January 24
Leaving aside the war raging far away in Osaka, the cleanup right in front of them was still in full swing.
Morning slipped away in a hurry, without the slightest trace of reluctance. Time never waited for anyone.
Up on the mountain, everyone was busy with their own tasks, working for the sake of surviving a little better. And among the workers now were three new figures: the Saito family. Even Miranda had been surprised by that. She had not expected the three of them to show up so early.
At first, Miranda had assumed they would need much longer. Mountain roads were hard enough already, and snowbound mountain roads were even worse.
A lone old man and two young girls who had spent days half-starved—resting for a day or two would have been perfectly reasonable.
The way Kuriyo and Chihaya Ai had eaten the previous night had honestly been unbelievable. They had not exactly devoured the food in some vulgar frenzy, but the speed at which it vanished still made one wonder whether their stomachs connected to some kind of extra-dimensional void.
The poor girls had clearly been starving.
And when everyone had looked at Saito afterward, the old man had shown a rare trace of embarrassment.
Surely no one could actually sit beside a food storehouse and still nearly starve to death.
Well, no point dwelling on the fact that the two girls had almost gone hungry simply because they never knew where the household food supplies had been stored.
Better to look at today's work instead.
At present, every last able body was outside, dealing with the gruesome corpses. The stench was so foul it made people resist breathing the outside air at all. Gloved hands hauled frozen bodies one after another, each one stiff as ice.
Nearby, a wooden sled had been loaded up with piled corpses. Once it was full, they would haul it by rope to a nearby gully, where the bodies would be burned and buried.
The hardest thing to deal with, by far, was that giant bear. Its bloated body was riddled with holes, its hide shredded beyond recognition, pale yellow-white fat showing through the torn flesh.
"How are we supposed to move something that huge?" Chihaya Ai asked, staring at it. But her question was soon answered.
With a vehicle, obviously. They had vehicles—and more than one.
Brent and Miranda had borrowed the keys to the off-road truck from Xiangzi.
"You're handling this, so I'm not worried," Xiangzi had said, handing the keys over without hesitation.
At this point, Xiangzi no longer cared about the idea of harvesting reward points from the bodies. She could barely move herself, and there was no way she was about to send the others out to dissect corpses for her sake. Since she could not profit from it, she only wanted the ugly things gone as soon as possible.
Before long, Xiangzi—still lying upstairs in the second-floor bedroom—heard the engine rumble to life downstairs.
The engine roared with impressive power. Miranda hit the gas, and the vehicle rolled over the snow-packed concrete road. The rope tied to the corpse's limbs pulled taut, and the body dragged behind it, carving a broad furrow through the snow and pushing drifts off to both sides of the road.
"Slow down and be careful!" Taoris called from nearby.
Brent, whose old injury had started acting up again over the past few days, stood ahead of the vehicle to guide Miranda and keep her from driving into anything dangerous.
Outside, the cleanup continued at a fever pitch.
Inside, Xiangzi had little to do but lie in bed, bored out of her mind. She had flipped through the few skill manuals and tool guides she had at hand, but after a short while they too had been set aside.
She did not know what else to do.
Her fellow invalid, Ye Ling, was in a completely different state. Since breakfast, she had been half-sitting up in bed, steadily drinking the tea Huaxiu had brought up for the two of them.
"Maybe I should go chat with the system," Xiangzi muttered. "It's been awfully quiet lately."
She did not want to disturb Ye Ling, so her thoughts turned naturally toward the system, which had scarcely shown itself in recent days.
Besides, the system still had not settled the reward-point totals for the previous two days.
She had been planning to exchange for more equipment, and there were also those unopened blind-box rewards. Keeping them around forever served no purpose.
The battles of the last few days had left her keenly aware of a painful truth: her firepower was not enough.
Take that giant bear, for example. If she had possessed even a single man-portable rocket launcher—or a grenade launcher—there would have been no need to finish the fight by clutching explosives and gambling on a near-suicidal exchange.
When she threw herself into that final blast, it had been on sheer willpower alone. There had been no time to think about consequences. With her body drenched in blood and the Bloodlust passive fully active, Xiangzi's mind had been reduced to a single thought:
Kill it.
She remembered that first encounter with Huaxiu, and also those psychic-type infected—threats that were impossible to guard against.
This time, she had only lost an entire suit of single-soldier armor.
What about next time?
She needed high-damage weapons. Badly.
That bear had only been a special infected out in some backwater mountain region. What, then, were the true monsters lurking in the big cities? In laboratories? The things that had made actual government forces collapse?
Xiangzi did not dare imagine it. Nor did she want to see them.
Ideally, she would gather enough supplies to last a lifetime and just hide in the mountains forever.
But that was only wishful thinking.
Hiding in some remote corner and clinging to life sounded fine in theory, but her enemies were not idiots. Eventually, the Holy Disciple forces would sweep through region after region, purging every place they deemed necessary.
And even if they did not come after her directly, mountain supplies alone would never be enough forever. Sooner or later they would need to head out and search for goods—or trade with other survivor groups.
What was she supposed to do?
Her thoughts turned to Huaxiu, to Brent, to Kawano Chiyo, whom she still had not contacted…
"Damn it."
Xiangzi clenched her fists. As the center of the little group forming around her, she wanted to do better.
She wanted them all to live.
Not just survive like beasts, but live properly, like human beings.
It was time to stop drifting from crisis to crisis and start making real plans.
Their strategic retreat had never been part of some grand design. It had been forced on them by the winter infected migration and the looming threat of the Holy Disciple organization. They had fled the warmth of home and ended up in this forsaken place.
She needed the system's help.
[So you finally remembered me.]
System-chan appeared instantly, as though she had been waiting for Xiangzi to initiate contact. It was almost like a dog left at home while its owner went on a trip—springing up and racing over the second the owner came back.
"System, look…" Xiangzi smiled brightly, trying her best to look friendly.
The system already knew exactly what she was about to say. A fresh panel unfolded before Xiangzi.
[You should have used my power back then. Why did you care so much about what the others might think?]
[Even if they found out you had me, so what? With so few people around you, I trust you could have handled it.]
[Look at you now. Flat on your back in bed.]
It was true. She had not only had that one reckless option available to her.
Takajo Xiangzi was a woman with a system.
But how many people, in a true life-or-death emergency, could calmly choose the most rational option?
"This is just the best possible outcome, isn't it?" Xiangzi said, forcing a grin. "I didn't get hit by shrapnel. No tearing injuries. Just a little soft-tissue damage. Nothing serious."
A blatant lie.
When her wounds had been treated yesterday, the pain had been so bad her whole face had gone numb and her teeth had locked together. The burning sting at every injured spot had been agonizing. When disinfectant touched the inflamed flesh, the reaction had been fierce. White foam had bubbled up over the damaged tissue, only to be wiped away again and again.
Watching Xiangzi continue to bluff, even the patient and usually indulgent system found herself getting a headache. She had gone to extraordinary lengths to procure all sorts of materials from elsewhere, and her foolish girl still refused to rely on her more.
[You really are an idiot.]
"Don't slander me. I mean it—there won't be a next time. I really have thought about it."
[Sigh… do whatever makes you happy.]
System-chan let out a long, helpless sigh.
"Anyway, what's the deal with my reward-point income and expenses? Why haven't you updated me these past few days?"
[Because I'm busy too. I'm supposed to be a slice-of-life system, and now I've basically worked myself into something stronger than a dedicated apocalypse system. Do you think that's easy?]
[And don't forget—I'm only a fragment of the original system.]
Hearing that, Xiangzi did not know what to say. The system sounded genuinely exhausted.
"Sorry… I really did neglect you these past few days. I didn't pay attention to how you were feeling…"
[It's not like I care that much.]
[Oh, right. One piece of news—half good, half bad. There won't be any more reward points in the future.]
…What?
No more reward points?
How was that supposed to be good news?
Without the easy purchasing system, getting supplies—especially guns, ammo, and medicine—would become incredibly difficult. That sounded like terrible news.
"Sys—"
She had barely begun to speak when System-chan cut her off again.
[Relax. Did you really think I'd just cut it off and leave you with nothing?]
[Here. Read the text version yourself.]
A new panel opened.
Reward Point System: Abolished
From now on, based on your daily performance, I will increase your drop rates for the following day, with a focus on certain categories of materials.
[Closed containers may randomly generate new loot.]
Shop System: Major Overhaul
Now changed into a Material Exchange System.
The refreshed shop page may contain all item types. In addition to the random refresh system, standard item exchange will now include most common goods.
Existing reward-point balance has been converted into:
a 2m x 2m personal storage space
Virus Antibody x3
Real-Time Area Map
Vital Signs Scanner
Real-Time Weather System
"This sounds more like a game mechanic than ever. Did you go chat with some game developers? Tarkov? Dark Zone? Firefly…"
[Don't worry about that. Reward points were always just a transitional mechanic for the early phase. It's time to bring in some proper apocalypse elements.]
"I never said the change was bad."
[Hm?]
Xiangzi chose not to argue. Instead, she waited for the system to continue.
[Oh, right. Your mission rewards. And I added a little bonus.]
A familiar mission window appeared.
Night HeroNight is usually considered the dark side of day. At this time, the living ought to return to safe shelter, to sleep, and await the coming of tomorrow. But there must always be someone willing to stand in the darkness and eliminate the threats that come in the night.
Mission Objective:Eliminate the incoming infected creatures and hold out until dawn.
Status: Completed
Reward:
One Response from the Scales of Fate(You will be unusually lucky during one special event.)
A Mysterious Blue CapsuleExperimental medicine that temporarily accelerates blood production, cellular repair, skin regeneration, and related healing functions.
Xiangzi had not expected an extra reward like that.
She had never been the type who could stay idle. With this, she would be able to "move around" again much sooner.
"…Thank you."
[No need. Just hurry up and get better so you can go back to working for me.]
[Also—don't just hide in the mountains forever. Living off stockpiles until they run out is a terrible plan.]
[Bye. I'm letting the supercomputing unit rest for a while. We'll talk later.]
"I know. Once I'm healed and things here are settled, I'll head down to the nearby settlements and gather more supplies."
A clear weariness lingered in the system's synthesized voice. Xiangzi decided not to bother her further and instead began studying the newly redesigned system interface.
It was much cleaner now.
Health. Map. Weather. Shop. Missions. Personal Storage. System Help.
She was still exploring the features when Ye Ling, sitting nearby, stared at her with growing concern.
After she finished her tea and was about to start chatting, she had suddenly noticed Xiangzi sitting there by herself—sometimes smiling, sometimes falling silent, her expression changing back and forth like a stage performer switching masks.
Ye Ling did not know what to make of it.
Boss… looks like she's talking to something that isn't there…
Where Ye Ling came from, this would have been called possession.
Did they need an exorcism?
She did not dare interrupt.
Only when Xiangzi finally closed the interface and turned her head did she notice the large pink fox-girl staring straight at her.
Both of them jumped.
Neither could actually leap anywhere in their current condition, of course, but the fright was real enough.
"What's wrong with you, Ye Ling?"
"Ah—nothing! Nothing at all. I was just watching what you were doing. Would you like some tea?"
"No… I'm fine."
Xiangzi refused, and the awkward little exchange died then and there.
At that exact moment, hurried footsteps thundered up from downstairs.
Who was it?
What had happened that made them come rushing like that?
The person had not even appeared yet when her voice rang out first.
"Xiangzi! Something happened!"
Damn it.
Whatever it was, it sounded serious.
Before Ye Ling could notice, Xiangzi quickly swallowed the blue capsule the system had just given her.
If it could heal her faster, then whatever was happening outside—she needed to be ready for it.
The door burst open.
Huaxiu charged into the room without the slightest regard for appearances, her boots leaving a trail of dirty prints across the floor.
[End of Chapter]
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
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TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
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I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter215)
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Uma Musume: From Beginner 125
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
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I Refuse to Become a Heroic 45
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Why did they assign me to Uma 35
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The Gacha Merchant Who Started 31
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