2333 was angry.
2333 completely stopped talking.
Wen Qianshu had asked for its number, but it refused to answer.
Wen Qianshu didn’t care, just treating it as the same 2333.
The Main God’s space had a simulation pod that could simulate the environment of the world she was about to enter. Wen Qianshu imported the content of the next world, grabbed a bow, and gave it a try.
After all, she had used a bow for so many years before. Her archery was very accurate and steady.
Wen Qianshu thought for a moment and switched the page.
2333 glanced at her sideways, watching her search on the page: “Method for making a wooden longbow.”
2333: “…”
As expected of Wen Qianshu, always thinking of some strange and peculiar things.
The following days were dull and tedious. Wen Qianshu spent all her time practicing in the simulation pod. She first learned how to make a longbow and arrows, and then she also learned how to make a slingshot.
Afterward, she began to import zombies from the next world, practicing long-range archery while also learning close-quarters combat.
2333 wanted to tell her that in the next world, she was just a weak and pitiful recent graduate who shouldn’t be this strong, but after thinking about it, it decided not to say anything.
They were still in a cold war!
But Wen Qianshu seemed to have completely forgotten about it.
She ate when she should eat and slept when she should sleep. In her free time, she was either learning combat skills, learning wilderness survival skills, or fighting zombies.
2333 watched as she went from being unable to handle even one zombie, almost getting her hand bitten off, to gradually being able to kite several zombies and take them down one by one. Once she became proficient, Wen Qianshu started to deliberately let the zombies bite her before fighting them.
Anyway, everything in the Main God’s space could be repaired. After Wen Qianshu turned into a zombie, she could be turned back. As a result, Wen Qianshu would sometimes throw herself into a horde of zombies and count the seconds to see how long she could last.
2333: “…”
It had finally discovered that Wen Qianshu was truly ruthless, especially to herself.
Her nonchalant attitude in the previous two worlds was probably because her mind wasn’t focused on them.
Wen Qianshu twirled the dagger with her fingertips, reversed her grip, and in a swift turn, plunged it into the zombie’s neck, pinning it to the ground.
Then she got up, trembling, and pressed a button on the side with her sweaty hand.
The zombie was still hissing and howling, but it disappeared along with the dagger in its neck.
Wen Qianshu sat on the ground, panting, and reached for a cup of water to drink.
She had used up all her strength; even her hands were shaking.
If 2333 weren’t still in a cold war with her, it would have wanted to persuade her to rest for a while.
But they were in a cold war.
2333 thought indignantly, they were in a cold war!
Wen Qianshu ignored 2333’s one-sided cold war, wiped her face haphazardly with a towel, and finally began to look at this world’s world line.
Apocalypse, zombies.
A traditional setting from sci-fi movies.
What was unconventional was that the timeline was already several decades into the apocalypse. Humanity had built bases and settled down, forming a delicate balance with the zombies outside.
The female protagonist was named Jiang Yao. She was sent to D District with her team to complete a mission, but they encountered an earthquake and a conspiracy, and the entire team perished. Only she was saved by a couple. She hid for a few days, but unfortunately, the rescue came too late, and in the end, she couldn’t bring the couple out alive with her.
The person Wen Qianshu was to replace this time was the couple’s daughter—Qin Shu.
When the earthquake occurred, Qin Shu was out shopping, and then all contact was lost. Jiang Yao felt she had let the Qin family down and later searched for her among the survivors many times, but she could never find her.
“Jiang Yao understood but refused to admit it—Qin Shu had died that night.”
Wen Qianshu closed the file, feeling overwhelmed.
There was no description in the book, so she didn’t know what Qin Shu had encountered.
But since the Main God’s space dared to send her over, Qin Shu probably didn’t have any broken limbs and should have passed away peacefully—
Peacefully, my ass.
After preparing everything she could in the training room, Wen Qianshu followed the same procedure as last time and entered the new world. When she woke up, her stomach was burning, her vision was blurry, and all she could think about was drinking water. She seemed to be stuck in a corner. It was pitch black all around, and eerily quiet, except for a hissing sound that drilled into her ears.
In the distance, there seemed to be the sound of nails scraping on wood, a “scratch, scratch” sound.
The level of fright was about the same as when she first woke up back then and was called on by her Chinese teacher.
Perhaps because 2333 was angry, there was no electronic voice to remind her this time.
Wen Qianshu’s throat was dry, and her mouth had a metallic taste—the feeling of blood seeping out due to extreme dehydration. She gave two dry coughs and found that the skin on her face was also very tight.
Wen Qianshu: “…”
The poor little girl. She was so thirsty, yet she was still crying. The tears had dried on her cheeks, making it painful to even change her expression.
It was very dark here, and she couldn’t see anything. 2333 was waiting for Wen Qianshu to beg it for help, but instead, it saw Wen Qianshu feel around her and tilt her head to locate the source of the sound. The space she was trapped in was too small to even straighten her legs. Wen Qianshu tried to lift the wood above her but couldn’t move it at all. Instead, more scraping sounds came through.
Great. There must be a bunch of zombies outside, just waiting here to eat her when she came out.
It was a triangular space, seemingly formed by a fallen counter, the corner of the wall, and some miscellaneous items. Wen Qianshu felt around and found only screwdrivers, nuts, and the like.
Wen Qianshu: “Is this the trouble of not having a protagonist’s halo?”
The fallen cabinet didn’t contain food, but a mess of tools.
Wen Qianshu calculated—a person could survive for about three days without food or water. Qin Shu was obviously terrified while trapped here, crying constantly, so she probably didn’t even last three days.
Rescue teams would be searching in the next few days. If Wen Qianshu was lucky, she should be able to wait for them.
After all, when her consciousness entered Qin Shu’s body, the system would help repair her body a little.
Wen Qianshu gripped a screwdriver and really did start waiting right where she was.
She didn’t even dare to sleep, keeping her head tilted to listen to the sounds outside.
Time suddenly became very long, as if it would stretch on endlessly.
Boundless darkness, the sound of zombies’ nails scraping.
Wen Qianshu was immersed in it, her posture relaxed, leaning against the wall, conserving her energy as much as possible.
She just waited quietly like this, staring motionlessly into the darkness.
After an unknown amount of time, Wen Qianshu suddenly sat up straight.
2333 knew why she sat up—someone had come outside, and the scraping sound had lessened.
The rescuers had discovered some zombies gathered here—which meant there was a living person underneath. They were very efficient. One group lured the zombies away, while another quickly moved the cabinet, pulled Wen Qianshu out, and swiftly placed a metal object over her mouth, looping it over her ears and fastening it tightly at the back of her head.
It was a field mouth restraint device—used to prevent biting after being infected with the virus and turning into a zombie.
A smelly blanket, meant to cover her own scent, was draped over Wen Qianshu, completely covering her. A tall man squatted down, hoisted Wen Qianshu onto his back, and said in a low voice to the person next to him, “Notify Xiao Chen and the others, we’ve rescued someone.”
Wen Qianshu was so hungry she no longer felt it, but she was still thirsty. She couldn’t stop swallowing her saliva, swallowing a mouthful of blood. The person carrying her was very strong, with solid muscles. His shoulders were incredibly firm, pressing against her neck and the restraint, making her dizzy.
Just then, someone said something, and the person carrying her suddenly stopped. “Hurry up.”
Wen Qianshu heard a reply: “Mm.”
It was a woman’s voice, cool in tone, and sounded a bit muffled because of the restraint device. As the voice approached, Wen Qianshu’s face was lifted, a small opening was made in the restraint, and a straw touched her lips. Wen Qianshu instinctively sucked and tasted a cool liquid.
Water.
Wen Qianshu shuddered, almost falling off, but was held down by the other person.
She gave Wen Qianshu two sips of water, adjusted her prone position, and said, “Endure it a little longer. You can drink more when we’re safe.”
Wen Qianshu lay prone, feeling the blanket being lifted and then dropped, and the other person’s hand moved away.
It was her.
Wen Qianshu didn’t know how she recognized her, but she just could.
All the sounds and all the fear receded like a tide. Wen Qianshu lay there, her gaze unmoving, as if trying to stare at the other person through the blanket.
The pitch-black surroundings, the wandering zombies, the running footsteps, the burning throat.
It was as if they no longer existed.
Whether it was Jiang Mingyue, Yun Cai, or even the doctor by her bedside so many years ago, they all seemed to have this innate ability. Just a word or two from them could make Wen Qianshu feel calm, secure, and unafraid.
Wen Qianshu was left with only one thought—
They had met again.
Wen Qianshu was placed in a temporary tent.
The tent was double-layered. The outer layer was coated with a substance that emitted the same nauseating smell as the zombies; the inner layer used light-blocking material to ensure not a single sliver of light would escape.
Wen Qianshu sat inside the tent, was given some water, and then fed some liquid nutrients.
They were in a small compartment hastily partitioned with corrugated cardboard. The person in front of her was holding a flashlight, carefully checking her body for any “virus wounds.”
That is, wounds left after being bitten by a zombie.
Wen Qianshu raised her eyes and looked at her without moving.
Lou Jiu [‘酒’ (jiǔ) – Wine].
The doctor on the male protagonist Shang Ci’s team.
Her father loved wine as much as his life, so he gave her this name.
Lou Jiu was also wearing the same type of field restraint device and had her face turned to the side. Wen Qianshu could see her straight back, her beautifully shaped nose, and through her goggles, her long eyelashes and light brown pupils.
She scanned Wen Qianshu from top to bottom, and after confirming there were no virus wounds, she put down the flashlight. “Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”
Wen Qianshu: “No.”
Lou Jiu nodded. “If you are, speak up. We brought enough anti-zombie agent.”
Wen Qianshu: “Mm, I will.”
Lou Jiu got up to check on someone else.
Another rescuer beside her helped Wen Qianshu up and let her lean against a box.
The tent wasn’t large, but not many people had been rescued yet.
Leaning against the box, Wen Qianshu tilted her head back and exhaled.
The restraint device was very uncomfortable, pressing down where her nose and mouth met, so with every breath, she could smell the cold, astringent scent of metal.
Wen Qianshu silently surveyed her surroundings. Her gaze swept over the box, over Lou Jiu; she looked at the carpet, then at Lou Jiu on the carpet; then she looked at the tent wall, and Lou Jiu next to the wall—
Everyone around was in a state of panic. All the lucky ones who had been rescued looked bewildered and on the verge of tears. Only Wen Qianshu sat among them, leaning against the box, her expression relaxed, observing everything with a calm and leisurely air that was completely out of place with the surrounding atmosphere.
However, behind her calm demeanor, she couldn’t help but speak to 2333: “2333.”
2333 immediately perked up, thinking she had finally caved and was about to give in.
2333 coughed, feeling that it had indeed gone a bit too far.
True, Wen Qianshu had guessed some things, but so what? The truth was too bizarre; she definitely couldn’t have figured it out.
Besides, Wen Qianshu had never experienced an apocalypse before. If 2333 didn’t talk to her, she would surely be scared. No matter how realistic the simulation in the pod was, it couldn’t compare to actually being in the situation.
2333 formulated some comforting words and was just about to speak—
Wen Qianshu spoke: “Sigh, Lou Jiu is so beautiful.”
She sighed, “How can she be so beautiful?”
2333: “…”
It glanced at Lou Jiu, who was wrapped up so tightly, even wearing goggles over her eyes, with practically only the bridge of her nose exposed: “…”
Wen Qianshu, are you insane!
Author’s Notes:
The restraint device is similar to the one Loki wears on his mouth at the end of The Avengers, made of metal, to prevent biting (not really), just a bit looser.
Then I wasn’t sure what its technical name was, so I asked Baidu. After a few searches, I found “restraint device” (拘束器).
But when I searched for “restraint device” in reverse, I couldn’t find it. So if anyone knows what it is, please let me know~ Thanks~
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