The protagonist who hates losers is so sweet to me.

On the way back, the more Song Xinqi thought about it, the angrier he became.

What on earth was Yu Qing up to? He couldn’t even wait for the two months to be over before rushing out. He’d rather go on a mission with that useless level three electric ability user than tell him he didn’t want to go. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t agree.

Seeing his growing anger, people on the street became increasingly fearful. The recent purge of the safe zone had shown everyone his ruthless methods. Watching his darkening expression, they all reflected on whether they had done something wrong lately.

Halfway through his walk, Song Xinqi kept replaying the scene of Yu Qing and Peng Shu being so close in the wild. A strong emotion called jealousy overwhelmed his mind, eroding his rationality.

The mission went much more smoothly than Peng Shu had expected. Normally, he relied on luck to find crystal nuclei, only knowing if a zombie had one after it used its ability or he dug into its head, making the process inefficient.

But with Yu Qing and Yu Xiaoxue, things were different. They found more crystal nuclei in one morning than he usually did in two missions. It wasn’t him protecting Yu Qing; it was more like he had hitched a ride on Yu Qing’s coattails.

He split the remaining crystal nuclei, giving half to Yu Qing and using the other half to exchange for points for the mission.

After parting ways, Yu Qing returned home with Yu Xiaoxue. Having stayed in the safe zone for too long, he felt a bit out of place when he went out. As soon as he got home, exhaustion hit him, and he collapsed onto his bed.

He had only worked in the wild for a morning and was already worn out. However, people in the safe zone had to do two missions a day, fighting for tasks and food, exhausting all their energy.

Life was so tiring.
He turned over and lay on his bed, while the snow leopard stood beside the bed licking his face, its rough tongue making him itch. He turned his face away and saw a tall figure appear in his yard.

The person approached, and Yu Qing sat up immediately, “Song Xinqi, what are you doing here?”

Song Xinqi glanced at the bits of grass and dirt on him from the outside, his eyebrows furrowing into a sinister expression, “What were you doing this morning?”

“I went out on a mission,” Yu Qing replied, detecting the dissatisfaction in his tone. Feeling somewhat puzzled, he added, “The two-month mark is almost here. I thought I’d get used to the future post-apocalyptic life ahead of time.”

“There are so many accidents in the wild. What makes you so confident you won’t get hurt? Do you always rely on others to protect you?”

Yu Qing realized Song Xinqi was here to pick a fight, “But if I don’t do missions, I won’t have anything to eat. Do you expect to keep supporting me?”

“I wouldn’t mind,” Song Xinqi replied.

Yu Qing sighed, “Forget it. I have abilities now, and Yu Xiaoxue. I can handle missions myself. I don’t want people calling me a useless parasite who only relies on others.”

Song Xinqi frowned, “Who said you’re a useless parasite?”

“The administrator did.” he was about to complain but then remembered Song Xinqi’s mind-reading ability and decided to let it go, “Never mind, it’s not a big deal.”

Song Xinqi didn’t expect him to refuse his offer of support, “Don’t forget we have a mental link. If anything happens to you, I have to bear the risk too.”

Yu Qing thought for a moment, “Then why don’t we cut the link?”

Song Xinqi’s face went blank for a moment.

Yu Qing decided to push for his own space, “You should be able to sense a distinct line connecting us. That’s the mental link. You always think I’m a burden, and I worry about causing you trouble during missions. This thing is a burden to both of us, so let’s just cut it.”

After rambling on for a while, he noticed Song Xinqi hadn’t responded. He went over and patted his arm, “Song Xinqi, did you hear me?”

“I didn’t sense it.”

“What did you say?” Yu Qing hadn’t heard clearly.

Song Xinqi looked up, his eyes dark and unreadable, “I said I didn’t sense that line.”

“That’s impossible. I can see it, so you must…” Yu Qing realized something, looking nervously at him, “You’re not willing to cut the link, are you?”

Does Song Xinqi really want to kill him?

Something in Song Xinqi snapped, and his precarious rationality collapsed, “I’d love for you to stay far away from me.”

Yu Qing didn’t notice the turmoil in his eyes. Since hearing his thoughts that one time, he had given up on improving his image in Song Xinqi’s eyes, “Right, you hate me. I don’t particularly like you either. Instead of wasting each other’s patience, let’s end this cleanly.”

Song Xinqi’s breathing grew labored. Staring at Yu Qing’s face, he said, “Without the link, I won’t provide you with food anymore. If you encounter danger or trouble, it’s none of my business.”

“I understand.” Yu Qing’s golden eyes remained pure, “So, when do we cut the link?”

Song Xinqi paused and suddenly laughed, “Yu Qing, you’re something else.”

The next moment, the conspicuous mental link in Yu Qing’s mind disappeared.

Yu Qing felt nothing different. He confirmed with Song Xinqi, “Is it cut?”

In response, Song Xinqi turned and walked away, his back cold and indifferent.

Yu Qing lay back on the bed, and Yu Xiaoxue ran to the yard to lock the door, then returned to lie under the bed.

Feigning indifference, Yu Qing finally let his true feelings show. His eyes sparkled with liveliness, though there was still a lingering sense of fear.

The atmosphere was so oppressive just now. But he didn’t expect the link to be so easy to cut. It should be considered a peaceful breakup, right?

He tried to sense it and confirmed the link was gone. A weight lifted from his heart, making him feel light.

Song Xinqi, hiding the mental link, exuded a thick, inescapable aura of darkness. It was essentially a death sentence for anyone who crossed him.

Coincidentally, the administrator of Section C saw him approaching. He immediately put on a fawning smile, “Good morning, boss…”

Before he could finish, the menacing Song Xinqi grabbed his mouth with a powerful grip, slamming him against the fence.

Song Xinqi’s gaze fell on the badge representing the administrator’s status, his tone growing increasingly sinister, “Who the hell are you calling a useless parasite?”

Although the link was cut, the two-month deadline hadn’t passed yet, so Yu Qing could still enjoy having food delivered to him for a while.

He thought he should get up early to grab a mission today, but he still woke up late.

When he went out with Yu Xiaoxue, there were only a couple of mission tags left on the board, and they were all life-related tasks requiring specific abilities.

He had no choice but to wait for the afternoon missions, expecting another fierce competition.
Before leaving, he heard some unusual noises at the gate. Besides those who had secured missions and were heading out, there was also a large crowd gathered at the entrance.

The group was quite large, roughly around fifty people, completely blocking the entrance. Half of them were tall and burly, looking quite intimidating. They surrounded a few people dressed in white robes, presumably protecting them.

One of the white-robed individuals was negotiating with the gate guard. They seemed to be having a bit of a disagreement, and the nearby strong men didn’t look pleased.

With nothing else to do, he decided to watch for a while.

The gate guard, a bit impatient, said, “The safety zone’s rule is no entry without abilities. Even if you’re researchers, it doesn’t matter.”

Despite the guard’s rude attitude, the white-robed individual in charge of negotiating maintained a calm tone, saying, “I understand your concern about the fifty percent chance of turning into zombies, but you can rest assured. We have developed a serum that inhibits the initial transformation, so there is no risk of turning.”

The gate guard asked, puzzled, “Why would you research that?”

The white-robed person patiently explained, “Because each researcher is extremely valuable, losing even one is a huge loss. With a fifty percent chance of turning into zombies, we can’t afford the risk, so we opted out of the transformation.”

“Our previous research base was overrun by zombies, and we are looking for a stable safety zone to continue our research on this doomsday virus,” the white-robed person suggested. “How about this, could you please explain our situation to your leader, and then decide whether to accept us?”

The white-robed person’s words were gentle yet persuasive, subtly leading the conversation.

Yu Qing moved closer, feeling that these people looked familiar.

“If you agree to take us in and provide a place for our experiments, we will share all our findings and research progress with the safety zone, giving you a deeper understanding of the apocalypse.”

The gate guard was persuaded by the white-robed person, “Alright, you wait here. I’ll go call the boss.”

Calling Song Xinqi would take some time, so these people waited at the gate.

At this moment, Yu Qing finally remembered that these people were researchers, and among them might be Song Xinqi’s future partner, Chu Yuan.

Chu Yuan was a research genius who remained an initial state until the end of the story. Later, when all personnel moved to the safety zone, Song Xinqi protected the zone by fighting zombies while Chu Yuan researched the zombie virus at the rear.

Although the original novel didn’t establish an official pairing for the protagonist, many readers shipped Chu Yuan and Song Xinqi due to their outstanding skills.

The most prominent among these people was the white-robed person negotiating earlier. Yu Qing guessed that that must be Chu Yuan himself.

As he changed his angle, he finally saw Chu Yuan’s face. He wasn’t particularly handsome, but his unique temperament and aura as a research genius made him stand out.

Perhaps noticing Yu Qing’s gaze, Chu Yuan, who was comforting the others, looked up and gave him a gentle smile.

Yu Qing’s “Good Person Radar” activated—Ding! A good person.

So, he smiled back brightly.

Seeing that Chu Yuan’s attention was drawn inside, the burly men beside him also looked over simultaneously. The young assistant girl beside Chu Yuan exclaimed, “There are still such good-looking people in the apocalypse. What’s he holding, a cat?”

“It’s a mutated snow leopard,” Chu Yuan replied gently.

The girl was surprised and took another look at Yu Qing.

Feeling the increasing number of gazes turning towards him, Yu Qing’s smile gradually faltered. He waved at them and ran off with a blush.

Chu Yuan chuckled, “Stop staring, you’ll scare him away.”

Since it was Chu Yuan’s team, Song Xinqi would definitely let them in. Yu Qing went back to lie down, and not long after, someone knocked on the door.

It was a stranger, a woman. He asked in confusion, “May I help you?”

The woman with a high ponytail smiled warmly, “I’m the new administrator for Area C, just starting today. I’m here to get familiar with the residents.”

After exchanging introductions, he bid farewell to the new administrator.

The new administrator was a valiant level-three wood ability user. Although it was unclear why there was a sudden change, this woman was undoubtedly better than the previous snobbish administrator.

Getting up early was tough, and after failing to secure missions for two mornings, Yu Qing gave up. It felt like a waste to wake up early and still not get a task, so he decided to only go at noon from then on.

Withdrawing his gaze from the empty mission board, he turned to see a crowded area. Four burly men were conspicuously standing in the middle, clearing the crowd around a long table where Chu Yuan sat.

In addition to the official mission tasks, many teams or individuals posted their own missions. Since points couldn’t be shared, these tasks usually offered rewards like crystal cores or supplies.

If he couldn’t get an official mission, doing these tasks was also a good option. He decided to try his luck there.

He stood at a distance, listening to the burly man beside Chu Yuan loudly announce, “We need to recruit a few strength ability users and a few attack ability users to retrieve our remaining data and equipment from our experimental base.”

Their offered rewards were generous: fifty crystal cores per person or two months’ worth of food. They also covered all expenses during the five or six days of the mission. Such lavish rewards naturally attracted many volunteers.

Yu Qing was drawn by the two-month food offer. If he completed this task, he wouldn’t have to worry about food for days.

Many people signed up, and the attack ability user slots were quickly filled, but they still couldn’t find two suitable strength ability users.

Since the precision instruments were heavy and fragile, their standards were very strict, requiring both strength and care.

Yu Qing watched as a big guy like a small mountain failed because he couldn’t neatly divide a steel plate into four equal parts.

Despite half an hour passing, they hadn’t recruited a single strength ability user.

Yu Qing, now doll-sized, rode the equally tiny Yu Xiaoxue, maneuvering through the legs of the crowd.

This area wasn’t as chaotic as the mission board side, making a stampede unlikely. He finally squeezed to the front row and then restored Yu Xiaoxue to her normal size.

Chu Yuan saw the large mutated snow leopard appear suddenly, pushing the crowd aside.

A small doll jumped from the leopard’s head onto the table, showing a delicate, pretty face. Yu Qing asked the surprised Chu Yuan, “Can I give it a try?”

The burly man beside him, thinking he was causing trouble, spoke harshly due to frustration from not finding suitable candidates, “We’ve said many times, we only need strength ability users. Don’t waste our time.”

Chu Yuan stopped the man, recalling Yu Qing, and asked, “Is your ability to shrink things?”

Yu Qing nodded. Standing on the table, he looked like a lifelike doll, and the assistant girl beside Chu Yuan’s eyes lit up, clearly liking him.

Yu Qing explained, “My ability can shrink anything to one-tenth its original size. I may not be a strength ability user, but if I shrink the equipment and data, you can move them yourselves without worrying about them breaking.”

“Can you demonstrate?” Chu Yuan smiled warmly.

Yu Qing extended his tiny finger towards the burly man, and the man vanished.

Moments later, the assistant girl picked up a doll-sized version of the burly man from under the table, “It’s really much lighter.”

“This is indeed better than just finding strength ability users.” Chu Yuan, resting his chin on his hand, asked him a few more questions before deciding, “Alright, you’re in.”

Yu Qing cheered, “Yay! Can my animal come too?”

Chu Yuan looked at the mighty Yu Xiaoxue behind him, “This mutated snow leopard?”

“Yes, it’s very well-behaved and won’t cause trouble.”

Chu Yuan agreed, “Okay.”

Thanks to Yu Qing’s special ability, they recruited one more qualified strength ability user and wrapped up.

“We’ll depart two days from now in the morning. Meet at the gate then,” Chu Yuan reminded, his gaze lingering on the tiny Yu Qing amidst the tall group, chuckling, “Don’t be late.”

Yu Qing nodded seriously.

This mission required Song Xinqi’s approval. When he saw the list of participants, his approval stamp hesitated.

How did that little weakling Yu Qing get in?

He took a deep breath and extended his mental power in one direction. The route had few zombies since most were attracted to the safety zone. Avoiding zombie hordes made the mission relatively safe.

After checking, Song Xinqi, still irritated, stamped his approval.

Learning Yu Qing would be out on a multi-day mission, Peng Shu visited his house, worried, “If I knew you took this mission, I would’ve joined. I saw the recruitment but already had another task.”

“It’s okay,” Yu Qing was pleased with the mission. “The dangers are handled by others. I just need to shrink the equipment and data. The task is easy, and I won’t worry about food for two months.”

Peng Shu agreed, “True. Your ability is really handy in certain situations.”

“Right?” Yu Qing felt proud.

Peng Shu offered, “I’ll wait in the safety zone for your good news and check your house for thieves.”

Yu Qing, touched, hugged him, “You’re so kind, thank you!”

Peng Shu, unsure whether to hug back or stay still, blushed slightly.

Soon, it was time. When Yu Qing arrived, most were already there.

Jumping off Yu Xiaoxue, he asked, “Am I late?”

“No, just in time,” Chu Yuan, finishing registration with the guard, called everyone, “Let’s go.”

Their team included only him as a researcher, five attack ability users, one strength ability user, one sensing ability user, and besides him and Yu Qing, all were visibly strong.

Yu Qing scanned the group and spotted a familiar face, “Wei Zheng, you’re here too?”

Wei Zheng, who was assigned last minute by Song Xinqi, replied, “…Yes.”

Wei Zheng, a level-three lightning ability user, was a top-tier attack ability user. Yu Qing didn’t think much of it and moved on.

They rode an SUV with two rows of seats in the back. Yu Qing, being small, sat first, next to Chu Yuan.

Watching the scenery outside, Yu Xiaoxue, now small, clung to Yu Qing’s shoulder affectionately. He placed her on his lap, rubbing her belly.

Chu Yuan, observing their interaction, curiously asked, and Yu Qing, sensing his interest, placed Yu Xiaoxue’s paws on his lap, “Want to pet her?”

Chu Yuan gently stroked Yu Xiaoxue’s head, making her meow and flick her ear where he touched.

“It’s my first time seeing a non-beast ability user keeping a mutated animal, especially one without any aggression,” Chu Yuan asked him, “How did you manage?”

“Just regular care. Yu Xiaoxue’s mother brought it to me before she died. It was just a nursing baby then.”

“As for aggression, I don’t handle pain well,” recalling some embarrassing incidents, he blushed, “At first, Yu Xiaoxue would scratch me by accident. After crying twice, she learned to be gentle.”

Chu Yuan, smiling, found Yu Qing’s embarrassed look cute, imagining a young Yu Qing crying from kitten scratches.

Meanwhile, watching the increasingly friendly conversation, Wei Zheng thought: Boss, we have a problem.
——————-https://ko-fi.com/quarinnah