Chapter 2
by LhaoziChapter 2: Picture Scroll of Mountains and Rivers System
Jiang Yaoyao was instantly displeased when she saw Qin Xi’s movement.
She had clearly seen that the young man seemed to want to say something to her—most likely wanting to swap seats. Sensing that she had caught Qin Xi doing something wrong, she pointed at her immediately:
“Qin Xi, what are you doing? He wanted to stand up, what right do you have to stop him?”
However, all she got in return was a sneer from Qin Xi:
“What’s it to you? He blocked my light when he stood up, alright?”
“You!”
Jiang Yaoyao wanted to argue further, but right then, a flight attendant’s voice suddenly came from behind them:
“Passengers up ahead, please do not linger in the aisle. We will be entering the station in about ten minutes. Please return to your seats!”
The rest of her words choked in her throat.
Jiang Yaoyao felt an intense wave of frustration, glaring at Qin Xi with a face full of resentment.
She couldn’t understand why Qin Xi—who used to be virtually obedient and easy to talk to—had suddenly become so sharp-tongued.
Moreover, it seemed like she held a major grudge against her!
Turning around, she walked back to her seat and grit her teeth, pondering over Qin Xi’s sudden change.
As she thought about it, she began to regret getting into a conflict with her.
After all, Qin Xi usually treated her quite well. Her family was wealthy, and she was generous with her friends; many of the cosmetics and clothes Jiang Yaoyao owned were gifts from Qin Xi.
She had acted too impulsively this time!
Jiang Yaoyao mused over whether she should apologize to Qin Xi after getting off the train.
Suddenly, she felt the seat next to her go empty, and a man’s agonizing scream rang out piercingly from beside her:
“Ahhh!!!”
She turned her head to look and was horrified by what she saw. The middle-aged man who was sitting in the middle seat had somehow pounced on the young man in the aisle, mauling and biting him like a madman!
The young man’s screams were accompanied by a massive spray of blood, making the scene instantly horrific.
At the same time, another terrified scream came from far back in the carriage: “Help!”
The carriage instantly fell into utter chaos.
Qin Xi watched the scene cold-eyed from behind, her heart hammering against her ribs like a drumbeat. It was finally happening after all!
“Get up, clear the way, run!”
She grabbed the collar of the young man sitting in the aisle seat, dragged him out of his seat, and ran rapidly toward the carriage door!
Screams and curses filled the carriage continuously.
At the moment Qin Xi brushed past a zombie, she quickly stole a glance.
She saw that the man who had been bitten had already breathed his last.
Jiang Yaoyao’s panic-stricken and shrill cries reached her ears:
“Qin Xi! Ahhh!!! Help!! Save me! Qin Xi!!”
Her footsteps paused slightly. She turned around to look, meeting Jiang Yaoyao’s terrified gaze, but merely hooked her lips into a malicious smile.
Then, she turned back and ran out of the carriage without looking behind her!
Save her?
In her dreams!
This time, without the young man swapping seats, without Qin Xi dragging her around to hide in the school later on, and without her Da Ge[^1] arriving to rescue them, she wanted to see if Jiang Yaoyao could still survive as smoothly as she did in her past life!
Stepping out of the train carriage, the world outside still looked peaceful and beautiful.
Three days before the apocalypse, although a few zombie biting incidents had already occurred, the general public had not taken them seriously yet.
Most people still assumed it was just an outbreak of rabies.
People walked to and fro outside the station, and everything appeared vibrant and full of life.
Qin Xi stood in place for a moment to catch her breath, feeling the sunlight on her skin. Suddenly, someone patted her shoulder:
“Um, excuse me student, you can let go now!”
Stunned, she turned around to look, only to see that the young man was still right beside her, and she was still clutching his collar.
The young man was tall, so he had been forced to hunch over and follow her the whole way!
She quickly let go, her tone apologetic:
“I’m sorry, I was a bit nervous just now and forgot!”
Shi Lin straightened his body. Hearing her words, he lowered his eyes to scan her briefly before flashing a shy smile.
He raised his hand as if showing concern, pointing toward the exit gate:
“It’s okay. Um, that friend of yours doesn’t seem to have made it out.”
Hearing this, there was no change in the expression on Qin Xi’s face.
Since the apocalypse was coming in three days anyway, she didn’t bother putting on an act:
“Oh, she’s not my friend, just a classmate. Didn’t the transit police go over to stop it?”
Hearing her response, Shi Lin looked down at the indifference on her face and couldn’t help but grit his teeth internally.
So she really was such a cold-hearted and ruthless person all along!
In his previous life, before his death, he had evolved once more as a zombie, even gaining the ability to communicate fluently with humans!
Yet, he was still hunted down by her team.
For a Zombie King who could communicate and showed no apparent malice, everyone else had already decided to accept his existence—only her, who stubbornly and decisively wanted nothing more than to kill him.
And he really was killed by her and that man. Hundreds of metal wires pierced into his head; before dying, he had even heard the sound of his own skull shattering!
“I see. By the way, I’m Shi Lin. Thanks for pulling me out back there.”
He revealed a harmless, gentle smile toward Qin Xi and extended his hand.
Shi Lin—it’s a nice-sounding name.
Qin Xi looked at him, nodded, and shook his hand:
“You’re welcome.”
With that said, something occurred to her, and she looked up at the young man:
“You saw what happened back there. Violent incidents like this have been frequent lately; there might be some kind of virus spreading. I’d advise you to stock up on food and go out less.”
Although in her past life, this guy was hunted down by her and her Da Ge because he became the Zombie King, which was justifiable.
Still, that way of dying was quite brutal.
Giving him a heads-up in this life could count as returning the favor of him helping her out earlier.
Hopefully he could survive in this life—and even if he still turned into a zombie, hopefully someone would take him out quickly.
After all, this guy as a Zombie King was quite tough to deal with!
Finishing her sentence, Qin Xi turned around and walked toward the station exit.
She had no time to exchange pleasantries here.
Now that she was back, she needed to find Qin Song as soon as possible to confirm that she truly was alive again!
In this life, she wouldn’t spare a single one of those people who had harmed her and tried to target her Da Ge!
What she failed to see was that after she turned to leave, Shi Lin stood behind her, gazing at her back with a heavy look in eyes.
After a long moment, he suddenly followed her!
Since there was still time before her next connection, Qin Xi entered the station building and went straight to the restroom to find a stall. Stepping inside, she locked the door behind her, raised her hand, and looked at the phone she was holding, focusing her mind silently.
In the next second, the phone vanished into thin air.
Qin Xi’s consciousness entered a vast, pure white, empty space.
Looking down, the phone that had just disappeared was now lying by her feet. Joy surged in her heart!
She hadn’t expected her superpower to travel back with her as well.
It was just a pity that after probing with her mental power, she realized her superpower—which had reached Level 6 in her previous life—had now regressed to a Level 1 space measuring only a hundred square meters.
Even her spatial shield and spatial teleportation abilities had shrunk significantly.
Qin Xi was silent for a moment before quickly pulling herself together.
It doesn’t matter, I’m already way ahead of everyone else.
Knowing what was about to happen and having time to prepare in advance was already extremely fortunate!
Thinking this, she prepared to exit the space.
Right at that moment, however, a streak of colorful light flashed before her eyes within the white space.
Qin Xi froze as a crisp, mechanical voice sounded beside her ears:
【Ding—Picture Scroll of Mountains and Rivers System activated. Space synchronized. Spatial shield upgraded to Safehouse. Would you like to start the Level 1 Quest? (Yes) (No)】
The chiming sounds echoed for quite a while before finally coming to a stop.
Standing in place, Qin Xi blinked, gradually processing the meaning of the words that had just resonated in her mind!
A system?
Picture Scroll of Mountains and Rivers?
Excitement immediately welled up inside her!
A system was something she wasn’t unfamiliar with, having read about it countless times in web novels.
She just wasn’t sure what “Picture Scroll of Mountains and Rivers” implied.
Still, by the sound of it, it gave off a sense of a beautiful landscape painting.
Without much hesitation, she chose to start the quest. After all, the space had already synchronized with the system, meaning future upgrades to the space might very well be tied to it.
She clicked on (Yes)!
The scene before her eyes instantly shifted!
[^1]: Da Ge (大哥): Literally translates to “eldest brother” or “big brother” in Chinese. It is used as a term of endearment or respect for an older brother. In this context, Qin Xi uses it to address her older step-brother, Qin Song.
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