Earth system

Lin Feng chuckled. “Hahaha, I get it. I feel like I haven’t climbed this many stairs all year as I have these past two days.”

Chi Bai spread his hands, put away his panel, and motioned for Lin Feng to continue.

****

As they approached the front of the residential complex, both felt an unsettling strangeness. It was too quiet; there was no sign of zombies, nor any living people, just like the areas they had already cleared.

Something was amiss, deeply so. They exchanged a glance, nodded, and cautiously drew closer.

Maintaining this vigilance, they finally discerned the difference once they entered the complex.

The map indicated that the complex was encircled by buildings, with a moderately sized open space in the center. This area featured recreational facilities for children and fitness equipment for the elderly.

There might have been other things, but they couldn’t see them at present.

This was because the open area, as displayed on the map, was now enclosed by earthen walls that seemed to have materialized out of nowhere.

The walls were squarely and tightly constructed, reaching an impressive height. Chi Bai, using his physically enhanced body, gave one a probing shove; it was incredibly sturdy. It couldn’t be destroyed without significant destructive force—at least, not by the zombies currently roaming outside.

Lin Feng commented, “What in the world is this? The map didn’t show any walls here, did it?”

Chi Bai nodded. “And it’s this kind of wall, too—just dirt, but strangely solid.”

Just as they were speaking, a voice echoed from behind the wall.

“Brother Fu! Hurry, it sounds like there’s something outside!”

It was a child’s voice!

Chi Bai and Lin Feng exchanged a look, both registering the shock in the other’s eyes.

Their surprise was understandable; children, especially at a time like this, would find it incredibly difficult to protect themselves unless they possessed abilities.

Before they could fully process it, a rumbling sound, like an earthquake, emanated from behind the wall. Then, something seemed to surge from beneath the ground there, and a person shot up, one foot planted on an unseen object, the other perched on the top of the wall as they looked down.

Luo Fu glanced down, a flicker of surprise crossing his face, then quickly turned back and called out, “It’s nothing, not zombies.” Chi Bai then watched as the wall seemed to melt open before him, revealing what the other person was standing on: a… wall-high mound of earth?

After the person stepped out, the wall seamlessly closed behind them, returning to its original appearance.

Luo Fu assessed the two newcomers. They carried no weapons, showed no visible injuries, and their clothes were remarkably clean. A bad premonition stirred within him, and he crossed his arms, asking, “Are you… ability users?”

Chi Bai was somewhat bewildered by the situation and could only respond, “Uh… yes, we are. And you are?” He gestured towards the wall behind Luo Fu.

Luo Fu nodded. “Yes, I have earth abilities. What about you two?”

“Oh, I have lightning abilities,” Chi Bai replied, scratching his head self-consciously as Luo Fu’s eyebrows rose. Beside him, Lin Feng, with his usual familiarity, introduced himself. “Hello, I’m Lin Feng, wind abilities.”

Seeing this, Chi Bai quickly added, “Ah, yes, hello, I’m Chi Bai.”

Luo Fu extended a hand and shook theirs. “Hello, I’m Luo Fu, the leader here. Would you be interested in joining my organization? With your help, we’d certainly grow stronger.”

Luo Fu’s directness left Chi Bai and Lin Feng somewhat taken aback. Chi Bai awkwardly stated, “We’re from the XX District Field Patrol.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Luo Fu dug a finger into his ear, uttered an indifferent “Oh,” and abruptly turned, losing interest as he prepared to go back inside.

Seeing this, Lin Feng quickly grabbed his arm. “Wait a minute, what organization? Haven’t you gone to the assembly point?”

Luo Fu shook off his hand. Though he mumbled an apology, his expression remained unreadable. “My apologies, I’m not fond of physical contact.”

Lin Feng didn’t mind. “It’s fine. But why haven’t you gone to the assembly point? That’s the XX District’s base now. There are more people there, so it’s safer than being out here like this.”

Luo Fu, however, bristled. “What do you mean, ‘like this’? Fine, our humble temple can’t accommodate esteemed figures like yourselves. You’d best return early. We have different paths, so we can’t work together.”

Lin Feng also grew agitated. Though he possessed wind abilities, his temper was as volatile as a fire ability user’s. Coupled with Luo Fu’s disagreeable demeanor from the start, he immediately wanted to retort. Seeing this, Chi Bai quickly stepped between them.

Chi Bai pressed a hand to his forehead, a headache brewing, unsure how things had suddenly taken such a turn. Standing between the two, he tried to calm the situation while asking, “We mean no harm. We’re here because we were assigned a search and rescue mission by our superiors. We rescued quite a few people yesterday and brought them back.”

Luo Fu hadn’t intended to escalate the situation, and hearing Chi Bai mention rescuing many people, his tone softened slightly. Yet, he couldn’t help but let out a cold snort. “That sounds nice, but where were they when we needed them? Don’t you think it’s a little late now?”

In truth, only one day had passed, and their pace was not slow. Before, they might have occasionally slacked off at work, but now, performing this arduous stair-climbing work for the base, they pushed through the fatigue. In Chi Bai’s view, their speed was already quite fast, but for those who had died, it was indeed too late.

He understood Luo Fu’s feelings. If he hadn’t been an ability user but an ordinary person, having spent a day and a night in constant fear, with the zombies’ howls and the banging on doors echoing all night, unable to jump from windows or directly confront so many zombies, perpetually in a state of unease—any normal person might have collapsed. He could understand, and therefore he didn’t argue about Luo Fu’s emotional state. He wouldn’t retort with platitudes about everyone having difficulties, as that would only add fuel to the fire.

“I can understand how you feel,” Chi Bai said, moving closer to Luo Fu. “See, we’re here now, aren’t we? Did you rescue others? I haven’t seen any bodies here since we arrived.”

Zombies, like mutated beasts, dissipate after death; only human bodies remain. From the moment they entered this complex, they hadn’t seen any corpses, but Chi Bai doubted Luo Fu could have rescued that many people.

At this, Luo Fu swelled with pride. “Of course! By the time you arrived, it would have been too late (TL Note: A Chinese idiom, ‘huang huacai dou liang le,’ literally ‘the daylily soup would be cold,’ meaning the opportunity is gone or it’s too late to do something).”

He waved his hand, opening the earthen wall behind him to create a passage, gesturing for Chi Bai and Lin Feng to enter and see for themselves.

Once Chi Bai and Lin Feng stepped inside, he closed the earthen wall behind them once more.