As spring arrived, Han Yanyan started to accompany Ding Yao on several missions. Once, they got separated, and she found herself battling two mutated zombies alone, ultimately saving another injured team member. This feat upgraded her status among the team members from being merely "Ding Yao's woman" to a genuine comrade.
Everyone was astonished at how rapidly her powers and combat skills had improved, commenting on how she indeed deserved to be chosen by someone as selective as Ding Yao. While her ice abilities still couldn't match Zhang Youquan's, they were now on par with the average team member.
This feeling of gradually becoming stronger was something Han Yanyan found captivating. In her original world, she was just an ordinary person without any opportunities for combat or heroics. People there lived within predefined roles, much like cogs in a machine, dutifully fulfilling their responsibilities.
Here, however, the world had lost its structure, providing a sense of unrestrained freedom. Of course, one must first be strong, capable of hunting zombies rather than being hunted. The thrill of the fight and living a life akin to a novel protagonist had almost made Han Yanyan forget her original purpose for coming here.
By the time summer rolled around, a large number of refugees arrived from the south. The people of Nanling City then learned of a tsunami hitting the coastal regions during springtime, causing seawater to flood the cities and pushing the coastline inland. Living humans fled towards the interior, followed closely by zombies. Refugees told stories of settlements, places of safety now lost to the tides of the undead.
Rumors of "mutated zombies growing stronger" spread among the survivors. Meanwhile, the sudden surge in survivors led to a dire scarcity of resources. The ensuing competition for supplies sparked fierce confrontations between various factions, with some resulting in severe bloodshed. The overall atmosphere in Nanling City darkened considerably.
Among these conflicts, those between the Thunder Strike Squad and the military were particularly intense. When soldiers turned to banditry, it was difficult to gauge how far they would go. Ding Yao himself became the target of an assassination attempt in Nanling City.
No one around him at the time could fathom how he managed to evade the bullet. Nonetheless, Ding Yao emerged unscathed, though the city's spirits sank to an all-time low.
During this period, Ding Yao refrained from undertaking missions, opting instead to stay in Nanling City and unmask those who sought his life. Han Yanyan, needing more exposure to hone her abilities, joined Lin Ling's second team on supply runs.
Lin Ling was a straightforward woman with a rustic appearance, forming a striking couple with Sun Lijun. They once managed a small shop together, just outside Ding Yao's residential area. While running their business, they also helped care for their granddaughter as their daughter and son-in-law worked in the city. The apocalypse claimed their daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter, yet somehow this couple emerged as strong individuals, one adept in combat and the other in healing.
It was shortly after the apocalypse began that they met Ding Yao. At that point, their powers were newly awakened and barely under control. Ding Yao saved them when they were overwhelmed by zombies.
"You have a much better sense of combat than I did back then," Lin Ling remarked. "I was so flustered when I saw a zombie, I would lose my head. But you… You just go in and fight. You’re really like a leader, no wonder Ding Yao personally trained you."
Lin Ling, a sincere person, was a formidable power wielder herself but never looked down on women like Qi Tongtong, as some female power wielders might have.
"They're just young women, no older than my own daughter. Who’d ever choose this life unless forced by the circumstances? It's tough for everyone," she would say.
Han Yanyan heard from Qi Tongtong that with so many men around, there were bound to be some with special preferences or a propensity for violence. Lin Ling stood up for the girls on the third floor more than once.
She had a rustic, unassuming look, even her powers were earth-based, but boy was she powerful. She could press her hand against a corridor wall and mold the hard concrete like clay, entombing any male power wielder daring enough to challenge her. Had she more ruthlessness, she could bury someone alive without hesitation.
Because of that, no power wielder dared to mistreat the girls on the third floor. They would greet Sun Lijun cheerfully, share a joke or two, but all kept a respectful distance from him, mindful of Lin Ling's might.
Han Yanyan held a fondness for Lin Ling. It wasn't quite on par with her affection for Qi Tongtong, but it was an inexplicable liking nonetheless, like a predestined connection.
She smiled lightly at Lin Ling's praise, choosing not to explain herself. Techniques in combat could be taught, but combat intuition seemed innate. Lin Ling's perception was reversed—Ding Yao valued and trained her precisely for her instincts. He found a fierce warrior far more appealing than a complacent companion.
Understanding Ding Yao’s predispositions, Han Yanyan braced herself through difficult times under his tutelage to become stronger. This time around, their mission took them farther afield in search of resources. Along the way, they encountered numerous scavengers and many more zombies.
The mutated zombies indeed seemed to be evolving, becoming stronger. Lin Ling and the other team members expressed surprise at this observation, yet Han Yanyan wasn't the least bit shocked. In a post-apocalyptic world like this, it was an expected storyline that zombies continuously evolved.
Han Yanyan was utterly absorbed in the survival mode. Through the battles, her ice spikes gradually evolved into ice arrows, piercing through the heads of four zombies at once.
As the four zombies simultaneously fell, Han Yanyan exhaled deeply, feeling a sense of liberation. Just as she was about to charge at another horde of zombies with her machete, everything around her abruptly froze.
The world itself appeared to pause, the sounds of distant comrades fighting, all ceased. Even the calls of insects or the breeze—all vanished.
It was as if the entire world stood still.
Han Yanyan's pupils contracted, and she remained standing, grip tight on her weapon, every muscle tense with alertness.
"Han Yanyan!" a voice abruptly sounded. A voice incredibly familiar—one she wished to avoid—the electronic voice.
The complete immersion Han Yanyan had felt was instantly shattered by the jarring noise. It reminded her she didn't belong to this world, that she wasn't originally part of it.
"Han Yanyan, I'm here to remind you," the electronic voice spoke with a touch of chill, "Don't immerse yourself so deeply that you forget why you came."
Han Yanyan forced herself to remain calm. "How could I forget?"
"Hmph. I've seen many newbies like you, entering for the first time and unable to distinguish reality from fiction. I even encountered some fools who wanted to live out their days in such worlds," it taunted. "They all faced the consequences they deserved. Don't make a fool of yourself, Han Yanyan."
Despite her outward calm, Han Yanyan's back was drenched in cold sweat. If the voice hadn't appeared today, she might have continued living inside this world, genuinely forgetting her life hung by a thread, just like those "fools" it mentioned.
"I won’t," she said, lowering her gaze. "You can rest assured."
"Very well, I'll take your word," the electronic voice replied, seemingly satisfied. "You're making decent progress, but it's not enough. You need to push harder."
"I’ll strive to do better, rest assured. However..." Han Yanyan hesitated, "Could you make my powers stronger? It would save a lot of time."
There was a slight awkward pause before the electronic voice responded, "That's unnecessary. Continue as usual. Proceed step by step." Then it asked, "Any further questions? If not, I'll be leaving."
"Are you not in this world?" Han Yanyan inquired.
"I'm observing from afar," came the reply.
Not really here, then? Han Yanyan mused. She still had questions. "I'd like to know, if I die here, what happens?"
In a world overshadowed by life-and-death, this question had lingered in Han Yanyan’s mind for some time.
The electronic voice turned furious. "Keep yourself alive! If you dare to die, it will be your end for real!"
"No, just hypothetically. I just want to know—if I happened to die here, what would occur?" Han Yanyan insisted. "You’ve seen it, this world is fraught with peril."
With a huff, the electronic voice nonchalantly stated, "Nothing much. Didn’t you die last time?"
Han Yanyan realized, "So I'd return to you, is that it?"
"Yes, yes exactly! Do you have anything else to ask? No? Then I'm ending this now!" The voice grew impatient.
Though there were countless questions swirling in her mind, Han Yanyan knew it would never offer her the answers she sought, so she didn’t waste effort pursuing them. She simply said, "Nothing else."
"Do your work well! Strive to complete your task early!" it barked, attempting to scare her, "Don’t think of slacking off. I’m watching!"
"Even my private life?" Han Yanyan suddenly queried.
With the entire world frozen, it indicated that the electronic voice was beyond this world, looking down as if from an omniscient perspective. It frequently threatened her with surveillance, prompting this sudden question.
Caught off-guard, the voice retorted in an embarrassed rage, "Nothing interesting about such trivial stuff. I don't have such interests."
And with that, it severed the connection in anger.
Instantly, the world resumed its motion. The stillness shattered as everything started moving again.
Five zombies lunged towards her. Han Yanyan conjured three ice arrows, swiftly piercing through the brains of three zombies. The remaining two swarmed dangerously close. With a sharp kick, she sent one flying and used her machete to slice the head of another. With another swing, she decapitated it.
Wasting no time, she charged at the one she had kicked away, ending it decisively with a blow that ensured it wouldn't rise again.
As she cleaned her blade on the zombie's clothes, her mind churned with thoughts on her conversation with the electronic voice.
She had asked to have her abilities boosted directly, yet the voice dismissed it as "unnecessary". Was it truly redundant...or perhaps just beyond its capacity to do so?
Moreover, Han Yanyan had been in this world since last summer; it was now summer once more, nearly a year had passed. Throughout that time, the electronic voice had never contacted her. During their recent talk, she gathered that it couldn't directly interact within this world, but why then did it choose to reach out today?
What had changed today?
Deep in thought, Han Yanyan failed to notice two zombies crawling stealthily like lizards on the high ceiling.
Until they pounced.