Lin Xingyan watched Qiao Ci, who was leaving as suddenly as she arrived, in his arms. His eyes flickered.
He remained silent, his lips pressed together.
After a long while, he chuckled dryly.
"You truly are... a person of your word..."
"A'ci, rest assured. I will behave, I won't do anything rash to end my life, and I will take care of Mom and Dad for you. You..."
He paused, then stroked Qiao Ci's still-warm cheek, his voice distant and lingering. "You, too, take your time. Wait for me..."
After Qiao Ci's death, Lin Xingyan continued his life as usual, his days revolving around three locations: his company, the Qiao family home, and the home he shared with Qiao Ci.
Seeing him always alone and without children, Qiao's parents urged him to find a companion and start anew.
"If Qiao Ci's spirit is watching, she surely would want you to live happily," Mrs. Qiao said, her heart aching for Lin Xingyan. Over the years, she had come to see him as her own son.
Lin Xingyan shook his head. He was now middle-aged, but time had not weathered him into a rough man; instead, it had only enhanced his handsome and refined demeanor.
"Mom, you're mistaken."
"Actually, A'ci was always quite possessive. Her desire to keep me to herself might be something even she didn't realize."
"If I were to find another woman, A'ci would surely be furious. Besides, I am happy now. The memories of my time with her are enough to sustain me for the rest of my life."
"When I pass on, I will go to find her. She was always the softest towards me. As long as I look pitiful enough to elicit her sympathy, she will surely treat me even better..."
"Mom, I miss her so much..."
The steady, refined man's voice was laced with a sob, but those who had loved and doted on him were long gone.
Qiao's father and mother passed away one after another. Lin Xingyan then donated his entire fortune to various charitable organizations in Qiao Ci's name. He spent a night by Qiao Ci's grave, talking to her...
When people discovered it, the top conglomerate magnate had peacefully passed away.
After reading about Lin Xingyan's ending, Little Spoon felt a touch of emotion. "I never expected that in this transient world, Lin Xingyan could remain so devoted..."
"Host, he loved you very much."
"Like Su Mo loved you."
Qiao Ci did not respond, instead asking, "Check the relationship between Su Mo and Bai Xingyan."
Little Spoon was confused. They were not from the same world, how could they possibly have a relationship?
"As the two are not in the same dimension, the system cannot perform the query."
Qiao Ci glanced at it, realizing it was useless.
"Points."
"Current point balance is 167701. Both missions were SSS. Host is amazing!"
Qiao Ci: ... →_→
Good heavens, it even had decimal points.
She then tapped on her personal screen and transferred 17701 points to Little Spoon.
The big golden spoon gleamed.
Little Spoon said a bit shyly, "Host, you don't have to transfer them to me. I'll get points credited once the mission is completed."
"To round it up," Qiao Ci stated her intention in a casual, yet extravagant tone.
"Hehe, Host, love you~"
"Does the host wish to enter the next mission?"
"Yes."
This was a modern apocalypse setting.
Country M had been secretly researching biological weapons. Due to inadequate safety measures, a leak of biochemical gas occurred. Those exposed to the gas immediately turned into zombies. Those bitten by zombies would be infected, with most turning into zombies, while a very small portion would awaken superpowers, becoming stronger.
The female lead, An Ran, was a high school student. When the apocalypse struck, she was attacked by zombies and infected with the zombie virus. She did not awaken any superpowers; instead, she became a zombie.
However, even as a zombie, An Ran retained her consciousness. Gradually, she discovered she could control the shambling hordes with her mind. Yes, the female lead became the Zombie Empress.
As the Zombie Empress, An Ran did not suffer from the rotting flesh typical of ordinary zombies. Her appearance was indistinguishable from a human, except for her eyes occasionally turning into glowing red rabbit eyes.
An Ran was well aware of the greed and terror of humanity in the apocalypse. To protect herself, she kept her true nature a secret, ensuring no one discovered her special ability.
But as a beautiful woman with no abilities other than controlling zombies, survival in the apocalypse was difficult. For more terrifying than zombies were the villains.
Thus, she decided to find a patron, her target being Xu Wei, the renowned "Lone Wolf of the Apocalypse" from the early days of the end.
Xu Wei was among the first to awaken superpowers; he possessed both lightning and fire abilities. Shortly after the apocalypse began, he quickly organized and established a safe base.
An Ran used every means to get close to Xu Wei, employing her beauty and charm, relentlessly pursuing him until she successfully caught his attention and became his only woman.
Later, Xu Wei discovered An Ran's identity as the Zombie Empress but still chose to stay with her.
An Ran used her ability to control zombies to help Xu Wei conquer one base after another, making him the undisputed number one person in the apocalypse.
Finally, they held a grand wedding, becoming the happiest couple in the apocalypse.
The original host was from the same school as An Ran, and they were even desk mates. They had a relatively good relationship.
When the zombie outbreak first occurred, the original host was immediately escorted away by her father, a high-ranking military official. At the time, the original host was considerate enough to bring the female lead along. However, the zombie outbreak was uncontrollable, and in the chaos, An Ran was bitten by a zombie. Given the high probability of turning into a zombie after being bitten, the original host had no choice but to abandon her and leave with her father.
Because of this incident, An Ran harbored a deep resentment, believing the original host had abandoned her to save herself. Therefore, when Xu Wei prepared to attack the base established by the original host's father, she volunteered, intending to infiltrate the enemy lines and provide intelligence to Xu Wei for an inside-outside coordinated attack.
Xu Wei, naturally worried, adopted a sibling relationship with her and entered the construction base together. The original host knew An Ran had a brother and did not suspect anything. Furthermore, within the fabricated persona Xu Wei deliberately created, she fell deeply in love with him.
However, he only flirted with the original host and never actively pursued her. The original host was not one to be coy. Realizing she wanted to spend her life with this man, she confessed her feelings to him.
Not long after, with the approval of the original host's father, they prepared for their wedding. Xu Wei and An Ran had been waiting for this wedding.
The two seized the opportunity and laced the wine with a large amount of knockout drugs. Before the wedding concluded, a large portion of the guests had already collapsed.
At this moment, when the construction base's defenses were at their weakest, the people from the Lone Wolf Base, who had been waiting outside, heard the signal and surged in, slaughtering indiscriminately. Even civilians without superpowers were not spared.
The original host watched the wedding venue turn into a river of blood, saw her father die with his eyes wide open, and the citizens who had worked hard to build the base lying in pools of blood. She was utterly stunned!
She cried out in despair, trying to stop the massacre, but all her efforts were in vain.
"Why? Xu Wei, why would you do this?"
Xu Wei's demeanor completely changed. He looked at her as if she were an ant, as if speaking another word to her would be an insult to himself.
An Ran, standing beside him, sneered, "Why? Of course, it's because Xu Wei is my man! Qiao Ci, when you abandoned me and fled, did you ever think of today?"
The original host looked at An Ran in disbelief. It wasn't supposed to be like this; it was supposed to be completely different...
But she could no longer speak. Behind her, Xu Wei's cold blade pierced her heart!
"Why waste words with her? Just kill her."
Xu Wei's cold voice continued to torment the original host's soul...