System, You Didn't Say the Villain Can Read Minds! - Chapter 15

Chapter 15

◎Anomalous Crystal.◎

Yun Wenzhou knew that Ye Lan wouldn’t easily give up on recruiting Mo Jiu, so she was very direct with her words, worried that Ye Lan wouldn’t understand.

But even so, Ye Lan didn’t give up.

I’ll win her over first, then Mo Jiu.

Thinking this, Ye Lan raised both hands in a gesture of surrender and said to Yun Wenzhou in a coddling tone: “Alright, alright, I won’t get close to your Sister. I’m very easy to persuade. I’ll do whatever you say. Just tell me anything you want me to do. I’ll run errands for you, as atonement. How about that?”

In front of her Sister, she shouldn’t make any overly excessive demands, right?

Yun Wenzhou scoffed at Ye Lan’s inner thoughts: “I don’t like you. I have no good feelings for you, and this dislike is irreversible.”

A triple rejection that hit Ye Lan hard.

At the same time, Mo Jiu received 100 reward points for free.

System: Good job, Host! Villain clashes with Protagonist. Plot progress +10%, awarded 100 reward points!

Mo Jiu: What did I even do?

As Yun Wenzhou and Ye Lan clashed, the resentment from the people around them grew heavier.

What are these two even here for? Do they have to chat right in front of us when we’re running around like headless chickens?

So noisy! I can’t concentrate!

Can they be quiet? They almost made me forget to add salt.

So annoying, so annoying, so annoying, so annoying…

“So annoying! Shut up, all of you!” A middle-aged woman who was stir-frying suddenly slammed her wok onto the floor with a loud bang!

The scalding contents splattered everywhere. People around shrieked and dodged.

Immediately after, the woman’s head split open, forming two intertwined root-like objects. Her body also rose, taking on the texture of wood.

Her arms became slender and long, splitting at the ends into countless whip-like branches, about to lash out and injure the people nearby.

“Die.” Yun Wenzhou didn’t even bother to turn her head. She raised her hand, and a boning knife from the cutting board flew up, slicing through the air toward the woman who had suddenly mutated in a fit of rage.

The blade spun around the tree-person-like monster, cleanly severing its whip-like branches, then repeatedly stabbed its chest a few times.

The tree-person stopped moving. Its inner thoughts gradually faded until they disappeared.

It fell forward stiffly onto the floor with a heavy thud.

The inner thoughts of the people around them quieted for a few seconds, then were flooded with various complex emotions.

Fear, confusion, unease, and the joy of surviving.

What’s going on?

There are monsters among us?

That was close!

Did I almost die?

So someone really awakened an ability?

Thanks to her! If she wasn’t in the kitchen, the consequences would be unimaginable!

Human thoughts are so fickle and contradictory.

The people who wanted to kick Yun Wenzhou and Ye Lan out moments ago were now secretly grateful for her presence.

Yun Wenzhou’s mood improved, not because of their changed thoughts, but because—this time, she successfully dealt with the monster before Ye Lan!

Ye Lan didn’t have telepathy, so her reaction was a beat slower than Yun Wenzhou’s.

By the time she manifested her shadow longsword, the monster had already been taken down by Yun Wenzhou.

Mo Jiu looked at the monster’s fallen corpse in astonishment and praised internally: [As expected of Xiao Zhou, her reaction is so fast.]

But the praise was followed by unease.

Mo Jiu: Why are anomalies appearing so frequently?

System: According to the original book’s setting, the entire shelter is within the range of the meteorite’s radiation. Therefore, everyone in the shelter has the potential to mutate into an anomaly, and also the potential to awaken an ability.

Mo Jiu: I also have the potential to become an anomaly?

System: Hmm… Although the original work didn’t explicitly say so, none of the people who awakened abilities in the original work turned into anomalies. Considering that awakening an ability and becoming an anomaly are both mutations caused by radiation, perhaps we can consider awakening an ability as a type of anomaly mutation. If we understand it that way, Host, you have already become an anomaly!

Mo Jiu: …

Good analysis. Next time, don’t analyze.

The appearance of an anomaly in the kitchen, and the stench, disrupted food production, forcing a temporary halt.

The emergency cleanup crew arrived and handled the scene. After a flurry of activity, the dining hall reopened. Mo Jiu worked overtime until after 8 PM before getting off work.

Thinking she could finally rest, the Director then called a meeting for all guards and specifically asked for her name.

Mo Jiu wasn’t sure if it was because she had an ability. Figuring Yun Wenzhou had to go anyway, she decided to go with her for company, and they both went to the meeting room on the upper floor.

In the meeting room, the Director introduced herself formally for the first time: “Good evening, everyone. I apologize for taking up your time. I am the Director of this shelter, Zhang Youyi. You can call me Sister Zhang or Director, whatever you prefer. The main reason for calling everyone here so late is for two things.”

“One thing is, I think you should all know by now, the monsters that appeared after the meteorite hit Earth are not aliens, but humans. They underwent a grotesque mutation under the influence of some kind of force. For now, let’s call them Anomalies.”

“We still don’t know what this force causing the mutation is, or if this mutation is random or related to a person’s physique or other factors. I will organize manpower to investigate all of this as soon as possible and try to contact the authorities above. In the meantime, I must ask everyone to work hard, patrolling in shifts to ensure the shelter’s safety. I will regularly distribute long-lasting portable food as compensation.”

“The other thing is, through dissecting the anomalies, we found this.” Zhang Youyi pulled out a transparent, sealed bag from her drawer. Inside were some reddish crystals.

The crystals varied in size, ranging in color from pink to deep red, and contained many impurities, making them look unpleasant.

Especially—if you look closely, you’ll see that these crystals actually move!

They slowly drew toward each other, as if alive, trying to merge into one whole.

“Because they were extracted from the bodies of the anomalies, we will temporarily call these crystals Anomalous Crystals.”

“Likewise, we still don’t know what these crystals are, how they formed, or what effect they have on people. But what is certain is that they are dangerous. I hope everyone will not keep them privately if found, but turn them all over to me. I will hand them over to the research staff in the lab for study.”

“Those are the two main things. Additionally, regarding awakened abilities, abilities also appeared after the meteorite struck Earth. They are likely related to the meteorite, just like the anomalies. If possible, I hope those who have awakened abilities can provide their blood to the shelter for research. This will help us understand and change the current situation. Of course, this is entirely voluntary. Those who are willing can come and find me.”

“That’s about it. Does anyone have any additional information they need to supplement?”

Zhang Youyi looked around.

Her orderly speech reassured many people, confirming that coming to the shelter was the right choice.

However, her inner thoughts were like this:

Ugh, where am I going to find professional research staff?

This shelter is built to withstand earthquakes and bombings. We temporarily converted a room from the infirmary into a lab, and we don’t even have any equipment yet.

I can only collect the anomalous crystals while waiting for the higher authorities to send people over.

But when the anomalous crystals are brought near white mice, the mice go crazy. Is it really a good idea to stockpile this stuff in the shelter?

Yun Wenzhou frowned slightly.

Anomalous crystals near white mice… they go crazy?

She thought of the tree-person’s increasingly frantic inner thoughts before its mutation.

Did its madness create the crystal, or did the crystal cause its madness?

Whether it was the former or the latter, it seemed to indicate one thing—something descended upon this world with the meteorite’s impact, spreading like a virus in the air and inside every person’s body, causing humans to transform into monsters in their madness.

Yun Wenzhou was worried that her Sister might also be affected, but… has Sister ever lost emotional control? What does she think when she loses emotional control? It was hard to imagine.

No matter how angry her Sister appeared, her heart was always calm.

The angriest day her Sister had, she genuinely slapped her, but that was the only slap. Afterward, she went back to doing what she was supposed to do, as if nothing happened.

So, Sister won’t mutate, right?

Although she thought this, after returning to their room, Yun Wenzhou still suggested to Mo Jiu: “Sister, let’s leave the shelter and go somewhere else.”

“Where to?” Mo Jiu asked her, surprised internally.

Hmm? This isn’t what was written in the book.

“I don’t know,” Yun Wenzhou replied. “But there are too many people I dislike here. I don’t want to stay any longer.”

Mo Jiu didn’t care where they stayed, but if they really left, what about the plot?

As soon as she had this question, the system’s voice chimed in.

System: Host! Stop her! If she leaves, there will be no one to destroy the shelter!

Mo Jiu: …

System: Oops, I mean, if she leaves, she won’t be able to destroy the shelter according to the original plot!

System: Mission issued—’The Irreplaceable Haven.’ Persuade the villain Yun Wenzhou to stay at the shelter and not leave!

Mo Jiu wasn’t surprised. Before the system issued the mission, she had already thought of some reasons not to leave and asked Yun Wenzhou: “If we leave here, we’ll have to find new shelter and food. Where will we live? What will we eat? Have you planned all that? Besides, aren’t you curious about how the anomalies are formed?”

Yun Wenzhou bit her lip.

Sister is right about everything, but staying here might expose them to the influence of the anomalous crystals.

If the anomalous crystals were already present inside everyone, then couldn’t it be assumed that the more people there were, the higher the concentration of anomalous crystals, the easier emotions would be stimulated, and the greater the chance of mutation?

Yun Wenzhou regretted it. She shouldn’t have brought her Sister to the shelter. She wanted to take her Sister to a sparsely populated area and live a life just for the two of them.

But she really didn’t know where to go after leaving the shelter, and the internet was down so she couldn’t check.

Seeing that Yun Wenzhou couldn’t answer, Mo Jiu continued: “Isn’t it nice staying here? Just avoid the people you dislike. Only a handful of people are antagonistic towards you, but most people definitely like you.”

“How is that possible?”

“Why not possible? Who is good-looking and strong, both pleasing to the eye and reliable? It’s my precious Xiao Zhou.” Mo Jiu smiled, raising a hand and lightly flicking Yun Wenzhou’s nose.

Yun Wenzhou froze, feeling a tingling electric current rush through her body. Her mind instantly went blank.

“If anyone dislikes you, it must be because they are jealous of your beauty and strength,” Mo Jiu coaxed hard. “If anyone hasn’t confessed to you, it must be because they feel unworthy and think they aren’t good enough for you.”

Sometimes I really want to just lock her up so no one can see her.

Hiss—That thought is dangerous enough. Is my current character setting that dangerous?

Mo Jiu mentally complained about herself, not noticing the change in Yun Wenzhou’s eyes.

She snapped out of her daze, her expression becoming pleasant, and a flash of excitement crossed her eyes.

“Then…” Yun Wenzhou leaned closer to Mo Jiu, testing the waters: “Is the reason Sister hasn’t confessed to me also because she feels unworthy of me?”

Mo Jiu: Huh?