The next morning, Shen Qingqiu woke up early. Xiao Muyu was still asleep; they hadn’t rested well during the recent days in the dungeon, and Shen Qingqiu had bothered her again last night, so she was sleeping deeply.
Upon waking, Xiao Muyu lay beside her with her eyes closed. Her long eyelashes cast shadows, her skin was tender and flawless even up close. Shen Qingqiu couldn’t resist and kissed her face several times.
In this moment of not needing to worry about danger, with her loved one lying beside her, nothing could be more blissful.
Without hurrying to get up, Shen Qingqiu propped her head and watched Xiao Muyu. The person she liked was too tsundere and normally wouldn’t let her be stared at like this.
She didn’t know how long she watched, but when Xiao Muyu opened her eyes, she saw a smiling face.
Shen Qingqiu’s grey eyes seemed to be sprinkled with stars. Though the smile wasn’t intense,
Xiao Muyu could clearly see the joy and affection in them.
That kind of unabashed liking was too obvious, making Xiao Muyu’s heartbeat quicken uncontrollably.
Seeing her awake, Shen Qingqiu’s smile deepened. She leaned closer, “Did you sleep well? Want to get up?”
Xiao Muyu, still not fully awake, stared at Shen Qingqiu with drowsy eyes and nodded, “Help me up.”
Shen Qingqiu was momentarily stunned. Usually, getting Xiao Muyu to act spoiled was harder than climbing to the sky.
Shen Qingqiu smiled more indulgently, wrapped her arm around Xiao Muyu’s waist, and with a bit of strength, pulled her up.
Xiao Muyu’s waist was slender and flexible, truly a handspan, but not weak. As Shen Qingqiu held her, Xiao Muyu used her core strength to sit up.
She didn’t feel anything amiss and rested her head on Shen Qingqiu’s shoulder, muttering, “You were too troublesome.”
Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed. Had she known, she would have dealt with Shen Qingqiu last night, and wouldn’t have had so much energy left to bother her.
Shen Qingqiu chuckled, patting her back, “Sorry, my fault. First time sleeping together, got a bit excited. Stay with me more and it won’t be like this.”
Xiao Muyu pouted, “Nonsense.” She bit Shen Qingqiu’s shoulder lightly, which was more ticklish than painful, making Shen Qingqiu laugh even more. She held Xiao Muyu and swayed, whispering, “Do you remember what happened after you got infected?”
Xiao Muyu tensed immediately, shaking her head, “What happened? I only remember waking up and you all were gone.”
Shen Qingqiu released her, smiling at Xiao Muyu’s eyes, “Really don’t remember?”
Now fully awake, Xiao Muyu sat up and looked for her shoes, “Don’t remember.”
“That’s a shame. Just now, when you were being cute and biting me, you were like you were after getting infected. So fierce and adorable.”
“You were so fierce back then, not letting Su Jin and the others near you. You didn’t like me touching you either, but you weren’t mad at me. You were afraid I’d get infected if I touched your blood.”
Xiao Muyu felt embarrassed, “Why bring that up? It’s all in the past.”
Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help but laugh, “It is the past, but you were so cute then. You don’t know how much I wanted to hug you. I covered your mouth, causing you to get your blood drawn by Lin Jian, and you were so aggrieved, like a little kitten, but so tsundere.”
As she spoke, her eyes softened with reminiscence.
Xiao Muyu, who was about to go out, paused and frowned, “Do you prefer that version of me?”
“Huh?” Shen Qingqiu was startled. Realizing, she held Xiao Muyu’s hand, “No, I love every version of you. That you was adorable, but the current you has a different kind of charm.
And although you were cute enough to melt my heart, I hope that situation never happens again. I love you being healthy, tsundere, and all.”
Shen Qingqiu concluded earnestly. Xiao Muyu glared at her, “Feels like you’re subtly scolding me.”
Shen Qingqiu looked innocent, “Who said that? I adore you.”
Xiao Muyu stopped arguing and headed out, “Change and get ready, I’m making breakfast.”
Shen Qingqiu quickly agreed. Breakfast was simple: Xiao Muyu made sandwiches, some leftover dishes, bacon, and eggs, which Shen Qingqiu ate with great satisfaction.
“Life was tough during the apocalypse, finally we can eat freely.”
Xiao Muyu gave her a look, “Stop pretending. You’re just picky.”
Shen Qingqiu sipped her milk, raising an eyebrow with a proud smile, “All because you spoil me.”
Xiao Muyu almost laughed, “Su Jin and the others are coming over for lunch. I’ll buy groceries, you help me.”
Shen Qingqiu pouted, reluctant.
Xiao Muyu glanced at her,“Not willing?”
“I’m happy to help you, but I don’t like you cooking for them. You should only cook for me.” She said this with righteous indignation.
“Dream on. Do you think I’m your maid, cooking and cleaning for you, even warming the bed?”Xiao Muyu, having said this much, shut her mouth.
“You said warming the bed, so you’re not a maid.”
They joked and teased until ten o’clock, when Su Jin, Chen Kaijie, and Zuo Tiantian arrived with bags of groceries.
“Captain Xiao, Vice-captain, we bought the groceries ourselves.” Su Jin and the others were in high spirits, looking radiant after leaving the dungeon.
“Oh, very considerate. We were just about to go out. Since you brought the groceries, you cook today.”
Shen Qingqiu quickly decided.
Chen Kaijie smiled ingratiatingly, “We’ll prep everything. Captain Xiao only needs to cook. After tasting her cooking, we understand why Vice-captain is picky. Our cooking is nothing in comparison.”
“Yeah, we cook just to survive, no soul in it.” Su Jin and Zuo Tiantian immediately echoed.
Shen Qingqiu sneered, “Who needs soul in food… mmph.”
Xiao Muyu pinched her, smiling wryly, “Ignore her. I’ll cook lunch, then we can discuss some matters.”
Chen Kaijie and the others beamed. Su Jin, seeing Shen Qingqiu’s sour face, quickly offered, “We’ll wash the dishes and handle all prep work.”
Shen Qingqiu wasn’t really throwing a tantrum, just that cooking for many was tiring. She was a disaster in the kitchen and picky, so she had to rely on Xiao Muyu, otherwise, she wouldn’t let Xiao Muyu do all this.
The kitchen was small, so Xiao Muyu shooed them out, busying herself with the cooking.
Shen Qingqiu slipped in to watch, glaring discontentedly at the three freeloaders, muttering,
“You even pinched me, aren’t you tired?”
Xiao Muyu found her cute, “I know you care about me, not just being petty. It’s just a few dishes, not tiring. The oil and smoke in here, go out.”
Shen Qingqiu shook her head, leaning over, “Four dishes and a soup is enough. Make them eat less, skip that leftover meat.”
Xiao Muyu laughed, “That’s crispy fried pork belly, we can’t skip that.”
Shen Qingqiu paused, then smiled brightly, quickly pretending to be puzzled, “Why not skip the crispy fried pork belly?”
Xiao Muyu glanced at her, finding her expression both cute and exasperating.
“Because a certain someone, who doesn’t want me cooking for others, ate half a plate of crispy fried pork belly last time we ate out. It’s said that you should repay kindness. I need to appease her and shut her up with this dish.”
“Who is so important you have to appease?”
Xiao Muyu ignored her, but her smile showed she was in a great mood.
Shen Qingqiu turned her head to look at her, satisfied as she carried the dishes out.
Lunch was sumptuous. Chen Kaijie, Su Jin, and Zuo Tiantian spared no effort in showering praise, flattering as they ate, which left Xiao Muyu speechless.
Shen Qingqiu loved crispy pork belly. Last time they ate out, she had indeed shown a particular fondness for it. She hadn’t expected Xiao Muyu to remember and make it for her today.
The crispy pork belly was crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside. Despite being fried, it wasn’t greasy at all. Its aroma was captivating, making it addictive. Shen Qingqiu ate quite a bit of it.
Xiao Muyu brought out some red wine they had from before. They drank all the wine with the meal. Each mission had been fraught with danger, so they were finally able to relax and enjoy themselves, creating a very harmonious atmosphere.
After they were full and had cleaned up, it was time to discuss business.
Zuo Tiantian had been nervous since drawing a card. She took out the guidance incense and said anxiously, “This mission’s cards all seem rather eerie. Based on past experiences, the next mission might be quite strange.”
Xiao Muyu nodded, looked at the card again, and said, “The system mentioned when we started that our missions involve the supernatural. Except for this zombie mission, which wasn’t too eerie, the others have all been about ghosts, so this is normal.”
“But Captain Xiao, what use is this card? The words on it are rather cryptic,” Su Jin mumbled the strange doggerel on the card, feeling a bit creeped out.
“‘Once you enter the realm of yin and yang, little ghosts run rampant. The living don’t know where to go, and the dead don’t know where to rest,’” Shen Qingqiu pondered these lines, then said seriously, “Though it sounds ominous, the card is a significant aid, usually beneficial. The tool is called guidance incense, which means it’s meant to guide. Based on the previous lines, it likely means if we end up in some eerie place, the incense can guide us out, whether we’re alive or dead”
“Qingqiu is right. We can’t test its function here, but we can use it if we encounter something. Zuo, don’t worry too much, just remember it and try it when the time comes.”
After all, this card wasn’t as creepy as Shen Qingqiu’s ghost doll Xiao Er, so even if used incorrectly, it wouldn’t harm the holder.
“Got it. Captain Xiao, how do you plan to reforge your and the vice-captain’s swords?” Zuo Tiantian asked, thinking about the cards they had drawn.
Xiao Muyu glanced at Shen Qingqiu, who took out her dagger. “My dagger was forged from two cards, which is why it’s so powerful. Even invisible ghosts fear its damage.
In the Skynet world, there’s a place dedicated to serving players where you can buy low-level cards like B-grade household items, first aid kits, cotton cloth, and various other knick-knacks.
If you need to handle special cards like these, there are people who can help, though it’s quite expensive.”
“Our gold coins can finally be put to good use,” Su Jin said happily, finding it quite convenient.
Shen Qingqiu nodded. “But right now, the most important thing is Muyu’s zombie manual. What does it mean?”
At this, Xiao Muyu took out the card. Upon activation, it turned into a small, folded booklet in Xiao Muyu’s hand. The cover had four blood-red twisted characters: “Zombie Manual.”
Xiao Muyu looked at everyone, then slowly opened the booklet. There were seven pages in total, each depicting human-like figures. Strictly speaking, based on their states and shapes, they weren’t human, as some were standing, some crawling, some missing arms or legs, and one even had only half a head.
There were also other objects depicted, but they were hard to identify.
The images were not actual drawings but black silhouettes. They could only guess what they were by their outlines.
The first page had a line of text: “Zombie Manual. These zombies have not been collected yet.
Their appearances are not yet illuminated. As the NPCs who sacrifice the most in the game missions, you should remember their contributions. Guess which zombie you encountered and write down the location.”
The five of them stared at the first page’s black shadow, dumbfounded, not moving for a while.
They had encountered thousands of zombies. In this sea of zombies, some were just fleeting encounters. Who could remember where they had seen one? This seemed like an impossible task.
“More like S or D. It’s totally S and B!” Chen Kaijie spat angrily.
The other four turned to Chen Kaijie and gave him a thumbs up, even the usually serious Xiao Muyu joining in unison.
Author’s Note: Xiao Xiao says: I’m pretty good, see, even locked.
Xiao Shen: Is it because of me? Please face yourself properly.
Highlight of the day, Chen Kaijie.
