Chapter 109: The First Encounter
“What is it?” Zhao Mo asked anxiously.
“It’s just… it seems it would require Qin Yu to sacrifice her own spiritual power as the price,” Nangong Yao replied, uncertainty in his voice.
Upon hearing this, a spark flashed through Qin Yu’s mind. Suddenly, all the oddities in her past were explained by Nangong Yao’s words. For example, why did she need twice as much spiritual power as other water-type ability users to produce the same size water ball? Or why was her advancement so slow—despite the experience from her previous life, she barely reached the second tier now. All of it, every bit, was because her water-type ability could purify impurities within the human body? Qin Yu was stunned. Thinking it over, it seemed she had stumbled upon an unexpected fortune.
As she pondered, she noticed the three gazing at her intently. Taking a deep breath, Qin Yu said, “Apart from us, no one must ever learn about the uniqueness of my ability.”
The three nodded. Zhao Mo then trotted over to Qin Yu, slipped her arm around Qin Yu’s, and pleaded coquettishly, “Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu, you must let me use your water bubbles on my body more often. I want my skin to be as smooth and fair as yours, please?”
Qin Yu was startled by Zhao Mo’s tone and responded quickly, “Fine, fine, I’ll let you soak in a beautiful bath every day, alright? Just stop talking to me like that, it makes my skin crawl.”
Zhao Mo paid no mind to Qin Yu’s complaints. Hearing her promise, Zhao Mo grinned so wide her eyes nearly disappeared and pulled Xia Cheng along, saying, “He has to join in too!”
Qin Yu’s lips twitched as she glanced at Xia Cheng’s doting, blissful smile and nodded, “Alright, you both can do it together. Together, okay? How did I end up stuck with such a friend who values romance over friendship?”
Zhao Mo stuck out her tongue and beamed even brighter. She blew Qin Yu a kiss and dragged Xia Cheng away, off to who knew what.
Now, only Nangong Yao and Qin Yu remained in the bathroom. Qin Yu looked at Nangong Yao, who had his head lowered, and considered leaving, but Nangong Yao stopped her.
“Qin Yu, could I ask you a favor?” Nangong Yao’s voice was low and somber.
Qin Yu turned back, “What is it?”
“If—just if—you ever see that man again, could you use your water-type ability on him, let him soak more? I promise, once we find him, you won’t lose out.”
Though she didn’t understand, Qin Yu nodded, “Alright, I promise.” Seeing Nangong Yao had nothing more to say, she closed the door and left the bathroom.
Inside, Nangong Yao gazed at his slightly reddened palm, a shadowy light flickering in his eyes. He murmured, “Shangguan Feng.”
---
In the room, Xia Cheng and Zhao Mo had already left. Qin Yu lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.
This was her favorite thing to do before the apocalypse: lying like this allowed her to empty her mind, as if all fatigue and emotion vanished in that moment. Her mind would blank out entirely, and she cherished that feeling, as though she were alone in the world, with no need to care too much about others.
Qin Yu remained in a daze until the bathroom door opened.
At the sound, she instinctively sat up, gripping her dagger tightly.
Nangong Yao looked at the alert Qin Yu and laughed, “Why so nervous? I’m not going to eat you!”
Qin Yu set down her dagger and smiled, “Just a reflex. But you—finally willing to come out?”
“Pfft, if I didn’t come out, would I stay in there forever?” Nangong Yao replied.
Qin Yu got up and smiled helplessly, “I knew you wouldn’t stay forever, but I thought you’d linger a bit longer. How do you feel now?”
“Great, haha!” Nangong Yao laughed heartily, then left without caring what Qin Yu might want to say.
Qin Yu was left smiling wryly.
Downstairs, Zhao Mo, Xia Cheng, and the others were sorting through the belongings left by the villa’s former owners. When Nangong Yao came down, Zhao Mo approached, “Where’s Xiao Yu?”
“She’s upstairs, should be down soon,” Nangong Yao replied. Just as he finished, Qin Yu appeared at the staircase.
Zhao Mo greeted her cheerfully, “Xiao Yu, there are so many good things in this villa, come have a look!”
Qin Yu nodded and hurried downstairs, curious about what Zhao Mo considered “good things.”
Zhao Mo, somehow, produced a celadon vase and said, “Xiao Yu, look, this is an antique! Looks like it’s from the Qing Dynasty.”
Qin Yu’s expression was as follows:
Honestly, in the apocalypse, antiques are worthless! But seeing Zhao Mo so excited, she couldn’t bear to shatter her dream. She smiled, “Yes, very nice.”
---
Zhao Mo immediately scampered off to continue sorting, hoping to find more treasures. If she did, she’d hit the jackpot! Clearly, she hadn’t realized those so-called treasures were utterly useless in the apocalypse.
Qin Yu was about to say something when Ji Shuo’s voice interrupted.
“Boss Qin, there’s a visitor outside.” Ji Shuo rushed in with the news.
“Oh? A visitor? Interesting. Shall we go see?” Nangong Yao raised his brows.
As for Qin Yu, at the mention of a visitor, her heart began to race, a thrill as if something was about to burst forth from her body, startling even herself.
She nodded calmly and took the lead outside.
At the villa entrance, Qing Li watched Qin Yu walk out slowly, his eyes filled with longing and affection.
Qin Yu looked at the man at the door, her heart struck fiercely, and tears sprang from her eyes. She stopped three meters from Qing Li, her lips trembling, but she could not speak.
The onlookers’ expressions were as follows:
Qing Li and Qin Yu gazed at each other, as if their worlds had shrunk to only one another.
Meanwhile, far away in the city, Yin opened her eyes, staring in its direction. A smile of unknown meaning curled at her lips as she muttered, “It’s almost time, almost time.”
Beside her, Zi watched the woman exuding a disturbing aura and quietly edged away. He glanced at Yin, whose mutters were indecipherable, and a shadow flickered in his eyes.
At the same time, zombies across the world seemed to sense something, their roars echoing across the land.
The apocalypse’s true carnival had finally begun.