The GuoSan Base had never felt more alive.
For the first time since the apocalypse began, laughter was louder than fear.
It echoed through the reinforced streets, bounced off concrete walls, and lingered in the cold winter air like something fragile yet stubborn—hope refusing to die.
The reason was simple.
Zombie cores.
Hundreds of them.
Thousands.
The battlefield victory had not just saved the base—it had transformed it.
Under Tang Guo and Xiao San's careful distribution, every single ability user in the base received several level-one zombie cores and at least one level-two core. It might not seem like much to outsiders, but to ability users who had been stuck at the same level for months, it was everything.
Breakthrough fuel.
Opportunity.
Future.
And so, breakthroughs began.
It started quietly.
One man in a corner of the training ground suddenly released a surge of wind that knocked over three practice dummies at once. He stared at his own hands in disbelief.
"I… I broke through."
Then another.
A woman screamed in shock as her weak flame suddenly roared into a blazing inferno.
Then another.
And another.
Within days, breakthroughs were happening everywhere.
People meditated in empty rooms.
On rooftops.
Inside abandoned buses.
Even in alleys.
Everywhere, energy fluctuated wildly.
The base buzzed like a living organism evolving.
Tang Guo stood atop the wall one morning, watching as dozens of ability users trained below with renewed vigor. His breath fogged in the cold air.
"They've changed," Xiao San said beside him quietly.
Tang Guo nodded.
"They've remembered how to hope."
And they both knew why.
The Gu family.
The training grounds were now the busiest place in the entire base.
Before, many ability users had been ashamed of their powers.
Plant users.
Sound users.
Minor enhancement users.
They had been mocked.
Called useless.
Dead weight.
But no one dared say that anymore.
Because they had seen it.
Seen the Gu family turn every ability—no matter how strange—into something terrifying.
They had seen plant vines pierce skulls like spears.
Seen water solidify into blades sharper than steel.
Seen energy shaped into bows capable of harvesting entire hordes.
Seen unity.
Precision.
Art.
Now, ability users practiced shaping their abilities into weapons.
A young plant user stood in the center of the field, sweat dripping down his face as he focused.
His vines trembled.
Shook.
Then slowly formed into a crude spear.
It wobbled.
Ugly.
Unstable.
But it existed.
His eyes widened.
"I did it…"
Nearby, others cheered.
Encouraged him.
No one laughed.
Because everyone remembered the battlefield.
Everyone remembered what was possible.
Confidence spread like fire.
Inside one of the base's meeting halls, Tang Guo and Xiao San sat across from several members of the Gu family.
Gu Mian.
Gu Ruisheng.
Gu Shao.
Gu Yan.
Gu Bai.
The air was calm, but beneath it lay currents of quiet understanding.
Tang Guo looked at them carefully.
In his last life…
They had never existed.
He was certain of it.
He would have remembered.
A team this powerful…
This unified…
This impossible…
They would have dominated the world.
And yet, they had not existed.
Which meant only one thing.
Something had changed.
But Tang Guo did not ask.
He was not foolish.
Some truths were not meant to be spoken.
Gu Mian reached into her coat and placed two small devices on the table.
They looked like ordinary radios.
But faint runes glowed along their surface.
"These are special communicators," she said calmly.
"They were modified by Gu Xing."
Tang Guo's eyes flickered.
Ability-enhanced technology…
Rare.
Invaluable.
"They will allow you to contact us," Gu Ruisheng added. "But they have limited uses. Use them only when absolutely necessary."
Tang Guo picked one up carefully, as if holding something sacred.
"We understand."
This was not just a tool.
It was trust.
Gu Yan then slid several notebooks across the table.
"These contain records of edible mutated plants," she said.
"And methods to detoxify poisonous variants."
Xiao San's eyes widened as he flipped through the pages.
Detailed drawings.
Descriptions.
Preparation methods.
Warnings.
This alone could double the base's food supply.
"You're giving us this?" he asked in disbelief.
Gu Yan nodded simply.
"Yes."
Tang Guo looked up slowly.
"Why?"
Gu Mian met his gaze calmly.
"Because you are worth helping."
No arrogance.
No superiority.
Just truth.
Tang Guo felt something tighten in his chest.
Respect.
Deep and unshakable.
Gu Yan then added one more thing.
"If your base is ever overrun," she said calmly, "you can come to the NCF."
Tang Guo frowned slightly.
"The NCF?"
"Our home," Gu Ruisheng replied.
"If there is time, you can contact us. We will help."
The simplicity of his words made them even heavier.
Help.
Not might.
Not maybe.
Will.
Tang Guo lowered his head slightly.
"Thank you."
He meant it with all his heart.
The Gu family's generosity did not stop there.
Outside the base, they cleared a massive section of land.
Plant ability users enriched the soil.
Earth users leveled the ground.
Then Gu Mian released animals from her space.
Cows.
Goats.
Sheep.
Mutated but gentle.
Healthy.
Strong.
She also planted special grasses capable of surviving mutated environments.
Within days, the base had its first true livestock farm.
People stared in disbelief.
They had thought farming was gone forever.
But now…
It was back.
Life was returning.
The day the Gu family left, the entire base came to see them off.
Thousands of people stood silently along the road.
No one shouted.
No one cheered.
They simply watched.
Because words were not enough.
Gu Mian sat atop her fiery red horse.
Gu Ruisheng beside her on the black flame-hoofed king.
Behind them, the rest of the Gu family waited in perfect formation.
Tang Guo and Xiao San stood at the front.
Tang Guo spoke quietly.
"GuoSan Base will never forget what you've done."
Gu Ruisheng nodded.
"Grow stronger."
Xiao San smiled faintly.
"We will."
Gu Mian gently urged her horse forward.
The others followed.
Hooves echoed softly.
No one tried to stop them.
Heroes never stayed.
They moved forward.
Always forward.
Their journey continued westward.
City after city.
Ruins after ruins.
Winter tightened its grip on the world.
Snow covered roads.
Ice sealed buildings.
Zombies froze where they stood, trapped in silent death.
The Gu family moved like ghosts.
Efficient.
Precise.
They harvested zombie cores endlessly.
But none of them broke through.
They suppressed their strength deliberately.
Because they knew.
Winter was only the calm.
Spring would bring monsters.
Real monsters.
Level three.
Level four.
In droves.
But they were not afraid.
Because they were ready.
Eventually, they reached the final city before the forest.
It was nearly the New Year.
The cold had become unbearable.
Even the mutated horses struggled to move across frozen roads and shattered terrain.
Reluctantly, the Gu family decided to rest.
They settled inside a reinforced building.
For the first time in months…
They stopped moving.
They celebrated the New Year together.
They cooked.
Ate.
Talked.
Laughed.
For a brief moment…
They were not survivors.
They were family.
Beyond the city, the forest waited.
Closer than it should have been.
Only a few hundred meters away.
It had grown.
Expanded.
Encroached.
Nature reclaiming the world.
In their last life, it had taken ten years to fully consume Y Province.
This time…
It was happening faster.
Much faster.
Gu Mian stood at the edge of the city one morning, her breath forming mist.
Her red horse stood beside her silently.
She stared at the forest.
Endless.
Silent.
Alive.
Behind her, the Gu family gathered.
Their spiritual Qi had reached level five peak.
Their mental power close behind.
Soon…
They would break through.
All of them.
Together.
Then they would enter the forest.
And when they emerged ten years later…
The world would no longer recognize them.
Nor would they recognize the world.
The real apocalypse…
Had not yet begun.
But they would be ready.
They always were.