Chapter 33 Upgrade: Go to the base to find blueprints
The bad news is that there's clearly a level 2 zombie behind this group of zombies.
However, there was some good news: the number of level one zombies did not increase, indicating that the level two zombie likely only had these few subordinates.
That's normal; the more advanced the zombie, the harder it is to control.
Furthermore, they had previously discovered that a level one zombie could control a maximum of over a hundred zombies at the same time, but there were clearly not thousands of zombies around this group of level one zombies.
This means there probably aren't that many zombies in the vicinity that they can control.
Now, while dealing with these level-one zombies, the key is to determine the location of the level-two zombies.
Level 2 zombies obviously don't need to control Level 1 zombies at close range, but Cheng Zhiyu estimated that the other party shouldn't be too far away from here.
The level 2 zombie should be inside the furniture store.
Xiao Hei clearly shared the same thought.
The next step is to locate the level 2 zombie.
The ordinary zombies on the perimeter were easy to clear out. Tian Qiao could now shoot ten ice arrows at the same time, instantly killing ten zombies. Tian Manman, on the other hand, was quite surprising. She grabbed a marble coffee table and smashed it down, instantly killing a whole group of zombies.
They used to think that Tian Manman was able to survive in a zombie-infested apocalypse because she was fast, but now it seems that they were being naive.
Tian Manman's fighting ability is truly astonishing.
Cheng Zhiyu simply flung the small iron cleaver out, and like chopping a watermelon, instantly sliced off a piece of skull.
Xiao Hei's method was even simpler and more direct: water guns and lightning flew together, and zombies disappeared one after another.
They killed zombies so quickly, and since there were probably no more zombies around, the resupply speed couldn't keep up. Before long, several level-one zombies were exposed in front of everyone.
After a moment, Cheng Zhiyu estimated that there were only three level-one zombies left, not enough to go around even if there was one for each person.
However, no one let their guard down, after all, there was probably a Level 2 agent behind them.
As they dealt with the zombies, they observed them and noticed that the zombies had become much more agitated, a phenomenon that became increasingly apparent as they approached the furniture store's warehouse.
Cheng Zhiyu and Xiao Hei said almost simultaneously, "In the warehouse!"
Whether they knew they had been discovered or not, the remaining zombies charged forward almost recklessly, some even attempting to self-destruct.
Given their distance, if these zombies were to self-destruct, it would be difficult for them to guarantee they wouldn't get injured.
Cheng Zhiyu's expression hardened, and he immediately said, "Remember the fruit I gave you before? Eat it quickly."
Tian Qiao trusted him completely and immediately took out some fruit to eat. Tian Manman, who was standing next to him, did the same. Cheng Zhiyu took out some fruit, fed one to Xiao Hei, and then put it in his own mouth.
The moment the fruit was swallowed, the level one zombies seemed to lose their target. They had received orders to self-destruct on those damned humans, but suddenly they could no longer sense the presence of those humans.
Level 1 zombies have some intelligence, but not much, and because they are not completely brainless, they subconsciously do not want to choose the option of self-destruction.
If they could sense the presence of humans, they would have no choice, but right now, they can't.
Little Yellow's fruit is only effective against level one and ordinary zombies, which means that level two zombies can still sense their presence. Seeing that these idiots suddenly stopped reacting, it became even more agitated and issued commands.
These instructions only confused the level one zombies further. They couldn't find their target, so how could they self-destruct?
While they were confused, Cheng Zhiyu looked at the zombies who suddenly stopped attacking them and felt a little amazed, after all, it was the first time Cheng Zhiyu himself had used this fruit.
I was initially worried that these zombies could see them and that it would be useless, but now it seems that the zombies don't use "seeing" but rather perception.
Regardless of the reason, they dared not delay, as they only had five minutes.
The group quickly dealt with the bewildered Level 1 zombies, and the remaining ordinary zombies were no longer a threat. Ordinary zombies did not have crystal cores, so their self-destruction was harmless.
Tian Qiao and Tian Manman stayed behind to deal with them, while Cheng Zhiyu and Xiao Hei prepared to go to the warehouse.
The level-two zombie obviously wouldn't sit idly by and wait to die. Seeing that its subordinates were no longer useful, it immediately chose to take matters into its own hands.
This further confirms Cheng Zhiyu and his team's guess: this level-two zombie can only control a limited number of level-one zombies, and obviously cannot appear in an endless stream like ordinary zombies.
Thankfully, that's how it is; otherwise, a level two zombie would be incredibly powerful.
This level 2 zombie was obviously much more difficult to deal with than level 1. A gust of wind blew by, and Cheng Zhiyu almost lost his footing.
The howling wind made it difficult for Cheng Zhiyu to even open his eyes, let alone take down a level-two zombie with a single arrow. Moreover, the strong wind interfered with the arrow's trajectory, preventing it from hitting its target.
Xiao Hei created a wall of water to temporarily block the howling wind.
Cheng Zhiyu was finally able to open his eyes, and saw Xiao Hei looking at the window opposite that no longer had glass.
Cheng Zhiyu suddenly realized something: in a confined space, without air circulation, there is no way to create wind.
Therefore, they need to block the main entrance and also block the window behind it.
The level-two zombie was clearly aware of its weakness and stood firmly guarding the window.
As for why the other side didn't go to an open area at the beginning, it probably didn't expect that Cheng Zhiyu and his group would easily deal with those level one zombies.
After all, which of the superhumans who appeared here before wasn't just there to be killed?
It hid here, using this method to turn those superhumans into its subordinates one by one, but unexpectedly, it suffered a setback today.
Thinking of this, the wind blew even more fiercely.
Cheng Zhiyu and Xiao Hei exchanged a glance. Having faced so many crises together, they had developed a tacit understanding and instantly grasped each other's meaning.
At this moment, Tian Qiao and Tian Manman, who had finished dealing with the zombies outside, also arrived. Cheng Zhiyu immediately said, "Close the warehouse door! Seal all the gaps!"
Although Tian Qiao didn't know why, she immediately took action.
Tian Manman was strong and managed to close the door despite the strong wind, while Tian Qiao used ice to block the gaps in the door.
Their actions drove the level-two zombies even more frenzied, making their attacks increasingly fierce and chaotic. A wind blade slammed into the door, creating a hole, which Tian Qiao immediately plugged with ice.
The next moment, the wind suddenly stopped, and Xiao Hei's water wall firmly blocked the window. The level 2 zombie tried to break it open with its wind blade, but an arrow came whistling through the air. It frantically tried to block the arrow with its wind blade, but unexpectedly, a bolt of lightning struck. The level 2 zombie trembled, but it was indeed quite resilient. It only trembled briefly after being struck. However, before it could recover, Xiao Hei struck countless bolts of lightning.
Then, the arrow that had just been blocked by the level 2 zombie, mixed with a ball of fire from Xiao Er, took advantage of the gap and rushed straight over. Caught off guard, the level 2 zombie was struck by lightning and hit by this arrow carrying Xiao Er's fire, finally causing it to fall down.
Cheng Zhiyu exhaled, his hand holding the gun trembling slightly. Xiao Hei didn't even glance at the zombie on the ground before jumping into Cheng Zhiyu's arms.
At the same time, Tian Qiao's movements could be heard outside the door. He may have noticed something, allowing Tian Manman to push the door open.
When the door was pushed open, Cheng Zhiyu was seen standing not far away, holding Xiao Hei in his arms, while the zombie they had never seen before was lying on the ground.
Tian Qiao and Tian Manman walked over quickly: "Chengzi, you're so handsome!"
Cheng Zhiyu smiled and said, "It's all thanks to your teamwork with Manman. You two reacted quickly, otherwise it would have been a bit tricky for Xiao Hei and me to deal with that zombie."
He certainly didn't think it was all his own achievement; in fact, every time a crisis occurred, it was thanks to their cooperation.
When Tian Qiao and Tian Manman were praised, one grinned from ear to ear, while the other lowered her head shyly.
Cheng Zhiyu felt the movement in his arms, looked down, and saw that Xiao Hei had casually looked away from him.
He suppressed a laugh, knowing exactly what the other person was thinking, and rubbed Xiao Hei's head: "Of course, the most powerful one is still Xiao Hei. I think you can handle this zombie even without me."
Xiao Hei said that he didn't care whether Cheng Zhiyu praised him or not. He just happened to glance at the other person, so why did Cheng Zhiyu misunderstand?
However, upon hearing the other person's last words, he still said, "...I can't live without you."
He might not be used to saying such things, so his voice was a little soft, but Cheng Zhiyu still heard him clearly. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, and he muttered, "Xiao Hei has such a sweet tongue."
Xiao Hei: "..."
Why is his mouth so sweet?
Xiao Hei glanced at Cheng Zhiyu with a strange expression, but the latter was looking at the zombies on the ground and didn't notice.
Cheng Zhiyu took the knife and dug out the crystal core from the head of the level 2 zombie. They had only dug out the crystal cores of level 1 zombies before, and now they found that the crystal cores of different levels of zombies were different sizes.
Level 1 zombies are only the size of an index finger, while Level 2 zombies are already the size of a one-yuan coin.
This is just a wind-type zombie. Cheng Zhiyu and his group had encountered level one wind-type zombies before, whose crystal cores were a very light blue. This level two one, however, was noticeably a bit darker than the level one.
Seeing Tian Qiao curiously craning his neck to look, Cheng Zhiyu simply tossed the crystal core to him so he could see it.
Tian Qiao didn't stand on ceremony, after all, it was a level two zombie crystal core! It was the first time he had seen it, so he looked at it over and over for a while, then asked Tian Manman if she wanted to see it. When she shook her head, he gave the crystal core to Cheng Zhiyu.
They don't have any wind elemental users, so they don't need the crystal cores for the time being. Cheng Zhiyu has storage space, so the crystal cores they don't need are all entrusted to him for safekeeping.
As for the first-level crystal core, it contained all sorts of superpowers. Cheng Zhiyu directly assigned them: water-type to Xiao Hei, ice-type to Tian Qiao, and speed-type to Tian Manman.
The fire and metal elements were given to Xiao Er and Xiao Tie respectively. Cheng Zhiyu was pleasantly surprised to find that there was also a plant element, which Xiao Qiang could actually use.
Unfortunately, there are no mental zombies. What Xiao Huang needs is a mental crystal core, which is obviously quite rare.
Cheng Zhiyu didn't know whether he should have any expectations. If he encountered a psychic zombie, he would have hoped for its crystal core, but he didn't have any expectations because, obviously, psychic zombies would be difficult to deal with.
I don't want to think about this for now.
However, what's good is that Xiao Er and Xiao Tie were originally on the verge of level two to level three, but now that they have crystal cores, they can easily upgrade to level three.
The change in Xiao Er was obvious; he went from a fireball the size of a head to the size of a human body.
It burns zombies incredibly fast; ordinary zombies die instantly upon contact, while level one zombies are killed in a maximum of ten seconds.
As for Xiao Tie, it has an additional form that can be transformed. Cheng Zhiyu hasn't decided on a third form yet, so it's put aside for now.
The system space upgrade was not delayed this time. Thanks to the upgrades of Xiao Er and Xiao Tie, the system space has also increased from 7*7 to 9*9.
Because he was outside, Cheng Zhiyu couldn't go in to check. However, that didn't stop him from thinking that the system was stingy. It said that the system space had been upgraded, but the problem was that since Xiao Er and Xiao Tie had been upgraded from level two to level three, their physical size had also increased, and the area they occupied had also increased.
Because of this, although the system space is said to have increased, the actual freed-up area is not much more.
The system he criticized stated: "The system space inherently does not allow planting plants outside the system."
Cheng Zhiyu pretended not to hear; he had already planted them anyway.
system:【……】
As for Xiaoqiang, it seems that leveling up is not so easy for him. Even after the level one zombie crystal core was absorbed, he did not level up to level two.
However, Cheng Zhiyu wasn't in such a hurry; it wouldn't happen that quickly.
Next, they found a safe place and released Xiaoqiang. Tian Qiao and the others were busy absorbing the crystal cores, while Cheng Zhiyu, who didn't need to absorb any, decided to tidy up the room.
Wipe the bed clean and put on new bedding and sheets...
After Tian Qiao and the others finished absorbing the crystal cores, they smelled the aroma of food. Xiao Hei took the lead and walked outside on his short legs, where he saw Cheng Zhiyu cooking in the open space outside.
In fact, it's all thanks to those level one zombies that they attracted all the zombies from the surrounding area at once. They dealt with those zombies, and now the outside is empty, so there's no need to worry about zombies suddenly appearing.
Xiao Hei sat down next to Cheng Zhiyu, and Tian Qiao and Tian Manman came over from behind. Tian Qiao took a deep breath: "Wow, it smells so good! Chengzi, you are so virtuous!"
Cheng Zhiyu ignored him and said, "Let's eat."
"Okay!"
On the table, Tian Qiao saw a lot of eggs and frowned, "Why are there eggs again?"
It's not that it doesn't taste good, it's just that I've been eating so many eggs lately that I'm starting to feel scared of them.
Before he could even finish speaking, and before Cheng Zhiyu could say anything, Xiao Hei glared at him, as if to say: Eat if you like, get lost if you don't.
Don't you know how hard Cheng Zhiyu works to cook?
Tian Qiao felt guilty: "I didn't mean anything by it..."
He just mentioned it casually; of course, he didn't think it was a given that Orange should cook—that would be too shameless. Besides, he would always find something to do while Orange cooked...
Tian Qiao thought about it and felt that it wasn't good to have Chengzi cook every day. He looked at Xiao Hei and then at Tian Manman, gave up on both of them, and said to Cheng Zhiyu, "How about we take turns cooking from now on?"
Cheng Zhiyu was amused: "No, I don't dare to eat the food you make."
Tian Qiao laughed too: "Oh, so you're starting to look down on me, Orange."
Cheng Zhiyu said innocently, "I didn't say that."
He rejected Tian Qiao's suggestion. Even if Tian Qiao could make something edible, he would still be willing to let her make it. The problem was, it wouldn't even be edible.
Moreover, he knew that Tian Qiao wasn't that kind of person; his cooking was a sacrifice, and Tian Qiao's other work was also a sacrifice.
Anyway, he never interfered after each meal; Xiao Hei would even use his water-based supernatural abilities to wash the dishes.
However, Cheng Zhiyu knew, of course, that Xiao Hei was on his side. He touched Xiao Hei's ear and asked, "Xiao Hei feels sorry for me?"
Xiao Hei felt ticklish and instinctively shook its head, stubbornly saying, "No."
"Okay, okay, no, let's eat." Cheng Zhiyu said, "But we really can't eat eggs every meal... I wonder if we can trade some supplies with someone."
They did encounter other people along the way, but they didn't really interact with them.
Tian Qiao also said, "We can't find anyone unless we go to the base."
Cheng Zhiyu thought for a moment and said, "If it's on our way to the base, we can go and take a look."
Xiao Hei looked at him: "Why do you suddenly want to go to the base?"
Cheng Zhiyu said, "We're doing pretty well right now, but the zombies are constantly evolving, and we know so little about them. Even just going to the base to gather some useful information would be helpful."
After he finished speaking, he glanced at Tian Qiao, but didn't say anything else. Actually, what he wanted to ask most was whether their family had a base...
I just don't know if there's any way for the bases to communicate with each other.
Cheng Zhiyu said all this in order to get the opinions of the other members.
Tian Qiao said, "I'll listen to you. If we don't communicate with other superhumans, there are some information we really can't obtain."
Xiao Hei didn't have any objections. He was already following Cheng Zhiyu, and he had subconsciously ignored his previous plan to leave Cheng once he was able to protect himself.
Tian Manman was still not very talkative, but perhaps because everyone was more familiar with him, he didn't barely say a few words a day like before. He nodded and said, "I'll listen to... Brother Cheng."
Since no one has any objections, let's leave it at that for now. From now on, when we encounter people with superpowers, we won't deliberately avoid them anymore.
That evening, Cheng Zhiyu pondered which of Xiao Tie's third forms would be the best choice.
Having learned his lesson the first time, he was now very cautious and asked the system first, "System, can Little Iron transform into a firearm now?"
System: [...Yes, but only for small-scale operations.]
Cheng Zhiyu received a fairly satisfactory answer. He had originally wanted a cannon to blast the zombies to death, but since the system said it was limited to small-sized ones, that was obviously impossible.
Cheng Zhiyu then confirmed with the system: "Is a handgun okay?"
System: 【…Okay.】
Cheng Zhiyu asked again, "What about the mechanical gun...?"
System: 【…Okay.】
Upon hearing this, Cheng Zhiyu was practically itching to get started. That was a gun! He'd never even seen one before, and now he was about to have one. How could he not be excited?
However, he quickly calmed down. Now there was an important problem: he didn't have the blueprints.
He found the blueprints for the gun in a book, but where was he supposed to find the blueprints for the gun?
Seeing his worried expression, Xiao Hei thought for a moment and asked, "Didn't you say you were going to the base? Will the base have any?"
Cheng Zhiyu's eyes lit up, and he excitedly picked up Xiao Hei and kissed it: "It's possible! You're so smart, Xiao Hei! I heard from Li Renyi and the others that some bases are official bases. Official bases should have soldiers, right? If there are soldiers, they should have blueprints."
I don't know if this drawing will be easy to work with, but anyway, I have some ideas now.
Cheng Zhiyu now really wants to own a mechanical gun whenever he thinks about it, and he even hopes he can try it out.
Anyway, let's go take a look first. Maybe we can get the blueprints. Besides, he only wants the blueprints, not the actual gun. It shouldn't be that difficult...
So Cheng Zhiyu told Tian Qiao and Tian Manman again, and the group's idea of "going to the base if possible" changed to "going to the base specifically to take a look".
Tian Qiao rubbed his hands together and chuckled, "Chengzi, when you have your gun, let me touch it, okay?"
Cheng Zhiyu was amused by his appearance: "If I could really get my hands on it, I'd let you use it, let alone touch it."
Tian Qiao was completely satisfied.
Since we're planning to go to the base, we naturally need to inquire about information related to it.
The next day, they encountered two people with superpowers, a married couple.
They were carrying backpacks, and both were rather thin, especially the woman, whose face looked particularly distressed. She didn't exchange much with the man throughout the entire conversation.
In the apocalypse, even those with superpowers don't necessarily fare well; clearly, they are among those who are not doing so well.
At first, when they first met, both sides were wary of each other and didn't talk much. The couple didn't talk much either. Cheng Zhiyu thought they didn't look like a married couple at all.
Because there were outsiders present, Cheng Zhiyu didn't take out the treehouse. However, he had a tent in his storage space. With outsiders around, he cautiously pretended to take the tent out of his backpack, threw the original contents of the backpack into his storage space, and the backpack immediately flattened. Then he busied himself setting up the tent.
They have now left their original location in City A. Their current location is in the suburbs, where there are no houses to be found. Although the tents cannot keep them warm, they are better than sleeping under the open sky.
They kept a distance from the two superhumans, avoiding any interference.
The male superhuman glanced at Xiao Hei a few times, probably wondering why people would keep pets in this apocalyptic world.
Xiao Hei was getting a little annoyed by the stares, and Cheng Zhiyu had also told it not to use its powers lightly, so it flicked its tail impatiently.
Cheng Zhiyu patted Xiao Hei and looked at the male superhuman.
The latter probably didn't expect Cheng Zhiyu to look over, and gave an awkward smile. Although Cheng Zhiyu and his companions didn't look very strong, their healthy complexions were enough to show that they were not simple.
After all, most people wouldn't have such a good life in the apocalypse, so the male superhuman was exceptionally polite.
Seeing that the other person's eyes held no malice, Cheng Zhiyu simply nodded slightly as a greeting and quickly looked away.
With outsiders present, a table couldn't be set up for a meal like before. Cheng Zhiyu, using Tian Qiao's backpack as cover, took out a few eggs from the bag.
Tian Qiao wasn't very hungry yet. Seeing that it was an egg, she put it aside without eating it, planning to eat it when she got hungry again.
Tian Manman wasn't picky at all, eating an egg in two bites.
To be honest, Cheng Zhiyu was getting tired of eating eggs. If there weren't other people around, he wouldn't have chosen to eat eggs, but he still ate them.
As for Xiao Hei, the other party said, "I'm not hungry."
Cheng Zhiyu raised an eyebrow: "Really not hungry?"
Xiao Hei glanced at it and said, "Hmm."
Cheng Zhiyu sighed, "Hey, I was just about to say I'd get you some potato chips if you were hungry."
Little Black's tail stiffened. He hadn't eaten potato chips for a while. Cheng Zhiyu was very strict about this, and since he ate very well every day, he hadn't paid any attention.
But now... Xiao Hei hesitated for a moment, choosing between saving face and getting potato chips, and then... jumped into Cheng Zhiyu's arms, rubbing its tail against his wrist.
Cheng Zhiyu tried hard to suppress his laughter: "Okay, okay, I'll get you some potato chips."
Just then, a male superhuman walked over from not far away.
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