Cloud Raising Little Zombies: Chapter 18

ZOMBIE EMPEROR CULTIVATION

18. Ye You, mental and plant ability user.

【My Zai smiled. My Zai Zai is becoming more cheerful.】

【The director is a bit pitiful. He doesn’t know that it’s the apocalypse now and still wants to go to the police station for help.】

【Maybe he’s afraid to think that way, but he needs to know the truth eventually.】

Morning.

One wall of the cabin was destroyed by the white lion, and as the sun rose, the sunlight shone directly onto Su Zi’an’s face.

Su Zi’an’s eyelids twitched slightly.

Slowly opening his eyes, Su Zi’an found himself buried in a pile of white fur.

The fur was still moving, rising and falling as if in sync with breathing.

What is this?

Instinctively, Su Zi’an moved back a bit.

Looking around, he realized that the white fur he had been leaning against was actually the mane of the white lion.

The wall facing outside had collapsed at some point, and the white lion’s body was mostly inside the cabin.

Su Zi’an didn’t know what had happened. His memory was filled only with waves of pain and cold, and the embrace of his brother.

Wait, where’s his brother?

Su Zi’an stood up, leaning against the wall, and softly called out, “Ge?”

“Mm.”

A low response came from above. Su Zi’an looked up and saw Ye You sitting atop the giant lion’s head, gazing down at him.

Su Zi’an relaxed, a smile tugging at his lips. “Ge, good morning.”

“Good morning.”

Ye You jumped down from the lion’s head, reached into its mane, pulled out Su Zi’an’s backpack, and handed it to him, saying:

“Get ready. Once those two wake up, we’ll leave together.”

“Okay.”

Su Zi’an took out two unopened toothbrushes and towels from his backpack and pulled Ye You along to freshen up.

Finally, the two of them sat together on the wooden boards in front of the cabin for breakfast.

Su Zi’an nibbled on a biscuit while Ye You ate crystal nuclei.

These rice-grain-sized crystal nuclei no longer caused any transformation in the crystal nuclei in Ye You’s mind, so he just treated them as snacks.

Seeing Ye You munch on crystal nuclei, Su Zi’an couldn’t help but ask, “Ge, does it hurt for you to eat crystal nuclei like it did for me last night?”

“Zombies don’t feel pain,” Ye You replied.

Su Zi’an felt sad hearing this but also relieved that zombies didn’t feel pain.

Through his mental sense, Ye You “saw” the crystal nucleus in Su Zi’an’s mind.

The light blue crystal nucleus had grown larger than before.

However, it still looked like a slightly plump grain of rice, not yet reaching the size of a standard red bean.

“Tonight, you’ll eat another crystal nucleus,” Ye You said.

Since you won’t die from the pain, let it hurt to death.

“??!!”

Su Zi’an, still stuck in his sadness, was bewildered.

“Ge! I can just eat biscuits; I really don’t need your food.”

It was as if Su Zi’an could feel that fear of being overwhelmed by pain and cold all over again.

“Don’t you feel anything different about your body?” Ye You asked.

“Different?”

Su Zi’an stretched out his arms, then stood up with a biscuit in his mouth and jumped around.

“Seems like I have more strength?”

Su Zi’an turned to look at Ye You, who was hidden in the shadow under the eaves, and suddenly felt like he could easily pick up his brother.

Maybe it wasn’t just a feeling?

Before Su Zi’an could test it out, he noticed the white lion’s tail, which was outside the cabin, move slightly.

Under Su Zi’an’s watchful gaze, the white lion slowly backed out of the cabin, and its massive head nudged Ye You, letting out a lazy roar.

“Roar——”

Ye You pushed the lion’s head away and asked Su Zi’an, “Has your ability changed?”

Su Zi’an glanced at the lion in surprise.

When did his brother get so close to the white lion?

But hearing Ye You ask about his ability, Su Zi’an focused on sensing his inner power.

“The energy seems to have… increased?”

If before, he could only restore his brother’s condition for three minutes before exhausting his ability, now, Su Zi’an felt he could at least maintain it for five minutes.

His ability’s energy had nearly doubled.

Was it because of the crystal nucleus his brother gave him?

Ye You nodded and said, “So, you should take another one tonight. Of course, if you want to eat it now, I wouldn’t mind.”

Su Zi’an was still hesitant. “But, that’s your food.”

“I’m only giving you the extra portion.”

Ye You gave Su Zi’an a “What are you even thinking?” look.

“Alright.” Su Zi’an despaired but also felt relieved.

Of course, he wanted to become stronger. Not to stop time forever, but at least to be able to stand by his brother’s side during battles instead of just being a burden.

Seeing Su Zi’an looking dejected, Ye You pulled out a few leaves from his pocket.

These leaves were ones he had picked from a fruit basket in the store earlier. They were already a bit dried and yellowed, but that didn’t affect their use.

Ye You used his plant-based ability to wrap the leaves and then tossed them into the air.

As the leaves landed on the ground, they immediately took root and sprouted.

Strawberry vines, watermelon vines, orange trees… one by one, the fruit-bearing plants blossomed and bore fruit.

“Pick whatever you want to eat yourself,” Ye You said.

Although he had lost his memory, he still knew that humans couldn’t survive on just biscuits alone.

Since Su Zi’an was such a good recovery tool, he had to be well taken care of.

“Ge, how did you know I was thirsty?” Su Zi’an excitedly abandoned his biscuit and dove into the patch of fruit.

In the apocalypse, having a plant-based ability meant never lacking food.

Unfortunately, his brother was a zombie and couldn’t eat human food.

Su Zi’an picked the largest watermelon he could find.

Eating only biscuits had made him really thirsty.

He carried the watermelon over to Ye You.

As Su Zi’an wondered how to open the watermelon, Ye You reached out, and with a couple of swipes of his fingers, the watermelon was sliced neatly into several pieces as if cut by a sharp knife.

Seeing Su Zi’an’s wide-eyed stare, Ye You knew what he wanted to ask and said, “It’s mental energy.”

After consuming that black crystal nucleus, Ye You discovered that his mental energy could now solidify into a physical form.

Earlier, it looked like his fingers were slicing the watermelon, but in reality, it was blades of solidified mental energy moving along with his fingers.

Once the watermelon was cut, Ye You reabsorbed the blades back into his mental energy.

“Mental energy? Can I have it too?” Su Zi’an asked while munching on the watermelon.

Ye You replied, “Probably not.”

Mental energy was the ability granted by his colorless crystal nucleus. Unless Su Zi’an gained another mental-type crystal nucleus in his mind, he shouldn’t expect to possess mental energy.

Su Zi’an wasn’t really hopeful anyway; he just felt that his brother was too strong, and he was merely a burden.

If not for Ye You saying they would leave together once the zoo director and his daughter woke up, Su Zi’an would have wanted to consume another crystal nucleus right away.

Pain didn’t matter—if it meant getting stronger and being less of a burden to his brother, he was willing to endure any amount of it.

After filling his stomach, Su Zi’an took the initiative to collect the leaves from the fruit trees.

As long as he stayed by his brother’s side, with fruit tree leaves or seeds around, he wouldn’t go hungry.

By then, the zoo director also came out, carrying the little girl.

The girl was still sleepy, resting her head on the director’s shoulder with half-closed eyes. The black beast ear headband she wore drooped, making her look tired and listless.

The director, holding the little girl in one arm and his phone in the other, smiled sheepishly when he saw the two of them. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“No worries. I slept the whole day yesterday, so I woke up early,” Su Zi’an replied.

He glanced at the phone in the director’s hand and curiously asked, “Can you contact the outside world?”

“Still no signal,” the director replied with a bit of frustration.

He had previously thought the black fog was blocking the signal, but now that the fog had cleared for more than half a day, there was still no network or signal.

Su Zi’an wasn’t too concerned. As he continued picking leaves, he asked, “Would you like some fruit?”

These few fruit trees were bound to be left behind. Since his brother didn’t eat the fruit and he couldn’t finish it all himself, sharing the extra with others probably wouldn’t bother Ye You.

After all, when that giant panda had come and munched on several pears earlier, his brother hadn’t even blinked.

“Thank you so much,” the director said as he picked some strawberries and oranges, which were his daughter’s favorites.

Seeing the big, juicy strawberries, the little girl suddenly wasn’t sleepy anymore and insisted on getting down to pick them herself.

The director had no choice but to let her down while he went behind the cabin to bring out the tour vehicle.

Ye You and Su Zi’an both got on the vehicle.

The director, after gathering the fruit his daughter had picked, brought it back onto the vehicle.

He was planning to take his daughter to interact with the animals when he noticed that all the animals, including those that had gone wild, had stood up.

It was as if they were all responding to some kind of call, gathering around the vehicle.

The director couldn’t help but glance back at the two boys sitting side by side on the tour vehicle.

It seemed like one of them didn’t like the sunlight. The livelier boy had taken off his backpack and used it to block the window, shielding both the sunlight and the large face of the white lion pressed against the window.

Could one of them also have the ability to communicate with animals?

But neither of them had said a word.

The director wasn’t the type to pry, so he didn’t ask any questions. He quietly got on the vehicle with his daughter, buckled her seatbelt, and silently started the tour vehicle.

The tour vehicle left the panda enclosure, followed by a long line of animals, as if they were migrating.

Driving through the zoo, where the vegetation had grown unusually lush, the tour vehicle finally left the zoo and headed onto the highway.

The director started to feel that something was off.

The highway was desolate, with abandoned, damaged vehicles appearing every few hundred meters.

“What’s going on?” the director muttered under his breath.

Was it because of that outbreak?

Was that why, when they had called the police, the authorities couldn’t send anyone to the zoo?

As he looked at the deserted highway, the director couldn’t help but wonder how severe the outbreak must have been to leave a first-tier city in such a state even after so many days.

He regretted not being better prepared before setting out; at the very least, they should have brought masks and protective suits.

Glancing at the animals following behind the vehicle, he knew it wasn’t practical to turn back, so he asked the two boys in the back seat, “Where are you heading? I can give you a ride.”

“We’ll decide once we get into the city,” Ye You replied.

He hadn’t yet figured out where to go next.

They had initially come to the zoo for the crystal nucleus, and now that they had it, should they start searching for a new one?

Ye You extended his mental energy outward.

Currently, his mental energy could cover the area of a medium-sized city.

Through his mental perception, the surrounding terrain and landscape were imprinted in his mind like a panoramic map.

Within his range, there were many crystal nuclei the size of grains of rice, a few the size of red beans, but none as large as the peanut-sized core from the old lion.

What should he do now?

Should he find a few zombies or mutated plants with red bean-sized cores, feed them crystal nuclei, and raise them until they had peanut-sized cores before killing them?

Ye You thought this plan might work.

Mutated plants and zombies were both controllable, and as long as he operated carefully, it shouldn’t backfire.

Just as he was contemplating this, he suddenly felt the car come to a halt.

Ye You looked at the director in the driver’s seat, who was staring blankly ahead, his mental state seeming a bit off.

Did something happen?

Before Ye You could extend his mental powers to sense the situation, his nose caught a strong scent of blood mixed with the stench of decay.

Looking outside, he saw overturned cars and scattered body parts everywhere.

Probably because he had turned into a zombie, Ye You’s sense of smell was incredibly sharp; even from a hundred meters away, he could smell fresh blood.

This place had recently been a hunting ground for one or more zombies.

It was likely that the terrifying sight of the mutated animal squad around their car had scared away any zombies nearby.

“I… I’ll go take a look,” the director stammered, his voice trembling as he shakily opened the car door and stumbled out.

Ye You followed him.

Seeing him move, Su Zi’an hurriedly grabbed an umbrella and followed.

As Ye You stepped out of the car, he noticed that the little girl in the front passenger seat had somehow unbuckled her seatbelt and was now timidly peering out the window.

Ye You walked over, made eye contact with the girl for a moment, and then lifted her out of the car.

Ye You wanted to leave with the director not just because of the animals that could serve as both transportation and guards, but also because of the little girl’s ability.

If it was just about communicating with animals, her ability was indeed quite ordinary.

But abilities could be upgraded, and as her level increased, her power would grow stronger.

Even if she couldn’t fully control animals in the future, her influence over them would still strengthen.

The 20 points of affinity he had gained were still too weak for controlling animals.

It was unfortunate that consuming the crystal nuclei of others or zombies didn’t seem to grant him corresponding abilities.

Ye You still didn’t understand why eating the rose crystal nucleus had given him an additional crystal nucleus and plant-based powers.

Yet, subsequent crystal nuclei only seemed to make the original ones larger or deepen in color.

“Thank you, Gege,” the little girl said sweetly, once on the ground, expressing her gratitude.

【My Zai Zai is really kind.】

【Zai Zai is adorable, the little girl is adorable, the animals are adorable—today’s livestream is off the charts in cuteness.】

【To the person above, adjust the camera and check out the situation a hundred meters ahead.】

【Not looking, not looking, what beautiful things can mosaic have?】

Su Zi’an had fought zombies up close before, but the scene ahead still made him feel uneasy.

Worried that the little girl might be scared, he considered whether to take her back to the car.

However, he noticed that the girl was closely following his brother, and although her face showed signs of fear, her small legs were walking forward with determination.

Oh, this little one has quite the courage.

The director stood among the wrecked vehicles and body parts, staring down at his hands, his expression dazed and bewildered.

His palms were stained with fresh blood from moving the bodies.

Bodies, nothing but bodies.

No one was left alive.

As Ye You and the others approached, the director remained in a daze until the little girl tugged at his pants and called out, “Daddy,” snapping him back to reality.

“Yin Yin…” The director reached out, intending to pat the girl’s head, but upon seeing the blood on his hands, he quickly stopped himself.

“Are you okay?” Ye You asked.

If he couldn’t handle it and ended up dying from shock, Ye You figured he could just take the little girl with him.

“Thank you, I think I’ll be fine…”

The director wiped his hands on his clothes, picked up a map from the ground, and lifted the girl into his arms. His face still pale, he said, “Let’s head back to the car first.”

Ye You had no objections.

In fact, after getting back into the car, he patiently gave the director plenty of time to recover.

The director had more or less figured things out by now.

The mutated animals, the police unable to respond, the loss of communication signals, and then the animals and his daughter having special powers…

The truth had been staring him in the face all along; he just hadn’t wanted to think the worst.

“Ge, he seems to have shut down,” Su Zi’an whispered into Ye You’s ear.

Ye You didn’t seem concerned. “It’s fine. We have plenty of food right now. Let’s allow him half a day to shut down.”

If he still hadn’t recovered by nightfall, then they’d just leave him be.

Ye You didn’t have to wait long. Ten minutes later, the zookeeper led the little girl over to them.

The zookeeper sat down across from Ye You and Su Zi’an with the little girl and said, “Let’s introduce ourselves properly. My surname is Lin, and my full name is Lin Wenhua. I used to be the director of a wildlife park.

“This is my daughter, Lin Yinyin. You’ve probably already noticed—she has the ability to communicate with animals.”

Ye You’s interest was piqued. “Are you proposing we work together?”

The zookeeper didn’t deny it. “This world has already changed… If we stay with you, Yin Yin and I have a better chance of surviving.”

“Alright then. Ye You, a dual ability user with mental and plant-based powers,” Ye You said.

Ability user…

The zookeeper was momentarily stunned but quickly realized that such special abilities could indeed be called powers.

Su Zi’an thought his brother’s self-introduction was incredibly cool.

“Su Zi’an, a time-based ability user.”

Su Zi’an introduced himself in the same manner as Ye You.

The zookeeper keenly noticed that the two had different surnames.

So they weren’t biological brothers?

Or maybe one took the father’s surname and the other took the mother’s?

The zookeeper didn’t ask further and instead began discussing the next plan with the two.

After all, these were two ability users.

Although he didn’t know how strong they were, they had managed to deal with Da Mao, whom even the animals in the zoo couldn’t handle.

The two of them were probably stronger than all the animals in the zoo combined.

In this situation, it was naturally better to stick with powerful people.

“Oh, I just found a map in one of the cars. You should take a look,” the zookeeper said, handing over the map.

Su Zi’an, a bit puzzled, took the map and unfolded it to look at it with Ye You.

On the map, two cities were circled in red marker.

One was A City, a coastal city, and the other was the capital, B City.

Next to each circle, in neat handwriting, were the words “Southern Base” and “Northern Base.”

A red line connected their current city to A City, indicating that this group probably planned to head to the Southern Base in A City.

【Here it is! The essential of the apocalypse—the base.】

【Base-building players have arrived uninvited, ready to help build the first apocalypse base.】

【Charge, charge, charge—zombies are laying siege!】

【This is great! Zombie siege, capture the city—that’s how the zombie faction should play.】

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