The Apocalypse Solution Provider

Chapter 58: Fu Qingdai’s Change

“Ah…” Sun Ya let out a heavy sigh. “Honestly, after laying it all out, there isn’t much left to say. It’s just… whenever I realize we’re expecting this ragtag bunch of stragglers to operate like elite cultivators, my stomach ties itself into knots.”

“We don’t have the luxury of options; we just have to grit our teeth and execute,” Su Jin declared, slapping his hand against the table. “You two get some rest. First thing tomorrow, we’re hitting every building to run the experiments. We’ll have this whole mess sorted in three days tops. Then, we’ll finally have a functional workforce.”

“Once they’re integrated, I’m handing the management over to you. I’ll be out hunting Zombies. If the opportunity arises, I need to bag a live Disguised Infected. We still lack critical data on their killing algorithms and behavioral patterns.”

Sun Ya and Wei De nodded in unison.

Sun Ya then added, “Xiao Li, the equipment is prepped. The field tests begin tomorrow. Since we need the women to coordinate with us, and we all know their respective temperaments and stances toward the team… I think it’s time to read them in on the full situation.”

“Agreed. I’ll hold a briefing for everyone tomorrow,” Su Jin nodded.

The two elders stood, walking over to the sofa to stare down at the sleeping Fu Qingdai. Their eyes practically glowed with desperate anticipation.

A prophet in the apocalypse.

They could only pray she would produce another miracle…

…

The next morning brought blinding sunlight.

Su Jin stood on the balcony, eyes closed, his arms outstretched as he basked in the warmth.

An intense, throbbing pump surged through his muscle fibers. Beneath his shirt, the knot of flesh along his spine twitched on its own.

Just as he was savoring the intoxicating rush of his new strength, Fu Hu’s yell shattered the silence behind him.

“She’s awake!”

Su Jin pivoted sharply, striding over to the sofa and crouching down.

Fu Qingdai blinked her eyes open, jolting in shock when she realized a crowd of men was silently looming over her.

“Kiddo, how do you feel? Did you get any special powers?” Fu Hu practically vibrated with excitement.

Fu Qingdai rubbed her disheveled hair, blinking owlishly.

“I feel… I can’t really explain it. But I definitely don’t feel that ‘energy current’ you guys talked about. Dad, grab the bows. Let me test something!”

Fu Hu scrambled to fetch three composite bows.

Fu Qingdai snatched up the fifty-pound bow and drew the string back with effortless grace.

Relieved smiles rippled across the room.

She grabbed the seventy-pound bow. Again, an effortless draw.

The grins grew wider.

When she casually drew the heavy ninety-pound bow without breaking a sweat, Fu Hu finally barked a laugh. “Hell yes! Your raw strength just skyrocketed, and you haven’t even hit your ceiling yet!”

The corners of Fu Qingdai’s mouth twitched upward.

She finally wasn’t dead weight!

But then logic caught up with her, and her smile vanished.

Then what the hell was the point of all that pig feed I ate?

Su Jin’s face hardened. He stepped forward, a tense edge in his voice. “Qingdai, beyond the muscle density… is there really nothing else?”

Raw physical enhancement was just the baseline side effect of digesting a Fleshy Orb; it was merely a question of how much.

Brute strength was a dime a dozen. A specialized ability was the real asset!

“No… I don’t feel anything else…” Fu Qingdai mumbled, her confidence deflating.

Sweeping her gaze over the ring of deeply disappointed faces, the bitter truth crashed into her.

The entire team, even her own parents, had leveraged their survival on her, banking on a miraculous superpower.

But now… she had nothing. She was arguably the most defective product to ever consume a Fleshy Orb.

The fleeting joy of her newfound strength evaporated into thin air.

Her face draining of color, Fu Qingdai slowly looked up at Su Jin. “Brother… am I a failed investment?”

“No, drop that mindset.” Su Jin wrapped an arm around her shoulder, offering a rare, gentle tone, though his cynical grimace was impossible to fully mask. “It’s highly probable your core ability just requires a specific trigger. For now, your baseline strength outclasses any civilian. Look at me—your raw utility isn’t the point. Your presence here as a figurehead is what matters.”

Still drowning in misery, Fu Qingdai was just about to nod when her gaze abruptly locked onto Cheng Du.

Her eyes narrowed with vicious intensity!

Cheng Du violently flinched, instinctively crossing his arms over his chest. “Qingdai, what the hell? You okay?”

The predatory glare melted from her eyes, replaced by pure confusion.

A split second ago, an aura of icy malice had seemed to ooze from Cheng Du’s skin, only to vanish the exact moment she established eye contact.

“What’s the glitch?” Su Jin asked, releasing his hold on her.

“Nothing… I just need to power down for a minute alone.”

The men scattered, carrying a heavy shroud of disappointment with them.

…

An hour later, the team had finished choking down their rations.

Su Jin swept his cold gaze across the room, finally standing up to address the table. “Since breakfast is over, we need to hold an all-hands meeting. This briefing is primarily for the women; the operational staff is already up to speed.”

“I know you’ve been whispering behind our backs, wondering why Old Fu and I burned a whole day’s resources just to drag a cage of sewer rats back to base. In reality, this is a Class-A security threat…”

Su Jin systematically laid out the terrifying reality of the Disguised Infected, delivering the grim intelligence like a boardroom presentation.

The women’s faces cycled through sheer terror, disbelief, and finally, a pale, grim acceptance.

“That’s the operational reality. The elders and I have drafted a countermeasure. If we survive this bottleneck, we can establish a functioning organizational structure and secure a permanent base. I’m declassifying this for you because I need you compliant, and to keep you breathing. I expect absolute operational security. If this intel leaks, it will shatter our ability to recruit and manage future assets.” Su Jin slammed his knuckles onto the table, locking eyes with the three women.

“Are we perfectly clear?”

Zhang Wan gave a stiff, humorless nod. “Understood, Director. I’ll make sure there are no loose lips. If anyone steps out of line, hold me accountable.”

Su Jin nodded, a flicker of genuine approval in his eyes.

Since the outbreak, Zhang Wan had spoken less and less, quietly transitioning into the compound’s de facto logistics manager, handling everything from inventory to sanitation.

Fu Qingdai was her daughter, naturally keeping her in line. Sister Liu, essentially a background prop of a woman, already followed Zhang Wan’s orders like gospel.

“Excellent. Take a quick breather, then we initiate the sweep.”

…

Starting their purge with Building One, Su Jin led the extraction team to Unit 201.

According to Zhang Wan’s tenant ledger, Unit 201 housed a single male.

The moment they forced the door open, a man in a stained wife-beater eagerly poked his head out.

Taking one look at Su Jin’s armed squad, he practically wept with joy. “Can we finally leave? Did the government send you?!”

Su Jin unceremoniously shoved a hand into the man’s chest, shoving him back inside. “Step back. Get in the bathroom. Now.”

The bewildered survivor stumbled backward into the cramped bathroom, his ass hitting the edge of the sink.

Zhang Wan and her team immediately went to work, aggressively auditing the apartment for rat-holes, sealing up any blind spots, and efficiently plugging the squat toilet’s drain pipe.

“Wha—what the hell are you doing?” the man stammered, panic setting in.

Su Jin offered a terrifyingly corporate, dead-eyed smile. “You called it. The government rescue initiative is underway. However, per federal quarantine protocols, you are required to remain in a confined observation space for twenty-four hours. This serves two purposes. First, a stress test of your psychological endurance and obedience to direct orders, ensuring you won’t destabilize our camp. Second, an incubation audit. The virus has a delay.”

“Until my team returns tomorrow, you are restricted to this bathroom. Do not attempt to leave. If you need to shit, use a plastic bag.”

“We plugged the drain to block infected vermin and toxic backflow. We’ve already had breaches in this sector, so do not, under any circumstances, unseal it. While you’re in holding, do not touch any bugs, rats, or insects. Don’t even swat a fly. We aren’t risking cross-contamination. We are sealing this door from the outside, but you’ll be issued a standard twenty-four-hour ration of food and water.”

“Memorize this: if that seal is broken before we return, management will officially designate you as a hostile, and your rescue ticket will be permanently revoked!”