Yu Lehuan lay buried beneath a clean, odorless blanket, pretending to sleep. Little Six knew she was not actually asleep. No matter how carefree a person might be, no one could sleep peacefully on their first day after transmigrating. Besides, Yu Lehuan was exhausted after using her energy earlier.
Little Six continued chattering away.
【I’m telling you, now that we’re in the apocalypse, we have to be extra careful. I heard from other systems that once a host gets assigned to the apocalypse zone, they’re practically stepping into the gates of the underworld. I don’t even know who I offended to be assigned here by my superior… In the apocalypse, even though you’re useless… well, I’m not much use either…】
Yu Lehuan rolled her eyes and could not be bothered to respond to the foolish thing. Seeing that it was still rambling on endlessly, she poured cold water over it.
“If you’re useless, then why do you even have a host?”
【…】
【I’ll only be useful if you get your act together! If you work hard and help me obtain energy, the two of us can walk sideways through the apocalypse!】
She did not want to discuss who was more useful with the system. Instead, she thought about the things wandering outside.
“The zombies in novels are usually covered in blood and look quite similar to humans. Why do the things outside look like they’re about to fall apart?”
【That’s because this is already the fifth year after the apocalypse began. The capable humans formed teams and worked together to establish human bases. Most people now live inside those bases. The stronger ones go outside to search for any useful supplies, while the elderly, women, and children stay behind to grow vegetables and do odd jobs.】
Yu Lehuan quietly considered this.
Little Six was completely useless. The little bit of energy it possessed was nothing more than a drop in the ocean in the apocalypse.
As for herself, she was even more useless.
If she relied on herself, she might as well hurry up and die. Her most urgent priority was to find someone powerful enough to protect her. Yu Lehuan had a very clear understanding of her own abilities.
Little Six continued.
【Your current identity is the daughter of the Yu family. Your parents owned a textile factory, and your family had some wealth before the apocalypse. You also have a younger brother who was adopted by your parents. When the apocalypse began, you were the only one at home, and you became separated from them. That’s your identity.】
【You’re currently in the outskirts of B City. B City is the capital, and the nearest base is in H City, more than three hundred kilometers away. Yu Lehuan, we have to get to a base. It’s easier to obtain Goodwill Points in places where there are lots of people.】
Yu Lehuan’s brows drooped, and her expression turned miserable.
“I want to go to the base too, but it’s more than three hundred kilometers away. Even if I grew wings, I couldn’t fly that far.”
Little Six tried hard to lift its neckless head and puffed out its chest as it spoke with a smug little air.
【Hmph, hmph! I’ve already sensed humans nearby. You just have to wait for them to find you.】
Yu Lehuan’s expression immediately changed. She quickly opened the wardrobe and hid inside.
“You stupid system! People in the apocalypse are all fierce and terrifying, and we don’t even know whether they’re good or bad! I’m so pretty and adorable. If I fall into their hands, won’t they eat me alive?”
System 1066 had spent too long in the campus zone and knew nothing about the dangers of the human heart. It was even more innocent than Yu Lehuan. Hearing her words, I immediately became anxious.
【Th… then what should we do? That group is about to arrive, Yu Lehuan. Hiding in the wardrobe won’t work… Go under the bed!】
If anyone entered the little villa, they would definitely search the cabinets and wardrobes. Little Six did not think hiding under the bed was a good idea either, but Yu Lehuan was so weak that she could not run away. They could only gamble on their luck.
“I don’t want to! I don’t want to! It’s so dirty under the bed… Look at it… There’s a whole layer of dust. Little Six, clean it up for me, and then I’ll hide under there.”
System 1066 was completely speechless at this finicky young heiress. While nervously listening to the sounds outside, it cleaned beneath the bed for Yu Lehuan.
It felt that its superior had been far too ruthless. Throwing it into the apocalypse zone was not enough. Its superior had even assigned Yu Lehuan to it and expected it to serve as her nanny.
Yu Lehuan blinked as she watched Little Six clean beneath the bed. Once it was spotless, she quickly crawled underneath. Then she flashed a sweet smile.
“Thank you, Little Six. In the apocalypse, you’re my family. You’re the only one I can trust.”
Whenever Yu Lehuan was satisfied, compliments slipped easily from her lips.
System 1066 blushed when it heard that.
It was nothing more than a string of data, wandering through the space-time tunnel. No one had ever considered it family. The pampered young heiress before it had a terrible temper and was incredibly willful, yet she had said that she considered it family…
【Y… You can rest assured… I’ll protect you properly.】
Just as it said that, Yu Lehuan heard movement outside.
The front door was violently forced open, and steady yet orderly footsteps gradually entered the dilapidated little villa. From the sound of them, Yu Lehuan could tell that this was a well-trained team. They were extremely vigilant, and from time to time, faint reports could be heard, though the words were too unclear to make out.
Soon, Yu Lehuan heard someone coming up to the second floor. Light footsteps sounded on the stairs.
Yu Lehuan lay beneath the bed in boredom, while Little Six was extremely nervous and stared at the doorway without blinking.
Suddenly, someone opened the door.
The newcomer was tall and powerfully built, nearly one meter ninety in height. He wore a black protective combat suit that covered him from head to toe, leaving only a pair of sharp brown phoenix eyes exposed as they swept coldly across the room.
When Zhao Yan saw the blankets on the bed in complete disarray, he narrowed his eyes.
【Yu Lehuan, this person looks really powerful.】
Yu Lehuan felt that she could come out now.
The group that had arrived seemed very organized, like a team from one of the bases rather than some motley gang of hooligans. They probably would not do anything to her.
Besides, she was starving. She had not eaten or drunk anything since morning, and she could no longer stand staying beneath the bed.
Zhao Yan walked over to the wardrobe and was about to open it when his sharp senses caught a faint muffled groan.
He immediately turned his head toward the bed.
A pair of fair, delicate hands slowly stretched out from beneath it.
Then, a young woman gradually crawled out from under the bed and turned to look at him.
“…I’m so hungry.”
Zhao Yan stared at the young woman, who was so beautiful that she seemed to glow.
Her moist eyes looked up at him as her lips curved downward in a pitiful pout. The light streaming through the window gave her curly hair a faint brown sheen.
In this ruined and dilapidated place, she looked like an angel.
And that angel was telling him she was hungry.
Yu Lehuan watched as the man stood there without moving.
Could he really be so stingy that he would not even give her a bite to eat?
Then again, this was already the fifth year of the apocalypse. Perhaps all the food had long since been eaten.
Her gaze drifted over the man’s tall, powerful build, and she suddenly remembered hearing someone say that during famines, when there was no food, people ate women and children.
Goosebumps immediately rose across her skin.
She had been too careless. She would have been better off staying under the bed. At least then she might have been left with an intact corpse.
Zhao Yan watched the angel-like young woman as her eyes darted around, as though she were plotting something wicked.
That made her look less like an angel and more like a little devil.
He reached behind his clothes, and Yu Lehuan immediately fixed her eyes on his movements.
Zhao Yan paused when he noticed her staring, then pulled out a piece of compressed biscuit and stepped forward to place it beside the bed.
“Eat.”
Zhao Yan watched as Yu Lehuan sat blankly on the floor, staring at the compressed biscuit as though she had lost her mind.
She did not look very smart.
Perhaps she really was a fool.
Yu Lehuan finally snapped out of her daze and climbed onto the bed. The moment she saw the compressed biscuit, she began complaining wildly to Little Six in her heart.
“I don’t want to eat this! I want sweet and sour spare ribs, Kung Pao chicken, steamed sea bass, mapo tofu, matsutake black chicken soup…”
The more she listed the dishes, the hungrier she became.
With no dignity left whatsoever, she picked up the compressed biscuit and took a bite.
“Bleh, bleh, bleh… Waaa… My teeth hurt…”
Zhao Yan frowned.
Could she really be a fool?
He watched as Yu Lehuan hurt her teeth on the compressed biscuit. How could someone be unable to chew a compressed biscuit?
Seeing her aggrieved expression, his frown gradually relaxed.
This was a military compressed biscuit. It was perfectly normal for a girl to have trouble chewing it, especially a delicate young woman like her, who looked so fragile at first glance.