The news of Lin Zhongxun's imminent return was wonderful for Lin Xi. When she stepped out of the backyard, Chi Xiangping was no longer at the counter. After asking Yao Yuran, she learned that her mother had left with Granny Xiuhua.
Lin Xi didn't worry about it. She took over Chi Xiangping's spot and began answering customers' questions about the embroideries.
After selling a round silk fan that had been sent over from Xu Huanhuan's world, she sat back down. It was only then, checking her phone, that she realized the group chat system had unknowingly processed the origins of these embroideries with a "rationalization" filter.
Lin Xi was slightly stunned. Before today, the system had rarely handled the items she brought out with such meticulous cover-up stories. Recalling what Lin Zhongxun had just said in the video, she sensed that something was wrong.
She didn't say anything, but she quietly replaced the protective amulets she had previously obtained from Bai Qingting with fresh ones for everyone close to her.
The group chat messages had already refreshed several times, everyone asking about Lin Zhongxun. His situation was no longer a secret in the group, so she relayed what he had told her.
The group immediately began analyzing the identity of the person who had brought "Xue Min" back to life.
Lin Xi tried to ask the group chat system directly, but the system played dead, refusing to reply.
Jiang Ying joined the discussion as well. Since she was the only one in the group who had dealt with Lin Zhongxun face-to-face, everyone was incredibly curious. She shared everything she had seen and heard while staying by Lin Zhongxun's side over the past two days.
While discussing Lin Zhongxun, the members also learned about the background of the world Jiang Ying lived in.
[Ancient World, Xu Huanhuan: A-Hua was right. Very few people entering the group from the modern era are just "transmigrating" like us anymore. It’s basically all "transmigrating into a book" or "transmigrating into a TV show."]
[Liu Zhong, Arch-rival of the Dragon Awe-Tian: Perhaps it's because times are changing. Simple transmigration can no longer satisfy the curiosity of modern readers. So, when authors write these stories, they add a "transmigrating into a book" background to make it more interesting?]
[Xiang Qianlan, Boxer from the 1960s: @Liu Zhong, Arch-rival of the Dragon Awe-Tian: I think you’re spot on. By the way, brother, how are things on your end?]
While not much time had passed for Lin Xi, a month had already slipped by for Liu Zhong.
He had found a place to settle down—a small border town in the south of the Kingdom of Qian.
[Liu Zhong, Arch-rival of the Dragon Awe-Tian: I’m doing quite well. The students in the primary school are fairly obedient.]
The town where Liu Zhong had settled had a beautiful name: Falling Flower Dock. The entire town was built along the water, featuring the signature white walls and grey tiles of the Jiangnan region.
When Liu Zhong’s boat passed through during the transition between spring and summer, the peach blossoms lining the banks were in full shedding season. Petals drifted down like snow, floating along the stream.
It was a beautiful scene he had only ever read about in books. He disembarked, bought a courtyard by the water, and settled there. Strictly speaking, however, this was the second residence he had chosen.
His first home hadn't been safe. Before the house was even finished, the Liu family servants had tracked him down. Fortunately, he was cautious and fast on his feet; otherwise, he would have surely been dragged back by Madam Liu to slave away for his younger brother, Liu Ji.
Falling Flower Dock was small and lacked a school. If families wanted their children to study, they either had to send them to the county seat twenty miles away or hire a private tutor.
Therefore, as soon as news broke that Liu Zhong intended to open a primary school, three or four young children, aged three to five, were sent to him.
This was Liu Zhong’s first time being a teacher. To ensure he did a good job, he frequently consulted Lu Shenzhi in the group chat.
Lu Shenzhi truly loved the profession. In his own dynasty, he not only served as a strategist for Prince Yu but also moonlighted as a tutor for the Prince's sons. When chatting with Lin Xi, he would often talk about his students.
[Xiang Qianlan, Boxer from the 1960s: That sounds nice. My side has entered a "special era." Qin Jiachuan sent over several people who were "sent down" to the countryside a few days ago. Most are intellectuals, and they’ve been treated quite harshly.]
Xiang Qianlan wasn't fond of studying, but she had an innate respect for teachers. She couldn't stand seeing teachers—who should have been standing at a podium passing on knowledge—suffering. Recently, she had been secretly sending them supplies, including food, daily necessities, and medicine.
Her nominal husband, that masochistic freak Qin Aiguo, had found someone new to harass. He was now thick as thieves with the village’s Er Gouzi. One loved to hit, and the other loved to be hit. If it weren't for the fact that they were the same gender, they would have been a match made in heaven.
In the Post-Apocalyptic Zombie Plane, Jiang Ying had driven the car Lin Zhongxun had filled with gas to a safe zone near the base. She wasn't in a hurry to enter. She sat in the car, watching her friends chat in the group.
She closed her eyes, her consciousness sinking into the Sumeru Space she had just traded from Chu Qianmo.
The space was empty, but looking at it filled Jiang Ying with immense satisfaction. One of the main reasons Feng Qingqing was so popular in the base was her spatial ability.
A storage space was an essential tool for travel and survival at any time, but in this apocalyptic world, it was a godsend! It was precisely because of this that no matter how many cringey Mary Sue dramas Feng Qingqing and Shangguan Xu acted out daily, no one dared to complain.
Now, she had a space of her own too. Jiang Ying was overcome with excitement.
[System Notification: Earth Girl Lin Xi has sent you a batch of supplies. Would you like to collect? PS: After clicking collect, the items will be automatically stored in your bound warehouse.]
Jiang Ying clicked collect without a second thought. When her consciousness returned to the space, one side was now filled with life necessities. The barrels of rice, flour, oil, vegetables, fruits, and various meats made her eyes well up with tears.
On the other side of the space were weapons. Some were high-tech arms from Yao Xiran’s interstellar era, some were from another post-apocalyptic friend, Lin Duxi, and others were contributed by various members of the group.
The items were numerous and varied, all of which Jiang Ying could use.
Jiang Ying felt a warm glow in her heart. She truly didn't know how to thank her friends in the group. In times like these, a simple "thank you" felt like the most perfunctory and cheap response.
But for now, that was all she could say.
Those supplies were Jiang Ying’s courage. She drove toward the base. This was the only base within hundreds of miles. Although there were "rat droppings" like Feng Qingqing, most people here were normal and looked out for one another. The atmosphere was much better than in other bases.
Unless forced, Jiang Ying really didn't want to leave the Rising Sun Base. Moreover, she had other attachments here.
Her return left the guards at the gate stunned for a long time. Then, a boy about seventeen or eighteen ran over.
"Sister Jiang Ying? You're not dead?" His voice was filled with surprise and a hint of a sob.
The boy's name was Xiao Bin, an ordinary young man who worked as a gate guard at the base, earning two steamed buns a day. Teenagers around seventeen or eighteen, whether boys or girls, are at an age where they can eat a lot, and Xiao Bin was constantly hungry, leaving him as thin as a skeleton.
A few months ago, before he joined the guard team, he had fainted from hunger inside the base. Jiang Ying found him and fed him some oatmeal she had scavenged while out searching for supplies, saving his life.
From then on, he became Jiang Ying's devoted follower. During the period when Jiang Ying was presumed "deceased," Xiao Bin had frequent arguments with Feng Qingqing.
Feng Qingqing had pushed Jiang Ying into a horde of zombies in front of everyone. In the Sunrise Base, such an act was absolutely forbidden.
After the incident spread, Feng Qingqing might as well have become public enemy number one.
During the day, the gate guard team consisted of two people. Xiao Bin's partner was a middle-aged man in his thirties, who now stood about five steps away from Jiang Ying and Xiao Bin, watching Jiang Ying with intense wariness.
Jiang Ying wasn't offended by this. In this post-apocalyptic zombie world, if someone returned from outside with injuries, there was a fifty percent chance they would turn into a zombie.
Most people in the base were ordinary civilians. If a transformation occurred, the consequences would be unthinkable.
"No. At the critical moment, I awakened an ability," Jiang Ying said, turning her palm upward. A blue bolt of lightning crackled and coalesced in her hand, emitting a sizzling sound.
The wariness in the middle-aged man's eyes behind Xiao Bin vanished instantly. It was common knowledge that those infected with the zombie virus faced two outcomes.
Either they would be assimilated by the virus and become a zombie, or their bodily functions would be triggered, awakening a supernatural ability.
"Sister Jiang Ying, you have no idea how difficult Feng Qingqing's life in the base has been lately. Before, people would still talk to her when she went out, but now nobody pays her any attention," Xiao Bin eagerly shared the latest news about Feng Qingqing with Jiang Ying.
The Sunrise Base had many ordinary people, and everyone could deeply empathize with Jiang Ying being pushed into the zombie horde by Feng Qingqing.
Supply scavenging teams were always configured with ordinary people plus ability users. If Feng Qingqing could push Jiang Ying into a zombie horde today, who's to say she wouldn't push them into one tomorrow?
Putting themselves in Jiang Ying's shoes, feeling a shared sense of vulnerability, everyone suddenly felt a surge of hatred towards Feng Qingqing.
"I can imagine. What about Little Jiang?"
"Uncle Xu took her in. She's been living with him this whole time," Xiao Bin replied.
"Miss Jiang, you should go inside now," the middle-aged man said.
Jiang Ying thanked him, and Xiao Bin said he would visit her after his shift.
Jiang Ying drove her vehicle to where she used to live. The single room she once occupied was already inhabited by someone else. Her belongings that were usable had been taken, and the unusable ones had been collected and stored in the base's warehouse.
Jiang Ying had nothing to say about this. Such was the apocalypse; all order took a backseat to survival.
She was presumed dead. It was impossible for her previous residence in the base to remain reserved for her.
The person currently living in that room was quite polite. Although surprised that Jiang Ying had returned and envious of her awakened ability, they still gathered Jiang Ying's old belongings and returned them to her.
Meanwhile, during this time, the news of Jiang Ying's return after being pushed into a zombie horde and awakening a lightning ability spread through the entire base like wildfire.
Many people who were on good terms with Jiang Ying came to see her. However, Feng Qingqing, who lived in a small villa not far from the singles' apartments, turned pale with shock.
She clenched her fingers, unable to understand why Jiang Ying, whom she had pushed into a zombie horde, could not only return alive but also awaken such a powerful lightning-based ability!
Feng Qingqing was filled with resentment. She felt the world was so unfair. So many people had awakened abilities, why couldn't there be one more—her? Why could someone like Jiang Ying awaken an ability, but she couldn't?
"Qingqing?" Shangguan Xu came in from outside, holding a somewhat shriveled apple.
He looked at Feng Qingqing with gentle eyes. "Qingqing, Jiang Ying is back, and she's awakened a lightning ability. Without a doubt, she will be someone the base leadership tries to recruit."
He paused, then continued, "To be honest, what happened before was your fault. We need to go and apologize now, otherwise our days in the base will be difficult."
Feng Qingqing looked up at this man before her, whose handsome, god-like features seemed almost divine, and her emotions instantly crumbled.
"Shangguan Xu, do you still have feelings for Jiang Ying? Do you believe those rumors too, that I'm the one who pushed Jiang Ying into the zombie horde?" Feng Qingqing accused, covering her chest as she took two steps back, tears welling up in her eyes.
She quickly wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve, putting on an expression of stubborn resilience. "Shangguan Xu, if your feelings have changed, just say it outright. I, Feng Qingqing, am not someone who clings desperately! I will not apologize to Jiang Ying."
"In this matter, the innocent need no defense! I, Feng Qingqing, will never admit to something I did not do!" Tears still streaked Feng Qingqing's face, yet she wore a look of righteous indignation, like an untouchable saint in a church.
Shangguan Xu looked at her, stepping forward to coax her softly. Yet deep in his heart, a voice seemed to whisper that this wasn't right, that this shouldn't be his character.
