The journey from the apartment to the research institute was originally quite short.
The off-road vehicle arrived in just two minutes. Tong Sui got out and waved at them, saying, “Wait for you to come back.”
He watched the vehicle disappear into the distance, marking the first separation since their encounter.
A sense of emptiness filled Tong Sui’s heart, an unshakeable sour feeling he couldn’t seem to fill. He persuaded himself that Jiang Hua would return soon and buried himself in his work at the research institute.
He took out the sample collection tubes and bags and organized them properly.
Tong Sui’s current task was to quickly develop the antidote.
He plunged into his experiments. As long as the apocalypse continued, there would be no possibility of a truly stable life.
On the other side, Jian Lexian learned that Jiang Hua had led a team out of the base and struggled to maintain his composure.
Those around him began to gossip.
“Did you have a conflict with Jiang Hua? Look, he didn’t take you along and instead recruited other space ability users.”
“Isn’t that quite normal? Space abilities aren’t particularly rare, but lightning abilities are different; so many people are vying for a chance.”
Jian Lexian insisted, “I’m just tired and want to rest for a while.”
The others remained skeptical.
One person inquired, “But Jiang Hua didn’t rest long after he returned. He seems to have left in a rush.”
“Haven’t you heard? Because the crops mutated during farming, the base’s food supply is nearly depleted now.”
“Many of the ability users who left recently have also perished. Lou Yelin’s team managed to find a large granary, and they couldn’t wait to send Jiang Hua out.”
Everyone clicked their tongues at the news.
Yet, Jian Lexian among them remained silent.
In the previous life, they had also experienced famine following the red rain.
At that time, Jian Lexian stayed in a small safety base, already having a low risk resistance. By the third day after the red rain, chaos had erupted.
Jian Lexian, an ordinary space ability user, became the target for looting; all the food he had left was taken from him.
He had no choice but to migrate to the larger safety base like most people.
However, the North China base was overwhelmed with others sharing the same goal as him.
At that time, the North China base could hardly bear such large consumption; self-preservation was a problem, so they wouldn’t let them in.
Without supplies, space ability users were no different from ordinary people. Jian Lexian was infected during a massive zombie wave.
Having lived again, he accumulated a wealth of supplies in his space.
Naturally, he didn’t have to worry about food.
But he was unwilling to remain just an ordinary ability user. To ensure his absolute safety, he had to climb higher.
This food shortage was the best opportunity for him.
The off-road vehicle struggled along the road.
Mutated plants had ravaged the formerly smooth highway, and dense vines wrapped around the exterior of towering steel buildings.
It gave the eerie impression that the apocalypse had been going on for years.
The vehicle maintained a normal driving speed on the wide road, but once it reached densely wooded areas, they could only move slowly, with wood and earth ability users clearing the path.
The sky quickly darkened.
They found a three-story self-built house to rest in, while Jiang Hua went up to the rooftop to keep watch.
Now was the time when the light was fading. The dim sunlight filtered through the clouds, veiling everything in a warm haze.
The dry wind stirred up the dried grass.
After dispatching a few wandering zombies in the distance, Jiang Hua took out the communicator.
“Shh shh shh.”
After a crackle of static, Tong Sui’s voice came through, saying, “Hello?”
Jiang Hua’s expression softened involuntarily as he replied softly, “Are you done for the day?”
Jiang Hua’s voice came through, the static altering his tone slightly.
Tong Sui was in the brightly lit laboratory, while the other laboratories had dimmed. He stared at the values on the instruments, recording them in his experiment log.
Knowing Jiang Hua couldn’t see his current situation, Tong Sui fibbed with his eyes wide open, “I’m off.”
Rather than return to that empty apartment, he planned to stay at the research institute a bit longer.
The communicator’s signal was unstable.
After chatting a little with Jiang Hua, he then heard the crackling noise coming from the other end.
Jiang Hua frowned at the dark mass of zombies in the distance, feeling irritated, and softly told Tong Sui, “You should rest. I still have some things to handle.”
After hanging up, his expression darkened completely.
Static crackled as flickering electricity lit up the darkening sky, almost brightening it like noon.
Tong Sui stared at the hung-up communicator, refocused his thoughts, and continued his research.
Time passed particularly quickly when lost in work.
Every day, apart from the occasional call from Jiang Hua, he remained in the lab until late at night, methodically cleaning out failed experimental samples.
Compared to his monotonous life, the base rolled out numerous reforms.
The cafeteria’s food had worsened, and even the vegetables in the research institute rarely included meat.
Prices had surged severalfold.
Even ability users struggled to cope; ordinary people fared even worse.
Before the red rain, they could rely on working in the fields for some food and points, but with the cancellation of farming, the surplus labor force had no choice but to fight for the few available jobs.
Ability users could complete more tasks, but ordinary people were being pushed to the brink of survival.
Some daring young adults had begun buying weapons and proactively joining forces with ability users to take on missions.
Though the risk of death was high, it offered a glimmer of hope for survival.
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