Chapter 173 - Forage
TL: xDh20, LifeisaJourney
ED: Oz
Next chapter of the week will be tomorrow! See ya, next week! I fixed up all the previous mistakes from chapters 90 - 130 with the help of a reader, Yorben. Thank you for letting me know. So all the confusing parts on the bridge have been clarified.
Wang DeCheng wasn’t sure why Liu Gan had called him out in the middle of the night, out to the riverside. He didn’t bother asking too many questions; he only quietly followed Liu Gan. Then he saw Yin He holding down a zombie. When he saw the zombie with two gills on its neck, he seemed to have vaguely become aware of something.
Wang DeCheng’s heart rate increased… Could it be that this is his lucky day?
“This is the Variant Zombie, the one that has the ability to produce hallucinations. Little He was able to heavily injure it. However, the final kill will be for you.” Liu Gan handed his fire axe to Wang DeCheng.
“Thank you Elder Liu!” Wang DeCheng shouted, excited by the news. Both of his hands started precipitating with sweat.
With a deep breath, Wang DeCheng lifted the fire axe high above his head and chopped it at the neck of the Variant Zombie. In several more swings, its brain was mushed into pieces as he effectively ended its life.
A large dense black orb floated out from the body of the Variant Zombie into Wang Decheng’s body. After a heated feeling, Wang DeCheng looked at his alloy wristwatch, which clearly displayed that he had reached level 5.
“What different ability did you awaken?” Liu Gan asked Wang DeCheng. Liu Gan really wanted to assemble a squad of loyal and obedient team members. He had helped cultivate each and every member, so he was very concerned with their growth.
“! ! Sh1t!”
Wang DeCheng looked at his wristwatch with a strange expression, but it wasn’t the type that was filled with excitement. It was closer to disappointment.
“What is it?” Liu Gan raised his eyebrows.
“Elder Liu, look for yourself…” Wang DeCheng was sulking as he shoved his wrist watch in front of Liu Gan. Using the flashlight, it revealed two words.
“[Forage]?” Liu Gan looked at the two words with a confused look as well.
“This… What does this even mean?” Wang DeCheng appeared helpless.
“Is this ability activatable?” Liu Gan suggested.
“Yes.” Wang DeCheng thought about the two words. Briefly after, from the interior of his body, he charged up some energy and forced it out. What appeared in his sea of consciousness were many green dots of different sizes. With a range covering the entire small island, he could correctly pinpoint location and distance from, to, and with each dot. The largest of these green dots was right at the storage room of the restaurant.
In addition, the river had speckles of dots that were red in front of him. Some were green. There were others with different colors, as if to signify different species of fish. Green were most likely the edible type of fish that hadn’t been contaminated with the virus.
The moment Wang DeCheng explained the function of his ability to Liu Gan, he wasn’t disappointed at all. On the contrary, he was pleasantly surprised.
“This ability is good. With this ability, we can search for food more easily. In addition, gathering food will be very quick, so the team members won’t have to starve to death.” Liu Gan explained it to Wang DeCheng. Even though combat abilities were important, it was equally important to have logistic skill and survivability to a team. Without the logistic support, even the strongest player would starve to death.
“I wished for Brother Zhang’s ability [Whirlwind Slash]. Even trapped within the crowd of zombies, I would be able to kill my way out! What an aggressive and powerful attack that is!” Wang DeCheng was still upset.
“In a large team, there will always be some rushing to the front, but there still needs to be people in the back to support the team. Your ability [Forage] is very meaningful. It is more important than his [Whirlwind Slash] to this team. Now that you have reached level 5, your body’s physical characteristics have increased, which obviously means your combat attributes are better than they were at level 4. That’s why you can’t compare yourself to the past you. Even without a combat ability, your fighting skills are formidable.” Liu Gan comforted Wang DeCheng.
“Thanks Elder Liu. I guess I wanted to make myself more useful.” Wang DeCheng finally understood his purpose in the team and felt relieved. Wang DeCheng’s physical properties did improve significantly, especially with his senses - such as hearing and sight have increased ranges.
“Brother Liu, I found something.” Yin He searched the pockets of the variant zombie and pulled out a metallic object at least ten centimeters long.
Five teeth, and the middle had hidden teeth…
Liu Gan looked at the metallic object with excitement. Based on this design, it was the same design as what Zhao Meng had described for the key to the round alloy door? Who would’ve thought that it would appear on the body of this Variant Zombie!
If this were a game, the key would be found on the body of the BOSS. Only by killing the BOSS would they be able to obtain this set of key to unlock the next stage.
“Congratulations, Elder Liu, for finally finding the key. Do we continue searching tonight?” Wang DeCheng was very happy for Liu Gan.
“No need. I’m too tired. Let me have a good sleep, and then we can talk.” Liu Gan yawned a few times. After killing this Amphibious Variant Zombie, the danger on this island had been removed, so there was no rush to go elsewhere.
Even if he were to reach level 6, it would affect his combat condition if his body and mental status were to be exhausted. No one knew of the dangers below, so he had to be prepared with enough sleep. With sufficient amount of sleep, and a good mental status, he wouldn’t suffer unnecessary damage that way.
After returning to the main building, Liu Gan did not need to personally take the night shift with so many members at his disposal. He and Yin He went upstairs to a guest room on the second floor for some rest.
With Yin He standing by his side, he could rest easy and sleep well.
“With your current energy condition, how long can you last?” Liu Gan asked before sleeping.
“Tonight, it didn’t rain, and there aren’t places for attracting electricity. I estimate that I can last until around tomorrow early noon or late noon?” Yin He thought about it carefully.
“The moment you run out of energy, how do I wake you up?” Liu Gan was getting concerned.
“Very simple. On the rainy days with thunderstorm, find the tallest building with a lightning rod and place the plasma converter onto it. Then find two cable wires and attach them to my wrists. Just be careful and ensure your safety while doing it.” Yin He continued to explain the placement of the plasma converter to Liu Gan.
“Okay.” Liu Gan agreed gloomily. Yin He being unable to find a steady source of energy supply was something that highly concerned him.
“Elder Liu, when you were affected by the Variant Zombie in his hallucination, what did you see? Can you tell me? I am curious.” Yin He changed the topic.
[TL: Lmao [Forage] I thought it was going to be more OP than that.]