Afterlife Department

"That's right." Wen Yan nodded in agreement. "There also won't be any effect the radiation on corpses." He said. "So… why are they attacking it?" he asked, feeling puzzled.

Silence fell as none of them can answer the question for the strange behavior of the zombies. Even if there was really something in the signal tower, but currently they are unable to find an answer for that. But, it would be more troubling if there really was nothing, after all, since the zombies can actually act very irrationally. They know that zombies attack people because they smell them or hear their movements. They have no sense of sight so they can see them.

But, if there is no reason for a zombie surge… humanity is really doomed. If they could find some reason, at the least, they could come up for some tactics to counter it. However, if there is nothing, then… Mo Shi, who was listening outside, left after he sent the audio clip to Jin Wu, as well as Yi Bing and Huo Ling.

Jin Wu who opened the audio file and listened to it smiled. He threw away the unconscious man that he hit earlier to disable him as one of the people who resist in combining the two bases of the Northern Military Base and Xi Kai's base. Jin Wu can understand them, though, to want to rule the base after Xi Kai left since they want the power to do whatever they want without caring for other people. For example, making the others run errand for them like procuring food, or take the women that they want to 'play' with.

But, this is the apocalypse. The strongest is the one who can rule. There is no time to play politics here. Because one wrong move and a life can end. That is why he felt that the people are very lucky because there is Hu Feng who is a soldier to the core, having a great sense of responsibility even though it was already the apocalypse where the law was ignored and forgotten. There is also Qi Ming who is kind to help those who are in need.

He turned to face the remaining people who wants to resist the unification of the two bases. "So, anyone who still want to resist?" he asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"He is so strong… super strong!" someone exclaimed from the back.

"I heard he is an ability user? Why didn't he use his ability?" someone asked.

"Are you an idiot?! He is already this strong even without using his ability!" someone said. "What will happen if he will also use his ability? We will all die for sure!" he told the other person.

"How envious… I also want to be an ability user!" somebody spoke.

"What the hell is wrong with you all?!" the one in the lead of the group of resisting people yelled. "Aren't we here to defeat him?! We can't lose our bearing here!" he said as he raised his weapon and pointed it towards Jin Wu. "A level two metal ability user, huh?" he said as he clicked his tongue.

"Yeah. I am. Got a problem with that?" Jin Wu arrogantly asked.

"Sir Jin Wu. We are here to ask them to cooperate with us." A soldier spoke. "The general wants everyone to cooperate so that we could avoid some internal conflicts in the future." He explained.

"Heh. How boring." Jin Wu said and yawned.

The soldier. "…" so, he is really here just to fight. He thought and helplessly sighed.

"Don't be scared! The soldier beside him isn't an ability user! And there is just the two of them!" the leader of the resisting group said. "Everyone, attack!" he said.

"HAAAAA!!!" they all yelled as they ran towards them with their weapons raised.

Jin Wu squinted his eyes. "Ten versus two, huh?" he grinned. "Now, this is what you call a real fight!" he said with eyes shining in mirth as he cracked his knuckles before he ran to meet the group halfway and collide with them.

The soldier left placed a palm on his forehead before he joined the fight.

…

"These are all of them?" Wen Yan asked after Jin Wu and the soldier returned with the people they caught.

"Not all of them." Jin Wu answered as he got off of the car. "Some of them escaped in the middle of the fight and hid." He told him.

Wen Yan sighed as he looked at the people that Jin Wi have caught. "It is already the apocalypse, yet all of you still are so selfish." He spoke. "Everyone has to unite and fight together in order to defeat our common enemy: the zombies. Yet, you are still fighting against your fellow humans just for your self-interests. You even wanted to drag the other people down with you all!" he frowned and glared at them.

The rebels rolled their eyes and ignored him. "What a hypocrite." They muttered and sneered.

"You bastards!" Wen Yan yelled and was about to attack them when Jin Wu stopped him.

"Stop wasting your time with the people who got nothing to lose." Jin Wu spoke. "They are not worth of your time." He told him. "So, how are the earth ability users doing? How tall and wide is the wall now?" he asked, changing the topic.

The soldier took the rebels away while Wen Yan cooled his head. "Fortunately, most of the soldiers awakened as earth and metal ability users, so the building of the wall is going faster than we expected." He answered.

There were more than fifty earth and metal ability users among the soldiers, and more than half of them are already level two ability users, fortunately.

"Good." Jin Wu spoke as he looked at Wen Yan. "Say, the nucleus crystals are very rare, right? So, there should be only a handful of them, since only the level three zombies have the nucleus crystals, and that only a few people are able to kill them, like Qi Ming and Xi Kai, and even them two would have a hard time killing a level three zombie alone." He said. "So, how can some ability users are able to level up? Is there another way to level up aside from absorbing the energy from the nucleus crystals?" he asked him.

"Oh. About this." Wen Yan muttered. "There is indeed another way to level up. But, it is overtaxing for both body and mind." He told him.

"Oh? What is this method?" Jin Wu asked.

Wen Yan suddenly shyly smiled. "Actually, this is also the reason why the soldiers level up more than the civilian ability users." He spoke. "It is due to rigorous training." He answered.

Jin Wu was surprised at this ordinary method. "'rigorous training'?" he asked.

Wen Yan nodded. "But, this is beyond the military's rigorous training." He spoke. "I leveled up due to absorbing nucleus crystals. But, based from the soldiers who leveled up due to their own hard work – " he looked at him. " – they said that the more you exercise your body, the better your ability will become." He told him. "We train to strengthen our body, as well as for coordination of our senses, including our mind to develop our fast reactions as well as our instinct. Of course, there will be stress if this continues since you have exceeded the training requirements. But, the stress is actually helpful for leveling up your ability." He explained.

"Stress can help?" Jin Wu spoke.

"Not the usual stress like the everyday problems or breaking up of relationships…" Wen Yan hollowly laughed. "It needs both the body and mind." He spoke. "Your mind alone wouldn't work, as your body also needed to keep up with your mind." He told him.

"Ah… like that in meditation or something?" Jin Wu muttered. He secretly sent the audio file containing his conversation with Wen Yan to Yi Bing, Huo Ling and Mo Shi. "I really don't understand this complicated stuff, but maybe I will try." He said.

"Really?" Wen Yan was surprised. Then, he suddenly paused. "Well, you look physically fit, and I really thought you were also a soldier. Maybe you can really do this rigorous training…" he said.

Jin Wu grinned. "There is no harm in trying!" he told him and patted his back. "Let's go. I am starving!" he said as he stretched his arms.

"Okay." Wen Yan nodded, then suddenly remembered something. "That's right. We can also talk about the rules and regulations that the general and leader Qi have come up for the new base." He said, referring to the two bases combining as a new base.

"Good." Jin Wu spoke and they entered the building.

…

"We will be arriving in A City after two hours. Everyone, be prepared. We might encounter a large group of zombies, or maybe another group of thieves again." Xi Kai said and grinned.