After a brief understanding of the situation, Yu Yao and Luo Mei left the mission hall and drove directly to the rented apartment.
The apartment they rented was on the seventh floor. The power was out, so they had to climb the stairs.
Fortunately, one of them was constantly leveling up and upgrading, and the other was already well-trained and had now awakened her abilities, further changing her physique. Climbing stairs was easy for them.
Because of the power outage, the keycards couldn’t be used. Every apartment door had a latch installed with an iron padlock—simple and crude.
They picked the lock and entered. The inside was frighteningly empty—there wasn’t even a basic sofa or bed.
But at least the empty shell was clean and didn’t need extra cleaning.
Luo Mei clicked her tongue, then locked the door with the latch and said, “Good grief, even a thief coming in would probably leave some money behind!”
“Be grateful, at least there’s a place to shelter from the wind and rain.”
“Yeah, and look at the floor tiles, how shiny!” Luo Mei joked with a smile.
Yu Yao couldn’t help but chuckle and put down her backpack.
She casually placed a tea table and a sofa set on the living room floor.
“Doesn’t it look better now?”
Luo Mei nodded, “Not bad, not bad, looks way more decent now—only you could do this~”
Yu Yao took out two pairs of slippers, changed into them, and then took some thick curtains. Together with Luo Mei, they installed them on the existing curtain rods.
They went to the kitchen and placed a gas stove, two pots, a set of kitchen utensils, and some seasonings.
Now, the apartment looked even more livable.
Seeing this, Luo Mei clapped her hands in satisfaction and asked, “What do you want to eat? I’ll cook for you.”
“Something mild… like rice porridge? Steamed buns? Tossed salad?”
Actually, she wanted to eat hotpot, barbecue, or spicy skewers.
But living in such a place, any careless move could attract unwanted attention.
If they were taken for easy marks, that would be unpleasant.
Luo Mei gave an approving “OK” sign and said, “Alright, give me the ingredients, and you just relax.”
“Mm.”
Yu Yao didn’t like cooking, and what she made was always terrible tasting.
So she didn’t try to take credit and simply handed Luo Mei the needed ingredients and utensils.
She also took out a washbasin, a towel, a bottle of hand sanitizer, a bucket of drinking water, and a bucket of utility water.
“Wash your hands before cooking!”
“…Thanks for the reminder.”
“You’re welcome.”
“…”
Leaving the kitchen, Yu Yao went straight to the bedroom.
They placed a standard 1.8-meter-wide bed in each of the two bedrooms, with mattresses and quilts, set up bedding sets, and put a bedside table beside each bed.
They also put some spare clothes in the wardrobe.
Finally, they installed a simple shower in the bathroom.
It was basically a water tank connected to a shower head; filling the tank with hot water meant they could bathe.
Just as they finished placing toiletries, Luo Mei’s cooking was almost done.
“Dinner’s ready~”
“Coming.”
After a whole day of fuss, they were starving.
No one wasted time; they quickly placed the simple dishes on the tea table.
They sat cross-legged on the carpet in front of the sofa, watching a variety show on the tablet while slowly eating.
After they were full, they didn’t rush to clean up but leaned against the sofa, chatting leisurely while watching the show.
When an episode ended, Yu Yao remembered that Luo Mei had killed quite a few level-one zombies in the past two days.
So she took out the crystal cores belonging to Luo Mei and said, “By the way, these are the crystal cores you got from killing level-one zombies these past two days.”
Luo Mei was surprised, “Eh? When did you get those?”
Earlier when they were killing zombies, she had thought about digging around to see if any crystal cores dropped.
But due to the urgency, she never got the chance, and had been secretly regretting it all day.
Yu Yao had already thought of an excuse for this.
Before speaking, she took out a “Soul Lock Talisman” from the system shop.
It was limited to one purchase per month. Once bought, it would turn gray and only refresh the next month.
Those who receive the talisman would have a shackle set on their soul, unable to betray or harm.
Though Luo Mei’s behavior showed she was grateful and loyal—a qualified… friend—
Yu Yao still wanted to take measures before fully trusting her.
Luo Mei looked at the talisman in Yu Yao’s hand and asked, “What’s this?”
“A Soul Lock Talisman.”
“What’s it for?”
“To prevent betrayal. I trust you… but I don’t trust human nature.”
If they stayed together long-term, some secrets would inevitably be shared.
But Yu Yao didn’t have that sense of security.
Luo Mei didn’t hesitate at all. “What do I need to do?”
Yu Yao thought she would resist, but was surprised by how quickly she accepted, leaving her momentarily stunned.
After a moment, Yu Yao said, “I’m asking if you accept it. Don’t worry, the talisman won’t harm you as long as you… don’t harbor thoughts of hurting me.”
This talisman not only wouldn’t harm Luo Mei but would subtly strengthen her spiritual power.
It would only react if Luo Mei truly intended to harm Yu Yao.
At that moment, Yu Yao would sense it immediately and erase her—her soul shattered, no chance of reincarnation.
“I accept. If you didn’t do this, I wouldn’t feel secure.” Luo Mei smiled sincerely, showing no dissatisfaction.
She agreed so decisively that Yu Yao moved her fingers slightly, then nodded and directly inserted the talisman into Luo Mei’s mind.
After everything was done, Yu Yao said, “Now I’ll tell you, I actually have another ability.”
Upon hearing this, Luo Mei perked up, straightened her back excitedly, and asked, “What? There’s more?”
No wonder Yu Yao needed precautions—ordinary people wouldn’t dare to say such things!
Yu Yao nodded.
“It’s quite unique, so I didn’t mention it at first.”
Now Luo Mei was even more excited.
“Tell me, tell me! I want to see how unique it is!”
“It’s called Spirit Extraction.”
“…Hmm?” Luo Mei looked puzzled and didn’t understand the two words at all.
“It means when I’m dealing with zombies or mutated flora and fauna, my ability extracts their remaining energy and condenses it into items or equipment of equivalent energy value, like the talisman I gave you earlier today.”
Luo Mei’s eyes widened, her expression growing increasingly dazed as Yu Yao spoke.
It took her a moment before she finally gasped.
“Wait, you play games and get gear drops???”
“…” Yu Yao tugged at the corner of her mouth. “You say it is… well, yes…”
Smart people really do react fast.
The truth came out in an instant.
“You still have time to play games?”
Luo Mei rolled her eyes at her. “Not much time, but it’s not like I’m clueless. Don’t underestimate me.”
“…Alright then.”
Luo Mei didn’t press further on that topic but curiously asked, “So the crystal cores are also…?”
“Yes, the crystal cores get extracted too.”
“Then what about the people who kill zombies with you? Don’t they get anything?”
Yu Yao shook her head gently and explained, “Not really. My ability only works on zombies I kill myself. But you can.”
“Why?”
“Because I… trust you quite a bit already, and you trust me. So the zombies you kill, I can extract energy and crystal cores from them. From now on, any crystal cores and items you get from killing zombies, I’ll give them to you.”
She wasn’t lying about this. The game system automatically collects the crystal cores and items from zombies she kills herself.
It even helps pick up teammates’ drops and stores each person’s loot separately in their own inventory slots.
Clear and organized, no mix-ups.
This was another major reason Yu Yao wanted teammates.
Like always, more people fighting together means more gear and experience than just by herself!
…
Also, Luo Mei’s energy was extremely strong, seemingly inexhaustible.
She was always actively intense to the point of intimidating.
For someone like Yu Yao, who tended to be gloomy, Luo Mei was a great companion.
Earlier in the Xin Xin mall, Luo Mei used the distraction of the five-colored stone shards to kill four level-one zombies during the chaos.
She got four crystal cores: two transparent, one blue (water element), one gold (metal element), a talisman, and a bracelet.
Yu Yao’s haul was even bigger — she killed eleven level-one zombies.
Plus experience from hundreds of level-zero zombies, she successfully reached level 7.
She also got eleven crystal cores and five talismans.
…
The word “trust” pleased Luo Mei greatly.
She understood the Soul Lock Talisman was just a safety measure — trust came first, the talisman came later.
She happily exclaimed, “Wow~” and blinked her beautiful eyes delightfully.
“That awesome? Did I really land a jackpot?”
She joked, crossing one arm and rubbing her smooth chin with the other.
“Am I some lucky novel protagonist? Everything handed to me without effort by tool teammates?”
Yu Yao snorted.
“Handed to you without effort? Dream on! Get back to killing zombies for me! You’re just working for me!”
Luo Mei laughed heartily.
“Alright, alright, you’re not giving me any face, sis~” Then she smiled at Yu Yao, “No matter what, I guess I really did land a jackpot!”
“Don’t say nonsense, my legs are pretty slim,” Yu Yao teased mockingly.
“Hahahaha, yes, yes, the thinnest, thinnest golden leg!”
“…”
After laughing enough, Luo Mei asked, “So the talisman you gave me was dropped by zombies you killed, right?”
“Mm,” Yu Yao didn’t deny it.
“In the future, you don’t have to give me those things; keep them all for yourself.”
Luo Mei picked out two transparent crystal cores and put the other two back in Yu Yao’s hand.
“Here, these are yours. Though it’s not enough yet, I’ll keep working hard!”
She knew she owed Yu Yao a lot and couldn’t repay quickly.
But she wasn’t worried — there was a long road ahead, and as long as she lived, she’d keep repaying.
The reason she kept the transparent crystal cores was because Yu Yao told her:
Psychic ability users can only absorb colorless transparent crystal cores and white translucent psychic crystal cores.
She needed to repay her debts, but first she had to improve herself and survive in this perilous apocalypse.
Only by surviving could she talk about the future.
Yu Yao looked at the two crystal cores in her palm without saying anything.
Instead, she took out seven transparent crystal cores they had gotten today and handed them to Luo Mei.
“Don’t mind owing me some more, okay? Interest included.”
For now, crystal cores weren’t useful to Yu Yao.
What she needed was experience.
Luo Mei could help her gain experience, so lending her some crystal cores wasn’t a loss.
Luo Mei was momentarily stunned but then grinned, her eyes curving beautifully.
“No problem, the more debt, the better!”
…
After getting the crystal cores, Luo Mei didn’t rush to absorb them.
Instead, she helped Yu Yao clean the bowls and dishes on the tea table.
She then took a shower, changed into the clean home clothes Yu Yao had prepared, and only then returned to the bedroom to absorb the crystal cores.
Yu Yao, having nothing else to do, went to her room to rest early.