Shen Yiyue looked at Ning Yu with surprise; she couldn't remember either of them bringing cigarettes.
She had never seen Ning Yu smoke before.
However, there had been so many strange things about Ning Yu that she was already numb to it all.
She said nothing, quietly waiting for Ning Yu's explanation.
Ning Yu smiled casually and said:
"I got them by chance, just for trading. I don't smoke."
"Hmph, I don't believe a word of that."
Ji Mengyao didn't buy Ning Yu's story at all. She took another drag and couldn't help but exclaim:
"These are really good cigarettes. How come I've never seen this brand before?"
"Say... do you have any blueberry menthol ones?"
This girl had clearly regained some of her energy and started asking for her favorite flavor.
Ning Yu could only shake her head helplessly, spreading her hands:
"That's all I have, just these two packs. I really don't smoke."
Ji Mengyao didn't press further, instead saying:
"Thanks so much, you really helped me out. I'll pay you back with exchange tickets when we get back to base!"
Hearing this, Ning Yu waved her hand dismissively:
"No need, no need. Consider it thanks for the hat you gave me."
She patted the black baseball cap on her head that Ji Mengyao had given her that morning. Ning Yu was quite satisfied with it.
"Hehe, you're such a good friend! Then I'll gladly accept~"
Ji Mengyao laughed happily, quickly finishing her cigarette.
Looking at the expressionless Wu Di beside her, she couldn't help but poke him irritably:
"Look at Ning Yu, and then look at yourself!"
"You just take advantage of me. Were you waiting for me to suffer? Learn something from her!"
She punched Wu Di a couple of times with her small fist to express her dissatisfaction.
Wu Di could only mumble an agreement, promising to do better next time, his poker face remaining unchanged.
The two watching from behind caught sight of Ji Mengyao's reddening ears and exchanged glances:
This contradictory person, wasn't she the one who said she wanted more earlier?
"Why don't I drive for a while, you can rest," Ning Yu suddenly offered.
"You? I'll be fine after a short rest, and besides, can you even drive?"
Ji Mengyao in the front seat turned around skeptically to look at Ning Yu, scanning her height doubtfully.
She seriously doubted Ning Yu was telling the truth.
"Time is precious, trust me."
Ning Yu was very confident as she decisively opened the back door and stepped out of the car.
She glanced around, noting that no zombies had approached yet.
Ji Mengyao didn't waste time arguing and opened the driver's door as well. Since Ning Yu said to trust her, she might as well. Time was indeed precious right now.
Getting there sooner might mean saving their companions' lives.
Her steps were still a bit unsteady, clearly not fully recovered from the hallucinations. Ning Yu reached out to support her as she got out.
[Your Friendship Level: Friendly]
[Target's Origin Detected: Static]
[Detected Copyable Origin Ability: Death Resistance]
[Copy?]
The moment her hand touched Ji Mengyao's body, these system prompts appeared in Ning Yu's mind.
A barely perceptible smile appeared on her face, while inside she was overjoyed.
Who would have thought that this morning's actions plus a few packs of cigarettes would successfully raise their friendship level?
All according to plan!
She didn't hesitate to choose to copy.
[Ding! Obtained Origin Ability: Death Resistance]
[You can revive from up to three consecutive fatal injuries. After using all charges, death will be permanent. One charge is restored every three days.]
This was amazing - for Ning Yu, it meant three extra lives.
Although according to Ji Mengyao, she could revive far more than three times, after seeing Ji Mengyao struggle with the hallucination side effects,
Ning Yu understood that these powerful abilities awakened from Origins all seemed to come with a price.
[Future Reading] would drain your mental energy causing blackouts, [Death Resistance] would cause hallucinations that corrode you.
In contrast, the [Death Resistance] she had just copied, while limited to three uses, clearly didn't come with the hallucination side effect.
For Ning Yu, this was practically an evolved version.
Wu Di also got out of the passenger seat and switched places with Shen Yiyue, making it easier to take care of Ji Mengyao.
Ning Yu sat in the driver's seat, first testing if she could reach the clutch and gas pedals.
...Damn, she really couldn't reach.
Fortunately, the seat had a wide range of adjustment that was very accommodating to Ning Yu's height, and she quickly adjusted to a suitable position.
Seatbelt on, rearview mirror adjusted, she was ready to go.
"Let me see the map."
She took the map from Wu Di and looked at the route to their destination.
Ji Mengyao didn't light a second cigarette, instead lying weakly in the back, her head suddenly resting on Wu Di's shoulder.
"Hey, let me lean on you."
She spoke to Wu Di without any ceremony, giving orders as if it were perfectly natural.
Wu Di just quietly agreed, not moving away at all, letting Ji Mengyao rest comfortably.
His face remained expressionless as he stared straight ahead.
But his left shoulder, slightly tilted to accommodate Ji Mengyao, betrayed the tenderness he couldn't completely hide.
Ning Yu caught a glimpse of the two in the rearview mirror and felt that she and Shen Yiyue were somewhat superfluous...
"Hold on tight."
It was a manual transmission car. Ji Mengyao had initially doubted that someone as young as Ning Yu would know anything beyond automatic transmission learned from family.
But Ning Yu's series of smooth operations - shifting gears, releasing the clutch -
The SUV, which seemed to have been modified, made several quick and agile turns under the bridge before charging onto the main road.
Once on the road, Ning Yu's foot began pressing down hard on the accelerator, and a strong push-back force hit everyone in the car.
The engine's roar grew intense.
"Hey, hey, hey, Xiao Yu, how did you start racing like this??"
Shen Yiyue, who had never ridden in such a fast car, exclaimed in shock.
Ning Yu glanced at her:
"Isn't this normal speed?"
This was how fast she usually drove when chasing people or escaping scenes - wasn't this normal?
"Normal my foot! Look at the dashboard!!"
Ji Mengyao in the back was also scared, pointing at the needle in front, which had already crossed the 120km/h mark and was still climbing.
Wu Di silently nodded, supporting Ji Mengyao's statement.
Ning Yu felt somewhat helpless: these people really hadn't seen much of the world.
She suddenly took a sharp turn, the tires making intense friction sounds against the ground as the SUV curved onto another road in an elegant arc.
Not as thrilling as she'd like, but she had no choice but to prepare to slow down.
"Ah!!"
Looking in the rearview mirror, she saw that Ji Mengyao had been thrown into Wu Di's arms by the centrifugal force.
Wu Di, for his part, simply held onto her - he hadn't thought much about it, just didn't want her to get hurt.
But Ji Mengyao's face had now turned completely red, her originally fair complexion now resembling a ripe apple.
The car had already slowed down, but these two seemed frozen in place, stuck in this awkward position.
Shen Yiyue also caught this scene in the rearview mirror, and could only exchange glances with Ning Yu, both thinking the same thing:
What's with this damn romantic atmosphere...