Shuixi instructed Jian Xingyi to aim his rifle at the entrance while he stepped forward to open the metal gate.

Squeak—

Jian Xingyi hadn’t spotted any light points inside yet, but the moment the gate swung open, the hoarse cries of zombies echoed out.

Jian Xingyi: “…”

Huh.

Shuixi warned, “Be careful. These are all military zombies.”

This meant they possessed greater strength and speed than ordinary zombies.

The gate and passageway were extremely narrow, barely allowing one person through at a time. To ensure safety, Shuixi decided to scout ahead.

After Shuixi descended, Jian Xingyi heard continuous gunfire and the clattering of heavy objects falling from within.

Honestly, just the sounds alone made the place feel incredibly intense.

Jian Xingyi: “…”

Good thing he hadn’t followed down.

But waiting outside had its own challenges.

Jian Xingyi now witnessed firsthand how EF5 tornadoes formed.

Not far away, air currents coalesced into a spectacular funnel cloud, bridging sky and earth. The funnel gradually transformed into a colossal whirlwind, its form growing ever more terrifying.

A massive tornado had officially formed!

Then, the tornado began moving toward them.

Jian Xingyi swallowed hard and pulled out the consumable item Houyi had given him—the Wind-Repelling Device.

Jian Xingyi: “…”

Why does this wind-dispelling device look so… comical??

Jian Xingyi raised his hand, gripping the small electric fan. He directed its buzzing airflow toward the approaching tornado, feeling utterly dumbfounded.

Hope this works…

Good news: it works.

Bad news: it works, but not very well.

Perhaps because the tornado was EF5-rated, its approach did slow down. But that didn’t change the fact that it was still closing in.

After an EF5 tornado touched down, even at a distance, plants and trees were being blown nearly to the point of breaking. Jian Xingyi stuck the wind-deflecting device aside, gripped Shuixi’s rope tightly with one hand, and clung to the cellar entrance with the other as he crouched down, struggling to hold on.

It was unimaginable what it would feel like to be sucked into that vortex… …

Fortunately, the rope in his hand stirred. Shuixi signaled to Jian Xingyi that it was safe to descend.

Shuixi’s timing was precise. After Jian Xingyi jumped down and slammed the cellar door shut, the tornado arrived moments later, slamming against the iron door with a shrill, piercing clang.

Jian Xingyi breathed a sigh of relief, sliding down the narrow passageway before landing in a room of modest size.

The floor was littered with zombies clad in military uniforms, piled so high they formed a small mountain of corpses.

Jian Xingyi could only struggle over the bodies to reach Shuixi.

Shuixi, not a single drop of blood on him, was merely wiping his short knife.

Jian Xingyi kept describing, “That EF5 out there is seriously huge! This—big!”

Jian Xingyi gestured a large circle, “If you’d let me in any later, I would’ve been blown away!”

“Don’t worry,” Shuixi chuckled softly, “I won’t let you get blown away.”

The truth was, the zombies in the cellar were genuinely tough to handle. The space was so cramped that even Shuixi couldn’t take them down instantly.

Jian Xingyi noticed Shuixi had been smiling a lot lately.

He looked even more handsome. Hehe.

Hiding in the cellar, they could hear the fierce wind howling outside, shaking the entire cellar.

Jian Xingyi spotted a small, inconspicuous door tucked in a corner.

Huh?

Curiosity piqued, Jian Xingyi began examining the cellar thoroughly.

Shuixi did the same. This cellar was a new location not mentioned in the guide; he could return and have Firelight update it.

They discovered numerous carvings etched into the walls.

【Day Two here. No clue when the zombie tide outside will end】

【Day Five here. Why hasn’t HQ recalled us yet… Outside is swarming with zombies and tornadoes. How long are we supposed to hide here? Food and water are almost gone…】

Jian Xingyi glanced at the surrounding zombies.

So that’s it—these were the troops trapped here before!

But… they might never receive that recall. Judging by that soldier Lu’s story in the barracks, the headquarters must have fallen.

【Day 7 here. Xiao Yu dug a well—we have water now! This gives us hope—we could farm here!】

【Day ninety… Are we to remain in this sunless place forever? How long has it been since we last saw the sun…?】

【Day two hundred: Someone couldn’t bear it anymore and opened the cellar door to go out, only to bring back the infection.】

Then the entries stopped.

Jian Xingyi was momentarily at a loss for words, murmuring only, “They… were infected by that mutated companion?”

“Not necessarily.” Shuixi gestured toward the surrounding corpses. “With so many of them, they couldn’t have failed to restrain just one. Perhaps…”

Shuixi trailed off, and Jian Xingyi understood.

Perhaps they had long since lost the will to live, choosing instead to let that comrade grant them release.

After all, this cellar was dark and narrow, while outside chaos reigned. Their remaining comrades and families were already dead.

Jian Xingyi murmured, “Maybe it was just too lonely…?”

Shuixi shook his head. “When soldiers lose their purpose in battle, they lose their reason to live.”

Jian Xingyi froze. He turned to look at Shuixi. “No, you can’t say that… Soldiers are people, too. They have their own bonds and lives! Precisely because they’ve made sacrifices, they deserve proper recognition!”

Shuixi paused.

Jian Xingyi glanced around. The wind outside seemed to have died down—perhaps the tornado had passed. He said, “These records mention soldiers digging wells and cultivating land nearby. I want to go see.”

“Mhm.”

Jian Xingyi pushed open the small door, revealing an even narrower passageway—clearly dug by hand.

Just as Jian Xingyi crouched to enter, Shuixi stopped him.

“I’ll go first.”

“Okay.”

After Shuixi entered, Jian Xingyi began lamenting, Oh no, I’m being spoiled rotten. If this keeps up, how will I ever go on solo wilderness adventures in the future?

Jian Xingyi sighed gloomily.

But hey, might as well enjoy the moment while it lasts!

So he obediently crouched in place and waited.

Soon, Shuixi’s voice carried through.

“Nothing dangerous. You can come in.”

He added.

“I think… you’ll be really happy.”

Huh?

Huh? Huh??

Jian Xingyi climbed inside, feeling a surge of excitement.

“Wow…!”

Jian Xingyi’s eyes lit up.

Nothing much, really—just the excitement a farmer feels upon seeing cultivated fields.

This passage led to a cave. Skylights dotted the ceiling, letting in ample light and airflow, yet small enough to keep zombies and beasts out.

The ground below was covered in previously cultivated plots—at least forty of them, each quite spacious!

Perhaps due to the peculiar terrain here, the price was surprisingly low!

After encountering listings for 6 million, 8 million, and even higher prices outside, seeing this one priced at 3 million made Jian Xingyi feel like the world had suddenly brightened, the air felt fresher, and the handsome Shuixi seemed even more dashing.

Yes!!!

Though this plot’s rating wasn’t high, it was only slightly lower than others due to the nearby zombies.

But that was no problem at all! The yield might be a bit lower, but the quantity was plentiful!

Jian Xingyi exclaimed excitedly, “Shuixi, isn’t this the plot of my dreams?!”

Placing the farmland here means zombies and beasts can’t get in, ordinary people won’t tread here, and strong winds won’t blow it down.

Shuixi nodded, “Mhm.”

Jian Xingyi excitedly stepped forward, pulling out the land and farmland development certificate.

He spent 3 million to buy this plot, then was about to use the farmland development certificate…

【Land plot is damaged. Player cannot use the Farmland Development Certificate.】

Jian Xingyi: “?”

Huh?

What?

What does that mean?

Scam?

System rip-off merchant???

Is this some kind of fraud? Huh??

Jian Xingyi nearly lost his cool.

Shuixi: “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Jian Xingyi took a deep breath. It could still be salvaged—no big deal.

Jian Xingyi opened the terminal management page and asked the system: How to repair damaged land?

He recalled the system mentioning earlier that it would repair damaged fields, like those affected by excessive rain or hurricanes. But if the damage was severe enough, like being completely destroyed by zombies, the player would have to handle it themselves. If even the player couldn’t fix it, the land would be scrapped.

In other words, there was a way to restore the fields.

Jian Xingyi opened the tutorial.

Players at the max management level could purchase enhanced pesticides from the store. Thus, Jian Xingyi could use these chemicals to revitalize soil nutrients and loosen the earth to remove weeds.

Jian Xingyi thought to himself: No wonder his management VIP store offered magic shovels and axes—it all seemed interconnected.

Jian Xingyi first bought a large quantity of fertilizer to spread, then retrieved a shovel from his backpack.

He had given the shovel and axe to guild members for crafting more tools, but kept two of each for his own use.

Rolling up his sleeves, Jian Xingyi began digging away with a satisfying plop-plop sound.

Noticing Shuixi waiting idly nearby, Jian Xingyi asked, “Want to help? I’ve got an extra shovel.”

“Sure.”

So the plop-plop sound soon became two people working together.

Shuixi was stronger than him, so his movements were swift. Watching the field before Shuixi became weed-free and neatly tilled, Jian Xingyi couldn’t help but remark, “You’re quite the farming whiz.”

After a moment, Shuixi said, “I used to be a soldier.”

Shuixi was referring to his life before playing this game.

Jian Xingyi interpreted this as his NPC profession, but the distinction wasn’t significant. He was initially surprised, then found it quite plausible.

“No wonder…”

Shuixi sighed with a mix of amusement and resignation. “My dream back then was to one day retire from the military and live a life of tilling the soil and weeding.”

Jian Xingyi grinned. “That life really is wonderful! It’s my dream too!”

Though he didn’t know if it could be achieved in this apocalyptic game, Jian Xingyi was striving for it nonetheless!

For instance, right now, Jian Xingyi took a sip of water and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

After turning over a few clumps of soil, Jian Xingyi paused to rest. He propped his shovel into the ground, leaned against it, and asked, “So, have you been discharged yet?”

“Yeah, I got out pretty early.”

“Oh…” Jian Xingyi chuckled. “Well, if you don’t have a job, you can always tag along with me. I’m always working hard on the farm!”

“Sounds good.”

The two worked hard all afternoon and finally finished turning over all the land.

Jian Xingyi used the Farmland Development Certificate with eager anticipation.

【Player 【Xinghe】 successfully used the Field Development Certificate, obtaining 50 Grade B Fields】

Jian Xingyi: “…!”

Originally, there were only 40 plots, but because they restored the fields, the number became 50. And since the land quality score was high, they directly obtained Grade B fields—no leveling up required!

Great! Great! Great!

So happy…!

Jian Xingyi was overjoyed. Overwhelmed with excitement and with no one nearby to share it with, he rushed straight to Shuixi and hugged him tightly.

“Shuixi! I gained 50 plots of land all at once!”

His family only had 60 plots! He was truly a landowner now!

Fifty plots of land…

Finally, he wouldn’t have to nervously calculate whether his food supplies were sufficient. Not only could he keep a substantial stockpile for himself, but he could also comfortably supply at least three guilds without pressure. He could even list more food items for sale!

After all, once he leveled up his merchant rank and unlocked the Thousand Bells Snow Mountain region, his current stock would definitely be insufficient!

So happy!

Shuixi paused for a moment before smiling back. “Congratulations.”

He reached out, tentatively trying to return Jian Xingyi’s embrace.

The body in his arms felt warm and soft. Shuixi had never experienced anything like this before. He was even afraid he might hurt the person by holding too tightly, scaring them away, so he hesitated.

But they’d had physical contact many times before—Shuixi couldn’t understand why he was nervous now. At this moment, he resembled a large wolfdog still learning its place.

Just as his palm was about to touch Jian Xingyi’s back, a low, hoarse zombie cry echoed from nearby.

Jian Xingyi startled, pulling away from Shuixi’s embrace and watching warily toward the sound. “They respawned already?”

Shuixi: “…Relax. They can’t get through. I’ll take them out.”

With that, Shuixi hoisted his rifle and trudged forward with heavy steps.

Jian Xingyi: “Oh.”

Moments passed.

Suddenly, Jian Xingyi realized: Wait, if they can’t get through, why is Shuixi so eager to kill them all?