Apocalypse Star House Hoarding-Chapter 159

He wasn’t Lin Wu.
Lin Wu’s weapon wasn’t a faint golden sword—or rather, none of the taskers she’d seen used such a sword. Lin Wu’s bound weapon was a black iron staff, never a shape-shifting sword.
Lin Wu also had spatial storage. Even if he couldn’t carry the wheelchair, he wouldn’t have casually left it behind; he would have stored it away.
Finally, Lin Wu and Ya Tong had both appeared in their respective injured bodies before. Yet, once they regained consciousness, neither had shown any sign of being affected by their physical ailments.
In other words, when taskers take over, their own health replaces the condition of the native body.
But this man? He had fainted after summoning a single shield and weapon.
Yu Xi had checked earlier; he was truly unconscious. If he were a hidden enemy, he’d be remarkably incompetent—fainting before accomplishing anything. Still, that didn’t completely rule out the possibility of him being aligned with the enemy.
After all, this might just be another tactic to confuse her.
Most importantly, he knew about the acid rain apocalypse and what happened to her there.
Back in that world, the increased difficulty had been orchestrated by the System Tower. If he were a tasker from the Tower, he might have learned of it somehow. But Lou Rui had said that the System Tower couldn’t interfere with or know too many details…
Thinking it through, Yu Xi decided there was no need for subtlety.
First, she ruled out the very slim possibility that he was an evolved blood ghoul.
Then came direct confrontation.
At this moment—
The man raised his head to look at her.
This body had been running a fever earlier, and having just awoken from fainting, his already pale, thin face looked even more sickly. There was an odd harmony to the contrast between his frail, indifferent demeanor and his striking, refined features.
Yu Xi frowned. If he were truly Lin Wu, he wouldn’t look this calm right now.
“This body is part of your mission, isn’t it? Be careful not to damage it; there’s still a few months left,” he said in a flat tone.
The words sent alarm bells ringing in Yu Xi’s mind.
How could he know about her mission? Was he the “it” Lou Rui had mentioned?
Seeing her heightened tension, the man seemed to realize she was barking up the wrong tree.
“I’m not from the System Tower,” he said before closing his eyes.
The next moment, a familiar, cold voice echoed in her mind.
[It’s me.]
Yu Xi:
!!??
“S-System?”
He opened his eyes again and nodded at her.
“You can enter mission worlds? And even inhabit native bodies?” Yu Xi stared at him, unable to fully believe what she was seeing.
Noticing her disbelief, he began to speak slowly:
“In the first world, you regretted not bringing a tablet to stream shows while eating grilled meat.”
“….”
“In the second world, you looked at a tied-up zombie and thought of steamed crabs.”
“….”
“Every time you stockpile supplies, your mood visibly improves…”
“Enough, enough!” Yu Xi covered her forehead. “I believe you’re my system, okay? Just stop.”
“…”
Yu Xi put away her ice swords and stepped back, releasing the pressure from his legs. Her gaze roamed up and down as though studying a rare animal. “So… you’re artificial intelligence?”
“…”
“Your voice used to sound neutral. When you were created, were you assigned a gender? Female? Male?”
“…”
“Do you have a name? What should I call you? Brother System? Sister System? Just System?”
“…”
Yu Xi smiled. This unresponsive demeanor—who else could it be but her system?
“Don’t get hung up on such trivialities,” he finally replied.
Yu Xi suddenly realized that as her system, he could hear her thoughts and inner monologues even if she didn’t speak them out loud. In the past, when he existed only as a voice and mostly stayed silent, she could tolerate it.
But now, standing before her in human form, able to move, speak, and observe her, the idea of being completely exposed felt far less tolerable.
In the end, Yu Xi spent 20 star coins to activate a 30-day Thought Shield function. For the next 30 days, unless she actively called out to him in her mind, he wouldn’t be able to hear her thoughts.
Yu Xi actually had more questions she wanted to ask, but seeing the man looking so weak that he might faint again, she held back for now. She told him to freshen up in the bathroom while she washed her hands and set out breakfast on the dining table.
The revelation that this wasn’t Lin Wu but her own system in human form had significantly lifted her mood.
No wonder he had said he’d awaken the true consciousness of Yu Zhengqing upon leaving. It was entirely different from how System Tower taskers operated when they exited.
System Tower was more about suppression and exploitation, never treating the native inhabitants as real people. Even though these mission worlds were based on novels or two-dimensional audiovisual creations, as long as you were inside them, you could clearly feel the real warmth, emotions, and humanity of the people.
To Yu Xi, these worlds were real.
She particularly appreciated the words of the Star House System when it spoke of Yu Zhengqing, saying he was only “temporarily resting” and would be awakened later. Those words gave her both reassurance and a sense of warmth.
With gratitude in her heart, Yu Xi meticulously arranged the food. When “Yu Zhengqing” emerged again, the table was brimming with breakfast options.
There was scallion oil noodles prepared by her parents, chicken soup wontons they had made together, vegetable porridge, a light cucumber and black fungus salad, freshly squeezed orange juice, and homemade ham-and-cheese sandwiches.
All the food was made by Yu Xi herself, ensuring cleanliness, nutrition, and health.
The man’s gaze silently swept across the table of food. “…”
“Have breakfast. Take whatever you like. I’ll pack the rest,” she said.
He visibly relaxed and picked a bowl of vegetable porridge and some cucumber and black fungus salad. Yu Xi chose chicken soup wontons for herself, along with an order of crab roe soup dumplings she’d bought, and ate them together.
Outside the City
After a night of bloody chaos, the city lay in ruins. The streets were littered with scattered bloodstains and fragments of human remains.
No matter how bright the sunshine or how clear the sky, nothing could alleviate the sense of devastation and despair.
In the buildings that still stood, the fortunate survivors were those who had locked their doors and windows tightly, creating no light or sound throughout the night.
The blood ghouls had erupted in Zhoucheng on a large scale. By morning, many survivors realized that while the chaos on the streets had subsided, bloodstained figures still crouched in the shadowy corners of hallways outside their doors.
These creatures had spent the previous night breaking into homes, guided by light and sound, leaving a trail of merciless slaughter. Now, they were momentarily dormant.
Some clever individuals quickly identified the nocturnal habits of the infected. However, even with this knowledge, most people couldn’t escape. Any sound could awaken the slumbering infected.
At this early stage of the apocalypse, many households still had ample food and water. Some took the opportunity to reinforce doors and windows with cabinets and tables.
Most people couldn’t think too far ahead; they only knew that the world outside had changed drastically. Staying indoors felt like the safest option, even though the streets outside seemed devoid of infected.
Thankfully, rescue teams soon appeared across the city. They had been battling the infected all night, their protective suits and masks now smeared with blood.
The government had been preparing but had underestimated the speed of the infection’s spread.
The news replayed a pre-recorded video on a loop. A solemn broadcaster explained the infection stages and symptoms, warning the public to remain vigilant if family or friends displayed any signs of infection.
“…Currently, there is no effective treatment for this infection. If someone around you exhibits these symptoms, call for help immediately. If emergency services are unavailable, restrain and isolate them in a confined space.”
In a living room, a family huddled on the couch in silent tears. The chairs and furniture were overturned, and a bedroom door nearby was tightly shut. It was locked, tied with clothes, and barricaded by a large cabinet.
Behind that door, in a wardrobe, their father—now in the second stage of infection—was confined.
When he began scratching his skin and crying in pain the night before, Min Min had knocked him unconscious with a baseball bat. Together with her tearful mother and younger brother, they tied him up and locked him away.
Despite their precautions, his occasional movements inside the wardrobe echoed ominously, weighing heavily on their hearts.
The news anchor continued:
“…Refuge zones have been established on the eastern outskirts of the city and near Pian Mountain. Healthy individuals should evacuate during the day, bringing ID, food, water, and weapons. Infected individuals should remain at home and await specialized rescue.”
In her private hospital room, Yu Xi glanced at the map of the refuge zones displayed on the television.
She turned to the man resting on the couch. “Do you want to go to a refuge zone?”