Doomsday Reboot: My Superpowers Absorb Everything

The morning mist at the eastern outpost always carried the earthy smell of soil. Lin Ye squatted on the edge of the field, watching the tender green shoots emerging from the newly turned earth. The dark purple energy swirling around his fingertips gently brushed across the soil, quietly purifying the residual radiation particles. This was a habit he had developed these past few days: every day before dawn, he would come to the fields to take a walk and give the seedlings a "check-up" using his evolved "Devouring" mark.

"Brother, breakfast is ready!" Lin Xi's voice came from outside the wooden fence. She was carrying a wicker basket filled with golden-brown cornbread and wild fruit juice. "Grandpa Zhang said he's going to the seed station in the south today and wants you to go there quickly."

Lin Ye straightened up and patted the dirt off his hands. The wooden fence of the stronghold was made of branches from mutated trees. It took Li Hu and several strong men three days to build it, and it was still covered with thorny vines that Su Ya had encouraged to grow, making it impossible for ordinary zombies to climb over. In the open space inside the fence, more than thirty tents were neatly arranged, and in the middle of the open space, there was a stove, where several women were chatting and laughing around a pottery pot for steaming wild vegetables.

"Any news from the seed station?" Lin Ye took the cornbread, the warmth spreading from his fingertips. Since settling in the east of the city half a month ago, they had been searching for supply points in the surrounding area, and the seed station was the most crucial one—the seeds planted at the outpost were all picked up from the ruins, and the germination rate was less than 30%.

"Well, the people who went to scout yesterday said that the seed station's warehouse wasn't completely destroyed, but there's a group of mutated rats nesting at the back door." Lin Xi took a bite of her cornbread and said indistinctly, "Grandpa Zhang asked you to lead a team there, saying that the crystal cores of those rats would be beneficial to A-Ying's speed ability."

Lin Ye smiled. Ever since A Ying's injury, her speed ability had been stuck at a bottleneck, and Elder Zhang had been thinking about finding a suitable crystal core for her to break through. He looked not far away, where A Ying was competing with the blacksmith's son, Xiao Tie, in throwing short knives. The girl's movements were faster than before, but her breathing was still not steady enough.

"Tell everyone to get ready. We'll depart in half an hour." Lin Ye ruffled his sister's hair and turned to walk towards Elder Zhang's tent.

Inside the tent, Old Zhang was sketching a route on a map, with Lin Jianjun and several squad leaders surrounding him. Seeing Lin Ye enter, Old Zhang pointed to a red circle on the map with his iron cane: "The seed depot is in the agricultural research institute in the southern suburbs. The warehouse is on the basement level; it was built to prevent flooding and should still be sturdy. But there are quite a few mutants around, especially at the feed mill to the west. The scouts last time saw a herd of mutant wild boars, at least twenty of them."

"I'll lead one team to the front to attract the attention of the mutated rats," Lin Ye said, pointing to the map. "Li Hu, take the second team to the feed mill and use smoke to lure the wild boars away, so they don't block our retreat. A Ying and the old Chinese medicine doctor will go in through the ventilation ducts and check the warehouse door locks first."

"I'll go with you to the front." Lin Jianjun put down his rifle, the scratches on the butt from the last breakout. "Your dad's old bones are more than enough to deal with a few rats."

Lin Ye didn't object. His father's fighting skills were unmatched in the stronghold, and having him in the front line would save a lot of effort.

Half an hour later, the two teams set off on time. The spring sunlight shone through the thin mist onto the ruins, casting a warm glow on the broken walls. Lin Ye led ten men at the front, his military dagger tucked into his waistband, and a newly made composite bow slung over his back—forged by a blacksmith from the tendons of mutated beasts and alloy tubing, it had a longer range than a rifle and was silent.

"Brother Ye, look over there!" A team member suddenly pointed to the teaching building on the left. On the third-floor windowsill, several gray shadows were swaying, their sharp claws scratching at the wall, making a harsh scraping sound.

They are mutated rats. These creatures are nearly ten times larger than ordinary rats, with gleaming, sickle-like front teeth. The most troublesome thing is their rapid reproduction; once you're entangled, they swarm in droves. Lin Ye gestured for everyone to stop and drew specially made arrows from his quiver—the arrowheads were coated with paralyzing herbs prepared by Su Ya.

"Aim for the eyes, not the body," Lin Ye whispered. "These beasts have very tough fur; the herbs only work when they're in the blood."

He drew his bow first, and the arrow shot out like a meteor, accurately piercing the eye socket of the foremost mutated rat. The beast let out a sharp screech, its massive body plummeting from the third floor, twitching a few times on the ground before going still.

Startled, the remaining mutated rats scurried out of the windows, quickly scrambled down the walls, and pounced on the group. The team's arrows followed closely behind, and the paralyzing herbs quickly took effect, causing the mutated rats at the front to fall one after another, but more continued to surge in from behind.

"More than expected." Lin Jianjun brandished his iron spear, pinning a mutated rat that lunged at him to the ground. "There's probably a nest in the warehouse."

Lin Ye's senses had already covered the entire teaching building. There were at least fifty mutated rats hidden in the underground warehouse, one of which had an exceptionally strong energy reaction and was probably the rat king. He gestured to A Ying, and the girl understood, disappearing into the shadows beside her in a flash—she was going to the ventilation duct to meet the old Chinese medicine doctor.

"Follow me!" Lin Ye led the charge towards the teaching building's main gate, his military dagger sweeping across, cleaving a mutated rat blocking his path in two. Dark purple energy spread along the blade, causing the rats that came into contact with it to retreat, clearly wary of this purified radiation energy.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the group rushed into the building and went down the stairs. Sure enough, a large hole had been chewed in the iron door of the underground warehouse, and a creaking sound came from inside, along with a strong, pungent stench. Lin Ye told his team members to guard the stairwell, while he and his father crawled into the warehouse.

The warehouse was piled high with sealed seed bags, most of them intact. In the shadows of a corner, a pair of scarlet eyes were staring intently at them—it was a mutated rat king, the size of a calf, with gray-black fur, several bone spurs on its back, and dark red bloodstains on its front teeth.

"Watch out for its bone spikes, they can shoot out," Lin Ye warned, gripping his dagger tightly.

The Rat King let out a threatening hiss and suddenly leaped out, its bone spurs shooting towards the two men like arrows. Lin Jianjun parried with his spear, the iron spear clashing against the bone spurs with a crisp clang, sparks flying. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lin Ye circled around to the Rat King's side, his dagger, imbued with dark purple energy, stabbing towards its abdomen—where the fur was relatively thin.

"Pfft!"

The dagger sank an inch into the ground, and the Rat King let out a painful roar, turning to sweep its tail horizontally. Lin Ye was prepared; he leaped up and landed on its back, pressing his left hand against the Rat King's neck, and frantically activated the "Devouring" seal!

Dark purple energy surged into his palm, and the Rat King's struggles weakened, its massive body gradually stiffening. Lin Ye took out its crystal core; the pale gray core contained energy of speed and reproduction, indeed very suitable for A Ying.

"Done." Lin Ye tossed the crystal core to A Ying, who arrived shortly after. The girl caught the crystal core and a surprised smile appeared on her face.

The old Chinese medicine doctor had already opened the side door of the warehouse, and Li Hu's shouts came from outside: "You little rascal! Are you done yet? We've driven the wild boar herd north!"

"Coming right away!" Lin Ye called to his team members as they carried the seed bags. "Hurry up, we need to get back to the base before dark."

The return journey was smooth, and as the sun set, the team finally returned to their stronghold in the east of the city. Seeing the large bags of seeds they had brought back, the survivors, who were busy in the fields, cheered. Several elderly farmers eagerly opened the bags and carefully selected the plump seeds.

Dinner was wild boar stew with potatoes, served with freshly baked cornbread; the aroma of food filled the camp. Lin Ye sat by the campfire, watching everyone chat and laugh, feeling very at ease. Old Zhang, leaning on his cane, came over and handed her a ceramic bowl: "Try your aunt's wild vegetable soup; it's good for clearing heat."

"Grandpa Zhang, do you think we can grow grain?" Lin Ye took a sip of soup, the slightly bitter taste followed by a sweet aftertaste.

"Why not?" Old Zhang laughed. "Back in the famine years, we could survive by eating tree bark. Now that we have seeds and land, how could we not grow them?" He looked at the newly turned soil in the field. "We just have to be careful of the mutants at night. The newly planted seedlings can't withstand any damage."

Lin Ye nodded. These past few nights, some low-level mutants have been loitering outside the fence. Although they don't pose a threat, if they were to rush into the fields, all the seeds he had worked so hard to plant would be wasted.

"I'll go on night patrol tonight," Lin Ye said.

"I'll go with you." Lin Jianjun walked over, holding a well-maintained rifle in his hand. "It'll be a good opportunity to try out the new suppressor."

As night deepened, the campfire in the outpost gradually died down, leaving only the flickering torches in the hands of the patrolmen. Lin Ye and his father patrolled along the fence, the moonlight casting long shadows on the ground.

"Xiao Ye, do you think... this life can continue peacefully?" Lin Jianjun suddenly asked, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible worry.

Lin Ye gazed at the occasional glimmer of light amidst the distant ruins and remained silent for a moment. "I don't know, but we can try to make it as peaceful as possible." He gripped his father's hand tightly. "Just like you held me in your arms as we waited for rescue in the flood. As long as we don't give up, there will always be hope."

Lin Jianjun laughed and patted him on the shoulder: "Good lad, you've grown up."

The two walked to the northwest corner of the fence, near a dense forest—the easiest place for mutants to approach. Suddenly, Lin Ye's senses stirred, detecting several faint energy reactions probing out from the forest—not mutants, but humans!

"Someone's here." Lin Ye lowered his voice and gestured for his father to extinguish the torch.

In the darkness, several figures emerged from the dense forest, cautiously approaching the fence. They were dressed in tattered clothes, emaciated, and carrying rudimentary weapons; they appeared to be survivors who had fled.

"Don't shoot!" Lin Ye stopped his father, who was about to raise his gun, and shouted at the figures, "Who are you?"

The men, clearly caught off guard, retreated in fear. One of the older men stammered, "We...we fled from the north. We heard there was food here..."

Lin Ye looked at their empty water bottles and tattered backpacks and sighed inwardly. In the apocalypse, there were many more refugees like them.

"Put down your weapons and I'll let you in," Lin Ye said. "But once you're in the stronghold, you have to follow the rules. If you want to eat, you have to work."

The older man paused for a moment, then nodded excitedly and beckoned his companions to put down their weapons. Lin Jianjun opened the gate, let them in, and searched them carefully again to confirm that they were not carrying any dangerous items.

"Take them to see Old Zhang, and give them some food first," Lin Ye said to the patrol team.

Watching the refugees follow the team members towards the tent area, Lin Jianjun couldn't help but ask, "Are we just letting them in like that? Aren't you afraid they're spies?"

"Whether he's a spy or not, we'll know in a few days." Lin Ye gazed towards the dense forest, sensing even more energy swirling within him. "Besides, we need manpower. Spring planting, building houses, guarding the stronghold—we need people for all of these."

He knew that accepting these strangers would be risky, but the base couldn't remain closed indefinitely if it wanted to grow. Like seeds in a field, only by weathering storms can they grow into crops.

The night wind swept through the fence, carrying the distant roars of mutated creatures. Lin Ye gripped the dagger at his waist, the "Devouring" mark on his palm slightly warm. He knew that peace was only temporary; tomorrow would bring new challenges and new dangers.

But as long as the campfire burns and the seedlings in the fields continue to grow, they will continue to guard them.

Guarding the new shoots on this scorched earth, guarding the ordinary days of working at sunrise and resting at sunset, guarding the most precious thing in the end times—the hope of living.