The End of the World Base Master (13): 

Zhou Qinghao stopped seeing outsiders after he was injured, only meeting with his trusted men.

His trusted men were not just the three who went out with Gu Juntian to kill zombies, but also a few others.

To avoid anyone noticing something unusual, he would pretend to be sick whenever he met the others.

As for how to pretend… as an ice ability user, using his powers to make himself look pale was no problem at all.

Because of this, even Zhou Qinghao’s own subordinates believed he was seriously injured.

Rumors also began to spread in the base.

“District Chief Zhou was besieged by a horde of zombies when he went to kill a level-six zombie. Although he barely escaped, he was badly injured.”

“Let’s hope District Chief Zhou recovers soon.”

“He mentioned he was going to get married before. I was still waiting for his wedding.”

…

Ordinary people in the safe base whispered nervously, glancing toward the center of the safe zone with worry.

Zhou Qinghao’s subordinates were also restless.

“Is the boss really alright?”

“Of course! The boss looks fine, doesn’t he?”

“But they say his ability has a problem…”

“Don’t talk nonsense! The boss is definitely fine!”

…

During the chatter, someone mentioned Gu Juntian: “When I visited the boss before, he was lying there alone while Gu Juntian was snoring beside him… Isn’t that a bit inappropriate?”

“Hasn’t he always been like that? When District Chief Gu was in trouble, he didn’t take care of him either. Instead, he kept delivering meals to the boss every day.”

“If the boss really gets into trouble, Gu Juntian will definitely abandon him, sigh!”

…

While they were talking, Gu Juntian, who had been sleeping soundly beside the injured Zhou Qinghao, woke up.

It was already past three in the afternoon. Gu Juntian yawned as he got out of bed. “Qinghao, I’ll go downstairs to make you some food.”

“Alright,” Zhou Qinghao agreed, then added, “Don’t make too much meat.”

“Why? Don’t you love eating meat?”

“I’ve gained weight.” Zhou Qinghao sounded helpless.

Gu Juntian replied, “That’s a good thing. In the apocalypse, fat people survive better than skinny ones.”

In a world where food and clothing were scarce, the slightly fat had a better chance of enduring hardships than the thin.

Now, the base had even begun to consider a bit of chubbiness as beauty—though of course, it meant only mildly overweight.

Zhou Qinghao: “…” Whether he was fat or thin, he would survive just fine.

But since Gu Juntian didn’t mind, there was no need for him to control his diet. He still preferred eating meat anyway.

When Gu Juntian went downstairs, he saw his mother asking his father to help boil water.

In the past, his father had always been busy, so his mother never asked him to do chores. When his father was first injured, she also cared for him attentively, giving him plenty of time to cultivate.

But now that his father was fully healed and spending more time at home, she had begun to assign him chores.

“All the water our family uses now comes from Qinghao. You should do something for the family too. Come, help me stew the bone soup…” She poured the freshly boiled water into a thermos, then handed his father a clay pot, asking him to simmer the soup slowly.

Father Gu was a little helpless, but since he was bored, he used his fire ability to help stew the bone soup.

Seeing Gu Juntian, Father Gu asked, “Juntian, did you encounter any level-five or level-six zombies last night?”

Gu Juntian shook his head. “Dad, level-five and level-six zombies aren’t so easy to find.”

“Sigh!” Father Gu sighed. He wanted to level up, to reach level six like Zhou Qinghao.

If only that level-six crystal core had been kept for him. Unfortunately, his son valued his lover over his father and gave it to Zhou Qinghao.

“Dad, don’t be anxious. Maybe in a few days you’ll get one.”

“I hope so,” Father Gu replied.

After chatting with his father for a bit, Gu Juntian was pulled away by his mother to go shopping for groceries.

They went to the official marketplace run by the base, just as the “evening market” was beginning.

In their base, some people shopped in the morning, while others preferred the evening.

“Qinghao likes eggplant, buy more of that. Some winter melon too, and potatoes—we can roast them…” Mother Gu muttered as they walked.

She had grown sick of eating potatoes over the years.

But a few days ago, Father Gu had roasted some potatoes using his ability, and they had been especially fragrant. Now she liked them again.

Following her lead, Gu Juntian bought plenty of vegetables. Just as they left the market, they ran into Zhen Jiayun.

Zhen Jiayun’s face was swollen as he bought a coarse-grain pancake.

There was no egg added to his pancake. He tore it into small pieces, eating with the half of his teeth that weren’t swollen.

When he saw Gu Juntian, Zhen Jiayun looked uncomfortable for a moment. He glared at him, then turned and left.

Gu Juntian clicked his tongue.

That look—he had clearly been beaten!

Most likely by Shao Huirui.

In the original storyline, Zhen Jiayun had stayed at the Gu house and only met Shao Huirui secretly, so Shao Huirui had treated him well.

But now that they lived together, Shao Huirui no longer cared about him.

After all, Shao Huirui had always believed that ability users were supreme, and ordinary people should be their slaves.

Gu Juntian didn’t pay him much mind, but once out of his sight, Zhen Jiayun was full of regret.

Only after leaving the Gu family did he realize just how good his life there had been.

Although Mother Gu was frugal, every meal had meat, and there was always an egg for breakfast. His diet had been both healthy and balanced.

Now? He couldn’t even afford an egg on his pancake.

And despite that, Shao Huirui still complained that he spent too much money.

Shao Huirui even hit him! Back then, Gu Juntian had never even spoken harshly to him.

If only he had stayed with Gu Juntian, not left the Gu family…

No, even then, he wouldn’t have had a good ending.

Gu Chengming was already crippled, and Gu Juntian’s future would probably be even worse.

Telling himself this, Zhen Jiayun felt better.

Touching his swollen face, he headed back to Shao Huirui’s place.

Days passed quickly.

During this time, Gu Juntian rode his motorcycle with Zhou Qinghao’s subordinates to hunt zombies farther away, finally gaining more harvests.

Unfortunately, he still hadn’t encountered any level-five or level-six zombies.

But he did kill many level-three and level-four zombies, and since he could also cleanse the toxins from the crystal cores, Zhou Qinghao’s three subordinates who went out with him quietly advanced to level-five ability users.

After absorbing many level-four crystal cores, both Father Gu and Zhou Qinghao also grew stronger. Father Gu reached level-five peak, while Zhou Qinghao reached level-six peak.

But leveling up further would not be easy for either of them.

That night, as usual, Gu Juntian went out to hunt zombies.

The four of them sped through the wilderness on motorcycles, searching for zombies.

But they barely found any level-three zombies.

Around midnight, the group stopped to rest and eat.

Using broth prepared by his mother, Gu Juntian cooked noodles for everyone.

“This is delicious,” one of them said. Following Gu Juntian these days had really improved their meals.

“These braised eggs are tasty too.” Gu Juntian handed each of them one.

In the apocalypse, spices were rare, so braised food was hard to come by.

“It really is good!”

As they ate, one man said, “Young Master Gu, since level-three zombies are already rare, should we lower our sights and hunt level-two zombies instead?”

Gu Juntian replied, “We’ve eaten the meat, so we should leave some soup for others.” If they killed all the level-two zombies, other base members who hunted for crystal cores would end up empty-handed.

“That’s true… Sigh, if only we could run into some high-level zombies.”

“High-level zombies are coming!” Gu Juntian suddenly said.

He had sensed someone running toward them, followed by a group of high-level zombies.

The runner was a level-five wind ability user, moving very fast. But judging from his appearance, he wasn’t escaping—he was luring the zombies toward H City’s safe base.

Without hesitation, Gu Juntian used his mental power to restrain him.

He was sure the man was up to no good.

The wind ability user’s name was Jiang Yang.

Two years ago, he had been saved by Shao Huirui and had since become his loyal follower.

This time, acting on Shao Huirui’s orders, Jiang Yang had used connections at a large base to obtain drugs that could attract high-level zombies, then lured a horde toward H City’s safe base.

Shao Huirui planned to use the chaos caused by these zombies to his advantage.

Since Zhou Qinghao’s men always insisted that ability users must protect ordinary people, they would certainly fight to the death against invading zombies.

Once both sides were badly damaged, Shao Huirui’s team could swoop in, reap the benefits, and harvest the crystal cores to strengthen themselves.

Jiang Yang knew this was ruthless, but in the apocalypse, morality no longer mattered—only strength did.

He agreed with Shao Huirui’s plan and had even volunteered to lure the zombies.

Besides, Shao Huirui promised him a reward: he could keep one-fifth of the crystal cores from the zombies he brought.

He had lured more than twenty high-level zombies, including one level-six zombie and the rest level-five.

That meant he could claim at least five level-five crystal cores.

That might be enough to make him a level-six ability user!

After running with the zombies for three days with little rest, Jiang Yang was exhausted, but still exhilarated.

H City’s safe base was very close now. Once inside, he would be safe and could finally rest.

But just then, he suddenly couldn’t move.

Panic surged through him. Was there a zombie among them with some strange ability?

The zombies behind him ran fast and soon caught up. Seeing their gaping maws about to devour him, Jiang Yang was terrified and full of regret.

Was he really going to die here? He didn’t want to die!

But just as the zombies were about to tear him apart, they suddenly froze too.

Jiang Yang trembled as he stared at their bloody jaws so close to him.

Then a voice rang out: “Quickly finish off those zombies. There are too many—I can’t hold them for long.”

Before the voice even faded, three masked men appeared in front of Jiang Yang and began killing zombies.

From the way they easily slaughtered level-five zombies, Jiang Yang could tell they were all level-five ability users.

Where had these powerful ability users come from? Were they from H City’s safe base, or some other base?

And why couldn’t he or the zombies move?

As he puzzled over it, a man in a black mask and cap walked up to him.

Jiang Yang wore a mask too, to hide his identity. But the man reached out and tore it off.

Then the man’s voice came: “So it’s Jiang Yang…”

Jiang Yang’s pupils shrank.

This person knew him! He was from H City’s safe base! Did the base really have such a strong hidden figure?

While Jiang Yang was still shocked, the twenty-plus zombies he had worked so hard to lure were already dead, and the masked men began digging out crystal cores.

Who were these people?

Without the zombies, would Shao Huirui’s plan fail?

Gu Juntian, unaware of Jiang Yang’s thoughts, was excited. “So many zombies! With these, my dad will definitely behave himself.”

Zhou Qinghao’s men: “…” Young Master Gu’s words sounded strange.

Gu Juntian added, “Each of you gets one level-five crystal core. The rest are mine. No objections, right?”

The three immediately replied, “No objections, no objections.”

Without Young Master Gu, they would have been nothing but food for the zombies.

These level-five crystal cores were practically free gains.

“Tie up Jiang Yang. We’re heading back.” Gu Juntian ordered. Without hesitation, the three tied Jiang Yang up and secured him to the back seat of a motorcycle.

“Let’s go home!” Gu Juntian was in high spirits.

Getting to sleep early tonight—how great was that?

At the same time, in H City’s safe base, a group of people infiltrated the Gu family villa.

Father Gu had installed many security measures in their home, but such devices meant little against high-level ability users.

After a bit of effort, the intruders entered the villa.

It was already late into the night, and the house was silent.

“Proceed as planned,” Shao Huirui said.

Before coming, they had agreed to split into two teams once inside: one would kill Zhou Qinghao, the other would kill Gu Chengming.

The latter group would also seize the supplies Gu Chengming had stored in the basement after killing him.

The group assigned to kill Gu Chengming headed to the second floor, while Shao Huirui led the others to the third.

This time, to kill Zhou Qinghao, he personally led the team!

In the team, besides him, a lightning-type ability user, there was also a level-five fire-type ability user.

Both of their powers restrained Zhou Qinghao’s abilities. With the two of them striking together, even if Zhou Qinghao were uninjured, he might not win, let alone now, when he was wounded.

Today, Zhou Qinghao was doomed to die.

The Gu household was very quiet, which made Shao Huirui’s eyes flash with disdain.

They had already come inside, yet Zhou Qinghao remained completely unaware. Could it be he had truly become useless?

If that were the case, he would capture Zhou Qinghao and have some fun with him.

Shao Huirui had bribed people to gather information about the Gu family villa.

He made his way skillfully to the master bedroom on the third floor, used his power to break the lock, and entered. Then, a wind-type ability user immediately controlled the airflow so no sound would escape.

The room was pitch dark, but this didn’t hinder Shao Huirui from making his move.

However, before he could act, the lights suddenly switched on, and at the same time, Shao Huirui and the others were encased in solid ice.

Shao Huirui and the level-five ability user realized something was wrong, but they were already immobilized. At the same time, they finally saw Zhou Qinghao clearly.

Zhou Qinghao was dressed in a casual outfit, his face rosy and healthy, showing no signs of injury at all.

“Zhou Qinghao, you tricked us!” Shao Huirui shouted angrily.

“Yes, I tricked you,” Zhou Qinghao admitted directly. “I didn’t expect you to come in person—that saves me a lot of trouble.”

While speaking, Shao Huirui desperately urged his power, trying to break free from the ice.

But he failed.

Something was wrong!

Shao Huirui was both shocked and furious. “You’ve been hiding your true strength!”

Hadn’t Zhou Qinghao just advanced to level six? How could he be this powerful?

“I never hide my strength,” Zhou Qinghao said. For the sake of the safety zone’s stability, whenever he advanced, he always made it public immediately, never concealing it.

It was Shao Huirui who had lied. To the outside world, he claimed to be level four, when in truth, he had long since reached level five.

“This can’t be! How are you this strong…” Shao Huirui refused to believe it.

“I just absorbed a level-six crystal core. Of course my strength grew,” Zhou Qinghao explained.

Not only that, but Gu Juntian had also given him many level-four crystal cores. Zhou Qinghao believed that with another level-six core, he could reach level seven.

After reinforcing the ice around them, Zhou Qinghao went to the door and called downstairs, “Dad, are you okay?”

He had already started calling Gu Chengming “Dad.”

Gu Chengming was very pleased with this.

From below came Gu Chengming’s voice: “What could happen to me? Don’t underestimate me!”

Gu Chengming was actually a little annoyed. The people who had come for him were only five in total.

Their leader was a level-four ability user, the others just level-three… This was clearly underestimating him!

Gu Chengming had already knocked all five unconscious. Taking Mother Gu along, he headed upstairs. “These people have gone too far. Even though I’m supposedly a cripple, they still want me dead…”

“Shao Huirui!” Gu Chengming glared at him in fury.

Gu Chengming’s complexion was also very good, looking as though he’d grown younger by a few years.

Earlier, a burst of level-five fire power had flared downstairs. Now Gu Chengming appeared, unscathed, while his attackers were nowhere to be seen… It was obvious he had only been pretending.

Both Gu Chengming and Zhou Qinghao had faked it!

“So it really was Shao Huirui. I knew he wouldn’t stay quiet,” Gu Chengming said.

“Dad, what should we do with them?”

Gu Chengming replied, “Destroy Shao Huirui’s core. As for the others, keep them frozen for now. They’re still labor—we shouldn’t waste them.”

In the apocalypse, ability users were extremely useful.

For example, fire and wind users could work at power plants, generating electricity in an eco-friendly way.

Water users could provide clean water and irrigate crops.

Earth users could till soil, build houses, and fortify walls.

But Shao Huirui’s lightning power wasn’t very practical.

Lightning was electricity, but too unstable—if he were tasked to “generate power,” he’d damage the equipment. Better to rely on fire and wind.

And Shao Huirui had a bad temperament, so crippling him was best.

“You can’t destroy my core!” Shao Huirui shouted at once. “The base is about to face a catastrophe—you’ll need me!”

“What catastrophe?” Father Gu asked, frowning.

“I lured over twenty high-level zombies to the base with drugs,” Shao Huirui said. “There are even several level-six zombies among them!”

In truth, he knew there was only one level-six zombie. But to scare Zhou Qinghao and the others, he exaggerated.

“My lightning ability is the nemesis of zombies! You’ll need me!”

At that moment, noise came from downstairs.

Gu Juntian came up. “Dad, Qinghao, today we encountered a group of high-level zombies and reaped a great harvest.”

“Were there several level-six zombies? Give me two level-six cores. We’ll split the level-five ones between Qinghao and me,” Gu Chengming said at once.

“There weren’t several. Just one,” Gu Juntian replied. “Dad, I’ll give you ten level-five cores, but no more than that.”

He pulled out a handful of zombie cores and gave them to Gu Chengming.

“Didn’t he say there were several level-six zombies?” Gu Chengming muttered.

“He was lying,” Gu Juntian said.

Gu Chengming grew upset, glaring at Shao Huirui. “Why didn’t you bring more level-six zombies? One isn’t enough to share!”

With only one, it would definitely go to Zhou Qinghao, so he could advance to level seven.

That meant Gu Chengming wouldn’t get it!

Shao Huirui was dumbfounded. Staring at Gu Juntian, he asked, “Who are you?”

“We’ve met several times. Don’t you recognize me?” Gu Juntian said.

They had been schoolmates, though not in the same class. Normally they wouldn’t have interacted, but because of Zhen Jiayun, they’d known each other for a long time.

And they had crossed paths again after the apocalypse began.

“You’re an ability user too?” Shao Huirui asked.

At that moment, Zhou Qinghao’s three subordinates dragged Jiang Yang upstairs and said, “Yes, Young Master Gu is also an ability user. He’s level seven, the strongest in the base!”

“That’s impossible. No way…” Shao Huirui couldn’t believe it.

But it was clearly true.

If Gu Juntian weren’t a level-seven, he couldn’t possibly have wiped out the more than twenty high-level zombies Jiang Yang had painstakingly lured.

And Gu Chengming—hadn’t he supposedly self-destructed his core? Yet he was perfectly fine. Was that also related to Gu Juntian?

Gu Juntian was this strong, and he hadn’t known at all!

He had struggled for so long, only to still be outdone by Gu Juntian!

Shao Huirui suddenly thought of Zhen Jiayun. Had she deceived him too?

No… she probably hadn’t. She was just too stupid, completely clueless about the Gu family.

He remembered her complaining that Gu Juntian was always “playing games” in the study instead of sharing her bed—that they were completely innocent. Shao Huirui seethed with hatred.

Playing games? He must have been out hunting zombies, growing stronger!

Shao Huirui glared at Gu Juntian with venom. The next second, Zhou Qinghao shattered his core.

Just then, more people arrived.

It was Zhou Qinghao’s men.

They had received news of a horde of high-level zombies approaching the safe zone.

Afraid something might happen, they rushed to seek Zhou Qinghao’s counsel. But upon reaching the Gu family villa, they saw the gate had been smashed.

Worried that Zhou Qinghao was in danger, they rushed in—only to see Shao Huirui and his people completely restrained.

District Chief Zhou was unharmed—what a relief!

But the zombies outside still had to be dealt with…

They quickly reported the situation.

“Don’t worry. Those high-level zombies have already been killed,” Zhou Qinghao told them.

His three subordinates, who had gone with Gu Juntian to hunt zombies, chimed in: “That’s right, Young Master Gu already wiped them out!”

What? Young Master Gu?

Did they mean… Gu Juntian?

At that moment, Gu Juntian spoke. “Tonight, they were clearly planning something big. Right now, they’re probably gathered together, waiting for our people to fight and weaken the zombies… Let’s go and capture them all!”

And he guessed right.

Shao Huirui’s Thunder Squad, along with other ability users who supported him, were indeed gathered together, waiting for upheaval in the safe zone.

They had even prepared meat and wine, feasting as they waited.

“Once Zhou Qinghao’s dead, this base will be ours!”

“Zhou Qinghao and Gu Chengming are laughable—ordinary people still hold office in the government. And they let ordinary people rule us!”

“All I did was kill an ordinary man, and they wanted me to pay with my life! Do they think it’s still the pre-apocalypse world?”

“We must stay hidden. The zombies this time are tough opponents!”

“Yeah, over twenty level-five zombies! Zhou Qinghao’s men say they want to protect ordinary people? Let’s see them die protecting them!”

“Level-five zombies are hard to kill. And with Zhou Qinghao and Gu Chengming both crippled, they’ll probably choose to self-destruct.”

“Perfect! Once they’re dead, we can pick up the crystal cores for free.”

…

They chatted happily, convinced the world was survival of the fittest.

“You like the law of the jungle?” A voice suddenly interrupted.

They looked up and saw Zhou Qinghao and Gu Juntian.

Behind them, Zhou Qinghao’s men were holding a group of captives.

Everyone who had gone to kill Zhou Qinghao had been caught. Clearly, Zhou Qinghao was unharmed.

They had fallen into a trap!

But they weren’t afraid.

This base followed laws. They hadn’t personally killed Zhou Qinghao, nor had they openly unleashed zombies. He couldn’t kill them!

Thinking this, one of them answered, “So what if we do? It’s the apocalypse—survival of the fittest is only natural!”

The one who asked was Gu Juntian. After hearing this, he asked again, “You all think this way?”

“Yes, we all do!”

“Without us ability users, ordinary people couldn’t even survive. Our treatment must be raised!”

“Gu Juntian, you’re just an ordinary man. This isn’t your place to speak!”

…

“Is that what you think? Then that’s wonderful,” Gu Juntian suddenly smiled.

Those standing before him felt a creeping unease at his smile.

Gu Juntian said, “You believe you’re stronger than ordinary people, so you should stand above them. In that case, since we are stronger than you, we should stand above you too, shouldn’t we?”

As soon as he finished, Gu Juntian unleashed his spiritual power.

Their strength, in truth, was not great.

Most of them were only level-three ability users, and there were even some level-two ability users among them.

Although he couldn’t control them for a long time because of their sheer numbers, short-term control was no problem at all.

Gu Juntian used his spiritual power to suppress them, forcing them to kneel and kowtow to him.

“Well, since you think killing ordinary people doesn’t require you to pay with your lives, that means if I kill you, I don’t have to pay with mine either. After all, I’m much stronger than you… very good, really very good.”

These people already realized something was wrong. They wanted to backtrack, but their mouths wouldn’t open, and no words could come out.

Gu Juntian continued, “I’m willing to listen to you. From now on, you are my slaves. Whatever I tell you to do, you will do.”

H City’s safe base actually lacked ability users who were willing to work.

Before this, Gu Chengming and Zhou Qinghao wouldn’t force low-level ability users to labor, so they had to lead their own subordinates to do the work.

Now things were different—he had a group of “slaves”!

“From now on, you will work twelve hours a day in the safe zone and hand over your contribution points to me. Don’t worry, I won’t let you starve. I’ll make sure you have food and clothing.” Gu Juntian spoke with a smile.

The looks in their eyes changed completely as they stared at him. A devil, he was a devil!

But they couldn’t resist.

Recently, Gu Juntian had been having many dreams, in which he learned certain knowledge.

For example, in the cultivation world, how spiritual beasts were controlled, as well as how cultivators could be controlled.

The two sides could sign a master-servant contract.

To sign such a contract required divine sense, but after researching, Gu Juntian found that spiritual power could be used instead.

Also, the contract required spirit stones. They didn’t have any now, but zombie crystal cores could serve as a substitute.

Gu Juntian took out a pile of level-three crystal cores and began signing master-servant contracts with these people.

Their spiritual power was weak. When he forced them to sign the contract, they had no ability to resist.

So before long, Gu Juntian had several hundred more slaves.

With these people helping with construction, their H City safe base would definitely become the safest, and with the best infrastructure!

Gu Juntian was a generous man.

He couldn’t personally manage so many slaves, so he distributed them: the lower-level ones were given to Zhou Qinghao’s men to oversee, making them work.

As for the higher-level ones… he gave them to Gu Chengming.

Gu Chengming had been bored lately, so he could lead these people to work.

Mainly, Gu Chengming’s strength was enough to suppress them.

Although after signing the contract they would suffer backlash, even death, if they disobeyed, some of them might still try to fight back. Having someone stronger watch over them was safer.

By the time they were done, dawn had already broken.

Gu Juntian sighed, “I originally wanted to sleep early tonight, but once again I didn’t sleep.”

“Go back and catch up on sleep,” Zhou Qinghao said.

“You with me?” Gu Juntian asked.

Zhou Qinghao replied, “Things are a bit busy today. I won’t be sleeping.”

If Zhou Qinghao wasn’t sleeping, what was the point of sleeping alone?

Gu Juntian said, “Forget it, I’ll just treat last night as an all-nighter. Tonight, I’ll sleep early.”

During the day, he decided not to sleep—better to adjust his schedule.

To ordinary people in the safe zone, today was just another day.

Last night, some bad things were supposed to happen, but because they were handled too quickly, the ordinary citizens in the base knew nothing.

They got up as usual, worked, and supported their families.

Then they received good news—District Chief Zhou’s injury had healed!

District Chief Zhou’s injury had healed—this was wonderful!

People were genuinely happy. At this time, the base issued another announcement: they were going to reclaim land outside the base to grow crops.

That was also good news, but sending ordinary people to open land outside was too dangerous. Better to have ability users do it… yet those willing to work already had too much to do and might not have the time.

And those ability users unwilling to work—no one expected anything from them.

So people thought land reclamation probably couldn’t happen anytime soon.

But they were wrong.

Right after the announcement, some ability users went outside to start clearing land.

Someone curiously went to see and discovered that the ones doing the work were the very same ability users who used to despise ordinary people, even beating them.

What was going on?

People were puzzled—then they saw that the one leading them was Gu Chengming.

District Chief Gu had recovered! That was amazing!

District Chief Gu was very capable; it must have been his idea to make these people work.

The ordinary people in the safe zone were very happy.

Zhen Jiayun, however, was not happy.

Last night, Shao Huirui never came back.

He assumed Shao Huirui had gone to one of his other lovers. Furious, he cried half the night and couldn’t sleep well the rest.

So he overslept, but before he could sleep enough, someone knocked on his door and woke him up.

Zhen Jiayun angrily opened the door, only to be told that his house had been confiscated. He either had to move out or rent it with crystal cores or work points.

Zhen Jiayun had neither.

“Isn’t this Shao Huirui’s house?” he asked.

“Shao Huirui broke into a home last night intending to kill someone. He’s already been sentenced, and his property has been confiscated.”

Shao Huirui’s ability core had already been shattered, but even so, Gu Juntian wouldn’t let him go.

Since he broke the law, he had to face punishment.

The safe base had a prison, and inmates there were assigned hard labor.

Shao Huirui was sent to prison—forty years.

“What?” Zhen Jiayun was stunned.

Unable to come up with money, he had no choice but to pack up and leave Shao Huirui’s house.

Then he learned that last night, Shao Huirui had taken people to try to kill Zhou Qinghao but was caught.

Zhou Qinghao’s injury was something Zhen Jiayun had also heard about.

At the time, he was even glad, thinking Gu Juntian would suffer. Who knew Zhou Qinghao was only pretending?

And who would have thought Shao Huirui would be caught like this?

Walking down the street alone, Zhen Jiayun’s face was blank with confusion.

He knew he couldn’t return to the Gu family, so after thinking it over, he could only try to find Shao Huirui’s men.

But he didn’t find a single one.

All of Shao Huirui’s men were outside the safe zone reclaiming land—there was no way Zhen Jiayun could find them.

Those people were being watched closely by Gu Chengming, forced to labor nonstop. They were miserable.

“You can’t do this! How can you make people work without rest? This goes against the base’s labor law!” someone protested.

Gu Chengming smiled and said, “Weren’t you always against our base’s laws? Now you don’t have to follow them. Happy?”

These people, who used to consider themselves above others and looked down on ordinary folk, now knew what it felt like to be oppressed.

At the center of the safe zone, inside the base headquarters building.

Zhou Qinghao had returned, which made the staff very happy.

But another shocking piece of news spread among them: “Did you hear? Gu Juntian is a level-seven ability user.”

“District Chief Gu hid his son well!”

“He’s the ace of our base. I heard that just last night, he alone killed over twenty level-five zombies and one level-six zombie!”

“Now that I think about it, there haven’t been many high-level zombies near our base—was he secretly killing them all along?”

“I knew it, with District Chief Gu being so driven, there’s no way his son could be useless.”

…

People were all talking, when they suddenly saw Gu Juntian delivering food.

He looked no different from before. Even after his strength became known, he was still happily bringing meals.

“Gu Shao must truly love District Chief Zhou,” someone sighed.

Others nodded.

If it weren’t true love, a level-seven ability user like Gu Juntian would never treat Zhou Qinghao so well!

Wait—they had always thought District Chief Zhou was the dominant one, but now…

Inside Zhou Qinghao’s office, he was planning to buy some medicine that could attract high-level zombies.

Killing high-level zombies not only protected survivors but also boosted their own strength—it was a good thing.

It was said that the lab developed this medicine specifically to kill high-level zombies.

When he saw Gu Juntian arrive, Zhou Qinghao smiled.

He was in a very good mood. He liked the safe zone now, and he also liked Gu Juntian before him.

“Qinghao, I made food. Let’s eat together,” Gu Juntian said.

The two sat at the table, eating together while discussing future plans.

Gu Juntian already had an idea: “Qinghao, once the safe zone stabilizes, let my dad remain district chief. We should go outside and explore.”

Zhou Qinghao smiled. “I was thinking the same thing.”

With their strength, they might as well go out and kill zombies.