Chapter 67

Chapter 67

Ultimately, Wu Yin spent a full three days recuperating at Old Balke's farm, doing nothing but eating and sleeping. Once revitalized, he sneakily rode out on a horse, attracting three or four pursuers chasing behind.

Old Balke, working hard in the fields, vaguely saw something on his white horse speeding across the ridges. When he realized what was happening, he hurriedly picked up a □□ from the scarecrow to go and rescue. Xie Linyuan straightened up, wiped the sweat with the towel on his shoulder, and pressed Balke back down, "It's alright, leave it be."

"Ah?"

The silver-haired young man adjusted the sun hat covering his eyes, chose a relatively high ground, swung his arm to aim, his left pupil turning into a red crosshair, and casually fired a few shots, taking out all the pursuers.

Balke: "..."

He silently gave a thumbs up.

After vanquishing the zombies, Jie Linyuan's left arm reverted to a small shovel. He bent down to continue loosening soil and planting seedlings, while Balk coordinated by filling the soil and watering each sapling.

At that moment, Wu Yin's voice could be heard from afar: "…Why has the horse stopped?! It simply doesn't understand human language!"

Mimicking Jie Linyuan's earlier casual demeanor, Balk straightened up leisurely: "That's easy, you—"

Before he could finish, Jie Linyuan had already darted off. His long legs moved so fast that they surpassed the speed of a galloping horse. Approaching the horse, he shot a hook from his left palm, winding it around the horse's body to secure it. With a jump and a pull of the rope, he landed steadily behind Wu Yin.

The white horse under Wu Yin's control was as wild and unpredictable as its rider, seemingly determined to die along with its passenger today. However, once Jie Linyuan took the reins, the horse suddenly became docile, slowing its pace and gently trotting the two back to the half-basement's entrance.

His Highness, popping out of nowhere, frantically circled the horse’s hooves, attempting to corral it. Wu Yin, agile as a leopard, leaped off the horse's back, patted His Highness' head to signal a break, then ran inside to drink water before lying back in the wicker chair. He pulled out a game console, now out of power, and handed it to Jie Linyuan, "Charge this."

These days had been truly comfortable for him; despite being injured, he had gained three pounds and even managed to tan his skin to the desired shade.

Jie Linyuan's index finger transformed into a thin charging cable, which he plugged into the console. The screen lit up quickly with a beep, and Wu Yin eagerly took it back to start his latest favorite, a management and development single-player game.

"These rabbits run too fast; I can't catch them with just one hand." He looked up at Jie Linyuan, standing behind him and watching his game, shaking the screen, "Can you?"

Raising an eyebrow, Jie Linyuan took the other controller, joining Wu Yin in an hour-long rabbit hunt. They thoroughly plundered the rabbits' burrows, leaving no stone unturned, until Wu Yin was contentedly gazing at his transparent rabbit cabinet in his gaming home. He forcibly fed one particularly burly white rabbit until the system warned that the feeding limit for the day had been reached, humorously adding that any more would be overfeeding!

Unnoticed, evening had arrived. There was honking outside the farm gate. His Highness, feigning sleep, instantly became alert. Both of his heads popped out of the window, barking towards the gate, while Jie Linyuan also stood up to take a look before going out to open the gate for Old Hu's garbage truck.

Lately, Old Hu, Yang Mo, and Qin Yue had been working at the base during the day and helping at Old Balk's farm in the evenings, cleaning up the mess created by the golden-winged birds in the warehouse and sorting out the rewards for Wu Yin. Sun Mei, silently following Qin Yue around, had become much more obedient and diligent. However, whenever she saw Wu Yin, she acted as if she had seen a tiger, respectfully avoiding any interaction.

Seeing a hoe broken into seven pieces in the corner, Yang Mo couldn't contain his anger: "How can one bird be more destructive than a dog?"

His Highness, on duty at the door, sensed something amiss and started complaining with both heads, creating a discordant duet until Jie Linyuan frowned and cautioned him, "Keep it down, don't wake Wu Yin."

Qin Yue's request for Balk to take in Sun Mei was unsurprisingly refused. Old Balk stated that the outside area was too dangerous, and he was already struggling to take care of himself, let alone a little girl.

Wu Yin, engrossed in playing Tetris nearby, insensitively interjected, "Just treat it like restarting a game with a new account after ruining your main one." He was referring to Old Balk's gambling-addicted daughter.

Old Balk was momentarily stunned, then sighed deeply and turned away without a word.

Jie Linyuan, accustomed to Wu Yin's lack of social skills, tapped his head to indicate that he was being distracting during the game. He then walked over to Old Balk, engaging him in a soft and gentle conversation.

In less than half an hour, old Balk nodded in agreement to take Sun Mei in. At that moment, everyone looked at Jie Lin Yuan with admiration and respect in their eyes. Jie Lin Yuan briefly explained Sun Mei's situation and issues to Balk, who seriously promised to rigorously educate her, aiming to correct her distorted values, and also vowed to control his temper, ensuring he'd never lay a hand on her again.

Three days later, Wu Yin and Jie Lin Yuan boarded the RV previously hidden in the forest, discussing their next destination. Only His Highness thought the great adventure outside the safe zone was over, excitedly wagging his tail, ready to return to the southern camp for some delicious sweet milk.

"Do you have any initial guesses as to where the ontology might be?" Xie Linyuan withdrew the finger that acted as the RV's safety lock, reverting to his complete mechanical warrior form, his left eye lighting up briefly.

"None." Wu Yin, sitting cross-legged in front of a small sofa, said, "I only know of its existence, but I can't remember anything about it."

Xie Linyuan felt challenged, projecting the map on the car window and marking their location, "Could you try to recall more carefully?"

After pondering deeply for ten minutes, just as Wu Yin exclaimed and Xie Linyuan thought he remembered something, Wu Yin curiously pointed at a place on the map and said, "This base is called Zoo!"

“……”

"Other human bases are named shelters, camps, kingdoms, only this one is called Zoo, such a unique name," Wu Yin said excitedly, "Let's go there next."

"Aren't you looking for your body anymore?"

"Since I don't know where it is, where to search is as good as any," Wu Yin said confidently, taking a seat next to the driver, "Let's go."

Xie Linyuan always felt he should be angry, as their agreement was he had to serve Wu Yin until they found the ontology, but somehow, he didn't seem to mind much. Maybe because he also didn't know where to go next, it seemed better to continue accompanying this man who always brought him endless surprises and scares, strategizing for his every whimsical idea.

The RV started, heading in the opposite direction of the southern camp.

His Highness didn't react at first, not until Xie Linyuan had driven three acres along the national road, then the Border Collie suddenly lifted its head, realizing something was amiss.

Border Collie — Where are we going, not going home?

Golden Retriever — How about we rest for a day before going out again? I miss mom.

"Your mom has sold you to me," Wu Yin declared mercilessly, "You're not going back."

His Highness, lying on the floor of the car with its mouth open and tail wagging, suddenly changed expression, stood up, ran confusedly to the driving area to see the direction of travel, then pattered to the back to see the receding highway, and again lay by the window, sticking its head out in search of any sign that its owner was just joking.

Many children have been the butt of similar cruel jokes by disliked adults in their childhood, like 'your mom and dad don't want you anymore, they've thrown you away', a fear and anxiety that perhaps lingers into adulthood.

For His Highness, it was essentially a nightmare come true.

Fifteen minutes later, it was terrified to realize that its owner's words were true; it had really been tricked and couldn't return.

His Highness stopped its pointless marathon around the RV, stunned for a long time before the Border Collie started crying, tears rolling down like tiny pearls, scared and feeling wronged, while the Golden Retriever beside it furiously bit at the air, howling to go home.

"Shut up." The merciless and cold owner, Wu Yin, was again feeding the cyber electronic rabbits in his game, "Keep it up and I'll throw you out of the car, tie your neck with a rope to the door, and have you run alongside."

His Highness: "......"

"The kid is young and just left its mother, feeling insecure is normal," the compassionate Xie Linyuan immediately intervened to play the good cop, "Be gentle, soothe it."

Wu Yin, impatient, said, "Another word and I'll throw you out too, tie a dog leash around your neck like his, and you can run together."

Xie Linyuan: "......"

He smiled warmly, making Wu Yin feel like punching cotton, frustrated with nowhere to vent, "If you throw me out, then who will drive?"

Wu Yin: "......"

Wu Yin decided to start learning to drive from then on, thankfully in this post-apocalyptic world there were no driving tests to pass, nor pedestrians and e-bikes to yield to, after listening to Xie Linyuan's driving lessons for three hours...

He didn't learn, but the dog did.

By evening, it was His Highness who found a camping spot, skillfully handling the steering wheel with its paws. Xie Linyuan prepared food pilfered from Balk's farm in the small kitchen, using up perishables first and stashing canned goods deep in storage for emergencies.

Wu Yin, with nothing better to do, leaned by the window cracking sunflower seeds, watching the setting sun until a few oddly-shaped zombies appeared, promptly closing the curtains in dismay.

Dinner was cold cucumber salad, tomato salad, and boiled corn, focusing on cooling and refreshing dishes.

Before Wu Yin could comment, His Highness made a fuss over its bowl of dog food.

Border Collie, Golden Retriever — We don't want this, it's too dry, we want milk!

Wu Yin nonchalantly poured the corn-boiling water into their bowl, "There, not dry anymore."

His Highness: "......"

With a pitiful look, he placed his front paws on Wu Yin's knee, wagging his tail ingratiatingly.

The Border Collie whimpered, "I want milk."

The Golden Retriever whined, "I want milk too."

Wu Yin was unimpressed, frowning and scolding, "Where am I supposed to get milk for you? Take it or leave it, or I'll tie you to the roof of the car to sleep if you keep this up."

As he spoke, he looked up to see Jie Lin Yuan's gaze fleetingly on his chest, quickly shifting away when Wu Yin noticed. Wu Yin's frown deepened, "What are you looking at?"