Chapter 57: An Invitation to Bathe Together
Lin Jiayao’s consciousness sank into darkness, entering the familiar black space.
A grotesque figure stood before her.
It was a mass of intertwined, glowing red tendrils, shaped like a person and wearing human clothes.
Seeing the clothes, Lin Jiayao instantly knew who it was.
An Xiaoxi.
This was An Xiaoxi without skin, bones, flesh, or organs; the true form of the fungal zombie.
Beside the fungal zombie floated the illusory safehouse.
Inside were the two blood crystals Lin Jiayao had taken from Xie Yi’s safe and a pistol.
The crystals and the pistol occupied all the available space.
Next to the safehouse was a larger, gray box with a 10×10 grid.
This puzzled Lin Jiayao.
Wasn’t this space supposed to be inaccessible if the zombie had no transferable items?
Then, she realized something and mentally nudged the clothes on the fungal zombie.
Ugh…
As expected.
Lin Jiayao abandoned the idea of removing the clothes, simply transferring one of the blood crystals to the warehouse before ending the transfer.
Since Mask hadn’t had the concept of clothing, Lin Jiayao hadn’t realized it could be transferred as well.
But she definitely wouldn’t transfer it.
She didn’t want to be naked the next time she logged into this fungal zombie.
Her consciousness returned to her body, and Lin Jiayao slowly opened her eyes.
Simultaneously, she activated Bone Spike Lurker.
Not having it while controlling the fungal zombie had been like being deaf.
Sensing the world around her again was reassuring.
She decided to rest for a while before controlling Mask or the fungal zombie again.
Sitting up, Lin Jiayao looked around.
Her sister hadn’t returned yet.
They were leaving soon, so there was no need to clean the room.
And no one would be visiting from next door to keep her company.
For a moment, Lin Jiayao felt lost, unsure what to do.
Then, she thought about the fungal monster, Huayibai, who had so eagerly sought her hug before she extracted.
Did it also feel this way? Was that why it had clung to her so persistently, as if finding a purpose?
Could a zombie experience such emotions?
Would it feel sad that she had deliberately ignored it?
Could it understand loneliness?
Lin Jiayao didn’t know; she was starting to question her understanding of what a zombie even was.
If it was defined by a lack of humanity, bloodlust, and violence, then Huayibai definitely didn’t fit the criteria.
But if it was based on abilities and characteristics, then she herself would be classified as a zombie.
She shook her head, dismissing these thoughts.
She didn’t want to overthink things. Knowing who was on her side and who wasn’t was enough.
And according to that classification, the fungal zombie Huayibai seemed to be on her side.
It seemed communicative and receptive to instructions. She would observe it for a while longer.
Leaning against the headboard, Lin Jiayao closed her eyes, resting and opening the system’s evolution interface.
「Please retain your evolution」
「1、【Symbiotic Link Lv.1 (Blue): The split fungal tendrils can connect to other hosts, absorbing or transmitting small amounts of nutrients】」
「2、【Offensive Mimicry Lv.1 (Purple): Allows the dispersed fungal tendrils to attach to the body’s surface and change color, mimicking the appearance of an ordinary zombie to lure enemies into attacking】」
「3、【Myriad Tendrils Lv.1 (Purple): Consume blood crystals to project a large mass of fungal tendrils, enhancing your close-range attacks】」
Perhaps because of the fungal zombie’s current evolutionary stage, there were no new options.
Perhaps she had to reach Huayibai’s level for new evolutions to appear?
The first seemed to be a healing ability, the second was useless to her, and the third was offensive.
No need to hesitate. Choose purple.
After selecting [Myriad Tendrils], Lin Jiayao opened her eyes.
Perhaps because there were no spores actively evolving into tendrils in her body, she didn’t feel the usual warmth.
But the instinctive knowledge of how to use the ability was ingrained in her mind.
Suddenly, footsteps within 150 meters snapped her to attention.
Her sister’s footsteps. She was back.
It was afternoon, the sun beginning to set. It seemed her sister had finished shopping.
But nightfall was still an hour or two away; she was back earlier than expected.
150 meters wasn’t far, and her sister’s steps were quick.
“Click, click, click—”
“Click—”
The key turned in the lock, and sunlight streamed into the dimly lit room.
“I’m back!” Lin Xiwan rushed in without even closing the door, looking at Lin Jiayao.
“Yaoyao, sorry I’m late.” She walked over to the bed and sat down beside her sister. “Have you been awake long? Are you hungry? Hey, you took a shower?”
Her voice dropped at the last question, as if slightly disappointed.
“Mm, a little hungry. I showered,” Lin Jiayao answered only the last two questions, avoiding the first.
“Oh… alright. I was planning to shower with you today, but I guess we’ll do it tomorrow then.” Lin Xiwan seemed to recover quickly, already planning for the next day.
“Why?” Lin Jiayao was curious why her sister was so insistent on showering together.
“We’re about to leave on a long journey,” Lin Xiwan said matter-of-factly. “We need to clean ourselves properly, scrub you from head to toe. It won’t be easy to take a shower on the road.”
Her reasoning was sound, and it was true.
There were many uncertainties on the road; they might not even have enough water for showering.
Wherever there was water, there would likely be aquatic or amphibious zombies.
But Lin Jiayao felt that her sister had another motive.
Was it just her imagination?
Lin Jiayao looked away from her sister’s face and at the box in her hand.
“What’s that?” she asked, having been curious since her sister entered.
“Guess,” Lin Xiwan said with a smile, shaking the box.
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