This news left Ruan Ning both surprised and delighted.
The male lead had actually agreed to travel with them!
Ruan Ning had been wondering when Gu Yicheng would leave the safe zone. The house they rented required weekly food payments, so even if they stayed for the full week, they had less than five days left before they’d have to move on.
She had been wracking her brain, trying to figure out how to subtly bring up the idea of traveling with his team without making her intentions too obvious.
As for why she didn’t just ask directly to go with him… Ruan Ning no longer had any hope that Gu Yicheng would take her alone. He had already refused her once in the parking lot of their residential complex. However, if the entire squad travelled together, he’d be more likely to agree. After all, they were all heading to the same place—Beijing. It would be convenient to travel together.
But she hadn’t even started her plan, and it had already worked out?
It felt almost unreal to her.
Could the heavens really be favoring her, granting her wishes so easily?
Xue Chen was a reliable person, so his word was trustworthy.
However, the next morning, when Gu Yicheng came to visit her, Ruan Ning couldn’t help but double-check the information with him.
When he didn’t deny it, she nearly jumped for joy.
Before, the chances of their team safely reaching Beijing were about fifty-fifty, but with Gu Yicheng’s involvement, those odds jumped to at least eighty or ninety percent. With him on their side, many of the ordinary dangers could be easily dealt with.
While Ruan Ning was overjoyed, Gu Yicheng, looking at the girl whose face was beaming with happiness, was thinking about something else Xue Chen had mentioned earlier. “I heard you awakened an ability?”
Ruan Ning, in her good mood, nodded enthusiastically, her bright eyes sparkling as she excitedly replied, “Yes! Now that I have an ability, I can help you, Brother.” In her mind, she added: *So now I’m not completely useless. You don’t have to worry about me dragging you down anymore!*
Gu Yicheng raised his eyes slightly, his gaze falling on her pale, delicate face. His voice was soft as he said, “Even if you didn’t have an ability, Ning Ning, I would still protect you.”
…Liar! Big, fat liar! You big pig-headed jerk!
Ruan Ning almost couldn’t resist rolling her eyes at his words.
Had the male lead forgotten that he was the one who didn’t answer her calls back then? And wasn’t he the one who left her with Xue Chen at the apartment while he went off on his own?
Weren’t those clear signs that he found her too weak and didn’t want to bring her along?
Hmm… Even with her space ability, she was still no match for Gu Yicheng. Compared to him, she was still quite weak.
But then again, if Gu Yicheng’s strength was the standard, there probably weren’t many people in the world who could be considered “not weak.”
Thinking this way, Ruan Ning felt better. After all, in the eyes of the reborn male lead, people in the world likely fell into two categories: those who had wronged him and those who hadn’t. There wasn’t much difference otherwise.
Ruan Ning returned Gu Yicheng’s coat, along with all the crystal cores in the pockets, as soon as they met, not missing a single one. However, Gu Yicheng barely glanced at it and simply placed the coat aside.
Regardless of his indifference, Ruan Ning was relieved to have returned the crystal cores on time. She knew she had been in the wrong for using them without permission, and keeping them would have made her feel uneasy.
After revealing her “ability,” Ruan Ning’s days became a little busier, at least compared to her previous routine of having little to do all day. Now, many tasks were still taken care of by the squad members, and her job was simply to store the supplies once they were ready.
As for Gu Yicheng, the real space ability user, he showed no sign of suspicion or surprise when he saw her storing items.
Ruan Ning couldn’t help but admire his composure. If she hadn’t already known from the original story that Gu Yicheng was a dual-ability user, with both lightning and space powers, she would have never guessed he had such a space at all.
…
Later that day, when Gu Yicheng returned from being out for most of the day, there was a noticeable edge to his presence, a faint aura of violence clinging to him.
Though he didn’t say much, it wasn’t hard for Ruan Ning to guess that he had likely gone to a zombie-infested area.
She wasn’t sure of the exact location, but whenever Gu Yicheng ventured into such dangerous places, it was either to gather supplies or to rescue people.
Since he hadn’t brought back any strangers, it was safe to assume this time had been a supply run.
“Brother, is this bag for me?”
Ruan Ning stared at the black cloth bag that Gu Yicheng placed in front of her, her face full of surprise. She had no idea what was inside, but the bag seemed heavy, like it was filled with something substantial.
Gu Yicheng sat down, took a sip of warm water to calm the lingering aggression from his recent battles, and answered curtly, “Mm. Open it, Ning Ning.”
Curiosity piqued, Ruan Ning casually opened the bag, expecting something practical or small. But as soon as she looked inside—
She was completely stunned.
The bag was filled with crystal cores!
In the context of the apocalypse, finding so many crystal cores was like having a bag of diamonds placed before you in the pre-apocalypse world—blindingly valuable.
Ruan Ning, who had never seen such a massive collection of crystal cores, was utterly taken aback. For a moment, she thought she was imagining things.
*Oh my gosh! This has to be a dream, right?* Ruan Ning thought, wide-eyed in disbelief. The male lead had just handed her so many crystal cores without so much as blinking. Was it April Fools’ Day or something? No, it was autumn—April was still far off. If it wasn’t a joke, then why would Gu Yicheng give her such a valuable gift?
Her mind spun in circles, trying to make sense of it, but she couldn’t come up with any logical explanation.
Noticing how Ruan Ning stared at the bag in shock, clearly lost in thought, Gu Yicheng’s lips curved slightly as he began to explain the uses of crystal cores.
“Brother, are you saying these can help enhance abilities?” Ruan Ning asked, doing her best to appear like a regular person unfamiliar with the intricacies of the apocalypse. She knew she couldn’t let Gu Yicheng suspect that she was a transmigrator, so she played her role, pretending to be both curious and clueless.
Gu Yicheng picked up a crystal-clear core, raising an eyebrow, his expression unreadable. “Do you know where these come from, Ning Ning?”
Ruan Ning’s alarm bells went off instantly. The way he asked that question—it felt like a trap. There was no way this was going to end well.
He wouldn’t be trying to scare me on purpose, would he? she wondered. But even if he did try, it wouldn’t work—she already knew crystal cores came from zombie brains. No way was she going to be freaked out by that.
Still, playing her part, she glanced up at Gu Yicheng and shook her head firmly. “I don’t know. Brother, where do they come from?”
Better to play the “naive little sister” for now, she thought. After all, her goal was to stay on Gu Yicheng’s good side and continue relying on him. If playing dumb made him happy, then so be it.
Gu Yicheng gazed at her intently, then slowly replied, “These might look beautiful, but they’re hidden inside zombie brains. To get them, you need to kill the zombie, crack open its skull, and retrieve the crystal core from amidst the brain matter.”
Ruan Ning’s mind went blank for a moment. Okay, I give up… She knew the source of the crystal cores, but Gu Yicheng’s vivid description still managed to make her feel nauseous and freaked out.
She quickly pushed the bag of cores back toward him, her face full of panic. “Brother, I can’t take this! You should keep it!”
She wasn’t stupid—these things were incredibly valuable, and she wasn’t about to accept something so precious without knowing if it would lead to trouble later.
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