An Old Acquaintance

Song Weishi was starting to think that going out on missions wasn't such a bad escape after all.

Maybe the outskirts were safer than the city proper, especially since Xie Yi seemed to be around here a lot. She was getting a bit stir-crazy.

Xie Yi had gone off to clear out some of the larger monsters nearby. Song Weishi sat in the armory practicing with her gun while she waited. Xie Huiqing had arranged for them to team up for monster hunting, and to be fair, Xie Yi was actually a pretty solid partner.

Strong, and she wouldn't betray her teammates. But Song Weishi just couldn't stand her—the two of them absolutely couldn't be together for too long.

Song Weishi picked out a gun that felt right and practiced for a while before Xie Yi came back.

She looked in high spirits, her hair not a strand out of place even after taking off her protective suit. It was like she'd just gone for a stroll, with no trace of battle fatigue at all.

Song Weishi secretly compared her arm to Xie Yi's. Her muscles were firm and defined, nothing like Song Weishi's, which showed no results no matter how much she trained. With a build like that, who would believe she used to be just a programmer?

No wonder the female lead had real skills. Song Weishi recalled the avalanche earlier, when Xie Yi had flung her straight into the cave opening—she knew surpassing her was hopeless.

Song Weishi holstered her gun at her waist, grabbed a suitable weapon, and followed Xie Yi out.

She needed to rest a bit before heading out to fight monsters. Xie Huiqing didn't have many requirements for the two of them—people weren't made of iron, after all. Fight if you can, retreat if you can't.

After a day of silence, Chu Miaoxuan finally got in touch with Song Weishi. Once she confirmed Song was safe, she started heading over.

One Xie Yi, one her, plus Chu Miaoxuan and two security team members—five people formed a small squad to go out and eliminate monsters. Song Weishi and Xie Yi sat facing each other, neither making a sound.

Xie Yi's gaze unconsciously drifted toward Song Weishi, making her feel a bit uneasy.

She looked down at her phone to avoid Xie Yi's eyes.

A moment later, a cup of hot tea was pushed in front of her. Song Weishi glanced at it—Xie Yi had poured it.

Her gaze was calm as she asked, "Feeling any better? How's the injury on your hand?"

Only then did Song Weishi engage in conversation with her: "It's fine. No problem."

Xie Yi nodded. "Have some water."

She picked up the cup and took a sip—her throat felt like it was on fire, and she forced it down.

She almost suspected Xie Yi was getting back at her, still holding a grudge from before. Giving her boiling water on a hot day was like adding chili to clear soup.

Song Weishi glanced down at the tea leaves still swirling in her cup, and irritation welled up inside her.

Xie Yi looked at her with a trace of curiosity. "How does it feel? Uncomfortable?"

Song Weishi set down the cup. "Uncomfortable? A little. My throat feels like it's burning. The water's a bit too hot."

Her voice had gone slightly hoarse too. But the cup hadn't felt that hot when she touched it.

Xie Yi's expression turned odd. "Really? This is just room-temperature water."

Song Weishi: ?

She blew on it and quickly took another sip—it was still scorching hot, with no relief at all.

Song Weishi opened her mouth wide, gasping for air to ease the burning sensation. Even the most oblivious person would realize something was off by now.

"What is this exactly?"

She asked, her eyes locked firmly on Xie Yi.

Xie Yi took the cup from her hand. "This is the test serum we drank when we first entered the city."

Song Weishi felt a bit dazed. It did seem like something like that existed. When she'd drunk it back then, nothing unusual had happened—only monsters would be revealed.

Did that mean she'd already turned into a monster?

Song Weishi instantly went on high alert, wondering if becoming a monster would trigger a whole new storyline.

She communicated with the System in her mind, asking if such a possibility existed.

The System said no. If she became a monster, it would be the same as before—it's just that the ones she'd be killing would also be monsters. Song Weishi didn't think that sounded like a big deal and relaxed in an instant.

She asked the earlier question again: "Can I kill the female lead after turning into a monster?"

The System was utterly speechless. "Of course not, Host. If you did that, this world could collapse. I wouldn't mind much, but you wouldn't survive either."

They hadn't accumulated enough Points yet, so they couldn't act rashly or do anything that defied the logic of this world.

Song Weishi said "fine" and gave up on that idea once more.

This exchange took only a moment. Song Weishi paused, then turned her gaze back to Xie Yi. "Why did you give me this?"

Was turning Song Weishi into a monster her ultimate goal all along?

She didn't feel anything abnormal about herself, did she?

Xie Yi said, "Sorry. Someone's watching us."

Her fingers shifted slightly, pointing toward the window. Song Weishi glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw a shadow by the window. "If you hadn't drunk it, you'd likely be taken for research."

Song Weishi believed that wasn't a lie. Xie Yi was just testing her. If she really showed any signs of abnormality, even Xie Huiqing would have a hard time convincing the others.

Apart from a scorching sensation in her throat, Song Weishi felt no different—which seemed similar to when her wounds healed with a fever before.

She took the cup back from Xie Yi and drank a few more gulps. The burning feeling from before was completely gone. The tea went down smoothly—still a bit hot, but entirely tolerable.

She finished the whole cup. With no abnormalities, the shadow by the door finally dispersed, letting a bit of light back in from outside.

Given what had just happened, a strange theory popped into Song Weishi's head. If monsters revealed themselves after drinking it, and she felt something too, did that mean she and monsters shared the same source of power?

Monsters also had strong self-healing abilities—the same as hers. She just hadn't fully turned into a monster yet. Maybe she was already at the tipping point?

Song Weishi didn't actually feel much about the possibility of becoming a monster. After all, living was living, no matter what form.

Of course, her theory could be wrong, since there was no one else like her. She didn't know how others who'd undergone physical changes fared.

For things she couldn't figure out, Song Weishi chose to set them aside for later, until she found a solution.

The person outside walked away—probably to report.

She wasn't put off by the test. Instead, she felt it was a good way to ensure everyone around was safe, and she was a beneficiary of it too.

Song Weishi took a deep breath and rallied her spirits.

Xie Yi looked at her and handed over some snacks she'd apparently swiped from somewhere, a gesture that seemed almost apologetic. Song Weishi grabbed a bag of potato chips and munched away without hesitation.

She couldn't go home, so she couldn't eat good food. Since Xie Yi offered, she'd take it.

She said thanks and went back to scrolling her phone.

But really, she'd slipped into the System panel. Today's daily cart was about to refresh. She tapped in to check.

The daily cart was gold today. She could barely contain her excitement, heart pounding as she opened today's golden cart.

Today's cart refresh:

Luxury seafood platter, pure meat version, 50kg × 1

Luxury family pack Angus marbled beef, 500kg × 1

Luxury coconut water set, 800kg × 1

Song Weishi felt her legs go weak. If she weren't on the couch, she'd have slid straight to the floor.

Top-tier luxury package. The seafood platter included king crab, salmon, tuna, Boston lobster, abalone, mantis shrimp, leopard coral grouper, yellow croaker, spot prawns, and plenty of seafood she couldn't even name—and it was the pure meat version, with countless sides not counting toward the weight, though they were free gifts anyway.

Real, actual meat, not counting the shells or bones. The beef and coconut water were so plentiful she couldn't even store them all.

The imperial disaster relief had arrived. She was no longer someone who drooled over a 10kg pack of frozen beef.

The System was a godsend. She lavished it with a long string of praises about being the most loyal guardian of the heavens, flattering the System until its tail was practically up in the air.

Song Weishi wished she could go home right now and eat her fill, but she wasn't her own boss at the moment. All she could do was stare at the haul, wanting to eat but unable to reach it.

Song Weishi's mouth watered. She swallowed hard, feeling the potato chips in her hand lose their appeal.

Xie Yi noticed her hand suddenly stop, and found it a bit odd. Song Weishi put away her phone, stood up, and walked around a couple of times to ease her anxiety.

By the time she'd circled the couch for the fifth time, there was a knock at the door. Then Song Weishi saw Chu Miaoxuan push the door open and come in.

Two people followed behind her—both familiar faces.

Ke Shaoyi's eyes lit up when she saw Song Weishi. She greeted her and stepped forward, saying, "Sister Song, you're here too. Are we teaming up together today?"

"Yes, Xiao Ke. We'll head out with Captain Chu in a bit."

Seeing familiar people put Song Weishi at ease a little. She nodded, and then another head popped out from behind her. A delighted voice called out, "Sister Song! You're here too?!"

Song Weishi was a bit puzzled, but soon she saw a somewhat familiar face. This person had been bundled up tightly in the snow before, and now she was showing a fuzzy, fluffy head of hair. Song Weishi couldn't place her at first, but she quickly called out her name: "Jiang Qingrou, you made it to Huihai City too."

This was the zoo keeper she'd saved back in the snow.

Her cheeks, which had been bright red back then, had returned to normal now. She stepped forward excitedly and grabbed Song Weishi's hands.

"Sister Song! I'm so glad to see you here! When did you arrive?!"

Apart from Song Weishi, everyone else in the room was puzzled about these two—how did they both know Song Weishi?

Xie Yi slowly turned around, her long legs wedged between the couch and the coffee table, momentarily stuck. But her gaze was fixed on the group. She frowned slightly, watching Jiang Qingrou hold Song Weishi's hand without a word, though her breathing grew heavier.

"I only just arrived myself. How did you end up in the security team?"

Song Weishi didn't see Xiaoli behind her. She used her eyes to silently ask about the whereabouts of the two black-and-white apes and the other animals, not speaking directly, worried that Jiang Qingrou had come alone and left the animals outside.

Jiang Qingrou understood immediately: "I just got here. When I passed security, they really valued my beast-taming ability, so they arranged accommodations for Xiaoli and the others, and I joined the security team."

Song Weishi finally relaxed, a smile spreading across her face. But then she saw the grin freeze on Jiang Qingrou's face, which had been all smiles just a moment ago.

She'd spotted Xie Yi sitting on the couch, expressionless, staring at her. That face—she knew it all too well.

Jiang Qingrou stammered, "Um, Sister Song... you know her?"

Song Weishi glanced back at Xie Yi, who was sitting on the couch facing their direction, and answered vaguely, "Oh, kind of."

Jiang Qingrou: ...

Xie Yi: ...