Chapter Fifty-Six: The Experiment

Chapter Fifty-Six

“You want it?” Ye Jingxuan suddenly asked.

Mei looked at him in surprise, instinctively touching her own face. Had she really been so obvious?

“You want it!” Ye Jingxuan repeated, this time with absolute certainty.

“No way, Mei, that thing is so dangerous! What would you want it for?” Lin Shaojie’s eyes widened in disbelief before Mei could respond.

Seeing that her intentions were already clear, Mei made no effort to hide them and simply admitted, “Yes, I want it! I want to move one into my space as a specimen.” She intended to send it back for Cyril to study, though she kept that part to herself.

Hearing her openly express her desire, Ye Jingxuan didn’t waste any more words and turned back the way they had come.

“You really put everything into your space. Be careful—one day you might open it, and it’ll be filled with poison gas!” Mochen, thinking her collecting obsession had flared up again, ruffled her hair but did not object.

“That’ll never happen!” Mei dismissed his concern. Her space was a world unto itself, its size and features shaped by her will. As long as she isolated the tree she brought in, there would be no problem at all.

The others, seeing her determination, had no choice but to follow her back.

“Have you thought about how to approach those trees? If you can’t get close, you won’t be able to store them in your space,” An Ziyou asked.

“I have some ideas, but I’ll need to test them to see if they work. Did you notice that, when we were in the zombie’s illusion, those pomegranate trees didn’t attack us? It wasn’t until the illusion broke that they became hostile,” Mei reminded them.

“That’s right! I was actually relieved about that. If the pomegranate trees had attacked us along with the zombies yesterday, we would have been in real trouble. But, if you put it like that, there must be a reason they didn’t attack us yesterday?” Qu Wenjuan asked curiously.

“There are two possibilities. First, the zombie we killed could control those trees, making them obey its orders. It didn’t command them to attack us at first, perhaps because it thought it could handle us alone, and later either lacked the energy or just didn’t have time.

Second, the illusion the zombie created isolated us from the outside world, so the trees thought their surroundings were safe and didn’t launch an attack. Once we killed the zombie and the illusion faded, the pomegranate trees immediately noticed us and, feeling their territory was invaded, attacked at once,” Mei explained her two theories.

Qu Wenjuan weighed the possibilities and said, “I think the second one is more likely.”

“I agree. If zombies can create illusions and control plants, humanity would have no future!” Lin Shaojie refused to accept the first possibility.

If even zombies could master two abilities, what hope would there be for humans? The number of human ability-users was already less than mutated zombies, perhaps even less than mutated animals. With so few ability-users, could humanity really survive in this world?

“It’s just speculation. Even if that possibility is true, there will surely be ways to deal with it. If even lower creatures can adapt to this apocalypse and evolve to survive, there’s no reason humans can only awaken abilities in such small numbers. If most animals can mutate and develop abilities, humans should be able to as well. Even if not, humans can always find other ways to save themselves. After all, humans can create tools—animals cannot!” An Ziyou argued, convinced things were not nearly as dire as Lin Shaojie feared.

Even the worst-case scenario—everyone around turning into zombies—had not wiped out humanity. So, once humans were prepared, they would never let zombies and mutated species destroy them.

The others all agreed with An Ziyou’s perspective.

Qu Wenjuan supported it because she knew, before long, the authorities would release a potion with a ten percent chance of awakening abilities and a two percent chance of granting a second power to those already gifted. So soon, all kinds of ability-users would appear, not just the elemental types so common now. Moreover, as their powers advanced, they would become immune to zombie viruses from lower-ranked zombies—even accidental injuries would not lead to infection.

The others didn’t know what the future held, but, as An Ziyou said, humanity’s creativity was unmatched by rotting flesh or animals.

Ye Jingxuan thought further ahead. The status of mutated humans was already critical, and in the future, it would only become more so. If the Ye family couldn’t produce more ability-users, their place in the base would disappear.

He realized he had to push his people harder if they were to awaken. The Ye family trainees all shivered in their drills, sensing something ominous approaching.

Mei had no comment on their discussion, but she didn’t believe humanity would perish. In her view, humans had tenacious vitality; unless the world itself collapsed entirely, they would always find a way to survive.

The six quickly arrived outside the processing plant of the farm, where, from a distance, they saw pomegranate trees heavy with bright red fruit. They stopped.

“How do you want to test it?” Ye Jingxuan asked.

“If my second theory is correct, then as long as the trees don’t sense danger or anyone approaching, they shouldn’t attack. So I want to try isolating my presence and see if it works.” Mei said, taking out her black cloak and preparing to put it on.

“I’ll try!” Ye Jingxuan reached out to grab the cloak, stopping her.

Mei paused and looked up at his determined expression. Before she could speak, another hand landed on the cloak.

“If anyone’s going to test it, it should be me. At least I’m a wind ability-user—none of you can match my speed!” Mochen held the cloak with casual ease, as if this experiment were no more than an eight-hundred-meter sprint.

“I’m a wind ability-user too! I can do it!” Lin Shaojie, unwilling to be ignored, raised his hand in protest.

Mei looked at the three, blinked, then released the cloak and stepped back.

“Sort it out among yourselves. I only have one cloak.” She gestured for them to resolve it.

After all, it was only a test; there was no need for her to insist on doing it herself.

Once Mei let go, Mochen quickly released the cloak as well, signaling with his eyes to Ye Jingxuan: “You go first. If it doesn’t work, I’ll try.”

Ye Jingxuan ignored the challenge, glanced at Lin Shaojie to confirm he was withdrawing, then donned the cloak.

To their amazement, the cloak, which had fit Mei perfectly, now lengthened and widened to suit Ye Jingxuan’s larger frame, as if tailored for him—no hint of ill fit.

Everyone turned their gaze to Mei. Where had she gotten such a magical item?

Mei, seeing their keen interest, assumed they wanted one too. She spread her hands and said, “Looking at me won’t help; I only have this one cloak. It was a gift from a friend. You can borrow it, but I’ll never give it away!”

It wasn’t that the cloak was especially precious. In fact, if she didn’t mind exposing her true strength, she could achieve the same effect without it. The cloak was dispensable to her, but her principle was: if it was hers, she might give it away, regardless of value; but gifts from others, no matter how useful or useless, she would never pass on.

This cloak was a gift from Dilo and the others. Mei would never give it away.

The others weren’t too disappointed. They hadn’t intended to ask for it—just admired it.

“Mei, what does your friend do? To make something so extraordinary—if you ever get the chance, introduce us! Maybe they could make us some gear too?” Lin Shaojie asked, curious.

Mei glanced at him and replied, “They’re friends I met in the past. Even I don’t know when I’ll see them again. Introducing you is unlikely.”

She did miss Cyril and Dilo, but they were in another world entirely. To see them again, she’d have to return to her original world.

But who knew when she’d be able to go back?

She had to resolve her own issues—meaning she had to come of age before returning. Even if she collected everything she needed, she still didn’t know how to grow up. It was all Dilo’s fault—he said the solution was in this world, but wouldn’t say where, only that she had to find it herself. Not a single clue. How was she supposed to search an entire planet?

While she was silently complaining about Dilo’s lack of guidance, Ye Jingxuan was already approaching within twenty meters of the pomegranate trees.

He carefully moved forward, but the trees remained motionless.

Fifteen meters… ten, nine, eight, seven, six…

At five meters from the trees, Ye Jingxuan stopped. This was farther than their distance from the trees yesterday, and it was the maximum range at which Mei could store them in her space. Since it was safe, he saw no need to go closer.

Ye Jingxuan carefully retreated, returning the cloak to Mei.

Mei donned the cloak and walked briskly toward the pomegranate trees, stopping five meters away. She took one tree from each side, leaving the other four in place.

“Why don’t we check out the orchard?” Mei, still unsatisfied after collecting the pomegranate trees, set her sights on the other fruit trees, her eyes shining as she suggested it to the group.

Ye Jingxuan, true to form, didn’t say a word and headed straight for the orchard.

Seeing that things weren’t as dangerous as they’d feared, the others did not object. After all, these were ownerless goods—why not take them? Besides, it would help future visitors by reducing the hazards. Why not do it?