THIP Chapter 38 V1

When Mu Liuyin regained consciousness, she was in the backseat of an off-road vehicle.

Beside her sat a sweet-looking girl with worry in her eyes, gently coaxing her. “A’Chi, don’t be so sad… Seeing you like this hurts me.”

At the same time, Xiao Jiu was yelling in her mind, “Host! Hurry and find the mission target! She’s in really bad shape right now!”

Mu Liuyin rubbed her temples, completely ignoring the girl’s words and the pitiful expression on her face.

A map from Xiao Jiu suddenly appeared in her mind, showing the route to the mission target. But the vehicle was going in the opposite direction. Her expression darkened as she said coldly, “Stop the car.”

She wasn’t quite sure what was going on yet, but judging from the respectful looks she was getting, she had some guesses. Narrowing her eyes, she ordered, “Everyone, out.”

The people in the car were surprised, but they obeyed. Only the girl beside her hesitated, asking softly, “A’Chi, what’s wrong?”

Mu Liuyin shot her a cold glance. “Get out.”

The girl looked as if she might burst into tears. She hadn’t expected Mu Liuyin to speak to her like that. Still, she climbed out of the car, sulking and full of grievances.

There were three vehicles in this group. After everyone had gotten out, Mu Liuyin slid into the driver’s seat, jerked her chin toward the others, and told them to squeeze into the remaining two cars. Then, before they had time to react, she spun the wheel and drove off.

The scenery along the road was bleak and desolate. Judging from the ruined buildings and abandoned cars lining the highway, this place had once been a bustling city. But now, not a soul could be seen—just wreckage, dried bloodstains, and silence.

Mu Liuyin had no time to dwell on that. Focused on the route mapped in her head, she pressed forward toward the mission target.

Then, two mangled figures appeared ahead. Her foot instinctively moved to the brake—
“Don’t stop! Run them over!” Xiao Jiu’s voice rang out just in time.

“Those were people…?” she thought, stomach churning at the grotesque image of those two things.

“Low-level zombies,” Xiao Jiu corrected her. “This world is in the middle of an apocalypse.”

Mu Liuyin’s heart sank.

She forced herself to stay calm, keeping Xiao Jiu on alert for more zombies as she gritted her teeth and continued driving toward the mission target.

Luckily, it seemed like most of the local zombies had already been dealt with. Aside from those first two, she didn’t encounter any others.

Eventually, she reached the place where the mission target was hiding. She parked the car in a concealed spot, locked it, and carried the medical supplies and food with her.

She slipped quietly into the basement stockroom of a store, where the target was said to be sheltering.

When she finally saw the woman—
It wasn’t just a bad situation.
It was horrific.

The woman was curled up on the floor, her lips cracked and dry, her face deathly pale, sweat beading and dripping down her forehead. She was covered in wounds and blood.

Mu Liuyin first fed her fever medicine from the supplies she’d brought. Then she searched the basement for a still-sealed blanket and spread it out. Carefully, she lifted the woman onto it, stripped off her shredded clothes, disinfected her wounds with alcohol she found nearby, wiped her down with a damp towel, and covered her with a blanket.

By the time she finished, nearly two hours had passed.

Mu Liuyin sat down on the floor beside her, opened the mission panel, and tapped to receive the storyline.

[Mission Target: Xie Yin]
[Primary Objective: Protect Xie Yin]
[Host Identity: Cannon fodder — Xie Yin’s ex-boyfriend, Xu Chi]
[Note: Click here for the world’s backstory.]

In the year 2020, the apocalypse struck without warning. Eighty percent of humanity on Blue Star turned into zombies. Some awakened supernatural powers, but most remained ordinary people.

Before the apocalypse, Xie Yin had come from a wealthy family. She was beautiful, gentle, a top student at S University, admired by many as a campus goddess.

Xu Chi, the original host, was from a poor background. Other than his decent looks, he had nothing in common with someone like Xie Yin.

But one day, he saved her from danger. The classic hero-rescues-beauty scenario caught Xie Yin’s attention. Xu Chi took the opportunity to craft the image of a warm, caring guy. Slowly, Xie Yin fell for him. Sensing her feelings, Xu Chi confessed, and Xie Yin agreed to be with him.

They were together for two years. Xie Yin’s parents, seeing her commitment and Xu Chi’s seemingly sincere devotion, eventually approved of the relationship. They were even discussing marriage.

Then the apocalypse came.

Xu Chi awakened an ice-type ability, while Xie Yin remained a powerless human. Her parents were immediately infected and turned into zombies.

As the first to awaken an offensive ability, Xu Chi naturally took charge of a group of students fleeing together.

With his strength and good looks, the girls in the group all wanted to get close to him, hoping to be protected. But Xie Yin, being just an ordinary person, stood out as an obstacle. Many girls resented her for holding the “girlfriend” position.

Xie Yin, not wanting to cause conflict, never told Xu Chi about the bullying. She believed he loved her. What she didn’t know was that Xu Chi saw everything—and simply didn’t care.

He had never truly loved her. He had only dated her for her wealth. Now that the world had changed and power meant everything, Xie Yin, a powerless girl, no longer held any value in his eyes.

He hadn’t broken up with her yet, only because he didn’t want to ruin his image.

Eventually, as they traveled toward the government-established Central Base, more people awakened their abilities. One girl in particular—Zhuo Yan—gained an extremely rare healing ability.

Zhuo Yan was sweet-faced and had secretly liked Xu Chi for a long time. She’d always hated Xie Yin, and once she awakened her powers, she started openly expressing interest in Xu Chi.

Xu Chi, of course, didn’t reject Zhuo Yan’s attention.

Whenever Xie Yin showed a hint of jealousy, Xu Chi would brush her off with the excuse that Zhuo Yan’s healing ability was rare and essential for the team’s survival.

But that was only the beginning of Xie Yin’s suffering. After Xu Chi and Zhuo Yan had been ambiguously involved for a while, a male team member, egged on by Zhuo Yan’s suggestive words, couldn’t hold back and tried to assault Xie Yin while Xu Chi was away.