111: Chapter 111 Did I hit you, you idiot?

A metal shield rose quickly, and the vines crashed against it with a sharp screeching sound.

"Leave the Wood-type zombie to me!" Ma Yang charged toward the zombie.

"I'll help you!" Shen Yue followed and charged forward.

"Everyone, help lure the zombies over there away to give them some space." Xu Wanning unleashed her Ice Ability, freezing the zombies in that direction.

A gust of wind swept up, and the frozen zombies were all swept nearby in one clean sweep.

Someone in the team gleefully harvested their heads, digging out the crystal nuclei along the way.

Xu Wanning kept freezing them with extreme efficiency.

Over where Ma Yang and Shen Yue were, the fight with the zombie was chaotic and incredibly loud, as they dashed here and there.

To keep their distance, the teammates stayed alert and dodged out of the way, leading the nearby zombies away in the process.

In the end, the Wood-type zombie was pierced by Shen Yue's metal spear, ending the battle.

The extracted crystal nucleus was given directly to Wen Shuyang; she was the only one in Dawn Team 1 with a Wood Ability.

Wen Shuyang smiled as she saw the crystal nucleus Shen Yue handed over. "Thank you."

Shen Yue was momentarily dazed by her smile. "Y-You're welcome."

Ma Yang clicked his tongue. Sigh, after all his hard work, it turned out he was just playing support for Shen Yue.

The commotion they made was not small, attracting quite a few zombies. They didn't even need to move to have a steady stream of zombies deliver themselves to their doorstep.

"Suddenly, I feel like fighting zombies every day is actually pretty fun, just like playing a video game. If the zombies really disappeared one day, it would be so boring." Jiang Heng drew the sword from his back and charged into the crowd of zombies.

Xu Yu held a spear, thrusting it back and forth. "Haha, I think so too! Back when I was in school, I dreamed of playing games and fighting monsters every day. Now it's actually come true. Even if I fight for five hours a day, my parents won't blame me—they're even fighting alongside me. This feels so great!"

Qin Qingru happened to pass by and smacked him on the head. "You brat, pay attention! If you get chewed on by a zombie, this old lady isn't saving you."

Xu Yu rubbed his head. "Mom, how many times have I told you? Don't hit my head, you're making me stupid."

Qin Qingru turned back and rolled her eyes. "Did I make you stupid by hitting you? You were born stupid. I don't know how two smart people like your dad and me could give birth to such a knucklehead like you. Could you have been swapped at the hospital when you were born?"

Xu Yu said aggrievedly, "Mom, Dad and I look like we were carved from the same mold. How could I have been swapped? Who knows if you guys dropped me when I was a baby?"

Xu Jingping happened to come over looking for his wife. Hearing this, he thought about it. "Now that you mention it, I actually remember. Back when you were little and had just learned to roll over, you rolled right off the bed and fell straight to the floor with a loud thud."

Xu Yu's eyes lit up. "Yes, yes! It must have been that time! That fall must have scrambled my brain. It's not my fault at all; it's because you guys didn't watch me properly."

Qin Qingru sighed. "Fine, fine. Anyway, your dad and I never expected you to achieve anything great. Now that it's The Apocalypse, it doesn't matter if your grades are bad, but you must raise your combat power. Don't drag us down."

Xu Yu said triumphantly, "Don't worry, Mom. I'm already S-rank, while you're only A-rank."

While clearing out the mutated zombies in the residential area earlier, Xu Yu had also obtained a Wind-type crystal nucleus and successfully advanced to S-rank.

Qin Qingru felt stifled. "That was only because we gave the crystal nucleus to you considering your youth! If this old lady had taken it, I would be S-rank too."

Having been bitten by a zombie, she gained a Fire Ability as a blessing in disguise. It was hard to say if it was due to the influence of her Fire Ability, but Qin Qingru's temper had indeed become much more explosive than before.

"Yes, yes, yes, my mom is invincible under the heavens." Knowing when to back down, Xu Yu immediately slipped away after speaking, running to a spot further away from them.

Xu Wanning remained standing on the perimeter wall, ensuring she could step in to help immediately if any of her teammates ran into danger.

Song Yunqing stood beside her; as a Healing Ability user, going down would just be sending herself to her death.

"I wonder how Sister Gu Xi is doing right now?" Song Yunqing said with a trace of melancholy.

"She should be doing quite well." How could Xu Wanning be sure? Back then, Song Yunqing had made a special trip to find her, but she felt that working at the Jing City Resource Center was very good, so Song Yunqing didn't force her to bring her family along.

Now she regretted it a little; she should have been more firm in making her leave back then.

Xu Wanning turned her head to look at Song Yunqing. "Everyone has their own path. Since she chose to stay in Jing City, that is her fate. Perhaps staying there was the right choice."

Song Yunqing nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

At noon, Xu Wanning pulled out a megaphone. "Everyone, head into the mall across the street to rest and eat!"

Hearing her voice, the teammates relocated quickly. Once she confirmed that everyone had gone inside, Xu Wanning also led Song Yunqing into the mall.

The zombies inside the mall had already been cleared out by the teammates who entered first. A Water-Type Ability User washed the floor clean, and a Wind-type blew over it to dry it. Everyone sat on the floor, waiting for their meal.

Xu Wanning released twenty-nine boxed meals.

"Here." Wen Shuyang took a boxed meal and handed it to Zhang Ke, who was sitting next to her.

Zhang Ke was stunned. "I... I get one too?" She had thought that she would only be able to eat her own rations today.

"Of course. You fought zombies with us, so of course you get a share." Wen Shuyang placed the boxed meal into her hands. "Eat up quickly, so you can work harder this afternoon."

"Mhm." With rimmed eyes, Zhang Ke opened the lid of the boxed meal and put a spoonful of rice into her mouth. It had been so, so long since she last ate white rice, not to mention meat and fresh vegetables. It tasted absolutely delicious.

"Don't cry. Eating while crying isn't good for your health." Turning her head, Wen Shuyang saw Zhang Ke's tears streaming down and didn't know what to do; she wasn't very good at comforting people.

"Mhm, I won't cry, I won't cry." Zhang Ke wiped away her tears. When she was alone before, she had told herself that she could live perfectly fine on her own.

But now, with so many people around her and someone showing her care, she couldn't quite hold back her emotions.

Xu Wanning released another twenty-nine bottles of water, placing them directly in front of everyone.

Wen Shuyang unscrewed a bottle cap and handed it to Zhang Ke. "Have some water, don't choke."

Zhang Ke gulped down some water. "Thank you, thank you." She was a Water-Type Ability User herself and didn't lack water, but the weight of this bottle of water felt incredibly heavy.

"Next, we'll clear out the zombies here at The Square, making some noise to lure them over."

Xu Wanning looked at Jiang Heng. "The drones we bought earlier can finally be put to use. We can hang a speaker on a drone and fly it around when there are no zombies left to lure them over. That way, we won't have to go around looking for them."

Jiang Heng gave her a thumbs-up. "Sister Ning is still the smartest."

Xu Wanning smiled. This method could only be used in situations where there were very few survivors, so as to avoid causing a panic.

Zhang Ke lightly patted Wen Shuyang. "Why do you all listen to her? She looks about the same age as you."

Wen Shuyang curled her lips into a smile. "Because she deserves it."

Zhang Ke didn't understand, but since everyone listened to her, she would listen too.

"Boss! There seems to be someone here!"