Chapter 28: Heading to Xinshi

“Little sister, you’re keeping this for yourself, right? Just give me an ordinary light brain, I don’t need this one. Take it back.”

As he reached out to take it, Sang Chu immediately refused:

“Brother, I’ve set up self-destruct protocols on all the light brains. If anyone other than the designated user tries to use them, they’ll explode. Anything stored on the light brain will be destroyed. If it weren’t for the fact that the armpit space can only be used by me, I wouldn’t even keep things in the light brain.”

Sang Jingwen was startled by Sang Chu’s words and quickly stopped insisting.

Yi Peng also said nervously, “That’s a good self-destruct setup. If someone else takes your stuff, it’ll be safe. But, little sister, what if someone cracks your self-destruct protocol?”

Sang Chu shook her head. “No, I set it up when I was making the light brains.”

She knew very well that she was the only one who could retrieve things from the armpit space and the light brains. If anything left her possession and was touched by someone else, it would immediately self-destruct.

Suddenly, she realized she hadn’t told the others about this, so she quickly sent a group message, warning everyone not to let others wear or handle these items. If the self-destruct protocol was triggered, everything would turn to ashes.

“Little sister, how about we go check out Xinshi?” Yi Peng asked cautiously.

Sang Jingwen looked at him and said, “You want to look for your dad?”

“Yeah, I don’t know if he’s still alive, but he’s my family. I want to see for myself. Besides, since we’re going out to look for supplies anyway, why not take the route through Xinshi?”

Xinshi was much farther than Shangjing, but since the armpit space vehicle was fast, maybe it wouldn’t take too long.

Sang Jingwen asked, “Little sister?”

“If that’s the plan, let’s go to Xinshi. Coincidentally, Lu Mingli’s parents are also in Xinshi, so we can check on them too.”

“Yay! Little sister, you’re the best!”

Sang Chu said, “Since we’re going to Xinshi, we can’t just use this off-road vehicle. Sit tight, I’ll put it back.”

“Okay, okay!!!”

Yi Peng excitedly nodded, wrapping his arms tightly around Sang Jingwen’s waist, eyes shining as he looked at Sang Chu.

With a quick operation on the light brain, the off-road vehicle was instantly stowed back into the armpit space.

At this moment, he was sitting on the sofa inside.

Yi Peng couldn’t help but kick his legs—the sofa was so white and soft, like a cloud. He really wanted to touch it.

“Wow, little sister, do you have any more armpit spaces? Can I buy one from you?”

“The armpit space is limited, sorry.”

Yi Peng said, “Well, never mind. But if you ever get more, save one for your brother! And all the crystal cores I find, I’ll give to you!”

“Deal, I’ll be waiting!”

“Of course! I, Yi Peng, always keep my word!”

Sang Chu couldn’t help but smile at his words. “Brother Yi’s personality is so different from my brother’s. I can’t believe you two are such good friends!”

Yi Peng sat up and put his arm around Sang Jingwen’s shoulder, looking like a real buddy as he said, “That’s because you don’t know how cold your brother can be! We were roommates for three years, and the first year he barely spoke to me. I had to chase after him for ages just to get a taste of his cooking!”

Sang Chu laughed, “That’s just how my brother is—cold on the outside, warm on the inside. Anyway, there’s food in the kitchen that Lu Mingli made before. If you’re hungry, go eat something. I’m going to take a nap. If anything comes up, wake me.”

Sang Jingwen said, “Alright, go ahead.”

Sang Chu took Tu You and went back to her room to cultivate with the spirit jade.

Yi Peng commented, “Your little sister looks so much more cheerful than before!”

Sang Jingwen replied, “Yeah, Sang Sang was always a good-natured kid, but after the apocalypse, she’s become a lot more reserved.”

“Hey, it’s the apocalypse—everyone’s growing up fast. Remember how shaky our hands were the first time we fought zombies? But you still managed to cook up a great meal! Growing up is a good thing, you don’t need to worry so much.”

Sang Jingwen sighed helplessly. “I can’t help it. There’s so much out of our control. She even gave me her light brain. After reuniting, I just feel like I’m dragging her down.”

“Bro, you’re overthinking it. Who can you really trust in the apocalypse? Even my own cousin wanted me dead. If you hadn’t warned me to be careful, you wouldn’t even see me now. Your sister is really something. Since she wants to build a base, just step back and let her take charge. Pay attention to who’s trustworthy and who’s not, and keep your eyes open. Isn’t that enough?”

“In your opinion, what kind of people are trustworthy?”

Sang Jingwen couldn’t help but ask, and before he knew it, Yi Peng had sprawled out on his lap again, munching on snacks as he lazily said, “Just keep your head down and stay safe. Who knows when this apocalypse will end? Take it one day at a time and don’t overthink things.”

“True.”

Maybe he should learn from Yi Peng and stop worrying so much. Just focus on what’s in front of him.

……

In her room, Sang Chu finished cultivating and, as soon as she opened her eyes, saw Tu You staring at her wide-eyed. “Ah Chu, your power’s improving so fast!”

“It’s the effect of the spirit jade. Once I’ve used it up, I’ll try cultivating with crystal cores. If the effect is similar, I’ll use crystal cores from now on.”

Tu You shook her head. “No way it’ll be the same. Spirit jade is way better than crystal cores. But are you really going to use up all your spirit jade?”

Sang Chu could hear the reluctance in her tone and asked, “Is there a problem?”

Tu You replied, “Of course! Not every base has spirit jade. If you run out, what will you do without crystal cores?”

“Uh…”

Tu You continued, “I think you should keep some people around who look like they’ve awakened powers. Not every zombie you kill will drop a crystal core. The rest of the ordinary people can be kept as labor. Aren’t there a lot of bases like that? Once you control a base, use crystal cores as currency for supplies. With all the resources you have, are you afraid people will use crystal cores to buy things from you?”

After hearing this, Sang Chu fell silent. Even though they were isolated from the outside world, she still felt a deep sense of unease.

If things really developed the way Tu You said, wouldn’t she become an uncontrollable force in the future?

Tu You saw Sang Chu’s silence and continued, “Besides, you can already travel between different worlds. Who knows if any world has found a cure for the apocalypse? If you use up all your spirit jade now, what if you find a cure one day and regret not saving some?”

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