Shen Suian responded to Xiao Xiao’s enthusiasm with a gentle smile, which left Tuntun, nestled on her shoulder, utterly bewildered.
Wait, wasn’t this the same attitude she had toward it?
It grew anxious.
Flying right in front of Shen Suian’s eyes, it kept fluttering around.
Trying to awaken the little conscience she had left.
Shen Suian glanced at it expressionlessly, her meaning clear without words.
Tuntun: “…”
Fine, fine.
So this is how you treat it, huh?
It decided—it was going to break up with her!
For ten minutes.
Not a second less.
Turning its back to Shen Suian, it squatted on the ground, drawing circles and silently counting the time.
The problem was, Xiao Xiao’s excited voice soon drifted into its ears. Annoyed, it turned around to glare at her resentfully, then silently turned back, lowering its head and covering its ears.
I won’t listen, I won’t listen, you’re just spouting nonsense.
Xiao Xiao had already absorbed quite a bit of her memories of this world. So when faced with Shen Suian’s questions, she could answer most of them. And for those she couldn’t, wasn’t that what the System was for?
[Your service attitude is pretty good. What should I call you?]
[…] After a two-second pause, [Code name 888.]
[Fa-fa-fa?] Xiao Xiao exclaimed in surprise, [Do you Systems get assigned based on the host’s wishes?]
Otherwise, how would it know she wanted to get rich and prosper?
888: […]
It didn’t answer, and Xiao Xiao didn’t wait for a reply. Waving goodbye to Shen Suian, she hummed a little tune and skipped away cheerfully.
Meanwhile, Tuntun twitched its ears, listening as the surrounding noise faded away. Its eyes lit up, and it tried its best to suppress its restless little heart.
“Tuanzi.”
Tuntun huffed, turning its body away and grumbling, “What?”
It wasn’t that it had no backbone—it was just that the ten minutes were up.
It wasn’t the kind of System to go back on its word.
“What were you trying to tell me earlier?”
Tuntun flew up and landed on her shoulder, blinking its bright, big eyes with a clueless look of confusion. “Do you really not understand? Or are you pretending not to?”
If not for its overly clear and innocent gaze, Shen Suian would have suspected it was subtly mocking her.
“Not sure, just confirming.”
Tuntun straightened its posture, cleared its throat, and began to explain: “Each world will have one and only one Main System, which acts as the highest administrator. The rest are, as you humans say, followers and subordinates. No matter how strong they are, the Main System can suppress them.”
Shen Suian nodded slightly. “And above you? Is that the Lord God?”
“Yes, the Lord God oversees Main Systems like mine in small worlds. But under normal circumstances, the Lord God doesn’t intervene. This time, it’s because this world has collapsed too severely.”
To the point where one more mistake would lead to destruction—that’s how serious it was.
If it were truly destroyed, then it would have no reason to exist…
Probably no one would remember it then…
At this thought, its mood suddenly turned gloomy.
“So, there are many people like this in this world.”
Tuntun: “To prevent any mishaps, we can’t afford any more mistakes now.”
Shen Suian raised an eyebrow and smiled. “So, now I have to spend effort dealing with these people too?”
Tuntun choked.
It had forgotten about that.
Scratching its head with its hand, it said, “This is a Rewind, so the people here have, in a sense, already existed several times. They just don’t have their memories anymore.”
“So unless this world returns to normal, even you don’t know how many strategists there are?”
Tuntun mumbled in response, “Not exactly. If my power recovers, I could predict…”
It trailed off.
But what good would predicting do?
It could no longer intervene.
Shen Suian showed little reaction to this, her expression weary and lazy as she strode with long legs toward the front yard.
Tuntun didn’t ask much about her plans.
Even though they hadn’t known each other long, it held an inexplicable confidence in Shen Suian.
While others took one step and planned the next, she took one step and planned three ahead—sometimes even ten.
It remembered a human saying: “Her wisdom borders on the supernatural.”
It believed, and firmly so, that Shen Suian was exactly that kind of person.
**
Front yard.
Four or five people, covered in dust and grime, sat slumped together, their faces unable to conceal exhaustion and despair.
They complained to each other, yet afraid of attracting zombies, they kept lowering their voices further.
Guan Ji: “Captain, what do we do next?”
Xu Shi: “The supplies inside have already spoiled—they’re completely inedible. If this goes on, we’ll starve to death before the zombies even get us.”
Guan Ji suggested, “From what those survivors said the other day, most survivors now have gone to the safe base. Should we go too?”
Lu Hai scoffed upon hearing this, “Are you kidding? Do you know how far the Survivor Base is from us? We’d probably die before we even get there.”
“Then what do you suggest we do now?” Guan Ji snapped back, annoyed. “All I know is that if we don’t find food soon, we’ll starve.”
Zheng Qingsheng pressed his throbbing temples, then raised a hand to signal for quiet. The group instantly fell silent, all eyes turning to him, waiting for what he would say next.
“Here’s the deal: whether to stay or go is up to each of you.”
“Captain…”
“This is the Apocalypse. Don’t keep relying on me,” Zheng Qingsheng hardened his tone, his voice icy. “I don’t want to risk my life saving you all, only for you to want me dead.”
The three of them lowered their heads in silence.
In the past, they would have argued back, but after what had happened recently, they had no face to do so.
When they went to the supermarket for supplies, they encountered a horde of zombies that nearly wiped them out. There were even a few who dragged others down, using them as shields…
Though he had long known how treacherous human nature could be, Zheng Qingsheng still felt a chill.
Since the Apocalypse began, this group had stuck together, hiding and fleeing, dwindling from over a hundred people to just over twenty. He had thought those who remained were trustworthy, people he could risk his life for…
And indeed, they risked his life—just not in the way he expected.
The image of those he had been close with trying to drag him to his death still filled Zheng Qingsheng with lingering fear.
Zuo Xinru took his hand and said simply, “I’ll follow you.”
Zheng Qingsheng was taken aback for a moment, then clasped her hand in return.
Some things were better left unsaid.
When Xiao Xiao returned, the group was still arguing.
Zuo Xinru briefly explained the situation to her, then added, “It’s your decision. We won’t interfere.”
“I’ll go to the safe base.”
Why not live a stable life if it’s possible?
Zheng Qingsheng nodded, giving her a warning: “But be prepared—the journey to the safe base will be dangerous.”
Xiao Xiao shrugged with a smile. “Is there any environment worse than this? Might as well take a risk and bet on it.”
“Then I’ll follow too.”
“I’ll follow as well.”
“…”
Those who stayed behind possessed either brains or ability, if not both.
When you delved into the pros and cons, it was indeed quite easy to understand.
No destruction, no construction.
“I heard there are quite a few bases. Which one should we go to?” Xu Shi asked.
[