Apocalypse Showdown: Carrier Conquest

Chapter 16: The Secret of the Abilities

Although Cheng Yali appeared carefree and open, what mother wouldn't care for her child? No matter what, they had to have hot pot tonight, even if the sky fell down. That's just how it was, and not even Jesus could change that.

“Mom, I love your spirit.”

“Get lost! Go rest!” Cheng Yali retorted.

“I’m not tired,” Zhou Lin replied. “It was low blood sugar, but once I eat something, I’ll be fine. Didn’t you say there’s more stock coming soon?”

“Oh, I almost forgot! Go on, take care of yourself. I’ll wait outside.” Cheng Yali, ever the efficient one, was preparing to deal with a truckload of daily-use goods. She’d found a regional wholesaler with great prices. For less than 200,000 yuan, the whole family could have supplies for decades, assuming they didn't expire.

In the warehouse, every time Zhou Lin checked a batch of supplies, he carefully monitored his body’s reaction and the experience gained from his abilities. Although he couldn’t precisely calculate the correlation between the two, he could tell that acquiring supplies did indeed increase his experience.

Additionally, the physical exhaustion was unrelated to the supplies themselves but was instead tied to the frequency of using his abilities. This could explain why the "Laifu" ship had never drained his energy when stored away, but he almost collapsed in the warehouse earlier.

Now, Zhou Lin understood. After using his abilities three or four times, he could simply eat a chocolate bar to quickly restore his energy. While the taste might get old, it was incredibly effective.

“I wonder if other ability users have the same issue, but things like chocolate bars are going to become a staple,” he mused. Small, portable, and efficient, they might one day become the currency among ability users.

As fate would have it, Cheng Yali drove a forklift into the warehouse just as Zhou Lin was thinking this over.

“Alright, I’ll go pick them up,” Cheng Yali said. “The wholesaler is in the logistics park. I’ll get the chocolate bars sorted.”

True to her efficient nature, Cheng Yali had the entire order of 50 packs per box, 60 boxes in total (that’s 3,000 bars), ready within the hour. The total cost was just 450 yuan. Zhou Lin was impressed by her quick work, and it felt like a small fortune of chocolate bars that might one day be worth their weight in gold.

“Mom, you’re amazing,” Zhou Lin said, giving her a thumbs up.

“Don’t get too cocky. I’ll get more if we need it. There are all kinds of warehouses in this logistics park.”

“Don’t go overboard, though. We’ve spent most of our money, right?” Zhou Lin quickly reminded her.

Cheng Yali nodded. “Yes, we’ve already spent quite a bit. From last night till now, I’ve burned through almost 5 million in my account, and I transferred a good amount from your father’s account too.”

Zhou Lin had a sudden idea. He whispered his plan to his mother, and Cheng Yali nodded repeatedly. “Nice idea, but it’s risky...”

“Eh, what’s the worst that could happen? Maybe just a few frostbites,” Zhou Lin responded nonchalantly.

“Well, what if someone tries to steal from you?” Cheng Yali raised another concern. “Lily’s been saying we should prepare some weapons. But I only bought a few knives. We don’t have any real long-range weapons.”

In normal cities, it was hard to find any kind of weapon, apart from a few collectors holding on to their prized possessions. But fortunately, Zhou Lin wasn’t lacking in this department. He could get anything from handguns to flamethrowers to shoulder-mounted missiles.

“Mom, look at this,” Zhou Lin said, pulling out a shiny handgun.

“Holy... where did you get this?” Cheng Yali was stunned. Summer was nothing like the US, and even possessing a few bullets could land you in jail for years. The gun Zhou Lin pulled out was clearly military-grade—new, sleek, and well-maintained.

“You can keep this, and I’ve got three more magazines, along with a holster,” Zhou Lin said. “Take it with you. Don’t worry about the laws, just don’t go waving it around in public.”

“I don’t know how to use this,” Cheng Yali admitted, though she wasn’t entirely against carrying a gun during these troubled times.

“It’s easy!” Zhou Lin quickly explained how to un-safety it, load the magazine, and aim. Since they didn’t have the conditions for live ammo practice, he showed her how to handle it in a safe, theoretical manner. With her build and strength, Cheng Yali should be able to control the handgun just fine.

“This thing is... pretty cool,” Cheng Yali remarked, clearly impressed with her new weapon.

“I’ve got more,” Zhou Lin replied. “Dad’s got one too, I’ll give him his when I see him.”

“That’s good. Don’t give one to Lily, though. She’s still too young for that.”

Zhou Lin was about to object, but he held back. He had considered giving Lily a weapon, but given her personality, she’d likely end up hurting herself before being able to use it properly. Plus, with the approaching chaos, it wasn’t safe for anyone to be unarmed.

After finishing up the day’s tasks, Zhou Lin drove Cheng Yali to Langshan, where she would stay with Lily for the night and continue her procurement activities.

Back in the city, there wasn’t much left to buy. Many stores had either closed or were severely out of stock. It was clear that everyone was stockpiling—no one wanted to be caught unprepared.

Even Cheng Yali encountered several “closed for the day” signs while trying to purchase goods. People weren’t stupid. The government could say whatever they wanted, but when the time came to stock up, if you had the money, you didn’t hesitate.

As for Zhou Lin, he was concerned about the government’s response. While the situation in Jiayou city hadn’t yet escalated to martial law, Cheng Yali had already procured significant amounts of goods—sugar, salt, and grains. It wouldn’t take much for someone to notice. What if the government came to requisition those supplies?

Zhou Lin had a bad feeling about this, so he decided to act. The morning after he woke up, he immediately called Cheng Yali. “We’ll stop after half a day. Let’s not use that warehouse anymore.”

“Why?” Cheng Yali asked. “Isn’t it fine?”

“I think we should burn everything in the warehouse,” Zhou Lin said in a low voice.

“Burn it?” Cheng Yali was shocked.