My Dating Sim Just Got an Update - Chapter 14

The night passed without incident, and Ren Chenxi enjoyed a reasonably peaceful sleep. When she woke up the next morning, she noticed a change on her mini-map: Huo Keyu’s dot, which had previously been yellow, had turned green at some point during the night.

Perhaps that rare night of safety had finally allowed her frayed nerves to relax, leading her to truly begin accepting the group.

After a simple breakfast, Ren Chenxi summoned the bus back from her inventory. The girls spent the morning siphoning what remained of the gas from the station into empty water jugs. Ren Chenxi was surprised that there was any fuel left at all after two years of the apocalypse, but it wasn’t much—barely enough to fill half a jug.

Before heading off toward H City, the girls wanted to scout a nearby mall to see if they could find suitable musical instruments. Ren Chenxi agreed without hesitation. She knew the road ahead was fraught with unknown dangers; any boost to their combat power meant a better chance at survival.

Ren Chenxi had never driven a bus before, but she figured they were all more or less the same. She expected she’d just need a little time to adjust. To her surprise, the other girls actually knew how to drive one and had done so before.

Two years in the apocalypse had forced the delicate flowers once sheltered in greenhouses to grow up fast. If they couldn’t grow, they were destined to rot in the mire of this broken world.

Huo Keyu was the first to volunteer for the driver’s seat. Her skills were excellent; even when encountering small clusters of zombies on the road, she didn’t flinch, stepping firmly on the accelerator to plow right through them.

While Ren Chenxi relied on her mini-map, Jian Dan and the others had a detailed national road atlas. Song Xin proudly mentioned that they used to travel often, so their atlas was the most recent edition. Of course, no matter how updated a physical map was, it couldn’t compete with the convenience of Chenxi’s game system. Still, Ren Chenxi felt there was no need to reveal more of her “otherworldliness,” so she let the girls navigate by the atlas. She simply spoke up whenever a red dot appeared ahead of them.

Aside from acting as a radar, Ren Chenxi had spent the morning hoarding a massive stash of gravel in her inventory. She sat by the window for the duration of the trip, window rolled down, flicking pebbles at any zombie she saw. Her “Accuracy” stat wasn’t maxed out yet, and she needed the practice!

Seeing Ren Chenxi accurately predict zombie locations and casually pick them off with pebbles like it was a game naturally sparked the girls’ curiosity. Ren Chenxi explained that her eyesight had improved significantly after the apocalypse, allowing her to see quite far. As for the pebbles, she claimed she was training to improve her precision.

The explanation left Jian Dan and the others stunned. “Sister, your accuracy is already a hundred percent! You still feel the need to practice? A pro truly is a pro!”

Having successfully hand-waved her skills, Ren Chenxi turned the conversation to the girls’ own abilities. They didn’t hold back, frankly detailing their powers to her.

When Song Xin played her instrument, the sound would slow down enemies. Chang Ling’s music could induce a state of dizziness or vertigo, and Jian Dan’s notes transformed into physical sonic wave attacks. More importantly, their music was targeted; it only affected those they locked onto, meaning there was no friendly fire.

Hearing this, Ren Chenxi was genuinely impressed. Her own skills were granted by the game system, but these girls had awakened theirs naturally. With a coordinated musical ensemble like that, it was no wonder they had lived so peacefully before running into the scum. However, it was likely that very peace and the strength of their abilities had made them let their guard down.

For the rest of the journey, Ren Chenxi was even more proactive than the girls in scouting for malls or music stores. Her “Explosion Cards” were running low, after all. If the girls had their instruments, she could save her precious cards for emergencies.

Under normal circumstances, musical instruments were considered useless luxury items in the apocalypse, so most scavengers wouldn’t waste space on them. Yet, after visiting two malls and a music store, the girls still hadn’t found what they needed.

As they walked out of a small but well-stocked music shop where everything was still neatly arranged, Ren Chenxi finally couldn’t help but ask, “What exactly are your instruments? Why weren’t they in there? That place seemed to have everything…”

“My instrument is the Erhu,” Jian Dan said.

“Suona…” Chang Ling added.

“Small cymbals.” Song Xin finished.

Your band certainly has a unique personality, Ren Chenxi remarked.

Eventually, the observant Huo Keyu remembered passing a traditional teahouse earlier. Some teahouses hosted opera performances, which might have the traditional instruments they were looking for. Sure enough, in that nearly picked-over teahouse, they found their equipment among a pile of abandoned “junk.” Aside from being a bit dusty, the three instruments were in perfect condition; the Erhu didn’t even have a broken string.

Overjoyed to have their tools back, the girls followed Ren Chenxi with renewed vigor. Whenever they encountered zombies on the road, they were quick to attack. They explained that using their powers frequently was the only way to level up. During their most desperate moment, they had been trapped in a small restaurant by a massive horde. By the time they cleared the area that night, the sheer exhaustion of their powers had pushed them to become Level 3 ability-users.

It seemed their powers worked much like her skills: level-ups came through usage. However, the girls also mentioned that they could absorb the spirit crystals from zombie brains to upgrade their abilities. While powers varied from person to person, the crystals were a universal currency.

The fact that the girls only mentioned crystals from zombies—and not from other humans confirmed to Ren Chenxi that these kind-hearted girls had never dreamt of cutting open a human head. They had no idea that ability-users carried crystals, too.

With the girls joining the fray, Ren Chenxi was delighted. As long as she tagged a zombie with a pebble before Jian Dan’s sonic wave finished it off, the loot would automatically fly into her inventory—provided she was within ten meters. Plus, the music added a bit of flair to an otherwise dull journey.

Three hours later, however, Ren Chenxi was no longer smiling.

The bus was lively, sure… but it was too lively.

At first, listening to the unique blend of traditional instruments was interesting. But eventually, the noise became a bit much. The clanging, wailing, and creaking blended into a cacophony. Because she was listening at such close range, Ren Chenxi’s ears continued to ring long after the music finally stopped.

The Suona, in particular, was the “rogue” of the instrument world. The moment it started blaring, Ren Chenxi felt her head spin. Okay, now she understood why Chang Ling’s music caused dizziness in enemies. But Chang Ling was wrong about one thing: that dizziness definitely affected her allies, too!

Fortunately, the girls’ energy eventually ran out. When Chang Ling finally set down her Suona and sighed, saying she was exhausted and needed to rest, Ren Chenxi let out a sigh that was even longer than hers.

It was finally over.

Even Huo Keyu, who had remained silent and stoic throughout the trip, admitted with a look of disdain, “Your abilities are so loud!”

Jian Dan looked sheepish. She explained that they had traveled with other groups before, but they were always kicked out for being too noisy. That was why they had stuck to their trio for so long. It was also why they had sadly declined the invitation from the University students back in G City. But after their run-in with the scum, they realized they weren’t strong enough to wander the world alone anymore.

“If it’s really too loud… we won’t play on the bus anymore,” Jian Dan said, looking at Ren Chenxi tentatively. “If we run into a large group of zombies, we can get off the bus to fight.”

Ren Chenxi waved her hand dismissively. The noise was a headache, but the rewards were real. Given that her backpack now held an extra 60 Level 1 crystals, 30 Level 2 crystals, and 17 Level 3 crystals, there was no way she was letting these girls go. Thanks to them, she had already gathered enough to trade for two gacha pulls. Though, for now, she planned to hold onto her 2,000+ crystals.

“It’s alright. It is loud, but thanks to you, the trip has been much smoother. It’s just that your performances are so… persistent. You don’t have to drain your energy all at once. You can play when there are a lot of zombies and rest when the numbers thin out. If you exhaust yourselves now, what will we do if we hit a real emergency?” Ren Chenxi suggested sincerely.

“But… it’s hard to find a time when there aren’t many zombies,” Jian Dan said awkwardly. After all, zombies swarmed toward even the slightest sound. Their three instruments were essentially beacons that drew every zombie for miles. Even now, with their energy depleted, a massive crowd of zombies was still wobbling along behind the bus. This was the primary reason other groups had found them so burdensome.

“Sigh, we should have just stayed quiet. We were just so excited to have instruments again…” Chang Ling muttered, stroking her Suona regretfully.

Ren Chenxi understood. Having their life-saving tools back after being controlled by those bastards was a huge relief. They had used the zombies on the road as a vent for their frustration, proving to themselves that they were still strong.

“Forget it, just be more careful from now on,” Huo Keyu said, seeing the girls’ guilt and softening her tone. “Your powers are amazing, but it’s better to save them. After all, when real danger comes, an ordinary person like me has to rely on you.” Despite her complaints, Huo Keyu had shared life and death with these girls; she wasn’t going to cast them out just because they were noisy. Besides, as an “ordinary” human, she didn’t exactly have the authority to kick out three ability-users.

Seeing that Ren Chenxi and Huo Keyu weren’t truly angry, the girls relaxed. After a brief silence, they were back to chatting excitedly. They were now only two hours away from H City. If the highway remained this clear, they might actually have enough clean water to wash their hair and take a real bath tonight.

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