“I know what I’m doing.”
Lu Jingwang narrowed his eyes. “Your idea of knowing what you’re doing is barging in recklessly.”
Nan Yao’s expression turned fierce, her gaze fixed on the man becoming increasingly dangerous. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what I said.” Lu Jingwang took a step forward, the upturned corners of his eyes trailing an uninhibited air as he closed the distance between them step by step. “The moment you notice something off, you dive right in without giving a second thought to the worst possible consequences. Nan Yao, I don’t know whether to call you reckless or foolhardy—you really have no fear of dying, do you?”
Nan Yao knitted her brows tightly. Reaching out, she pressed her palm firmly against Lu Jingwang’s chest, checking his forward motion before he could get any closer. “You’re stalking me.”
“I’m just looking out for your safety. It’s for your own good.”
“I don’t need it.”
“Yes, you do.”
Nan Yao set her jaw, locking eyes with Lu Jingwang in a tense standoff where neither was willing to back down.
After a long impasse, Lu Jingwang couldn’t help letting out a soft sigh. “Stubborn as a mule.”
Nan Yao glared at him. “Right back at you.”
“I can’t talk any sense into you.” Lu Jingwang shook his head and let out a light chuckle. “Whatever you do, just don’t get yourself killed.”
“…” Nan Yao paused for a moment before suddenly asking, “If the officials are broadcasting everything live, why are you completely unbothered?”
Lu Jingwang raised an eyebrow slightly. “Curious?”
“Yes,” Nan Yao said frankly. “I’m curious.”
“Heh.” He gave a faint laugh. “We’re nothing more than seasoning to them. Almost every romance reality channel picks a few players who retain their memories just to manufacture drama, drive up view counts, and stoke conflict and betrayal later on. As long as the audience finds it entertaining, and as long as we help their channel blow up, they won’t intervene. Of course, there’s only one metric for that: whether you’re popular enough. If you’re hit enough that the viewers back you up, and you bring in steady profits, they’ll let you run wild. They’re powerful—so powerful that they look down on us.”
“…Thanks.” Nan Yao’s thoughts drifted, her deep eyes shifting as she processed the information.
“So you need to understand that the esper players who fail to win over the audience meet gruesome ends. They aren’t popular, so the higher-ups won’t tolerate them holding that status. Now you see why I said espers always tend to die young?”
Nan Yao nodded, her gaze turning cold and distant as she looked up. “I understand what you’re saying, but I still can’t fully trust you right now. Sorry.”
She pushed past Lu Jingwang, opened the freezer once more, and pulled out the zombie that had frozen over again. After a moment’s thought, she added, “Either way, as long as there’s a breath left in him, he’s not a zombie yet.”
Lu Jingwang frowned in disapproval. “You’re really going to save and raise it?”
“Yes.” Nan Yao answered directly. “I’m leaving now. Thanks for the explanation.”
The moment the words left her mouth, she dragged the zombie and made a swift retreat upstairs.
Nan Yao dumped the zombie into the bathtub. Setting her hand on the rim, she focused her mind, and in the next blink, she stepped into her spatial base.
Ding.
Nan Yao’s ears twitched. She looked up just in time to see the progress bar of her spatial base surge past Level 1, breaking straight through to Level 2.
Even the whole crate of crystal nuclei Lu Jingwang had given her hadn’t been enough to break through, yet the arrival of this single zombie pushed it over the edge instantly.
An advanced crystal nucleus really was something else the mere energy pulses it radiated were enough to upgrade her spatial base.
She looked down at the half-dead, dark-purple zombie, feeling a wave of satisfaction at having stumbled upon a treasure.
If she nursed him back to health and unlocked his intelligence, wouldn’t he make a formidable weapon?
Without delay, Nan Yao grabbed a bucket from inside the house and began drenching the raw, mangled body of the zombie with bucket after bucket of spiritual spring water brimming with aura.
The spiritual spring water worked wonders. As soon as it touched the zombie’s body, it actively drew out the bloodstains and dark purple discoloration from his skin, settling them at the bottom of the bathtub like a layer of river silt.
As time ticked by, even the decaying, splitting flesh began restoring its fresh, smooth texture at a speed visible to the naked eye, though the deepest lacerations couldn’t heal completely in such a short time.
Still, at a second glance, the zombie had transformed to look quite delicate and clean-cut. His skin was no longer dark and purple, but fair and rosy. He was a boy with a baby face, looking no older than his mid-teens.
[Host! Host! The spatial base has unlocked the Mall service! Hurry and check it out—there are tons of good items!]
After emptying the last bucket of spiritual spring water into the tub, Nan Yao set the bucket down and headed toward her Level 2 cabin.
The small cabin had undergone a transformation; a small reception desk had been added to the original structure, and beside it stood a potted plant—a small tree with purple-pink leaves of an unknown species.
[Host, that potted plant is the Mall in disguise! The moment you touch it, you’ll enter the Mall interface. Only Level B1 is unlocked right now, but even though it’s basic, everything inside is fair, affordable, and top quality!]
The moment Nan Yao touched the potted plant, a burst of radiant light erupted, transporting her in an instant into a dazzling starry expanse. Countless colorful stars dotted the night sky.
A purple star suddenly shot over to hover right before Nan Yao’s eyes, quickly followed by a cluster of others. After a brilliant flash of purple light, a virtual purple display rack floated into view, labeled Tier 7 Merchandise.
Energy Drinks, Surprise Blind Boxes, Basic First Aid Kits, and Water-Element Ability Seeds.
Nan Yao swiped across the virtual display rack. The next page had only one item lit up a Level 1 Sentience Fragment. Everything else was blacked out and locked, indicating that a Level 5 spatial base was required to unlock them.
She tapped on the Level 1 Sentience Fragment, and its description popped up: Essential sentience fragment for easily evolving a zombie into a Zombie King. High quality, great value: 100 Crystal Nuclei.
So expensive.
Nan Yao pursed her lips; she couldn’t afford it for now.
She tapped through the remaining four items one by one. The Energy Drink did exactly what the name implied, restoring energy for just 2 crystal nuclei. The Surprise Blind Box dropped a random Tier 6 item for 10 crystal nuclei. The Basic First Aid Kit contained both oral and topical medicines and was currently limited to one free purchase per user. The Water-Element Ability Seed offered a chance to unlock a water-element ability, though it didn’t guarantee success, priced at 18 crystal nuclei.
After scanning through her options, Nan Yao could only claim the free Basic First Aid Kit. She couldn’t afford anything else for the time being.
It was just as well she could use the medicine kit on the zombie outside.
When she returned to the spring, she found the bathtub filled with murky water, but the tub itself was empty.
Where did he go? Nan Yao clicked her tongue, her gaze sweeping forward until she caught sight of a fair, tender elbow sticking out from behind the large tree.
“Now that you’re awake, come over here so I can apply the medicine.”
Han Shuo’s body trembled. He tentatively poked his head out, looking at the girl sitting cross-legged by the spring.
The girl was extraordinarily pretty, fair-skinned and slender. Although her face wore a neutral expression, he felt a gentle warmth in her demeanor.
“Hurry up,” Nan Yao motioned to him.
Han Shuo bit his pale lower lip, his body trembling as he shuffled toward her at a painstaking pace.
“Sit. My name is Nan Yao.” She pulled the zombie down to sit beside her, pulled out the topical powder from the first aid kit, and carefully spread it over the raw, split flesh of his arm. “What about you?”
“Han… Han Shuo.”
“Got it. I’ll find you a change of clean clothes in a bit. Take this medicine later, go behind the tree, and apply it to the rest of your wounds. Han Shuo, be a good boy and stay right here. Don’t go near this pool, and don’t enter my room, alright?”
“Okay…”
“Good boy.”
Nan Yao handed the medicine over to Han Shuo. Just as she placed her hand on the tub to exit the space, she heard Han Shuo’s hesitant plea.
“Big sister… could you… could you help me get revenge?”