Chen Wan and Jiang Yanxin, meanwhile, showed no signs of emerging anytime soon. Qin Ke had been in and out in fifteen minutes — shower done, hair dried, everything — while those two hadn't even opened the door.
Qin Ke came out to find only Jiang Yanxin's parents and Yang Yang in the main area. Something about the situation felt off, but she let it go. More importantly, a large portion of what Yan Yan needed had now been found. That alone was enough to ease the tightness in her chest.
Yang Yang had been without Qin Ke all morning. Now, seeing her freshly washed and present, Yang Yang kicked her short legs in Grandma's lap and reached out immediately. "Auntie, carry me~."
Qin Ke laughed and scooped her up, giving her a bounce. "Missed us, did you?"
"Yes! Auntie, play with me." Yang Yang wrapped her arms around Qin Ke's neck with cheerful insistence.
Qin Ke carried her through the RV, making slow laps.
A few minutes later, Yi Yi and Jiang Wanning came downstairs. Seeing that Chen Wan still hadn't emerged, Yi Yi settled into the driver's seat — she might as well move the RV somewhere safe and collect the crystal cores from the courtyard while she was at it. She drove a wide loop around the campus grounds, passing through the remaining zombies — far fewer than before — and cleared the area methodically.
Chen Wan and Jiang Yanxin finally emerged about fifteen minutes after Yi Yi had come down. Knowing that Zeus had effectively cleared the zombie situation, Chen Wan had grown somewhat less conscientious about the time, though concern for everyone else on the RV had eventually prevailed.
By the time the two of them appeared, Qin Ke had already driven the RV out of the Funan University grounds and onto the road heading toward the outskirts. Forty minutes later, the RV came to a stop in a quiet, uninhabited village to the south of Funan University.
After everyone had eaten, Ye Lan and Jiang Zhao Yuan took Yang Yang upstairs for a nap. The five younger members of the group gathered around the small dining table.
Yi Yi ran through the inventory. "Current count of small vehicles, including what we absorbed on the road today, stands at six hundred and twenty-three. Level 2 zombie crystal cores — I've just tallied them — we now have four thousand, three hundred and twenty-seven. Both of those categories are sufficient for the upgrade. The only remaining shortfall is heavy-duty trucks. We currently have nine. We need twenty-one more."
"Then we go find the trucks first, upgrade the RV, and then track down the steel and alloys," Chen Wan said.
"I know where large vehicles are concentrated in Funan City — it's not far from here. If you get onto the national highway heading north and drive another ten minutes or so, there's a large truck depot," Jiang Wanning offered. She had worked in Funan City and knew the area well.
"Why not go now?" Yi Yi suggested. "The upgrade takes twenty hours. If we collect the trucks first, we can rest during the upgrade — and since the RV can't move while it's upgrading, this saves us the extra travel time."
"Good idea. Let's go." Chen Wan agreed.
Yi Yi went to take the wheel. Chen Wan settled into the front passenger seat. Jiang Yanxin, Qin Ke, and Jiang Wanning buckled in at the dining table.
Even Ye Lan and Jiang Zhao Yuan, resting upstairs, couldn't sleep — too worried about the young ones heading out again. Only Yang Yang slept soundly, her little chest rising and falling in perfect rhythm.
Following Jiang Wanning's directions, Yi Yi drove for another ten or so minutes before the truck depot came into view. Zombies inside the facility were sparse, and the operation went smoothly.
Chen Wan worked the mechanical arms steadily, absorbing one heavy truck after another. When a truck had a zombie inside it, the zombie simply appeared on the ground where the truck had been — and promptly charged at the RV, only to be grabbed by a mechanical arm and thrown away in a long, clean arc, landing far off in pieces.
The depot had five or six hundred parking bays for large vehicles — not all filled, but Chen Wan estimated two to three hundred trucks at a glance. Yi Yi drove slow laps while Chen Wan directed both mechanical arms in a steady rhythm. In under half an hour, a depot that had housed hundreds of heavy trucks stood empty.
With that done, Yi Yi drove back to the village where they had eaten. She brought the RV to a stop, sealed the steel panels over the windows, and switched on the interior lights.
"Scan complete." Yi Yi's voice surfaced directly in Chen Wan's mind, which made her jump slightly. "All required materials for upgrading the RV to Level 4 have been collected: one thousand Level 2 zombie crystal cores, thirty heavy-duty trucks, and five hundred small vehicles. Host, do you wish to proceed with the upgrade?"
Since Yi Yi had become a physical android, they usually just talked out loud. The mental communication only came out in emergencies, so the sudden internal voice had caught Chen Wan off guard. She smiled and glanced over at Yi Yi, who was sitting right in front of her. "You're literally right there. Why use the Mindlink?"
"Old habit. I'm used to asking you internally for upgrades." Yi Yi smiled back.
Chen Wan turned to tell the others — and caught Jiang Yanxin looking at her with an expression that was precisely and deliberately unreadable. Across the table, Jiang Wanning's eyes had briefly settled on Yi Yi with an expression that was also not entirely neutral. Chen Wan and Yi Yi both noticed almost simultaneously and turned to look.
Chen Wan found Jiang Yanxin watching her with a slight smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Yi Yi found Jiang Wanning looking at her with what appeared to be a faint glare, and couldn't work out what she had done.
Chen Wan sensed the atmospheric shift with the instincts of the experienced, cleared her throat, and addressed Yi Yi directly: "Right. Everything's in order — go ahead and start the upgrade."
"Understood. Upgrade commencing. Duration: twenty hours. All internal functions remain fully operational during the upgrade period. The RV cannot be moved." Yi Yi followed Chen Wan's lead and said it aloud.
Jiang Yanxin smiled. "Perfect timing. Chen Wan and I are going to rest." She took hold of Chen Wan's wrist and led her firmly toward the bedroom. Chen Wan had the distinct sense that she was about to answer for something, though she couldn't work out what. She had literally just upgraded the RV. What was there to answer for?
Jiang Wanning's gaze shifted to Yi Yi. Yi Yi took an instinctive step backward. Jiang Wanning smiled. "Why are you backing away? I haven't even moved."
"I haven't — I just lost my footing." Yi Yi produced this excuse instantly and set her optical brain to analyzing why Jiang Wanning had just glared at her.
Qin Ke decided this was her cue to leave. "Right — I'll let you two chat. I'm going to go lie down, I'm a bit tired." She retreated to the bunk with her novel before anyone could argue.
"Here." Jiang Wanning stood and made room for Qin Ke, then patted the seat beside her once she'd gone. "Sit with me. I'll keep you company."
Yi Yi was somewhat torn — part of her wanted to flee and process the glare in private, but the pull of having someone to talk to was too strong. She didn't eat, she didn't sleep, and conversation was one of the few things she genuinely looked forward to. For the sake of conversation, she sat down.
"Do you and Sister Chen Wan often communicate through the mindlink?" Jiang Wanning asked, eyes on Yi Yi.
"Not at all," Yi Yi said quickly. "We barely use it anymore. It really only comes up during upgrades."
"Good." Jiang Wanning shifted smoothly to a different subject. "Did it feel nice, having your hair dried this morning?" She looked at Yi Yi's slightly wavy dark hair — the texture really was lovely — and found her fingers wanting to reach out again.
"It did." Yi Yi answered promptly, then registered the speed of the subject change. Her optical brain had just finished its analysis of why Jiang Wanning had glared at her. The conclusion was: jealousy.
Yi Yi turned this over. Jealousy was something she associated with romantic partners. Did it also occur between close friends? And what exactly was one supposed to do about it? These were questions she added to her internal research queue — but she'd been quiet long enough, and she was going to combust if she didn't talk to someone soon.
Yi Yi decided to take the initiative. She reached over and took hold of Jiang Wanning's wrist, smiled at her, and launched straight in. "Wanning — I never finished the story about that host I was telling you about. Let me pick up where I left off."
Jiang Wanning hadn't expected the wrist-grab, and certainly hadn't expected Yi Yi to show no intention of letting go. The corner of her mouth curved upward on its own, and her voice came out with an involuntary softness. "All right. Go ahead."
Yi Yi, seeing that this worked, lit up and immediately began talking at full energy — making up for weeks of enforced silence.
On the other side of the RV, Chen Wan was pulled into the bedroom, looked at Jiang Yanxin, and asked plaintively: "Honey? What did I do?"
Jiang Yanxin poked her gently in the forehead. "What did you do? You were using the mindlink in the middle of a conversation when we were all sitting right there. And you were both standing face to face — what exactly required a private mental channel?"
"I understand, honey. From now on, we say things out loud. No mindlink in the RV unless it's an emergency." Chen Wan said this earnestly and moved to hug her. She just wanted to curl up with her wife for a nap.
Jiang Yanxin stepped neatly aside and caught the tip of Chen Wan's ear between her fingers, giving it a light pinch. "You're getting harder to manage. Tell you what — we're both mental-type ability users. If you can beat me in a Mindscape duel, I'll let you hold me while we sleep. Deal?"
Chen Wan's eyes lit up immediately, and she nodded without a moment's hesitation. She had no idea yet what the gap between their mental energy levels actually was, and the prospect of sparring with her wife in the mindscape — something she'd never tried — sounded genuinely exciting.
Jiang Yanxin's lips curved. She brought her attention to focus, and in the next instant, both of their mental projections appeared in a place of total darkness.
Chen Wan's projection spotted Jiang Yanxin's and moved toward her, planning to close the distance and hold her. Jiang Yanxin raised both hands, exerted the lightest of pressure, and Chen Wan found herself completely immobilized.
"Honey?" Chen Wan's projection looked faintly aggrieved. How was her wife's mental strength so much greater than hers?
What happened next surprised her even more. Jiang Yanxin began calmly removing Chen Wan's clothes.
"Honey, what are you doing?" Chen Wan asked in a small voice.
"Training," Jiang Yanxin said, entirely matter-of-fact, reaching over to brush Chen Wan's cheek with one hand. "This kind of engagement is taxing. It expands your mental energy threshold, which means next time you won't be passing out after a few minutes of controlling zombies. I'm doing this for your benefit."
She then continued removing Chen Wan's clothes.
Chen Wan tried to resist and discovered that in this space, she was genuinely powerless against her wife. There was nothing to do but submit to being handled.
When they finally emerged from the mindscape, Chen Wan collapsed flat on the bed, face and forehead damp with exhaustion. Mental energy exertion was no different from physical, possibly worse. She felt thoroughly used up.
Jiang Yanxin, looking at the state she'd left her wife in, found a cloth, dampened it with warm water, and began wiping Chen Wan's face. Chen Wan lay there pouting.