"Sir, please don't move. Let me handle it!"
Jiang Xiaoci's reaction was swift. She retrieved ice water from the fridge and a clean towel, rushing to Yi Bai's side.
Her large, beautiful eyes carefully examined his injury, preparing for the next step in treatment.
As the head of a special forces unit, Yi Bai wasn't surprised by her basic first aid knowledge. He only felt a little embarrassed.
"Sir…"
Jiang Xiaoci raised her head, her expression serious and devoid of any shame. "How do you feel? Does it hurt a lot?"
"It's nothing, I just got startled earlier."
Yi Bai lowered his voice, trying to stay calm.
"Really nothing? Should we call Chen Qiuren to take a look?"
"Call him? No, don't bother! I'm fine!"
Yi Bai immediately rejected the suggestion, emphasizing for credibility, "Xiaoci, I received a new reward yesterday, my heat resistance has been upgraded."
"I was just startled, really. No injury!"
Yi Bai spoke earnestly; he truly wasn't hurt.
"Is that so?"
Jiang Xiaoci hesitated, eyeing him for a long moment before lifting her gaze again. Before she could speak, a voice came from outside the door.
"Miss Jiang, what are today's mission assignments? We've rested and eaten, we're ready to go!"
With that, Lin Yue pushed the door open.
She was Yi Bai's most trusted soldier, so it was natural for her to enter Yi Bai's room without knocking.
Luckily, the door was around the corner, so Lin Yue couldn't see the situation inside.
By the time Lin Yue reached the sofa, Jiang Xiaoci had already stood up, and Yi Bai had regained his composure.
"Sir, you're awake!"
Lin Yue saluted with a smile, then raised an eyebrow, sensing something was off. "Hmm, Sir, you look a bit pale, a bit flushed… Are you running a fever? Should I call Chen Qiuren?"
"No need."
Jiang Xiaoci stopped her, shaking her head. "It's just the heat, I'll lower the air conditioning a bit and it'll be fine."
Her calm explanation prevented Lin Yue from suspecting anything, and she nodded, turning to ask, "Miss Jiang, what should I do today?"
"Are we continuing with the operational mission?"
Lin Yue was eager, as Jiang Xiaoci had laid out detailed long-term mission plans for the soldiers, aimed at wiping out the nearby thugs and rival survivor shelters.
Knowing Jiang Xiaoci's methods, Yi Bai could guess the mission was likely a ruthless cleansing.
If they encountered any tough survivors, Jiang Xiaoci would likely label them as "thugs" and send Lin Yue to eliminate them.
With Lin Yue's simple-mindedness, she wouldn't care whether the target was good or bad; she'd simply execute the orders.
"Yes, you come with me."
Jiang Xiaoci glanced at Yi Bai, lowering her head slightly. "Sir, I'll go handle things now. I'll check on you later."
"Okay, go ahead."
Yi Bai nodded, adjusting his posture.
"Check on me? Is Sir feeling unwell?"
"It's just a routine check. After all, your status is important, and you need regular check-ups. I happen to know some medical techniques."
"Ah, Miss Jiang is so impressive!"
The two women chatted as they left the room, and Yi Bai lay back on the sofa, taking a moment to relax before his gaze wandered.
"The culprit…"
Yi Bai murmured, once again reviewing the talent reward information in front of him.
[Congratulations! You've triggered an advanced talent reward!]
[Congratulations! You've received the S-Rank Personal Skill: Greedy Parasite.]
[Greedy Parasite]: S-Rank Active Skill, Entertainment Skill; You may choose any living target to parasitize (must be a living creature), and you will inevitably succeed in parasitizing without the target noticing. Once parasitized, you will receive a random copy of one item that the target possesses each day!
[Skill Limitation]: You can only parasitize one target at a time, and cannot replace the parasitic target until the previous one is dead.
"What... this kind of reward exists?"
Yi Bai was stunned at first.
When he saw the S-Rank personal skill, he was excited—thrilled even.
Logically speaking, he shouldn't be receiving an S-Rank talent reward at this stage.
However, after upgrading his talent rewards last night, he had received an incredible prize today!
But there was a catch… Why was it an entertainment skill?!
"Looking at it now, my shelter isn't exactly lacking in essential items anymore… But I guess I could use some entertainment."
"The only thing I can really do for fun here is play a computer game, and I've already beaten all the single-player games in it."
Yi Bai's mind drifted briefly to Jiang Xiaoci, but he quickly shook it off—she was a valuable talent, not a plaything.
"Given that, it makes sense that the talent reward might be something to fill my entertainment needs. For a shut-in like me, food and drink aren't as important, but games are a must!"
"But… how do I use this skill?"
Yi Bai pondered, trying to wrap his head around it. From the skill description, it definitely sounds like an entertaining skill.
"No matter what target I choose, I'll get a random item from them every day, it's very much about luck… definitely a thrill."
"On a good day, I might copy something valuable, but on a bad day, it could be something trivial, like socks."
"The real issue is the 'parasitic prophet'—I can only choose one target at a time, and I can't replace them until they die."
"That's a huge limitation. It doesn't really seem to match the S-Rank rating… Wait, though, there's no mention of limitations on what items can be copied."
Yi Bai squinted, his mind racing. If I choose a powerful survivor as my target, there's a chance I could copy their talents, their skills, their items, even their survival points!
Yi Bai widened his eyes as he reread the skill description, realizing his theory might be true.
Because the range of "things" that could be copied was virtually unlimited!
Anything could be considered a "thing."
"So, I can only parasitize enemies…"
Yi Bai muttered. "After all, if I want to switch targets, I'd have to kill the previous one."
"This is a dark, dangerous entertainment skill—it's making a game of human life."
Yi Bai remained eerily calm.
He had already grown accustomed to the brutal laws of this apocalypse. Killing people no longer felt unusual.
"So the next question is…"
"Who should I choose as my first parasitic target?"