Her crystal core had already been dug out, so there was no way she could have any supernatural abilities now.
Lin Buyu gave an awkward laugh. “My name is Lin Buyu. You can call me Buyu.”
She answered a completely different question.
Jiang Ran had no interest in exchanging pleasantries with her. He was about to jump from the high-rise when a pair of slender arms suddenly wrapped around his arm.
Her sweet voice came from behind him. “I don’t have any abilities. Can you take me down with you?”
She sounded so naturally coquettish, as though she were accustomed to using this kind of tactic.
He glanced sideways at her.
She blinked her eyes repeatedly. Her limpid eyes made her look genuinely innocent.
Jiang Ran curled his lips slightly.
To have no supernatural abilities and still maintain such an appearance in the apocalypse—she definitely had some unusual means.
The more malicious her intentions, the better.
He was actually looking forward to seeing what kind of devastating move she would make against Yulan Base.
“Fine. I’ll take you down.”
A faint smile curved his thin lips. His powerful arm grabbed hers, and he carried her as they leaped from the high-rise.
It was Lin Buyu’s first time experiencing what it felt like to be enveloped by supernatural energy.
The overwhelming fluctuations of power made her understand even more clearly how different this world was from the one she had come from.
Here, having strong fists wasn’t what mattered.
Supernatural abilities were.
For an ordinary person without abilities to challenge someone with supernatural powers was practically impossible.
After returning to the base, Jiang Ran took her to the newcomer registration office.
Lin Buyu was very beautiful. More importantly, she was completely different from the people in the apocalypse who had endured hardship and spent their days fleeing for their lives.
Her fair, delicate skin looked like that of a celebrity who had been exceptionally well cared for before the apocalypse.
But this was the apocalypse. No one had the time or energy to bother with such pointless beauty routines anymore.
As a result, her radiant, lively appearance stood out sharply from the majority of people in the apocalypse.
As Jiang Ran led her to the registration office, people along the way couldn’t help casting strange looks at her.
But she had been brought back by Jiang Ran, so no one dared say anything.
Jiang Ran brought her to the registration desk. She went inside to register while he remained outside, lazily leaning against the doorframe.
When registering newcomers, the staff would ask about their abilities so they could assign them suitable work.
The apocalypse had no room for idlers.
The registrar asked, “What type of supernatural ability do you have?”
Lin Buyu replied, “I don’t have any abilities.”
The registrar didn’t seem surprised. After all, supernatural abilities were rare.
She continued, “We’re currently looking for electricians, people with networking skills, and various equipment repair technicians. Before the apocalypse, did you have any work experience that fits those categories?”
It had already been a year since the apocalypse began. Although the threat of zombies remained serious, the established bases needed stability in their daily lives.
Many people didn’t have supernatural abilities, but their pre-apocalypse skills could still play an important role in rebuilding basic infrastructure and maintaining everyday life.
Lin Buyu didn’t qualify for any of them. She simply shook her head.
“None of those.”
In other words, she was useless.
The registrar looked up at Lin Buyu, only to be momentarily dazzled by her bright smile.
“If you don’t have any of those skills, then you have only two choices at our base. One is to follow the ordinary civilians and work in the fields or do manual labor. The other is…”
“I’ll take the other one.”
Lin Buyu chose the second option without hesitation.
There was no way she was going to work in the fields.
If she did, she’d only end up farther and farther away from someone like Jiang Ran, a core member of the base.
She might not even get a chance to see him.
And if she couldn’t see him, how was she supposed to influence him and convince him not to destroy the world?
The registrar wasn’t surprised by her answer.
She gave a faint scoff.
Sure enough, this was the fate of a beautiful girl in the apocalypse.
Her fingers tapped across the keyboard.
“A girl with qualifications like yours won’t be sent to the lower levels. Among the upper-level personnel, choose someone to follow.”
She turned the computer screen toward Lin Buyu.
Lin Buyu saw a list of names.
There were more than a dozen of them.
Jiang Ran’s name was among them.
Lin Buyu assumed that “follow” meant being assigned to work under one of these people.
The information transmitted to her by the system had explained the general situation at Yulan Base.
There were thirteen elite teams in total. Jiang Ran was in Team A, where he served as the team leader.
Lin Buyu immediately pointed at Jiang Ran’s name.
“I’ll follow him.”
Her fair fingertip landed directly on Jiang Ran’s name.
The registrar glanced at it, then gave Jiang Ran, who was leaning against the door with his arms crossed, a meaningful look.
She wanted to say that Team Leader Jiang didn’t take bed partners.
But the words died on her lips.
This woman had been brought back by Team Leader Jiang himself.
Team Leader Jiang had never brought anyone else back to the base before. Perhaps he really did have that kind of intention toward her.
The registrar looked at Jiang Ran questioningly.
Seeing that he showed no sign of objecting, she understood his silence as tacit approval.
The registrar immediately smiled.
“Alright, congratulations.”
Since the other woman was smiling, Lin Buyu smiled back as well.
“Thank you, thank you.”
The registrar said, “Then you can go with Team Leader Jiang.”
Lin Buyu followed Jiang Ran as he walked ahead.
Along the way, she remained curious.
She wanted to know exactly how those people with supernatural abilities used their powers.
This world was truly fascinating.
Jiang Ran led her to a detached villa.
The villa had three floors.
The entire building belonged to members of Team A. Jiang Ran lived on the third floor, but since it was daytime, the other members were all out on missions.
Jiang Ran brought Lin Buyu to the doorway of a room on the third floor.
She turned around and asked him, “Is this where I’ll be living from now on?”
Jiang Ran raised an eyebrow and smiled at her.
“Yes.”
His voice sounded gentle when accompanied by that smile.
But knowing the personality he had in the original story, Lin Buyu certainly didn’t think he was a good man.
She reached out and pushed the door open.
What greeted her was an overwhelmingly dark interior.
The curtains were black.
The bed was black.
The sheets and duvet were black.
Even the cabinets were black.
“Is this my room?”
Jiang Ran walked past her and went to the window. He pulled open the curtains and added,
“It’s also my room.”
Lin Buyu blinked.
They were both speaking Chinese. So why did she suddenly feel like she couldn’t understand him?
Did he mean what she thought he meant?
When she didn’t respond for a long while, Jiang Ran turned around and looked at her with an ambiguous smile.
“This was your choice, wasn’t it?”
Looking at his handsome face, Lin Buyu’s brain began working at lightning speed.
So when the registrar said “follow,” she had actually meant becoming his bed partner?
No wonder the registrar had given her and Jiang Ran such a gossipy look before she left.
“Uh…”
For once, Lin Buyu was at a loss for words.
Jiang Ran chuckled.
“Are you going to say that you misunderstood what the registrar meant? Sorry, but Yulan Base doesn’t allow assigned jobs to be withdrawn. Unless you awaken a supernatural ability or demonstrate a more valuable skill, you have no choice but to accept the work assigned by the base and carry it out properly.”
The words “carry it out properly” were spoken with noticeably greater emphasis.
Lin Buyu was truly speechless this time.
She wanted to get closer to Jiang Ran, but she hadn’t meant this close!
“Uh… do you need me very often?”
If not, she could have the system figure out a way to muddle through this situation.
Her sudden question caught Jiang Ran completely off guard.
A flicker of surprise passed through the man’s dark eyes.
He stared at Lin Buyu, his brows unconsciously drawing together.
Could it be that she had really offered herself in exchange for protection, rather than having another motive and infiltrating Yulan Base as a spy for another base?
Lin Buyu was extremely perceptive.
Although Jiang Ran’s momentary daze lasted only an instant, she still caught it.
What did that mean?
It meant that this man had only intended to test her. He had never actually planned to do anything to her.
This was a novel world.
And weren’t novel worlds usually governed by a certain rule?
The particularly impressive male leads, villains, and second male leads were all supposedly chaste. Before meeting their true love, they never casually became involved in relationships.
Lin Buyu had the kind of personality where she became bolder when the other side was weak, but backed down when the other side was strong.
Seeing that Jiang Ran couldn’t handle her sudden boldness, she became even more daring.
She enthusiastically walked toward him, took his right hand in both of hers, and said with an utterly sincere expression,
“Since I’m already your bed partner, then don’t hold back. Come on, I’m ready.”