PSW - Chapter 74
Chapter 74
Yu Yinan wasn't sure if Zheng Yi wanted to put on an act or just start killing indiscriminately, since they didn't know what was happening in the alley. In a situation like this, she naturally had to step forward.
"Mind your own business." The man's expression grew even uglier. "Our camp has plenty of ability users. Don't make things difficult."
A flame erupted in Yu Yinan's hand, exploding with a "bang" in front of the man. For an instant, the skin on the front of his body turned metallic. The blast wasn't aimed at him, and the resulting heatwave didn't harm him at all after his skin had metalized. Even so, the act was a clear provocation. "You-" He took a step forward, seemingly enraged, but his companion held him back.
"Just let them look," the other man sneered. "If they're too scared to sleep later, there'll be no one to comfort them."
Zheng Yi watched the two men with great interest. She reached out, took Yu Yinan's hand, and said timidly, "Jiejie, let's go take a look first."
"Okay." Yu Yinan and Zheng Yi walked over, and the two men actually didn't stop them again. As they neared the alley, the overwhelming stench of blood assaulted their senses. Yu Yinan frowned and moved forward, only to see two ability users bleeding people.
That's right—killing them and draining their blood. They even hung the bodies upside down, unwilling to waste a single drop.
Several other people, bound and barely breathing, were tossed in a corner, waiting for their turn. They were all ordinary people, men and women who looked to be in their forties or fifties.
"They have heatstroke; they're not going to make it. The base is short on water. Rather than letting them die naturally and go to waste, it's better to finish them off early. We can still squeeze out a good amount of blood and water." The two ability users from outside walked in as well. They were clearly no longer moved by such a scene. As for the ability user currently hanging a body to drain, he didn't even pause his work at the sight of Yu Yinan and Zheng Yi.
"Doesn't your base have any water-type ability users?"
"We do, but the amount of water they can produce each day is limited. It's already good enough if the ability users have something to drink." The man wiped the sweat from his face, then licked it from his hand and swallowed. "If you've seen enough, then leave. Our base can't afford to support any more ability users." He picked up a lid and carefully covered the nearly full bucket of blood. Then he dragged over a new, empty bucket, removed its lid, and placed it under the pillar to continue collecting.
"Still not leaving? You want to see how we kill and bleed them? Don't worry, our methods are efficient. We try our best not to let them suffer." The ability user laughed, almost numbly. He casually grabbed a man who was still begging for mercy despite being on the verge of death, picked up a large machete leaning against the wall, and glanced over at Yu Yinan and her companion. "The first time I was chosen for this a few days ago, I spent the whole day vomiting. At night, I tossed and turned, too scared to close my eyes. The moment I did, I'd have nightmares. Do you know why we chose these people this time, and not the old folks? We already killed all of them a few days ago."
For a moment, Yu Yinan didn't know what to say. She glanced at Zheng Yi, instinctively wanting to stop the man, but his words plunged her into an even deeper despair.
In the eyes of these ability users, was the man he held still a human being? Was he still one of their own? His movements were practiced. The bloodstains on the four long iron spikes embedded in the alley wall for hanging bodies were practically impossible to wash out; the entire alley was saturated with the stench. It had become a slaughterhouse.
In the unbearably sweltering heat, it wasn't just the ordinary people—even the lips of these ability users were dry and cracked.
Zheng Yi watched in silence as he raised his hand, only to pause mid-swing. He turned his head and shooed them away. "What are you still doing here? We have to take every drop of this blood back, and we don't have any spare water for you. Don't waste my damn time. It's hot enough to kill."
She pulled Yu Yinan along, leading her away from the alley.
Yu Yinan fell silent as well, simply following Zheng Yi as they left.
[Aren't you going to save them? You could fill that bucket with water,] Zero One said urgently. [At least... at least you could stop them from killing a few more people.]
'And then have them force me to stay, tie me up, and drag me back to their camp, making it more convenient for me to grant them all salvation?'
[...]
[Not necessarily...] Zero One's words died in its throat. With just a moment of deeper thought, it realized the probability of that happening was all too high. In this extreme heat, these men might let two female ability users go, perhaps even showing a sliver of goodwill by allowing them to leave. But the moment one of them was revealed to be a water-type ability user, the situation would change completely.
They were killing those people just to survive, just to stay alive. Under such circumstances, how could they possibly let a water-type ability user go? Perhaps they would be polite to Zheng Yi, but that would only be if she cooperated completely. The moment she tried to leave or refused to create water...
Zero One couldn't say another word. It just looked toward the alley, into the cool, dark depths between the two buildings. Faint pleas for mercy still echoed from it. Zero One could even clearly hear the drip, drip of blood falling into the bucket. It was obviously an auditory hallucination, but it felt real.
Knowing Zheng Yi's personality, she would never become a Saint who wholeheartedly sacrificed everything. She certainly wouldn't expose her ability and let others treat her like a water generator to be enshrined. Zero One knew all this. It also knew that in a situation like this, anyone would be powerless. Even Zheng Yi couldn't possibly provide enough water for an entire base to survive the heatwave on short notice. And the reality was, if she did provide water—not even that much, just more than an average water-type ability user—this base would never let her go.
Zero One looked at Yu Yinan, who was also silent. She gripped Zheng Yi's hand tightly as they both got into the car.
"Why aren't you trying to persuade me?" Zheng Yi asked, putting the key in the ignition and turning to look at Yu Yinan.
"No matter how strong you are, you're still just one person. It's... completely impossible... There are too many people; you can't save them all." There had been four ability users just escorting the ordinary people to their execution.
"Save one if you can?"
"..." Yu Yinan looked at Zheng Yi. "I don't want you to take that risk. And I would never... persuade you to do something like that. I know you need to maintain your Saint persona, but given your true nature..." Yu Yinan trailed off and sighed.
"Don't meddle in things that don't concern you. Always put yourself first. This is the apocalypse; don't be impulsive. You're still young—only nineteen. You can get hurt, you can bleed, and you can die."
Yu Yinan had said these words to Zheng Yi back when she was still pretending, but now, she was saying them again to the Zheng Yi before her.
There were very few people and things that Yu Yinan truly cared about. After the apocalypse and everything she had been through, that number had only dwindled.
Zheng Yi suddenly smiled. She inserted the key and started the car. The window rolled down. She steered with one hand, gazed out at the scorching sun, and then raised her other hand. Her mental energy, which had been draining at an incredible rate ever since she'd gotten into the car, was now on the verge of exhaustion. Zheng Yi felt a faint, long-forgotten stinging pain.
She let out a soft sigh, stepped on the accelerator, and the modified car sped away from the area.
But Yu Yinan still saw the "raindrops" that began to fall on the car window. It started as a light drizzle, but the downpour quickly intensified, pattering against the glass.
It was a localized, dense "rain," centered on that alley.
[Zheng Yi?]
"Zheng Yi!" Yu Yinan's expression changed in an instant. "Are you okay? Let me drive! I can, I..." She had no idea when Zheng Yi had started concentrating to prepare for this, but no matter when it was, the time had been too short! Could a water-type ability user summon rain after consuming so much energy in such a short time?
"I'm fine. It's just a little rain," Zheng Yi said, driving steadily. This time, the sharp, pulling pain in her mind wasn't as irritating as it had been before.
"..." Yu Yinan looked incredibly guilty. During this heatwave, she couldn't do anything; she couldn't help at all. At a time like this, a fire-type ability user—aside from being slightly more resistant to heat—was completely and utterly useless.
[Host, I'm sorry... You really, you don't have to consider my feelings at all... Are you really okay after making it rain like that?] Zero One clenched its metaphorical teeth. It opened the store, glanced at its own performance points, and navigated to the hidden items section.
[Warning! Accumulated Saint Points insufficient! Do you wish to use your authority to forcibly unlock?]
'?'
[Forcibly unlocking this item requires ** performance points. Once unlocked, this action cannot be reversed or undone. This reward will not be issued again upon reaching the required accumulated Saint Points. Do you confirm the forced unlock?]
Zheng Yi realized what was happening. Was Zero One using its authority to forcibly unlock a hidden item? It had that kind of authority?
[Final warning: Once confirmed, this action is irreversible.]
[Ding-a-ling~ Congratulations to Saint Growth Plan System Zero One for spending ** performance points to forcibly unlock the item 【Stamina Recovery Pill】. One free sample is now being sent~ An empty slot has been detected in the bound Host's inventory. The item has been sent directly to your inventory. Please check for receipt, bound Host~ This item is now unlocked in the store. Happy shopping~]
How to put it... although they were all mechanical system voices, it was easy to tell which was a generic template and which was the actual system speaking.
With one hand, Zheng Yi took out the 【Stamina Recovery Pill】. It was smaller than a coin, a tiny pill with a bright yellow, candy-coated shell. She popped it into her mouth. The pill melted instantly, tasting faintly sweet. After about three to five seconds, Zheng Yi felt the recovery speed of her mental energy nearly double, and the long-forgotten stinging pain eased considerably.
It was then that Zheng Yi heard Zero One's choked sobs.
[The effect... is pretty good, right? Sob... As long as it's useful to you... Waaah, I promise I won't speak out of turn next time.] Zero One thought miserably, How am I so bad at following a pro that I can't even coast to victory properly?
'You're finally a little useful,' Zheng Yi offered as a rare compliment. 'However, that localized rain was just something I did on a whim. It had nothing to do with you.'
[That's good... What?!]
Zheng Yi ignored Zero One's subsequent meltdown. She glanced at the store; the price for the pill was outrageous, a full 30 Saint Points each. Its description was also simple, containing only one line: Accelerates energy recovery and alleviates the pain of overexertion.
Only after the modified car had driven three or four blocks did Zheng Yi slow down slightly. She glanced at Yu Yinan in the passenger seat, who was secretly crying while trying not to be noticed, and smiled. "Don't worry, you'll still be able to take a cold bath tonight."
"My limits are far beyond this."
Yu Yinan looked at her, her expression unreadable as to whether she believed her or not. In any case, she held back her tears. "I'll drive."
Zheng Yi stopped the car. Before Yu Yinan even had a chance to object, she used her ability to cool the vehicle down again, then switched to the passenger seat.
"Jiejie, I'm not exactly a normal person," Zheng Yi chuckled. "Really, I'm completely fine."
[I'm the one who's not fine! Do you not care in the slightest how many performance points I just spent?!]
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