Chapter 23: 021 Energy Riot
The energy upheaval caused by the meteorite's fall not only destroyed many municipal facilities but also severely affected transportation everywhere. Most critically, the energy tumult brought about virus mutation. Fortunately, there is always a sliver of hope, as the virus mutation resulted not only in zombies but also in the awakening of some individuals.
This night of the meteorite fall was a key moment for awakenings. With the energy upheaval, absorbing as much energy as possible upon awakening would provide a significant advantage.
Fang Yuxin was well aware of this and naturally did not want to miss the opportunity. In fact, her insistence on hastily having the villa renovated and moving in with her family was precisely because this newly developed area was unaffected by the meteorite impact.
That night, no one in the villa slept, it was only the Fang Family there, all the bodyguards and housemaids had left one after another. Due to the increasingly severe flu, their families were ill, more or less, and naturally, they were worried. After learning of this, Fang Yuxin simply gave them leave and money to go home to care for their families.
She didn't know how many of these people would survive after the apocalypse, let alone what would happen to their families, but with many people separated from their loved ones or scattered from their kin after the apocalypse, rather than having these people stay, it was better to let them go home and reunite with their families. Regardless of what the apocalypse would bring, being with their own families was better than being separated and unknowing whether they are dead or alive.
That night, the Fang Family did not sleep and waited until midnight. As soon as the meteorite appeared, Fang Yuxin led her entire family, including Bai Qianqian, into the Qingmu Spiritual Mansion.
Inside the grand hall, there were many Spirit Gathering Arrays. Since the Qingmu Spiritual Mansion recognized its owner, the Spirit Gathering Arrays automatically activated, absorbing the spiritual energy between heaven and earth. This time, due to the energy turmoil, the spiritual energy absorbed by the Spirit Gathering Arrays was vastly more concentrated than usual—more than ten or a hundred times! As soon as Fang Yuxin led her family into the Qingmu Spiritual Mansion, she felt the much denser spiritual energy within.
Upon entering the grand hall, the spiritual energy was even denser, almost becoming a mist visible to the naked eye. Fang Yuxin advised her family members to find places to sit and let their bodies experience the wash of spiritual energy. If nothing unexpected occurred, Yu Yang should be able to awaken the Wind Superpower. As for Jintang and Qianhe, and the remaining Bai Qianqian, she dared not hope too much.
The chances of becoming an Awakener were not high. In the early days of the apocalypse, almost two-thirds of the world's population turned into zombies, and among the remaining third of the survivors, only one in ten were Awakeners. It was only with the emergence of Elemental Stones and Elemental Crystals that ordinary survivors had the chance to awaken.
Aside from Elemental Crystals, ordinary survivors who were scratched by zombies and infected with the Zombie Virus also had a chance to awaken, although the likelihood was very low, and most became zombies. Comparatively, obtaining Elemental Crystals was much safer, providing ordinary people with a chance to awaken superpowers, albeit with lower talent than those who awakened spontaneously, unless they could find an Elemental Crystal to enhance their talent, otherwise their future achievements would be limited.
And Elemental Crystals were hidden within Elemental Stones. Elemental Stones were fragments of the fallen meteor, whose outer layers, burned during descent, had smoothed into something resembling pebbles. The surface of an Elemental Stone was extremely hard and varied in size, each containing Elemental Crystals of different properties. However, not all meteor fragments became Elemental Stones. Some fragments contained nothing and were called "empty stones."
Initially, no one noticed the significance of Elemental Stones and the Elemental Crystals inside, until news started spreading half a year into the apocalypse. Afterward, all survivors, whether superpower users or ordinary people, coveted Elemental Stones. Ordinary people could potentially awaken superpowers by obtaining Elemental Crystals, and though superpower users couldn't awaken new superpowers through Elemental Stones, they could use Elemental Crystals of the same type to enhance their superpower talent.
In the dream, Fang Yuyang had always wanted to find an Elemental Crystal so Fang Yuxin could awaken her superpower, but unfortunately, once he managed to get one, Fang Yuxin failed to awaken any superpower. Fang Yuyang, refusing to believe it, declared he would gather all types of Elemental Crystals for Fang Yuxin to try one by one. Sadly, before he could find the second crystal, his own superpower was destroyed and he died a tragic death.
Thus, Fang Yuxin cared deeply about the Elemental Crystals. She chose not to have the Fang Family leave the Market area for two reasons. One was because the new development area where their villa was located would eventually evolve into a survivor base. The second reason was that she was well aware of the distribution of Elemental Crystals in and around the Market. These were all things she had seen in her dreams. Reality might have been different, but Fang Yuxin was willing to take a gamble.
Bai Qianqian felt incredibly uneasy the first time he came to this place. Holding Angela, he looked helplessly at Fang Yuxin and asked, "Mama, where are we?"
Fang Yuxin didn't know how to explain the apocalypse to him. Looking at Angela in his arms, she walked over and placed Angela on one of the Spirit Gathering Arrays. After the apocalypse, not only humans but also animals and plants had mutated. She didn't know if Angela could mutate but wanted to give it a try. The living conditions after the apocalypse were harsh; if Angela couldn't mutate, she would likely have to stay inside the Qingmu Spirit Mansion from then on.
Sighing, Fang Yuxin took Bai Qianqian by the hand and had him sit on the Spirit Gathering Array, urging, "Qianqian, you must try to sense it well, okay? Mama will explain everything else to you later."
Bai Qianqian obediently nodded his head. Then, he started feeling a very comfortable energy washing over his limbs and body. Fang Yuxin looked at the others and noticed that Fang Jintang, Qu Qianhe, and Fang Yuyang had already started to meditate with their eyes closed. Meanwhile, Angela was lying comfortably on the Spirit Gathering Array, meowing softly before closing her eyes and falling asleep.
Fang Yuxin smiled and shook her head, then she sat down cross-legged next to her family and closed her eyes to absorb the Spiritual Energy. She could no longer awaken any superpower, but with her Wood Element Technique, masquerading as a Wood Element Superpower User was easy. However, the most important thing at the moment was to cultivate using the Spiritual Energy generated during the energy surge.
...
The Fang Family stepped into the Qingmu Spirit Mansion without having to worry about the impact of the apocalypse, but others were not so lucky. Even though many were aware of the virus, the appearance of the meteorite was completely unexpected; it seemingly appeared out of nowhere and then instantly exploded into countless fragments that fell across the world, catching everyone off guard.
In the night, a black SUV rushed into the old Fang family home. Immediately after stopping, a slim figure in a bodysuit stepped out of the vehicle. She glanced at the tightly shut gate and smiled coldly, then leapt over the wall with a somersault. Due to a citywide power outage, the villa's security system was rendered useless.
She moved effortlessly to the door, took out a key, and inserted it into the lock. The key looked plain and unlike any ordinary key, almost comically resembling a toy. However, when she inserted the key into the lock and gave it a gentle turn, a soft "click" sounded from the lock.
Then, she gently pushed the door open and silently made her way upstairs to a door. She used the same key to unlock it, carefully pushed the door open, and then, the smile froze on her face.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone