Chapter 18 - Time of Departure

[The number of zombies burned must have been more than that. System, are you giving the wrong statistic?]When he hunted today, Wu Ye saw a lot of quasi-level 2, level 2, and maybe some quasi-level 3 zombies. That's why he felt that the points he got should be more than that.

The system pulls up the control panel which listed the number of zombies eliminated today – 1100 level 1, 200 quasi-level 2, 50 level 2 zombies, and 5 quasi-level 3 zombies.[According to the operational standards, after deducting the effectiveness of the host, the host got 1580. This calculation is accurate!]The cold voice of the system spoke with a hint of grievance.

Wu Ye looked at the data verify what the system had said. Afterwards, sighed loudly and exhaled in exasperation[Shit, this is too ruthless! This 1200 points deducted from me was almost half of my final score. And the reason behind this deduction was even more ridiculous! Obviously, I bought the gasoline and the bomb; I hired people with my crystal nuclei, and I was the one who threw the bomb. All these were my labor. Why did you deduct my points over these?]

System answered,[They were hired by you but they were not approved by the system. According to the scoring rules, points must be deducted.]

[Whoever set the scoring rules was simply a bully! He's too unreasonable!]

System:[It's the development team.]

Second Young Master Wu could only keep silent[…]

Wu Ye was still unwilling, but after considering how he had already earned the cost of his journey going home, he felt lazy to argue with the system again. It's now useless to argue. After all, could the system hang its developer?

[Hey, you're so useless.]Second Young Master Wu said, hating on the system once again.

System:[Right back at you.]Did the stupid host manage to get enough points to go back to his home? The system felt a little reluctant to leave this world.

[You know how to talk back?!]Second Young Master Wu felt more surprised than angry at what the system said. Why did it seem like the system had its own temper? Could it be that AI or something exists?

[Heng.]With a guilty hum, the system stopped paying attention to Wu Ye.

Forget it, I'm in a good mood today. I wouldn't stoop down to your level.

While the points he earned were enough for him to go home, his crystal nuclei had already been spent. He still needed 1000 crystal nuclei to go home and 600 more to pay the Yang brother and sister pair for their services. Also, there were Qin Wuhua and Ji Yun, who both had 'life-long friendship' with him. They had called him the eldest for so many days. If he left silently, wouldn't it be too unjust for them? Anyway, he should leave something for them to use to save their lives should the need arise.

Vaccine.

With Qin Wuhua's ability, he wouldn't be lacking in crystal nuclei. Ji Yun had a good brain, and he certainly wouldn't suffer a loss if he continued to follow after Qin Wuhua. Even if they went their separate ways in the future, Ji Yun's zombie detector had been successfully invented. With his and Professor Li's ability to change something rotten into something magical, they'd surely be able to muddle along.

He didn't know whether these people could create vaccines in the future or not, however, that's the best thing he could exchange for which couldn't be bought with money; Giving them vaccines was the perfect choice. That way, they would have one more life as insurance.

Exchanging for a vaccine needed 500 points and 100 crystal (second level crystal nuclei). It wouldn't be a problem to get a few doses of vaccines after he did this two more times. Anyway, he had been 'missing' for almost a month; It won't be a problem if he stayed here for another two days before going home.

When he first arrived here, Wu Ye was really looking forward to go back home every minute. But when he was about to raise enough 'travel expenses', he felt apprehensive. And when he thought about the things he'd face when he went back, he felt especially worried.

Forget it. Let's not think about that and settle things down here first.

The zombies BBQ mission was completed very smoothly, that it was less than 11 A.M when they returned to the safe zone. After some discussion, they decided to hunt around the edge of the safe zone in the afternoon.

Everyone simply ate some deep-fried dough cake and canned beef for lunch. After eating, the three evolved people went to absorb some nuclei to restore their abilities to the best condition.

Once again, they came to the edge of the safe zone. But unlike in the morning, there were more hunters there, and most of the zombies hunters were in groups of three or five people. And there were more than a hundred people there, fighting separate battles. Each battles were accompanied with sounds of gunfire and murder. Meanwhile, the zombies kept pouring in to replace the one that were killed. The battle between the living and dead was very fierce.

Where there were people, there were rivers and lakes, and within those rivers and lakes, a struggle was bound to exist. Even with the dangers of hunting, a lot of people still fight over treasures and territory in this wasteland.

Yang Qi and Yang Li Na, who both had rich experience in hunting, quickly chose a geomantic treasure land with open terrain and few strangers. Originally, some people were dissatisfied with this. But when Yang Qi raised his hand to create a trench in front of the truck, the disgruntled people immediately swallowed their words.

Lan Cheng base which had more than 100,000 survivors, had no more than 2,000 evolved people, most of whom were of the first and quasi-second level. From what they could see, Yang Qi's ability obviously had reached the second level or higher. Such people were the objects of competition between the forces of different parties, and no one was willing to provoke them easily.

When Qin Wuhua and Yang Li Na came out, these people could say nothing more. Some of the zombies hunters who were acquaintance or worried about possible 'bullying', willingly moved aside.

This was strength.

Wu Ye felt a bit complicated. Finally, he had witnessed how it was for people 'respect strength' just as how he had read in the novels before. This respect couldn't be 'bought' at auction for eight millions at random. Unfortunately, this fear and awe was not for him.

Setting up the riffle on the trench, Wu Ye immediately suppressed his fantasy and pointed the rifle's muzzle at the head of the first zombie he saw through the scope. He pulled the trigger and made a big hole in the middle of the zombie's head, making the zombie fall heavily on the thousands of holes in the wasted soil. The body rolled a few times before its empty grey eyes stared lifelessly at the sky, leaving an impression of a soul imprisoned by death, finally free.

As the gunshot rang, the zombies fell one by one.

"He really is the boss. He's made rapid progress in his marksmanship!" Ji Yun raised his thumb up at Wu Ye while reloading the cartridge.

Wu Ye also felt puzzled. A day ago, he was still at the level where he would hit 6 to 7 marks out of 10. How did he become a sharpshooter with a hundred shots today? Even if the marksmanship was accurate, it shouldn't allow him to be able to use the legendary 'prediction', right? However, today, as long as the muzzle of the rifle is aimed at the zombies, he could judge the next movement of the zombies, and then naturally choose the best position to shoot, without any deliberation. It's all natural, like that instinct you get after thousands of times of tempering.

Although his arms could feel the recoil force of the rifle after firing a clip of bullets, it had no obvious effect on his arm at all. He did not feel any numbness that was usually felt after using the gun.

After a careful observation, Wu Ye found that his eyesight had also improved. But it shouldn't be since he used to love to surf the internet, read novels, and play online games all night. While his ancestor had blessed him with no myopia, 5.0 vision was not something he'd ever have. But now, he could not only see the five features of a zombie hundreds of meters away, he could also see the English letters on the buttons of its clothes.

"It's not bad." Wu Ye in Ji Yun's view smiled, however while he was changing the clip, he directed his attention to the system and asked,[Is my body changing because of gene enhancement?]

[Well,]the system, who's in a rare mood, patiently explained to Wu Ye,[If you persist in practicing the 'Basic Breathing' method, you will become stronger. And if you unlock the level 1 gene chain, you can also receive abilities that are very powerful and pure. There will be no need for you to envy others.]

Second young master Wu touched his chin and broke into a boyish grin.[Why do I smell a conspiracy?]

The system had a guilty conscience and decided to feign death to avoid the topic.

All men have a hero complex somewhere deep inside, and second young master Wu, who loves to read X-dian's chicken blood plot, is no exception. The awe he felt just now just made him realize the charm of power. Truthfully, he had not really enjoyed the glory brought by his own strength, but he already felt the terrible temptation behind its charm.

He's not an evolved person yet. Thus he hadn't experienced the feeling of having an ability at the tips of his hand, but he had a hunch that the ability he would receive would be far more superior than ordinary people's ability. Furthermore, he had a feeling that even a single power-up would be much more difficult to give up than giving up on drugs. If you unlocked the first-level of gene chain, you would become eager to unlock the second-level gene chain, then the third-level, and then the fourth-level. In this world where strength is respected, when shortcuts exist, who would not desire for more and more powerful ability?

Wu Ye had never considered himself a particularly strong-willed person. Since he'd decided to go home and be a comfortable rice bug waiting for its death, never returning to this world, he'd better not touch the power of this world that did not belong to him.

Wu Ye is not a fool. Since the system didn't hide its 'intentions' at all, he knew that the system actually wanted him to stay in this world. As a result, he's even more reluctant to unlock level 1 gene chain.

Changing the magazine clip, Wu Ye gathered his thoughts and continued to hunt for zombies. This is a bit heartless, but Wu Ye felt like he was playing a large-scale real-life zombie game. Exciting. Horrible. He could die at any time. However, he didn't feel that he belonged here. He shook off that feeling and thought to himself. In two days, the game will be over. Right now, just cherish the moment.

In the afternoon hunt, Wu Ye gained more than 300 points, more than 100 first-level crystals, more than 10 powder crystal (second-level crystal nuclei), and 4 red crystals. It yielded a considerable profit. Wu Ye excused himself, and quietly exchanged 50 jin of salt. While nobody was around, he took his bulging backpack back to the car and found some place to hide it in.

When Yang Qi began their unfinished work, Wu Ye called the pair to the car and gave them five packs of salt. "This salt is your reward today. Of course if you don't want it…"

"Yes, yes, of course we want it!" Yang Qi smiled and busily took the salt. Salt is a good thing. However salt in Lan Cheng base is controlled by several big forces, hence they could sell as much as they want, and even raise the price someday. With these salt given to them, they could stock up and saved them the effort to buy it.

Wu Ye asked, "Are you willing to continue working with me in the next two days? The commission is the same as today's."

Yang Li Na and Yang Qi looked at each other and smiled. " No problem. Is the mission the same as this morning?" This task might seem dangerous, but in fact, as long as it's well coordinated, it is much easier than other tasks of the same price. After a half-day's work they could still hunt in the afternoon, and hunting in the afternoon would earn them more than 300 level 1 crystals. At the end of the day, they could earn around 600 to 700 crystals. After deducting the costs, their profits would be around 400 to 500 crystals. They couldn't wait to do this kind of good thing every day.

"Hmm."

"Alright then. We promise to be here early tomorrow morning!" Yang Qi promised as a bright smile graced his face.

When no one noticed, Wu Ye quietly engaged the system and traded for ten catties of salt to fill the empty space in his backpack. On the way home, they circled around to the black market first. As Wu Ye's request Qin Wuhua sold the salt and to buy all the materials needed to create another zombies BBQ like today.

For the next two days, they would create zombies BBQ in the morning and hunt in the afternoon.

At the end of the evening, Wu Ye still paid the Yang sibling's commission with salt, and asked Qin Wuhua to go to the black market to help him sell another 100 catties of salt. This time, he emphasized that he didn't want those BBQ materials, but crystal cores. As long as it's crystal cores, preferably the red crystal, it didn't matter if its slightly cheaper. In addition, he also asked him to buy more meat for a big meal tonight.

Qin Wuhua had never said anything about his request. He didn't ask for the reason. He just directly carried the salt to the black market and sold it there. He had sold it in the black market for several days in a row. Having sold dozens of catties and hundreds of catties for days now, it had attracted several people's attention and interest.

On the day he sold 200 jin of salt, the salt supply had been cut off by the high-level management of Lan Cheng base, and only a few people were selling salt in the black market. And everyone knew that these people were spies planted by the senior executives of Lan Cheng base in order to stabilize Lan Cheng's influence on the evolved people.

The regulation of salt supply, had turned salt into a scarce commodity, even for the people in the black market. That's why Qin Wuhua's able to sell out his salt in less than an hour.

Due to the preferential discount given to those trading red crystals, Qin Wuhua's backpack was filled almost entirely with red crystals after he had sold out the salt. He circled around the black market, replenished some bullets, gun oil, and grenades using his crystal core. Then he bought a mutant chicken weighing more than ten catties according to Wu Ye's request, and he also bought five to six catties of mutant boar wild pig before he left the black market.

In the evening, Wu Ye left with the Yang siblings and had a big dinner together.

Professor Li's cooking skill absolutely left people speechless, especially in this apocalypse. Yang Qi finished eating and swiped the oil on the corner of his mouth as he said, "It was a great meal. At last, I finally had a full meal. After the outbreak of D virus, this is the first time I had eaten so much meat."

Ji Yun grinned as he said, "That's right. Our boss said to follow him if we want to eat meat."

Yang Li Na asked laughingly, "Well, Big boss Wu, are you still accepting more little brothers…I mean a little sister as your lackey? Are you willing to take me in? I'm a strong woman who is capable of handling herself, and I'm made of good stuff too, just like stainless steel that will never rust no matter how long it's exposed to air!"

Yang Li Na said it like a joke, but truthfully, she really wanted to form a regular team with Wu Ye. Apart from the fact that Wu Ye might have abundant materials in his hands, Qin Wuhua himself was a powerful member. And despite Wu Ye and Ji Yun being ordinary people, Wu Ye's shooting skills had been comparable with those with abilities. Also, while Ji Yun's shooting skills were not bad, he was extraordinarily smart and practical. He could come up with a practical device like the zombies detector and was currently researching about intelligent 'crystal harvesting' robot.

What moved Yang Li Na the most was Wu Ye. He, as the BOSS of this team, was generous, straightforward, and approachable. She could get along happily with him with no problem. Furthermore, after coming into contact with him for some time, she could feel that he was not someone with profound scheme. There was no need to worry about whether she'd be sold out or be replaced with other people. Such a person was definitely someone who's suitable for cooperation partner at this era of apocalypse.

Yang Qi naturally had the same mind as Yang Li Na. Both of them had a large number of people who were waiting for their support. If they had a stable and reliable team, the pressure they felt would be lessened by more than half. Otherwise, sooner or later, they would have to serve the forces in Lan Cheng base. Although that was also a way out, how could they be comfortable working as other people's dogs?

Wu Ye looked at Yang sibling's eager eyes and felt slightly regretful, but he still smiled, "If you want to, you can immediately follow in the future. Of course, whether or not you're accepted is up to him."

Yang Qi and Yang Li Na immediately responded happily, but Qin Wuhua felt that Wu Ye was acting strangely tonight.

They chatted with one another for a while before sending Yang Qi and Yang Li Na away. After that, Wu Ye took some red crystals, and asked Ji Yun, and Qin Wuhua to find ways to exchange for some gold.

He hid in his room alone and traded for 4 vaccines using 2000 points and 400 red crystals; 60 low-grade nutrients with 300 points and 6 red crystals; 30 bottles of zombies repellent with 300 points and 6 red crystals; leaving enough 'fare' for him to go home, while exchanging the rest of the crystal nuclei and points for salt. The amount that was left was not much, only enough to be traded for 120 catties of salt.

Unwittingly, he earned so many things, making him feel quite accomplished.

Ji Yun found some ways to exchange 10 kilograms of gold for Wu Ye. At this level, 5 grams of gold were exchanged with one level 1 crystal. 20 kilograms of gold is equivalent to 4000 level crystals here. Wu Ye could buy it with more than 30 catties of salt. And, even if the price of gold fell sharply during this period of time in his home world, one gram of gold could be sold for at least 200 yuan, and the total he has right now could be sold for at least 4 million yuan.

For ordinary people, that amount was quite a lot, yet for the second young master Wu, four or five million was really nothing. However, because of that lost and pieced together memory he had, Wu Ye always had some bad premonition in his heart.

After learning from the system that he could carry no more than what he's capable to carry through the wormhole, he decided to bring back some gold. Regardless of what happened at home, the gold he brought with him was bought in exchange for his life. In addition to the gold, he also planned to take the tablet back. There were a lot of primary learning software that was installed in it. When he got back, he would find someone to learn the technology from the primary learning software. Why would he be afraid of having no money?

He could now aim to become the second Bill Gates!

See what the old man would say about him now! With the tablet, he would also bring a gun, and a hundred rounds of ammunition. After all, after being used to the touch of a gun these days, Wu Ye has acquired the habit of feeling insecure when not carrying one.

After Qin Wuhua and Ji Yun came back from exchanging gold, they entered the house, and saw a lot more things in the room.

"You're finally back. Have you got the gold yet?" Wu Ye asked.

Qin Wuhua nodded and handed over the heavy mountaineering bag to Wu Ye. Wu Ye opened the bag, and stared at the golden shimmer. His smile showed his money-grubber nature.

Later, he carried his mountaineering bag on his back, straddled another bag with tablet computers and other things on his chest, and put a large metal box with code security in front of Qin Wuhua. "The password of this box is six 1."

Then he opened the metal box. The box was overflowing with traces of cold gas. In it lay four syringes containing liquid on the black velvet seat. "These are D virus vaccines. There's four in total, all at your disposal. Ji Yun had experienced trials and tribulations with us, I hope you can keep one for him."

"These are low-level zombies repellant. They smell weird and interfere with zombies' sense of smell. However, experience has proven that it only interferes with their sense of smell. It's useless to use it if big living people stand in front of the zombies."

"These are low-grade nutrients. It tastes super bad, but the anti-hunger effect is similar to having meat, and complete vitamins. You can eat it without fear of diarrhea."

"The rest of the pile is salt. It's all up to you."

In Wu Ye's heart, Qin Wuhua and Ji Yun were more dead brothers than little brothers. However, he couldn't help out more than this. And, he could only give these things to Qin Wuhua. Only he could keep them; after all, handing them over to Ji Yun was the same as harming him.

Qin Wuhua looked at Wu Ye's smiling face and felt some pain in his heart. He coldly asked, "Are you leaving?"

"Yes." Wu Ye looked at Qin Wuhua's solemn and stern face, his smile becoming a little strained.

"Are you coming back?"

Wu Ye patted the gold on his back, and grinned, "Selling these stuffs were enough for me to have a good life. In theory, I won't come back again. Take good care of my buddies. I'll miss you."

It was rare to make friends with two little brothers, but Wu Ye was leaving, and no matter how rough Wu Ye had been, his nerves couldn't help get sentimental.

Qin Wuhua knew that Wu Ye had a secret, but he didn't expect the result to be like this. He clenched his fist and loosened it. He looked straight into Wu Ye's eyes and asked, "Can you tell me where you're going?"

"Going home of course." Wu Ye was leaving soon anyway. He didn't mind revealing his secret. "You should know the theory of parallel worlds, right? Now you can proudly tell others that this theory is absolutely true! Because I'm from another parallel world."

"Since it's a parallel world, have you not been infected with D virus there?"

"That's not true. When the D virus broke out in your world, there was a lot of noise in my world, saying that the end of the world was coming," Wu Ye shrugged. "But, nothing happened."

A peaceful world, a chaotic apocalyptic world.

Qin Wuhua couldn't find any excuse for Wu Ye to stay here.

"Take care."

"Unfortunately, the wormhole can only take me to shuttle alone. Otherwise, I would like to take you to my world." Wu Ye raised his hand and patted Qin Wuhua's shoulder. "Take care. Say goodbye to Ji Yun for me."

"Fine."

Wu Ye pressed the 'portal' on the control panel, and a white light flashed. In the small room, only Qin Wuhua stood there, silently, with his lips tightly pressed. His right hand on the left shoulder that was patted by Wu Ye. He seemed to feel the residual touch Wu Ye left there. His resolute eyes revealed loss and reluctance that he had not even noticed.