Li Ba, a graduate of Huaxia Agricultural University, was the sales manager at a well-known seed company in Wucheng before the apocalypse. When the apocalypse struck and order collapsed, the naturally timid Li Ba faced life-and-death situations and managed to scrape by and survive. By chance, he set aside the rules of post-apocalyptic survival to save a grandfather and his granddaughter, and in return, he received a magical bracelet. The bracelet contained a universe within—a plot of land, a stone trough brimming with spring water, and a Tower—all of which opened up a mysterious realm for him. What to do when food runs out? “My Fengshou Group has mountains of grain—I’ll trade it for crystal cores and jade!” Li Ba declared arrogantly. What to do when zombies attack the city? “The mutated plants cultivated by ‘Lord Ba’ can withstand a tide of a million zombies!” Li Ba said with absolute confidence. What if you’re not an Evolver and someone challenges you to a one-on-one duel? “I’ve got talismanic soldiers guarding me. Anyone who dares challenge me will get beaten so badly, even their own mother won’t recognize them!” said Li Ba, his bald head revealing a menacing expression as he spoke viciously. Using the mysterious space and his expertise, Li Ba cultivated crops and tended fields, determined to become a major farmer in the world of *Horse Herding* and pursue a happy life in the post-apocalyptic world.
Chapter 22: Burning
the Ships Soon, Ning Chunming led the group inside. One woman and two men. The woman was none other than Zhou Yan. She was dressed plainly, wearing a loose-fitting apron and no makeup, yet she couldn’t hide her curvaceous figure or her delicate, beautiful face. The two men were the “door gods” Li Ba had mentioned—also the two close brothers-in-arms of Zhou Yan’s late husband: Heizi and Daozai. Both were soldiers in the army who never parted with their guns; even after entering Xiao Liang’s office, they still carried their weapons. “Ms. Zhou, it’s been a long time.” Xiao Liang stood up and greeted her with a cheerful smile. Before the apocalypse, he had been in charge of household registration, spending his days going door to door, so he was no stranger to Zhou Yan. Back then, however, Zhou Yan ran a hot spring resort and was quite wealthy, while Xiao Liang was just a low-ranking police officer. The gap in their social status was enormous. Now, with the apocalypse upon them, their roles had reversed. Xiao Liang had become a highly influential figure in the settlement, while Zhou Yan was just an ordinary survivor. “Captain Xiao, hearing you call me ‘President Zhou’ makes me feel so embarrassed!” Zhou Yan replied with a wry smile. “Sit down, please.” Xiao Liang laughed heartily and gestured for them to take a seat on the sofa. Then, without beating around the bush, he asked, “Sister Zhou Yan, what brings you here today?” By changing his form of address to “Sister,” he was showing her the utmost respect. Before coming, Zhou Yan had already thoroughly researched Xiao Liang’s personality and knew he liked things to be straightforward, so she got straight to the point. Half an hour later. Xiao Liang furrowed his brow and looked at Zhou Yan. “So you’re saying that Zhao Laifu, using his position as a member of the Management Committee, has repeatedly blackmailed you… into marrying him?” Zhou Yan nodded. “That old scoundrel was no good even before the apocalypse—he spent public funds on lavish feasts and lived a corrupt lifestyle!” Xiao Liang cursed under his breath, then said to Zhou Yan, “Sister Zhou, rest assured—I’ll handle this matter impartially.” “Captain Xiao.” Ning Chunming, standing nearby, had a different opinion. He leaned in and whispered a few words into Xiao Liang’s ear. After hearing them, Xiao Liang’s expression grew grave. Zhou Yan didn’t even need to guess what Ning Chunming had said. Zhao Laifu—that old bastard who’d been after her all along—had been the town mayor of Xibu Town before the apocalypse. He was notorious for corruption, and reportedly, someone had already filed a complaint with the county disciplinary commission; higher-ups were planning to send an investigation team to look into him. That old bastard had been quite lucky, though. When the apocalypse struck and all order was thrown into chaos, naturally no one bothered to look into his past misdeeds. Moreover, true to his name, he was quite fortunate—his only son had actually awakened as an Evolver in the post-apocalyptic world, and a particularly powerful one at that. Zhao Laifu benefited from this, and since he’d been the town mayor to begin with, he had a bunch of lackeys at his beck and call. When the settlement was established, the military gave him some face, appointing him as a member of the Management Committee and granting him a spot in the upper echelons. “…That Zhao Kang guy is a complete madman. Rumor has it his power is already incredibly close to that of a Level 3 Evolver; in the entire settlement, there are only a handful who can surpass him. Right now, Major Liang is doing his utmost to win him over. At a critical juncture like this, it’s best for us not to cause any trouble!” Ning Chunming deliberately raised his voice for those last few sentences. Zhou Yan and Heizi Daozai heard them clearly. Zhou Yan didn’t think much of it, but a flash of fear crossed Heizi Daozai’s face. “I understand.” Xiao Liang waved his hand. Then, with a grave expression, he looked at Zhou Yan. After a moment’s thought, he said in a low voice, “Sister Zhou, I’ll talk to Zhao Laifu and tell him to stop harassing you. As for whether that old guy will give us any face, that’s hard to say.” The settlement seemed peaceful on the surface, but beneath the surface, undercurrents were churning. With various factions vying for power and vested interests at stake, Xiao Liang had no choice but to proceed with caution. The fact that he had now changed his tune and was willing to intercede on Zhou Yan’s behalf was already quite remarkable. “Thank you, Captain Xiao,” Zhou Yan said, her face full of gratitude. It was already rare for him to make such a statement. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Zhou Yan’s eyes sparkled as she added, “There’s one more small matter I’d like to ask Captain Xiao to help with.” The moment those words left her lips, not only did Ning Chunming feel uneasy, but even Xiao Liang felt a bit uncomfortable. As far as he was concerned, if it weren’t for the sake of their past ties as neighbors, he wouldn’t have gotten involved in that trivial matter in the first place. With the collapse of order in the post-apocalyptic world, bullying men and harassing women was no big deal; as long as no one died, it fell outside the jurisdiction of the Public Security Brigade. Now, Zhou Yan was pushing her luck and coming across as quite tactless. “I’ve prepared a small gift for the two of you.” Zhou Yan was a shrewd woman—how could she fail to notice the unease in Xiao Liang and Ning Chunming’s hearts? With a light smile, she gave a subtle nod to Heizi standing beside her. He picked up a burlap sack from the floor and placed it directly on the coffee table. “What do you mean by this…” Xiao Liang was an upright man. Seeing that Zhou Yan was trying to bribe him, his expression darkened, and he was about to rebuke her. But when he caught sight of what was inside the burlap sack, the words on the tip of his tongue immediately died in his throat. “These are… mutant sweet potatoes!” Ning Chunming stepped forward and opened the burlap sack. Inside was a sweet potato as big as a basketball. Half the sack was filled with purplish-red stems and leaves as thick as a thumb. In addition, there was a large bowl with a blue rim, filled to the brim with cooked sweet potatoes. “Give it a try—these mutant sweet potatoes taste great!” Zhou Yan said with a grin. Xiao Liang didn’t move, but Ning Chunming couldn’t resist. He took a slice of sweet potato from the bowl, ate it, then closed his eyes with a look of pure bliss. “Not bad—it really is a mutant sweet potato. It contains very pure Yuan Power…” Half an hour later. Xiao Liang and Ning Chunming personally escorted Zhou Yan and her two companions out of the Public Security Brigade. At the entrance, Xiao Liang smiled and said, “Sister Zhou, your matter is all set. As long as the grain coupons are in order, I’ll take care of it for you anytime.” Zhou Yan’s face lit up with joy as she replied, “I’ll definitely keep the promise I made to you guys.” “That’s good,” Xiao Liang nodded. After Zhou Yan and her two companions had left, Ning Chunming, standing beside Xiao Liang, couldn’t help but exclaim excitedly, “A mutant sweet potato weighing over ten jin, plus dozens of jin of stems and leaves. If I were to use that all by myself, it would at least help me absorb twenty Level 1 Crystal Cores. Who knows—it might even let me break through in one go and become a Level 2 Evolver!” Xiao Liang smiled faintly, his gaze fixed on Zhou Yan’s charming figure as she walked away, and said, “Our Sister Zhou has promised that once the task is completed, she’ll give us another thirty jin of mutant sweet potatoes. If you want them all, just use your internal supply card to buy the evolution potions for her.” “No problem!” Ning Chunming agreed readily. “The evolution serums produced by the Settlement Research Institute can turn ordinary people into Evolvers, but the success rate is too low—less than 20 percent. Now that the Settlement has made evolution serums available to us high-ranking officials, they’re expensive, but I can still just about afford them. I don’t have any relatives in Xibu anyway, so I might as well buy them and resell them to her. Two hundred thousand jin of grain coupons, plus thirty jin of mutated sweet potatoes—it’s well worth it!” Xiao Liang nodded: “This deal is indeed a good one. Mutant grains and fruits… are so important to us. The Settlement provides only a tiny amount each day—it’s nowhere near enough to meet our normal needs.” “It’s a deal—all the stems and leaves from these mutant sweet potatoes are mine!” “No way—we’ll split them fifty-fifty!” “Team Leader, Brother Xiao—my own flesh-and-blood brother—you’re already a Level 2 Evolver. Do me this one favor!” “It depends on how you perform!” Xiao Liang and Ning Chunming chatted and laughed as they walked back to the office. Meanwhile, Zhou Yan was also in high spirits. Thanks to the mutated sweet potatoes she’d obtained from the Fat Guy, she’d finally solved her **problem** and, at the same time, paved a path for herself toward becoming a powerful Evolver. Becoming an Evolver had always been Zhou Yan’s greatest wish! In the post-apocalyptic world, she had grown accustomed to life and death. The weak were mercilessly bullied; to survive, one had no choice but to become stronger. From Heizi and Daozai, she learned that the settlement’s Research Institute had secretly developed a serum capable of giving ordinary people the chance to awaken abilities and become Evolvers. After that, she became obsessed with this goal, vowing to make her dream a reality. “Jiaxuan, don’t worry. As long as I become an Evolver, I’ll definitely avenge you!” Zhou Yan silently prayed in her heart for her husband, whose body had been reduced to nothing amidst the horde of zombies. Her husband’s death on that mission wasn’t due to bad luck—it was the result of deliberate sabotage. Out of a hundred-man squad, only two survived: Heizi and Daozai. They had been her husband’s closest brothers in arms. It was said that her husband had sacrificed himself by detonating explosives to blast a path to freedom, allowing Heizi and Daozai to escape. Her husband, however, was blown to smithereens by the explosives. If she wasn’t mistaken, all of this was inextricably linked to that old bastard Zhao Laifu. Zhou Yan hated him with a passion, but he held immense power; even if Heizi and Daozai risked their lives, they’d struggle to kill him. Therefore, only by becoming an Evolver would she have a chance to avenge her husband. “Sister Yan, Xiao Liang and Ning Chunming have a good reputation; they should be trustworthy… but 200,000 jin of grain coupons—that’s no small sum. Our meager savings aren’t nearly enough!” Heizi’s deep voice rang out. “How much are we still short?” “We can barely scrape together 100,000 jin of grain coupons—we’re still half short!” Zhou Yan thought for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, “I still have ten Villas, each worth 15,000 jin of grain coupons. Put them up for sale—if a buyer is willing to pay in full, you can sell each one for 10,000 jin of grain coupons!” To make her wish come true, she had already burned her bridges and was going all in.
