PSW - Chapter 44
Chapter 44
Zero One had no idea how things had escalated to this point.
It should have realized something was wrong with Zheng Yi's state much earlier.
No, even if it had noticed earlier, it would have been useless. It simply didn't know, couldn't comprehend, why Zheng Yi would suddenly lash out like this! Ten Saint Points! Wasn't that level of recognition, that degree of absolute trust, enough? And this was after confirming the target was Yu Yinan—even after Yu Yinan had discovered Zheng Yi was deceiving her!
Once again, Zero One was struck by the profound realization that Zheng Yi was truly, truly special. To be more direct—she was far from normal.
It was just that her previous targets had been zombies, mutated beasts, and villains.
Beneath the facade, even Zero One couldn't distinguish between Zheng Yi's true intentions and her pretense. But in a world of truth and lies, how could one ever tell them completely apart?
It watched, on the verge of a system crash, as Zheng Yi's voice grew ever gentler. She even leaned down to press a soft kiss to Yu Yinan's cheek, yet her fingers were piercing through Yu Yinan's clothes, puncturing her skin bit by bit. Feeling the heartbeat beneath her fingertips, she slowly reached for it.
And Yu Yinan wasn't resisting at all?! Why wasn't she resisting? Could she really endure this level of pain? She would die! Ability users could die too! This was a heart, not some toy. Once a human heart was pulled out, it couldn't be put back! She would die!
Zheng Yi wasn't using her ability; she wasn't controlling the water. So, warm blood stained her entire palm, soaked Yu Yinan's clothes, and even dripped onto the floor.
Just as Yu Yinan's breathing grew faint and her body temperature steadily dropped, Zheng Yi stopped, her hand hovering just before it reached the heart. She raised her palm, now completely dyed in red.
She lightly licked the blood from her fingertips, smeared a streak of it at the corner of her mouth, and caught Yu Yinan's limp body as it began to slide down. Then, she lowered her head and kissed those lips, which were gradually losing their color.
"Jiejie~ you're a person, you know. You have to keep living. A living person's heart… how can you just dig it out to take a look?"
The bleeding was finally staunched by her ability. Zheng Yi let out a low laugh. The intense mental pain intensified with the use of her power, but she didn't stop. She opened the system store, went straight to the beginner abilities, and purchased the 【Beginner Healing Ability】.
Zheng Yi had also earned quite a few Saint Points from recognition today. The women who were rescued after all those men died had probably learned of her existence—of the Saint—from Zhu Lanyuan.
Host: Zheng Yi
Saint Points: 24
Inventory Slots: 5
Special Abilities: Water / Healing (Beginner)
Zero One hadn't anticipated the previous turn of events, much less this sudden change. It watched, nearly crashing, as Zheng Yi used two abilities at once. She had only just acquired the beginner healing ability and should have been clumsy with it, yet she showed no signs of inexperience. However, as she used both powers, the color drained from her face.
The beginner healing ability was slow, but Zheng Yi only needed it to stop the bleeding, stabilize the wound, and save Yu Yinan's life. She picked up the unconscious Yu Yinan and tossed her onto the bed in the bedroom. The next moment, in a completely uncharacteristic move, Zheng Yi didn't even wash the blood from her hands. She simply lay down on the other side of the bed and fell asleep fully clothed.
The two of them fell completely silent. In that moment, only Zero One was unable to rest.
Zheng Yi… who on earth was she before? What did she do? Was she really normal? This wasn't normal at all, was it? Even if she could pretend to be no different from an ordinary person, even if she could masquerade as a Saint, her true nature was fundamentally abnormal, right?
And Yu Yinan—had Zheng Yi cast some kind of spell on her? How long had she even known Zheng Yi? She had bravely escaped the trap set by her own family, so why did she have to fall into this one set by Zheng Yi?
Just as Zero One was growing agitated, it suddenly received a message from the main system. Upon opening it, it found a module update. The issue of not knowing who was generating the recognition Saint Points had finally been answered.
But what good was an update now? Was an update what it needed at this moment? Absolutely not!
It still hadn't fully recovered from the bloody night at the university, and now Zheng Yi had pulled something like this. The entire system's mental state was precarious. However, in the quiet room, it silently watched Zheng Yi—who may or may not have been truly asleep—and looked at the still-living Yu Yinan, and resignedly began to console itself…
It was an overreaction. This wasn't actually that abnormal. Zheng Yi hadn't actually ripped out Yu Yinan's heart, had she? Not only that, she had spent 500 Saint Points on a healing ability without batting an eye, endured excruciating mental pain to focus on using both her water and healing abilities at the same time, and saved Yu Yinan.
Maybe Zheng Yi's sudden actions were related to overusing her ability? Although Zero One couldn't truly experience that kind of pain, it understood what it entailed.
With these thoughts, Zero One finally began to calm down. It's fine. It's okay. This was just an accident. The mission is proceeding as normal, still under control.
What… happened?
Yu Yinan's thoughts were heavy, as if weighed down, making her movements sluggish. Soon, as her consciousness gradually returned, she remembered what had happened…
It was fake. It was all fake.
She sat up abruptly, a sharp pain flaring in her chest. Gasping for breath, Yu Yinan sat dazedly on the bed, looking down at the torn hole in her clothes and the blood covering her body. She slowly raised a hand to her left breast but found no wound, though she could feel a dull ache deep within her flesh.
…Her heart, what did it look like? Yu Yinan shook her head. She remembered Zheng Yi saying she wanted to see it. But she was still alive.
She looked to her side. Zheng Yi was still fast asleep. The bloodstain at the corner of Zheng Yi's mouth was so distinct, and her hands and body were also stained with Yu Yinan's blood. It had all really happened! But… Zheng Yi hadn't dug out her heart. And she had healed the wound?
Yu Yinan's mind was in turmoil.
Could she and Zheng Yi continue on like this?
The tears were fake, their time together was fake, the concern was fake, the thoughtfulness was fake—was everything fake, all just a disguise? Yu Yinan lowered her gaze to Zheng Yi's sleeping face. She couldn't figure it out. She didn't understand. She just didn't know.
Perhaps she had suspected as much before but had chosen not to confront it. She had wanted to maintain their relationship as it was.
"You like me?"
Yu Yinan still didn't know. In a daze, she got out of bed and supported herself against the wall as she made her way to the living room. She lowered her head and stared at her own shadow. She didn't know.
What kind of feeling… was "like"?
She also didn't know what kind of "like" Zheng Yi had been talking about.
Her feelings for Zheng Yi… her feelings for Zheng Yi…
This real Zheng Yi, so completely different from the one before—what were her feelings for this Zheng Yi?
Suddenly, she remembered the kiss. The one after her consciousness had faded—a cold kiss that tasted of blood.
Her heart began to race uncontrollably again. Her blood seemed to boil, her temperature rose, and her skin flushed. Her mind grew sluggish as she dazedly raised a hand to touch the corner of her lips.
She might… she might… like Zheng Yi.
Yu Yinan didn't know what she was feeling; she had never experienced anything like it and couldn't describe it. Silently, she finally moved, found the stack of bottled water in the corner, and drank one down.
She sat down in the living room, closed her eyes, and listened to her own heartbeat, slowly calming down.
Zheng Yi slept for two full days.
She didn't have a fever or any other abnormal symptoms; she was simply in a deep sleep.
On the first day, after waking up and composing herself, Yu Yinan went out. Zero One didn't know what she was thinking, but she went to the cafeteria and brought back hot congee and steamed buns. She slowly ate her portion in the living room, then went in to check on Zheng Yi. Seeing that Zheng Yi showed no signs of waking, she fell silent for a moment before going out again.
She bought water.
Before long, Zero One watched as Yu Yinan carefully removed Zheng Yi's outer clothes. She soaked a towel in hot water and gently wiped the bloodstains from Zheng Yi's hands and face.
That evening, Yu Yinan bought another serving of hot congee. She used her ability to heat up the portion she had saved for Zheng Yi and ate it herself. Afterward, she stood by the bed, watching Zheng Yi for a long time. Zero One didn't know what she was looking at. To be honest, it was a little afraid that Yu Yinan, broken by what Zheng Yi had done, would try to kill her.
But Yu Yinan didn't do that. She used fresh hot water to wipe Zheng Yi's face and skin again, then tucked the blanket around her before lying down on the other side of the bed herself.
When Zheng Yi still hadn't woken by the second day, Yu Yinan finally started to panic. Zero One watched her leave and return with a healing-type ability user, though it didn't know where she had found them. The ability user examined Zheng Yi and found her to be perfectly normal—no injuries, nothing wrong, just in a deep sleep. At Yu Yinan's insistence, however, she used her ability… but nothing happened.
Zheng Yi remained asleep.
Later, Zero One began to wonder: did Zheng Yi dream? And what would she dream about? Zero One knew perfectly well that Zheng Yi's prolonged sleep was due to mental strain. She had over-exhausted her ability to a reckless degree that other ability users simply couldn't match. Or rather, other ability users would find it nearly impossible to concentrate and continue using their powers after feeling that sharp mental pain.
But Zheng Yi was different. Zero One didn't even know how long she had pushed through that stabbing pain while continuing to use her ability.
Zheng Yi… would she dream of fragments of her past memories? Zero One still didn't know if Zheng Yi truly had amnesia, or if she had remembered anything from before the apocalypse. In this long sleep, could Zheng Yi find a moment of peace? Would she find it… interesting?
In truth, Zero One had already grown accustomed to being with Zheng Yi.
It genuinely believed that this host was excellent, and that binding to Zheng Yi had been the best possible choice.
On the second night, Zero One watched as Yu Yinan carefully gathered Zheng Yi into her arms, warming her with her own body. A thought suddenly occurred to it: by sleeping for so long, Zheng Yi conveniently avoided having to face the severely traumatized Yu Yinan. And by the time she woke up, Yu Yinan would have already had time to compose herself.
She couldn't be doing this on purpose, could she?
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