Chapter 28 - Talents

An hour passed in just a blink of an eye. And, with the exception of Qian Xin's ability, which had only recovered to ⅔, other people's ability had fully recovered.

Fortunately, the same trick was still effective when it was used repeatedly against the zombies. The low-level isolation box also effectively hid the orange crystal from the zombie's group perception. And when Wu Ye saw a group of zombie hunters that was soon chased away by the zombies tide, Wu Ye couldn't help but to grin unkindly at them.

Honestly, the unmutated third-level zombies were much easier to deal with than the mutated one, and that's why Wu Ye and his team was able to successfully hunted 5 new zombies before dark, becoming the first zombie hunters team to complete the base master's mission.

Since the rate of the zombies tide advancing seemed to be faster than what people expected, making the upper-echelon of Lan Cheng base so busy that even if Ji Xiang, the base master, wanted to talked more with Qin Wuhua, he wasn't able to find the time to do so in this crisis. Therefore, he could only ask them to go to his home for dinner after the crisis was properly resolved. Then, they would be able to have a good talk.

Ji Xiang's intention was obvious. He wanted to attract more talented people. Right now, he was the only one who had reached third-order level in the Lan Cheng base, and the base itself was already surrounded by the wolves. Many forces outside the base wanted to step in and took over. However, were the position of the first person in charge of Lan Cheng base so easy to be taken?

Qin Wuhua was optimistic about Lan Cheng base's environment. He intended to take root here. Since he completed the mission in the shortest possible time and took the limelight, wouldn't it mean that he was hoping to gain Ji Xiang's favor?

The intention of the two sides was to make good friends with each other. Naturally, they hit it off easily.

Back home, Professor Li had prepared a big dinner. And after he had enough drink and food, Wu Ye leaned against the back of his chair and imperceptibly rubbed his satisfied bulging belly before he turned to ask Professor Li his question.

"Uncle Li, do you know anyone who does any research and development on artificial intelligence? It's better if they are able to write the core computer program structure."

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The refugees camp was built on the clearing next to the slum, which was as big as four or five football fields. It was specially welded with wire mesh and steel pipes, and divided into ten areas. There was a 3-meter wide corridor between the areas, and the base defense guards patrolled back and forth armed with guns and bullets around it. If there were any changes, they would be shot and killed immediately.

In the afternoon, more than 20 people had been shot and killed by the base guards, leaving the bodies lying in various refugee areas just like that without proper disposal. The ground was stained red mixed with brown from the mud and the white brain matter was splashed everywhere.

They were very intimidating to some people who were ready to move. In addition to being constantly inspected by the guards, the barbed wire in the refugee area was connected to the power supply, and once something happened, the barbed wire could be turned into a high-voltage power grid at any time.

The refugee areas were actually more like a high-pressure prison than anything else.

Those who came in early have already had the lunch and dinner that was provided by Lan Cheng base. Lunch was a mixture of corn flour and soybean flour to make a coarse flatbread. One person would be given one only.

This kind of flatbread was astringent and hard to swallow. When you ate it, your mouth would feel that it was filled with powder, but what else could one do when they were very hungry?

Besides, it was also the kind of bread that the refugees often eat when they were outside. Meanwhile, dinner was porridge that was basically a big bowl of water, and you could count exactly how many grains of rice there were at the bottom of the bowl.

This kind of food was not enough at all. It could only maintain the minimum demand of the human body, but even so, no one dared to say a word of dissatisfaction for it.

And, as the sky gradually darkened, everything in the refugee area also darkened, because no lights were installed there. The only lights that the refugees could see came from the sporadically placed lights in the slum area and from the brightly lit residential area that could be seen in the distance.

Tormented by that reality for so long to the point of despair, the refugees numbly laid on the ground. From time to time, ambiguous breathing came from the corner. Moreover, due to the high-handed way that Lan Cheng base controlled the people, those who were doing 'bad things' didn't dare to make too much noise.

"Dad, what's that noise?" A gray-faced child asked in a hushed tone. Darkness hid the child's facial features from view. The only thing the darkness couldn't hide was the unkempt yellow hair on the malnourished child's head.

It appeared long in some places and short others, as if a dog had chewed on it. There were even several bald spots. At first glance, the child looked extremely ugly.

Li Min Sheng pulled his son into his arms and whispered, "An An, be good. Don't listen to those voices. Count the sheep to sleep and eat delicious food at dawn."

An An found a comfortable position in his father's arms before naively asking, "Will there be meat?"

Li Min Sheng felt his son's thin back. He couldn't help himself as his eyes felt burning hot. An An was only five years old. When the apocalypse broke out, he was only three and a half years old, one who was picky about his food and who would throw a fit and complain.

What about now? Now, in his eyes, meat was the best thing to eat, and it was only thanks to Uncle Li and Ji Yun that he was able to eat it. Otherwise, his son wouldn't even know what meat tasted like, even to this day. In the end, everything was due to his incompetence as a father.

"There will be some in the future. Now, be obedient and go to sleep." Li Min Sheng's voice could only be vaguely heard as if it came from the sky.

For a while, An An counted the sheep. However, before long, the fluffy head of the sheep in his imagination turned into the gentle and beautiful face of his mother. Imagining this, An An's heart turned sour. He called for his father in a poignant voice, "Dad, I can't sleep. I want mom to sing to me."

An An was a very smart child, and he had a very good memory. So, he could still remember his mother's warm singing, along with her comfortable and fragrant embrace.

In the darkness, Li Min Sheng's eyes suddenly held an endless hatred, but he patted his son's hand and tried to suppress his emotions. "How about dad telling you a story?"

An An felt somewhat disappointed, but he still answered with agreement in an undertone. He listened attentively to his father's story about how a little prince along with his companions journeyed over the mountains ridges and how they fought with their wits to courageously save the beautiful princess from the terrible monster's castle.

As he listened to the story, An An's eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Before he drifted asleep, though, he thought that the little prince was stupid for leaving a table of barbecued meat to save the princess. The princesses were all delicate and coquettish, just like cousin Lan Lan. He still preferred the brave and loyal Mr. Knight.

T/N: OMG, how precious!

Li Min Sheng couldn't sleep while being cautious and solemn as he guarded against his surroundings. In the dark, he didn't know how long he had lied awake. However, the terrible roar of the zombies outside grew closer and closer. It was frightening to hear that sound coming through the base walls.

Additionally, the gun sounds that occasionally rang from the base wall nearby, the continuous roars of cars, and the sound of aircraft propellers coming from the sky…

All of the sounds made the refugees' eyes darted around in the dark, frantically attempting to search for the trouble as they stood up.

The base guards stationed there were obviously anxious to know about the situation outside. As such they exchanged information in small groups, disregarding the refugees' presence.

Li Min Sheng knew full well that it was useless to think more about the situation outside. Therefore, he only carefully protected his son, who was sleeping in his arms, in case someone decided to take advantage of this opportunity to make some trouble. He still had 20 crystal nuclei on his body, and, when the zombie siege ended, it would be the last living expenses for him and his son.

"Who here is called Liang Chang Ning, the student who used to study at Jin Da University? Li Hong Min is searching for you. Come to the door." Suddenly, a small leader in charge of the area shouted from outside the refugee section.

Liang Chang Ning, Li Hong Min.

When Li Min Sheng heard the two familiar names, his heart jumped wildly. Liang Chang Ning was his mentor when he studied in graduate school, the one who had taught him everything he knew. Unfortunately, just after he finished graduate school, Professor Liang died in a car accident. Moreso, isn't Li Hong Min supposed to be Uncle Li's full name?

In lieu of his deceased friend, Uncle Li had been secretly taking care of Li Min Sheng since they encountered each other in Lan Cheng base. If not for him and Ji Yun, he and An An wouldn't have survived for so long. And right now, Uncle Li was looking for him…

Li Min Sheng suddenly remembered something. A few days ago, Uncle Li had told him that Ji Yun worked for a boss, who had remarkable personality and capabilities…

Seeing the small leader turn to head towards another slum area, Li Min Sheng hurriedly ran over with his son in his arms. "I am Liang Chang Ning, and this is my son."

The small leader held the flashlight and shone it on his body. This man seemed to be in his forties. A scar stretched across his face from the right of his forehead to the left of his chin, turning his originally beautiful and elegant facial features extremely ferocious. He had a lame left leg and an ugly son.

Yes, it's him.

These two ugly monsters, big and small, are lucky that someone was willing to exchange a pack of cigarettes for them. They were even luckier that the person was willing to exchange another pack of cigarettes in order to get the pair a Temporary Residence Permit Application.

The small leader smacked his mouth, savoring the fragrance of the smoke in his mouth, before he took out the key he had received from his boss to open the large, iron lock on the safety net.

Seeing that someone was able to leave the refugee area, the pot instantly exploded.

"I am Liang Chang Ning, and I also have my son with me."

"The child he's holding is mine. I'm Liang Chang Ning. Let me out."

"He's a liar. He's not Liang Chang Ning at all."

"…"

The small leader immediately fired his gun and shouted sternly, "What are you ghosts yelling about now? Do you want to die? Whoever dares to say one more word will be thrown beyond the wall to feed the zombies."

The refugees instantly recoiled timidly. One by one, they shrunk their necks like quails, looking at Li Min Sheng and his son with envious looks, as if he had taken away their rare opportunity.

Li Min Sheng's left leg had been broken by someone and was already lame. As such, he couldn't walk that fast, especially not with his son in his arms. However, by now An An had woken up and wisely asked for his father to let him down so that he could walk on his own feet.

The small leader led them around a few corners and walked into a shack full of machines and equipment. There, the father-and-son pair were given a simple power test, which revealed both of them to be ordinary people.

Then, they were asked to fill in the form with their identity information. Soon after they completed that, two steaming Temporary Identification Cards were handed over to them.

Li Min Sheng was shocked when he saw the registration information on the artificial intelligence screen. His and An An's residence tax had been paid in-advance for half a year.

"Come on! Get out of here and keep your mouths shut. If tonight's story gets out, I can get you back in here the same way I got you out."

Hearing that, Li Min Sheng hurriedly replied, "We won't say a word."

Li Min Sheng led An An out of the shack in a dreamlike trance, afraid that everything was just a good dream... until he saw Ji Yun waiting for him under the streetlamp.

At seven o'clock in the morning, Wu Ye woke up confused as he heard noise outside. He looked around and noticed that Qin Wuhua had already woken up earlier and had left the room. So, he dressed and walked out, only to see a stranger in the living room. For a moment, he was stunned by the sight, before he recalled Professor Li's words.

This should be Li Min Sheng, whom Professor Li recommended.

Li Min Sheng had spent the entire night listening to Ji Yun's chatter about how powerful and capable Wu Ye and Qin Wuhua were. However, he restrained himself immensely.

Ji Yun and Professor Li specialized in electronics and technology. They were so talented, that their hands could easily turn scrap into treasures, such as that zombie detector they created. Their refurbished creations brought great benefits once it was operational.

Meanwhile, unlike them, Li Min Sheng majored in computer science and worked as a senior engineer in Qing Yu Group. He was also one of the core R&D members, who created the third generation of civilian artificial intelligence. His status was very high before the apocalypse occurred.

If he were in the capital right now, it would be possible for him to enter the Institute of Science and Technology. But now, in this small Lan Cheng base, where could there be a platform for him to perform?

What's more, he had also offended the third largest force in Lan Cheng. If he didn't take his teacher's name, and if Uncle Li hadn't recommended him, Wu Ye wouldn't spend money to save him. And, without him, Li Min Sheng would never have been able to get Lan Cheng base's Temporary Identification card.

Wu Ye was in complete control of his future, his destiny. Honestly, if he only had a crippled life left, it wouldn't matter one whit to him if he died immediately. But, he still had An An. And for his son, he had to seize every chance he had to turn his life around.

There were not enough rooms in the home. So Li Min Sheng had to sleep in the living room. However, he didn't get much sleep all night, afraid that when he'd woke up, he would find himself waking in the refugee camp with his son by his side.

Qin Wuhua and Qian Xin both usually got up early, went out for the morning exercise and to find out what was going on outside. Therefore, Li Min Sheng had already seen Qin Wuhua once. Generally, Qin Wuhua had little to say. The only exception was when he was on a mission.

So, in addition to his cool and handsome appearance, his silent demeanour added a little more dignity to his bearing, which was quite in line with the image of the 'Boss' in Li Min Sheng's heart.

As a result, when Li Min Sheng called him boss, Qin Wuhua told him that the boss was still sleeping, which left him at a loss.

After waiting persistently for some time, Wu Ye finally got up, and when Li Min Sheng saw him, he immediately froze up.

Was this beautiful young man really the boss? Was he even an adult?

Li Min Sheng had mixed with the top and bottom class of society all his life. So, it was easy for him to control his expression as he shouted respectfully, "Boss!"

Wu Ye waved his hand, "Don't be so serious. You are Li Min Sheng, right?"

"Yes."

"Sit down and let's talk." Wu Ye went and sat next to him, "I heard Uncle Li say that you used to be the core engineer of Qing Yu Group? One of the core developers of the third generation of artificial intelligence, right?"

"Yes." Li Min Sheng rarely felt nervous. This was an experience he never had when he went for an interview with Qing Yu Group, the best artificial intelligence company in HuaXia, after he graduated from his doctorate.

"Can you decipher the core structure of artificial intelligence? If I give you materials, can you make artificial intelligence for me from scratch?" Wu Ye only knew how to play games and couldn't say more than two computer technical terms. He didn't know much about the more advanced artificial intelligence.

All he knew was that he wanted enough detailed data so that he would be able to produce an artificial intelligence step by step back in his country. He didn't care about anything else.

Wu Ye's demand was actually quite high. For example, by the nation's standards, even for a top-class software engineer, would he be able to produce a Windows 8 notebook just because you gave him a bunch of circuit boards?

Li Min Sheng was indeed a talented person, and his research on artificial intelligence was much deeper than what Professor Li thought. He had even vaguely touched the threshold to further upgrade artificial intelligence.

Li Min Sheng learned from Ji Yun that Wu Ye's identity was mysterious. And, in his opinion, Wu Ye was not like a man who had been fighting for more than a year in the apocalypse, but Wu Ye was more like those rich young masters that could be found before the apocalypse.

Furthermore, looking at the way Qin Wuhua and Qian Xin, both of whom had a strong and obvious military atmosphere, completely following Wu Ye's lead, he could infer that Wu Ye's origin was definitely not small. He might even have had some connection with the military.

However, if that were the case, why would Wu Ye go all the way out to seek the civilian artificial intelligence technology when it was obvious that the military's artificial intelligence was more advanced than that of civilians?

Li Min Sheng couldn't guess Wu Ye's purpose. He only knew that his left leg was crippled and that he was neither an ability user nor a zombie hunter. So, if he wanted to live in this apocalypse world, he had to cling to Wu Ye's thighs and let him know his value.

After Li Min Sheng made up his mind, he replied, "Yes, please give me a year."

A year had exceeded Wu Ye's expectations, but Uncle Li had also said that after the virus outbreak, the first thing the government had done was to send troops to various settlements sites to escort the top-talents in special fields to the capital for protection. For example, people like Li Min Sheng. If things were not made difficult by people of vile character, It wouldn't have been so easy for Wu Ye to encounter them.

After realizing that it was not so easy to pick up leaks last night, Wu Ye was finally resigned to his fate.

"Just one year, a year. When the zombie siege is over, I will ask Ji Yun to rent a bigger house. Think about what equipment you need these days, and I'll try my best to get it for you. If you still need assistants, you can recruit them and give them preferential treatment. My only requirement is to give me the complete artificial intelligence information as soon as possible."

Li Min Sheng got Wu Ye's guarantee. Now, he was more confident that he would complete Wu Ye's task within one year. He repeatedly promised that he wouldn't let the boss down.

At this time, An An woke up and found that he was sleeping in a strange bed. He didn't see his father, so he opened the door and ran out.

"Dad!" An An ran behind Li Min Sheng with his short legs, held onto his father's leg, and secretly looked at Wu Ye.

After An An took a bath last night, the dirty ugly little boy finally showed his true face. Apart from his dog's gnawing hair style, the little guy's eyes were round and big. However, his face was too thin and coupled with his waxy yellow skin tone, he lost some of the loveliness that was usually found on healthy children.

"This is my son, An An. An An call him..." Uncle? Brother? Li Min Sheng hesitated for a moment before he decisively said, "Say hello to the boss."

An An saw that the stranger was obviously a little nervous, so he poked out his head from behind Li Min Sheng and timidly said, "Hello, boss."

Hearing this, Wu Ye was so embarrassed and couldn't help waving his hand helplessly. "I told you not to be so serious. Just call me Uncle Wu. The little guy is too thin. You have to tell Uncle Li to carefully supplement you." Wu Ye looked at An An and felt that he was more and more familiar with each passing second. He always felt as if he had seen him somewhere, but at the moment he couldn't remember it.

An An was taught very well, proven by his behaviour and manner as he showed a small smile thanking Wu Ye. "Thank you Uncle Wu."

Wu Ye smiled and rubbed the child's dog-gnawed hair. From his point of view, he could just see the protruding ribs and sunken belly through the child's broad collar. Seeing this, he couldn't help but to feel a little pity.

Next time I go home, I'd bring some cans of milk powder for the little guy. It would be popular.

While talking, Qin Wuhua and Qian Xin had come back from their morning exercises. The steamed cabbage buns cooked by Professor Li were ready. They took the food to the table to have a chat while eating at the same time.

According to the information Qin Wuhua brought back, the situation outside was not particularly bad. This wave of zombie siege would reach a million zombies. But, as long as the hunters actively fought against it, preventing the zombies from properly gathering, it was expected that Lan Cheng base would survive this crisis.

At this news, Lan Cheng base's upper-echelon was obviously relieved. Wu Ye and the others didn't manage to finish breakfast as Ji Xiang once again issued a notice, asking all registered zombie hunters to gather at the base wall and take turns to fight off the wave of zombies. During the battle, Lan Cheng base would provide guns, bullets, and food. At the end of the notice, he didn't forget to inspire morale and vowed to live and die together with Lan Cheng base.

The amount of the survivors in Lan Cheng base exceeded 100.000 people, but less than 110.000 people. Out of those numbers, 2.000 people were special forces that were directly assigned by the capital, 10.000 were the base guards who were loyal to Lan Cheng base, and the rest were registered zombie hunters. Therefore, there were about 50.000 available fighters in Lan Cheng. In order to maximize combat effectiveness, Lan Cheng organized its fighters in two brigades and a small team. Each brigades had 20.000 men and each brigades would fight for eight hours before switching with the other team to keep fighting continuously. The small team consisted of 10.000 men, all of whom were the base guards, and engaged in mobile operations.

Wu Ye and the others were all in the same brigade together. After the assembly, they immediately took their own weapons and the distributed bullets on the base wall. Several people, who were familiar with them, saw their group acting together with tacit understanding enabling them to work efficiently together to kill the zombies. This made their group quite eye-catching.

Wu Ye couldn't bear the high-intensity battle even with his enhanced genes and the 'Basic Breathing Technique'. So, when he got home, he couldn't lift his arms at all and he was so tired that he fell asleep on the bed without doing anything else. Qin Wuhua's condition was better than him, being more experienced in such battles. So, he was able to do necessities like taking a bath. After he was done with his bath, he saw Wu Ye lying across the bed with his shoes on, and face dirty, making him frown slightly.

He then turned back to the bathroom, took a wet towel and twisted it before bringing it with him to clean Wu Ye's face. Once done with that, he took Wu Ye's shoes off. Finally, he climbed into the bed and put Wu Ye on the pillows so he would sleep more comfortably. Seeing Wu Ye rubbing the pillow comfily, his childish baby face was even more lovely in Qin Wuhua's eyes. Only then did Qin Wuhua stretch his face with satisfaction. And, after Wu Ye habitually hugged him in his sleep, Qin Wuhua finally closed his eyes and fell into the darkness of sleep as a sweet dream came and invaded his subconscious.

After a short rest of only a few hours, Wu Ye and the others returned to the battlefield. In the middle of the night, the zombies became more restless, and on several occasions, third-level zombies stepped on their companions' bodies and almost jumped onto the wall. Once these zombies entered the base, the consequences were unimaginable. Fortunately, the special forces intercepted them on time, managing to shoot them down and killing them outside the base wall.

The battle continued on for twenty days before it was over because the zombies were constantly gathering. The high intensity of the combat squeezed everyone's potential and after the fight, most of the ability users' power were upgraded to one or two levels higher.

Qin Wuhua's thunder ability rose steadily to the primary third-order ability.

Qian Xin's wind ability was promoted to peak second-order ability.

Yang Qi's earth ability rose to the peak second-order ability.

The one with the biggest improvement was Yang Li Na, whose metal ability had been directly promoted from primary second-order ability user to peak second-order ability user.

Wu Ye had also gained a lot in these past twenty days. Being the opportunist he was, he obviously would not miss such a heaven sent chance to increase his points for free. By virtue of his superb marksmanship and sweet mouth along with a few packs of cigarettes, Wu Ye managed to gain the special forces' appreciation and got in touch with them. He then set up a line with the small leader in charge of ammunition in the special forces, getting grenades and incendiary bombs from them. And, in the last five days of the battle, he threw grenades and incendiary bombs at the zombies, which made his points rise exponentially.

During this time, by killing the zombies and completing random tasks, Wu Ye not only paid off all his debts, but also saved a full 30.000 points. This fact made his peach-blossom eyes squint in happiness.

In addition, with the zombies siege crisis over, the mandatory task of [Guarding Lan Cheng base]was completed smoothly. Coupled with the bonus points, Wu Ye now had another chance to get a random reward.

"Praying to Guan Yin Bodhisattva, the Jade Emperor, the Tathagata, Buddha, God and Jesus to bless me! This time, I must get a good reward! Space ring, the universe bag, come to the bowl." Wu Ye's mouth was full of prayers as he carefully pressed the 'Confirm' button.

The author had something to say: Is it a good choice to let Er Shao smoke? It's really nerve-wracking~~~