New Map

After finishing work, Yuqing entered the gaming pod right on time and logged into the game.

Two days had passed in the game. Outside the window, daylight had already filled the sky, and life seemed to have returned to normal. Across the territory, the surviving villagers had begun rebuilding their homes, and today, the four of them were about to set out on a new journey.

"Aili, you're up?"

A bright voice came from the hall downstairs.

Yuqing paused on the stairs and looked down over the railing. By the dining table, Shen Que was already fully dressed. His light gray knight's uniform set off his upright figure, and his eyes held a faint smile behind his gold-rimmed glasses as he cut the fried egg on his plate. Beside him, Xilaier's blond hair was a mess. He was clearly still half-asleep, and the fork in his hand was nearly poking his nose.

Ajiasi, however, was nowhere to be seen.

"Good morning, Shen Que, Xilaier." Yuqing walked over, pulled out a chair, and sat down. She helped herself to a pancake, golden and crisp from the griddle. As she bit into it, the sweet fragrance of honey melted in her mouth. She narrowed her eyes in satisfaction and asked indistinctly, "Where's Ajiasi? Is he still asleep?"

"Perhaps he stayed up late last night. He hasn't gotten up yet." Shen Que thoughtfully poured Yuqing a cup of hot tea. "Eat slowly. Don't choke."

"Thanks." Yuqing was so distracted by the pancake's aroma that she had indeed nearly choked. She had just taken a sip of tea and swallowed the pancake when she saw Ajiasi coming downstairs. "Morning, Ajiasi."

"Morning." Ajiasi gave a slight nod and pulled out the chair opposite her, sitting down with gentle movements.

"Now that everyone's here, let's exchange contact information and make a group chat." Xilaier finally woke up completely. He rubbed his eyes and perked up at once when he saw everyone was present. "We can arrange times to log in beforehand."

Shen Que put down his knife and fork and raised a hand to bring up the game panel. His fingertips tapped the light screen a few times. "I've made a group. Everyone, join up. From now on, we can discuss login times, route planning, and task assignments there."

"Sure, sure!" Yuqing immediately brought up her own panel and tapped to request to join.

"Pfft, Miss Aili, you're so cute." Xilaier laughed aloud. Whoever had written Aili's code was a genius. Her personality was as vivid as a real person's.

"Everyone, join the group. Starting today, we're teammates." Shen Que pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose. He quickly finished setting up the group chat and added everyone.

"Xilaier and I are freshmen this year. We need to get into the ranked competition within three months and aim for a good placing, so we'll be playing pretty intensively for the time being. Ajiasi, is that all right with you?"

Military academy freshmen usually formed teams at school in advance. Even if they didn't, a month ago had been the peak time for freshmen to enter the game, and they would most likely have run into students from the same school. Those like them, who had caught the tail end, were indeed a minority.

"I can manage." Ajiasi nodded without much hesitation, his voice calm. "I also want to get through the storyline quickly."

"I can too!" Hearing that someone else's assessment was at stake, Yuqing naturally wouldn't hold them back, not to mention that her own mental power training was pressing.

"Good. Then we'll be counting on you to look after us, Miss Aili." Shen Que smiled too. He had never come across such an interesting NPC on the game forums.

"Don't worry, big sis has your back!" Yuqing patted her chest, brimming with confidence. She was someone who had survived the apocalypse, after all. As soon as she finished speaking, she coughed and abruptly changed tack. "So... which route are we taking next? I'm not very familiar with this area."

"How about here?" Shen Que opened the map he had prepared in advance and pointed to a spot marked in red: Rust Canyon.

"Rust Canyon?" Yuqing leaned closer to look. The area on the map was densely covered with canyon symbols, and it didn't look easy to traverse. "Why choose this route?"

"That works. It's the most difficult of the side routes, but it also has the richest quest rewards. There are quite a few hidden treasure chests along the way." Ajiasi glanced at the map and precisely listed its pros and cons, his tone as calm as if he were reading a manual. "There are also abandoned old-model mecha wrecks in the canyon. With luck, we can pick up quite a few useful parts to use on mecha later."

Shen Que gave him a somewhat surprised look.

Ajiasi had learned with a single glance what he and Xilaier had spent half the night researching. Presumably, he had done his homework too.

"That's right." He nodded and added, "Xilaier and I spent all last night studying it. If we take this route, we'll pass through an abandoned mining town along the way. If we're quick, we can reach Rust Canyon in three days. It's a little harder, but we can make up quite a bit of the progress we lost earlier."

"All right, I've got no objections." Yuqing pushed the map back and nodded readily.

The group reached a preliminary agreement, and the atmosphere at the table grew more relaxed. Even Ajiasi spoke a few more words than usual.

After breakfast, the four returned to their rooms to pack.

By the time they led their horses to the castle gate, Viscount Xiersen and his wife were already waiting there.

Mrs. Xiersen's eyes were red. She held Yuqing's hand, reluctant to let go, and reminded her again and again, "Take good care of yourself on the road. Remember to put on more clothes when it's cold. Don't just keep charging ahead. Come home if you get tired, all right? Mom and Dad will always be waiting for you at home."

"I know, Mom." Yuqing hugged her, feeling a little ache in her heart.

After saying goodbye, the four mounted their horses.

In the morning light, the viscount and his wife stood side by side at the castle gate, waving to her. Behind them was the town being rebuilt, with wisps of cooking smoke rising into the air.

She took a deep breath, turned her head, and gazed at the road ahead, stretching toward the unknown in the distance.

"Let's go." Shen Que rode at the front to lead the way.

"We're off!" Xilaier excitedly flicked his riding whip and charged straight ahead.

Ajiasi followed at Yuqing's side without speaking, silently slowing his horse to ride alongside her.

Yuqing smiled and raised her whip, squeezed her horse's flanks with her legs, and rode after them.

The four figures set out on their journey, heading into the rising sun.

Toward evening, they found a dry clearing in the woods and made camp.

Xilaier had roasted the rabbits he'd hunted until they were half burnt and half raw. There was no way to eat them.

"I refuse to believe it!" He squatted by the campfire, wrestling with the roast rabbit. "Can't I handle one rabbit?"

Shen Que couldn't stand watching anymore. He took the rabbit and worked on it again, surprisingly skilled at it. Before long, the aroma of meat drifted out. It was crisp on the outside and tender inside, glistening with fat.

"Wow." Yuqing smelled the meat in the air and swallowed. "You can roast meat too?"

"Cooking was a required course in my sentinel husband training. I know a little of every cuisine." Shen Que tore the plumpest leg off the roast rabbit and handed it to Yuqing. "I'll cook for you to try when I get the chance."

"Aili, let me tell you, Shen Que works insanely hard. He came first in the whole class on his cooking exam." Xilaier gave him a thumbs-up.

"You learn that at school too?" She had gained yet another piece of strange knowledge.

"Yeah. Some high schools exclusively for sentinels offer related courses. I hear those courses are even harder at university. With my cooking skills, I'm bound to fail." Xilaier beat his chest and stamped his feet. He looked at Ajiasi, who was quietly cutting meat beside him, and asked, "What about you, Ajiasi? How did your cooking assessment go?"

"Barely passed," Ajiasi said slowly.

"Hahahaha, great! I'm not the only one who won't be able to find a wife!" Hearing that he had company, Xilaier immediately cheered up.