The Invasion Day – Chapter 40

Table of Contents | Character Guide

Chapter 40

This weed was just a very common species of grass, but right now, its tiny leaves were pushing through the hard concrete floor of the central warehouse, stubbornly surviving and growing.

As Fu Shiwu stared at it intensely, Wen Zhaoming also turned around.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“This weed is really tenacious.” Fu Shiwu pushed his glasses up and said with an admiring tone: “It still grows even when it’s pressed under the concrete floor.”

Wen Zhaoming took a look and said: “When the seeds germinate, they can even lift up a stone. This is quite normal. It should be that the heavy rain last night seeps through the concrete floor, helping this weed to sprout successfully.”

Fu Shiwu nodded solemnly. With an “uhm”, he reached out and picked up the broken concrete fragments around the weed to prevent others from tripping on them.

After Fu Shiwu was done, he walked back with Wen Zhaoming. Along the way, the two of them paid special attention to the surroundings. Today, the floor was full of cracks and mounds caused by the weeds growing. By the time these weeds completely stood out, the floor might be torn to pieces.

Fu Shiwu and Wen Zhaoming looked at each other. They had never seen this phenomenon of such a large area being sprouted with many weeds at the same time.

Fu Shiwu seemed to think of something and a heavy feeling overwhelmed his heart.

He pushed Wen Zhaoming back to their barricaded room to find visitors flocking at the entrance.

Surrounded by several people, Tang Xuhai was blocking the entrance of their room with a cold expression and his arms folded. 

These people were putting on a bootlicking attitude and speaking to Tang Xuhai in an obviously flattering manner. Seeing the two coming back, Tang Xuhai impatiently shooed them away.

“Go away! As I said, we’re not taking in more people!” Tang Xuhai was lost for words, his expression utterly displeased.

Chased away, those people walked off in embarrassment, but instead of leaving, they still looked back at the three from a distance.

“What’s the matter? What did they do?” Fu Shiwu asked in bafflement.

“They’re all people who want to take refuge in us, most of them are mutants.” Tang Xuhai wore a dumbstruck expression, for he couldn’t figure out how this was happening to them.

“They’re quite smart.” Wen Zhaoming said with a praising tone. “Unfortunately, they’re not making their attitude and position clear.”

Seeing Tang Xuhai look at him suspiciously, Wen Zhaoming explained in detail: “Everyone can see that the warehouse is running out of ammunition and firepower. People are weak by themselves, so at this time, they’ll naturally want to find someone with enough strength to rely on. You’re obviously the strongest among the three of us, so of course, they come to find you.”

Tang Xuhai didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry: “But I’m not the only ability user in this warehouse. There are others who are stronger than me.”

“That’s not necessarily the case.” Wen Zhaoming said delicately: “I watched you two last night. Shi Wu’s ability is so special that most people can’t see it. In the eyes of other people, it seems that you kill the most aliens and are the most powerful man.”

Last night, together, Tang Xuhai and Fu Shiwu indeed killed the most aliens. But when Fu Shiwu assisted Tang Xuhai or managed to kill any alien with the help of Tang Xuhai, people mostly saw it as though he had abundant luck.

Tang Xuhai obviously didn’t think so. He roared: “Those people are blind! If it weren’t for the bullet restrain, Shi Wu would definitely kill more than me!”

“It’s okay.” Fu Shiwu waved his hand. He was never into socialising much and used to dealing with people with a mask on his face, so he definitely wouldn’t fancy the feeling of being noticed by the mass. He also didn’t like being exposed under many people’s gazes: “This feels just right. You helped me block these annoying people.”

“Don’t bother about it. Lots of undercurrents are crushing this central warehouse. Many are forming cliques to attract people to them.” Knowing that the other two weren’t much aware of the situation that was happening, Wen Zhaoming said helplessly: “A group of mutants has gathered around Wang Ziping. There are also a few ability users.”

“So what?!” Tang Xuhai frowned and said dismissively: “Even if he gathers a few strong men, being with a man like him, the group would face nothing desirable. Wait and see, if those people can’t protect themselves well, sooner or later, Wang Ziping will get them killed!”

“We won’t care about him, but now we should also consider finding a few reliable people to form a team. Once the need to evacuate comes, if we rely solely on us — especially on a disabled man like me,  I don’t think we can’t resist against a huge wave of aliens.”

Tang Xuhai fell into silence. When the time came, the three of them would get into the SUV, he would kill the aliens in close range, Fu Shiwu would drive the car and Wen Zhaoming could help with killing from afar. As long as there was no rain, Wen Zhaoming could hold on for a long time.

This was the plan that he had been quietly thinking about, which nicely fit just the three of them.

However, he couldn’t help but consider what Wen Zhaoming just said. After all, if they really evacuated, Tang Xuhai would definitely take the two in the direction of the military district.

Others didn’t know much about these matters, but Tang Xuhai had been to H Province’s military district to participate in practice duels and he knew the place well. There were several divisions stationed within the district, which definitely held enough manpower. Not far away from there situated a military workshop with ample material reserves. It was definitely the best place to take refuge in.

It was just that the military district was more than 400 kilometers away from their current place. Now the land of Huaxia was full of alien shapes. It shouldn’t be a problem to encounter a few single aliens, but if they met with a wave of aliens…

In Tang Xuhai’s plan, he intended to bypass densely populated areas and directly took the highway route. To get there from Yun City, it would only take four to five hours using the highway, or seven to eight hours using the national road. But no one knew how long it would take if they took the provincial road.

Besides, on the road, when they couldn’t detour and had to go through the towns, what should they do?

It seemed that increasing their team’s manpower was imperative to the plan.

“I agree with your opinion, but if we’re looking for people, those arse-licking men aren’t good. At first glance they only seem sly. When the time comes, they may not be able to help, rather, they may even drag us all down.” Tang Xuhai said coldly.

Fu Shiwu silently pushed his glasses up. But we don’t really have to make everyone seem so bad, right?

“You don’t need to worry about that, I’ve been closely watching the people around here.” Wen Zhaoming smiled confidently. He didn’t just simply sit there last night and do nothing. “I’ll talk to them personally. If they’re willing, we can travel together, if they aren’t, we’ll let it pass.”

“Okay!” Tang Xuhai nodded firmly: “Let me inform you clearly that I’ve decided to go to the military district. That place has strong soldiers and firepower. In this apocalypse, it will definitely not be like Yun City.”

In this crowded warehouse, Tang Xuhai didn’t say plainly what he meant by ‘like Yun City’, but Wen Zhaoming and Fu Shiwu both understood.

Wen Zhaoming’s eyes lit up, but he maintained his calmness and said resolutely: “I’ll tell those people in advance.”

“That’s good! You can do this!” Then Tang Xuhai turned to Fu Shiwu and said: “While Lao1老 [lao], lit. translated as “old”, is placed before the first name or the surname to indicate an endearing or respectful regard. It is commonly used to address a close friend who may or may not be older than you or an acquaintance who is older than you. Wen is doing this, Shiwu, you can help me modify the car and load the rest of our things. We can spend the night in the car.”

“Sure.” Shiwu nodded.

As the three of them separated into two groups, Wen Zhaoming composedly went to meet those people whom he had his eyes on and asked for their opinions. Needless to say, these people were similarly worried about the prospect of staying here. After hearing what Wen Zhaoming had to say, some directly agreed while some remained impartial. They felt that if they had to travel that far, they might as well stay in Yun City; obviously their line of thought was different.

The people Wen Zhaoming talked to were either mutants or ability users. Out of ten people, only three were convinced.

Wen Zhaoming wasn’t greedy either. Even if there were only these people, the group would still be safer than with just the three of them.

Over here, Tang Xuhai was trying to enhance the car while Fu Shiwu stayed by his side to hand over the tools.

“Why are you so quiet?” As sweat profusely poured down his back, Tang Xuahi glanced at Fu Shiwu, who was as silent as a lamb. Although Fu Shiwu wasn’t a talkative man, he also wasn’t one who enjoyed a stifling atmosphere. At such a time, he would definitely find a topic to talk with Tang Xuhai.

Back in the bomb shelter, Fu Shiwu spoke and smiled often. Perhaps there hadn’t been many chances for them to chit-chat, but now that they were friends, there must be at least some sort of (probably) pointless topics that friends could go on and on with each other for the whole day, no? 

“Tang Xuhai.” Fu Shiwu raised his head and said to Tang Xuhai with a grave expression: “There’s one thing that makes me feel very uneasy.”

“What is it?” Tang Xuhai looked at him with intrigue.

“I think something is wrong about those weeds.” Fu Shiwu turned his head and pointed to the concrete floor below the car. Several mounds were bulging up at the corner, where the weeds had shot through.

Tang Xuhai jumped down from the car, wiped his sweaty forehead, looked at the weeds puzzledly and said: “What’s wrong with them? Aren’t they just normal weeds?”

“People who absorb the heterogeneous molecules will get sick, then either die or awaken their ability. Aliens that came into this world have also evolved to become even more powerful…” Fu Shiwu turned his head and looked directly into Tang Xuhai’s eyes, emphasising on each work: “What about the animals? What about the plants?”

Tang Xuhai looked back at him. For a second, he couldn’t yet react, then he suddenly felt the creeps!

“The heterogeneous molecules used to be in the air, but after it rains, a large number of them will seep into the ground, penetrate through the soil and get absorbed by various plants rooting underground. These plants are later eaten by animals. What kind of changes will happen, have you thought about it?” Fu Shiwu said softly.

Tang Xuhai swallowed hard and slowly shook his head. Having to think about humanity and the aliens everyday alone had already occupied his mind enough.

“Look at these weeds. There was just one rain last night, they definitely couldn’t just absorb water and reach the ideal condition for germination just like that!” Fu Shiwu walked over, bent down and moved the weeds with his hands: “Even if the weeds germinate, it should be in the soil in open air or at the edge of the concrete floor, where the soil is exposed. But this entire place is covered with concrete. Look at this thick concrete layer, there aren’t any gaps at all, yet these ordinary weeds can grow out of it? This is illogical.”

As Fu Shiwu explained, Tang Xuhai’s expression also turned solemn. He directly squatted down and pulled away the concrete fragments that were squeezed out of the crack on the floor.