The Gu family went hunting once every four months.
It wasn't because they were weak.
It was because they no longer needed to.
Every single day, Gu Mian provided seafood from her miniature sea — fish, crabs, crayfish, oysters, octopus — creatures brimming with spiritual energy. The family ate well. Better than well.
They thrived.
By the end of the year, several minor and even major breakthroughs had occurred. Strength rose quietly across the new village like a tide.
Winter now came early.
After surviving the previous year, GuoSan adapted.
From the beginning of every year, gathering and planting never stopped.
They rationed carefully, eating as little as necessary to preserve winter reserves.
The planning was meticulous — not a single family was left without food when the snow came.
Not one.
And during the fourth winter, the base was strangely lively.
People weren't scrambling for survival anymore.
They were preparing for the future.
---
Before the Gu family left the previous year, they had given advice:
Ability users should cultivate both spiritual Qi and magic.
And civilians — even those who never awakened — should try absorbing Qi.
That night, after the Gu family departed, Tang Guo and his husband decided to test it.
It worked.
Two days later, a base-wide meeting was called.
Everyone attended.
From toddlers wrapped in thick coats to grandparents leaning on canes.
They sat cross-legged in the central hall, filling it wall to wall. A microphone was used so every word could be heard.
They followed the instructions.
They breathed.
They reached.
They absorbed.
And something miraculous happened.
Those who had never awakened an ability… could cultivate.
The sensation of Qi entering their bodies — warm, powerful, alive — broke something inside them.
Many cried.
The pressure they had endured for years — the humiliation of being "ordinary," the fear of being cast out as useless — finally cracked.
Even though the base leaders had tried to stop bullying, prejudice lingered.
But now?
Now even children could cultivate.
The hierarchy shattered.
After that day, cultivation became a way of life.
People trained in their free time and worked harder during the day — not out of fear, but purpose.
Fatigue disappeared.
An hour of Qi absorption erased exhaustion.
Even the most degrading jobs felt different now.
They earned more points.
They felt stronger.
They felt human.
GuoSan Base exploded in productivity.
Then came another discovery.
Spiritual Qi users could cultivate crops.
The higher the cultivation, the faster the growth.
Soon vegetables sprouted in rooms, corridors, rooftops.
No fertilizer.
No chemicals.
Just Qi.
Natural.
Pure.
Energy-rich.
Within two months of the Gu family leaving, GuoSan no longer suffered food shortages.
Everyone ate at least two full meals a day.
It felt like heaven.
---
Ability users began cultivating Qi too.
They advanced faster than ever before.
The leadership held another meeting.
Because winters were brutal, everyone would gather and work until the end of the first winter month — then rest.
But "rest" did not mean idleness.
They trained.
They learned to fight.
Schools reopened.
With their enhanced brains, even illiterate survivors learned at terrifying speed. In peaceful times, many could have held doctorates.
Exploration teams were ordered to document everything — animals, plants, mutated creatures, zombie types, weaknesses, behavior.
Knowledge became power.
That winter passed slowly.
Painfully.
But not a single person starved.
Not a single person froze.
They were thin by the end.
But alive.
By the third winter, everything changed again.
Every family could afford a home.
No more cramped rooms.
The base expanded beyond the space of two massive football stadiums.
Citizens bought land.
They built.
They settled.
GuoSan was no longer a refugee camp.
It was a city.
Years earlier, Tang Guo had looted a water treatment plant.
Nearly 400 massive tanks were placed throughout the base.
In total, 1,736 tanks stored water.
During winter, snow was packed into them.
It was how they survived.
Then Gu Xing created a water filter.
Three months before the third winter, she sent the design back.
Two New Order ability users finally found their calling.
They modified the largest tanks into purification systems and connected them to a river source.
After winter, water would flow freely again.
No more rationing.
No more fear.
---
Before leaving, the Gu family modified the solar panels:
Gold to absorb magic.
Jade to absorb spiritual Qi.
Gu Mian even gave a quarter of her solar stock.
Ability users were taught how to perform the modifications themselves.
After the New Year, search teams targeted solar companies and warehouses.
Three massive warehouses were secured in one district alone.
Fuel consumption dropped drastically.
Cars kept their gasoline.
Energy became sustainable.
By the first month of the third winter, water and energy systems were complete.
Since old hostels had been purchased as permanent housing, ten new large hostels were built for newcomers.
Refugees would stay there until they earned enough points to buy homes.
And then, something revolutionary happened.
In late November, the Order ability users created point cards.
By December, every citizen had one.
It functioned as both currency and identity.
Civilization had structure again.
The third year of the apocalypse ended.
They survived the first great storm.
When the New Year arrived and the blizzards cleared, the water from the storms dried quickly, the sunlight turned harsh once more.
People smiled.
Children laughed.
For the first time in years…
Hope did not feel fragile.
Except for those who had escaped fallen bases — places annexed by zombies that had defrosted during the storms.
Their stories were darker.
And they were coming.