ARBW Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Cheng Xiaowan said to Lin Mian, “Is it because you’ve been with Mr. Pei for so long that I feel like you’re starting to resemble him?”

Lin Mian looked embarrassed upon hearing this. He glanced at Mr. Pei, who was holding him, and didn’t know how to respond.

Seeing his cautious demeanor, Pei Yuhuai spoke up, “Don’t be afraid. Say whatever you want.”

Lin Mian whispered, “I… I’m not afraid.”

He just didn’t know how to answer the question.

The reason Cheng Xiaowan thought Lin Mian resembled Mr. Pei was mainly because Mr. Pei was always by his side, guiding him in everything he did.

In reality, if Mr. Pei weren’t here, Lin Mian would probably still be the same as before.

However, the matter of the game couldn’t be disclosed to Cheng Xiaowan. As the saying goes, the more you know, the more danger you’re in. Keeping some things from Cheng Xiaowan was also a way to protect her.

Lin Mian said, “Let’s go see the new townsfolk.”

Cheng Xiaowan didn’t dwell on the topic change and immediately took him for a walk around the town.

The new townsfolk had settled into the old houses.

These houses had no water or electricity, making them less convenient than the new ones.

But even with the inconvenience, it was still much safer here than living in the Outer City.

Moreover, since most of them were Lower Class People, borrowing water and charging devices from the new houses was quite convenient.

After a day of interaction, the new townsfolk learned a lot about Mr. Pei from the residents of Scarlet Town.

Upon hearing that Mr. Pei was omnipotent, many wanted to meet him.

Unfortunately, from yesterday until now, Mr. Pei hadn’t shown up.

Some of the new townsfolk learned of Lin Mian’s existence and that he was Mr. Pei’s boyfriend, so they tried to ask him about Mr. Pei’s whereabouts.

Lin Mian told them, “Mr. Pei is very busy today and probably won’t come. If you have any concerns, you can tell me.”

One of the new townsfolk asked, “Is it safe for us to live here? The Nobles won’t let this go. We want to know what we should do in the future.”

Lin Mian replied, “It’s much safer here than in the Outer City. If you have any issues, you can discuss them with everyone. As for the Nobles you’re worried about, Mr. Pei has his own ways to deal with them.”

Many were clearly dissatisfied with Lin Mian’s answer. They still wanted to find Pei Yuhuai and hear his reassurance directly.

Later, Pei Yuhuai did log in once. He brought people to properly settle the newcomers and even provided the townsfolk with some weapons and medicine, which helped calm their nerves.

Weapons gave them confidence. Even if they couldn’t be as powerful as the Ability users, at least they had some means of self-defense and wouldn’t be as passive as before.

For the next two days, Pei Yuhuai would log in occasionally, spending the rest of his time with Lin Mian.

Lin Mian’s intimacy level with him was just short of leveling up. After staying for a day, Lin Mian returned and then came back again.

Recently, there had been many suspicious people lurking around the town. Worried they might pose a threat to Lin Mian, Pei Yuhuai decided it was safer to keep him by his side.

This time, after the transfer, Lin Mian and Pei Yuhuai’s intimacy level reached one thousand.

Lin Mian no longer needed to return after two days; he could stay here indefinitely if he wished.

With his biggest concern resolved, Pei Yuhuai felt less restrained.

He claimed all the intimacy rewards he and Lin Mian had earned, receiving five Ability Slots. Combined with the one he got from a previous task, he now had six Ability Slots in total.

Pei Yuhuai gave one Ability Slot to the little girl from before, two to others in Liuxiang Town, and one to Cheng Xiaowan.

At this point, he still had two Ability Slots left, which he decided to keep for potential future use.

Lin Mian didn’t want an Ability Slot. Right now, the person he was most concerned about was Cheng Xiaowan.

Cheng Xiaowan’s Ability was Water-based, which wasn’t particularly strong in the apocalypse.

If Lin Mian didn’t return in the future, giving her an additional Ability would make her safer.

Moreover, since Cheng Xiaowan and Lin Mian were close, if the Nobles couldn’t find Lin Mian, they might target her instead.

When Pei Yuhuai gave her the Ability Slot, he specifically told her about Lin Mian’s concerns and advised her to choose an Ability that would benefit her more.

Cheng Xiaowan’s second Ability was Wind-based, which she chose after careful consideration.

She thought Wind-based was great—it allowed for freedom of movement and had strong explosive power.

If one day Scarlet Town became uninhabitable, she could use her Wind-based Ability to wander freely.

No one could stop her, and she wouldn’t have to worry about being trapped by Zombies on the ground.

In truth, Cheng Xiaowan felt that Lin Mian didn’t need to ask for another Ability for her.

If she had ever done him a favor, that debt had already been repaid when Lin Mian helped her get her first Ability.

Because of her relationship with Lin Mian and Mr. Pei, she had already received many benefits from Mr. Pei.

Lin Mian didn’t need to ask Mr. Pei for another Ability on her behalf.

Of course, since Lin Mian had gone to the trouble of getting it for her, she wasn’t foolish enough to refuse.

She had always been a somewhat selfish and self-serving person.

Her world wasn’t suited for overly naive people.

She had always felt that she was well-suited to survive in the apocalypse.

On the other hand, someone like Lin Mian wasn’t cut out for this harsh world.

Now that she knew Lin Mian would be staying with Mr. Pei and likely wouldn’t be bullied anymore, she felt a sense of relief.

It was better that Lin Mian left because she wasn’t confident she could protect someone like him.

With Lin Mian by Mr. Pei’s side and having secured two Abilities for her, she felt that her life would be easier on her own.

…

Since Lin Mian could stay permanently, he began to focus on his studies.

He would wake up early every day to exercise for half an hour, then attend classes for two hours in the morning and another two hours in the afternoon.

The rest of his time was his to manage—he could play games or return to the town using his game character.

Lin Mian attended classes five days a week, with weekends off.

However, he didn’t get to rest during his first weekend. He spent it with Mr. Pei, furnishing their new home.

Lin Mian chose everything—the bed, cabinets, curtains, sofa… he replaced them all.

The previously cold and minimalist style gradually became more vibrant under his efforts.

The black, white, and gray tones slowly shifted to warmer hues.

Beige bedsheets, dusty pink curtains, lavender vases, pale yellow sofas…

As these items filled their new home, Lin Mian and Pei Yuhuai’s wedding day drew closer.

During this period, Lin Mian spent less time in the game, with most matters being handled by Pei Yuhuai.

The Nobles hadn’t come to cause trouble, not because they didn’t want to, but because they lacked the ability to do so.

Some of the Nobles, including a few wealthy families, had defected to Pei Yuhuai’s side.

This was because Pei Yuhuai’s goal wasn’t to kill all the Nobles; he simply wanted to liberate some of the oppressed Lower Class People.

Some Nobles believed that if Pei Yuhuai only wanted to help the Lower Class People, it would be better to dismantle the town game altogether.

As a result, the Nobles had been in internal conflict for some time.

Some Nobles wanted Abilities and hoped everyone could unite to face the harsh realities of the apocalypse.

Not all Nobles agreed with the plan to eliminate the excess human population. Without a middle class, even the wealthy would struggle to maintain their comfortable lifestyles.

In the past, when the Nobles held all the power, dissent wasn’t tolerated. But now, with Pei Yuhuai’s presence, they had a voice.

Finally, just a few days ago, under pressure from multiple sides, the town game was dismantled.

With the town game gone, many imprisoned Lower Class People lost their means of survival.

Some were resentful about this, but more were happy and relieved.

Many of them came to Scarlet Town, hoping to settle there permanently.

However, Scarlet Town wasn’t very large, and after taking in so many people, it could no longer accommodate more.

Seeing this, Pei Yuhuai decided to expand into the Outer City and build a new town.

At this time, three more buildings were completed in Scarlet Town.

Pei Yuhuai hired three construction teams to build the new town.

It was around this time that Pei Yuhuai received an ultimate task.

The task was straightforward—he needed to find the Noble family responsible for creating the Gene Serum and obtain the formula from them.

Once he had the formula, Pei Yuhuai could use the system to mass-produce the serum.

With the serum, they could resist the Zombie Virus.

If everyone remaining was injected with the serum, the Virus would no longer be a threat.

Humans would no longer suffer from the Virus, and with collective effort, they could quickly eliminate the Mutated Plants, Zombies, Zombie Animals, and Mutated Animals.

This was good news, and Pei Yuhuai planned to complete this task before holding his wedding with Lin Mian.

That afternoon, after watching a movie with Lin Mian, Pei Yuhuai let Lin Mian go shopping with Xiao Su.

After parting ways with Lin Mian and Xiao Su, Pei Yuhuai returned to his residence and logged into the town game.

While Pei Yuhuai was in the game, Lin Mian sent him a voice message via his smart watch.

“I’m going to have dinner with Xiao Su, so I won’t be back to eat with you tonight. Don’t get too caught up in work—remember to eat at seven.”

Pei Yuhuai replied with an “Okay” and then immersed himself in the game.

He teleported from the town villa to the Inner City.

He wanted to gather information about the residences of the Nobles in the Inner City.

There were many Nobles living in the Inner City, and he wasn’t sure who had developed the Virus.

He knew he couldn’t just ask anyone about such a secret.

He planned to first familiarize himself with the area, preferably befriending a Noble who had a favorable impression of him.

However, as Pei Yuhuai walked around the streets, he quickly realized that his previous notoriety had made him a figure of fear. The Nobles he encountered on the street looked at him as if they’d seen a ghost.

Pei Yuhuai felt a bit helpless and considered hiding until nightfall to try his luck then.

Just as he was thinking this, a young boy on the opposite side of the street stopped and stared at him.

The boy kept looking at him, as if trying to confirm his identity.

Pei Yuhuai noticed and returned the gaze, which startled the boy, causing him to instinctively turn and run.

However, after running a few steps, the boy realized Pei Yuhuai wasn’t chasing him and cautiously turned back.

The boy asked, “You… you’re that Noble named Pei Yuhuai, right?”

Pei Yuhuai replied, “I’m not a Noble.”

“Then… are you a Lower Class Person? Or a Mutant?”

“Neither.”