"What happened today that made you come back so late?" Shen Yiyue asked curiously.
Ning Yu wiped her small mouth with a tissue, then opened a box of strawberry milk and began to sip before replying:
"Well, I ran into a little problem."
Then Ning Yu briefly recounted the series of events involving her encounter with Lin Hao.
After listening, Shen Yiyue only sighed slightly:
"It seems all morality and law outside have truly ceased to exist."
If she were still out there alone, how long could she survive?
She then asked:
"Ning Yu, if you were him, would you have tried to help a little girl in the grocery store?"
"Of course not," Ning Yu answered without hesitation.
"I'm not a good person."
"Although I don't actually dislike that there are such good people in this world, on the contrary, it's beneficial to me."
"But from his perspective, his actions were of no value to the continued survival of himself and his 'wife', and could even bring trouble."
"If one doesn't put oneself and those they care about first, but instead allows their actions to be guided by the kindness instilled by social conditioning..."
"Then meeting a tragic end is only natural."
Ning Yu analyzed coldly, suddenly raising her amber eyes to stare at Shen Yiyue:
"So I advise you too, in a world like this, put away your excess kindness. It's better for both of us."
Shen Yiyue looked at the little silver-haired girl's cold gaze and nodded thoughtfully.
She fully understood that what Ning Yu said was correct.
It was just a bit shocking for her, a high school student who had been in school just days ago.
But she knew clearly that for her now, the most important thing was to become stronger and then find her family.
Everything else was secondary.
"By the way, what do you think about the survivor settlement at Yida Commercial Center he mentioned?" Shen Yiyue continued to ask.
"Hmm, that's valuable information. I think we should go check it out," Ning Yu answered without hesitation, having clearly already considered it.
Actually, it didn't matter to her where they went, but joining such a group would be most beneficial because:
There would be more people, which could trigger more people-related tasks.
Continuing to stay in this supermarket with only Shen Yiyue as the sole living person would make it difficult to trigger tasks.
Without people-related tasks, there would be no attribute points.
It seemed that killing zombies and zombie-related tasks currently didn't award attribute points.
Just by going out and encountering Lin Hao, she had triggered a task related to him that gave attribute points.
But she couldn't guarantee running into survivors every day.
Rather than going out and relying on luck, it would be better to directly join a group where the possibilities were higher.
If any problems arose later, she could come and go as she pleased, with no one able to stop her.
Hearing Ning Yu express her desire to go, Shen Yiyue's face lit up with pleasant surprise.
Ning Yu could see at a glance what she was thinking - she must believe there was a chance of running into her family members there.
Although the hope was slim, Shen Yiyue wanted to go and see.
"However, you're still too weak with your current abilities. I don't want to be dragging along dead weight," Ning Yu criticized her bluntly.
"We might as well not waste all this food in the supermarket."
"We can stay for a while longer, and you can use the time to train hard."
Shen Yiyue didn't mind at all being called weak; she was now full of motivation to become stronger:
"I'll train hard!"
Her beautiful almond eyes sparkled with hopeful fire.
Ning Yu nodded slightly, then pointed to the tray and cutlery on the table:
"Alright, go wash the dishes."
Shen Yiyue, however, looked at Ning Yu earnestly and said:
"Thank you, Ning Yu."
Ning Yu was stunned, not understanding what she was being thanked for. She turned her head away and said:
"Don't thank me. Ours is just a relationship of mutual use, isn't it?"
Seeing the silver-haired little girl's 'emotionless' appearance, Shen Yiyue smiled gently instead, shaking her head:
"No, if it weren't for you, Ning Yu, I don't know what state I'd be in. I wouldn't be able to be so full of hope like this."
Then she efficiently began to clear the table.
Ning Yu didn't reply, taking another big sip of her strawberry milk. The box was already empty, its shape distorted from her sucking.
......
A few days later, in the afternoon, in the small backyard of the supermarket.
"Whack!"
Shen Yiyue was struck hard by a wooden stick, falling to the ground in pain.
Standing opposite her was Ning Yu, the one who had mercilessly hit her.
The silver-haired little girl hadn't even changed into workout clothes, still wearing her pretty black form-fitting dress.
She stood quietly, her beautiful silver hair swaying slightly in the gentle breeze. She raised her hand to casually tuck a stray strand behind her ear.
There was no trace of sweat on her face; it seemed that sparring with Shen Yiyue hadn't even gotten her warmed up.
"You're thinking too much about attacking, leaving yourself full of openings."
"Your leg strength is a bit lacking, it needs to be improved."
"And you're only using your upper body strength when striking, not utilizing your whole body's power. This way, your damage output is insufficient."
Ning Yu analyzed relentlessly, like a machine.
Shen Yiyue was already panting heavily.
While gently rubbing the spot where she had just been hit, her pretty brows furrowed slightly as she listened intently to her shortcomings.
With the continuous training of recent days, she had become increasingly diligent and demanding of herself.
Ning Yu walked to the side, took out an iced sports drink from the cooler, and tossed one to her:
"Take a break. I'll help you treat your injuries in a bit."
Shen Yiyue raised her hand to catch the drink, then wiped away some sweat that was almost dripping into her eyes.
She opened the cap and gulped down a couple of mouthfuls, feeling some of the fatigue in her body lighten.
Looking at the metal long sword beside her, reflecting a beautiful gleam, she reached out to grasp the hilt again.
This sword was what Ning Yu had exchanged for points after going out to kill zombies these past few days.
However, it wasn't from the [Weekly Special Sale].
Recently, the [Weekly Special Deals] had been things like rice and massage chairs - everyday items that Ning Yu had skipped over.
She had used points to exchange for a long sword for Shen Yiyue in the [Weapons] section of the mall.
Although it only cost 1500 points, Ning Yu discovered that all weapons exchanged through the system were of surprisingly good quality.
They didn't wear down at all from use.
Seeing Shen Yiyue get up again and pick up the sword, Ning Yu gave her a questioning look.
Shen Yiyue took a deep breath and looked at Ning Yu resolutely, saying:
"Ning Yu, let's go again!"
This morning she had already 'died' countless times and been hit to the point of severe pain, but she had been gritting her teeth and persevering.
Ning Yu didn't try to persuade her to rest more, picking up the wooden stick again and casually waiting for her to attack.
Soon, the two figures were intertwined once more.
Over these days, Shen Yiyue had slowly progressed from falling after two moves to being able to exchange a few blows.
Although she still couldn't touch Ning Yu from start to finish.
But for the sake of training her, Ning Yu had intentionally lowered her speed and skill level.
Otherwise, it would have been complete torture with little benefit to Shen Yiyue.
Shen Yiyue panted heavily as she attacked fiercely, while Ning Yu casually deflected her attacks with one hand on the stick.
It looked like Shen Yiyue's stamina was nearing its limit again.
Just as she barely managed to block another casual strike from Ning Yu, Shen Yiyue's heart skipped a beat - she saw an opening!
The opportunity would vanish in an instant!
She immediately threw away the long sword in her hand and swiftly drew the dagger at her waist.
Closing in on Ning Yu, she stabbed fiercely at the weak point Ning Yu had exposed!
Was she finally going to touch the silver-haired little girl for once?!