Several figures walked over from a distance and saw the two people standing at the doorway.
The leading young man grinned. “Sis Xi, training your dog again? We came to help you teach this disobedient mutt a lesson.”
Ji Chaoxi frowned slightly and looked at them as they approached. “Zhen Zhong, listen carefully. Ye Jiming is my person. Bullying him is the same as slapping my face. Don’t blame me for not showing mercy in the future.”
She was a Tier-4 mutated wood-type ability user, possessing both strong offensive power and powerful healing abilities—someone every ability-user squad would fight to recruit.
Ordinary wood-type ability users were divided into two branches: offense and healing. Those with strong offensive power could only treat minor injuries, while those with strong healing abilities had very limited survival capacity in the wild and needed designated protection.
Moreover, Tier-3 and Tier-4 ability users were separated by a major threshold. There were very few wood-type ability users in the entire Safe Zone who had reached Tier 4.
Upon hearing her words, Zhen Zhong raised his eyebrows, his smile widening.
“Sis Xi, don’t worry. Since this kid is yours, he’s ours too. Whoever dares bully him is going against us.”
Ji Chaoxi smiled faintly. “So, where are you headed?”
“We took on a mission. We came specifically to invite Sis Xi to form a team.”
“What mission?”
“Kill a Rank-5 Mutated Beast.”
Zhen Zhong waved his hand, and someone immediately took out a small bag from a spatial storage device and handed it to him. He took it and stepped forward, offering it to Ji Chaoxi.
“Sis Xi, this is the deposit. Without your healing, we can’t handle a Rank-5 Mutated Beast.”
Ji Chaoxi looked at the bag, then turned to glance at the thin man beside her. After a two-second pause, she accepted it.
“Alright. When do we leave?”
“Tomorrow. It’s too late today. We still need to get some proper gear just in case.”
“Fine. I’ll wait for you at home tomorrow.”
“Great. With Sis Xi joining us, we can go all out without worries. See you tomorrow.”
Zhen Zhong waved his hand. His teasing gaze swept over Ye Jiming almost casually before he led the group away.
Ye Jiming did not notice Zhen Zhong’s look at all. His eyes remained lowered as he silently studied Ji Chaoxi beside him.
Her skin was very fair. Perhaps because she had awakened wood-type abilities, her entire body emitted a dense, life-filled aura.
A faint floral-wood fragrance drifted into his nose, making him unconsciously want to lean closer and inhale more.
In the apocalypse, foreign matter had invaded the earth. The air was filled with an indescribable stench—like rusted blood mixed with rotting bones.
After long exposure, one’s sense of smell dulled, and even food became tasteless.
He subtly moved closer to her. The floral scent grew stronger.
Ye Jiming inhaled lightly, feeling as though even the violent, murderous impulses deep within his soul were slightly soothed.
Ji Chaoxi noticed Zhen Zhong leaving and turned back, pulling Ye Jiming into the house.
Ye Jiming stared at the hand gripping his arm, his eyes dark and unfathomable.
She placed all the items from the bag onto the wooden table: one jin of white rice, two packs of dried noodles, ten packs of compressed biscuits, two cans of food, and a bag of vacuum-packed cured sausage.
If they rationed it carefully, it could last three days.
Ji Chaoxi stared at the sausage for a long moment, unconsciously swallowing. It had been too long since she had eaten pre-apocalypse food.
After two years in the apocalypse, the base had developed many edible substitutes using existing resources, maximizing nutrition. But the taste—was like chewing wax.
She silently swallowed again, then packed everything back into the bag. Turning to the man beside her, she said, “I’ll cook.”
Ye Jiming watched her walk into the kitchen with heavy eyes. He lightly bit the tip of his tongue against his teeth, feeling a faint sting.
A cold, mocking smile curled his lips. Ji Chaoxi, let me see how long you can keep pretending.
After boiling the noodles, Ji Chaoxi took a half-eaten vegetable and activated her ability. The vegetable rapidly grew until it was enough to make a full dish.
Stir-fried vegetables with cured sausage over noodles.
Soon, two steaming bowls of noodles were placed on the table.
Ji Chaoxi called out to Ye Jiming. “Stop standing there. Wash your hands and eat. It’ll clump up if it gets cold.”
This world did not lack water resources—it lacked clean water.
Water contaminated by foreign matter would mutate those who drank it, turning them into half-beast, half-human monsters.
The base had developed purification drugs, divided into different grades. The better the effect, the more expensive it was. Ordinary people could only afford the cheapest version, barely surviving.
Ji Chaoxi ate a few bites of vegetables and looked across the table. “If we complete this mission, we should get a lot of supplies. Think about what you want. You can exchange for it later.”
“I don’t want anything.” Ye Jiming looked at the sausage and noodles in front of him, then at the extra vegetables in her bowl. A cold sneer rose in his heart.
What a perfect act.
Ji Chaoxi didn’t notice his thoughts. “No rush. Think about it slowly. Tell me when you decide.”
Ye Jiming said nothing. As he ate, he realized his bowl contained nearly one-third more sausage than Ji Chaoxi’s.
He clenched his jaw slightly and suddenly spoke. “I want canned food.”
Ji Chaoxi paused briefly, then nodded. “I’ll get it.”
The can was opened, revealing pieces of fish. A familiar aroma filled the air.
Ji Chaoxi picked out two pieces and placed them in her bowl, putting the rest across from him. “I don’t really like fish. You have these.”
Ye Jiming’s cold gaze lingered on the fish for two seconds, then lifted to Ji Chaoxi.
She kept her head lowered, long lashes casting a small shadow. She ate the fish in small bites, her lips curving slightly in satisfaction.
She clearly liked it.
Ye Jiming watched her for a long time. Until she finished eating, she never once looked at the fish in front of him, only focusing on her own bowl.
As if it were the most delicious thing in the world.
A bowl of vegetable leaves—what was so good about it?
Was she trying to act pitiful in front of him?
Heh. Ji Chaoxi, do you really think I’m a dog? That I’ll wag my tail just because you show me a little kindness?
Back then, he had only been worthy of eating leftovers like a dog, crawling on the ground…
His grip on the chopsticks tightened slightly, hatred surging in Ye Jiming’s eyes.
After dinner, night fell. The temperature difference between day and night in the apocalypse was extreme.
In the past, to increase Ye Jiming’s villainization value, Ji Chaoxi had made him sleep on the floor at the foot of the bed without a blanket, forcing him to endure freezing nights for two years.
After washing up, Ji Chaoxi stared at the bed in distress. She definitely couldn’t let Ye Jiming sleep on the floor anymore, but there was only one bed in the room. She would have to find a way to get another one.
Just then, Ye Jiming walked toward the foot of the bed. Ji Chaoxi called out to him.
“Ye Jiming, you’re sleeping on the bed tonight.”
He paused, narrowing his dangerous eyes slightly as he slowly turned around, looking helpless.
“I… I don’t dare.”
“Just sleep if I tell you to.”
Ji Chaoxi pulled him over and pushed him onto the bed. “Lie down. Go to sleep.”
Ye Jiming nervously climbed into the corner.
Ji Chaoxi sighed and also got onto the bed, pulling the blanket over both of them.
She didn’t want to share a bed with Ye Jiming either—but she wanted to avoid freezing even more.
If she had known what would happen next, she would have chosen the latter without hesitation.