PSW - Chapter 35
Chapter 35
"I was just thinking about the mission and got distracted. You suddenly pulled me close, and it startled me," Yu Yinan explained, her voice growing softer.
"Oh, I see… It's okay. We'll rescue the missing people. No matter what mutated or ferocious beasts are there, I'll protect you, Jiejie." Zheng Yi spoke with extreme seriousness. "Jiejie, I'm very strong."
"Mm." Yu Yinan forced a smile and quickly walked to the car. She took out the key and unlocked it. The trunk wasn't very big, so some of the luggage was placed on the back seat. When Chu Yi and Xu Lanjun got in, it wasn't particularly crowded; they just had to hold their backpacks in their laps.
"Let me drive." Zheng Yi noticed Yu Yinan was distracted. She thoughtfully took the key from Yu Yinan's hand and opened the passenger door for her. "Jiejie, you didn't sleep well last night, did you? You can take a nap first, and we can switch later."
"I remember the route, so don't worry, Jiejie."
Yu Yinan pressed her temples, suppressing her chaotic thoughts. She had wanted to say she was fine, but Zheng Yi refused to give her the keys and stubbornly held the car door open, insisting she take the passenger seat. She hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back, and finally relented under Zheng Yi's gaze, bending down to get in.
Once everyone was seated, Zheng Yi skillfully started the vehicle, drove out of the underground garage, and left through the shelter's main gate.
Sitting in the back, Chu Yi silently observed the interaction between the two, a look of obvious confusion on her face. Suddenly, she leaned slightly toward Xu Lanjun.
The old woman had been resting with her eyes closed. Sensing Chu Yi's movement, she didn't even open her eyes, simply extending a finger to press against Chu Yi's shoulder. "Stop." This car is tiny. Do you really think an ability user's hearing is that bad? That they can't hear us talking back here?
"Your mental energy is in disarray. You should get some sleep and sort it out."
"Okay," Chu Yi replied expressionlessly and also closed her eyes to rest. But in her heart, she couldn't help but sigh: What in the world is going on here?
[You clearly heard her.] Zero One suddenly spoke while Zheng Yi was focused on driving.
It waited a moment and realized Zheng Yi had no intention of responding. But Zero One wasn't ready to give up and quickly pressed, [Why are you pretending you didn't hear?]
But Zheng Yi still ignored it.
Zero One gritted its teeth and, steeling itself, asked, [You're not afraid that Yu Yinan is starting to like you, are you? You're afraid she'll fall in love with you, afraid you'll develop feelings for her and won't be able to treat her as just an ordinary tool for farming Saint Points anymore.]
'Heh.' Zheng Yi let out a sneer.
'Zero One, you're being tedious.'
Zheng Yi didn't call it "dear Zero One"! Zero One thought with some excitement, Could it be that my words got to her?
'I didn't hear anything. I just didn't want to make her more embarrassed,' Zheng Yi said calmly. 'There's no need.'
'And as for what you said, that's even more laughable.'
'Even if she did develop feelings for me, it wouldn't be the real me she likes. The one she's falling for is a disguised, false person who doesn't even exist.'
'Dear Zero One, be a little more mature~ Don't make a host like me have to remind you of your duties as a system~ You're not some kind of romance simulation system, are you?'
[…I'm sorry. I was derelict in my duty.] Zero One came to its senses and apologized sincerely. But it couldn't really be blamed. This was its first time being bound to such a peculiar host! From Zero One's perspective, Zheng Yi's combat power had already reached a terrifying level, so the expensive abilities and other items in the store held limited appeal for her. Moreover, Zheng Yi had stockpiled plenty of supplies before the apocalypse, meaning she wasn't short on resources in the early stages, which further reduced the store's allure.
The way Zheng Yi earned Saint Points was something Zero One had never seen before; as a system, it couldn't offer any guidance. It was more like Zheng Yi was carrying it.
So, with nothing to worry about regarding missions, wasn't it natural for Zero One to get curious about other aspects of Zheng Yi? Besides, it was incredibly curious about Zheng Yi's past life. This host was an enigma in its eyes, and it was interested in every facet of her. When that interest met the fatal element of "gossip," how could Zero One possibly resist!
Although Zheng Yi had called it out for being derelict, well… as long as it could get a glimpse into Zheng Yi's thoughts, a little dereliction of duty was worth it. Pondering Zheng Yi's words, Zero One had a sudden, sad thought: Since Zheng Yi has to maintain her Saint persona, nothing she shows can be real. And this falsehood is the fundamental reason why she pays no mind to any of Yu Yinan's feelings.
And because Yu Yinan was currently a stable source of Saint Points, Zheng Yi obviously wouldn't discard that value. In other words, Zheng Yi's "gentleness" and "thoughtfulness" toward Yu Yinan were all for the sake of Saint Points.
Zero One closed its eyes in despair. No matter how you analyze it, if Yu Yinan really falls for Zheng Yi… there's no hope at all. It's a dead end!
It looked at Yu Yinan, who had calmed down but was completely oblivious to all this, and silently lit a candle for her.
After a journey of about two hours, they arrived at the site of the nearest cleanup mission. Chu Yi leaned back in the rear seat with her arms crossed, resting with her eyes closed, not moving at all, as if she were already asleep. Xu Lanjun, however, opened the car door, got out, and slowly stretched her stiff limbs before weaving her threads.
Zheng Yi parked the car, and Yu Yinan got out, grabbing her fire axe. Chu Yi's eyes were still closed when a piercing car horn suddenly blared and continued to honk.
"What are you doing?"
"Hm?" Zheng Yi acted even more confused and innocent than Chu Yi. "Isn't it more convenient to clean them up if we attract the zombies over? We accepted the cleanup missions for this entire area, anyway."
Chu Yi's expression shifted, and for a moment, she didn't know what to say. She gritted her teeth. "Aren't you afraid of attracting a zombie horde?"
"Don't worry, I'll protect you all," Zheng Yi said reassuringly before getting out of the car with her fire axe. "If it's not too much trouble, could you help me press the horn? Just keep pressing it."
The taunt effect was a little too good. Chu Yi sat up straight and, after Zheng Yi got out, ended up helping by pressing the car horn.
Could Zheng Yi's ability be so powerful that she can fend off a zombie horde by herself? She's that confident…
The piercing noise attracted the attention of the surrounding zombies, and they quickly began moving toward Zheng Yi. Compared to before the cold snap, these thawed-out zombies were faster. They no longer swayed or looked so fragile when they walked; some could even run at the speed of a professional sprinter!
But as one of them passed between two streetlights, its hideous, terrifying head suddenly rolled off, its body showing the clear marks of having been sliced in that instant. Black slime dripped down, revealing several invisible threads.
"Leave all the zombies in this direction to this old lady. I hope there aren't too many…" Xu Lanjun said with a friendly smile. Her fingers twitched continuously as layers of thread wrapped around the buildings on both sides, constructing an even sharper "invisible blade."
When the slower zombies approached, the threads weren't as lethal, serving only to block their path. But that didn't matter. She would weave two new threads and wrap them around the zombies' heads. Although it was a little slower and less efficient, she could still strangle them one by one.
Zheng Yi softly hummed the Great Compassion Mantra, coated her axe blade with a film of water, and cleanly chopped down the approaching zombies as if she were slicing melons and vegetables.
Flames quickly ignited on the zombies that had yet to draw near and on the bodies of those already fallen. The inferno blazed, crackling as it burned through fat and turning everything to ash.
Chu Yi watched them in action and realized that the combat strength of these three ability users… was far from ordinary. Not to mention Xu Lanjun—the old woman was a well-known lone wolf in the shelter. She earned enough contribution points not only to cover her own food and lodging but also to buy "luxury goods." There were even quite a few young, non-powered men who tried to curry favor with her. Chu Yi herself had accidentally stumbled upon such scenes two or three times.
These two new ability users have limitless potential. Especially that one named Zheng Yi… Besides her water ability, did she also get a strength-enhancement ability? That force and precision are completely beyond what water reinforcement could achieve. She could even compete with the strength-type ability users in the base.
Yu Yinan's control over her flames is also remarkably precise. Controlling such a large area of fire, with such a wide spread and from such a distance, is a real test for an ability user, yet she's managing it well, with no signs of excessive mental drain.
Chu Yi, pressing the horn while observing intently, would probably never have guessed that while Zheng Yi appeared to be diligently chopping down zombies with her axe, in reality, she was trying to sense the viscous blood inside the zombies. Even corpses contained moisture. But when facing zombies, her ability seemed to be blocked by something. Only after she killed a zombie did that faint barrier disappear.
It was just like when she tried to sense the blood inside Yu Yinan; there was also a sense of obstruction, but it was much stronger than the one from the zombies. By forcibly expending her mental energy, she could control the fluids inside a zombie, but she couldn't control the blood in Yu Yinan's body.
[It's probably a form of self-preservation? Zombies… your control over the blood in an ordinary zombie should be the same as your control over the bodily fluids of an ordinary person.] Zero One mused. [It's normal to have this kind of protective measure. Otherwise, wouldn't water ability users be invincible?] Although, it already felt that Zheng Yi was invincible. Even if there were countless other water ability users in this world, it was impossible for anyone else to reach Zheng Yi's level.
'The barrier from a zombie is equivalent to an ordinary person's. Does an enhanced zombie correspond to an enhanced ordinary person, and a more heavily mutated zombie correspond to an ability user? And ability users themselves have different levels of strength…'
'I suppose I can use this to probe their strength.'
Zero One thought it heard Zheng Yi laugh. In the next instant, it received this mental message from her: 'For a more specific classification, I'll really have to do more experiments.'
[!? You're not thinking of experimenting on people and zombies, are you?] Zero One admitted it was a little panicked. Perhaps it shouldn't have said anything. [Think twice, Host! Calm down!]
'Oh my~ How could I? I'm a Saint, you know. A Saint would never do something so horrible~'
No, saying it like that only makes me think you "absolutely will" do it. Zero One collapsed in the system space. It had never longed for a vacation and the chance to slack off so much.
Oh, wait, it could start slacking off right now.
"It's all just zombies. No mutated beasts," Zheng Yi said with a hint of unexpressed regret.
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