Early morning.
The dark red glow, left particularly feeble after passing through the "Cloud of Blood Erosion," filtered through a gap in the curtains, casting dappled light and shadow across Luo Li's face.
He woke up in his own bed for the first time in days.
Ever since giving his room to Castorice, he had spent several days curled up on the sofa. Although he said he was used to it, once he lay on the soft, comfortable mattress again, his body had honestly let out a satisfied sigh.
Instead of the slightly dusty smell of the sofa fabric, the scent lingering in his nose was familiar, his own, mixed with the faint soapberry fragrance of the fresh clothes he had changed into yesterday.
He stretched, his joints giving faint cracks, and an inexplicable sense of security welled up within him.
Having a space entirely his own, where he could roll around however he pleased, really was one of humanity's most basic needs.
He got up and opened the bedroom door, just in time to see Castorice coming out of her room too.
She seemed to have only just woken up. Her long silver-purple hair lay slightly mussed over her shoulders, and she was wearing the cotton pajamas printed with cartoon rabbits that Luo Li had bought her. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she looked soft and harmless.
"Morning, Luo Li."
Her voice was husky and languid from sleep, carrying a little more everyday warmth than its usual ethereal quality.
"Morning."
Seeing her like this, Luo Li felt his heart involuntarily skip a beat. He hurriedly looked away and headed toward the kitchen. "I'll make breakfast."
After several days of adjusting to each other, the two had developed a curious rapport.
Luo Li handled most of the "technical work" involving modern appliances, such as using the gas stove, rice cooker, and microwave;
Castorice, meanwhile, had begun trying her hand at simple food preparation after learning the basics, such as washing vegetables and cutting fruit. She also showed tremendous interest in seasonings, occasionally offering suggestions based on Amphoreus's culinary traditions that left Luo Li unsure whether to laugh or cry.
Today, for instance, she expressed confusion over Luo Li adding white sugar to plain rice porridge.
"Where we come from, we only use such pure sweet nectar when treating wounds or soothing frightened children... Isn't putting it directly into a staple food too extravagant?"
Luo Li looked at the jar of perfectly ordinary granulated sugar in his hand and couldn't help laughing. "This is cheap here. It isn't extravagant.
"Do you prefer savory porridge? How about I make some century egg and lean pork congee for you tomorrow?"
Castorice nodded with only partial understanding, taking little sips of the plain porridge sweetened with "sweet nectar." Her eyes narrowed slightly, as though she had accepted this novel flavor.
After breakfast, Castorice took the initiative to clear the dishes and carry them to the kitchen to wash.
Luo Li sat in the living room and habitually took out his phone to check his bank balance and recent spending.
He sighed softly at the number, which had shrunk considerably compared to before.
Although the system occasionally rewarded him with cash, his daily expenses, especially now that Castorice was here, were steadily eating into his already modest savings through food, clothing, housing, and transportation.
A streamer's income was unstable, and with several days off streaming this month, his earnings had dropped even more sharply.
His gaze fell on the phone in his hand, its screen already bearing several fine scratches and its corners slightly dented.
He had bought this flagship model on installments three years ago, gritting his teeth over the purchase when his streaming career had just started picking up. It had cost nearly two months of his income back then.
Now, three years later, the phone still worked, but its battery life was nowhere near what it used to be, and it had begun lagging when running some larger apps.
It wasn't that he hadn't considered replacing it, but against the backdrop of the apocalypse, high-end electronics hadn't fallen in price. Supply chain and production capacity issues had instead made them more expensive than in the old era.
A current mainstream phone model cost almost two or three months' wages for an ordinary salaried worker.
With his meager savings, if he bought a phone, he would probably really have to survive on instant noodles for the next few months.
"Ugh, I'm so broke..."
Muttering under his breath, Luo Li put down his phone.
When he looked up, he found that Castorice had finished washing the dishes at some point and was standing quietly nearby, looking at him... at the phone in his hand, unmistakable curiosity in her purple eyes.
Over the past few days, she had seen Luo Li use this "little glowing board" for all sorts of things-ordering takeout, paying, talking to other people, and watching something he called a "game," with little people fighting inside it.
"Luo Li, is this... 'phone' very important?"
She asked softly.
"Huh? Yeah, very important."
Luo Li came back to his senses and waved his old companion. "In our world, you can barely get anywhere without one.
"Contacting people, buying things, reading the news, finding your way... You need it for a lot of things."
Seeing her interest, he beckoned her over to sit down and began explaining the phone's basic functions.
"Look, this is how you unlock it... Swipe like this... These little pictures are called 'apps.' Tap them, and each one does something different...
"This is a map. It tells you where you are and how to get where you want to go...
"This is a messaging app. You can talk to people far away, and even see what they look like..."
Luo Li explained patiently, and Castorice listened with complete concentration.
She watched his practiced movements and the endlessly changing images on the screen, her eyes full of wonder.
When Luo Li opened the camera and switched to the front-facing lens, her own face suddenly appeared on the screen.
Castorice visibly startled and leaned back slightly, then widened her eyes in surprise and instinctively reached up to touch her cheek.
"In there... is that me?"
"Yes, this is the camera function. It can record what you look like."
Luo Li smiled as he explained and casually pressed the shutter.
"Click."
With a soft sound, Castorice's pretty face, showing a trace of alarm and curiosity, was frozen on the screen.
"Look."
Luo Li showed her the photo.
Castorice stared, stunned, at the clear image on the screen that looked exactly like her.
In Amphoreus, only special crystals could preserve such clear, lifelike images.
Yet here, all it took was a little board like this...
As she watched Luo Li swipe his finger through other landscape photos and screenshots from his streams in the gallery, the longing in her eyes nearly overflowed.
This thing called a "phone" seemed like a key to this miraculous world, allowing her to glimpse, and even reach, the convenience and wonders she struggled to understand.
Luo Li took in her expression, and something stirred in his heart.
He looked at the battered phone in his hand, then at Castorice's profile, which practically had "I want one" written all over it, and an idea occurred to him.
He smiled and said with a hint of regret, but a voice full of promise, "Unfortunately, you don't have any identity records yet, so you can't get a SIM card. Even if you bought a phone, a lot of its functions wouldn't work."
The light in Castorice's eyes dimmed a little, and she murmured an acknowledgment.
"But that's okay!"
Luo Li changed tack, his tone turning light and certain. "Once you... well, once you're no longer 'undocumented' and have your own ID card and household registration, I'll buy you one too! The latest model! Then you can use one too. How does that sound?"
He said it naturally and sincerely, as though it were a matter of course, something that would happen sooner or later.
Castorice's head snapped up, light returning to her purple eyes as she asked in disbelief, with a hint of tentative confirmation, "Really... is that okay? You'll buy... one for me too?"
"Of course!"
Luo Li patted his chest in assurance, though he was already calculating how many boosting orders he would need to take, or how many system tasks he would need to complete, to scrape together enough money.
"I keep my word! So work hard at getting used to life here, and we'll find a way together to sort out your identity problem as soon as possible."
This wasn't merely a promise about a phone, but an agreement about the future, filled with endless possibilities.
Looking at the warm, resolute smile on Luo Li's face, Castorice felt as though her heart had been soaked in warm water, suffused with warmth.
She nodded vigorously, the corners of her lips rising uncontrollably into an exceptionally bright, radiant smile. It dispelled the last trace of gloom around her, like sunlight breaking through dark clouds, dazzling Luo Li into a momentary daze.
"Yes! Thank you, Luo Li!"
[Ding! Target 'Castorice' feels tremendous anticipation and joy because of the host's promise about the future, and has developed deeper dependence on and trust in the host. Affection +5! Current affection: 52%!]
Her affection had passed 50%!
Hearing the system notification and looking at the girl smiling like a flower before him, Luo Li felt his mood shoot up into the clouds as though riding a rocket.
The slight gloom his financial troubles had brought on was instantly swept away by this tremendous sense of accomplishment.
Worth it!
Never mind a phone-even throwing in a tablet would be worth the affection gain.
He thought happily, even beginning to calculate whether, the next time the system rewarded him with cash or he completed some task, he could buy Castorice a cheaper entry-level phone ahead of time for her to play with...
Just then, Castorice seemed to remember something. She pointed at the phone Luo Li had placed on the table and asked quietly, "Then... Luo Li, before I have my own 'phone,' could I... borrow yours to look at sometimes? I want to... learn more about this world."
Her eyes were pleading, just like a little animal gazing longingly at a snack.
"Of course!"
Without hesitation, Luo Li pushed the phone toward her and declared grandly, "Look at whatever you like! Tell me what you want to play, and I'll teach you!"
At that moment, financial pressure and phone prices were all pushed to the back of his mind.
Watching Castorice carefully pick up his old phone, brimming with curiosity, Luo Li thought that this was probably the joy of nurturing someone.