Xu Nuo knew that speaking this way might be a bit harsh for the child, but he understood that if he didn't prepare him adequately, it could be more than just a blow—it could cost the boy his life.
Chen Jingxuan, with tears and snot all over his face, clung tightly to Xu Nuo's leg, feeling that Xu Nuo was his only hope. "Brother, what should I do? I don't want my mom to turn into a zombie. Please help her, please!"
Xu Nuo sighed and gently pulled the boy off his leg. "It's not that I don't want to help, but I can't. Only you can save your mother. I already told you, she needs your care and your hope for her survival.
I also said that if any other problems arise, you can come to me. But right now, besides telling you how to take care of her, there's nothing more I can do. And let me be clear, if she really turns into a zombie, I will kill her."
"You stay here and take care of your mother. I need to check on Park Su. Unless your mother is about to wake up, it's best not to come to me," Xu Nuo said, heading straight upstairs without waiting for a response from Jingxuan. He knew this approach seemed cold, but it was the best solution.
Xu Nuo couldn't handle a crying child, and whether Jingxuan chose to come to him later was up to the boy. Everyone must make their own decisions, and no one else can do that for them. While it might seem cruel to treat a thirteen-year-old this way, Xu Nuo himself had faced numerous challenges alone.
The more difficulties one faces, the stronger they become. In this harsh society, only the strong survive longer. Once upstairs, Xu Nuo continued to monitor both Park Su's condition and the movements of the convoy, disregarding the mother and son's situation.
He believed that Chen Jingxuan could take care of his mother. If things went wrong and the boy couldn't handle it, Xu Nuo would just have one more zombie to deal with.
Meanwhile, Park Su was in a mystical state, feeling every pore in his body open and drawing spiritual energy from the surrounding air. This made him feel extremely comfortable.
When he first felt this special sensation, he knew he was likely about to break through. The feeling was too wonderful, quite different from his previous third-level breakthrough in his past life.
During the breakthrough, he could feel his strength growing, making him very relaxed and looking forward to seeing what he would become afterward. The only discomfort was his complete detachment from the external world. If someone attacked him, he wouldn't be able to resist.
However, knowing Xu Nuo was next door, despite the uneasy environment, he felt at ease, allowing him to fully immerse himself in this state, which greatly benefited his cultivation.
Unaware of the passage of time or external events, Park Su could see the flow of his internal energy pathways and the spiritual energy he absorbed. This novelty made him instinctively follow the flow of the absorbed spiritual energy, guiding his internal spiritual energy along with it.
He didn't realize that his actions were attracting spiritual energy more quickly. Xu Nuo, sensing the change, frowned. He had underestimated Park Su, not expecting his breakthrough to cause such a commotion.
Xu Nuo initially thought the formation next door would conceal Park Su's breakthrough anomaly from the convoy until they left. But the sudden increase in spiritual energy gathering around Park Su indicated a critical moment in his breakthrough, and changing formations now would be too late to avoid detection by the convoy.
Hoping the convoy would leave on its own without causing trouble, Xu Nuo nonetheless prepared for the possibility of dealing with them.
After having a good rest for the night, Zou Xiong was ready to leave with his convoy. Although the harvest from this village wasn't much, it wasn't negligible either.
He had collected some supplies and gathered some people to leave with his group. It wasn't because he was kind-hearted, but having these people meant they could justifiably collect resources. Additionally, if there was danger, they could use them as zombie fodder.
Of course, compared to these ordinary people, he preferred recruiting ability users, which would make his convoy stronger and his influence in this apocalyptic world greater.
Unfortunately, he couldn't find any ability users among the survivors in this small village. Although disappointed, he knew ability users were hard to find.
After spending the whole morning busying himself and counting the supplies, he was about to leave when he suddenly felt a change in the energy in the air.
As a power ability user, he had noticed his once firm muscles becoming as hard as rocks after awakening his ability, giving him immense strength to punch through iron plates.
This transformation allowed him to go from being an ordinary worker to the leader of his convoy. Those wealthy people who once looked down on him now sought his favor, and he could easily dominate them. This contrast boosted his confidence and highlighted the importance of power and strength.
Hence, he was very keen on growing his abilities and had researched ways to enhance them more rapidly.
His research revealed that the air was filled with energy, though he never knew how to harness it.
The current significant change in the air's energy aroused his curiosity about what was happening.
He speculated that the significant energy change might be due to someone awakening their ability or breaking through their ability level. This wasn't just a wild guess; he believed these were the only possibilities for such a change.
If it was the former, the ability must be incredibly powerful, considering the magnitude of the energy change, unlike his own awakening.
If it was the latter, his eyes lit up, thinking the person had found a way to absorb the air's energy and use it.
He hoped to extract this information from the person and enhance his own abilities. With greater strength, solidifying his convoy's position would be effortless.
Therefore, he had to ensure this person joined his convoy, providing significant aid.
Determined, he focused all his attention on observing the energy changes in the air, trying to locate the source.
Soon, he discovered that the flow of spiritual energy was coming from a building not far ahead.
This surprised him, as the building was quite close to the road. If there was any significant activity at night, it could attract zombies. Why would anyone choose to stay there?
However, after thinking it over, he realized that the residents might be unaware of the dangers or perhaps the breakthrough happened suddenly, leaving no time to move. He saw an opportunity to make a good impression.
He could go and talk to them, show his goodwill, and even protect them if necessary. Then, he could invite the person to join his convoy. If he made a good impression, they might not refuse. Even if they did, they would owe him a favor, and he could invite them to travel with him, finding a way to recruit them along the way.
Feeling confident about this plan, he quickly ordered his people to continue packing while he and his trusted friend Zhu Xianhou went to visit the ability user.
Zhu Xianhou was surprised by Zou Xiong's plan because when they arrived the previous afternoon, they hadn't noticed anyone in the building. As Zou Xiong mentioned, the building's location was far from ideal, being too close to the road and prone to zombie attacks at night.
He wondered if these people were unaware of safer places further back or if they were confident in their strength, unafraid of zombie attacks.
Zhu Xianhou believed the latter was more likely. He thought the residents must have arrived the night before, not that morning.