The moment he heard those words, Jiang Jingyu snatched the knife right out of Nan Yao’s hand. Swallowing hard, he used the wall for support to get back on his feet, trailing nervously behind Nan Yao with every nerve on high alert.
Nan Yao tightened her grip on her weapon, eagerly awaiting another wave of zombies, but they didn’t run into a single one all the way to the end.
She clicked her tongue in slight disappointment, leading the trembling man behind her out of the Zombie House.
“Congratulations to you both on becoming the very first couple to escape our Zombie House!” a staff member cheered with a beaming smile, stepping forward to collect their props. “You two can head over to the bathhouse up ahead to clean yourselves up.”
“Oh, and don’t worry,” the staff member added with a chuckle, noticing Jiang Jingyu’s jumpy behavior. “No need to be frightened, buddy. Our attraction is all about immersive experiences—”
“Nan Yao, wait for me!”
Seeing Nan Yao walk away, Jiang Jingyu quickly called out and hurried to catch up. The Zombie House had thoroughly creeped him out.
By the time they got outside, Peng Xin had long left the amusement park. Jiang Jingyu was too rattled to stay on a date, and Nan Yao found the whole thing boring, so they both headed straight back to the villa.
They were the first pair to return. Peng Xin sat on the sofa with a dark, sullen expression, glaring daggers at the two of them as they walked in.
Sensing trouble, Nan Yao quickly went upstairs, double-locked her bedroom door, and stepped into her spatial base.
[Host, that’s seventy crystal nuclei in total.]
“Too few,” Nan Yao said, her brows knitting tightly.
[It’s not bad! Take it easy—today was already a massive haul!]
“Sister!”
A bright, joyful shout rang out, bursting with youthful energy.
Han Shuo was wearing a plain white tee and black trousers, his soft hair falling naturally over his forehead. He waved his arms enthusiastically and ran toward her with long strides, looking every bit like a spirited teenager.
With a cold expression, Nan Yao extended her arm and pressed her palm against Han Shuo’s chest, blocking his attempt to throw his arms around her.
“Sister, you’re here! Look how fast I’m recovering! Your space is amazing!” Han Shuo’s handsome peach-blossom eyes sparkled as he babbled with excitement. “And I feel the strength returning to my body little by little! I’ll be able to help you out really soon!”
“Mm.” Nan Yao nodded, reaching into her jacket to pull out a pill wrapped in brown paper. “Eat this.”
Han Shuo blinked. “Is it candy?”
“A pill.” It was the remaining oral medicine from the last first aid kit.
Watching Han Shuo pop it into his mouth without a second thought, an idea suddenly crossed Nan Yao’s mind.
[System, now that Han Shuo has turned into a zombie, is it still possible for him to recover his water-element ability?]
[Never underestimate the items in the Mall—anything impossible becomes possible here!] The system replied with a touch of pride. [Granted, the Water-Element Ability Seeds in the Mall are basic tier and might not have a huge immediate effect on Han Shuo right now, but small amounts add up. Once you reach a certain threshold and upgrade the Mall, you can buy higher-tier ability seeds. Though at that point, it’ll depend on whether his body can withstand two opposing forces inside him.]
Nan Yao deliberated for a few seconds. [Buy the seeds—as many as we can get.]
[You got it!]
The next second, three blue seeds enveloped in flowing ripples appeared in her hand. Nan Yao handed them straight to Han Shuo. “Eat these too.”
“Okay, Sister…”
“Nan Yao, come out quick! Something terrible happened!”
Han Shuo paused, a sudden flash of concern crossing his eyes. “Sister, be careful.”
“Nan Yao, get out here! An Feiwan and Lu Jingwang are both missing!” Liu Xing cried out, his eyes red and swollen as he pounded furiously on the wooden door.
“Nan Yao, everyone is downstairs! Hurry up—”
With a sharp creak, the bedroom door swung wide open. Unprepared for the sudden movement, Liu Xing lost his balance and fell forward with a look of pure panic.
Nan Yao reached out, grabbed Liu Xing by his collar, and yanked him upright in time. “What happened?”
Gathering his wits, Liu Xing let out a wail: “I lost An Feiwan! Waaah…”
“And that’s what happened…”
The group sat scattered around the sofa, listening to Liu Xing’s tearful account.
“I just stepped away for a quick second to grab some fried skewers and she was gone… What do we do? I’ve been looking for her all night and couldn’t find her anywhere. It’s so dark outside now!”
“What’s the rush?” Su Xiao’ai guessed with an indifferent shrug. “She probably just wandered off to have fun on her own. A grown woman doesn’t just go missing into thin air. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Lu Jingwang is missing too! Aren’t any of you worried?”
The three people from the four-way date exchanged glances. Jiang Ying let out a sneer and shrugged. “We never said he was missing. You’re the one making wild assumptions just because you lost sight of someone—who are you trying to blame?”
“But…”
“Alright, Liu Xing,” Peng Xin said, furrowing her brow. “Xiao’ai is right. An Feiwan isn’t some naive little girl. What danger could she possibly be in? Calling everyone downstairs with all this drama is just making a mountain out of a molehill.”
“Exactly, scared the living daylight out of me,” Jiang Jingyu agreed, glaring at him. He hadn’t even recovered from the scare at the Zombie House, only to be startled all over again by Liu Xing’s shouting the moment he sat down. “If you hadn’t said she went missing, I would’ve thought she died.”
Tears spilled out of Liu Xing’s eyes in frustration. “But…”
“Enough already, driving everyone crazy in the middle of the night…” Jiang Jingyu muttered under his breath and headed back to his room in annoyance.
Seeing this, the others didn’t stay either. They had all been ready to turn in for the night, only to be dragged downstairs by his commotion.
Unbelievable.
“Hey! How can you guys be so heartless? What if she’s really in danger? Hey!”
“Liu Xing…”
“An Feiwan?!” Liu Xing spun around, staring in shock at the girl who had suddenly appeared outside the glass doors.
“Where on earth did you go? Are you alright? You scared me to death! I was so afraid something happened to you! Are you okay? Huh?”
Liu Xing rushed over and pulled An Feiwan into a tight hug, pelting her with anxious questions.
“I’m fine…”
From a distance, Nan Yao observed An Feiwan’s pale, thoroughly exhausted countenance, her deep eyes scanning her up and down inch by inch.
Wait! Nan Yao’s gaze sharpened, settling on An Feiwan’s blackened ankle. Beneath the darkened skin sat a pair of symmetrical blood punctures, no larger than the tip of a pen refill.
Was she bitten by something? A zombie?
But the zombies she had been killing didn’t have fangs that long.
“Thank goodness you’re fine! Thank goodness!” Liu Xing let out a relieved laugh, but as he pushed An Feiwan back slightly, he caught sight of her frail appearance—looking as though she might pass out the next second—and his relief vanished instantly into panic.
“Don’t lie to me! I—I—I’ll go find a doctor for you! Wait here!” Liu Xing scrambled around in desperation and bolted outside without another word.
An Feiwan seemed to struggle for breath. Deprived of support, she took a heavy gasp that threw her off balance, her footing unsteadily swaying as if she were drunk.
Nan Yao stepped forward to catch An Feiwan right before she hit the floor. Setting her down on the sofa, Nan Yao lifted her ankle to inspect the wound up close. It looked suspiciously like a snake bite…
“Get off me! Get away!”
An Feiwan screamed with every ounce of strength she had left. With a sickening snap, her upper body bent straight down like a ragdoll, folding flat against her thighs.
She went completely silent, lying there motionless.
Nan Yao’s eyebrows drew together. She reached out, grabbed An Feiwan’s shoulder, and pushed her back up.
Suddenly!
An Feiwan snapped her head up. Her neck twisted several times with a series of loud cracks, wringing into a grotesque, contorted braid. Her blood-red eyes bulged out of their sockets as her jaw split wide open, letting out a raspy, guttural roar.
“I’m going to kill you!”