Apocalypse Mode: My Cheat Code Virtual Boyfriend - Chapter 24

“If you’re awake, make a sound. Do you want water or food?” Lu Jiaoshuang reached out and pinched the fingers of the injured arm, checking its blood circulation.

“Water. Thank you for saving me. Where am I?” The man was forced to reboot, and as soon as he spoke, he felt his throat was extremely dry.

“You’re welcome. You’re on our ark,” Bai Xun said.

“Do we still have honey? Let’s mix him a bowl of honey water,” Lu Jiaoshuang suggested.

The jar of honey from making pumpkin cakes a few days ago was still sitting on the sideboard. Bai Yu, who was standing on the outermost edge and thus closest, went to mix a cup of honey water with warm water and brought it back.

“Alright, everyone, disperse. There’s no need for so many people to crowd around. Taking care of a patient doesn’t require that many hands,” Bai Guifang spoke up, and all unrelated people scattered. Feeding honey water didn’t require a crowd either.

Lu Jiaoshuang casually picked up a cushion and placed it behind the man to help him sit up. “Can you drink by yourself? Never mind, better not strain the wound. Little Sister Yu, give me the honey water. I’ll feed him.”

The man said, “No need, I can do it myself…”

Lu Jiaoshuang brought the honey water to his lips. “Stop talking. Drink.”

The man opened his mouth and was fed half a cup of honey water.

After feeding him, Lu Jiaoshuang casually placed the cup on the table and removed the cushion, letting the man lie back down.

While the man was still conscious, Bai Xun quickly asked, “What’s your name?”

The man replied, “Yu Feibai.”

Bai Xun continued, “How did you get so badly injured?”

Yu Feibai frowned slightly, unwilling to recall. “I ran into a group of mutated sawfish. They chased me all the way, and I almost didn’t make it. I’ll be troubling you for the next few days. Once my wounds heal enough, I’ll leave. Xiao Hei said it promised to give you three crystal cores as payment for saving me. I should pay you now.”

Bai Xun politely declined at first. “No rush. It takes a hundred days for bones and tendons to heal. You can rest and recover first.”

Yu Feibai called out in the direction of the goldfish. “Xiao Hei, spit out those three crystal cores.”

Xiao Hei, blowing bubbles in the large glass bowl, flicked its tail fin twice, and three sparkling, translucent diamond-shaped crystal cones were spat to the bottom of the bowl.

Bai Xun fished the three crystal cones out of the bowl. “Thank you. We do need them. Are you hungry? There’s still meat soup and mashed potatoes in the kitchen. Would you like to eat something?”

It was an honest transaction, and he decided from that moment on to show the utmost care for this injured man.

Yu Feibai shook his head. “I want to rest for a while. I’ll call you if I get hungry.”

Bai Xun nodded. “Alright, then call us when you’re hungry. We won’t disturb your rest for now.”

After saying this, he went to discuss with Lu Jiaoshuang how to allocate these crystal cores. She was the one who saved him, without her, he might have died. How to divide these crystals should be up to her.

Lu Jiaoshuang responded, “You’re saying you want to give all of these to me? No need. They’re useless to me anyway. If you really want to thank me, bake me a cake tomorrow. Little Sister Yu told me we have a bunch of baking supplies in our reserves. It’s been so long since I’ve had a soft, creamy cake.”

Bai Xun indeed needed these crystal cones to unlock more of the game: “Alright, I’ll accept them then. The cakes can be made in matcha, chestnut, and chocolate flavors. I remember there are also tart shells and custard filling, can we make those too?”

Lu Jiaoshuang: “Yes, yes, yes! I want them all!”

Life on the Ark didn’t change much with the addition of an injured person. Aside from taking turns feeding him three meals a day, Yu Feibai didn’t talk much.

His goldfish was far livelier than him, acting like a happy little puppy, always seeking affection and pets whenever it was time to change the water or feed it.

Four days passed, and the wound on Yu Feibai’s abdomen had mostly healed. Normally, such a large laceration would take 7 to 14 days to heal, depending on one’s constitution. As a mutant, his physical resilience was several times stronger than an ordinary person’s.

Lu Jiaoshuang used scissors and tweezers to remove his stitches. The healed wound had grown tender pink new flesh, but an ugly scar resembling a centipede stretched from his chest down to his lower abdomen, marring his otherwise beautiful physique.

“Sorry about this. Without catgut sutures, I could only leave a scar on your skin. You’re so good-looking, were you a model before? It’s such a shame to have a scar like this,” Lu Jiaoshuang chatted casually as she worked, trying to ease the awkwardness.

“It’s fine. Before the apocalypse, I was a designer,” Yu Feibai replied, watching as the fishing line stitches were removed from his body. The moment they were pulled out, the new flesh tingled slightly.

“A designer? There are so many kinds, architectural design, jewelry design…” Lu Jiaoshuang continued the conversation.

“Neither. I was a fashion designer,” Yu Feibai answered.

“That sounds impressive. Alright, the stitches are out. Try not to get the wound wet for the next couple of days to avoid infection, and keep taking the anti-inflammatory medicine. I’ve roughly estimated that, given your healing rate, your arm will need to stay in a sling for at least another month and a half to fully recover. Don’t move it recklessly or engage in strenuous activities,” Lu Jiaoshuang concluded with some medical advice after finishing.

It was now the 38th day of the apocalypse. Eleven days had passed since the first batch of vegetable seeds were planted. The plants requiring pollination had begun to bloom. With no bees on the Ark to pollinate the flowers, Bai Xun followed his grandmother’s instructions, plucking the male flowers to pollinate the female ones.

In the Ark on the Sea game, he never had to do this, just watering was enough, and the vegetables would mature on their own. It was clear that there were still some differences between the game and reality.

Among the planted seeds, tomatoes, strawberries, and cucumbers required pollination. Pollen could also be spread by the wind, but to be safe, Bai Xun carefully plucked the flowers and pollinated them one by one.

The other vegetables that didn’t require pollination were growing well. The cabbages had started to form heads, the carrot tops were lush and green, and every vegetable was thriving, looking as though they’d be ready for harvest in a few days.

Bai Xun carried a watering can to water the vegetables. Yu Feibai, now with his stitches removed, stepped out of the cabin. It was his first time seeing the deck outside.

“You’re recovering well,” Bai Xun remarked, having just finished watering the cauliflower when he saw Yu Feibai emerge with his arm in a sling.

“Not bad. Can corn still grow in this temperature? Is this your ability?” Yu Feibai noticed the corn plants with their flowering side branches. From what he remembered, by late December, corn should have already been harvested.

“Sort of. In a few days, they’ll be producing mature corn cobs. Is your goldfish, Little Black, a mutated pet? It’s quite clever, it was the one that helped you jump onto the Ark’s deck, giving us all a scare.” Bai Xun continued watering the plants while making casual conversation.

The dent on the deck had taken ten wooden planks to repair.

“It’s my pet, but it’s not mutated. I’m the one who’s mutated. I can make it a part of me, and it grows stronger by devouring things. It’s a bit hard to explain, but that’s the gist of it,” Yu Feibai said.

Cheng Wei finished watering the other side of the planting box and walked over, picking up a chair along the way for Yu Feibai to sit on. “Take a seat. You shouldn’t stand for too long with your wound just healed.”

Bai Xun had also finished watering and set down the watering can, plopping himself on the edge of the planting box. “Can you do it with other animals too? I have a jellyfish here, want to give it a try?”

He wondered if Yu Feibai’s mutation might allow him to regenerate limbs or something. After all, jellyfish can regenerate their tentacles when severed, they have strong self-repair abilities.

Yu Feibai leaned back in the chair. “That brainless, limb-regenerating invertebrate plankton?”

Bai Xun laughed. “Such a sharp critique.”

Yu Feibai snorted. “Among aquatic creatures, only my Little Black is the smartest.”

Cheng Wei brought over the fishing bucket containing the jellyfish, grabbed it by its bell, and handed it to Yu Feibai.

Yu Feibai held the jellyfish by its tentacles underneath. The transparent jellyfish began to resemble a blob of mucus, slowly seeping into his skin.

He was “eating” the jellyfish.

Bai Xun watched the entire process. “Well? Any changes?”

Yu Feibai lifted his right forearm, which was in a splint, waved it a few times, and flexed his fingers. “It doesn’t hurt anymore. I’ve lost the sensation of pain. Jellyfish don’t feel pain.”

Lu Jiaoshuang, who had just stepped halfway out the door, witnessed this and let out a sharp shriek. “Yu Feibai! Doctor’s orders! Doctor’s orders! Do you know what that means? Don’t think you can just ignore the doctor’s advice because you’re in good health!”

Patients disregarding medical advice were every healthcare worker’s nightmare.

All three people on the deck turned their heads at once.

Bai Yu, who was following behind Lu Jiaoshuang, retracted her half-step.

Yu Feibai slowly lowered his hand and used his uninjured hand to adjust the bandage sling around his neck.

No one dared to speak, because Lu Jiaoshuang at that moment looked like a wild, fire-breathing tigress about to erupt.

She strode over almost in a flash, appearing right in front of Yu Feibai. Bai Xun was a little afraid she might punch Yu Feibai’s other good arm and break it to make a matching pair, or that she might perform a Jack the Ripper move and slice him open before stitching him back up.

“Um, Feibai was just demonstrating his mutation to us. He only lifted his hand a little. It should be… probably… uh… maybe fine?” Bai Xun’s voice grew softer and softer, lacking confidence.

Lu Jiaoshuang glared at him fiercely, and he immediately fell silent, raising his hand to his mouth and miming zipping it shut.

Oh my god, that was terrifying. For a moment, he felt like he was seeing the imposing presence of Madam Bai Guifang.

Lu Jiaoshuang turned her head back, cracking her knuckles audibly, but she forced a “kind” smile. “Let me check if the fracture in your arm has shifted. No next time, okay? Understood?”

Her last words were enunciated with deliberate emphasis, like teeth clenched after immense restraint.

Yu Feibai instinctively nodded, “I heard you. I’ll definitely follow the doctor’s orders from now on.”

Lu Jiaoshuang checked that the fractured area on his arm hadn’t shifted, and her expression softened considerably. “Good that you heard.”

Bai Xun quietly retreated, stepping back until he was beside Cheng Wei, then reached out to tug at the hem of Cheng Wei’s clothes.

Cheng Wei turned to look at him, and Bai Xun mouthed the words, “Let’s go inside.”

The two of them retreated from the deck one after the other, heading straight for the sofa as soon as they entered the room.

Bai Xun plopped down onto it, and Cheng Wei sat beside him, instinctively draping his tail over Bai Xun’s lap.

Pet the fur~ no more fear~

The fluffy tail was turned over and over in Bai Xun’s hands, stroked smoothly from base to tip and then ruffled against the grain, revealing the pink skin at the root of the fur.

Even a well-acquainted cat would have turned around to swat at this mischievous hand and then meticulously lick its fur back into place.

At most, Cheng Wei would curl the tip of his tail and lazily rest it on Bai Xun’s hand.

After thoroughly petting the tail, Bai Xun finally felt his mood settle.

Outside, however, things were far from calm. Lu Jiaoshuang’s exclamation of “Holy shit!” was deafening, and Bai Xun hurriedly opened the door to check if the two of them were fighting.

At the same time, the Ark’s alarm for mutated marine creature attacks sounded.

As soon as the door opened, Bai Xun saw Lu Jiaoshuang carrying Yu Feibai over her shoulder, yes, he wasn’t mistaken, she was carrying him, running toward their direction. On the deck, a whirlwind of fish had inexplicably formed, with a school of fish flying back and forth.

Bai Xun even rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.

Lu Jiaoshuang took a big stride and squeezed through the door, slamming it shut behind her. “Are those fish outside insane? Their fins are way too sharp, they even cut through my clothes.”

Yu Feibai slid down from her shoulder and reached up to touch his right cheek, where he felt a smear of bright red blood. His face had been cut.

“You’re bleeding. I’ll go get the first aid kit. Oh no! Our vegetables planted outside!” Bai Xun suddenly remembered their precious assets left outdoors.

“Their fins can damage the deck,” Cheng Wei said, walking to the window to look outside. He saw the fish leaping across the deck, sending wood splinters flying everywhere.

“We have to drive them all off. Otherwise, the Ark will be nothing but an empty shell soon. Quick, let’s move. I’ll make protective armor. All of you, find suitable weapons. We’re going out to fight monsters.” Bai Xun’s expression was serious as he spoke hurriedly before rushing down to the first basement level.

The workbench could produce one piece of protective armor using two units of fabric. Since Granny Bai was elderly and Yu Feibai was injured, he made five sets in total.

Grabbing the freshly made armor, he dashed back to the first floor. Everyone had already picked up suitable weapons, along with fishing nets and scoops, ready to head out and fight monsters as soon as they put on the armor.

Bai Xun distributed the protective armor to each person. When he reached Lu Jiaoshuang, she declined, her mermaid scale armor was already sturdy enough.

Yu Feibai intercepted the unused set of armor with his uninjured left hand. “I’m coming too.”

Without a second thought, Bai Xun firmly refused. “No, you can’t. Your fracture hasn’t healed yet.”

The others quickly put on their armor beside them as the thumping sounds outside grew louder.

Yu Feibai insisted, “I can bring Little Black. He’s a good fighter.”

This wasn’t something Bai Xun could decide on his own. He turned to ask Lu Jiaoshuang, “Jiaoshuang, do you think he can come along?”

Lu Jiaoshuang glanced back and said, “Let him go. If it breaks, I’ll just reattach it. If he really wants to go, we can’t stop him anyway.”

Bai Xun released his grip. “Alright, if you feel unwell outside, don’t push yourself. Your health is the most important.”

While they were talking, the others had already geared up, pulling the door open a crack and squeezing out one by one to deal with the rampaging flying fish.

Bai Xun quickly put on his protective armor and helmet, grabbed a military shovel in one hand and a fishing net in the other, and rushed outside.

The school of fish on the deck leaped onto it from both sides of the ship. Most flew directly over the barbed wire net at high altitude, with only a few getting caught on it, emitting a charred smell.

The flying fish had tremendous force, hitting the body like being struck by a small mortar shell. Bai Xun was knocked off balance by several fish, nearly stumbling.

Steadying himself, he swung the fishing net and scooped up a few flying fish that had flown right into it. He quickly stepped on the net, raised the military shovel, and began stabbing wildly!

Blood immediately stained the deck red.

Apart from their wing-like fins becoming as sharp as blades and their ability to leap higher, the mutated flying fish weren’t much different from ordinary fish, a single shovel strike could take them down.

Bai Xun worked tirelessly, scooping and stabbing fish, and soon the surrounding school was cleared.

The others followed suit, scooping and killing the fish. Except for Yu Feibai’s pet, Xiao Hei, which dissolved the flying fish with its body, the deck was soon littered with twitching fish corpses.

The school of flying fish was enormous. They kept leaping onto the deck, and even after falling back into the sea, they would jump up again.

It was unclear what on the Ark attracted them so much that they were willing to risk death.

For the group, this was nothing short of an unexpected disaster.

After more than half an hour of fighting, the fish tornado finally subsided. Everyone was panting heavily, their feet completely soaked in fish blood.

The flying fish had wreaked havoc on the nearly mature plants in the planting boxes. Cornstalks taller than a person were snapped at the roots, cucumber trellises were knocked over, tomato plants were split in half, and the curled cabbage leaves were shredded to pieces…

Eleven days of hard work had been completely undone.

They had initially wanted to salvage these precious vegetables, but the planting boxes were fixed directly to the deck. All they could do was drive the fish away.

Bai Xun stepped on the soft, sticky corpses of the flying fish, his mood plummeting to rock bottom.

The defensive facilities they had painstakingly built over several days by salvaging debris from the seabed had only blocked a small portion of the flying fish. They were utterly helpless against those flying at high altitudes.

Despite the disappointment, the mess still needed to be cleaned up.

Bai Xun switched to a shovel and began piling the dead fish into a small mound. It was uncertain what effects consuming these mutated animals might have, but they could be used to test making fuel or as compost for the plants.

Cheng Wei went to tidy up the planting boxes on both sides. The roots of the vegetables inside remained undamaged, and with a few more days of growth, they might recover.

Hearing this good news, Bai Xun’s low spirits lifted considerably. As long as the vegetables could be saved, their efforts hadn’t been in vain.

The flying fish caught on the barbed nets and scattered across the deck were gathered into piles, forming three mounds half a person’s height. The entire deck was filled with the pungent smell of fish blood.

After shoveling the last spadeful, Bai Xun stood before the fish mounds, scanning them from top to bottom.

Using fish for compost required at least a month of fermentation, and the fertilizer produced from these three mounds would be enough for the planting boxes on the deck for over a hundred uses.

They didn’t need that much fertilizer for now.

After a moment of thought, Bai Xun decided to use one mound of fish to produce fuel. The ark had been sailing for eight days, consuming about six bottles of fuel daily, and the fuel in the storage cabinet was already more than half depleted.

From the remaining two mounds, he would set aside a bucket’s worth for composting. The rest would be stored in the kitchen simulator to slow down spoilage.

He sent Yu Feibai back to rest, then asked Lu Jiaoshuang and Bai Yu to help carry the fish down to the lower deck for fuel conversion. Only then did he begin storing the fish in the kitchen simulator.

A minor mishap occurred while storing the second mound.

One of the prerequisites for the kitchen simulator to store items was physical contact. As Bai Xun pinched the knife-like fin of a fish, his finger, along with the glove, was sliced open by a deep cut.

“Tsk.” He frowned and let out a soft hiss.

Cheng Wei, who was shoveling fish into a bucket nearby, twitched his ears. “What happened?”

Bai Xun pulled off his glove. “Cut my hand. This fish fin has mutated to be incredibly sharp, sharper than a surgical scalpel.”

He hadn’t even realized he was cut until blood started flowing, and the pain only registered when it soaked into his glove.

Cheng Wei also removed his gloves and came over to examine Bai Xun’s hand.

The cut was on his index finger, and blood was gushing out steadily.

Cheng Wei pinched both sides of the base of the index finger, slowing the blood flow.

“Hold it here, then go inside and rinse it with clean water. If it hurts too much, you can use ice to numb it. If you can’t manage it yourself, ask Lu Jiaoshuang to bandage it for you. I’ll handle things here.”

Cheng Wei lowered his head as he spoke carefully, his long eyelashes casting a shadow that made him look unexpectedly gentle.

Bai Xun mimicked his gesture, pinching the base of his own index finger. “Alright, I’ll leave this to you for now. I’ll come back to help mop the floor once I’m bandaged.”

“Wait.”

He turned back. “Is there something else?”

Cheng Wei shook his head and took two steps forward. “Let me help you take off your protective gear. You’ll have to remove it when you go inside, and it’ll be inconvenient for you to do it alone.”

With that, he reached out to unfasten the clasps on Bai Xun’s protective suit, lifting his arm slightly to remove the blood-stained, fish-scented gear.

“Alright, go in now,” Cheng Wei said.

Bai Xun pinched the base of his finger again. “Okay, I’ll be back soon.”

He hurried to the doorway, kicked off his knee-high rain boots, and stepped into slippers with his socks on before heading to the kitchen sink to rinse his hand.

The cold water splashed against the exposed wound, offering a slight numbing effect, but the contact with the injury still stung sharply.

Frowning, Bai Xun rinsed the wound clean. Even without pinching the base of his finger, the bleeding had slowed.

The first-aid kit was conveniently placed under the coffee table. He pulled out two sheets of kitchen paper to dry his hand, then unscrewed the bottle of iodine and dabbed a cotton ball to disinfect the wound.

The iodine stung less than the water had. After applying it, Bai Xun tore off a section of bandage and wrapped it around his finger, asking Bai Yu, who happened to pass by, to tie it off for him.

After packing up the medical kit, he put on the rain boots he had left by the door. The piles of fish on the deck had already been fully sorted into buckets, ready to be carried down to the lower level.

Thanks to the sharp fins of the flying fish, the deck had become pitted and uneven, with some sections more severely damaged. By looking down through the holes, one could even make eye contact with the people below.

Because of this, the blood on the deck could only be mopped up rather than washed away with water, doing so would cause leaks to the floor below.

Cheng Wei used a large rectangular mop to sweep the fish meat scraps together, leaving streaks of blood on the floor with each swipe. It was unclear how long it would take to clean it all up.

Bai Xun also fetched a new mop, and the two of them circled the deck, mopping nearly twenty times before finally clearing away the bloodstains.

In the process, two mops were worn out beyond use.

The sudden flying fish attack had caused significant losses. Bai Xun considered moving all the planting boxes to the workshop on the lower deck, where there was plenty of space, enough to fit another 48 planting boxes.

The only concern was whether the vegetables could thrive without sufficient sunlight.

But there was no time to dwell on that now. The priority was to check on the deck repairs.

Bai Xun headed down to the lower deck and went straight to the control room, using the control panel to assess the damage to the ship.

The upgraded metal hull of the Ark had withstood the attack, and repairing the surface scratches required only five iron blocks.

In contrast, the damage to the deck was far more severe.

Bai Xun could now see light leaking through holes in the ceiling overhead. Fully repairing the deck would require 110 wooden planks, but their storage room only had 28.

The control panel offered the option to use all available planks to partially repair the deck. Without hesitation, Bai Xun spent every last one.

They had accumulated 200 resource blocks from salvaging debris earlier, which could now be put to use. It all depended on whether Bai Yu and Lu Jiaoshuang could extract the much-needed wooden planks from them.

As Bai Xun stepped out of the control room, he ran into Bai Yu and Lu Jiaoshuang pouring fish into the fuel generator, though they seemed to be facing a minor issue.

Two full buckets of fish were placed next to the fuel generator. Lu Jiaoshuang set down the half-empty bucket in her hands and gave the machine two firm slaps.

Bai Xun approached and asked, “What’s going on?”

Bai Yu pointed at the output conveyor belt. “For some reason, the generator isn’t producing fuel.”

Bai Xun was puzzled. “Really? It can actually break down?”

That shouldn’t be possible.