Rebirth of MC Chpt 102 - 202 (unedited translations)

Chapter 146: Invisible barrier

In the back of the moving, armoured car, several exhausted figures lay disorderedly on the floor. Using Long Zhanye's arm as a pillow, Huo Zaiyuan clutches a milk powder container full of ant crystals to his chest.

"I finally understand why the zombies in this village are so strong."

The fact that sesame seed sized crystals are able to fill such a big container to the brim shows exactly how large that swarm of ants had been. Who knows how many ants those zombies absorbed to be able to evolve so far in a short period of time. If the previous mercenary squad had not stumbled across this village and the Long Yuan squad was not dispatched to take care of it, these undead would have been a terrible force to reckon with in the future.

"Mhm." Lowering his chin to look at the vulnerable youth currently running on the last few drops of inner spiritual power, Long Zhanye's heart finally eases when he sees that fair complexion remains the same, condition not worsening.

He hasn't forgotten the last time this child exhausted all his energy sealing a poisonous swamp away and fainted immediately after the deed was done. This time, he not only managed to seal away a bigger swamp, but use quite a few explosive talismans, lay another seal around the village and burn the wave of ants. And he hasn't lost consciousness at the end of it all.

Now, the largest haul of crystals resides in the glass bottle in Huo Zaiyuan's hands.

"Boss, little Yuan, why were you so afraid of those ants?" You Nuandong asks curiously as soon as he regains his breath and calms his racing heart.

As far as his knowledge of insects goes, those red ants don't look like carnivores. Although facing a huge wave of them can frighten anyone, Long Zhanye and Huo Zaiyuan's reactions were too exaggerated.

"Those ants are one reason why zombies are rampaging across this country right now," Long Zhanye answers.

When Huo Zaiyuan had told him this all those days ago, he too, thought it was inconceivable. However, he believed Huo Zaiyuan without the slightest hesitation.

"Those ants are the cause of humans turning into zombies?!" Zuo Hanyang exclaims in shock, eyes wide.

"No, the ants themselves are not the reason. Rather, they carry a more potent demonic energy within their bodies that cause a human to transform after they enter the victim's flesh." Lifting the glass bottle up to eye level, Huo Zaiyuan stares at the sparkling crystals. "Hence, after the corpses of zombies are burned, crystals are left behind. On top of that, the demonic energy stored within the skulls of undead can be increased. Why those few undead in the village were so difficult to deal with ought to be because they absorbed demonic energy from more than a few ants..."

"That's enough, you are exhausted. Get some rest first. There's still some time before we reach the safe zone." Long Zhanye interrupts as the youth's eyelids begin to droop and his speech slurs. A doting smile curves his lips, and he lifts his free hand to stroke Huo Zaiyuan's soft hair.

"Un. Wake me up when we reach the safe zone." Yawning, Huo Zaiyuan sets the glass bottle of crystals on the floor. Turning on his side, he snuggles into Long Zhanye's embrace and falls asleep right away.

He is dead tired today.

When night falls, the armoured vehicle reaches the gates of the safe zone at long last. After going through the usual series of checks and inspections, the team of six is allowed to enter. For the entire journey, Huo Zaiyuan remains sound asleep. When he eventually awakens, it is already past 1am.

Looking down at Long Zhanye sleeping next to him, he glances out the window at the pitch-black night sky. Lips curling upwards slightly, he disappears in flash of silver.