Bonus Bonanza (8/10)

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【Daydreaming (1/1)】

【Labor Day Getaway, a  Wonderful Holiday—Has the Host Felt the Charm of a Leisurely Life Yet~】

I haven’t, but my companion certainly has.

【Having fun with friends—what a blessing! Congratulations, Host, on winning a case of beer!】

【Chatting,  daydreaming,  drinking… Let the days dissolve into white foam in alcohol】

【Special Mission Announced: Get together with five friends and enjoy some beer during the holidays!】

【Rewards are being distributed…】

Wait, wait—I’m in the middle of a fight right now. Can you hold off on the reward for a sec?

【Okay, Host】

【Friendly Reminder: Please claim your reward within ten minutes, or a case of beer will appear in front of you】

Oh, right, System—I remember you can specify exactly where to place the reward when it’s awarded, right?

【Yes, Host. Anywhere within a five-meter radius.】 

Lu Yao had a great idea. 

The wind swept beneath the shattered billboard at the street corner. The exterior wall of Hongxing Department Store was mottled and peeling; a hole had been torn in the door, and the glass lay on the ground, shattered into a pile of shards.

The enemy on lookout had already fallen, one hand clutching a broken walkie-talkie.

Logically, such a commotion should have alerted those inside, but they clearly hadn’t noticed a thing.

The walkie-talkie crackled: “A-Qing! A-Qing! What’s that noise outside? Did something crash?”

That’s one of the differences… Even though the apocalypse had arrived, the people here had never heard gunshots in the real world, so when they heard them, they thought something had fallen from the sky.

Meanwhile, the man they called A-Qing was being held tightly by Jiang Xingrui, who was covering his mouth. A-Qing’s pupils dilated, reflecting Jiang Xingrui’s cold, amber eyes.

Qin Ye trembled with fear: “Boss, what do we do next?” A battle with the ability-users was about to begin; he was so nervous he swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

Lu Yao said, “We have two options right now. One: since your defense is the strongest, you charge in first and swing wildly to draw fire…” 

Qin Ye immediately replied, “I’ll take the second option.”

Jiang Xingrui’s mouth twitched slightly.

Lu Yao wore an “I-knew-it” expression: “Then A-Qing won’t be of any use.” Jiang Xingrui raised his wrist; the blade swept across the man’s neck—clean and decisive. There was no need for mercy toward this scum.

The walkie-talkie continued: “Where are they? Why’s it gone quiet? Number Three, go check it out.”

Lu Yao lifted A-Qing’s body and wiped the blood from his neck with the hem of Qin Ye’s shirt. Then he spoke into the walkie-talkie: “Hey, buddy, we’ve already knocked him out. You stole our bike, so let’s negotiate.”

Heavy breathing came over the walkie-talkie, but the other party quickly calmed down: “All right. I’ll send someone to pick you up.”

Lu Yao turned off the walkie-talkie and turned to Qin Ye, warning him, “The people inside are probably pretty dangerous! If the three of us fall into their hands, we might be tortured terribly!”

Qin Ye: “Really? Is that so?”

He immediately began trembling with fear, shaking violently. The three of them entered the Hongxing Department Store like that.

The ground-floor shops had been swallowed up by rubble, and the large characters “Hongxing Department Store” hung crookedly on the wall. The escalators on the first floor had twisted into a wavy shape, looking like a scene from some bizarre urban legend.

Two henchmen wielding iron rods stepped out of the shadows and sized them up.

It’s worth noting that Lu Yao and Jiang Xingrui were both quite handsome—the delicate, refined type—so they looked completely harmless. As for Qin Ye, the only one fully armed, he was now shaking so violently that he resembled a waterproof phone from a commercial set to vibrate mode and then dropped into water, sending splashes everywhere.

Splashed.

This left their enemies no choice but to take Lu Yao and his group seriously.

The contempt in those two men’s eyes was plain to see. Jiang Xingrui thought to himself, “Oh, no wonder Lu Yao suddenly threatened Qin Ye—that was his goal all along.”

“Come with us,” one of them said.

With almost no precautions taken, they led the three of them upstairs. The moment they reached the landing, Lu Yao scanned the layout out of the corner of his eye:

The upper level of the mall was open in the center, with small shops lining the perimeter; inside the railing, cardboard boxes filled with various supplies were piled high. The staircase entrance, the fire hydrant, the counters…

These were all places they could use for leverage.

Counting the two from earlier, there were five enemies in total.

With his current unbeatable marksmanship, he could take out one of them instantly with the first shot, but there was little point in doing so. After all, the biggest problem was……

A man with a tanned face and broad shoulders leaped down from the railing. His steps were steady, and his gaze was confident. A scar ran across his cheekbone and bridge of his nose, making him look like someone you wouldn’t want to mess with.

He smiled—a smile that was both warm and shrewd.

——Qi Shi.

“I’m really sorry,” Qi Shi said in a slightly hoarse voice, as if from smoking too much. “My buddy stole your motorcycle.”

Lu Yao corrected him: “It’s not a ‘motorcycle’—it’s a ‘motorbike.’ If you say ‘motorcycle,’ my brother won’t hold back.”

Jiang Xingrui, standing nearby, let the corner of his mouth twitch slightly. Qi Shi froze for a moment, completely baffled. “At a time like this, you’re correcting my vocabulary?”

Qi Shi was actually quite surprised that Lu Yao and his crew had come right to him. Now, looking at Lu Yao and Jiang Xingrui’s appearances, he naturally had the same malicious thoughts as Qi Ba.

Two such good-looking guys—they should be toyed with properly. Just don’t go too hard on them later; after all, the leader doesn’t seem too bright. It wouldn’t be any fun if he ended up completely beaten into a moron.

“Alright,” he said, his smile returning. “Let’s negotiate.”

He was smarter than Qi Ba and decided to take things slowly.

Lu Yao said, “The deal is simple: we’ll trade your companion for our motorcycle.” Qi Shi blurted out, “Holy crap! Didn’t you just say ‘motorcycle’ yourself?”

After blurting that out, Qi Shi coughed. He’d really lost his composure. No, he had to stay calm. Survival in the apocalypse relied first on strength and second on wisdom.

Lu Yao: “Since my brother wasn’t exactly nice to me to begin with, I said the motorcycle was fine.” 

Qi Shi: “……”

Qi Shi considered himself a wise man; he had to keep his cool… but what on earth was going on with this guy? This was just ridiculous. Qi Shi silently told himself to stay calm, and the smile on his face regained its composure. “To show our sincerity, shall we shake hands?” He planned to use the handshake as an opportunity to launch a close-range sneak attack.

Take out one guy right away, and the remaining two would be powerless to resist, wouldn’t they? That’s what Qi Shi was thinking.

Lu Yao nodded, appearing completely unguarded: “Sure, let’s shake hands.” He walked over and held out his hand.

At the same time, he shouted inwardly: System! Award me a case of beer! Exact coordinates: five meters above Qi Shi’s head!

—Yes, he was indeed completely off guard—because he was planning to launch a direct attack!

“Hey, buddy,” Lu Yao said with a ingratiating smile, grabbing Qi Shi’s hand and shaking it vigorously. “Buddy, I’m treating you to a beer.”

Qi Shi was baffled. What kind of slang was this?

But he immediately realized what Lu Yao meant. In that instant, a case of beer appeared right above his head.

Normally, Qi Shi would have been able to dodge it.

But too much happened in that split second: the approach, the handshake, the eye contact—followed by Lu Yao’s cloyingly enthusiastic smile.

As a result, Qi Shi’s reflexes were a split-second too slow, and the beer crate crashed down on his head with a clatter. Several bottles shattered instantly, sending shards of glass flying like raindrops.

The beer exploded into a golden mist in the air, streaming down his cheeks and across the bridge of his nose; his eyes were completely blurred, and he couldn’t see a thing. Blood and beer mingled together, and the wound hurt like hell.

【Treating a Friend to Beer (1/5)】

On the other side, Jiang Xingrui was so startled by the sight of the beer that he nearly flew off his feet, but his combat instincts kicked in immediately, and he sprang into action, lunging at the others.

His twin blades traced icy crescent arcs—the first strike to pin the opponent in place, the second to slit his throat—his movements were incredibly crisp and decisive. The scorching blood warmed the blades slightly, so after killing one man with a single blow, Jiang Xingrui’s lips curled into a smirk as he turned his gaze to the second man.

Qin Ye was also startled by the beer, but seeing that the others were even more terrified than he was, he gained confidence. He leaped up, swung his axe, let out a wild scream, and joined the fray.

Qin Ye was fully armed; his helmet and leather jacket provided excellent protection, and his reckless, headlong charge was quite imposing.

Over on Lu Yao’s side, Qi Shi, dazed by the alcohol, began roaring and lashing out wildly. Parts of his body had hardened, and his stiffened arms swung through the air, with loud, explosive roars… Anyone hit by them would be either dead or seriously injured.

“He’s not even dizzy? Is he really that powerful?” Lu Yao assessed inwardly as he pulled out his alloy bone blade and jabbed at every opening he could find. Qi Shi’s superpower was truly formidable; while the alloy bone blade could pierce his hardened skin, it could only inflict shallow cuts. “Watch out for the gun!” Lu Yao shouted, aiming the dark muzzle of the tranquilizer gun at Qi Shi.

Qi Shi’s eyes were so glazed over from alcohol that he couldn’t open them, yet he still instinctively held his hardened arm across his chest. After a faint plop, the tranquilizer dart struck the hardened surface and bounced off.

In reality, it didn’t matter if the dart had actually penetrated, because it was designed specifically for zombies and had no effect on humans.

Lu Yao laughed loudly, “Haha, I tricked you, didn’t I? This is a fake gun! Don’t you think about how we’d even get a real gun? Hahaha!”

Jiang Xingrui caught a glimpse of the scene out of the corner of his eye and laughed along, “You’re so embarrassing—you actually fell for a trick like that.”

Qi Shi: Stay calm… stay calm…

I just can’t stay calm!

What’s going on with this group? Does this guy have some kind of superpower? How did a case of beer suddenly end up smashing into him?

What kind of superpower is that? A personal pocket dimension? And of all things, why throw a case of beer? Why is this happening? Are these guys here to pull a prank?

The agonized scream from the guy next to him made it clear: they weren’t here to make a joke.

—They’re here to kill.

The beer foam under his feet was slippery, and the air was thick with the smell of alcohol and blood.

This sensation made Qi Shi grow increasingly furious; he was truly on the verge of losing his mind.

“Take this!” Qin Ye roared as his axe whistled through the air toward Qi Shi’s head. Qi Shi raised his hardened arm to meet the blow, sending sparks flying.

His hardened arm was as strong as steel; the force rebounded from the axe handle back into Qin Ye’s thumb and index finger. His wrist went numb, and the axe nearly slipped from his grip. Then Qi Shi swept out with a back kick, sending Qin Ye flying through the air. He crashed into a mannequin, snapping it in two, while the plastic legs spun several times on the ground.

“That’s incredible.” Lu Yao was taken aback. The alloy bone blades struck again, exploiting the opening. Qi Shi howled in pain as they pierced him, and he swung his arms even faster.

Jiang Xingrui had already taken care of the remaining few and stepped onto the battlefield with his twin blades crossed.

Qi Shi resorted to his old trick, crossing his two hardened arms in front of him to block Jiang Xingrui’s dual blades, intending to absorb the blow before spinning around to counterattack.

Just then—that was the opening—

Lu Yao pulled out the handgun the system had just rewarded him with: “Look at this gun!”

Qi Shi sneered, not letting himself be distracted: “Do you really think I’d fall for that trick a second time?”

He paid Lu Yao no mind at all; his arm blocked Jiang Xingrui’s attack, and the clanging of metal against metal was piercingly loud. At the same time, Lu Yao fired shot after shot, aiming for Qi Shi’s chest.

…The bullet struck Qi Shi’s foot.

Qi Shi let out a scream and doubled over, nearly losing his ability to fight. That single shot completely broke the deadlock of the battle!

Jiang Xingrui praised, “Great aim!”

For a ability-user like Qi Shi, the ability to endure pain is stronger than that of the average person; a shot to the leg might not render him immobile like it would an ordinary person. But a shot to the foot was different—it sounded painful, but in reality, it hurt even more.

Jiang Xingrui marveled inwardly: From feigning the use of a tranquilizer gun to deceive the opponent at the start, to finally using a real gun at the end—it was all part of Lu Yao’s plan.

Lu Yao’s judgment and marksmanship were truly top-notch.

Most of Qi Shi’s fighting spirit had been sapped. He roared in anger, ready to fight, but the pain severely impaired his judgment, and he could no longer control his powers.

Qi Shi was, of course, no match for Jiang Xingrui, so without a hitch, Jiang Xingrui rendered Qi Shi completely incapable of fighting or moving with just a few moves.

Lu Yao pulled a rope out of his backpack and used it to tie Qi Shi up tightly. The fight was officially over.

Meanwhile, Qin Ye finally crawled out from among the mannequins, a plastic hand still dangling from his head. He took off his helmet to reveal a gash on his forehead; blood was trickling diagonally down along his browbone.

Lu Yao: “Whoa, Qin Ye (battle-damaged edition).”

Qin Ye looked thrilled: “That scared the hell out of me, boss! We won!”

Lu Yao opened his backpack, pulled out some iodine, tweezers, and gauze, then held Qin Ye down as he sat him down and began disinfecting the wound on his forehead.

Qin Ye grimaced in pain.

Lu Yao started talking to distract him: “By the way, Qin Ye, did you know that a bandaid and plaster are two different things?”

“Is that so?!” Qin Ye’s eyes and brows had been knitted together in pain, but upon hearing Lu Yao’s words, he widened them in curiosity—only to scrunch them again.

“The materials and ingredients are different. Band-Aids are more breathable and don’t contain any active ingredients, while adhesive bandages have medicinal properties and are relatively less breathable.”

Lu Yao used tweezers to remove a strand of hair stuck to the wound.

Qin Ye: “So, boss, what exactly are you putting on my wound right now?”

Lu Yao: “I’m putting adhesive tape on it.”

Qin Ye nearly jumped out of his skin: “What?!?!”

Lu Yao: “Haha, just kidding.” As he spoke, Lu Yao applied the adhesive tape to Qin Ye—of course, the tape was merely there to hold the gauze in place. “Your physical constitution is already much better than that of an average person. I’d guess that even without any treatment, this wound would be mostly healed by tomorrow.”

Qin Ye looked envious: “I’m one step closer to being Superman.”

“Lu Yao, Qin Ye, come here.”

Jiang Xingrui’s voice came from downstairs; it sounded very grave.

Lu Yao and Qin Ye exchanged a glance and immediately headed downstairs.

Jiang Xingrui had found the “little black room” Qi Ba had mentioned.

Inside the small, dark room lay three corpses, their bodies and faces covered in marks of torture.

They had been tortured to death while still alive, and then tortured again after turning into zombies. Qin Ye was seething with rage: “Those bastards.”

Lu Yao walked over, took a thin blanket out of her bag, and covered them with it. “Let’s carry them out and bury them.”

Jiang Xingrui nodded. “Okay.” Then he said, “As for the timing…”

Lu Yao: “Since it’s cloudy, let’s head straight to Torch Dragon. I won’t be going out to work in the fields for now.”

Jiang Xingrui: “Okay.” He thought for a moment, then shared a piece of information: “We’re farming at Torch Dragon, too. If you need to, you can work there after you’ve been treated for the zombie virus.”

“Sure, sure, that’d be great.” Lu Yao added, “Oh, right—on cloudy days, you’ll have to come with me to sweep the streets.”

Jiang Xingrui: “…Why do you have to drag me along?”

Lu Yao answered honestly, “Because I’m too scared to sweep the streets alone. I’m afraid I won’t be able to fight off a mutated zombie if I run into one.”

Jiang Xingrui:“……”

Jiang Xingrui: “…Fine.” 0

Next, they split up. Jiang Xingrui found his motorcycle next to the mall and rode over to pick up the surviving couple so they could clean up the mess together.

Lu Yao and Qin Ye escorted the still-living Qi Shi toward the police station. Amid excruciating pain and rage, Qi Shi struggled to keep his composure.

Since these lunatics had no intention of killing him, he was determined to survive!

He hardened his wrists and slowly cut through the rope. Every stroke brought a searing pain.

He wanted to live—to survive—and turn the tables on them. Qi Ba, Qi Jiu… they were all dogs. Once he got out, he could still recruit some men, leave this area, find a more lucrative territory, and rob and kill even more…

…What? Take him to the police station?

These people really are crazy.

He won’t lose—he just won’t!

Damn it, soaking the wound in alcohol hurts so much.

Wait… why are there zombie sounds coming from inside?  It’s fine—ordinary zombies can’t break through his defenses…

Lu Yao and the others tossed the badly injured Qi Shi into the police station.

An hour ago, they’d thrown Qi Ba and Qi Jiu in there, but now there was only blood on the floor—no bodies in sight. They’ve probably turned into zombies by now.

Qin Ye asked, “Boss, with his superpowers being so powerful, can a zombie really kill him?”

Lu Yao: “I’m also thinking about whether I should stab him a few more times…” Just then, an inhuman scream echoed from deep within the police station.

Lu Yao: “…What on earth is that sound? Let’s get out of here, fast!”

Qin Ye:!!!

Qin Ye let out an even more inhuman scream and turned to run.

Lu Yao: “Even though it’s no longer necessary, I just had to say this to you: Happy Labor Day.” Though terrified, Lu Yao insisted on finishing his wisecrack before taking off running.

That’s what faith is—there are always things more important than life itself.

Qi Shi, hearing that terrifying screech, completely panicked: “No! Don’t leave me here! No! I won’t do that anymore! I swear!”

The sound of shuffling footsteps echoed from the depths of the darkness.

Qi Shi looked up and met a pair of pitch-black, emotionless eyes.

The thing opened its mouth and mimicked the words it had just heard in a strange voice:

“Happy Labor Day…”

Qi Shi’s face contorted with fear.

Instantly, his world turned blood-red.

Lu Yao and Qin Ye sprinted several blocks in one go before stopping to catch their breath, clutching their knees. Qin Ye panted for a moment: “Big, big, big boss… Qi Shi just now… it seemed like he was confessing.”

“He isn’t repenting—he’s regretting,” Lu Yao said solemnly. “To be precise, it’s not even regret—it’s the realization that he’s about to die.”

Qin Ye: “You make such a good point, boss! By the way, was that a mutated zombie just now?”

Lu Yao: “You’re changing the subject so fast—it’s obvious you weren’t paying attention. Damn it, I was determined to drop a golden line with that remark!”

Qin Ye: “But Boss, you have to know—if you go in expecting to come up with a golden line, you’ll never come up with one…” Damn it, Qin Ye actually called me out on that!

Qin Ye’s ability to call people out has improved! The kid’s grown up and developed his own thoughts!

Lu Yao fell silent for two seconds, then suddenly began wiping cold sweat from his brow: “Yeah, that was definitely a mutated zombie just now. Thank goodness it didn’t chase us out—otherwise, we’d be done for.”

Qin Ye exclaimed, “Boss, did you just pretend nothing happened and skip the conversation?!”

Lu Yao glanced back in that direction, then wiped his brow again: “That was terrifying. Come on, let’s go back and help out.”

Qin Ye: “Alright…”

They jogged all the way to the large lawn behind Hongxing Department Store, where Jiang Xingrui had just arrived with the surviving couple. Many hands make light work—they quickly dug a grave and buried the victim.

Lu Yao stood up. The sun was setting, and the twilight stretched his shadow long. He raised his hand to block the glare; the shadow from his palm fell across his face, and his dark eyes dimmed slightly.

“Today’s events have come to a close,” Lu Yao said, his voice tinged with weariness.

So much has happened today.

Jiang Xingrui looked at Lu Yao beneath the blood-red twilight sky, and a thought crossed his mind: “You’re such a beauty—but why must you be such a goofball?”

“Should we head back?” Jiang Xingrui asked, then felt a bit annoyed afterward. How had this group, without him even realizing it, come to revolve around Lu Yao? “Let’s rest here for a bit,” Lu Yao said. “I can tell everyone’s tired.”

Besides retrieving the motorcycle and taking out a gang of thugs, they’d also gathered quite a bit of supplies.

Qi Shi and his group’s warehouse was filled with boxes of instant noodles, luncheon meat, self-heating meals, canned goods, dried fruit, and snack bags of every color.

Everyone stuffed some of it into their backpacks, but there was still plenty left over. Jiang Xingrui asked, “Should we hide it? We can come back for it when we have time.”

“Who knows when we’ll have time?” Lu Yao shook his head and tossed some of the packaged food directly onto a section of the second-floor hallway. “Let’s leave it here. If any survivors happen to pass by and see it, it’ll help them restock their supplies—it might even save a life.”

Thanks to the Law-Abiding System, Lu Yao wasn’t particularly short on food. Jiang Xingrui nodded. “You’re right.”

A breeze picked up in the city at dusk, but unfortunately, the task of enjoying the breeze was already complete; all that remained was the task of treating four friends to a few beers.

The supplies Qi Shi and his friends had stockpiled were enough for a lavish dinner.

Self-heating meals and self-heating hot pots are, in theory, very poor value for money in the post-apocalyptic world, but the emotional value they provide is actually quite high.

In the gray-toned post-apocalyptic world, the spicy aroma of a self-heating hot pot, the bubbling broth, and the abundance of ingredients create a striking sensory contrast.

Simply put, eating hot pot in the apocalypse makes people feel truly happy.

Besides the self-heating mini hot pot, tonight’s dinner naturally included other items.

Qin Ye set up a portable stove, and the water in the pot soon began to boil. Lu Yao poured the oatmeal and milk into it, and a cloud of white steam rose. After the oatmeal porridge was done, he opened a can of beef.

The beef fat melted into fragrant beef drippings as it heated up; he sliced the luncheon meat thinly and added it to the pot, then sprinkled dehydrated vegetables into the broth. Finally, he opened two bags of pickled mustard greens, and a delicious dinner was ready.

Everyone began eating amid the steaming white mist.

In the post-apocalyptic world, the feeling of sitting across from one another and eating dinner together was truly wonderful.

After wolfing down their food for a while, Lu Yao found a single intact bottle of beer among the scattered, jumbled ones in the crate, then retrieved some disposable paper cups from Qi Shi’s storage area and poured everyone a glass.

“Come on, friends, let’s raise a toast,” Lu Yao said. “This is our victory celebration!” 

“Cheers,” Jiang Xingrui said, gently clinking his paper cup against Lu Yao’s.

Just then, Chen Tian said, “Um, boss, I’m allergic to alcohol.”

Lu Yao’s mouth dropped open. “Wh—what…?”

The mission was to treat five friends to drinks!

Jiang Xingrui, Qin Ye, E Yue, and the already deceased Qi Shi—that makes four people. Just one more to go!

System, System, doesn’t it count if I drink?

【No, Host.】

Can’t I be my own friend? Everyone’s first friend is themselves!

【Unless you have schizophrenia or multiple personalities, Host, it won’t count toward the mission.】

Lu Yao suddenly began seriously considering the possibility of developing schizophrenia.

There’d probably be a lot of interactions like this with friends in the future. If I had schizophrenia, wouldn’t all these tasks automatically start at (1/n) by default? That would be absolutely amazing!

But schizophrenia is something to think about long-term—no rush for now…

The most important thing right now is to treat someone to a drink! Aaaaaah!

Perhaps Lu Yao’s expression was too menacing, because Chen Tian looked a bit terrified: “Alright, boss, I’ll drink… I’ll drink…”

“It’s nothing.” Lu Yao took the beer from in front of Chen Tian and forced a smile. “We don’t have that kind of drinking culture here… Xingrui, could you come with me for a moment?”

Jiang Xingrui asked warily, “What for?”

Lu Yao: “I want to make friends with a zombie…”

Jiang Xingrui: “Oh, that’s not exactly unusual. So what are you going to do next?”

Lu Yao said earnestly, “Then I’m going to make it chug this beer.”

Everyone present: “……”

Jiang Xingrui: “…How could I ever have had any illusions about you.”