Apocalyptic World: Surviving with my husband and my cute little babies-Chapter 117: Core

’This is not a diamond. It was a core—a Tier 1 core.’

Elena was taken aback when she saw a mutated beast core inside the vault.

’Impossible; the mutated beast hasn’t evolved yet, so where does this core come from?’

Upon closer inspection, she concluded that it was indeed a mutated beast core and wondered.

’How did it come here?’

Elena was full of questions. However, after a few seconds, she paused, realizing that the events might be progressing earlier than in her previous life.

Perhaps a Tier 1 mutated beast is lurking out there, and the pressing matter now was that they needed to prepare.

Noticing his wife’s confusion, Ethan quickly asked, "Wife? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing! I was just surprised to see a Tier 1 core here." Elena smiled and handed it to him for a closer look.

"So this is a core; it looks like a diamond," Ethan said while examining the pigeon egg-sized core.

At first glance, the core resembled a diamond from afar—nothing special about it.

But when they touched it, they felt warmth flowing through them. It was comforting and soothing, but aside from that, nothing else happened.

"It’s a common core—attribute-free, so anyone with abilities can use it," Elena explained, examining the colorless core.

"Crystal cores come in various types based on their color: red for fire users, blue for water users, and so forth. Don’t worry, I’ll explain it later. "

Everyone was intrigued; they had some understanding of cores and abilities, as Elena had shared her thoughts on the topic a while ago.

Now, they were tasked with gathering more imbued spiritual energy items through antiques, jades, and cores that came from mutated beasts or plants.

These would be helpful in maintaining and upgrading the space, as well as for their own personal development when the time came.

"Why do I feel warmth?" Ethan asked, experiencing a strange yet comforting sensation while holding the colorless core.

"It’s because this colorless core has spiritual energy. You can feel it since the Golden Tablet grants you temporary core inside your head," Elena explained.

"Does this mean we can now harness the energy from this colorless core?" Oslo asked curiously.

"Nope. The energy within the crystal core remains unprocessed. The role of the temporary core—let’s call it the Golden Tablet core—is to provide you with spiritual energy for using the Paradise, both for entering and exiting. Additionally, it enhances your overall physical abilities. Beyond that, it’s outside the scope of the Golden Tablet core. You need your ability core to process and integrate it with your own."

"Do you mean the core that was given when we awakened our abilities?" Ethan asked.

"Yes. Aside from that, do you feel anything else?"

"Nothing, it’s just comforting," Ethan replied sincerely.

"Well, the moment you touch it, the spiritual energy flows inside you, attracted to the Golden Tablet core. It tries to communicate with it, which is why you feel warmth. However, when it gets too close to the Golden Tablet core, the energy is rejected because, as I said, the Golden Tablet core can’t process the crystal core. You need your own ability core to do that. That’s why nothing happened, right?" Elena added.

"I see. Since we don’t have abilities yet, this colorless core is useless to us for now. Let’s use it to upgrade the Paradise," Ethan suggested.

"I’ll do that later," Elena smiled as she took back the core.

Curious, she closed her eyes, seeking to feel its energy. Suddenly, the core began to crumble into ashes, leaving everyone, including Elena, stunned.

"Wife? You said we can’t process the core from the mutated beast for now. Why can you do it? Do you have abilities now?" Ethan asked with concern, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"No, I don’t have any abilities yet. I’m just as confused as everyone," Elena replied, feeling embarrassed.

She had just explained the core a while ago, and now it seemed to contradict her own words.

"Maybe it’s because you have the Golden Tablet?" Lydia suggested. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

"Then it should have been the Golden Tablet processing the core, but I haven’t summoned it," Elena replied, bewildered by what had just happened.

"But do you feel any weirdness or discomfort?" Ethan pressed.

"No, I feel comfortable."

"That’s it. You’re just different from us, sister-in-law. Maybe it’s because you own the Golden Tablet, perhaps it processes automatically," Oslo said, giving her a knowing look.

Elena wanted to disagree but held back to avoid worrying them. Still, she was puzzled by the spiritual energy settling in her stomach.

’Is the core now located in my stomach? Ugh, what a waste. I could have upgraded the Golden Tablet with it.’

"Wife, are you sure you’re okay?" Ethan asked, concern etched on his face.

"I’m fine. Come on, let’s continue gathering the items," Elena replied, excitedly checking the rest of the safe deposit box, eager to see if there was any core.

Unfortunately, they didn’t find any more cores.

Afterwards, they went upstairs to check the other vault, doing the same thing: storing the CCTV and the sturdy door in the space.

As they entered the vault, everyone exclaimed at the sight of numerous paintings securely displayed in glass.

"Wow, there are a lot of paintings! Look at that one; it seems to be historical!"

Everyone was excited, especially Elena, who wanted to take everything right away.

She could tell that the paintings were all genuine and historically significant. These artworks must hold a lot of spiritual energy.

"I’ll handle the paintings; you guys focus on opening the safe deposit box," Elena instructed, waving her hands to store each painting.

Everyone was busy gathering the items inside the boxes, which contained many antiques, old jewelry, and jade.

They repeated the process, collecting all the valuable items from the bank vault.

These treasures brought Elena joy, as they had amassed a lot of antiques and jades, and now she eagerly anticipated visiting the museum.

"You’re that happy?" Ethan asked, observing his wife’s joyful expression as she looked at the stacked jades and antiques on the floor.

With a wave of her hand, Elena stored everything.

"Hmm, these items we hoarded can sustain Paradise for more than two years. Maybe we can upgrade the Golden Tablet once we return," Elena replied with enthusiasm as she thought about the possibilities for the upgrade.

"Alright, let’s try upgrading the Golden Tablet. I’ll listen to wife."

"Such a shame the colorless core just vanished. Haist, it would have been great if I could have used it to upgrade the Golden Tablet," Elena sighed, thinking of the wasted core.

"What really happened?"

"The spiritual energy just vanished inside my stomach."

Ethan was now fully concerned and gently touched her stomach. "You don’t feel any discomfort, right? Tell me honestly."

"No, I actually feel energized—like my fatigue has faded away."

"As long as you’re okay, that’s what matters. How about we take a rest in Paradise and report our situation to Grandpa?"

"Okay, let’s hurry up and finish everything."

Once they had gathered all the items, they quickly entered the space and took a moment to rest while updating everyone on the situation in the city center.

Knowing the situation, everyone sighed and doubled their efforts to ensure their survival in this chaotic disaster.

*****

Meanwhile, at the Marine Research Institute, the situation had become dire. The military and the Benette family were grappling with a critical issue as the water level continued to rise rapidly, putting their safety at serious risk.

Located far from the military district and isolated from other buildings, the institute had no boats for transportation, as it wasn’t situated near the sea. All essential equipment was stationed at its coastal field facility.

With only 12 floors in the building, the ninth floor and below were already submerged, leaving them anxious and confined to the last three floors as they awaited rescue.

It had been two days since they reached out to the military in City A, yet no rescue had arrived.

"Should we start looking for a Plan B now?" Mr. Benette asked, sensing that the typhoon was easing significantly. Perhaps this was their opportunity to escape the confines of the institute.

"Let’s wait for another day. How much food do we have left?" a military commander inquired, evaluating their current supplies.

"Our food will last only until this afternoon, so I’m afraid we won’t have enough for tomorrow," the logistics personnel replied.

"Let’s just hope the rescue arrives soon. If not, as Prof. Benette said, we might have to find our way out. Everyone, please gather anything that can float. We may need to leave this building if the water keeps rising."

Everyone nodded in agreement, keeping themselves busy with preparations.

Mr. and Mrs. Benette were now worried not just for themselves but for their daughter, Lydia. They hadn’t seen her for almost a month, and even though they knew she was safe, they couldn’t help but feel anxious.

They wouldn’t be at ease until they were reunited with her. Their thoughts were suddenly interrupted by an urgent call.

"Sir, I think there is something wrong with the water. There seems to be something circling our building."

The military commander quickly looked at the area and saw a dark oval spot circling around them. Taking a closer look, it seemed to be an alligator.

"Do you think it’s an alligator?"

"Yes, that’s also what I think."

"Oh crap, we’re near at the crocodile farm. Maybe this one was swept away," a soldier said, as he remembered he had visited that area some time ago.

"Then let’s leave it for a while. Maybe it will move on later," the commander said, attempting to reassure the group as they watched the dark shape circle their building.

Mrs. Benette sensed something was off about the alligator circling them.

"No, it seems suspicious, as if it’s waiting for us," she whispered.

Before they could react, the alligator lunged, trying to snap at the heads peering out of the windows. Gasps filled the air as they took in the enormous creature.

Its body shimmered with a thick, black liquid, and its clouded eyes held a terrifying gaze—this was no ordinary alligator; it had mutated.