Chapter 334: Chapter 329: Apocalypse Sisters
"Are you planning to take it with you?" Duan Kai’s expression carried disapproval, "This thing is very dangerous."
"I know." Ye Qiu stared back at him, "But I need a live specimen for research."
"I hope your decision is the right one." Duan Kai looked at her silently for a while, which counted as his agreement.
After packing up, the group set off again on their journey to the Hu Province Base. This time, no one treated Ye Dong as a naive and delicate young girl anymore; her fierce strength and sharp attack methods had earned their respect and recognition.
Meanwhile, after swallowing the mutant octopus’ Crystal Core, Li Lewei woke up from her coma and immediately noticed the changes in herself.
Not only did her skin become fairer, but her senses were clearer than before, and what excited her the most was that she could distinctly feel her superpower had significantly enhanced. Li Lewei took out a seed from her pocket and in just a few minutes, the seed grew into a tree as tall as a person, adorned with several enticing apples.
The apples were the size of a fist, pink on the outside, and emitting bursts of fragrance, which made Li Lewei, who hadn’t tasted fresh fruit for a long time after the apocalypse, involuntarily swallow her saliva.
"Le Wei, are you awake?" The speaker was Luo Yong, who pushed open the door while speaking and then completely froze upon seeing the apple tree.
"What is this?" Luo Yong looked at Li Lewei in delighted surprise, disbelief in his eyes.
"My superpower has advanced." Li Lewei said excitedly, "I can now grow apples." After finishing her sentence, she picked two apples, handed one to Luo Yong, and eagerly bit into the other.
However, the apple didn’t taste as juicy as she had imagined, but for Luo Yong, who hadn’t tasted fresh fruit for almost a month, the apple was crispy and sweet, just like those he ate in his childhood.
The news that Li Lewei’s superpower had advanced and could now produce fruit quickly spread throughout the team, which transformed the slight complaints due to her coma delaying their progress into admiration. In a subsequent zombie attack, Li Lewei once again used her Wood Element Superpower to control the Zombie Virus in an infected teammate, solidly placing her in the second highest rank right after Ying Yiming.
In this perilous apocalypse, no one could guarantee they wouldn’t be injured by zombies, but having Li Lewei was akin to having a second life; they no longer feared becoming cruel and inhuman zombies should they get injured.
Li Lewei’s advancement also rapidly made the Superpower Users realize the importance of the Crystal Core; nobody refused the chance to become more powerful. Even after hesitating for a while, Ying Yiming began using the Crystal Core to advance.
"Brother Yiming, how much longer until we arrive?" Li Lewei approached Ying Yiming and asked sweetly, smiling with a hint of dependence.
Ying Yiming was not unaware of Li Lewei’s unusual emotions towards him, but he didn’t mind. Moreover, Li Lewei had just lost her mother, and he understood her confusion and fear; she was the little sister that had grown up with him, and perhaps she would realize as she grew up that this dependence on him was not really affection.
"According to our current pace, about three more days." Ying Yiming spoke gently. Li Lewei bowed her head for a moment, her lips slightly turning up - her persistent efforts these days were not in vain; Ying Yiming’s attitude had finally softened. One day, she would surely become the most important person in his heart.
Moreover, she is now no less inferior to Ye Dong, possessing beauty, family background, and strength alike; she truly is the most suitable person to stand by Ying Yiming’s side.
Luo Yong, standing in the distance, watched Li Lewei smiling sweetly at Ying Yiming with a darkened expression. He had long known that Li Lewei’s heart belonged to the captain and understood that the captain only treated Li Lewei as a sister, but what right did he have to pursue Li Lewei?
With her beauty, family background, and capabilities, only the captain is worthy of her!
Thanks to the use of Crystal Cores, the whole team’s strength had greatly improved. Ying Yiming and Li Lewei safely arrived at the Jiang Province Base according to their plan.
The Jiang Province Base was established on an existing small town, chosen for its vast, sparsely populated land, scarce in not only zombies but also mutant animals and plants. Thus, within a mere two months, the base had expanded several times over.
The perimeter is enclosed by protective walls built by Superpower Users of various elements, with a wide moat on the outside, breeding a large number of mutant fish. After numerous experiments, they found these fish not only refrained from attacking each other but could also be consumed by humans, and would even attack zombies when needed.
The second layer is a tall city wall built by Earth Element Superpower Users using sand and gravel, smooth and tough, providing ample time for counterattacks even against zombie hordes.
This base is of utmost importance to the nation, with almost all leadership from Jing City converging here. However, after the apocalypse, power shifts occurred due to disparities in strength.
Here, the military holds absolute control, reducing the former political factions to mere vestigial roles, reluctant to submit to military command like civilians but lacking the strength to resist.
Here, the politicians without superpowers are even less significant than ordinary people with superpowers.
When Li Lewei arrived, her grandfather, Li Kaiyuan, was in such a delicate predicament. He was originally a commissar central to the government, with a status comparable to Ying Chang’an, Ying Yiming’s grandfather.
But with the advent of the apocalypse, the Li Family dwindled in numbers, and Li Kaiyuan had few subordinates to command, while Ying Chang’an’s son, grandson, and even subordinates embraced superpowers, causing a swift change in their status.
Ying Chang’an was one of the three chief administrators of the base, whereas Li Kaiyuan was left to lead a retired life within the base, receiving only two meals a day consisting of buns, steamed rolls, and frozen meat, barely ever seeing green vegetables. All this was still specially provided due to his former high governmental status.
Until this day, when Li Kaiyuan’s granddaughter came to visit.
When he learned that Li Lewei had activated her Wood Element Superpower, capable of curing the Zombie Virus and bearing fruits, Li Kaiyuan’s aspirations were rekindled.
The base had many Wood Element Superpower Users, but none as potent as his granddaughter. Li Kaiyuan knew his chance to regain power had arrived.
Li Lewei too, in order to be with Ying Yiming, joined his adoptive grandfather in the quest to seize control of the base. After over half a month of negotiations, Li Lewei eventually became the deputy director of the base laboratory, and Li Kaiyuan also obtained the right to participate in the base’s decision-making.