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 31: The Fearless Know No Fear!
The Wilderness. Early in the morning, a farm tricycle came rumbling down the rugged path. The usual spot. Li Ba stopped the vehicle, locked the doors, gathered his gear, and walked toward the edge of the safe zone. A new day—and the start of a new life. After last night, he’d decided to stop hiding, face his inner cowardice head-on, turn over a new leaf, and start anew. The Fearless Know No Fear! These were the words Zhou Yan had given him. Facing the rising sun, Li Ba strode forward. At that moment, his heart had never felt so serene and at peace. There was not a trace of fear on his face; instead, he wore a faint smile. After a night of confiding in each other, he understood why Zhou Yan had wanted to take her own life. To obtain the evolution serum, Zhou Yan had mortgaged all her assets—including herself—and signed a contract with a major faction in the settlement, borrowing 100,000 jin of grain coupons for a one-month term. If she failed to repay the principal and interest by the due date, both Zhou Yan’s assets and her very person would become the property of that powerful faction. In the post-apocalyptic world, the trade in human beings—as long as it was consensual—was not against the law. Just imagine what fate awaited a woman as sexy and beautiful as Zhou Yan if she were bound by a contract selling her body? This was precisely why she was determined to die! “As long as I’m here, nothing will happen to you!” That morning, he saw Zhou Yan nestled in his arms, sleeping soundly. At that moment, Li Ba swore he would never let his woman suffer any harm again. 100,000 jin of grain coupons, plus interest, totaling 120,000 jin of grain coupons. That’s no small sum! But for Li Ba, it wasn’t too difficult. As long as he set his mind to it, he could pay off Zhou Yan’s debt by growing two crops of mutated crops. Setting aside the risks, the key issue was that the plot of land in the bracelet’s storage space had changed—it had begun to become barren—which would certainly affect the cultivation of mutated crops. This was giving Li Ba a major headache. He still had a month left; during that time, he should be able to come up with a solution. At this very moment, Li Ba only wanted to face his inner self, overcome that hurdle, and truly become a man of integrity and character. Setting out from the usual spot, after walking for over twenty minutes, he had reached the edge of the safe zone. Ahead, he could see a barbed-wire fence stretching more than ten kilometers across. On the other side lay the provincial highway. Li Ba approached the barbed wire fence and looked north toward the provincial highway. He could clearly see three zombies wandering aimlessly in the distance. The barbed wire served as a barrier against the zombies, but it couldn’t stop humans. In just a few swift moves, Li Ba scaled it and stepped directly onto the provincial highway. The commotion he caused immediately startled the three zombies wandering nearby; they let out a collective low growl and charged straight at him. From a distance, a foul stench wafted toward him. Li Ba could almost clearly see the pus oozing from the zombies’ faces, as well as their mutated, razor-sharp canine teeth—a truly terrifying sight. His calves twitched involuntarily, and his legs felt a little weak. He felt the urge to climb back over the barbed wire, but he didn’t. The fearless know no fear! He silently repeated this phrase to himself, and in that instant, it seemed to fill Li Ba with immense courage and boundless fighting spirit. “My spear has long been hungry and thirsty—come at me, you scum!” He drew his steel spear and iron shield from his back, let out a loud roar, and, pushing off with both feet, charged straight ahead. Zombies possessed twice the strength and one and a half times the speed of ordinary people, making them far more formidable than normal humans. But with the right weapons, killing them wasn’t particularly difficult. Thanks to long-term consumption of the spatial spirit spring, Li Ba’s physique had been enhanced; both his strength and agility far surpassed those of ordinary people, and he was hardly any weaker than the zombies. Moreover, with his steel spear and iron shield in hand, he was confident he could prevail even when facing three of them alone! Of course, he first had to overcome his own psychological barriers in order to unleash his full potential. At that moment, Li Ba—shield in his left hand, spear in his right—charged forward like a ferocious tiger, fearless and unyielding. As the first zombie lunged toward him, Li Ba braced his feet and pushed off violently, holding his iron shield across his chest as his massive body used the momentum of his charge to slam into the creature with all his might. Boom! The first zombie charging at him was actually knocked flat on the ground by the impact. Li Ba seized the moment to thrust his spear through the zombie’s skull. As he pulled the spear tip out, it was stained with dark residue from the fatal head wound. Phew! One zombie down. A second zombie quickly lunged at him. Li Ba crouched low, let out a roar, and swept his steel spear horizontally, slamming it hard into the zombie’s knee. With a “crack,” the zombie’s legs snapped clean off. It collapsed to the ground, and Li Ba finished it off with a backhand thrust of his spear. Two out of three zombies eliminated. The remaining one posed no real threat. Li Ba’s courage soared as he swung his steel spear and charged straight ahead. Two minutes later. He plopped down on the side of the road, glanced at the three motionless zombies lying on the ground, and burst out laughing. “Could it be that I’m the legendary combat prodigy, born with extraordinary fighting prowess!” Having won his first battle, he couldn’t resist tooting his own horn. Zombies weren’t scary at all; with his current physical condition, armed with a steel spear and an iron shield, dealing with them was no trouble at all. The key was having the fearless spirit of a true warrior! He remembered yesterday, when he’d been chased by a female zombie until he had nowhere to turn—he’d nearly wet himself from fear. Now, he’d taken on three at once and disposed of them with ease. The contrast between then and now was like night and day. The fearless know no fear! Only now did Li Ba finally understand the meaning of those words. After resting for a moment, he stood up and walked toward one of the zombies, intending to see if there was a crystal core inside its head. Inside the first zombie’s head, he found nothing. The same was true for the second one. Inside the third zombie’s head, Li Ba found a crystal core. After wiping it clean with a scrap of paper, he held it in his hand, held it up to the Sun, and muttered to himself, “My luck isn’t too bad…” The probability of a crystal core forming inside an ordinary zombie is low. Getting one crystal core from killing three zombies was already quite good. Li Ba smiled with satisfaction. With a flick of his left hand, he stowed the crystal core into the space within his bracelet. Almost at the same moment, his expression changed, revealing indescribable delight. Inside the bracelet’s storage space, the crystal core he’d placed there yesterday had vanished. The once barren land had actually regained some vitality. As for the crystal core he’d just placed there—it landed on the ground in front of the Tower, and immediately wisps of mist drifted out, seeping deep into the soil. Through a mysterious connection, Li Ba could clearly sense that the vitality of this patch of land was steadily increasing and recovering. Before long, the crystal core turned to white ash, was completely absorbed by the soil, and vanished. The soil, which had been yellowish, began to slowly turn black. “Crystal nuclei!” Just as the soil outside needs fertilizer, so does the plot of land within the bracelet’s space—only it requires crystal nuclei. Li Ba was overjoyed. He had been worrying about this very issue, but unexpectedly, it had been resolved by chance. “Crystal cores! As long as I can get three or four more, the soil in this plot within the bracelet’s space should be able to return to its dark brown color!” Li Ba smiled. With the major problem solved, all that remained was to see how well he could hunt zombies. Heading north on the provincial highway, Liyang County was less than twenty kilometers away, and the route was teeming with zombies. If he encountered a large horde of zombies, given Li Ba’s current skills, he’d be absolutely doomed. Therefore, he headed south along the other end of the provincial highway. Across the provincial highway lay an area that had belonged to Xibu Town before the apocalypse. As far as the eye could see, there were vast expanses of farmland, mostly abandoned and overgrown with weeds. However, compared to the Safe Zone, the fields here were lush and green—a world of difference. After walking for about ten minutes, he spotted a winding path off to the side. The road was narrow, and most vehicles couldn’t pass through. Li Ba thought for a moment, then set off down the path. In his experience, where there’s a path, there’s bound to be a village. Although he’d left the Safe Zone, he was still lingering nearby and hadn’t ventured far. The villages in this area had mostly been ransacked by mercenaries from the city or government troops, making it difficult to find supplies. Since vehicles couldn’t enter this path, it was worth a try. Perhaps there was a virgin territory waiting for Li Ba to explore. Full of confidence, he walked along the rugged path. At the same time, he kept his eyes peeled in all directions and his ears open, paying close attention to any movements around him. This place is nothing like the safe zone—not to mention the zombies, but there’s even a chance mutant beasts might appear. Li Ba had once witnessed a mutant cat with his own eyes—its body as large as a tiger’s, with claws and fangs capable of easily tearing a human body apart. It moved as swiftly as a shadow, utterly formidable. If he were to run into a monster like that, it wouldn’t be good news for him! Having just hunted down three zombies, Li Ba was brimming with confidence. With his gun for protection, as long as he remained cautious, he shouldn’t run into any major problems. The fearless have no fear! However, he knew better than anyone that fearlessness didn’t mean recklessness; only by acting with caution and care could one survive for the long haul in this post-apocalyptic world. ******With his gun in hand, Li Ba advanced cautiously, taking one step at a time as he ventured deeper. After walking about seven or eight li, he looked up ahead and saw the faint outlines of buildings in the distance. Sure enough, there was a village! Li Ba’s spirits lifted, and he strode forward.
