On the fourth day of staying in the Hot Spring Village, the temperature dropped to minus eight degrees.
Pang Cancan came knocking on the door, looking pitiful. “Sister Su Su, we’re out of dried wild vegetables.”
Previously, since it was the height of summer and there was no shortage of wild vegetables along the roadside, she never considered storing any. But now that the temperature had plummeted, the mountains and roadsides were left with nothing but withered yellow grass.
If Sister Su Su hadn’t casually mentioned making some dried wild vegetables while foraging, they wouldn’t have even lasted these past few days.
Standing at the doorway, Su Su instinctively glanced at the still-sleeping Xiao Hei.
Most of the supplies stored in its space consisted of staple foods, smoked meat, and various canned goods. She had truly forgotten to stock up on more vegetables.
After pondering for a moment, Su Su thought of the large cabbages in front of the standalone courtyard.
“The village definitely has vegetable reserves. We can trade for them with supplies.”
Pang Cancan’s eyes lit up. “What should we trade? Cold-resistant gear? Crystals?”
“Crystals.”
From the past few days of observation and inquiries, she had roughly figured out the power hierarchy. Wei Yan, Guan Zixuan, Zheng Wenxiu, and Zou Gaoming were all Tier 3 ability users. There were also a few Tier 2s, but not many—only about four or five.
Beyond that, there were seven or eight Tier 1 ability users and around a thousand ordinary people.
This awakening ratio was still considered quite low.
“A Tier 2 crystal should be a pretty good bargaining chip.”
Pang Cancan immediately pulled out several crystals. “Sister Su Su, can we trade for a pack of hot pot base too? I smelled them eating hot pot the other day, and I’ve been craving it for days!”
Su Su chuckled. “A Tier 2 crystal is considered rare outside, and you want to use it to trade for hot pot base?”
“The apocalypse is already here! Of course, we should enjoy what we can. I can always hunt more zombies for crystals!”
Pang Cancan’s carefree attitude was infectious. Su Su froze for a few seconds, suddenly realizing that since her rebirth, she had been too tense. Even with a handful of crystals in her possession, she had never thought of indulging herself.
“Alright! I’ll go trade for vegetables and hot pot base. Tonight, we’re having hot pot too!”
Su Su prepared to head out.
A second ago, Xiao Hei had still been nestled in the dent she left in the bed, sleeping deeply.
When she turned her head back, she found it had already half-opened its eyes. With its snake tail, it dragged her backpack to the door, then slowly crawled inside and closed its eyes again.
It was clearly showing a “wherever she goes, it’s going too—to sleep” attitude.
“Tsk, even baby animals that haven’t been weaned aren’t this clingy,” Pang Cancan shook her head. “My little ones don’t need me to carry them around all day. Sister Su Su, do you think Xiao Hei sees you as its snake mom?”
Su Su: “……”
She subconsciously wanted to agree but, thinking of the 20 to 30 pounds of “big baby” in the bag, she rationally erased that thought from her mind.
“It’s just lazy.”
Resigned, Su Su lifted the bag and knocked on the door of the neighboring courtyard.
“It’s you.”
There was only Wei Yan in the courtyard; the other two were nowhere to be seen. He politely invited Su Su inside. “Is there something you need?”
They had been staying in the village for several days, keeping a low profile and rarely showing themselves.
Wei Yan was genuinely curious about Su Su’s purpose for coming today.
“I want some vegetables,” Su Su got straight to the point. “What supplies do you need in exchange? Would a Tier 2 crystal work?”
Wei Yan pondered for a moment. “How much do you want?”
“A hundred cabbages.”
A hundred?
Wei Yan gave her a scrutinizing look. “What do you need so many for?”
“Just in case,” Su Su stuck to her reasoning. “We don’t know when the cold wave will end. There are three of us, so we need to prepare more.”
“That’s still too much.”
A hundred heads of cabbage—at a rate of three per day, they would last an entire month.
Su Su cut him off. “Are you unwilling to trade?”
Wei Yan shook his head, only slightly surprised.
If she insisted, he would find a way to provide them. It was always better to proactively satisfy these outsiders’ needs than to have them stir up trouble in the village.
“A hundred cabbages is too much. The village’s greenhouses were only recently built, and our vegetable reserves are still limited. We have to prioritize the villagers.”
“Then how much can I get?”
Wei Yan considered the number of greenhouses in the village and their current vegetable stock before saying, “Fifty cabbages, plus a bucket of tomatoes.”
Tomatoes were grown in the greenhouse. When the cold wave hit, they immediately reinforced the structure’s insulation, so the plants were barely surviving.
Su Su’s eyes lit up.
Tomatoes were an unexpected delight. In her past life, by the time she arrived, all the greenhouse crops had withered. Later, Lin Weiran’s group had taken over, and she had no idea what they planted afterward.
Recalling their sweet and tangy flavor, Su Su unconsciously leaned forward a few dozen centimeters. “Can I trade for more tomatoes? I’ll add another Tier 2 crystal!”
As she moved closer, Wei Yan caught a faint fragrance from her.
Was she someone who managed to stay refined even in the apocalypse? Did she naturally carry this scent? Or… was it just his own heartbeat quickening, his hormones surging, creating an illusion?
Wei Yan paused for several seconds before replying in a calm tone, “Tomatoes are limited as well. Finish this batch first, then we can discuss another trade.”
He didn’t loosen his stance just because of the beauty in front of him.
Su Su was slightly disappointed, but not much.
Wei Yan had already shown great hospitality. In the apocalypse, vegetables and fresh food were truly priceless commodities.
She took out two Tier 2 crystals and placed them on the stone table. “Here you go.”
“No rush. Let me have someone bring your goods over first.”
Wei Yan stood up and called over some nearby young men, giving them a few instructions.
Before long, fifty heads of cabbage and a metal bucket filled with tomatoes were placed in front of Su Su.
The fresh, crisp green leaves of the cabbage and the vibrant mix of green and red tomatoes were a sight to behold.
Having lived frugally in her past life, Su Su instinctively started planning in her mind: cabbage leaves could be stir-fried, cabbage cores could be used for soup, tomatoes could be eaten raw or stir-fried with eggs… Eggs? They didn’t have eggs!
Su Su sat back down.
Wei Yan: “?”
Su Su pulled out two more Tier 2 crystals. “I also want to trade for a packet of hot pot base and some eggs.”
Wei Yan silently stared at her.
She silently stared back.
After a long pause, Wei Yan lowered his gaze, stood up, and went back inside. He soon returned with a bag of hot pot base and a bamboo basket containing ten eggs.
“We raise our own chickens. We’ve saved up over twenty eggs, but I can only give you ten.”
Ten eggs were already a great deal.
Su Su didn’t push for more and sincerely expressed her gratitude.
“No need to thank me. You paid for them.”
Wei Yan pocketed the four Tier 2 crystals from the stone table.
To be honest, in their village, crystal circulation was far less prevalent than in established bases. Even Tier 2 crystals—he already had a considerable pile in his room.
His agreement to the trade was 60% out of a sense of debt, 30% for maintaining stability in the village, and the remaining 10%… perhaps because the person in front of him seemed too harmless, making him willing to fulfill her requests.
“I’ll head back now.”
Su Su stood up but hesitated before leaving.
After a few seconds of deliberation, she decided to give him a warning. “You’re already a Tier 3 ability user. Try to avoid consuming too many low-tier or same-tier crystals.”
They had been discussing supplies, and suddenly the topic shifted to abilities. Wei Yan’s gaze instantly sharpened.
“What do you mean by that, Miss Su?”
Su Su studied the man in front of her. His temples were slightly swollen, and the blue veins on his skin stood out more than usual.
It was an abnormality that most wouldn’t notice—but it was a clear sign of excessive crystal consumption.
Su Su subtly warned him, “On my journey here, I saw several ability users who exploded and died from over-consuming crystals. Before their deaths, the veins on their foreheads bulged unnaturally, and their temples swelled, turning a bluish-purple hue.”
Wei Yan instinctively touched his own temple.
It seemed he was aware of his body’s subtle changes.
Su Su didn’t intend to say more. She turned and struggled to lift the two buckets of vegetables, with a 23-jin backpack still hanging from her shoulders… From behind, she looked small, pitiful, and burdened.
“I’ll help you carry them.”
Wei Yan took the two heavy metal buckets effortlessly.
“Let’s go.”
The two of them walked side by side, keeping a respectful distance—separated by a bucket filled with tomatoes.
The short distance of a few hundred meters was walked in complete silence, the atmosphere particularly heavy.
As they neared the guesthouse, Wei Yan finally turned slightly, trying to ignore the faint, elusive fragrance in the air. In a low voice, he said, “Thank you for the warning.”
At the beginning of the apocalypse, he had indeed consumed a large number of crystals.
It was the only way to quickly surpass other ability users, kill zombies, and seize supplies.
After breaking through to Tier 3, he had rarely encountered stronger ability users, so he had gradually slowed his crystal consumption.
His tone was sincere. Seeing that he wasn’t suspicious of her, Su Su let out a quiet sigh of relief.
They finally arrived at the guesthouse, and Wei Yan set down the two buckets.
“If you need anything else, come find me.”
Su Su nodded. “Alright.”
She watched the man’s figure disappear into the distance.
Just as she was about to turn and enter the house, a sharp, wailing cry suddenly echoed from afar, followed by chaotic shouting and curses.
Su Su was still looking in the direction of the commotion when Wei Yan, who had already reached his courtyard gate, suddenly turned back. He strode quickly toward the source of the disturbance.
“What happened?”
The gathered villagers, upon seeing Wei Yan approaching, all showed varying degrees of panic on their faces. Almost instinctively, they formed a human barrier, attempting to block the scene behind them.
“A couple’s quarrel! It’s nothing serious!”
“Brother Wei, you should go about your business. These family matters don’t need your attention! We can handle it ourselves!”
“Yeah, yeah!”
More than ten voices chimed in unison, but their excessive eagerness only deepened the furrow between Wei Yan’s brows, his sharp gaze catching a familiar figure behind them.
“Who’s behind you? Da Zhuang?”
Wei Yan had been back in the village for a year. Having traveled frequently for work before that, he was well-acquainted with every young man in the village.
Da Zhuang was in his early thirties, from a poor household, and notoriously lazy. Where would he have gotten a wife?
“Move aside!”
Wei Yan’s expression turned cold as he barked the command. His imposing presence was enough to intimidate the dozen villagers blocking the way, forcing them to reluctantly step aside.
The scene that had been hidden was finally revealed—
A burly young man was pinning down a disheveled woman, his bronze-colored hand clamped tightly over her mouth and nose. The only visible part of her face was a pair of bloodshot eyes filled with despair and hatred.
Da Zhuang, seemingly caught off guard by Wei Yan’s arrival, flinched and released his grip in a panic. “Brother W-Wei …”
The moment he loosened his hold, the woman used every ounce of strength to break free. She lunged at him, biting and clawing desperately.
“You killed my son!! He starved to death because of you!!!”
“You should die! You should die!!!”
Her piercing wails echoed for hundreds of meters, drawing the attention of everyone nearby—including Pang Cancan and Le Rui in the guesthouse, as well as Guan Zixuan and Zheng Wenxiu, who had been in the middle of organizing a meeting.
By the time they arrived, Wei Yan stood at the very front, his entire body rigid as a stone monument.