Wasteland: I Awakened A Plant System - Chapter 198: Crystal Cores Inside Of Zombies

In the observation room, Sophia, Divya, and Anjali stared intently at the figures on the screens, their expressions filled with frustration.

Meanwhile, Archy and Ranzy wore strange expressions. They had been ready to eliminate all threats and had decided that no zombies should come near their territory. However, they had no idea that humans would appear, and they had missed the chance to eliminate them.

“Vikram was really right. The tracks outside were made by Survivors scouting the area,” Divya said.

“It’s a shame these Survivors were too cunning. They ran away so fast. Otherwise, I would have taught them a lesson,” Anjali grumbled, waving her fist with displeasure in her eyes.

The three screens in the observation room were still lit up, tracking the intruders’ movements. At this moment, the Survivors had already fled to the farthest edge of the observation range.

“Divya, what do we do now?” Anjali asked, staring at the figures gradually disappearing from the screen. “The territory has been discovered. Will a group of people come looking for us later?”

Even though her physique had improved significantly, Anjali still felt a little timid at the thought of a group attacking the territory while Vikram was away.

“Anju, don’t worry,” Archy shouted confidently. “No one can invade our territory. We will kill all of them!”

“Yes! We will protect our territory!” Ranzy added loudly.

Hearing their determined voices, Anjali’s fear vanished instantly. “Yeah… Why do I always forget that we have the Plant Sprouts here?”

“Alright, I’ll keep watching here. You two go and relay the message to Vikram. Tell him to be careful when he returns,” Divya said to Anjali and Sophia.

“No need. We are enough here. You all go and rest,” Archy immediately refused. He started pushing them out of the room with his small hands.

“Okay, okay, we’re going,” Sophia said with a smile. The sudden tension in the room disappeared thanks to Archy’s funny actions.

—

Meanwhile, Vikram was still driving his RV, but with the start of this natural disaster, the situation outside had become far more complex than he had imagined.

He encountered countless zombies on the road, so many that he didn’t even have time to check his messages.

Just as he was thinking this, “Bang!” The dull thud of the RV hitting another zombie sounded once again. The Phantom Druid quickly dealt with it.

Unlike before, when he could deliberately avoid them using the Bio Detector, the zombies this time were distributed so densely that it was nearly impossible to dodge them all. Especially since the roaring sound of the RV traveling through the quiet wasteland was like a clap of thunder, attracting every zombie in the vicinity.

As soon as the RV passed by, zombies with sensitive hearing would immediately turn and shamble after it. However, Vikram didn’t care. The Phantom Druid efficiently killed every zombie that got too close.

A few that collided with the RV fell to the ground and were quickly finished off by the Phantom Druid.

“This number is simply ridiculous,” Vikram muttered, keeping his focus on driving.

Although the zombies couldn’t really threaten him, he felt irritated. First, they had stopped dropping loot boxes, and even the Plant System had stopped giving him points and rewards for killing zombies or other weak enemies ever since he returned from the ruins.

He also had many questions for the system, but he had been too busy to think about them properly.

Looking at the slowly decreasing number of red dots on the Bio Detector ahead, Vikram finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“And people still want to explore new resources?” Recalling the discussions in the chat channel earlier, Vikram shook his head.

Even without this natural disaster, the sheer number of zombies would have been more than enough for most survivors to handle.

The only fortunate thing was that the mutated zombies he had encountered before had not yet become as widespread as the ordinary ones.

After the zombies on the road became less dense, Vikram soon arrived at the Savage Wolf Shelter territory.

So much had happened in the past few days, yet it had only been about a week since his last visit. However, in that short time, the changes here seemed even greater than he had imagined.

Especially the atmosphere of the entire territory, which was much better than when Rahul Soniwal and his group were in charge.

When Vikram entered, almost everyone, regardless of gender, was busy working.

“Vikram, you’re here?” As soon as he arrived at their forest territory, Shalini came out with a smiling face.

Her address was still the same as when she had called Vikram in the group. At the same time, her right hand subtly hooked onto Vikram’s arm, gently pressing it between her soft breasts.

Vikram looked at her with a faint smile. How could he not see through Shalini’s little trick? Instead of rejecting her, he leaned down and planted a deep, possessive kiss on her lips. Shalini melted into the kiss instantly, her body pressing closer to his.

After a long moment, he pulled back slightly, his hand still resting comfortably on her waist.

He then got straight to the point: “I’m here this time to take a dozen members from the territory for a task.”

He paused, looking at Shalini affectionately, “I hope we’ve gained some loyal members by now, right?”

Shalini’s heart fluttered under his gaze. Although she felt a bit reluctant that Vikram was going to leave again so soon, she still nodded obediently.

“Um… Big Boss Vikram, I…” She bit her lip, her voice turning soft and suggestive. “You’ve been so busy lately… Will you stay with me for a while before you go? I really miss you…”

Vikram’s eyes darkened with desire. He caressed her cheek and replied in a low, husky voice, “Alright. I’ll spend some time with you before I leave.”

Shalini’s face lit up with joy and anticipation.

Vikram then walked into the territory with her by his side, his arm still wrapped around her waist.

After only a few steps, he was surprised to find a group of Savage Wolf Shelter members gathered together in the center, as if some valuable item had been placed on the ground in the middle of the crowd.

In the crowd, Vikram immediately spotted Alex, Chandan, Steve, Aiden, and even Sunil.

Ignoring the puzzled looks of the other members, he grabbed Aiden from the crowd and dragged him a little.

When Aiden was suddenly dragged away from the crowd, he shouted angrily, “You… who are you? Do you know I’m the manager here now? Let go of me!”

While struggling to remove the strong hand from his collar, he turned his head to look at the person. The moment his eyes landed on Vikram’s familiar face, Aiden froze completely. His angry expression melted into pure shock, then rapidly shifted into awkward panic.

“Hehe… hehehe… Boss! Boss Vikram! What a surprise! Hahaha, what are you doing here?” Aiden laughed awkwardly, his voice cracking as he tried to play it cool. He even gave Vikram two thumbs up while sweating nervously.

Vikram didn’t hold back. He raised his hand and delivered a solid knuckle rap on Aiden’s head.

Thwack!

“Ow!” Aiden yelped, clutching his head as a small bump started forming instantly.

The commotion caused everyone in the crowd to turn their heads. Several members narrowed their eyes, ready to defend their “manager.” But the moment they saw it was Vikram standing there, their expressions changed faster than the weather in the wasteland.

The aggressive looks instantly turned into awkward smiles and nervous laughter.

“Hehe… Boss Vikram…”

“Welcome back, Boss!”

“Remember now?” Vikram asked with a dangerous smile, staring at the swelling bump on Aiden’s head.

“Hehe, Brother… Brother Vikram! Of course I remember! How could I forget my Big Boss?” Aiden said with a tearful smile, rubbing his head. “You’ve become even more handsome since last time!”

Facing Aiden’s sudden bootlicking, Vikram didn’t rush to answer. Instead, he pointed at the dead zombie lying in the middle of the crowd and asked slowly, “First, explain to me, why are all of you gathered around a zombie like it’s some kind of treasure?”

“Boss, how could you not know this?” Aiden asked, a hint of confusion in his voice.

“Cut the crap. If I knew, why would I ask you?” Vikram replied.

He had killed at least dozens, if not hundreds, of those zombie monsters before. But seeing a group of people circling a single zombie like this was truly a first for him.

“Actually, they’re gambling on whether there are crystals inside this zombie,” Aiden explained. “These crystals have the same effect as the Vitality Fruit for increasing physique.”

Seeing that Vikram wasn’t messing with him, Aiden slowly revealed the truth. After speaking, he looked at Vikram expectantly, hoping he would let him go.

However, Vikram’s first reaction upon hearing about crystals inside zombies was disbelief. He had torn apart so many zombie bodies before, how could he have never found such a thing?

Thinking this, Vikram asked again, “When did you discover that zombies have crystals inside them?”

Hearing this, Aiden waved his hand. “Oh, we just found out yesterday. I thought with all your resources, Boss, you would have known about this sooner than us.”

Upon hearing the explanation, Vikram finally released Aiden.

Yesterday was the first day the black fog had descended, and at that time, he had been busy expanding the underground area of his territory. With this, Vikram understood. It was highly likely that these crystals were items meant to replace the Vitality Fruit.

He had been wondering how to improve his physique in the future, but it seemed the Wasteland World had still left a path for survivors like them.

—

Just then, a sharp shout erupted from the crowd.

“Holy cow, there really are crystals this time! Come on, everyone who bet ’no’, hand over your food tickets!”

The gambling atmosphere was lively, and Chandan got the crystals, then he walked straight toward Vikram with a proud and excited expression. He respectfully presented the crystal with both hands.

“Boss! I got one! This crystal is for you!” Chandan said enthusiastically.

Vikram took the crystal, examined it briefly through the system, and then shook his head. He placed the crystal back into Chandan’s hands and gave him a light smack on the head.

“Keep it for yourself. I don’t need it.”

“But Boss… this can increase your physique!” Chandan tried to push the crystal back, looking reluctant. “I really want to offer it to you!”

Vikram smacked his head again, this time a bit firmer.

“Idiot. I told you to keep it. Do you want another one?”

Chandan immediately shrank back, rubbing his head with a pitiful yet happy expression. “Alright… I’ll keep it then, Boss.”

The surrounding members of the Savage Wolf Shelter watched the scene in respectful silence. No one dared to question or interrupt.

The moment they recognized Vikram, many of them instinctively straightened their postures and lowered their heads slightly in deference.

The respect the members showed toward Vikram wasn’t superficial, it ran deep.

It all began the moment Vikram killed Rahul Soniwal and dismantled his tyrannical rule. He had freed them from an era of fear, oppression, and constant humiliation. Under Rahul’s leadership, the weak were bullied, the strong hoarded everything, and ordinary members could only survive on scraps and leftovers from the higher-ups.

But now, everything has changed.

Thanks to Vikram’s arrangements, every member in the Savage Wolf Shelter could obtain a fair share of food through honest labor. No one had to beg, steal, or endure humiliation just to eat. Fields were being cultivated, hunting teams were organized, and resources were distributed more equitably. Whenever there was a shortage, Vikram personally ensured supplies reached them.

For the people here, Vikram wasn’t just a leader, he was like a god who had descended to save them from hell.

They respected him deeply. In their eyes, he was the one who had given them hope, security, and a chance to live with dignity. Because of this, their loyalty was almost fanatical. Whoever dared to speak against Vikram or question his decisions would instantly become the enemy of the entire shelter.