A kiss (v1c8)
Ye Sheng had only thought of the super smart network watch when she saw the little girl in distress. She knew she would need it to survive in the wilderness.
But there was a difference between risking everything to get something and giving it away willingly.
What should she say?
She felt a surge of emotion as the girl handed her the watch. Even without it, she would have saved her. She trusted her, and that meant more than anything.
She had a friend she could count on.
Ye Sheng had arrived in the wasteland world a few days ago, and she still felt like a stranger. She didn't take off the watch and put it in her pocket right away, to avoid any trouble. Instead, she acted with the polite hesitation that was common in her culture.
"Are you sure you want to give this to me? It's yours."
The girl couldn't speak, so she just nodded silently.
Her face was smeared with dirt, but her eyes were clear and earnest. She seemed to say, 'It's yours now.'
Ye Sheng felt her face heat up and her eyes sparkle. She looked away from her beautiful features, feeling guilty.
She needed the watch badly.
Was she taking advantage of her kindness? Was she being cruel to the mute girl?
She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. She stopped refusing and said with a sincere tone, "Thank you. I'm sorry, I just... I have to go to the wilderness. I really need this watch. Thank you so much."
She didn't explain everything, but she emphasized her gratitude. Her voice was loud and clear.
The girl flinched, then smiled faintly.
Her smile was like a gentle breeze, like a soothing melody of birds and flowers.
It filled her with joy.
Ye Sheng's ears turned red, her eyes darted around, and her heart pounded. She couldn't bear to look at her any longer, so she quickly removed the watch from her wrist and turned it on.
She had only heard about the Super Intelligent Network from Zhou Lin, and she had never seen it before.
She had to rely on the information she had given her.
First, she pressed and held the upper and lower parts of the five-pointed star dial and waited for a beep sound to activate the smart network.
Then, she pressed her fingerprint on the dial or scanned her pupils for identity verification.
She heard another beep, indicating that she had passed the verification.
Next, she had to modify the identity information of the Super Intelligent Network holder.
The previous steps were easy, but this one was complicated and tricky.
If anyone could change the holder's information, then the watch would be a hot commodity...
So Ye Sheng didn't waste time and decided to add a temporary holder's identity entry.
Temporary holders could use the basic functions of the Super Intelligent Network for 12 hours.
If she wanted to keep using the watch, she would need the permission of the original owner.
She didn't plan to stay in the wilderness for more than 12 hours anyway. She had to get back home before dark, or else she would face the danger of the polluted creatures.
She opened the identity entry interface, but she was surprised to find that the watch was not bound to anyone.
Ye Sheng realized that the poor girl had only set up her fingerprint to turn on the watch.
That meant she could bind the super-intelligent network to herself without any trouble.
She felt a twinge of guilt for her earlier pretense, but she quickly pushed it aside. She needed the watch to survive in the wilderness. She could always earn more points and buy a new one for the little girl later.
She was still young and had a bright future ahead of her. Maybe she could even afford a house in a safe zone someday.
She bound the super intelligent network smoothly and set up a reminder for the poisonous fog radiation. Then she tucked the watch into the inner pocket of her clothes, not wanting to draw any attention to it.
Money made people greedy.
She was just a skinny little girl. If someone tried to rob her, she would be in trouble.
She couldn't expect the Wastelanders to have any morals.
After she was ready, she fed the girl another bottle of nutrient solution and said, "I...I have to go. Don't worry, I'll come back alive."
She was scared of going to the wilderness, but she had no choice.
Before she left, though, there was something she wanted to do.
Something she had been longing for.
She leaned down and kissed the girl quickly on the cheek.
She didn't dare to look at her face, afraid of what she might see. She ran out of the room, her face burning.
She locked the old wooden door with the rusty lock that had been passed down from her parents.
"Shengsheng, you're just in time. Hurry up, we're leaving soon!"
She heard Zhou Lin's voice as she turned around. She took a deep breath and patted her hot cheek. Then she walked quickly towards Zhou Lin.
The Zhou family had a super-intelligent network, so they were the leaders of the group.
They had authority.
They also demanded that the people in the temporary team give them half of their loot, in exchange for warning them about the poisonous fog radiation.
If anyone refused, they would be kicked out of the team and left to fend for themselves in the wilderness.
The poisonous fog radiation was unpredictable. It could appear and disappear without a trace. Anyone who got caught in it would be contaminated and mutated.
They would lose their life force and die in agony.
Zhou Lin had told her about the contaminated people once, but she had a complex look on her face. She didn't go into details. She just said, "It's very miserable."
There were tens of thousands of people in the mitigation zone, but not all of them could rely on the Zhou family.
The default rule was that a temporary team could only have up to two hundred people, to avoid attracting the attacks of the contaminated creatures.
"They're so noisy. Shengsheng, what did you find in the garbage dump? Let me tell you, I found a lot of good stuff, including a ball of dark wool..."
Zhou Lin was still as talkative as ever, and Ye Sheng stood beside her and listened.
She nodded and replied occasionally, but her focus was on the front, where the Zhou family was counting the people.
The Zhou family was large. They didn't have separate households, so there were at least fifty of them, big and small. Most of them were young and strong workers. Even though they had more mouths to feed, they also had more muscle.
No one dared to mess with the people of the Zhou family in the mitigation zone. They were safe from any attacks.
Zhou Lin had grown up in a large and secure family. She had a carefree life, unlike Ye Sheng, who always struggled with hunger and scarcity.
To Zhou Lin, going to the wilderness was like a fun adventure, even though it was dangerous.
Ye Sheng envied her.
"Shengsheng, stay with me this time. I'll protect you!"
Zhou Lin had just finished bragging about her finds from the garbage dump when she saw her older brother coming to call them. She quickly assured Ye Sheng that she would look after her in the wilderness.
Ye Sheng's parents had loved her dearly before they died. They had never let her go to the wilderness.
She didn't have much experience in that place.
But when Zhou Lin tried to act like her guardian, Ye Sheng shook her head and said firmly, "Zhou Lin, I want to go to the wilderness by myself this time!"