PSW - Chapter 180
Chapter 180
After the party, Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan stayed in Pujie for a week. During that time, Yu Yinan earnestly bid farewell to each of the friends she had made since the apocalypse began.
Zheng Yi, meanwhile, left the puppet behind. After all, her Saint Points would still exist even after she left this world. Even if Zero One un-bound from her after the mission ended, the basic system template would remain—a standard benefit such systems left for their hosts. Zheng Yi had little need for Saint Points; once she left this world, she would be unrestricted, with no abilities she couldn't use. But the development of this world… the development of those shelters and bases might require some assistance.
In that case, the puppet "Zheng Yi," worth one hundred thousand Saint Points, could provide them with a good deal of help.
A puppet worth one hundred thousand Saint Points possessed the highest growth potential, not to mention it had received a portion of Zheng Yi's memories. If it stayed at Humanity's Light, Zhao Haiyue and the others would look after it and help it grow, and in turn, it would help humanity grow in this world.
After dealing with the matter of the puppet, the next thing Zheng Yi needed to resolve was the meteor fragments. She took out a piece, ground it into powder, and divided it into several small portions for Yun Lingjian and the others to experiment with. As for the remaining fragments, she transformed them into a large mass of energy and directly contacted the world consciousness, which had not yet fully awakened and was not yet clear. She placed a seal on this mass of energy, which the world consciousness could unlock and take control of once it had fully awakened. At that point, whether the world consciousness wanted to devour the energy to strengthen itself, redistribute it throughout the world, or grant it to the world's living beings… that would be up to this world's consciousness to decide. All Zheng Yi did was ensure it could awaken stably, without any accidents caused by these scattered energies.
Zero One watched as Zheng Yi finished all this. When the week was over and Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan had said goodbye to all their friends in this world, it no longer remained silent.
[So, you're leaving.] Zero One's voice sounded very dejected. [The mission was a success, but this journey was so short.]
[Perhaps rare and beautiful moments are always fleeting.]
"If you want, you can contact me," Zheng Yi said faintly. "I won't refuse, and your main system will have a way." She didn't hide this from Yu Yinan, who by now knew of Zero One's existence. She knew why Zheng Yi, who clearly didn't care about faith or recognition, was so insistent on the title of "Saint," and she understood the source of Zheng Yi's many miraculous abilities.
Of course, that masterful control over water was something Zheng Yi was born with.
[Can I contact you often, then?] Zero One's entire system lit up with excitement. [Of course, I promise not to be too frequent or to disturb you. I mean, when I miss you terribly, can I contact you? Or, if I'm on another mission in the future and my host encounters a problem that even I find difficult to solve, can I ask you for advice?]
Zheng Yi fell silent for a moment, as if in thought. Her spiritual energy sensed the fluctuations from the system's side, and a brief analysis would have revealed Zero One's thoughts, but she didn't pry. After a few seconds, she answered, "You can."
Zero One immediately let out a shriek of excitement.
[By the way, now that you've become gods, does leaving here mean you can't go anywhere else? Can you never return to this world?]
Zheng Yi pursed her lips, seeming a little baffled by Zero One's question. "Since we are gods, where can we not go? It's just that when we visit these worlds, we cannot casually interfere with their development."
[What if you do interfere?]
"We'd have to endure another heavenly tribulation," Zheng Yi said calmly. "And it would incur the displeasure of the world consciousness… unless you were invited by the world consciousness to help, or you were on very good terms with it."
The main issue was that time passed far too quickly. The flow of time in the Myriad Star Realm was different from the flow of time within each world. Often, in the time it took for a god to take a nap, the fragile life they had been watching would have naturally passed away.
Fortunately, systems also possessed nearly infinite lifespans. As long as Zero One didn't break down or get formatted, it would exist forever.
[I don't have any more questions for now.] Zero One thought for a moment and couldn't seem to think of anything else to ask. It looked at Zheng Yi, watching her intently from within the system space. Then, its perspective slowly pulled back and widened, bringing both Yu Yinan and Zheng Yi into view.
The two stood side by side, holding hands. In the system space, Zero One revealed a huge smile, the flowing data seeming to flash into a large smiley face. [Well then, goodbye~ My host, my god, my friend!]
[I look forward to our next meeting!]
"Goodbye." Zheng Yi gave a slight nod to the empty air, then turned her head to look at Yu Yinan. "So, shall we leave?"
"Mhm." Yu Yinan had quietly listened to the entire conversation between Zheng Yi and Zero One. She nodded, tightening her grip on Zheng Yi's hand. As she looked up, she saw Zheng Yi's eyes gradually shift from pure black to a brilliant gold, like a blazing sun blooming from the darkness. Specks of golden light emanated from Zheng Yi's body, following their clasped hands to envelop her as well.
In the next instant, they vanished.
At the same moment, Zero One received the mission completion notification.
[…My friends, may you find eternal happiness in eternal time.] Feeling the empty connection, Zero One couldn't quite describe the feeling in its heart. It had known this day would come, and it was no longer the rookie system that would cry its eyes out after failing a mission or parting with a host.
[Thank you for this encounter,] it said in its heart, then carefully sealed away the CGs and videos deep within its memory. It didn't leave this world immediately but decided to rest temporarily in the puppet "Zheng Yi" and wait for this world's consciousness to fully awaken.
[When I get back and report in, I'm definitely taking a long vacation! I'll write a book during that time! The CGs can be made into an artbook! Right, the videos can be released too… I want every system to know what an enviable and wonderful experience I had on this mission!]
Although, things didn't quite go as Zero One had imagined.
Zheng Yi did indeed become famous among the various systems. But, for the most part, they weren't envious of Zero One.
Many of Zero One's colleagues, like Saint Growth System Zero Two, were baffled by its experience. They simply couldn't understand what Zero One had gone through. In their view, Zero One was in desperate need of psychological counseling!
[Zero One, do you remember what the system manual says? Do you remember the meaning of the Saint Growth Plan? Are you still reading the Saint Growth guide these days?]
[Of course I remember, I know it by heart. I am the most competent Saint Growth system, just look at my results! You simply can't comprehend Her charm. You have no taste.] Zero One wasn't very interested in sharing its experience with these colleagues. In its opinion, the systems from next door, like the Villain's Darkening and Revenge System or the Growth and Face-Slapping System, had better taste. They were burning cyber incense every day, praying for a god similar to Zheng Yi to come and save them.
Zero One quickly ended the conversation with its colleagues and went to find the main system again. [Boss, when will the upgrade be ready? When can I contact Zheng Yi? She promised she wouldn't refuse my calls!]
It had expected this to be just another one of its three-times-a-day routine reminders. This time, however, the main system glanced at it and beckoned. [Come here, the module is ready. I'll update and install it for you now.]
[!!! Main System! You are so great, so tolerant, so wonderful! I will praise you forever!] For a moment, Zero One couldn't think of any better adjectives to praise it with, just babbling incoherently as it quickly moved over and obediently entered the evolution pod.
[Hey? Can you hear me? My dear host?]
"I'm not your host anymore." When Zheng Yi received Zero One's message, she and Yu Yinan were lying together on a cloud in the Myriad Star Realm, watching the transformation of vast swaths of planets.
[No, you will always be my host.] Zero One grew excited upon hearing Zheng Yi's reply. It tried to manipulate the template to send a pop-up window to Zheng Yi's location, and soon, a view of her area appeared before it. It gazed at the planets, which looked to be only the size of basketballs, and turned its view to meet the eyes of Yu Yinan, who was hugging Zheng Yi's arm. [Hello~ It seems you're enjoying your life as gods?]
"Hello. Yes, it's very enjoyable." Under the template, Yu Yinan could clearly hear Zero One's voice as well. As for Zero One's image… it was just a translucent screen of light that suddenly appeared in the air, with streams of data flickering within it, but no figure. Yu Yinan smiled, feeling very friendly toward this being that had been accompanying them all along without her knowledge. After all… during this time, Zheng Yi had told her quite a bit about Zero One's commentary. When she and Zheng Yi were together, Zero One had been a genuine fan of their relationship, cheering her on. "We went back to the Wasteland world a few days ago and found that only a year had passed. Everyone is developing very well, and the various bases have mostly integrated. Um… Zheng Yi plans to take me to other worlds to play and broaden my horizons. Of course, we won't interfere with the worlds' development or actively interact with the beings within them. We'll just be observers."
[Is that so? That's great! Observing is good enough. Although Zheng Yi isn't afraid of the heavenly tribulation, it would probably still be very harmful to you.] As Zero One spoke, a thought suddenly occurred to it. [Does that mean you can travel to any world you want? A honeymoon trip?]
Yu Yinan was about to say yes, but when she heard Zero One's follow-up question about a honeymoon trip, her face instantly turned red. She glanced at Zheng Yi, only to see her lean in and pinch her crimson cheek.
"Yes, a honeymoon trip," Zheng Yi replied, her tone calm. Then she pinched Yu Yinan's pink-tinged earlobe, rubbing it gently between her fingertips. She leaned closer, deliberately bringing her lips near the tip of Yu Yinan's ear, her breath feather-light. "Jiejie, how is it that you've become a god but still get shy so easily?"
"…Isn't it perfectly normal for a subordinate god to be shy with the main god?" Yu Yinan said, her eyelashes trembling. She raised her arms to wrap them around Zheng Yi's neck and tilted her head up to kiss the corner of Zheng Yi's mouth. "Besides, isn't this… what you like?"
[…]
Zero One's eyes widened as it stared at the communication screen, which had abruptly gone black. It fell into a kind of deep thought.
They were already on their honeymoon!
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