Apocalypse Escape: Day One of Survival

Song Kexin meekly conjured a small flame, then sidled up to Xie Ning and whispered, ”Are all these people from the X Realm? What are they trying to do?”

Xie Ning stared into the distant, pitch-black night. ”They want to cause trouble.”

But unfortunately for them, they seemed to have picked the wrong person.

Back in her room, Xie Ning glanced at the filthy floor and the shattered floor-to-ceiling window. She silently gathered her bedding and went to the room next door to rest.

’She’s almost wrecked every room on this floor!’

’No, it was those idiots from the X Realm who wrecked them.’

Kicking the door shut, Xie Ning took a handful of vials from her pocket and examined them one by one.

”Come out.”

Little Spider furtively rolled out from under her sleeve, its electronic voice trembling. ”Master, what are your orders?”

”I think it’s time to expand my Dimensional Space. What do you think?”

”I-I, I think so too! It’s time!” Little Spider replied pitifully. ”Th-that way, we can raise lots and lots more fishies, right, Master?”

Xie Ning glanced at Little Spider, which was lying motionless on the table. ”When did they start live-streaming me? Was it from the very first night you started following me?”

Little Spider instantly raised a tiny white flag, waving it vigorously. ”I swear I didn’t! Ma-Master, before they sent you to that Dimensional Space last night, I was about to warn you, but I wasn’t fast enough!”

”Master, I swear, I st-still have the electronic alert logs! I can play them back for you! The situation was critical, and I tried to notify you immediately, but you’d already been transported to the Other Dimension Space, so I...”

Xie Ning shot a glance at the trembling Little Spider.

Little Spider immediately flopped onto the table, using two of its little legs to frantically scratch its head. ”I swear!”

Xie Ning reached out and patted its head, her voice turning chilly. ”As if you’d dare betray me.”

Little Spider breathed a sigh of relief. ”Master, the people from the X Realm have their eyes on you, so-so the main system must have its eyes on Future, too.”

”They’ll probably kick 00008531 out of the main system right away, and then figure out a way to deal with us.”

Xie Ning shot it a look. ”What are you trying to say?”

”What I’m trying to say is, just as they sent you to that Dimensional Space, I... I secretly modified the main system’s data. I helped you expand our Dimensional Space, and I-I also procured some items, like Protective Clothing and new types of bombs.”

Xie Ning’s eyes lit up. She scooped Little Spider into her hands. ”Future, I knew I wasn’t wrong about you. You’re a promising little guy. So, where’s the stuff?”

”Take a look at your Dimensional Space, Master.”

Xie Ning nodded, instructing Little Spider to open the Dimensional Space.

”Huh? Two Dimensional Spaces?”

Xie Ning discovered that next to her original Dimensional Space, which was filled with fish, shrimp, and crabs, there was now another one that looked to be about a cubic meter in size.

”Scanning Dimensional Space,” Little Spider’s electronic voice intoned mechanically. ”Master, both Dimensional Spaces are now approximately twenty cubic meters each. You’ll be able to raise more fish, shrimp, and crabs from now on.”

Xie Ning climbed off the bed, crawled over to the new Dimensional Space, and reached out to rotate the cube, admiring it. ”Hey, what’s this?”

”That’s the new Protective Clothing. I exchanged eighteen hundred points for it.”

”Ooh, take it out, take it out! Let me try it on.” Xie Ning’s eyes sparkled as she manipulated the cubic Space, admiring the vials, weapons, and other items inside.

”Future, how did you get so much stuff? Don’t tell me you cleaned out the entire Dimensional Warehouse of your X Realm?”

Little Spider scurried pitter-patter in front of Xie Ning and waved one of its little legs. ”Master Ningning, I was just trying to atone for my mistake.”

”Good, good, good.” ’This is a pretty great way to make amends!’

Xie Ning took the Protective Clothing that Little Spider pulled out of the Dimensional Space.

With a patter of feet, she ran to the bathroom, changed quickly, and then ran back out excitedly. She checked herself out in the mirror from every angle, praising it repeatedly. ”Not bad, not bad at all. Future, you really are my amazing little all-purpose helper.”

’Tsk, tsk. This Protective Clothing, worth eighteen hundred points, really is the good stuff.’

She wore the Protective Clothing underneath her other clothes; it fit snugly, like thermal underwear. With just a light jacket on top, she felt she could probably handle temperatures around zero degrees.

Little Spider added from the side, ”Master Ningning, this Protective Clothing can generally block all superpower attacks below the Fourth Rank. It can also reduce bullet damage. Against a weapon like your usual K30, it should be able to effectively block about seventy percent of the impact.”

Xie Ning pulled on a fuzzy black hoodie and studied her reflection for a long moment. ”Future, have you noticed? I think I’ve gained a little weight.”

Future replied in its most robotic voice, ”The night before last, while you were watching your show, you consumed one large bag of potato chips. This type of food is high in calories. Weight gain is a natural law.”

”That was because I had a fever and was sick! Nothing had any taste,” Xie Ning pouted. She stopped admiring herself in the mirror and hopped happily back onto the bed.

”Future, you pulled all this stuff out of your... what was it, the main system’s store. Is that going to affect you in any way?”

Little Spider tapped its head. ”It does have an effect, Master. 00008531 has now been removed from the main system’s roster.”

”But don’t worry, Master. Whenever I get a chance, Future can still sneak back into the main system, hack it, and fight to get more good things for you.”

”Good, good, good, good, good.” Xie Ning repeated the word, feeling incredibly excited, and reached out to pat Little Spider’s head.

’She was really growing to like this little thing more and more.’

”Future, you’re such a good person.”

Little Spider’s steady, mechanical voice piped up. ”Master Ningning, Future is not a person.”

Xie Ning: ”...”

”Future, don’t worry. From now on, you’re my best friend and partner. If we team up, we can definitely crush that so-called X Realm. By the way, who created you? Why can’t even your main system handle you?”

Little Spider sounded smug. ”I’m likely one of the most advanced AIs created by Mr. X. When I first became self-aware, I sensed that I was different from the other AIs.”

”I might just be a glitch in the system. Even my creator, Mr. X, can’t fully control me.”

”If fate hadn’t brought us together, why would I have ever chosen Master Ningning to be my master? It was all destiny.”

”You’re strong, and I like you. If you were an idiot like that Wang Qingyao, I wouldn’t have picked you, hahaha.”

It got a bit carried away at the end, but it quickly caught itself and snuck a peek at Master Ningning.

Xie Ning poked it with her finger, a strange smile playing on her lips. ”You don’t think Mr. X might have tampered with your chip, do you?”

”Impothible!” If Little Spider had fur, it would have been standing on end.