PSW - Chapter 105
Chapter 105
When Zheng Yi returned from the mission center, Yu Yinan had already finished packing their luggage. Zheng Yi directly placed the things Yu Yinan had organized into her personal space, then put the two capsules in as well.
The two of them, traveling light, left Humanity's Light Shelter with ease. Only then did they take out the armored vehicle, which Yu Yinan drove, skillfully heading straight for Sugui Mountain.
During the third great rain, the biggest beneficiaries were likely the mutated plants. They received a massive amount of irrigation, absorbing nearly all the special energy contained within the water. However, these mutated plants had no particular desires. They only needed nutrients, water, and sunlight to live, unlike mutated animals that needed to hunt and eat, or mutated zombies that had a special obsession and craving for human flesh.
When the mutated plants became mobile, they could even complete the pollination process themselves.
Among these mutated plants, the fruit tree that had once encountered Zheng Yi seemed particularly diligent. The more rainwater it absorbed, the deeper its impression of Zheng Yi became, making it increasingly difficult to forget that human!
That powerful human! If it saw her again, it would definitely make her its nutrients! Her flesh and blood must be buried beneath its roots; it would absorb her completely.
That was what it thought before the zombie horde arrived.
Then, the mutated zombies poured into Pujie and attacked Humanity's Light. These zombies wouldn't set foot in Sugui Mountain, nor would they show any desire to attack the mutated plants; they even went out of their way to avoid them during their advance. Yet, in this battle that should have had nothing to do with the mutated plants, the fruit tree suddenly sensed a faint, familiar aura amidst the downpour…
Could it be… that human?
This question went unanswered. But not long after, it heard the mournful shriek of the zombie that had initiated the horde. Waves of a mental tide washed over the area, even reaching Sugui Mountain.
Many mutated plants swayed their branches, touching each other in utter confusion: What did that creature encounter? Why was it so terrified and uneasy?
What a peculiar emotion. It was difficult for them, as mutated plants, to experience such feelings.
Among the group of mutated plants, only that fruit tree inexplicably resonated slightly with the special zombie's mental tide. It pondered for a moment with its slightly enhanced intelligence and instinctively linked the aura it had sensed earlier with the special zombie's demise.
Could that human have gotten even stronger?
It was on edge about this for a long time, but as the incident quieted down, life returned to normal. The other mutated plants sunbathed, photosynthesized, and there was even a tree that liked to go wild, uprooting itself daily to run amok in the forest, disturbing the rest of the other mutated plants and even tripping over and breaking parts of some mutated vines. Such an ordinary life gradually eased its vigilance and worry.
…Perhaps it had sensed wrong. After all, it was just a mutated plant, and its perception wasn't outstanding. To put it in human terms, the trauma Zheng Yi had inflicted on it was so great that it was always having nightmares—if trees could dream.
It looked at the bright, splendid sunlight, stretching its branches as far and as wide as possible, as if a tree were stretching its back. 'Today is another good day to store up energy~'
Arriving at the familiar street next to Sugui Mountain, they found the path ahead entwined with roots and tangled branches. There were even a few withered branches and vines scattered messily on the road—dried, then soaked by the great rain, and recently dried by the sun again. They could force the vehicle through, but it would be a bumpy ride, and… Yu Yinan glanced at the sky, then turned to Zheng Yi. "Should we go in now?"
"Let's just park here," Zheng Yi said with a smile. "No rush. We'll go in tomorrow."
Let those mutated plants develop for one more day.
Zheng Yi looked at the side of the street. The vines and roots had spread again after the third great rain, and the houses along the road were almost completely covered in green. "Let's clean this place up a bit."
"Okay." Yu Yinan stopped the vehicle, pulled out the key, and after closing the door, handed it to Zheng Yi. Then she immediately used her ability. Small, finely controlled sparks quickly ignited the ivy clinging to the walls. The flames, restrained and polite, burned their way up, incinerating the ivy completely without affecting the walls in any way.
Returning to this place, even though only one great rain had passed, gave Yu Yinan a subtle feeling of revisiting an old haunt. And she was no longer the person who had once struggled to conjure fire in the rain.
With fine control, Yu Yinan even split her focus, creating two small clusters of flames to increase her cleaning efficiency.
After clearing the ivy and vines from the house walls, Yu Yinan quickly incinerated and eliminated the thick tree roots that had pushed up through the road surface. When everything was taken care of, the entire street looked brand new.
"Nice." Zheng Yi praised Yu Yinan's control over her ability. It was just one word, but Yu Yinan was happier than if she had eaten candy. She looked at Zheng Yi, excited, earnest, and devout, and promised, "I'll work hard to get even stronger!" That flame sword—she was determined to create it!
Zheng Yi just smiled, casually walked into a house, and used her ability to wash the entire interior with a stream of water. Then, she used her personal space ability to move all the messy, broken furniture onto the street for Yu Yinan to burn. This cleared out enough space to place the shower room and the double bed.
The convenience of the shower room was self-evident. Although Yu Yinan and Zheng Yi still felt it wasn't worth the price—Yu Yinan even felt an unbearable pang of heartache every time she showered, just thinking about the cost—they had to admit the experience after using it was top-notch.
As for the capsule bed, it was used even more frequently. The mattress it came with was of a quality far superior to the best mattresses in this world; with it, sleeping was a form of enjoyment. It didn't even require Zheng Yi or Yu Yinan to worry about changing and washing sheets. Like the shower room, it had what the system called a "self-cleaning" function.
In Yu Yinan's view, the more Saint Points Zheng Yi obtained, the more she could enjoy life in this apocalypse. Every Saint Point bought a service, and these services even surpassed the limits of this world's technology.
"It's been three great rains. Those mutated plants must have gained some intelligence, maybe even the ability to communicate with and understand humans, right?" Yu Yinan looked at the two capsule items. Although Zheng Yi had never revealed what else faith points could materialize into under her ability, it was clear that the faith points were constantly being consumed, given how Zheng Yi would occasionally produce fresh food. As Zheng Yi's girlfriend, Yu Yinan wanted to help her—help in any way she could.
The moment Yu Yinan spoke, Zheng Yi knew what she was thinking. This woman clearly hadn't given up on the idea of converting the mutated plants and wanted to turn them into believers as well.
Before Zheng Yi could speak, Yu Yinan explained with great earnestness, "You are the Saint God's agent on earth. All sentient beings should submit to you. As long as they are capable of faith and can recognize the concept, this is feasible." Yu Yinan genuinely believed that Zheng Yi was omnipotent.
When she said these words, she was so serious and devout, and the eyes with which she looked at Zheng Yi seemed to glitter with stars.
As expected of a fire ability user. Or rather, as expected of Yu Yinan.
[…] Zero One sent a series of ellipses. It was strangely convinced by Yu Yinan, not shocked as it had been the last time she'd said such things. It looked at Yu Yinan through Zheng Yi's eyes. Although Yu Yinan was just an ordinary person, Zero One seemed to see a blazing fire burning within her. It was scorching, dazzling. She seemed to be constantly burning, dedicating all her warmth to Zheng Yi without reservation, even if all that was left for herself after the ultimate combustion was a pile of ashes.
…It was no wonder Zheng Yi treated her so specially.
Yu Yinan was, in herself, a special existence.
Perhaps she had seemed unremarkable when they first met, but after Zheng Yi revealed herself, and as Yu Yinan analyzed and transformed herself step by step, she was no longer an ordinary person.
Compared to Zero One's emotional turmoil, Zheng Yi appeared perfectly calm. She smiled gently, reached out to pinch the soft flesh of Yu Yinan's right cheek, drawing her attention. Then, her fingers slid down the curve of her jaw, deftly tilting her chin up before she gently pressed a light kiss upon her lips. "Since you put it that way, Jiejie, let's try catching a few mutated plants tomorrow~"
However, the mutated plants probably couldn't feel pain very well. Cutting? Peeling their bark? Zheng Yi thought idly. Perhaps she could try… using a bit of mental power.
Fortunately, Zero One couldn't probe Zheng Yi's thoughts, or it would have been utterly shocked: Zheng Yi wasn't a mental-type ability user. No matter how powerful her mental strength was, she shouldn't be able to use it consciously! The ability users of this world could only "perceive," "learn," and "master" the use of their abilities after awakening the corresponding power.
"Okay," Yu Yinan agreed seriously, her mind instantly filling with various ways to use her flames. Mutated plants were still plants; they were definitely afraid of fire.
But she didn't dwell on it. Zheng Yi took her hand and asked softly, "What do you want to eat today, Jiejie?"
"I'm not picky. Anything is fine." Compressed biscuits were fine, bread was fine, and so were instant noodles. As long as it could fill her stomach.
"Then… let's just have a simple hot pot."
Before Yu Yinan could react, hot pot ingredients appeared on the ground: butterfly shrimp, spicy beef, bamboo fungus shrimp paste, rocket squid, dual-pepper beef tenderloin, and various meatballs and soy products. Zheng Yi smiled as she set up the stove, placed a block of solid alcohol underneath, and asked Yu Yinan to light it.
"N-no, this is… this is too…" Extravagant. Yu Yinan had wanted to say that, but she was afraid Zheng Yi would think she was ungrateful. It wasn't that she felt Zheng Yi shouldn't eat like this, but that she herself had done nothing to deserve eating something that had cost so many faith points…
"Jiejie, we're dating~ Don't be such a stranger. Come on, help me light the fire." Zheng Yi put the mall's extra-spicy hot pot base into the pot and then filled it with water. "What kind of vegetables do you want, Jiejie?"
"This… is already enough." Yu Yinan lit the fire. After saying this, she met Zheng Yi's dark eyes. Her heart skipped a beat. She just pursed her lips, reached out to take hold of Zheng Yi's fingertips, and said softly, "…Spinach."
"Okay~"
Although the extreme cold period had not yet arrived, having a hot pot before exploring a dense forest was an excellent experience.
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