoid suspicion. But she seems completely unaware of how extraordinary she is. So I still think she’s just naturally talented.”

Yi Shaoqing agreed, “I agree with Zhuang Chen.”

Meanwhile, Gu Ning was unaware that the Five-Star Brigade was having internal debates about her. She was busy sparring with Zhang Xiaobai and the others.

After being knocked down by Gu Ning for the third time, Zhang Xiaobai refused to get up, “No more! You’re a freak!”

Gu Ning awkwardly looked at Zhong Xu and Chen Gen.

Zhong Xu quickly stepped back, and Chen Gen silently retreated, pretending not to see Gu Ning’s pleading look. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to help her practice, but Gu Ning was just too terrifying. After learning those moves from Zhuang Chen, she had completely unleashed them on the three of them. Their close combat skills were mediocre at best, and after being thrown around a few times, they were too scared to continue. Left with no choice, Gu Ning had to settle for punching the sandbag.

Dinner was takeout. To avoid alarming the others, Gu Ning tried to restrain her appetite, but when she picked up her third serving, the looks from Zhuang Chen, Yi Shaoqing, and Yin Sang changed. Ji Jiuzhe just glanced at her and continued eating his own meal.

By the time she returned to the training ground, her room had already been set up. After changing into clean pajamas, Gu Ning lay in bed, still feeling a surge of excitement as she recalled the close combat techniques she had learned that day.

Even though she had already confirmed that the room door was locked, she still went into the bathroom, locked that door as well, and then entered her space.

As usual, Gu Ning first checked the water level, but there was no surprise—it hadn’t changed at all.

By now, Gu Ning had fully accepted this reality. She gazed out at the sea, wondering when it would dry up.

From her space, she returned to the apocalypse.

It was already 9 a.m. in the apocalypse, but the sky was still dim.

“The days are getting shorter,” Method said, chewing on a piece of bread, his hair a messy bird’s nest. He walked over to Gu Ning and followed her gaze to the horizon, handing her another piece of bread.

Gu Ning took the bread and said, “And the nights are getting longer.”

Method suddenly had a thought, “What do you think would happen if one day the sun never came back?”

Gu Ning replied, “I can only hope that day never comes.”

Cheng Ming happened to pass by and paused when he saw Method and Gu Ning standing in the backyard. His expression darkened slightly.

The children were far more resilient and hardworking than the adults had imagined.

Although yesterday’s training had left several children with blistered hands, today, apart from two younger girls who backed out, the rest showed up.

Third Brother had set up a training regimen for them: every morning at seven, they would run three kilometers on the back field. The first to finish could have breakfast, followed by a half-hour break, and then they would start chopping trees. The trees were ones Gu Ning had accelerated with her special ability, a new method she had discovered to conserve energy. Using her ability to create something from nothing consumed far more energy than simply accelerating the growth of existing seeds or saplings. For Gu Ning, the energy required to grow a few small trees was negligible.

The trees were thick enough to require an adult to wrap their arms around them. The children worked in pairs, chopping from morning till night. Today’s training was still tree-chopping.

Their blistered hands were wrapped in layers of gauze, and compared to yesterday, the children’s enthusiasm had waned. Combined with the pain in their hands, their chopping became half-hearted.

However, a few children stood out.

One was Wu Sen, a boy who had already caught Gu Ning’s attention. Another was a chubby kid named Zuo You, who panted heavily after every swing of the axe but still didn’t stop. Among the girls, the oldest, He He, continued to chop with determination, her lips pressed tightly together.

Gu’s father remarked, “These three kids are something else.” After a few days of rest and Gu Ning’s healing abilities, Gu’s father looked much more spirited. Before the apocalypse, he loved reading the newspaper. Now, with no newspapers to read, Gu Ning had assigned him to supervise the children, and he seemed to enjoy it. He sighed, “If we were still in peaceful times, these three kids would have a bright future. Such determination at such a young age.”

Gu Ning smiled. If they could grow up safely, they would be the future Third Brother had spoken of.

How many children had died in this disaster?

Was the current population even one percent of what it was before the apocalypse? Gu Ning didn’t know, but in Jin Yong, it was likely less than one percent.

Once the sky fully brightened, Third Brother and the others would head out again.

At Gu Ning’s insistence, she replaced another soldier and joined the team.

She was eager to test the effectiveness of her close combat skills in real battle.