Chapter 97: Free Water
Xie Chongyi nodded approvingly, his mood improving—just a little bit.
At that moment, Wu Dian pushed the door open and came in. “Lunch break is twenty minutes. Meet downstairs in twenty minutes.”
“What are we assembling for?”
“Grouping up and arranging the survivors.”
The temperature in the afternoon was even higher. Between three and four o’clock, the sun not only didn’t sink westward—it hung stubbornly overhead. The ground that had still been somewhat soft in the morning was now as dry as stiff cardboard. Forget being scorching; it was brittle.
Under the blazing sun, the water bottle in Wu Heng’s hand was refilled once again, and he drank it sip by sip.
At the front of the line, Wu Dian’s voice was polite but emotionless. “You’re newcomers, so it’s not convenient for you to operate alone. Each of you will have a base guard as your team leader, one-on-one, to complete the tasks ahead.”
Sheng Jiang appeared out of nowhere, poking his head out from behind Wu Dian. “The survivors from Xingli Base will arrive at Kuhuang in about three hours. You all need to be prepared.”
Lin Mengzhi almost choked on his water. “What time do we get off work?”
Wu Dian didn’t so much as blink. “We’ll try to finish today’s work before 2 a.m.”
“Ah—” Everyone groaned in unison. The neatly lined-up base guards beside them turned their heads, confused at their reaction.
Sheng Jiang: “There will be overtime pay.”
“Don’t just talk about us—what about you guys?” Lin Mengzhi protested.
“There’s a zombie horde approaching. Sheng Jiang and I have to clear the obstacles to ensure the survivors from Xingli can safely reach Kuhuang.” Wu Dian swept a cold gaze over the crowd. “Anyone who wants to come along may sign up.”
Silence.
Wu Heng hugged the bird in his arms and generously said, “Be careful.”
The things he hadn’t yet eaten shouldn’t end up in the zombies’ stomachs. But those people weren’t precious enough for him to match them against Xie Chongyi, so he wasn’t going to accompany them.
Soon afterward, Wu Dian selected a few people from the list of base guards and assigned them one by one before leaving the base with Sheng Jiang.
Wu Heng’s assigned leader was a dark-skinned, broad-shouldered young man. The moment he saw Wu Heng, he said, “Yo, it’s you!”
Wu Heng slightly parted his lips. He had no memory of this person at all, but he couldn’t guarantee it was their first meeting—he was face-blind.
The boy’s silence struck Meng Haiqing’s eyes as the unmistakable calmness of someone in command. He lifted his shirt, wiped most of the sweat off his face, dried his hands, and introduced himself proactively. “I’m Meng Haiqing—Haiqing from Haidongqing. Yesterday, you and your friend entered the base while I was on duty at the watchtower.”
Wu Heng gave an expression of sudden understanding, and Meng Haiqing flashed a wide, white smile.
“Oh, it’s you,” Xie Chongyi said, walking over to Wu Heng after recognizing his own team leader, smiling at Meng Haiqing. “I remember yesterday, the first time we met, you shot an arrow at our parrot.”
The boy’s smile was faint, which made Meng Haiqing feel a little embarrassed. “Kuhuang has experienced three or four attacks from mutated animal groups, so…”
“Your actions were completely justified,” Xie Chongyi said sympathetically, speaking from the heart—after all, his purpose had already been achieved.
To show his apology, Meng Haiqing rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a few tightly wrapped pieces of dried meat, placing them in his palm and offering them to the parrot in Wu Heng’s arms.
X tilted its head and viciously pecked at the young man’s palm, not only taking all the meat but also drawing a few drops of bright red blood from the hand holding it.
“You hold grudges, huh?” Meng Haiqing winced in pain, forcing out a laugh. “Let’s go.” He spoke to Wu Heng.
Wu Heng released X to fetch water, and X climbed onto his shoulder, constantly turning its head to survey the surroundings. Its gray feathers glinted silver in the sunlight.
With the backpack supplied by the base on his back, Wu Heng refilled his water bottle and slung it over his shoulder. He turned around and saw a dozen vehicles of varying sizes parked in the open space ahead. All of them were painted in uniform red and blue geometric patterns, each with a large blue five-pointed star on the sides.
Following the scent, Wu Heng got on the same vehicle as Xie Chongyi.
After departure, the dozen or so vehicles from the base headed in different directions, leaving only two vehicles heading toward the survivor gathering point.
Seeing Wu Heng looking outside, Meng Haiqing spoke up, “They’re heading out of the base.”
Wu Heng, politely humoring him, asked, “Going out to do what?”
“Clearing safety hazards around the base.”
The wind on his face was scorching hot. Wu Heng continued, curious, “Where does your pay come from?”
Meng Haiqing explained, “The base issues each resident survivor an ID card with a chip. The base has set up many recharge points inside and outside the three cities. Survivors can bring energy cores to these points to top up their cards. Every day, the base control center automatically deducts the balance on the card—3 points for ability users, 2 points for ordinary people—as a fee for base operations. When a card’s balance drops below negative ten points, the holder is expelled from the base. Our wages come from this system. However, children under three and seniors over eighty are exempt from this rule.”
Wu Heng exchanged a glance with Xie Chongyi. “Do we have to pay if we’re staying temporarily?”
“Yes,” nodded the woman next to Meng Haiqing. “Five points.”
“…” Wu Heng stroked the bird’s head. “But we haven’t paid yet.”
“The two people from Jingzhou already paid for you. I ran into them at a recharge point,” Meng Haiqing said, pointing at the parrot. “They even paid for it.”
“How many energy cores is five points?”
“Five D-grade energy cores.”
“That’s not much. That’s fine.”
“Not much? Energy cores only exist inside zombies’ heads or mutated flora and fauna. Most survivors are ordinary people without powers, so it’s hard to guarantee even a few points of gain each day. And these points have to be handed over to the base, while you still need money for food, clothing, and lodging.” The woman’s complaints poured out nonstop. She kept talking all the way to the temporary survivor camp before finally stopping.
“I used to work in the entertainment industry as a makeup artist. You know, that actor Jiang and actress Yinghou—I did makeup for both of them. I even still have their autographed photos!”
Wu Heng: “Still have… autographed photos… now?”
“Ah! Right!” Aunt Min said, a bit embarrassed. “I was thinking, in case I ran into fans, I could trade their autographed photos for energy cores. By the way, do you have any favorite celebrities? I have autographed photos of half the stars in the entertainment industry.”
“No.” Wu Heng and Xie Chongyi said in unison.
After looking in the mirror each day, then turning to the TV, they always felt something was missing. It was hard for them to like anyone who wasn’t at least as good as themselves.
The survivors from Shisanhe were temporarily concentrated in several large greenhouses in the central city. The greenhouses were equipped with some cooling and ventilation facilities, but they were not very effective, because people were lying nearly shoulder-to-shoulder in every direction.
The temperature was hard to lower. A few weakened ability users kept spraying water, but judging by their expressions, it seemed like they were spraying blood instead.
There were three greenhouses in total, numbered 1, 2, and 3. Wu Heng and Meng Haiqing were assigned to Greenhouse 1, which held 366 people, all with unknown survivor profiles.
Greenhouse 1 was divided into front and back areas. Wu Heng and Meng Haiqing were responsible for the front, while Dou Lu and another base guard handled the back.
“I’ll ask the questions; you just take notes,” Meng Haiqing said, tightening his helmet and turning to help Wu Heng adjust his.
Wu Heng dodged cautiously. “No need, thanks.”
“Then tighten yours properly. Some people are pretty violent—one wrong move and they’ll jump up and hit someone.” Meng Haiqing hated dealing with these people. The distance between life and death was too close, so it was not uncommon for someone to suddenly break down or lose control—even ability users were not exempt.
Humans were accustomed to living in their constructed societies. Disasters had shattered the barrier between them and other creatures. The idea of equality among all beings had shifted from theory to reality, though no one welcomed it.
Wu Heng took out the paper and pen provided by the base and wrote down the greenhouse number and the area designation.
The survivors who had been resting rose from the ground mats when they saw the two of them. Most had some luggage, and the lucky ones not only had luggage but had brought their families as well.
“Get up, get up! Quick, we’re arranging your living spaces!”
“We’ll talk inside in a moment.”
“Well, you can ask them where to find work when the time comes.”
“That Liu Shen bastard—he only cares about himself. He left us at Kuhuang and didn’t bother afterward. Quick to take the money, though—ugh!”
The poppy, hidden underground, quietly absorbed moisture while also eavesdropping on many conversations.
Wu Heng kept his eyes down, diligently taking notes.
“My surname is Zhang—Zhang Qiuying, male. My ability is visual evolution; I can see especially far, a few kilometers is no problem.”
Meng Haiqing casually pointed in a direction. “What’s two and a half kilometers out?”
The man looked toward the indicated direction. A few seconds later, he answered, “A tree—on fire. A bird’s putting it out, because there’s a nest up there.”
Meng Haiqing tore off the first page of the notes Wu Heng had made. The soft striped paper in his hand transformed into a metallic card. Besides the name and gender, it even had a contour of Zhang Qiuying’s face.
The young man handed the ID card to Zhang Qiuying. “The base rules include instructions for use.”
“Where do I live?”
“In Central City. Any vacant house, you can swipe the card to move in. Rent is automatically deducted when you swipe the door. Keep in mind, different houses have different rent. If you’re wealthy enough, you can sign a purchase agreement at the Outer City housing office.”
Zhang Qiuying shook his head. “I don’t have money. I can’t buy a house. Then how do I get to Central City?”
“There’s a bus inside the base morning and evening that goes across the entire city. The evening bus leaves at 8 o’clock; it should reach this spot in about twenty minutes.”
Wu Heng’s eyes followed Meng Haiqing’s back. For now, he couldn’t tell whether his power was metal-based, gold-related, or magnetic like Dou Lu’s. But since the paper could so easily transform into metal—and considering the others around him—he took a deep breath.
They still weren’t very skilled at using their powers—not because their abilities weren’t strong enough.
Their steps came to a family of three at the back. The woman held her child. “Not even 1.2 meters tall—do we still have to pay?”
“The base’s rule is children under three are free.”
Wu Heng lowered his head and wrote down the information of the three people on paper. None of the family had superpowers. He tore off the three pages and handed them to Meng Haiqing, glancing at the family as he did.
Calling them “worn out” was a polite euphemism. Among the three, only the child’s face still had a bit of flesh. The middle-aged parents had rough, dark skin, dry hair, frail bodies, and identical expressions of confusion and helplessness.
After receiving their ID cards, the woman covered her mouth and began to sob quietly.
Passing by them, Wu Heng noticed that their combined luggage was just a single denim bag at their feet, probably less than 10 liters in capacity.
Wu Heng said to Meng Haiqing’s back to wait a moment, then turned and quickly walked back to the family of three. He squatted down, expressionless, and opened their bag.
The woman was startled. “Is there a problem?”
“No.” Wu Heng stood and rejoined Meng Haiqing.
The woman wiped her tears, picked up the bag, and looked through it, finding it full of energy cores at the bottom. “You…”
The man beside her quickly covered her mouth and shook his head. “You think it’s just us who can’t survive? Let’s pretend not to know to avoid getting him into trouble.”
Wu Heng didn’t care about them. His action wasn’t motivated by sympathy—their appearance was simply too unpleasant, almost nauseating.
“I want to live in Inner City!” A loud voice rang out through the greenhouse. The man held his heavy belly, lifting his shirt over his chest. “I have plenty of money.”
“Ability users can only live in Central City or Outer City. You’re pure Water element from the Five Elements. Inner City is reserved for the disadvantaged,” Meng Haiqing frowned.
“Your base planning is flawed. In our Shisanhe, people without powers all live in the outer ring,” the man argued aggressively.
“That was Shisanhe. Now Shisanhe has been absorbed by Kuhuang. Since you’ve come here, you must follow Kuhuang’s rules,” Meng Haiqing said sharply, then shrugged. “If you don’t agree with our management, you can leave anytime. The dorms in the north and south are better, but chances are you won’t even get a spot there. Don’t end up labeled as disadvantaged anywhere else.”
Before anyone could react, the man, enraged, acted immediately.
He threw a punch, but his fist didn’t reach Meng Haiqing—water surged up from Meng Haiqing’s feet, surrounding him.
Meng Haiqing cursed under his breath, pressed his palm down, sending splashes flying. In midair, the water suddenly froze, transforming into arrow-like feathers that shot back at the man. It was clear the man was going all out.
Wu Heng stood in place, calmly observing the two.
The man had been grinning fiercely, but suddenly his body tilted. Something grabbed his legs, hoisting him upside down in the center of the greenhouse ceiling.
?
The water at Meng Haiqing’s feet vanished, and the frozen droplets fell to the ground.
Vines, tangled together like a miniature forest, blocked most of the light and heat, creating a brief patch of shade for those on the ground.
“Ahhhh, what the hell is this?! I suggest you let me go! My brother is Liu Shen!!!” the man yelled, his eyes filled with hatred and fury, though he didn’t even know whom he was addressing.
“What little bastard has the nerve to ambush me… ah—” Something else punched him again!
It was the poppy, coiled into several sandbag-sized fists, hammering his bulging belly with a relentless patter-pow rhythm.
Its fists left countless afterimages, landing with squish, whack, bang, pow.
The man shouted curses and yelps in pain. It wasn’t attacking his head—the poppy wasn’t such an unscrupulous plant. It only did what its master intended.
After repeatedly pounding the fat man, a faint blue glow gradually surrounded his body.
The glow trembled, then—splash!—water sprayed everywhere.
Suddenly, water began falling from above, cold and refreshing like a sudden summer downpour. It was rough, yet enough to cool the heat, and now it could also quench thirst.
Water released by a Water-element ability user can be drunk directly, but each use required the support of an energy core within their bodies.
The man, hammered into releasing water, had his ability forcibly activated. The water itself had no consciousness—it didn’t know to protect him. It just kept pouring out.
Wu Heng stepped forward, a faint star-like smile on his face. “Please, everyone, enjoy.”
His voice was so soft that only those nearby snapped to attention, grabbing their water bottles and scrambling to collect it.
X left his shoulder and flew over to the man who had become a human tap. Its massive body cast a huge shadow as it spread its wings. Its voice, hoarse and deep, echoed: “Please, everyone, enjoy!”