He Traded the System for My Rebirth, and I Led Him Across the Apocalypse

63: drinking bloodHis gaze was as gentle as water, filled with heartache and doting affection.

Yi Nian felt completely enveloped in warmth, experiencing an unprecedented flutter in her heart.

She nestled in the tall Shi Li’s arms, her fair arms clinging to his neck in a display of affection.

Following that, she buried her head in his chest, listening to the sound of his powerful heartbeat.

Her long eyelashes drooped, concealing the hesitation and reluctance in her eyes.

Later, it slowly transformed into a look of determination.

Her voice was soft, evoking pity in anyone who heard it.

”Shi Li, it’s fine, I’m not cold. Will you stay with me tonight? Don’t go back, okay?”

Shi Li held her slender waist, his eyes filled with unreadable emotion.

”Okay, ANian, I won’t go back. I’ll stay with you.”

Yi Nian nodded happily and said excitedly:

”Mhm, you are so good.”

”Ever since Father passed away, Sister Wanwan and Brother Mo Chi have treated me even better than before, taking meticulous care of me. Sister Wanwan has suggested several times that I move in and live with them.”

”I know, they are afraid I will be lonely by myself.”

”But Shi Li, I don’t want to move. Even family members need their own lives, and this is the place where I lived with Father. I don’t want to leave, so I had to decline Sister Wanwan’s kind offer. However, I still go over to eat with everyone for lunch and dinner... and we are basically together during the day too...”

Shi Li was a mental-type cultivator and shared an intimate relationship with Yi Nian. At this moment, through her rambling words, he could sense the hidden longing and sorrowful apology Yi Nian was feeling.

Shi Li reached out and took a blanket from the side to cover her.

”Mhm, ANian, if you don’t want to go, then don’t. Lin Wan and the others will understand.”

Yi Nian’s lips curved up slightly, savoring the warmth in his embrace.

”Mhm, that’s right. Sister Lin Wan never forces me to do anything I don’t want to do. She is truly very, very good...”

”Brother Shi Li, let me tell you...”

That night, they chatted until very late.

Most of the time, Yi Nian was the one talking, and Shi Li listened attentively, occasionally offering perfectly timed responses and advice.

Just like that, chatting about everything, although Yi Nian was very sleepy, she was reluctant to sleep. Even though Shi Li persuaded her several times, she seemed afraid that she wouldn’t have time to talk later.

Shi Li let her be.

It wasn’t until she was utterly exhausted that Yi Nian finally fell into a deep sleep.

Since her last serious illness, her stamina hadn’t been as good as before. Lin Wan paired up nutritious meals for her every day, constantly feeding her the best food, trying to fatten her up again as quickly as possible.

Shi Li carried her back to the bedroom and lay down beside her, holding her through the covers, quietly gazing at her sleeping face, which was furrowed in a slight frown.

Asleep, she was quiet and beautiful.

After watching her for a long time, and hesitating for a long while, he finally gritted his teeth and secretly probed her consciousness.

He never used this ultimate move on people close to him.

First, because this ultimate move, which consumed spiritual power, could not be used lightly; it was always reserved for enemies.

Second, because he respected everyone around him.

But today, he still used it on Yi Nian.

”I’m sorry, ANian.”

Shi Li perceived her emotions and memories from that day.

When he saw her lips stained with blood, Shi Li’s pupils contracted sharply. A chilling coldness flooded his limbs and bones, as if he had been instantly frozen and unable to move. Waves of stabbing pain radiated from his heart.

The next morning, when Yi Nian woke up, it was already past nine o’clock. Outside, it was still pitch black, as if light had been eternally lost... making it impossible to see any hope.

Yi Nian curled up in the quilt, a sense of isolation washing over her, as if she were the only one left in the entire world.

She ran out and turned on all the lights in the room.

She also saw the warm breakfast and the note Shi Li left in the kitchen.

”ANian, I’ve returned to the Official Base first. Eat properly. I’ll come back at noon to pick you up.”

Yi Nian flashed a bright smile, and much of the sadness in her heart instantly dispersed.

But when she looked at the delicious breakfast in the pot, she had no appetite at all; she even felt a little nauseous.

The smile she had just formed froze instantly.

Tears began to fall one by one. What should she do? The craving for blood in her heart was growing deeper and deeper... If this continued, how could she keep it a secret?

____

”What did you say? Yi Nian is secretly drinking blood?”

Lin Wan looked at Shi Li in astonishment, her eyes full of disbelief.

Shen Mo Chi and the others were the same.

”For the past two months, she has seemed completely normal. How could this happen?”

Yue Yue asked, her eyes wide.

Shen Mo Chi’s face was heavy: ”Shi Li, is this related to the virus she was injected with that day?”

Shi Li held his head with his hand. Heaven knew how panicked he felt right now. It was the first time he felt completely helpless, so he came to find Lin Wan and the others to think of a solution together.

”Yes, it should be. Although the serum was injected that day, we have never seen this kind of virus before. Moreover, we don’t even know if the serum from that day was real or fake!”

Lin Wan took a deep breath.

That’s right. In her past life, by the time she heard about the existence of the super virus, she was already dead.

So, she didn’t know what the subsequent effects of this virus were, only hearing that it was extracted and studied from the viruses of high-level zombies.

Shen Mingqian had said that if the serum wasn’t injected, she could live for at most one month.

Now, more than two months had passed. Although Yi Nian was not in immediate mortal danger, she was already being affected by this virus.

It was clear that the serum was problematic.

If they continued to ignore it, she might very well turn into a zombie, and in the end...

Ji Chuan frowned.

”This girl must be planning to endure this silently because she fears we will worry! What a foolish girl!”

Shi Li hadn’t slept all night; his eyes were bloodshot.

”Yes, that’s right. She even kept it completely hidden from me. However, this symptom probably only started recently. Actually, when I went over yesterday, I smelled a faint scent of blood in the living room...”

Lin Wan’s hand felt somewhat cold. She remembered Uncle Wang’s death.

It had only been two months since he passed away; his body was barely cold.

When he left, he entrusted Yi Nian to her and Mo Chi. They absolutely could not let anything happen to her again.

Lin Wan suppressed the unease in her heart.

”Shi Li, bring her over later. We will think of a solution together! Even if we have to give up everything, we must ensure she lives well!”

Shen Mo Chi nodded.

”Sister Wan is right. Today, we will first take her to the Official Base to have a look. They have been researching a serum against the zombie virus all this time. We can ask the professors to see if they can inject her.”

”Okay, I’ll go right now.”

After Shi Li left, the four people in the room all had solemn expressions.

Lin Wan was annoyed: ”Lately, she hasn’t been eating properly, and I just thought she had no appetite...”

”This girl, we are family. Why does she think she has to bear everything alone...”

Yue Yue was also heartbroken.

Ji Chuan and Mo Chi exchanged a look, speechless. They shared only one thought:

They had to cure her.