Ch 138: TGCIR

In many ways, Shen Cheng’s life returned to normal.

She continued her 9-to-5 job, and on days when she worked overtime, she’d return home a bit later than usual.

But unlike before, Sister Ma, who had grown quite familiar with Shen Cheng, noticed that she would occasionally stare out the window in silence.

The way she gazed outside wasn’t just a blank stare; it was more like she was deep in thought, her expression tinged with a sense of longing and, sometimes, a sweet, gentle smile.

Sister Ma smiled knowingly: “The little girl must be in love.”

She observed Shen Cheng’s expressions many times and noticed that they were particularly warm and sweet. But despite her observations, she couldn’t identify a “potential boyfriend” or find any evidence of a romantic partner.

This made Sister Ma a bit concerned: “Is this girl, working alone in the city, being tricked by some guy she can only see occasionally?”

Sister Ma, who helped Shen Cheng with her market stall and knew her character well, knew she was a strong and resilient young woman. So, she asked directly, “Cheng Cheng, you’ve been looking extra pretty lately. Are you seeing someone?”

Shen Cheng was taken aback—she hadn’t been deliberately dressing up, but in the mornings, she found herself thinking, “Maybe today I’ll see Li Weilan,” and when returning home in the evening, she’d think, “Maybe I’ll see Li Weilan tonight.” With these secret hopes, even the slight chance of seeing him made her want to put on a little makeup, perhaps some concealer, just to look a bit more refreshed.

When Sister Ma asked, her face flushed with a blush.

Shen Cheng shyly responded with a “yes” and nodded.

Even though Li Weilan wasn’t physically here, they were indeed in a relationship!

Even if her boyfriend couldn’t be by her side all the time, the relationship didn’t change just because they were apart.

So, Shen Cheng admitted it without much hesitation or embarrassment.

Sister Ma noticed her expression and smiled: Ah, youth! Seeing this lively and energetic look, this relationship must be bringing her a lot of positive energy. That’s good.

However, Sister Ma was still concerned and asked, “So when will you bring your boyfriend over to meet us?”

Shen Cheng blinked and replied, “He’s quite busy with work, but there’ll be a chance.”

Sister Ma’s heart sank a little. She knew that Shen Cheng wasn’t the type to be obsessed with money or worldly matters—some might say she was a bit naive and sweet. If a guy is too busy with work to spend time with his girlfriend, it might mean he doesn’t care enough, right?

Knowing the kind of workplace they had, where some colleagues were very sharp-eyed and gossiped about who had a wealthy family or whose husband treated them exceptionally well, Sister Ma worried that Shen Cheng might be taken advantage of. Was her boyfriend someone reliable, or was she just letting him mold her life however he wanted?

Worried, Sister Ma pondered for a moment and then said, “Cheng Cheng, when you’re in a relationship, you need to make sure the guy is attentive. Otherwise, if you wait until after marriage to try to change things, it might be too late.”

Shen Cheng understood what Sister Ma was getting at and smiled sheepishly. She thought to herself, how could she possibly need to “adjust” Li Weilan, who treated her so well?

Seeing her smile, Sister Ma realized she was probably worrying for nothing. It seemed like the young couple was genuinely happy together, so there was no need to fret.

Just as Shen Cheng was about to say something, the phone on the table suddenly lit up.

She froze in shock!

The phone!

That phone had been blacked out for over three months, and although she had kept it on the charger every day, she had little hope that it would ever work again.

For three months, she had carefully preserved the phone, terrified that losing it might mean losing her connection to that world forever. Now, seeing the screen suddenly light up, Shen Cheng couldn’t care about anything else. She quickly told Sister Ma, “Sister, I’m sorry, but can you please take care of things here for me? I have an urgent matter and need to go home.”

“Huh? Huh?” Sister Ma was stunned as the young girl grabbed the suddenly lit phone and dashed off.

The phone had indeed turned on.

Shen Cheng didn’t say anything, but the phone stayed on the startup screen for a long time before automatically opening the game interface.

This time, the game interface was pitch black, with only one line of text:

[Task Completed. Would you like to redeem the game completion reward: Realization Ability (three times)? Y/N]

“??”

The completion reward is three Realization Abilities?

Shen Cheng suddenly remembered all the things she had materialized in the game, but the game’s completion reward being Realization Abilities was something that surprised her.

She carefully looked around and realized there were no other rewards available. The screen only displayed that one line of text with the options Y/N. After hesitating for a long time, she clicked Yes.

Almost at the same time, standing in the room and looking out the window, Li Weilan saw a screen floating in the air with just one line of text:

[Remaining time travel opportunities: three.

Would you like to materialize Shen Cheng? Y/N]

“!!!”

Li Weilan’s face, which had been cold and emotionless for the past three months, suddenly showed an intense emotional surge.

For three whole months, there had been no news.

If it weren’t for the fact that he had experienced something similar before, Li Weilan might have feared that he was on the brink of a mental breakdown at this moment.

But because he had been through a similar situation before—although this time was different, with the communication cut off after the “story” ended—somewhere deep down, perhaps because their relationship had been confirmed, a contract established, and promises made for the future, Li Weilan’s heart remained calm: How cruel would the app have to be to keep them from ever meeting again?

In the meantime, all he could do was make this world a little better.

No matter whether they would live in this world or settle in another, no matter who might have to leave their own world, he hoped that the world they would eventually live in would be a warm and habitable place.

He hoped that the place they would live in the future would treat her with kindness.

Thinking of all this, he felt fortunate that the bloodshed and brutality he had seen were only part of a game, because with her gentle nature, she could only bear so much pain and horror.

So for these three months, during the time that Xia Jinshi had disappeared, their entire focus was on eliminating the remaining zombies, reclaiming human habitation areas, cleaning up the wasteland, administering vaccines to the remaining survivors, expanding the technology and techniques developed at the Noah base, and preserving as many survivors as possible.

The discovery of the zombie vaccine had brought a glimmer of hope to life in the wasteland.

Materialize Shen Cheng

Li Weilan almost instantly understood this option, but he pressed his lips together, and his brows furrowed.

He knew what each word meant.

Materialize Shen Cheng

This option was almost like a dream come true, yet it made Li Weilan hesitate: Was this really the right choice for her?

What if he chose it?

Would it mean that by choosing this, Shen Cheng would also have to choose?

His world was now peaceful and stable, no longer a place where one had to struggle for the bare necessities of human survival. That world should be kinder than his world, right?

If he chose to materialize her here, would that mean they would have to live in his world forever? Should he consider this from her perspective? Would she be willing?

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Li Weilan’s hand, which was about to click the option, hovered in midair, hesitating.

Over on this side, Li Weilan was staring intently at the screen floating in the air, his expression as heavy as if he were facing the most difficult decision of his life. The other members of the Noah base, seeing his serious demeanor, dared not interrupt him. Finally, one of them mustered up the courage to call out softly, “Brother Li!”

Li Weilan snapped out of his thoughts and turned around. It was a young woman from the base.

He couldn’t quite remember her name, but even though he knew that only he could see the screen, he instinctively turned his body to block it from view before frowning and saying, “You didn’t knock.”

“The door was open…” The girl hadn’t expected such a harsh response. She had heard rumors around the base that there was another leader of Noah, and that these two leaders were supposedly in a relationship. But she found it hard to believe that someone as powerful as Li Weilan would be content to share the spotlight with anyone, let alone a woman.

After all, men have their pride. How could he willingly allow a woman to overshadow him?

She thought maybe she could take advantage of the situation to ingratiate herself by delivering some documents. However, Li Weilan’s expression was filled only with sternness and impatience, showing not a trace of gentleness or sympathy.

Li Weilan took the file from her hands without a word. With a wave of his hand, the stack of papers flew to the desk in front of him. Then, in the girl’s view, the door slammed shut with a resounding “bang.” The gust of wind that followed left her feeling uncomfortable, staring at the door in disbelief. How could any man be so oblivious to the charms of a woman?

Surely, he couldn’t be much of a man at all. Hadn’t he shown hesitation just moments ago? Didn’t he seem on the verge of speaking to her?

Frustrated, she left, muttering to herself about his lack of understanding.

But Li Weilan’s mind wasn’t occupied with her petty concerns. He simply stood there, quietly contemplating the words on the screen—”Materialize Shen Cheng”—before finally sighing deeply and shaking his head, choosing not to make a decision.

He didn’t feel he had the right to decide on her behalf.

Up until now, he hadn’t even had the chance to ask her if she would want to live in his world and share a life with him.

Given that, he could only force himself to wait until he knew for certain what she wanted.

Meanwhile, Shen Cheng had pressed “Yes,” but nothing happened.

“???”

She had selected “Yes,” but after that, there was nothing—no game screen, no indication of any “whoosh” to signify a crossing of worlds. The phone screen still displayed the message “Game Completion Reward Redeemed,” and Shen Cheng started to wonder if she had simply imagined the whole thing.

She knocked on her phone. Then she knocked again.

Nothing happened!

Shen Cheng waited and waited, from evening until midnight. Her eyes grew sore from staring at the screen, but the line of text didn’t change. Reflecting on the past three months, she felt like smashing the phone that had made her wait so long—would it take another three months to reboot and then redeem the reward?

Frustrated, she stared at her phone, eventually letting her head droop onto it.

She knew clearly that she was dreaming.

In the darkness, a bright light appeared, slowly forming into the image of a kindly old man.

The old man sat down before her, speaking gently, “Young lady, thank you for your contributions to the three worlds.”

Shen Cheng, still cautious, looked at him warily and didn’t respond immediately.

After encountering people like Xia Jinshi, who was obsessed with power, transformation, and exploring the unknown, Shen Cheng felt her guard rise to a new level.

Being pulled into this dreamlike space by someone so suddenly, even if they appeared kind, didn’t mean she could drop her guard.

And contributions to three worlds? What was that about?

Realizing that her mission likely helped Li Weilan’s world, and closing the interdimensional door possibly helped her own, she was puzzled by the mention of a third world.

“The door that Xia Jinshi originally planned to open wasn’t just connected to your world,” the old man explained calmly. “Based on the impact point of the nuclear explosion, it would have affected your world as well.”

He continued, “So, what you did didn’t just help your boyfriend’s world; it also helped your own.”

Shen Cheng remained wary, though she hesitated when he mentioned her boyfriend. “Then you should be thanking Li Weilan. I was just playing a game.”

“You’re mistaken, young lady,” the old man said kindly. “Without you, everything would have ended in destruction.”

He then showed her a segment of gameplay footage.

In the footage, she saw a small-scale massacre, where part of the research institute was wiped out.

When the incident occurred, Xia Jinshi wasn’t affected because he was in the institute, but the research institute’s results, including the zombie vaccine, were completely destroyed.

Humanity fell into its darkest period.

Fu Yanzhou still chose to undergo the experiment to become a divine zombie and eventually helped Xia Jinshi open the interdimensional door. Although the zombies disappeared from their world, the virus spread to a new one.

“The original purpose of this app was to save our own world,” the old man said with a kind smile. “Young lady, you were the best candidate we could have encountered.”

Shen Cheng fell silent.

After a pause, she asked, “What about the zombie virus?”

“Yes, the mission rewards are products of our world,” the old man replied with a smile. “Including weapons and the earth’s circulation system. But as of today, the interdimensional door is completely closed. Young lady, you need not be so guarded with us. The app’s remaining energy is enough for three more crossings. This time, we’re here to discuss that with you.”

Shen Cheng still looked on warily.

The old man’s words sounded nice, but they couldn’t cover up one fact: her world was dragged into this mess unfairly!

If the final mission had failed and the interdimensional door had opened, wouldn’t the infected zombie monkeys have turned her world into a wasteland too?

Even though she hoped to see Li Weilan’s world improve, it shouldn’t come at the cost of endangering her own world.

This wasn’t fair to her world.

The old man simply smiled. “Young lady, you have three chances to materialize things. This opportunity can be used for yourself or for things from that other world. The temporary danger brought you a chance to have an incredibly bright future. It’s not such a bad deal. After all, if you relied solely on yourself, you might never earn the kind of money you have now, or gain such powers. But now…”

Before he could finish, Shen Cheng angrily lunged at him.

What kind of nonsense was this?

What do you mean “not such a bad deal”?

If she only thought about her own gains, of course, it might seem worth it, but what about all the other people in that world?

Who gave her the right to decide for others? Who gave her the right to determine their fate?

Yes, maybe she only faced temporary danger, but at least she had the choice and the power. Others didn’t even have that!

After beating the old man into a ball of fluff, he let out a few feeble “ouch, ouch” sounds before shrinking into a small round figure with panda-like eyes, looking at Shen Cheng with bruised and swollen eyes. He seemed completely resigned.

The little ball’s voice became soft, “Hey! Haven’t you had enough? Ouch, ouch, stop hitting!”

The once elderly voice now sounded like a pitiful young man’s, with a hint of cuteness.

Shen Cheng, feeling much better after her outburst, crossed her arms. Now that the old man’s appearance was gone, she didn’t hold back. “Hmph, that was for the people of my world. Feels fair enough!”

The little ball was silent for a while.

Finally, it spoke, somewhat begrudgingly, “You’re too serious.”

Shen Cheng glared at the little ball. She could tell it wasn’t as tough as it pretended to be. The little ball grumbled for a bit, but in reality, it seemed pretty powerless against her.

Her thoughts turned quickly: could it be that the reason they were so subdued had something to do with Li Weilan’s side?

She immediately asked, “Why can’t I see the game screen anymore? What’s happening in that world now?”

The little ball fell silent again.

This girl is a tough one!

At first, she seemed like a kind-hearted, pure-minded girl, but now, she looked like someone who wouldn’t hesitate to fight back and even enjoyed threatening others!

That’s probably why they say “birds of a feather flock together,” right?

After spending so much time with Li Weilan, even a gentle person has turned into someone tough.

“Here’s the thing,” the little ball finally couldn’t hold back anymore and started speaking the truth, albeit reluctantly. It had a feeling that if it didn’t come clean, today’s energy might get drained again, and it wouldn’t get another chance to explain. “We were planning for you to reunite with Li Weilan, but there’s been a little hiccup on his end.”

“???” Shen Cheng was startled!

Even though she had complete faith in Li Weilan’s abilities and didn’t doubt how well he could handle things, hearing this from the little ball made her anxious.

A hiccup?

What kind of hiccup?

Could it be that he ended up giving up on her?

Seeing her reaction, the little ball realized it hadn’t explained things clearly and hurriedly added, “No, no, it’s not like that. Remember how we mentioned a contract we set up for you both?”

Shen Cheng nodded.

“We can only bring you over if there’s a coordinate point on his side. But right now, things are stuck on his end. He hasn’t agreed, so we’re at a standstill.” The little ball huffed and puffed as it explained.

“He hasn’t agreed?” Shen Cheng repeated softly to herself, thinking from Li Weilan’s perspective for a while, and quickly understood the reason.

It wasn’t hard to figure out.

Because Li Weilan has always been such a considerate person.

For him, it makes sense that he would worry about whether she could adapt to that environment, or if she really wanted to be there, so he’d rather do nothing until they can communicate again.

A warm feeling surged in Shen Cheng’s heart.

She felt a deep warmth, just like when they were together, filled with his constant care and affection.

The little ball could tell what she was thinking just by looking at her expression, and it couldn’t help but roll its eyes, feeling like it had been force-fed some sweet, sweet dog food.

This was ridiculous. There was only one person here, and yet it felt like it was being bombarded with the affection of a couple. How could this be?

It was simply…

Too frustrating.

The little ball huffed angrily, “Don’t get too smug. For all you know, maybe he’s found someone new over there and doesn’t want to see you anymore.”

Shen Cheng raised an eyebrow. “Oh, then I’ll just go over there and find out for myself.”

The tone in her voice was particularly casual, which almost made the little ball jump up in frustration—it was very bad at hiding its emotions.

Of course, she was just testing it.

While Shen Cheng was talking to it, she was trying to learn from Li Weilan, putting herself in the other party’s position to think things through.

It had only been a day, and considering that their most important task had already been completed, if they were truly just “doing good deeds” now, the little ball wouldn’t have needed to rush to find her. After all, it had only been a short time since she chose the reward.

Good deeds wouldn’t require urgency; the only reason they’d be in a hurry is if this situation impacted their own interests.

In other words, going to find Li Weilan was also very important to the little ball and its companions.

Since that was the case, she had some leverage.

From what the little ball said, with all the talk of apps and weapons, it seemed that the technology in their world was a few levels higher than hers. Shen Cheng wasn’t greedy, but she figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask for a little something in return.

The little ball had no idea it had been caught.

It hesitated, regretting its earlier assumption that Shen Cheng would be an easy target, which led it to seek her out first.

Now it had ended up being extorted!

It hung its head in defeat and said, “Just name your conditions.”

It had given in.

Actually, Shen Cheng wasn’t really mad at the app; she was just annoyed that it treated her like a naive child. Now that it had admitted defeat, Shen Cheng didn’t plan to push too hard. She seriously asked, “If I choose to go to Li Weilan’s world for a while, can we then return to our own world?”

“Each trip counts as one use of the transformation,” the little ball answered dejectedly. “If you both go back together, that’s another use. But that would mean only the two of you could go.”

It paused and added, “You saw what happened to Xia Jinshi, right?”

Shen Cheng vividly remembered how miserable Xia Jinshi looked at that time, stripped of all his powers. The only question was whether his intellect had also been taken away.

She nodded solemnly.

“If you want Li Weilan to come to your world, you’ll have to give up a lot of things,” the little ball explained. “That includes the base and spatial abilities, among other things.”

Shen Cheng thoughtfully nodded, then suddenly thought of something. A sly smile crept onto her face, making the little ball feel a bit uneasy. “What about the rewards for going over?”

“…Ugh,” it sighed.

After a moment of helpless silence, the little ball agreed, “You’ll get whatever the game offers.”

Shen Cheng was satisfied.

She hadn’t planned on being too greedy, and now that she knew she could eventually return, with a lot of scientific knowledge potentially available if needed, they could just hand it over to their country’s government when they returned. That would be enough.

She sincerely said “thank you” to the little ball, this time genuinely and earnestly.

The little ball could hear the sincerity in Shen Cheng’s words and hesitated before asking, “Really, thank you?”

“Thank you,” Shen Cheng said earnestly, “You saved all our lives.”

At that moment, the little ball emitted a very bright light, enveloping Shen Cheng completely. Shen Cheng slowly opened her eyes, and what greeted her was a pair of eyes filled with joyful anticipation.

🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋