Xie Yin was puzzled by people's behavior for the first time; they came and went inexplicably.
"Didn't you want to see Fei Tao?" Jiang Shuyin smiled at him. Xie Yin returned to his seat, closed the door, and looked somewhat... nervous?
Jiang Shuyin doubted that she had seen it wrong.
Inside the canvas bag, crimson clouds quietly gathered in the corner. Seeing Xie Yin's solemn expression, Jiang Shuyin even softened her breathing. This car wasn't an SUV, and the space wasn't large. At this moment, neither of them spoke, making it exceptionally quiet.
Jiang Shu distracted Xie Yin, and she realized that Xie Yin was not breathing. She paused for a second before realizing what had happened, and was surprised by her own sense of entitlement.
He's not human; he doesn't need to breathe.
She wasn't really curious about Xie Yin's prototype. Mutants, tentacle monsters, deep-sea behemoths—none of them were aesthetically pleasing to humans. It was like online dating: she'd rather be fooled by someone using a picture of Daniel Wu than be shocked by their real appearance.
"You really like Peach Blossom, huh?" Jiang Shuyin couldn't help but ask.
There was no way around it; Xie Yin had been staring at him for quite some time now, without even blinking.
Xie Yin slowly came back to his senses: "Hmm."
He turned back, his gaze still lingering on the floor: "You can go back now, I'm going to move later."
"Moving?" Jiang Shuyin remembered that he had come to the office to see Minister Hu about accommodation. "Do you need my help?"
Xie Yin turned his head: "I don't have much stuff, I can carry it in one hand."
Before Jiang Shuyin could think of what to say, she heard him continue, "But after I finish moving, I can invite you over as a guest."
"Okay." Jiang Shuyin wanted to end the slightly awkward atmosphere: "My mom was cooking when I came out, so I'll go now. I'll visit your house another day."
After saying that, she opened the car door, ran a few steps to create some distance, and then turned around to wave to him.
Jiang Shu led her upstairs and saw Zheng Lanxiang waiting on the sofa. The TV wasn't on, which she found strange. Zheng Lanxiang only went to the kitchen to bring out two bowls after seeing her return. She then went back to pour boiling water into the bowls, and the fragrant aroma of instant noodles wafted over.
Zheng Lanxiang: "We're out of vegetables at home, so we'll eat instant noodles for now. I ordered vegetables from the community's vegetable and fruit group, but they won't arrive until tomorrow morning."
Jiang Shuyin nodded and sat down on the table: "I asked the minister, and he said that you can directly bind my family card in the future and use mission points to buy things much cheaper. In the future, the currency system will be reformed, and money will gradually lose its value."
Zheng Lanxiang opened the packaging bag on the bowl. The steaming vapor obscured her face, making it impossible to see her expression. Only a soft "Mmm" could be heard.
After finishing her meal, Jiang Shuyin turned on her bracelet and entered the task point interface to bind her mother's ID card. Facial recognition was also required. After completing the task, she checked the details: "When making payment, you can deduct task points by swiping your ID card. You need to set a password. Mom, think of one. The maximum limit for the family card is 1000. You can use this first, and I will transfer more if it is not enough."
Zheng Lanxiang used to use her birthday plus two zeros as her password, which Jiang Jianli and her daughter both knew, so it couldn't be used anymore. She thought for a moment and said, "...this one is auspicious."
Jiang Shu smiled and quickly finished setting it up: "From now on, you only need to bring your ID card when you go out. Regular stores have also enabled payment via task points. Let me show you the prices so you won't get scammed."
Zheng Lanxiang went over to take a look and was shocked by the purchasing power of the task points: "These bok choy are so expensive. Old Shen's daughter-in-law downstairs was making a fuss about wanting to feed her son bok choy to supplement some vitamins, but when she went to the farm, she found that she couldn't afford it. They wouldn't charge her. Later, she asked a few times and some people sold her the leftover bok choy. Old Shen's daughter-in-law wanted some too, but she didn't eat it and sold it to someone else."
That's when I realized some people hadn't eaten any green vegetables for three to five months. The chives I planted on my balcony haven't sprouted at all; I'm worried the soil has gone bad.
Jiang Shuyin's heart sank. If the soil is ruined, how can people plant crops?
Then I thought about the vegetables on the farm. Were they grown by the land or by the power of wood-based abilities?
“When you left, Tian He came looking for you. He heard that you worked in the Department of Superpowers and wanted to find out where they were short of people.” Zheng Lanxiang sighed: “Nowadays, people are single-mindedly trying to squeeze into the government. Decades ago, people inside wanted to get out.”
Jiang Shu listened to her mother's rambling on and on, but she didn't hear a single word as she leaned back on the sofa. She didn't think about anything; her mind was blank and her thoughts were calm.
Zheng Lanxiang said a lot and felt relieved, but the knot in her heart would stay there forever if she didn't untie it; it would be better if she didn't touch it.
About an hour later, Zheng Lanxiang spread out her yoga mat and continued practicing the set of gymnastics that the official had given her. Jiang Shuyin then remembered this person, who suddenly appeared and then silently disappeared.
Her phone had become a useless camera and flashlight, but she could still view her WeChat chat history, so she dug it out and studied it carefully.
It wasn't that she couldn't let it go, but rather that she felt something was off.
Jiang Shuyin flipped to the earliest record and stared at it for a long time.
I was shocked to realize that this day was exactly one month before the apocalypse. I added her through her phone number, but she clearly gave me her WeChat ID.
It's even more suspicious now.
Jiang Shuyin searched through every record but couldn't find any information about the official's identity, address, nationality, or even gender. Meanwhile, she practically reported what she wore every day to the other person during their chat.
She couldn't help but rub her forehead and smile bitterly, thankfully the other person hadn't done anything bad to her.
————
The streetlights next to the residential area came on, and Xie Yin started the engine, put it in gear, and drove away.
No navigation was needed; Xie Yin drove directly to the new house that Minister Hu had told him about. He chose the one closest to Jiang Shuyin's community. The building was very tall, and he could even stand by the window and overlook the entire community.
In the pitch-black stairwell, the motion-activated lights had long since broken, and the darkness could conceal more than a dozen vicious thugs. Xie Yin walked unhurriedly to the elevator entrance and pressed the up button.
"You live here too?" someone suddenly spoke up from the side. In the darkness, you couldn't even see the person's face clearly, but your ears can clearly determine the location of the voice.
Very close.
Xie Yin was born with a love for darkness. It is said that the dark matter and dark energy in the universe are the birthplace of the Black Mist Clan, so he was born with the ability to see everything in the darkness.
The elevator got stuck on the fourth floor, but Xie Yin was completely unaware of what was happening.
The elevator doors opened, and there was no light inside. Xie Yin pressed the button for the 33rd floor, then stepped back. Several footsteps entered and pressed each floor in turn.
Xie Yin closed his eyes.
When each floor opened, there was actually a piece of clothing hanging at the door, but Xie Yin kept his eyes closed, so he remained calm.
As they ascended to the fourth floor, Xie Yin was bumped into. He opened his eyes and, amidst the crowd, precisely spotted the person who had provoked him: "What's wrong?"
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