My Romance Game Updated – Chapter 109
by Little PandaGuardedness
Although Ren Chenxi had all kinds of ready-made tools and even clean clothes in her inventory, Ren Chenxi and Mu Ning ultimately chose to return to the second floor to dress their wounds, given the howling cold wind and biting chill on the rooftop. As for the massive pile of mutated bird carcasses, that would have to wait until they finished bandaging themselves up.
Just as Ren Chenxi and Mu Ning returned to the second floor, a series of urgent knocks sounded from the first floor.
“Xi-jie, Boss! The mutated birds have retreated! There are so many mutated bird carcasses outside! Should we go out and gather some too?”
The girls looked at one another. In the end, following Mu Ning’s instructions, they concealed the fact that Mu Ning and Ren Chenxi were injured. Leaning out of the second-floor window, they called down to the boys, “If you want to gather them, go ahead and do it nearby on your own. We have plenty of mutated bird carcasses on our rooftop too—come over and help us out in a bit!”
“Eh? Why would there be mutated bird carcasses on your rooftop? How did you even attack them? How did you manage to make their bodies fall right onto the roof?”
Due to the high perimeter wall surrounding the rooftop, Ren Chenxi and Mu Ning’s major actions had remained completely hidden from their neighbors, from the moment the mutated birds first struck the base until their retreat. Furthermore, with the overwhelming swarm attacking so fiercely just now, everyone had been too busy saving their own skins. Who would have had the time to wonder why more mutated birds were gathering on someone else’s roof, what order those birds were, or how many of them were being shot down?
Because of this, even the boys next door had no idea why the mutated birds had suddenly retreated, let alone that two high-tier mutated birds had just attacked the Girls’ Building’s rooftop.
Speaking of the piles of mutated bird carcasses on the rooftop, before heading downstairs, the girls had originally wanted Ren Chenxi to store the other 7th-order mutated bird carcass in her space. However, Mu Ning had stopped them, telling them that they only needed to hide the 8th-order mutated bird carcass; there was no need to conceal the 7th-order one.
After all, there had to be a reason why the massive flock had suddenly lost order and retreated. A crafty character like Qi Sheng would undoubtedly guess that the leader bird had been slain. As for who in the entire base was capable of killing the leader, his suspicions would inevitably fall on Mu Ning.
Therefore, rather than letting Qi Sheng pry and test them with endless suspicions later, they might as well display the 7th-order mutated bird’s carcass openly.
Just as Mu Ning had anticipated, she and Ren Chenxi had barely finished bandaging their wounds when Qi Sheng arrived with a group of people. Under the pretext of checking on the condition of their building and seeing what repairs were needed so he could coordinate the base’s workers, he had also brought Liang Ke along. Qi Sheng’s main reason for bringing her was to assess the casualties among the base’s personnel.
As the strongest squad in the base, Mu Ning’s team was naturally Qi Sheng’s primary concern.
It was not that Qi Sheng did not care about the other ordinary survivors in the base. After all, one could only do as much as one’s capacity allowed. The moment the mutated birds had struck the base, Qi Sheng had broadcasted an announcement warning the ordinary citizens to seek shelter inside the buildings immediately.
In this sudden avian assault, the heaviest casualties had actually occurred among the espers. Qi Sheng had already dispatched other medical personnel to treat the wounded espers.
As for why Qi Sheng had personally rushed to Mu Ning’s place with Liang Ke at the very first opportunity, asking about the cause of the birds’ retreat was only part of it; he was also genuinely concerned about the well-being of his base’s strongest squad.
And just as Qi Sheng had expected, the sudden retreat of the mutated birds was indeed connected to Mu Ning. When Mu Ning led him up to the rooftop and he saw the dense, sprawling piles of bird carcasses—along with the massive body of a 7th-order mutated bird—Qi Sheng went completely numb.
Moreover, this time, Qi Sheng merely stared at the 7th-order mutated bird’s carcass and did not make any demands to purchase the 7th-order crystal core.
Seeing how tactful Qi Sheng was being, Mu Ning did not make things difficult for him. Aside from hiding the existence of the 8th-order mutated bird and Ren Chenxi’s card ability, she told him the truth: the attack had been organized by a 7th-order mutated bird, and once the 7th-order bird died, the low-tier and mid-tier mutated birds naturally scattered. Furthermore, she admitted that although they had killed the 7th-order mutated bird, they had sustained severe injuries in the process.
Hearing that Mu Ning and Ren Chenxi were injured, Liang Ke immediately stepped forward to examine their wounds. Unlike the other girls, who had been easily reassured by Ren Chenxi’s talk of “special wound medicine,” Liang Ke was a doctor; she saw at a single glance just how severe their injuries were.
Mu Ning’s condition was especially alarming—one wrong move, and both of her arms could be ruined. But seeing Mu Ning’s indifferent expression, Liang Ke knew she could not judge an esper’s injuries by pre-apocalypse medical standards. After all, an esper’s healing capacity was vastly superior to that of an ordinary human.
After Liang Ke described their injuries to Qi Sheng, he realized that killing a 7th-order mutated bird had indeed taken a heavy toll on them. Thanks to their decisive kill, the base had been spared from even more devastating losses.
Under these circumstances, Qi Sheng felt too embarrassed to ask Mu Ning about buying the 7th-order crystal core, even though he was practically drooling at the thought of it.
Liang Ke left behind plenty of her personally formulated wound medicine and told them they could contact her at any time if there were any issues with their wounds, before preparing to leave.
Just as they were preparing to leave, however, Mu Ning called out to Qi Sheng. She generously offered that since there were far too many mutated bird carcasses on their roof, they wouldn’t mind giving two-thirds of them to the base if needed.
Needed? Of course they were needed! In the apocalypse, who would ever complain about having too many food reserves? Especially someone like Qi Sheng, a base leader who had to feed a whole population of the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled.
Ren Chenxi and Mu Ning had already found it too troublesome to process so many mutated bird carcasses themselves. Giving away two-thirds not only earned them Qi Sheng’s profound gratitude, but he also went out of his way to summon a squad of espers to help process the carcasses.
Qi Sheng had originally planned to lead a team around the base to collect the scattered mutated bird carcasses. But since Mu Ning’s side needed help, they might as well start here.
Per Mu Ning’s request, Qi Sheng’s group left all the bird heads behind and took only the headless carcasses. To transport so many bodies, they had brought over a dozen large wicker baskets. As they stacked the carcasses one by one into the baskets, their shock grew with every bird they loaded.
How did it feel like there were more mutated bird carcasses on Mu Ning’s roof than in the rest of the entire base combined? How did this group of girls withstand the relentless onslaught of the flock and slaughter so many of them? Had they not seen the fierce avian attacks completely demolish the top floors of several other buildings in the base?
By the time Qi Sheng’s group hauled away the last basket of carcasses, every single one of them departed with an attitude of absolute reverence toward Mu Ning and the girls. Even the boys from the Men’s Building next door looked at the girls with eyes full of deep admiration.
What could the girls do? Bound by Mu Ning’s instructions, they could hardly speak the truth—that they had barely played any part in generating this mountain of carcasses.
With two incredible bosses’ big thick thighs1 to cling to, lying down to win2 was simply too comfortable!
Once Ren Chenxi and Mu Ning returned to the first floor with their bountiful harvest to prepare their long-delayed lunch, everyone unanimously suggested adding a bird meat dish to the menu.
Having eaten the lunch Ren Chenxi prepared for it much earlier, Tantan had gone to take a nap long ago. Now, drawn by the mouth-watering aroma of roasted mutated bird meat, it came trotting downstairs with a bounce in its step to beg for food.
Well-pampered by Ren Chenxi, Tantan’s guard had dropped significantly. Sleeping dead-to-the-world in the blanket saturated with Ren Chenxi’s body fragrance, it had absolutely no idea that a major crisis had just unfolded while it was asleep. It might have heard some noise, but given a cat’s inherent laziness, as long as it felt safe, sleep reigned supreme. It could not be bothered to care about whatever crackle and clatter was going on outside. Tantan only knew that the moment it woke up, a bunch of delicious food had suddenly appeared!
“Meow meow meow meow~” Now that Master is back, I’m simply too happy~
Ultimately, Tang Ying failed to achieve her dream of spending the entire afternoon preparing vast quantities of delicious food to store in Ren Chenxi’s space. This was because the girls spent the entire afternoon laboring over boiling water, scalding the mutated bird carcasses, and plucking their feathers.
The girls were not the only ones kept busy; Mu Ning had also dragged the boys from next door over to do hard labor, and even Ren Muhui was not spared.
Out of everyone, the injured Mu Ning and Ren Chenxi were probably the only ones who had it easy. Over the course of the afternoon, Mu Ning keenly sensed the slow healing of the wounds on her shoulders. Her intuition told her that this recovery was related to whatever card Ren Chenxi had secretly applied to her earlier.
Shifting her shoulders thoughtfully, Mu Ning turned and went upstairs. She found Ren Chenxi on the second floor, leisurely cradling Tantan while watching a movie. Dispensing with any beating around the bush or probing tactics, she walked straight up and asked, “Among the cards you synthesize using crystal cores, there’s one that can heal injuries, isn’t there?”
Ren Chenxi had not expected Mu Ning to be so sharp, detecting the Recovery Card she had used on her so quickly. But since Mu Ning already knew about it, Ren Chenxi had no intention of denying it.
She nodded and admitted frankly, “Yes, I can synthesize Recovery Cards. But the healing speed of this card is a bit slow. Just give it a few more days, and the wounds on your shoulders will definitely heal completely!”
“Did you use a Recovery Card on Sun Jia back then, too?”
“…Yes.”
“So there was never any real antidote. Sun Jia’s drug addiction was actually cured by your Recovery Card?”
“…” Uncanny—how had she even figured that out?
Ren Chenxi stared intently at Mu Ning, unable to discern any hidden motives behind those dark, fathomless eyes. Ultimately, she could only nod and admit it. “That’s right. The Recovery Card is what cured Sun Jia’s addiction.”
“Then… the antidote you gave Sun Jia back then…”
“It was anti-inflammatory medicine. What of it? We were complete strangers at the time. Is there a problem with me wanting to keep my esper ability a secret?”
Following Ren Chenxi’s nearly heartless retort, Mu Ning’s heart—which had been suspended in suspense—sank like a stone.
Just as she had anticipated, Ren Chenxi had been constantly guarding herself against her ever since they reunited. If Mu Ning had not gone to the beach to find her back then, Chenxi would probably have kept her completely in the dark about everything.
No, wasn’t she still keeping secrets even now? Including the identity swap game she was playing with Ren Muhui, as well as… their real intentions behind it.
In truth, Mu Ning’s sudden whim to ask about the Recovery Card had not been a calculated move to extract information from Ren Chenxi. Bringing up those past matters about Sun Jia was solely because she truly, deeply wanted to thank her. She wanted to thank her for being willing to use such a precious card on Sun Jia, and now on herself.
Yet, before she could even utter those words of gratitude, Ren Chenxi’s defensive posture cut her to the quick.
They had been together for so long, and yet, this person still harbored such deep, unyielding guardedness toward her.
Footnotes
- A Chinese internet slang term and variation of 'thick thigh' ('cū dàtuǐ'), serving as a metaphor for a powerful patron or backer one can rely on for protection and resources.
- A gaming and internet slang term ('tǎng yíng') describing a situation where a player does nothing but still wins because their teammates are highly skilled or powerful.
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