Then he was gone, leaving behind nothing but silence and a cold drift of air that whispered in after him.
Ivan stood there for a long ti.
His jaw was tight. His hands clenched at his sides.
Inside, the monster in him stirred. The part of him that felt insulted, disrespected, provoked even.
It howled for obedience, for submission, for blood. But it was the other part of him, the sliver of sothing human that kept him frozen in place.
Ray was wrong. Wasn’t he?
Qingran would understand. She had power, conviction. The system had chosen her for a reason she was no ordinary woman scrambling for survival. She was calm and clever and strong enough to lead people already.
She wouldn’t be like Ray. She wouldn’t betray him. She wouldn’t leave.
And if she tried to?
Ivan’s eyes sharpened, cruel resolve flickering across his face.
Then he would simply teach her the rules.
There was no such thing as freedom in this new world.
Only strength. Only hierarchy.
And she would fall in line or fall apart. He’d make sure of it.
A knock echoed at the chamber door.
He didn’t look up. "What is it."
One of his n stepped inside, he looked hesitant as he carefully picked out his words. "Sir... we spotted movent near the east road. The convoy that passed earlier. There’s a girl with blue flas. Cleansing a periter."
Ivan turned his head slowly.
The corner of his mouth lifted. Not quite a smile but his face definitely brightened.
"Blue flas huh..."
He took a breath, it was sharp and quiet.
So she really had arrived.
"Prepare the car," he said, his voice like steel sheathed in silk. "And tell the others not to interfere. I’ll et her myself."
"But sir.."
Ivan’s eyes cut over to the man, and that was enough.
"Yes, sir."
The door clicked shut.
Ivan stared at the far wall for a mont longer, then walked toward the window, fingers brushing the cracked glass.
Out in the distance, the ruined skyline stretched in jagged silhouettes, bathed in the crimson haze of late dusk.
The apocalypse was just beginning.
And so was his hunt.
**********************
"Alright team. I’ve managed to successfully clearly out the periter. Safe to say we won’t have to worry about zombies while we’re building but when it cos to getting the materials....it’s a different case. But don’t worry, I’ll try myself to keep you all alive. Now. Two of you here, will be in charge of watching our backs when were getting the materials. While three of you will help us load and five of us will bring or carry the materials to you to load."
[If only they knew what it has cost you to get that protection barrier.]
"..."
"Please don’t remind ."
10 minutes ago
[Hey Host. This might sound crazy but we can exchange sothing. I can give you a protection barrier, then you can work as you please without worrying about the zombies. But then you’ll have to give sothing in return.]
"..."
"Sounds fishy, but I’m desperate so what do you want?"
[Sigh. Well, if you accept this deal. A day will co where you’ll lose all system abilities. aning you won’t be able to access the system for 24 hours. It’s going to be random, so it can happen anyti.]
"This ans I have to be on high alert all the ti huh. Very well, I can go a day without these abilities, what about you...will you be offline as well?"
[No I’m not going offline, you’re just losing access.]
"Very well. It’s just for a day anyway."
[Ding! Ding! One protective barrier rewarded. Within this barrier, host is safe from all harm.]
"Then I don’t need to build a dam then."
["..."]
[The barrier will collapse as soon as the flood starts, it up there for you to build the dam as fast you can]
"...."
"It’s still impossible to build that dam Lingquan, co on... give sothing probable, sothing that we can actually do."
Lingquan’s reply was slow in coming, as if it too were contemplating the impossibility of what it had just suggested.
[...You’re right. Even with your current stats, the ti isn’t enough to build a dam capable of withstanding the flood. Heck you won’t even be done with the first bit not less round then the hotel . But what if I give you temporary access to blueprints? Not just for any dam, one designed specifically for post-apocalyptic resource scarcity. Fast-assemble, minimal manpower.]
Qingran narrowed her eyes. "What’s the cost?"
[A percentage of your stored vitality. Ten percent. You’ll feel tired for a while but that’s just it.]
"Lingquan, if I collapse mid-construction, there’s no point."
[Then delegate. You’ve already built trust. Use it.]
"...Fine. Send the blueprints."
A flicker of light danced in her vision, then a detailed 3D layout unfurled across her system interface.
Her pupils contracted, scanning every line. Prefab modular anchoring. Foldable support arches. Sandbag stabilization layers.
It was efficient and definitely doable.
She returned back to the present, her voice calm. "Xu Tianming, you’re taking point on assembly. Yu Song, I want you running periter coordination. I’ll supply the guidance and handle precision points myself."
Yu Song frowned. "You’re not looking too good."
"I’m fine."
"Qingran."
She paused, then said more softly, "I took a deal to protect everyone. I’ll be tired, but I’ll manage. We don’t have ti for to rest."
Xu Tianming and Yu Song exchanged a glance but didn’t argue. They’d seen her work miracles already.
Behind them, the rest of the n stirred with renewed energy. They didn’t know what Qingran had sacrificed. What bargain she’d struck. They only knew that, with her here, they were alive. That the girl with the calst eyes always had a plan.
Qingran turned toward the direction of the construction point, her long coat flaring in the wind.
The city moaned in the distance. Sowhere out there, Ivan was getting closer. But she didn’t know that yet.
She only knew that if they failed to build the dam in ti, all of the people she’d rescued, plus the ones she hadn’t yet t would drown in the rising chaos.
She muttered under her breath, "Just hold, barrier. Just hold..."
Lingquan pinged gently in her mind.
[Blueprint unlocked.]
She took off running toward the markers in the dirt.
Behind her, Yu Song called out, "Why does it feel like we’re racing a clock?"
Qingran’s voice was clipped. "Because we are."
**....
At the edge of the periter, Ivan stood watching.
He didn’t make his presence known. Not yet. He stood beneath the eaves of a crumbling building, eyes fixed on the slight figure issuing instructions like a commander who’d never known fear.
Blue flas rippled around her feet like sothing divine.
There was an elegance in her movents. A chilling efficiency.
She didn’t know he was watching. And for now, that made it easier to observe.
"Beautiful," he whispered. "And completely unaware."
Ray was unimpressed, she was just a normal woman with abnormal abilities.
She wasn’t a god or so revered hero. Just soone trying to survive.
"This is her, the woman you claid will listen to you. If she can lead this people, getting her to follow you like a dog is impossible and don’t think just because she’s a woman, she’s easy to beat."
Ray spoke up, he knew Ivan had no intention of interacting with Qingran today. He just wanted to see for himselfz who this mighty woman was.
"She’s...beautiful." Ivan sighed before turning away.
"I’ll co for her after the flood, right now we should be concerned about our own safety."
Ray didn’t say anything and just followed Ivan.
He knew Ivan wasn’t the type to hesitate, he knew he ca here with the thought of taking this woman so what made him change his mind?
"Whatever you say. It might not be so easy to find her after the flood."
***************
After marking all the point, Qingran finally understood the blueprint, rather than wasting ti, building a dam to round the whole hotel.
Build a smaller one and have one move there once the flood started.
"Lingquan how fast would be able to build this house? Since the dam is around it."
[mhm..it’s a small house, just 1 room, a bathroom and 1 kitchen. Since it’s only housing 50 people. The width should be about 230 square ters in total. With the modular structure and prefab materials, you’re looking at roughly 6 to 8 hours of focused construction faster if everyone works in shifts without pause.]
Qingran nodded. "And the dam around it?"
[That’ll take longer 12 to 14 hours a day if the team doesn’t ss up, but the barrier will hold that long. The real challenge is not the building. It’s coordinating the effort.]
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