Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Did You Come Back Too?

The originally pure white space suddenly became vibrant with color.

A patch of green grass appeared beneath her feet, with a water well in the center. Behind the well stood a thatched hut without so much as a surrounding wall or a door.

A bright blue sky materialized directly above, corresponding to the ground below.

Qin Xi took a deep breath—in this static space, there was actually the scent of fresh air!

She looked down, and text immediately floated before her eyes:

【Level 1 Grassland: Area of 100 sq meters. Storage available. Living entities cannot enter. Pending upgrade!】

【Level 1 Water Well: Drinkable. No special effects. Pending upgrade!】

【Level 1 Thatched Hut: In reality, can block zombies from entering. Ineffective against humans. Usage limit of ten minutes. Pending upgrade!】

【Level 1 Sky: Immutable[^2]. No special effects. Pending upgrade!】 Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

【Current Upgrade Quest: Add ten points of natural elements. Time limit: One day!】

Ten points of natural elements?

Qin Xi felt a bit baffled[^3] by this quest.

She exited the system space and looked around the restroom stall; it was completely empty.

Looking down, however, she noticed the backpack slung over her shoulders. She immediately opened it and rummaged through, actually pulling out a bag of mangoes.

It seemed she had bought them from a roadside stand before boarding the high-speed train. Without dwelling on the memory, Qin Xi placed the mangoes directly into the space.

After waiting for a moment, nothing changed.

Do natural fruits like mangoes not count as natural elements? Or does it require elements like gold, silver, copper, or iron? Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Qin Xi frowned slightly and pulled the mangoes back out.

She walked out of the restroom stall, her eyes lighting up when she spotted a pot of pothos[^4] growing in a water bottle on the sink vanity!

Grabbing the pothos, she returned to the stall to avoid the surveillance cameras and placed it into the space.

To her surprise, this time she heard a ding:

【Obtained one Pothos plant. Gained 1 point of natural elements. Current quest progress: 1/10.】

Qin Xi understood in an instant!

Both the pothos and the mango derived from plants, but one was a living plant while the other was a fruit.

A living plant could continue to grow, whereas a fruit might not necessarily sprout again. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

She vaguely guessed that these “natural elements” might refer to components capable of forming a picture scroll of mountains and rivers.

That meant things like flowers, grass, tree saplings, rocks, or even river water and sand would work!

She immediately relaxed.

Having roughly figured out the system’s function and upgrade method, she withdrew right away.

There was still time to upgrade the system.

Right now, she needed to find Qin Song!

She didn’t know what fate had awaited Qin Song at the end of her past life.

But in this life, no one was going to harm the two of them ever again! Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

With that thought, Qin Xi unlocked her phone screen, found Qin Song’s phone number, and dialed it.

The call was picked up quickly, and a man’s deep, cool voice sounded from the other end:

“Xi Xi, what’s wrong?”

Hearing Qin Song’s voice, Qin Xi almost burst into tears!

In fact, just this morning before leaving the house, she had eaten the breakfast Qin Song prepared and departed the base under his watchful care.

Yet now, she had already died once.

And the Da Ge right now wasn’t the Da Ge from that timeline anymore!

On the other end of the line, Qin Song sensed something was off with Qin Xi almost instantly! Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

His hand turning the contract paused. In the next second, he pushed the folder onto the desk, his gaze becoming serious and stern:

“Xi Xi, what happened?”

Qin Xi took a deep breath to force back the tears in her eyes, quickly holding her emotions in check before speaking into the phone:

“Da Ge, I’m coming back now to find you. I have something very important to tell you. No matter what you have planned today, can you please clear your schedule? I need to see you right away!”

Hearing this, Qin Song’s heart skipped a beat, faintly sensing something.

With hardly any hesitation, he agreed immediately:

“Alright, I’ll go to the station to wait for you!”

Qin Xi instantly felt at ease. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

The distance between the cities where Qin Xi and Qin Song resided was only a two-hour ride on the high-speed rail.

Qin Xi bought a ticket for the earliest train, which happened to be departing just as she reached the platform.

Although she and Qin Song were brother and sister, they were not related by blood.

Qin Xi’s father and Qin Song’s mother had remarried, forming a blended family—it was merely a coincidence that both of their fathers shared the surname Qin.

The two were brought into this new family when they were in their early teens.

However, just a few years later, right when Qin Song turned eighteen, both parents passed away in a car accident, leaving behind only the two siblings who shared no blood relation.

During that time, fifteen-year-old Qin Xi was terrified.

Because Qin Song was already an adult and they shared no blood ties, Qin Song had no legal obligation to raise her. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

So she started clinging to Qin Song constantly, terrified that he would abandon her.

Fortunately, Qin Song not only kept her by his side, but he was also exceptionally doting toward her.

Relying on the insurance payout, the two siblings went to school and managed their daily life. Later, after Qin Song graduated, he started his own company, making life even better.

No one expected the apocalypse to strike.

Yet even when the world ended, Qin Song still didn’t abandon Qin Xi.

At the onset of the apocalypse, he even drove all the way from a city five or six hundred kilometers away, fighting his way to Qin Xi’s university to rescue her.

Despite how brutal the post-apocalyptic world was, Qin Song continued to care for, dote on, and shield her at every turn.

The bullet train sped across the landscape, slicing past fields teeming with life[^5]. Sitting by the window, Qin Xi turned her head to look out at the bright, sunlit countryside. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

She couldn’t imagine how she could go on living if there ever came a day without Qin Song.

When the train arrived in Jiangcheng, it was just noon.

The May air was comfortably mild, filled with bright spring sunshine[^6].

No one could have guessed that in just three days, this world would turn into a living hell on earth.

Stepping off the train, Qin Xi stood in place and took a deep breath.

She set off toward the exit.

Since students had already returned to campus, there weren’t many passengers disembarking. She spotted the man waiting outside the exit gate almost immediately.

Dressed in a black button-down shirt and trousers, Qin Song stood with his back straight as a spear. Merely standing there quietly, he naturally drew countless admiring glances. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Qin Xi’s footsteps paused, a wave of sourness welling up in her nose.

“Da Ge!”

She stepped through the exit gate, walking faster and faster, until she finally broke into a jog and threw herself straight into the man’s arms.

Feeling the broad, warm chest against her, Qin Xi felt the heart that had been floating nervously since her rebirth finally settle back into place!

Wonderful!

She was still alive, and her Da Ge was alive too!

The man held her in silence, lowering his head.

Qin Xi didn’t notice that his movement as he wrapped his arms back around her was exceptionally tight. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

It wasn’t until she composed her feelings and tried to look up that she realized he was holding her so tightly she couldn’t break free.

“Da Ge…”

Puzzled, Qin Xi looked up, meeting Qin Song’s pitch-black, ink-dark eyes.

The emotions swirling in those eyes were far more complex than she could have ever anticipated.

There was longing, ruthlessness, relief, and an intense excitement she couldn’t quite decipher!

She froze as a sudden realization flashed into her mind.

Feeling a violent tremor in her chest, Qin Xi asked in a trembling voice:

“Da Ge… did you come back too?” Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com