Chen Wan patted Qin Ke's shoulder to comfort her. "Don't worry. You've done so much for her; it will definitely succeed. Our RV is going to get a lot livelier soon."
"I hope so," Qin Ke muttered. For some reason, despite having all the materials ready, she felt a sudden wave of fear. Her cold hands clenched together tightly, and her slightly wavy black hair hung down the side of her face. Anyone could see how nervous she was, but at a moment like this, she had to process it on her own; no amount of comfort from others would do much good.
Inside Qin Ke's room, Yiyi retrieved some of the necessary components—the drive motors, steering motors, controllers, sensors, effectors, iron, steel, memory alloys, synthetic skin, and metal alloys—piling them up as she began her work. Realizing that her own CPU frequently tended to overheat, Yiyi decided to install a centralized heat sink for Yanyan, which would be far more effective than a small electric fan. With that thought, she began her operations.
Remembering the toys they had grabbed for the toddler from the recycling company, Chen Wan took the unopened set containing the little shovel, hoe, bucket, and toy bulldozer into the sunroom.
The little kid inside was already playing with the dirt using her chubby hands. Somehow, she had managed to get a patch of soil on her left cheek. Chen Wan chuckled softly as she wiped the toddler's face, teasing her, "You little rascal, playing in the dirt? Mommy brought you a little shovel, a bucket, and a bulldozer. Here, play properly this time."
The toddler beamed at Chen Wan. "Dirt is fun!"
Sitting on a cushion Jiang Wanning had found for her, the toddler was thrilled with the toys Chen Wan handed over. Gripping the handle of the shovel with her chubby hand, she scooped the dirt stroke by stroke, before switching over to push the soil with the toy bulldozer.
Chen Wan knelt down to join Jiang Wanning in keeping the toddler company. Honestly, this toy tool set was quite comprehensive, featuring a bit of everything. Chen Wan and Jiang Wanning ended up happily shoveling dirt alongside the little one.
When Jiang Yanxin finished talking with Ye Lan and entered the sunroom to find Chen Wan, she saw two adults and one child playing joyfully with the toys. Jiang Yanxin couldn't help but laugh at the sight. "Are you two watching Yangyang, or do you just want to play yourselves?"
"Aren't we just accompanying Yangyang?" Chen Wan replied defensively. Noting that the toddler's chubby legs and arms were completely covered in dirt, Jiang Yanxin looked at Chen Wan with a gentle laugh. "You'd better take Yangyang for a shower later; she's turned into a total mud-child."
"Mud-child!" The toddler giggled uproariously at the word, shaking the dirt out of her shovel right onto her leg.
Amused, Jiang Yanxin pinched the toddler's chubby arm. "Aren't you exactly a mud-child? You little rascal, you're still laughing. Go ahead and play, your mommy is going to wash you off in a bit anyway."
"Mommy, build a big house!" The toddler scooped dirt toward herself with the little shovel, announcing her grand construction plans while gripping the soil with her chubby fingers.
Over in his plot, Jiang Zhaoyuan had finished burying his seeds. Looking up to see the young adults playing in the dirt with the toddler, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. If you called them reliable, they were incredibly reliable during critical moments; but if you called them unreliable, they were genuinely infantile, getting so carried away comforting the toddler that they joined right in.
Jiang Zhaoyuan chuckled at Chen Wan and the others. "You kids go ahead and play over there. I've already sown the seeds on my side, so don't go digging up my plot."
"Dig!" The toddler raised her little shovel, speaking with a fierce and imposing momentum.
Jiang Zhaoyuan looked at the little kid with a chuckle. "Darling, you can't go digging up Grandpa's plants. We're going to eat them in five days—they're all delicious treats, so no reckless digging."
Hearing there would be delicious food, the toddler finally nodded her little head in agreement.
After playing with the toddler for a while, Chen Wan went out to help Ye Lan prepare dinner, leaving Jiang Yanxin and the others to keep the little one company.
Ye Lan had just finished washing the rice when Chen Wan came down from the second floor. She smiled and said, "Mom, let me help you."
"No need, I can manage here by myself. Do we still have beef left?" Ye Lan asked with some concern. They had been eating quite extravagantly lately, including beef with every meal, and Ye Lan was worried they might run out later.
"Don't worry, Mom. We still have plenty of beef, and even if we finish it, we can hunt more if we encounter mutated animals. No need to skimp on meals," Chen Wan reassured her, and a massive slab of beef materialized on the cutting board right as she spoke.
"That's good then," Ye Lan felt reassured hearing Chen Wan's words.
Chen Wan thought for a moment and said, "Since we're steaming rice, I'll make a braised beef stew. Pouring the beef chunks along with the rich broth over the rice will definitely be incredibly appetizing."
With that, Chen Wan began slicing the beef, placing it into the pot along with the seasonings to begin the braising process. Within moments, the rich aroma of beef filled the air.
Seeing that the beef was nearly ready, Chen Wan went upstairs to call everyone down for dinner. She also brought the toddler into the bathroom to wash all the mud off her body, promising the little one she could play in the dirt again tomorrow.
When Chen Wan carried the toddler downstairs, Jiang Yanxin was dishing out the rice while Ye Lan took the bowls, ladling a generous portion of braised beef chunks right on top of the rice before adding a spoonful of savory broth. It looked mouthwatering.
The toddler's eyes widened. Pointing her chubby finger at the beef rice, she cried out, "Yummy! I want to eat!"
"Don't rush, darling. Aren't we dishing it up for you right now?" Chen Wan placed the little one on the sofa and brought over her bowl.
The combination of beef and rice was delicious. Gripping her little spoon, the toddler began devouring her food with big bites. Only Qin Ke seemed somewhat distracted; otherwise, under normal circumstances, both she and Chen Wan could easily polish off two large bowls of rice.
A while after dinner concluded, Qin Ke paced anxiously back and forth inside the RV, until Yiyi's voice finally echoed from upstairs: "All done!"
Like an arrow released from a bow, Qin Ke dashed into the elevator. Chen Wan and the others followed one after another up to the second floor. Entering the bedroom, Qin Ke carefully stepped toward the bed. A woman in her twenties lay there, her eyes tightly closed, showing no immediate signs of waking up.
Qin Ke's eyes instantly welled with tears. She reached out to grasp the woman's hand, her voice trembling slightly as she called out, "Yanyan, Yanyan, how are you feeling? Look at me, it's Qin Ke. We're safe now, and we'll never be separated again."
As she spoke, tears rolled straight down her cheeks. She turned her gaze to Yiyi and asked, "What's wrong with her? Why isn't she moving?"
Yiyi looked at Qin Ke and explained with a smile, "I called you guys up the moment I finished. It takes about a dozen minutes for her crystal nucleus to adapt to this new body; it's a completely normal phenomenon. Just wait a bit, no need to panic."
Saying that, Yiyi shifted her gaze to Chen Wan. "Activating Yanyan's body utilized three Level 1 mutated animal crystal nuclei and 3,000 Level 2 zombie crystal nuclei. Combined with the nuclei we obtained from the recycling station today, we only have 527 Level 2 zombie crystal nuclei left, and our mutated animal nuclei are completely depleted."
"That doesn't matter at all. As long as Shen Mingyan is fine, that's what counts. We can always gather more crystal nuclei whenever we want," Chen Wan said. As long as the person was safe, obtaining crystal nuclei was merely a matter of time.
"Mm. Because Yanyan's initial state was a Level 1 zombie crystal nucleus, in order to help her adapt to this intelligent body, I used the mutated animal and Level 2 zombie nuclei to upgrade her crystal nucleus directly to Level 4, leveling her up to match the RV. That is to say, her body is an android just like mine, but her essence is a Level 4 zombie. A Level 4 zombie's intelligence is no different from a normal human's, and paired with this intelligent body, she won't be much different from any of you normal humans," Yiyi continued to explain, making an effort to keep the concepts simple so everyone could follow along easily.
"Understood. It doesn't matter what she is, as long as she is Qin Ke's Yanyan," Chen Wan smiled.
Everyone waited for the body on the bed to awaken. As time ticked away minute by minute, Shen Mingyan felt as though she had been trapped in a chaotic, hazy dream. She remembered the inhumane treatment she and Qin Ke had suffered. When she was locked in the room filled with zombies, her very last shred of consciousness was the excruciating pain of being bitten. In the final second before losing her sanity, her only hope was that Qin Ke would find a way to escape that living hell, even if she herself would never see her again.
Shen Mingyan felt a sharp, pulsing pain throbbing in her head. Following the pain was a sudden sensation in her entire body. Logically, she shouldn't have human consciousness after turning into a zombie, so why could she feel her own heartbeat right now? And what on earth was this glowing interface floating inside her mind?
As her consciousness gradually returned piece by piece, Shen Mingyan could feel that beneath her synthetic flesh lay unfamiliar wiring and a skeletal framework that felt as though it were forged from steel. She was supposed to be dead, so how could she have consciousness again? Shen Mingyan knit her brows tightly, instinctively feeling that something was out of the ordinary.
"She moved! She moved!" Seeing the tightly furrowed brow of the person in her arms, Qin Ke turned to Chen Wan and the others with a tear-streaked smile.
"Yanyan? Yanyan, wake up. It's Qin Ke. I've waited so long for you, won't you open your eyes and look at me? I miss you so much, I miss you so much." By the end of her words, Qin Ke was hugging Shen Mingyan, sobbing uncontrollably.
Chen Wan remembered that the last time she saw Qin Ke cry like this was back at the police station. She let out a sigh and gestured to the others. "Let's go outside and wait to give them some space. By the way, Yiyi, once Shen Mingyan wakes up, will everything be completely fine?"
"Yeah, she's like me and doesn't need to eat, but she needs a sufficient supply of crystal nuclei to replenish her energy." Yiyi nodded and walked out together with Chen Wan.
The bedroom door slowly closed. Qin Ke held the person in her arms and cried like a child. She only hoped that her Yanyan could wake up sooner.
In her hazy state, Shen Mingyan heard someone calling her name by her ear. That voice sounded a lot like Qin Ke. But how was that possible? They were back in that living hell of a police station. She must have been completely killed after turning into a zombie. Otherwise, how could she possibly have consciousness? It must be the final flash of lucidity before death, Shen Mingyan thought to herself.
But at that moment, the control panel in her mind lit up: "Body activation successful. Monitoring indicates the body owner's current physical condition is normal, and the crystal nucleus energy is sufficient. After a direct upgrade, you are now a Level 4 zombie and can engage in normal activities."
The words on the panel made Shen Mingyan's head spin. A Level 4 zombie? Was it talking about her? But how was that possible? When she was bitten and lost consciousness, she didn't even have the strength to truss a chicken. How could she be a Level 4 zombie?
Yet, as the words displayed on the panel, Shen Mingyan's sense of hearing gradually grew sharper, and sensation slowly returned to her body. It felt like... someone was currently holding her and crying?!