The moment the flames dissipated, clearing the smoke and restoring visibility, a bullet pierced through the haze.
With Sang Wenhao’s ability-enhanced precision, it cut through the air flawlessly, heading straight for the fire ability user.
A woman in the enemy squad shouted, “Fire type, get down!”
Their team had always used ability classifications instead of names in combat—this way, no one would fumble under pressure. The moment someone’s ability was called out, they reacted instantly.
The fire ability user reacted swiftly, immediately ducking.
But before he could even exhale in relief—
A second bullet shot toward him.
As if predicting his movement, the bullet adjusted mid-air—once again aiming dead centre at his forehead.
Boom!
A wall of earth suddenly rose from the ground, blocking the bullet just in time.
The fire ability user let out a long breath.
“Thanks.” He nodded at the earth ability user beside him.
That was close. He had almost been wiped out.
These nobodies actually dared to toy with him?!
A burly man with a scarred face and thick muscles let out a cold chuckle.
“Interesting.”
The fire ability user scowled. “Why don’t we just burn them outright? Forget the supplies—let’s roast them and take their ability cores first!”
The burly man—their leader—glared at him fiercely.
“That water. Can you find water that clean? Can a water ability user even produce that much?!”
His expression twisted into anger. “She can only make a cup a day. Who the hell is that enough for? Or should I lower myself to drinking river water like those filthy scavengers?!”
His tone was sharp and commanding. “Let me make this clear. We take the supplies AND the cores. Understood?”
“Understood!”
Fu Erdie couldn’t hear their conversation from a distance, but she didn’t need to.
She simply told Sang Wenhao, “Get back to the 16th floor. We’re fortifying our defenses.”
Sang Wenhao obeyed immediately.
As soon as he reached the top, he didn’t need Fu Erdie to tell him what to do—he instinctively set up his sniper position.
He kept his eyes on the squad below while reporting, “All 23 members of their team are ability users. Among them—”
“Wait.” Fu Erdie’s instincts flared. “They’re missing someone. Where’s the last one? An assassin?”
A chill ran down her spine.
Her scalp prickled with unease.
Sang Wenhao quickly reassured her. “I’ve encountered all of them before in University Town. None of them can turn invisible or scale buildings.”
“The only metal ability user is the girl in the red short-sleeve shirt. But her power is more destructive—she manipulates heavier metal objects, but she can’t levitate.”
Fu Erdie exhaled, calming herself. She let him finish his briefing.
Among the 23 members, there were 11 core ability users:
– Two speed types (already dead)
– One wind type
– One metal type
– One stone-type defensive ability user
– One healer
– One plant ability user
– One fire type
– One water type
– One earth type (burrow ability)
– And their leader—a strength type.
The remaining 12 members were also strength ability users.
At first glance, it seemed odd. Strength ability was one of the most common and weakest abilities. So why was their leader also a strength type?
The reason was simple—
The others could uproot trees.
Their leader could punch a supporting wall and collapse an entire building.
There was no comparison.
Fu Erdie’s eyelid twitched at this revelation.
“How’s his defenses?”
Sang Wenhao: “Extremely strong. Almost on par with the stone ability user who enhances his skin’s durability.”
Fu Erdie immediately nudged the succulent plant beside her, touching its barely regenerated root.
“Cover the front of the first and second floors with your leaves.”
The succulent had been dreaming of taking over the entire building ever since Fu Erdie promised it full coverage. It had grown tentacle-like vines everywhere, even though it found them hideous.
But since it was part of the master plan, it had reluctantly continued expanding.
Now, covering the front of the building was no problem at all.
Fu Erdie nodded.
“All plants, form battle formations just like we did against the zombies!
This time, the battlefield is NOT inside the building—it’s OUTSIDE!
Your roots, stems, and leaves can now extend up to ten meters. I know you can fight just as effectively as before!”
She turned to Zhang Granny. “Turn on all the showers in every bathroom and set them up by the windows. House, secure them in place so the water sprays outside the building!”
She turned to Sang Wenhao. “Prioritize the fire ability user.”
She turned to the giant dandelion beside her.
“Your mental network can link with your companions. If I connect my ability to you, can they feel it?”
The football-sized dandelion nodded.
Fu Erdie didn’t hesitate.
She initiated an ability exchange with the dandelions.
Every time she connected with a plant, she accelerated its healing process.
One hand on the dandelion, the other hand reaching for the pile of fruits and vegetables the plants had carried back from the car.
They were fresh, ripe, and bursting with moisture.
Today, they would become weapons.
“Keep the outer skins. Convert the inner flesh into corrosive liquid.”
“For vegetables, keep the outer layers intact. The inner layers—turn into acid.”
As the plants continued their preparations, Fu Erdie grabbed a fresh cabbage and hurled it toward Building 5.
Her strength was far beyond what it had been before the apocalypse. She could now throw a vegetable from Building 7 straight into the enemy’s ranks.
The cabbage dropped from the sky, landing right on the face of a strength-type ability user, smothering him in leaves.
At first, he was furious.
Then, he froze.
Then, his eyes widened with joy.
Vegetables! Fresh vegetables!!!
He had greens to eat!
Without hesitation, he ripped the leaves off his face and shoved them into his mouth, chewing wildly.
He even stopped moving, making sure to finish every last piece before doing anything else.
Fu Erdie thought she was seeing things.
She immediately grabbed her binoculars and zoomed in.
No, she wasn’t mistaken.
They were really eating vegetables in the middle of a battle.
And not just him—others were picking up fallen veggies and eating too!
What was going on?!
She didn’t understand, but it didn’t matter. It meant she needed to adjust her strategy immediately.
“Don’t hollow out the entire fruit to replace it with corrosive liquid.
Instead, just poke multiple small holes and inject the liquid inside.”
Worried that the plants wouldn’t understand, she ran back to 16-1, grabbed a toothpick, and demonstrated on a peach, poking five or six tiny holes.
“Inject the corrosive liquid into these holes.
Make sure the outer holes are as small as possible, but the inside should be hollowed out more.”
Her original plan had been to mix poisoned and safe fruits, throwing them alternately.
Since the enemy was collecting supplies, they might instinctively reach out for fresh produce—something they hadn’t seen in six months.
If they tried to catch the fruit, there was a 50/50 chance they would grab a corrosive one.
And if they didn’t try to catch them, she would aim at their path, using the corrosive liquid to create obstacles.
But now?
Everything had become even simpler.
These people were so starved for fresh food that they were eating on the spot!
Fu Erdie continued feeding energy into the dandelions while observing the enemy through her binoculars.
Their leader and core members seemed to be trying to stop their teammates from eating.
But it wasn’t working.
They were still devouring the food like starving beasts.
Their expressions…
It reminded her of zombies seeing human flesh.
Her brows furrowed.
Sang Wenhao spoke softly. “Now I see.”
Fu Erdie turned to him. “What do you mean?”
“You know ability users eat a lot more than normal people.”
Fu Erdie nodded.
Her and Sang Wenhao’s appetites were three to four times larger than before the apocalypse.
“But eating more food doesn’t mean you’re actually getting what you need. You need vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.
That group stole all the vitamin supplements from every pharmacy.
But even that wasn’t enough.
They’re missing something essential—something they can only get from fresh fruits and vegetables.
And now, after six months without them, their bodies have reached their absolute limit.”
Sang Wenhao’s fingers traced the cold surface of his sniper rifle.
“I almost became like that once.
That kind of craving… it wears you down.
Wears you down until you start understanding why zombies crave human flesh.”
Fu Erdie listened silently.
Then—she laughed.
Perfect.
She took a batch of freshly prepared ‘poisoned’ fruits and threw them toward Building 5.
The weaker strength ability users, who normally received the least amount of supplies, couldn’t hold back.
They rushed forward, scrambling for food.
Meanwhile, the “core members”—who had clearly been eating well—stood there in confusion, unable to comprehend why their subordinates were acting like lunatics.
Then—
Screams.
Wretched, agonized screams.
The ones who had eaten fruits and vegetables began writhing in pain, clutching their throats.
Their oesophagus and respiratory tracts corroded.
Their mouths burned and blistered.
Their throats collapsed, sealing shut with festering wounds.
The healer ability user moved to help.
But their leader stopped them.
“A bunch of useless trash. If they die, they die. Your ability is for ME.”
And just like that—
The 23-member team—
Oh, no.
Now 22.
Was immediately reduced to just 9.
Fu Erdie and Sang Wenhao exchanged a glance.
They confirmed it.
The missing person wasn’t a core member—just another strength-type user who had died somewhere along the way.
Then—
Another fire tornado surged toward Building 7.
But this time—
The dandelions, tomatoes, and cucumbers had all hidden underground beforehand.
None of them were harmed.
And the plants on the building were already soaked in water, their natural resistance further enhanced.
For now—they were unharmed.
The wind and fire users weren’t worried.
Drying off water droplets would take no time at all.
And those showerheads still spraying water?
They could blow them off the building in an instant.
Casually, confidently, the remaining enemies approached Building 7.
None of them noticed—
That behind them—
The dandelions they thought they had burned away…
Had quietly stood back up.
And had begun blooming again.
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