Chapter 136 Peach Blossom
In the original timeline, humans hadn't known about the abilities' levels from the start. They only established the levels as the strength of the ability users increased, as a way to differentiate between the varying strengths.
By the time Qi Jingchen died, there were 9 levels total, with him being the only level nine ability user in the world.
At that time, the remaining ability users were level 8, but because his strength far surpassed them, he was considered to be level 9. However, in his eyes, there was actually no difference in terms of the strength of his ability compared to Nie Yi, who was level 8. It was only that in the apocalypse, dark ability users held an innate advantage, making them relatively stronger.
Of course, at the moment, level 9 was still far out of reach and perhaps he was the only one who'd reached level 5.
The nucleus of a level five ability user was a hard crystal-shaped core with a mist-like energy around it, like a planet with an atmosphere. This mist-like energy made ability usage faster and also automatically absorbed the spiritual energy around it. Also, when an ability user reached this level, even with average spiritual power, they automatically formed a protective shield on their skin to protect themselves from being invaded by dark energy.
Qi Jingchen had mixed feelings after discovering he had suddenly upgraded to level 5.
He had upgraded too quickly.
By the time he had awakened the light ability, Nie Yi had broken through and upgraded to level 4, but he still was not level 5 yet.
On the other hand, he himself had managed to upgrade from level three to five in such a small amount of time...
"Jingchen." Nie Yi felt the change and his eyes were full of surprise.
"I upgraded." Qi Jingchen smiled, suddenly feeling that he might really be chosen. After all, the facts in front of him were far too biased.
"Congratulations." Nie Yi gazed at Qi Jingchen happily. He wanted to give Qi Jingchen a kiss, but considering Qi Jingchen's status at the moment, he didn't make a move. In the end, he just wrapped his spiritual power around Qi Jingchen.
Qi Jingchen walked to his side and held his hand.
Nie Yi stood up straight. His aura was strong, but his hand was gentle as his heart settled down. After Qi Jingchen's ability awoke, their interactions had naturally become closer to their previous lives. Whether at B city or S city, he survived thanks to Qi Jingchen, which made him feel conflicted. He worried that he could not protect and pamper Qi Jingchen the way he used to, and felt somewhat anxious.
He also berated himself - just being with Qi Jingchen, and sleeping together at night was enough, why did he have to overcomplicate things?
"In the future, we’ll live in a paradise we build together." Qi Jingchen smiled at Nie Yi.
"Yes, we'll live there and stay together forever." Nie Yi squeezed Qi Jingchen's. Whatever happened, this was his person, and he would never let go.
Qi Jingchen was exhausted after blessing everyone but was in a good mood. Then someone from outside came to report: "Son of god, someone from S city is here to pick people up."
Hearing this, Qi Jingchen knew it must be Yao Mengzhi or her people.
After the unsuccessful sneak attack last time, Yao Mengzhi had no other moves. She was likely worried that they had injured Chu Zhen and that there were no other suitable opportunities to take him back.
Qi Jingchen was always very careful about Chu Zhen, with at least four people guarding him at all times. Yao Mengzhi might be able to sneak in, but she had no way to take Chu Zhen back.
Yao Mengzhi bided her time the whole way. She wore a black robe, and pale makeup with red lips. This kind of heavy makeup would not look good on an ordinary person, but with her black outfit and a strong aura of darkness, she gave others a feeling of wicked seduction.
Nie Yi couldn't help but frown when he saw her like this, and subconsciously looked at Qi Jingchen. When he realized that Qi Jingchen didn't care to look at Yao Mengzhi, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Yao Mengzhi was being ignored by the two people in front of her but wasn't concerned. She sat on a chair created by an earth ability user. With a cold expression she asked, "Where is Chu Zhen?"
"He's inside," Qi Jingchen said, his eyes fixed on Yao Mengzhi.
He wished he could kill Yao Mengzhi immediately, and she probably felt the same way.
However in the end, neither dared to make a move and sat down to talk.
"Are you planning to stay here? Shouldn't you return him to me?" Yao Mengzhi considered destroying Qi Jingchen's team more than once on her way here, but ultimately restrained herself.
After all, her Chu Zhen was still in their hands…
As for the future ... Yao Mengzhi carefully looked at Qi Jingchen in front of her, suddenly feeling a jump in her heart.
She dared to appear here for a reason. She followed Qi Jingchen’s team and experienced many battles on the way. Her ability upgraded and she was now at level five.
The level up speed of the dark ability was really fast. In her previous life, her ability was only at level seven when she had died... Yao Mengzhi was very satisfied with her current ability level. She was confident that she was the strongest among them. It was because of this confidence that she brought people here personally. But now... she suddenly had a feeling that the Qi Jingchen in front of her was not weaker than herself.
This was a strange feeling, but she was not wrong. Yao Mengzhi stared at Qi Jingchen for a while, before a complex look flashed in her eyes.
"We will indeed settle here in the future. If Miss Yao is here to congratulate and give gifts, you are very welcome to. As for other motives... Miss Yao should consider carefully whether she can withstand the consequences of her actions," Qi Jingchen smiled at Yao Mengzhi, but the smile did not reach his eyes. "As for Chu Zhen, whether he wants to leave or not, you have to ask him."
"What do you mean?" Yao Mengzhi's eyes held no warmth. Does Qi Jingchen not want to let Chu Zhen go?
"I don't mean anything." Qi Jingchen said and then called for Chu Zhen.
Chu Zhen had been detained in the S City Safe Zone previously. He had been detained for nearly half a year. Although he was well-fed and cared for by Yao Mengzhi, his mental state was not good. Now...
Although Qi Jingchen had sent people to watch him, they did not use a prisoner wagon to hold him. They just had someone watch him. Although his movements were restricted, he could still walk and bask in the sun. People talked around him, and he often accompanied Qi Jingchen while he gave blessings to the crowd. He was surprisingly more energetic than before.
Yao Mengzhi, upon seeing Chu Zhen's face so bright, felt uncomfortable. Eventually, she relaxed her expression, "Come with me."
"I'm not going." Chu Zhen said.
"You're not?" Yao Mengzhi's face turned cold again. She could not accept such a result.
"I have decided to believe in the God of Light. For you, it is heresy. Are you sure you want to take me away? Will your people want to kill me?" Chu Zhen stood up straight and looked at Yao Mengzhi. He smiled bitterly in his heart. He used to protect Yao Mengzhi, but now, he was suppressed by her.
When he was detained by Yao Mengzhi before, he often wanted to communicate with her, but Yao Mengzhi simply refused to communicate with him. If he followed Yao Mengzhi, it would probably be like this again. So, he chose to stay, maybe he could live a better life. The views of Nie Yi and Qi Jingchen were also easier to accept.
Yao Mengzhi's face turned black. She glared at Qi Jingchen and gritted her teeth, "You are good!"
"It has nothing to do with me." Qi Jingchen moved back and sat on the chair, a faint white light shining on him -- Yao Mengzhi looked good, but her dark ability was too disturbing!
Yao Mengzhi was prepared to forcibly take Chu Zhen away if Qi Jingchen and Nie Yi did not let go of him. But Qi Jingchen's light energy also made her feel troubled. She couldn't help but want to use dark abilities to resist the light energy on Qi Jingchen. But she didn't want Chu Zhen to see her ugly side.
Finally, Yao Mengzhi stood up, "Chu Zhen, I'll give you two days to think about it!"
"Will I cause trouble for you guys?" Chu Zhen suddenly asked.
"No." Qi Jingchen said, "But are you really planning to stay?"
"I want to stay. Can you treat me as an ordinary person?" Chu Zhen asked.
"Okay." Qi Jingchen said. Chu Zhen staying would only be advantageous for them. Speaking of which, he even let Yao Mengzhi see Chu Zhen in the first place, suspecting that Chu Zhen wouldn't want to leave.
Since Chu Zhen wanted to stay, he and Yao Mengzhi would have to negotiate... Yao Mengzhi was already at level five…
Qi Jingchen made plans to have a good "talk" with Yao Mengzhi, and even specifically took a day off to fill his stone with light energy. However, Yao Mengzhi did not come as scheduled.
Instead, a shabby plane carrying a group of zombie birds crashed into the vicinity of their camp.
It was likely already broken, so instead of landing normally, crashed into a vacant lot next to the camp. Two people rushed out of the plane and used their earth abilities to tunnel into the soil.
The plane behind them exploded and killed many of the zombie birds inside, but many escaped.
The zombie birds sensed the scent of the people in the camp and rushed towards it. They were quickly dealt with by the patrol members of the camp—which meant they were low level, but precisely because they were low level, they should have feared the abundant light energy from the camp, yet they still rushed in...
"Where are you from?" A patrol member opened the underground tunnel.
"We're from the B city secure zone." The two people climbed out of the earth and looked back at the plane with heartache.
"B city security zone? I'll take you to see Captain Shi then." The patrol member said.
The two people did indeed come from the B city secure zone. Shi Shiqing knew them and also was about to find out why Yao Mengzhi did not come to look for Chu Zhen again.
It turned out that the B city secure zone had caused trouble for Yao Mengzhi.
After they escaped from S city, Shi Shiqing sent a helicopter to inform B city of their situation. After the people of B city learned about S city’s specific situation, they immediately sent fighter jets to S city.
They did not bomb S city, but sent people to kill and capture many of the shadow guards and spread flyers claiming that the dark cult was a heresy, and asked everyone to leave S city.
There were so many capable people in B city that they should have been able to deal with a small cult. However, under careful consideration, they came up with many ways to make S city chaotic instead. They even poached a large number of people from the S city security zone and then rushed towards it.
S city had many weapons and some of Yao Mengzhi's "good things" prepared in advance. If Yao Mengzhi were there, she could certainly suppress the chaos that B city caused and could probably even kill the people of B city. However, Yao Mengzhi was not there.
As a result, S city became chaotic, and because of this, Yao Mengzhi was too busy to pester Chu Zhen and returned.
"Those zombie birds are too strong. They are small, hard to attack, and are not afraid of dying. They just charged at the plane... if this continues, planes might not be usable anymore." The pilot of the helicopter told Shi Shiqing about the situation at S city.
There were more than two people in their plane initially. However, on the way, several zombie birds flew towards them and crashed through the glass... This reduced their personnel by two people, both of whom jumped off the plane after being half-zombified.
Fortunately, all of them had abilities. After the window broke, they attacked the birds from the broken window, and managed to fight them back.
Shi Shiqing couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard this, feeling somewhat lost. In this world... would humans really die as Yu Xuguang said?
Qi Jingchen blessed the two people who came from B city with his light energy, "May God bless you."
The white light entered the bodies of the two people, and they looked confused. When they looked at Qi Jingchen again, their eyes were warmer.
After enhancing his abilities, Qi Jingchen increasingly used his light energy. After Yao Mengzhi left, he even actively accompanied the patrol team to clear the zombies in R city.
Everyone was full of enthusiasm while clearing the zombies in R city. They even started calling the city “Peach Source”
Everyone had a Peach Source dream in their hearts, hoping to have a Tao Yuan fairyland belonging to themselves. Calling it Peach Source was also a beautiful fantasy for them.
They hoped that this place could be like the Peach Blossom Spring described in the story, independent of the world, where people could live and work in peace.
With Qi Jingchen's participation, the efficiency of clearing the zombie increased by a lot.
Qi Jingchen's light energy was like a stimulant for his soldiers, making those who were originally sluggish, suddenly become full of vitality. This was similar to the poison for zombies, instantly making them lose their combat power.
High-level zombies fled the moment Qi Jingchen appeared...
In almost no time, the zombies in Peach Source city was cleaned up. The fire ability users congregated the bodies of the zombie and burned them to ashes, making the sky above the entire city full of smoke and dust.
On the morning when the smoke dissipated, Qi Jingchen led his team into the city.
The dark energy on the zombie's body was highly corrosive, and many places in the city were now corroded and somewhat dilapidated. The whole city was gray and had no bright colors at all, not at all like Peach Source that everyone imagined. But when they looked at Qi Jingchen, who was walking in the front, they felt that everything would change.
Qi Jingchen did not disappoint them. He stood at the front of the team and used his ability. The light energy radiated from his body, covering a vast area. Wherever the light reached, the dark energy retreated, and the city seemed to be dyed in bright colors.
Qi Jingchen stood at the front of the crowd. Many people had knelt down behind him, calling him the son of God.
Chapter 136 Peach Blossom
In the original timeline, humans hadn't known about the abilities' levels from the start. They only established the levels as the strength of the ability users increased, as a way to differentiate between the varying strengths.
By the time Qi Jingchen died, there were 9 levels total, with him being the only level nine ability user in the world.
At that time, the remaining ability users were level 8, but because his strength far surpassed them, he was considered to be level 9. However, in his eyes, there was actually no difference in terms of the strength of his ability compared to Nie Yi, who was level 8. It was only that in the apocalypse, dark ability users held an innate advantage, making them relatively stronger.
Of course, at the moment, level 9 was still far out of reach and perhaps he was the only one who'd reached level 5.
The nucleus of a level five ability user was a hard crystal-shaped core with a mist-like energy around it, like a planet with an atmosphere. This mist-like energy made ability usage faster and also automatically absorbed the spiritual energy around it. Also, when an ability user reached this level, even with average spiritual power, they automatically formed a protective shield on their skin to protect themselves from being invaded by dark energy.
Qi Jingchen had mixed feelings after discovering he had suddenly upgraded to level 5.
He had upgraded too quickly.
By the time he had awakened the light ability, Nie Yi had broken through and upgraded to level 4, but he still was not level 5 yet.
On the other hand, he himself had managed to upgrade from level three to five in such a small amount of time...
"Jingchen." Nie Yi felt the change and his eyes were full of surprise.
"I upgraded." Qi Jingchen smiled, suddenly feeling that he might really be chosen. After all, the facts in front of him were far too biased.
"Congratulations." Nie Yi gazed at Qi Jingchen happily. He wanted to give Qi Jingchen a kiss, but considering Qi Jingchen's status at the moment, he didn't make a move. In the end, he just wrapped his spiritual power around Qi Jingchen.
Qi Jingchen walked to his side and held his hand.
Nie Yi stood up straight. His aura was strong, but his hand was gentle as his heart settled down. After Qi Jingchen's ability awoke, their interactions had naturally become closer to their previous lives. Whether at B city or S city, he survived thanks to Qi Jingchen, which made him feel conflicted. He worried that he could not protect and pamper Qi Jingchen the way he used to, and felt somewhat anxious.
He also berated himself - just being with Qi Jingchen, and sleeping together at night was enough, why did he have to overcomplicate things?
"In the future, we’ll live in a paradise we build together." Qi Jingchen smiled at Nie Yi.
"Yes, we'll live there and stay together forever." Nie Yi squeezed Qi Jingchen's. Whatever happened, this was his person, and he would never let go.
Qi Jingchen was exhausted after blessing everyone but was in a good mood. Then someone from outside came to report: "Son of god, someone from S city is here to pick people up."
Hearing this, Qi Jingchen knew it must be Yao Mengzhi or her people.
After the unsuccessful sneak attack last time, Yao Mengzhi had no other moves. She was likely worried that they had injured Chu Zhen and that there were no other suitable opportunities to take him back.
Qi Jingchen was always very careful about Chu Zhen, with at least four people guarding him at all times. Yao Mengzhi might be able to sneak in, but she had no way to take Chu Zhen back.
Yao Mengzhi bided her time the whole way. She wore a black robe, and pale makeup with red lips. This kind of heavy makeup would not look good on an ordinary person, but with her black outfit and a strong aura of darkness, she gave others a feeling of wicked seduction.
Nie Yi couldn't help but frown when he saw her like this, and subconsciously looked at Qi Jingchen. When he realized that Qi Jingchen didn't care to look at Yao Mengzhi, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Yao Mengzhi was being ignored by the two people in front of her but wasn't concerned. She sat on a chair created by an earth ability user. With a cold expression she asked, "Where is Chu Zhen?"
"He's inside," Qi Jingchen said, his eyes fixed on Yao Mengzhi.
He wished he could kill Yao Mengzhi immediately, and she probably felt the same way.
However in the end, neither dared to make a move and sat down to talk.
"Are you planning to stay here? Shouldn't you return him to me?" Yao Mengzhi considered destroying Qi Jingchen's team more than once on her way here, but ultimately restrained herself.
After all, her Chu Zhen was still in their hands…
As for the future ... Yao Mengzhi carefully looked at Qi Jingchen in front of her, suddenly feeling a jump in her heart.
She dared to appear here for a reason. She followed Qi Jingchen’s team and experienced many battles on the way. Her ability upgraded and she was now at level five.
The level up speed of the dark ability was really fast. In her previous life, her ability was only at level seven when she had died... Yao Mengzhi was very satisfied with her current ability level. She was confident that she was the strongest among them. It was because of this confidence that she brought people here personally. But now... she suddenly had a feeling that the Qi Jingchen in front of her was not weaker than herself.
This was a strange feeling, but she was not wrong. Yao Mengzhi stared at Qi Jingchen for a while, before a complex look flashed in her eyes.
"We will indeed settle here in the future. If Miss Yao is here to congratulate and give gifts, you are very welcome to. As for other motives... Miss Yao should consider carefully whether she can withstand the consequences of her actions," Qi Jingchen smiled at Yao Mengzhi, but the smile did not reach his eyes. "As for Chu Zhen, whether he wants to leave or not, you have to ask him."
"What do you mean?" Yao Mengzhi's eyes held no warmth. Does Qi Jingchen not want to let Chu Zhen go?
"I don't mean anything." Qi Jingchen said and then called for Chu Zhen.
Chu Zhen had been detained in the S City Safe Zone previously. He had been detained for nearly half a year. Although he was well-fed and cared for by Yao Mengzhi, his mental state was not good. Now...
Although Qi Jingchen had sent people to watch him, they did not use a prisoner wagon to hold him. They just had someone watch him. Although his movements were restricted, he could still walk and bask in the sun. People talked around him, and he often accompanied Qi Jingchen while he gave blessings to the crowd. He was surprisingly more energetic than before.
Yao Mengzhi, upon seeing Chu Zhen's face so bright, felt uncomfortable. Eventually, she relaxed her expression, "Come with me."
"I'm not going." Chu Zhen said.
"You're not?" Yao Mengzhi's face turned cold again. She could not accept such a result.
"I have decided to believe in the God of Light. For you, it is heresy. Are you sure you want to take me away? Will your people want to kill me?" Chu Zhen stood up straight and looked at Yao Mengzhi. He smiled bitterly in his heart. He used to protect Yao Mengzhi, but now, he was suppressed by her.
When he was detained by Yao Mengzhi before, he often wanted to communicate with her, but Yao Mengzhi simply refused to communicate with him. If he followed Yao Mengzhi, it would probably be like this again. So, he chose to stay, maybe he could live a better life. The views of Nie Yi and Qi Jingchen were also easier to accept.
Yao Mengzhi's face turned black. She glared at Qi Jingchen and gritted her teeth, "You are good!"
"It has nothing to do with me." Qi Jingchen moved back and sat on the chair, a faint white light shining on him -- Yao Mengzhi looked good, but her dark ability was too disturbing!
Yao Mengzhi was prepared to forcibly take Chu Zhen away if Qi Jingchen and Nie Yi did not let go of him. But Qi Jingchen's light energy also made her feel troubled. She couldn't help but want to use dark abilities to resist the light energy on Qi Jingchen. But she didn't want Chu Zhen to see her ugly side.
Finally, Yao Mengzhi stood up, "Chu Zhen, I'll give you two days to think about it!"
"Will I cause trouble for you guys?" Chu Zhen suddenly asked.
"No." Qi Jingchen said, "But are you really planning to stay?"
"I want to stay. Can you treat me as an ordinary person?" Chu Zhen asked.
"Okay." Qi Jingchen said. Chu Zhen staying would only be advantageous for them. Speaking of which, he even let Yao Mengzhi see Chu Zhen in the first place, suspecting that Chu Zhen wouldn't want to leave.
Since Chu Zhen wanted to stay, he and Yao Mengzhi would have to negotiate... Yao Mengzhi was already at level five…
Qi Jingchen made plans to have a good "talk" with Yao Mengzhi, and even specifically took a day off to fill his stone with light energy. However, Yao Mengzhi did not come as scheduled.
Instead, a shabby plane carrying a group of zombie birds crashed into the vicinity of their camp.
It was likely already broken, so instead of landing normally, crashed into a vacant lot next to the camp. Two people rushed out of the plane and used their earth abilities to tunnel into the soil.
The plane behind them exploded and killed many of the zombie birds inside, but many escaped.
The zombie birds sensed the scent of the people in the camp and rushed towards it. They were quickly dealt with by the patrol members of the camp—which meant they were low level, but precisely because they were low level, they should have feared the abundant light energy from the camp, yet they still rushed in...
"Where are you from?" A patrol member opened the underground tunnel.
"We're from the B city secure zone." The two people climbed out of the earth and looked back at the plane with heartache.
"B city security zone? I'll take you to see Captain Shi then." The patrol member said.
The two people did indeed come from the B city secure zone. Shi Shiqing knew them and also was about to find out why Yao Mengzhi did not come to look for Chu Zhen again.
It turned out that the B city secure zone had caused trouble for Yao Mengzhi.
After they escaped from S city, Shi Shiqing sent a helicopter to inform B city of their situation. After the people of B city learned about S city’s specific situation, they immediately sent fighter jets to S city.
They did not bomb S city, but sent people to kill and capture many of the shadow guards and spread flyers claiming that the dark cult was a heresy, and asked everyone to leave S city.
There were so many capable people in B city that they should have been able to deal with a small cult. However, under careful consideration, they came up with many ways to make S city chaotic instead. They even poached a large number of people from the S city security zone and then rushed towards it.
S city had many weapons and some of Yao Mengzhi's "good things" prepared in advance. If Yao Mengzhi were there, she could certainly suppress the chaos that B city caused and could probably even kill the people of B city. However, Yao Mengzhi was not there.
As a result, S city became chaotic, and because of this, Yao Mengzhi was too busy to pester Chu Zhen and returned.
"Those zombie birds are too strong. They are small, hard to attack, and are not afraid of dying. They just charged at the plane... if this continues, planes might not be usable anymore." The pilot of the helicopter told Shi Shiqing about the situation at S city.
There were more than two people in their plane initially. However, on the way, several zombie birds flew towards them and crashed through the glass... This reduced their personnel by two people, both of whom jumped off the plane after being half-zombified.
Fortunately, all of them had abilities. After the window broke, they attacked the birds from the broken window, and managed to fight them back.
Shi Shiqing couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard this, feeling somewhat lost. In this world... would humans really die as Yu Xuguang said?
Qi Jingchen blessed the two people who came from B city with his light energy, "May God bless you."
The white light entered the bodies of the two people, and they looked confused. When they looked at Qi Jingchen again, their eyes were warmer.
After enhancing his abilities, Qi Jingchen increasingly used his light energy. After Yao Mengzhi left, he even actively accompanied the patrol team to clear the zombies in R city.
Everyone was full of enthusiasm while clearing the zombies in R city. They even started calling the city “Peach Source”
Everyone had a Peach Source dream in their hearts, hoping to have a Tao Yuan fairyland belonging to themselves. Calling it Peach Source was also a beautiful fantasy for them.
They hoped that this place could be like the Peach Blossom Spring described in the story, independent of the world, where people could live and work in peace.
With Qi Jingchen's participation, the efficiency of clearing the zombie increased by a lot.
Qi Jingchen's light energy was like a stimulant for his soldiers, making those who were originally sluggish, suddenly become full of vitality. This was similar to the poison for zombies, instantly making them lose their combat power.
High-level zombies fled the moment Qi Jingchen appeared...
In almost no time, the zombies in Peach Source city was cleaned up. The fire ability users congregated the bodies of the zombie and burned them to ashes, making the sky above the entire city full of smoke and dust.
On the morning when the smoke dissipated, Qi Jingchen led his team into the city.
The dark energy on the zombie's body was highly corrosive, and many places in the city were now corroded and somewhat dilapidated. The whole city was gray and had no bright colors at all, not at all like Peach Source that everyone imagined. But when they looked at Qi Jingchen, who was walking in the front, they felt that everything would change.
Qi Jingchen did not disappoint them. He stood at the front of the team and used his ability. The light energy radiated from his body, covering a vast area. Wherever the light reached, the dark energy retreated, and the city seemed to be dyed in bright colors.
Qi Jingchen stood at the front of the crowd. Many people had knelt down behind him, calling him the son of God.
