[Host, I came to ask for your plan.]
Haoyu lowered his hand and placed the towel on the bed. He looked at the pink ball in amusement. He grabbed the ball and pinched it slightly, marveling at the novel feeling in his palm.
[Host? What are you doing?!]
[Mmf!]
Zero's entire body was kneaded into different shapes by the malicious hand. It struggled to free itself, but since the feeling was comfortable, its struggle gradually stopped and in the end, it lay there and obediently get kneaded by Haoyu. After a few minutes of kneading, Haoyu who was satisfied finally let Zero free. The ball fell from his palm and rolled on the floor before stopping. Seeing its' lifeless state, Haoyu let out an amused chuckle.
"Alright, alright, let's get serious now. I'll tell you my plan, so just listen right there."
Zero didn't move an inch. Its on streak, determined to ignore its host.
Haoyu smiled then rubbed his fingers habitually, his eyes narrowed as his mind raced.
"The mission is to change Yichen's tragic fate, so letting him to live safely should be enough to complete the task right?"
Haoyu was about to continue, but a "Ding!" sound appeared abruptly. Haoyu was stunned, then looked at the appeared panel. It was the mission panel.
['Sweet Love in The Apocalypse'
1. Survive as the original owner.
2. Change Gu Yichen's fate and protect him.
-New task added!-
3. Let Gu Yichen lead a happy life (stopping midway will directly fail the task).
Reward:
1,500 points and rights to system shop.
-New!-
+1,000 points.]
Haoyu stared quietly at the newly added task. He was silent for a while, trying to figure out what just happened. Then, his cold eyes moved to the still listless ball.
"Zero... What's going on?"
The ball flinched. Its' early determination completely diminished, leaving only uneasy tremble. Its' mechanical voice rang, tinged with faint tremble. It even stuttered.
[Z-Zero also doesn't know. A-according to the database, this has n-never happened before.]
[So Zero is n-not guilty...]
It then went silent, determined to not utter a sound no matter what happened. Haoyu tilted his head slightly as he looked at the ball, his eyes were full of disdain, mocking it for its uselessness. The ball felt those gaze, trying to hold back its tears.
This is not what the seniors said to me... Why is my host so fierce and scary?! This newborn system is not built for this!
Haoyu tapped his finger on his knee, he then closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened his eyes again, the cold light in them disappeared alongside the dark aura around him. Zero's tremble finally subsided, but it still refuse to move from its original position.
"Alright, that's fine. Another task added doesn't make much difference."
Haoyu's cold but pleasant voice gradually filled the room.
"Anyway, we need to let Gu Yichen live, protect him and let him live happily right? These things are not that difficult, but it does need something prepared in advance."
"I will solidify my position here first."
Hearing this, Zero moved slightly. Its long bunny ears twitched. Haoyu noticed this.
"I'll explain."
I know you're curious, you useless ball.
"To create a safe environment for Yichen, I need a high position in the military. A position high enough that I have a solid authority, considerable influence, and also resources. Food, weapons, the right to create my own team, securing a safe place... a sanctuary for our target, Yichen."
Seeing that the ball finally looked at him, Haoyu's lips curled up in a faint arc, "That's why, I will make this place the first step."
"Also..."
Haoyu looked at his rather 'delicate' hands with deadpan eyes.
"I'll built my strength on the way. This body is far from my prime and I don't like that."
Zero also looked at its host in deadpan eyes. It was getting excited at first, but that last sentence poured a cold water on its small flame.
That last one was the reason, isn't it?
Haoyu coughed lightly.
"Anyway, that's the gist of it. For the plan to work, I'm going to work on team 3 and the mission tomorrow. So today, I'm going to rest and save up my energy."
Haoyu stood up and took the dried pants on the window. After wearing them, he lay down on his bed bare chested and hid himself under the thin blanket, prepared to drift to the dreamland. When he snuggled into the pillow, he let out a satisfied sigh.
Finally... after hours of hard work, I can finally sleep...
His consciousness instantly entered the dreamland. He was exhausted and sleepy since before he came here, he was just about to sleep, but was forced to fight before his mind completely pulled from the sleepy state. After running round for the whole day, he finally able to lay down, his consciousness automatically flew away.
Zero floated closer. It paused in front of the sleeping host, then silently disappeared, entered its own system space to went into temporary hibernation.
When the next day came, Haoyu got up according his biological clock. He squinted his eyes when the sunlight reached him. After freshing up, he walked out of the room and walked to the gate he passed yesterday.
There, he saw Zhou Rui waving at him. The guy ran to him and placed a dagger on his hand.
"Use this as your weapon. I want to give you a gun, but the military's rule forbid us to armed civilians... although I'm sure you'll be a soldier soon. I hope this can help you a bit."
Haoyu looked at the dagger in his hand, then to Zhou Rui.
"Well, thank you. I'll use it well."
Zhou Rui grinned. Before he can speak, a loud voice came from behind.
"Is this the newbie?"
"He looks weak."
The guy with slightly thin figure looked at him critically. His disdain was clear. The man in front of him was a tall and robust guy with scar on the corner of his lips.
Zhou Rui whispered to Haoyu, "That guy with scar is the leader of team 3."
I know. He looks perfectly like a typical troublemaker...
"Zhou Rui, you really dump a trash into my team, huh? I know it's you who recommend this skinny kid to commander."
[Host, this guy doesn't even left a trace of existence in the original novel. You can kill him if you want.]
Zero suddenly talked in his mind.
[I'll save it for now.]
Haoyu is not quite a fan of unnecessary killing. This answer also made Zero stunned. It then went silent again.
Zhou Rui tapped Haoyu's shoulder encouragingly, "I'll go back first. Be careful on your first mission." Then turned around neatly, completely ignoring team 3's leader, Kei.
"That guy! As rude as ever... if only commander didn't cherish him so much, I would've..."
Kei paused, then looked at the silent Haoyu. He snorted disdainfully and talk to his team, "Lets go."
They walked to the car, obviously ignoring and isolating Haoyu. Seeing this, Haoyu shrugged his shoulder and followed them.
This whole team indeed looks like a nuisance... I'll try to lay low and finish this as quickly as possible.
Haoyu doesn't want to spend any extra seconds surrounded by troublemakers.
All the team 3 goes to the middle and back car while the front car were empty with only one soldier as the driver. It's obvious what these guys trying to do.
"Don't dwindle dally newbie. Get in the car quickly."
Kei smirked disdainfully.
I'll let you have the front seat to see the cruel world. When those zombies came, I'm sure you'll be scared to death and won't have the courage to lie again.
Kei didn't believe that a young kid with skinny stature can really kill 20 zombies by himself and still keep his composure. He'd rather believe that pigs were flying now than believe this.
"Leader, what if commander Li get angry? If he knows it's because he get disqualified..."
A girl with short hair bit her lower lips, looking worried. Her hands rest on Kei's arm as she sat closer to him. Kei smiled soothingly, "Don't worry, we're just doing him a favor. It'll be his and the military's loss if we let this kid pass."
The girl, Jihuan, then smiled as if assured by him. The other members teased them, causing Jihuan blushed and Kei coughed lightly. But on the other car, different from the bustling and lively atmosphere of team 3's car, it was quiet.
The driver was a cadet. He looked at the road, then glanced at the quiet young man next to him from time to time. Haoyu sighed lightly.
"Just speak. What is it?"
It turned out the guy has done this repeatedly, making Haoyu annoyed and helpless at the same time. The guy was startled, then smiled sheepishly.
"I heard from leader Zhou that you killed 20 zombies on your own and protect your classmates, is it really true?"
"Yes."
But not the protecting part.
The cadet's eyes lightened. He glanced at Haoyu with admiration.
"That's so cool! I heard that you were still in senior high school, but you already fight well!"
"Meanwhile me... when there's a break out in the place I was stationed, I froze in fear. Those zombies, they look like a monster! Even though we shoot them, they still move relentlessly. They have no fear nor pain, that's when I feel scared."
"I witnessed them eat my friends while I froze in place... If it's not for leader Zhou, I might have been eaten too."
The cadet's eyes and nose were red, "Ah, sorry for that. What I want to say is, please don't make this mission as a weapon against leader Zhou."
The cadet was telling Haoyu to not fail.
"Is it because of team 3?"
Hearing this, the cadet's eyes widened. He then quickly hid his expression, gluing his eyes onto the road.
Haoyu guessed it, but from his reaction, it seems he's right.
"... Team 3 and leader Zhou has been on odds for a long time. They keep searching for leader Zhou's faults and trying to drag him down the mud-"
Haoyu cut him off, "Don't worry. I also hate failure."
Haoyu just doesn't want to hear it since it smells like another trouble.
Team 3 is already a big bag of trouble. I don't want another touble added to that. A political and grudge kind of trouble at that.
Haoyu shuddered just at the thought of it.
The cadet was stunned, then grinned. Despite the casual tone and arrogant sentence, Haoyu's words carried a strange sense of reassurance. The car returned to its silence, but this time, it was a calm and light-hearted silence.