Yu Yinan stayed for the time being. Once the rain stopped and they could assess the situation, Zheng Yi would travel with her.
[Are you really planning to leave? What about the zombies in those houses?]
‘Don’t worry, I’ll send them on their way before we leave.’ Zheng Yi replied mentally. ‘I can even recite a prayer for their passage. It doesn’t matter if the system is unwilling to judge it as a saintly act. Consider it my free farewell gift to them.’
[…Alright, as long as you have a plan.] Zero One said no more. It was already used to Zheng Yi’s strange way of thinking.
[By the way, I’ve sent you the files. Look them over when you have time.]
Zheng Yi acknowledged it and pulled out a huge hiking backpack. She packed up the unorganized pots and pans, some food and water, and some simple clothes. As for the large batch of supplies already loaded onto the truck, she didn’t want to reveal that ability just yet.
A Saint, after all, had to play the part. When everyone was short on food and water, and you yourself didn’t have enough, only by giving away your own share would others think you were a truly good person—too kind, too saintly. If others knew you had no worries about food and drink, even if you supplied them with food and water every day, they would just think you were tossing them the scraps you didn’t feel like eating. They might not be grateful at all, and could even think you were too stingy.
‘Zero One, can you only be a Saint Growth System?’
[Yes. And since the two of us are maintaining this world, the main system won’t send any other branch systems to interfere.] Zero One said. [System resources are also very tight.]
Zheng Yi sank into the sofa, her whole body relaxing. She glanced up at Yu Yinan, who was standing by the window looking down, and mentally opened the files Zero One had sent, quickly scanning through them.
It seemed her future life would have to revolve around Saint Points. First, she had to firmly establish her Saint persona in front of Yu Yinan to gain her trust and lay the groundwork for future actions.
‘Tsk.’
[What’s wrong?]
‘I didn’t realize. She’s quite a pitiful thing.’ Zheng Yi mused in her mind.
[To be honest, I don’t quite understand. After being treated like that, and with no contact for so long, why would she suddenly have expectations now that the apocalypse has started, and risk coming all this way?]
‘Maybe she came to extinguish that last sliver of foolish hope?’
[But she looks so sad.] Zero One couldn’t help but say. [Especially last night. Like a poor, abandoned puppy.]
‘Oh~ It’s not the first day she’s been abandoned. Some people mistakenly believe that time heals past wounds, so they avoid confronting them. But when a long time has passed and they face the issue again with undue expectations, they find the wound hurts even more.’
‘But that’s alright. Perhaps this is the beginning of true healing.’
[So you’re going to heal her?]
‘As if. It doesn’t give me Saint Points.’ Zheng Yi’s body relaxed further into the sofa, her breathing growing soft and steady. ‘Let her heal herself.’
Clearly, it was time for Zheng Yi to catch up on sleep. Even though she hadn’t stayed up all night, that didn’t stop her from dozing off again. After all, with the sky dark, the temperature cool, and only the continuous sound of rain in her ears, it was the perfect weather for a nap.
Zheng Yi napped until noon. When she woke up, she saw that Yu Yinan had moved a chair to the window and was still sitting there, quietly watching the rain outside.
Compared to yesterday’s downpour, the rain had weakened considerably and showed signs of stopping.
‘She’s just been sitting there?’
[She glanced at you a few times. After seeing you were sound asleep, she moved the chair to the window and hasn’t moved since.]
“You’re awake?”
“Mhm~ Jiejie, have you been sitting here the whole time? Aren’t you tired? You can go rest on the bed for a while.” Zheng Yi stretched and sat up from the sofa. She got up and walked toward the bedroom. “Jiejie, don’t worry. After such a long downpour in an old neighborhood like this, the area will be flooded for a while longer.”
“Here, have this.” When Zheng Yi came back out, she was holding a chocolate bar. She pressed it into Yu Yinan’s hand, met her gaze sincerely, and smiled. “Jiejie, you don’t seem to be in a good mood. Eating something sweet might cheer you up~ Although we’ve only just met, I believe we’ll be spending a lot of time together in the future. When that time comes, if you’re willing, I’ll always be here to share your burdens.”
Before Yu Yinan could refuse, Zheng Yi quickly returned to the room. When she came out again, she was carrying a set of pillows and a quilt. She placed them on the sofa, then went to pull Yu Yinan up. “Jiejie, why don’t you sleep in the room tonight? I’ve changed the sheets and everything to new ones~”
“It’s not convenient to take these things with us, so let’s enjoy them while we can.”
Overwhelmed by Zheng Yi’s enthusiasm, Yu Yinan barely had a chance to speak. She seemed a bit dazed. “N-No, you don’t have to… do this for me. This is your home. I-I’m just…”
“It’s precisely because this is my home that I’ve been sleeping so well~ Jiejie, you must be exhausted after rushing over in such terrible weather. Alright, no more refusing. If you could, just take care of me and protect me a little more in the future, okay?”
[Are you sure you need protection?] Zero One finally couldn’t hold back. But clearly, Zheng Yi paid it no mind and continued her immersive performance.
How should one put it? Zero One wasn’t sure how effective this method would be on others, but against Yu Yinan… it was devastatingly effective.
“Thank you.” Yu Yinan’s expression softened. She spoke softly, her fingers unconsciously tightening their grip, and even the tips of her ears turned red. “I will protect you.”
To this, Zheng Yi simply responded with a brilliant and radiant smile.
The light rain drizzled on until it stopped around midnight. The next morning, the sun peeked out before six.
By noon, Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan were ready. They ate some crackers and bread to fill their stomachs and prepared to leave.
“Should I carry that?” Yu Yinan offered, looking at Zheng Yi’s huge hiking backpack with a pot deliberately tied to it. It looked far too heavy.
“It’s okay, Jiejie. I’m not that delicate~” Zheng Yi said with a sweet laugh, effortlessly hoisting the large backpack onto her shoulders without any sign of strain. “Are we taking the motorcycle? Will my luggage be hard to store?”
“It’ll fit, but it might be uncomfortable for you to wear it,” Yu Yinan said. “Is there anything else you need to bring?”
“Hmm… I don’t think so.” Zheng Yi glanced back at the apartment she had lived in for less than a month, then at the unit across the hall. She didn’t bother looking up toward the apartment upstairs; there were no more zombie-shaped Saint Point tools in these buildings anyway. Even the barrel of rainwater downstairs had been secretly retrieved by Zheng Yi in the middle of the night and placed in her truck.
And as for the physical purification, even when accompanied by a prayer for the dead, and no matter how emotionally invested Zheng Yi’s performance was, the system remained stubbornly stingy, awarding her nothing.
Host: Zheng Yi
Saint Points: 12
Inventory Slots: 4
Special Ability: Water
Downstairs, the rainwater on the motorcycle had completely dried. Yu Yinan carefully wheeled the bike out of the corridor, put on her helmet, and got the engine started on the second try. She steadied the bike and let Zheng Yi climb on behind her. The large backpack rubbed against the motorcycle’s rear storage box, so Zheng Yi simply placed the whole thing on top of the box and wrapped her arms around Yu Yinan’s waist. “Jiejie, I’m ready~”
Yu Yinan’s body stiffened for a moment, but she forced herself to relax. “First, we’ll go to a nearby gas station to fill up, then we’ll scavenge for some supplies along the way.”
“As for our destination… I plan to head to Genbin first. The initial emergency notice seemed to come from there, so I think the situation might be better, and they might have some countermeasures in place.” Yu Yinan was recalling the route. It wasn’t too far from Qiding to Genbin, and there were a few gas stations along the way for refueling. The only problem was that while her motorcycle was convenient for navigating small roads, finding a place to rest at night would be a challenge.
Moreover, the motorcycle was too loud and would attract zombies all along the way. If they stopped… it would be very dangerous. The last time, she had happened to run into a downpour. The sound of the rain had interfered with the zombies’ hearing, and that particular rain was unusual, so it hadn’t drawn too many of them together.
If possible, they needed to find a working car on the road.
Zheng Yi had no objections to Yu Yinan’s decision. She just obediently held onto the woman’s waist, resting her head against her back as the wind whistled past her ears.
‘Is the military stationed in Genbin?’ After all, the emergency notice had come from there.
[For certain unspeakable reasons, the original novel had no descriptions of that whatsoever.] Zero One said, then couldn’t resist complaining, [But given that the original was just a poorly-ended romance novel, it wouldn’t have made a difference even if it was included.]
‘The original didn’t mention it, but it should still exist objectively, right?’
[Not necessarily. The world’s structure is based on the original novel. When something doesn’t appear in the source material at all, it’s possible that some accident was arranged during the world’s generation to rationalize its absence.] Zero One sighed. This was its first time in this book, so it didn’t have much experience, let alone answers for Zheng Yi. [If there really is a military district, the situation there might be even worse.]
[If these zombies never evolved, they would probably decompose naturally in twenty or thirty years. But clearly, they are evolving.]
‘Humans are evolving too. Tsk, this is getting more and more interesting.’
[Other creatures are too, but compared to the probability of evolution in humans and zombies, their chances are pitifully low.] Zero One said. [It’s for the best that you can find some fun in this.]
As long as the host wasn’t slacking off, Zero One thought it was for the best! Heaven knew what a mother hen it had to be after accidentally binding to a salted fish host last time. A salted fish that couldn’t even be bothered to flip over was not at all compatible with the Saint Growth Plan.
The motorcycle roared down the street, the buildings on both sides receding rapidly. After they left, many zombies staggered out of the buildings, slowly converging and running in the direction of the sound.
A small portion of the zombies, whose flesh had been completely rotten and sloughed off to reveal bone, had miraculously begun to recover after the downpour. Their movements had also quickened to varying degrees. Among the zombies chasing them now, a few were able to sprint at the front, while most were left far behind.
