9. Building Search Team

The next morning, Fu Yunong bought 3 bottles of purified water, 3 energy bars, 1 can of yellow peaches, and 5 vacuum-packed hard-boiled eggs. She spent 42 points.

Fu Yunong chewed mechanically, wondering when the system would upgrade. She was tired of eating these pre-prepared foods every day. Shi Dong, on the other hand, ate with great relish, chewing each bite carefully and cherishing every grain of food.

After breakfast, Shi Dong was the first to change into her combat uniform. She was so thin that even with warm clothes underneath, she didn't look bulky at all.

Fu Yunong watched from the side, the pure black fabric accentuating her sleek figure and energetic appearance, but couldn't help asking, "Are your clothes dry?"

As Shi Dong was putting weapons into his pocket, he looked up when he heard this and said, "I just used lightning to test it once."

Fu Yunong exclaimed in amazement, "Amazing!"

Shi Dong silently opened her face, without mentioning that she had burned a patch on her cuff.

Fu Yunong pretended not to smell the faint burnt smell, changed her clothes, and even drew a prize while she was at it.

"!"

She suddenly stopped and checked several times before she dared to believe that she hadn't seen wrong.

I knew it! How could the divine sense compensation she received be anything more than a normal system? She admitted that she had been too loud before.

"Here you go." Fu Yunong clenched her fist and stretched it out towards Shi Dong.

Shi Dong, puzzled, reached out to receive them, and the crystal cores gently landed in her palm—ten in total.

“It’s from the system, try absorbing it!” Fu Yunong’s eyes sparkled.

A hint of surprise flashed in Shi Dong's eyes, and she sat down as instructed. She had theories in her mind, but had never actually put them into practice.

Fine, silvery-blue electric light condensed at her fingertips, and a soft halo immediately appeared on the surface of the crystal core.

"Buzz~"

The next second, the electric arc in her palm suddenly spread out, like an electric grid enveloping the crystal core. The energy inside the crystal core was drawn out by this force, condensing into a wisp of bright white air along with the electric light, rushing into the gaps between her fingers.

Shi Dong frowned slightly. She could clearly feel the pure energy flowing into her body, circulating through her meridians, and then being absorbed by her dantian.

In just over ten seconds, the crystal core in his palm lost all its luster and turned into a handful of grayish-white powder that leaked through his fingers.

Shi Dong released his grip, watching the electric light at his fingertips gradually fade away, and his supernatural power seemed to have condensed somewhat.

Fu Yunong stared at this amazing scene for a while before she came to her senses. "How was that?"

Shi Dong flexed her fingers, feeling the changes within her body. "My strength has increased a bit." After a pause, she added, "My mind is also clearer."

The violent feeling that had been vaguely lingering in my heart has subsided considerably.

This was unexpected for Fu Yunong. In her understanding, zombie crystal cores contained toxins, and she had been worried that Shi Dong would experience side effects after absorbing them. Now it seemed that absorbing them with her special ability was simply an extraction process that could perfectly remove impurities.

As a result, those with superpowers in this post-apocalyptic world will likely become even more eager for crystal cores.

After getting ready, the two went downstairs together.

They are now completely different from before: Fu Yunong has three chances to avoid death and injury, and can also harvest zombies invisibly within range; Shi Dong has awakened lightning-type superpowers, with an initial level of level two, and her combat power is incomparable to what it used to be.

Upon reaching the lobby, Fu Yunong released the motorcycle. The pried-open door was now useless. The two pushed the motorcycle out of the building, and after confirming their location…

"boom!!"

Fu Yunong leaned back and quickly hugged Shi Dong's waist; it was so tight and strong.

The wheels rolled over the ground, splashing up rotting leaves and branches. It was getting colder, and both of them could exhale white breath.

While instructing Shi Dong to slow down, Fu Yunong activated the system. This way, any zombies that appeared along the way and were within range could be instantly eliminated by her.

At first, she was worried that the motorcycles would be too conspicuous, but then she thought, let them come, I'm just afraid they won't come! There can never be too many crystal cores!

The motorcycle weaved and swerved along the bumpy road. By the time Fu Yunong had exchanged for the seventh level-one crystal core along the way, the two had arrived near their destination.

In the distance lay the residential area they had passed by earlier, the one they hadn't dared to enter.

"Having a car makes things so much faster," Fu Yunong thought to herself. She recalled the last time; for the same distance, it had taken her and Shi Dong almost two hours to walk.

She put away her motorcycle and followed Shi Dong to the wall. She glanced at the system—wow! There were quite a few crystal cores nearby! However, she didn't make any rash moves. After all, as Shi Dong said, zombies were probably the least threatening thing in the apocalypse.

Shi Dong scouted the area and finally chose a section of wall. Fu Yunong used her strength to climb over into the residential area.

The residential area in front of me is quite large, with rows of houses densely packed together, which makes one feel intimidated just by looking at them.

Along the way, Fu Yunong didn't see many decent buildings, yet this community was so well preserved.

Could it be due to good feng shui?

However, this neighborhood is so conspicuous that it's unlikely that only the two of them are eyeing it.

Shi Dong led the way with his gun, and Fu Yunong followed behind. The two were on high alert and finally managed to reach Building No. 7, which Zeng Jiabao had mentioned, without any major incidents.

The building's main door was locked, but Shi Dong took out a wire and opened it in a few quick movements. She led Fu Yunong up the stairs; the interior was dimly lit and smelled of dust.

The two listened intently to the sounds, their footsteps extremely light.

When they reached the door of room 601, it was locked. Shi Dong opened it swiftly, in just a few seconds. As soon as the door was pushed open a crack, a stench of sweat and rancidity hit them, and the two of them quickly held their breath.

The room was pitch black, with dirty garbage scattered on the floor and the black blankets piled on the bed.

The two men rummaged through a corner of the room and found two cases of bottled water and half a case of expired bread.

"Put it away," Shi Dong said in a low voice.

Fu Yunong gave an OK sign and quickly put the items into her spatial storage. The two didn't linger and turned to leave.

As soon as she stepped out of the room, Fu Yunong took a deep breath.

Indeed, there is no such thing as a free lunch, and the same goes for bottled water.

Then, the two cautiously made their way towards the center of the neighborhood. When they encountered zombies that they couldn't avoid, Fu Yunong simply killed them. Shi Dong remained vigilant, his boots making a barely audible sound as they stepped over the debris on the ground.

As they rounded a corner, a muffled thud suddenly came from ahead. Shi Dong reached out and pressed down on Fu Yunong's shoulder, quickly pulling her behind a wall.

Five or six men were hacking and slashing at several zombies, the sound of axes chopping into bone sending chills down one's spine. Their expressions were fierce, their movements wide and sweeping. After killing the zombies, they didn't even have time to catch their breath before rushing into a nearby building and locking the first-floor door shut with a "clack."

Shi Dong watched coldly; these people were no pushovers.

Taking advantage of this moment, Fu Yunong quietly used the system to collect the crystal cores on the ground. The battle just now was too fierce, and her palms were sweating.

Shi Dong followed the clues all the way to Building 20, and as soon as he entered the building, he sensed something was wrong. Sure enough, after checking five floors, he found that the doors of every apartment were wide open, and the things inside were overturned and scattered.

"They've all been searched, haven't they?" Fu Yunong whispered.

Shi Dong nodded. The two exchanged a glance and continued climbing until they reached the 35th floor. Both apartments there were locked, perhaps because the floors were so high, they had luckily escaped being burglarized.

Upon reaching the door of 3501, Shi Dong pressed her ear against it. After a few seconds, she gestured for Fu Yunong to step back, and then quietly pried the door open. The door had barely opened a crack when a zombie lunged at it.

"puff!"

A muffled gunshot rang out, and the zombie crashed to the ground.

Shi Dong went in with his gun, searched the place, and then let Fu Yunong in.

The zombie appeared to be an elderly person. Fu Yunong looked at it and sighed silently.

The two searched room 3502 again, but it was empty. The food on the table was moldy and covered with a thick layer of green mold, which showed how hastily the owner had left.

After looking around, Shi Dong said, "This will do."

Fu Yunong had the same idea; if she were to actually stay at the place next door, she would inevitably feel a bit uncomfortable.

The two began tidying up the house, and Fu Yunong collected all the unusable trash into her spatial storage, intending to throw it out later. In addition, she also collected a large number of containers.

Shi Dong checked the doors and windows, and in the process, he found a bag of unopened vacuum-sealed rice for her.

The wind howled outside the window, making the garbage bags below roll around. Fu Yunong leaned out of the window and looked down, suddenly feeling that the height of more than thirty stories was indeed quite safe.

After tidying up, the two left, locking the door behind them.

Afterwards, they carefully searched the building from the roof down, covering all 60 households, and found three crystal cores and a small amount of supplies.

Upon reaching the first floor, Shi Dong locked the door. Fu Yunong peered through the crack in the door, and a pile of heavy objects appeared out of thin air, including but not limited to a large wardrobe and a sofa, which blocked the door completely.

Even Shi Dong was impressed by her thoughtfulness in doing this.

Back in the office building, Fu Yunong slumped into a chair and drank water; searching the building was just too exhausting!

However, when she turned her head, she saw Shi Dong's expectant eyes.

Yes, there's a hungry child crying for food.

Current points: 386. Fu Yunong took out three bottles of water from her spatial storage, then bought three boxes of rice, an energy bar, and a can of yellow peaches. Cost: 35 points.

She handed Shi Dong two bottles of water, shredded pork with garlic sauce, self-heating rice with braised chicken flavor, and canned food. She then opened the braised chicken rice herself and ate it along with the last of her snacks.

After the meal, the two quickly got to work.

Put away the bed sheets and blankets!

Clothes, socks, shoes, and hats, put them away!

toiletries, please!

"Let's keep these too," Shi Dong said, pointing to several round wooden stools on the ground. "They can be used as tree stump stoves."

receive!

During this process, the two also used containers to collect water from the fire hydrant until there was not a drop left, just in case.

Looking at the fresh water stored in the space, Fu Yunong felt that if she and Shi Dong used it sparingly, they could get through the winter without any problem.

The small 20-square-meter space was already packed full, and the two were finally saying goodbye to it.

As dusk fell, Fu Yunong paused, a slight unease creeping into her heart, as she passed the office area.

"Let's go." Shi Dong turned around and gestured for her to follow.

"Coming!" Fu Yunong responded and quickly followed.