Chapter 57: Mission Two – The Port

Chapter Fifty-Seven

With the help of her cloak, Mei wandered through the orchard as if strolling in a park, leisurely picking and choosing, collecting two of every mutated fruit tree into her own space before finally feeling satisfied.

Before night fell, everyone withdrew from the farmstead. Although they had dealt with most of the dangers there, and even the remaining threats had been identified, no one planned to spend the night out of caution. After all, who could guarantee that new dangers wouldn’t emerge after dark?

The six of them quickly evacuated, none of them aware—not even Mei herself—that their every move over the past two days had been watched by others.

In a room bathed in white, a figure gazed at the images on a screen, eyes glittering with interest. When he saw the six people leave the farmstead, the screen returned to darkness, and only then did he press a button on his desk.

“Send Number 362 to Changyang Base.” His cool voice transmitted through the intercom. Releasing the button, his expression returned to calm as he continued manipulating the other instruments in the room, occasionally jotting down various formulas and data on paper. His concentration was so intense, it was as if nothing existed in his world but his experiments and data.

After resting for a night outside the farmstead, the six of them headed east toward their next mission site.

Their second mission appeared on the surface to be a simple supply collection, but the port where the mission was located—though not the largest in the province—was not small either. Before the apocalypse, two passenger ships had just docked, and with the staff working at the port, the number of zombies there was considerable.

The base had already organized two attempts to clear the port, knowing supplies were there. However, the four factions within the base watched each other warily, unwilling to exert full effort for fear others would benefit. Moreover, a water-type zombie of at least third rank was entrenched at the port, using the nearby river to its advantage. Both times, the zombie managed to escape, and the assaults resulted in heavy casualties instead. After two failed attempts, the mission was shelved, waiting for another organized attack—until Ye Jingxuan chose it.

“With water right beside it, a water-type’s advantages are maximized—easy to attack and just as easy to escape. This mission is truly a challenge!” Mo Chen remarked after Ye Jingxuan briefed them on the task.

“My plan is this: if we can kill the water-type zombie, all the better. If not, we’ll focus on getting the supplies out. It would have been difficult before, but now that we all have storage spaces, anyone can check a box and immediately store the contents. That way, we save a lot of time and energy, and reduce the danger involved in searching for supplies.” Ye Jingxuan explained his plan.

“The supplies won’t all be in the warehouse, right? What about the shipping containers? Our ten-cubic-meter spaces aren’t small, but they can’t even fit a single large container!” An Ziyou pointed out.

Ye Jingxuan didn’t reply immediately, instead turning his gaze to Mei and Mo Chen. Both possessed spatial abilities, though no one else knew how large their spaces were.

“Don’t look at me. I can’t fit those containers either,” Mo Chen said lazily as soon as he caught Ye Jingxuan’s look.

“Leave it to me. Pack what you can, and whatever doesn’t fit, I’ll take care of it,” Mei offered nonchalantly.

She might be unconcerned, but Lin Shaojie and Qu Wenyuan couldn’t help but marvel. How vast must her space be, for her to collect things so recklessly? It could even support crops and livestock—she was practically defying the heavens!

An Ziyou, however, showed little reaction, and continued analyzing, “We won’t need all those supplies. Cars, for instance, are useless to us without fuel.”

“It doesn’t matter. My space is big enough. Who knows when we’ll need them? If they can’t run, we can always use the parts. Whether useful or not, we can sort through everything once we’re back.” As a compulsive collector, Mei naturally supported Ye Jingxuan’s suggestion—just put everything into her space first; it saved both time and effort.

With Mei’s agreement, Ye Jingxuan was in high spirits. They hashed out the details and finalized their plan of action.

As soon as their vehicle entered the port, they received a fervent welcome from a horde of zombies.

Mo Chen steered while Ye Jingxuan reinforced the car’s defenses, driving straight toward the warehouse.

Drawn by the commotion, the zombies poured from every corner of the port, surging to block their path. Thanks to the heavily modified vehicle, Mo Chen managed to forge a path through the living dead.

As soon as the car stopped at the warehouse door, the rear cargo door flew open and a barrage of arrow-like energy poured out, halting the zombies’ advance.

Mei and the others held the line at the vehicle, keeping the zombies at bay, while Mo Chen and Ye Jingxuan quickly entered the warehouse to clear out the zombies inside. Once it was secured, they signaled the others.

Upon receiving the signal, Mei and the rest abandoned the car and fought their way toward the warehouse. Mo Chen and Ye Jingxuan returned to support them at the entrance.

Once everyone was inside, Mo Chen pressed a button, sealing the warehouse doors and shutting out the countless zombies.

“Whew, I’m exhausted!” Lin Shaojie collapsed onto the floor, his body limp from overusing his abilities.

Qu Wenyuan was equally spent, so tired she could barely speak, sitting on the ground and gulping for air.

An Ziyou’s ability wasn’t suited for this kind of combat, so he’d used the light machine gun Ye Jingxuan provided and wasn’t particularly tired.

As for Mei, despite killing the most zombies, she looked the least fatigued of the six. She focused intently on the warehouse door, as if peering through it.

“Xiao Mei, what did you throw out when the door was closing?” Mo Chen asked after catching his breath.

Just before the door shut, Mei had tossed something outside. Mo Chen had only seen a dark object, slightly larger than his fist, but hadn’t caught what it was.

Mei turned and produced a similar item from her space for him to see. “Here, it’s this.”

“This is... a peach?” Mo Chen eyed the item in her hand, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

The others were equally puzzled—why throw a peach at the zombies?

“Mei, zombies don’t care for peaches. You should’ve given it to me—I love peaches!” Lin Shaojie gazed longingly at the large, red peach.

“If you dare eat it, go ahead. But I should warn you, this is a mutated peach,” Mei said, handing it to him but only speaking up as his hand almost touched it.

Lin Shaojie jerked his hand back as if electrocuted, retreating two steps and furiously wiping his fingers on his clothes. Seeing Mei’s amused look, he pulled a long face.

“Don’t scare me like that, Mei. I’m not brave—don’t joke about such things. I’d take it seriously!”

“I’m not joking. This really is a mutated peach. I picked it from a tree I transplanted from the farm,” Mei replied innocently.

“Then why are you carrying it? Are mutated peaches not dangerous?” Lin Shaojie took a wary step closer, peering at the peach.

“Do you know what happened to the zombie hit by the peach?” Mei arched an eyebrow, her smile full of mischief.

“What happened?” Lin Shaojie shivered at her grin and swallowed nervously.

“The one struck by the peach just now melted into a puddle! So, still want to try it?”

“No, no! Mei, please don’t take out such dangerous things so casually!” Lin Shaojie waved his hands frantically, face full of misery.

“Aren’t those plants supposed to attack on their own? Why are you fine holding it?” Mo Chen watched Mei tease Lin Shaojie and waited until she’d had her fun before asking.

“The fruit is only under the tree’s control while it’s attached. Once picked, it loses its offensive properties. But you have to be careful not to break the fruit—if it’s damaged, the contents are released. I was just experimenting to see what the fruit could do.”

The others eyed the mutated peach, recalling that it could liquefy a zombie, each with their own thoughts.

Seeing how powerful it was and that it was harmless if unbroken, Mo Chen reached out. “Give me a few.”

Mei generously took out samples of each mutated fruit she’d collected and handed them to Mo Chen. She turned to the others, “Anyone else want some?”

Ye Jingxuan considered and asked for a few as well. An Ziyou did the same. Qu Wenyuan took two of each as a precaution, handling them very carefully for fear of breaking them.

“You don’t want any?” Mei asked Lin Shaojie when she saw he was still hesitating.

“I’d better not. I’m afraid I won’t be able to resist eating them!” Lin Shaojie shook his head.

The mutated fruits looked and even smelled just like ordinary ones—he was afraid he’d one day mistake them for regular fruit and bite into them.

“You like fruit that much?” Mei rolled her eyes, put away the mutated fruit, and brought out some ordinary fruit.

“Here, these are for you.”

“Mei, you’d better keep them. It’s too painful to see but not eat,” Lin Shaojie protested.

“These are regular fruit! You can eat them!”

“Great!” Lin Shaojie, reassured, immediately grabbed a banana and devoured it, then stuffed the rest of the fruit into his space.

Qu Wenyuan watched Lin Shaojie enjoying his banana and felt a stab of envy. Why did a guy like fruit so much? She hadn’t had fresh fruit in ages! He didn’t even think to leave her any—so unfair!

Mei noticed her longing look, and after thinking for a moment, brought out some more fresh fruit and a few cans of fruit preserves. “That’s all the fresh fruit, but there are some canned fruits left. You can split them.”

Mo Chen, who’d always followed Mei and never lacked fruit, didn’t take any. Ye Jingxuan and An Ziyou each took a few pieces and some cans, leaving the rest for Qu Wenyuan.

Finally able to eat fruit, Qu Wenyuan happily munched on a big apple, silently congratulating herself on her wise decision.

See? Following Mei not only meant having meat to eat, but also fruit—it was pure happiness!