Cloud Raising Little Zombies: Chapter 19

ZOMBIE EMPEROR CULTIVATION

19. A-City Base, ability rank test.

Half a month later, outside the A-City base.

A long line stretched out from the base’s gate, extending hundreds of meters away.

Most of the people in the line had arrived on foot, their clothing dirty and disheveled, their haggard faces filled with hope. Only a few vehicles were mixed in with the crowd.

Now that they had reached the rumored A-City base, the people in the vehicles couldn’t help but roll down their windows to curiously look outside. But as soon as someone approached, begging for food, the windows quickly rolled back up.

After struggling to survive for over half a month in the apocalypse, very few people still had the generosity to give away food, especially under the watchful eyes of so many others.

Food was scarce everywhere in the apocalypse. If someone started handing out food, they would immediately be surrounded by hundreds of desperate people in the crowd.

“My child is starving to death, please, have mercy.”

“If you gave him food, why can’t you show some kindness and give us some too?”

“You have food but refuse to save lives—you don’t deserve to be called human!”

What should you do? 

If you give, how could you have enough food to go around? What are you, a spatial ability user with a warehouse full of supplies?

If you don’t give, people driven by hunger are no longer human.

Standing at the base entrance were several members of the enforcement team.

Some held rifles, their gazes sharp as they watched the line, while others held nothing but still exuded a strong, intimidating presence.

Under their watchful eyes, those who had thoughts of seizing food reluctantly settled down.

“Register before entering the city,” said a middle-aged man wearing half-rim glasses. He sat at the gate, calmly watching the people who approached him.

“Name, age, place of origin, ability… what kind of ability is this?”

Suddenly, a trembling shout came from the back of the line, echoing far into the distance. “Ah! A monster!”

“Hiss, what is that?”

“A lion! A huge lion! Let us into the city, quickly!”

The previously orderly line erupted into chaos, with people urging to be let in immediately, claiming registration could wait.

The enforcers also noticed the towering white lion running down the distant road. The lion, as large as a truck, was terrifying to behold.

The white lion seemed to be toying with its prey, chasing a tour bus, and was on the verge of charging into the crowd waiting to enter the base.

“I’ll handle this. Continue with the registration,” said a young enforcer behind the middle-aged man before he took off, soaring through the air like he was riding the wind.

“He flew?”

As they watched the enforcer take flight, some in the crowd were stunned, some cried out in surprise, while others looked up at the figure in midair with a thoughtful expression.

“A wind-type ability user? I wonder how many ability users the A-City base has…”

The enforcer flew to the white lion and noticed that there were still people on top of the towering beast—two young men holding black umbrellas.

The boy on the right seemed more lively, a slight smile on his face. He held the umbrella for the person beside him with one hand and cradled a pot of blue morning glories with the other.

The morning glories were flourishing, and even from nearly a hundred meters away, the enforcer could faintly smell their light fragrance.

The boy on the left appeared cold and aloof, yet his looks were exceptionally striking. When he glanced over, his deep eyes seemed to flicker slightly.

Could he be interested in me?

The enforcer unconsciously touched his face. 

Realizing what he was doing, he quickly coughed lightly and clasped his hands behind his back. Hovering in mid-air, his gaze flickered between the two young men and the white lion, his expression growing more serious.

This white lion gave him a sense of being difficult to deal with, as if it were on the same level as him. However, he couldn’t gauge the depths of the two youths.

“Is there a Beast Tamer among you?”

【Walking on air, hovering in the void, a powerful fighter—terrifying indeed!】

【My Zai Zai doesn’t tame beasts, but all the beasts love my Zai Zai.】

【Will Zai Zai be recognized? I’m nervous.】

【Don’t worry, there’s the morning glory vine—disguise capabilities are maxed out.】

Ye You signaled the white lion to slow down.

When faced with someone unfamiliar, Ye You had no desire to communicate, so he simply observed the crystal nucleus in the person’s mind using his mental powers.

A pea-sized green crystal nucleus, along with the numerous crystal nuclei within the base—it seemed he had come to the right place.

Interacting with people was always Su Zi’an’s job, so he responded with a smile, “Yes, Enforcer Ge, is there any special procedure that ability users need to follow to enter the base?”

He figured the term “Beast Tamer” must refer to Lin Yinyin.

Although the little girl was still asleep in the tour bus, they were a team, so there was no issue with saying there was a Beast Tamer among them.

Hearing the word “Ge,” the enforcer’s expression softened.

He had only joined the enforcer team of City A’s organization after the New Era began, and after being called “Uncle Enforcer” every day for the past half-month, it had started to get to him—he was not even twenty-five yet, so how could those older than him call him “uncle” so easily?

“You just need to go through normal registration, but…” The enforcer’s gaze lingered on the white lion for a moment before he asked, “Do you intend to bring this white lion into A-City’s base?”

“Is it not allowed to bring mutated animals into the city? It’s very well-behaved.”

Su Zi’an and the others had already suspected that bringing mutated animals into the city might be difficult, so they had left Fat Tiger and the others in the small village they stayed at last night and only brought the white lion to scout the situation.

“In theory, it’s possible,” the enforcer said, looking a bit troubled.

With the onset of the New Era, not only had some humans developed abilities, but certain plants and animals had also undergone mutations.

The enforcer unconsciously touched his face.

Realizing what he was doing, he quickly cleared his throat and placed his hand behind his back.

He hovered in mid-air, his gaze shifting between the two teenagers and the white lion, his expression growing more serious.

This white lion actually gave him a sense of being difficult to deal with, as if it were on his level.

However, he couldn’t gauge the depth of the two teenagers.

“Is one of you a beast tamer?”

【Walking on air, staying suspended in the void—this is the power of a Super Smasher, terrifying!】

【My Zai Zai doesn’t tame beasts, but all the beasts love him.】

【Will Zai be recognized? So nervous.】

【Don’t worry, we’ve got morning glory—full points for disguise ability.】

Ye You signaled the white lion to slow down.

When facing someone unfamiliar, Ye You had no desire to communicate, instead using his mental power to focus on the crystal nucleus in the man’s mind.

A green crystal nucleus the size of a red bean, along with the numerous densely packed crystal nuclei within the base—this was definitely the right place.

Communicating with others was always Su Zi’an’s job, so he responded with a smile, “Yes, Enforcer Gege, do ability users need to follow any special procedures to enter the base?”

The beast tamer must be Lin Yinyin.

Even though the little girl was still asleep in the tour bus, they were a team, so it wasn’t wrong to say they had a beast tamer among them.

Hearing the word “Gege,” the enforcer’s expression softened.

He had only joined the enforcement team of A-City’s organization after the New Era began, and for the past half month, he had been constantly called “Enforcer Uncle.” He was barely twenty-five, so it baffled him how people a decade older could call him that so easily.

“You just need to register normally, but…” The enforcer’s gaze lingered on the white lion for a moment before asking, “Are you planning to bring this white lion into A-City’s base?”

“Is it not allowed to bring mutated animals into the city? It’s really well-behaved.”

Su Zi’an and the others also thought it might be difficult to bring mutated animals into the city, which is why they left Fat Tiger and the others in the small village where they stayed overnight, only bringing the white lion to scout the situation.

“In theory, it’s allowed,” the enforcer said, a bit hesitant.

Since the onset of the New Era, not only had some humans developed abilities, but some plants and animals had also undergone mutations.

The enforcer brought over two more forms and instructed, “This lion is a mutated animal, so it needs to be registered as well.”

“Okay,” Su Zi’an responded, then looked up and asked, “How do we fill in the ability level?”

“Just input your ability’s energy into this tester.”

The enforcer, with a serious expression, handed over the item and helpfully explained the base’s benefits. “Depending on the ability level, each ability user can receive a corresponding number of crystal nuclei every month.”

“Is this… a phone?” Su Zi’an looked at the object the enforcer handed over, confused.

It really looked just like a phone.

The enforcer explained, “Well, since communications have been down, phones are pretty much useless now. Our base leader modified them to test ability levels and types.”

Su Zi’an exchanged glances with Ye You and Director Lin, then took the phone, saying, “I’ll give it a try first. Can you explain the crystal nucleus benefits in detail?”

“Sure.”

When it came to benefits related to himself, the enforcer knew them by heart.

“A D-level ability user registered at the base can receive 1 D-level crystal nucleus per month.

“A C-level ability user can receive 10 D-level crystal nuclei per month.

“A B-level ability user can receive 100 D-level crystal nuclei per month.

“The benefits for A-level and S-level ability users are confidential, so we don’t know exactly how many they get.”

“So you guys only have D-level crystal nuclei…” Su Zi’an muttered under his breath as he quietly injected some energy into the phone.

Ye You’s crimson, pupil-less eyes focused on the tester, faintly revealing the outline of the phone.

Within that phone was a special ash-gray energy.

As Su Zi’an injected his energy, the ash-gray energy in the phone formed a net that enveloped Su Zi’an’s energy.

When Su Zi’an stopped injecting energy, the net of energy that had captured the light blue energy also vanished.

No, it didn’t vanish—it was sent somewhere else.

Ye You turned his gaze towards the base.

His deep eyes seemed to pierce through the base’s solid walls, looking towards the place where the energy ultimately ended up.

The enforcer hadn’t specified how much energy needed to be injected, so Su Zi’an only put in a small amount.

After the energy was injected, the phone screen lit up, and black text appeared.

[Time-based Ability] [B-level]

“B-level? That feels pretty mediocre. I’ve never scored this low on a test before,” Su Zi’an remarked, casually handing the phone to Director Lin.

This tester seemed to only measure the ability and its level. Could it also secretly detect zombies?

They couldn’t take any risks.

Before coming to the base, they had agreed that if they only needed to fill in an ability type, Ye You would write down “plant-based ability.” But if a device test was required, Ye You would pretend to be an ordinary person.

Su Zi’an had explained this to Director Lin as a backup plan.

At the time, Director Lin had simply nodded in agreement. It was unclear whether he genuinely didn’t suspect anything or was just pretending not to know.

The enforcer saw the result on the tester and couldn’t help but gasp. Hearing Su Zi’an complain about never scoring so low before, he nearly choked.

This was a B-level ability!

As the captain of the first enforcement team, he was only C-level!

The new era had only begun half a month ago—had this guy been boosting himself with some sort of drug?

Where can I buy this level-up drug? I’ll pay whatever it costs!

Wait a minute, a time-based ability? Shouldn’t it have been beast-taming?

Could there be another ability user among them?

The enforcer couldn’t help but look at the other exceptionally handsome young man.

Without letting Ye You lift a pen, Su Zi’an quickly filled out both forms with a few swift strokes.

Su Zi’an stepped forward, positioning himself between the enforcer and Ye You, and handed over the form. “Check it over and see if I made any mistakes.”

He had filled out his own form truthfully.

On Ye You’s form, however, he had written “None” under both the ability and level sections.

The enforcer took the forms and carefully reviewed each item. After finishing, he said, “No issues.”

So the pretty boy was just an ordinary person after all. It seemed the beast tamer was the unremarkable middle-aged man.

As he was thinking this, he saw the middle-aged man hand the tester to the little girl in his arms, and the tester lit up in her hands.

[Beast Taming Ability] [C-level]

Enforcer: “???”

Damn!

He felt utterly humiliated, realizing he was on the same level as a little kid who still needed to be carried.

【Hahaha, the expression on that NPC’s face is priceless.】

【I’m laughing so hard. It seems like my Zai Zai’s team is really strong.】

【Too bad Zai Zai is on the zombie side and can’t be tested; otherwise, it would give them a real scare.】

【By this scale, what level is Zai Zai?】

【Zai Zai mentioned that both he and Su Zi’an have peanut-sized crystals, so they should be B-level.】

【But my Zai Zai is clearly much stronger! Su Zi’an is like a small power bank that Zai Zai could drain in no time.】

【Sigh, it’s just because there haven’t been any bigger crystals to devour. Zai Zai has been stuck at B-level for half a month now.】

Ye You glanced at the barrage of comments, feeling particularly pleased.

He had already located a larger crystal.

It was in the center of this base, the place where Su Zi’an’s energy had ultimately been sent. There, a crystal the size of a grape was hidden.

Lin Yinyin’s current crystal was the size of a red bean, corresponding to a C-level ability.

Su Zi’an’s crystal was the size of a peanut, corresponding to a B-level ability.

A grape-sized crystal… it should correspond to an A-level ability, right?

He was really looking forward to it.

The corners of Ye You’s mouth lifted slightly.

If you're enjoying the story don't forget to support the author! You can also support me on KOFI for site maintenance, raws purchase or as an energy boost~ 

 

AFFILIATE AD

Want to develop your career or work on a new hobby but don't have the financial resources? Check out these courses encompassing all aspects and topics. Want to build your own website or app, but don't even know what <!DOCTYPE> is, how about these IT Courses. Don't want to keep waiting for slow translators to update? 别担心！中文课程来拯救你了! Did you just become a Teacher and have NO idea what the f*ck you're doing? Early Childhood Education For Dummies 101 is in session! Lied on your CV that you can work under pressure but are now hiding in the bathroom playing ostrich? You still have to come up for air anyways so how about taking a Self Development course to manage stress and improve mental health. Whatever you're interested in, at the click of a button. And the best thing it's all for free! And...you can get an accredited certificate! START LEARNING BEFORE YOU'RE TOO OLD TO RETAIN ANYTHING OR GET FIRED FROM YOUR JOB! Or if you are fired, Build A New Resume to reel in the next one~