Jiang Chen didn't want to dwell on the horrors of that day in the sewer.
All he remembered was throwing up—he threw up a lot. Yao Yao had been there, comforting him, patting his back, helping him remove the soiled clothes. Even though she was feeling just as sick inside, after surviving for so long in this post-apocalyptic world, death was no longer a stranger to her.
Later, Jiang Chen shot and blew up the gas canister in the house.
He didn't speak a word as he watched the filthy place engulfed in flames.
Leading the trembling Yao Yao through a sea of corpses, Jiang Chen moved away from the hellish scene.
Sun Jiao's wounds had stopped bleeding by the time they returned. She had even managed to walk again. Three bullets had hit her in the abdomen, and one in her shoulder. When Jiang Chen heard that she had removed the bullets herself, he was more surprised than anything else.
This woman, always doing things beyond his comprehension.
That night, back at the villa, Jiang Chen drank himself into a stupor, finishing almost all the beer they had stored. Because of her injuries, Sun Jiao had gone to bed early, and it was Yao Yao who took care of him. She helped him change into clean clothes and carefully guided him to bed.
Yao Yao was a sensible girl. Even though she was also in pain and the gruesome sights they had seen almost shattered her already fragile psyche, she knew that at that moment, Jiang Chen needed care more than anyone else.
The good man, who seemed as though he had just emerged from a shelter.
Yao Yao remembered her first encounter with a pile of dead bodies—she had almost fainted immediately. But as she discovered that death was a normal occurrence even in survivor bases, she had become desensitized to it.
Kindness had become a luxury, and its careless waste was a crime.
It might have been foolish in the apocalypse, but it was still somewhat endearing...
She had heard of the cannibal tribes—lurking in shadows, hiding in the filthy sewers, worshiping a nearly perverse and heretical faith, and devouring their own kind without shame. They were enemies to every human faction. Even the mutant groups, who were considered anti-human, loathed them. Even the so-called "free" Sixth District prohibited them from getting close.
She placed a cool, damp towel on Jiang Chen's forehead, looking at his face with a touch of pity before quietly leaving the room and gently closing the door.
"Is he asleep?"
Yao Yao froze for a moment. At this time, Sun Jiao had somehow woken up, wearing only a thin nightdress, her expression a mix of complexity as she leaned against the door.
"Mm... didn't you sleep?" Yao Yao asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Yeah, I couldn't sleep... never mind, since he's already asleep, I'll talk to him tomorrow." Sun Jiao said with a bitter smile, scratching her messy hair before turning to go back to her room.
"Are you feeling better?" Yao Yao asked softly, noticing the bandages wrapped around Sun Jiao's waist, gathering her courage to speak up.
"I'm fine, my recovery ability is pretty reliable," Sun Jiao said weakly, forcing a smile and gesturing for Yao Yao not to worry.
"By the way..."
"Mm?" Just as Yao Yao was about to turn, she heard Sun Jiao call her, confused, she turned back.
"…Thank you."
In the shadowed room, Yao Yao couldn't see Sun Jiao's expression. After speaking, Sun Jiao returned to her room.
Yao Yao stood stunned for a moment before she softly chuckled.
Honestly, she wasn't good at handling the domineering "lady boss," but now that she thought about it, maybe she wasn't so bad after all.
The Next Morning
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Jiang Chen sat up from the soft bed. The sunlight outside was a bit blinding, making him squint.
Had the radiation clouds finally cleared up? Looks like it's going to get hot, considering it's already midsummer in the real world.
The door opened slowly, and Yao Yao's petite figure slipped into the room.
"Um, you should wash your face," she whispered, placing a basin of water on the bedside table.
Seeing her adorable face, Jiang Chen's stiff expression softened into a tired smile. Reaching out, he ruffled her messy hair and said, "No need, I can manage. By the way, what time is it?"
"It's 9 AM... let me do it," she said, gently wringing out the towel before wiping his face.
Since it felt so good, Jiang Chen didn't insist, letting Yao Yao gently scrub his face with the towel.
"Feeling better?"
"Much better, Yao Yao, you're such a good girl." Though his muscles still ached, it didn't interfere with his daily movements anymore.
"Hehe," Yao Yao beamed at the compliment, her face glowing with a soft smile.
"Are you feeling better?" Just then, Sun Jiao came into the room, looking concerned as she stood by the door, staring at Jiang Chen.
"I'm fine, but you… are your wounds okay?"
"I'm fine, no big deal," Sun Jiao said with a faint smile, but suddenly her face turned serious. This caught Jiang Chen's attention, and his expression shifted into one of focus.
Though Sun Jiao was usually playful, she never took serious matters lightly.
However, in this tense atmosphere, Sun Jiao suddenly smiled brightly and turned away, much to Jiang Chen's confusion.
"Let's have breakfast first."
Breakfast was abundant, at least by apocalypse standards.
There was some bread and ketchup.
For some reason, just looking at the ketchup made Jiang Chen feel a bit queasy.
Sun Jiao, glancing at Jiang Chen rubbing his stomach, sighed and moved the ketchup bottle away from the table.
She was a foodie, but now, she had suddenly lost her appetite.
It wasn't because of the cannibal tribes—she had seen her fair share of hellish brutality. What worried her was Jiang Chen. Strictly speaking, this was his first real encounter with the apocalypse's cruelty.
And she knew, this was only the tip of the iceberg.
"I... I need to go out for a while. It might take me a month to return. The food supply is running low."
If they stayed here much longer, their mental state would likely break first.
Jiang Chen made up an excuse; explaining the whole dimension-hopping thing was just too complicated.
"Mm, the earlier you leave, the sooner you'll return," Sun Jiao said softly, her lips parting as she spoke.
"Let's have breakfast together," Jiang Chen smiled weakly, fully aware that he probably looked terrible. But at this moment, he just couldn't muster up the strength to appear any stronger.
This was a physical and mental breakdown combined.
At the breakfast table, Sun Jiao sipped her bread slowly while explaining to Jiang Chen what had happened to his body the previous day.
The genetic serum, in theory, only made minor adjustments to the genes of newly-formed cells in the human body, strengthening survival-related aspects like muscle strength, bone density, and nerve firing capabilities. If Jiang Chen opened his EP now, he would see the changes in his physical condition over the past three days.
User Name: Jiang Chen
Physical Status:
Muscle Strength: 24Bone Strength: 25Reflexes: 28Brain Cell Activity: 14...
With almost every fundamental ability doubled, Jiang Chen's physique, when compared to an average human's, would certainly be described as superhuman.
"Yesterday… due to emotional stress, you entered a berserk state." Sun Jiao paused, her face slightly flushed as she recalled that Jiang Chen's anger was sparked by her own actions. But she quickly regained her composure and continued, "Normally, gene serums only enhance three basic abilities, but because they alter DNA, unpredictable mutations can occur… I've heard of someone growing a second head after the injection."
"I can't believe you gave me something this dangerous." Jiang Chen was so shocked that he dropped his sandwich onto the table.
"The odds of that happening are so low they can be ignored," Sun Jiao said with a slight blush, scratching her head, though she didn't intend to admit fault. Instead, she changed the subject.
"However, some people do experience positive mutations and gain useful abilities... like me. My ability is called 'Resilience.'" Sun Jiao stood up and unbuttoned her top.
"Wait, what are you doing…?" Jiang Chen, flustered, froze for a second. But when his eyes landed on her slender waist, he was even more stunned by what he saw. "Your scars?"
Her tanned skin revealed three faint white spots — newly formed skin. After a few days in the sun, the marks would likely disappear entirely.
"'Resilience' is essentially the ability to accelerate cell metabolism and heal wounds quickly, as long as they're not fatal. However, using this power leaves you extremely weak afterward, and frequent use could even lead to sudden death."
Sudden death…
The phrase made Jiang Chen swallow nervously.
"Your ability works similarly," Sun Jiao continued. "You need to remember that these abilities, which burn through your life force, should be used sparingly. According to the EP (Physical Enhancement Profile), it should be called 'Berserk,' right?"
"Correct." Jiang Chen nodded, recalling that he had already checked his EP. In the lower-right corner of his physical status, it said something like [Special Project: Berserk].
"Based on clinical feedback, those who gain this ability experience abnormal metabolic reactions in their cells after severe emotional stress. On a macro level, it increases strength and reflexes. The specifics vary from person to person. You can pull up the usage records for this ability, which will help you understand how it works in your body."
Jiang Chen was surprised — he hadn't realized the EP could track that. Following Sun Jiao's instructions, he pulled up the usage record.
Hidden Gene Code:
Berserk: Muscle Strength +20, Reflexes +19, Brain Cell Activity +17. Special Effect: Killing Instinct, which allows you to detect the location of the heart using any of your five senses.
Max Duration: 30 minutes
Berserk actually boosts brain activity? Does that mean it makes me smarter? Jiang Chen was astonished.
"I must remind you, using this ability too often isn't a good idea," Sun Jiao said, noticing the expression on Jiang Chen's face. "Why?"
"Did you forget the side effects of overusing your abilities?"
Jiang Chen recalled that day when he had blacked out and only woke up in Yao Yao's arms.
"If you're in a safe environment, it's fine, but in combat, there are often unpredictable variables. If you use Berserk and still can't defeat your opponent, the outcome won't be good for you."
Sun Jiao's explanation made Jiang Chen break into a cold sweat. If Yao Yao hadn't arrived in time yesterday, he might have ended up a decapitated corpse... or worse, not even a corpse left behind.
The thought made him shudder.
"But don't worry, these abilities can usually be controlled. We can activate and deactivate them with special drugs, which will make your use of the ability more efficient. After some training, you could learn to control the activation and termination of your abilities with your willpower. I, for example, no longer need the drugs." Sun Jiao handed Jiang Chen two plastic tubes. "Put these in the empty slots on your EP, make sure you match the colors correctly. If you need to activate Berserk, just press a button, and the drugs will be injected through the EP's nano-needle. But my advice is… don't rely too heavily on this ability."
"Understood." Jiang Chen nodded solemnly.
After breakfast, Jiang Chen packed his bag. Despite being a little loose, it was heavy — it contained several kilograms of gold.
The two women came to see him off. Despite Jiang Chen insisting he would be back soon, Sun Jiao and Yao Yao insisted on sending him off.
After hugging Sun Jiao's warm body, she kissed him passionately. The fiery, moist taste was one Jiang Chen could never grow tired of.
"The food is all in the freezer. There's enough for both of you to last six months. Remember to eat fresh vegetables first, and avoid eating too many canned goods..."
"Got it, darling. But could you say something romantic?" Sun Jiao rolled her eyes at him but couldn't hide the affection in her gaze.
After letting go of the sunny-faced Sun Jiao, Jiang Chen hugged Yao Yao next.
"Take care of yourself. When I come back, I hope to see a cute Yao Yao waiting for me."
"Mm!" Yao Yao nodded vigorously. As Jiang Chen felt the light tap of her chin on his shoulder, he smiled and gently set her down.
"Promise you'll come back." Yao Yao bit her lip and gazed up at him with pleading eyes.
Jiang Chen hesitated, then smiled gently, easing Yao Yao's worries.
"Of course."
He ruffled her hair before turning to leave.
However, he felt a faint resistance at his waist. Looking back, he saw Yao Yao still holding onto him. He was about to ask if she needed something when—
Her lips met his.
A sweet, vanilla-like scent filled his senses...
Yao Yao stood on tiptoe and kissed his lips briefly, then blushed and ran off.
Jiang Chen stood there, stunned, and noticed Sun Jiao's murderous glare.
"This… this isn't my fault!" he protested.
Seeing him fluster, Sun Jiao sighed. She pulled him into another hug, her lips close to his ear.
"No need to say anything. Just come back soon."
"Mm."
Jiang Chen opened his mouth but only offered a simple response.
As he left, Sun Jiao's expression was complex.
Women are sensitive creatures.
She could sense that Jiang Chen came from a world that resembled the pre-apocalyptic one. Only in a world with order would gold hold any value. And from what she knew, there was no place in this world where gold could be used as currency.
Would he ever return to this world?
She didn't know.
If it were in the past, she might have tried to keep him by her side, just like many others in the apocalypse who tried to cling to what they loved. But she hadn't done that.
From the very beginning, she had seen that fearless look in his eyes. Even when she tied him up in a chair with a gun to his head, he was scared, but not terrified.
All the talk of companions and organizations had been lies. Sun Jiao couldn't understand — what was his real trump card?
It wasn't reckless fearlessness; it was fearless with confidence. She even had the feeling that, back at Block Six, if he had wanted to leave, no one in the world could have stopped him. In fact, he would have left more easily than she could have.
She had considered hiding the gold to control Jiang Chen, but eventually, she dismissed the thought.
She chose to trust him.
He wouldn't abandon her. He would come back... Sun Jiao believed this in her heart.
Although she could secretly follow him and uncover Jiang Chen's secrets, she found herself no longer desiring to do so.
Strangely, this was the first time since the apocalypse began that she had felt something like trust.
Yao Yao didn't know Jiang Chen's secret, but being intelligent and sensitive, she could still see hesitation in his eyes. She didn't know where this hesitation came from, whether it was from the fierce battle with the Gray Worm Mercenary Group or the spiritual pollution at the Cannibal Tribe's camp...
She could sense the hesitation, and perhaps it was this uncertainty that caused him to temporarily abandon his plan to raid the bank vault and instead decide to leave for a while.
In a way, Yao Yao felt relieved. Though it was vague, she had a premonition. If Jiang Chen had obtained the tons of gold in the vault, he might not have returned for a long time.
If Jiang Chen disappeared for good, she would suffer. She didn't want that...
So, at the last moment, Yao Yao followed her heart and kissed him.
For the same reason, Sun Jiao hadn't stopped her, despite her possessive nature.
At least, she wanted Jiang Chen to feel some attachment. The heavier that attachment, the better...
Then, perhaps, he wouldn't leave without coming back.