Chapter 29: The Call, Gu Xu’s Questions

Lin Rongrong was genuinely surprised. She pointed at the crystal core and asked, “What is this? It’s so pretty.”

Oops, I almost forgot about Lin Rongrong, Bian Changxi thought. She hadn’t killed the zombie by herself, so she couldn’t just keep the crystal core for herself.

She started calculating in her mind. Early this morning, she’d gotten her first white core. At the gas station, she’d gotten four white cores and one blue core, though three of the white ones had been swindled away by Zhang Hu. Later, she dug up two more—one white and one red. So, all in all, she had three first-tier white cores, and one each of red and blue.

But the white cores didn’t really count, since she had no idea what the farm had turned them into. Her real assets were just the red and blue cores…

She glanced at Lin Rongrong and saw that her surprise was genuine, so she explained, “This is a crystal core. Zombies generate them in their brains. This one is second-tier because the zombie had evolved. Since we killed the zombie together, we should split the core, but I actually need this one. Would it be okay if I owe you your half for now and give you another color when I get one?”

Lin Rongrong only half understood, but she got the gist and quickly waved her hands. “If it weren’t for you, I’d have been eaten by that disgusting thing already. You did all the work killing the zombie, so this—what did you call it, a crystal core?—I can’t take it. You keep it.”

Bian Changxi didn’t stand on ceremony. She wasn’t the type to be overly polite to people she didn’t trust, so Lin Rongrong’s response was just as well. Still, she didn’t want to take advantage of her. “Alright, I’ll hold onto it for now. A second-tier green core is worth about ten first-tier white ones. Once I’ve collected five white cores, I’ll make it up to you.”

Lin Rongrong immediately asked, “There are different colors? And different tiers? How does that all work? Teach me a bit, but I really don’t need any white cores.”

Bian Changxi thought for a moment. “Alright. But let’s wait a bit. The reason there aren’t any other zombies on this street is probably because of that second-tier zombie. Now that it’s dead, the others will come back. We should hurry and grab anything useful.”

Lin Rongrong agreed, “Good idea. Let’s talk while we work. You saved me, and I’m not much use, but I do have a storage space. If you have anything, you can put it in mine.” She paused, then added, “My space is about fifty square meters, and it’s almost empty, so there’s plenty of room.”

“Fifty square meters? That’s huge.” Usually, a first-tier spatial ability was only ten or twenty square meters. Bian Changxi shook her head. “I don’t need much for myself, and I can carry what I need. Let’s split up and search.”

“Huh?” Lin Rongrong sounded disappointed. But thinking about it, they’d only just met. Why should Bian Changxi trust her enough to store things with her? She couldn’t really argue.

“If you do find something you can’t carry, just call me. And, um, if I run into another zombie, can I call you? I… I can’t handle one alone…”

She felt a little ashamed—she was just too useless.

Bian Changxi wondered how someone with no ability to protect herself could be out here alone.

She gave Lin Rongrong a scrutinizing look. Normally, she’d just brush someone like this off, but they were both college students, the same age, and equally helpless. In her previous life, she’d been just like this: scared, fragile, not knowing who to trust, but still desperately hoping for someone—or a miracle—to save her.

Her expression softened. After a moment’s thought, she pulled out a watch-like communicator from her farm’s warehouse. “Yelling isn’t a good idea. Here’s a communicator. We can stay in touch with this.”

Lin Rongrong’s eyes widened. “Wow, that looks amazing! Um, how do I use it… Changxi, why is this light on?”

Bian Changxi was fiddling with her own, which she’d been using as a digital watch. When she looked up, she saw the red signal light on Lin Rongrong’s device was blinking.

She froze, then suddenly realized something and rushed over. “Hang up, quick!”

Too late. From the communicator came a steady, capable male voice that sounded oddly familiar: “Miss Bian?”

Bian Changxi glanced at the screen, which showed an active call, and sighed inwardly. “Hello, Captain Gu. I accidentally pressed the button and disturbed you. Goodbye—”

“Your voice doesn’t sound good. Are you injured again?”

Again? What did he mean by “again”? That tone…

Lin Rongrong’s curiosity was instantly piqued, and she strained to listen.

Bian Changxi turned slightly away, coughed, and tried to make her voice sound normal. “Who isn’t getting hurt these days?”

“True enough. Miss Bian, I have a question I’d like to ask you, if you don’t mind.”

“About zombies?”

“Yes, about the things found in their brains.”

Bian Changxi glanced at Lin Rongrong—she’d just asked the same thing. “I’m just an ordinary person. I don’t know any more than you do.”

“But you do know more, don’t you? Miss Bian, you probably don’t realize how much your tip helped our team yesterday. Otherwise, we might not have made it.” Gu Xu sounded a bit self-deprecating, but then grew serious. “I promise, whatever you tell me, I won’t dig any deeper or cause you trouble. And I’ll owe you a favor.”

Bian Changxi was silent for a moment—long enough that Lin Rongrong started to get anxious for her. Finally, she sighed. “Since you’re being so sincere, I can’t refuse.”

Gu Xu was delighted. “Thank you.”

Bian Changxi signaled to Lin Rongrong, and the two of them started gathering supplies from the store—there were still plenty of usable clothes. Since Lin Rongrong wanted to listen in, Bian Changxi didn’t make her leave.

“Captain Gu, since you’re asking, you must have collected a lot of these things but don’t know how to use them, right?”

“That’s right.”

“What colors do you have?”

Gu Xu listed them off. Bian Changxi raised her eyebrows—impressive, they had all six colors. How many zombies had they killed? In her previous life, people only started discovering the secret of the crystal cores six or seven days after the apocalypse began. That’s when digging out cores became common. For Gu Xu’s team to be ahead of the curve—remarkable.

No wonder he was the strongest.

But as far as she knew, someone like Gu Xu wouldn’t normally ask others for advice—he’d figure things out on his own, testing and theorizing. He had the brains and tenacity for it.

She shook her head. “Forget the favor. I want all your white and green cores. If you agree, I’ll tell you.”

“Alright. How should I get them to you?”

Bian Changxi opened her mouth, then realized—right, there was no way to deliver them.

She stuffed a set of cotton pajamas into her bag and said cheerfully, “Just hold onto them for me for now. Captain Gu, there are all sorts of abilities in the apocalypse, but the main ones are the five elemental powers: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The things you find in zombie brains are called crystal cores, and they also have these attributes—gold (yellow), green, blue, red, and earth-yellow. The remaining white ones correspond to all other non-elemental abilities, which is why they’re the most common. Crystal cores contain a huge amount of energy. If I’m right, they’ll become the main currency and energy source in the future.”

“There must be a close connection between crystal cores and ability users, right?”

“Exactly. Non-elemental ability users can use white cores, but elemental users can only use the cores that match their element.”

“What if you use the wrong one?” Gu Xu asked.

“I don’t know for sure. Maybe you’ll get some effect, maybe none, or maybe—worst case—you’ll explode. Who knows? But it’s definitely not a good idea.”

Gu Xu nodded. “So how do you use them?”

Bian Changxi smiled. “Definitely don’t try eating them. Just hold one in your hand, feel its energy, and absorb it… Captain Gu, this is something everyone has to figure out for themselves. The method might be a little different for each person.”

“I understand.”

Thanks to Zhuangzhuang’s Dream for the reward! I can’t believe my wish came true—so happy! (╯3╰)

Mobile readers, please visit m.qidian.com to read."