"Is this the thing?"
He poked at the crystal core he'd found in the zombie's head with the tip of his sword, saying with disgust.
"It is. This crystal core can enhance abilities. They've all tried it, but these transparent ones don't boost as much as the colored ones."
Another person took out a bag, opened its mouth, and the one poking the crystal core with his sword flicked it lightly. The crystal core popped up and fell right into the bag.
"Good thing I didn't awaken any abilities. I really don't want to touch such a disgusting thing."
He curled his lips in disgust, then wiped his sword a few times on the zombie's clothes, making sure there was no brain matter on it, and then took out a clean cloth to wipe his sword.
"We'll need it later, why are you cleaning it so thoroughly now?" The other person was puzzled by his actions.
"I feel like it!" He sheathed his sword and walked forward.
"Wait for me. But awakening abilities is pretty good too, at least you don't have to worry about turning into a monster like this. Didn't Xiao Lin say that once you have abilities, you won't be infected by zombie poison!" He caught up to the person in front.
"But it can't be helped if you don't awaken any, anyway, with martial arts now, you can still kill zombies. As long as you're careful, it's the same!"
They were guards from Taoyuan Base. The zombies around the town were getting fewer and fewer, so they came out in teams of two to clear the town.
Although there were fewer zombies wandering outside, there were still some in the houses, so they had dispatched many small teams to deal with them.
Because they had discovered the use of crystal cores before, they had an additional task: collecting crystal cores.
But they didn't like this task much. After all, they, who used weapons, really didn't want to touch even the corner of a zombie's clothes. Now, asking them to search zombie brains for crystal cores was simply unacceptable.
However, they all knew the importance of this matter, so even though they were reluctant, they did it anyway.
The collected crystal cores were exchanged for points and distributed to those who contributed. Those with abilities who wanted to improve could use points to exchange for crystal cores.
Of course, private exchanges were also allowed, and the base was quite lenient in this regard.
The town was cleared in just a few days. Next, they would start building fortifications. However, Lin Yan had not returned yet, which made the people of Taoyuan Base very worried.
But they still had some faith in Lin Yan's ability. Even if Lin Yan couldn't handle it, wasn't there Sui Sui? Even if they couldn't win, they could still escape.
By the time Lin Yan and her group returned to Taoyuan Base, Sui Sui's ability had already risen to level two. Her spatial ability had become larger after upgrading, and it now had a storage room.
Although this storage room was not very large, it contained quite a few things. Lin Yan had tested the items in Sui Sui's storage room. If they were items that were originally in the storage room, it was like a bedroom; they would automatically update every night after 12 o'clock.
If they were items that Sui Sui had placed there from outside, they would remain as they were when they were brought in.
It was equivalent to a natural refrigerator. Although it was unknown how long the preservation function of this storage room would last, this function was still very powerful.
After Sui Sui's ability evolved into a storage room, Lin Yan named this ability "Snail."
She felt that Sui Sui's ability might evolve into a complete suite. This would be equivalent to carrying one's home on one's back.
Sui Sui also felt like a snail because she felt that the storage room was just like the one in her home. Although her ability was not as powerful as others', Sui Sui liked it very much.
Lin Yan's parents were also pleasantly surprised when they arrived at Taoyuan Base.
Taoyuan Base was no longer just the residential complex it was before. The entire town had been cleared, all the zombies killed, and then turned into ashes by fire abilities.
These ashes were collectively sent to a Buddhist temple in the northeast corner of the town. Boxes were neatly arranged on shelves. Although the names of each person were not written, someone was helping to look after them.
The fortifications outside the town were also half-built. When Lin Yan and her group returned, they had to stay in the isolation room at the entrance for one day.
This was requested by those who had read many post-apocalyptic novels, saying that it could prevent infected people from entering the base.
Although Lin Yan and Sui Sui, as ability users, would not be infected, they also quarantined with Lin Yan's parents for a day.
When they officially entered the base, they understood why their daughter had insisted on returning.
Everyone they passed greeted Lin Yan enthusiastically and inquired about her well-being with concern.
The streets here were very clean, and people had gentle smiles on their faces, as if their past post-apocalyptic experiences were just a dream.
Although there were not many people here, some shops were still open, and people were coming and going, doing their own things.
This was the life of an ordinary town before the apocalypse. Especially since they still had their mobile phones, and there were many people walking around with their heads down, typing on their phones as they walked. Everything was the same as before the apocalypse.
When they arrived at Lin Yan's residence, a two-story townhouse, someone was already waiting there.
"Sister, we knew your parents were coming, so we cleaned up this house for you. Wang Peng and the others have moved out, and now your family lives in this house alone."
Wang Cheng and Xu Nan, with others, had cleaned up the house. The new sheets and duvet covers had been put on in the bedrooms.
"Thank you, you've worked hard!" Lin Yan patted their heads, feeling that in less than a month of not seeing them, they seemed to have grown up a lot.
"It's not hard work, Sister. I've collected some ingredients, and I'll bring them over for you to eat later. You and Aunt and Uncle should tidy up, and we'll come back later." Xu Nan said, about to pull Wang Cheng away.
"Then I'll give you the points."
"No need, I have plenty of points!" Saying that, the two of them ran out.
"Yan Yan, this is?" Lin's father didn't quite understand why two young children were waiting there.
"They are my students, Mom and Dad. Please go to the bedroom first and see if you need anything. I'll check if I have it here. If not, I'll register it at the government affairs hall and exchange for some."
Lin Yan didn't explain too much, but instead led Lin's father and mother to their bedroom.
Looking at the empty closet in the room, Lin Yan took out suitable clothes for Lin's parents from her space and put them in the closet. She also put the toiletries in the bathroom.
Lin's father looked around the room, then turned on the faucet, and clear water gurgled out.
"There's running water here?"