By this time, Jiang Yuntan had fully woken up. Watching Shen Hegui's meticulous and thorough manner, she fell silent.
In her original world, she hadn't lived a bad life—otherwise, she wouldn't have had the time to make wishes. However, she had grown up in an orphanage and had no close relatives. She had friends, but friends could never replace family.
And Shen Hegui's nagging demeanor seemed to remind her of what family felt like.
"What's wrong?" Shen Hegui asked when she didn't speak, thinking she might have some other request.
Jiang Yuntan shook her head. "Nothing. Just a bit sleepy."
Shen Hegui, seeing that she had indeed been quite tired, didn't think much of it. "Get some rest, then. We'll be right outside. If anything comes up, just call for me."
"Mm." Jiang Yuntan nodded, a faint smile in her eyes.
After Shen Hegui left, Jiang Yuntan gave the office chair a quick pat and sat down. She took out the two attribute crystals she had obtained tonight.
According to the original text, the higher the level of a crystal core, the fewer impurities it contained. And attribute crystals seemed to have no impurities at all.
Besides crystal cores, the apocalypse caused many objects in the world to collide, generating special energies that formed elemental crystals. These were later called spirit stones, containing energy even purer than that within zombie cores. However, spirit stones were rare, and their probability of appearing was low in the early stages.
Now, at the dawn of the apocalypse, many things were still changing. As carriers of pure energy, spirit stones needed time to condense and precipitate. Still, they existed, albeit in small numbers. With luck, one might find some.
It was said that later on, Shen Hegui would discover a gold spirit stone mine, making everyone envious.
Jiang Yuntan looked at the fire-type crystal core and the mental-type crystal core in her hand. She absorbed the fire-type one first.
Now, her speed ability had reached level one, while her wood and fire abilities seemed to have hit a barrier. She estimated that in another two or three days, she could break through to become a level-one ability user.
Staring at the remaining mental-type crystal core, Jiang Yuntan found it strange.
Logically, since she wasn't a mental-type ability user, she shouldn't be able to absorb this core. Based on what they had learned during this time, only ability users of the same attribute could absorb corresponding crystal cores.
But when she first held this mental-type core, she felt a peculiar sensation—as if she could absorb it.
To test her hypothesis, Jiang Yuntan gripped the mental-type crystal core and attempted to absorb it. As a result, she found that strands of energy from the core were seeping into her body.
Sensing the change in her body, Jiang Yuntan felt more alert.
Mental-type crystal cores seemed to enhance her mental strength.
Jiang Yuntan closed her eyes and mobilized the abilities within her, discovering that her control over them had become more proficient.
Vines spread from beneath her feet, gradually climbing the wall with the window in the room. Shen Hegui had already sealed that wall with his metal ability earlier. Now, a layer of emerald-green vines covered it, forming a green wall.
Jiang Yuntan felt the bond between her and those vines and smiled. This way, if anything stirred near the window at night, she would know immediately.
She took out a blanket from her space and spread it over the office desk. Just as she was about to lie down, she heard Jinbao's voice.
[Why sleep on a desk? There's a showcase today selling a folding bed. Want to buy it? It's not expensive—only fifteen dimensional coins.]
Without a second thought, Jiang Yuntan said, "No need. If I buy it and someone comes in at night, it'll be hard to explain."
"That folding bed you mentioned—is it some high-tech product from another dimension?" Jiang Yuntan opened the showcase and found it was just as she imagined.
It was called a folding bed, but when opened, it was two meters long and two meters wide. However, when folded, it was only about the size of a small backpack and could be carried directly on one's back.
Moreover, this kind of folding bed came with its own mattress.
Jinbao was puzzled. [You have good conditions; why not use them?]
From what it could tell, its boss didn't seem like someone who could endure hardship.
Jiang Yuntan said calmly, "Of course, I know sleeping on a bed is more comfortable. But it's dangerous out there now. Who knows if something unexpected might happen? If an emergency occurs in the middle of the night and I forget to put the bed away in the panic, and someone else sees it, how would I explain it?
"Besides, even if there's no danger, if I wake up late and someone comes in to call me, seeing this bed would be even harder to explain.
"In short, with a blanket spread out, this desk is fine for sleeping. I don't want to gamble on that possibility. Sometimes, it's the small details you overlook that make a good game fall apart."
As soon as she finished speaking, an image of a small robot with an antenna, stars shining in its eyes, appeared in her mind.
[Boss, you're really smart.]
Jiang Yuntan: ... Used to Jinbao's sarcasm, she was a bit unaccustomed to it being so straightforward in its praise.
"Time to sleep, time to sleep." Jiang Yuntan took out a pillow from her space and lay down.
-
The next day, Lin Xuan and the others woke up early, only to find that Shen Hegui and his group showed no sign of departing.
Looking at the people still resting, Lin Xuan rubbed his temples.
He walked over but was stopped by Shen Hegui. Shen Hegui had been in the first group to sleep, so he was on night duty for the second half of the night. Among the group, he was the only one awake.
Shen Hegui gestured for Lin Xuan to step aside, then said directly, "They were busy late last night. We don't plan to depart so early."
"Wait, what do you mean? You want us to wait until they wake up before setting off?" Lin Xuan asked incredulously.
Shen Hegui nodded calmly. "Yes."
Lin Xuan was stunned. "You went out on your own last night to handle things, and now you want us to wait until you've rested before leaving? Who do you take us for? Your subordinates?"
Shen Hegui's expression remained unchanged, his tone indifferent. "If you think we're holding you back, you can leave first."
Lin Xuan was left speechless, a bitter laugh escaping him.
Was Shen Hegui being sincere, or was he subtly insulting them? He always felt Shen Hegui was implying that it was Lin Xuan's group who were the ones dragging them down.