Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Is He Going to Turn into a Zombie?

Qin Xi pulled out the spicy smoked duck rewarded by the system.

Over the past two days, Bai Hanyue, Lin Xin, and Li Zekai had been very proactive when it came to cooking.

Having eaten several meals prepared by the three of them, Qin Xi felt she ought to show a bit of goodwill herself.

Besides, since they were now a team—regardless of whether it was a temporary one—they still needed to maintain good relations; pretending not to see each other’s efforts would be a mistake.

The staple food for dinner was steamed rice, paired with red-braised pork cooked by Li Zekai, which included potatoes, shiitake mushrooms, and a few shrimp, alongside a cold-tossed cucumber salad.

The ingredients had all come from the refrigerator in Bai Hanyue’s house.

Looking at the heavily depleted refrigerator, Bai Hanyue let out a bitter laugh and said to Qin Xi:

“Anyway, if we don’t eat it, we can’t carry it away. Even if we haul it down the mountain, we probably won’t have a way to cook it. We might as well eat it all today so it doesn’t go to waste.”

Her tone carried a touch of self-mockery. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Qin Xi listened, thought it over, and shook her head at her:

“You can’t say it like that. Or… you folks can store some of your fresh ingredients in my space. Then every time you cook, make a portion for me—consider it payment for using the spatial storage!”

Qin Xi suggested this genuinely because the food prepared by these three tasted quite great.

Although she still had packaged restaurant meals stashed in her space, restaurant dishes were heavy on oil, and eating too much of them would eventually feel greasy.

Hearing her proposal, both Bai Hanyue and Li Zekai—who were still in the kitchen—were caught completely by surprise!

The two exchanged a look, and both grew instantly excited!

Spatial storage—wouldn’t that make things infinitely more convenient?!

Moreover, if Qin Xi permitted it, they could hoard even more supplies without running into the issue of being unable to pack another item like before! Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

The two hurriedly agreed.

Seeing this, Qin Xi handed the spicy smoked duck in her hands over to Li Zekai, asking him to help shred it.

She then walked into the east room, preparing to eat.

Lin Xin was still lying on the brick kang bed-stove asleep, sleeping very soundly.

Qin Xi swept her gaze over toward his side, but just as she was about to look away, she suddenly sensed something off!

She turned her head to look back right away; sure enough, Lin Xin’s cheeks were flushed bright red from fever, and his body was even shivering violently!

“Big Brother!”

Qin Xi quickly called Qin Song, while reaching out her hand to feel Lin Xin’s forehead—it was indeed burning hot! Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Qin Xi knitted her brows: “He has a fever!”

Hearing this, Qin Song’s line of sight followed hers. Seeing Lin Xin’s condition, he remained silent for two seconds before extending his hand, aiming at Lin Xin’s wrist.

Channeling his metallic supernatural ability, a semi-circular metal ring slowly grew out from the surface of the brick kang.

The metal ring fused together with the kang, linked to a 30-centimeter iron chain whose other end attached firmly to Lin Xin’s wrist.

After finishing this, Qin Song said in a low voice:

“It could be an awakening of a supernatural ability, or it might just be a fever from getting drenched in the rain. Still, it’s better to be cautious.”

Qin Xi nodded thoughtfully upon hearing his words.

If it was merely a simple fever, taking some medicine to bring down the temperature would be fine. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

The fear was that if it was an ability awakening that failed, he would directly turn into a zombie.

At that moment, Bai Hanyue entered the room carrying the freshly shredded spicy smoked duck from outside.

Seeing Lin Xin locked up on the brick kang, she froze on the spot in utter shock!

Holding the plate, she felt caught in a dilemma of whether to advance or retreat. Looking at the expressions on Qin Xi and Qin Song’s faces, a wave of concern washed over her as she realized what might be happening:

“W-What’s wrong with him? Is he going to… turn into a zombie? [1]”

Qin Xi offered her a reassuring smile, her voice very soft:

“He has a fever. He might awaken a supernatural ability, or he might turn into a zombie. To prevent any unexpected accidents later, we locked him up first.”

Pausing for a moment, she added: Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

“In a bit, we’ll move him to the small room behind the partition. We’ll all sleep in the front tonight, so if there’s any commotion, we’ll hear it.”

Hearing this, Bai Hanyue finally let out a sigh of relief.

Still, looking at Lin Xin, her gaze remained filled with worry.

She rummaged through her family’s medicine cabinet, pulled out fever-reducing medicine, and fed some to Lin Xin. She then handed the remaining medicines over to Qin Xi, asking her to help store them away.

Just in case they proved useful in the future!

Before long, all the dishes were brought onto the table. Li Zekai tried calling out to Lin Xin, but the unconscious Lin Xin gave no response whatsoever.

His fever had subsided considerably, however.

And so, the four left him be for the time being, reserving a portion of food in the pot for him before beginning their meal. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

The freshly cooked rice was neither too soft nor too hard, matching Qin Xi’s preferred texture perfectly.

The red-braised pork had been sliced into thin slabs; with a single bite, the fat melted directly in the mouth while the lean meat dissolved seamlessly without feeling dry at all. The stewed potatoes were soft, powdery, and thoroughly soaked in savory gravy. Finally, taking a bite of the cucumber salad—crisp, refreshing, and instantly cutting through the richness!

After finishing her meal, Qin Xi sat comfortably on the sofa, letting out a long breath.

As expected, self-cooked meals truly taste better!

And make for a far more comfortable dining experience!

By the time they finished dinner, it was already 6:00 PM.

Due to the overcast sky, it had turned pitch-black outside.

Qin Xi stood by the window looking out, feeling that the intensity of the rain today had lightened significantly. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Tonight, Qin Xi and Bai Hanyue would take the first watch.

Although Qin Xi preferred taking the shift alongside Qin Song, considering the combat capabilities of Li Zekai and Bai Hanyue, plus having an unpredictable patient indoors—alongside the fact that tonight would be a night where zombies and mutated animals underwent mass evolution…

After some thought, Qin Xi felt it was safer for her and her big brother to each lead one person separately.

If nothing else, as supernatural ability users, they could detect any noise in the courtyard much faster!

Before turning in, Qin Song and Li Zekai moved Lin Xin together into the partition behind the east bedroom.

The partition behind had originally served as Bai Hanyue’s sister’s private space for storing clothes and miscellaneous items.

At this point, Qin Xi pulled out a large sofa she had collected from a villager’s home earlier and placed it behind the partition, where Qin Song and Li Zekai set Lin Xin down.

Qin Song then generated another metal ring on the floor to lock Lin Xin in place. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

However, the sliding door to the partition was kept open, making it easy for the night-watchers to monitor Lin Xin’s movements at a single glance.

It would also allow Lin Xin—once awake—to see the situation outside right away, preventing him from panicking due to being locked up.

By the time all of this was arranged, it was not yet 7:00 PM.

Sitting on the solid wood bench inside the room, Qin Xi actually felt so idle that she felt somewhat unaccustomed to it.

The moment she realized this, she gave herself quite a scare, feeling that she had likely contracted a post-apocalyptic workaholic habit!

Still, she indeed had things to keep her busy.

For this system upgrade, the tasks that needed to be completed—aside from collecting ancient cultural artifacts and killing zombies—required mining gold, copper, and coal ores, as well as planting 3 mu of rice paddies.

As for the two existing plots, the cornfield currently displayed a pest-control prompt, while the wheat field required watering. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

The copper ore and coal blocks were already mined out, and the gold ore could wait until tomorrow when the One-Touch Mining function refreshed.

The rest needed to be completed as quickly as possible.

Because only by completing these tasks could she upgrade the system as soon as possible, allowing her to grow stronger faster!

However, having tasted the convenience of the “One-Touch” function once, Qin Xi was starting to feel a bit lazy!

She inspected the several plots of land inside her space right now: the cornfield displayed “Awaiting pest control,” the wheat field displayed “Awaiting weeding,” and both displayed “Awaiting watering.”

Meanwhile, floating above that empty plot of arable land were the lonely words “Awaiting sowing.”

Qin Xi pondered which feature to redeem first.

She checked the current Points she possessed: a total of 1,527 Points. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Redeeming a single “One-Touch” operational feature required 300 Points, and she still needed to reserve some to buy other items.

With that thought in mind, Qin Xi reached an immediate decision. Turning her head, she looked slowly toward the two most troublesome tasks!