Chapter 4: Sleepless Summer Night

The water in the fish tank had already been exposed to sunlight and treated with disinfectant, but Zhou Yun still carefully soaked the entire bag of fish in the tank, allowing the electric eel to acclimate to the environment first.

This type of fish was nocturnal, inactive during the day, so he placed it in a shaded area under the fake rock hill to let it adjust.

This was a fully grown Emerald Electric Eel, extremely fierce. It swam slowly in the water like a green feather, or like a sharp blade.

It could discharge up to 600 volts, enough electricity to kill an adult crocodile.

In the apocalypse, lightning users are extremely precious due to their powerful combat abilities.

Zombies fear lightning. A single bolt can paralyze or even incinerate a zombie, and a group of zombies will instinctively flee. The lightning ability is incredibly useful for dispersing zombie crowds.

Compared to other wood, water, and fire abilities, upgrading the lightning ability is relatively easy. The lightning ability can absorb and convert all types of energy core for upgrades, unlike other abilities that can only absorb energy of the same attribute.

High damage and easy upgrades make lightning users one in ten thousand. Therefore, they are highly regarded guests of various bases and major factions, supported by powerful organizations.

The enhancement of lightning users in the apocalypse is also a key research focus for scientists. Enhancement requires a large amount of lightning-attributed energy core, but such core is difficult to obtain and sells for a high price immediately whenever it appears on the market.

However, later research by apocalypse scientists surprisingly discovered that electric fish such as electric rays, electric catfish, and electric eels, as well as some deep-sea fish, all possess lightning essence in their bodies after the apocalypse. During thunderstorms, they naturally absorb even more lightning essence.

After this discovery, live electric fish became high-point reward tasks in the Hunter Association. Bases bought them at high prices for experiments to catalyze lightning users.

Unfortunately, only one electric eel could be kept in a single fish tank, and they were difficult to breed. He didn’t have much space on his balcony and still needed to raise some fish for daily consumption and some water earthworms for fish bait.

But as long as he took good care of it, one was enough.

Zhou Yun walked over to check the fish in the other large porcelain fish tanks, all of which were very active, and he was quite satisfied. In fact, many of these fish could be eaten directly, but tonight, he was making pig trotters.

He sprinkled some fish food into the tanks and went downstairs, taking out half a pig from the freezer. He chopped off a hind leg, a front elbow, and a shoulder.

He used a boning knife to carefully remove the large bones, threw the lean and fatty meat into a food processor to mince and marinate, and put the bones in a bag. He took the bag and his trash, and headed over to the opposite door.

There was no sound behind the door, as if no one was home.

But Zhou Yun patiently waited at the door. After a while, the door opened, and Guan Yuanfeng stood there with his dog, looking at him indifferently. "What is it?"

Zhou Yun lifted the bag of bones for him to see. "I’m your neighbor from across the way. Sorry for startling your family today."

"I’m making sausages today and had some pork bones leftover. Seeing that you have a dog, I thought it would be a waste to throw the bones away. Would it be okay for you to feed them to your dog?"

Guan Yuanfeng remained silent, his gaunt face expressing coldness and rejection.

The dog by his wheelchair stared intently at the bag of bones, its nose twitching, eager to come over and sniff, but without a command, it sat obediently, tongue hanging out, ears nervously twitching, its sleek black neck fur standing up alertly.

This was a retired military dog, and Guan Yuanfeng cared for it deeply. Even if he went hungry, he wouldn’t let his dog go hungry.

When Guan Yuanfeng was silent, his sharp features and stern expression gave off an intense, intimidating vibe, likely due to his cold and strong demeanor from his time in the military, accumulated over many years.

But Zhou Yun smiled, unfazed, only moving his other hand that was holding the trash bag, which looked heavy and made his white fingers appear red.

Guan Yuanfeng’s eyes fell on Zhou Yun’s white fingers that were red from the heavy trash bag. He reached out and took the bag of bones. "Thank you."

Zhou Yun smiled again and asked, "I’m heading down to throw out the trash. Do you want me to take your trash down as well?"

Guan Yuanfeng said, "No need, thank you."

Zhou Yun nodded, not overly enthusiastic, and turned crisply toward the elevator. As the elevator doors opened and he stepped in, he finally felt Guan Yuanfeng's gaze on him the whole time.

He threw away the garbage and, passing by a fruit shop in the neighborhood, saw the vendor peeling a pineapple. He picked out two pineapples with particularly stiff and lush crown leaves. The vendor offered to peel them for him, but he shook his head and instead asked, "Can I have the pineapple peels?"

The vendor was stunned and looked at the pineapple peels in the foam box. "What do you need them for?"

Zhou Yun said, "For compost."

The vendor suddenly realized. "Oh, go ahead and take them. It saves me the trouble of throwing them away. You can take the foam box too. I'm about to close up and have dinner."

Zhou Yun thanked the vendor, placed the two pineapples into the foam box, and used a nearby packaging rope to make a handle. Just then, he saw the middle-aged couple he had noticed at noon, smiling as they loaded their luggage into a car with a young couple. They were chatting happily.

He watched for a moment. The vendor, noticing Zhou Yun looking over, also glanced that way and said with some envy, "Old Guan, do you know them?"

Zhou Yun said, "I think I saw them getting married not long ago." He remembered the couple mentioning a new house and tentatively asked.

The vendor said, "Yes, they're from our village. The son is quite accomplished. The eldest son received a substantial retirement benefit after leaving the military and bought a big villa in this resettlement community. It cost several million. The second son and his wife are also wealthy. They're honeymooning abroad and invited the parents to join them. I heard they're going to some island."

Zhou Yun's eyes flickered. "But I saw the eldest son living in a resettlement house, not the villa."

The vendor clicked his tongue and whispered, "He has a disability. If he lived with them, the second daughter-in-law might have been scared off before they even got married. Fortunately, they're in the same community, so it's easier to take care of him."

Zhou Yun said, "But the villa was bought with the eldest son's money."

The vendor sighed. "It’s their decision. What else can they do? One is already disabled and might have trouble finding a wife. They can't afford for the whole family to remain unwed. He will likely depend on his younger brother's children to take care of him in his old age."

Zhou Yun didn't respond, picked up the foam box of pineapple peels, and said, "I'll be off now, thanks."

On his way back, he encountered Guan Yuanfeng coming down from upstairs as he waited for the elevator on the first floor. Guan Yuanfeng was in a wheelchair, with his dog by his side, and a garbage bag hung on the wheelchair.

Zhou Yun held the foam box in one hand, pressed the elevator button with the other, and greeted him casually, "Walking the dog?"

Guan Yuanfeng was clearly drawn to the foam box of pineapple peels in Zhou Yun's hand. Even the dog couldn't help but sniff and then turned its nose away in disdain.

As Guan Yuanfeng came out, Zhou Yun naturally brought the pineapple peels into the elevator and gave him a friendly nod before the door closed.

He layered the soil, pineapple peels, more soil, and vegetable leaves—Zhou Yun carefully arranged everything and covered the organic compost bin.

He then cut open the plastic bag containing the electric eel and watched as it slowly swam under the rockery. Zhou Yun scooped a bit of water worms and sprinkled some fish food into the tank.

After feeding the chicks and ducklings, he leisurely grabbed a hose and thoroughly watered the vegetables on the rooftop.

The sky was painted with a warm, golden-orange glow, casting a peaceful light over Danlin City. The rooftop garden, still warm from the day’s sun, filled the air with the earthy scent of damp soil and fresh grass.

Zhou Yun found a corner and loosened the soil, then cut off the crowns of the two pineapples he had just brought back. He picked a leaf from a nearby aloe vera plant, used the glistening gel to coat the bottom of the crowns, and planted them in the soft soil before watering them.

Pineapples weren't particularly suited to grow in this area, but the post-apocalyptic weather changes meant any plant could mutate.

His wood-based ability required practice and upgrades with various plant species, which was why he had purchased as many seeds and countless gardening books as possible.

Zhou Yun casually picked a handful of tender water spinach, noticing the sky gradually darkening, and went downstairs to the kitchen. He had put the pig elbow in a pressure cooker before going up, and now it was soft and fragrant.

He poured it out, washed the water spinach leaves, tore them, and threw them into the pot with the pig elbow broth to mix. After a minute of heating, it became a shiny and fragrant vegetable dish.

Eating alone, he settled for a quick, simple meal. With more people, he could put in a bit more effort. He looked out the window again, and the night had fully set in.

He quickly finished his solitary dinner, cleaned up the kitchen, and got to work on the marinated pork, ready to start making sausages. Before long, he had made twenty pounds of sausages, which he hung to air dry inside the house before cleaning up and getting ready for bed.

He woke up in the middle of the night, got up, and opened the window to look outside. Guan Yuanfeng's house was across from him, but he couldn't see into his room.

But he knew Guan wasn't sleeping, because after his amputation, he had suffered from severe phantom limb pain. Every late night, the phantom limb pain would wake him up.

With no family to help him, he had to put on his prosthetics alone, the friction aggravating his injury. The pain was unbearable.

The hot weather made his inflamed injury even worse. He already had to take a lot of medication, which worsened his appetite, so his complexion wasn't good today.

Guan was medically discharged due to his injuries. He had just returned home after surgery, only to be rejected by his family. They took over the villa he had bought with his retirement money and gave it to his younger brother as a new home, while sending him to relocation housing. Despite everything, his pride was too strong, and he coldly turned down offers of sympathy and help.

In his previous life, Guan Yuanfeng was just an ordinary neighbor to him. To Guan, helping him back then was just a casual act. If this were a different life, Guan probably wouldn't even remember him.

To Guan, he was just another person among the many he had helped. It just so happened that they were neighbors when the apocalypse came and he needed help.

The long, grueling years of survival and wandering in the apocalypse had dulled his senses, but today, seeing Guan Yuanfeng again, all the details he hadn't noticed in his previous life were vividly clear.

Zhou Yun went up to the rooftop to look at the vegetable garden under the moonlight. The trumpet flowers were blooming, and the chicks and ducklings were huddled together, sleeping, with the occasional clucking from the hen.

The electric eel moved slowly in the water, and the fish in the tank flapped their tails, splashing water.

He had originally planned to gain Guan's trust slowly over time. Zhou Yun touched the heavy bunch of grapes hanging from the vine, glanced at the empty rooftop across from him, and made up his mind: he couldn't wait any longer. He would go knock on his door tomorrow.