Chapter 34 Shelter

A month is enough for the world to be completely turned upside down, and enough for Bai Chenzhu to go from being bewildered when he first arrived in this strange world to gradually adapting.

In this world, quick-thinking individuals have already banded together, forming groups of varying sizes, both official and private.

There are not many guns and ammunition left in Fuguang City, and there is currently no production channel. Even in official shelters, weapons mostly serve a deterrent purpose, and the main reliance is still on human force.

Bai Chenzhu pushed his bicycle closer to the shelter in front of him, but was stopped before he could enter. He was asked to hand over some supplies in exchange for being allowed to enter the city.

As expected, he handed over his bicycle and several bags of instant noodles as per the rule.

The city's facilities were fairly complete, but due to the lack of water, there was a faint, unpleasant odor. He carried his backpack forward, treading on the filthy road, observing the families and passersby on both sides. His striking appearance and solitary figure attracted many eager glances.

Bai Chenzhu paused, stopped, and coldly surveyed the surroundings. Perhaps it was his unfriendly expression that made those secretly watching him much more cautious.

"How could you hit someone in the street!" A young man angrily accused a portly middle-aged man.

"She deserves it, who told her to block my way?" The middle-aged man rolled his eyes.

The young man's face turned red with anger. "You still can't push her down! Besides, you have superpowers and extraordinary strength. That push could have killed someone!"

"Go ahead and tell the captain to punish me if you dare!" The middle-aged man scoffed and turned to leave.

Bai Chenzhu entered the crowd of onlookers and felt that the young man in the hoodie looked very familiar.

In a flash, he remembered the high school student he had met at the hospital; they had traveled to Jiangzhou City together back then.

It's Tang Zhao!

I unexpectedly ran into someone I knew.

Tang Zhao was about to argue with the middle-aged man when the woman took the opportunity to escape, leaving him standing there like a fool, upholding a vague and illusory morality.

Bai Chenzhu grabbed his forearm. Tang Zhao, who was about to follow, was startled. He turned around and saw Bai Chenzhu, and froze for a long time. "You...you...you..." He was speechless, almost jumping up. "Brother Bai!"

Tang Zhao pounced on Bai Chenzhu like a koala, which brought a smile to Bai Chenzhu's face.

"Long time no see." He nodded and put Tang Zhao down. "I'm new here, can you introduce me?"

Tang Zhao was overjoyed and completely forgot about what had just happened. He quickly put his arm around Bai Chenzhu's shoulder and walked inside.

Tang Zhao left with Bai Chenzhu to go to Jiangzhou City, but his family suffered a misfortune and his relatives and friends were not by his side. Overnight, he was all alone and didn't know how to live.

Fortunately, he is good at adapting to his environment, so in order to survive in this post-apocalyptic version of Earth Online, he has to cling to the official support!

Tang Zhao vaguely remembered that Bai Chenzhu had said that Fuyun City was his hometown, so he quickly decided to seek refuge with Bai Chenzhu, the only one who knew where he was, and came here.

He followed the officials and arrived in Fuguang City. Fuguang City was originally a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Fuyun City. Not knowing where to go, he temporarily settled there.

The leader of the shelter is Mr. Zhao, the original leader of Fuguang City.

But he is now in dire straits. There is a group of people who survived the virus and whose physical fitness has improved to the point that it surpasses that of troops who have been trained for many years.

In this situation, more and more people are having ulterior motives, clamoring to challenge the person in charge.

In response, the county leaders came up with a solution: to form a separate team of people with special abilities, assigning them the task of patrolling and clearing out zombies around the shelter in exchange for housing and three meals a day, thus giving them a prestigious status.

The leader of the superpowered individuals is Chen Hao, who previously clamored to become the owner of the shelter. He is arrogant and rude.

Tang Zhao is now working in the only team of superhumans.

"Brother Bai, are you listening to me? Hey? What are you looking at?" Tang Zhao jumped around him like a little stray dog ​​trying to attract attention.

Bai Chenzhu pointed eastward and asked, "Are there patrols over there too?"

The place he was referring to had a tightly closed, dilapidated iron gate, and the surrounding earthen walls were crumbling, probably mud walls that hadn't been demolished when the new house was built.

"Of course! Each gate is guarded by dedicated personnel, and there are also mobile patrols to absolutely guarantee the safety of the city. Brother Bai, why are you asking this?"

"Nothing much. Take me to meet Mr. Zhao?" Bai Chenzhu withdrew his gaze and assessed his own worth. "I think he would be willing to listen to me talk about people with superpowers."

After listening to so much from Tang Zhao, he couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed when he met Mr. Zhao.

Mr. Zhao was pot-bellied, dressed in a neat blue shirt that would be considered tidy even in the apocalypse, and wore glasses. He spoke with a smile, like a kind clay figure, without a trace of aggression.

Mr. Zhao originally did not want to meet outsiders, but Tang Zhao said that Bai Chenzhu was a person with supernatural abilities. Only then did he agree to meet him.

He spoke in official jargon, chatting and laughing, while secretly sizing up the thin young man with his eyes. "I wonder, Mr. Bai, how do your supernatural abilities compare to Tang Zhao's?"

Bai Chenzhu shook his head and said selectively, "It's incomparable. I'm a little different from him. My special ability is mainly to detect the location of nearby zombies."

"Oh? The location of the nearby zombies?" Mr. Zhao's eyes changed slightly. He relaxed and lay back on the sofa. His tone was gentle, but it carried a hint of something indescribable. "Things that everyone can see are considered superpowers? Mr. Bai may not know, but only those with heightened senses and superhuman physical strength, endurance, and combat ability, like Tang Zhao, can be considered superpowered individuals."

Explaining what a psychic ability user is would require a lot of explanation, Bai Chenzhu pondered. "I'd like to join Tang Zhao's team. What are the requirements?"

Mr. Zhao's attitude was much more casual than before. "It's a pity that the team is already full."

Bai Chenzhu could easily see the other party's contempt. He remained expressionless and suddenly said, "When I entered, I saw that the eastern wall was unguarded and there were three or five zombies nearby. If we don't send someone in time, the zombies might enter the shelter in a little while."

Mr. Zhao was displeased. "Mr. Bai, have you misjudged me? Every door here is guarded by a dedicated person. It's impossible for the situation you described to occur."

Bai Chenzhu picked up his backpack, stood tall and elegant, neither humble nor arrogant, and said, "Excuse me."

Mr. Zhao did not get up.

He took a few steps when the door suddenly opened, and a man rushed into the office in a panic. "Mr. Zhao, something terrible has happened! Someone has neglected their duties, allowing zombies to enter the city!"

The man mumbled a bunch of things in his own language. As Bai Chenzhu walked, he pondered: the zombies seemed to be moving faster than he had expected.

"Wait!" A voice called from behind, and Mr. Zhao immediately changed his demeanor. "Mr. Bai, wait a minute!"

The superpowered team suddenly found themselves short of members again.

Bai Chenzhu received the supplies and followed Tang Zhao to the room that had been assigned to them. The room was cramped, with four people sharing one room.

He packed his things, sat cross-legged on the bed, and watched the daylight outside gradually dim until it turned into night.

Bai Chenzhu wondered: What should I do next?

Perhaps I should first get to know life here, get to know the team members well, and then settle down here in the future.

Bai Chenzhu ignored the vague sense of rejection in his heart.

He thought: Every human being would do this, so it's the right choice, there's no mistake.

He ate a few pieces of bread and went outside to observe the makeshift shelter.

There were many tents pitched along the roadside, and some people simply laid out a cloth on the ground as their home. If it weren't for the presence of some technological products, Bai Chenzhu would have almost thought he had returned to ancient times.

As Bai Chenzhu walked and looked around, the sense of unreality grew stronger.

He wasn't looking where he was going, so his toes were pressed down by something, and suddenly there was a person lying on the ground in front of him.

"Ouch! Help! Help! Someone's hitting an old man!" A man of about sixty years old lay down in front of him, clinging to Bai Chenzhu's leg and refusing to let go. "Is there no justice in this world? This is bullying!"

Bai Chenzhu frowned and pulled his leg out, but the old man crawled towards him twice, howling and wailing, and then grabbed his leg and started yelling again.

"What do you want?" Bai Chenzhu was getting a headache from his noisy voice.

"Give me some food!" the old man said immediately.

"I don't."

"You're lying! I saw your backpack was bulging when you came into town this morning!" the old man shouted angrily.

What if I don't?

"You think you're right to hit someone? Don't even think about leaving without food," the old man said arrogantly.

Bai Chenzhu saw that a group of people gradually gathered around, while others ignored it and went about their business.

He vaguely saw some people holding tools, helping the old man to morally blackmail him, saying, "Young man, you look decent enough, how can you bully an old man?"

"Yes, just give him some food as compensation. The old man has it tough on his own. I think he has elderly parents and young children to support. Don't hold it against him."

...

Bai Chenzhu pulled his leg back again, then lifted it and, in full view of everyone, stepped over the old man.

The old man's eyes widened in surprise, and he scrambled to his feet. "You little brat, you're asking for trouble, aren't you?"

When those with tools saw that he wasn't having any of it, they swarmed forward, intending to use force.

Fueled by pent-up anger, Bai Chenzhu raised his fist, his eyes fierce. He quickly knocked down the person running ahead, then grabbed the shoulder of the charging man and executed a practiced over-the-shoulder throw. More and more people surged forward.

A cheerful voice broke in, "Hey, hey, hey, what are you all doing! That's a new member of our team!"

After Tang Zhao appeared in the crowd, he revealed Bai Chenzhu's identity as a superhuman. Those who had originally wanted to bully Bai Chenzhu for being alone instantly got up from the ground and disappeared.

"Brother, are you alright?" Tang Zhao checked on him worriedly. Seeing that he was fine, he couldn't help but sigh. "How did you get like this after I was gone for a short while? How about I show you around the base?"

Bai Chenzhu was slightly disappointed to see that everyone had left. He nodded and said, "It was just an accident. Come with me and wander around."

Actually, he had already explored most of the place, but Tang Zhao took him to a few places he frequented: the place where missions were assigned, the place where supplies were collected, and public areas.

"Fuguang City now implements a system of 'more work, more pay.' Everyone can take on tasks and exchange their labor for survival supplies. There are designated places for showering and sleeping, but if you're not satisfied, you can find your own. For example, most of the people you see setting up tents by the roadside don't like sleeping in one room with a group of people, so they find their own places..."

Bai Chenzhu stepped over a pile of filth, looked around at the groups of three or five people, and suddenly asked, "There are so many people in the city, but there's only one superpower team. Are you all strength-type superpower users?"

"I don't understand what you mean." Tang Zhao chuckled twice. "Are there other superhumans?"

“For example, my ability is to detect the location of zombies around me.” Bai Chenzhu paused, swallowing back the second half of his sentence, “It can also detect the location of other ability users.”

"Wow! Bro, you're amazing!" Tang Zhao's eyes lit up. "But there really isn't anyone like you in the team."

"Not a single one?"

Tang Zhao shook his head, starting to doubt himself after being questioned in return. He scratched his head and said, "Maybe I don't know?"

Bai Chenzhu led him around casually, and then climbed up a tall building in the night. The top floor was unlocked, so he took Tang Zhao up and found a spot on the rooftop to observe the surroundings.

He gazed at the distant moon, the surrounding scene no longer a dazzling interplay of light and shadow, but a silent darkness. Only a few faint, hazy lights shone from within Fuguang City.

Tang Zhao tensed up and checked the surroundings. "Brother, you don't know, some infected stray cats and dogs can sneak in. We need to be extra careful."

He nimbly leaped up, sat down beside the cypress bamboo, and took out a piece of chocolate from his pocket. "Want some?"

“It’s a dessert.” Bai Chenzhu remembered something. He shook his head and refused, “You eat it.”

"What are you thinking about, brother? You look so serious." Tang Zhao took small bites of chocolate.

Bai Chenzhu suddenly said, "I miss home. I have no relatives or friends here."

He paused, then lowered his eyes and said, "It's better this way. This isn't a good place anyway."

"Brother, don't be sad," Tang Zhao said, feeling the same way. He even lost his appetite for the precious chocolate and said with a dark ring around his lips, "My parents are no longer alive, but I often think that it's better that they're gone. This place isn't a good place, but we're still alive, and we still have to keep living. Don't worry, brother, as long as we take on more missions, we can get by."

"I was being stubborn," Bai Chenzhu patted Tang Zhao on the shoulder to comfort him. He stood up, stretched, and gazed into the distance from the railing. "Tang Zhao, have you thought about your future?"

Tang Zhao finished the last bite of chocolate, licked his lips, looked up at him, his heart as blue as the sky, "Take on more missions, get a bigger room, eat and drink as you please!"

"Are you planning to stay in this base for the rest of your life?"

"Otherwise what?" Tang Zhao tilted his head. "Humans are social animals, we always have to stay together. Aren't you planning to stay, bro? No way, I'm actually quite happy to see you. I haven't had any friends here for so long."

He went on and on complaining about his experiences.

Bai Chenzhu smiled upon hearing this, recalling when he saw Tang Zhao in the city that morning. Tang Zhao didn't even care about the people who had been bullied and had already disappeared. Only Tang Zhao was foolishly demanding an apology and upholding some vague sense of justice.

Such a person, who has not yet been tested by society, has entered the apocalypse and is bound to be out of place.

"By the way, brother, what happened to you after we parted ways last time and you went back to Fuyun City?" Tang Zhao couldn't help but ask. He noticed that Bai Chenzhu was quite clean when he entered the city, and his backpack was quite full. Moreover, the weakness he used to have, where he would get out of breath after walking a few steps, was gone.

Could it be that superpowers altered his physical condition? If a normal person gains superpowers and their body is strengthened, then if someone who was already weak gains superpowers, their physique would seem quite normal. Tang Zhao figured out a formula and convinced himself of it.

"Me?" Bai Chenzhu turned to look at him, thought carefully for a moment, and used a few words to summarize her actions after arriving in this other world, "No goals, just getting by, taking things as they come. I happened to meet a magical person and traveled with him for a while."

"An amazing person?" Tang Zhao exclaimed. "How amazing?"

"Uh, it's hard to describe." Bai Chenzhu rubbed his forehead. "He's someone with a clear goal. Although I'm not interested in his goal, his journey is more absurd and thrilling than staying at the base worrying about daily food, clothing, and shelter. If you're in his team, you have to put up with the bad ideas that guy comes up with from time to time."

"In some ways, it's simpler there, and you don't have to deal with all that messy interpersonal relationships."

Tang Zhao keenly sensed the emotions hidden between his lines, "Brother, are you dissatisfied with the shelter?"

“If all human bases test humanity like this…” Bai Chenzhu sighed, looking into the distance without saying the rest of his sentence.

I really don't know where to go from here.

He didn't belong here, so he had no intention of saving or adapting to this broken world. He had nearly fallen into nothingness several times because of this, and what shattered his dangerous thoughts was always the occasional noise someone made.

The following day, he followed Tang Zhao to report to the superhuman squad.

The superhuman team had a private conference room in the office building. He walked behind Tang Zhao and could clearly sense countless scrutinizing gazes and faint laughter as he went.

The tall, thin young man looked like a celebrity, aloof and unforgettable.

However, from the very first meeting, Chen Hao's attitude towards the superhuman team was not friendly.

Tang Zhao opened the door, and Bai Chenzhu's eyes narrowed. She pulled Tang Zhao aside, and a chair flew out of the doorway.

"Oh, you're pretty good at hiding," Chen Hao sneered. "Why isn't my vice-captain showing up, sneaking around like this?"

Bai Chenzhu walked into the room from behind the door and saw the captain, Chen Hao, with a face full of scars.

It is said that people with fierce faces are mostly short-tempered. Bai Chenzhu pondered this, and his first question was, "Would that be considered damaging supplies?"

Chen Hao's face immediately stiffened, and the atmosphere in the superhuman team became somewhat strange.

In times of crisis and shortage of supplies, Fuguang City has a set of rules to protect public property, and those who arbitrarily damage public property will be fined.

"You meddle in everything!"

"After all, he was parachuted in, so we should at least learn more about the team's situation." Bai Chenzhu broke through the calm surface of the undercurrents. "It wouldn't be good if we offended the captain."

"You do have some self-awareness," Chen Hao said. "But by dodging the chair, you've already offended me."

Bai Chenzhu said, "My mistake. How about I go with the captain to the mission this afternoon?"

Chen Hao had already planned to teach this ungrateful person a lesson, and now that the person had offered to go on the mission with him, he immediately smiled and pondered how to teach him a lesson.

Bai Chenzhu could see through his scheme with just one glance, but pretended not to know anything.

The mission location was an orchard near the base, and they were escorting a group of people there to pick fruit.

Chen Hao, with a blade of grass in his mouth, looked around and then had an idea. "Hey."

He called out, "The fruit over there is bigger. Take a basket and come with me to see it."

Bai Chenzhu guessed that he planned to find a secluded spot to teach him a lesson, so he borrowed a basket and followed him out. Chen Hao, confident in his strength, didn't think he needed to bring along anyone else to teach someone a lesson. Therefore, it was just the two of them, without any others.

As they walked, Bai Chenzhu suddenly said, "Captain, if we keep going, we'll encounter zombies."

"You're talking nonsense! All you do is spout gibberish all day long!" Chen Hao roared, his temper flaring. "Just come with me!"

Bai Chenzhu nodded and asked, "If there are zombies, can the captain fight them alone?"

"Ha, Captain, I can take on ten men!" Chen Hao said with high spirits.

Bai Chenzhu was relieved. Seeing that the zombies he had summoned with his mental power were almost there, he put the basket on the ground, rolled up his sleeves, climbed up the tree in a few quick movements, and sat down by the tree, saying calmly, "I've detected a zombie attack. Good luck, Captain."

Chen Hao was puzzled.

Chen Hao sneered.

Just as Chen Hao was about to make a sarcastic remark, several swaying zombies actually emerged from the woods, and his expression completely changed.