PSW - Chapter 170
Chapter 170
"…No, you're right. We should wait until after the high-temperature period to think about it." Yu Yinan bit her lip but quickly regained her composure. She struggled to steady her trembling hand and, after taking a discreet deep breath, forced back the tears welling in her eyes, showing no outward sign of anything unusual. She turned back into the room and took out the portable capsule Zheng Yi had given her yesterday from a drawer. She clenched her fingers into a fist, but without fingernails, no amount of force could break the skin, and the pain was limited. "Come on, let's watch a movie… You pick one, whatever you think looks interesting."
"Okay~" Zheng Yi walked over with a smile, her expression reflecting in Yu Yinan's eyes. Yu Yinan suddenly remembered that, in the very beginning, Zheng Yi had often worn this same sweet, gentle, and harmlessly brilliant smile.
Yu Yinan didn't know what Zheng Yi was thinking, nor how she had managed to do this. Just last night… Yu Yinan cut her thoughts short. If she dwelled on it any longer, she was afraid she would break down completely, unable to remain calm. Then-then Zheng Yi might realize she had discovered everything.
Zheng Yi was gone. Was it because she was holding her back too much? Or had Zheng Yi gained the ability to create this… this fake? Of course, Yu Yinan remembered that night in the car, remembered the repeated whispers of "Jiejie? Sleep a little longer…" Zheng Yi would come back, right? After she had taken care of everything… But why did this… this fake have such a personality? Was it because Zheng Yi thought she preferred this disguised version of her? Or did she think… believe that what she loved was just the initial illusion?
No, she couldn't think about it anymore. An indescribable panic rose in Yu Yinan's heart. She instinctively squeezed the capsule tighter and tighter before forcing herself to relax her grip, bit by bit. Yu Yinan was grateful she had turned her back, otherwise her unease would surely have been noticed.
"Jiejie?" That "Zheng Yi" leaned in, affectionately hugging her arm. "What's wrong?"
Yu Yinan's body went rigid; the arm being held felt like it didn't belong to her. She wanted to pull it away without arousing suspicion, but "Zheng Yi" was holding on extremely tight, and she had no suitable excuse. She bit her lip. "I was just thinking about what movie to watch. Hmm, the apocalypse… these forms of entertainment have been gone from my life for so long, I'm not used to them at all."
"We could go for a swim first~ Jiejie learned how to swim back in Chuanyang. I wonder if you've forgotten how."
She has the same memories, Yu Yinan thought instinctively. Her expression suddenly changed, and she looked at this person. "Do you remember, um, what happened last night?"
"Last night?" "Zheng Yi" thought about it seriously. "Last night… did something happen?"
"We fell asleep in each other's arms…"
"Mhm, I remember. Jiejie's embrace is so warm, it helps me sleep well~"
Thank goodness… Zheng Yi's sense of humor isn't that twisted. Yu Yinan breathed a sigh of relief. She then casually named a popular sci-fi movie from before the apocalypse, handed the capsule to "Zheng Yi" to decide where to place the theater, and then watched the film with her, her mind elsewhere.
Zheng Yi wouldn't run into any danger, would she? Without her, Zheng Yi should be able to perform better, to find the meteor fragments more efficiently.
…She really had been holding her back all along.
"Jiejie, why are you crying?"
"…The plot is just so moving." Yu Yinan sobbed. "Thinking about the past, and now this chaotic apocalypse, everyone…" She didn't finish, choked up slightly, and silently continued watching.
"Jiejie, everything will get better!" "Zheng Yi" placed a hand on Yu Yinan's clenched fist, her face a picture of earnestness and sincerity, looking exactly as she had when she'd said that long speech: "The more hopeless the world becomes, the more we humans must unite. Kindness is a wonderful quality… The world will become a better place tomorrow!"
Yu Yinan turned her head slightly, only then realizing how vividly she remembered every little detail of her time with Zheng Yi.
She had to-she had to do something. Even if she was left here, even if she was all alone. A puppet like this must be expensive, right? Yu Yinan thought. Zheng Yi would probably need more faith points… Saint Points? Perhaps her travelogue from Changping could also be published in Pujie. The high-temperature period was next, but that wouldn't bother her at all. She now had a portable freezer and could store some food and water to carry with her…
She could go to Xuancheng by herself and see how the base there was developing. The power Zheng Yi had displayed in Xuancheng was staggering; they wouldn't have forgotten her influence so quickly. But as time passed, their devotion would likely wane. She, however, could effectively reinforce their memories. And the travelogue… she could mail it directly. The person in charge of Xuancheng should be Si Zhuangjing, right?
Yu Yinan quickly found a new goal for herself, a way to stop drowning in the fact that Zheng Yi had left without a word, leaving a fake in her place.
Perhaps she was still instinctively trying to escape, refusing to even analyze the situation. She didn't want to know, didn't want to admit even the slightest possibility that Zheng Yi had abandoned her for good.
…She wouldn't. Zheng Yi would come back. After she had handled her business, after she had collected all the meteor fragments, Zheng Yi would definitely come back.
And in the meantime, what she needed to do was not cause Zheng Yi any trouble and help her in any other way she could.
After leaving Pujie, Zheng Yi immediately teleported to Changping. Using it as a starting point, she unleashed her mental power, expanding it outwards to its maximum range. Then, she mounted a water dragon, controlled it to fly into the clouds, and sped towards other cities high in the sky, all while sensing for the energy of nearby meteor fragments.
It was a highly efficient method, but the consumption was a bit high.
Sensing Zheng Yi's immense, overwhelming mental power and watching her sit expressionlessly atop the water dragon's head, manipulating it to weave swiftly through the clouds and scan all the cities near Changping, Zero One knew it should be focusing on the mission. But it didn't seem like there was much it could do to help with what Zheng Yi was doing now, and its mind was still preoccupied… [Will you be going back?]
Of course, Zheng Yi ignored it. Zero One was already used to Zheng Yi not replying to everything, a habit it had formed even before it knew she was a god. [It's a new day. Yu Yinan and that-that… that puppet have been together all morning. Aren't you curious about the premium puppet's acting skills? Don't-don't you want to see what's happening over there?] Zero One desperately wanted to see and was extremely worried about Yu Yinan. It was worried Yu Yinan would discover the truth and do something irrational in an emotional outburst, but it also feared she wouldn't notice anything at all.
It certainly had the authority to view the puppet's perspective on its own, but its host was Zheng Yi. Zero One would never dare to pry into these matters without Zheng Yi's permission.
"It's just a puppet," Zheng Yi seemed to let out a scoff.
Zero One paused for a moment before realizing Zheng Yi hadn't communicated telepathically but had spoken aloud. That made sense. She was alone, high up in the sky; no one would notice anything unusual no matter how she communicated. [But-but you bought the most expensive, most intelligent, best model there is!] As Zero One said this, it started to feel less certain itself. While it had faith in the system's products, having an invention try to impersonate and replace a real god… to become a real god's stand-in, was probably asking too much. Moreover, this person… er, this god's personality wasn't so easy to grasp. It couldn't be perfectly replicated with a few strings of data or some simple mimicry.
Zheng Yi could easily disguise herself as any persona, but nothing else could easily disguise itself as her.
[Then why did you spend one hundred thousand to buy it…] Zero One roughly understood Zheng Yi's meaning. Even a Stand-in Puppet (Premium) worth one hundred thousand Saint Points was utterly unworthy of comparison to her. [For the store? And its combat power… True, that would be very convenient. Um, what memories did you input into the puppet? Is-is it all the memories since the apocalypse began, since I met you?]
"It can't pull off a persona that's too complex. Forcing it would just be a grotesque imitation," Zheng Yi said, her tone light and indifferent as she sat ramrod straight, staring ahead. "If you want to know, go see what's happening over there."
Zero One's eyes lit up. That was permission! It conjured a large screen in the system space and quickly connected to the puppet's perspective. It rewound the time, selected the point just after Zheng Yi left, then fast-forwarded to when the puppet woke up in the morning before resuming normal playback. Watching the puppet's brilliant smile as it got out of bed, Zero One felt an instinctive jolt in its heart, inexplicably reminded of its own foolish period at the beginning when Zheng Yi had played it for a fool. Ah, not that… it was any smarter now. [Do you think Yu Yinan will notice something is wrong?]
Zheng Yi seemed to let out a low chuckle. "That's not important."
How could that not be important! Zero One instinctively retorted in its mind. It watched as the puppet methodically washed all the clothes, folded them neatly, and put them into its personal space before taking out a fresh set of clothes and placing them by Yu Yinan's bedside. Then, the puppet went to the shower to wash up, headed to the kitchen, took out various utensils, and after a moment of simple deliberation, opened the store and sent Zheng Yi a request to purchase vegetables. It then took out the noodles and eggs Zheng Yi had left behind from its personal space and began to cook.
Not long after, Yu Yinan woke up. At first, she clearly didn't notice anything amiss, but soon… the difference between the puppet and the real Zheng Yi quickly became apparent.
[This-You?]
Zero One was deeply shaken. The puppet might not be sharp enough to perceive Yu Yinan's subtle movements or notice that something was wrong with her, but Zero One was a system. With its meticulous observation, it could sense Yu Yinan's emotions with perfect clarity.
Zheng Yi didn't speak to it again, simply closing her eyes to rest.
This was Zheng Yi's original disguise, wasn't it? Perhaps it was the persona Yu Yinan had first fallen for. An appearance identical to Zheng Yi's in every way—what Zheng Yi would call a "flesk-husk." But beneath that husk, though it wasn't the soul of this god, was a truly innocent, simple, kind, and gentle being—the "little sister," the "young girl" from the beginning of Yu Yinan's memories.
…Indeed, whether or not Yu Yinan would notice a difference wasn't important.
From the very beginning, Zheng Yi had never intended to fool Yu Yinan with a mere puppet.
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