Ch15 - Get up!

Clothes, shoes, convenient food, and drinking water that is easy to carry.

Xu Song should be grateful because his mother suddenly went out, and his father, who had lost his passion for cooking, had bought a bunch of instant food. Frozen food couldn’t be carried, but instant noodles and bread were extremely useful at the moment.

“Mineral water… and some more convenient food…” Xu Song wrote down the things that needed to be replenished on a piece of paper. Suddenly, he felt an itch on his arm and reached out to scratch it, only to touch the bandage.

It was the hole pierced by that crystal from the ancient tomb the day before yesterday! It was already itching now, indicating that it was healing?

Seeing the wound, Xu Song quickly added medicine to the list. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the car with him now; otherwise, he could go out and find the supplies.

Thinking about the crowd of people looting in that supermarket they had passed earlier, Xu Song couldn’t help but feel that there might not be much left to take in the large supermarkets.

When it comes to accidents like this, no one is foolish. Everyone will escape at the first opportunity and scramble for supplies in the second. The police could maintain control at the beginning, but after two nights, during the day, they had to spend more time rescuing trapped people and dealing with bodies, so they naturally couldn’t handle the looting crowds.

He needed to head north, and besides food, he also needed a large amount of gasoline. However, he didn’t know if he could find it when the time came, or perhaps even the car wouldn’t be usable, and he would have to rely on Route 11 to go north on foot? That would be really frustrating.

Rubbing his chin and squinting his eyes, Xu Song decided to go out and search for things that might be useful on the road. Even if he could only find what others had left behind, it would be better than going tomorrow when there might be nothing left.

He packed up the things he needed at home and put them in a backpack. Although he could leave them at home and come back for them later, who knew if his house would be broken into? It was better to carry them with him.

He went downstairs and looked around the neighborhood. Most of the cars in each household had been driven away by people, and the remaining ones were either missing doors or damaged by falling heavy objects, making them almost unusable. However, the bicycles parked under each building could still be used. 

Xu Song’s family also had one. Although the frequency of using bicycles had greatly reduced in the past two years since they had a car, Mr. Xu hadn’t sold it and it was still neatly parked downstairs.

As for the small car belonging to Xu’s family? That car was probably either left near the shop or taken away by someone. Anyway, Xu Song hadn’t seen it since he came back.

He put some items in the front basket and he tied the rest to the back seat and set off.

He wanted to check the large supermarket, but there might still be something in some inconspicuous small stores. Xu Song turned corners and collected things that were easy to carry along the way. 

Speaking of it, the power of the people is quite remarkable. Apart from finding a considerable amount of mineral water and instant noodles in the storage room of a somewhat hidden small supermarket, almost every other place was picked clean, with hardly any intact shops to be seen.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

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The old buildings, prone to breeding weeds, coupled with the various plants and flowers planted by each household, turned these already unstable structures into disaster areas.

As Xu Song passed by, most of the houses on both sides had already collapsed, and menacing vegetation had invaded the accessible space, proclaiming their dominance over humans. Not far away, a group of men and women were searching for survivors in the ruins.

“Move aside! Put in more effort!”

“Be careful! Don’t let go!”

“Ouch, my leg…”

These people seemed to be the original residents of this area. When they returned to search for supplies, they also discovered people trapped under the collapsed walls.

Several people ran towards the distance, presumably to find rescue personnel, while the remaining people tried their best to move the walls and pull the trapped individuals out.

“Don’t pull, don’t pull, the leg is stuck inside.”

As they were speaking, suddenly there was a loud noise, and the partially collapsed wall that was leaning over suddenly crashed down on the crowd.

Amidst the cries of alarm, a man of relatively short stature, with his hands propped against the wall, shouted loudly, “Up!” He forcibly pushed the fallen wall up with his bare hands!

The people around, including Xu Song who was passing by, were all stunned as they watched him. The man was only about 1.75-1.76 meters tall, and he didn’t have much muscle on his thin frame. How could he have such great strength?

The man himself was also momentarily stunned. He looked at his own hands in disbelief. Not far away, a few people in white coats carrying stretchers hurriedly ran over. The person leading them pointed towards the ruins and said, “It’s over there! They are trapped underneath!”

Seeing the arrival of the rescue personnel, the others resumed their frantic efforts to dig out the trapped person. The man who had just demonstrated his extraordinary strength also quickly joined in the excavation. However, this time, he clearly became the main force. He could easily pry open the fallen walls that others couldn’t move, and in no time, the person buried underneath was dug out.

After seeing the rescue of those individuals, Xu Song got back on his bicycle and continued riding forward. However, his gaze lingered on the man with extraordinary strength for a couple of glances. 

From the man’s reaction, he seemed to be surprised himself. Perhaps he didn’t have such strength before? Could it be that he, like Xu Song and Yue Zheng, gained increased strength after the anomaly?

What exactly caused their abilities? Why does each person display different abilities? Is there any connection between the anomalies in humans and the mutated animals, plants, and reanimated corpses?

Not far ahead is the so-called shelter, with scattered tents and people bustling around. Men, women, and children gather together, either around supplies or around a campfire, all wearing worried expressions and speaking in hushed voices.

Only a few oblivious children are playing and laughing around.

With a glance, Xu Song didn’t see anyone familiar. After all, Y City is the capital city of F Province, with a considerable area and a population of four to five million. Excluding those who perished, went missing, or refused to leave their homes, there are at least a hundred thousand people gathered in the small square now.

Finding a relatively open space, Xu Song parked his bicycle and took out some food and a bottle of mineral water. 

He placed the remaining items behind him, using them as a pillow. While observing the surroundings, he ate his dinner. Before long, the group of people he had seen in the old neighborhood returned. The injured individuals seemed to have been taken to a designated rescue area by medical personnel. The man with extraordinary strength that Xu Song had seen earlier was also among the crowd, not too far from him.

“Pa da, pa da, pa da.”

Yue Zheng didn’t expect that in this state of semi-paralysis engulfing the entire city, he would not have to engage in rescue work with his colleagues. Instead, he could sit in a relatively safe office vehicle and type reports on his computer. 

With extensive plant growth and oppression, the city’s power lines and communication were almost completely interrupted. After reporting the situation in the ancient tomb to higher-ups, the leaders briefly communicated with City B via satellite phone. Following that, orders were passed down, instructing Yue Zheng to compile the previous events into a written document by tonight.

It seemed that he wouldn’t be able to find Xu Song tonight. The supplies they had gathered were still in that vehicle, and he didn’t know if Xu Song had eaten dinner… 

Three hours later, the report was completed. Yue Zheng checked it from start to finish four or five times to ensure there were no mistakes or inappropriate content, such as his own ability, Xu Song’s involvement in the ancient tomb incident, and so on before printing it out.

Three copies were made, and after one final check, Yue Zheng, who was about to sign his name, became lost in thought. 

Should he keep the fact that he now possessed an ability a secret? He didn’t want to invite trouble. Although he was willing to assist superiors in investigating the cause of the anomalies, and he felt it was his duty to report what happened on the He Lu Mountain, even willing to cooperate with the investigation, he didn’t want to become a joke for the rest of his life. He was well aware of how the special departments treated individuals like himself. If it was just a matter of donating blood, he didn’t mind, but he was afraid…

“Yue Zheng, how’s it going?” 

The sudden voice broke Yue Zheng’s contemplation, and he hurriedly tidied up several copies of the report, saying to the person poking their head in, “Just finished typing it, checking it now.”

“You’re too serious. Send the typed report up first. If there’s anything that needs to be added later, report it in the morning.”  

The person smiled at him. “I’ll deliver the report. Chief Li said it’s getting late, so you’ll have to manage for the night in the vehicle. If there’s anything, let’s talk about it tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, are you on duty tonight? Be careful, it’s not very safe at night.” 

The person sighed and muttered, “Is it unsafe? It’s downright malevolent… Alright, I’ll go now.”

Xu Song decided that the first thing he would do when he woke up tomorrow was to find a bed and blanket!

On this summer night, even if it was cool, it was still stuffy, especially in City Y. Even when he was living at the foot of the mountain a few days ago, he only needed a towel to cover himself while sleeping. But now, he had been abruptly awakened by the cold!

It’s July now! Early July! How could it be so cold at night?

In the tranquility of the night, Xu Song leaned against his backpack, looking around. Sure enough, most of the people around him were wrapped in blankets or even quilts. No wonder he saw people carrying quilts among their belongings during the day. That was a major oversight.

In the darkness, shadows moved faintly. Some were going out to relieve themselves in the middle of the night, while others were trying to take advantage of others’ sleep and steal a little something.

There were many military and police personnel around the shelter maintaining order and protecting everyone’s safety. However, the population inside the shelter was too large, making it difficult to identify these petty thieves once they blended into the crowd.

With a heightened sense of alertness, Xu Song guarded his belongings more tightly.

Suddenly, a painful cry came from not too far away!