PSW – Chapter 20

“Food…” Wang Youfei was momentarily speechless. Even though they’d been distant with Jiang Jue’s group for so long, they had never been cruel enough to hoard the food they found. They always shared it to ensure everyone’s basic survival.

And now?

Should they be grateful that Jiang Jue’s group at least left them some water?

If only they had known… if only they had known they were this kind of people, that they would do something like this…

But now, it was too late to say anything.

Li Yunhan clenched her fists, then forced herself to relax them. She took a deep breath and saw the husband turn his head slightly, not daring to meet their eyes, while his wife continued to cry as she soothed their child.

“You saw what they did, but you didn’t say a single word to us, did you?” Li Yunhan nodded with chilling calm. Good, very good. She didn’t want to hear any more excuses or tearful pleas. She saw the old grandmother standing to the side, looking a bit lost, and turned to hand her all the remaining cold medicine from her bag.

“You-you can’t…” the wife stammered, as if realizing something. Her tears wouldn’t stop.

“No, I can. We all can.” Li Yunhan pulled Yan Han and Wang Youfei over. She quickly divided their meager water supply, giving the couple a portion along with the last box of children’s cold medicine. Then, she gathered up everything else that was theirs-their clothes, backpacks, even some books.

“You can have this place. We’ve done all we can for you.” As she said this, Li Yunhan inexplicably thought of Zheng Yi-of the warning she’d given her before leaving, and the earnest look on her face when she’d told her, “I am a Saint.”

“The real Saint left long ago because of your foolishness and indifference.”

---

For some reason, Zheng Yi received another four Saint Points.

‘Can your system upgrade and improve itself? For the Saint Points module, can it determine who contributed them?’

[I’ll submit an application and see.] Zero One was also quite curious where these Saint Points were popping up from. Could it be that the gang leader, terrified of his stomach exploding, had started proselytizing for Zheng Yi again?

Host: Zheng Yi

Saint Points: 16

Inventory Slots: 5

Attribute Ability: Water

The temperature continued to drop. The feels-like temperature was around eleven degrees Celsius. While it hadn’t fallen to single digits or below zero yet, it was only a matter of time. A thin jacket was no longer enough to ward off the cold wind outside.

But the apocalypse had broken out in the summer.

The transition from summer to winter seemed to give people very little time to react.

At this rate, it wouldn’t be surprising if it started snowing in a few days.

‘Are zombies affected by low temperatures?’

[Temperatures below minus ten degrees will have a significant impact on ordinary zombies.] Zero One answered after checking the original novel. [The enhanced zombies are more resilient.]

[By the same token, high temperatures will accelerate the decomposition of ordinary zombies.]

Of course, in the later stages of the apocalypse, ordinary zombies became less and less relevant, reduced to mere cannon fodder with little threat or killing power.

The car’s wheels crushed an aluminum can. Swerving around two staggering zombies, Yu Yinan didn’t slow down, instead turning onto a side street and parking at the corner.

“There are a lot of clothing stores here. They should have some stock.” This kind of street was lined with all sorts of clothing shops selling lesser-known brands, many of which had off-season clearance sales. Before the apocalypse, you could even buy “trendy sneakers” here for 99, buy-one-get-one-free, that were officially priced at 999 online-and the quality was even better than the official product.

This street was a bit far from the residential area, though there was a small wet market nearby. Of course, it was now desolate, with nothing but debris left behind.

“Home goods and textiles…” But the roll-up security doors of many shops in this row were pulled down and locked.

“Jiejie, why don’t you wait in the car for a bit? Just let me handle it,” Zheng Yi said in a gentle and considerate tone, as if she didn’t want to expose Yu Yinan to any danger, or perhaps as if she was unwilling to trouble her with such trivial matters.

Yu Yinan paused, not even having had time to pull the keys from the ignition or suggest that her fire could probably melt the lock. Before she could say a word, she saw Zheng Yi open the car door and rush out. She took down the zombie wandering in front of the store with a single swing of her fire axe, and on the second swing, she brought it down on the roll-up door.

…The impact produced what could only be described as an earth-shattering clang.

“Wait, you probably can’t chop through-”

She chopped through it.

A very large gash.

By the time Yu Yinan had shut her car door and hurried over, Zheng Yi had already hacked an opening large enough for one person to enter.

Could awakening a special ability also grant such a massive boost in strength? For a moment, Yu Yinan felt a sense of confusion.

“Jiejie, the opening is too small, and that sound was really loud. It’s dangerous. I’ll go in and get things. You should go back to the car and wait; it’s safer there.” After a pause, as if remembering something, Zheng Yi added with a comforting smile, “There should be plenty of blankets in here.” Of course, even if there weren’t, there would be.

Yu Yinan was silent for a moment. Just as Zero One suspected she might complain, “You knew it would be loud, so why did you hit it?” she finally spoke. “Be careful. I’ll cover you from out here.” Such a loud noise would probably attract a lot of zombies, right? Thankfully, this wasn’t a densely populated area.

[You’re really not afraid she’ll think your persona is collapsing!]

‘She has to get used to my combat strength eventually.’

Besides, hadn’t she called her “Jiejie”? A Saint naturally couldn’t bear to see others in danger, so wasn’t it perfectly reasonable for her to charge to the front lines?

And if her persona did collapse, that was fine too, since it was Yu Yinan. A “collapse” of this degree could be quickly repaired, and she could even farm three more rounds of Saint Points from it.

‘You really can’t just put the goods in the truck for me?’ Zheng Yi entered the shop. The stirred-up dust made her squint in slight discomfort. She quickly grabbed some well-packaged quilts and four-piece bedding sets from the shelves. Each item had a man-made sticker with the price and size on its packaging.

[I really can’t.] Zero One sounded helpless. [Maybe after you’ve survived longer, or accumulated more Saint Points, I’ll be able to unlock more permissions and functions.] But for now, it was just a little system; she shouldn’t make things difficult for it.

Zheng Yi briefly inspected her choices, then handed out two four-piece sets and two thick winter quilts. The packaging boasted things like “100% Imported Wool” and “Class A Antibacterial.” Zheng Yi had chosen extra-thick winter quilts, which were vacuum-sealed and compressed in their bags, so it was hard to tell their actual size. She stuffed two sets into the back seat, then eyed the car roof. Finally, she added an extra rope, tied it together with the one from the motorcycle, and secured the well-packaged quilts on top.

The store also had cotton-filled quilts, the kind made from fluffed cotton, but they were heavier and unpackaged, held together only by string. After some consideration, Zheng Yi decided against carrying one of those out.

Next was the clothing store. But nearly every shop on this street sold summer clothes. Even the jackets they had were thin athletic types that offered little protection from the cold. Zheng Yi picked out a few jackets in her and Yu Yinan’s sizes, along with a few pairs of one-size-fits-all long pants.

She and Yu Yinan worked together to load the items into the car. Then they continued their search, walking down another street before finding a closed shop in a corner with a banner that read “Clearance Sale – Final Three Days.” Inside, they found lightweight, mid-length down jackets with a suggested retail price of 99.

And at that price, the tag even claimed 95% down filling.

Only black and white were left. Zheng Yi didn’t hesitate, packing them all up. As long as there was room in the back seat, she would stuff it full. If not, she’d tie them to the roof with the quilts.

If other cities managed to stabilize after the chaos, and if most of their infrastructure wasn’t crippled, they might be able to maintain basic production and daily life. Zheng Yi herself was a mobile water source and didn’t have to worry about food, so trading for thicker down jackets later shouldn’t be a problem. Even if she couldn’t trade for them, she could buy them with Saint Points and just lie to Yu Yinan that she’d traded for them.

“Let’s go! Jiejie, start the car.” Zheng Yi shoved the down jackets into the back seat, squeezing her own bag and the quilts in tighter. She casually picked up a rock from the ground and threw it at the roll-up doors of nearby shops, making continuous noise to draw the approaching zombies toward the storefronts.

Of course, some zombies still sensed the human presence and lunged at Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan with guttural roars. They were much faster than the ones foolishly drawn away by the rocks.

With one swing of her axe, Zheng Yi chopped off the attacking zombie’s grasping claws. The substance that oozed from the severed bone was not blood, but a black, viscous fluid. Zheng Yi cleanly decapitated the zombie. Yu Yinan had already started the car. The passenger door was open, and she focused her mind. In the next instant, scorching flames engulfed the zombies lunging from behind, the sound of sizzling fat filling the air.

A thin film of water shimmered on the axe blade, washing away the filth. Zheng Yi pulled open the car door and slid into the passenger seat. Just as she was about to close it, another zombie lunged forward with a shriek!

With a hiss, an almost invisible, high-pressure jet of water shot out with incredible speed, piercing through the zombie’s skull in an instant. Its cry was cut short as it fell limply in front of the car.

Yu Yinan didn’t even notice it. She spun the steering wheel, quickly accelerating away from the area.

[?! How did you do that?] Zero One could hardly believe its eyes.

‘An ultra-high-pressure water jet cutter. Haven’t you heard of it?’

[But how long has it been since you awakened your ability? I’ve barely even seen you practice…] Zero One was at a loss. It had assumed Zheng Yi planned to use her ability as a free source of drinking water. How had she turned it into a combat tool so directly?

Moreover, was Zheng Yi’s mental strength really enough to support such a maneuver? This wasn’t something you could replicate just by knowing the theory! Ability users weren’t that incredible! Even a lightning-type ability user couldn’t just casually fire off a railgun whenever they wanted!

‘Ah, so that’s what you’re concerned about, Zero One? Who knows, maybe I was a water ability user in my past life~’

How should it put this? The moment Zero One heard that tone, it knew this person was spouting nonsense with a straight face.

But did it dare to question, refute, or expose the lies Zheng Yi was feeding it?

It did not.