Xu Yin’s powers were overly consumed, and afterwards, he fell into a deep sleep. It was Li Nianqin who caught him and took him to the infirmary.
He slept until the next morning.
When he woke up, the base had already cleaned up after the sudden turmoil.
Lian Yun died.
Although he was one of the main reasons for the turmoil, he was ultimately a pitiful person. Li Qun made the decision and had him properly buried.
Yuan Yue also died.
Afterward, one of the zombies, possibly influenced by Lian Yun’s psychic powers, ran off quickly with Yuan Yue’s body when the base personnel tried to retrieve it.
The base personnel chased after the zombie and found that it had hung Yuan Yue’s body high on a traffic light.
The body swayed in the wind, ragged and grotesque, quickly attracting infected birds to peck at it.
The zombie birds were exceptionally fierce and soon tore Yuan Yue’s body apart, a horrifying sight.
Seeing this, a chill ran through everyone’s hearts as they glanced at each other, seeing complex emotions in each other’s eyes.
In the end, they did nothing and returned to the base.
Jin Lun and his subordinates also died.
Jin Lun was shot, his body riddled with bullet holes, a chilling sight.
His subordinates all turned into zombies, dealt with by later arriving power users.
Li Qun, disregarding any sentiments, detained another base leader aligned with Jin Lun. Learning that they had acted without notice and even took Lian Yun’s girlfriend with them, intending to use her as a key weapon if things went wrong.
“This is outrageous!”
“I really couldn’t tell they were these kinds of people before!”
And those two teams, without a doubt, had already perished outside.
… Almost all of the base’s personnel had turned into zombies.
The base has several hiding spots, each capable of accommodating over a hundred people.
At the onset of the chaos, all A-base personnel happened to be gathered in the square, seemingly discussing how to obtain the seeds from B-base related to Xu Yin.
After the incident, they hurriedly hid in one of the hiding spots. They closed the door without regard for others, ignoring knocks from outside, even tying knots with clothes on the door handles.
However, unfortunately, it seems that one person bitten by a zombie had infiltrated among them.
Whether out of unawareness or fear, that person didn’t speak up.
The ultimate result was that over forty A-base personnel in that hiding spot didn’t escape, including Guan Qi.
They didn’t even have time to untie the knots they made with their clothes on the door handles. When everyone finally opened the door to the hiding spot, the zombies rushed out, but Li Nianqin swiftly dealt with them.
“They deserved it! These people are too selfish!” someone who had been left outside by these A-base personnel angrily remarked.
“When we were escaping together, I overheard them talking about the incidents with the half-zombies in their original base,” another person hesitated, “They said Lian Yun must have known about their mistreatment of those half-zombies. Lian Yun wouldn’t just kill Yuan Yue but would also kill them.”
Upon hearing this, everyone gasped in shock.
“Massacre?” Li Qun’s face turned grim. “The day we entered the base, Yuan Yue said they had released those half-zombies!”
Clearly, Yuan Yue and the others had lied, but at that time, there was no way to verify the truth.
Many people looked at the corpses of the zombies on the ground again, spitting in disgust.
…
Overall, if they hadn’t accepted the merger with A-base in the first place, they wouldn’t have encountered this disaster at all.
Everyone felt like they had swallowed a lump of shit, especially Li Qun, regretting his initial decision and subsequent indecision.
But what had happened had happened, and they had to keep moving forward.
In this world, they couldn’t afford to stay in one place for too long.
…
Surprisingly, Xu Yin manifested a water-based ability and, after flooding nearly half of City B, the city became considerably cleaner.
Upon waking up, Xu Yin sensed that if he used that ability again, he probably wouldn’t fall into a deep sleep. Not that it mattered much, considering he had only slept for one night anyway.
After considering it, he proposed, “How about expanding the base? I think we can expand it to… the entire area of City B.”
This plan shocked everyone.
Building a base in the post-apocalyptic world wasn’t that simple. It required clearing out zombies, ensuring no more zombies could enter, and then earth and wood-based ability users would have to start constructing walls.
However, Xu Yin could easily handle the zombie problem.
That day, he used his ability again, sending a flood in all directions outside the base, like a mythological deluge, cleansing the entire city in a spectacular display.
Everyone was deeply shocked.
This is simply inhuman power!
Li Nianqin looked intensely at the young man beside him, and behind them, Li Qun glanced at the two with a helpless smile.
He’s getting old.
Fortunately, the next generation is full of talents.
From today onwards, it’s likely that new pillars will emerge in the base.
Six months later, through the efforts of Dr. Lu and others, and with the cooperation of Xu Yin and these half-zombies, some progress was finally made in the research.
Several other bases that activated their signal towers managed to contact them, and after discussion, a total of three bases began escorting their researchers here.
At night.
Xu Yin received a random mission and saved a half-zombie dog that was about to be disposed of, strictly speaking.
The little dog was in a terrible state, but it wagged its tail vigorously as soon as it saw Xu Yin.
Xu Yin held it and pointed to its tail, which resembled a small fan, saying, “Even zombie dogs have a natural aggression towards humans, but look how it wags its tail at me. So, this is a half-zombie.”
His junior gained new knowledge and was amazed, saying, “This is indeed the first time I’ve seen a half-zombie dog.”
Xu Yin smiled and said, “I’ll take this dog with me.”
“Ah, alright.”
Xu Yin turned and walked away with the dog, pinching its ears and saying with a smile, “Little Black?”
The half-zombie dog lifted its head, let out a hoarse “woof,” its eyes sparkling.
When Xu Yin found Li Nianqin, there were some people standing in front of him, next to a car.
Among them was a tall woman, wrapped in a thick coat even in winter, showcasing her excellent figure.
His junior said to Xu Yin, “Brother Xu, those are from K base.”
Xu Yin nodded.
K base arrived, and the people from those three bases gathered together.
Out of the corner of his eye, Xu Yin caught sight of Li Nianqin, and Li Nianqin’s gaze immediately softened as he waved his hand.
The female leader from K base turned her head upon hearing this and couldn’t help but say when she saw Xu Yin, “Are all the people from your B base so good-looking?”
Her subordinates behind her nodded enthusiastically!
Before them stood Li Nianqin, already tall, handsome, and exuding charisma. Now, this newcomer was like a fairy, gentle and beautiful. Oh my, the single ladies who came along with them are in for a treat!
As this thought formed, they saw Li Nianqin wrap his arm around the handsome young man and pull him close, asking gently, “Who’s this little dog you’re holding?”
“A half-zombie dog, I plan to keep it,” Xu Yin said with a smile. “I’ll call it Xiao Hei.”
Li Nianqin glanced at Xiao Hei, wanting to touch him but not knowing how.
Xiao Hei whined softly, “Wuwuwu!”
Xu Yin chuckled lightly.
“What’s the relationship between you two?” the female leader from K base asked tentatively.
Li Nianqin calmly replied, “Lovers. His name is Xu Yin.”
Xu Yin smiled and nodded.
The people from K base were left dumbfounded, some covering their faces, unsure whether to cry or be excited.
They had just rejoiced at seeing two handsome guys, and now the two were hugging each other, leaving the single ladies as single as ever even in the apocalypse, how sad!
Li Nianqin lifted his head proudly, appearing calm and composed, but his grip on Xu Yin was tight.
After coming back to their senses, the group from K base slowly made their way towards the center of the base under the guidance of Li Nianqin and Xu Yin.
With the expansion of the base, everyone was no longer confined to the small area around the mall. After cleaning up some residential buildings, people began to move in bit by bit.
Therefore, at this moment, there were a few households with lights on in the residential buildings on both sides, and faint laughter and scolding could be heard from inside.
“Such a festive atmosphere,” the female leader from K base sighed, “It’s really rare to see this nowadays. Speaking of which, you managed to clear out all the zombies in the entire city, it must have taken a long time, right?”
Xu Yin lowered his gaze and stroked Xiao Hei.
One of their followers quickly chimed in, “Hehe, it did take quite some time.”
The female leader from K base nodded, pondering. Only the people from B base could accomplish such a feat. The other bases combined had only one or two hundred people, which wouldn’t be enough to complete such a massive project.
“I hope this research will be successful,” she murmured, “I miss normal days so much.”
The group fell silent.
Who wouldn’t want that?
…
B base had a large territory, abundant resources, good living conditions, and good food.
While the people from other bases envied them, they also urged the researchers who came with them to get to work quickly.
Thirteen researchers gathered in a well-equipped laboratory, along with twenty assistants.
This would be the largest collaboration among humans after the apocalypse, and the future of human destiny was starting to take shape.
B base had plenty of samples from half-zombies, providing ample conditions for research.
Researchers from other bases discovered a particularly special sample among them, with the organization’s activity stronger than other half-zombie organizations.
“Who provided this sample?” one researcher couldn’t help but ask.
Dr. Lu replied calmly, “Subject 1.”
“…Subject 1? Who’s that?” the person asked, puzzled.
Dr. Lu explained, “Subject 1 is Subject 1.”
Seeing the confused expression, Dr. Lu continued flatly, “Protect this sample well because Subject 1 can’t provide another sample.”
One sample was enough for research. If Xu Yin were asked for another sample, Li Nianqin would probably come knocking on their door with vengeance.
The person nodded understandingly and put down the sample.
If Subject 1 is still alive… they would likely be a very powerful half-zombie.
When the person turned around, Dr. Lu frowned.
His assistant asked quietly, “Teacher, are you feeling unwell?”
Dr. Lu replied, “Which do you think is more important, human destiny or power?”
The assistant was startled, remained silent for a moment, and then whispered, “For me, human destiny is certainly more important.”
Dr. Lu glanced at him and ruffled his hair.
Yes, however, there are still many people who consider human destiny as insignificant as dust.
They chase after ultimate power until death.
Fortunately,
After experiencing various disasters, this point has become very clear to everyone in their entire base.
Dr. Lu adjusted his glasses and continued to focus on his research without expression.
After exactly forty-five days,
It was two in the morning.
There were four people left in the laboratory.
Dr. Lu, the assistant, and two others from another base.
In front of them was a cage with a small cat whose body was already half-rotted.
This cat was found at noon today, with the zombification process progressing slowly, so it was brought directly to their research room.
The cat had just received an injection, and now it lay limp on the ground, half-closing its eyes.
Time passed by minute by minute, and the four people surrounded the cage, while the other two researchers anxiously observed the cat’s changes.
After some time passed…
“The wound on its back is starting to heal!” One of the researchers showed them a photo from forty minutes ago, allowing them to compare the cat’s current condition.
Pus is no longer flowing, and the area of decay is no longer expanding. Even the parts that have decayed are faintly healing.
The kitten started licking its paws, one at a time, showing a bit more spirit.
Two researchers exclaimed in excitement, “We did it, we succeeded!”
Although more thorough verification had yet to be conducted, they knew in their hearts that this time, they had truly succeeded!
Dr. Lu also relaxed slightly, and together with his assistant, they smiled.
One of the researchers, excited, turned to leave. “I need to inform the leaders!”
Dr. Lu took out his phone from his pocket. In a moment of distraction, a gust of wind swept past his head from behind. He leaned aside, narrowly avoiding a direct stab with a dagger!
The researcher, surprised that Dr. Lu could evade an attack from behind, hesitated.
These people were researchers who spent their days in the laboratory, not combat experts. Once discovered, these two researchers dropped their pretense and lunged at Dr. Lu and his assistant to start fighting!
Meanwhile, through a door, the sound of an alarm could be heard—a signal of intrusion!
The two researchers turned red, panting.
“Don’t struggle. I informed the leaders earlier today that we would have results tonight. Your base is now under our control!”
“We are fully prepared. None of you, nor the people from K Base, will be leaving here tonight!”
One of them lunged forward, but Dr. Lu pushed his assistant in front of him, then kicked the attacker away!
The next moment, the attackers tried to lunge again, only to find themselves immobilized!
They were shocked to find their feet frozen, unable to move at all.
“What’s going on?!”
“Who did this ice?!”
Just then, with a “drip,” the laboratory door opened.
Simultaneously, a chilling coldness swept in from outside.
The two researchers turned to look and saw Xu Yin, Li Nianqin, the leader of K Base, and their followers walking in calmly behind them.
The corridor behind them was filled with many people frozen in place, shouting in terror, “Is my foot okay?” “Let me go!” “It’s so cold”…
There was a small scratch on Xu Yin’s cheek, but this scratch disappeared visibly within one or two seconds.
This… this young man is a half-zombie?!
The two researchers were shocked. Half-zombies gradually recover the appearance of humans, but to this day, they had never seen a half-zombie recover so perfectly!
Having stayed here for over a month, they completely failed to realize that this handsome young man was a half-zombie!
Wait a minute…
So, that number one experimental subject…
The leader of K Base swallowed hard, glancing back at the terrifying scene in the corridor, and said hesitantly, “I’ve always heard that B Base has a very special sample of half-zombie. Could that sample be the one you provided?”
Xu Yin smiled faintly.
The leader of K Base suddenly felt a chill down her spine.
The abilities of half-zombies can mutate, often resulting in increased strength. However, the ability to freeze the entire base’s rebellious personnel in an instant was not just powerful; it was terrifying.
The leader of K Base suddenly thought of the vast territory of B Base and felt a bit dazed.
During this period, she had been observing B Base. Although they had many people, there weren’t as many ability users as she had imagined, and most of them had very mediocre qualifications. Only Li Nianqin stood out exceptionally.
Under such conditions, being able to clear the entire city of zombies, build a base without new zombies entering, it all seemed too far-fetched.
However, when asked about this issue, the people from B Base remained tight-lipped.
It wasn’t until this moment that she understood what was going on.
…With someone capable of launching such terrifying mass attack skills, why worry about clearing the entire city?!
The people from B Base didn’t speak because they had long prepared for them!
At this moment, the leader of K Base felt a sense of being guarded against, as well as a sense of relief that the turmoil had been quickly suppressed almost as soon as it started. She was glad she made the right choice.
She glanced at Xu Yin and sighed inwardly, realizing that appearances can be deceiving.
Meanwhile, the two researchers in the laboratory were dumbfounded. The supposed Number One experimental subject was supposed to be dead, yet here it was, openly flaunting itself in front of them. They were also promised that they could take the research results and leave tonight, yet all their people were frozen outside?
Xu Yin nodded to Dr. Lu, “Is it successful?”
“It still needs further experimentation, but,” Dr. Lu said calmly, “it’s basically not a problem.”
Who wouldn’t report progress to their own base early? Dr. Lu adjusted his glasses.
Upon hearing Dr. Lu’s words, many people recovered from the shock of witnessing Xu Yin’s formidable abilities and showed expressions of joy.
Xu Yin and Li Nianqin exchanged a glance and smiled.
They now had weapons to fight against the zombie virus.
The final battle for human destiny had begun.
Regardless of how many of the countless surviving humans around the world no longer cared to reminisce about the days when modern civilization still thrived, their eyes were fixed solely on exploring power in the darkness…
In any case, the ultimate weapon was now in their hands.
And their chosen answer was unchangeable by anyone.
Xu Yin held Li Nianqin’s hand and smiled gently, “Tomorrow will be a beautiful day.”
Li Nianqin held his hand back, whispering softly, “We will go to the seaside.”
At the seaside, facing the fiercer sea breeze and the wider expanse of sky and earth, they kissed.
In this life, Xu Yin’s ultimate task was to “become the guardian deity of the base,” and this task fortunately ended ten years later. After a decade, humanity was completely liberated from the zombie virus, and the reconstruction of human civilization began.
The major bases integrated and merged, humans were no longer confined within city walls, no longer trembling with fear in the crisis-ridden environment. They welcomed a broader world and a future full of possibilities…
That day arrived.
Xu Yin said, “Let’s end the mission.”
Time froze, and all scenes came to a standstill.
The old man on the bed slept peacefully, golden light spots emanating from his body also suspended in midair.
Next to his pillow lay a small dried pink flower, a gift from Xu Yin to Li Nianqin on the day of global liberation, by the seaside.
018 said: “There’s a reward this time too. You can take the abilities of this world to the next one, but their power will be greatly reduced.”
It was a pleasant surprise, but…
Xu Yin asked: “How much weaker?”
018 replied: “Do you still want to freeze a hundred miles like before?!”
In the later stages of this world, if Xu Yin hadn’t intentionally restrained himself, his powerful abilities would have caused much more conflict.
Hearing 018’s words, Xu Yin raised an eyebrow.
018 continued: “Check in your task panel, you’ll know once you try in the new world.”
Xu Yin opened the task panel and saw two small icons in the corner, one was a water droplet, the other a snowflake, both labeled “1000”.
What kind of power did a thousand represent? No one would know until they tried in the next world.
Xu Yin wasn’t too bothered by it, first checking his points.
As of now, he had eleven thousand remaining points. He had 018 use a hundred thousand points to fix bugs, and the progress was now at 35%.
Xu Yin replenished some supplies in his space and then returned to the room.
He kissed the forehead of the old man who had entered eternal sleep and said: “Let’s go to the next world.”
When Xu Yin came to his senses again, he found himself lying on a bed, leaning against the wall.
On the left, at the head of the bed, was a small window, mostly covered by curtains at this moment, so the room wasn’t brightly lit.
But it was enough for him to see clearly. There was a thin, hunched figure lying in front of him.
Well, this opening seemed a bit thrilling.
The man’s face was mostly covered in scars, looking extremely fierce. His hair was long, almost completely covering his eyes. He grinned, emitting strange and foul-smelling laughter. Not only did his mouth emit an unpleasant odor, but his whole body also carried a heavy smell.
His long nails were pressing on Xu Yin’s knee, and his other hand reached for Xu Yin’s face.
Without hesitation, Xu Yin grabbed his hand and forcefully threw it aside. The man let out a scream as his face hit the hard bed, then another scream as Xu Yin firmly held his hands behind his back and pressed him against the bed.
Perhaps due to lack of movement for a long time, when Xu Yin twisted his arm, he distinctly heard a “crack” sound. The result was evident as the man screamed like a slaughtered pig, non-stop.
After receiving the memories of the original host, the information overload combined with the rough input method gave Xu Yin’s headache. The noise from the man’s screams only made it worse.
018 was the first to feel numb.
It had been a long time since he felt numb due to the background setting of a world. After all, the first world’s opening scene was a gay dog-man gay scene. What could be more shocking than that for him back when he was still a straight guy?!
But now, there was something new!
018 popped out a speech bubble with a confused expression: “Damn, what’s abo? What’s going into heat? Why would the task world have such settings?!”
Xu Yin: “…”
This was probably a blame on some female-oriented literature from his original world.
As usual, the original host’s name was Xu Yin, and he looked the same as before.
In this world, the original host finally didn’t have awful parents, but his relationship with his parents was still not great. He was an orphan adopted by an orphanage, specifically an omega orphanage.
Yes, this was an ABO world, and Xu Yin, at this moment, was an omega.
This orphanage was located in a remote suburb of a small town, very peaceful to the point of isolation from the world.
For more than a decade, the original host had lived relatively peacefully in this orphanage. He attended classes, tended to flowers, fantasized about the future, and days went by quietly.
Until six months ago.
Six months ago, the orphanage got a new dean, and the original host’s nightmare began.
The dean was a female omega in her fifties, accompanied by a disfigured, unkempt, and mentally troubled beta son.
On her first day here, the dean tearfully and sincerely said, “My son had some accidents in the past, which left many scars on his face and caused some mental trauma, making his personality a bit strange. I hope everyone can be more understanding towards him. He’s a kind-hearted child with no ill intentions towards this world.”
And this kind beta, who had no ill intentions towards the world, started frequently hiding in dark corners, sucking his fingers while staring at these omega.
He was very smelly and dirty, seemingly not bathing for years.
He would stare at the omegas with a foolish smile, drooling, and his eyes revealed unabashed greed.
The omegas in the orphanage were all terrified, including the original host.
And because of his outstanding appearance, the original host seemed to become the beta’s primary target.
He began to be peeped at, followed, and harassed.
He knew that Beta was squatting outside his room every day. When he walked briskly in the orphanage, he would occasionally be pounced on from behind by that beta.
The beta would chuckle while touching his face.
The original host was always terrified, and when he told the dean about his troubles, she just pleaded, “My son is just a bit eccentric. He has no ill intentions towards you. He just likes you. Please don’t be afraid of him!”
So no one helped the original host, and he continued to be harassed.
He contacted the omega rights association again.
When the people from the association came, they only stayed for half a day and then left, blandly saying, “You’re already eighteen, either apply to leave the orphanage or accept it.”
The original host applied, and then the application process took six months without any progress.
The original host broke down.
Because in these unassisted six months, that beta even started breaking into his room at midnight. He was so scared that he had to block the door with a table every night to sleep peacefully.
He sought help from other partners in the orphanage, but everyone avoided him. Perhaps they knew struggling was useless, and helping the original host would bring trouble upon themselves. So they chose to turn a blind eye to the original host’s plight, and some even tried to please the director.
In the entire orphanage, everyone else seemed to continue living the calm life as before, while only the original host lived in fear every day.
The original host was on the brink of insanity.
Just now, as soon as he entered the room, this beta pounced on him from behind onto the bed. In the struggle, just as Zhou Xiao was climbing up, Xu Yin happened to pass by.
Xu Yin estimated that the original host grew up in this secluded orphanage, living a relatively simple and straightforward life, perhaps due to this environment. Actually, even in the most adverse surroundings, leaving a place is a simple matter if one truly wishes.
Of course, leaving that aside for now, as soon as he remembered that this beta, who was now underneath him, hadn’t bathed in years, he immediately let go and took two steps back.
The beta, who was the son of the dean, Zhou Xiao, scrambled up and, with a ferocious face, was about to pounce on Xu Yin again. Xu Yin said to 018 in his mind: “How about we test his ability?”
018: “Huh?”
The next moment, Xu Yin’s thoughts moved, and Zhou Xiao was frozen from his toes to his head. He froze in the middle of his aggressive gesture, eyes wide with fear, turning into a block of ice.
Xu Yin rubbed his chin thoughtfully, feeling the effect. It seemed like the ice-based ability had reached its limit here. So, does a power value of 1000 mean it can freeze one person?
He looked around Zhou Xiao, thinking it wasn’t bad, quite a good “golden finger” to have.
Just then, heavy footsteps approached from outside.
Xu Yin raised his gaze.
The door was slammed open, and the dean rushed in, panting heavily, her face flushed with anger. As soon as she saw Zhou Xiao frozen stiffly on his knees, her face turned pale, and she rushed over screaming, “Xiao Xiao!”
As soon as she touched Zhou Xiao, she shivered. “Why are you so cold?!”
“Xiao Xiao, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you speaking? Why are you so cold?!” The dean’s eyes were red with worry.
Xu Yin glanced outside, where an omega was shrinking back.
He raised an eyebrow.
Presumably, this omega had heard Zhou Xiao’s screams just now and kindly called his mother over?
After the dean shook Zhou Xiao a couple of times, he regained consciousness, terrified, saying, “I was frozen! He froze me!”
He pointed at Xu Yin.
The dean was bewildered.
What does it mean to be frozen?
“I’m completely frozen! I can’t move at all!” Zhou Xiao was extremely terrified. “He… he’s not normal, he’s not an ordinary person, he can do magic!!”
The dean and the omega outside the door: “???”
Both of them were puzzled to hear such a style of accusation.
Xu Yin smiled.
As he smiled, Zhou Xiao became even more frightened and quickly hid behind the director, leaving her with a big question mark.
Xu Yin calmly said, “Dean, he harassed me again just now.”
The dean paused. However, she had heard the same accusation countless times before and had developed a mature response.
With tears in her eyes, she immediately said, “No, I’ve explained to you so many times already. Xiao Xiao just likes you and wants to play with you! He’s not in the right state of mind now, how could he possibly know what sexual harassment is, he doesn’t understand! Lu Lu just heard Xiao Xiao’s cries outside the door, did you hit him? Even if you don’t like him, there’s no need to treat him like this!”
“Dean,” Xu Yin couldn’t be bothered to answer her, he just smiled and straightened his clothes, “Zhou Xiao is just mentally disturbed, his mental state is abnormal, it’s not like he has suffered a head injury or something and become intellectually disabled, right? If it’s the latter, I suggest you take him to the hospital quickly. If he can get a disability certificate, he can enjoy some related benefits.”
The dean stiffened.
They had used this routine for a long time, but this was the first time someone… said this.
She swallowed.
The qualification review for omega orphanage workers is particularly strict. Once Zhou Xiao’s mental disability is mentioned, things will become very troublesome.
Even if they have someone backing them up, this is a problem they prefer to avoid…
Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Zhou Xiao urgently grabbed the dean’s arm and emphasized, “Mom, he really can do magic! I’m not lying!!”
Xu Yin: “Oh, it seems like he really does have a mental disability. Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital and have a look?”
The dean immediately turned back to her son and said, “Shut up! Did you not get enough sleep or something?”
Zhou Xiao: “???”
