The eight ability user teams had finally been formed. Each team leader was a top-ranking master in the base and had extensive operational experience. The result was very satisfactory to the military.

  The ability users were precious existence and naturally, the military was unwilling to see the separation of strong and weak people. Only when the forces were balanced, the strong and weak working together, could the ability user grow safely and smoothly. This was also the main reason why Father Gong didn’t let Gong Lixin, Lin Wenbo, and Song Haoran team up.

  The team leaders of each group didn’t rush to take a task, but had their team members do special training. During this special training period, a group of people named by other groups, ’Wastewood Alliance’, became better at the speed of sound. Even Da Liu and Ling Yun, who were ordinary people, together could defeat some of the stronger ability users on the base. Once again, everyone witnessed that miracles existed.

  One day, the military issued the first task which was to clear the zombies in the towns and villages around National Road 306, collect agricultural products left in the township, and bring them back to base.

  On both sides of National Road 306, there were large sections of vegetable gardens and orchards. It was the largest agricultural base in the province. There were hundreds of large and small villages and towns with a population totalling nearly 200000. It was very difficult to annihilate the zombies in these towns and villages, but at the same time, the agricultural products seized would enrich their lives. These were very important supplies, for the extreme lack of fresh fruits and vegetables could lead to people suffering from scurvy.

  Due to the task being voluntary in nature, no team was willing to take care of it for three days, and the military didn’t urge them either. They all just waited quietly. On a certain day, Gong Lixin and Wang Tao walked into the military department without hesitation. When they came out, they took back a map with them. Shortly after they left, Song Haoran and Lin Wenbo also went to the military department to receive the task.

  The other teams didn’t move and were willing to wait until those three groups came back to see the situation.

  The heads of the three teams gathered to inspect the map. After more than an hour of discussion, Yangjia Village, which was the closest to the base, was the village selected for clearing. It was said that the three team leaders discussed it together. However, in reality, Lin Wenbo and Song Haoran came up with this idea. Gong Lixin just stared at the map and finally agreed with the two.

  In order to save on gasoline, the army sent only one military truck which carried 30 people to the National Road 306.

  The truck was big enough and, even if thirty people were already sitting or crouching, it still wasn’t too crowded. The members of Song Haoran and Gong Lixin’s team were very calm. They either chatted together or played with the weapons in their hands. The most relaxed ones were Gu Nan, Ma Jun, and Wang Tao. The three men took out a deck of cards and played landlord. The team members of Lin Wenbo, on the other hand, just looked straight ahead.

  Lin Wenbo’s team members were all Gong Xiangyi’s picks. They had excellent talent and had powerful abilities, but most of them did not have practical experience so it was inevitable that they were highly tense. Gong Xiangyi saw the members’ emotional changes and quickly tried to comfort everyone.

  Lin Wenbo sat next to Gong Lixin, his lips raised up as he cleaned the blade for the other person, acting as if he was not the leader of the third group. Gong Xiangyi already did all the work of a team leader, so he didn’t have to worry about it.

  "Alright." Retrieving the scabbard, he returned the polished blade into it and placed it back at Gong Lixin’s waist.

  Lin Wenbo touched the other’s tender cheeks and asked with a funny smile, "Have you learned to play? If you did, let’s play when we return." It turned out that Gong Lixin was looking at the game of landlord.

  "Yes, after we return, the three of us can play. It’ll be very interesting," quickly added Song Haoran, sitting on the other side of Gong Lixin.

  "Learned. Go back to my room to play tonight?" Gong Lixin’s eyes lit up as he looked forward to that night.

  In Song Haoran’s mind, the image of the slender, white legs, and rounded buttocks appeared. Song Haoran nodded his promise even as his lower region swelled up. He didn’t move from his position and looked at Gong Lixin with a sizzling passion in his eyes.

  Lin Wenbo’s unclear eyes turned towards his friend with a glare, and his slightly curved lips gradually became a straight line. However, when the teenager pulled his sleeve and asked for his opinion with his melodious voice, his dark expression became bright once more. He smiled at the young man who loved to play and promised.

  The faint warmth and the strong relationship among the three people made it impossible for other people to get involved. Zhao Ying sat in the corner, secretly staring at Song Haoran’s handsome face with obsession. That is, until he saw the strong emotions and desires in Song Haoran’s eyes in between his glimpses. He then woke up from his fabricated dreams and clenched his teeth.

  He thought that Song Haoran was a straight man, so he never dared to disturb him and contented himself with just looking at him. Alas, what did he find out? Song Haoran was not straight at all! Song Haoran also liked men!

  However, the person he liked didn’t know about his feelings. He just had a crush on him. Did that mean that he still had a chance? Zhao Ying was temperamental, his mood swinging up and down, and he was both happy and sad, so much that his entire face became twisted.

  While his mood fluctuated, the truck arrived at its destination.

  "You’re still not getting off the bus?" Song Haoran stood beside the truck and asked Zhao Ying who was sitting alone in the corner of the carrier.

  "Ah?" Zhao Ying came back to his senses and saw the man who was waiting beside the truck, his handsome face cold. Zhao Ying’s cheeks immediately reddened and he shyly said, "I will get down immediately."

  He panicked. He went to stand up and walk down the side of the truck. However, after sitting for such a long time, his legs were a little numb and felt dull. His feet swayed and he directly fell down.

  Song Haoran held out his hand in reflex and held him up.

  It was the first time he was in close contact with his beloved one. Zhao Ying’s heart beat wildy, and his cheeks reddened even further. He fluttered his lashes and shyly looked up at Song Haoran.

  Although he had only seen him twice, Song Haoran’s impression of Zhao Ying was extremely bad. He didn’t even like him as a person. After he stood straight, he quickly let go and turned his head to look at Gong Lixin instead. As Gong Lixin and Lin Wenbo had finished their work, they took their teammates straight to Yangjia Village in the depths of the vegetable gardens. Somg Haoran quickly raised his hand and signaled his team members to keep up.

  Looking at Song Haoran’s back as he stepped away, the expression on Zhao Ying’s face turned from shame to gloom. Gritting his teeth, he hurried to keep up. Wasn’t it enough to be strong and have good looks? He wasn’t so bad to look at, and he wasn’t weak at all! It won’t take long to catch Song Haoran’s heart! Zhao Ying repeatedly cheered himself on and secretly prayed that Gong Lixin was a straight man and couldn’t accept Song Haoran’s feelings.

  They by-passed a piece of farmland as they walked on the cement road leading to Yangjia Village. While looking at the houses that were not too far from them, thirty people pulled out the blades at their waists and looked solemn.

  They walked towards the intersection of the village and slashed a few primary zombies who heard their arrival. Song Haoran looked at his watch and whispered, "Half a month ago, over 10000 zombies appeared. Now, at least one out of ten zombies should be an evolved zombie. There are more than 300 households in Yangjia Village, so that totals to more than 1500 people. It is estimated that there will be one or two hundred evolved zombies. Be careful and try not to shoot at comrades while in action. Starting now, the soldiers will search in three different directions and meet back here at four in the afternoon."

  "Why don’t we act together?" Zhao Ying went up and asked.

  "Asking so much, you just have to obey orders." Before Song Haoran could open his mouth, Gong Xiangyi already impatiently answered. With too many people present, there was a greater chance of exposing her space abilities, and the material and crystal nucleus collected won’t be as great.

  Zhao Ying’s face showed he felt wronged, and he looked to see Song Haoran’s expression.

  "Lixin, are you leading the team alone? If you encounter any danger, open this signal bomb and we will come over immediately." Song Haoran was too lazy to pay attention to Zhao Ying, pulling Gong Lixin towards him. He pointed at the signal bomb at his waist as he explained carefully.

  "No problem, let’s go that way." Gong Lixin nodded. As he couldn’t tell the difference between North, South, East, and West, he simply pointed towards the East road. Wang Tao and the others, who already knew about Gong Lixin’s directionally-challenged nature, quickly lowered their heads and concealed the smiles on their lips.

  "Alright, let’s go North. Wenbo, you go South. Everyone, move out!" Song Haoran raised his hand and commanded. When Gong Lixin and his team members disappeared round the corner of the East Road, he led his teammates to the mouth of the North Road.

  Lin Wenbo raised his brows and pondered thoughtfully as he saw Zhao Ying obsessively staring at Song Haoran’s back. He pointed out to the other that their team was already heading towards the south.

  Yangjia Village was small in size and had a small population, but it was very affluent. Every household had a building of two or three stories high and high walls surrounding a small green courtyard. Looking through the iron gate into the yard, they could see bright autumn roses and their ridges, strings of large grapes hanging ripe and full, and stone tables with stone chairs showing off a very rich life. All would be well if one ignored the pool of black blood that had already dried on the ground. It was a charming picture of a quiet and stable world before the apocalypse.

  Sun Tiantian and her younger brother stood in front of the iron gate of a family’s house and stared at it as if beautiful memories of the past year were engraved on the door’s frame. However, they knew that if they even touched it, it would shatter like glass and forever remain broken.

  "Don’t think about the past. Let’s live fully in the present." Luo Dahai has listened to Sun Tiantian and her brother describe their homes. They saw a familiar scene in front of them and felt sad yet warm.

  Sun Tiantian and her brother’s eyes focused, putting away the nostalgia and grief clouding those orbs. They must go on and stay strong.

  "Wait, don’t go in. Wang Tao, what do you hear?" Gong Lixin stopped them and turned to look at Wang Tao.

  In the past two months, after their special training, Wang Tao has been able to freely control the energy flow in his body to enhance his five senses. Now, Gong Lixin was consciously cultivating his habit of listening in all directions and seeing all roads.

  "There are no zombies nearby, you can go in." Wang Tao always maintained a high degree of vigilance whenever and wherever he wants. Seeing Gong Lixin asking this question, he was able to immediately reply.

  "Go in." Gong Lixin nodded with satisfaction and took the lead to enter the courtyard. Wang Tao and the others followed suit and guarded each other.

  They saw a cellar at the corner of the yard. The cellar was locked with a big lock and the eyes of the people in the team lit up. They quickly ran over to check. For more than a month, they had been eating instant noodles and compressed biscuits every single day. They had large patches of ulcers in their mouths and even suffered when drinking water. When they walked through the vegetable garden, they saw fresh and tender Chinese cabbage. If it wasn’t for Song Haoran’s command, they would have already turned into pigs and hurriedly went down to gobble them up.

  "I hope there’s rice, sweet potatoes and potatoes. We’ll collect staple food. When we leave, we’ll go dig up a few cabbages and pick a few cucumbers." Wang Tao whispered quietly as he broke the lock.

  "I want to eat sweet potato porridge! It’s fragrant and sweet! It’s also delicious with stir-fried cabbage or fried cucumber. It’s very refreshing!" Sun Tiantian gulped at the thought.

  A breaking sound resounded and the big lock was broken in two. Sun Tiantian was overjoyed. She was about to open the door when Gong Lixin’s ears picked up something in the area and he whispered, "Be on your guard, there are three evolved zombies approaching us. They’ll be here in a minute."

  Everyone heard his words and quickly kept Sun Jie and Li Dongsheng in the middle. They placed their blades across their chest and were immediately on guard, waiting for their arrival. This was their first battle, but they had no fear in their hearts, only adrenaline from the fight that was to come.