Apocalyptic Disaster: I Hoard Billions in Supplies and Kill the Saint

62: Chapter 62 The Price of AwakeningZhao Wei froze and didn’t say anything else.

Zhou Cheng glanced at Sun Hao on the bed and said in a low voice, “But what about Sun Hao... his body temperature is still rising, and none of us know if this medicine works. If he really turns, can we... still bring ourselves to do it?”

Zhang Tianjin suddenly looked up. “No! Sun Hao cannot die! If any of you really dare to... I’ll fight you first!”

“Calm down.”

Ye Nanxing walked to the bedside, took out another bottle of Spirit Spring, hesitated for a moment, and then poured it into Sun Hao’s mouth again.

She said in a low voice, “I don’t know if this stuff can cure the zombie virus. But I’ve heard... that a very small number of infected people undergo mutations under high-pressure conditions, developing abilities that exceed those of ordinary people.”

“They are called—Ability Users.”

Zhao Wei was stunned. “You mean... Sun Hao might...”

“If he can survive, he might become one of those people.” She looked at Sun Hao, her tone suddenly shifting. “But if he doesn’t make it, and none of you can bring yourselves to do it, I will.”

The room suddenly fell silent.

The Shelter was completely silent, save for Sun Hao’s breathing, which carried a slight instability and an unusual rhythm.

“Crack—!” The glass shattered, fragments flying everywhere, and a faint smell of burning permeated the air.

“Sun Hao?!” Zhang Tianjin rushed over first, but as soon as he reached out his hand, an invisible arc of electricity numbed his palm!

“Zzz—” Sun Hao was wrapped in what looked like thunder, half-lying on the bed, with a faint silver-blue electrical trace appearing in his pupils. His fingers twitched involuntarily, and tiny snakes of electricity radiated from his palms, dancing in the air!

“He... he’s discharging electricity?!” Zhou Cheng widened his eyes. “Holy crap... first time I’ve seen this!”

Zhao Wei took a step back, his face full of shock. “This isn’t a symptom of the zombie virus, this is... an awakening?!”

Ye Nanxing instantly stepped forward, knelt on one knee to check Sun Hao’s pulse, her brows furrowed. [Body temperature 38.6°C, heart rate high but under control. Skin is conducting electricity, no convulsions despite the neural overload—]

“...It doesn’t look like an infection.” She said in a low voice. “It’s more like a... triggering.”

“Ability? Are you sure?” Zhao Wei swallowed hard. “Isn’t this just in movies? Do we really have superpowers here?”

“I don’t know.” Ye Nanxing’s expression was grave. “I’ve never seen an Ability User, only heard of them.”

Sun Hao slowly opened his eyes, a silver light flashing and then disappearing. He paused slightly, then said hoarsely, “I... am I still alive?”

“You haven’t turned.” Ye Nanxing said in a low voice. “But you may no longer be an ordinary person.”

Sun Hao raised his hand, a wisp of pale blue electric arc flickering in his palm. “I can... feel it.” His voice trembled. “That power, it’s like... the pool of thunder hidden in my body has been opened.”

“My mind is very clear, but my muscles have a strange tension, as if they could explode outward in the next second...”

“That’s so cool!” Zhang Tianjin leaned in directly. “Sun Hao, you’ll have to be our power bank from now on. If our phones run out of battery, we’ll just touch you!”

Zhao Wei snorted, speaking with mixed feelings. “Honestly, I really didn’t expect our first Ability User to be one of our own brothers.”

Ye Nanxing didn’t laugh; her eyes were as calm as a lake, and she said in a deep voice, “We must reformulate our plan.”

Heavy curtains blocked the snow light outside, and under the warm white light, the five of them sat around a conference table, with an unfolded city map serving as a sand table for the battlefield outpost.

On the map, red markings were clearly visible, and Ye Nanxing’s fingertips lingered on three areas: [Science and Technology Museum], [Government Logistics Warehouse], [Scientific Research Auxiliary Storage Center].

“Our original plan was to stockpile supplies in batches and withdraw from the city directly once we had accumulated enough.”

Ye Nanxing’s tone was extremely calm, exuding an oppressive efficiency. “But Sun Hao’s situation has changed everything.”

Her gaze swept over the others, her voice low. “He didn’t just recover from an injury—you all saw it. His neural reactions, body temperature changes, current sensing ability... these cannot be explained by medicine.”

“The virus... might not just be for destruction; it is selecting.”

Zhao Wei’s pupils constricted, his voice hoarse. “You mean, some people can be strengthened by the virus? Become Ability Users?”

“I didn’t say that.” Ye Nanxing replied calmly. “But this is not the only outcome of ’infection’, that much I am sure of.”

“If we want to live longer, we can’t just hide and run.” She said, enunciating every word. “We need to find answers, we need to find the initiative.”

She tapped the map with her finger: “The Science and Technology Museum is the key.”

“The recent technology exhibition hasn’t had time to be dismantled, and the exhibits are still inside the museum. New energy micro-reactors, personal extreme cold suits, magnetic rail thrusters, thermal energy conversion backpacks... Once we can take away a few of these, the survival capital of our base will be greatly increased.”

Zhou Cheng stared at the map, deep in thought. “Do you think... there are others who will also have their eyes on these?”

“Yes.” Ye Nanxing nodded. “And it will be the strongest batch of humans—the next wave will no longer be ordinary thugs or survivors.”

“But rather, people who have ’truly awakened’.” “Before the city is locked down, this group will make their move first.”

Zhao Wei clicked his tongue and sneered. “The resource war has started early.”

“It’s not early,” Ye Nanxing looked at him. “It started the moment we rushed into the first warehouse.” “Now, it’s just leveled up.”

Zhang Tianjin frowned. “But the Science and Technology Museum... that kind of place won’t be easy to hit, right? Is the defense system still on?”

“The security system failed three hours ago.” Ye Nanxing said softly. “If it hasn’t been rebooted, there won’t be large-scale obstruction. But once the government intervenes, or other ’organizations’...”

She didn’t finish, but everyone understood in their hearts—that would be an unavoidable hard battle.

After they finished discussing, Sun Hao sat on the sofa, unwrapping the bandage with one hand. The scratch on his shoulder had already formed an abnormal scab, and faint electric arcs were wandering at the base of the scab.

“...It’s still a bit strange.” He murmured, and when he looked up, he saw Zhao Wei and Zhang Tianjin staring at him intently.

“Can you discharge electricity?”

“Cough... I think... I can? But I haven’t tried a big move yet.” Sun Hao touched his palm, and a wisp of blue-white electric arc appeared.

Zhang Tianjin’s eyes lit up instantly. “Holy crap, you’ve already awakened?! Can you be a power plant from now on? You can supply power to our entire camp!”

Zhao Wei: “No, that’s not right, the rice cooker, kettle, heater, and my automatic coffee machine... it’s all up to you!”

Sun Hao couldn’t help but laugh and cry: “Are you guys crazy?”

Zhang Tianjin suddenly leaned in and said mysteriously, “Bro, can you try charging my phone? I was halfway through watching a show last night, and it’s stuck right there.”

Sun Hao: “...My phone also exploded, thank you.”

“Then didn’t you discharge for nothing?!” Zhao Wei exclaimed.

Ye Nanxing had just come in from outside, and upon hearing this, she rubbed her forehead, speechless. “...Are you guys bored out of your minds? We leave in three hours, go to sleep.”

Zhang Tianjin hugged his tactical jacket, pretending to be aggrieved. “You said it yourself, sleeping is to take down more zombies—”

“So,” he said righteously as he crawled into his sleeping bag, “I am accumulating strength for the future of humanity.”

Zhao Wei: “I’ll accumulate some too! Brothers, let’s hit the museum tomorrow morning!”

Zhou Cheng said expressionlessly: “Are you sure you meant ’hit’ the Science and Technology Museum, and not go out to eat?”

“Either works.” Zhao Wei turned over. “Anyway, since the Apocalypse has descended this time, I just want to live a little more dashingly.”

Ye Nanxing ignored them, returned to her room, leaned against the edge of the bed, and looked out the window at the city boundary where snow and fog were churning, her eyes deep: “To survive, it’s not just about living dashingly.” “It’s also to see the real answer.”