Chapter 60 The Fourth World, the Apocalypse

The large screen in front of me suddenly flickered, went dark for a moment, and then suddenly lit up.

What appeared before Xiang Bei was a rotting face, the person lying face down in front of the big screen, screaming.

This large screen represents the highest level of technology from the system's home planet; even the details of the rotting flesh can be seen clearly.

Even though Xiang Bei was quite bold, she couldn't withstand such a sudden turn of events. Her initial joy about the bonus was instantly shattered by the shock.

She instinctively kicked out, sending the rotting face flying. It crashed to the ground and shattered into pieces, though the broken body continued to writhe on the ground.

Xiang Bei couldn't bear to watch any longer, so she turned around and vomited.

Given her current condition, vomiting was purely a bodily instinct, but nothing came out.

Reaching out and pressing the system, he said, "System, what the hell is this thing? It looks disgusting, even more disgusting than the zombies in the movies. Is it a zombie that has risen from the dead, or is this mission set in a supernatural world? Is it wronged?"

"Host, this is bad, those zombies are coming." A red alarm button appeared next to the big screen at some point.

Right now, that button is making a loud, whirring noise.

Xiang Bei couldn't vomit anything; just looking at those things made her feel nauseous, and the thing was still wriggling on the ground.

"Zombies?" Xiang Bei grasped the key point the system had made.

"Is this the end of the world?"

"Yes."

Xiang Bei's mind raced, and she realized a problem: "Wait a minute, the zombies shouldn't be able to see us, right?"

According to the system's instructions, apart from the female protagonist in the angst-filled novel who can see the bullet comments that Xiang Bei says, no one else knows about her existence.

The zombie didn't actually see the big screen; the camera just happened to switch to face the zombie.

Recalling what had just happened, Xiang Bei still felt shocked, and that feeling of nausea returned.

She gagged a few times, then quickly waved her hand, "Commander, I can't take it anymore, hurry up and go find the female lead."

"No, I can't switch. The female lead is right here."

Xiang Bei was shocked. "So the female protagonists in the tragic novels of this world are zombies?"

Based on the typical setup of male protagonists in angst-filled novels, their identities must be incredibly powerful. "Could the male protagonist be the zombie king?"

But the Zombie King is also a zombie. How can two zombies have a deep and abusive love affair?

Besides, the zombies we just saw were so terrifying. Since they are the male and female leads, they shouldn't look that disgusting, right?

Xiang Bei quickly shook her head. No, she couldn't think about it anymore. Whenever she thought of zombies, the image of that zombie from earlier would involuntarily appear in her mind.

"Host, the female lead is a normal person. There's no time to explain right now; the zombies are already here."

Xiang Bei's slap could reach into the screen, but when she thought about slapping those zombies, she quickly waved her hand, "No, no, Commander, I can't do it, it's too disgusting."

"I didn't ask you to use your hands. Quick, exchange for this." The system brought up the trading shop and exchanged for a machine gun.

Even though the opponent was a zombie, the system wasn't so twisted as to let its host punch and kick it.

In addition to basic items, the trading market will also recommend items suitable for use in the current mission world, based on the corresponding world.

When it comes to dealing with zombies, guns are definitely the most convenient weapon.

Xiang Bei redeemed the items recommended by the system without hesitation.

When I held it in my hand, it still felt somewhat unreal.

The last time she handled a gun was during her university military training. The head instructor in charge of the training even let them handle real guns, but she had never shot at a target or even been to a shooting club.

Although Xiang Bei had never used this thing before, it didn't stop her from using it. After all, she was now half a system herself, and this light machine gun was an improved version from the system's home. The data in her brain would tell her how to use it most effectively.

Holding it in her hand, Xiang Bei put one foot on the table, laughed wildly twice, and suddenly felt something was wrong.

This makes him seem a bit like a villain.

"Host, seven o'clock."

Upon hearing the system's voice, Xiang Bei didn't bother to think. She fired a burst of bullets in the direction of seven o'clock, and several zombies fell to the ground.

"12 o'clock direction."

With the system providing 360-degree, unobstructed command, Xiang Bei simply closed her eyes and fired.

She could see the zombies, but the zombies couldn't see her, making victory effortless.

After dealing with the zombies, he casually tossed the light machine gun to the system, ready to check his results.

Xiang Bei then noticed that a fair hand was lying on top of a pile of fallen zombies.

A normal person's hands are different from a zombie's.

"Tongzi, we're finished. We've killed someone."

She was just blindfolded and shooting at the zombies, without even checking if there were any living people.

Xiang Bei clutched her chest; humans and zombies are fundamentally different.

"Host, don't get excited, he's not dead, he's still alive."

Xiang Bei quickly pulled the person out from under the zombie; it was an unconscious woman.

"Host, it's the female lead," the system shouted.

Seeing that the person still had injuries, which looked like they had been scratched by zombies, but there were no signs of gunfire, Xiang Bei breathed a sigh of relief.

Was she infected?

Xiang Bei had also read zombie novels. Even though she was the protagonist, it was impossible for her to survive being surrounded by so many zombies.

Not to mention the obvious wounds on his body.

System 9639 scanned the female protagonist's body and found that "her leg was grabbed by a zombie, and she also had other injuries on her body."

When Xiang Bei turned the female lead over, she saw those injuries.

Is she about to mutate?

"The female protagonist has a very special constitution. No, perhaps it's more accurate to say that some people in the apocalypse awaken superpowers, and the female protagonist's superpower is resisting the zombie virus. Even if she is scratched by a zombie, she will not be infected with the virus, and the wound will heal in no time."

Just as the system finished speaking, the wound on the female lead's leg really healed on its own, leaving Xiang Bei completely stunned.

If it weren't for the tear marks and bloodstains still visible on the female lead's pants, you really wouldn't know she had been injured.

"Never mind, this place is disgusting, let's find a clean place first."

Those zombies were covered in rotting flesh; it was painful to look at.

According to Tongzi, these zombies still smelled of rotting flesh. Xiang Bei was glad she couldn't smell it, otherwise she would have felt even more nauseous.

"The zombies have crystal cores, and there are even a few mid-level zombies among them. Crystal cores are the most direct source of power for apocalyptic ability users to increase their strength. Especially when using high-energy abilities repeatedly, it is necessary to absorb crystal cores to replenish energy, otherwise the body will not be able to handle it. Host, do you want crystal cores?"

Xiang Bei glanced at the zombies' severed limbs and finally couldn't hold it in, turning away to vomit. After hearing what Tongzi had said, she felt as if she could really smell a stench.

She is currently in a soul state, so naturally she can't vomit anything.

The crystal core is certainly necessary, but it's impossible to dig it up with Bei already.

She pressed down on the system's head and pointed, "System, go!"

System 9639 roared and pounced, swiftly digging out the zombie's crystal core.

Before long, a cluster of crystal cores appeared in front of Xiang Bei.

The system also explained, "According to the original setting, different crystal core colors represent different levels of zombies. The basic crystal core is dark red, and the zombies are of average ability; ordinary people with weapons can deal with them. Such crystal cores are not very helpful to superhumans. The intermediate crystal core is light blue, and the zombies are more troublesome. The advanced crystal core is yellow, and ordinary superhumans cannot deal with them; at least a level seven superhuman is needed to kill them."

Xiang Bei nodded as she fiddled with the crystal cores. There were more dark red crystal cores than two or three light blue ones.

"No yellow crystal cores were observed."

"We're in the early stages of the story right now, and the main characters haven't improved their strength yet, so they won't encounter any high-level zombies."

What novel starts by pitting the main characters against the final boss?

Where is the Zombie King?

Having already taken out the crystal core, Xiang Bei didn't want to stay there any longer. While leading the female lead to a clean place, she asked the system.

"That's the final boss, he'll definitely be the last to appear. The Zombie King's crystal core is set to be white, pure and flawless. In the original story, it says that the male protagonist finally gets the Zombie King's crystal core and gives it to the female protagonist to propose to her."

"Then why is the female lead here all by herself? Doesn't she have any companions?"

She was immediately confronted with zombies, and Xiang Bei hadn't even read the original text yet.

"Well, because in this part, the female lead accidentally caused a minor injury to the male lead's childhood sweetheart, the second female lead. To get revenge for the second female lead, the male lead punished the female lead by throwing her into a horde of zombies, saying he wanted to teach her a lesson. If you don't save the female lead, according to the plot, the male lead will bring people over to kill these zombies and rescue the female lead in a while."

"Hehe," Xiang Bei said speechlessly.

Without a doubt, it's another heart-wrenching and tragic story, this time set against a post-apocalyptic zombie backdrop.

Now that Xiang Bei has brought the female lead out, there's no intention to let her go back.

"What's the situation with the female lead? Tell me?" She was too lazy to read it and asked the system to summarize it for her.

"The female lead is named Sheng Hui. She and the male lead, Yan Ji, are college classmates and also boyfriend and girlfriend. After the zombie virus outbreak, some of their classmates were infected and turned into zombies, while others awakened superpowers and became superhumans. The male lead, Yan Ji, awakened the strongest lightning-type superpower in the story. Moreover, he can improve his superpower level with almost no crystals. He is currently a level seven lightning-type superhuman and the strongest superhuman in this small world."

"Stop, I told you to talk about the female lead."

"But the book describes the male lead a lot, while the female lead just silently follows in his team. Because of her special constitution, she can resist the zombie virus, so her role is that of a healer in the team."

"Is this a male-oriented novel?"

"This is a female-oriented novel."

Xiang Bei waved her hand, letting the system continue.

"The female lead has not awakened her superpowers. Originally, she had the male lead as her protector, so no one had any objections. However, when they were dealing with superpowered individuals, they encountered the male lead's childhood sweetheart, the second female lead, Li Lulu. Li Lulu also has lightning-type superpowers, but her superpowers are not improving as fast as the male lead's, and improving superpowers requires a large number of crystal cores."

"Didn't you just say that the female lead's superpower is to resist the zombie virus?"

"I analyzed it based on the situation on the scene. In the original plot, the female lead was judged by the male lead and his team members to have no superpowers. During a mission, the female lead was accidentally scratched on the arm by a zombie. Everyone thought she was about to mutate. Just when the team members asked the male lead to kill the female lead, her wound miraculously healed, and she did not mutate. They then realized that the female lead's blood could prevent the zombie virus."

What is a wet nurse?

"Before each battle between the male protagonist's team and the zombies, they drink a little of the female protagonist's blood to prevent themselves from being injured by the zombies and infected with the virus. If a superhuman is infected with the virus and turns into a zombie, their abilities are also terrifying."

"To hell with the wet nurse! This is clearly using the female lead as a blood bank, even drinking human blood. It's pure perversion. What kind of brain-stem-deficient person wrote this fake stuff?"

Xiang Bei angrily cursed a few times, then asked, "So what's going on this time? Why is the female lead here alone?"

"The male and female leads are boyfriend and girlfriend, and they still are. They haven't broken up. It's just that the male lead is more compatible with the second female lead when it comes to fighting zombies. During this operation, the second female lead accidentally got a minor injury while saving the female lead. The male lead gave the second female lead some of the female lead's blood to drink. However, the second female lead's good friend in the team told them that the female lead deliberately injured the second female lead because she was jealous of the male lead being with the second female lead."

The system glanced at the still unconscious female lead, Sheng Hui, and said, "The male lead thinks the female lead is going too far. He and the second female lead are just childhood sweethearts. If something happens between them, then the female lead has nothing to do with it. In order to punish the female lead for being so petty, he threw her into a horde of zombies to teach her a lesson so that she won't dare to bully the second female lead again."

"Has the male lead lost his mind?"

"This is the typical formula for angst-filled novels, and that's precisely why this one is so popular and got assigned to me by the system that manages small worlds," the system said, spreading out its cat paws.

The unconscious female protagonist suddenly groaned and slowly opened her eyes.

Looking at the unfamiliar surroundings, memories slowly returned.

She remembered that when Li Lulu was injured, people said it was her fault. She tried her best to explain that she didn't do it, but Yan Ji didn't listen to her explanation. Then, Li Lulu's friend confirmed that she was the one who did it. He looked at her with disappointment and threw her into the zombie horde, saying that it would teach her a lesson.

Yan Ji also said that the zombies wouldn't eat her anyway, and she wouldn't be infected by the zombies because of her special constitution. He would come back to save her after she had learned her lesson.

Sheng Hui looked around; there were no zombies, but she clearly remembered Yan Ji throwing her into a horde of zombies and leaving. The zombies had scratched her, and then she lost consciousness. How could the zombies have suddenly disappeared?

There aren't any zombies here. Could it be that Yan Ji came back and saved her?

Don't think about it anymore, I'm the one who saved you.

Sheng Hui was startled when she saw the words that suddenly appeared in front of her.

She tried to get up, but felt extremely tired. She could only move her body backward with all her might until she hit a big tree and could not move any further.

"Who? Who are you?"

Xiang Bei had a sudden inspiration and spoke up.

Don't be afraid, I am a person with the ability to use words.

Xiang Bei has now adapted to her various identities and is quite adept at fabricating them.

It doesn't seem appropriate to say that he is the female lead's relative this time, so he might as well say that he is a person with superpowers.

"A person with the ability to read words?" Sheng Hui asked in confusion.

You can also call me a "bullet screen superpower user," call me whatever you like.

Sheng Hui had never even heard of such a superhuman, yet she couldn't explain the situation before her.

With the arrival of the apocalypse, all sorts of superpowers are awakened, and superpowers such as metal, wood, water, fire, wind, etc. are quite common.

I've also seen ice-related and spatial abilities.

Sheng Hui's physique is special, so it can't be said that this isn't a kind of superpower.

So, although she had never heard of this barrage ability user, she wasn't too surprised.

She looked around. "Where are you?"

After I awakened my superpower, I automatically became invisible and couldn't show myself. Others couldn't see me either, so this is the only way we can communicate.

"That's good."

Sheng Hui was a little envious; if the other person hadn't spoken, she wouldn't have known that such a person existed.

Even if she speaks, not only zombies, but even superhumans can't catch her, because they have no idea where she is.

Did you save me?

Yes, I was passing by and saw you being attacked by zombies, so I saved you. You're special.

Sheng Hui smiled wryly. She didn't want this special ability, but without it, she wouldn't be able to stay by her boyfriend's side.

She really liked Yan Ji. The two of them had originally planned to get married after graduation, but the apocalypse disrupted all their plans.

Yan Ji awakened her superpowers, but she was just an ordinary person. The people in the team actually looked down on her, thinking that she was a burden to everyone.

Sheng Hui thought so too. She was indeed not suitable to stay by Yan Ji's side, but she loved Yan Ji and couldn't bear to leave him.

When she learned that she had a special constitution, she was actually relieved, at least she had a reason to stay by Yan Ji's side.

"Thank you for saving me, but I have to go now."

Xiang Bei never expected that the female lead would still want to go back to the male lead's side.

After thinking about it, I can understand the female lead's thoughts. Compared to her just finding out about this person, she definitely trusts the male lead, whom she has known for many years, more.

Xiang Bei paused for a moment, then erected an invisible barrier to block the female lead's path.

I never do anything for nothing. I saved you, so you must repay me.

Sheng Hui thought it made sense. Since the other person had saved her, she should repay them. "I can give you my blood. My blood can prevent the zombie virus."

Forget zombies, even your superhuman friends can't see me. I can designate someone to see me without them suffering any harm. No matter how special your blood is, it's useless against me.

Sheng Hui wasn't stupid. "Did you see what happened just now?"

[I saw it. I also saw your boyfriend kissing his childhood sweetheart behind your back.]

“Impossible! Yan Ji said they have no relationship whatsoever.” Sheng Hui naturally didn’t believe Xiang Bei’s words.

Xiang Bei simply sent out a photo.

See for yourself.

Suddenly, a photo floated down from mid-air. Sheng Hui took it and saw two people passionately kissing in the photo. Her pupils contracted slightly.

It's fortunate that he was the male lead; if it had been an ordinary supporting character, Tongzi really wouldn't have been able to recall that scene.

"That's impossible, he clearly said..."

Anyone can talk the talk, but actions speak louder than words. It's also possible they enjoy the thrill of kissing behind your back.

Sheng Hui clutched the photo tightly, her eyes reddening.

Have you thought it through?

After a long pause, Sheng Hui finally spoke, "How do you want me to repay you?"

[I haven't decided yet. Just come with me for now. Since I saved you, your life belongs to me, and you'll have to do whatever I say from now on.]

Stimulated by that photo, Sheng Hui didn't want to go back and face Yan Ji for the time being, so she agreed to go with Xiang Bei.

"What should I call you?" Sheng Hui asked, wiping away her tears.

Xiang Bei tossed her a pack of tissues.

[Xiang Bei.]