I Live on the Land in Global Games

After leveling up to level 2, Mu Ying stayed home for two days, focusing on mastering the Water Creation Skill, Thorny Whip, Fire Burning Skill, and Divine Movement Technique.

With these spells at her disposal, she felt more confident; it was time to figure out how she could repay the debt she owed Grandpa Shom.

To obtain a large number of plant seeds, the seed market was naturally the most convenient option.

However, the seed market was located in the South Suburb of Coastal City, which required traveling through the entirety of Qingshan Town.

Before the apocalypse, this distance would have been just a two-hour drive, but now, with all means of transport gone, it all depended on walking. The journey was dangerous and could take several days to and from.

This was also why, after she posted the location of Qingshan Camp on the forum, not many had come; by this morning, the population of the territory had just reached over forty people.

Mu Ying had set no selection criteria for the residents, counting anyone who paid the daily entry fee as a resident.

However, these forty-some people had contributed a considerable amount of copper coins in the past few days, totaling up to 8 silver coins and 80 copper coins.

She converted all this money into energy and set the Territory Shield to auto-charge so that she wouldn't have to monitor the protective shield's energy daily—it would automatically utilize the stored energy of the territory.

Before leaving, Mu Ying made sure to add more water from the Recovery Spring for Old Yellow Bull to drink and patted its increasingly smooth and glossy hide; it was going to be a tough few days for it.

"Mu Ying, are you going to plant trees this morning?"

At the entrance of Tree House No. 3, a group from the mountain climbing club was gathered, fixing up together, including the few new people from Coastal University who had joined them in the past few days.

"No, I have something to take care of in the South Suburb," said Mu Ying, mounting Old Yellow Bull, whose understanding with her had improved greatly over the past few days. It was almost like riding a horse, though much slower.

"The South Suburb? That's quite far!"

"It's too dangerous. Many things from before the apocalypse have decayed, and there's not much left that's good in the city."

Mu Ying nodded at their words. "I know, but there are unavoidable reasons I have to go. Don't worry, I'll be careful. I'm off," she said with a smile, waving goodbye to them before pulling the rope in her hand, leading the leisurely Old Yellow Bull out of the camp.

Watching the departing figures of the woman and the bull, Liu Luoluo muttered to herself, "I always feel like she's not playing the same game as us. We're living a tense apocalypse survival, whereas she's enjoying a leisurely pastoral life..."

Si Qing, hearing his girlfriend's words, teased her amusedly, "Maybe we're playing 'Apocalyptic Love'?"

"..." Liu Luoluo gave him a sidelong glance, annoyed, "What 'Apocalyptic Love'? We're more like 'Fugitive Lovebirds' if anything!"

"Enough you two. Do we all just qualify as 'desperate singles' then?" said the others, exasperated.

"It's not that bleak, though. From what I've observed, these zombies are very stable in strength and show no signs of leveling up. We, on the other hand, are getting stronger. If this is the extent of the dangers of the apocalypse, players leveling up will be able to clear out these zombies very soon," Li Wei, who had adapted well, treated the apocalypse like a high-difficulty online game with only one life.

"That makes sense. Let's head out too, then. Every single one we take down helps. With more people coming, we might even have to compete for kills soon!"

...

The seemingly relaxed and comfortable Mu Ying, however, faced challenges not long after she left; she encountered a small group of wandering zombies.

With limited Mana, and adhering to the principle of avoiding combat when possible to conserve Mana and hasten her travels, Mu Ying had to deviate from the mountain path to the forest, leading Old Yellow Bull and using her Forest Traversing Skill to clear the way.

With her familiarity with the mountains and the Forest Traversing Skill, Mu Ying left the Forest Park unscathed yet shaken.

Once out of the Forest Park, the trees became sparser, and traces of human activity spread across the land; compared to the vivid hustle and bustle before the apocalypse, it was now quiet and desolate.

The cars that had once jammed the roads were nowhere in sight, and colorfully chaotic plastic banner advertisements seemed to be covered with a layer of grey filter. A gentle poke would result in a large hole, indicating they were significantly decayed.

Mu Ying used to think the air in the forest was better than outside, but now, without the exhaust from cars, the air outside the forest wasn't bad either, with a sky bluer than ever before.

Yet she still felt uncomfortable, stemming from a sense of safety.

The scarcity of trees meant the natural power was also diminished, which would affect her Mana Value recovery rate.

Besides, the sturdy concrete hindered the growth of plants, weakening the effect of using techniques like the Entanglement Technique and the Thorny Whip in such places.

Thus, Mu Ying abandoned the shortest route through Qingshan Town and chose to walk along the pedestrian path beside the Clear Water River, skirting around the town's edge, where there were at least some man-made scenic trees and small grass lawns.

This meant her journey was considerably longer, but it was much more pleasant.

She moved very slowly, as most of the landscape trees by the river were species not found in the forest; she touched each one to feel the form of natural power within them.

Different species of trees brought her substantial gains; nearly every type of tree increased her Professional Experience by at least one point.

Fortunately, Old Huang and Gungun were well-trained. While she was in a state of natural sense, one shielded her with his body while the other kept a close watch on their surroundings.

If something went awry, Mu Ying would be knocked off balance by Old Huang and simultaneously nipped by Gungun—a double-security measure, like now when Mu Ying hissed and quickly controlled her body to squat down, looking in the direction indicated by the bull's head.

Across the street, above the signboard of a noodle shop, a narrow window was pushed open halfway.

Two small arms held out a white cloth through the window, on which two words were scribbled in crayon, "Help!"

To catch her attention, he also threw random items out of the window, which attracted zombies gathered at the shop's entrance, estimating about five in sight, maybe more converging on this location, and soon she might be discovered too.

"Old Huang, go and wait ahead for me," Mu Ying patted Old Yellow Bull, which obediently moved forward.

Mu Ying tiptoed to a relatively thick tree and climbed it swiftly.

Once stable on the trunk, catching her breath, she cleared her throat and shouted across the street, "Stop throwing, I have seen you!"

The figure inside the window moved the cloth up and down, as if nodding.

Mu Ying's voice also attracted the zombies; they turned simultaneously and staggered toward her.

Once they were all beneath the tree, scratching at the trunk, Mu Ying activated her natural power, causing the grass and shrubs below to swiftly twist and elongate, pulling the zombies down and tightly binding their legs and arms.

She then jumped down from the tree, wielding a hoe enhanced with the Oak Stick Technique, aiming precisely at the zombies' heads, with each strike splitting their skulls.

The boy behind the window watched the scene, his eyes wide, thinking this sister was even more fierce than a wild jackal in the melon field!