The Absolute Favorite in the Apocalyptic Rebirth

The heavy rain had been pouring for three days and nights.

Fortunately, the terrain of the cave sloped downward towards the entrance, so there was no need to worry about rainwater flooding in. Outside the cave was a slope, and the rainwater flowed to the lower ground, converging into a small stream that meandered down the mountain. At the entrance of the cave grew a lush evergreen vine that Lou Ling had cultivated using her powers. Every day, she would infuse it with energy, making it grow exceptionally well, with large veins. It could effectively block the heavy rain, preventing raindrops from splashing in. The cave remained relatively dry, although the air became damp and chilly. Being confined in such a small space for an extended period also brought about many inconveniences.

Lou Dian had his space, and the things inside were unbelievably diverse, so there was no need to worry about lacking food or clothing. The only inconvenience was—with such heavy rain, they couldn't neglect their basic needs, and sometimes it was troublesome to take care of personal matters! In the end, they had no choice but to brave the rain and dig a three-meter-deep hole next to the cave for their convenience.

"How many more days will this rain last?" Lin Bao Bao asked, arms crossed, frowning as she looked at the rain outside.

With nothing else to do, Lou Ling directed the evergreen vine to create an opening resembling a window, providing a view of the outside. She then had the vine form a canopy to shield them from the rain, so they didn't have to worry about getting wet.

Looking out, the outside world was shrouded in a misty rain, blurring the mountains and forests into a hazy blue. The two of them stood there for a while, feeling a chill, and hurried back inside the cave.

The cave was no longer as simple as it had been a few days ago. It was now furnished with many things, giving it the feel of a small living room. Lou Dian had brought in two wooden boards over a meter wide and placed them facing each other, forming makeshift beds. The beds were even covered with soft mattresses, making them quite comfortable. A solar-powered lamp hung from the ceiling of the cave, illuminating the space brightly, unaffected by the gloomy light outside. In addition, a mutated vine hung from above in the center of the cave, with a curtain drawn across it, dividing the space in two, providing some privacy for each other.

At this time, it was daytime, and the curtain was drawn open. Lou Dian and Tan Mo each occupied a bed. Lou Dian sat leisurely on his bed, leaning against a large pillow, slowly flipping through a book in his hand. He looked relaxed and at ease, exuding an air of refined elegance. It gave the impression that this was not a cave but a luxurious villa.

On the opposite wooden bed, Tan Mo was squatting, gnawing on a piece of beef jerky. Fortunately, Lou Dian had warned him not to make a mess on the bed, threatening him with physical punishment and withholding food. As a result, Tan Mo's eating manners had become much more refined. Only Lin Bao Bao was speechless. That bed was supposed to be hers, and seeing someone squatting and eating on it gave her a mental shadow. Even though she wasn't picky about food and accommodation after the apocalypse, with Lou Dian, the clean freak, as a comparison, she had somehow become a bit more particular.

After returning, the two girls sat on the bed and started talking about the rain over the past few days.

One said, "I wonder how many more days this rain will last?"

The other replied, "I hope there won't be another flood."

The first one continued, "And then the sea level will rise again…"

"Coastal cities will be submerged again."

"And cities along rivers, earthquakes, mudslides…"

"…"

In the end, the two girls looked at each other, both thinking the same thing: This is bad! If their guesses were correct, how much living space would be left for humanity? Thinking about it further, after the apocalypse, not only had creatures on land mutated, but countless marine creatures had also undergone mutations. There were not only zombie transformations but also beast transformations, directly dominating the entire ocean. The ocean had become even more dangerous than before, cutting off contact between humans on different continents. It was estimated that even coastal cities would be destroyed, and humans would have to migrate to the eastern highlands.

Both of their hearts felt heavy. Looking at the rain outside, they couldn't help but feel a sense of worry for their country and people. Even if they didn't care about the country as a whole, anyone with a conscience wouldn't be happy to see this happen. Unlike some people who believed that as long as they were strong enough and it didn't affect them, they wouldn't care if the world was flooded.

Lou Dian looked up from his book and saw the gloomy expressions on their faces. He didn't care about Lin Bao Bao, but seeing his own girl's face all wrinkled up made him unhappy. He guessed that he was the type of person who only cared about his own strength and wouldn't bat an eyelid even if the world was flooded. However, in front of Lou Ling, he had to hide his bad and dark side and show her his best side, hoping that she would like him more.

Lin Bao Bao felt that Lou Dian's act of concealing his true self was like a peacock spreading its feathers, trying to attract a mate by displaying its most beautiful side while hiding its flaws behind the dazzling display.

"Alright, it's God's will that it's raining. What can we do about it? You can't make it stop raining, can you?" Lou Dian said, putting his arm around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. "We're so free now, why don't you ripen a cantaloupe for us to eat?"

Lou Ling elbowed him away, wanting him to keep his distance.

But it was true that they had nothing to do at the moment, so Lou Ling and Lin Bao Bao had no choice but to start practicing their abilities again.

Compared to Lou Ling's wood ability, Lin Bao Bao's water ability was considered even more useless in the eyes of others. Her combat power was practically nonexistent. Lin Bao Bao had always been a strong person, and she couldn't accept being a burden with her ability. Therefore, she not only trained her physical strength but also continued to improve her water ability, researching various attack methods that were more powerful. She had also heard that after reaching a certain level, water abilities might possess healing properties. Naturally, Lin Bao Bao wanted to reach that level as well, so that she could reduce casualties if they were injured in the future.

The heavy rain continued for ten days before finally stopping. They stayed in the mountains for another day, waiting for the sun to dry the ground, before leaving the cave they had called home for over ten days.

It was summer, and the sun was scorching. After just one day of exposure, most of the moisture had evaporated. When they left the mountains and returned to the village, they found that the dirt roads had dried up, although they would probably crack again after a few more days of sun. The ponds in the village were once again filled with water. Naturally, there were no fish or other creatures in the water, but there were some zombified fish. Attracted by the scent of fresh flesh upon their arrival, they occasionally jumped out of the water, revealing their rotten bodies and sharp teeth.

Before they had entered the mountains, they had parked their car in a shed belonging to a house in the village. Although it had been rained on a bit, it was still in good condition.

"Brother, it seems like half a month has already passed. Do you think Eldest Brother and the others have already left the Capital Base and returned to the Northwest?" Lou Ling asked worriedly.

"With such heavy rain, the roads are difficult to travel. They'll be delayed for a few days. Don't worry," Lou Dian said as he started the car, drove it out of the shed, and let Lin Bao Bao and Tan Mo get in. They left the village without delay.

When the car returned to the main road leading to the Capital Base, they could see traces of the heavy rain everywhere. There were many puddles and mud on the road.

They stopped the car when they reached a small town and let Lin Bao Bao and Tan Mo off. They also packed several days' worth of food in their backpacks.

It was not suitable for Tan Mo to enter the Capital Base in his current condition. If the researchers at the institute recognized him, it would be troublesome. Moreover, they would be leaving the Capital Base for the Northwest Base in a few days, so there was no need to bring Tan Mo back to the base at this time. They had discussed letting him wait for them in a town near the base, and they would take him with them when they passed by.

Of course, because of Tan Mo's mental state, Lin Bao Bao couldn't bear to leave him alone outside. Tan Mo was also clearly unwilling to be left behind, so she chose to stay with him and wait outside. Although Tan Mo's mind was not functioning properly, his strength was still there. With him as protection, Lin Bao Bao's safety was not a concern.

This was something they had agreed upon beforehand. After Lin Bao Bao and Tan Mo got out of the car, they waved goodbye to Lou Ling and Lou Dian. They exchanged some words of caution and entered the town, finding a place to hide.

Lou Ling leaned out of the car window and looked back, feeling a little worried.

"Don't worry, Tan Mo is strong enough to deal with zombies and mutated beasts. If they encounter other ability users, Lin Bao Bao is more than capable of handling them," Lou Dian said. This was also the reason why Lin Bao Bao chose to stay. Tan Mo's mind might be impaired, but he didn't understand human relationships and could easily be tricked despite his strength. Lin Bao Bao, on the other hand, was suspicious and wary by nature, which made up for Tan Mo's shortcomings.

Thinking about it, Lou Ling felt that it was true, so she felt a little more at ease.

As the sun began to set, they finally returned to the base.

As usual, they went through the inspection at the entrance to check if they were carrying any viruses. They showed their base residence permits, handed over some food, and finally entered the base safely.

The heavy rain for the past few days had also had a significant impact on the base. Many ordinary people were busy with construction work, and there were also earth ability users reinforcing and raising the walls. Lou Ling frowned when she saw this, understanding the reason behind the base's actions. The zombies had evolved again.

That's right, after this heavy rain, the zombies seemed to have evolved again. Although they didn't become significantly stronger all of a sudden, survivors could feel that the zombies were much harder to deal with than before, and casualties had increased. On their way back, they had also encountered some scattered first and second-level zombies, and they found that the zombies' running speed was much faster than that of ability users. Some mutated zombies were even faster than speed-type ability users.

Every day, ability users from the base went out to clear the zombies, and those wandering around the base were constantly being eliminated, preventing a zombie horde from forming.

As soon as they returned to the apartment building they were renting, they heard a voice calling out from behind them.

"Little Sister Lou is back?"

The seductive voice gave the impression of a restless and promiscuous woman, but Lou Ling was somewhat happy. She turned her head and saw a woman with a voluptuous figure, although her clothes were a little dirty.

"Sister Yi, long time no see!" Lou Ling greeted her with a smile.

Yi Zheng looked haggard, no longer as glamorous as she had been when she was on Sun Ping's team. Her face was bare, her clothes were casual, and her skin was a little rough. It seemed that she had suffered a lot after Sun Ping and the others' incident.

Yi Zheng walked over and greeted her cheerfully, "You guys just came back from a mission? Where's the other little sister? Oh, you don't have to go back. There's no one in Room 304 anymore. A few days ago, when it was still raining, I heard that some ability users came to take Old Man Mo and the others away, but then another group of people came and fought with them. In the end, they were taken away."

Lou Ling's expression turned serious, and she felt a surge of anxiety. She looked around and noticed many ability users coming and going, their gazes glancing in their direction. It wasn't a suitable place to talk, so she said, "Sister Yi, are you busy? If not, come upstairs and have a seat."

Author's Note: Today's goals:

Lou Ling's goal: Roar! Crush the bad guys!

Lou Dian's goal: Pacify my hot-tempered sister!

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