Mu Ying lingered in the orchard and stayed for a good two or three days.
Not only did she clear the orchard of zombies, but she also visited every fruit-bearing plant, offering them a one-stop service of combing natural power, watering with Recovery Spring, and harvesting with Feedback Claw.
Feedback should come at a cost, and after her care, the harvested yield from the plants was even more appealing.
The bamboo basket on Old Yellow Bull's back was already lined with a thick layer of seeds; roughly calculated, she wouldn't even need to visit the seed market to repay all the seeds she owed Grandpa Shom.
When she was ready to leave the orchard, Old Yellow Bull and Yuan Gungun were even more reluctant to part.
Over these days, the two had wreaked havoc in the entire orchard, gobbling up any fruit within reach.
Old Yellow Bull, large in size but moderate in appetite, had been the main fruit-picker, while Yuan Gungun, smaller in stature, guzzled the bulk of the fruits with a stomach like a bottomless pit.
It visibly became plumper and moved past its infancy, awakening to a rather bizarre skill.
[Nickname: Yuan Gungun]
[Race: Iron-eating Beast]
[Stage: Infancy]
[Life Value: 100%]
[Talent: Feeding]
[Attributes: Strength 8, Constitution 10, Agility 4, Intelligence 6, Perception 7, Charm 15]
[Abilities: Emotional Connection, Loyalty, Fruit Pitcher]
[Fruit Pitcher: Materialize a fruit and hurl it at enemies, splattering colorful flesh and firmly attracting their hatred onto oneself]
Upon seeing this skill, Mu Ying seriously wondered if allowing it to eat so many fruits had been a mistake.
This skill was a taunt with no attack power. Given Yuan Gungun's current size, the fruits it materialized were usually small ones like peaches or tangerines.
When they hit an enemy, they would burst open completely, and the sweet pulp would quickly rot, emanating a foul stench, successfully drawing the enemy's hatred toward itself.
Even zombies couldn't tolerate such indignity, and became noticeably more enraged than usual.
Looking at Yuan Gungun's short legs and plump physique, Mu Ying decided to disregard this skill. Although it had entered its infancy stage and its attributes had significantly improved, it still wouldn't withstand a zombie's claws.
Unable to bear damage or outrun enemies, taunting was effectively a suicidal move, and was thus relegated to the bottom of the pile.
However, considering Yuan Gungun's adult-like constitution and strength even during its infancy, it was expected to be quite durable in the future. For now, though, that was out of the question.
As she left the orchard, a white sheet of paper tacked onto a roadside power pole caught Mu Ying's eye.
"June 15th, officials will organize personnel to clear zombies from the highway. All citizens are requested to make their way to the logistics center for assembly before heading together to Qingshan Camp."
"June 15th?" Mu Ying did some quick math—it was the 14th today, so tomorrow?
This notice was commonplace, evident from its numerous postings. She took to the forums and found the same announcement, even more detailed there.
The so-called officials referred to the local military stationed in Coastal City and some civil servants.
In an apocalypse where transportation and communication systems had collapsed, and forum information could be misleading, the national control power crumbled dramatically, leaving each area to fend for itself.
Coastal City's logistics center stored a vast amount of survival supplies which were nearly impossible to transfer in large quantities without transport vehicles, hence the call for citizens to carry portions of supplies to relocate towards Qingshan Camp.
For those who had mastered some professional abilities, killing zombies wasn't difficult. Having more people was an advantage, as it not only attracted zombies but also provided labor for carrying supplies, bringing more benefits than drawbacks.
No matter what, there would likely be a large group of people arriving at her camp soon. Having realized this, Mu Ying made a prompt decision to accelerate her pace, aiming to get back to the camp before them and prepare for their arrival.
The seed market covered a vast area and included a majority of common plant seeds and seedlings, but there were hardly any zombies around, probably because it had been cleared earlier.
Though there were many stores, most offered similar products. Mu Ying went directly to one of the largest storefronts, and it did not take long for her to fill the bamboo basket on Old Yellow Bull's back, piling it high with several cloth bags.
The bamboo basket contained seeds she had collected for herself, a mix of various kinds, each in different quantities. The top two cloth bags were filled with seeds of different plants, all intended for Grandpa Shom.
After resting for one night in the seed market, and leaving a little food for Yuan Gungun, Mu Ying gave all the remaining Recovery Spring to Old Yellow Bull, which needed to compensate for the weight of the seeds and Yuan Gungun on the journey.
She headed back the same way she came, passing through the orchard and into the forest.
From a distance, the highway was a lot busier, with a large number of people with their belongings gathering together, waiting for something.
A little further on, another group of lightly equipped people marched side by side, fiercely fighting with zombies.
These people were obviously well-trained, with organized battle strategies—rotating defense, healing, picking up dropped items—all performed with seamless coordination.
Mu Ying watched with interest for a while; such ferocious and direct combat was so exhilarating!
However, the frequency of injuries was quite high, as they were facing a large group of zombies.
But the wounds were not serious, mostly just scratches from zombie claws. After becoming professionals, they no longer had to worry about infection from the zombie virus and could recover quickly if they had healing abilities.
After observing for a while, she led Old Yellow Bull away. With so many people, her territory wouldn't be able to accommodate them all; she needed to rush back to expand it.
Although the large group was moving slowly, Mu Ying wasn't much faster herself. The route through the woods was certainly longer compared to the straight and flat highway.
Luckily, she resisted the temptation to "interfere" with the plants along the way, enabling her to reach Anping Driving School that evening.
Nie Ying and Zheng Jing were no longer there; they had left a message in the cafeteria saying they had encountered other survivors and decided to head to Qingshan Camp together.
Mu Ying rested for one night at Anping Driving School, and then the next day went to the noodle shop to look for Dong Xiaogang.
The second floor of the noodle shop was emptied too, it was unclear whether trouble had occurred or if they had left ahead of time, just like Nie Ying and the others.
There were far fewer zombies in town, and the closer to the southern part of town, near Qingshan Forest, the fewer zombies there were.
Passing by a supermarket, Mu Ying heard the sounds of combat.
A group of about a dozen people, facing three times their number in zombies, were fighting and retreating, barely managing to hold their ground.
She knew the town well; the alley was deep but a cul-de-sac, and it looked like those people were in a tough spot.
Mu Ying circled to a residential house nearby, climbed to the second floor, and looked out the window. Indeed, the people in the alley were squeezed at the dead end, their movements restricted and their energy fading. Among them were several familiar faces.
Her position was safe and convenient for casting her spells.
Li Wei and his group had inadvertently led zombies into a dead-end alley, increasingly finding themselves in a tight spot. Many were injured and just as they were in despair, thick vines suddenly emerged from the ground, immobilizing the ferocious zombies instantly.
"It's Mu Ying!" Liu Luoluo exclaimed from the back of the crowd, pointing to the window above.
With Mu Ying's help, they finally escaped danger and killed all the zombies.
Although Mu Ying hadn't directly killed any zombies, she still earned a fair amount of copper coins.