Chapter 4: Dual Ability Eyes
1354 Words
The room fell silent as Jiang Tao turned around and asked the dazed boy behind her, “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” Lin Zhihui replied, his gaze lowered, his expression instantly masking any emotion, but his tightly clenched fists revealed his inner anxiety. He took a few steps forward, then turned and stared at the floor, saying, “I’ll be moving out in a few days.”
“Moving out? No way!” Jiang Tao immediately rejected the idea.
Where could he go if he moved out? The relatives downstairs were clearly not good people. Lin Zhihui would only end up in a worse situation than before if he fell into their hands. Moreover, if he left, how could she continue to raise his favorability? She still needed those returned resources and ability points!
Lin Zhihui opened his mouth, struggling to articulate, “Yang Jiao won’t let it go; they will come again.”
Lin Huaiqing was greedy and foolish, but Yang Jiao was always good at scheming for her precious son, unwilling to suffer even a small loss.
He was afraid that Jiang Tao would become a target of Yang Jiao’s revenge.
As long as he left, everything would be fine.
“I’m really grateful for you taking me in; I—”
“Are you afraid they will come back?” Jiang Tao interrupted him, narrowing her eyes and asking.
She didn’t stir up trouble, but she wasn’t afraid of it either.
If those ignorant pests from downstairs dared to cause trouble again, she wouldn’t mind confronting them directly.
After all, if they lived, they would be eaten by zombies anyway, and that would count as doing something good.
“You don’t have to worry about this; as long as I’m here, they won’t dare to do anything to you,” Jiang Tao added. “Just stay here and relax for now.”
Lin Zhihui had long been prepared to leave, but Jiang Tao’s words made his heart tremble.
The feeling of being protected…
Looking at Lin Zhihui’s astonished expression, Jiang Tao raised an eyebrow in confusion, and the system’s voice echoed in her mind.
【Ding! Lin Zhihui’s favorability +15!】
【Favorability with the return target has reached 30, rewarding the host with the ability "Dual Eyes."】
Soon, a strange golden shimmer flickered in Jiang Tao's eyes, and the scene in front of her gradually became clearer. She could even see the light and shadows around the fine hair on Lin Zhihui's face.
Wait! Light and shadows!
In addition, it was sky blue!
In her eyes, Lin Zhihui was surrounded by a sky-blue glow, like a gemstone shining in the sunlight—pure and dazzling.
【Ability: Dual Eyes: Can see the hidden types and levels of others' abilities. The purer the light, the higher the level.】
Similarly, her own arms emitted a murky ice-blue hue, and Jiang Tao knew this was due to her own low ability level.
That beautiful blue sky around Lin Zhihui indicated at least an S-rank wind-type ability!
He really was the Wind God!
Remembering the peculiar family that had appeared yesterday, Jiang Tao suddenly felt a sense of disconnection.
Who would have thought a proper S-rank ability user would have such a bizarre family? Surely he hadn’t been doing well when the apocalypse first began.
【Notice! With a favorability of 100, the host can replicate the return target's abilities! Please keep up the good work.】
Replicate abilities!
S-rank multi-type abilities!
Jiang Tao was overwhelmed with joy, her lips spreading into an uncontrollable smile.
If she could replicate every person on the combat power ranking, wouldn’t she become an SSS-ranked all-type ability user?
But the condition of needing a favorability of 100 to replicate made Jiang Tao’s mood calm down a bit.
She was skilled at killing zombies, but how could she improve her favorability?
Lin Zhihui’s expression became slightly awkward as he took a cautious step forward, as if confirming again, and turned back to ask, “You really won’t kick me out?”
“Really,” Jiang Tao replied, possibly due to her excessive excitement, her face finally showing some lively expression.
Her almond-shaped eyes sparkled with light, her petite, delicate nose slightly lifted, adding a touch of cuteness and sweetness; her usually composed face softened, and the suppressed smile at the corner of her mouth appeared even gentler.
Lin Zhihui found it hard to look away from Jiang Tao’s face, as if he too was affected by the joyful atmosphere. His lips involuntarily curved into a smile as he softly thanked her, “Thank you for being willing to take me in.”
【Ding! Lin Zhihui’s favorability +5!】
【Ding! Lin Zhihui’s favorability +5!】
*
Downstairs in 1402, Yang Jiao sat on the sofa, helplessly watching her son rolling and fussing in front of her.
“Why! Why! Mom! You need to come up with a plan!”
Lin Huaiqing clutched his belly, his face twisted in distress as he yelled, “I’m starving to death! I want food too! It’s your fault for driving him away. If I had gone instead, maybe I could have eaten my fill instead of starving with you!”
The day they forced Lin Zhihui out, he had heard their voices from upstairs. He had thought Lin Zhihui would come groveling to him after being kicked out, but unexpectedly he ended up mixed in with 1502, and the scent of instant noodles had been wafting from their unit three meals a day!
Yang Jiao listened, filled with heartache, and coaxed, “Silly son, how could I bear to drive you away?”
There was hardly any food left at home; both she and Lin Xingchang had been starving for three days, saving the last pack of instant noodles for him. But for Lin Huaiqing, it was merely a snack.
They had started the morning with hunger, and after being scolded by Jiang Tao, all three had grim faces.
Lin Xingchang, with a dark expression, gulped down a bottle of water and growled, “Enough! Stop complaining!”
“Mom!” Lin Huaiqing whined, drawing out his tone. Protective Yang Jiao shot a fierce glare at her husband: “Lin Xingchang, what are you yelling at our son for? If it weren’t for Huaiqing wanting to move in, would your thick-headed brain have thought about compensation?”
“Now Huaiqing has been starving for nearly a day, while that boy upstairs is living it up. What use are you as a dad?”
“I really regret my decision to be with you! You need to come up with a solution!”
Lin Xingchang seemed used to Yang Jiao’s nagging; he had stockpiled a batch of food long ago, which his good son Lin Huaiqing had eaten clean.
“What can I do? Everything outside is locked down; it’s impossible to buy anything.”
Yang Jiao’s eyes flickered as she said, “What about your colleagues who watch the gate? You all drink together every day. See if they can sneak out to get some food.”
Lin Xingchang ran a hand through his hair in annoyance, “They’re called property management, not gatekeepers. Nobody can go out right now; the government is keeping an eye on things. Didn’t you see the iron sheets set up at the gate of the community?… Fine, fine, I’ll make a call.”
He glanced at Lin Huaiqing, who was still groaning while holding his stomach, and helplessly went into the other room to make the call.
“Hey, Brother Wang, it’s Xiao Lin. I wanted to ask if you have any way to get some food; the kids can’t hold on anymore… No food? What do we do? We can’t let ourselves starve… Right, right, there are neighbors, but they don’t want to lend anything… Sigh, that girl upstairs cooks every day; it smells amazing… Resource integration? Distributed by headcount? I think that sounds good! Okay, okay, we’ll start here tomorrow; I’ll definitely be there—count on me!”
- Writer
