Chapter 17

Cheng Zhiyu pocketed the thumb-sized crystal core for now, planning to figure out how to get Little Iron to absorb it later.

Hmm... crystal cores are for absorption, right? He’d try it later. If it didn't work, he could always ask the system.

Although the system often gave selective answers, it usually shared whatever it could about plants.

After securing the crystal core, Cheng Zhiyu gave Little Iron another rinse with water. After busying himself for a while, Little Black stirred in his arms and poked his head out.

Cheng Zhiyu ruffled his fur and said gently, "Did I disturb you?"

Little Black shook his head. After a short rest, he had fully recovered.

Even with those two plants, he felt uneasy about this human facing zombies alone.

Of course, it wasn't for any other reason—it was just that Cheng Zhiyu’s cooking was delicious. Little Black mused, a little reluctantly.

Little Black reached out a paw and patted Cheng Zhiyu: Is it time to head back?

After the Metal zombie was dealt with, the neighborhood fell silent. There were almost no zombies left, and the few scattered ones that remained posed no real threat.

Cheng Zhiyu understood Little Black’s unspoken question, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said with a smile, "No rush, let’s make a quick stop first."

Little Black’s ears twitched. Still not fully recovered and feeling lazy, he settled comfortably back into Cheng Zhiyu’s arms, letting him lead the way.

Following his memory, Cheng Zhiyu navigated through the complex. If he encountered any stray zombies, he didn’t even flinch—he simply dispatched them with a single slash of his knife.

Finally, he arrived at a pond. If he remembered correctly, this was the complex's man-made lake. He had heard that the property management used to raise fish here and would distribute them to residents during the New Year.

After the apocalypse and the power outage, meat became even scarcer. Any meat had to be kept frozen in refrigerators, but by the time Cheng Zhiyu found some, it had already spoiled.

So, it had been a while since they had eaten meat. Now that he knew there were fish here, he wasn’t about to let this opportunity pass.

Before coming, Cheng Zhiyu had worried that the artificial lake might be polluted, rendering any fish inedible. Fortunately, his fears were unfounded. The lake looked relatively clean, with only some fallen leaves and branches floating on the surface.

Little Black glanced at Cheng Zhiyu’s excited face, jumped out of his arms, and walked to the edge of the artificial lake to peer inside. With his Winged Tribe’s keen eyesight, he could easily spot fish swimming around in the pond—and they looked quite plump.

As he was intently watching, Cheng Zhiyu interjected: "Don’t stand so close to the edge. Watch out—you might fall in."

Little Black thought with a rebellious streak: He’s not stupid. How could he possibly fall in?

Despite his thoughts, he still moved away from the edge of the lake.

Cheng Zhiyu had been planning to catch fish when he left the house today. He pulled a fishing net from his storage space, broke off a piece of steamed bun to use as bait, and cast the net into the water.

With his enhanced strength, he easily tossed the net out wide. The fish, likely hungry, soon swarmed the net, fighting to get in.

Little Black found this method cumbersome and reached out a paw, intending to use his Water Power to catch the fish. But Cheng Zhiyu quickly stopped him: "Be good. You’re still drained from overusing your powers. Rest properly and listen to me. I’ll make grilled fish for you later."

At the mention of "grilled fish," Little Black’s ears twitched, and he reluctantly retracted his paw.

The net soon caught plenty of fish. Cheng Zhiyu hauled it up with effort, and dozens of lively fish flopped onto the shore.

Since the net had large holes, the fish were all sizable, with the largest even reaching the length of Cheng Zhiyu’s forearm.

After some thought, Cheng Zhiyu decided to clean the fish then and there. That way, when it was time to eat, he would just give them a quick wash, saving water.

Although Little Black had Water Power, Cheng Zhiyu was accustomed to being frugal. Besides, wouldn’t using his power tire him out?

Just as he was thinking this, a hapless fish jumped right in front of Little Black. Although cooked fish tasted delicious, the raw fish smelled awful. Little Black, being very clean, instantly zapped it with a jet of water, putting the fish out of its misery.

Cheng Zhiyu: "..." Let’s just pretend I didn’t see that.

He took out the kitchen knife he always carried for cooking and, like a seasoned fishmonger, efficiently gutted the fish, removing the innards, gills, and scales before tossing them into the artificial lake. Then he rinsed the fish briefly with lake water.

Noticing Little Black pacing around him impatiently, Cheng Zhiyu knew he must be craving the fish and decided not to make him wait any longer.

He had just found a portable burner today, and with all the ingredients on hand, he could make grilled fish right there.

Cheng Zhiyu rinsed the fish again with clean water, made a few cuts on the fish to help the seasoning soak in, and marinated it with scallions, ginger, and garlic. Under Little Black’s expectant gaze, he lit the portable stove, heated some oil, and fried the fish until golden brown on both sides. He then added various seasonings and stir-fried everything together before adding a bit of water and letting it simmer until it was ready to eat.

While the fish was cooking, Cheng Zhiyu processed the remaining fish. After some thought, he kept the innards to use as bait for catching more fish later.

Although he had already caught over twenty fish, given his and Little Black’s appetites, it was hard to say how many they'd have left after they finished eating.

Better to catch more. After all, his space had a preservation function, so he didn’t have to worry about flavors mixing. Since he was considering leaving home, he needed to stock up on as much food as possible.

Just as he was thinking this, Little Black pawed at his hand. Cheng Zhiyu turned to look at him and saw that his eyes were fixed on the fish. Even though Little Black was trying to play it cool, Cheng Zhiyu could tell he was eager.

Looking down, he saw that the fish was almost ready. He smiled and patted Little Black: "Don’t rush. This fish shouldn’t have bones, but we still need to be careful. Wait a moment, and I’ll pick out the meat for you."

Because of Little Black, he had specifically chosen a boneless variety. As for the fish with more bones, he wouldn’t waste them—they would make great fish soup later.

With a sense of ceremony, Cheng Zhiyu tied a bib around Little Black—today’s was blue. Little Black was already used to this and couldn’t be bothered to argue.

He took out Little Black’s small bowl, served up several large boneless chunks of fish with chopsticks, and once Little Black started eating, he began eating too.

After simmering for so long, the fish was packed with flavor. Since it had been pan-fried first, it had a nice crispy texture mixed with spicy notes—it was absolutely delicious.

The human and the dog quickly finished a large fish. Cheng Zhiyu cleaned the pot and made another one.

Just like that, they finished ten whole fish and were almost full. Cheng Zhiyu then made a pot of soup with just a bit of salt—no other seasonings—and the resulting broth was exceptionally fresh. Little Black drank several bowls, and Cheng Zhiyu finished the rest.

After eating and drinking their fill, Cheng Zhiyu cleaned the pot, put it away, and cast the net one more time to catch more fish.

Little Black, having just enjoyed the fish, thought it tasted great and now acted like a little supervisor, jumping onto Cheng Zhiyu’s shoulder to watch.

This time, he caught more fish—about fifty. These already took up half his storage space, and he couldn't stuff his entire storage with nothing but fish, so he decided to stop.

Little Black still thought fifty fish were too few—how long would they last? Cheng Zhiyu said, "If we eat fish every day, we’ll eventually get tired of it. Don’t you want to eat other delicious things?"

Little Black’s ears twitched, and he was successfully persuaded. He burrowed into Cheng Zhiyu’s arms and, feeling full and comfortable, fell asleep.

Cheng Zhiyu returned to the rental house and, after consulting the system, planted the Metal crystal core in the soil near Little Iron’s roots.

Little Iron, unusually cheerful, swayed its leaves happily and soon began absorbing the core earnestly.

The next day, Cheng Zhiyu received a system notification: "Congratulations, Host. Little Iron has completed its upgrade and is now eligible for form switching. Please select a form."

Then, the familiar drawing board appeared before Cheng Zhiyu.

Once was unfamiliar, twice was familiar. Having been tricked by the system before, Cheng Zhiyu was now very cautious. Instead of rushing to draw, he asked, "If I don’t draw it, can I use a picture?"

System: "...Yes."

Cheng Zhiyu had been waiting for this. His eyes lit up as he rummaged through the bedroom, pulled out a picture, and showed it to the system: "This one, please!"

System: "Sorry, Little Iron is currently still at the cold weapon level and cannot switch to a hot weapon form."

Cheng Zhiyu exclaimed "Ah!" glanced at the AK on the picture he was holding, and felt quite disappointed.

But it made sense—if it could take any form, that would be way too overpowered.

He thought it over carefully. The encounter with the Metal-attributed zombie today had taught him a lesson: relying solely on close combat clearly wasn’t enough. He needed a weapon that could also handle long-range attacks.

So, in the end, he chose a crossbow.

The rear part resembled a pistol, where pulling the trigger fired it, but the front part looked like a horizontal bow.

The system confirmed the form this time—no issues—and began production.

That night, Cheng Zhiyu saw Little Iron’s brand-new form. If nothing else, it looked way cooler in his hand than a kitchen knife.

He tried pulling the trigger, aiming at a target, but missed.

Cheng Zhiyu: "..."

Little Black, who was watching from the side, laughed: "Haha."

As cool as it was, Cheng Zhiyu, who had been just an ordinary person before the apocalypse, clearly found the crossbow much harder to handle than a kitchen knife.

He'd just have to practice his aim. Fortunately, his sharpened senses now gave him an edge, making training much easier.

After a few days, his aim had improved significantly. That afternoon, he pulled the trigger, and an arrow shot through the air with a sharp whistle, instantly piercing through a leaf not far away. The arrow then automatically returned to the crossbow—the whole sequence took less than half a second.

Standing by the window of the rental house, Cheng Zhiyu gradually broke into a smile: "Finally… Well, my learning ability is pretty good, right? Don’t you think so, Little Black?"

Little Black slowly yawned and nodded half-heartedly.

Cheng Zhiyu reached out to ruffle his head, earning a glare from Little Black, before grinning cheekily: "Little Black is so cute, and your fur is so soft to touch. Seeing you always cheers me up."

Little Black: "..." The same old routine.

Yet, he was still swayed by it—otherwise, Cheng Zhiyu wouldn’t keep using it.

With a thought, Cheng Zhiyu returned Little Iron to its space and smiled: "That’s about enough. Let’s head out tomorrow."

Three months had passed since the apocalypse began. It was time to leave this rental house and see what was going on outside.