Chapter Thirty-One: Winning Over Lin Qisheng

The army watched in silence as the mysterious girl annihilated tens of thousands of zombies, leaving only a few scattered waves fleeing across the battered battlefield. Even the mindless zombies, driven by instinct, were terrified and desperate to escape.

“Commander, can we move out now?” someone asked.

“No, keep observing. Do not act rashly,” the commander replied. To eliminate so many zombies singlehandedly—her extraordinary skills aside, the sheer firepower of her weapons made her impossible to underestimate. A person like this could only be recruited, never opposed.

007: "Dear Host, when did you ever learn swordsmanship?" As far as it knew, the host’s world was a modern, peaceful society—not some martial arts fantasy.

Xu Nuo replied casually, "I learned a bit for a living, back in the day."

Just what did "a bit" mean in this context?

"Actually, it’s mainly because this sword is powerful, with high output," Xu Nuo explained, glancing at the sword in her hand, a gift from her livestream audience, unlike any ordinary blade.

007 sighed in distress. The current reward mechanism suited this host perfectly. To enhance entertainment and audience engagement, most games played by the host had no restrictions on rewarded items. Even if viewers gifted useless or inappropriate things, game background and character constraints usually limited their impact. But Xu Nuo was an anomaly: she accepted everything, dared to use it, and wielded it with remarkable effectiveness. Anyone else would have failed their mission at the first sign of character collapse, but she managed to max out one target’s affection value and nearly reach a hundred percent with another, even as the plot went wild. The system simply couldn’t comprehend her methods.

Imposing restrictions on the reward mechanism was unlikely. 007 had already exhausted itself just trying to prevent viewers from gifting networked devices to Xu Nuo. Changing the mechanism for one oddball host would never be approved by the main brain.

Sigh… 007 gazed at the smoke-filled battlefield and the barrage of reward gifts flying across the screen, deeply troubled.

“Let’s go,” Xu Nuo waved her hand, and a helicopter appeared before her. At last, she could show off this helicopter. “Everyone, get in!” She hopped into the pilot’s seat and addressed the two still on the ground.

Lin Qisheng muttered, "This is far beyond anything I expected."

Gu Xingze watched as Xu Nuo clumsily operated the helicopter, "You know how to fly?"

Xu Nuo replied, "I learned a bit before."

Lin Qisheng began to panic, "How much is 'a bit'? Do you have a pilot’s license?"

Xu Nuo remained calm, "Relax." She certainly didn’t have one, but this was a game—who said you needed a license to fly in a game?

Thanks to Xu Nuo’s efforts, the helicopter finally wobbled into the sky. 007 watched with trepidation, and Lin Qisheng, inside the helicopter, was even more terrified. He didn’t have the energy to be shocked at where Xu Nuo got the helicopter; he only cared about one thing: would they land safely?

Xu Nuo studied the manual on the spot, still able to reassure her little system, "Don’t panic, Seven. I’m not a professional helicopter pilot—"

007 interjected: "But?"

Xu Nuo smiled, "But I’m a professional survivor."

007: The way you say that makes me even more scared!

Although the system couldn’t die from a crash, at this moment, 007 empathized perfectly with the others in the helicopter.

On the ground, soldiers were cleaning up the chaotic battlefield.

"Report, Commander! They flew away!"

The astonished voice reached the commander’s ears. He snapped impatiently, "What do you mean ‘flew away’? Are you having trouble expressing yourself?"

No, no trouble at all.

The commander looked up just in time to see a helicopter roar overhead.

He was dumbfounded.

How did they get a helicopter?

The helicopter landed in the densest area of zombies—a spot Xu Nuo deliberately chose, a move that seemed suicidal.

007: "Host, why do you insist on coming to such a dangerous place?"

Xu Nuo replied, "Because it’s thrilling."

007 was left speechless, deciding it best not to speak up so easily.

Compared to the zombies outside the city, those within were overwhelming—an endless, packed sea with virtually nowhere to step. Xu Nuo and Gu Xingze carved a path out of the horde, fighting their way through.

"Xu, why do you risk your life to eliminate these zombies?" Lin Qisheng’s youthful voice rang out. He stood atop a deserted skyscraper, overlooking the scene below, his coat fluttering in the wind.

Xu Nuo replied, "You want to know?"

"Yes." Lin Qisheng sat down leisurely, his smiling eyes devoid of warmth as he scrutinized Xu Nuo and Gu Xingze.

"The answer is simple,” Xu Nuo said. “One reason is that I don’t want to see the camp Gu and I worked so hard to build destroyed."

Lin Qisheng seemed to have expected this answer, sighing deeply. "So you’re willing to risk everything to wipe out these zombies? How laughable—I thought you’d make a smarter choice."

"By 'smarter choice' you mean leaving with you?"

"Too bad, you’re stubborn," Lin Qisheng smiled. "Xu, you’re too arrogant. Do you really think you and Gu Xingze can handle so many zombies?"

The threat in Lin Qisheng’s voice made Gu Xingze wary.

Lin Qisheng turned to Gu Xingze, mocking him, "And you’re just as foolish."

"Goodbye..." Lin Qisheng rose, brushing dust from his hands. Before his silhouette vanished into the ruins, he waved to Xu Nuo.

In the blink of an eye, the number of zombies multiplied dramatically—truly endless, surging forth from every nook and cranny, pressing in on Xu Nuo and her companions.

007: "Save, save, save! The main storyline has collapsed!"

"What’s going on?" Xu Nuo asked.

007 replied urgently: "This isn’t how the main plot was supposed to go—it’s out of control! Host, you must run!"

"Is this Lin Qisheng’s doing?" Xu Nuo had suspected as much and was not surprised.

"Gu, you go first," Xu Nuo said to Gu Xingze, who was shielding her.

"What are you planning?" Gu Xingze’s expression was colder and calmer than ever.

Xu Nuo said, "Something that must be done."

Gu Xingze was silent for a moment, "Is today the day you leave?"

"Of course not," Xu Nuo waved to Gu Xingze. "I’ll definitely come back."

Not good. Gu Xingze’s breath caught, his vision blurred, and all his strength drained away.

Xu Nuo helped Gu Xingze onto a hot air balloon and watched it drift away.

Having accompanied every host through sweet romances, 007 was now confronted for the first time with a zombie siege of this scale, its voice trembling, "Host, what are you going to do?"

Xu Nuo’s lips curled into a smile, "Conquer Lin Qisheng."