Doomed

"Maybe... it would have been better if I hadn't met him from the beginning."

Ji Mengyao smiled bitterly.

"Perhaps we could have met again in some other way, and he wouldn't have ended up like this."

The thing she wanted to reach out and touch seemed to be growing more and more distant, and she wondered if it would become even more distant in the future.

For a moment, she felt anxious and insecure.

Ning Yu listened quietly, seemingly reminded of a line from an animated movie in her previous life:

"Even if we send a thousand messages, our hearts won't get even 1 millimeter closer."

This feeling was hard to understand, but perhaps Ji Mengyao could relate.

"Have you talked to him about these things?"

Shen Yiyue, who had been listening for a long time, cut straight to the heart of the matter.

"No... no."

Ji Mengyao blushed, glancing at Wu Di:

"This guy is like a wooden block, and besides... how could I bring myself to talk about such things..."

Ning Yu turned the van onto the familiar overpass leading to the base.

"Is it possible that you both just think the other person is distant?"

Ning Yu suggested a possibility.

At that moment, Wu Di suddenly stirred, his body moving slightly before struggling to open his eyes.

Ji Mengyao quickly noticed Wu Di's condition and hurriedly supported his body, leaning forward to ask with concern:

"You're awake? How do you feel? Are you alright?"

Wu Di's eyes were full of confusion, and it took a while for his pupils to focus. He looked around the van bewilderedly.

After a long pause, he seemed to come to his senses, seeing Ning Yu driving in the front seat and Ji Mengyao beside him, full of concern.

He slowly spoke:

"Meng... Mengyao?"

He painfully clutched his chest, which seemed to still hurt, but his face remained expressionless.

"You... idiot!!"

Ji Mengyao wanted to punch him hard but couldn't bring herself to do it, so she hit the van's seat instead.

She buried her face gently against Wu Di's body, seemingly embracing him but careful not to put any pressure on him.

"Didn't we agree you wouldn't use that ability anymore?"

"What if one day you become mentally disabled, an idiot, or completely wooden?"

Her voice seemed to carry a hint of tears as she spoke.

But Wu Di just stared at her blankly, not quite understanding the situation. After a while, he raised his hand to her back:

"Sorry..."

"If you really become like that, I'll never talk to you again, never speak to you again!"

She raised her head, her eyes red and tears flowing down her cheeks, glaring at Wu Di with apparent anger.

"I..."

Wu Di's expression remained wooden as his lips moved, but no words came out.

Shouldn't he be holding her tight at a time like this!!

Shen Yiyue was screaming internally, but as a mere bystander, she could only pretend nothing was happening.

The two stopped talking, and instead, Ji Mengyao let Wu Di rest against her.

These two, on the way there she had leaned on Wu Di, and now on the way back, he was leaning on her.

Please, just get married already.

Shen Yiyue felt both fed up with their lovey-dovey behavior and frustrated about when these two would finally open up and be honest with each other.

She was getting anxious just watching them.

......

Upon returning to the base, Ji Mengyao first took Wu Di to the medical area before reporting to the exploration team.

Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue didn't follow her, heading back first instead.

This was the first time the Ark base exploration team had encountered a mid-level mutant zombie; they had only dealt with low-level mutant zombies before, so they needed to compile intelligence about this.

Ji Mengyao took care of all that, and she would bring Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue their share of the rewards from the Ark later.

The two were quite happy to take it easy.

Wan Heng's body had been properly handled, and his only relative had been notified.

Just as Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue returned to their small apartment, Shen Qianqian rushed out of her room.

"Sister!!"

She immediately clung to her sister, as she had been worried about her sister going outside the base on what might be a dangerous mission.

The small figure leaned against Shen Yiyue, who showed a gentle and doting smile while patting Shen Qianqian's head:

"Were you good at home today?"

"Sister, you're treating me like a child again!"

Shen Qianqian huffed, clinging stubbornly to her sister's arm.

She tilted her head and noticed Ning Yu, showing a curious expression:

"Sister Ning Yu's pretty hairstyle is gone, and her cool clothes from outside are gone too!"

She was referring to Ning Yu's original low ponytail and black outer wear.

"We lost them when we encountered a scary monster today, but I'll tie up little Yu's hair again, right, little Yu?"

Shen Yiyue hugged her sister while looking at Ning Yu, seemingly planning to do something with her hair again.

Ning Yu gave her a sideways glance and shrugged helplessly, meaning 'whatever you want.'

"I'm going to change clothes and take a bath first."

She took off her black baseball cap, revealing her beautiful silver hair, planning to clean up.

Walking to her room, she first removed her dirty clothes and grabbed fresh ones to change into.

There were no wounds on her body; the holes in her chest and abdomen from earlier had healed with the activation of [Death Resistance].

As for the bloodstains on her clothes, there was nothing to be done except wash them out.

The Ark base even had a laundry room, but such facilities were too luxurious, and most people wouldn't want to use exchange tickets for laundry.

Probably only the exploration team members could afford such luxuries.

Ning Yu didn't mind either way; she was used to washing her own clothes, and besides, she often had Shen Yiyue, that lovesick fool, offering to wash them for her.

Just as she opened her door to go take a bath.

Shen Yiyue suddenly poked her head over:

"Little Yu, requesting permission to bath together!"

She said while raising her hand, looking like an eager student trying to answer a question in class.

She had a mischievous smile on her face, seeming to be up to no good again, and Ning Yu directly pinched her nose:

"Your sister is still here, can't you behave a little?"

She gave this fool an exasperated look, while Shen Yiyue tried to protest and get Ning Yu to let go, but failed.

She could only make muffled protests through her nose.

Not far away, Shen Qianqian pretended to read a science manga book from the base, but her ears were already perked up, seemingly trying hard to eavesdrop.

Suddenly hearing such exciting dialogue, she couldn't help but break into an knowing smile.

Her foolish sister, was she finally getting married?

She took another bite of her cream-filled cookie, pretending nothing was happening, while in reality, her attention was completely focused on the situation over there.

Ning Yu seemed to suddenly think of something and grabbed Shen Yiyue with a mischievous smile just as she was about to tease Ning Yu and run away.

"Eh? What are you doing, little Yu?"

Shen Yiyue was pulled back suddenly.

"This was your idea, and I'm telling you, you're not getting away today!"