Chapter 179: Solar Energy?

The night at the safe camp was the most leisurely time of the day; after a full day of work and training, people could feel a moment of relaxation and quiet under the stars—only the two on duty in the monitoring room couldn't rest, their eyes wide open, staring at the screens.

The mountain air was cold and still, no night breeze, only thin mist drifting lazily, sometimes obscuring the moonlight.

After bathing, Zhang Su heard someone fiddling with a rifle in the small courtyard; he went downstairs and found Zhao Xue practicing her shooting stance and aiming posture in the corner, utterly focused—even when he walked over, she didn't notice.

"Hey, no overtime pay here—when it's time to rest, rest!"

Zhang Su sat down on the stone bench out in the open.

"Brother Su…" Zhao Xue jumped at his voice, lowered her rifle, and said: "There's nothing else to do anyway—practicing is basically resting. Uh, I'm tired, I'll head back now."

Saying that, she slung the rifle over her shoulder and walked toward her room with her head slightly bowed.

"Wait!"

Zhang Su called out to Zhao Xue, tapped his fingers on the stone table, and said: "Come, sit down and talk."

"Oh, okay. What do you want to talk about?"

Zhao Xue smiled faintly and shook her head: "No, thanks. Brother Zhu is injured. Camp duties suit me better. You go. Stay safe out there."

Wu Lue was startled by the zombie's loud shouting.

Then he reached out and ruffled Zhao Xue's hair, just like he used to when changing shifts at Yilewen.

Her voice was barely a whisper, yet every word slipped clearly into Zhang Su's ears; he silently shook his head—some things simply couldn't be controlled, but having a goal was better than giving up entirely.

The next morning, sunlight pierced the mist and spilled across the valley; the guesthouse area echoed with the crowing of roosters, and soon figures began emerging from their rooms—a rare moment of peace in the apocalypse.

After breakfast, Zhang Su went to check on the two zombies used for observation experiments. Four days had passed; he hoped for some change.

Zhang Su sighed inwardly, knowing further words were useless—some wounds might haunt a person for life. He stood up with a smile and said: "Want to go out and scavenge together tomorrow?"

Zhang Su stepped forward and halted about two meters from the zombie, studying it carefully. With his observational skills, he could confirm this zombie's mental state was slightly better than when it was first captured—aside from rope marks on its body, there were no other issues.

Zhao Xue furrowed her delicate brows and said: "Everything's different now, Brother Su. Don't mind my changes, okay? I just want you to know—I won't betray you, and I won't drag the team down."

"Alright." Zhang Su nodded, not pressing further. "Go rest early. It's cold outside at night."

Aowu!

But when he approached the outdoor zombie within ten meters, the zombie's head, previously hanging low, snapped up suddenly—as if a switch had been flipped—its crimson eyes blazing brighter than ever, roaring with even greater fury than when it was first captured.

"Hey, solar power, right? Look how good the sun is!" Lu Yu Bo shaded his eyes from the sunlight, but despite its brightness, he felt no warmth.

Zhao Xue sat down as instructed, lips pressed tight, her expression awkward. She thought the darkness had hidden her well—but she had no idea Zhang Su had noticed every subtle flicker of emotion on her face.

Zhang Su had long wanted to talk to Zhao Xue but never found the chance. Now, with a relatively stable environment, he finally had the opportunity to speak properly.

"Staying alive is the greatest victory. Let those broken things blow away with the wind. Pull yourself together!"

Zhao Xue watched Zhang Su slowly walk into the room and whispered: "I will work harder—harder than they ever did."

"Yeah!" Zhao Xue nodded. "I'm totally fine! Ask Teacher Yu—he'll tell you I work my ass off!"

"If a living person went five days without food or water, even if they didn't die, they'd be barely clinging to life. What the hell are these things using to sustain their energy?"

"You're trying to confuse concepts with me… these are two different things!"

"Before, when I talked to you, you looked right at me. Now, when I talk to you, you avoid my eyes. What's that supposed to mean?"

Zhang Su rubbed his temples. He knew Zhao Xue hadn't recovered from what happened in Yilewen. He gently patted her shoulder and felt a slight tremble.

"Come on, let's check the other one."

The more resilient the zombie's life force, the greater the pressure it exerted.

The group reached the ticket hall's entrance. Before they could get close, they heard low growls coming from inside.

Lü Lei edged nervously toward the window to peek inside, giving the impression of false bravery—clearly terrified but pretending otherwise…

"Huh? This zombie doesn't seem to have as much strength as before?"

His voice lacked masculinity, but in daily work, he was still very much a man.

Zhang Su switched on his flashlight and shone it through the window at the caged zombie. Without the zombie tied to the tree for comparison, the difference might not have been obvious—but now it was clear this one's mental state was worse.

If the zombie tied to the tree was a hundred points, this one was at most seventy.

"Could it be… this zombie really does absorb energy from sunlight, like Bozi said?"

Wu Lue voiced a theory that sounded utterly implausible.

"Get lost, Brother Su calls me Bozi—you call me Bo-ge! Get it?" Lu Yu Bo kicked Wu Lue.

Wu Lue dodged aside with a grin. "Brother Bo! Brother Bo! Don't hit me, I'm sorry!"

Zhang Su turned off the flashlight, clicked his tongue, and said: "There's definitely something solar-powered about it. We'll see in a few more days. Let's go back."

Back at camp, Zhang Su prepared to set out for scavenging—but today's team composition had changed.

Zhao Dechu, injured in the leg, could no longer go on external missions; in his place was Qi Xiaoshuai.

The vehicles were switched from two RVs to a minivan and a Prado.

"Brother Su, if you see coal, bring back some—we're getting colder. Time to fire up the heaters…"

Zheng Xinyu said to Zhang Su, who was driving.

Tianmayu was far from the city, with no centralized heating. Since Tianmayu had a winter snow-viewing attraction, several guesthouse owners had installed heating systems—they burned fuel themselves, no hassle, and could control the temperature well.

"Got it!"

Zhang Su slapped the car door and floored the accelerator out of the parking lot.

"Brother Su, where are we going today?"

Qi Xiaoshuai asked from the passenger seat, cradling an automatic rifle with excitement—he was on his first external mission, and the countryside scenery filled him with delight.

Zhang Su turned onto the highway and said: "Of course, Niuziquan Town again."

"Huh?" Qi Xiaoshuai was startled. "What if yesterday's group's companions come to town and find their bodies?"

"What if? I don't even know what happened. In this world, people die every day—it's normal."

Zhang Su sneered. "You said their companions might come looking. Then we need to sweep Niuziquan Town faster—otherwise, all the shops we cleared out will just become someone else's loot."

Many items inside the cleared shops had been left behind to make room for construction materials.

Niuziquan Town was packed with zombies, but precisely because of that, the supplies remained relatively intact—aside from natural decay, they'd suffered little damage.

Zhang Su had no intention of abandoning this rich town. He never expected smooth sailing when scavenging—encountering other survivors was normal. If you could negotiate, negotiate. If you could bargain, bargain. If you could compromise, compromise. If none of that worked, then fight with fists!

The zombies they'd lured away yesterday were gone. Traces on the ground showed they'd been moving steadily northward—but Zhang Su and the others had no interest in following them.

Soon, the two vehicles arrived at Niuziquan Town.

The town looked exactly as it had yesterday—the cellphone shop blown open by grenades was still littered with debris, the corpses untouched.

"Huh?"

Everything seemed unchanged—but Zhang Su noticed one difference from yesterday!

Among the cleared shops was an electric scooter store. Zhang Su clearly remembered the scooters outside had been nothing but frameless shells without batteries. Now, one scooter with a battery lay beside the others.

The scooter was old and worn, its tires caked with dirt and grass stems. To someone visiting this street for the first time, it would be invisible. But Zhang Su had come here four or five times—and he'd personally cleared this shop. He knew for certain: this scooter hadn't been here before.

"Someone's here!"

Zhang Su raised his hand to halt the group's advance, his gaze sharp as he scanned both sides of the street, rifle already raised.

"Brother Su, what's the call?"

Lu Yu and the others went on alert—the image of Zhao Dechu being shot was still fresh.

"There's a new electric scooter over there—someone's been here! Form a perimeter."

As soon as he spoke, the four men turned back-to-back into a circle, each watching a ninety-degree sector, minimizing blind spots.

Zhang Su's ears twitched constantly, straining to catch even the faintest sounds. Yesterday, he'd been careless and drowned out by zombie noise—but now, focused, he quickly picked up subtle movements.

"The funeral clothes shop over there—and the tableware rental across the street—both have people inside!"

Zhang Su relayed the info to his team, and they moved cautiously toward the funeral shop.

"Listen up, whoever's hiding in the funeral shop and the tableware rental—we know you're there. Come out now, or we'll have unnecessary misunderstandings!"

As he spoke, Zhang Su reached into his backpack and pulled out a grenade.

Before he finished speaking, a reply came.

"Coming out! Coming out! I mean no harm!"

A boy, about fifteen or sixteen, crawled out of the funeral shop, still wearing a funeral robe—strange and eerie.

From the tableware rental across the street, another boy emerged—similarly immature, likely the same age.

(End of Chapter)