The slightly trembling bamboo raft glided steadily along the calm river, with the green mountains and farmland on both sides slowly passing by. As the sun rose higher, the natural scenery on the riverbanks became rarer, replaced by neatly built river embankments, dense houses, and towering skyscrapers.
This was only a town near Xiang City, but when they reached the dock, the sightseeing boats that should have been moored there were nowhere to be seen. Instead, the shore was swarming with zombies.
Hearing the engine's sound, the zombies surged toward the riverbank. Although a fence blocked them, under the pressure of the large numbers, the zombies in the front began to topple into the river, like dumplings dropping into boiling water.
Peng Mao, clutching his backpack and suppressing a shiver, remarked, "I'd rather spend my whole life on the river. Only the river or the sea seems relatively safe."
"Then don't get off the bamboo raft when we reach our destination," said Shi Gong Dui.
"You're not the boss here, so I don’t have to listen to you," Peng Mao retorted.
Shi Gong Dui glanced at Hao Jian and Lian Ru Ning, who were resting with their eyes closed, and commented, "Speaking of which, I initially thought that Lian was your leader."
After spending several days with them, it had become clear to him that Hao Jian was the one calling the shots. If he hadn’t noticed this, he’d be ashamed to call himself a member of the "Special Response Team."
"Well, it's normal for Lian to be called the boss since Hao Jian always listens to her," Peng Mao muttered under his breath.
Shi Gong Dui was hit with a wave of jealousy. "Ugh, the sour smell of love!"
____
After passing through seven or eight large bends, the bustling town once again disappeared from sight, and another stunning natural landscape unfolded before them.
After crossing two large bridges, they arrived at the third one—Tong Lake Bridge. By then, they had entered the territory of Xiang City.
The green mountains on both sides were barely visible, occasionally replaced by some trees, but these were entirely surrounded by dense housing and high-rise buildings, making it impossible to feel any connection with nature.
Of course, none of them were in the mood to admire the scenery. As soon as they entered Xiang City's domain, their muscles tensed, and they focused intensely on scanning every inch of the shoreline.
The river water became increasingly murky, and patches of gasoline floated on its surface. All around them, they could see the wreckage of yachts and overturned boats. It was clear that many people had tried to escape the city by water, but the boats had limited capacity. Fleeing citizens didn’t account for this, and as a result, overloaded boats naturally sank.
Hao Jian and the others saw floating bodies in the river, both men and women, but most were children. These were the victims of the sunken ships. They hadn’t been infected by the zombies, but died in accidents—another horror of the apocalypse.
"Hey, there’s a floating suitcase. Should we fish it out and see if there’s any food inside?" Shi Gong Dui asked.
"I’d guess it's filled with clothes, money, or other valuables," Hao Jian replied.
"I'd love some new clothes, but it doesn’t feel right to take them from the deceased. As for money... it's worthless in the apocalypse, isn’t it?" Lian Ru Ning sighed.
Hao Jian considered mentioning that money could still circulate, but knowing how skeptical everyone was about Ding Guonian’s group's demand for cash, she didn’t want to appear too eager to collect money. Otherwise, she risked exposing herself to other hostile factions.
Sigh, having to act like she treated money as dirt—it truly pained her!
In the end, they decided not to retrieve the suitcase. Just as they were talking, a few helicopters appeared overhead, heading straight for the prosperous western part of the city, without even glancing at them on the river.
"It’s been days since I’ve seen a helicopter. I almost forgot that the rescue teams had such equipment," someone remarked, gazing wistfully at the helicopters as they flew away.
"It seems like they’re on some urgent mission, not a rescue operation. Most of the rescue teams we’ve encountered have been land-based, we haven’t come across any from the sea or air forces. It’s easy to overlook them," Shi Gong Dui mused.
"Normally, helicopters and fighter jets wouldn’t be flying over densely populated areas. This isn’t an American action movie," Shi Gong Dui said with a hint of regret. "Tsk, why didn’t I get the luxury of being escorted by a helicopter back then?"
"You were just a low-level errand boy for the government, and you wanted a helicopter escort? Keep dreaming!" Peng Mao scoffed.
Shi Gong Dui pointed at him, but in the end, only huffed, "We're almost there. I’m not going to waste any more breath on you!"
From their current location, it was still about 20 kilometers to the city center. However, the city center was vast, so after narrowing down the area with Shi Gong Dui, Hao Jian estimated it would be about 27 kilometers to reach the nearest riverbank.
Once they landed, they would have to cross a few streets to get there.
The problem was that these streets were the most dangerous areas, and the chances of making it through were slim.
Everyone was aware of this, so the atmosphere on the raft grew increasingly tense the closer they got to their destination. Shi Gong Dui and Peng Mao stopped their bickering, Lian Ru Ning silently steered the raft, Xin Ting rested in her bamboo chair, and Hao Jian stood at the front, scanning the surroundings with her binoculars.
From time to time, they heard cries for help from the shore. People waved at them, pleading for a ride. However, Hao Jian coldly refused, knowing that adding more people at this point would only complicate matters.
After adding another can of gasoline, the river began to branch into multiple streams, and the river mouth gradually narrowed.
Just as Shi Gong Dui started feeling something was off, he noticed a billboard on the shore with an address that didn’t say "Xiang City" but "Nanfang City."
Realizing what this meant, he turned and glared at Hao Jian.
Hao Jian seemed lost in thought, but when she sensed his gaze, she quickly came back to her senses and met his eyes.
"We’re no longer in Xiang City. You lied to me!" Shi Gong Dui said, struggling to contain his anger. He gripped an axe that Xin Ting had swapped out earlier, looking like he was ready to take Lian Ru Ning hostage if Hao Jian didn’t give him a reasonable explanation.
Peng Mao and Xin Ting were stunned. What did he mean by saying they were no longer in Xiang City?
They looked at Lian Ru Ning, who stopped the raft.
Hao Jian sat down next to Shi Gong Dui. Before he could make a move, she said, "I don't want to have to point my gun at my companions."
Shi Gong Dui, remembering that she still had a gun, held back and waited for her explanation.
Seeing his cooperation, Hao Jian smiled slightly. "You want our help, but I never said I was a saint. Why should I risk my life to help you without any benefit?"
Peng Mao was about to ask if they weren’t companions, but the cold look in Hao Jian’s eyes made his words catch in his throat.
Weren’t they companions? Why was she looking at them like that?
Ignoring Peng Mao and Xin Ting, Hao Jian turned back to Shi Gong Dui and said, "You don’t need to wonder if I’m with ‘Wujie.’ I have no intention of deceiving you. I have nothing to do with them. As for what I want from you, you should be able to guess."
Shi Gong Dui stared at her, and suddenly recalled that their mission was to return to Nanfang City to find their relatives. Looking around, he realized that they were at the branch of the East River, with the northern shore being the outskirts of Nanfang City, and the southern shore being Xiang City’s territory.
Under the bridge behind them, there was a river branching off from the northern tributary of the East River. Entering through there would lead them to the nearest bank to their destination. Moving straight ahead, however, would bring them to the southernmost district of Nanfang City.
At this location, the straight-line distance happened to be within eight kilometers from the university town—just enough for him to use his equipment to hack into the official communication channels.
He thought for a moment, then coldly asked, "So, what do you want?"
"I need you to hack into the education systems of Nanfang University and South Sea University to search for the login activity of a few individuals," Lian Ru Ning said, likely not wanting Hao Jian to be the only bad guy here.
"They're my parents and siblings. My whole reason for coming back was to find them, whether dead or alive. I need some information to give me a sense of direction. We're very sorry for taking you hostage, but I won’t try to justify my selfish motives. I hope you'll cooperate," she added.
Shi Gong Dui rolled his eyes. "You two are really something! Fine, we're already here, and considering you've helped me a lot, I'll give it a shot. But no matter the result, we're still heading to the place I mentioned. Deal?"
Lian Ru Ning nodded. "I agree."
"I follow Junior Sister's lead," Hao Jian said.
Shi Gong Dui stopped responding to them and quickly started operating his equipment.
Hao Jian leaned back in her chair, her thoughts returning to her conversation with the system.
As soon as they entered Nanfang City's territory, the system had notified her that the main mission 1, getting Lian Ru Ning back to Nanfang City was completed. Along with the mission completion alert, she received her rewards.
"Congratulations, host, for completing Main Mission 1...
Task duration: 216 hours 42 minutes.
Task rating: 3 stars.
Reward: 200 XP, 500 points.
Current accumulated experience: 1,196. Remaining points: 1,955.
You have enough XP to level up to Level 4. Would you like to proceed?"
___
Previously, she had just been shy of the 996 XP needed to reach Level 4. Without completing the main mission, she would’ve had to kill one more zombie. But at the moment, upgrading to Level 4 wasn’t a priority. However, since she could, it would only make things easier. She chose to upgrade and was about to check her new abilities when Shi Gong Dui confronted her.
Now that he'd calmed down, she went back to reviewing the changes after reaching Level 4. But before that, she was momentarily stunned to see that the XP requirement for Level 5 were 2,000.
It was only a fleeting surprise, as it was within her expectations. Drawing on her years of gaming experience, she speculated that reaching Level 6 might require 5,000 XP, or perhaps even 10,000 depending on the new privileges and abilities unlocked with each level.
After reaching Level 4, a new feature was unlocked: the storage compartment, allowing her to store up to 10 items.
Hao Jian was unsure how the system defined "items." Her first thought was, "Didn’t the system already have a storage function? Isn't this new feature redundant?"
The system replied, "The host fancies herself smart, but has she not realized that the 'storage' she assumes the system has only temporarily holds rewards for her? Once the host retrieves all her rewards, they cannot be placed back."
Hao Jian hadn’t considered this. "So, this storage feature is more like an external space hack where I can store items that aren’t from the system?"
"Correct."
Instead of being happy, Hao Jian fell into deep thought again.
Concerned that she might come up with another crazy idea, the system quickly added, "Upon reaching Level 4, the host can now purchase 100 units of food, 30 units of medication, 50 units of household items, and 3 cold weapons. A new addition: 3 units of prescription medication. The visible range on your map has expanded to 5 kilometers."
"…Oh, so now I can confirm that Ding Gu Nian was at least Level 4 before," Hao Jian mused. With those resources, it would be easy to support twenty people, maybe even fifty.
"The rewards you provide are so overpowered that it almost feels unreal. Yet, everything feels so tangible, like I’ve truly experienced it all."
"What the host is describing is a known phenomenon called déjà vu, or the hippocampal effect. It refers to the sensation of experiencing something as if it has happened before."
"You seem well-versed in this," Hao Jian commented.
"Of course. The system is knowledgeable and all-encompassing!"
…Where had the overbearing system from earlier gone? Why had it been replaced with this arrogant one?
Glancing at Shi Gong Dui, who was still working, she returned to reviewing her level-up rewards.
The basic reward was still the beloved "spicy strips"—but now in packs of two. The more puzzling rewards were an electric scooter and a "Spider-Man" safety suit, complete with harnesses for high-altitude work.
"The rewards are so random! It’s impossible to predict whether other hosts receive the same, especially with items like these that I might never need," Hao Jian muttered.
"However, I do remember something. Back in Huangtian Town, Ding Gu Nian's group didn’t spot us, which means they had no one on lookout. In other words, their line of sight wasn’t as far as ours… So, they didn’t have binoculars. This suggests that our level rewards might be different."
The system decided to pretend it hadn’t heard her boasting.
As for the Gurkha knife, Hao Jian believed Ding Gu Nian had either bought it from the cold weapons section or… perhaps all hosts received the same rewards at Level 1.
Whatever the case, now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.
At that moment, Shi Gong Dui suddenly said, "Lian Qingmiao, professor at South Sea University’s School of Geographical Sciences, last logged into the school system a few times in July 2018. The last login was on July 27, 2018, at 11:23 a.m., from the South Sea University campus in the university town."
Lian Ru Ning’s heart leapt.
"Gao Ruosu, associate professor in the history department at Nanfang University, last logged in on July 26, 2018. The location was Nanfang University’s southern campus, on Yuewan Middle Road…"
Hao Jian frowned. As she feared, Lian Ru Ning’s mother’s campus was in the quarantined city center, meaning her chances of survival were far slimmer than her father’s.
"As for Lian Ru Meng, there’s no record of her logging in within the past month. However, her name appears on an outdoor painting trip list for the art department."
Lian Ru Ning’s emotions swung wildly as Shi Gong Dui spoke. When she asked about the last name, Shi Gong Dui finally said, "Are you going to honor your promise now?"
His tone made it clear—if they didn’t cooperate, he wasn’t about to reveal any information about Lian Ruoji.