He Yuan drove according to Liu Bao's directions for two days. They made several stops to spend the night at abandoned buildings.

There were times when they ran into zombie hordes but they were able to pull through. The now battered SUV was a testament to that.

There were also times they encountered teams of humans who tried to rob them but they also pulled through with their supplies intact. The bullet holes at the back of the SUV was a testament to that.

On the third day, they arrived at base Beta. He Yuan and Liu Bao were beyond exhausted. They had taken turns driving in order to cover more ground.

Liu Bao was calm and level headed for the most part and He Yuan was glad that he teamed up with such a person. Qualities like that were rare in these times.

There was a long line of people trying to enter the base and He Yuan was mildly surprised. This was the most amount of people he'd seen since he began this task.

"I PROMISE, IT'S PERMANENT NAIL POLISH. THAT'S NOT THE REAL COLOUR OF MY NAILS!" A man was screaming as the guards at the door dragged him away.

In the first three days of the zombie infection, the infected person's skin usually took on a slight grayish hue. This could be confusing at times as it was really faint in some of them and they could pass as uninfected humans.

So people generally used the pure black nails and extended canines to verify the infection status of a person. Blood tests could be carried out but that took too much time.

As the infected was dragged away to who knows where, He Yuan and Liu Bao carried their supplies to the front of the line. A quick ask around made them realize that people with supplies could be admitted earlier.

A few people grumbled when He Yuan and Liu Bao walked up to the guard but He Yuan shrugged them off. They would still have to hand in their supplies if they waited at the end of the line so wasn't it better to do it now?

The rush to enter the base was not intense because the admission area was fenced and they were guards patrolling the area with guns so it would be fairly safe for the waiting humans to sleep out here at night.

When the guards saw that He Yuan and Liu Bao had a potato sack that was almost full of food and medicine, they let them in to be checked for signs of infection.

The testing area was divided into two parts right for males and left for females. After the check for zombie infection, they still had to strip so the testers could check for open wounds and other kinds of diseases that could bring possible harm to the humans in the base.

Once they were done, they were assigned to different rooms. He Yuan had to share his with five other guys but he didn't complain. It was to be expected.

The room was actually empty at this time. The others had already been assigned jobs and He Yuan would need to wait until the next day before he was assigned so he decided to check out the base. He ran into Liu Bao on the way.

"How is it?" She asked.

"Good enough," He Yuan answered and they both explored the base. Their conversations were usually very short and straight to the point. Something He Yuan did not expect Liu Bao to be capable of based on her ramblings on the day they met but he was glad.

The next day, He Yuan met up with Liu Bao in the assignment hall.

The woman at the desk adjusted her dress once He Yuan entered but he paid her no mind. Du Ling was an attractive man after all.

"There is no time to perform tests so people are basically assigned based on their strengths. We have different sections. The hospital, logistics, scavengers-"

"Scavengers," He Yuan said before she could continue. He was good in medicine but what he needed the most now was to become stronger. Scavenging was a good opportunity to encounter zombies and hone his skills.

"W-well okay," The woman continued with a flustered expression and stamped on a card before handing it to He Yuan.

Liu Bao was next and if looks could kill, the woman seated behind the desk would have been full of holes. "Scavengers," She said through gritted teeth before the woman could ask.

The woman reluctantly shifted her gaze away from He Yuan, who was standing by the side, and stamped a card for Liu Bao without any questions.

The both of them went on their very first assignment that day with a newly formed scavenging team of ten.

"THROUGH THE SIDE ENTRANCE!" Their lookout called out and the team of ten all ran towards the side entrance as a horde of zombies chased after them.

"ARGH! ACK! ACK!" The starving creatures were relentless and pursued hotly.

Liu Bao, another team member, and the lookout were clearing the way in front. He Yuan and two other guys, who were the most fit in the group had hefty sacks of supplies on their shoulders as they ran. The only three members with guns were behind trying to cut off the chasing zombies.

They were at a pharmacy located a few miles away from the base. With the number of people in the base, if sicknesses weren't attended to with haste, it could blow out of proportion, causing a pandemic that could very well wipe out the base before the zombies do.

They managed to cut a path through the zombies and reached the last member of their team. The assigned driver who was left to man the van, ready to escape once his team members got in.

He Yuan chuckled to himself as the driver sped off. They all looked more like a criminal gang in the middle of a bank heist.

"THAT WAS INTENSE!" One of the gunmen shouted and the others chuckled.

He Yuan spent his time scavenging with his teammates and he was able to climb up the ranks to squad leader in two months. Not that there was any competition seeing as every member of the team were civilians before the wave of infection.

He also discovered something amazing. The qi in this world seemed to have improved drastically. At first he was confused but then he realized that with all the secretion from the zombies, this was the reason people were able to develop abilities eight months after the start of the zombie apocalypse.historical

Five months were already gone so there was three months left before people began developing abilities. He Yuan spent every night practicing the [Strongest Martial Arts] and absorbing qi.

He had moved from a five person room to a three person room and whenever his roommates inquired on his weird sitting posture at night, He Yuan would tell them he was meditating.

In the seventh month, He Yuan discovered a white core as he ran the qi throughout his body. He had no idea if other people, who did not cultivate, were like this too so he decided to find out.

Liu Bao was busy sharpening her axe when He Yuan walked up to her. "Squad leader Ling," She said as she stood up and stared at He Yuan a little too eagerly.

He Yuan cleared his throat with a fist over his lips. "Uhmm Liu Bao, can I have your arm?"

Liu Bao smiled shyly. Did this mean that Du Ling was interested in her too? Maybe he just didn't know how to confess, he was a quiet person so he could only use this method to inform her. She held out her hand quickly and leaned towards He Yuan slightly.

He Yuan held Liu Bao's wrist and used a tiny amount of qi to check her meridians. He used a very tiny amount so her body wouldn't react violently and try to eject his energy.

Liu Bao felt tingles under her skin and she shuddered. Just a mere touch from Du Ling was giving her exciting sparks. He must feel it too, their hearts were aligned!

After the check, He Yuan gently let down her arm. She also had a core but it was very cloudy as opposed to his that had a clear white colour.

He had a theory for this. The bodies of the humans in this realm absorbed qi naturally but since no technique was used, the impurities were also absorbed. It would not kill them but they would not be able to achieve their full potential.

Liu Bao stared at He Yuan expectantly. "So~"

He Yuan coughed slightly. "You're in good health."

The smile on Liu Bao's face froze. "Oh."

"Don't forget to stay hydrated. See you later," He Yuan said with a wave and walked away.

888 chuckled. [Poor Liu Bao.]

He Yuan frowned. "Did something happen?"

[No. But I'm pretty sure she wished something did.] The system said with a smile in his voice.

He Yuan just rolled his eyes and ignored the system. He had just a month or two left before he had to leave for the military base and face Du Jian. Sigh~