PSW – Chapter 2

From the very beginning, Zheng Yi had no intention of acting according to Zero One’s plan.

[Ding]

[Dear Zheng Yi, hello. This is the Saint Growth Plan System, Zero One. It is my pleasure to serve you.]

[Would you be willing to bind with the Saint Growth Plan System? I will provide you with assistance and accompany you through the coming apocalyptic disaster.]

Zheng Yi, who was in the middle of a Level 6 English practice test, didn’t even break her train of thought. She unhurriedly wrote down her answer before pulling over a scratchpad and flipping to a random page.

Hello, Zero One. Is the world about to end?

[…Yes.] Zero One had anticipated all sorts of reactions, but it had never expected this one. Still, how should it put it…

This piqued Zero One’s curiosity.

[You can communicate with me directly through your thoughts. There’s no need to write it down.]

‘Like this?’

[Yes.]

‘So, what is this Saint Growth System?’

[When you perform a “saintly act,” a judgment will be made. Once the system determines that your action aligns with the Saint persona, you can accumulate Saint Points.]

[Saint Points can be exchanged for various goods in the store. Whether it’s supplies that exist in this world or equipment and skills from games, as long as it’s in the store, you can redeem it with Saint Points.]

[Of course, there’s a more direct benefit. As soon as you bind, you will unlock the backpack template. As a starting bonus, you’ll receive three backpack slots, which can store three types of items. Items of the same type can be stacked, with a limit of ten per stack. You can also use Saint Points to expand your capacity.]

[Our system’s mission is: Please let the light of the Saint shine upon every corner of the wasteland!] Even for a seasoned veteran like Zero One, reciting this impassioned slogan brought a faint sense of embarrassment. Fortunately, Zheng Yi didn’t have much of a reaction.

‘In other words, I need to play the role of a Saint in the apocalypse, do what a Saint should do, and in return, I can earn Saint Points to buy items or improve myself?’

[That’s right.]

‘And, do the people I help have to genuinely believe I’m a Saint from the bottom of their hearts?’

[No, your actions are judged by the system. However, if others perceive you as a Saint, you will receive bonus Saint Points. This isn’t limited to the person you help; even a bystander who sees you helping someone and thinks you’re a Saint will count.]

‘But isn’t “Saint” kind of a derogatory term?’

[Not at all. Perhaps the concept of a “pseudo-saint” has stigmatized the word.] Zero One explained earnestly, [A true Saint is pure and good. They are selfless and enthusiastically help those in need. They are saints in the truest sense. The kind you’re thinking of are pseudo-saints. These people pretend to be saints and use moral blackmail to pressure others into sacrificing their own interests to save someone else—being generous at others’ expense. That kind of behavior does not meet the criteria.]

‘So, as long as I do it myself and make a personal sacrifice, it counts?’

[That’s a valid way to understand it.] Zero One thought for a moment before replying. The moment it finished, it heard a soft chuckle in its mind. It looked at the young woman doing her test and saw that, while multitasking, she had already finished the cloze section. The answers… were all correct?

Wasn’t Zheng Yi’s academic performance supposed to be average?

‘Being a Saint… sounds rather interesting.’

[…Perhaps.] None of Zero One’s previous hosts had ever reacted this way.

‘Does the store have everything? Even things that don’t exist in this world?’

[Yes, but there are some restrictions. However, most items from this world can be purchased as long as you have enough Saint Points. The apocalypse is coming, and the store can help you survive better in the wasteland.]

‘Can I know what type of apocalypse it will be?’

[The initial stage will involve zombies and global mutations. As for the future, I cannot say.]

Zheng Yi smiled, her eyes sparkling like stars, seemingly filled with curiosity about the future. How truly… exciting.

This world wasn’t so boring after all.

[Are you willing to sign a contract with me?]

‘What are the consequences if I do something that violates the Saint persona? You know, the apocalypse is full of dangers and unpredictability.’

[If it doesn’t have a major impact on your persona… for instance, if not too many people see it, occasionally breaking character won’t result in a penalty. Or if you can find a reasonable explanation that the system accepts, you won’t be punished either. Of course, particularly serious violations will result in a deduction of Saint Points. If your Saint Points become negative, you will receive a five-minute electric shock punishment. If your points are still negative after 120 hours, you will receive a second electric shock, this time for twenty minutes. After that, if your points remain negative, you will be shocked for twenty minutes every day at midnight.]

[If your Saint Points remain negative for half a year, our bond will be automatically severed. I will leave and retract all the abilities I’ve granted you. You won’t have to return any items you’ve already redeemed, but you will suffer a backlash, and we will extract twenty years of your lifespan.]

‘So, when I’m alone, I don’t have to maintain the Saint persona?’

[That’s right! After all, this is the apocalypse. If someone has ill intentions toward you or wants to kill you, you can lure them to a deserted place and kill them in self-defense. As long as no one sees, you won’t be breaking character.]

[Our store has many weapons you can use for self-defense.]

‘That’s wonderful. Zero One, you’re so considerate.’

[No, you’re too kind.] Zero One was having trouble getting a read on Zheng Yi’s personality. After some hesitation, it finally asked, [So, shall we form the contract? There’s still some time before the apocalypse breaks out on a large scale, so you can make more preparations.]

‘Of course. Will you assist me with all your heart from now on?’

[…Yes, I will be your most loyal partner.] Something seemed a little off, but then again, maybe not. Zero One spoke with a steady voice, finally and formally binding itself to Zheng Yi.

With a [Ding], it was done.

Its future life as a system should be perfectly normal… right? Zero One thought.

---

Zheng Yi soon stopped working on her practice test. She quickly packed up her things and began preparing for the apocalypse. First, she applied to her student counselor for off-campus housing.

Hmm, in an apocalypse, living off-campus might indeed be safer. The dorms were too crowded, and an outbreak would make escape difficult. Besides, she couldn’t hoard supplies freely in a dorm room.

Zero One had assisted many hosts; it was smart and dedicated. It would do its utmost to fulfill any of its host’s needs. But if the host had their own ideas, and those ideas didn’t seem to violate any rules in Zero One’s eyes… it generally wouldn’t interfere rashly with the host’s actions.

It just hadn’t expected Zheng Yi to be so assertive. This didn’t quite match her background check…

As for renting, Zheng Yi chose a walk-up apartment. These old buildings were relatively cheap, which made it easier for her to rent several units.

[You shouldn’t need this many apartments just to store supplies, right?]

When Zero One realized Zheng Yi intended to rent multiple adjacent apartments in the old residential complex, it couldn’t help but ask. Surely Zheng Yi wasn’t planning to live here alone for several years?

“I have my uses for them~” Zheng Yi cooed in a gentle voice, as if placating a child, offering no further explanation. She busied herself signing leases, all of them with one month’s deposit and one month’s rent upfront.

During this time, Zheng Yi didn’t keep the news of the impending apocalypse to herself. She posted warnings on various online channels, but not only did few people believe her, many even joined in to make memes. For example: “OP is right, I just killed the zombie king yesterday and woke up back in this timeline! Send me 50 bucks, and I’ll teach you my secret apocalypse techniques!”

None of this affected Zheng Yi’s mood. Zero One watched as she withdrew her savings to buy all sorts of daily necessities, packed them into an enormous box, and then stuffed that box into a single backpack slot. Three fully packed supply boxes filled all three of her slots. But Zheng Yi quickly emptied her backpack, stacking the supplies in a corner of the room.

As for weapons, Zero One watched Zheng Yi order a fire rescue axe and a tactical axe online, along with a multi-tool entrenching shovel. Then came a manganese steel tow chain, giant spikes, a sledgehammer, a riot shield, a helmet, a flashlight, a steel fork, a stab-proof vest, candles, cases of cooking oil, and so on…

The collection was miscellaneous and vast. A stream of delivery boxes flowed into Zheng Yi’s temporary apartment, along with many items she had bought from physical stores. Among them were many things Zero One couldn’t fathom why she would buy, but it wisely chose not to ask.

Zheng Yi continued to attend her classes as usual. Fortunately, she didn’t have many left, giving her ample time to work on her “renovations.”

Yes, renovations. Zheng Yi was renovating the apartment across the hall and the two upstairs, none of which she planned to live in.

And she was doing all the renovations herself.

[May I ask what… you are doing?]

Zero One was utterly dumbfounded as it watched Zheng Yi, who had cleared out the master and secondary bedrooms, drilling holes in the walls to fasten iron chains.

“It’s obvious, I’m preparing for the apocalypse~ Weren’t you the one who told me to accumulate more Saint Points?” Zheng Yi’s reply was frank and unabashed. “Of course, I also want to test a few things.”

“By the way, is the apocalypse like a time bomb? On that day, will everything just change completely?”

[Ah? Um… there will be an outbreak period. Once the infection starts, it will spread rapidly.] Zero One hesitated for a long while before finally asking, [Are… are you… a bit special?]

“Ah, special?” Zheng Yi’s movements paused. She slowly lifted her head and offered a smile. “Zero One, are you implying… that I’m not normal?”

!

This was not good!

For some reason, instinctively, Zero One felt threatened. [That’s not what I meant, it’s just, it’s just…]

“Just that I’m not quite like the humans you know in this world?”

[…] Zero One didn’t know how to respond. It answered stiffly, [Everyone is unique.]