Waking Up Right on Time

"Damn system, if you hadn't been so vague, you'd have killed me!"

Song Weishi's consciousness sank into a deep slumber. She felt like she was on fire, her entire body burning up.

At that moment, she couldn't help but think—if only she were lying in a snowy field right now, that would be bliss.

Song Weishi felt as if she were dreaming, her body weightless, all her experiences since arriving in this world flashing before her eyes like a revolving lantern.

The two people outside the capsule summoned a doctor. Dr. Wang and a researcher stood before them, making no move to act.

She shook her head at them. "Chief Xie, it's dangerous here. We should leave."

Xie Yi pressed her entire palm against the glass of the capsule, turning her head, her voice carrying a note of disbelief. "What do you mean by that?"

Dr. Wang shoved her hands into her pockets and retreated out of the medical bay along with the researcher who was recording data beside her. "Our researcher will keep monitoring the data. It's dangerous here."

The implication was clear: Song Weishi was beyond saving.

Xie Huiqing looked over at Xie Yi. Their eyes met, and Xie Yi shook her head. "I'm staying."

Xie Huiqing stepped forward and tugged at her. "Xiao Yi, let's get out first. Even if you stay, there's nothing you can do for her."

The medical bay was quickly sealed off. A giant healing pod was brought in from outside, large enough to encase the smaller capsule—a mini observation chamber. They had practically written Song Weishi off, not even bothering to pretend they were trying to save her.

They held their ground for a while until Xie Huiqing finally pulled Xie Yi away. Xie Yi was a level-headed person; she knew staying would only delay Song Weishi's further treatment.

Robotic arms transferred Song Weishi from the capsule pod to the larger healing pod. Everyone could see her condition through the screen—far safer than being inside.

Medical robotic arms removed her IV and administered a cool fever reducer and sedative.

Cold air was pumped into the pod to bring down her temperature. There was no drug capable of halting human mutation; fever was one of the signs of mutation. Song Weishi was walking a tightrope, and any extra stimulus could trigger irreversible changes.

The System was still trying to talk to her. "Host, do you want to go home? If you do, hold on."

Song Weishi wanted nothing more than to roll her eyes right then. Though her body was failing, her consciousness could still converse with the System with ease. "Of course I do. But it's not like I have any say in it."

Just like with Xie Yi's arrival—if only she hadn't opened her eyes, she wouldn't have been scared into mutating.

Song Weishi lay still in the healing pod, fine beads of sweat forming on her forehead. The people outside continued their relentless observation and monitoring, not daring to let their guard down for even a second.

Xie Yi's face had regained its usual calm, but her tightly clenched hands betrayed her inner turmoil.

Xie Huiqing cast a glance at her. She felt nothing but regret for the girl who had saved her sister. She had handed her over to Chu Miaoxuan knowing full well the dangers lurking around her, but she'd never expected things to escalate to this point.

Song Weishi's death, should it come to that, would take everyone by surprise.

She had been such a promising recruit. Did even her formidable physique stand no chance against a monster's attack?

If resources ran dry, how could Huihai City expand outward? How could it sustain the survival needs of so many people?

The city's supply loop couldn't handle this influx of newcomers—it had already reached capacity.

Xie Huiqing stood outside the observation room, lost in thought, when a flurry of hurried footsteps approached. Several aunties had returned. Sister Chen's eyes were red, as if she'd just been crying.

She pulled Guo Li along to squeeze in at the front, everyone staring at Song Weishi lying unconscious inside. Her temperature was alarmingly high, her body deathly pale, and she lay perfectly still, looking like a corpse.

"She was fine just a moment ago. How did this happen?"

No one answered Aunt Huang's question. No one knew the answer.

"Xiao Qing, I don't want to blame you, but I handed you a perfectly good person. How did she end up like this?"

Xie Huiying stared at Song Weishi lying there, her hands and feet restrained, an indescribable ache in her chest.

Xie Huiqing lowered her head. The bystanders instinctively took a few steps back, catching only fragments of their hushed conversation: "I'm sorry, Sis."

The oppressive atmosphere outside didn't reach Song Weishi in the room. She was burning up so badly she felt like she was drying out completely.

She didn't know how long it lasted—maybe just a moment—but she floated out like a cloud, coming face to face with her own ghastly pale self.

It was like looking into a mirror, but Song Weishi was unused to seeing herself with her eyes closed.

Well, that was it. She was spent.

It seemed like countless fine threads connected her to this body, and Song Weishi could see faint currents of electricity flickering along them.

She called out, "System?"

The System's voice came through: "Host, don't die on me! I'll give you all my energy points, I don't want them anymore!"

A tremendous force yanked her body, pulling her back. She glanced at the door—everyone's face was etched with disbelief, the aunties openly weeping without restraint.

Xie Yi stared blankly at her body, her cold, impassive eyes wet with tears, and Song Weishi could almost feel the madness churning beneath her gaze.

Song Weishi only looked once before being snapped back into her body. Her ears felt scorched, distant sounds blurry at first, then gradually sharpening.

"Beep—beep—beep—beep—"

It was the alarm. Her heart had just stopped. In other words, she'd just had a brush with death.

Her head was a fog, but she could still hear the chaos erupting outside.

She took a few deep breaths, her whole body aching, but the burning heat was gone.

Song Weishi felt a trace of coolness. Her limbs gradually regained sensation. She felt no strange changes—she hadn't turned into a monster. She raised a hand to touch her mouth; no odd mouthparts had grown there either.

The crowd outside, which had been in a panic, saw her series of movements and managed to calm themselves, hardly daring to breathe.

Song Weishi's temperature steadily dropped, and her body felt much more comfortable than it had during the fever.

"Are you alright, Security Officer?"

Dr. Wang's voice came through the top of the healing pod. Song Weishi's throat was too dry to speak, so she could only nod stiffly.

She lay flat, unwilling to turn her head and waste energy, and curled her fingers, feeling the sensation returning to her hands. The gash on her arm itched—a sign that the wound was healing rapidly.

"Is she out of danger?" Sister Chen was the first to ask. God knows how terrified she'd been when the cardiac monitor flatlined a moment ago—she'd nearly collapsed, her legs turning to jelly.

Song Weishi had been through so much with them, supporting each other all along the way. She'd saved her more than once. Sister Chen's feelings for this younger woman were the most complicated of all.

Dr. Wang shook her head. "We still need to observe."

Still, seeing that she was alright, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Generally speaking, the process of mutating into an aberration was quick. Song Weishi's case was rare.

Perhaps she'd just had a fever—with a wound that severe, a fever was only natural. Infection was unavoidable.

The group watched over Song Weishi until the wee hours, and only after Dr. Wang said she was temporarily out of danger did they relax.

Xie Huiqing had left long ago. Outside the isolation room, only Chu Miaoxuan, Xie Yi, and the aunties remained.

Everyone was silent, tense for Song Weishi still inside.

Song Weishi lay in bed, dozing in a daze, completely unaware of the changes happening to her body.

The wound on her arm healed at lightning speed; the vicious scar faded to a faint line beneath the blanket, unseen by those outside.

In her sleep, Song Weishi talked with the System. Its voice came and went, sometimes hard to make out. She deftly opened the panel and saw that the mission was marked complete.

The main quest—mutation—was cleared. The reward was 500 Points, and with the energy value, the little cart had rolled out a Gold-tier Legendary.

Only problem was, she'd already used today's cart roll. She'd have to wait until tomorrow.

The shop had also refreshed, with five new items added:

Title: Turning Trash into Treasure [Can convert gathered garbage into energy]—300 Points.

Special Wound Salve x1—100 Points.

[Gold-tier Legendary] Space Expansion x1—600 Points.

[Purple-tier] Specific Space Expansion x1—200 Points.

Title: Enhanced Human [Can strengthen physical constitution]—100 Points.

Good stuff, all of it. Song Weishi wanted everything, but she didn't have nearly enough Points.

With the 500 from this mission plus the 20 from killing that monster, she had a grand total of 520 Points.

What Song Weishi wanted most was the Space Expansion. After collecting so much, her originally enormous space was starting to feel cramped.

It was like money—nobody would ever complain about having too much space. The bigger, the better, ideally infinite. But she couldn't afford it.

All she could do was drool over the shop's offerings. Fortunately, aside from the first-time discount, the shop wouldn't cycle out these current items.

This time, a new item had appeared: Specific Space Expansion. She had no idea what that was.

Song Weishi tapped into it to take a look. It wasn't something that directly expanded her space; it was meant for special items. In other words, if Song Weishi had a house that could be bound to the System, she could use this expansion to enlarge it from eighty square meters to a hundred.

It was completely useless for her space. As for the other items, the two titles weren't all that useful to her right now either. She didn't need them urgently, so she set them aside for the time being.

Song Weishi drifted for a while before finally waking from her coma. She heard the System's voice: "Host, host, are you alright?"

Song Weishi breathed a sigh of relief. It had been quiet for a while—looks like she could block out the System's voice even in her sleep.

Without opening her eyes, she said to the System, "I cleared this mission, right? I felt like I just had an out-of-body experience."

Thinking back to coming face to face with herself, Song Weishi still felt a chill of fear. She could've easily kicked the bucket there.

The System let out a relieved breath, a hint of delight creeping into its voice. "Of course. Host, you've completed the mission, and you've even awakened an ability."

Song Weishi: ?

"Did we see this in the novel when we read it?"

The System: "We did. I just refreshed a passage from the original text. In the second month of the apocalypse, some humans in Huihai City awakened abilities, but..."

The System's words cut off as Song Weishi felt the world outside suddenly darken. She opened her eyes and found the previously bright lights had gone out without warning.

The System continued: "But, Host, this is exactly when the first great disaster hits Huihai City. You're right in the middle of it. Get up and run for your life."

Song Weishi gritted her teeth and dragged herself out of bed, her body unbearably heavy. "Lan! Ji! Yu! Thank you so much!"

The System: °ω°

A rustling, skittering sound cut off whatever she was about to say next. With the air conditioning dead, the room quickly grew stuffy. From the darkness beyond the door came the shrill screams of the aunties.

"Bugs! Holy shit, bugs!!"