PSW - Chapter 58
Chapter 58
【Stand-in Puppet (Lesser)】: Can be perfectly disguised into a form designated by the host, and has a realistic touch! It's worth noting that it can't move at all~ You also can't see anything from its perspective. It's just a plain, unremarkable puppet for disguise~ (Disappears after sustaining a certain amount of damage)
【Host Customization】
Zero One watched as the puppet transformed into Yu Yaozu's appearance. Then, under Zheng Yi's customization, it put on a long-sleeved jacket, long pants, and a baseball cap.
'Can't it synthesize a single sentence? The target is the housing center staff. The sentence will be,'
'Swipe the card. Renew the rent for three months.'
[...Alright, it's set. But what if he doesn't have enough contribution points on his card?]
Zheng Yi stored the puppet in her backpack, had Zero One take out a can of beef and a can of luncheon meat and put them in her pocket, then threw on a black jacket and went out.
Given the absurd price of the salted duck, these two items could probably be exchanged for a good number of contribution points. Three months' rent... bundling them together for one hundred contribution points would definitely sell fast.
The payment would be transferred directly to Yu Yaozu's identity card. Afterward, she would envelop the puppet's entire body in a current of water, walk to the housing center to trigger the voice line, and once the payment was successful, she would directly control the puppet to leave and destroy it in a deserted area.
Of course, the process was a bit risky, as the puppet would repeat the voice line after being triggered. But thankfully, everything went smoothly without any issues.
Following the same method, Zheng Yi bought another puppet, disguised it as Yu Yaozu, and recorded the voice line, "Leaving the base, swipe card." She then controlled the puppet to leave the base, and after it was outside, she found a random abandoned house or an empty corner and destroyed it.
Zero One silently watched Zheng Yi's entire process.
[Did you... think of this solution from the very beginning?]
'At the very beginning, I certainly didn't expect Yu Yaozu to die so quickly~' Zheng Yi's tone was gentle as she walked back, replying nonchalantly to Zero One. 'It's merely a matter of taming a physical shell. What's so difficult to handle about that?'
A mere Yu Yaozu, how could he be worth twenty of her Saint Points?
[Ah...] Zero One was a bit slow to react. It looked at the completely unfazed Zheng Yi and couldn't help but ask, [Then when Yu Yinan said she wanted to give him a quick end... why didn't you refuse?]
'Why should I refuse?' Zheng Yi chuckled and asked in return. 'Oh, Zero One, if she wants to get her hands bloody, what reason do I have to refuse? Look at her reaction... you don't get to see that every day.'
Zero One was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke impulsively: [I just think you're too good to her.]
Ah, no, what on earth was it saying! Could this kind of "good" even be considered good? But... but compared to Zheng Yi's previous actions... Zero One thought it must be going crazy. Why did it think that what Zheng Yi was doing for Yu Yinan now was "too" "good"?
[No, no, no, that's not what I meant!] Zero One deeply regretted that mental communication offered no way to retract messages; every single word had entered Zheng Yi's mind. For a moment, it wanted to dive right into Zheng Yi's brain, pull out what it had just said, and delete it.
Just as Zero One was frantically trying to figure out how to explain itself, Zheng Yi laughed again, her mental voice growing even gentler:
'My dear Zero One, you must have a slight misunderstanding about me...'
'She believes in me and follows me so wholeheartedly... For my own people, I am also very tolerant.'
[...] Zero One was too shocked to speak.
But Zheng Yi returned to the room as if nothing had happened. As soon as she entered, she saw the bathroom was filled with steam. The door was closed, and she couldn't hear any sound from inside.
Yu Yinan was probably taking a relaxing bath.
Zheng Yi paid this no mind. She walked into the bedroom and used her ability to thoroughly wash away the scorch marks, making the entire room look brand new. As for the pile of ashes, it was enveloped in a current of water and placed by Zheng Yi into a small plastic storage box. If Yu Yinan wanted it, she could have it. If she didn't, it would be poured into the soil of the plantation as fertilizer. Did that count as a burial?
After cleaning everything up, Zheng Yi took the bed out of her backpack, placed it in the room, and arranged it neatly.
A fresh current of water instantly materialized, enveloping Zheng Yi from head to toe. Zheng Yi simply used her ability to clean herself, and after stripping away the moisture, she felt completely refreshed. She lay down on the bed, gave a lazy yawn, and closed her eyes to sleep.
Yu Yinan bathed for a very, very long time. Zero One even began to suspect she might have fainted in the bathroom, but then it figured a fire ability user wouldn't.
Another hour passed before Yu Yinan came in, wearing a new, loose-fitting T-shirt and shorts. Her hair had been dried with her ability, and her spirits seemed much improved. When she saw that Zheng Yi was asleep, she stood at the doorway for a moment before raising her hand to close the bedroom door and quietly climbing onto the other side of the bed.
Zero One observed Yu Yinan and thought to itself, has Yu Yinan really stopped feeling a sense of disconnect with Zheng Yi's persona? It seems she's already used to it.
Oh, heavens knew it still felt a profound disconnect between Zheng Yi's sudden cruelty and her innocent, harmless appearance.
Yu Yinan carefully placed her hand on Zheng Yi's waist. Seeing that Zheng Yi hadn't been woken up, she breathed a sigh of relief, and her whole body relaxed. She snuggled up to Zheng Yi, closed her eyes, and waited for sleep to come.
So much had happened today...
Watching the two of them sleeping, Zero One suddenly mused: The apocalypse... it really suits Zheng Yi.
In the "background" before the original story took place, it was a wonder Zheng Yi had managed to disguise herself so well and blend perfectly into campus life. It wondered what kind of mindset Zheng Yi had when interacting with the people around her back then.
The two of them slept until the middle of the night. Zero One noticed their sleep schedule was completely irregular; they simply slept whenever they felt like it.
But the good news was that nothing happened while they slept. No one from the shelter came looking for them, and no one approached them about Yu Yaozu's departure.
When Zheng Yi woke up, she woke Yu Yinan and had her steam another pot of rice. She also had her lightly steam the salted duck, and they had a simple dinner of white rice with salted duck and pressed duck.
Yu Yinan trusted Zheng Yi completely. When Zheng Yi said she didn't need to worry about it, Yu Yinan didn't ask any more questions. After dinner, when Zheng Yi took out the box and asked if she wanted to keep it, Yu Yinan shook her head and politely declined.
That night, the ball of water containing the ashes traveled to the planting area, burrowing deep into the soil before completely dispersing. Afterward, Zheng Yi controlled another current of water to cover up the tracks on the soil's surface, and the matter was settled for good.
As for Yu Yaozu's mother? Three months' rent was enough for an ordinary person to live in the shelter for a good while. There were plenty of jobs available for ordinary people in the shelter; with a little effort, she could support herself. With Yu Yaozu gone, Lian Langxi wouldn't trouble his family. Of course, Zheng Yi could have been more thorough and considerate, but why should she be?
As for Yu Yinan, she sometimes wondered if she had been too heartless, but whenever she recalled that person's face from her childhood all the way to the apocalypse, she was unwilling to dwell on the topic. If things got too difficult, his mother could rent out half the house to share with someone else. Combined with a job in the shelter, supporting herself shouldn't be too hard.
And after hearing Zheng Yi explain the method she used to have "Yu Yaozu" leave the base openly, Yu Yinan quickly accepted this fact. Her first reaction, however, was to wonder: if Yu Yaozu's mother found out, would she be so sad and desperate that she'd break down?
After all, from her perspective, her precious son had paid three months' rent for her, then abandoned her and fled the shelter.
Oh, but maybe not. Even with Yu Yaozu leaving the shelter, perhaps in her heart, it would be something like, "My son couldn't bear to drag me down, so he left, risking his life while being hunted. He even left all his contribution points for me before he went," right?
Yu Yinan shook her head. Regardless... that family was now completely out of her life.
No more ties.
In the end, it was Chu Yi who made a special trip to inform Yu Yinan of the news that Yu Yaozu had escaped.
"After Lian Langxi found out, she finished her meal in the cafeteria, gathered her squad, and left the shelter. It's probably too late for you to go out now." Chu Yi sounded a little regretful as she said this. "But it doesn't matter. That kid doesn't even have a car; he can't have gotten far."
Yu Yinan showed a hint of regret as well, but she still smiled lightly and said, "That's fine too... To be honest, I still couldn't have been so decisive."
"I should thank Lian Langxi."
"What's there to thank her for? You two are just getting your own revenge." Chu Yi waved her hand. Thinking of Yu Yinan's somewhat helpless family situation, she placed a hand on Yu Yinan's shoulder and patted it. "It's the apocalypse. Everything is a new beginning. No need to waste your energy on those scumbags."
"As long as you're okay. The matter of the map is already being implemented, and your share will be deposited directly into your account when the time comes. You can go out on missions as you please during this period. I'll get back to my work now." Seeing that Yu Yinan had composed herself, she didn't say anything more. After all, she had only come over to pass on a message.
Yu Yinan saw Chu Yi out and closed the door. She suddenly realized that her acting skills... seemed to have improved without her noticing. Or perhaps there had been a bit of genuine emotion in her performance. In any case, she had managed to deceive her without a single flaw.
This was really...
She lifted her eyes and met Zheng Yi's ambiguous, smiling gaze from the bedroom doorway.
"...No one noticed anything wrong." For some reason, Yu Yinan felt a little guilty. She pressed her lips together, mustered her courage, and met Zheng Yi's dark eyes again. "Everything went smoothly."
"Mm," Zheng Yi acknowledged, praising her, "Well done."
"Let's stay here for a few more days, then leave and go see some other cities." If the journey weren't so far, Zheng Yi would have really liked to return to Genbin to see how the leader of that small camp was doing. Her Saint techniques were much more refined now; she could surely give him a better experience.
"Now, you know the routes around Pujie like the back of your hand, so it'll be very convenient if you want to come back in the future." Zheng Yi paused, then said, "I want to see the ocean."
"Let's go to the seaside."
Yu Yinan didn't know what connection there was between that sentence and the next, but...
"Okay," she agreed without the slightest hesitation.
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