Chapter 10 Oh yes, yes, I am the system.

Clang! The heavy steel door in front of him slid open.

A cacophony of strange noises erupted.

Li Nai looked around and saw a straight corridor with cells filled with zombies on both sides.

A strong, foul stench filled the air.

"What are you standing there for? Go inside!"

The guards rudely pushed her through the door.

The corridor instantly erupted in excitement. They keenly detected the fresh scent of people.

Clang! Clang!

The zombies pressed their backs against their chests, their chests against the iron bars. Pairs of bluish-gray, rotting hands squeezed through the bars, their fingers clenching tightly like the tips of compasses, slowly moving along with Li Nai's shuffling steps.

"Hurry up!" the escort suddenly shouted in fright.

Li Nai was startled and turned around with a mournful face, "Big brother, am I going to be locked up with these zombies?"

The burly man, a head taller than her, had a tanned, muscular physique, a bald head, and blue tattoos on his neck; he looked more like a prisoner than she did.

He didn't speak, but raised his arm, thicker than her thigh, and pointed it forward with an air of dominance. His fierce eyes clearly told her that if she didn't leave, he would break it on the spot and throw it into the zombie horde.

Li Nai glanced at him, then at the zombies in the cell recently, turned around, and walked forward nervously with her arms crossed.

At the far end of the corridor, there were no zombies in the rooms on both sides, but several humans were imprisoned, men and women, old and young, all with expressions of fear and dejection.

"here."

The big man opened the door.

A clean single cell.

Li Nai walked in, looked around, and inexplicably felt an overwhelming urge to be moved to tears.

"Brother, do you include meals here?"

She gripped the railing with both hands, her timid eyes looking pitiful.

The burly man first locked the iron gate and glared at her. "No food today, but from now on, two meals a day."

Don't give her time to ask any more questions, just leave immediately.

Li Nai pressed her face against the two railings, on the verge of tears.

"Hey, hey, newbie."

A smoky voice came from next door.

Li Nai remained silent, wanting to hear what the other person had to say next.

"What did you do to get in here?"

The old man's smoky voice paused, as if listening to her, then he sighed twice: "Oh no, the people who come here have never left. Someone died in your house just a few days ago."

"Ah!" Li Nai couldn't sit still any longer, pressing her face tightly against the gap in the railing. "Why did I die?"

There was no reply from next door.

"Old sir."

There was still no answer, and he even started snoring.

Leaving the door, Li Nai sat on the bed with two vertical red marks on her face, clutching her hungry stomach, staring at the ceiling and letting her imagination run wild, slowly squinting her eyes.

Outside the corridor door.

A woman with long, flowing hair and a graceful figure, carrying a floral handbag, spoke a few words softly to the burly guard. The guard led her inside and walked ahead to show her the way.

Qi Shuihan walked leisurely, glancing at the zombie rooms on both sides as if admiring flowers.

She stopped in front of a single room.

The woman on the bed sat with her back to the outside, her arms raised, her head swaying slightly, looking very content.

"Li Nai~" Her voice was so gentle it was like sweet water.

His head, which had been shaking, froze for a second. He was acting furtively, desperately trying to hide something with both arms.

"You must be starving. I brought you some food."

Li Nai suddenly coughed twice to catch her breath, then turned around. "It's you. What brings you here?"

"I'll ask the big boss to send you food."

As he spoke, the burly man next to him locked the door and opened it.

Qi Shuihan thanked her and walked into the cell, showing her the handbag he was carrying with him.

Li Nai wiped the corner of her mouth, her eyes no longer looking so hungry.

Qi Shuihan noticed the bread crumbs still on Li Nai's lips, and with a sudden thought, sat down next to Li Nai. She took out a lunchbox from her handbag.

"It's still warm, eat it quickly."

Li Nai secretly rubbed her slightly full stomach. "I'm not hungry yet, just leave it here. I'll eat it when I'm hungry."

"But we can't leave anything here. It's a long night, so let's eat something to tide us over."

The lunchbox lid was opened, and a pair of chopsticks were shoved into her hand.

Okay, fine.

She ate slowly.

"Take your time eating. I'll read a novel while I wait until you're done." Qi Shuihan took a book out of her handbag, pinched the folded corner between her fingers, and turned the page.

The book was held upright, and the title on the cover was clearly visible.

Li Nai lifted her face from the lunchbox, coming face to face with the seven large characters "I Am the System in the Apocalypse," and almost choked.

A pair of fox-like eyes, seemingly smiling but not quite, peeked out from above the book. "Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."

Qi Shuihan moved closer, reached behind her and patted her lightly, taking the opportunity to glance back with her upturned eyes.

Several packaging bags with breadcrumbs still on them, and an empty mineral water bottle.

The upturned corners of his mouth vanished in an instant.

After the two walked a short distance apart, Qi Shuihan continued reading his novel, while Li Nai ate with suspicion.

He secretly glanced at Qi Shuihan and the novel.

Another pair of eyes gently and quietly caught her subtle movements.

"You said that the apocalypse will happen, will the system appear?" Qi Shuihan asked.

"Huh?" Li Nai choked out, "How could that be? Novels are all fiction. No matter which possibility it is, the most likely cause is a virus weapon from a certain country. Besides, if it really exists, why don't they resolve the apocalypse and save us?"

After saying that, he quickly shoveled down two mouthfuls of rice.

"If only there really were a system, I would want it to grant my wishes."

Li Nai slowed down his rice-eating pace and quietly pricked up one ear.

The other person stopped talking and instead threw a "grenade" at her by changing the subject.

"Perhaps the system really exists. I recently discovered a strange person."

Qi Shuihan put down his book and moved closer to her mysteriously.

"Wh-what strange person?" she stammered, her heart racing.

"A strange little girl. She's only three years old, but she always talks to herself like an adult. I even caught her saying 'system on, system off' once."

Qi Shuihan's tone and pronunciation were imitated perfectly.

She gripped her chopsticks tightly. "Kids these days mature early; maybe they're just imitating what others are saying."

“I know this child. She is a child adopted by a cleaning lady at the hospital. Her name is Mimi. She is a bit autistic and doesn’t like to talk.”

Qi Shuihan pressed closer, exchanging breaths, and Li Nai had no choice but to meet her eyes.

Her bright, fox-like eyes were clearly smiling, yet her gaze was so deep and unfathomable.

His lips slowly curled into a wide grin. "I also discovered a strange woman. An ordinary, listless, reclusive woman, just like you, suddenly became capable of fighting and jumping, killing dozens of zombies with ease. Why is that?"

Li Nai grew colder and colder as she listened. The other person didn't give her a chance to breathe, speaking through his mouth while staring intently at her.

"What's even more amazing is that Mimi is so lively and clever when she's with this woman, while this woman, contrary to her usual self, becomes a Valkyrie who only obeys orders. Don't you think the system is right beside us?"

Clang!

Li Nai's hand trembled, and the lunchbox fell to the ground.

His heavy, cold gaze hung down.

"It's okay, I'll take care of it."

Qi Shuihan bent down to pick up the lunchbox and took out a bread plastic bag to wrap the food scattered on the ground.

Looking up again, Li Nai, who had just been sitting on the edge of the bed, was now leaning against the corner of the bed, her eyes wide as she stared at the plastic bag in her hand.

She smiled.

The lunchbox and novel were stuffed into the handbag. A burly man walked in and unlocked the door.

"It's time."

Qi Shuihan walked to the iron gate, then suddenly turned around and beckoned with a smile.

I'll come see you again tomorrow.

The door closed and was locked again.

Li Nai was left alone in the single room, her strong heartbeat echoing in the room.

She's found it! She must have found it!

What are you going to do coming to see me tomorrow? Are you going to kill me to cover your tracks?

Before I could settle down, I heard a smoky voice coming from next door.

"Oh my, someone even brings you food. And she's a beautiful woman."

The old man with the smoky voice smacked his lips lewdly and said, "Newcomer, don't make a sound in the middle of the night. That person will show up during that time. If he picks you, you're really going to die a horrible death."

Death? Terrible? Even more terrifying than Qi Shuihan? Li Nai's curiosity was piqued.

She got out of bed, pressed her face against the railing, and asked, "Old sir, who was that person? Why did they choose someone to die?"

There was a moment of silence next door, then someone muttered, "Sigh, I knew it."

Call me Sister Smoker.

Li Naida exclaimed, "Ah! Are you a woman? Why is your voice so deep? You've been a smoker for at least twenty years."

"Are all heavy smokers men?"

"No, no."

"snort!"

After humming, Sister Smoker fell silent.

Feeling that she had offended someone, Li Nai conjured up a small red bean paste bun out of thin air and extended it through the iron gate.

"Sister Smoker, are you hungry?"

Shaking the bag in my hand, the small bread rolls bounced inside.

"Sis, I was wrong. Here's some food to make up for it—"

Why?

A yellow-fingered hand reached out from next door and snatched the bread away.

A moment later, the sound of smacking lips could be heard.

Sister Smoker must have had a long time without eating anything good; she ate with great relish and satisfaction.

"Um, remember, go to sleep early in the night and pray you don't get chosen."

After giving her advice, all was quiet. It was time for Sister Smoker to go to sleep.

Li Nai returned to bed but couldn't sleep, staring at the ceiling with her eyes open.

After some time, I grew increasingly sleepy.

Because of what happened with Qi Shuihan, she couldn't sleep well. In her hazy state, she seemed to see a white shadow flash by.

The white shadow flashed back again.

The third time, that ghostly white figure stood outside the iron gate.

The white figure was getting closer, as if it were sizing someone up.

Li Nai was startled and turned away without thinking. He stared at the wall with his eyes wide open, breathing softly, and heard a faint crackling sound in his ears.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle.

The feeling behind it is still there.

Closer and closer.

Two feet were braced against the floor.

"Li Nai~"

A hand quickly covered her mouth.

She turned her head, and in the darkness, a tall, long-haired woman stood with her back to the dim light of the corridor, holding a sleeping child nestled on her shoulder in one arm.

Qi Shuihan. Mimi?!

“Little Nana, when I got back, I saw a sentence in the novel that said, ‘The system must protect the host’s life, otherwise the mission will fail.’ I don’t understand who the system is. Let’s find out the answer tonight.”

What is she doing?! Why is she hugging Mimi?!

Above the hand covering the mouth, eyes bulging with fury, a sliver of cold, silvery light stretched out from the center of the child's dark, watery eyes, resting on the child's delicate neck. With a mere swipe, the head would be severed instantly.

The little girl, who was sleeping soundly, let out a soft moan and hugged Qi Shuihan's shoulders and neck even tighter with her chubby little hands.

A myriad of thoughts churned and shifted.

It's too late.

Even if you could transform, it wouldn't help.

If the target wasn't a romanceable character, she might be able to buy herself time to transform and then kill them in one fell swoop. However, if the romanceable character dies, the mission is considered a failure.

She pried open the loosened hand covering her mouth and spoke righteously.

"Stop. I am the system."

Qi Shuihan looked down at him, grinning, her smile twisted by darkness.

"System, you've finally admitted it!"

Li Nai stared at the silvery-white cold light.

"You went to great lengths to find out my identity. Now, tell me, what do you want?"

Qi Shuihan withdrew her gaze and turned to look at Mimi, her long, sharp, silvery-white fingernails lightly scratching her chubby cheeks.

"Do you remember what I said? If I had a system, I would make it grant my wish."

Li Nai was deep in thought.

Qi Shuihan suddenly changed the subject.

"System, let's cooperate."