Chapter 98: The Moon is Beautiful p2
After the countdown, darkness, and then the black settlement space.
Goldie’s holographic projection, its long tentacles coiled, its shorter tentacles dangling, loomed over her, its expressionless face staring down.
Beside it were the familiar safehouse and warehouse, six blood crystal stones in the safehouse.
She transferred the six crystals to the warehouse. After deducting the cost of the Combat Stimulants and the crystal she’d fed to Goldie earlier, she now had nineteen in the warehouse, plus the six she’d just brought back, a total of twenty-five.
Looking at the neatly arranged crystals, a feeling of satisfaction washed over her.
I should upgrade the warehouse soon, 10×10 might not be enough for much longer.
Her ambitions were growing.
But she couldn’t afford to be truly ambitious yet. Although Goldie had devoured two Hive Zombies, she still knew very little about Wisconsin.
Perhaps next time, she could capture a lone human or a weaker Awakened and extract their memories.
She had accessed the memories of both An Xiaoxi and Xie Yi. One had been a top student, the other had worked for a foreign architectural firm; she could now understand and speak English.
Goldie had nothing of value on her; Lin Jiayao wasn’t desperate enough to harvest her tentacles for blood crystals yet.
She had twenty-five blood crystals; she wasn’t that poor.
She exited the settlement space.
A sudden wave of dizziness, a feeling of suffocation, almost made her black out. If it weren’t for the Robust evolutions, she would have fainted.
She quickly realized what was happening and moved her head back slightly.
“Gasp—”
After a few deep breaths, she felt better.
Before logging into Goldie, she had been lying with her face buried in her sister’s… cleavage.
And her sister, perhaps sensing her movement, had pulled her closer, her chin resting on Lin Jiayao’s head.
Almost suffocating her with her… bosom.
As she moved her head back, she gently nudged her sister’s chin.
This small movement woke Lin Xiwan, who was a light sleeper.
“Yao…?”
She nuzzled her sister’s head with her nose and lips, as if asking what was wrong.
This was the second time Lin Jiayao had woken her; she’d been enjoying the scent of her freshly washed hair.
It seemed her sister’s sleep quality wasn’t very good lately.
“Hmm?” Lin Jiayao looked up at her sister in the darkness.
“Did you sleep too much earlier and can’t sleep now…?” Lin Xiwan removed her hand from under her sister’s shirt, where it had been resting on her waist, and gently pinched her cheek.
“A little,” Lin Jiayao replied.
“Ha—” Lin Xiwan yawned, rubbed her eyes, and then, her forehead resting against her sister’s, asked softly, “Want to go for a walk outside then?”
Even though she was sleepy, if her sister couldn’t sleep, she wouldn’t either.
With her sister’s immobile legs, if she fell asleep, Lin Jiayao would be stuck lying there, awake, until morning.
That would be torture.
Better to take her outside for some fresh air, look at the moon, and tire her out a bit.
It was still early evening, probably around ten o’clock. A little activity, and perhaps her sister would feel sleepy.
“Sure.”
Lin Jiayao, exhausted after the battle with Goldie, readily agreed.
Although the cooldown timer for her second zombie slot had ended, she didn’t want to log in yet.
She was mentally drained, and besides a short nap at noon, she hadn’t had any real rest.
She would log in later, after resting.
Logging into a new zombie was too unpredictable; she needed to be alert.
Rest was the priority, and she could also check the evolution options from Goldie’s extraction.
“Heave-ho—”
Lin Xiwan sat up, pushing aside the blankets.
After getting out of bed, she looked at her sister. “Should I carry you, or push you in the wheelchair?”
“Carry me,” Lin Jiayao said. “The wheelchair is too noisy.”
The wheelchair Wan Zi had given them had rusty axles, making a loud “screech” with every turn.
Tolerable during the day, but earsplitting at night.
She didn’t want to wake the entire building.
“Okay~”
Lifting her lightweight sister wasn’t difficult. Lin Xiwan easily scooped her up in a princess carry and headed for the door.
While being carried, Lin Jiayao rested her head against her sister’s chest and closed her eyes.
In the darkness, she looked at the system prompt.
「Please retain your evolution」
「1、【Cerebrovore Lv.1 (Purple): Allows you to store consumed brains within your body, enhancing your mental strength】」
「2、【Crystal Storage Tentacles Lv.1 (Purple): Allows you to generate tentacles to store excess liquefied blood crystals. The tentacles can also store brains】」
「3、【Vigor Lv.2 (Gray): Increases your mental and physical recovery speed】」
After reading through the options, Lin Jiayao opened her eyes.
Ugh, why were Goldie’s evolutions all so… gruesome?
Each one drastically altered her appearance.
Hive Skin, Crystal Storage Tentacles, Cerebrovore…
Grow tentacles? Or eat brains?
The first option brought back the unpleasant memory of swimming through that “sea of tofu brains.”
Only thanks to her practice in the Training Grounds had she been able to stomach it.
She immediately dismissed the first two and chose Lv.2 Vigor.
Although Goldie’s abilities weren’t very appealing, she couldn’t abandon her yet.
Goldie was currently her only source of mental enhancements; creating another Hive Zombie would be too time-consuming and difficult.
After selecting the evolution, Lin Jiayao felt a refreshing coolness wash over her, a jolt of energy.
And like before, with the Vigor and Robust evolutions, she briefly felt a sensation in her legs, a faint tingling.
Perhaps, if she continued evolving, she really could walk again.
“Hoo—”
The cool night breeze felt refreshing against her skin, her vision unusually sharp, her mind clear.
“So refreshing.” Lin Xiwan, sensing her sister looking at her, smiled. “Do you hear that?”
She had been talking to her sister as they walked, but then, she’d heard a strange sound from the bushes beside the path.
“Slap—Slap—Slap—”
She frowned, her mind cycling through the types of zombies that could produce such sounds.
“Yao, activate your ability and check what’s ahead,” she said, lowering her head.
“Okay.”
Still in her sister’s arms, Bone Spike Lurker’s range was limited; she hadn’t heard the faint sounds yet. She activated Blood Crystal Vision and looked in the direction her sister indicated.
“It’s all black, Sister.” She reported honestly and listened intently.
“You can’t see anything?” Lin Xiwan, puzzled, continued towards the sports field.
Perhaps it was just insects rustling in the leaves?
As they walked closer, she heard other sounds.
“Slap—Slap—Slap—”
“Mm~ Ah~ Mm~”
“Slow down… mm—”
“Oh—”
“Slap, slap, slap—”
Realization dawned. Lin Xiwan’s face flushed crimson. Thankfully, the moonlight wasn’t bright; her sister wouldn’t see her blush.
Since the men’s and women’s dormitories were separated, and residents weren’t allowed to enter other buildings, couples, or anyone else seeking… intimacy… had to resort to the outdoors, but they couldn’t leave the camp grounds.
“Cover your ears, Yao.”
“Okay.” Lin Jiayao, also hearing the sounds, covered her ears and blinked at her sister, noticing her quickened pace.
Is she that embarrassed?
Just as Lin Xiwan was hurrying past, a flashlight beam illuminated them.
The light made the activities in the bushes pause, and Lin Xiwan felt countless eyes on them.
Her face burned even hotter.
“Oh… sorry, I heard quick footsteps and thought… never mind, just patrolling, carry on.” The middle-aged man with the flashlight scratched his head, making way for them. “Oh, you’re the new sisters, right? Just as pretty as they said. Don’t be afraid, Uncle’s not interested in women. Don’t run so fast, you’ll fall. There are some empty spots over there. Need some oil? Nail clippers? We also grow pineapples in the camp; want some?”
Lin Xiwan, practically running, ignored the man’s rambling, which only grew louder as they moved away.
And the flashlight beam followed them, as if he was helpfully lighting their way.
Finally, practically sprinting now, blood crystal veins appearing on her neck from the exertion, Lin Xiwan reached the sports field.
Reaching the stands, she stopped, panting, not from exhaustion but from the rapid beating of her heart.
At least there weren’t any… those kinds of sounds here.
The sports field had been tilled, looking like a vast farm from the stands, a calming sight.
Lin Xiwan sat down, placed her sister beside her, her arm around her waist to steady her.
After a while, her face still flushed, she stammered, “Yao… don’t… don’t mind what he said…”
“What?” Lin Jiayao blinked. “That uncle was so nice.”
“Ah…” Looking at her sister’s innocent expression, Lin Xiwan realized that her pure-hearted sister had no idea what those sounds meant.
No need to worry about being misunderstood.
But after tonight, the rumors about them being a couple would probably spread like wildfire throughout the camp.
Especially after she’d carried her sister past that area; there was no way to explain that.
She wanted to facepalm.
If they wanted to see the stars and the moon, why not just go to the dormitory rooftop?!
“Y-yes… he was very… helpful…” Lin Xiwan said, taking a deep breath.
“But we could really use those things.” Lin Jiayao looked at her sister seriously.
“Huh?” Lin Xiwan stared at her sister, bewildered.
“Don’t you want them, Sister?” Lin Jiayao tilted her head, seeing her sister’s strange expression. “We haven’t cut our nails in ages; we’ve been using knives.”
“And I don’t like corn. Pineapples would be a good source of vitamins and nutrients.”
Lin Xiwan stared at her, speechless.
So that’s what she meant…
Looking at her sister’s innocent eyes, Lin Xiwan lowered her head and covered her face, ashamed of her earlier thoughts.
It’s all the fault of those yuri novels she’d read before the apocalypse, filling her head with… ideas…
And if her sister asked why she was so embarrassed, what would she say?!
She wanted to disappear.
The thought of the camp rumors, the whispers and knowing glances… it was depressing.
She didn’t want to be the subject of gossip.
“Sister.”
A warm head rested on her shoulder. She looked up.
“There’s a moon,” her sister said, pointing towards the sky.
Lin Xiwan looked up and saw the moon, half-hidden behind clouds, a soft glow in the night sky.
Feeling her sister’s warmth beside her, her embarrassment faded.
“Yes.”
Even if the rumors spread, her sister wouldn’t care.
She would always be there for her, and she would always be there for her sister.
Of that much, she was certain.
She tilted her head, resting it against her sister’s, the two of them looking at the moon in comfortable silence.
“The moon is beautiful,” Lin Xiwan said.
“And so round,” Lin Jiayao added.
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