Chapter 25

As soon as Tao Shushu went downstairs, she saw most people gathered at the entrance, all standing properly.
It seemed like they were preparing to welcome someone.
Tao Shushu found a spot in the corner where she could both help herself to the snacks and desserts provided at the banquet and clearly see the entrance.
Suddenly, everyone straightened their posture. Two minutes later, an elderly man with white hair and a youthful appearance entered the banquet hall.
The banquet was almost halfway through, but no one dared to criticize him for arriving late and being impolite. Instead, they all tried their best to make a good impression.
This was the legendary Old Mr. Lu.
In the original book, Mr. Lu almost single-handedly dealt a major blow to the female protagonist Su Momo's "fish farming" endeavors.
For this reason, Tao Shushu took a few more glances at Mr. Lu.
The old man was over seventy, leaning on a cane, but his body wasn't hunched. His expression was stern and imposing, naturally commanding respect, reminding Tao Shushu of the door god images pasted on doors in the past.
Su Momo's parents were bowing before him, saying something. At a glance, Mr. Lu appeared more energetic.
On the way back, Tao Shushu heard her parents talking about Mr. Lu's family matters.
"Has Mr. Lu's grandson still not woken up?" Mother Tao asked.
"No, but I heard there's a new consciousness awakening technology in the medical field that's very effective for comatose patients," Father Tao replied.
"I hope he wakes up soon," Mother Tao said.
Mr. Lu had a young grandson who had suffered from autism since childhood. A few years ago, he went out alone, saved someone, but was injured and fell into a coma, remaining unconscious to this day.
Tao Shushu felt a bit sad hearing this.

When she got home, after washing up and settling in, Tao Shushu opened the game.
Only a little over an hour had passed since she was last online, so it should be the middle of the night for the cub.
However, as soon as Tao Shushu logged in, she found the cub still exploring the base.
The cub had a dark expression, standing under a ventilation duct, seemingly calculating data. Cheng Feimao and a few other ability users occasionally walked by on patrol.
Tao Shushu keenly noticed that the cub seemed unhappy.
She gently touched the cub's hand, wanting to know what had upset him while she was offline.
Nan Yuan, who had been testing the sturdiness of the wall, paused as a breeze lightly brushed the back of his hand. A faint electric current ignited from the point of contact, setting his wild thoughts ablaze.
She was here.
Nan Yuan's gaze sharpened instantly.
He wanted to know her name, but she vanished abruptly.
Nan Yuan waited alone for a long time, but she never reappeared.
There was no cheerful voice whispering in his ear, nor did she occasionally ruffle his hair.
At first, he thought she was simply unable to speak.
But after waiting so long, there was still no sign of her. Her departure this time was unusually sudden, and with the beast tide occurring today, Nan Yuan grew worried.
Could something have happened to her?
Nan Yuan hated the feeling of knowing nothing about her. He wanted to protect her, to know she was safe.
Frantically, he rushed to the ventilation shaft. The entrance to the underground base was sealed shut, leaving only the ventilation shaft as a way out.
He had no idea where she was. Before she disappeared, she had been with him, watching the spaceship. But if he couldn’t even get out, how could he possibly help her?
Driven by this conviction, Nan Yuan resolved to find a way to leave the base through the ventilation shaft.
"You didn’t run into any danger, did you?" Nan Yuan asked.
"Me? Of course not cub. I just had something come up suddenly." Tao Shushu finished reading the event log, nothing out of the ordinary. the cub had stood by the spaceship lost in thought for a while, then checked the underground base entrance. Finding the main gate securely sealed, he made his way to the ventilation shaft.
It had only been a day since he entered the base, and the beast tide outside hadn’t even ended yet, but the cub was already thinking about escape routes.
the cub’s initiative was truly impressive!
Tao Shushu, the slacker, shed a tear.
"Cub, it’s already late. Let’s rest for now. There’s plenty of food in the base, we can figure things out tomorrow," Tao Shushu advised.
She gently ruffled the cub’s hair. While his diligence and constant vigilance were commendable, living like this would only wear him out.
Having experienced the apocalypse in her past life, she knew how many people lived in constant fear, uncertain if they would survive the next day.
She didn’t want the cub to end up like that.
Cub was already so wonderful. Even in a post-apocalyptic game setting, she hoped he could live a little more joyfully and learn to cherish himself a bit more.
Nan Yuan agreed, "Alright."
He headed back to his room.
On the road, Nan Yuan encountered an ordinary person.
That person was fearfully huddled inside a cabinet and got startled when Nan Yuan passed by.
"Boss Nan Yuan, I think I heard the sound of a beast," he said tremblingly after Nan Yuan helped him out.
Nan Yuan focused, using his evolved hearing to listen for a moment. "If you're too scared to sleep, pick up a weapon and keep watch."
Tao Shushu noticed that Nan Yuan was quite gentle when comforting others. He could see through people's hidden worries, but he himself also had unease.
After hearing Nan Yuan's words, several ordinary people returned to their rooms.
Nan Yuan protected and comforted others.
She would protect Nan Yuan too.
Tao Shushu switched perspectives and explored outside for a while. "Cub, the entrance to the underground chamber is guarded by Bloodsucking Grass, it's very safe. The ventilation ducts are also normal."
"Okay, I'll be good and go to sleep," Nan Yuan said, a smiley face popping up in the dialogue bubble above his head, clearly in a good mood.
"Such a good cub!" Tao Shushu praised.
Tao Shushu followed Nan Yuan back to his room. Upon entering, she couldn't help but frown, the cub still only had that one cotton quilt he always carried.
It was thin and not very warm.
Even though she knew she couldn't feel the temperature of the cub's skin, Tao Shushu instinctively reached out and touched the exposed part of his arm. When the cubs were exploring the base, she had seen that there were some blankets inside.
But he didn't have any, he had given them all to others.
"Cub, I'll buy, find you a blanket," Tao Shushu said, quickly changing "buy" to "find" as she was about to open the system store.
Nan Yuan smiled. "You've already given me enough."
Saving him, fighting alongside him, caring for him...
What she had given was already more than enough, enough to make him start having extravagant hopes.
"Then, are you cold?" Tao Shushu asked.
"Not cold," Nan Yuan replied, starting to slowly organize his things.
There wasn't really much to organize. The room only had a bed, and Nan Yuan always carried his backpack with him.
In the enclosed base, water was a precious resource. Everyone was only allotted a small amount for washing up, and Nan Yuan had already done so earlier.
Watching Nan Yuan pace around the room, Tao Shushu found everything the cub did quite interesting.
It wasn't until Nan Yuan dawdled and opened his backpack for the third time only to close it again that Tao Shushu realized, Nan Yuan wanted to sleep.
But she was still there. Nan Yuan was a boy, and she was a girl.
So the reason Nan Yuan hadn't lain down on the bed yet was because he was shy.
Remembering how Nan Yuan had specifically made a curtain for her before, Tao Shushu thought for a moment and said, "Cub, I'm leaving now. Sleep well and have sweet dreams."
"Okay," Nan Yuan said, but he didn't move.
Tao Shushu didn't move either. In the dialogue bubble above Nan Yuan's head, tangled lines like garbled code kept appearing, and his expression looked conflicted.
Tao Shushu took a few screenshots.
The tiny Nan Yuan standing in the tiny room, fidgeting with his fingers, gave Tao Shushu the feeling of keeping a cherished beauty hidden away.
It's just that this room was a bit too small and simple. Tao Shushu secretly clenched her fist.
After waiting four or five minutes, Nan Yuan still hadn't moved, and Tao Shushu grew curious about what question the cub was pondering.
Suddenly, an idea flashed in her mind, she remembered that before she logged off last time, the cub had been asking for her name, but she had suddenly disconnected before she could answer.
She coughed lightly twice and poked Nan Yuan, "Cub, my name is Tao Shushu, just call me Shushu. Sorry, cub, when you first asked me, I had something urgent and didn’t have time to answer, and I forgot again just now."
Nan Yuan’s heart had been racing wildly ever since she caught him still awake.
"Shushu?" he tentatively called out.
His heart was still beating fast, but unlike the sudden, startled acceleration from before, now it pulsed with a vibrant, powerful rhythm, as if warmed and comforted by her name.