Apocalypse Mode: My Cheat Code Virtual Boyfriend - Chapter 16

Day 15 of the apocalypse was also the sixteenth day Lu Jiaoshuang had spent aboard this luxury cruise ship.

Originally, this seven-day, seven-night luxury cruise was meant to be a celebratory indulgence for her successful postgraduate recommendation, a chance to forget all worries and simply eat, drink, and enjoy herself.

However, as a hardworking medical student, she had a heart that loved learning… or rather, was forced to love learning. Barely half a day into the cruise, she had already holed up in her five-star luxury suite to read a few new academic journals.

It wasn’t until evening that she finally had time to step onto the deck for some fresh air. But before she could enjoy it for long, she was drenched by a sudden downpour, thoroughly ruining her mood.

Little did Lu Jiaoshuang know that even worse luck was waiting for her.

The cruise ship had entered international waters on the morning of the second day. The mutated monsters made their grand appearance in the main dining hall at noon that same day.

At the time, she was sitting just two tables away, wearing light makeup, curled hair, a dress, and a pair of low heels. Suddenly, a guest behind her overturned a table and erupted in violence, sending shards of plates scattering near her feet.

With her fiery temper, Lu Jiaoshuang immediately turned around and cursed, “Are you out of your mind… Holy shit!!!”

The guest behind her no longer looked human. He had transformed into a nimble, stocky mountain of flesh, his hands covered in grotesque tumors. He grabbed his female companion by the neck, twisted her head off, and began devouring it, dipping it into the borscht in front of him.

Terrified but quick to react, Lu Jiaoshuang leaped from her seat and dashed toward the exit, shouting as she ran, “What are you all waiting for? Run!”

The crowd erupted into chaos, scrambling to flee the dining hall.

Lu Jiaoshuang was the fastest. Countless movie scenes flashed through her mind, from Train to Busan to Resident Evil. Overthinking made her take a detour, leading her first to the ship’s shopping supermarket. She grabbed two large bags of food and drinks, mustered all her strength, and hauled them back to her suite.

Based on her extensive movie-watching experience, stocking up on supplies was never a bad idea!

Back in her suite, she kicked off her high heels, massaged the acupoints on her feet to relieve muscle soreness, hastily removed her makeup, and collapsed into bed.

Maybe this was all just a dream? Everything would be fine once she woke up, right?

When she woke up that evening, her clothes and shoes were still scattered on the floor, the shopping bags lay haphazardly at the foot of the bed, and a cream bun had tumbled out.

With little appetite, Lu Jiaoshuang picked up the bun, ate it, curled up in bed, and began scrolling through her phone, searching for keywords like “monster” and “mutation.”

She found nothing.

A little later, the cruise ship captain made an announcement over the loudspeaker. The gist was that multiple mutated passengers had been discovered onboard, and all guests were to remain in their rooms until the crew had cleared out the monsters.

The ship was too far out at sea to return quickly. Lu Jiaoshuang truly regretted her decision. Why had she signed up for this seven-day, seven-night luxury cruise? There was nowhere to run. In desperation, the only option would be to jump into the sea and feed the sharks.

Sitting on the bed, she wiped her face, stared blankly for a while, then got up. She wanted to take a shower to calm herself down.

All the facilities on the cruise ship were still functioning normally. Lu Jiaoshuang filled the bathtub with hot water and slowly submerged her entire body.

It was a few minutes later that she realized something was wrong.

The hot water had clearly submerged over her head, yet after several minutes, she felt no sense of suffocation at all. Her skin seemed to have become a secondary respiratory organ, filtering oxygen from the water to supply her red blood cells.

The water flowed faintly, fluttering behind her ears. Lu Jiaoshuang opened her eyes and reached her right hand toward the side of her neck.

Behind her ears were two fine, split seams, continuously drawing in and expelling water to supply oxygen to her body, these were gills, something that should only appear on fish!

With a splash, Lu Jiaoshuang scrambled out of the bathtub and rushed to the mirror. She wiped away the steam and strained her head to look at the gills behind her ears. The slender seams were still opening and closing rhythmically, and faint layers of deep blue fish scales had begun to appear on her waist, abdomen, and thighs.

She lowered her head, her hands braced against the sink, her mind filled with thoughts of the flesh-ball man who had eaten people in the main dining hall. Would she, too, become that kind of mindless monster that only craved human flesh after some time?

Lu Jiaoshuang shuddered, goosebumps rising on her naked body.

Hastily grabbing a towel to wrap around herself, she mechanically walked out of the bathroom and collapsed onto the bed. After lying there for a while, she got up, opened her phone, and began writing a note.

She typed half a line before deleting it. Even if she wrote it, who would she send it to? Forget it. She might as well eat, drink, and then jump into the sea, sparing others from the danger she might pose.

Lu Jiaoshuang holed up in her suite for three days, doing nothing but eating, sleeping, and surfing the internet. She took a bath at the same fixed time every day. The scales on her body spread rapidly, evolving over those three days from a few patches on her waist and abdomen into a shimmering, sapphire-like fishtail.

The joints of her fingers had also fused together, forming a thin webbing, and her fingertips had grown sharp and strong, strong enough to pry a tile off the wall in a test.

When she left the water and her body dried completely, she would revert to her human form.

Aside from that, there were no other changes. Her mind remained clear, her appetite normal, and she felt no desire whatsoever to eat people.

On the afternoon of the fourth day, the cruise ship’s broadcast sounded again. The captain announced that the monsters had been cleared, but the ship had lost contact with the global positioning system. Everyone on board was now drifting in an unknown sea. To ensure the safety of the guests, all passengers were required to gather in the central plaza of the cruise ship except during rest periods.

Lu Jiaoshuang glanced at her phone, which showed no signal. It seemed they really were cut off.

After hesitating for a moment, she changed her clothes and headed toward the central plaza. During her last bath, she had fully completed her transformation, with the appearance of a mermaid now fully manifested. There likely wouldn’t be any further changes.

Over the next few days, Lu Jiaoshuang arrived at the central plaza punctually as per the announcements. Everyone gathered there with nothing to do, but the ship’s food and fresh water were limited. As time passed, the rations distributed grew smaller, and the crew’s attitude became increasingly impatient.

During this time, the passengers concentrated on the cruise ship grew more and more irritable. Moreover, the captain’s claim that “the monsters have been cleared” seemed to be nothing but a lie, as some guests had quietly disappeared.

The captain had no choice but to organize the remaining passengers, assigning patrol duties in rotating shifts. The crew was no longer sufficient.

By the sixteenth day, due to her physical transformation, Lu Jiaoshuang showed no signs of weakness despite consuming only small amounts of food. Compared to the other members of her patrol group, she was practically glowing with energy.

She and her team members were assigned to patrol the outer corridor. Armed with riot forks and batons, they moved forward in silence.

As they rounded a corner near a porthole, they discovered a large breach in the hull. The previous patrol team was desperately restraining a pale gray humanoid monster, clearly struggling to keep it under control.

Lu Jiaoshuang didn’t hesitate. “Let’s go help them!” she urged.

A member of the previous patrol team turned and fixed her with a wary gaze. At the same time, a scream erupted from behind her.

Lu Jiaoshuang halted, slowly lowering her eyes to her hands gripping the riot fork. Rainwater seeped through the breach, soaking her body and revealing the thin webbing and scales on her hands.

“She’s a monster! Kill her!” someone shouted, followed by the shrill blast of an emergency whistle.

It seemed there was no turning back now. Lu Jiaoshuang dropped the riot fork and without hesitation dashed through the breach onto the deck. The howling wind and torrential rain drenched her instantly. Before she had even covered half the distance, her lower body transformed into a dazzling, iridescent fishtail.

The fishtail did nothing to slow her down. She slithered like a serpent across the deck, reaching the ship’s railing in moments. With a push of her hands, she vaulted over the rail.

She plunged headfirst into the churning, dark sea.

Bai Xun opened the Star Game system panel, navigated to the Virtual Boyfriend game interface, and clicked on [Game Status].

[Locked: Power Advancement (2/3)]

The progress bar for unlocking this power was slowly advancing toward Stage III. With a seven-day countdown, the restraints on Cheng Wei’s power were growing increasingly fragile.

What worried Bai Xun more was the incomplete unlocking of the Ark on the Sea.

The Ark on the Sea game interface remained unlit. Inserting a crystal cone only brought up this pop-up window: [Game unlock conditions not met: Crystal Cone (1/1), Specific unlock condition not triggered (0/1)]. Click to confirm and close: [Yes/No].

He racked his brain, replaying every detail of the game, but couldn’t figure out what that specific unlock condition might be.

On the fifteenth day of the apocalypse, the floodwaters below had risen to the 23rd floor. Through the glass windows, they could clearly see the surface littered with drifting debris, trash, and even corpses.

Time was running out.

After dealing with the lizard and the humanoid spider, the entire family had mobilized to make enough steamed buns to last over ten days. They steamed them all at once and stored them in the kitchen simulator, reheating them at mealtimes.

The recent monotonous diet was intentional, to avoid attracting the attention of monsters outside. The enticing aroma of stir-fried dishes might lure creatures with keen senses, like that lizard.

After eating so many steamed buns, everyone started to look like one.

The obvious benefit, however, was that no monsters or people had disturbed the 33rd floor since. At least the thrice-daily steamed buns hadn’t been in vain.

They had moved the living room sofa and dining room furniture out into the hallway, clearing space for two assembled rubber inflatable boats.

Supplies that couldn’t fit into the kitchen simulator were sealed in multiple layers and placed inside the boats, covered with waterproof tarps and securely tied down, both to keep them dry and to prevent anything from falling out.

Thanks to the great inventions of fishing enthusiasts, the inflatable fishing platforms bought at outdoor camping stores can be assembled with tents, so they no longer have to endure the downpour in raincoats.

Before the sea ark could be successfully unlocked, these floating devices were all they could rely on.

Countless buildings were destroyed in the flood. When the water rose to the 33rd floor, only the post and telecommunications building would remain as a high-rise structure in the area, making it their best chance to escape.

On the twenty-first day of the apocalypse, they woke up to find the floodwater had risen to the thirty-second-and-a-half floor, the perfect moment for them to leave.