Still unfamiliar with the surroundings, Shen Yi decided not to linger once his backpack was full and prepared to head back.
His free hand wasn't idle either, carrying two 1.5-liter bottles of mineral water.
By now it was past noon, and the air in the middle of the road was shimmering with heat.
The plants visible everywhere looked increasingly vibrant, showing no signs of wilting.
Shen Yi carefully made his way back to his residence, avoiding the sun.
Opening the door, he saw Cheng Jun bent over with a broom, sweeping the floor.
A glimpse of curves caught his eye, appearing and disappearing with the movement of her clothes.
Hearing the noise, Cheng Jun stood up to greet him, asking with concern:
"Did everything go okay on your way?"
Shen Yi snapped back to attention and quickly replied,
"Everything's fine, the supplies situation is decent, some items are well-preserved."
At this point, Cheng Jun had found a thin string somewhere to tie up her long hair, her cheeks were slightly dusty, giving her a somewhat domestic, housewifely air despite the grime.
She hadn't been idle while Shen Yi was out, having cleaned the interior quite well.
The tables, chairs, and cabinets had been wiped down, and the floor was nearly finished being swept.
Shen Yi put his backpack on the table and looked around, feeling that it was starting to feel like home.
"Sit down and rest, I'll be done with the last bit soon."
Cheng Jun gestured for Shen Yi to sit, then awkwardly resumed sweeping, trying to gather the dust and push it outside.
At home, she had been used to a lazy lifestyle, with housework handled entirely by the housekeeper, rarely doing anything herself.
Yet she was an incredibly intelligent person who understood the situation perfectly and wouldn't dare put on privileged airs in front of Shen Yi.
They were strangers after all, and her good looks weren't license to act entitled.
Shen Yi wasn't tired at all, as this amount of exercise was barely a warm-up for him.
He naturally felt uncomfortable sitting while Cheng Jun worked away huffing and puffing.
He walked to the somewhat decayed sofa and pushed it into another abandoned room.
The middle of the sofa had rotted through, creating an unpleasant smell, and since disposing of it would be too troublesome, they could only relocate it.
Walking into the kitchen, he noticed some vine tendrils had crept in through the poorly closed window.
Shen Yi tried each switch one by one.
The electricity was out, the gas wasn't responding, and finally, he tried the water tap.
The faucet wheezed like an asthmatic patient, producing no water after a long while - clearly shut off as well.
Hearing the noise, Cheng Jun came in to ask:
"What's wrong?"
"We have no water, electricity, or gas. We'll need to figure out alternatives going forward."
Shen Yi answered.
"Yes, that is indeed a problem, but I have some ideas. Let's discuss them later."
After finishing the cleanup, just as Cheng Jun was about to discuss things with Shen Yi, she saw him hand her a paper bag.
Opening it, she found a set of clean clothes.
"Picked these up passing by a clothing store. Try them on and see if they fit."
Cheng Jun paused, then glanced down at her lower half with embarrassment, silently nodding before walking into the adjacent bedroom and closing the door.
On his way back with supplies, Shen Yi had passed a clothing store.
While supermarkets and convenience stores had been largely ransacked in the chaos, this clothing store remained well-preserved.
Thinking of Cheng Jun's predicament, he had gone in and picked out an outfit for her.
She was tall, at least 1.7 meters by his estimate, and he wasn't sure if his selections would fit.
The door opened, and Cheng Jun emerged slowly in her new clothes.
Sensing Shen Yi's gaze on her, she lowered her head and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her earlobes turning bright red.
She wore a pure white T-shirt on top and tight blue jeans below.
However, her light yellow underwear didn't match, and the straps were clearly visible through the white T-shirt.
Though they were ordinary everyday clothes, they looked alluring on her, giving off a somewhat sensual air.
Cheng Jun uncomfortably tugged at her neckline, but couldn't blame Shen Yi as he had meant well.
Shen Yi had a good eye.
The jeans were the perfect length, though the T-shirt was tight across her chest, but still much better than her previous clothes.
At least she could move freely and wasn't as hot anymore.
Coming over to sit down, Cheng Jun thanked him.
Her initial impression of Shen Yi was positive - emotionally stable, thoughtful and dignified, physically fit, and pleasant to look at.
This wasn't about being superficial; these were all excellent qualities conducive to survival.
The more capable Shen Yi was, the safer she would be, and naturally, the happier she felt.
Shen Yi unzipped his bag and handed her a bottle of water and a compressed biscuit, figuring she must be hungry after a busy morning.
Watching Cheng Jun take small sips of water, Shen Yi opened a packet for himself and started eating.
The biscuit was meat-flavored with a long shelf life, rather mediocre in taste and dry in texture.
But when hungry, everything tastes good, and Shen Yi quickly finished the whole piece with some water.
Cheng Jun was much more refined, holding the package with both hands like a hamster, nibbling bit by bit.
After eating and drinking their fill, Cheng Jun went to the room and came back with a notebook and pen.
Opening the notebook, she said to Shen Yi:
"We don't know how long we'll need to stay here, so we should make some plans."
Shen Yi naturally agreed, nodding:
"Since we're here, we might as well make the best of it. Go ahead."
"According to survival rules, in an apocalyptic environment, we should gather as much information as possible, then make plans. Keeping busy helps increase survival chances."
In an apocalyptic environment, it's not just physical survival that matters; mental fortitude is equally important. Under intense pressure, setting goals and establishing beliefs helps prevent breakdown.
Shen Yi looked at her admiringly; Cheng Jun wasn't just a pretty face, she was truly exceptional.
While he understood the situation's cause and effect, she didn't.
The system's display showed him a countdown timer, but for Cheng Jun, this was the real world, with no end in sight to their stay.
Being able to maintain hope under such overwhelming pressure and changes was already quite remarkable.
Putting himself in her shoes, Shen Yi wasn't sure he could have done better.
Cheng Jun continued, seemingly unaware of his thoughts:
"Our immediate priority is to search for and stockpile supplies while gathering information about this place."
"Short-term goals are focused on survival, exploring more areas while ensuring our safety."
She paused slightly, her tone becoming hesitant,
"Long-term goals include finding other survivors, understanding our current situation, uncovering the truth, and finding our way home."
She didn't hold much hope for these long-term goals.
In her previous words, she had consistently referred to it as 'this place,' though she knew they were probably no longer on Earth.
Her deliberate avoidance of saying 'this world' was to preserve hope of returning home.
Though difficult, it was necessary.
Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to cope.
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
transmigrates into the role of a villainous rich second-generation kid in an urban fantasy novel, and gets bound to a god-tier choice system. Right at the start, he catches the female lead stealing exam papers! This triggers the villain's choice options! [Choice 1: Pretend you didn't see anything] [Choice 2: Loudly call her out, drawing everyone's attention] [Choice 3: ...] And thus, a twisted villain is born. To avoid getting killed by the protagonist, he has no choice but to take down all the protagonists first. Jiang Che: Nobody understands being twisted better than me!
