Level-Up Space

Jiang Zhi and Shen Yize entered the base and began separating the core crystals based on their abilities. While separating the core crystals based on their abilities, Shen Yize appeared to be very focused, unlike Jiang Zhi who had difficulty concentrating.. Shen Yize appeared quite calm. Eventually, Shen Yize managed to separate the core crystal. He was breathing heavily, visibly exhausted. But their hard work paid off. They succeeded.

Afterward, Shen Yize gave Jiang Zhi a lot of core crystals. Shen Yize hoped that by giving Jiang Zhi many core crystals, it would enhance Jiang Zhi's powers.

Jiang Zhi happily accepted them.

"Everything is power types other than healing and fire. You can keep some in your space, and we'll save the rest for the future," Shen Yize explained to Jiang Zhi.

"Ah, okay. I will keep them," Jiang Zhi said as he placed the core crystals in his storage space. However, after looking around his space, Jiang Zhi couldn't find any more space to accommodate Shen Yize's gift of crystals.

"Wait, I can't. My space can't hold any more core crystals! I don't know what's wrong!" Jiang Zhi was shocked by this. Although he himself didn't quite understand what was happening to his storage space. Was it already at its limit? Or was it just experiencing a temporary disruption?

"Really? Can you take a look at it?" Shen Yize also looked surprised.

"Just a moment. I can, but I can't enter. It filled the forest with fog. Is that okay?" Jiang Zhi was worried. This had never happened before. Jiang Zhi felt worried about the fog-filled forest, which prevented him from entering.. And if he entered, the fog was engulfing the storage forest. Was it safe, or was something happening that required him to be more careful?

"I haven't even built my house!" Jiang Zhi added, scratching his head.

"It's okay. Maybe that's the way to improve it," Shen Yize tried to provide an answer, although uncertain. Based on his experience of enhancing powers, Shen Yize noticed unusual moments that indicated an improvement in his abilities..

Suddenly, they heard footsteps approaching from behind. Jiang Zhi and Shen Yize didn't turn around because they could guess whose footsteps they were. They tried to act indifferent, waiting for the person to speak up.

"Hey, are you guys talking about Jiang Zhi's space? Can the space make a house? Can we live there? Is it safe?" said the person, who turned out to be Zhang Rui.

Jiang Zhi and Shen Yize glanced at Zhang Rui with lazy expressions, then sighed heavily. Zhang Rui didn't know much about the end of the world, so they had to forgive him. In reality, Zhang Rui's presence clearly disturbed Jiang Zhi and Shen Yize because he always spoke without thinking..

"You can't enter unless we become partners," Jiang Zhi explained.

"Partners? No way! I will never be your partner, bro! I'm still sane, you know!" Zhang Rui immediately rejected and scoffed at Jiang Zhi's offer.

"Great! Because if you wanted to become my partner, I'd have to find a way to get rid of you," Jiang Zhi casually retorted.

"Aye, I should be the one breaking up with you, bro. Oh, forget it. I don't have that ability!" Zhang Rui didn't want to lose in a battle of egos.

Zhang Rui was always annoying, always provoking and making others irritated with his careless words. But as long-time friends, Jiang Zhi and Shen Yize knew him very well. They knew that despite his annoying exterior, Zhang Rui was actually a very kind person.

"Stop arguing over trivial matters. By the way, how many core crystals did you put in your space?" Shen Yize asked Jiang Zhi.

"I don't know. Maybe around 500 or 1000 crystals. I didn't count them."

Jiang Zhi silently counted in his mind, but eventually gave up. He had tried counting several times, but the numbers were too many to remember. They were numbers that could only be retained if he wrote them down. But who would want to do that? Gathering the crystals alone was already a hard task, let alone counting them.

"I don't know. There are quite a lot. Besides, the rain crystals are very small," Jiang Zhi replied.

"Yeah, it's not your fault if you're not good at math," Zhang Rui retorted, with his typical provocative tone.

"Can you just be quiet?" Jiang Zhi snapped irritably.

"Alright, tomorrow we'll clean up all the crystals outside. So let's go to sleep. Sufficient rest will help us stay energized," Shen Yize intervened to ease the tension. In his heart, he agreed with Jiang Zhi that Zhang Rui was incredibly annoying. But he had to remain calm in the current situation. They shouldn't add more problems, especially from internal conflicts. They had no choice but to unite in gathering those crystals.

The next day, they gathered all the zombie core crystals until they were all taken. Jiang Zhi and Shen Yize worked quite hard, while Zhang Rui reluctantly helped. They also cleaned up the crystals from the heavy rain a few days ago around the headquarters.

"So exhausting! Oh, what should we do with these zombie corpses?" Jiang Zhi asked his two friends.

"Just burn them. Zhang Rui, is your special power level at mid-level 1?" Shen Yize suggested.

"Yeah, it seems so. Why?" Zhang Rui replied.

"Burn these corpses. With your power, you should be able to turn them into ashes."

Zhang Rui pondered Shen Yize's suggestion for a moment. But after considering his power level, it would be quite difficult for him to burn all the zombie corpses. His fire was hot enough, but endurance was also an important factor to consider.

"That won't work. Although the fire is hot enough, my endurance and speed won't last long. It will drain all my strength," Zhang Rui explained.

"So, what should we do? The rain hasn't stopped," Jiang Zhi began to worry.

The rain was still pouring heavily, and there were no signs of it letting up. If it continued like this, it would be very troublesome due to the number of zombie corpses. The stench would become more pungent and unbearable to smell.

But no one answered Jiang Zhi's question, except for the confused faces of Shen Yize and Zhang Rui. Some time passed until Jiang Zhi's concerns became a reality. As they continued walking, they saw a pile of zombie bodies on the edge of the forest. Due to the continuous rain, the humid temperature caused the putrid smell to spread widely.

Shen Yize waved his hand in front of his nose, protected by an air-filtering mask.

Something specially designed the mask to be more effective in blocking odors compared to those available in stores. It was a military-grade equipment. However, it seemed that it still couldn't completely shield them from the repulsive stench.

"Let's just have a mass burial, how about that?" Shen Yize suggested while still holding his breath.

"That's too much trouble!" Zhang Rui firmly replied.

Of course, the number of corpses there were no longer in the dozens. It might have already reached hundreds. It was impossible for them to bury them, even if it was a mass burial. Just carrying one corpse would already subject them to an extremely foul smell, let alone hundreds of them. Zhang Rui was confident in his refusal.

"Well, if that's the case, there's nothing we can do except endure this smell," Shen Yize said, visibly frustrated by Zhang Rui's rejection of his suggestion.

"Hey, hey, don't be angry."

"Let's go back and think while resting. By the way, it seems like my space can be entered now. I'll give it a try," Jiang Zhi said as he walked and waved his hand, signaling them to go home.

Shen Yize and Zhang Rui could only follow along as they returned to the headquarters and entered their respective spaces.

Upon arriving in his space, Jiang Zhi cleaned himself up and sat on his bed, then examined his space. He was quite sure that he could enter his space now.

"It seems like I can enter now. The fog inside has thinned out," Jiang Zhi looked pleased.