After Wen Qing had completed her tendon and bone marrow cleansing in the spatial realm, she immediately began to cultivate by drawing in the Qi. In a world ravaged by the apocalypse, only martial prowess could provide a sense of security.
Lin Wenqing's awakened abilities were the Wood Element and Devouring, representing life and death, perfectly corresponding to Yin and Yang. Thus, she once again chose to cultivate the "Yin Yang Technique". She adjusted the time difference between the spatial realm and the outside world and managed to reach the Foundation Building stage in just one day.
After stabilizing her cultivation, Wen Qing left the spatial realm without lingering. It was still after one o'clock in the afternoon, and the sky outside was brighter than yesterday, though still gloomy.
Lin Wenqing lived in a housing complex outside the school, having moved out on her own to focus on her postgraduate studies. Her tiny room could only accommodate a bed, a desk and chair, and a simple cabinet. The desk was piled high with study materials, and under the desk was a box of instant noodles containing snacks such as potato chips, chocolate, and fruit. Wen Qing dug out a travel bag from the cabinet and packed the snacks into it.
Although she didn't eat them, appearances still mattered. Wen Qing picked a spiritual fruit from the spatial realm to satisfy her hunger, and then packed a few pieces of clothing along with the snacks, filling up the backpack.
She left the room and descended the stairs. The world was silent, and humanity was still unconscious. The apocalypse had arrived at noon, leaving many pedestrians unconscious on the streets and causing chaotic traffic accidents. Lin Wenqing didn't have a car, and she didn't just take any car parked on the side of the road. Who knew if it might be someone else's lifeline? If she took it and the owner was subsequently bitten by zombies because they couldn't find their car in time, it would be a grave sin.
Wen Qing's phone still had power, so she opened an app and scanned a shared bike, riding leisurely away. It wasn't that she was skilled and brave, but that only bikes were feasible here, and she was the only one who could move around the entire city.
Calculating, there's still an hour to go before the comatose humans gradually wake up. As for whether they will still be human after waking up, no one knows. Wen Qing had no plans to crazily plunder resources during this opportunity. She didn't lack these things, as there were not only cultivation resources but also essential daily necessities stored from her previous world in her space. There was no need to compete with ordinary people for these things.
As fellow Earthlings, we should watch out for and help each other, build a beautiful home together, spread truth, kindness, and beauty, and maintain world peace... Okay, that's too far-fetched. She planned to find a Feng Shui treasure land as her base. She had already made her choice, which was the newly developed villa area that she had escaped to in the original story.
In the original story, she followed her classmates to escape the city, and the first place they settled was this villa area. It was also here where she met the friends and lover who later betrayed her.
Wen Qing chose an unoccupied but decorated villa that suited her taste and settled down. At this point, faint screams could already be heard from outside, indicating that some people had already awakened.
Wen Qing didn't have the mentality of a saint running out to save people. This was just the beginning of the zombie outbreak, when zombies were weakest and easiest to deal with. If there was no courage to face the zombies directly at this time, it would be even more difficult in the future. She could only save them for a moment, but not for a lifetime. Running out to save people at this time would only harm them.
Moreover, it was easiest to awaken superpowers at a critical moment. If she went out to save people, she might have awakened her powers, but she may also have lost the opportunity because of her interference. It was like helping a butterfly break out of its cocoon. Although it reduced their pain, it also deprived them of their ability to fly.
She had to learn to adapt.
Wen Qing worked hard to cultivate and improve her cultivation level while waiting for the third day of the apocalypse to arrive.
In the distant Interstellar Alliance, a fierce meeting was being held by the alliance government.
"...This blue planet belongs to an F-class planet, with a technological level in the medieval era, and is currently undergoing a second evolution. It's a rare opportunity that only comes once in ten thousand years. I suggest that we use the blue planet as an experimental specimen for further observation."
"But there are still humans on it. According to the Alliance Convention, every interstellar being has equal rights and obligations, and no one can deprive them of these rights for any reason!"
"Planet evolution has always been a difficult problem for the Alliance to overcome. If there's a breakthrough, Alliance technology will enter a new era! There will inevitably be sacrifices in the development of any new thing!"
"And why should we grant these monkeys from the Middle Ages the same rights as us?"
"Why not take a win-win approach? Neither acknowledging nor denying, let nature take its course and just observe and record. Perhaps, studying the humanities during the planet's evolution period could also be an interesting topic."
"Agreed!"
"Agreed!"
...
In the end, the outcome was the same as the original plot. Tens of thousands of invisible live-streaming devices were deployed on Earth, starting the grandest live broadcast in history.
"Colonel Albalo, do you want to play an interesting game?"
"What game?"
"A game of hunting."
Here it comes!
Wen Qing suddenly opened her eyes, and the invisible live-streaming devices transmitted by the Alliance were now visible to her. The black metallic pieces, the size of a button, floated down from the sky, making it look somewhat terrifying. Soon, these black buttons scattered and dispersed into various corners of the world.
In front of Wen Qing, there was also one quietly hovering one meter away from her. She took a step, and it followed; she turned around, and it quickly flew over, always maintaining a one-meter distance in front of her.
Wen Qing lowered her eyes and smiled. She continued to wait for another black technology to appear.
The intelligent system was even smaller than the live broadcaster, only half the size of a rice grain. It flew rapidly towards Wen Qing's head with its silver-white color, and just as it was about to reach her head, Wen Qing quickly reached out and blocked it with her hand. It directly melted into her fingertips.
[Beep, binding the end-of-world survival system.]
Wen Qing put down her hand and looked at the faint mark between her middle fingers on her left hand, her lips slowly curving into a smile.
The system's selection was based on scanning the player's body data, and since it was a game, the player with the best physical fitness would naturally be chosen. As one of the first dual-ability "awakened" people, Wen Qing's physical fitness was not the best, but it was not far off.
[System binding successful, scanning body data...]
[Scanning complete:
Name: Lin Wenqing.
Age: 21.
Speed: 17.
Strength: 11.
Spirit power: 37.
Abilities: Wood element, Devour.
Points: 0.]
[Hello! I am your system manager. You can consult me if you have any questions.]
A mechanical voice echoed in Wen Qing's mind. As someone who had owned a system before and also pretended to be a system, Wen Qing was extremely familiar with this setup. She was always the one tricking others, but this time, it was finally her turn to be tricked.
Wen Qing was ready to play with him.
So she asked, "What's your name?"
[You can call me System.]
Wen Qing neither confirmed nor denied, as she knew that this intelligent system was actually a man named Albalo disguised as a system!
"Are you a man or a woman?"
[...A man.]
"Are you handsome?"
[Very!]
"How old are you?"
[Sorry, the system does not differentiate by age.]
"I'm asking about your manufacturing date."
[...Three months.]
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
[...]
"Do you have a boyfriend?"
[...]
"Sorry, your clearance level is not high enough for me to answer that."
"Do you have a d**k?"
[...]
…
In the depths of interstellar space, Albalo's face was as black as charcoal. Was he being teased by someone?! He regretted choosing this woman! He glanced at the chat records on the left side of his screen, the player he selected was anxiously asking, "System Lord, how can I earn points?"
On the right side of the screen, Costa's chat record was, "Are you really the system? Oh my god! I'm so lucky! I actually got the legendary system!"
This was the right way to open up the game as a player!
Feeling extremely depressed, Albalo cut off his connection with the system. He now regretted agreeing to participate in this game, feeling like he had dug a hole for himself. However, once a player had made their choice, it could not be changed, and the system was already genetically bound and could not be removed. Choosing to quit now was equivalent to admitting defeat. Albalo had been undefeated in the interstellar world for many years and could not afford to tarnish his record like this!
Feeling refreshed, Albalo logged back in and coldly issued a mission:
[Mission: Kill ten zombies. 10 points for mission completion. Mission failure results in lightning punishment!]
Wen Qing sneered. It's precisely to guard against various mental punishments that she integrated the system into her fingertips. The head is an incredibly important place. If the system were integrated into her brain, she would be completely under its control and subject to all kinds of punishment through mental hints.
Of course, there were also rewards for completing missions, with the most significant being points. Points can be used to buy things in the system's store: gene modification liquid, mental strength restoration liquid, quick-healing agents, interstellar body forging training, and so on. They are all ordered from this side, delivered by Albalo through the Alliance Express using an invisible delivery robot, creating the effect of appearing out of thin air.
Note: Dear readers! As the translator of this novel, I wanted to take a moment to provide a brief note about the current arc. This particular arc is unlike anything I have translated before, and I am eager to hear your thoughts and feedback on how I have approached the translation.
I have done my best to convey the author's intended meaning and tone in a way that is faithful to the original text, while also ensuring that the translation is readable and enjoyable for English-speaking readers. However, I acknowledge that there may be aspects of the translation that could be improved, and I welcome any constructive feedback that you may have.
Thank you for your support and for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.