"I’m not joking, Anya," Qingran interrupted, her voice firm. "There’s no ti for doubts. Things are moving too fast. You’ve seen the strange things happening around you. People getting sick, the governnt covering it up. It’s all connected. This is real. We’re running out of ti."
Her words seed to hang in the air between them, heavy and unyielding.
"Listen, you have to trust . I’m giving you a plan, and you have to follow it. The warehouse in Sangnam is secure. I’ve made sure of it. There’s enough supplies for everyone, and I’ll get there, too—before the end of the month. But I need you to take the kids, get to the warehouse, and lock yourselves in. If anything goes wrong, stay there. It’s the safest place I can offer right now."
Anya was silent for a mont, the weight of Qingran’s words settling in. Qingran could almost hear the wheels turning in her head, the hesitation, the doubt—and then, finally, acceptance.
"Alright, Qingran," Anya replied, her voice steady but with a tinge of fear. "I trust you. We’ll go to the warehouse. I’ll make sure the kids are ready. And Shiyue... I’ll make sure she gets there too."
Qingran let out a breath, her shoulders relaxing just slightly. "Good. Don’t tell anyone else, Anya. No one else can know. It’s safer that way. Just focus on getting them to safety."
"I will." Anya’s voice softened. "But... please, Qingran, stay safe. I don’t want anything to happen to you."
"I’ll be fine," Qingran said, her tone firm but gentle. "You just make sure the kids and Shiyue are safe. That’s what matters now."
They exchanged a brief, silent mont before Qingran ended the call. She stood there for a mont longer, gathering her thoughts. The heaviness of the conversation settled on her again, but there was no ti to linger on it.
The plan was in motion, and she couldn’t afford to hesitate now.
She turned toward Haoyu, who had been watching her closely from his seat. His expression was unreadable, but the faint furrow of his brow told her he understood the gravity of the situation.
"Everything okay?" Haoyu asked, his voice low.
Qingran nodded, pushing the phone back into her pocket. "Yeah. Anya’s taking the kids to the warehouse. They’ll be safe there."
He stood, brushing a hand through his hair again, his gaze thoughtful. "And you’re going to B City?"
"Yes, we have to try make it there by the 29th" she confird. "But we need to be prepared for everything. Once we know what the governnt’s really up to, we can act. But first, I need to get more intel. My mission just began."
Haoyu nodded. "I’ll stay with you, then. Whatever you need, we’ll get it."
"Thank you Haoyu. Let’s head up and pack our things."
[Host, i can’t give you a mission cause the situation is not favorable. I’ll hold on until I see the situation are favorable before I give you one. But I might as well give you bonus rewards for helping Gu Qingran out, how does that sound?]
Haoyu nodded, he didn’t want to go jogging when there were zombies roaming around.
"Thanks a lot lotus. I’d appreciate it, I’ll do my best to work to your expectations Lotus."
["..."] [Dont get all sentintal kid, Aiyah it’s my job to help you.]
"Still, you’re a good friend."
Lotus chuckled a bit, so they were friends now.
As they got to the room, both systems ca out for the space.
The two cats stared at each other, though lotus was the bigger one being the maine coon but Lingquan didn’t lose out when it ca to authority.
[Lingquan..]
[Lotus, we systems have hierarchy. As the oldest, you should call older brother.] Lingquan hit Lotus with his tail as he said this.
[I don’t see why I should call you older brother? I’m a better system.]
"..."
Lingquan eyes darkened, as he walked closer to lotus.
[You’re just a survival guide system, ever thought of usefulness once the apocalypse is over? Haoyu won’t have any use for you, as soone older I’ve t different people, seen different lifetis, I’m an omni system, first and last of it’s kind. Whatever you do, just know I can do it better. But the kid seems to like you so you should do your best. I won’t take your job away from you, all I care about is my host. On that note don’t forget to call older brother next ti."
Lingquan nodded as he walked away, walking to where Qingran was and owing.
"Lingquan were you giving lotus a lecture.."
[No, certainly not.]
Qingran stood up and walked to were lotus was, patting him gently, she spoke up.
"Don’t mind Lingquan, he’s a big ol anie."
[I did not, I only thing him a few things, so he could be a better system, that’s what veterans do.]
"..."
"You? Veteran? Yeah I do forget your old sotis."
"..."
[Yes. I’m old and wise, host should listen to more.]
Qingran chuckled softly under her breath, smoothing Lotus’s fur with gentle fingers. "Sure, sure. Old and wise. Says the cat who knocks over tea cups when I ignore him."
Lingquan narrowed his bright eyes but made no move to deny it. Instead, he leapt up to perch on the windowsill, his tail swishing as he gazed out at the city beyond.
The sky was cloudy now, thick gray layers hanging low over the skyline.
There was a heaviness in the air—like the city itself knew sothing was coming but didn’t dare to speak it aloud.
"When’s your boyfriend coming?" Haoyu asked as he grabbed a bottle of water.
"..."
"Feng Yizhou is not my boyfriend but he’ll be here by 3pm."
"He’s not your boyfriend? He seems to have done more than what acquaintances do. Do you not like him?"
".."
"It’s kinda complicated. Let’s not talk about that right now. If he’s willing to be at my disposal why not."
Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m fre𝒆webnov(e)l
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