"It should be dead. These kinds of spirit beasts are easy to kill once you find their weakness."

"It's really easy; its neck is too fragile."

"This kind of spirit beast is called the Qilin Beast. Its whole body is covered in scales, which makes it very strong. Its neck is its weak point. As long as you find the right opportunity, you can kill it instantly."

Zuo Qingya kicked the Qilin Beast with her foot: "Mom, can the scales of this Qilin Beast be used to forge weapons?"

Zuo Haijia nodded: "Yes, but it's the lowest grade of refining materials, only suitable for refining magic weapons for Qi Refining Realm cultivators."

"Ah???" Zuo Qingya was somewhat disappointed. She was already a Golden Core Realm expert and couldn't use a Qi Refining Realm magic weapon.

Zuo Haijia patted Zuo Qingya's head, "You can sell it if you don't need it!"

"That seems to make sense, but..." Zuo Qingya felt something was off, as if she was about to fall into a trap.

"Alright, then peel off the scales of the Qilin Beast!"

"good!"

"Mom! Are we really going to forge this weapon?"

"Hmm... After you've taken it off, put it into your consciousness space and leave it there. You can refine it later when you get out."

Zuo Qingya had no objection and nodded, saying, "Okay."

Just then, Zuo Qingya and Zuo Haijia felt a pulling force.

Zuo Qingya grabbed Zuo Haijia's arm: "Mom, what's wrong?"

After a moment of dizziness, Zuo Qingya found herself in a completely new environment, surrounded by rolling mountains and vast forests.

The sky was clear, and sunlight filtered through the sparse clouds, casting dappled patterns on the ground. The air was filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees.

Zuo Qingya looked around and saw towering peaks in the distance, their summits seemingly concealing some secret, shrouded in mist.

Nearby lay a dense forest, its trees tall and straight, their branches and leaves lush and verdant, like a green ocean. Occasionally, birds would fly through the treetops, their melodious calls adding a touch of life to this tranquil forest.

As the roots attacked, Zuo Qingya's eyes narrowed, and she quickly retreated to avoid their assault.

"Where am I? How come I was attacked as soon as I landed?"

Zuo Qingya didn't know where she was, but the spiritual energy around her was the same as during the natural disaster. Zuo Qingya thought that she must have left the secret realm. Zuo Qingya searched for a week but still couldn't find her mother.

"Where's Mom? Where did she go?"

The sparse root system attacked again.

While dodging attacks, she called out for her mother.

"Mom, where are you?"

"Please respond if you hear me."

Before he could finish speaking, the root system attacked again.

Zuo Qingya took out a defensive magic item and covered her entire body. "How annoying, why are you attacking? Can't you see I'm looking for my mother?"

The roots were dense and covered Zuo Qingya's entire body, but they didn't touch her at all. Zuo Qingya stretched out her hand and snapped her fingers, and the roots began to burn. Zuo Qingya didn't dare to start too many fires, for fear of causing a fire. After all, the firefighters had given her a lesson on fire safety before the disaster.

Feeling the burning sensation, Zuo Qingya's roots began to retract. Without further hesitation, she ran towards the direction of the retraction and discovered a very tall tree covered with bright red fruits that looked extremely tempting.

Looking at the tree, Zuo Qingya felt it was familiar. It looked a bit like a banyan tree, but not quite, because the tree was glossy and shiny, and even its roots were black and oily, giving it a very textured appearance.

"This tree must be undergoing a positive mutation! I hope so, otherwise it would be a waste if the fruit on it grew but we couldn't eat it or drink it."

Many roots stretched out from the ground, causing the ground to tremble, as if they were vying to pull Zuo Qingya into the ground.

Zuo Qingya didn't tolerate it. A fireball appeared in her palm, and she pressed it into the ground. The roots quickly retracted as if they had been scorched, but they still attacked Zuo Qingya unwillingly.

Zuo Qingya said impatiently, "This is really never going to end!"

Zuo Qingya increased the number of fireballs and launched a fierce attack, hitting the tree trunks directly until the trees were knocked down and even the roots were burned away. In an instant, the forest returned to peace.

Zuo Qingya picked up the fallen fruit from the ground and placed it on the product shelf, then found the instruction manual and began to read it.

It truly is a positively mutated fruit tree, called the Trigger Taste Fruit. It's a fruit that, once eaten, will randomly trigger a taste. To put it another way, some people taste roasted chicken, some taste candy, and some taste herring can. In short, eating it depends on luck.

Zuo Qingya didn't waste any fruit. She picked up the fallen fruit from the ground and plucked all the fruit from the tree, storing them in her consciousness space, keeping some and putting others on the shelf.

Zuo Qingya stayed in the woods for several days without seeing Zuo Haijia, so she released Hu Zi from her consciousness space. Luckily, she put Hu Zi in her consciousness space, otherwise she might not have been able to find him at all.

Riding on Tiger's back is really comfortable!

From afar, Zuo Qingya saw a city, but this city was not the City of Hope.

Instead, it is a steel fortress, a sturdy and fully functional post-apocalyptic city constructed of reinforced concrete and steel to withstand external threats and disasters.

The city is fully equipped with facilities, including residential areas, food production areas, and energy supply systems, ensuring residents can be self-sufficient. The city walls are high and thick, equipped with advanced defensive weapons and surveillance systems, constantly monitoring external movements to ensure the city's safety.

The steel fortress is not only a living space, but also a symbol of hope, providing people in the apocalypse with a relatively safe and stable haven.

Zuo Qingya entered the Steel Fortress as a superhuman. Along the way, she saw many people who were so hungry they were skin and bones. Zuo Qingya covered most of her face, leaving only her eyes showing. As she walked, she was stared at. People saw that she only had a small backpack on her back and shrugged with disdain, thinking that she didn't have anything of value and was too thin. They thought she was probably even poorer than them!

Zuo Qingya took the key and walked into Zone 1. When she arrived at her place, a small bungalow, she opened the door. The room was bare and empty except for a wooden bed. Zuo Qingya didn't mind; it was just a temporary place to stay.

In the Steel Fortress, whether you are a superhuman or an ordinary person, as long as you live in the city, you must hand in 5 Level 1 crystal cores every week. If you have enough crystal cores, you can also hand them in monthly or yearly. If you don't have crystal cores, you can use supplies instead; one pack of instant noodles is equivalent to one Level 1 crystal core, depending on its scarcity.

When Zuo Qingya came in, she paid for the crystal cores monthly. She stayed for a month to see how it went, and if it didn't work out, she would decide what to do next.