Chapter Eight: The Uses of Crystal Stones

Chapter Eight

After what had happened, the atmosphere in the small temple grew tense. Mei no longer engaged in idle conversation with those across from her; during quiet moments, she simply put on her headphones and listened to music.

Another day passed, and at last, the rain stopped!

At dawn, the six-person team packed up and prepared to depart. Before leaving, Lin Shaojie looked at Mei as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he left without a word.

Once they had gone far enough, Mei’s first action was to retrieve supplies from her space: rice, water, and some semi-prepared dishes. Her large, bright cat eyes sparkled as she looked at Mo Chen. Mo Chen, speechless, glanced at her and resignedly began to wash the rice. He placed it in the electric cooker, holding the plug in one hand and acting as a human generator.

After all, someone had claimed this was the perfect opportunity to train his power control, and to his own surprise, he had agreed!

One misstep, and regret lasts for a lifetime.

Mei, meanwhile, opened the packages of the semi-prepared dishes one by one and placed them in the microwave, waiting until the rice was done before reheating the food.

Half an hour later, a folding table was set with shredded pork in garlic sauce, kung pao chicken, braised pork with preserved vegetables, and spicy duck with konjac, along with two steaming bowls of fragrant rice.

Finally, they had a hot meal!

What satisfaction!

“Are we really not going to follow them?” Mo Chen asked between bites.

“What for? It’s just a bit of foresight. With that woman’s current abilities, she can’t even control it herself. It’s not much use to us; in fact, sticking with her would only bring more trouble,” Mei replied without looking up.

Her friend Dilo was a renowned Star Priest, unparalleled in divination and prophecy. Mei had often spent time with him and was very familiar with such matters.

Prophecies, once spoken, always contain variables. If one becomes too attached to them, it only leads to hesitation and constraint. The future holds countless possibilities; the path one takes depends entirely on personal choice.

Because of this, Mei and her friends rarely asked Dilo for prophecies. Unless their lives were in danger, Dilo seldom revealed anything about the future.

After all, every one of them was someone who defied fate.

“You’re right. If her ability is exposed, all sides would scramble for it. It would be a huge hassle.”

Since the drawbacks outweighed the benefits, he had no intention of asking for trouble.

“Should we check out the village first? It feels strangely quiet these past two days.”

No zombies had appeared for days, which was highly unusual.

“Let’s take a look. Maybe there’s something left to scavenge.”

When it came to gathering supplies, Mei was always enthusiastic, no matter how much she already had.

Mo Chen was somewhat speechless about her collecting obsession, but since they agreed, he said nothing more.

After eating their fill, the two readied themselves and drove toward the village.

Before they reached it, they encountered a wandering zombie. From a distance, the zombie heard the car engine and immediately began to approach.

“They’re moving faster than before,” Mo Chen muttered as he watched.

He stopped the car and drew his blade, moving to confront the zombie whose eyeball dangled from its socket.

Mei also got out, standing atop the car with her bow at the ready, keeping watch.

The zombies moved more swiftly and with greater agility than before; their strength and bodily resilience had also increased.

In other words, these ordinary zombies had evolved.

Was this the result of the heavy rain?

The two exchanged glances and came to the same conclusion.

Having observed enough, Mo Chen swiftly finished the fight, and the pair continued toward the village.

Five hundred meters from the village, they parked the car.

First, they dealt with the zombies that had followed the vehicle or been attracted by its noise. Then, Mo Chen lured more, while Mei picked them off from a distance, working together in batches to clear the area.

Since the zombies were now stronger, Mo Chen drew only about ten at a time—his speed was the key to his safety.

But just when he thought he had kept a safe distance from the pursuing zombies, one suddenly opened its mouth and sent a blade of wind flying at his back.

Seeing this, Mei instantly released her bowstring. The arrow shot through the air, meeting the wind blade mid-flight. She quickly fired another arrow, hitting the zombie right between the eyes.

In the next few groups, more zombies appeared with special powers.

“Now even zombies have abilities—how are we supposed to survive?” Exhausted, Mo Chen sat on the ground, catching his breath as Mei opened the skulls of the powered zombies.

“What else did you expect? This is the apocalypse. When plants and animals start mutating too, that’s when things will truly be unlivable,” Mei said nonchalantly, deftly extracting the crystals from the zombies’ heads.

“Plants and animals mutating too? That can’t be…”

“Why not? They’re living things as well. If humans can mutate, it’s only a matter of time before plants and animals do.”

“If that really happens, then it’s the true end of humanity,” Mo Chen muttered, rubbing his nose.

Mei washed the crystals clean, then took out the three she had obtained earlier for comparison, only to be shocked to find that the previously half-charged crystals were now full of energy.

She quickly told Mo Chen about her discovery.

“If that’s the case, as long as these crystals exist, couldn’t they provide people with energy indefinitely?” Mo Chen’s eyes lit up as he turned the crystal over in his hand.

“You’re oversimplifying things! Even if the crystals can be reused, would you dare use the energy inside them? Did you forget where they came from?” Mei dampened his enthusiasm.

Mo Chen’s heart sank. “Are you saying absorbing that energy will turn someone into a zombie? That can’t be, can it?”

“Why not? Zombies are full of death energy, and these things formed inside them. Isn’t it normal for the crystals to contain death energy?”

“Death energy? So zombies aren’t caused by a virus, but by death energy?” Mo Chen seized on her words, astonished.

“I’m not sure about the virus—I’ve never been scratched by a zombie. But the death energy is definitely real; you can feel it directly. If an ordinary person absorbs energy from these crystals, the death energy enters their body too. Once it accumulates beyond a certain level, maybe they turn into zombies, maybe not, but becoming a living corpse is inevitable.”

“Then these stones are useless, aren’t they?” Why bother digging them out at all?

“Not exactly. If you remove the death energy, they’re still highly nourishing. But since these stones are attribute-based, only people with matching abilities can absorb them.”

“So in the end, they’re still useless,” Mo Chen said, dejected, tossing the crystal aside.

Mei gave him a sidelong glance and took the crystals in hand.

“Watch.”

A beam of white light rose from her palm, enveloping the crystal. Mo Chen watched as a wisp of black smoke drifted up from the stone and quickly dissipated in the white glow.

“You… you…” Mo Chen was at a loss for words.

He knew Mei’s power was of the light element, but he’d never realized it could expel death energy. Suddenly, he felt that choosing her as a companion had been the wisest decision of his life.

“Does your ability mean you could save someone bitten by a zombie?” Mo Chen asked excitedly.

“I haven’t tried. Want to let a zombie claw you so we can experiment?” Mei looked at him with sincere eyes, the very picture of a mad scientist luring someone into a dangerous experiment.

“I think I’ll pass. You’ll have your chance to test it one day—no rush!” Mo Chen laughed awkwardly and quickly changed the subject. “So, can I absorb these crystals now?”

Mei shrugged regretfully, not pushing the matter. She picked out one from a psychic-powered zombie and handed it to him. “You can’t use the others—try this one.”

Mo Chen gripped the crystal and attempted to draw out its energy. In moments, he felt his senses sharpen dramatically; within a ten-meter radius, not a single movement escaped his notice.

Thrilling!

It felt incredible!

The sensation was simply divine.

Mo Chen was reluctant to stop and wanted to absorb more, but Mei snatched the crystal from him.

“What’s wrong?”

“One more draw and it’d shatter.” She handed it back to him. Fine cracks already laced the surface, a sign that once all the energy was gone, the crystal would vanish completely.

“The amount of energy is so little—how am I ever supposed to increase my strength at this rate?” Mo Chen lamented.

“Be grateful! It’s free energy. If you want more, you’ll have to kill higher-level zombies.” Mei rolled her eyes at him.

“You’re right. But what about you? There can’t be any light-element zombies, so doesn’t that mean you can’t use crystals to level up?” Mo Chen asked, concerned.

“It’s fine. Even if zombies don’t have the light element, who’s to say there aren’t other things in this world with light energy? Besides…” Mei hesitated before continuing, “I don’t necessarily have to absorb only light powers. I can absorb other elements too.”

Mo Chen was stunned, and after a long pause, said with envy, “You’re basically a cheat code.”

Mei saw the envy on his face, but his eyes remained clear, free of greed or resentment. She said, a bit irritated, “Everything has its price. Although I can absorb various energies, to advance further, I need several times more than others. I’ll keep the crystals for now—my spatial energy is abundant, so it’s quicker for me to recharge.”

“Alright!” Mo Chen nodded, a handsome smile lighting up his face.