She Raised Zombies in the Apocalypse - Chapter 77

San Wu’s favorite item was the generator. With a few more of those, she could run all kinds of appliances.

And then there was the refrigerator!

San Wu had dreamed of having a fridge to store food and make chilled desserts. She was even planning to grow some fruit trees.

“It’s definitely worth more than a few meals,” San Wu said with a smile. “I guess Ji Lingbai has more integrity than I gave him credit for. When I first found him on the brink of death, I would’ve killed him if I didn’t think he might be useful.”

Her words were sincere, and she wasn’t exaggerating.

Back then, if San Wu hadn’t been short on fighters and seen some potential in Ji Lingbai, she really would’ve finished him off right then and there.

“I even cooked special meals for everyone behind his back—more than once. But whenever he was around, we always ate a little worse. Oh well, it’s all in the past.”

Even after that, she kept her guard up around Ji Lingbai and had secretly considered killing him to avoid any future trouble if he ever disobeyed her.

Ruan Ying said, “Well, he’s not exactly a saint.”

He handed her a box full of solar-powered lights and added, “Our Captain Ji spent quite a few times staring at the back of your head, thinking about knocking you out and taking you back to the First Fortress.”

San Wu fell silent.

She knew it! That sneaky Ji Lingbai!

“So, strictly speaking, our Captain Ji isn’t exactly a good guy either.”

San Wu shot Ruan Ying a glance, catching the emphasis on the word “either”.

“You really know how to talk.”

Ruan Ying grinned. “I always aim to be objective.”

“Here’s a bag of seeds too. Captain Ji mentioned you enjoy dabbling in scientific research. Since hydroponics can be tricky, he also included some nutrient solution. Use it sparingly.”

It was clear that Ji Lingbai hadn’t shared San Wu’s secrets with Ruan Ying, despite him being his right-hand man. After all, San Wu hadn’t officially agreed to cooperate yet.

Once the partnership was established, he would have to select a few trusted individuals to handle tasks for both of them.

Ruan Ying continued, “We’ve also brought a few mutated dogs. They’re excellent for search and tracking.”

The items kept coming.

“Alright, I can feel his sincerity,” San Wu said after a moment of contemplation. “Pass on a message for me—I agree to cooperate. But as for the specifics, tell him to come discuss them with me directly.”

With such a display of good faith and so many valuable items on offer, San Wu realized she needed a powerful ally to help her fend off other fortresses and opportunistic loners.

Ruan Ying was visibly pleased.

Unaware of San Wu’s special ability, he was simply thinking about borrowing some zombie manpower from her.

After Ruan Ying left, San Wu had the zombies move everything inside.

They set up the solar-powered lights, keeping one in her house and installing the rest at key points outside the village. Although the zombies could see at night, having light made things much clearer.

Like other fortresses, their village would now have lighting at night, even if it wasn’t enough to illuminate the entire place.

And then there were the seeds, all of which needed to be planted.

“Is this… rice?” San Wu was surprised to find a few golden seeds among them, her heart skipping a beat.

“It really is rice! But is it dryland rice or paddy rice? Never mind, it doesn’t matter—my powers can grow anything.”

With the temperature just right, and even if it weren’t, San Wu’s ability could ensure a high germination and survival rate. She scattered the seeds without a care.

No wonder Ji Lingbai included a rice cooker.

The thought of fragrant, steaming rice made her mouth water.

She wondered if there would be any other surprises besides rice.

The pigsty had already taken shape overnight. San Wu crouched in front of it, instructing her zombies to grind thorn roots into powder and gather some mutated earthworms. After all, pigs weren’t picky eaters—they’d eat anything.

She also checked on the chicken and duck farms.

The number of eggs was steadily increasing, but since they would spoil if left too long, San Wu decided to use the extras to make salted duck eggs.

She boiled all the chicken eggs to give as snacks to her underlings.

Was it just her imagination, or were they getting a bit chubbier? A few of the more gluttonous ones seemed to be bursting out of their clothes.

“They need to watch how much they eat. Where am I supposed to find new clothes for them?”

Letting them run around naked didn’t appeal to her—she found it an eyesore.

“No, I need to stockpile more supplies.” With the increasing number of zombies and a fixed base, plus the added security from collaborating with the First Fortress, San Wu knew the next step was to hoard resources.

Only a mountain of supplies could provide a real sense of security.

“Huh?” San Wu took a few steps forward and saw a group of zombies gathered around San Yi, apparently engaged in something.

“Do as I do,” San Yi’s voice, deeper and steadier than San Ling’s, instructed. “Extend your hand.”

The other zombies followed suit.

“Fall!”

One by one, the zombies collapsed like a row of toppled dominoes, startling San Wu.

“Hahaha!” Kui Kui clapped her leaves together, clearly amused.

“What are they up to?” San Wu asked Kui Kui. Lately, it seemed like Kui Kui had grown stronger—her leaves were thicker, and sharp serrations had formed along the edges. San Wu had even seen Kui Kui use those serrated leaves to slice meat more effectively than her knife.

“San Yi is teaching them how to play dead. These zombies are a bit slow, so they need more practice. Once they master it, they can be faster, which will make catching large mutated beasts much easier,” Kui Kui explained, leaning against her.

“It’s like a training class… Wait, a training class—oh, damn!”

Suddenly, San Wu had a revelation.

If San Yi was going to teach them, why not turn this into an opportunity for some publicity?

Before the apocalypse, weren’t there all sorts of tutoring classes for math, physics, and chemistry?

Why couldn’t she start a Zombie Acting Training Class?

With all the thorn forests, mutated beasts, and wild zombies in the area, there was no risk of teaching others and starving her own zombies.

She could use this idea to gather more of the resources that were always in short supply for trade at the fortresses.

San Wu wasn’t worried about people being reluctant to teach themselves.

Not every zombie was as smart, and zombies could communicate better with each other.