You say the cataclysm only comes after you've cleared the entire dungeon?

Lou Fengyue practically fled home.

The steel door slammed shut behind her. Leaning against the door, she touched her rapidly heaving chest and cursed under her breath: "Pathetic!"

While the two elders were busy preparing lunch in the kitchen, Lou Yunzheng sat on the sofa absorbing the remaining crystal cores.

"Brother, here you go." Lou Fengyue took out the dark red crystal core from her pocket and tossed it over. "It's a D-grade crystal core. You should be able to break through to C-grade after you absorb it."

Lou Yunzheng took it, held it in his hand, and used his supernatural abilities to stimulate it.

The energy and purity of the D-grade crystal core were much stronger than he had imagined; it felt as if an uncontrollable surge of heat had rushed from his palm into his body.

He suddenly closed his eyes, feeling the magma-like heat coursing through his body.

His body temperature was gradually rising, his blood was boiling, as if he had been thrown into an oven, so hot that he couldn't breathe, so hot that he was almost suffocating.

Sweat dripped from his forehead, and his skin gradually turned an unnatural red.

Lou Fengyue frowned, reached out to feel Lou Yunzheng's forehead, and then touched the pulse on his wrist.

It was indeed a bit of a stretch for a D-level ability user to absorb a D-level crystal core.

However, Lou Yunzheng consumed a lot of Body Tempering Pills during this period, and his body was able to withstand it.

Three minutes later, the crystal core in his hand grew smaller and smaller until it turned into a pile of powder.

The blush on her face gradually faded, and her body temperature returned to normal.

Lou Yunzheng slowly opened his eyes and sprinkled the powder into the trash can. "My strength seems to have increased a lot. My meridians are clear, and I feel light as a feather."

"I broke through!" Lou Fengyue grinned, looking even happier than her brother. "Brother, you've reached C-rank!"

Lou Yunzheng clenched his fist, and a tiny current pulsed at his fingertips, changing its color from silvery-white to pale gold, making it look more solid.

"Rank C is really something else." Lou Yunzheng stood up and stretched, his body emitting subtle cracking sounds, like a machine restarting. "Roughly where would my current strength rank?"

Lou Fengyue thought for a moment, "In the entire safe zone, besides me, you are ranked first."

Lou Yunzheng: "...You're being far too immodest."

"To be honest," Lou Fengyue handed him a tissue to wipe the sweat from his face, "but Luo Zeyan has also reached the mid-to-late stage of D-rank, and I estimate that he will break through soon."

"Oh—" Lou Yunzheng drawled meaningfully, glancing sideways at his sister, "You even know what level everyone else is at?"

"My eyes are like a ruler; I can tell just by looking!" Lou Fengyue felt uncomfortable under her brother's gaze and abruptly stood up. "You rest for a bit; I'll go help in the kitchen!"

Seeing his sister's seemingly calm steps, Lou Yunzheng couldn't suppress his laughter any longer, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

In the kitchen, Lou Fengyue heard her brother's laughter, gritted her teeth, and wished she could shut him up.

"What's your brother laughing at?" Pan Quan asked, holding a spatula and stirring the vegetables in the pot. Hearing the laughter, she wondered if her son had gone mad.

"He broke through to C-level, he's happy." Lou Fengyue made up a story on the spot.

During the meal, Lou Yunzheng had already restrained himself, but the way he looked at his sister always revealed a kind of teasing that was hard to explain.

Lou Fengyue glared at him and kicked him under the table. "Go find the oil drums this afternoon."

Lou Yunzheng bit his chopsticks, his lips barely able to contain his urge to speak, "Okay."

"Going out again?" Pan Quan looked at the two children with concern. "Isn't there enough stuff at home? Why are you always running around outside?"

"Go find some oil drums and fill them with gasoline and diesel. These are consumables, so we need to stock up on them," Lou Fengyue explained simply.

The spare fuel can I had left in the car had long been used up. If it weren't for the few cans of diesel I found at Lin Tian's place, the house would have been without power for several days.

Now that the authorities have established a safe zone, I wonder if they will reconnect the water and electricity.

If the power plant can resume operation, that's fine. But if it can't, then the safe zone will have to rely on generators for electricity.

In other words, the safe zone also needs a large amount of diesel fuel to generate electricity.

She had to empty several gas stations in advance to stock up on diesel fuel?

Otherwise, she would run out of food once the people in the safe zone took action.

After lunch, Lou Yunzheng cleared the dishes and went into the kitchen to wash them.

Lou Fengyue sat cross-legged on the sofa and glanced at the Chosen Ones' group chat.

The group chat was quiet, unlike the lively discussions that had been going on for a while.

It's estimated that everyone's battery won't last long, especially since Lu Ban is still under central government control.

As long as there's no news about the progress of the safe house, everyone feels uneasy.

[A37] They were chatting happily in the group.

Lu An: {Officially joining Brother Sinian's family, I'll be living in 3701 from now on!}

Liu Wu: {That's great! More people mean more fun!}

Chu Sinian: {The authorities also say there's a housing shortage, so it's more convenient to live together with people you know. Our empty apartment on the 37th floor will gradually be filled.}

Liu Wu: {More people is better; it's becoming more like a community, which means it's safe here.}

Lu An: {A team of superhumans has been assigned here. You've met them before, Brother Liu; they're the same ones we met at the food court last time.}

Liu Wu: {What a coincidence? When did they move in? I'll go say hello.}

Lu An: {I'm not sure, but they've assigned us to this floor. I'll probably move in after I've packed my things.}

Lou Fengyue's pupils shrank sharply, and she almost threw her phone away.

Luo Zeyan has been assigned to A37?

Wouldn't that mean... we'd see each other all the time?

Lou Fengyue pulled over a nearby cushion, hugged it to her chest, and buried her face in it.

He let out a long, helpless sigh.

Lou Yunzheng came out of the kitchen and saw his younger sister lying on the sofa, looking like she was about to suffocate herself.

He walked over, amused, and deliberately asked, "What are you thinking about? Thinking about your Luo Zeyan again?"

Lou Fengyue looked up and glared at him irritably. "What nonsense are you talking about? That happened ten years ago."

"Alright, alright." Lou Yunzheng pinched his sister's cheek; it was so thin, he couldn't help but click his tongue. "I've been trying to fatten her up for half a month, how come she hasn't gained any weight yet?"

"We'll get him back." Lou Fengyue reached out and pinched her brother's cheek. "Have you moved your things back yet? The government has started allocating housing, and room 3702 next door will probably be someone else's dorm soon."

"We've moved out." Lou Yunzheng let go of the door. "This morning, the officials disinfected the entire building and cleaned up the unoccupied apartments as well. 3702 is now empty."

Lou Fengyue nodded thoughtfully; it seemed the authorities were acting quite quickly.

"Let's go change our clothes, and we'll leave early and come back early."

The elderly couple, annoyed that their two children were always out and about, decided to go back to their room for a nap since they didn't want to see them.

Lou Yunzheng and Lou Fengyue changed their clothes, covering themselves up so that only their eyes were visible, and went out fully armed.

After leaving the community gate, I turned left and right in the connecting corridor until I reached the intersection leading to Cuixi Road.

This place is enclosed by a sheet of metal fencing; a sheet of metal separates two worlds.

Inside is the safe zone, outside is a world overrun by zombies.

The special police officers on guard duty saluted them when they saw them.

"Comrade Loulan, the entire safety zone is currently closed off; entry and exit are prohibited."

Lou Fengyue raised an eyebrow. "I can't go either?"

"This..." The special police officer hesitated for a moment. Following Captain Qin's instructions, he was not to interfere with what Comrade Loulan did. "But... there are currently no open entrances or exits to the safe zone. The entire area is sealed off."

"That means they won't stop me." Lou Fengyue turned to look at her brother. "Brother, let's go!"

Lou Yunzheng took two steps back, then quickly rushed towards the metal fence.

He took a running start, jumped, stepped on the sandbags used for reinforcement behind the fence, and easily flipped over.

The special police officers were dumbfounded. With these skills, who was the real professional?

"Thank you for your hard work." Lou Fengyue patted the special police officer on the shoulder.

With her wind-based superpower, she didn't even need a running start; she jumped a meter high, used the sandbags for leverage, and then executed a beautiful somersault to clear the barrier.

The special police officer stared blankly at the two disappearing figures for a moment, then picked up the walkie-talkie and reported to his superior: "Captain Qin, Comrade Loulan and her brother have left the safe zone."

A crackling sound came from the walkie-talkie, followed by Qin Qian's incredulous voice: "Where did they get out from?"

The SWAT officer glanced back at the sandbag wall behind him. "They came out through... the sandbags."