The next second, the zombie suddenly opened its big mouth and impatiently lunged forward to bite. Just as it was about to bite, Jiang Lai suddenly retracted her hand, leaving the zombieâs teeth just grazing her fingertips, biting nothing but air.
"Death Value: +5."
The prompt sounded.
Little Buding couldnât take it; its heart couldnât bear it. It covered its eyes, watching Jiang Lai dicing with death, watching her repeatedly tempt fate by offering her finger near the zombieâs mouth, then pulling it back at the last moment, enraging the zombie into even more violent struggling.
The prompt sounds went "ding-dong," "ding-dong" in a relentless stream.
"Death Value: +2
Death Value +1
Death Value +1
Death Value +1
..."
Aside from the first time where the death value increased a little more, it didnât go up much after that.
Jiang Lai grew tired of the game and checked her accumulated death valueâthirteen.
Hearing voices outside, she figured it was almost time for departure, so Jiang Lai stood up, preparing to make a final big gain.
She walked behind the two zombies, used her knife to cut the ropes binding them, then turned and ran outside, with the two zombies, now unrestrained, howling as they chased after her.
At the door, Jiang Lai stopped, waited for them to get close, then sidestepped out, closed the door with both hands, reattached the chain from before, and finally locked it.
"Death Value: +3.
Accumulated Value: 16."
It took half a day of effort to accumulate just sixteen points.
"How many do I need to complete the task again? A thousand?"
"Itâs ten thousand, big sis."
"A thousand, ten thousand, isnât it about the same?"
"Then can I trade a thousand for ten thousand bucks with you?"
Little Buding was like a nagging older sister, while Jiang Lai, unable to win against it, simply ignored it.
"Youâre so weak right now, you can only challenge these trashy, stupid zombies. Take it slow, ten thousand points isnât much; summon your reckless spirit and courage!"
Jiang Lai earned sixteen points and used ten of them for a card drawing chance, ending up with a "One Finger Flick" skill.
She looked down at her fingers, then tentatively flicked the nearby wall.
With a "dong" sound, the cement wall had a hole punched in it, dust scattering everywhere.
Jiang Lai sighed; surely she couldnât flick a zombieâs head with her finger, could she? Is she certain her finger wonât get bitten before she even flicks it?
Better than nothing, at least she wouldnât have to exert so much effort to open canned food in the future.
Jiang Lai walked back near the car. Those who went inside to search for supplies had come out, and before getting in the car, Yang Jun couldnât help but complain.
"Why were there just some expired cans inside? Totally wasted time there."
Jiang Chao was also a bit puzzled.
"Judging by it, someone shouldâve lived there not long ago. Normally, they wouldnât have had time to move supplies. If someone had already been there, then why are the zombies inside still intact?"
Jiang Lai silently glanced at Gu Han Yan.
The heroine often used this trickâpretending to be weak while hiding her space skills. She would secretly stash supplies away, and as no one knew about these special abilities yet, naturally they couldnât figure out where the supplies went.
At dinner that night, Gu Han Yan took out some soon-to-expire food from space to share, earning a lot of gratitude and making everyone feel lucky to have such a formidable teammate.
The team had other superpower users too, who didnât freeload off Gu Han Yanâs food. One water ability user voluntarily gifted her several bottles of refined pure water, and another speed ability user promised to help her deliver a message once they entered the human living zone.
Jiang Lai knew the plot: these two superpower users later regarded Gu Han Yan as their leader, becoming her loyal protectors as she became the queen of the base.
The original character always envied Gu Han Yan, always wanting to be like her, but Gu Han Yan had been aloof since their first meeting, until encountering that demon-like girl, Little Eight, turning that aloofness into a deadly weapon.
Little Eight relied on Gu Han Yan, willing to fulfill all her requests. Whatever Gu Han Yan liked, she liked doubly; whatever Gu Han Yan disliked, she hated twice as much.
Jiang Lai was someone she hated doubly, so in the end, the original character became a zombie shot in the head by her own brother, with Little Eight having played a role.
Jiang Lai could understand the despair and breakdown the original character felt before dying.
She even harbored a lingering dislike toward Gu Han Yan.
If it werenât for her acquiescence, the unethical, morally void Little Eight couldnât have wanted Jiang Lai dead.
As for Little Eight...
She seemed to coincidentally appear on tomorrowâs road.
In the original plot, Jiang Lai was always in the cabin, unaware of the situation up front. All she knew was that shortly after the vehicle stopped, her team grew by one little girl, nameless, not talkative, very appealing with her snow-white cleanliness, supposedly rescued by Gu Han Yan from a zombieâs clutches.
Everyone thought she was a burden at the time, very dissatisfied with Gu Han Yanâs actions. But Gu Han Yan insisted on taking the child, willing to leave the team rather than abandon her.
What the original character didnât know, Jiang Lai surely did: Gu Han Yan was reincarnated, having died in the third year of the apocalypse, making her well aware of what would happen over those three years.
And she knew that during the apocalypse, there was a miraculous healing superpower girl, whose eventual male possessor became the apocalypseâs ruler.
When she saw a lone young girl clutching a rag doll by the roadside, Gu Han Yan immediately guessed it was the one she sought.
Gu Han Yan, the lead character, had extraordinary luck, effortlessly encountering a healing superpower that exclusively belonged to her.
Thus Jiang Lai was convinced the little girl would surely appear on tomorrowâs road.
The next morning, when reboarding the vehicle, Jiang Lai, in front of Gu Han Yan, took Jiang Chaoâs arm and pulled him aside.
"Brother, I want to sit with you today."
"Why? Youâre safer sitting in the back."
Jiang Lai silently glanced at Jiang Chao, her tone immediately dropping with a hint of sob.
"Brother, did you forget what day it is today?"
"What day... is it..."
Jiang Chao suddenly remembered something, a pang of guilt arising inside.
"Iâm sorry, itâs my fault. I forgot todayâs your birthday."
Jiang Lai clutched his sleeve, her large eyes full of sadness, nearly shedding tears as Jiang Chao immediately relented.
"Alright, alright, sit in the driverâs seat with me today, okay?"
Jiang Lai broke into a smile, hugging Jiang Chaoâs arm sweetly.
"Brotherâs the best. With you here, I fear nothing."
These words worked wonders on Jiang Chao, who was soft-hearted, as Jiang Lai, pampered at home, had never been so obedient.