Xing Yuan stood directly in front of the man, a smile playing on her lips as she looked at him. Although she was quite satisfied with his answer, since it was a secret, it naturally should be buried forever.
"What is your name?"
"Haha, I'm just a passerby. I'll never say anything I shouldn't. You don't need to worry." Mu Zheng instinctively took two steps back, looking around as if searching for a weapon to protect himself.
Now that this person had suddenly shown up, he felt like they were there to silence him!
"Don't worry! I won't kill you," Xing Yuan said leisurely.
"However, I also can't rest assured leaving you out here. Why don't you work for me instead!"
A flicker of hesitation crossed Mu Zheng's mind. If he refused, he would die, wouldn't he!
"In exchange, I can help you gain superpowers. As a condition, you just need to make sure those who know the truth keep their mouths shut."
"Okay!" After weighing the pros and cons, Mu Zheng agreed.
Xing Yuan took out a prepared potion.
This was something she had made recently. She had added a little extra to it. Although people who drank this potion could awaken superpowers, their lives would henceforth be controlled by her. For her, this was a very profitable transaction.
After resolving this historical issue, Xing Yuan reappeared in front of those people, still holding a cotton candy.
She brought it all the way home and presented it to Xia Zhiyue like a treasure.
"For me?" Xia Zhiyue was quite surprised.
"Mhm. Only for you." Xing Yuan pursed her lips and smiled, her cheeks flushing as if she were shy.
"Ah Yuan is so kind!" Xia Zhiyue leaned closer to Xing Yuan and lightly kissed her on the cheek.
The action was natural, as if it were a habit.
Xing Yuan glanced at Xia Zhiyue, then cautiously leaned in and kissed her back. It was a reciprocal gesture, entirely reasonable.
Happily, Xing Yuan went to the kitchen to help her beautiful sister cut fruit, unaware that after she turned away, a blush also appeared on Xia Zhiyue's face.
If Xing Yuan hadn't still acted like a child, she really couldn't guarantee she wouldn't overthink things. When two people of similar age lived together, if they weren't relatives or friends, there could only be one other kind of relationship.
Xing Yuan had been feeling a bit anxious lately. New blue spots had recently appeared on her body. After serious consideration, Xing Yuan casually found a notebook in the research lab.
It happened to record the nature of the zombie virus, its production process, and even part of the direction for serum development.
The research lab had already developed version 1.0 of the serum, but it had no effect when tested on zombies.
With the answers openly revealed, the research lab's progress accelerated. Versions 2.0 and 3.0 were released one after another. After countless failures, the serum was finally successfully developed six months later.
Xing Yuan felt like she had waited forever. If she hadn't worried that her exposure of not having amnesia would make her sister unwilling to stay with her any longer, she would have intervened long ago.
As the most precious existing zombie species, Xing Yuan was naturally not among the first test subjects.
When they witnessed the first batch of zombies' skin gradually return to its normal color after injecting the serum, a cheer erupted from the scene. They had succeeded.
However, out of the more than twenty zombies used as test subjects, only one survived after injecting the serum. But this person had lost all memory, appearing as naive as a newborn infant.
Yet, this was the best they could achieve.
These individuals, after becoming zombies, had suffered some degree of significant injury. When they returned to their human form, injuries that would have been unfelt, like a broken arm, instantly returned to their true bodies.
In essence, they, who were originally living people, died on the spot upon returning to human form due to the severity of their injuries.
For this reason, the government held a vote: whether those individuals should be allowed to live as zombies or die as humans.
Ultimately, the majority chose for them to die as humans. In their hearts, their deceased loved ones had reluctantly done so much; perhaps they also wished for a peaceful departure.
The government chose to end this disaster by spreading the zombie virus.
First, there were regional trials, followed by a nationwide rollout. Several rescue teams also rushed to various locations with the artificial rain. There were always a few lucky survivors. They saved whoever they could.
Xing Yuan was also taken out by Xia Zhiyue to bathe in this artificial rain. This rain was harmless to humans and only effective against zombies.
She hoped Xing Yuan would return to normal, yet she also worried that she would completely forget her. However, she had already decided that no matter what, since Xing Yuan had taken care of her for so long, she would take good care of her in return.
However, Xing Yuan showed no change at all.
"This shouldn't be happening," Ran Fangxu muttered to himself. Could the effect of the medicine be insufficient?
Thinking this, Ran Fangxu immediately drew a vial of serum and injected it into Xing Yuan.
Xing Yuan had, in a way, watched the serum being developed step by step. With her secret assistance, the serum was effective for her as well. She couldn't understand what had gone wrong.
After three injections of the serum, Xing Yuan's body finally reacted. She lay on the bed and fell into a deep sleep. She slept for seven days.
Upon waking, Xing Yuan remembered everything and couldn't help but cover her face. She could tolerate her own childish behavior and cuteness, but she couldn't accept being so foolish.
No, that wasn't her. That was clearly the original host. How could she take the blame for that? That's right, it was like that.
Xing Yuan found a good excuse for herself and instantly felt righteous.
Seeing that no one was around, she decisively released Tian Ling from the dark room.
Tian Ling cried, "Master, you finally remembered me. You have no idea what kind of life I've been living during this time."
Xing Yuan felt a moment of guilt and then shifted the blame: "Mhm, why didn't you remind me?"
"I did remind you." Even though a long time had passed, Tian Ling was still full of resentment when this was brought up.
Who knew what had happened? As soon as they entered this world, the Master had turned into a child. A child was one thing, but the key was that she didn't remember it.
After it had emotionally recounted their origins to Xing Yuan, it thought it had fallen ill and then somehow triggered some switch.
The exclusionary and protective consciousness of the sea of knowledge had locked it in a dark room, completely sealed.
It couldn't eat or sleep well all day, fearing that the Master might accidentally mess up this world. If nothing happened to the Master, it would have to bear all the karma. Was there any beast more unlucky than it in the world?