PSW - Chapter 109
Chapter 109
The two of them moon-gazing ended with Yu Yinan flusteredly taking a cold shower.
She had just managed to calm down when Zheng Yi lightly hooked her palm with a fingertip. The touch was like a feather, tickling her heart again and again, the tingling sensation reigniting the emotions she had worked so hard to suppress.
This was truly something Zheng Yi would do.
But for Yu Yinan, it was just a "sweet little problem."
The only thing that made Yu Yinan slightly unhappy was that Zheng Yi had taken out two sleeping bags.
They each slept in their own, which meant Yu Yinan couldn't hold Zheng Yi as she fell asleep. To make matters worse, Zheng Yi pretended not to understand, looking at her and saying things like, "When you're camping in a tent, you have to use sleeping bags to get the right atmosphere."
Having spent so much time with Zheng Yi now, Yu Yinan could instantly tell from her tone and expression when she was deliberately teasing her. But… even knowing that, there was nothing she could do but willingly let Zheng Yi have her fun.
Lying in her sleeping bag, Yu Yinan stared at the top of the tent and slowly yawned before finally drifting off to a peaceful sleep.
Before falling asleep, Zheng Yi connected to the plant network one more time and found Zero One still passionately preaching inside.
Zero One was a system; it didn't need sleep or rest, and the mutated plants loved chatting with it, asking all sorts of questions. Zero One answered every single one. If there were no questions, it would create them just to enlighten the mutated plants, passionately promoting the doctrine of the Saint and tirelessly contributing to Zheng Yi's acquisition of Saint Points.
According to its logic, Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan wouldn't be staying in the Sugui Mountain area for long. As a Saint Growth System, it had to make infinite contributions in a limited time. It was best to make these mutated plants long for Zheng Yi's return in the days to come, ensuring they would continuously offer a fixed amount of Saint Points to Zheng Yi each month.
Just how hard was Zero One working? To put it simply, when Zheng Yi woke up the next day and lazily got out of her sleeping bag, she casually connected to the network with her mental power and found Zero One still passionately preaching.
It was truly dedicated. Zheng Yi listened in for a moment and noticed that the plants' voices now sounded less than half as energetic as Zero One's. She casually disconnected her mental power and prepared to leave the tent, planning to take out the shower room for a quick wash.
Just as Zheng Yi was about to unzip the tent, Yu Yinan groggily sat up and tugged on the corner of her shirt. "What time is it?"
"It's just gotten light." Zheng Yi unzipped the tent slightly to check the sky, then replied, "Jiejie, you can sleep a little longer. I'll call you when breakfast is ready."
"…Mmm, I'm not sleeping anymore." Yu Yinan propped herself up, crawled over to Zheng Yi, and wrapped her arms around her waist. She buried her face in the small of Zheng Yi's back and took a deep breath before speaking. "I'll help you…"
Zheng Yi let her hold on, nuzzling against her like a pampered child. When Yu Yinan finally let go and started to get up, Zheng Yi turned around, ruffled her hair, and stepped out of the tent.
Coming to Sugui Mountain, Yu Yinan had expected some thrilling battles, but it had turned into a camping trip instead. On second thought, ever since the apocalypse began, she hadn't really suffered any of its hardships while with Zheng Yi. As for thrilling… it was likely only thrilling from her perspective.
But there was nothing wrong with that. In fact, Yu Yinan couldn't imagine Zheng Yi suffering. A being like Zheng Yi should probably be powerful, proud, and elusive, yet possess a fatal charm.
They rested in the mountains for three days. On the second day, Zheng Yi took her to the summit. They sat on the peak and watched the sunset. On the third day, they sat outside the tent long before the sun appeared. Zheng Yi casually handed her a cup of hot milk, and the two of them sipped it while watching the entire sunrise from the mountaintop.
When dusk fell, Zheng Yi packed up the tent and led her down the mountain.
Over these three days, not a single mutated plant had attacked them. Yu Yinan had barely even seen any of the mutated trees; only vines would curl forward, obsequiously offering ripe, tempting fruits to Zheng Yi. This left Yu Yinan a bit confused. After all, these mutated plants didn't seem very intelligent. She hadn't continued her preaching, and she had been with Zheng Yi the whole time. Zheng Yi hadn't used her abilities to torture any more plants, so why… were they so well-behaved?
…Perhaps they had submitted to Zheng Yi's absolute power?
That was the only explanation Yu Yinan could come up with. She would never have guessed that inside Zheng Yi's mind was a system that had been working diligently and conscientiously for three days straight. The system hadn't rested for a single moment, burning itself out at high intensity to rake in Saint Points for Zheng Yi.
When Zero One regretfully told the mutated plants that it had to follow the Saint and leave the forest, some of them even laughed with a mixture of exhaustion and surprise. After all, Zero One was simply too noisy, too energetic. Even as plants, they needed quiet rest and peaceful growth.
Gentle music could soothe their moods, but a grating, noisy mechanical voice would make them feel like withering.
As a result, after just a moment of silence, before it had even left the Sugui Mountain area with Zheng Yi, Zero One heard many things that hurt its system feelings.
'It's gone? It's finally gone! Why would the great Saint accept such a noisy believer? The divine are truly too merciful. If I had a guy like that chattering and repeating the same phrases around me, I would definitely turn it into my nutrients.'
'I'm sleepy. I need to rest, I need to sleep, I need to sprout branches and leaves, and grow redder, bigger fruits!'
'The divine being… is so strange. So powerful, and she can even grant her believer the ability to communicate with us…'
'But she seemed quite normal? I mean, when she wasn't in a combat state. Oh! But that believer she sent in was so noisy, I've memorized everything it said! And it just had to keep repeating it. I couldn't even choose not to listen.'
'…'
'Wait? You all just believe that Zheng Yi is a Saint, a god? How could there be a god in this world!'
'…Then she must be the one with the most potential to become a god. In terms of power, calling her a god isn't much of a problem.'
Only after Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan had completely left Sugui Mountain and driven a good distance in their modified vehicle did Zero One speak up resentfully: [Those plants were so enthusiastic when they were talking to me. How could they say such things behind my back? Heavens, I was nothing but diligent! There is no Saint Growth System in the world more diligent than me!] Even though the work of other Saint Growth Systems was completely different from Zero One's.
Host: Zheng Yi
Saint Points: 12951
Inventory Slots: 11
Special Abilities: Water/Healing (Advanced)/Personal Space (Beginner)
Zheng Yi glanced at her current Saint Point balance and praised, 'My dear Zero One, you've done an excellent job. You've worked hard these past three days.'
[Oh~ It was no trouble at all, my dear host. I'm not tired in the slightest. This is all part of my duty! It is my honor, as Zero One, to be of service to you~] Zero One replied, somewhat flattered, in an even more affected, exaggerated, and emotional mechanical voice.
'Well then, I'll be counting on you for future promotional activities of this nature~'
[…] Zero One fell silent for a few seconds. But thinking about Zheng Yi's current Saint Point balance and cumulative total, and considering how little time had passed since the apocalypse began, it hardly needed to compare her to previous hosts. It quickly replied: [This is all part of my duty!]
It, Zero One, wasn't cultivating an ordinary Saint, but a "divine" Saint!
Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan wandered around outside as if on a "camping trip." With no particular destination or mission, they casually explored the areas around Pujie before returning to Humanity's Light Shelter on the day before the New Year.
No sooner had Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan returned to their room to rest than Chu Yi knocked on their door.
Yu Yinan was still helping Zheng Yi set up the stove. She turned around to see Zheng Yi open the door and meet Chu Yi's gaze.
In that instant, Zhao Haiyue's expression was exceptionally stiff. She seemed to be trying to force a friendly smile, but it looked incredibly rigid under Zheng Yi's stare.
"I… I have a personal matter I need Yu Yinan's help with. If-if it's convenient…?" Zhao Haiyue always felt her hair stand on end when Zheng Yi looked at her. She stammered out her reason for coming, her palms already slick with cold sweat.
"Jiejie, Chu Yi is looking for you~" Zheng Yi, on the other hand, acted perfectly normal. She smiled gently, turned to inform Yu Yinan, and then asked Chu Yi, "Would you like to come in and sit for a bit?"
"Uh, maybe next time. I'm in a bit of a hurry." Zhao Haiyue was being sincere about that; she had rushed over the moment she heard Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan were back. It was already dusk, and they didn't have much time left to prepare. "You two can eat first. Just have Yu Yinan come find me after dinner! I won't disturb you any longer."
"Okay, I'll come find you later." Yu Yinan clearly knew what Zhao Haiyue needed her help with. She quickly agreed, then glanced nervously at Zheng Yi. She breathed a sigh of relief when Zheng Yi showed no objection. As for Chu Yi? The moment she heard Yu Yinan agree, she immediately said goodbye to Zheng Yi, conscientiously closed the door herself, and hurried away.
"Jiejie, she seems very afraid of me?" Zheng Yi watched Chu Yi's retreating back. The woman's guilt was practically seeping from her bones. "Or is it that she has a guilty conscience?"
"…Sh-she's a mental-type ability user, so her senses are sharper. And-and last time, you saved them during the zombie horde. The divine prowess you displayed then left Chu Yi very, very shocked?" Yu Yinan stumbled through an "explanation," though she didn't seem to believe her own words. Fortunately, Zheng Yi didn't press the issue. She just gave her a smiling glance, walked over to take the various cooking utensils, and said with a laugh, "Since she needs you for something, Jiejie~ let's make a quick and simple meal."
"Mm… I heard the shelter is having a New Year's Eve event tonight. Shall we go together?" Yu Yinan looked at Zheng Yi, nervous and anxious. She watched as Zheng Yi washed the rice and replied casually, "Sure."
After a simple meal, Yu Yinan left to help Chu Yi. Zheng Yi yawned lazily in the room, sitting in a chair by the window and gazing out at the sky, which had now turned completely dark.
New Year's Eve? If it weren't for the apocalypse, it would be winter now. The first snow might have already fallen.
As it was now, the extreme cold period was probably approaching, right?
Zheng Yi thought idly, watching the brightly lit shelter with a sense of boredom. Humanity's Light had clearly put a lot of effort into this New Year's Eve. The place was decorated with lanterns and colorful banners everywhere. Even the cluster of tents where the ordinary people lived was strung with numerous colored lights, illuminating the usually dark night.
Even though electricity was a scarce resource, on this special day, neither the shelter's leadership nor the ability users were so "stingy" about it.
Many people were strolling along the shelter's streets, ordinary people and ability users alike. On her way to find Chu Yi, Yu Yinan saw many ability users setting up free stalls. Some offered a single dumpling, others a cup of sweet water or an instant drink, and some offered crude sugar cubes they had made and cut themselves.
They had survived the extreme cold, the extreme heat, the three great rains, and the zombie horde. A new year was dawning, and on this New Year's Eve, every face was lit with a smile of hope, filled with aspirations for the future.
Zhao Haiyue was in a hurry, and so was Yu Yinan. But they weren't the only ones organizing the event; many other ability users were also involved.
[Hasn't Yu Yinan returned yet?] In the apocalypse, most people had lost a precise sense of time, but Zero One was a system, so it knew. As for the people in the shelter… they had watches! As long as there was electricity, some pre-apocalypse devices could still be used. Even if they couldn't communicate, they could still check the time. Humanity's Light was even planning to build an electronic clock tower for timekeeping, but its completion had been delayed by the extreme heat and the zombie horde. [It's almost midnight, you know.]
Zero One was getting anxious for Yu Yinan. What on earth was she doing! Wasn't she looking forward to spending New Year's Eve with Zheng Yi?
Just as Zero One finished speaking, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed outside the door. Yu Yinan, rushed and nervous, unlocked the door with her key and saw Zheng Yi rising from her seat by the window. "Zheng Yi!"
Yu Yinan called out. The bangs on her forehead were damp with sweat, and steam seemed to be rising from her body. She was panting heavily but still rushed to Zheng Yi's side, grabbed her arm, and pulled her out the door.
"Jiejie?" Zheng Yi glanced at her captured wrist. The heat from Yu Yinan's palm was intense, radiating warmth into her skin. But Zheng Yi didn't struggle; she obediently ran along with Yu Yinan. They descended the stairs at high speed, and Yu Yinan pulled her toward a high point in the shelter.
Uncharacteristically, Yu Yinan didn't say a word. She didn't even respond to Zheng Yi's call of "Jiejie."
They ran through the crowd, past the dazzling streetlights. Yu Yinan's hair came loose from the running, so she simply pulled off the hair tie with her other hand, letting her smooth, black hair fly freely.
Zheng Yi could hear Yu Yinan's heartbeat, like a drum, and the sound of her gasping for breath. They didn't stop until they reached a deserted, pitch-black platform. Yu Yinan wiped the sweat from her forehead and broke into a brilliant smile. As she looked at Zheng Yi, a streak of fire shot 'swoosh' from the darkness into the night sky.
With a 'bang,' it exploded into a thousand points of starlight that scattered and fell.
The 'swoosh' of fireworks continued to sound. In the flickering, colorful light, Yu Yinan's gaze was scorching as she took both of Zheng Yi's hands, her smile pure and content.
"Zheng Yi, Happy New Year."
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