Chapter 96: Curing Burnout Part 1
(Actual Chapter Title: Two Seconds of Consciousness Switching, and Sister’s ○○ Cured My Mental Burnout)
“Does it still hurt?”
Steam rose from the surface of the bath. After about three minutes of comfortable silence, Lin Xiwan leaned closer and whispered in her sister’s ear.
Perhaps because of the steam, both their faces were flushed. Lin Jiayao shook her head. “No,” she whispered back.
As more people entered the bathhouse, their voices instinctively lowered.
The two sisters, sitting side-by-side, attracted curious glances. The other women, washing themselves in the shower area, openly observed them.
After half a day of brewing, the rumor mill in the close-knit Qingzhou University camp was in full swing. Most people had heard about the new arrivals.
And their… relationship.
“Who are they?”
“Shh… keep your voice down… Didn’t you hear? They’re the new Awakened, a pair of sisters, and they’re… lesbians…”
“Wow, I think I saw them this afternoon.”
“Really? Lesbians? They’re so pretty…”
“Definitely. See how close they are?”
“I saw the younger sister this afternoon… so beautiful… like a doll. I want one…”
“Liking the younger sister just means you have low standards. Don’t you think the older sister is better?”
“Why?”
“A beautiful older sister taking care of you in the apocalypse, protecting you from all the zombies, and she has abs…”
“True!”
“…”
No one had entered the bath yet, but both sisters lowered their heads, Lin Xiwan’s face burning crimson.
Normally, whispered conversations from such a distance wouldn’t be audible.
But one sister was an Awakened with enhanced senses, the other had Bone Spike Lurker almost constantly activated. They heard everything.
They knew the rumors were spreading; no wonder people had been giving them strange looks earlier.
Thankfully, my sister probably can’t hear them…
Lin Xiwan pursed her lips, gently squeezed her sister’s hand, and whispered, “Did you hear what they’re saying?”
“Huh?” Startled by the squeeze, Lin Jiayao blinked and turned to her sister. “What sounds?”
She knew what she was “supposed” to hear and what she wasn’t.
A glass door and the sound of running water separated the bath from the shower area; she definitely couldn’t hear them.
She looked at her sister’s red ears and smiled, whispering, “Are they talking about us?”
A little prank for her sister, who loved to tease her.
“Uh… no, they’re not talking about us.” Lin Xiwan shook her head and then, changing the subject, said, “It’s been a while, let’s give up our spot. They’re all too afraid to come in…”
“Okay.” Lin Jiayao extended her hands towards her sister.
Lin Xiwan lifted her and carried her to the changing room.
There were a few people inside.
Lin Xiwan found their belongings, grabbed a towel, placed her sister on a table, helped her dry off, and then dressed her.
After settling her sister in the wheelchair, she dried herself.
After changing into clean clothes, Lin Xiwan pushed her sister’s wheelchair towards the exit.
They left their dirty clothes in the designated baskets; someone would collect, wash, and return them later.
Outside, the sky was darkening. To conserve electricity, the Qingzhou University camp didn’t have streetlights.
But the last vestiges of twilight illuminated the path.
Leaving the bathhouse, the cool evening breeze was a welcome relief, like air conditioning.
It helped cool Lin Xiwan’s flushed face. After pushing the wheelchair for a while, she suddenly remembered something and turned back, heading towards the bathhouse again.
“What’s wrong, Sis?” Lin Jiayao asked, curious. “Did you forget something?”
“No, just… something I need to do…” Reaching the bathhouse entrance, Lin Xiwan stopped the wheelchair, leaned down, and whispered, “Wait here, just ten seconds…”
Before Lin Jiayao could reply, she rushed back inside.
Lin Jiayao sighed, activated both Bone Spike Lurker and Blood Crystal Vision, the terrain map and the red highlights merging in her mind, revealing any potential dangers.
Only Sister inside, no other Awakened… good.
Seeing no threats, she maintained Blood Crystal Vision and waited patiently.
Then, she heard her sister’s voice, along with several others.
“…Let me explain… my sister and I… we’re not… like that… it’s just a rumor…”
“Mm-hmm…”
“Yes, yes, yes…”
Limited by time, her sister’s explanations were hurried. She quickly returned, looking slightly annoyed.
“What’s wrong, Sister?” Lin Jiayao asked, discreetly covering a smile with her hand.
“I just overheard some rumors… and went to… clarify things,” Lin Xiwan muttered, pushing the wheelchair again.
“Did you clear things up?”
“Uh… hopefully…?”
Lin Jiayao, no longer teasing her sister, leaned her head against her sister’s hand, which was gripping the wheelchair’s push handle.
“Yao, are you sleepy now?”
“Not really, why?”
“Then… should we go choose a car tonight?”
“So soon?”
“Just… preparing in advance… never mind…”
Lin Xiwan realized she was being too hasty. They didn’t know the situation outside; it wasn’t a good time to be out and about.
The ridiculous rumors spreading in the camp made her want to crawl into a hole and hide.
What if her sister overheard them? She wouldn’t know how to explain.
Before the apocalypse, her sister had been only ten years old, a pure, innocent child who wouldn’t understand what “lesbian” or “yuri” meant.
And what if, in explaining those terms, she accidentally… made her sister uncomfortable?
What if her sister started thinking, “No wonder Sister always wants to hug and touch me… she’s a pervert!”? That would break her heart.
It would mean never seeing her adorable sister’s look of adoration and dependence again. Life would lose much of its joy.
Despite her apprehension, she still took Lin Jiayao to discuss buying a vehicle with Wan Zi.
Hearing they wanted to buy a car, Wan Zi readily agreed. The Qingzhou camp often used modified jeeps for their scavenging missions.
Selling one wouldn’t weaken their combat strength; they could easily modify another – they controlled all the resources in Qingzhou City.
They quickly agreed on a price of 450g of blood crystals, a fair price for both sides. Wan Zi even gave them a 50g discount for bringing the Awakened little girl.
Lin Xiwan still had the two blood crystals from the Corpse Bird. Even after spending 450g, she would still have enough.
After purchasing the vehicle, Lin Xiwan took her sister back to their dorm.
Her sister didn’t like the camp’s staple food, corn, so they ate bread instead.
After dinner, feeling pleasantly full and sleepy, Lin Xiwan decided to take a short nap.
Asking Lin Jiayao if she was also tired, and receiving a sleepy nod, she carried her sister to bed, tucked her in, wrapped her legs around hers, like hugging a body pillow, and drifted off.
Lin Jiayao was waiting for the second zombie’s cooldown timer to end.
She had logged into An Xiaoxi earlier that morning to… dispose of the body. It had been about ten hours now; in a little over an hour, the twelve-hour cooldown would be over.
She wouldn’t waste this time. She would use Goldie to confront the “giant corn cob.”
She had simulated the battle many times in the Training Grounds. With grenades and firearms, even with injuries, her chances of winning were high.
The most important factor was weaponry, and the unknown: Goldie’s evolved ability.
Goldie had been in an evolution state before she extracted; if she hadn’t died, she would now be in her evolved form.
A stronger ability would make the fight even easier.
Lin Jiayao opened the system, checked the Hideout – nothing new to unlock – and then opened the Medical Station, spending 400g of blood crystals on two Blood Crystal Combat Stimulants.
She hadn’t used them before and wasn’t sure of their effects, so she only bought two.
Like stocking up on potions and buffs before a boss fight in a game.
Fully prepared, she opened the [Login] interface.
「No.1: [Mask] (Available for login)」
「No.2: ❌ (2:27:33)」
「No.3: [Goldie] (Available for login)」
「No.4: [Unnamed] (Available for login)」
She’d never named the fourth zombie.
Lin Jiayao wasn’t good with names, but leaving it unnamed didn’t feel right.
Since it was number four, and its abilities were similar to an A-rank Awakened, she would call it A4.
Like a blank sheet of paper, ready to be filled.
As Lin Jiayao willed it, the name in the fourth zombie’s slot changed from “Unnamed” to “A4.”
“Mm…”
Seemingly satisfied with her naming skills, she selected the third zombie, Goldie, and her consciousness plunged into darkness.
Before her eyes opened, a chilling cold enveloped her, almost freezing her mind.
“Gasp—”
She instinctively inhaled and choked on water.
Hive Zombies didn’t need lungs to breathe; even with her mouth and nose full of water, she felt no discomfort.
I survived?
She pushed herself up from the bottom of the sewer.
“Buzz—”
A single insect, the last remaining one, emerged from Goldie’s eye socket, shaking the water from its wings.
Was it just her imagination, or was it… faster?
In the faint sunlight filtering through the opening above, she saw two red objects.
Blood crystals?
Instinctively, without even checking her new abilities, she extended her left tentacles, grabbed the two blood crystal stones from the murky water, and put them in the safehouse.
Good, no losses.
Even if she failed this time, two blood crystals was a decent profit.
The safehouse was now full:
Two Blood Crystal Combat Stimulants in one slot, two blood crystals, and the remaining 100g from buying the stimulants.
She had brought the 100g to generate insects for Goldie, but now, with the larger hidden blood crystal reserve, she felt more confident.
Lin Jiayao had the insect fly around her, examining her own body.
But before it could even complete a full circle, she lost control, and it fell into the water below.
Her vision went dark.
Only then did she notice her own weakness.
No, not weakness… emptiness?
She felt a desperate need for blood crystals to fill this void.
And yet, her strength and speed seemed to be about the same as before.
What was going on?
Not enough blood crystals for the evolution?
Perhaps the evolution had raised her baseline, now requiring more blood crystals to reach her previous capacity?
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