Apocalypse Chapter 32: Level Up

Chapter 32: Level Up

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

The kitchen was lit up, with orange light softly enveloping the large and tidy workbench. Guan Shao was standing in front of the workbench, cutting up wolf meat. The wolf meat, with its skin and internal organs removed, looked similar to lamb meat, but with a slightly stronger taste.

As the smell of the wolf meat wafted through, Lele, hiding under the workbench, curled up his tail in fear. Seeing the dog react like this, Jiang Rong felt both amused and sympathetic. “Hey, why don’t you just stay obediently in the bedroom with the kids?”

Lele whimpered in distress and nuzzled Jiang Rong’s palm with his big head, his eyes full of confusion and grievance. He couldn’t understand why such a scary smell would appear in their normally peaceful home. Just from smelling it, he was too frightened to stand up.

Seeing the fur on the dog’s neck standing on end, Jiang Rong couldn’t help but think of their past lives. Back then, at the base, Lele was driven by espers to hunt mutant animals along with other mutant cats and dogs.

How could a domesticated dog compete with wilderness survival experts? Every time he came back, he would be covered in blood, sometimes trembling for days without eating or drinking. The once plump dog became scarred and emaciated within just a couple of years.

Jiang Rong bent down to pick Lele up in his arms, gently stroking the dog’s back, feeling his plump and smooth texture. Luckily, in this life, Lele wouldn’t have to face such terrifying situations anymore. “Good boy, don’t be afraid. It’s already dead, it won’t hurt you.”

Being held by his owner, Lele opened his mouth and grinned foolishly, sticking out his tongue. When Guan Shao looked up, he happened to see Jiang Rong holding the dog, his handsome and gentle demeanor making it hard to look away. If circumstances allowed, he would have liked to watch for a while longer.

Jiang Rong had seen butchers at the market cutting up meat, bones and blood flying with each stroke of the knife. However, Guan Shao effortlessly separated the wolf meat with just a small knife. As the blade slid across the wolf’s body, the meat was neatly divided by sections, with legs and ribs placed neatly aside. In the entire kitchen, apart from occasional exchanges between the two, there was only the sound of the knife and the friction of muscles.

Before long, both wolves were divided. Jiang Rong decided to keep one wolf, and the remaining meat would be divided between Chu Qiang’s and Uncle Li’s families. “Give the hind legs to Qiang’s family and the forelegs to Uncle Li’s. The rest can go in the fridge, and you can take it with you when you leave.”

Guan Shao lowered his head, his expression dim, but he casually remarked, “Already hoping I’ll leave so soon?”

Jiang Rong smiled, “Not at all. Since you caught this wolf, the meat naturally belongs to you. It’s hot these days, so I’ll keep it for you.”

Only then did Guan Shao smile, “Okay.”

True to his word, Jiang Rong vacuum-sealed the other wolf, neatly placing it in the kitchen freezer. “If conditions permit, I’ll make jerky for you before you leave. It’ll keep longer that way, and it’ll be convenient for you and the kid to eat on the road.”

Guan Shao looked seriously at Jiang Rong, “Then let me say thank you in advance.”

Jiang Rong smiled without saying a word, expressing his gratitude to Guan Shao for the two crystal nuclei in his own way. Without Guan Shao, he wouldn’t have been able to obtain so many resources tonight, let alone crystal nuclei. He hadn’t expected Guan Shao to give him the crystal nuclei. Of course, it was very likely because he didn’t understand the value of crystal nuclei and thought they were easily obtainable. In any case, now that these two crystal nuclei were in Jiang Rong’s hands, he would make good use of them.

Afraid of losing opportunities, after washing up, Jiang Rong prepared to absorb the crystal nuclei. One of the crystal nuclei was a sparkling green, and the other was translucent, emitting a light more beautiful than any gem in the world, but only a fraction of its brilliance.

Jiang Rong decided to absorb the transparent one first. After releasing his ability, a warm energy overflowed from the transparent crystal nucleus in no time. The energy flowed through his palm and quickly merged with the power within him.

After a few rounds of his ability circulating in his body, Jiang Rong didn’t notice anything wrong. He didn’t know what type of ability the transparent crystal nucleus belonged to, but he should be able to absorb it.

Once the absorption of one crystal nucleus was complete, Jiang Rong glanced at the time. It had taken him thirteen minutes this time. The transparent crystal nucleus, the size of a fingernail, had turned into powder, light as air, in his hand.

Next up was the green crystal nucleus. If Jiang Rong guessed correctly, this should be a wood-type crystal nucleus. Just by holding it in his palm, he could feel the vigorous vitality contained within the crystal nucleus.

As soon as his ability was released, before it even touched the crystal nucleus, the wood-type ability inside surged out. It quickly merged with Jiang Rong’s own ability and then rushed into his body.

The sudden increase in wood-type ability made his meridians ache a little, but compared to the pain he endured when absorbing the crystal nucleus of the mutant ants last time, this pain could be ignored. As the ability flowed in, Jiang Rong heard a faint crackling sound coming from inside his body.

His expression changed. What’s going on? Why were his meridians cracking again? Was the tragedy from last time going to repeat itself?

However, the expected pain didn’t come. Instead, he felt relaxed, even more comfortable than after enduring the pain last time. He couldn’t describe this feeling, but he felt like his meridians had widened significantly, yet his body hadn’t grown.

As the ability flowed within him, Jiang Rong felt light. When he opened his eyes, the green crystal nucleus in his palm had turned into a powdery gray-white substance, and only two minutes had passed.

It seemed that absorbing a suitable crystal nucleus not only felt comfortable but also took less time. In critical moments, this was a life-saving tool.

No wonder the espers in his past life were so persistent in searching for crystal nuclei. Even if the collected crystal nuclei weren’t suitable for their own use, they could be used for exchange if they encountered other espers with suitable crystal nuclei.

Feeling the flow of ability within him, Jiang Rong’s eyes shimmered with anticipation. After the Great Crisis, society underwent a restructuring of resources, and the law of the jungle was laid bare for all to see. As an ordinary person in his past life, he had witnessed too many tragedies and understood deeply how helpless people at the bottom of society were.

From the first day of his rebirth, all his plans and schemes were aimed at surviving after the Great Crisis. Before the awakening day, he just wanted to live a peaceful and safe life with his son in his hometown. But now, the situation has developed beyond his expectations.

The gears of fate had changed, and he had become a wood-type esper. If before, he only wanted to use this ability to grow crops after the Great Crisis, after becoming a second-tier esper, his goals shifted: he wanted to become stronger. 

The greater the power, the more attention one attracted, and the more uncontrollable things happened around them. Only by becoming stronger could one deal with various unexpected situations. He didn’t just want to become stronger himself, he also wanted the people around him to become stronger. Only through unity and strength could they gain the upper hand after the Great Crisis. 

It should have been time to sleep now, but Jiang Rong sat up at the edge of the bed. He retrieved a notebook from the bedside table, and with the sound of the pen scratching against the paper, a bold plan began to take shape on the pages. 

Because he stayed up writing, Jiang Rong woke up late the next day. When he pushed open the bedroom door, he noticed that something seemed different in the house. But for a moment, he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what had changed. 

Seeing him come out of the bedroom, Jiang Xiaoheng happily rushed over, “Daddy, good morning!”

Jiang Rong skillfully lifted his son and ruffled his hair, “Good, good, good morning. Did you sleep well last night?”

Jiang Xiaoheng grinned, showing his white teeth, “Brother and I went to bed at ten yesterday and slept very well. We just had porridge and fried eggs for breakfast, Uncle Guan made them.”

Jiang Rong was surprised. He had slept so deeply that he didn’t even notice Guan Shao getting up to make breakfast. Had Guan Shao made any attempts to explore the house during this time? But their house wasn’t easy to explore; the two doors leading underground were heavily guarded and alarmed. It was impossible to move about quietly.

Jiang Rong put his son down, “Where’s Uncle and Brother?”

Jiang Xiaoheng pointed outside, “They’re cleaning the windows.”

Jiang Rong: ???

Guan Shao was wiping the thick bulletproof glass under the eastern courtyard wall. After the recent black rain, the glass was covered with a layer of grime. When Jiang Rong approached, he saw Guan Shao standing on the narrow windowsill, completely absorbed in wiping.

Jiang Hao stood on the windowsill with a small bucket in his hand. Hearing Jiang Rong’s footsteps, the child turned his head slowly. He blinked at Jiang Rong, as if saying hello.

After spending a few days with Jiang Hao, Jiang Rong had some understanding of the child’s behavior patterns. He nodded with a smile, reached out to take the small bucket from Jiang Hao’s hand, “Give it to me, it’s heavy for you to carry.”

Jiang Hao’s round eyes reflected Jiang Rong’s face. After hearing Jiang Rong’s words clearly, he nodded gently, then slowly released his hand and stepped back.

Seeing Jiang Hao, Jiang Rong inexplicably thought of an animal-themed cartoon he had watched before, with a slow-moving sloth. Jiang Hao’s thinking and actions resembled that sloth in every way. Most people would find Jiang Hao’s slow reactions annoying. However, Jiang Rong felt he was a good child. Despite not being able to speak and having slightly delayed reactions, he was actually polite.

The shadow of the courtyard wall fell on Guan Shao’s waist, and his body, clad in a tight-fitting T-shirt, was split in half by the light and shadow. Below the waist, his two long legs stood steadily on the narrow windowsill, shoulder-width apart. Above the waist, his bronze skin glistened with fine beads of sweat, staining the T-shirt with a few dark patches.

It had to be said, good-looking people looked good no matter what they did. Jiang Rong stood with his arms crossed, watching the handsome man clean the windows, a slight smile playing on his lips.

After wiping a piece of glass, Guan Shao jumped down from the windowsill, “Morning.”

Jiang Rong smiled, “Morning. You’re too diligent.” 

Guan Shao must be someone with cleanliness habits. The windows he had cleaned were spotless, without a single streak, and every piece of glass was crystal clear, allowing one to see their own reflection.

After neatly folding the dry cloth, Guan Shao casually took the small bucket from Jiang Rong’s hand, “All the windows in the house are cleaned, and breakfast is ready. After you finish breakfast, we’ll go together to deliver the wolf meat.”

Finishing his words, Guan Shao strode ahead, leaving Jiang Rong to gaze at his back with a complex expression.

Just now, Jiang Rong had checked the surveillance in the house and reviewed all of Guan Shao’s actions after waking up.

As soon as Guan Shao woke up, he activated the house’s floor sweeping robot and then went straight to the kitchen to make breakfast. After taking care of the two children’s breakfast, he also tidied up their drawing books and toys before going out to clean the windows. For more than two hours, he had been busy without stopping.

While watching the surveillance footage, Jiang Rong almost kneeled to Guan Shao, momentarily suspecting if he had brought home a prince in disguise. He considered himself to be quite clean among men, but Guan Shao was even cleaner, to the point of having a cleanliness obsession. When they first met, he was a nimble fitness enthusiast, but now he had transformed into an all-around family cook. The contrast was too great.

After breakfast, Jiang Rong and Guan Shao went out together, each pulling a small cart. On Jiang Rong’s cart were two large foam boxes, containing wolf meat chilled with ice packs. With the current high temperatures, without ice packs, the wolf meat would quickly spoil. On Guan Shao’s cart were grains and oils. Although there wasn’t much, it would be enough for Uncle Li and his family for a while.

It was precisely when the temperature was rising in the morning that they walked on the vine-covered path, Guan Shao’s clothes soaked with sweat. Jiang Rong stopped and greeted him, “Have a few sips of water?”

Guan Shao took a children’s water bottle from his waist and handed it to Jiang Rong, “Here.”

Jiang Rong shook his head, “I’m not thirsty, you drink.”

After the black rain, the soil was contaminated, and drinking contaminated water could easily make people sick. Jiang Rong’s house used underground water, and they also had a filter installed, so the water was clear and sweet.

Guan Shao was indeed thirsty. He took the water bottle and gulped down almost half of it in one breath. Watching him drink, Jiang Rong couldn’t help but think: what if such a person were out in the wild? Without clean water sources, wouldn’t Guan Shao quickly become dehydrated?

However, there were also water-type espers in this world. With Guan Shao’s abilities, he would definitely be able to assemble a strong team after the Great Crisis, recruiting one or two water-type espers wouldn’t be difficult.

Seeing the sweat trickle down Guan Shao’s neck, Jiang Rong’s mind wandered to the plan he had written in his notebook the night before: recruiting mutants and establishing a small base.

Wasn’t Guan Shao a ready-made mutant? Moreover, his ability was a lightning-type esper, one of the rarest among the hundred thousand mutants, much more powerful than other abilities. If he could stay, wouldn’t he be a strong ally?

With this in mind, Jiang Rong tentatively asked, “Guan Shao, where do you plan to go after you bring Jiang Hao back from the base?”

Guan Shao put the lid back on the water bottle, a hint of confusion in his eyes, “I haven’t decided yet. But I need to rendezvous with my teammates first. It’s too dangerous to go alone these days.”

Jiang Rong nodded slightly, “Yes. That’s why many people go to bases. The bigger the base, the better treatment for espers.”

Although Guan Shao had told him before that he wouldn’t stay in a base, Jiang Rong understood it as: he wouldn’t stay in a peaceful base.

Peaceful bases were smaller and had worse conditions compared to other larger bases. For strong individuals like Guan Shao, peaceful bases were not worth joining. Perhaps he would consider other bases?

Guan Shao looked at Jiang Rong in silence, and for a moment, Jiang Rong felt like his thoughts were being read. The atmosphere became strangely quiet, but fortunately, a gust of hot wind blew, prompting Guan Shao to speak. His voice carried a subtle hint of grievance, “Do you want me to leave early?”

Jiang Rong’s pupils dilated, “Huh?”

Guan Shao lowered his gaze, “You’ve asked me twice already, both times about the base…”

Jiang Rong hurriedly explained, “No, no, that’s not what I meant. I just wanted to remind you that bases don’t offer charity. Once you’re in, it’s hard to get out, whether you’re an ordinary person or an esper. I hope you’ll consider it carefully, find a good place, and don’t rush into it without knowing the situation.”

Guan Shao raised his eyes to meet Jiang Rong’s gaze, a faint curve appearing on his lips, “Hmm, I’ll consider it carefully. Thank you for reminding me.”

Jiang Rong felt regretful in his heart; he shouldn’t have been so impatient.

As Jiang Rong walked with his head down, he heard Guan Shao mutter something under his breath. But the sound was too soft, and he couldn’t make it out.

When the two arrived at the orchard, Uncle Li and Aunt Li were moving things under the scorching sun. They had packed up the soft items in the shed and put them on the tricycle. Seeing Jiang Rong approaching, the elderly couple was surprised, “Xiao Rong, why are you here?”

Jiang Rong helped transfer the things from the small cart to the couple’s vehicle, “I brought you some food.”

Uncle Li’s departure had dealt a heavy blow to the elderly couple. Overnight, they had aged a lot. Without waiting for the couple to decline, Jiang Rong asked, “Are you planning to move?”

Speaking of this, Uncle Li sighed, “There are wolves around here. Last night, your aunt and I heard the howling. Better safe than sorry, we’re moving into the village from today onwards.”

With wolves roaming the mountains, there was no other choice. Even before the mutations, wolves were hard to deal with, let alone after the mutations. Their old bones couldn’t withstand the wolves’ harassment, so they might as well live honestly in a cement house and run around more.

As soon as it was light, Uncle Li and Aunt Li started packing. They had made several trips already, and now only some farming tools were left in the shed.

Jiang Rong contemplated. Could the howling Uncle Li and Aunt Li heard be the same as the one they heard when they ambushed Li Xiaojun? Before he could ask, Guan Shao spoke up, “Uncle, when did you hear the wolf howls? Did they sound far away?”

Uncle Li looked at Guan Shao, “This is…”

Jiang Rong quickly introduced, “This is Guan Shao, my friend.”

Uncle Li nodded repeatedly, “Oh, oh, it was around two or three in the morning yesterday. The wolf howls were quite close, it felt like they were nearby. Your aunt and I held our breaths, afraid that the cry would attract the wolves.”

Thinking of the terrifying scene earlier in the morning, Aunt Li still shuddered, “Xiao Rong, you don’t know, the sound of wolves is so eerie.”

Jiang Rong frowned. Two or three in the morning, wasn’t that when they went back to deal with the wolf carcass? The hill where Li Xiaojun was ambushed was several miles away from his home. If the wolf pack howled near the ambush site, they shouldn’t have heard it.

Wolves were very cohesive animals. When they brought back the wolf carcasses yesterday, they had considered the possibility of the wolf pack returning for them. They brought the wolf carcasses back not only because they were reluctant to waste the meat but also to test whether the wolf pack would continue northward or treat the nearby hill as their territory.

Now it seemed that the wolves domesticated by humans were not willing to leave for the time being. The wolf pack had followed their scent to their home, but fortunately, their home had good sound insulation, and the family hadn’t heard the wolf howls.

Jiang Rong and Guan Shao exchanged a glance, and they both saw the same emotion in each other’s eyes: they couldn’t avoid a battle with the wolf pack.

In addition to delivering food to Uncle Li and Aunt Li, they also needed to visit Chu Qiang’s house.

The two hitched a ride with Uncle Li and Aunt Li’s electric tricycle to the village. As soon as they entered the village, a desolate atmosphere hit them. When they had come to the village before, every household had a car parked outside, but now every household’s gates were tightly closed, and the cars were nowhere to be seen.

This wasn’t surprising. Not all families in the village had wells. Those who hadn’t dug wells after the black rain couldn’t sustain their lives and could only group together to seek survival in nearby bases.

Seeing the lively village turn into this, Uncle Li and Aunt Li couldn’t help but sigh sadly.

Uncle Chu and Aunt Chu were sitting downstairs, enjoying the cool breeze from an electric fan. When they saw Jiang Rong and Guan Shao, they hurriedly came out to greet them, “Xiao Rong is here? Come in and cool off.”

After introducing Guan Shao to Chu’s family, Jiang Rong explained their purpose, “I brought you some meat to replenish your bodies.”

Aunt Chu didn’t want to accept it at first. Jiang Rong had been sending them meat and food all this time, and their family felt very guilty. But these days, everyone in the family wasn’t feeling well, especially Wang Chunlan and her daughter, who had been lethargic for the past few days. Being able to eat some meat to strengthen their bodies was really the best thing.

Jiang Rong looked around but didn’t see Chu Qiang’s figure. “Where’s Qiang?”

Uncle Chu said, “He went north. There was smoke coming from the north this morning. Afraid that it might start a wildfire due to the dry weather, Qiang and some people from the village went to take a look.”

As he spoke, the sound of a car horn came from outside, and a black sedan appeared at the gate. After the car door opened, Chu Qiang quickly walked out. When he saw Jiang Rong’s face, Chu Qiang scratched his cheek in confusion, looking as if he had seen a ghost, “Huh?”

Jiang Rong was puzzled, “What’s wrong? Why that expression?”

Chu Qiang muttered, “I haven’t seen Little Jiang for a few days, how come you’re getting more and more beautiful?”

Jiang Rong chuckled and waved his fist at him, “I think you’re just getting more and more annoying.”

Chu Qiang took a few steps towards Jiang Rong, “I’m not wrong, am I? Look at you, Mom, isn’t Xiao Jiang’s skin…?” Before he could finish his sentence, Chu Qiang’s eyes suddenly widened, and he slapped his thigh, “What the heck? Am I seeing things? Guan Shao!”

Jiang Rong looked back at Guan Shao in confusion, “Do you two know each other?”

Guan Shao lowered his voice quickly, “We’ve sparred once at the Chenggang Gym.”

Chu Qiang wanted to rush over, but after taking a few steps, he felt something was wrong. “No no no, I must be hallucinating from the heat. Mom, get me a glass of salt soda, I think I’m overheating.”

Jiang Rong sighed and held his forehead. When would his childhood friend stop being so foolish?

After confirming that Guan Shao was real, Chu Qiang was very excited. He pulled Jiang Rong and introduced, “He’s the big shot I told you about, remember?”

Jiang Rong, holding the salt soda steadily, replied calmly, “You’ve talked about so many big shots, I wouldn’t know which one you’re referring to.”

Chu Qiang said seriously, “Of course it’s the most powerful one. Didn’t I tell you? We sparred at the gym once, and he threw me to the ground eighteen times.”

Jiang Rong was speechless. How could Chu Qiang bring up such embarrassing things? Afraid that his friend would continue to embarrass himself, Jiang Rong said slowly, “By the way, there’s a wildfire in the north?”

Speaking of this matter, Chu Qiang’s excitement turned into gloom, “There were two cars behind Niupankou that crashed into the roadside and caught fire. Everyone inside was gone.”

Jiang Rong’s hand paused, “How many people were inside?”

Furrowing his brows, Chu Qiang shook his head, “Can’t tell, they’re all carbonized.” The situation inside the car was too tragic. After a moment of buffering, Chu Qiang added, “I suspect they were attacked by mutant animals. Didn’t you see the scratches on the car door? It looks like they were scratched by Wolverine’s claws.”

This confused Jiang Rong. Didn’t wolves attack with their teeth? How could there be claw marks? Could there be a wolf in the wolf pack that had mutated?

After pondering for a moment, Chu Qiang said, “Xiao Jiang, I suspect that the animals attacking them were wolves.”

Jiang Rong’s heart tightened, “Did you see wolves nearby?”

Chu Qiang waved his hand, “No, no, no, wolves don’t come out during the day. Listen to me, I heard wolf howls nearby this morning, and there seemed to be quite a few of them. If it wasn’t them, then who else could it be? Xiao Jiang, you have to be careful in the future. Don’t go out after dark, and make sure to close all the doors and windows at home. Mutant animals nowadays are extremely fierce. Even a mutant wasp almost took a life, not to mention mutant wolves. With our thin arms and legs, it’s better not to confront them head-on. Just avoid them if you can.”

Jiang Rong nodded, “I understand.” 

When he returned home, he would have to find a way to lure out this pack of wolves and try to catch them all at once.

At this moment, Aunt Chu walked to the door with a foam box in her arms, she asked in confusion, “Xiao Rong, what kind of meat did you bring? It doesn’t look like lamb.”

Jiang Rong put down the glass of soda and said warmly, “Mutant wolf meat.”

Chu Qiang was speechless.

 

 

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