The last four enemies had been dealt with, and now that both Xie Father and Xie Lingfeng had awakened abilities, Xie Lingruo no longer had to constantly watch over them. Her current goal was to stockpile as many crystal cores as possible.
By now, everyone knew how to use crystal cores, so her behavior of hoarding them in large quantities didn't attract much attention.
In fact, her main reason for doing this was to increase her ability level first, ensuring she could survive in this increasingly harsh apocalypse. Only afterward would she focus on collecting crystal cores to exchange with the system for points.
For a long while, the Xie family of three took on outside missions. Any crystal cores they didn't need, they gave to Xie Lingruo.
She accepted them—not because she wanted to hoard them, but because crystal cores were valuable and safer kept in her space than carried around.
Besides the usual zombie-hunting missions, Xie Lingruo also browsed the free market during breaks, using snacks to trade for gold and jewelry.
This wasn't about vanity—she was preparing for future transmigrations.
A little extra preparation now meant things would be easier later. Why not?
While living this orderly life, one day during a stroll through the market, Xie Lingruo ran into Zhou Yi.
He had changed a lot. Previously just a bit stern, now he seemed cold and emotionless—clearly someone who'd been through dark times.
As it turned out, during that rescue mission where they saved a scientist, his best friend had died due to that man's reckless behavior.
After returning and completing the mission, Zhou Yi requested to resign from the army. His superior didn't want to let him go, but Zhou Yi and his remaining two brothers were determined—and in the end, he succeeded. From then on, he lived only for himself.
In the year that followed, due to mutations in plants and animals, the Xie family found outside missions increasingly difficult—mainly due to lack of manpower.
So Xie Lingfeng suggested teaming up with Zhou Yi's squad, and the other side agreed readily. After all, the Xie family had saved Zhou Yi, and Coach Yu had also spoken well of them later on.
But soon, Xie Lingfeng bitterly regretted the decision—he had invited a wolf into the house.
Here's what happened: in the apocalypse, people fought and killed every day, but sometimes, even they needed a release of hormones to stay mentally healthy.
Under Zhou Yi's persistent pursuit, Xie Lingruo eventually agreed to be with him, though their relationship remained that of lovers and bed partners.
In this cruel world, a no-strings-attached relationship seemed ideal. Xie Lingruo's thinking was simple—she liked his face and skills, that was all. Maybe they'd part ways someday.
But what she didn't expect was that Zhou Yi never changed. He remained loyal and true to her, and the two of them ended up living together well past a hundred years old.
At one point, when life stabilized, Xie Lingruo gave birth to a daughter, intending to "have a little fun." Her name was Zhou Ruixue, and she was born with dual abilities from both parents.
Xie Lingruo had imagined a sweet and soft little girl—but what she got was a total little demon. In the end, she couldn't handle her daughter and often left her to her brother and father to raise.
The child was just too mischievous. Xie Lingruo would rather go fight zombies or mutated plants than stay home with her wild child.
When this life finally ended, Xie Lingruo was truly content. Other than a few early months spent doing missions, she spent the rest living freely and happily.
When she opened her eyes again, Lin Qingxue had returned to the system's task room. As soon as she arrived, she eagerly asked the system for her point total.
The system replied while calculating:
"The task issuer has rated your performance as Intermediate, awarding 50,000 points. The reason: you let your enemies die too easily.Also, you exchanged crystal cores in the first world for 150,000 points. After deducting your previous debt of 110,000 points, your current total is 90,000 points."
Since this was her first mission, Lin Qingxue felt she did quite well. Though the amount wasn't even 1% of what she needed for resurrection, she believed she'd only get better from here.
Looking at her somewhat smug host, the system felt it couldn't bear to watch. But it admitted she did have a knack for earning points.
At least she was better than the host assigned to the "Strong Female Lead System" next door—that one was a legendary case who got themselves killed in the first round.
Thinking of that, the system decided to treat its host a little better—after all, they were in the same boat now.
"Host, would you like to erase the emotional connections from the first world?"
Lin Qingxue replied without hesitation:
"No need. Those emotions are part of my experience. Don't worry—I know what I want."
That was fine too—it would save the system some points, which was always good news.
"By the way, do I have to enter the second world immediately after finishing one? And with my current points, can I upgrade my space?"
"No, after each world, you get five days of rest. If you're bored, you can enter early.As for upgrading your space—not yet. You'll need at least 200,000 points to level it up once."
Hearing the system's thoughtful arrangement, Lin Qingxue was quite satisfied. But when she realized she couldn't yet afford the upgrade, she was a bit discouraged. Still—you can't get fat in one bite.
"Host, I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"
She laughed. "Just tell me both."
"Good news: you can permanently keep the spiritual-type ability from the previous world.Bad news: it costs 30,000 points to make it permanent."
After careful consideration, Lin Qingxue agreed to spend the points. In the short term, it cost her, but in the long term, she came out ahead.
There were many worlds to come. She still had a few spiritual-type crystal cores saved in her space, and this was an ability she was most comfortable using. If she had a chance to keep such a golden finger, there was no reason to pass it up.
So now, Lin Qingxue was left with only 60,000 points.
At this moment, she thought back—the first world had been exhausting, especially on her soul.
So, she planned to rest well—but after just two days, she couldn't take it anymore. No electronics, no food—just soul rest.
By the third morning, Lin Qingxue was already preparing to head to her second mission world.