Chapter 6: Cross-World System
A zombie lunged at Ji Ruwen from the side. Seeing this, the one who had just pulled Ji Ruwen up—Xiao Bai—hurriedly yanked him aside to dodge the zombie. Then, in one swift motion, Xiao Bai drew the military dagger strapped to his thigh and stabbed it straight through the zombie’s head!
In an instant, the zombie’s skull was pierced, and it collapsed weakly onto the snow.
Xiao Bai patted his chest to calm himself as he withdrew the dagger.
“That scared me to death. Where the heck did that thing come from?”
Muttering under his breath, Xiao Bai turned, ready to check on the handsome guy he had just saved—only to realize…
“Where is he?”
Xiao Bai stared blankly at the empty space in front of him.
The captain beside him, looking exasperated, reminded him, “Look down.”
Xiao Bai lowered his head and saw—at some point, Ji Ruwen had fainted on the ground.
Xiao Bai: “???”
Xiao Bai: “Why did he pass out?”
“Ask yourself. You just yanked him out of the way so hard that his head smacked right into our vehicle. Knocked him out cold,” one of the team members shrugged. “Xiao Bai, you’ve got some serious strength.”
Xiao Bai: “…”
So it’s his fault now?
“All right, enough talking. The zombies nearby are still gathering here. Let’s move.” The captain said, hefting Ji Ruwen off the ground and shoving him into the vehicle.
“But I think he was about to say something just now…”
The captain gave Xiao Bai a look. “Can you wake him up right now?”
Xiao Bai coughed lightly. “Ahem… let’s just go first.”
…
…
Gululu…
Mibao was woken up by hunger. When she opened her eyes, it was already daylight.
It had snowed heavily the night before, and the temperature had dropped even further.
Fortunately, the clothing store had plenty of winter wear, so Mibao slept nestled in a pile of clothes, staying fairly warm.
[Mibao, are you hungry?]
The system big brother’s gentle voice sounded.
Mibao covered her stomach and nodded.
[Then let’s do a little task—does Mibao know how to sing Insects Fly?]
Mibao blinked her big eyes and obediently shook her head. “No.”
[That’s fine, big brother will teach you, okay?]
“Okay, okay!”
Mibao immediately sat up straight, her little face turning serious.
[The dark, dark sky hangs low…]
The system big brother had just started singing when he froze mid-line.
Reason: it sounded horrible.
Just that one sentence—completely off key.
But Mibao didn’t know that, and immediately copied him: “The dark, dark sky hangs low~”
[…]
Oh no. He had taught her wrong.
[Mibao, big brother was just clearing his throat earlier. How about I play you the original version and you sing along, okay?]
Mibao, still well-behaved, replied, “Okay, big brother.”
So the system rummaged through its archives and dug out the original Insects Fly to play for Mibao.
Mibao’s musical sense was far better than the system’s; after following along with the original a few times, she had mostly gotten the hang of it.
Then she sang through the whole song from start to finish, and when she finished, she looked expectantly at the system, waiting for something tasty to fill her belly.
System: […]
[Mibao, wait here for a moment, okay?]
Leaving those words behind, the system hurriedly opened its system group chat.
[Idol Training System / Xiaonian]: Seniors, we have a huge problem!
[Infrastructure System / Xiao Wang]: What’s wrong? Didn’t the higher-ups give you special permission to go find your sister?
[Idol Training System / Xiaonian]: That’s not the problem—it’s about energy collection. We talked before about ways to convert energy, but now, after having my little sister sing, I didn’t collect any energy at all.
[Soldier King System / A Man]: That’s strange… Tell us the details and we’ll help you figure it out.
So Xiaonian explained the entire process in detail to the group.
The seniors in the chat thought it over, then began offering suggestions one after another.
[Infrastructure System / Xiao Wang]: I think the method you’re using to collect energy is correct, but maybe your sister’s singing was missing a necessary condition.
[Soldier King System / A Man]: Xiao Wang has a point. You’re an idol system—idols need an audience. Maybe your sister has to attract an audience with her singing before you can gain energy.
[Idol Training System / Xiaonian]: …But it’s the apocalypse. Where am I supposed to find an audience?
There aren’t many living humans left.
Even if there are, who would risk their life to come listen to my sister sing?
That’d be brainless.
[Soldier King System / A Man]: Think outside the box, Xiaonian~ Have your sister sing for zombies. Zombies will definitely be attracted.
[Infrastructure System / Xiao Wang]: Makes sense. If a zombie sees a human, it’ll rush over, right?
[Idol Training System / Xiaonian]: …True enough. I’ll give it a try.
With this new idea, the system closed the group chat.
Hmm…
Although… but…
It actually kind of makes sense.
Whether they’re attracted by the singing or just the sound itself, the important thing is—they’re coming.
[Mibao, for this task, we need to attract people… attract an audience. So you might need to stand by the door and sing.
Don’t worry, big brother will definitely protect you and won’t let those monsters hurt you!]
“Okay, big brother!”
Without hesitation, Mibao agreed immediately.
She climbed out from the pile of clothes and carefully walked to the door, pulling back the curtain a little.
[Mibao, go find some sticks and wedge them between the door handles. When more zombies gather outside later, one stick might not be enough to hold them back.]
Mibao nodded.
After reinforcing the door, Mibao stood by the entrance again, took a deep breath, and, encouraged by system brother, opened her mouth and began to sing.
“The dark, dark sky hangs low~ The bright stars accompany…”
…
—
Whizz!
Pfft!
A zombie shot through the head by an arrow collapsed to the ground before it even had time to react.
Two or three zombies nearby noticed and turned their heads toward the archer. Just as they took a step forward, they too fell one by one, following in the footsteps of their “senior.”
Not long after the zombies fell, two figures—one tall, one short—approached their fallen foes.
The taller girl skillfully retrieved the arrows she had just shot, wiping the blood and grime off the arrows with a grimy cloth before slipping them back into her quiver.
“It snowed all night,” Chaolu said, lifting the quiver strapped to her back.
At twelve years old, she looked slender, so the adult-sized quiver was somewhat large for her.
But it wasn’t heavy—she only appeared thin, but her body was all muscle.
After all, she had been training in sports since she was little.
If anything, thin was an understatement…
Chaolu tilted her head slightly toward the small boy silently following her—her younger brother, Chaoyang.
He was a full four years younger and at least a head shorter than her.
She often wondered how their dad managed to raise him looking like such a scrawny little runt.