Within a Short Distance

"We..."

Ning Yu wanted to refuse, as the task sounded potentially dangerous.

She hadn't fully nurtured her Crimson War Blade yet, and she planned to wait until the blade was properly cultivated before taking on such risky missions.

[Required Charm Value: 10, Host's Charm Value: 11, Qualified.]

[Ding! Task triggered: Near Yet Far (1/?) - Joint operation with Ji Mengyao to search for Wan Heng]

[Series Task Rewards: Random Attribute Points *5, Points *20000, ???]

However, the system didn't care about her hesitation and simply dropped the task right in Ning Yu's face.

When she heard these prompts, her jaw nearly hit the floor - the rewards were incredibly generous: 5 attribute points and 20,000 points.

Plus, there was that mysterious question mark reward. Though it wasn't revealed, it had to be something good.

With such excellent rewards, how could Ning Yu possibly refuse?

"Of course we'll go together."

Ning Yu agreed immediately without any hesitation.

"Since this isn't a pre-arranged base mission, the compensation might be modest, especially split between four people. Are you sure about this?"

Ji Mengyao kindly reminded Ning Yu.

For her, this wasn't about the base's compensation but about saving a comrade.

She worried that Ning Yu might lose her enthusiasm once she realized they were going to rescue someone for minimal reward.

"When it comes to saving someone, none of that matters."

Ning Yu responded with noble conviction.

Just then, Wu Di seemed to have finished reporting in and was running back towards them.

"He's back, let's go."

Ning Yu noticed Wu Di returning and said to Ji Mengyao.

Ji Mengyao stared at Ning Yu somewhat dazedly, surprised by her willingness to help. Her eyes sparkled with emotion.

Without hesitation, she immediately said:

"Thank you."

Though there was no system prompt, Ning Yu could clearly sense that Ji Mengyao's favorability towards her had increased.

This was definitely a win-win situation.

Shen Yiyue looked at Ning Yu suspiciously: Since when did Little Yu become so eager to help others?

Shortly after.

An SUV drove out of the Ark Base with all four of them inside.

Since there was no need to transport people or supplies today, and there were four people who needed seats, they didn't take the pickup truck that Ji Mengyao and Wu Di usually drove.

This SUV had been reinforced and armed, capable of navigating through urban obstacles and effectively repelling approaching zombies.

Ji Mengyao didn't seem in the mood to play music, just driving silently, probably worried about her possibly endangered companion.

Wu Di sat in the passenger seat, looking at a map:

"It should take about an hour to get there, roughly two hours round trip. He should have been back last night theoretically."

"I hope nothing's wrong."

Ji Mengyao sighed quietly.

"What's Wan Heng's awakened ability?"

Ning Yu asked from the back seat.

She remembered that Ji Mengyao and Wu Di seemed quite confident in Wan Heng's abilities earlier.

"He can interfere with zombies' perception. You could say he can make zombies think he's one of them."

Ji Mengyao explained while leaning back in the driver's seat.

Wouldn't that mean he could move freely among zombie hordes?

"Does this ability work on mutated zombies too?"

Ning Yu immediately thought of a possibility.

"We're not sure, but he's never had any problems during missions."

Wu Di added, then continued:

"Besides interference, he can even control the movements of a small number of zombies."

"He also has solid combat experience - I've sparred with him before."

Hearing this, it did seem unlikely for him to die. Perhaps he'd encountered some predicament or got held up by something.

The SUV passed under an overpass, and Ji Mengyao suddenly turned the steering wheel, pulling under the bridge.

There weren't many zombies here as the area was sparsely populated.

"What's wrong, Mengyao..."

Wu Di asked, looking at Ji Mengyao who had suddenly changed direction.

Ning Yu also opened her eyes from her rest, joining Shen Yiyue in looking toward the driver's seat.

Just after stopping the car, Ji Mengyao started trembling slightly, clutching her forehead in pain as she lay back in the driver's seat:

"Damn, those hallucinations are back."

She held her forehead with one hand while struggling to open the front storage compartment with the other.

However, it was completely empty.

"Great, we changed cars today, and I didn't bring my cigarettes."

She punched the steering wheel in frustration before closing the compartment again.

"What's going on?"

Shen Yiyue asked confusedly.

"Mengyao's ability has side effects - she's often plagued by hallucinations, especially if she's had to resurrect multiple times in a short period."

"Cigarettes help her ease these hallucinations."

Wu Di explained, noticing that Ji Mengyao's pain seemed to be intensifying as she rested her head on the steering wheel, clearly suffering.

He gently rubbed her back, trying to make her feel better.

Though his face remained expressionless, both passengers in the back could see his concern.

"Hey, are you taking advantage of me right now?"

Ji Mengyao frowned, turning her head from the steering wheel to glare at Wu Di.

Wu Di's hand froze immediately, and he timidly said:

"Sorry."

However, both Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue could see the obvious embarrassment on her face.

She turned her head back to the steering wheel and mumbled:

"Continue."

Wu Di was stunned, not quite understanding Ji Mengyao's meaning, but reluctantly continued rubbing her back with his warm palm.

What a tsundere, Ning Yu thought to herself with exasperation.

Suddenly inspired, she seemed to think of something and started searching through the system's store.

[Ladies' Cigarettes (Watermelon Menthol Flavor 1 pack): Points *800]

[Ladies' Cigarettes (Double Pop Bubble Wine Flavor 1 pack): Points *1000]

....

Wow, there were so many flavors - the system was surprisingly detailed in strange ways.

Ning Yu had over 10,000 points now, so this wasn't much, plus she had a little ulterior motive.

She immediately exchanged points for two packs.

"Here, I have some."

She rummaged through her backpack for a moment, pretending to pull out two packs of ladies' cigarettes, and reached forward to hand them over.

Ji Mengyao heard Ning Yu's voice from behind and felt something being passed forward, immediately turning her head with effort.

Her eyes lit up with surprise, not expecting Ning Yu to have cigarettes with her.

She had almost considered making a temporary trip back to base for cigarettes, as her hallucination-riddled state was quite dangerous.

After taking the cigarettes, she examined the two packs:

"Hmm... Double Pop Bubble Wine flavor, you've got good taste."

She eagerly took one out and lit it, taking a deep drag before opening the window to exhale the mysteriously fragrant smoke.

Her expression relaxed considerably, clearly finding relief.

"So this is what you meant by 'smoking is harmful to health'? And yet you're carrying such nice cigarettes?"

Ji Mengyao gestured toward Ning Yu while leaning back in the driver's seat.