PSW – Chapter 3

In the silence, Zero One let out a deep sigh.

After repeatedly considering the consequences and what it was about to face, it finally made up its mind: [I have been hiding something from you. Of course, my initial intention was to spare you from finding all this difficult to accept. But… perhaps it’s not too late to communicate now.]

[You must also have many secrets you haven’t revealed to me. I’ve noticed that your emotions and behavior when you’re alone are completely different from how you are in public. You seem to be very good at putting on a facade. You appear somewhat weary of your current life, yet you eagerly anticipate the coming apocalypse.]

“Mhm, it’s not like I was deliberately hiding it.”

Of course not. No hiding, and no unnecessary explanations. This left Zero One completely baffled. Most of the time, it was merely an observer, and Zheng Yi rarely asked it any questions.

[Throughout the universe, there are countless worlds. Some of these worlds begin to form through serendipitous chance. From their inception to becoming completely real, independent worlds, they undergo a long incubation process.]

[The initial story of the world you exist in originated from an unfinished novel. The story described the beginning of the apocalypse and the great chaos that followed, and then it simply stopped. But as the world incubated and took form, the story had to continue, and the world had to be prevented from collapsing or being destroyed. To allow this world to continue developing and become a real world, the system department decided to assign the task to the Saint Growth Plan series of systems. We were to select a host, cultivate the host’s saintly sentiments, and take on the mission of saving the world. This would allow the world’s storyline to continue, reach its conclusion, and then develop naturally, ultimately leading to a successful incubation.] Of course, participating in a world’s incubation is also beneficial for the systems. The higher the level of participation, the higher the system’s evaluation and rewards will be after everything is over.

“So, what happened to this world’s original male and female protagonists?” Zheng Yi didn’t seem to doubt anything Zero One had said, instead asking this question.

[…] For a rare moment, Zero One fell into an emotional silence before speaking. [Before it was abandoned, it was just a mindless, sweet novel purely about falling in love and fluff. The apocalypse, total destruction—it was all just a backdrop for the male and female leads’ romance, meant only to provide a certain atmosphere for them.]

[You don’t need to worry about the protagonists. After the point where the story was abandoned, their deaths will have no impact on this world.] After saying this, Zero One added, [Before that, they have plot armor and won’t be in any danger.] Clearly, Zero One didn’t want Zheng Yi to think this would cause her any unnecessary trouble.

“Don’t worry, I’m a very reasonable person,” Zheng Yi said with a smile. “So, am I a character from this book?”

[Possibly.] Zero One didn’t give a definite answer. [And I don’t mean this in a bad way, but you’re very different. You… don’t seem like cannon fodder at all, but you never appeared in the original work.]

“Maybe I died before the apocalypse?” Zheng Yi tilted her head, her smile brilliant. “Who knows?”

[…Or perhaps you didn’t originally belong to this world. Transmigration? Rebirth? Both are possibilities.] When Zero One seriously reviewed Zheng Yi’s past, it found many things that didn’t add up. Zheng Yi’s mother was such a timid, weak, and submissive woman. Her maternal family offered her no support, and her entire life was controlled by Zheng Yi’s father. It could be understood as an explosion of despair after being suppressed to the extreme, but there were other possibilities… [During a world’s incubation, it’s quite normal for variables to appear. If it can’t incubate successfully according to the predetermined ending, it will try to save itself.]

“What you’re saying makes a lot of sense,” Zheng Yi said. “I have no memory of my life before coming here, nor do I know what kind of person I was. You see, I haven’t done much all these years. I’ve integrated into this world quite well, aside from cleaning up a few unstable elements at the beginning for the sake of self-preservation.”

Hearing Zheng Yi say this, Zero One actually felt a sense of relief. It had been more afraid that Zheng Yi would refuse to confide in it at all. Perhaps this was a good start.

[It might be a side effect of transmigration or rebirth.] Zero One was willing to cooperate well with its future partner, so it explained with extra earnestness: [But your soul is not damaged. Perhaps as you integrate further with this world, you’ll be able to recall fragments of your past memories.]

“Indeed, that’s a possibility~” Zheng Yi’s tone was light, without a hint of worry. “Zero One, you’ll assist me with all your heart, won’t you?”

[…]

Zero One felt a strange pressure. It wasn’t the first time Zheng Yi had asked this, but… it felt as if after making this promise, it would truly pay an incredible price if it ever betrayed her. But it was just a system—and the most powerful and successful one in the Saint Growth series at that. What price could it possibly pay?

Besides, after binding, it and Zheng Yi were one and the same.

[Of course. Your success is beneficial to me as well.]

[I will be your most loyal partner.]

“Then, when I need an item from the backpack, will you retrieve it for me?”

[Of course. At your service.]

“O~kay~”

Zheng Yi went back to “decorating” the other rooms.

As time passed, the moment of the apocalypse’s outbreak in the original novel drew ever closer. If you observed carefully, you would notice that the apocalypse had its omens.

Flocks of birds migrating unseasonably, sea creatures frequently beaching themselves, plants blooming ahead of schedule, zoo animals growing inexplicably aggressive, and pets in every household—cats, dogs, birds, and beasts—becoming restless… All of this, combined with the abnormal and suddenly changing weather, led many to speculate: was some disaster about to occur?

Earthquakes? Flash floods?

Even though complaints like “Just let it be destroyed! This awful world!” could be found online, such words were mostly just people venting their frustrations.

During this time, Zheng Yi finished modifying all the rooms and stockpiling all sorts of supplies. Of course, after doing all this, she was left with only about twenty yuan to her name.

On the eve of the outbreak, Zheng Yi gazed at the colorful neon lights in the dark, at the streetlights that remained lit, and at the lights in the distant high-rise apartments. This night seemed no different from a thousand others, and the moon and stars in the sky were utterly ordinary.

Zheng Yi sat there until the early hours of the morning. When the second hand pointed to twelve, the ticking of the clock sounded no different than it had every second before. Zheng Yi looked out the window and saw a “meteor shower” suddenly streak diagonally across the sky. Elegant, silver-blue rays of light crisscrossed the night, like a chaotic cascade of starlight fragments.

A rare and beautiful sight.

Perhaps it was one she would only ever see once.

Zero One silently took a screenshot of the scene. If Zheng Yi succeeded, this image could become the CG illustration for the beginning of the apocalypse.

Zheng Yi offered no comment, even after the last silver-blue speck of light had vanished. She simply rinsed her mouth and went straight to bed.

[You’re just going to sleep?] Zero One was a bit stunned. It had thought Zheng Yi would do something.

“It’s late. If I don’t get a good rest, I won’t have the energy to welcome the apocalypse.”

Zheng Yi replied in her usual gentle manner. She closed her eyes and lay on the bed, looking just like Sleeping Beauty from a fairy tale. “Zero One, good night.”

[Good night.]

The next day, everything was as usual. No one realized what was about to happen. Most people were online discussing the once-in-a-millennium meteor shower from the previous night. The topic was trending, fueled solely by snapshots taken by night owls across the country.

It wasn’t until noon that a new search term exploded in popularity: “XXXX Murder Incident.”

At first, clicking on it, you could still see a video filmed by a bystander. The video was chaotic; you could hear people shouting and a cacophony of voices. In the center was a man, swaying as if drunk. His head was bowed, and he was muttering something unintelligible. He kept trying to charge forward and grab a woman who was surrounded by a crowd, while others tried to pull him away. A few screams rang out, and the camera began to shake violently. The shrieks were nearly loud enough to pierce one’s eardrums. When the camera focused on the man again, he was covered in blood, chewing on a bloody piece of flesh. He had a good Samaritan of unknown status pinned to the ground with both hands and was viciously tearing at the person’s artery. Blood pooled on the ground.

The surrounding crowd was terrified, but some helpful people still rushed forward to try and subdue him. However, the sound of police sirens soon followed, and the video ended there.

Zheng Yi scrolled through her phone, watching the video while she cooked wontons. The gore didn’t affect her in the slightest. By the time she had sprinkled seaweed, prepared the broth, and ladled the wontons into a bowl, the video had already been taken down.

A wave of panic erupted. Before the trending topic could even cool down, murder incidents began breaking out all over the country. It was as if these drunk-looking psychopaths had all conspired to take revenge on society on this very day, all emerging at once. The numbers… were terrifyingly high.

What was even more terrifying was that after a certain amount of time, the bodies of those who had been gnawed on also began to move. Some of them reanimated in emergency rooms, others in ambulances. In some cases, before the chaos had even ended, before people had completely fled in fear or the police had arrived, the person lying in a pool of blood would stagger back to their feet. Covered in blood, with flesh and bone exposed at their wounds, they would sway just like the initial attacker, letting out unintelligible, hoarse whispers as they charged at the people around them.

Chaos erupted.

“We interrupt this program with an emergency announcement:”

“A highly contagious virus is spreading rapidly.”

“All residents are advised to prepare at least two weeks’ worth of food and water. Unless absolutely necessary, please remain at home and await rescue.”

“Stay quiet. Do not scream.”

“It is extremely sensitive to the smell of blood.”

“If you are bitten, sever the wounded area immediately and disinfect it at once. Warning, warning! The above procedure does not guarantee you will avoid infection.”

A real-life Resident Evil? A novel’s apocalypse come true? A real zombie virus?

People fell into an unprecedented state of panic.

[No authorities will appear,] Zero One said. [The original work never described any official presence. Considering it was an unfinished, pure romance novel, the author probably never even established one.]

[Technology will vanish, and everything will regress. There are almost no large-scale weapons of mass destruction, and you can forget about nuclear weapons.]

[Zheng Yi, what are you going to do?]