My Dating Sim Just Got an Update - Chapter 34

“Sister… Sister Xi, how… how did you know Fan Juntian was using drugs?”

“My brother told me.” Instinctively, Ren Chenxi shifted the responsibility onto Ren Muhui again. But after a quick thought, she realized that answer felt a bit off, so she braced herself and gave a half-true, half-false explanation: “My brother said that Fan Juntian once tried to hire someone to harm him using drugs, but luckily my brother was alert and managed to run away. Since Fan Juntian tried to use drugs against my brother, it meant he must have plenty of them on hand. My brother suspected this rich playboy was definitely using them privately. Sure enough, one day, Fan Juntian collapsed in convulsions on the playground. The school claimed he had a medical episode, but my brother was convinced it was a withdrawal fit.”

“Fan Juntian tried to use drugs to harm Ren Muhui?” The normally quiet Mu Ning suddenly became agitated again. “How come I never knew about this? Why did Ren Muhui never tell me?”

“Heh, did you ever care about him back then? Did you even know when he stopped living in the school dorms? Besides, you weren’t even willing to listen to him say a single extra word; why would he ever tell you about his troubles!”

The old me was indeed so annoyed I couldn’t even stand to look at him… Mu Ning pursed her lips and could only offer a soft, “I’m sorry.”

Seeing the atmosphere freezing up again, Chen Gu quickly jumped in to change the subject.

“That’s right, Fan Juntian is using. And he’s not even afraid of people knowing. First, it’s the apocalypse, even if he does drugs in a crowd, no cops are coming for him. Second, his ability requires drugs to maintain it. To that end, he’s even cordoned off a plot of land in the Fan family’s residential area specifically to grow poppies.”

“Eh? There’s an ability that needs drugs to function?” Song Xin felt like her worldview regarding superpowers was being refreshed once again.

“Fan Juntian’s ability is Poison Smoke. He can release a cloud of toxic green mist to down enemies. According to Fan Juntian himself, if he wants to maintain the toxicity of his smoke, he has to keep using.”

“Tsk tsk, a rotten person through and through with a bizarre ability to match!” Tang Ying, who already loathed the man, rolled her eyes in disgust. “We definitely need to stay far away from someone that toxic and addicted!”

“But it’s so hard to grow crops now; how can he still grow poppies?” Jian Dan, who didn’t know Fan Juntian, was more focused on food. “What a waste. If he can grow poppies, he should be growing grain instead.”

“To grow the poppies, the Fan family brought in dozens of crates of uncontaminated soil from the outskirts. Plus, there’s a Wood-type user in the Fan faction; with him there, keeping plants alive isn’t an issue. They even found some professional drug manufacturers from somewhere. As for growing grain… hmph, those people have climbed to such high positions—do you think they’d get their hands dirty farming? It’s much more comfortable to sit back and wait for others to offer it to them!”

Chen Gu’s words made everyone’s impression of Fan Juntian and his family even worse. Tang Ying was even more blunt: “Senior Mu has Water and Wood abilities. Does Fan Juntian pursuing her have even a shred of sincerity, or is it all for utility?”

“Even before the apocalypse, I bet he only pursued her because he knew about her family background,” Yang Xiangrui added from the side.

“Alright, stop talking. It’s almost your turn in line. Don’t worry, I know the person doing the registration; I’ve already given them a heads-up. Just fill out your name, gender, and ability normally. If you don’t have an ability, just put ‘None.’ However, those without abilities might need an extra 24 hours of isolation before entering the base.”

Ability users don’t get infected by the zombie virus, but ordinary people do. This was a standard procedure for the base’s safety, so the students without abilities expressed their understanding. Huo Keyu simply nodded quietly.

Jian Dan turned back to give Huo Keyu a reassuring hug, saying with a smile: “It’s perfect. While you’re in there, Sister Xi and the rest of us will find a place to stay. By the time you get out of isolation, you can just move right in~”

To everyone’s surprise, Huo Keyu, who had been getting along so well with the group, shook her head. “No. Once I enter the base, I won’t be following you anymore. I… the people in isolation are all ordinary people. I want to see if I can group up with them…”

“There are good and bad people among the non-powered too!” Understanding what Huo Keyu meant, Chang Ling hurried to persuade her. “Keyu, we’ve gotten along so well. Do you… do you really have the heart to abandon us like this?”

Acknowledging Chang Ling’s kindness, Huo Keyu only offered a bitter smile and shook her head. “It’s thanks to all of you that I reached this base safely. But along the way, I couldn’t help with anything. Following you will only hold you back. If I just keep accepting your care for nothing, She felt terrible inside and was unwilling to live like a useless parasite.

As soon as Huo Keyu spoke, the other S-University students without abilities also began to feel uneasy.

Sensing the rising anxiety, Zhang Tongqi quickly tried to comfort them: “Everyone, don’t panic! Although ability users have an advantage, ordinary people can live perfectly fine in the base too! It’s not like you stop living just because you don’t have powers.”

“Exactly!” Chen Gu followed up with an explanation. “The base issues missions that ordinary people can complete. Also, people with specific trades can find work—like the construction crews, the base cafeteria… even technical talents are recruited…” Noticing that the group’s anxiety was only increasing, he added hastily: “Oh! Right! Ordinary people can do business in the base too. Some go outside to pick mushrooms or dig up wild vegetables to sell, and others try to grow fresh vegetables themselves. Many of the vegetables in the base are actually provided by ordinary people!”

“What else? Is there more?” An S-University girl without powers looked at Chen Gu with sparkling eyes.

He didn’t know anything else!

Sigh, what a hassle. They used to loathe the old “giant infants” from S-University who just sucked their blood, but this batch of students clearly wanted independence. Yet… as ability users, they really didn’t know what other jobs ordinary people held in the base!

“Uh… you can also do some handicrafts and set up a street stall… and…” Zhang Tongqi racked her brain but couldn’t think of anything more.

“The rest you’ll have to find and discover for yourselves! Rest assured, as long as a person is diligent, they can always support themselves!” Mu Ning, who had been silent, finally spoke. She looked at Huo Keyu, then at the other non-powered students, and continued: “While how you live your lives later is your own business, I suggest that you try not to group up exclusively with non-powered people. Although the base looks peaceful and stable on the surface, it is still the apocalypse. People like Fan Juntian can do drugs openly, so some darkness is unavoidable. If others know your group doesn’t have a single ability user, what kind of treatment you’ll receive… imagine it for yourselves.”

Mu Ning’s voice was still cool and detached, but the students could hear the underlying concern. They quickly thanked her and went in one by one to register. Their turn had finally arrived.

Chen Gu was right; compared to ordinary people, the registration for ability users was much simpler. After Ren Chenxi filled in her name and reached the “Ability” column, she hesitated.

Actually, Ren Chenxi had always had a question. She could see the ability levels of others, and users could sense each other, but how did they perceive her a “normal person” who only had system-granted skills? When she first met Jian Dan and the others, no one had doubted she was a user.

So, as an “ability user,” what should she write for her power? And what about the level?

Mu Ning, who had been watching her, noticed her hesitation and walked over. Seeing her stalling at the ability column, Mu Ning leaned in and whispered in her ear: “Don’t write ‘Space Ability’.”

The sudden warm breath on her ear made Ren Chenxi flinch away uncomfortably. After realizing the person leaning in was Mu Ning, her expression soured. However, regardless of her dislike, she wasn’t going to ignore the advice of a base “senior” just to be spiteful. She put pen to paper and wrote “Marksmanship” in the column. She paused, then added a level: Level 2. Best to stay humble.

“Your ability is only Level 2?” Mu Ning looked skeptical.

Ren Chenxi instinctively wanted to snap at her, but seeing Mu Ning’s own level, she felt a spark of curiosity and asked pointedly: “Then what level do you think I am?”

“I can only sense your highest-level ability, but I don’t know if it’s Marksmanship or Space,” Mu Ning whispered again, leaning close to Ren Chenxi’s ear. For some reason, she enjoyed seeing the pale, soft earlobe turn a shade of pink from her breath. “So, I only know that your highest ability level is Level 4.”

Level 4? Her “Hit” skill was already at Level 7, so where did this “Level 4” come from? Ren Chenxi didn’t have time to ponder, as she had finished her form and needed to make way for the next person.

It wasn’t until much later that Ren Chenxi discovered her true level on her character info panel. Back when this was a romance game, the player had no level. After the update, this somewhat useless “Player Level” had appeared, complete with an experience bar. Leveling up was simple: just gain EXP from killing monsters. Ren Chenxi didn’t pay much attention to how much EXP each monster gave. To her, this level was purely decorative; it didn’t grant stat bonuses or skill points.

To Ren Chenxi, the level of her “Hit” skill and the number of crystals she had were far more important than this “Player Level.”

As Ren Chenxi stepped out of the registration room, she happened to see Huo Keyu and the other non-powered students coming out of a different door. While Ren Chenxi was entering the base directly, Huo Keyu had to follow a staff member to the isolation ward.

“Huo Keyu!”

Suddenly, Ren Chenxi called out to her.

“?” Huo Keyu, at the back of the line, turned to look at her.

“I’ll come to pick you up tomorrow! Don’t worry—once you’re out, we’re not going to let you sit around idly!”

Ren Chenxi’s words were meant for Huo Keyu, but they were also a warning to the others in the isolation ward. They weren’t the only ones seeking refuge today. Aside from the S-University students, there were strangers being isolated as well. Although their group had the advantage in numbers, they were still young students. Ren Chenxi feared they might be bullied by the more hardened “social types” in the ward.

Understanding her kindness, Huo Keyu smiled and shouted back: “Okay!”

Seeing the tension finally leave Huo Keyu’s face as she smiled, Ren Chenxi returned the gesture with a soft, gentle smile. Beside her, Mu Ning stared blankly at that familiar expression, and her heart began to thump uncontrollably once again.

How many times had she seen that exact smile on Ren Muhui’s face? Back then, she hadn’t been willing to spare him a second glance. Now, she felt like she could never see it enough…

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