Chapter 87: The Match
Francis Grant snapped back to reality. He spoke to the soldier beside him in a low voice, "It seems Eric Yancey wasn’t exaggerating. Someone really did dare to hunt a horde of tens of thousands of zombies." After speaking, he pressed his communicator and ordered, "Continue the patrol. Expand the search area and pay close attention to any movement in the vicinity."
The soldier who had just overheard Colonel Grant muttering to himself stared wide-eyed, his face a mask of disbelief.
"Colonel? Are you serious? Someone dared to hunt over ten thousand zombies? That’s just insane!"
Another soldier pointed at the cockroach corpses below, his tone complex. "You’d better believe it. Look at the ground. A swarm of tens of thousands of cockroaches, and they killed them all, didn’t they?"
"Exactly," another soldier sighed, his voice tinged with both awe and worry. "That cockroach tide last night cost the safe zone several thousand lives. And over here, someone managed to hunt so many mutated cockroaches and zombies all by themselves... Are they even human?"
Then, his voice grew heavy. "I just don’t understand this apocalypse anymore. I really don’t know what the future holds for humanity."
The soldiers around him fell silent. No one spoke, and the atmosphere in the cabin grew heavy.
Francis Grant didn’t speak, merely gazing at the scorched marks below, his expression growing ever more solemn.
’Are these people friend or foe?’
Lately, the Military Command had been dispatching more and more rescue teams, and he had seen more and more human tragedies.
In the apocalypse, the human heart was the most unpredictable thing of all.
He wasn’t afraid of powerless survivors, but of those with immense strength and twisted minds.
If they harbored malicious intent, then even more innocent, ordinary people would suffer!
...
「Dragon Lake Villa Area.」
In the center of the living room, Luna Dawson brought out the large red basin that Rollo used to use for his medicinal baths. Now, she was using it to hold a basin full of freshly washed Crystal Cores.
Everyone was sitting or lying around on the sofa, watching Miles Dawson and Aaron Palmer count the Crystal Cores with Hector.
Zombies were evolving much faster now. Combining the hauls from rescuing the soldiers and hunting the campus horde, they had obtained a total of 5,366 Crystal Cores, 288 of which were Second Order.
The cockroaches yielded even more: 6,568 First Order Crystal Cores and 326 Second Order Crystal Cores.
However, the cockroach Crystal Cores contained less energy; it took ten of them to equal one zombie Crystal Core.
When the numbers were announced, everyone in the living room’s eyes lit up frighteningly. They had struck it rich!
Luna calculated in her head, ’Going from First Order to Second Order requires about 80 to 100 cores per person, and from Second Order to Third Rank needs nearly 300 each. All the Crystal Cores combined should be just enough for every member to reach Third Rank, with some to spare.’
Luna then distributed one hundred and twenty Crystal Cores to each person, matching their respective elemental attributes, so they could replenish their superpowers whenever they ran out.
Everyone held their bag of Crystal Cores, emotions running high. Some were even ready to start ranking up on the spot.
Luna quickly urged them to go wash up first. They would eat together, then go back to their rooms to absorb the cores. Nearly a hundred Crystal Cores would take almost a whole night to absorb.
"Okay! I’ll go wash up right now!"
"Alright, going! I’m going now."
"Okay!"
"Right away!"
"..."
In a flash, everyone was gone.
A moment later, Luna Dawson came downstairs with her hair wrapped in a towel, only to see a whole row of men in pajamas already seated, her uncle included.
’Did these guys even wash up properly?’ she wondered.
A steaming hotpot covered the table, and everyone was wolfing down the food with gusto. It was hard to tell if they were genuinely hungry or just in a hurry to get back to their rooms and absorb the cores. Everyone seemed incredibly busy.
Evan Olson was the first to finish eating because he had seen that Luna Dawson had washed her hair.
He had to be faster. He would finish eating, dry her hair for her, and then immediately head back to his room. The men were privately competing to see who would be the first to reach Second Order.
If Luna knew, she would definitely call them childish!
Having finished his meal, Evan Olson stood beside Luna Dawson, his eyes sparkling. He watched her leisurely swish a slice of lamb in the hotpot, his gaze so intense it felt like it could burn a hole right through her.
Luna instantly felt a prickling on her back and hurriedly asked, "What is it, Brother Evan? Did I give you the wrong number of Crystal Cores?"
"No, Luna. Let me dry your hair for you."
"...No need. Rollo is already Second Order, and he’s learned how to dry my hair for me."
The moment Luna Dawson finished speaking, Evan Olson’s "Okay" echoed down from the second floor...
She then looked up and saw that besides the three women, only Grandpa and Hector were left at the dining table.
Luna was puzzled. "What’s gotten into them? Why are they in such a hurry?"
Rhonda Dawson laughed out loud and said wistfully, "My dad told me. They’re competing to see who will be the first to reach Second Order. He said it’s a ’man’s war.’ It seems the competition between adult males is truly ruthless..."
Luna was speechless for a moment. "But they won’t be done absorbing until the middle of the night, will they?"
While leisurely swishing a roll of fatty beef in the pot, Rhonda Dawson slowly added, "Exactly. The winner is decided by who finishes upgrading and gets to the first-floor training room first."
Grandpa found it amusing as well but still made an excuse for them. "Ahem, they’re still young and full of energy. It’s good that they’re competitive and eager to improve."
"Childish. Mmm, men."
Little Sweet Potato had shrunk itself down to a plant with a root base the size of a fingernail. It was soaking in a cup of spirit spring water, two purple vines draped over the rim of the cup, its small leaves twitching as it expressed its opinion.
Ever since Luna Dawson had returned, it had taken to shrinking itself down and wrapping around her finger, staying affectionately close to her at all times.
It also loved to climb onto Rollo’s neck and ride the dog around, letting Rollo take it and Little Tiger to play wildly all over the place. It had completely integrated into the little group.
Grandpa, whether because of a superpower or something else, was a natural with plants.
Little Sweet Potato loved spending time with Grandpa. The old man and the little plant would often be found in the first-floor greenhouse, studying the growing vegetables.
As soon as they got back today, Grandpa had rushed to inspect the vegetable garden. In the greenhouse, he received an Evolution Fruit from Little Sweet Potato, making everyone else incredibly envious.
Grandpa was beaming with joy. After eating it, he looked several years younger.
"Indeed. Not as sensible as our Little Sweet Potato," Grandpa said, affectionately stroking its small leaves. "Drink up. Our little potato is still a baby."
Little Sweet Potato was very smug. "Me, Third Rank, haha."
Mrs. Dawson chimed in with encouragement at just the right moment, saying lovingly, "Our baby potato is the strongest! The safety of this home will depend on our Little Sweet Potato from now on."
With Little Sweet Potato around, it could handle the night watch for the villa, and they could worry a little less about invasions from mutated plants and animals.
"Okay! Baby is awesome."
After receiving the praise, a happy Little Sweet Potato responded, absorbed the rest of the spirit spring water in its cup, and immediately dashed off with Rollo, disappearing to go play with a ball in the yard again.
Full and content, Luna Dawson returned to her room with a light step. The nerves that had been frayed for days finally unwound completely in the familiar surroundings.
She walked to the edge of the balcony and immediately spotted Rollo frolicking at the base of the building. She called out at once, "Lulu, come on up."
The furry figure shot upwards at her call. Despite its chubbiness, it was agile, leaping up to the third-floor balcony in just a few bounds.
After several days of tireless instruction from Luna Dawson in her space, Rollo had finally mastered its wind control skill, becoming Luna’s exclusive "hairdryer doggy."
Luna Dawson lowered her head slightly, letting her long, freshly washed and still-damp hair hang down in front of her.
Rollo immediately understood. It stood obediently in front of her, and with a slight twitch of its wet, black nose, countless fine whirlwinds tumbled out, precisely enveloping Luna’s damp hair.
The force of the whirlwinds was gentle, making her strands of hair sway lightly.
In just ten seconds or so, her once-soaking hair became dry and fluffy.