When Yu Xi regained consciousness, she found herself standing in front of a large matte black door. She took out her phone from her original world, which displayed the time as 00:00 on November 7th. The phone didn’t show the seconds, so the time remained at 0 for less than a minute. However, if there had been a clock showing the seconds, she knew the second hand wouldn’t be pointing at 0 when she regained consciousness but at 3.
This indicated that she had stayed in the apocalyptic world for a full three years. As she had once said, even if the system announced the task was completed, she wouldn’t necessarily leave immediately. Back then, she indeed chose not to end the task and leave right away…
…
“Do you wish to leave the current apocalyptic world?” The Star House system asked again because she hadn’t responded.
Yu Xi: “Lou Rui is a tasker, isn’t he?”
“Yes.”
Yu Xi: “So now that Lou Rui has completed his task, he must have already left this world, right?”
“Yes.”
Yu Xi: “Then why didn’t you answer when I asked you before?”
“Host’s question phrasing was different.”
Yu Xi didn’t quite understand: “So, if not for this coincidence, this Shelter 28 might never have appeared?”
“Host, currently there are already Shelter 1 to 12 in the country. The appearance of Shelter 28 is a matter of time. The activation and naming of the refuge card was an accident and also a chance.”
Yu Xi: … “Alright, as long as you’re happy.”
Yu Xi: “Did Lou Rui come from the same original world as me?”
“Out of scope, unable to answer.”
This system is truly infuriating. It only answered questions she had almost guessed the answers to, but whenever she asked key questions, the system would play dead. However, now wasn’t the time to dwell on this matter; she had another decision to make quickly.
Yu Xi: “You previously mentioned that if I choose to leave now, the characters in this world will continue to live according to their existing trajectories. What does this include? Their personalities? Combat skills? The Star House storage?”
“After the host leaves, the default is to sever the connection with this apocalyptic world. The characters’ personalities and combat skills will remain. Items taken out of the Star House storage by the host will remain. All other items stored in the Star House storage will return to the original world with the host.”
As Yu Xi had expected, the Star House storage couldn’t remain intact after she left. Otherwise, in the last apocalyptic world, the items in the storage wouldn’t have been untouched after her departure.
Yu Xi turned to look at the RV, where the sound of a TV drama could be heard. Recently, her parents had been engrossed in an ancient tragic romance series, discussing the plot even during meals. Under the canopy between the RV and the tree, her father had hung a clothesline with their family’s clothes fluttering in the wind.
A month ago, the military had reclaimed a suburban water plant from the zombies, re-employed staff, and strengthened the fortifications, finally restoring the water plant to production. Now, all the water supply within the wetlands had been restored. Although water usage was still limited each day due to supply issues, it was a significant improvement from the days when everyone counted milliliters for washing clothes and hair.
The previously protected farms and fields had now yielded various fruits and vegetables. The shelter had introduced a point system for completing tasks, which could be exchanged for food and other supplies. Life seemed to be gradually improving. Everyone was working hard, and each small achievement boosted their morale.
How could she leave at such a promising time?
She had plenty of time, even if it took years. With her current balance of over a hundred star coins, she could purchase four [Strong Anti-Glycation Pills] to max out her physical abilities if needed. She believed she could handle any challenge that came her way.
After a moment’s thought, Yu Xi made her decision.
Yu Xi: “I choose not to leave the apocalyptic world for now.”
[World Task Refreshed!]
[World Task: 1. Kill 0/1000 zombies (reward: 100 star coins). 2. Fulfill the wish of the world character’s parents to ‘return home’ (reward: 100 star coins). Failing the task will not result in death. You can leave the apocalyptic world anytime when not in combat.]
“Wow~” Yu Xi couldn’t help but whistle. Indeed, fortune favors the bold. These two extra tasks could earn her a total of 200 star coins.
The first task seemed easier to complete, but for the second one, she needed to have a good talk with her parents to understand their true wishes. If their wish was to return to their original home in S City, it could be done, but it might take many years.
Fortunately, for her parents, home was more about the people than the place. Once she knew their wish, Yu Xi began taking on outside tasks. With the shelter now protected by a barrier, making the area around Lou’s current residence absolutely safe, and with Lou’s family watching over them, Yu Xi felt secure leaving her parents for a few days to complete tasks.
Upon confirming with the system that the enhanced physical effects of the [Strong Anti-Glycation Pill] would carry over to the original world, she purchased one for 20 star coins.
After using it twice, her physical attributes had increased from 100 to 225 units. However, considering her months of combat and training in this world, her physical condition was likely between 235 and 240 units.
This meant her running speed, strength, and jumping ability were all more than double that of an average person. Compared to a normal adult male, she could easily take on six or seven people at once.
Over six months, she intermittently took on tasks, accumulating enough points to secure a permanent residence for her parents on Island 7 — a modest single-story house with a small south-facing courtyard. Because it was not suitable for large families, it had remained vacant.
“Mom, Dad, we can’t return to the original city for now. Even if it’s cleared, it won’t return to its former state for at least two or three years. This place is different. The fourteen islands of the wetland park are fully developed, with surrounding areas flourishing with plantations, farms, and factories. Given time, this will become the new city center. Let’s make our home here, okay?”
Her parents, looking at the clean and bright house, wiped their eyes and said, “Okay, from now on, this will be our home.”
They then moved all their belongings out of the RV, ending their ten-month journey and returning to a house, resuming a life similar to before the apocalypse.
Yu Xi thoroughly cleaned the RV and stored it in the Star House storage during one of her outings. To fit it in, she had to first place some daily necessities and storable items like rice, mineral water, and convenience foods in their new home. Then, she packed the RV with as many items as possible before storing it.
Later, she found a reasonably good large SUV, cleaned it, and brought it back to the wetland park for her father to use as a mode of transport.
In the following two years, Yu Xi monitored her zombie kills while continuing to take on various tasks to earn points. Because the protective barrier eliminated the zombie virus within its range, making it absolutely safe, she planned to earn enough points to ensure her parents’ expenses at the safe base before leaving.
She had previously observed the “Lou Rui” closely. He exhibited no differences from before — his manner of speaking, reaction time, expressions, and habits were identical. This gave her enough confidence in the “Yu Xi” who would remain after her departure.
Over the two years, she accompanied the military units to several zombie-infested city ruins, learning to use real guns and submachine guns. After several life-and-death missions, the officer of the unit eventually gifted her the guns she had used.
Whenever conditions allowed, she sneaked into various jewelry and jade shops, collecting gold, diamonds, and jade, which now filled a one-and-a-half cubic meter storage box in her Star House storage. These items would be far more valuable in peacetime than directly collecting supplies.
In addition, she gathered a significant amount of medicine and disposable medical supplies, stocking up on a variety of drugs, including some restricted ones, filling two cubic meter storage boxes.
Indeed, as people often say, chaos always brings both cruelty and opportunity.
The day before leaving, she held a barbecue in the courtyard with her parents, inviting the Lou family, Leng Mian, Zhao Zheng, and several familiar comrades from the army. She took out a variety of meats: pork belly, tenderloin, marbled beef, ox tongue, beef ribs, lamb chops, chicken wings, and prawns. She also had various seasonings: barbecue sauce, cumin powder, black pepper sauce, and a variety of side dishes: fresh lettuce, sweet cucumbers, crunchy carrots, and garlic cloves.
The pork belly sizzled on the grill, and the air was filled with the aroma of barbecue. The meal lasted several hours, filled with games and laughter. Yu Xi even brought out a box of spicy strips from the small room in the Star House storage, containing 50 small packs.
Although the wetland park had developed various resources well, due to the environment and priority levels, most development was focused on planting and breeding. Processed snacks like spicy strips were rare and in high demand, so the box of spicy strips was a delightful surprise.
After dinner, she personally said goodbye to everyone. Leng Mian seemed to sense something and kept looking back as she left. She eventually ran back to Yu Xi and said, “Xiao Xi, I’ve officially enlisted. In a few days, I’ll join the frontline troops to reclaim S City.”
“Be careful and come back safely. Everyone is waiting for you here,” Yu Xi replied.
Leng Mian looked at her and asked, “You too?”
“I’ll always be here,” Yu Xi assured her. “She” would continue living based on her established trajectory. But as Yu Xi looked at Leng Mian, she felt reluctant to part with her after these three years.
Yu Xi extended her arms and gave Leng Mian her first hug in three years. “Good luck with your mission. We’ll be waiting for you.”
On the day of her departure, Yu Xi and her parents made dumplings at home. There were chive and egg dumplings for her, cabbage and pork dumplings for her mother, and her father was washing the hotpot ingredients for dinner. The TV was playing a modern urban family drama.
That evening, she filled the fridge and cupboards with various foods: vegetables, fish, meat, eggs, milk, fruit, drinks, dried goods, and snacks. She also left enough rice, flour, and convenience foods in the small room to last her parents a year or two, along with several 50-liter barrels of spare gasoline.
Finally, she placed the island pass containing all her earned points on the table and whispered to her reflection in the mirror, “Please, take good care of them.”
[Second post-apocalyptic world mission completed. Total star coins: 276.]
[Next mission will begin at midnight on the 7th of next month. Please collect world data by midnight on December 6th.]
After buying the Strong Anti-Glycation Pills, she had also purchased two High-Temperature Perfumes, leaving her with 276 star coins. If not considering their purchasing power in the Star House Mall, these 276 star coins could be exchanged for 2.76 million RMB — enough to buy a house. And in the original world, only three seconds had passed while she spent three years in the post-apocalyptic world.
In this light, the post-apocalyptic mission was very rewarding.
As usual, she took a fragrant bath and was about to change into pajamas, but instead, she put on jeans, a t-shirt, and a thick hoodie. She took a cab directly to her parents’ house.
Fan Qi was still awake, watching a drama on her tablet when she heard the electronic lock being unlocked, startling her. She woke up Yu Feng, and both of them threw on clothes and went downstairs. In the hallway, the light was on, and their daughter was there, bending down to change her shoes.
“Daughter, what’s going on? Why are you coming home at this hour?” Fan Qi’s heart tightened again after just having relaxed.
“Nothing, I just missed you guys and wanted to stay here tonight.” Yu Xi walked up and hugged Fan Qi, burying her face in her mother’s shoulder, breathing in her familiar scent.
“Oh my, our daughter is so grown up and still acting like a baby…” Fan Qi hugged her taller daughter, feeling both happy and a bit worried. Yu Xi had always been very independent, usually not talking much but always having a plan and following through, no matter how difficult. It was rare to see her like this, and she didn’t know what had happened. But having her daughter act like this made her feel very content.
“Are you hungry? Mom can make you some noodles, okay?”
“I want vegetable noodles with some luncheon meat.”
“Okay, I’ll make it. You go play on your phone on the sofa; I’ll be quick.” Fan Qi headed to the open kitchen at the back of the living room.
Yu Feng looked at his daughter and sat down to talk with her.
“How about we play mahjong, Dad?”
“What?”
“Mobile mahjong. Come on, log in, I’ll team up with you.”
“Okay.” Yu Feng and Fan Qi often played online card games, so although they were a bit worried about their daughter’s unusual behavior, they decided to play with her.
However, Yu Xi only played two rounds before going to the kitchen to help her mother with the noodles.
Fan Qi washed and cut the vegetables and fried the pork for the broth while Yu Xi opened the can and sliced the luncheon meat.
The three of them sat around the table in the middle of the night, enjoying the fragrant vegetable noodles with luncheon meat. Afterward, they brushed their teeth and went to bed.
Because this was her first night back in the peaceful world with her parents in three years, Yu Xi felt incredibly safe, relaxed, and comfortable. She slept until almost noon the next day and was awakened by a strange noise outside her window.
Turning her head, she saw that the east-facing floor-to-ceiling window had its curtains mostly drawn. It was noon, but there was no sunlight, indicating very cloudy weather. She got up, walked across the soft carpet, and opened the curtains.
From the fifteenth floor, the apartment had ventilation, so even with the windows tightly shut, it didn’t feel stuffy. The windows were double-layered, insulating against heat, cold, and noise. The top layer of the floor-to-ceiling window could be slid open manually.
She twisted the handle, and as soon as she cracked the window, the strange noise amplified a hundredfold. A strong wind rushed through the gap, nearly blinding her. She quickly shut and locked the window, realizing that the strange noise she had heard was the howling wind outside.
Looking down at the city, her enhanced vision allowed her to see all the activity on the streets below. Electric bikes were being blown over, pedestrians staggered as if being pushed by the wind, and a glass door of a shop shattered after being blown open. Branches on the trees swayed like octopus tentacles, some snapping off and being carried away by the wind, almost hitting a pedestrian.
The streets were almost deserted, with only twisted bikes, electric bikes, and motorcycles. Only cars were moving, albeit struggling against the wind.
Yu Xi heard another gust of wind, making the building seem to sway. Her face changed as she hurriedly put on jeans and a thick sweatshirt, then ran out of the room.
“Dad, Mom! The wind is too strong. It’s dangerous to stay upstairs. We need to go down!” she shouted, but they stood by the south-facing floor-to-ceiling window, staring in shock at something far away.
Yu Xi found the emergency bags she had prepared for them and ran to the window to pull them away. But when she reached the window, she understood their shock. From the fifteenth floor, she could see far into the distance. There, on the horizon, at the city’s edge, was a spiraling column slowly moving.
Yu Xi: …!!
A tornado!?
Reading Settings
#1a1a1a
#ef4444
Comments