When the war in Yanjing concluded, the headquarters began distributing rewards, and the armies started returning to their hometowns. Previously, everyone had traveled by boat to Jinmen and then by train into Yanjing, as land routes were largely cut off, and only trains could manage passage.
Now, with over a million soldiers needing to return, traveling by boat was impractical. They had to depart by vehicle, using the roads.
Shen Feng inquired about when they could board a ship. He was eager to return to Lianyungang and then drive back along the same route. However, the headquarters informed him, "It will be another half a month before it's your turn. You can either wait half a month for your spot in line, or you can drive back yourself."
Helpless, Shen Feng chose to travel back to Yuzhou by road. Fortunately, Yanjing agreed to provide trucks and gasoline, allowing them to drive directly.
On the day of their departure, Shen Feng and Li Keyi walked along the city walls. The walls were now mostly empty, save for the on-duty soldiers. Below, at the city gate, people were constantly coming and going. Soldiers were driving back to their homes, civilians were out searching for wild vegetables, and many people were saying their goodbyes at the gate.
Shen Feng and Li Keyi stood side-by-side on the wall, gazing at the scenery outside the city. It was a scene of devastation. The zombie corpses had been cleared, but the ground was covered in scorched earth. Even so, tender shoots were emerging from the soil; the vitality of wild grass was always immense, capable of growing even on a battlefield.
After Li Keyi awoke, she too had become an ability user. Her ability was to manipulate light, but its power was clearly insufficient. Apart from dazzling people's eyes, it had no other effect.
Shen Feng spoke first, "Well, I originally planned to take you back to Yuzhou, but the laboratory wouldn't allow it. They said you are an excellent researcher, and they couldn't let you leave easily under any circumstances. So, we'll meet again when fate allows."
As it stood, Shen Feng could not take Li Keyi back to Yuzhou. The people at the laboratory were not fools. Having heard that Li Keyi had discovered extraterrestrial elements—a discovery that would shake the world—they would certainly not let such talent go easily. Therefore, the laboratory forbade Shen Feng from taking Li Keyi away.
Talent was highly valued everywhere, and Li Keyi had, in essence, independently completed the experiment for extracting extraterrestrial elements. Such talent could absolutely not be taken away lightly; Shen Feng was powerless to do anything about it.
Upon hearing Shen Feng's words, Li Keyi's eyes dimmed slightly. After a long silence, she suddenly asked, "By the way, I heard that in Rongcheng, there's a female scientist named Yu Renshu. She invented the method for making evolution base. By concentrating the viral proteins of evolution potions, one can create evolution base. When you return to Yuzhou, you can try making it."
"Yu Renshu? I know her. I didn't expect she'd be doing so well over in Rongcheng," Shen Feng said, shaking his head with a chuckle.
Li Keyi glanced around to ensure no one was nearby. She then took a piece of paper from her pocket and placed it in Shen Feng's hand, whispering, "I don't have much I can do to help you. This is the method for making evolution base. I secretly found it. Take it with you."
Shen Feng gave a wry smile, accepted the paper, and felt a pang of loneliness in his heart.
"Honestly, I wronged you a bit before. Not only did I ignore you, but I also ate your dog. However, you've now achieved your wish and become an ability user, so we're even. If we have the chance in the future, we'll still meet," Shen Feng said with a touch of emotion, acknowledging that all gatherings must eventually end.
Li Keyi lowered her head, fiddling with the hem of her clothes. She said with resignation, "This is a chaotic world now. Mountains, rivers, fierce beasts, venomous snakes. Yanjing and Yuzhou are thousands of miles apart. I don't know if we'll ever meet again. I've investigated; as long as the zombie virus persists, animals will continue to mutate. I don't know when this chaos will end. Perhaps, this is our last meeting."
Shen Feng said nothing. He was not good at facing such situations and had never imagined he would experience a moment of farewell. The world was in turmoil, with zombies everywhere, mutated beasts, and even potential threats from the sea. No one knew what the future held. Once separated, they might never see each other again. In this cruel moment, he didn't know what to say.
Seeing Shen Feng's demeanor, Li Keyi couldn't help but cup Shen Feng's face and kiss him. Shen Feng's eyes widened, his hands stiff, unsure of how to react.
After a moment, Li Keyi released him and stepped back, smiling. "Shen Feng, if you weren't married, if you didn't have someone you liked, even if a wall of bronze and iron stood between us, I would elope with you. But it seems I can't do that now. We'll meet again if fate allows."
With that, Li Keyi turned and left, leaving only her retreating figure for Shen Feng.
Shen Feng touched his lips, feeling a lingering warmth. He finally made up his mind. "I'm going home."
...
Shen Feng drove, with Chu Chaoyan and Zhang Xixi in the car. Chu Chaoyan was diligently recording the surrounding scenery. It was spring, with flowers in full bloom. The further south they traveled, the more beautiful the scenery became. The ground was covered with red, yellow, and purple flowers, and bees and butterflies were everywhere, a scene of vibrant prosperity.
Chu Chaoyan wrote in her notebook: "Departed from Yanjing today, returning to Yuzhou. The flourishing spring scenery is visible everywhere. The route has also been decided: heading south from Yanjing, passing through Jizhou into the Central Plains, crossing the Yellow River to Hubei Province, and then west back to Yuzhou. The journey is expected to take half a month. I only hope we won't encounter danger on the way home. However, even if we do, Shen Feng will surely protect us."
Zhang Xixi, bored in the car, began flipping through a book. She happened upon Chu Chaoyan's notebook, which contained many poems she had never seen before. Her curiosity piqued, she read a poem from the notebook aloud: "Alone in the mountain stream, unappreciated, it falls to the muddy earth, imprinting the sunset glow. Its crimson beauty enhances the snow, its fleeting bloom outlasts life." She then asked, "Who wrote this poem?"
Chu Chaoyan smiled and turned to Zhang Xixi, saying, "Of course, I did!"
"What do you mean?" Zhang Xixi asked innocently. As a middle school student, she naturally lacked poetic appreciation. She just felt the poem was good but couldn't articulate why.
Chu Chaoyan explained, "This was something I wrote casually when I arrived in Yanjing in early winter. It's called 'Flower and Snow.' The meaning is quite simple: a flower blooms quietly in a mountain stream, unappreciated, while snow falls from the sky onto the dirty ground. The red flower and white snow complement each other, but these two ephemeral things are merely competing to see whose life is longer, until one day, the flower wilts and the snow melts."
"That's so sad," Zhang Xixi murmured.
Chu Chaoyan glanced at Shen Feng and said softly, "Yes, it's so sad. When one is unappreciated, one is always so pitiful!"
Shen Feng, without looking aside, asked, "Why are we bringing me into this again? When we have the chance and return to Yuzhou, I'll find a way to clarify our relationship with my senior."
Chu Chaoyan smiled and said, "Aren't I just worried you'll forget? I remember your words. If you can't do it, don't blame me for teaching you a lesson."
Two days later, the convoy stopped by the Yellow River. As it was getting late, everyone began setting up camp. Yang Chang took Lu Xian to go fishing, while others started cooking.
Shen Feng set up the tent and watched Du Xinshi watching nearby. He couldn't help but shake his head and went over to set up a tent for Du Xinshi and her son. He still couldn't understand why Mu Ying had personally entrusted her cousin to his care. Was she truly that confident?
Du Xinshi said gratefully, "Shen Feng, thank you. I truly don't know how to repay you. Otherwise..."
Shen Feng was too lazy to listen. He finished setting up the tent and turned to leave. He was always like this with people he didn't care about, not even bothering to listen to a single word.
Du Xinshi bit her lip, looked down at the child in her arms, and a hint of sadness appeared in her eyes.
Yang Chang and Lu Xian actually caught fish with simple fishing rods, including carp weighing five or six pounds. Yang Chang gave one of the large carp to Shen Feng, and then went to roast fish, saying as he walked, "I've always heard that Yellow River carp is delicious. Today, I'll have to taste it!"
Shen Feng, holding a large carp, felt it was troublesome. He wasn't very good at cooking. Normally, he could make do, but such precious ingredients as Yellow River carp, if simply roasted, would seem like a waste.
Chu Chaoyan was already impatient, holding her chopsticks and urging Shen Feng, "Hurry up and cook! What are you waiting for? Such good stuff, why aren't you roasting it?"
Zhang Xixi followed suit, holding her chopsticks and sitting to the side with an expectant smile.
At that moment, Du Xinshi walked over, handed the child in her arms to Shen Feng, and said, "Why don't I cook? It's a way to thank you."
Shen Feng took the child and went to the side to play with him. The child didn't have a formal name, only a nickname, Xiaolong. This child was just over a year old, meaning he had encountered the zombie outbreak shortly after birth. His luck was neither particularly good nor particularly bad.
Shen Feng played with the infant. The child wasn't shy and giggled when Shen Feng tickled him, appearing to get along well.
Du Xinshi, though perhaps lacking in physical strength, was sufficiently virtuous, as evident from her cooking. She swiftly killed the fish, removed its innards and scales, coated it with egg white, and fried it in hot oil. After taking it out, she evenly drizzled it with ginger, garlic, and a spoonful of hot oil, causing the whole fish to sizzle and its aroma to be fully released.
Shen Feng was somewhat surprised by Du Xinshi's culinary skills. "I didn't expect you to have such good cooking skills. It seems not only your son will eat well, but I will too."
Du Xinshi's face flushed slightly, and she lowered her head, saying, "I'm glad you like it. I'll need your care in the future."
Shen Feng didn't sense anything amiss, but Chu Chaoyan, who had been watching Shen Feng, saw this scene and immediately felt jealous. She thought, "This isn't a normal relationship. There must be something going on!"
With that, Chu Chaoyan shifted her gaze to Zhang Xixi beside her. She thought of Zhang Xixi's ability and how it might be useful right now.
Having thought of this, Chu Chaoyan whispered to Zhang Xixi, "Xixi, come out with me tonight. I need you to use your ability for something."
Zhang Xixi didn't understand but nodded. She knew that Chu Chaoyan was the one who took care of her the most. Now that Chu Chaoyan needed her help, she couldn't possibly stand by and do nothing.
Shen Feng walked over with a large plate of Yellow River carp, smiling. "The carp is here. Eat up, everyone sit down."
Chu Chaoyan nodded, picked up her chopsticks, and began eating the fish. She had to admit that Yellow River carp was incredibly fresh and delicious. No wonder it cost thousands of yuan in the market; ordinary people really wouldn't be willing to eat it like this. However, it was the apocalypse now, and no one was fishing for Yellow River carp, which was why Yang Chang had the opportunity to catch them.
Du Xinshi sat to the side, preparing milk powder for her son, Xiaolong. "My good baby, you need to grow up quickly. Eat more and grow fast."
Shen Feng couldn't help but call out, "Sister Du, come and eat with us. You made this dish, you should try it too."
"No, you all eat. I'll just have some rice," Du Xinshi said with a smile, remaining seated.