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Though Bianbian didn’t fully understand, she grasped Grandpa’s meaning. Being obedient, she retreated back inside the house and waved to him, saying, “Goodnight, Grandpa.”
She yawned as she spoke. For Bianbian, today’s workload had already exceeded her limits; in truth, she had been sleepy for quite some time, merely suppressing her drowsiness until now.
After briskly washing up, Bianbian cuddled her little teddy bear and lay down in bed. Thinking that both Grandpa and Uncle Zhu Yuan were nearby, she felt not the slightest fear about sleeping tonight.
Grandpa has lost so much weight; he needs to replenish his nutrition. Tomorrow, I’ll make him some warm milk to drink.
Bianbian turned off the magic orb, closed her eyes, and fell asleep peacefully.
This was the first time Bianbian had slept so peacefully since Grandpa left her two months ago.
In the first few days after Grandpa was locked behind the metal wall, Bianbian cried constantly.
She couldn’t help but cry.
She was scared and missed her grandfather. But Grandfather had said that no matter what sounds she heard, she was not allowed to go outside.
Bianbian has always been a sensible little girl who obeys her grandfather. When he said those words, his expression was grim and pained, so Bianbian committed them firmly to memory.
When Grandfather was around, Bianbian’s daily routine was very regular. She woke up at seven in the morning for breakfast. Afterward, Grandfather would first patrol the area outside their residential compound to ensure there was no danger before returning to take Bianbian out for a walk, using the opportunity to gather some daily supplies.
Around eleven in the morning, Grandfather would start preparing lunch while Bianbian sorted and packed the scavenged supplies by category. This had always been her “job,” and she enjoyed it.
After lunch, Grandfather would play Lego with Bianbian on the floor mat. Sometimes, while playing, Bianbian would lie down on the mat and fall asleep. Occasionally, Grandfather would nap alongside her, but most of the time, he would meditate and cultivate nearby. By the time Bianbian woke up, it was almost time to prepare dinner.
By nine o’clock in the evening, Grandpa would coax Bianbian to sleep, telling her many wondrous little stories. Filled with longing for those magical tales, Bianbian would quickly drift off into dreamland.
However, after Grandpa left, no one was there to tell her stories anymore. The room was left to her alone, pitch black, with only Huihui keeping her company.
Once she cried herself to exhaustion, she would fall asleep no matter how frightened she felt.
Over time, as she grew accustomed to being alone, Bianbian became less afraid. After falling asleep, she no longer suffered from nightmares so easily.
Bianbian, who hadn’t dreamed for several days, finally had a dream tonight—and it was a beautiful one.
In her dream, she and her grandpa were strolling through a supermarket surrounded by crowds of people. Grandpa explained that this was how things used to be before the monsters appeared: supermarkets would be bustling with shoppers, and they would have everything imaginable inside.
She sat in the stroller as Grandpa pushed her along; whenever she spotted something delicious, she would reach out her little hands to grab it and toss it into the cart. Besides the treats, there were many dolls far prettier than Huihui. Just as Bianbian was about to reach for one, she glanced over and saw Huihui looking at her with a wronged expression.
Oh no, I can’t abandon Huihui.
Clutching Huihui tightly, Bianbian firmly refused those beautiful dolls.
Grandpa lifted Bianbian into his arms and chuckled, saying, “Our Bianbian is the most loyal friend of all.”
That’s right.
Bianbian proudly lifted her little head.
　　……
A tall and straight figure sat by the small bed. Nong Jiusi watched with keen interest as white bubbles emerged from the head of the sleeping little one, each bubble vividly displaying the pleasant dreams unfolding within, allowing him to see everything clearly.
He had been logged in for quite some time now.
The moment he logged in, he encountered the little one falling. Though Nong Jiusi tried to intervene, it was too late; all he could do was gently cushion the fall with his foot.
Having not logged in for several days, upon entering the game, he discovered the storyline had taken a completely unexpected turn: two zombies had appeared in the room. Apparently, the little one and the two zombies were getting along remarkably well.
Fortunately, the system appeared at this moment and explained the situation in a few words, allowing Nong Jiusi to finally understand what was happening.
“So even when I’m not logged into the game, the storyline continues to update automatically?”
The system remained silent; after all, the more it spoke, the more mistakes it might make, so it let him fill in the blanks himself.
As expected, Nong Jiusi did not press further about the sudden leap in the storyline.
At this moment, Nong Jiusi gazed thoughtfully at Bianbian’s dream. After a while, he suddenly said, “The side quest requires Lu Yu to advance to level five and regain ten percent of his autonomous consciousness. How exactly is this side quest supposed to be completed?”
When the system first proposed this mission, Nong Jiusi had rejected it, finding such a tedious side quest not worth his effort.
Now, however, it brought up the matter proactively.
The system secretly scoffed: [Lu Yu has now developed independent consciousness; this side quest has been automatically canceled.]
Nong Jiusi paused, then shifted his gaze to the intimacy value, his eyes narrowing slightly: “Why is the intimacy value still zero?”
The system slowly popped up a message: [As a father, if you want to build an intimate relationship with Bianbian, you need to log in frequently. If you never log in, how can she develop any intimacy toward you?]
Nong Jiusi: “…”
The system’s words left him with no room for argument.
“My lord,” Nong Tang approached, holding a wooden box in her hands, “the Magic Orb you requested has arrived.”
Dragon-kind are fond of shiny things. The mana orb Nong Jiusi gave to Bianbian was originally offered to him by someone else; it mattered little to Nong Jiusi. However, since it could serve as a lamp for the little one, clearly one orb wouldn’t be enough.
Therefore, Nong Jiusi sent Nong Tang to acquire mana spheres.
Aside from emitting light, mana spheres serve no other purpose; precisely because they only glow yet require an exceptionally complex manufacturing process, they are virtually unavailable on the market.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have presented the Magic Orb to Nong Jiusi as a gift in the first place.
Nong Jiusi had demanded eight mana orbs upon leaving, purchasing them at a high price; thus, it took several days to gather them. Another purpose for his logging in was to deliver the “lamp.”
Taking the wooden box, his slender fingers gently flicked the lid open, revealing eight exquisitely crafted mana orbs neatly arranged inside, colorful and utterly adorable.
Nong Jiusi didn’t even look up as he ordered, “Go get some candy, and bring over the Jiusi Sword as well.”
“…Huh?” Nong Tang exclaimed in shock, “The Jiusi Sword?”
He certainly knew what his lord intended to do with the candy and the Jiusi Sword; it was precisely because he knew that he was so stunned.
Nowadays, many games feature the ability to transfer items from reality into the game, all in an effort to enhance realism.
This is voluntary; whether players are willing or not, in most cases, no player wants to put real-world items into the game—isn’t that a waste?
Because once items are put into the game, there’s a high chance they cannot be retrieved.
For adults playing a child-rearing game, it’s normal to give things to the virtual child. Items like magic orbs and candies, which aren’t very valuable, are fine, but the Jiushi Sword is different.
“My lord, are you really going to send the Jiusi Sword?” Nong Tang asked anxiously, his two dragon horns twitching involuntarily atop his head. “The Jiusi Sword was forged from the hardest scale of your true form. Sending it into the game is truly somewhat…”
…a colossal waste.
Nong Tang dared not speak these four words aloud in front of Nong Jiusi, fearing they would enrage his master. Right now, his feelings toward Nong Jiusi mirrored those of ordinary parents dealing with a prodigal child.
Countless people in the outside world would pay exorbitant prices for weapons forged from dragon scales, yet dragons treasure their scales immensely. Occasionally, they might craft weapons from their own scales for personal use, but they rarely sell them. Consequently, weapons forged from dragon scales are incredibly rare and hard to come by… But none of that is the main point. The real issue is that his master actually intends to send his own Jiusi Sword into the game.
What a complete waste!
Nong Jiusi glanced up indifferently, his expression unchanged, and said coolly, “Do you have an objection?”
Nong Tang’s demeanor stiffened; he quickly shook his head, then turned and walked away with heavy steps. A moment later, he returned holding candy and the Jiusi Sword.
“You may leave now.”
As Nong Tang stepped out, he quietly glanced up and saw his master placing both the candy and the Jiusi Sword into the wooden box meant for storing mana orbs.
He was clearly determined to send them into the game.
Nong Tang clutched his chest, feeling a pang in his heart.
Not just a pang—intense pain.
After experiencing another system glitch and finally managing to restore the data, he could only watch helplessly as Nong Jiusi placed a box brimming with items on the bedside table.
—That box had even been wrapped by Nong Jiusi like a gift package, complete with a bow on top.
Although the system is made of data, it can still “feel pain”; a single data error forces it to spend extra time running checks!
Setting down the supplies, Nong Jiusi bent slightly, gazing at the little one sleeping soundly on the bed, completely unaware. A faint smile curved his lips: “With this box of goods, surely I’ll earn some intimacy points now.”
If not yet..
Nong Jiusi raised his finger and gently poked the little one’s soft cheek: “Then you’d truly be an ungrateful little thing.”
It was not until Nong Jiusi logged off that the system finished restoring all the data.
Previously, it only delivered a single mana orb; now, with an entire crate of items, its workload has increased significantly.
Fortunately, this crate proves highly useful to Bianbian, presented as a glitch, so the system hasn’t technically violated any rules.
A sword forged from dragon scales should be incredibly powerful, right?
It’s perfect for Bianbian to use for self-defense.
At this… the system suddenly felt that Subject Number Two wasn’t so bad after all.
　　*
While Bianbian slept soundly, dreaming sweet dreams, a mysterious treasure chest appeared beside her bed. Meanwhile, just a few streets away inside a building, Tie Zhi and Zhang Wenxi had narrowly escaped death’s grasp.
The two had already fled their original office, chased by zombie beasts into a restroom. The escape had drained all their strength; they collapsed onto the floor, trying desperately to recover their energy, their rapid breathing filling the cramped space.
“Why are there so many powerful zombies and zombie beasts in this area?” Zhang Wenxi asked, still trembling as he touched his arm. Just moments ago, that very arm had nearly been devoured by a zombie beast.
Tie Zhi slowed his breathing, focusing intently on the outside. Although he didn’t want to answer Zhang Wenxi, they were now the only two survivors.
“It must have been summoned by that level-four zombie.”
“Even so, there must be one nearby to be summoned. The number of high-level zombies and corpse beasts around here is absurdly high,” Zhang Wenxi said. “Brother Tie, do you think there’s something unique about this area causing the zombies and corpse beasts here to evolve unusually fast?”
Tie Zhi remained silent.
Zhang Wenxi whispered softly, “Brother Tie, once we leave this place tomorrow, we can head to the base and trade the information about what’s happening here. The base will definitely value this intelligence.”
“The base already knows there are high-level zombies and zombie beasts in this area; they’ll send experts to investigate. We can’t handle that level-four zombie ourselves, but the base can… What do you think?”
Tie Zhi’s eyes flickered as he glanced at Zhang Wenxi in the faint light from the window; the latter’s proposal was indeed not bad.
Under Feng Leijie’s leadership, Flying Dragon had gained a certain reputation, though it was entirely infamous. Now that over twenty members of Flying Dragon had suddenly been lost, rebuilding the group would make trading supplies with the base absolutely essential.
Reporting the situation here to the base should fetch them quite a few supplies.
In response to Zhang Wenxi’s suggestion, he merely uttered an “Mm.”
Outside, the furious roar of a zombie beast chasing its prey echoed loudly, shaking even the bathroom door until it rattled. Zhang Wenxi couldn’t help but move closer to Tie Zhi and murmured quietly, “Brother Tie, there’s something I’m not sure whether I should say or not.”
Seeing that Tie Zhi didn’t respond, Zhang Wenxi continued speaking on his own. He knew Tie Zhi had always been guarding against him; even if he attempted a surprise attack, it wouldn’t succeed.
The corpse beast outside could leave at any moment, but hiding here offered no real safety; it might discover them at any time. If things truly came down to life or death, Tie Zhi would undoubtedly abandon him without a second thought.
Since a surprise attack on Tie Zhi to temporarily seize his ability and escape the building alone was impossible, and given that surviving the night relied entirely on Tie Zhi’s power, he needed to make Tie Zhi recognize his value so he wouldn’t be abandoned in a moment of danger.
“I believe the person who ambushed Jie Ge and Luo Yesheng lives here, and has always lived here.”
“What do you mean?”
“That Level 4 zombie was a metal-element ability user in life, and the metal gate surrounding the Jinxin residential compound, along with the reinforced metal protections on all windows of that building, indicates the Level 4 zombie had been living in Jinxin prior to infection,” Zhang Wenduan analyzed logically. “If the Level 4 zombie knew the attacker, or if they were relatives, then everything makes perfect sense.”
“Jie Ge and Luo Yesheng intended to kill the Level 4 zombie; naturally, as family members of the zombie, the attackers would not allow such a thing to happen. Moreover, I noticed the third-floor window has remained open all along. If my guess is correct, the attacker is hiding on the third floor.”
After listening, Tie Zhi remarked ambiguously, “Not a bad analysis.”
Relieved, Zhang Wenxi quickly replied, “Although my combat strength isn’t impressive, I do possess a sharp mind and am always available to provide you with answers.”
Perhaps they were fortunate; outside, the corpse beast, after venting its fury and confirming no prey could be found, dragged its slick body away.
The two in the restroom successfully survived this crisis and welcomed another dawn in their lives.
As the pair carefully made their escape from the area, Bianbian, who had slept soundly through the night, woke up naturally, rubbing her eyes as she sat up in bed.
“Good morning, Huihui.”
“Good morning, Bianbian.”
The little girl pushed back the covers, climbed out of bed, and drew open the curtains, flooding the room with bright light.
Then she spotted a beautifully wrapped gift box sitting on the nightstand. Bianbian froze; she was certain it hadn’t been there before she fell asleep.
So…
After she’d drifted off, Uncle Invisible had not only visited but also quietly left her a present?
Her large, grape-like eyes remained fixed intently on the gift box.
Previously, when Bianbian received food from the unseen uncle, it would simply appear directly, not mysteriously packaged like this.
The packaging was so exquisite that it made Bianbian slightly apprehensive, an instinctive wariness toward the unknown.
“Gray-Gray, should I open it now?” Bianbian lowered her head to ask Gray-Gray’s opinion. As if receiving some affirmative response, the little girl approached the gift box with a mix of nervousness and curiosity, and untied the bow on top.
She unwrapped it with great care, afraid of damaging the wrapping. After removing the beautiful wrapping paper, Bianbian laid it flat on the bed before slowly lifting the lid.
“Gray-Gray, so many lights!” The little girl’s eyes instantly lit up. What caught her attention first wasn’t the candies on top, nor the short sword embedded with numerous gems, but those few magic orbs.
Eagerly, she took out the magic orbs and counted them. There were eight in total; adding the other one made nine, which equaled nine Dengdengs.
“This way, Grandpa and Uncle Zhu Yuan can use the lights too.” Clutching the magic orb like a precious treasure, Bianbian pattered out of the bedroom. She placed one on the dining table, one in the kitchen, one in the bathroom, and another on the sofa.
When night falls, we’ll turn them all on, and the house won’t be dark at all.
“I’ll give all the rest to Grandpa.”
Bianbian ran out the front door, perked up her ears to listen for sounds from upstairs, but heard only silence. Confirming that Grandpa and Uncle Zhu Yuan were still asleep, she retreated back to her room, deciding to wait until they woke up before giving them the lights, so as not to disturb their rest by going upstairs herself.
At this moment, remembering that there were other things in the box besides Dengdeng, the little girl skipped happily back to the bedroom.
The candies Nong Jiusi had placed in the box were not common even within the Imperial Alliance—dragons were famously picky eaters. The food they consumed had to meet three indispensable criteria: first, the ingredients must be expensive; second, the taste must be excellent; and third, it had to satisfy draconic aesthetics.
“Huihui, what is this?” Bianbian picked up an exquisitely wrapped candy containing a miniature house made of various chocolates. Though only palm-sized, it was crafted so lifelike that no girl could resist such dreamlike beauty.
Bianbian was no exception. Born in the apocalypse, the little girl had never seen such beautiful candies before—the only sweets she’d ever tasted were melted fruit drops.
“Is it a toy?”
Yet Bianbian didn’t recognize them as candies; they were carved too beautifully. She tore open the wrapper of one—
Do toys have a sweet taste?
Smelling the sweetness, Bianbian began to doubt her assumption. She lifted the candy house, hesitated for a moment, then tentatively licked it.
It’s sweet!
It’s candy!
Bianbian’s eyes lit up. Confirming it was candy, she licked it twice more but couldn’t bear to bite into it. She then set down the candy house and gazed at it longingly, saying, “Let’s eat it together once Grandpa and Uncle Zhu Yuan wake up.”
Good things should be shared.
The little girl’s gaze swept past the candy and landed on the Jiusi Sword.
“Is this candy too?”
Bianbian picked up the short sword; compared to her small hands, it was slightly large, yet very light—after all, a single dragon scale couldn’t possibly be heavy.
The sword’s scabbard was exceedingly ornate, inlaid with countless gemstones. Bianbian leaned in to sniff it but detected no sweetness. She then licked several of the gems in succession, tasting nothing at all, finally confirming that they were not candy.
She examined it carefully, recalling the fruit knife she usually used, and compared it to the hilt. Gently gripping the handle, she noticed two characters engraved upon it, which Bianbian naturally could not recognize.
With a soft “zheng,” the short sword was drawn. Its blade was so polished it could serve as a mirror, reflecting Bianbian’s astonished little face.
Bianbian ran out of the bedroom holding her sword, took out the fruit knife from before, and compared the two “blades.” As expected, the little girl favored the new over the old; her eyes curved into crescents: “Huihui, now I have two little knives!”
In her excitement, she instinctively tapped the two blades together.
Clang.
The fruit knife snapped in half as if it were made of tofu.
“…”
She looked at the fruit knife, then at the Jiushi Sword, and the little girl couldn’t help but pout in grievance.
　　※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※
Bianbian: So happy! I have two little knives now; I can switch between them.
But the joy lasted no more than two seconds—
Waaah, now there’s only one left. So sad.