Chapter 19

When the moment for conversation finally arrived, Tao Shushu found herself at a loss for words, unsure how to begin.
She opened her mouth, wanting to ask the cub what had happened, but then thought she could check the event log herself, so there was no need.
Then she considered that the cub was driving, and if he suddenly heard someone speaking, he might get scared.
Tao Shushu mulled it over left and right but still couldn’t come up with a suitable opening line.
She closed the dialogue button.
At that moment, Tao Shushu noticed that the cub’s sleeve was torn, revealing his thin, bony forearm.
She instinctively touched the cub’s sleeve and muttered, "What happened, cub? How did your clothes get torn like this? Are you hurt?"
Her finger accidentally brushed against the small speaker icon on the screen, and so the words were sent.
Nan Yuan abruptly stepped on the brake and looked up ahead.
The girl’s voice was clear and crisp, and Nan Yuan inexplicably thought of a sprite-like deer in the mountains.
"Is that you?" Nan Yuan asked.
On the phone screen, the dialogue bubble above the cub’s head was no longer an encrypted symbol; the words "Is that you?" appeared in the bubble.
Tao Shushu rubbed the cub’s head.
Nan Yuan’s disbelief faded, his eyes burning brightly, staring ahead with a brilliance brighter than stars. "Are you on my right?" She had rubbed the right side of his head.
Though he didn’t know why she liked rubbing his head so much, the familiar gesture instantly confirmed it was her.
He put down the weapon he had picked up as a precaution upon hearing a voice.
Tao Shushu looked carefully, the cub’s sleeve seemed to have been cut open, the tear was neat, but there were no wounds on his body, so he probably wasn’t injured.
Only then did Tao Shushu let out the breath she’d been holding. She didn’t know how to answer the cub’s question.
The cub’s eyes were sparkling, blinking as he stared intently at the empty space in front of him, like a kindergarten child begging Santa for a piece of candy.
The reaction was so vivid, no wonder she, as a player, had become so addicted in just two days, grinding and spending money like crazy.
Tao Shushu cleared her throat lightly. "I’m on your right. I can see you, but you can’t see me."
Tao Shushu moved her phone to the left; she really was on the cub’s right, except this "right" crossed dimensions.
Nan Yuan smiled. "Okay."
He placed a pile of red and green fruits on his right side, thought for a moment, and then moved the little lion to the right as well.
The cub was so thoughtful.
Tao Shushu happily rubbed the little lion’s belly through the screen. As she rubbed, the little lion went from a proud, head-held-high lion to a wilted little creature with its limbs pressed tightly to the ground.
Her touch wasn’t that heavy.
Tao Shushu withdrew her hand, and as soon as she let go, she saw the cub who had been obscured by her hand.
Nan Yuan looked thoughtfully at the little lion. She seemed to have no worries at all, enjoying everything she played with.
Tao Shushu asked, "What’s wrong with the little lion?"
Nan Yuan retracted the pressure from his ability. "It’s tired."
Tao Shushu didn't overthink it. Although the little lion had been too frightened to move on the day Nan Yuan evolved, Tao Shushu had been entirely focused on Nan Yuan at that time, worried about potential dangers during his evolution, and hadn't paid much attention to the little lion.
Besides, the cub's expression was now gentle, and he even considerately handed fruits and dried meat to the little lion. It never crossed Tao Shushu's mind that Nan Yuan might have intentionally scared the little lion.
"You must be tired too, cub," Tao Shushu said casually. "Use the autopilot system and take a rest as well."
She opened the event log and began reviewing what had happened after she fell asleep.
Dealing with the Slaughterer organization hadn't been difficult. The mission completion prompt had already appeared by then, and after the cub's evolution, his strength had significantly increased.
A few ability users, seeing Lin Wei defeated, joined forces to try and bully the cub who was alone.
But they were all taught a lesson by the cub.
The cub inspected the Slaughterers' base. It was originally an abandoned factory with no defensive structures built. During the previous beast tide, Lin Wei had placed ordinary people at the front lines, letting the mutated beasts eat their fill until the entire base was safe.
Reading this, Tao Shushu couldn't help but rub the cub's head.
Perhaps because she had also experienced the apocalypse, this kind of situation made her deeply uncomfortable.
Tao Shushu continued reading and discovered that the cub had beaten up all the Slaughterer higher-ups who made that decision.
What a good cub!
Tao Shushu rubbed the cub's head again.
After this battle, the veterans in the Slaughterer organization no longer dared to harbor rebellious thoughts and obediently followed the cub's orders.
Nan Yuan didn't plan to occupy the Slaughterer base.
But he still looked around, pointed out several vulnerabilities in the base, and explained the serious situation to the remaining people.
Most of the remaining ability users were injured. They weren't particularly capable to begin with, and their ideals didn't align with Lin Wei's, so they hadn't been given important positions and hadn't had the opportunity to do bad things.
There were still many ordinary people left.
Tao Shushu saw that Nan Yuan hesitated for a moment.
If the ordinary people stayed at this base, it would be hard for them to survive the beast tide by luck alone.
But if they left...
Tao Shushu somewhat regretted falling asleep last night. If she had stayed awake, at least she could have tried to help the cub take these people away or purchase defensive structures to reinforce the base.
In the end, the cub gave these people two choices: voluntarily stay here, or follow him.
Many chose the latter.
So the cub patiently distributed supplies and waited for everyone to move them.
Unfortunately, in the middle of the night, some starving mutated beasts launched an attack.
the cub took out the blood-devouring grass corrosive liquid, but there were too many beasts. Everyone fought back together and finally managed to repel the attacking creatures.
Just as everyone thought they were safe and were about to continue moving the supplies, a venomous snake suddenly stirred, flicking its tongue toward one person. The individual was so frightened they immediately fell to the ground.
The cub happened to be standing nearby and shot the snake with his particle gun.
The snake’s blood splattered onto the person.
While helping to clean up, the cub wrapped his hand with his sleeve.
Luckily, the cub was very careful, as the snake’s blood was also toxic.
Tao Shushu felt extremely relieved that the cub hadn’t been poisoned. She hadn’t expected the night’s events to be so perilous.
With lingering fear, she pinched the torn edge of the cub’s sleeve. She thought to herself, the cub was always alert and guarded, yet he had never doubted her. Just for the trust he placed in her, even in this post-apocalyptic world, she resolved to take good care of him.
Tao Shushu switched perspectives and glanced at the two tanks following the cub’s truck.
This small convoy, carrying a few hundred people, represented all of the cub’s gains from this trip.
She took a look at the value bar, the previously stagnant influence value now showed a number: 329.
Closing the event log, Tao Shushu said, "the cub, we will definitely find a safe base."
"Mm, I believe you," Nan Yuan replied quickly.
Knowing that the cub had torn his clothes while dealing with the snake, Tao Shushu grabbed his arm to inspect it carefully. If the venom had seeped through too quickly, it could harm him.
Nan Yuan obediently raised his hand, letting Tao Shushu examine it thoroughly.
When she finally released his arm, Nan Yuan said, "I’m sorry, I ruined the clothes you gave me."
He lowered his eyes slightly, his long eyelashes fluttering like tiny brushes.
Even though he had damaged his clothes while helping someone, he wore an expression of obedient apology.
Tao Shushu was utterly charmed. It was just a piece of clothing, right? She could buy more. And as for the coins? She’d just spend them, no big deal.
Although her current balance was zero, she could learn. She was determined to buy the cub more clothes!
She ruffled his unruly hair firmly. "This isn’t your fault. You did the right thing, the cub. When you encounter venom, you should move away quickly."
Nan Yuan responded, "Okay."
He fell silent for a moment but ultimately didn’t ask how she knew about what had happened the night before. After all, when she first appeared, she had been puzzled about how his clothes got torn.
What bothered him more was that she called him the cub.
Nan Yuan was already eighteen, old enough to work in the military.
Cub? That name would be more fitting for the stupid lion lying on the ground.
His gaze drifted toward the books in front of the truck. Last night, a speed-type ability user had insisted on giving them to him, claiming they were one of the few sources of entertainment on this barren planet.
Nan Yuan didn’t need them, but thinking that she might find them novel and interesting, he inexplicably accepted the books.
Nan Yuan opened the book in advance and discovered it was a bizarre fantasy novel about an ancient monster who slept for a thousand years, then woke up and encountered a human. The monster raised the human as its own child. Later, the human fell in love with the monster, but they were of different species with different lifespans and faced societal prejudice, ultimately parting ways.
Nan Yuan only read the part where the monster raised the human child as its own.
Nan Yuan suddenly paused.
She called him "Cub."
She would sometimes sleep and sometimes appear, but whenever she showed up, she always knew what had happened to him before, wasn't that just like a parent keeping an eye on their child? Besides, she really did seem like a supernatural being who appeared out of nowhere.
She also liked to fuss over his food, clothing, shelter, and transportation.
Nan Yuan's expression immediately turned strange.
Even telling him to run quickly when he was in danger was filled with a protective, biased tone.
Nan Yuan suddenly reached out and quietly pushed those books into the corner.
He spoke up abruptly, "I'm eighteen years old."
Tao Shushu was puzzled, why was the cub suddenly saying this?
Beside the cub's feet, the little lion was chewing on dried meat.
Tao Shushu smacked her forehead. She had been so caught up with the voice system that she hadn't even remembered to make sure the cub was eating on time.
Tao Shushu also took out some fruit for the cub. "Cub, even at eighteen, you still need to eat properly. Have some fruit first, and, um, let me see what I can give you to eat."
Always eating just fruit and dried meat made for a very monotonous diet, but in this post-apocalyptic world, it was already considered a rare delicacy.
Tao Shushu thought for a moment. "Do you want to stop and have something to eat before we go on? Cub, do you have any ideas about where to find a base?"
After hearing this, Nan Yuan paused. He had said he was eighteen, but she responded that even eighteen-year-olds need to eat.
The book said that monsters have long lifespans, and in their eyes, even a hundred-year-old is still a child.
So, was she really treating him like a child?