“You-” The male protagonist’s curse was cut short as the fireball slammed into the snow in front of him, exploding with a roar. He nimbly scooped up the female protagonist, dodging the attack with a graceful flourish. Aside from the awkwardness of one foot, clad only in a black sock, landing in the snow, he could even be described as somewhat handsome. “Fine, don’t trade! If it weren’t for my principle of never fighting with women, hah!” He sneered, carefully setting the female protagonist down and waiting for her to steady herself. Then he stepped back into the shoe that had frozen and stuck to the ground, bent down, and yanked it forcefully out of the ice.
One was a fire ability user, and the other… ice? Or water?
“Stop it! You were the one with the bad attitude from the start. I already said we were the ones who needed something and were asking for a trade. We were asking for help, but you had to be like this.” The female protagonist frowned as she pulled the male protagonist aside, then offered an apology to Yu Yinan. “Let’s go. Are we going to keep bothering them while they’re trying to rest?”
“What was wrong with my tone? Or my attitude? This is just who I am, you know that. They’re the ones who don’t know what’s good for them!” the male protagonist huffed. He glanced back at Zheng Yi as the female protagonist dragged him toward the car. He didn’t resist, letting her pull him into the vehicle, and even sounded a little aggrieved. “I’m not even mad, so why are you mad at me? Are you going to get angry over something so small? Are you going to get mad at me for some outsiders? Don’t be like that.”
‘The original novel… never mind.’ Zheng Yi had considered checking the original text to see exactly what kind of brainless romance it was. How could a male lead like that survive until the author dropped the story? But thinking about the state of those two, even though Zheng Yi could coldly watch all sorts of jokes unfold, she didn’t want to subject herself to that kind of pollution for no reason.
The slightly better part was that the two didn’t insist on staying the night and leaving the next day. Zheng Yi watched them drive away. Once she confirmed they were gone, she turned and went back inside.
Just when Zheng Yi thought the matter was over and she could rest, she noticed Yu Yinan kept stealing glances at her.
Yu Yinan had originally thought that, given Zheng Yi’s personality, she would have been willing to give them the gasoline. But Zheng Yi hadn’t.
Zheng Yi was always willing to help any stranger in need, friendly to everyone. But this time, not only did she refuse, she did so firmly and even used her ability, causing that man to lose face completely.
Why? Yu Yinan really wanted to ask.
Perhaps what she really wanted to ask wasn’t that, but… was it because of her?
Zheng Yi could tell what Yu Yinan wanted to ask with a single glance. But what kind of answer would strike Yu Yinan’s heart most effectively?
“…Why?”
“What?” Zheng Yi seemed to pause for a moment, as if she didn’t understand what Yu Yinan was asking. But she quickly smiled and said, “Because the gasoline is our shared property, Jiejie and mine. Besides, his attitude toward Jiejie was so awful. Jiejie didn’t like him, so I don’t like him either.”
“And he actually wanted Jiejie’s motorcycle. How ridiculous.” Zheng Yi puffed out her cheeks slightly, as if she were genuinely angry. She looked into Yu Yinan’s eyes and said sincerely, “There’s no special reason. It’s just because Jiejie is the most important person to me.”
The warmth that came with such sincere, direct words was almost too high, nearly scorching the fire ability user. Yu Yinan met Zheng Yi’s gaze for an instant before looking away. She lowered her eyes, her heart warmed by the words.
They had only known each other for such a short time, yet she was already calling her the most important…
The most important…
“It’s late. Let’s get some rest.” She couldn’t describe the feeling in her heart at that moment. It was just a strange, warm sensation that made her a little scared, yet she found herself indulging in it. Was this how good friends, good sisters, interacted? As if trying to escape, she changed the subject.
‘What are the male and female protagonists’ special abilities?’
[The male protagonist’s ability is a bit special. You can think of it as a transformation type. He can manifest a set of medieval-style knight’s armor and a long spear. His physical attributes are greatly enhanced, and he receives some benefits even when not wearing the armor.] Zero One said. [The female protagonist’s ability is a personal storage space.]
‘So the abilities in this apocalypse aren’t all elemental control types?’
[Correct.] Zero One said. [And according to the original novel’s setting, ability users can also acquire a second special ability. It’s just that the author focused so heavily on the romance that the story was dropped before the protagonists developed their second abilities.]
A personal storage space… Zheng Yi opened the system store and did a quick search. She found that special abilities in the store were divided into tiers. For example, a beginner-level personal storage space was only ten cubic meters and couldn’t store living things. Even so, it cost 500 Saint Points.
Zheng Yi’s assessment: Might as well just get more backpack slots.
She sighed. Yu Yinan had already cleaned up the instant noodle containers from the table. “This sofa can be slept on. You can sleep on the sofa tonight.” A sofa was much more comfortable than the floor.
“We can move this sofa over too and push them together,” Zheng Yi said, immediately pushing the other sofa out. A film of water covered its surface, cleaning away the dust and stains from the surface and crevices. Then Zheng Yi spread a sheet over it. “See! It might be a little cramped, but at least we won’t fall off~”
Yu Yinan smiled helplessly. In the end, she couldn’t win against Zheng Yi. She lay down with her, silently warming the blanket for her.
Three days later.
The temperature plummeted, making it nearly impossible for ordinary people to survive outdoors. Heavy snow and frigid winds swept across the world. Even though their region wasn’t particularly far north, the temperature had dropped to a terrifying minus thirty-five degrees Celsius.
At this temperature, cars could still start, but it took longer and consumed more fuel. What truly prevented them from continuing their journey was the incessant blizzard. And a warning from Zero One.
[This should be the post-apocalyptic deep freeze.] Zero One said grimly. [The temperature will continue to drop. This isn’t the limit yet! The snow and wind won’t stop either.]
According to the original novel, most of humanity died during this cold wave. However, some people were stimulated by the extreme cold, awakening special abilities on the brink of death and saving their own lives.
This first round of extreme cold wouldn’t last long. After a few days, the temperature would rise again. Of course, it wouldn’t stay normal for long. A torrential downpour would follow, and then the temperature would continue to climb, soaring to over forty degrees Celsius, even breaking fifty. The days would grow longer, and the scorching sun would bake the earth. Such extreme weather patterns wouldn’t last for extended periods. Perhaps it was a chance for humanity to adapt and evolve?
The only benefit this extreme weather brought to humanity was that it would also kill off a good number of ordinary zombies.
Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan stopped traveling. They found an abandoned hotel and parked their car in the underground garage.
“I wonder how Li Yunhan and the others are doing.” The room had been cleaned until it was spotless. Zheng Yi sat on the bed, wrapped in a thick blanket, unwilling to take even a single step off it. She gazed at the heavy, goose-feather snow falling outside the dim window, sighed suddenly, and said, “That couple, and that tiny baby. And the old grandma who already had a fever… How are they going to survive this winter?”
Yu Yinan, who was using her ability to heat water, froze. She looked out the window at the gloomy, oppressive sky, where countless snowflakes drifted down, endless, as if they meant to bury the entire world.
Those who had been enhanced should be able to endure and survive. Those who had gained special abilities could also make it through. But what about ordinary people? What about the children? How many ability users were there who would willingly protect ordinary people?
How many living people were left in this world now…
Just thinking about it for a moment made it hard for Yu Yinan to breathe, as if an invisible hand were squeezing her heart, causing her pain.
“That emergency notice told us to wait for rescue,” Yu Yinan said suddenly, as if comforting Zheng Yi, and also herself. “Even if they don’t have the resources to carry out rescues, they must have been able to build a safe house, a base, to shelter the public as best they can.”
Maybe, with the help of ability users, some places had already restored their power and water?
‘They really have to be in love even at the end of the world.’ Zheng Yi thought of the original novel and scoffed at Zero One. ‘Could the reason the world’s incubation failed be that all of humanity died out in the end, leaving only the male and female protagonists?’
[…The point where the original story was dropped hadn’t reached that stage yet.] Zero One said. [But the subsequent development is unknown, with infinite possibilities. Our existence is to ensure the world’s successful incubation.]
‘Does this world have to be centered around humanity?’ Zheng Yi’s mental voice was slightly lazy. ‘To the world itself, humans are just one species among many, nothing special. The extinction of humanity would be no different from the extinction of any other species in the past, right?’
[…But the world was created by a person, sprouted and incubated from a romance novel they wrote.] Zero One said. [At least for this world, humans are very important. Of course, once it fully matures, it doesn’t matter if it changes its mind. That would have nothing to do with us.]
“Zheng Yi?”
Yu Yinan’s call brought Zheng Yi back to her senses. She looked up, a little absentmindedly, then broke into a sweet smile the next instant. “What’s wrong?”
For a moment, Zero One was a little afraid that Zheng Yi had grown tired of constantly pretending in front of Yu Yinan. Given Zheng Yi’s personality… Zero One was terrified that Zheng Yi might just snap Yu Yinan’s neck.
“Have some hot water.” Yu Yinan had wanted to tell Zheng Yi not to be sad, but saying it directly didn’t seem very comforting, and she didn’t know what else to say. She passed over the warm cup. After waiting for Zheng Yi to take it securely with both hands, she let go, then took off her down jacket and sat on the bed. She moved closer to Zheng Yi, using her ability to raise the surrounding temperature.
Zheng Yi gently blew on the hot steam. The swirling mist rose, and through it, her dark, moist eyes watched Yu Yinan. Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, the sorrow on her brow lingering before dissolving into a soft sigh.
“Jiejie…”
“Will you always believe in me and stand firmly by my side?”
Yu Yinan was stunned. She didn’t understand why Zheng Yi had suddenly asked such a question. The topic just now was-
Zheng Yi’s fingertips were pink from the cold. Now, holding the cup, she looked at her, appearing so pitiful and delicate through the soft mist. The tip of her nose was slightly red. She lowered her eyes with great unease, her fingers tightening around the cup.
“I will. We’re good friends, aren’t we?” Yu Yinan’s heart softened. Even though Zheng Yi had always been full of energy in front of her, even though she was a powerful fighter who always wanted to protect and help others, Zheng Yi was still a young girl who needed protection herself. She could also feel fear and unease, get hurt and bleed, and feel pain. “I’ll be with you.”
In an apocalypse as hopeless as this, where you never knew what tomorrow would bring, she felt very lucky to have met Zheng Yi.
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