Chapter 28: The Substitute Savior of the Apocalypse 5

In truth, it wasn’t so certain; it all depended on what one painted. The more lifelike the drawing, the greater the chance of success. But the effects of painting were inherently limited—it wasn’t like the legends of Ma Liang, who could paint a sea on a wall and have it turn into an actual ocean.

Eventually, Mu Yin’s supernatural ability became known. Many curious people came to investigate, but after some experimentation, it was clear her power could only produce things like guns. Cars and airplanes were out of the question—she couldn’t create gasoline or other energy sources, so even if she drew them, they were useless. Hot air balloons, on the other hand, were possible.

She could also draw food, but sadly, her power was too weak; each attempt yielded barely enough for ten people to eat once, and afterward, she needed time to recover her energy. So, interest in her quickly faded.

The only thing people asked for before heading out was a sigil to muffle sound, which could last for three hours and had to be activated by Mu Yin herself. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.

Some suggested she research how to make sigils function independently, so others could use them without her. In fact, Mu Yin could already do this: by soaking paper with her power, inscribing characters with her energy pen, and injecting a suitable amount of energy—enough not to overwhelm the medium—the sigil could indeed work independently. However, she had kept this hidden, for if she revealed it too soon, it would draw too much attention.

In time, she would gradually reveal this skill, as well as the fruits of her relentless training. After several months, she was no longer the weakling who had to hide behind others.

Her apocalypse-era martial arts had reached level two, and she had spread these techniques to others, enabling many to strengthen themselves. Mu Yin had not wasted her time.

She counted the days and prepared to travel to the Shanghang City base. She needed to seize the spatial power from the reborn woman. Although the space was bound to the woman, this wasn’t a cultivation world. Here, having a space was akin to possessing a key, not outright ownership.

To use an analogy, in the cultivation world, refining a space was like having the deed to a house—the space belonged to you. But in this world, it was only like holding the key; the property wasn’t truly yours.

If Mu Yin could get the key, then the space would be hers. The space itself originally belonged to this world; someone had merely built a house on that land. Like leasing land to build a house, the space remained independent for a time, but it could be reclaimed as long as the house was demolished.

She had no intention of taking the space away, even if she couldn’t create one herself. There was no need to deprive another world of its space, especially since that space was destined to be this world’s future salvation.

Besides, though the spacetime key’s compartment couldn’t store much else, it could hold her rewards, which was more than enough. With her abilities, she didn’t fear a lack of resources—though, as events would later prove, such confidence could backfire.

Naturally, she wasn’t traveling alone. She recruited several teammates—people whose homes had been in or near Shanghang City. When Mu Yin began looking for companions, they volunteered, and she carefully selected among them.

Among them were four members of the Longevity Squad—four men and one woman. The woman, Zhang Lin, was someone Mu Yin knew well. The team leader was Yuan Wanheng, whose family was also from Shanghang City. The others were Ma Huamao, Liu Chenbin, and Cai Qi—all familiar faces to Mu Yin. In addition, three men and two women joined later, making a group of twelve in total.

It wasn’t a large party, but they were all capable—if not gifted with powers, then well-trained in the martial arts Mu Yin had made public.

As long as food was sufficient, anyone could train in these techniques, even without spiritual energy. It was simply a matter of how well one practiced. Nearly everyone had taken up the training, and Mu Yin’s recruits were among the most diligent.

"Is everyone here? Let’s check our supplies and make sure we have everything before we set out," Yuan Wanheng said to the group on the appointed day. He was the leader of this small team.

"All set. The three vehicles are fueled—two off-road, one small truck. Supplies are loaded on the small truck," replied Li Wei, a former supervisor in his thirties who served as their logistics officer. He wore glasses and had a scholarly air.

"We’ve prepared plenty of food and medicine. Each vehicle is stocked, but most of it is on the truck. Everyone also has some provisions on them," added Wang Yufang—the eldest among them, a fifty-year-old surgeon known affectionately as Aunt Wang.

"Then let's go," Yuan Wanheng nodded, climbing into the truck. Mu Yin joined him—after all, the cargo was vital.

Before the apocalypse, the journey to Shanghang City would have taken a day. Now, it could take ten times as long, not only because of the ruined roads but also thanks to mutated plants and animals.

As the apocalypse dragged on, the flora and fauna began to mutate under the epidemic. Some plants didn’t survive the disease and withered; some animals turned into zombie beasts.

Most, however, mutated successfully, becoming variant animals and plants. Some of these could be eaten, but the majority—including the animals—were an unknown risk.

The lands Mu Yin had managed survived the worst of the contamination, and later, she developed beneficial evolution sigils to guide plant mutations. This created new, edible, high-yield crops, which made it possible for her to leave.

With Mu Yin’s sound-muffling sigils, they didn’t have to worry about attracting zombies. Zombie animals, after all, were far more agile and sensitive than their human counterparts.

Even so, their progress was slow. They frequently encountered traffic jams from old car accidents and roads torn up by mutated plants. They had to stop, get out, and clear away vehicles and vegetation.

They weren’t the first group to head for Shanghang City, but previous travelers hadn’t cleared the way completely. They’d only made a single narrow path, and now, newly-mutated plants had overrun it again.

To make things easier, Mu Yin gave each person a sigil for Herculean strength. They couldn’t move mountains, but their strength increased three or four times, making the work much easier—though still time-consuming.

After a full day, they had yet to cover twenty kilometers. Fortunately, they were prepared for this. As dusk fell, they cleared a wide space and prepared to rest for the night.