Chapter 16: The Road is Long

Xiao A: “Please wait a moment...”

“Sleep mode activated. Defense level R. Can withstand one monster attack. Master, please rest easy.”

The room’s lights dimmed, leaving only a soft glow, filling the space with a cozy warmth that made one drowsy.

Mu Xue and Xiao A stared wide-eyed in amazement. Mu Xue even grabbed Sang Chu’s hand in excitement. “This is amazing, Xiao Chu! The game really opened up!”

“I told you it was easy,” Sang Chu replied.

Mu Xue flopped onto her own bed, hugging herself. “Yay, this is awesome! I have my own space now, too. How should I thank you? I want to be your roommate forever!”

After dragging Mu Xue into the lounge, Sang Chu firmly pushed her onto her own bed. “Enough playing around. Go to sleep now.”

“Aren’t you going to sleep with me? You’re so heartless!”

Mu Xue stared at Sang Chu with big eyes, but Sang Chu just smiled slightly and, after a pause, asked, “Do you really want me to sleep with you?”

Looking at the big, fragrant bed, Mu Xue took the lead and stepped over. “On second thought, now that I have my own space, I should enjoy some privacy. I won’t intrude on your alone time. Good night, roommate!”

With that, she flashed a bright smile, leaped onto her bed, and wrapped herself up in the blanket like a silkworm cocoon.

“I hope all of this is real and not just a dream. If it’s real, I can go find Grandma. I wonder if she’s still alive... Grandma, you must wait for me!”

Wrapped in the cozy blanket, Mu Xue soon drifted off to sleep.

She fell asleep in seconds, completely unaware of what was happening outside her door.

Lu Minli followed Sang Chu to another lounge. “Thank you. If you need anything, just tell me.”

“No need to be so polite. You’ve helped us a lot in the apocalypse. Without you, Mu Xue and I probably wouldn’t have survived at the base. By the way, what do you think about Mu Xue’s near-death and transformation?”

They stood together at the door of the room, talking quietly.

Lu Minli frowned. “It’s strange. I’m sure he was shot by Xiao Xue, but when we were escaping, he somehow managed to run out of the building by himself. The whole thing took less than a minute.”

“What do you think happened?”

Looking at Sang Chu, Lu Minli said, “He almost hurt Mu Xue. I won’t let him off, but since the situation is still unclear, it’s best to wait and see. As for building a base, if you trust me, you can leave it to me. Once we find what you need, I’ll need to look for some people. I don’t know if everyone’s families are still around, but if we’re going to build a base, we should try to find everyone’s loved ones. It’s too hard to survive alone in the apocalypse.”

After saying this, Lu Minli avoided Sang Chu’s gaze, feeling a bit guilty. He had his own reasons.

After all this time, surviving was already difficult. Family might not have survived, and even if they had, there was no guarantee they could be found.

But with a private space, things were different. At least searching for people would be much safer.

Sang Chu couldn’t help but think of her brother. If possible, she wanted to find him too, hoping he was still alive.

Sang Chu said, “We should look for our families. I trust you. In this apocalypse, you and Mu Xue are the only ones I can rely on. I know you like Mu Xue, but she might not feel the same way. I hope you can separate business from personal feelings. Whether you end up together or not, I don’t want to see the three of us, who survived the hardest times together, fall out or go our separate ways because of feelings.”

Lu Minli looked at Sang Chu’s serious expression and couldn’t help but smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle my own feelings. In her heart, maybe I’m just a reliable friend or an older brother. As for anything more, let nature take its course. I’m not asking for anything.”

“Alright. Get some rest. You can use anything in the room. Make yourself at home.”

“Thanks.”

He nodded and pushed open his door to rest.

Tu You had been perched on Sang Chu’s shoulder, watching her curiously. [You seem pretty wary of Lu Minli, huh?]

Sang Chu walked into the bathroom, turned on the water, and watched as it slowly filled the tub. She crossed her arms and leaned back.

“He’s been great in the apocalypse, but I’m always worried he might turn dark. Maybe I’m just suspicious by nature, but I want everything to be clear. I really don’t want us to fall out because of feelings. He’s capable and resourceful. If he’s always on our side, I’d feel much more at ease, even if I often go on time-space missions. But if he ever turns, he’d be a tough enemy.”

Tu You: “Your relationships are so complicated!”

Tu You flopped its big ears and sprawled on Sang Chu’s bed. [Then why don’t you just avoid getting close to him from the start?]

Sang Chu closed the door and lay in the bathtub. [I can’t avoid it. Some things need to be said clearly. I might disappear for long periods, or suddenly show up with things no one else has. These aren’t things I can hide. Rather than being exposed later, it’s better to be upfront from the beginning.]

Tu You sprawled out on the bed, feeling: [So complicated~]

[Yeah.]

...

After returning to his room, Lu Minli took a shower and changed into clean clothes. He sat on the sofa and started sorting through the things Sang Chu had given him.

“I didn’t expect there to be so much.”

The light screen had a special compartment for storing private spaces. Lu Minli quickly found the small orb that contained the private space and stared at it in a daze.

“So this little ball is a private space?”

Following the instructions on the screen, Lu Minli placed the orb on the light screen, and a floating image appeared.

After activating it, he could see the detailed structure and functions of the space.

The more he looked, the more fascinated he became, even picking up the laser pointer to play with.

He didn’t know how much time passed as he tinkered with his new space until the private space finally stopped running.

Under the blood moon, the world was dark and hard to see clearly.

He stood up, walked out of his room, and headed to the kitchen.

Sang Chu had also left a lot of food in his space. He started stir-frying some dishes.

“Mmm, that smells so good!”

Mu Xue, half-asleep, suddenly caught a whiff of something delicious. She followed the scent to the kitchen and was stunned by what she saw.

“Ah!!!”

“There’s stir-fry and Da Bai!”

“Minced pork with eggplant, pumpkin, tofu, and more...”

“Wow, Lu Minli, you’re amazing! What a godsend friend!”

“Can we eat now?”

Mu Xue sat at the table, eyes shining. Lu Minli handed her some chopsticks. “Dig in. These are all things Ah Chu prepared. I’m just serving them up.”

“Then I won’t be polite! But remember to save some for Sang Sang!”

With that, she couldn’t wait any longer and started eating. The warm food filled her belly, and she was so happy that tears welled up in her eyes."