I'll take the crystal then." Jiang Yuntan unceremoniously took the crystal from his hand.
Although she didn't need crystals to upgrade her spatial ability, she still took what she deserved. Besides, if she refused the crystal, wouldn't that make her spatial ability seem suspicious?
Jiang Yuntan toyed with the soybean-sized crystal in her hand, faintly sensing the energy within. It seemed useful for her speed ability. However, she recalled from the original novel that low-grade crystals like this had many impurities. Later on, ability users with options wouldn't absorb energy from them.
Shen Hegui watched her focus on playing with the crystal, remembering the look she had given Lin Tingxue earlier that day. He softened his tone and said, "Yuntan, this is the apocalypse now. You can't be as willful as before. For instance, you can't keep targeting women who appear around me. There's no law to protect you now. If someone gets angry at your provocations, they might just take you out anytime."
He continued earnestly, "Be good and listen. I'll do my best to bring you back to Jing City safely. Don't leave the group out of stubbornness. If you get separated from us, it will be hard for us to find you. So, for the time being, try to get along with Lin Tingxue. I'm not asking you to be best friends, but avoid conflicts."
He felt that Lin Tingxue was somewhat mysterious, but he knew Yuntan's personality—if he said that directly, she would only get angrier and hate Lin Tingxue even more. Although she had caused him trouble over the years, he had watched her grow up. Shen Hegui couldn't help but reflect: had he and his father spoiled her too much? But she hadn't been this unreasonable before. At least before she went to college, she might not have been particularly gentle and obedient, but she was poised, had her own opinions, and was a resilient and brave girl. After she started college, it was like she had become a different person. Maybe she was influenced by bad people at college. Shen Hegui and his father could only console themselves with that thought.
Jiang Yuntan noticed his silence after speaking. Her mind raced as she tried to decipher his words. Was it because today Shen Hegui had seen Lin Tingxue decisively take down an enemy and discover the zombie crystal, so he now saw her in a new light? The original novel had mentioned that their mutual affection began in Hai City—could this be where it started? If it were her, she might also appreciate a woman who performed like Lin Tingxue. And with the Lin family's good background, it made sense for Shen Hegui to be interested in Lin Tingxue.
Jiang Yuntan pursed her lips, then said firmly, "I understand. In the past, I was immature. I was afraid someone would take you away, and then I'd lose a family member who loved me. But these days, even though I've caused you so much trouble, you still haven't abandoned me in this crisis. So I know that no matter what, we'll always be family."
"So, Brother, you can rest assured. If you ever like someone, I won't oppose it. On the contrary, I'll sincerely wish you well." Jiang Yuntan raised her hand beside her ear as if swearing, "I promise that from now on, I'll only treat you as my older brother. I won't do those excessive things like before."
It wasn't that she was deliberately changing to please the male and female leads. Rather, she felt some of the original host's actions were completely unnecessary. Of course, she would still keep the 'domineering' virtue—after all, in the apocalypse, reasoning didn't work. Thinking this, Jiang Yuntan silently praised herself for adapting quickly, completely ignoring the shock and fear she had felt today when she saw zombies tearing people apart.
Shen Hegui listened, feeling something was off but couldn't pinpoint it. He simply said, "As long as you know what you're doing. Go rest now. We'll gather supplies tomorrow. Remember to try absorbing the crystal and see if it helps your spatial ability."
"Okay, I'll go now." Jiang Yuntan turned and walked out.
As soon as she opened the door, she met Lin Tingxue and Xia Chujing's gaze.
Xia Chujing muttered, "What took you so long? A man and a woman alone in a room—who knows what you were doing."
"Are you wearing a foot-binding cloth on your head? I was talking to my own family. What's it to you?" Jiang Yuntan snapped and walked straight to her room.
Behind her, she heard Lin Tingxue's gentle persuasion, "Xiao Jing, stop it. They were just talking. What could happen?" Lin Tingxue lowered her eyes. If Shen Hegui had called Yu Ke and the others to discuss things, she would believe it. But what could he talk about with a big-busted and brainless woman like Jiang Yuntan?
Jiang Yuntan ignored them. She had more important things to do.
Once inside, she immediately locked the door.
Jinbao had been clamoring in her mind for a while.
[Host, zombie crystals can be exchanged for system plane coins. A zero-level crystal is worth 10 plane coins, and a first-level crystal is 100 plane coins.]
Jiang Yuntan: "Jinbao, I suddenly feel you guys have some conscience. I thought you'd value zero-level crystals at 1 plane coin."
"If you set zero-level crystals at 1 plane coin, you'd be outright profiteers and an abnormal system. After all, these crystals come from zombie brains, and not every zombie has one. And zombies used to be humans..." She paused, then added, "I suddenly think zero-level crystals should be worth 100 plane coins."
Jinbao protested, [You're my grandmother! How could I give you 100 plane coins? That's the exchange rate for the lowest-grade spirit stones in a cultivation plane. For a modern plane, it's one-to-one. For special planes like historical or beast-world, the rate is higher.]
Jiang Yuntan asked again, "So, hosts can exchange items for plane coins with the system, not just through trading with others?"
Jinbao: [Not exactly. To exchange plane coins with the system, you can only use the currency of your current world. In the future, crystals will become the currency of the apocalypse, so the system only accepts crystals in this plane.]