12 – System
Ye Jin cautiously observed Yu Ruanruan’s movements throughout the night.
She could now confirm that Yu Ruanruan’s System had already appeared. Although the energy fluctuations from Yu Ruanruan’s side were very faint, she had still detected them.
“System, did you manage to scan Ye Jin just now?” Though Yu Ruanruan’s eyes were closed as if she were asleep, she was actually communicating with the System within her.
“Host, no jade pendant was detected on Ye Jin.”
“So, the jade pendant is really with Fu Yihao?”
“Host, you don’t necessarily need to obtain the jade pendant. As long as you can touch it, I can help you transfer the dimension inside the pendant out!”
It seemed Ye Jin hadn’t lied to her.
“Host, you must immediately start progressing on Fu Yihao’s conquest bar now!”
Yu Ruanruan felt troubled. She didn’t even know where Fu Yihao was—how could she conquer him? She couldn’t even guarantee her own safety. At least Ye Jin had a Water Ability.
“Host, Water Ability has no offensive power. As long as you complete tasks and earn Credit Points, you can exchange for any Special Ability! Any weapon, and Abilities can even be stacked for use. Your newbie gift package, the protective shield, can still be used for three hours.”
Hearing this, Yu Ruanruan thought of the rocket launchers available in her System mall and immediately regained confidence.
What she wanted most was the Soul Hooking Art skill. If she could possess Soul Hooking Art, why would she fear Zombies? Plenty of men would be willing to protect her.
With her back turned to Yu Ruanruan, Ye Jin slowly opened her eyes—the energy fluctuations had disappeared!
She remembered from the book that the System was the female lead’s assistance tool, but this System actually knew she had a Space Jade Pendant. It seemed unusual; she needed to find an opportunity to test it!
…
The next morning, Zhang Yiyi finally woke up. She raised her hand to rub her dizzy head and vaguely heard Ye Jin’s voice in her daze: “Yi Yi, are you awake?”
“Ye Jin? Why are you here?”
“Have something to eat and drink some water first.” Ye Jin took out a bottle of mineral water containing Spirit Spring Water and a bag of bread from her backpack and handed them to Zhang Yiyi.
As soon as Zhang Yiyi took the bread, it disappeared. Thinking she was seeing things, she looked at Ye Jin in confusion and asked, “Huh? Where did it go?”
Ye Jin smiled and said, “Yi Yi, this is a Special Ability. You probably have a space superpower. Concentrate and sense it, then try to bring the items back out.”
“Special Ability?” Zhang Yiyi followed Ye Jin’s instructions, focusing carefully, and the items reappeared in her hand.
Zhang Yiyi exclaimed joyfully, “Ye Jin, I feel like there’s a dimension in my mind! It’s about the size of a room!”
“Congratulations on awakening your space superpower!”
In this lifetime, with Yi Yi having a Special Ability, she would at least have self-protection capabilities. Space superpower would become powerful in the later stages. From what she knew, in the apocalypse, many Ability Users with space superpower could wield considerable power with Space Blades if mastered properly, just like that person she had seen before.
The higher the space superpower level, the larger the dimensional space would become, and the power of Space Blades would be astonishing. Although her own dimension had no offensive capabilities, the mere ability to store living creatures was enough to make others covet it.
“Why do we have things like Special Abilities?”
Zhang Yiyi only knew that people outside had suddenly started attacking others. She had followed the crowd to hide in the back kitchen and then fainted, so she wasn’t well-informed about the situation outside.
“Yi Yi, it’s the apocalypse now.”Ye Jin was worried Zhang Yiyi might not be able to accept the reality, but still wanted her to mentally prepare herself. She said, “There are man-eating zombies everywhere outside. You need to adapt quickly. Aunt Chen is still waiting for us.”
Only after observing her surroundings did Zhang Yiyi realize she recognized the person lying on the ground near the wall ahead—it was the student council minister.
She remembered he was the one who had organized everyone to hide in the kitchen first, but now he could hardly be called human. His nails had turned black, his bulging eyes had one eyeball fallen on the ground, his skin was festering, and the surrounding blood was dark red.
Glancing out the window again, she saw bloodstains on the windowsill and floor, with several zombies digging into someone’s heart and chewing on it.
The scene made Zhang Yiyi exclaim, “Ugh!” and vomit. Having been unconscious for two days without eating, she only threw up stomach acid.
Ye Jin patted Zhang Yiyi’s back, handed her a bottle of water, and comforted her, “Take it easy for now.”
Zhang Yiyi grabbed the water and gulped it down, then said to Ye Jin, “Oh my god! That stuff is just too disgusting!”
She then looked at Ye Jin and asked, “So what do we do now?”
“Once you’ve rested, we’ll charge out!”
“Alright! Do you have any food? I need to replenish my energy—I’m starving.”
Ye Jin hadn’t expected Zhang Yiyi to accept the reality so quickly. This girl had always been an optimist; as long as there was food to fill her stomach, even the sky falling wouldn’t faze her.
Xia Li, who had woken up earlier, walked over to Ye Jin. He opened his mouth to say something but hesitated.
He just silently watched Ye Jin without speaking.
Ye Jin also glanced back at this tall, slender boy with delicate features.
Finally, Xia Li spoke up, “Could I… follow you?”
His voice was hoarse as he spoke, and he demonstrated his Special Ability—a green vine sprouting from his palm.
Wood ability.
“Why?” Ye Jin asked.
Xia Li bit his lip and replied, “I know you helped me. I have no family.”
After a pause, he added, “I feel that you’re very strong!”
Ye Jin raised an eyebrow. Very strong? She had only killed a few zombies.
“I don’t keep idle people. If you want to follow me, you must kill zombies yourself!”
“I can! I can kill zombies on my own and find my own food!”
Xia Li had grown up in an orphanage. Though introverted, he understood human nature and knew no one liked deadweight.
Although he had been feverish and disoriented, he hadn’t completely lost consciousness and was aware of what had happened outside. She had killed all those zombies, proving her strength.
The people in this cafeteria had been his classmates for years, yet they had treated him so coldly. Though he knew Ye Jin was the campus belle, she didn’t know him, yet she had saved him. Moreover, she had braved the chaos outside to search for her friend, which showed she wasn’t heartless and was someone trustworthy.
Often, it’s in critical moments that one’s true character is revealed.
Ye Jin hadn’t expected this kid to be so perceptive, able to quickly assess his situation and willing to put in effort. He was a smart one.
“You can follow me, but…”
Ye Jin’s gaze sharpened, her tone cutting, “I despise betrayal most of all! If you ever betray me, I will personally take care of you!”
“Fine! If that day ever comes, please make sure you’re the one to do it!”
Once he made his choice, he would never betray her!Ye Jin took several pieces of bread and ham sausages from her backpack and tossed them to Xia Li, saying, “Replenish your energy first. We’ll be leaving soon.”
“Alright!” Xia Li immediately crouched on the ground and began eating.
However, the people hiding in the other corner of the back kitchen grew anxious upon hearing that Ye Jin and the others were really leaving.
“Zombies are everywhere outside—it’s too dangerous! You should stay. There’s still plenty of food stored in this back kitchen!”
They had witnessed Ye Jin’s strength and naturally didn’t want her to leave, especially since all three of them were Ability Users.
Ye Jin knew exactly what these people were thinking and completely ignored them.
After resting for a while, she led Zhang Yiyi and Xia Li toward the door, while Yu Ruanruan quietly hurried to follow behind.
The group immediately jumped up and blocked their path. “You can’t leave!”
“Step aside!” Ye Jin said coldly.
“No! You’re all Ability Users. If you leave, what will happen to us ordinary people?”
“Yeah! What about us?”
Ye Jin found it ridiculous. Everyone admitted to S University was supposed to be highly educated, yet they could still show such ugly faces.
“We’re not the police. Why should we care what happens to you?” Before Ye Jin could speak, Zhang Yiyi couldn’t hold back. How could they be so shameless?
“You have Special Abilities and are so powerful. Protecting us wouldn’t cost you anything!”
They actually said it with such self-righteousness.
“You!” Zhang Yiyi was furious. Just because they had abilities, did they have to protect these people? She and Ye Jin had their own families to protect too.
Xia Li was also astonished by their shamelessness—it was truly something you’d only see after living long enough.
Yu Ruanruan, delighted to see Ye Jin in a difficult situation, stayed silent on the side.
Suddenly, a cold glint flashed as Ye Jin directly pressed a knife against the neck of the man who had just spoken.
She said indifferently, “If I want to leave, no one can stop me!”
The man, who had been so arrogant moments before, now trembled as he spoke, “K-Killing is illegal. You wouldn’t dare, would you?”
In this apocalyptic world, where were the laws?
“Hah, who said I’m going to kill you?”
Ye Jin pressed the blade tighter against the man’s skin. “The Zombie blood on this knife hasn’t dried yet. If my hand slips and accidentally cuts your skin, how many minutes do you think it would take for you to turn into a Zombie?”
Hearing this, the man froze, not daring to move, terrified that the blade might actually break his skin.
Her unyielding attitude intimidated them, and they had no choice but to step aside and let Ye Jin pass.
Before leaving, Ye Jin glanced at a few girls in the corner and said, “If you want to leave, you can follow behind me, but I won’t be responsible for your safety.”
The girls exchanged glances but ultimately shook their heads. One of them said to Ye Jin, “Thank you, but we’ll wait for the national rescue team.”
Feng Yuan actually wanted to follow Ye Jin, but she had spoken ill of Ye Jin before, and Zhang Yiyi didn’t like her either.
There was still plenty of food in the back kitchen—it should be enough to last until the national rescue arrived.
Ye Jin paid them no further attention. These people didn’t even have the courage to step outside; they would struggle to survive in the apocalypse anyway.
By the time the nation could spare resources to send rescue teams, the optimal window would have long passed. The first to be evacuated would undoubtedly be high-ranking officials, politicians, and scientists. It was better to rely on themselves.Moreover, the first places to fall in the apocalypse were densely populated areas. Hospitals and schools were both zombie hotspots. With students and faculty combined, S University had at least ten thousand people, making it the first location in S Province to be completely overrun by zombies.