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 28: Evolution Potion
He charged up the mound in one go. Li Ba picked up the ******, turned around, and saw the female zombie—her left foot higher than her right—charging toward him in an incredibly bizarre posture, less than six or seven meters away. “Die!” With a gun in my hand, the world is mine. Li Ba roared in fury and pulled the trigger. A fierce tongue of fire, carrying countless steel pellets, slammed toward her. At close range, the ****** unleashed its full power, sending the female zombie flying several meters away with a single shot. Boom! He pulled the trigger repeatedly. A few seconds later, the female zombie collapsed at the bottom of the mound, half her body blown to pieces, yet she still raised her head, revealing a hideous, snarling face, and struggled to crawl toward Li Ba. Apart from the head, a zombie can be killed with a single blow. After taking five shots, this female zombie had essentially lost her ability to fight, yet she was still alive. As long as it was alive, its hunger for food would never cease. It’s instinct! Li Ba turned, picked up his steel spear, walked over, and thrust it through the female zombie’s head. Afterward, the zombie thrashed a few times, lay face-down on the ground, and finally showed no further signs of life. As for Li Ba, he slumped to the ground like a deflated balloon. Soaked in sweat from head to toe, he had not a shred of strength left—he couldn’t even be bothered to move a finger. “Sister Zhou, this is what you wanted!” Public Security Brigade. Xiao Liang took a glass test tube containing a pink liquid out of a drawer and handed it to Zhou Yan. “Is… is this the evolution serum?” Zhou Yan asked, her face beaming with excitement. “That’s right.” Ning Chunming, standing nearby, said with a grin, “This purification serum cost me a thousand internal supply points to trade for from those bloodsuckers at the Research Institute. Now, I’m reselling it to you.” Zhou Yan’s hands trembled as she carefully tucked the purification serum close to her body. She then instructed Heizi and Daozai: one of them brought out a burlap sack filled with mutated grain and placed it on the table, while the other produced twenty thick stacks of grain coupons. “Two hundred thousand jin in grain coupons, plus thirty jin of mutated sweet potatoes. You can count them if you’d like.” “No need.” Ning Chunming grinned as he took the burlap sack containing the mutated sweet potatoes. He didn’t give the grain coupons a second glance; it seemed that, in his mind, 200,000 jin of grain coupons were far less important than 30 jin of mutated sweet potatoes. “Sister Zhou, there’s something I need to make clear to you.” Xiao Liang cleared his throat a few times and said slowly, “The evolution serum produced by the Research Institute can indeed awaken abilities in ordinary people, turning them into Evolvers, but it also has its limitations. First, according to the report provided by the Institute, not all humans possess the physical constitution necessary for evolution. Therefore, even if you take as much evolution serum as you want, if you don’t have that constitution, it’s all for nothing.” At this point, he paused for a moment before continuing, “Second, although the serum has been successfully developed, it still has flaws. Setting aside other factors, there’s only a 20% chance that taking it will awaken your abilities.” “20 percent?” Zhou Yan was momentarily taken aback. “That’s right,” Xiao Liang nodded, looking at her as he said, “Sister Zhou, you’ve paid a tremendous price for this, so I need to make the pros and cons clear. If you change your mind now, it’s not too late—I have the authority to cancel this deal!” “We’ve already exchanged the goods. If we cancel now, I’ll be taking a huge loss!” Ning Chunming said discontentedly from the side. “A 20% chance is better than nothing. I’ve decided… I’ll take it!” Zhou Yan said, gritting her teeth. Ever since she learned that the settlement had purification potions, she had given up everything and burned her bridges to get her hands on one. Now, even though the probability of the evolution potion triggering an awakening was a bit lower, it couldn’t shake her determination to possess it. “All right, Sister Zhou, good luck!” Xiao Liang didn’t say much more; he stood up and held out his right hand. After shaking hands with Zhou Yan, the deal was officially done—regardless of the outcome, neither owed the other anything. Back at the hotel, Zhou Yan went straight to her Villa. Heizi and Daozai stood guard at the door like door gods. They both knew that this was the most critical moment for their Sister Yan. Upstairs in the bedroom. Before the apocalypse, this had been Zhou Yan and her husband’s bedroom. Hanging above the headboard of the large French-style bed was a wedding photo of a young couple. The man was handsome and tall; the woman was as radiant as a flower. “Jiaxuan, if your spirit watches over me from heaven, please grant me… success!” She gazed dreamily at her husband in the photograph; his gentle smile was like a trickling spring, nourishing Zhou Yan’s long-numbed heart. A rare, sweet smile flitted across her delicate face. She took out the evolution potion. Under the light, the pink liquid inside the test tube seemed to be imbued with magic, drawing her in at first glance and leaving her utterly captivated. Filled with boundless longing, Zhou Yan unscrewed the cap and drained the pink liquid in one gulp. Shortly afterward, agonized screams echoed from the bedroom—so loud that even Heizi and Daozai, who were keeping watch outside the Villa, could hear them clearly. They exchanged glances, each seeing concern in the other’s eyes. “I hope… Sister Yan succeeds!” Evening. Li Ba drove his agricultural tricycle back into the city. On the highway, cars could be seen passing by from time to time—mostly mercenary squads from the city, setting out at sunrise and returning at sunset with their loads full. Li Ba was no exception. However, he had encountered a dangerous situation today—he had come very close to losing his life. It seemed the Safe Zone wasn’t entirely safe after all! In his heart, he cursed the bloodsuckers in the settlement’s leadership—they fleeced the people yet couldn’t even do their jobs properly. Still, Li Ba felt a faint tinge of excitement. That female zombie was, after all, the first one he’d hunted on his own since the apocalypse began. And he’d been lucky enough to retrieve a crystal core from its skull. Right now, with his left hand on the steering wheel, he was rolling a bead the size of his little finger between his fingers—the crystal core he’d retrieved from that female zombie’s head. Crystal nuclei are crucial for enhancing an Evolver’s strength. Moreover, not all zombies contain them, which makes them quite valuable. Under normal circumstances, a single crystal nucleus is worth twenty jin of grain coupons. It was said that when the settlement was first established, crystal nuclei replaced the old paper currency and became the medium of exchange for survivors trading supplies. Later, the authorities classified crystal nuclei as strategic materials due to their importance. Their circulation in the open market was prohibited, so the Settlement Management Committee issued grain coupons to replace crystal nuclei as the currency in circulation. “Such a tiny crystal core is worth twenty jin of grain… If you go out and hunt down a few dozen zombies a day—not even that many—and collect just twenty crystal cores, wouldn’t that mean you’d earn four hundred jin of grain coupons!” Looking out the window at the heavily armed mercenary squads with their powerful firepower, Li Ba finally understood why the mercenaries within the city were the wealthiest. They possessed formidable firepower, and some teams even included Evolved. As long as they didn’t run into massive hordes of zombies, hunting down a few dozen zombies each day to earn several hundred or even a thousand jin of grain coupons was practically a piece of cake. Li Ba felt a twinge of envy, but when he thought about it, hunting zombies meant risking one’s life. In comparison, farming was still the safest and most reliable option. However, the barrenness of the plot of land in his bracelet’s storage space was currently giving him a major headache. “Oh well, I’ll just take it one step at a time!” He sighed. He’d had quite a scare today; he’d better hurry home and have a couple of drinks to calm his nerves. As for the other problems, he’d figure them out later. With a flick of his wrist, he stowed the crystal core in the space within his bracelet. The city gates lay just ahead, and Li Ba stepped on the gas, speeding off. He couldn’t wait to get home—to see Yan'er waiting for him at the intersection.
