Gegelimu Li Were All Like This

Liu Yuqing pushed up her glasses.

"I used [Appraisal] to take a look just now... at Yu Shishi's current condition!"

"She has a mark on her called [Scarecrow's Gaze]!"

Liu Yuqing took a deep breath and explained, "It's a double-edged curse."

"If she enters a certain area, the mark makes her a sitting duck. Monsters will automatically target and attack her."

"But..."

Liu Yuqing pointed out the window at the Mutated Crows circling in the distance, too afraid to approach.

"In other places, though, this mark is more like a 'Superior's Aura.'"

"To these low-level crows..."

"She's like a walking warning sign."

"That's how she survived in the woods—and even managed to run all the way here!"

After hearing the explanation, everyone in the vehicle was stunned.

Was that luck... good or bad?

"Th-then... is Shishi still human?"

That was what Chen Tong was most worried about.

Liu Yuqing checked the panel again and nodded.

"Don't worry, teacher. Her race still shows as [Human]."

"She's just been marked as reserve food."

Once they confirmed she was human, Chen Tong visibly relaxed.

She wasn't afraid of anything else. She was just afraid of seeing students turn on one another, or former students become monsters.

Everyone's eyes turned once more to the man sitting in the boss's chair.

"Boss, what should we do?" Wang Meng asked.

Jiangnan sat on the leather sofa without even lifting his eyelids.

He picked up the Memo Pad beside him, scribbled a line, and showed it to everyone:

[Leave her alone. Ignore her.]

[Drive. We're going straight on.]

He wasn't the director of some shelter, and he certainly wasn't a Horny Teddy Bear who got carried away by a pretty face.

What was the point of taking in someone who'd once abandoned the team?

Because she could eat?

Because she could cry?

Wang Meng immediately understood Jiangnan's decision.

He opened the driver's-side window, leaned out, and shouted down at Yu Shishi, who was still frantically pounding on the door.

"Get lost! Don't block the road!"

"Move, or I'll run you over!"

Yu Shishi was crying pitifully below the vehicle when she suddenly heard that familiar booming voice. She was completely dumbfounded.

She wiped the mud from her face and stared at the fat face in the window, unable to believe it.

"W-Wang Meng?!"

She'd thought this was another group of survivors, but she never expected it to be the people from the bus!

But...

How had the vehicle turned into this?

So luxurious?

So imposing?

After the shock came overwhelming joy!

If they were people she knew, they'd be much easier to talk to!

"Wang Meng! It's me! It's Shishi!"

Yu Shishi called out excitedly, "Hurry and open the door, let me in! It's terrifying out here! Please!"

"Get lost!"

Wang Meng cut her off without mercy. "Who said we know you? Don't try to claim you're family!"

"We're classmates, but we're not your dad! It's the apocalypse now. We're not obligated to take care of you!"

"When you abandoned us last night and ran off with Bai Lianhua, why didn't you remember we were classmates then?"

Wang Meng's words struck Yu Shishi, turning her face deathly pale.

That was right...

She'd made her own choice last night.

"But... but I was wrong..."

Yu Shishi cried even harder, her heart full of regret.

"It was all Bai Lianhua's fault! She tricked me! I really know I was wrong!"

Suddenly, she realized something.

Wang Meng had said "us"...

Which meant there was more than just him in the vehicle.

The one in charge of this vehicle...

Could only be that man!

Yuqing's judgment had been right...

"Where's Yuqing? I want to see Yuqing!"

Yu Shishi cried out toward the window:

"Yuqing must be on the vehicle, right? I'm her best friend! Please, let me see her!"

"Yuqing was right. I shouldn't have left... I want to go home... I want to find Yuqing..."

Inside the vehicle.

Through the Holographic Surveillance, Jiangnan watched the scene coldly.

Just as he was about to open the window and kill the annoying woman, he suddenly remembered...

Wasn't Yu Shishi Liu Yuqing's friend?

He turned and looked at Liu Yuqing, who stood nearby.

He could see a hint of reluctance in her expression.

It was time to win someone's loyalty.

He picked up his pen and wrote several notes.

[You decide what to do with her.]

[This isn't a test. It's me showing leniency to my subordinate.]

[But I only want useful people, not useless fools who don't know their place.]

When he finished, he handed the notes to Liu Yuqing.

Liu Yuqing accepted them, warmth welling up inside her.

The boss... was actually asking for her opinion?

In this dictatorial apocalypse convoy, that respect was precious.

"Thank you, boss!"

Liu Yuqing took a deep breath and nodded solemnly.

Truthfully, her feelings for Shishi were complicated.

From high school through university, the two had been inseparable best friends.

Liu Yuqing came from a poor, single-parent family, but she excelled in her studies.

Yu Shishi's family was a well-known local business family, but she wasn't very bright and did terribly in school.

Back then, Liu Yuqing had nearly been sold by her gambling-addicted father to the Mafia to pay off his debts.

Yu Shishi had begged her father to intervene and even sent bodyguards to break one of that gambling addict's legs.

Only then had Liu Yuqing been rescued. Yu Shishi had also supported her until she finished high school.

Yu Shishi could be foolish sometimes and had a spoiled rich-girl temper. She'd even abandoned Liu Yuqing last night just to go along with everyone else.

But Liu Yuqing knew that deep down, the silly girl wasn't bad.

She was just so stupid it hurt to watch.

"Phew..."

Liu Yuqing sighed, understanding that Jiangnan had given her an opening.

As long as Yu Shishi had some value, she could stay.

She bowed to Jiangnan, then pressed the door switch and went outside.

Outside the vehicle.

The instant Yu Shishi saw Liu Yuqing, she rushed over and clung tightly to Liu Yuqing's leg.

"Yuqing! Waaaah! You finally came out!"

"I was so scared! Those crows stared at me all night! I thought I'd never see you again!"

Liu Yuqing looked at her former Campus Belle, now filthy from head to toe, barefoot and bleeding. Her heart was a jumble of emotions.

It was like looking at her former, helpless self.

She didn't comfort Yu Shishi. Instead, she sternly pushed her away and held her by the shoulders.

"Stop crying! Listen to me!"

"Shishi, I'm going to ask you one question. Your answer will decide whether you can get on the vehicle."

Liu Yuqing stared into her eyes. "Did you eat that Awakening Fruit? Did you awaken a Supernatural Ability?"

Yu Shishi froze, then stammered between sobs:

"W-what Supernatural Ability?"

"The fruit... I ate it. I was so hungry at the time, I just swallowed it. I didn't even pay attention..."

Liu Yuqing: "..."

It was over.

The girl really was an idiot.

Something as big as awakening an ability, and she hadn't even noticed because she was too hungry?

"Don't move! Let me take a look!"

Liu Yuqing didn't waste any words. She activated [Appraisal] again.

A beam of blue light swept over Yu Shishi.

[Name]: Yu Shishi

[Race]: Human

[Overall Physical Condition]: F-class (Weak)

[Status]: Mental Confusion, Scarecrow's Gaze

[Potential]: F-class

[Supernatural Ability]:

Clean (F-class): Can instantly remove Filth from a target's surface.

At the last line, Liu Yuqing let out a long sigh of relief.

"Phew... Thankfully, even though it's an F-class Utility-type Ability, at least it's still an ability."

As long as she had an ability, she wasn't completely useless.

"Get up! Come with me!"

Liu Yuqing hauled Yu Shishi to her feet.

"When you meet the boss later, do whatever he tells you. Don't throw a rich-girl tantrum. Understand?!"

"I understand, I understand! I'll do whatever you say!" Yu Shishi wouldn't have dared to act spoiled now. She was as obedient as a quail.

The two climbed aboard.

The moment Yu Shishi entered the vehicle, its luxurious interior left her staring in astonishment. She even forgot to cry.

W-was this really the same shabby bus?

Outside was hell. This place was practically heaven!

Jiangnan was still sitting on the sofa, with Chen Tong on his lap.

Liu Yuqing led the uneasy Yu Shishi over to Jiangnan and carefully reported, "Boss, she awakened an ability."

"Although it's only F-class, her ability is... [Clean]."

Jiangnan raised his brows, looking troubled, as if to say, "That's it?"

Liu Yuqing quickly explained, "Boss, she may be no good in a fight!"

"But she can take care of the vehicle's cleanliness, wash clothes, scrub shoes, and handle all those odd jobs!"

"That'll save us some effort!"

Jiangnan fell silent for a moment, as if weighing the pros and cons.

In the end, he reluctantly nodded.

Another free housekeeper wouldn't be bad.

But...

He'd have to set some ground rules first.

Jiang Nan pointed at his own pair of dirty, scuffed leather shoes.

Then he pointed at Yu Shishi.

The meaning was obvious: polish my shoes!

Seeing this, Liu Yuqing quickly nudged Yu Shishi, who was still staring blankly. "Quick! Show off your ability!"

"Oh... oh!"

Yu Shishi snapped out of it and hurried over.

Beside them, Chen Tong blinked, trying to tell Jiangnan that his hand was on her leg.

At that, Yu Shishi's face turned red as a bubble tea kettle, and her imagination ran wild.

Th-this fast?!

Who would've thought that Jiang Nan, so quiet and reserved in public, was secretly a devil who liked to get this wild!

You couldn't judge a book by its cover!

Teacher Chen Tong must have already fallen into his clutches and become corrupted, just like the heroines in Gegelimu Li.

That had to be it!

Yu Shishi suddenly felt like she understood!

Because of the angle, she mistook Jiang Nan's gesture toward his shoes for a point at his pants. She even imagined hearing his voice.

"Relax me properly, you wooden post!"

Yu Shishi's face grew even redder.

That was how it went in Gegelimu Li: Yellow Hair blackmailed the heroine, then triggered a special-scene CG!

All that talk about cleaning was just an excuse. He definitely wanted her to do that kind of thing!

But now, if she wanted to stay in this warm paradise...

She didn't hesitate for a second. With a thump, she dropped to her knees in front of Jiang Nan.

"I... I'll do it right now!"

Yu Shishi reached out with both hands.

Jiang Nan, meanwhile, was getting impatient.

It was just polishing his shoes. Why was she taking so long? What an idiot—

Before he could finish the thought, a sudden chill swept over his legs.

His Patrick Star–style boxer briefs were exposed.

Jiang Nan's eyes widened as he stared at his pants, which had been pulled down. "What's she doing?!"

Chen Tong covered her eyes. "That's not what I meant!"

Liu Yuqing's mouth fell open. "Huh? Did that airhead finally get it?"

As for Jiang Nan, faced with the strange looks from everyone around him, he yanked his pants back up.

He had no interest in being ogled!

Then he angrily snatched up the Memo Pad. His pen nearly punched through the paper as he thrust it in front of Yu Shishi.

[What are you doing!!!]