Chapter 13

Feeling that his temperature was off, Lin Tantan looked up at Bai Cheng. Seeing his calm, mild expression, she was puzzled.
If it were the fever that comes with ability awakening, he'd show symptoms, but he seemed fine, his skin still pale. Maybe her hands were just too cold?
She couldn't help bringing her other hand up and touched the back of Bai Cheng's hand, it was indeed hot.
Bai Cheng: "..."
Ye Xiao: "..."
Seeing both of them looking at her strangely, and realizing her action might have looked creepy, Lin Tantan hurried to explain, "Well, I just thought your hand was kind of hot, are you running a fever?"
Before Bai Cheng could answer, Ye Xiao squeezed his hand, then pressed the back of his hand to Bai Cheng's forehead, frowning slightly. "It's really hot."
Normally they'd shrug off a fever, but things were different now, zombies were out, and everyone was being extra careful about their health.
Of all times, Bai Cheng had to get a fever now.
Bai Cheng had been severely injured in the past and undergone major surgery; his body wasn't as robust as others'. He'd planned to transfer to a desk job once this mission was over.
Ye Xiao's face went serious; he pulled Bai Cheng a few steps aside to avoid the others. "When did it start? Where does it hurt?"
Bai Cheng smiled. "Probably just a chill. I'm fine."
Ye Xiao didn't believe him. Bai Cheng was the kind of person who endured, he'd stayed silent after being shot, acted as if nothing was wrong when he ran out of strength, all so he wouldn't hold the squad back. Everyone in their team behaved like that to some degree, but Bai Cheng did it especially well; Ye Xiao was sometimes fooled by him.
He turned to Lin Tantan. "Tantan..." He remembered she had said her power could heal.
But he was met with a pair of dazzling, wide eyes, so bright they almost hurt to look at. They were full of excitement and eagerness; her smile seemed ready to burst into tears at any moment. She clasped her hands under her chin, and Ye Xiao felt like she was about to bounce up and down with joy.
Ye Xiao: "..."
So why did she have to smile so creepily?
Lin Tantan: "Aaaah!!! She touched his forehead, she touched his forehead! Right in front of me! That worried gesture, that anxious tone, sweeter than anything in a novel! Oh my, my girlish heart! I can't handle this!"
She let out a soul-shriek, but at Ye Xiao's look she calmed in an instant. Putting on a serious face, she walked over, circled Bai Cheng once, and told Ye Xiao, "I think, well, I think he's about to awaken his power."
Bai Cheng's ability did indeed emerge not long after Mei Baisheng's death.
Ye Xiao was mildly surprised and had no time to dwell on her strange expression. Bai Cheng's eyes lit up. "Miss Lin, are you sure?"
"Not entirely sure, but when I awakened my power I had a fever, my head felt swollen, my whole body grew weak, I felt awful." Lin Tantan asked Ye Xiao, "You should have experience with this, right?"
Ye Xiao was silent for a moment. "I don't have that experience."
Bai Cheng smiled and explained, "We were in a tight spot back then, and A Xiao suddenly developed an ability."
"That's great. Let me tell you, awakening a power isn't easy, I felt like I brushed against death." Lin Tantan thought of Lin Tantan, who had died while awakening.
"What? What?" Mei Baisheng suddenly leaned in. "What are you talking about? Who's about to awaken a power?"
He looked left and right, hooked an arm over Bai Cheng's shoulder. "Old Bai, you're incredible, how did you suddenly get a power? What did you do? What did you eat? How do you feel? What's your power like?"
His voice was a little high, so everyone looked over, curiosity and envy on their faces. Zhong Xiong and Xu Li, along with a man who looked a bit delicate and androgynous, immediately gathered around, staring Bai Cheng up and down. The stranger, however, glanced at Lin Tantan a few extra times.
Lin Tantan: "?" Who from our squad is that? Why is there a hint of teasing in his eyes?
Ye Xiao cleared his throat. "Let's go upstairs and talk."
He then told the people they'd brought back to come upstairs and find rooms of their own, with two rules: don't open rooms that still contain zombies, and no fighting or injuring others.
"So what will we do now?" Everyone saw that Ye Xiao seemed only to be putting them up here without further plans, and grew anxious.
Ye Xiao said, "As I told you before, we'll be responsible for the safety of this building and hold it until the army arrives. As for food, you've all brought some supplies; you should manage for a while. Once we have time, we'll clear the surrounding area. If you need daily necessities or food, you can come with us on those runs or go out and scavenge on your own."
Ye Xiao had brought them here because they couldn't survive where they were, but he didn't intend to support them indefinitely. He provided a relatively safe environment; the rest depended on each person's ability. When the army arrived, he wouldn't have to be responsible for their safety anymore.
Hearing this, some were disappointed, others excited. Huang Jianquan was especially eager and immediately said, "Captain Ye, I'm willing to work with you. Whenever you need me, just call."
Ye Xiao nodded, then looked at the five graduate students.
The five were a little nervous, especially the female fire-element and the male water-element students. They exchanged a glance, pride and excitement on their faces. Having powers made them different from ordinary people; surely they'd be invited to join the team. Should they accept?
Those who knew they had powers were envious and a little resentful, people with abilities would certainly be valued, and treated completely differently.
Ye Xiao walked over to the five, but didn't focus on the two ability users students. "You're students from Beida University" he said. "I want to hear in detail about what happened there."
The female fire-element graduate student: "..."
The male water-element graduate student: "..."
This wasn't quite what they'd imagined, was it?
...
Meanwhile, Lin Tantan had been unwittingly brought into the large office they'd taken over. Bai Cheng wanted to ask her about abilities, and of course everyone else was curious about what superpowers were all about.
So Lin Tantan had no choice but to perform the same ability she'd shown Ye Xiao for their benefit.
Mei Baisheng said, green with envy, "None of us have a power, and you suddenly have two, it's not fair!" He asked again, "So what kind of power does Old Bai have?"
A spatial ability.
But Lin Tantan couldn't say that now, so she told Bai Cheng he should rest, replenish his nutrition, and conserve his strength.
She had told a stranger the same thing the day before, because it really was crucial.
For those with abilities, there are two trials before one becomes a true ability user: the second tests the use of the crystal core, and the first is the awakening itself.
Awakening carries significant risk: failure can lead to death or becoming a zombie. In the early days of the apocalypse, some zombies were the result of failed awakenings; that's why sometimes a perfectly fine group would suddenly see one person turn, then bite another, and the whole group would be wiped out.
This used to cause accidents in some early survivor groups, bases, and safe zones, but people weren't idiots, they quickly worked out the cause, and as soon as someone's body temperature was abnormal, they isolated them immediately.
So calling awakening a deadly gateway isn't an exaggeration. If the process can be fed enough energy and guided by someone with an ability, the failure rate drops dramatically.
Lin Tantan knew how to guide it, though she technically shouldn't have, so she didn't show it now. She knew Bai Cheng would ultimately succeed in awakening his power.
A few of them immediately yelled for Bai Cheng to lie down, rummaged through boxes for something nutritious to feed him, leaving Bai Cheng both embarrassed and amused.
Lin Tantan watched with some feeling; they were so close, and yet such a tight-knit team hadn't a single survivor in the end.
She quietly stared at each lively face: Bai Cheng, Mei Baisheng, Xu Li, Zhong Xiong; the fairly ordinary-looking guy cradling a laptop was tech-wizard Jiang Xiaotian; the pale, fragile-looking, slightly aloof one was the prophet Cheng Qinan, huh, why has he been staring at her nonstop? And the androgynous-looking fellow who could fashion lethal weapons in the worst conditions was Xu Qin, head of the humanoid weapons depot.
Huh, and why is the boss constantly rummaging through her axe?
Xu Qin suddenly spoke: "Can that golden superpower of yours be used on this axe?"
Lin Tantan said, "Yes," and then demonstrated. She infused the axe blade with her metal-based power; the blade, already fairly sharp, became even keener. Xu Qin took it, and the golden sheen on the blade didn't vanish right away. He drew it lightly across the sofa as if slicing tofu, and an armrest came clean off.
Everyone: "..."
"Xu Qin, you're sleeping on the couch tonight!" Mei Baisheng shouted, the sofa was hardly long enough as it was, and now he'd shaved off a chunk! He then pulled out his small knife and, grinning, said to Lin Tantan, "Miss Lin, no, Tantan, do you think you could modify this knife too?"
Zhong Xiong said thoughtfully, "If you applied this ability to bullets, ordinary rounds could achieve armor-piercing effects."
Shy Xu Li, clutching his sword, shuffled closer. "Could my sword get a layer like that too? Even if it's only temporary." He wanted to feel what it was like to wield a divine blade that cleaved everything before it.
Xu Qin, the humanoid weapons depot head and weapon-modification specialist, was thinking even bigger; his eyes shone as he looked at Lin Tantan. "Miss Lin, no, Tantan, I have an idea. Would you be interested?"
Lin Tantan drew in her shoulders. She'd been too naive; she withdrew the sympathy she'd felt a moment ago. These weren't people to pity, each one was fierce in his or her own way.
So when Ye Xiao came back, he found the girl he'd brought in cornered on the sofa by his unruly comrades, her face stiff, while some of them brandished knives, others swords, some toyed with pistols, and one waved an axe...
Ye Xiao's brow twitched hard. "What are you doing?!"