——Weiye International Hotel——
“President Yang~ Won’t you please help me? I really, really want to be on this variety show~ Please, President Yang~ I’m begging you, begging you!”
Nan Yao was wearing a revealing spaghetti-strap minidress, deliberately arching her voluptuous figure to press tightly against her financial backer, Mr. Yang. Her sweet voice turned through every possible inflection as she cooed and fawned over him.
Mr. Yang remained entirely unmoved by this display. He simply took off his gold-rimmed glasses with an air of refined elegance, pulled out a cleaning cloth, and began meticulously wiping the lenses.
Nan Yao blinked, feeling a little uneasy. “Mr. Yang?”
“What do you think?”
“What?”
The man, who looked cultured and easygoing on the surface, finally deigned to spare her a glance.
“The scandals you’ve stirred up are beyond redemption,” Mr. Yang said flatly. “Everyone hates you.”
“…” Nan Yao’s mouth twitched. She lowered her head, rolled her eyes behind his back, and thought: Disgusting. Just because you’re the sugar daddy, you think you can do whatever you want? Heh, psycho.
“Hey! Mr. Yang!” Seeing the man stand up to leave, Nan Yao quickly reached out to grab the hem of his jacket, putting on a tearful, miserable expression. Fine, you’re my sugar daddy! I’m the psycho!
“Mr. Yang, I’m begging you. You know me—it doesn’t matter if everyone else hates you, as long as I know Mr. Yang loves me, that’s all I care about! Besides, in this day and age, you provide the financial capital and I’ll play along. When the time comes, we can just rebrand me with a ‘cold on the outside, warm on the heart’ persona and spin some PR. I’ll be famous again in no time.”
Nonsense just poured in a steady stream out of Nan Yao’s mouth.
“Fine, I’ll help you.” Without much hesitation, Mr. Yang agreed straight away. “But from now on, you belong to me and you’ll obey me!”
In that instant, the man’s dark, profound eyes were unfathomable. A sudden, razor-sharp gaze seemed capable of piercing through everything, looking straight down into the depths of Nan Yao’s soul…
Snap!
Nan Yao jerked awake. That piercing gaze felt like it was looking right through the “Nan Yao” of the dream at the real her, carrying an intense, deliberate purpose.
Huff… It felt like she had lived through an extraordinarily realistic dream. If she didn’t still have her memories, she really would have believed she actually was “minor celebrity Nan Yao.“
And that doll sticker…
Nan Yao bit her lip and clenched her fists, suddenly feeling a ball of something in her hand.
She looked down. It was the sticker of Lu Jingwang that she had ripped off earlier.
She was still trapped inside the Heartbeat Frequency House, but looking around now, everything seemed completely ordinary.
Nan Yao opened the door and turned back to cast a long, lingering look at the “living” Heartbeat Frequency House.
[Host, you scared the life out of me just now! I thought that thing was coming straight for us.]
[Didn’t you say it was completely safe?]
[Well, the host is safe! I was just scaring myself. That thing came rushing right at your forehead, and I panicked and lost my mind.] The system said sheepishly.
[It definitely scared me, though. Looks like I can’t be so reckless anymore. In a world riddled with surveillance cameras everywhere, every single move is way too dangerous.] Nan Yao concluded.
She raised her head to look up at the sky, her eyes dark and enigmatic. This is a broadcast channel. The people pulling the strings behind the scenes must be watching her.
Having been forced through a round in the Heartbeat Frequency House, Nan Yao was finally able to open the glass door.
[Host, the treasure I sensed is right there in the kitchen freezer. It’s an intense surge of energy; if we absorb it, it should definitely let our space base break through to Level 3.]
Nan Yao frowned and didn’t move immediately. She had her reservations.
With her every move being monitored, Nan Yao didn’t dare act out of line for fear of triggering some kind of crisis.
[System, can you sense the aura of those people on this channel?]
[Host, I just scanned the area, and I can’t feel the aura from that sticker anymore. Maybe they left.]
Nan Yao fell deep into thought, unable to make up her mind.
[Host, stop overthinking it. Since “official” forces let you keep your memories, they probably just want to see some dramatic moments.]
Nan Yao was startled. You mean this isn’t because of you?
[Host, it’s not me.]
…What on earth is going on here? Nan Yao felt her mind spinning with a chaotic tangle of thoughts.
[Host, stop thinking about it. Since the higher-ups let you keep your memories, maybe they just want a good show.]
…Whatever. Nan Yao gave her forehead a tap. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Trusting the system isn’t completely unreasonable.
[At the very bottom of the freezer.]
Nan Yao had to lean half her body into the freezer before she finally spotted a pitch-black clump of something.
[Is this it?]
[Yes, it should be a crystal nucleus. I can feel a strong pulse coming from right inside it.]
Nan Yao reached out and gave it a poke. It was bone-chillingly cold yet surprisingly soft, feeling just like human skin.
A zombie, probably.
She tossed all the surrounding frozen foods onto the counter, reached out to grab an arm, and hauled whatever was inside out with all her might.
For a split second, she thought she was looking at a corpse.
Half of its body was mangled with shredded flesh peeling away in layers. Jagged, frozen icicles of blood pierced deep into the meat as if taking root inside the body. The entire corpse was bruised black and purple, hanging limp like a dead thing as it began to thaw and drip water.
As the melting accelerated, Nan Yao caught a whiff of the foul, rotting stench of spoiled meat.
Nan Yao covered her nose and mouth. Looked like it had been dead for ages.
[Host, there’s an advanced crystal nucleus in its head. Kill it quickly before it fully mutates.]
[Fine…]
“Save… me…”
The figure, whose body was gradually rotting and emitting a foul stench, suddenly snapped its eyes open. Its gaze flickered with desperate pleading and lingering resentment.
Nan Yao paused. An advanced crystal nucleus in its head…
An idea struck her. Maybe it can be of use to me. Didn’t you say its nucleus belongs to the advanced tier? Let’s just keep it as a pet.
[But Host, that’s too dangerous! Advanced zombies have sentience, and the nucleus inside their heads will keep upgrading. What if this zombie doesn’t remember your kindness and turns on you?]
[Relax, I know what I’m doing. While it hasn’t successfully transformed yet, I’ll tame it first. Pets have always been the most loyal companions since ancient times.]
“Save me… Please save me…”
The zombie, dripping with bloody fluid, rasped hoarsely in desperate supplication as it suddenly lunged forward, trying to grab the hem of Nan Yao’s skirt.
With lightning reflexes, Nan Yao stepped back quickly to dodge the rotting hand.
“Lie down and stay still, don’t move around. I’ll help you heal,” Nan Yao said to comfort it, turning to look for a basin in the kitchen so she could fetch some spiritual spring water from her space.
“You’re not planning to kill it?”
Lu Jingwang!
Nan Yao spun around sharply, her eyes sharp as ice as she stared at the man who had suddenly materialized behind her. He moved like a ghost he really might not be human at all.
“You want to save it.” Lu Jingwang looked her over and swiftly jumped to a conclusion.
“You’re not that kindhearted. Why wouldn’t you kill a zombie that has spawned an advanced crystal nucleus to level up yourself?”
“You and I aren’t that close,” Nan Yao said coldly. “What I do is none of your business.”
“As long as you’re an awakened esper, anything you do that poses a risk is my business. I have a duty to protect your safety for your sake, and even more so for the Alliance.”
Nan Yao frowned, glanced back at the zombie that was about to be submerged in bloody water, grabbed a basin, slammed it over the creature’s head inside the freezer, and slammed the door shut.
Lu Jingwang narrowed his eyes. “Or I can dig the nucleus out for you.”
“No need. I don’t need your help.”
“What good is keeping it? You’re an awakened esper, and it’s a virus-infected zombie. Aren’t you afraid keeping it around will cause you to catch the virus? Kill it, Nan Yao. That’s the safest way.”