The Absolute Favorite in the Apocalyptic Rebirth

They didn't have much to pack. After leaving Lou Tang's office, they went directly to the military camp.

Lou Tang accompanied them, her expression stern.

When they arrived at the camp, Qiu Rong, having already received the news, was waiting for them. Dressed in military uniform, she was ready to depart. Lou Zhan led the two over, saluted, and looked at her with a gentle expression. "Be careful," he said.

Qiu Rong returned the salute and replied with a dashing smile, "I won't disappoint you!"

After everyone boarded the vehicle, Lou Zhan stood in place, watching the direction the car disappeared for a long time.

After getting into the car, Lou Ling was startled to find a young girl suddenly pop her head up from the back seat. "Xiao Yan, why are you here?" she asked, then realized that Xiao Yan had obviously been hiding in the back, waiting for the car to start before revealing herself. Needless to say, her purpose was to prevent Lou Zhan from discovering her and stopping her from leaving the base.

Lou Yan pursed her lips. "Second Brother is in trouble. I can't just sit idly by." She then pulled a palm-sized, intricate device from her backpack. "This is a tracker," she explained. "When we get near Second Brother, the indicator light will come on. And don't worry, I can protect myself."

Qiu Rong sat in the front passenger seat. Driving was another female soldier in crisp camouflage, whom Qiu Rong had introduced earlier as Zhao Wen. Zhao Wen remarked, "Xiao Yan's tracker is very convenient. With her, we can find Second Young Master Lou quickly."

Lou Ling looked at Qiu Rong again. "Sister-in-law, do Uncle and Aunt know Xiao Yan came along?"

"Aunt knows," Qiu Rong said, a smile playing on her lips. "Uncle, A-Zhan, and Yan Ge don't."

Lou Ling's face twitched. Even her aunt was comfortable letting her daughter leave the base and keeping it a secret from the men of the Lou family. This suggested that the Lou men were probably even more stubborn than the women, hence the secrecy. Only a mother who knew her daughter well would be so confident in letting her come along.

Lou Dian, who had been silent, saw her speechless expression and chuckled. He pulled her into his arms. "It's a long journey. Get some sleep."

Lou Dian's thoughtfulness made the other three women in the car glance at them. Lou Dian remained calm. Qiu Rong and Zhao Wen, being adults, couldn't help but read into the gesture, suppressing smiles. Only Lou Yan, for the moment, didn't misinterpret the action. "Didn't Sister Ling sleep well last night?" she asked.

"Mm…" Lou Ling responded vaguely, secretly pinching Lou Dian's arm. He caught her hand, and she finally nestled into his embrace, closing her eyes.

They had departed a little after noon, around one o'clock. The sun was still blazing, but to make good time, they had to endure the heat. The car traveled along the highway, the road relatively smooth, mainly because the Northwest base had dispatched troops to clear the roads leading to nearby cities and regularly had earth-type ability users help with repairs.

As evening approached and darkness drew near, Qiu Rong ordered them to find a place to rest for the night.

Lou Yan fiddled with the screen of her device. "There's a small village thirty kilometers ahead. Turn right…"

Without hesitation, Qiu Rong instructed Zhao Wen to turn right. Following Lou Yan's directions, the car drove onto a small path, demonstrating absolute trust in her. Lou Yan lived up to their expectations, quickly leading them into a small village. There were no survivors left, but there were zombies and zombified animals.

Everyone got out of the car and quickly eliminated the second-tier zombies in the village. The zombified animals were mostly chickens, ducks, and the like, and were swiftly dealt with. After disposing of their bodies, they found a place to rest.

The houses were all mud-brick with wooden doors, indicating that before the apocalypse, this village had been impoverished. The group didn't mind the mud houses and chose a relatively large one to clean. There were eleven of them in total, and with half needing to stand guard outside at night, one room was sufficient.

After cleaning the house, they prepared dinner in the village's open space. They simply cooked some noodles, adding canned meat and vegetables. After letting it cool slightly, everyone quickly finished their meal.

After dinner, Lou Ling, toothbrush in her mouth, went to wash her face and brush her teeth, while also using her ability to grow two mutated vines to help keep watch. Her ability had improved again, now allowing her to grow two twenty-meter-long mutated vines at once. However, to make them stronger, Lou Ling, after her ability recovered, infused them with her power two more times.

The ivy, stimulated by her ability, grew lush and climbed up the wall to the roof, its leaves rustling in the evening breeze, adding a touch of fresh greenery to the mud house. The wire vine, on the other hand, quietly nestled in a corner, inconspicuous.

Lou Yan, like a shadow, followed Lou Ling. Seeing her grow the mutated vines, her mouth dropped open. She touched an ivy leaf, and when it moved, she giggled. "Sister Ling, is the one in the courtyard at home also ivy? Can they really distinguish between friend and foe?"

"Well…" Lou Ling touched her nose. "Not exactly. But if someone tries to climb over the wall instead of using the main gate, they'll disturb the vines. I'll sense it, and the vines will throw the intruder out."

Qiu Rong and Zhao Wen, also watching, heard Lou Ling's words. Qiu Rong nodded inwardly, thinking that with Lou Ling and the mutated vines, the elderly and children at home would be safer, and they could rest assured.

At that moment, the few people patrolling nearby returned, including Lou Dian. He walked over to Qiu Rong. "I sense something's not right around here. There are probably more zombified animals. Be careful tonight."

Qiu Rong was startled. "You mean they deliberately hid when we arrived and will attack at night? Zombified animals… are they that smart?"

The corners of Lou Dian's lips curled almost imperceptibly. "Not smart, but they've developed intelligence. It seems they've consumed quite a few of their own kind's crystal cores to evolve."

Hearing this, everyone fell silent. If zombified animals had developed intelligence, did that mean zombies had too? And if they could develop intelligence, what level would they be? The strongest humans were only third-tier; there hadn't been any news of fourth-tier yet. But it seemed the zombies were a step ahead. If this continued, was there any hope for humanity's future?

Noticing their grim expressions, Lou Dian said, "Don't worry. This is just an isolated case, a matter of luck." Humans could also advance relatively easily by absorbing the crystal cores of other human ability users. However, this kind of cannibalism was something no sane person would agree to. If you agreed, it meant others could also target you and extract your crystal core for their own advancement.

Humans, constrained by reason and emotion, advanced more slowly. Of course, there were those who would stop at nothing for power, even killing their own kind. But once discovered, they would become public enemies. Zombies, on the other hand, driven only by their instinct to devour, craved fresh flesh and blood and were also drawn to the crystal cores of higher-tier zombies. Therefore, Lou Dian's favorite pastime was collecting high-tier zombie and zombified animal crystal cores to lure zombies.

Everyone returned to the room to rest, worried. Tonight, everyone except Lou Yan would take turns keeping watch and had to stay alert, ready for any emergencies.

The room was small, and everyone slept in sleeping bags. Lou Dian and Lou Ling were assigned the first half of the night, at Lou Dian's request. He reasoned that after nightfall, the zombified animals would likely act soon, so it was better for him to be on guard. Qiu Rong had no objections to his request. She knew something of Lou Dian's abilities from Lou Zhan and felt more at ease with him present.

Besides the six people resting inside, five sat in the open space in front of the house, a bonfire lit with dry wood. The firelight illuminated their faces, casting long shadows behind them. They sat quietly by the fire, highly focused, attentive to any movement around them.

Lou Ling sat next to Lou Dian, very close. She touched the Tang knife at her waist and then glanced at her mechanical watch. Time slowly passed; it was already ten o'clock at night. The night was deep, with only a few stars in the sky.

Suddenly, Lou Dian snapped a twig and tossed it into the fire, causing the flames to leap high.

With this action, everyone knew something was approaching. Their bodies tensed, their focus sharpening. At that moment, sensing something strange behind them, Lou Dian quickly pulled Lou Ling up and dodged, his Tang knife flashing out. A clang rang out, as if the knife had struck a metal blade.

When the figure landed to the side, they saw it was an emaciated black cat. Its fur was sparse, revealing its bluish skin, utterly hideous. Its crimson eyes gleamed with bloodthirsty cruelty.

It was a fourth-tier zombified cat, incredibly fast and agile. Others couldn't even track its movements, let alone help, and might even accidentally get in the way. In the end, only Lou Dian could handle it.

Just after the black cat appeared, Lou Ling suddenly received a message through her wire vine. "There are other zombified animals! Be careful!" As soon as she finished speaking, she felt something lock onto her, a chill running down her spine. Before she could react, she was struck by something, her body crashing sideways into the wall. Fortunately, as the zombified animal attacked again, the ivy wrapped around the house extended a vine, catching her waist and lifting her onto the roof. At the same time, another vine lashed out, knocking the attacker back.

Below, a fierce battle had erupted. The people inside the house were also alerted. Qiu Rong rushed out first, throwing a fireball. The zombified animal that had attacked Lou Ling easily dodged it. In the firelight, they saw a zombified goat, its aura even stronger than the black cat's.

Everyone gasped, sensing the goat's power, a wave of fear washing over them.

Author's Notes: Today's goals:

Lou Ling's goal: Kill the zombified beast!

Lou Dian's goal: Protect his sister!

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