Chapter 83: Do You Like Me? Part 2
After her sister’s examination, Lin Jiayao leaned against Lin Xiwan’s chest, closing her eyes for a brief rest.
She felt as if she had been carrying bricks all day, so exhausted she could fall asleep instantly.
But thanks to the [Robust] and [Vigor] evolutions, her recovery was fast.
As her sister slowed the jeep and pulled into a highway service area, Lin Jiayao opened her eyes and looked up at her.
“Don’t you want to rest a little longer?” Lin Xiwan asked, looking down at her sister after parking haphazardly.
She was about to pinch her sister’s cheek, as usual, when Lin Jiayao suddenly buried her face in Lin Xiwan’s chest, hugging her tightly.
The embrace was so tight that Lin Xiwan felt a little breathless; she’d never realized her sister was so strong.
“I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have left you alone to face those monsters…” Lin Xiwan kissed her sister’s hair, gently stroking her back.
She knew her sister was scared. It was her fault; she shouldn’t have driven into that field with its limited visibility.
She’d thought she’d found the perfect hiding spot; it had almost become their grave.
Lin Jiayao clung to her sister, silent.
Her sister was right; she was terrified. The fear, suppressed during the ordeal, now washed over her.
She wasn’t afraid of the monstrous bird.
She was afraid of losing her sister.
Just a few minutes without Bone Spike Lurker activated, and her sister had been gravely injured. The guilt was overwhelming.
She didn’t realize that even with Bone Spike Lurker activated, she wouldn’t have been able to prevent the attack – it couldn’t detect airborne threats.
“Sister…” Lin Jiayao sat up, her hands gripping her sister’s shoulders, her eyes red-rimmed. “Take me with you, wherever you go.”
She had decided; she would never let her sister out of her sight again.
She couldn’t bear the thought of something like this happening again, even if it meant clinging to her sister while she was using the toilet.
Lin Jiayao’s voice was hoarse, and hearing it, Lin Xiwan’s heart ached.
Those few minutes of separation, leaving her sister to fight the monster alone… it must have traumatized her.
But there had been no other choice… If she hadn’t absorbed the blood crystals and evolved, they both would have died.
Looking at her sister’s tearful eyes, Lin Xiwan’s heart softened.
“Okay… okay… Sister promises, I promise anything… There, there…”
She stroked her sister’s head like a child.
But her sister didn’t seem appeased. “Promise,” she insisted, her eyes fixed on Lin Xiwan’s.
“Okay, I promise, I’ll take my dear Yaoyao with me, wherever I go.” Lin Xiwan raised her left hand, making a solemn vow. No promise was too much for her sister.
Then, knowing she had to change the subject, she decided to praise her sister.
“Yao, you were so brave… your aim was incredible,” she said, smiling, gently caressing her sister’s soft cheeks. “You might be a natural sharpshooter.”
No, not just a natural.
Shooting that accurately at night, in that situation… even a trained marksman would struggle.
Her sister might truly have an unparalleled talent for shooting; they’d just never realized it.
Lin Jiayao wanted to say it was just practice, but she hadn’t fired a gun much in front of her sister, so she remained silent, her gaze fixed on her sister’s blood-soaked clothes.
The dried blood had formed dark red stains.
She hadn’t even been able to smell her sister’s scent earlier, only the metallic stench of blood. It had been unsettling.
“Sister, you’re dirty,” Lin Jiayao said, picking at a bloodstain on Lin Xiwan’s black tank top. “Change your clothes and wash up.”
“So you’re disgusted by me now, huh?” Lin Xiwan playfully rubbed her sister’s cheeks until they were red.
If her sister hadn’t been so upset, she would have pulled her into a hug and let her smell the blood to her heart’s content. How dare she be disgusted by her older sister?
“Wait, I’ll get some water,” Lin Xiwan said, also uncomfortable with being covered in dried blood. She placed her sister in the passenger seat and went to get water from the back.
“Click—”
Turning around, she noticed the two little girls were still diligently loading bullets.
She’d almost forgotten about them in her concern for her sister.
“Good girls… you don’t have to load bullets anymore, the monsters are gone,” she said, stroking their heads. “Get some rest. If you need to use the restroom, tell Sister, okay? Don’t pee in the car.”
Hearing this, both girls looked at Lin Jiayao.
As if seeking her approval, as if her words carried more weight than Lin Xiwan’s.
“Just listen to your sister,” Lin Jiayao said without turning around.
She didn’t want to show any affection.
She was dreading the moment these two called her “Mommy”; she wouldn’t know how to explain that to her sister.
Hearing Lin Jiayao’s words, the two girls turned back to Lin Xiwan.
The younger one clung to her sister’s clothes, silent. The older one, with the ponytail, said softly, “Sister… pee-pee…”
They’d been holding it in since the field, too afraid to ask.
Now, finally, with Lin Jiayao’s permission, they dared to speak.
“Okay, I’ll take you.”
Lin Xiwan took two large bottles of water from the back.
Carrying the water bottles, she went to the passenger side, opened the door, and lifted Lin Jiayao with one hand.
After her sister had secured her grip around her neck, she said to the two girls, “Come on, little sisters, follow me.”
Seeing their hesitation, she added gently, “If you’re scared, you can hold onto Sister’s… pants.”
She’d been about to say “clothes” but then remembered she wasn’t wearing any.
She couldn’t hold their hands while carrying Lin Jiayao.
She didn’t take them towards the service area but stopped a short distance from the car.
After what had happened earlier, she was still shaken.
The phantom pain in her abdomen persisted; even having evolved to C-rank, she couldn’t let her guard down.
It was better to stay close to the car, in case there were other hidden dangers in the service area. She preferred open spaces.
“Let’s go here,” she said, looking around.
She wanted to put Lin Jiayao down and wash the bloodstains from her body, but there was nowhere for her sister to sit.
She couldn’t just let her sit on the concrete.
She would wash up after the girls were done, standing beside the jeep while Lin Jiayao sat in the passenger seat.
Her sister seemed to have become more clingy.
So, from now on, her usually aloof sister would become more and more attached to her?
A smile played on her lips. Lin Jiayao, looking up, caught that smile.
“What are you smiling about?” she asked, her brow furrowing, narrowing her eyes at her sister.
Lin Xiwan, seeing her sister’s almost accusatory gaze, realized her expression was inappropriate.
The two little girls were still there, and her smiling like that… it did look a bit… creepy.
But she hadn’t been thinking anything inappropriate! She’d only been thinking about her sister!
“Why are you looking at me like that…” Lin Xiwan gently bumped her forehead against her sister’s. “I think you’re misunderstanding something.”
“What were you thinking about? Smiling like that?” Lin Jiayao narrowed her eyes, suspicion evident in her voice.
She was younger; her sister would sometimes look at her and smile like that. These two girls were even younger, and her sister had that same smile.
Could it be… that her sister…
Seeing her sister’s increasingly strange expression, Lin Xiwan knew she had been misunderstood.
“I wasn’t thinking anything weird, I swear,” she said quickly, telling the truth. “I was thinking about you, nothing else.”
In situations like this, honesty was the best policy.
She didn’t want her sister, who was already becoming more clingy, to look at her with disgust.
That would break her heart.
Lin Jiayao, hearing this, was momentarily stunned.
Sister… was thinking about her?
She hadn’t expected that. She was speechless, frozen.
Only after being placed back in the passenger seat did she recover, watching as her sister, after putting down the water bottles, started to remove her clothes.
What… did Sister mean…?
The two little girls, huddled together in the back, had fallen asleep. The highway service area was quiet, no insects chirping, only the rustling of her sister’s clothes.
What… had she meant?
Lin Xiwan’s simple answer had confused her. Had something changed? Her sister’s attitude, or her own? She couldn’t understand her sister’s words anymore.
They had always been so close, so in sync, sharing everything.
Her sister had finished undressing, her clothes placed on the car roof, and was now cleaning the bloodstains from her body with the purified water.
Careful not to waste any, her movements were slow and deliberate.
In the silence, Lin Jiayao decided to ask directly.
“Sister.” Lin Jiayao lowered her head, her left hand resting on the soft seat, her right hand fiddling with the hem of her t-shirt.
“What is it?” Lin Xiwan asked, still cleaning her neck.
“Do you… like me?” Lin Jiayao asked, looking at her fingers, her voice casual.
“Of course I like you,” Lin Xiwan replied without hesitation, pouring water on her neck and rinsing away the blood. “You’re my little sister. Who else would I like?”
Her tone was so matter-of-fact, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Why are you asking?” She rinsed her chest, looking curiously at her strangely behaving sister.
“Nothing, just… curious,” Lin Jiayao said, glancing at her sister and then leaning back against the seat, closing her eyes.
Asking such a question had made her face feel slightly warm, though she didn’t think she was blushing.
But her sister’s answer had relieved her greatly.
Her sister’s expression and tone had been completely normal, as if liking her was the most natural thing in the world.
This meant she still saw her as her little sister, no strange, complicated feelings involved.
Closing her eyes, Lin Jiayao activated Bone Spike Lurker, but then, she heard her sister approaching.
She opened her eyes and felt a wet hand grab her face, pinching her cheeks painfully.
“Smartass, huh?” Lin Xiwan said, squeezing her sister’s face. “No more smartass remarks! Understand? Forget everything those Voodoo Cult people said!”
Lin Xiwan’s grip tightened. She couldn’t bear hearing those crude words from her innocent sister’s mouth.
Her adorable sister must have picked up those vulgar expressions from the Voodoo Cult members.
Tears welled up in Lin Jiayao’s eyes from the pain. “Ow, ow, ow… I understand, I won’t say them anymore…”
Hearing her sister’s promise, Lin Xiwan released her grip and sighed in relief.
As the saying went, an older brother was like a father.
She was the older sister; she was like a mother. Even in the apocalypse, education was important.
She didn’t want her sweet, innocent sister to become foul-mouthed and twisted by the apocalypse, joining a group like the Voodoo Cult.
It was easy to lose your moral compass in this world.
Lin Xiwan had received nine years of compulsory education and had even gone to university; her moral foundation was solid.
But before the apocalypse, her sister had been only ten, still in elementary school, barely educated.
Although she was sixteen now, in Lin Xiwan’s eyes, she was still that little girl who clung to her leg.
And… although always getting perfect scores and surprisingly mature for her age, an elementary school student was still an elementary school student.
If she didn’t guide her sister now, she might become twisted, even start admiring a group like the Voodoo Cult.
Human nature was inherently flawed. In the apocalypse, without the constraints of morality and law, evil flourished, and the Voodoo Cult was just one of its most prominent manifestations.
That’s why she’d reacted so strongly to her sister repeating those vulgar phrases.
Releasing her grip, Lin Xiwan looked at her sister’s reddened cheeks and felt both a pang of concern and amusement.
Heartbreak for hurting her sister’s beautiful face, amusement at her pouting expression, which looked exactly like a meme from before the apocalypse, a mother scolding her daughter.
After using a full bottle of water to scrub away the dried blood and another to rinse, Lin Xiwan held out the bottle to her sister.
She needed help washing her hair, especially the bloodstained parts.
If she did it herself, even two bottles wouldn’t be enough.
Lin Jiayao took the half-full bottle, cupped her sister’s wavy black hair in her hands, poured a little water, and gently washed it.
It took about ten minutes to clean the bloodstains before the water ran out.
At least the water dripping from her sister’s hair was no longer red.
Lin Xiwan wrung out her hair, tossed it back, and said, “I’ll go get some clothes from the trunk,” heading towards the back of the car.
Lin Jiayao watched her sister’s retreating figure, her gaze fixed on her, as if afraid she would be snatched away by another monstrous bird.
When Lin Xiwan returned, she was carrying another set of clothes.
“Your clothes are also stained with blood. Change,” she said.
“Okay,” Lin Jiayao nodded.
She didn’t want to sleep in bloodstained clothes either. They had plenty of clothes now; changing wouldn’t hurt.
Lin Xiwan moved her sister’s legs out of the car, undressed her, and then put on the new clothes.
A sports bra? Unusual, but it fit perfectly.
Then panties, everything normal so far.
Then, as Lin Xiwan was putting on a black pleated skirt, Lin Jiayao finally questioned her.
“Why a skirt?”
She didn’t dislike skirts, in fact, she liked them very much.
But skirts meant exposed legs, and exposed legs… attracted unwanted attention. So, she’d always worn pants.
She didn’t realize that her pretty face and long, immobile legs were already more than enough to attract that kind of attention.
“There weren’t any other pants,” Lin Xiwan lied smoothly, helping her sister into the skirt. Then she took out a pair of black over-the-knee stockings.
“Why stockings?” Lin Jiayao blinked, confused, but unable to resist.
“To keep your legs warm,” Lin Xiwan said with conviction.
It sounded reasonable; Lin Jiayao couldn’t argue with that.
After putting on a white t-shirt, Lin Xiwan took a few steps back, looking at her sister, nodding and then shaking her head.
“Sigh… so pretty, too bad it’s not a sailor uniform…” she said with a sigh.
If it weren’t for the apocalypse, her sister would be in high school now, old enough for a school uniform.
Sadly, there was no chance of seeing her in one now, only this makeshift version.
“Mwah~” Admiring her handiwork, Lin Xiwan kissed her sister’s cheek, placed her legs back inside the car, and closed the door.
Then, taking the dirty clothes from the roof, she wiped the bloodstains from the seat and climbed in.
“Let’s see if there are any camps nearby… We can go there tomorrow during the day to exchange supplies and maybe even get the car fixed…” She muttered, turning on the radio and adjusting the frequency.
“I’m going to take a nap,” Lin Jiayao said, wiping the drool from her cheek, leaning back, and closing her eyes.
She felt mentally recovered enough to log into Mask and search for the materials needed to build the [Medical Station] and [Workbench].
If she’d had the Medical Station when her sister was injured, things might have been different.
Perhaps the system’s medical supplies would have some sort of miraculous healing properties.
While Lin Jiayao closed her eyes, Lin Xiwan continued fiddling with the radio.
“Zzz… zzz…”
“Click—”
“Woohoo! Zzz… Voodoo Cult is in the house… This is your favorite Voodoo Music Channel…”
“Click—”
“Zzz… This is the Qingzhou University Camp in Qingzhou City…”
“Click—”
“Hmm?”
“Click—”
“Zzz… We have a filtered artificial lake, the underground channels are secured with protective barriers and filters, ample water supply…”
“With the lake and underground river, we’ve built reservoirs for aquaculture… zzz… using the lake water for irrigation…”
“We welcome all Awakened and ordinary people… zzz… as long as you’re willing to contribute… the camp will always welcome you… zzz…”
“Location… Tianzhou District, Qingzhou Avenue… Password: ‘The world feels small when friends are near’…”
Lin Xiwan’s eyes widened as she listened.
Due to fear of the Voodoo Cult, besides Survivor’s Light, most radio stations didn’t broadcast at high power.
Advertising a thriving camp would only attract the Voodoo Cult.
Most broadcasts only reached within the city limits, or at most, to neighboring cities. That’s why she hadn’t heard this broadcast in Yangzhou City.
Qingzhou City was beyond Fuzhou City.
The camp in Qingzhou City… they had aquaculture, using the artificial lake connected to an underground river?
They were self-sufficient?
It sounded like an apocalyptic utopia.
Lin Xiwan memorized the location, planning to go there tomorrow for supplies and car repairs.
As a C-rank Awakened now, she wasn’t afraid of being attacked or betrayed; she was no longer as wary of other camps.
If it seemed safe, they could even stay there permanently.
Lin Xiwan placed the car keys on the center console, climbed over the steering wheel, and lay down on her sister’s lap, resting her head on her stocking-covered thighs.
Feeling the soft, smooth texture of her sister’s legs against her cheek, she inhaled deeply, closing her eyes.
Resting on such beautiful, fragrant legs, even the most weary soul would find peace.
And she could touch them as much as she wanted without disturbing her sister’s sleep.
Lin Xiwan had to stay awake tonight; she would just rest here, listening for any unusual sounds.
Meanwhile, Lin Jiayao, oblivious to her sister’s actions, was already logged into Mask.
She slowly opened her eyes, feeling a sense of invigorating clarity.
Stretching her limbs, she opened her mouth slightly, a series of unnerving clicks emanating from within.
Beneath her was the mangled corpse of an Armored zombie, riddled with holes from her bone spikes.
She had forgotten to detach Mask’s head before evolving.
“Thud—”
She pulled out the thick bone spikes, stood up, supported by her bone legs, and her head almost brushed the ceiling of the clothing store.
Countless three-meter-long, jointed bone spikes floated around her, defying gravity, and six thick, smooth bone spikes supported her grotesque, half-skull as she crawled out of the store.
「Extraction Time 5:59:51」
【Extraction Point: 22.6km】
The extraction point was far, and the time allotted was generous… she could search for a pharmacy, a hospital, or a hardware store.
The system didn’t specify what kind of medicine she needed. A handful of prenatal vitamins should suffice.
Who would need those in the apocalypse, anyway?
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