Weighing all the factors, Bai Youwei reached her conclusion —
Shen Mo had very, very, *very* likely been assigned by the system to the Combat Zone!
As for why the system hadn’t assigned her and Shen Mo to the Combat Zone together, Bai Youwei decided the system was simply discriminating against her.
Zone transfers only accepted the person transferring — like switching to a new server in a game. It was essentially starting fresh, and all your original equipment and currency couldn’t be brought to the new server.
The Streaming World was at least somewhat decent about it. Even though you couldn’t bring any items, the inventory was usable across both zones.
Following what Hai Shu had told her, she first upgraded her inventory, then designated one slot as a shared inventory and linked Yi Zichu to it.
“The points I have here are no use to me now. They’re all yours.”
Bai Youwei sorted through her inventory, pulling out everything inside — the pepper spray, electric batons, all the odds and ends — and handed it all over to Yi Zichu along with her points.
“Once I get over there, remember to put paper and a pen in the inventory first, alright? Otherwise I’ll be completely broke on that end, without even paper to send you messages… Don’t put away my bedding and pillowcases yet either — I might need to send them over for my own use. And my toothbrush, cup, those kinds of things… Actually, never mind, it’s too early to talk about all this. Let me get there first and see what the situation is, then we’ll figure it out.”
She rambled on, and didn’t forget to prepare a hot bath and a full-body face mask treatment, hoping to be in peak condition the next day when she went to find Shen Mo.
Regardless of how the welfare home children felt, Bai Youwei would not give up searching for Shen Mo, nor would she stop exploring this world.
……
That evening, Yi Zichu finished his bedtime story as usual, coaxed all three little ones to sleep, and then found Ning Yao sitting on the edge of her bed, silently gazing at the starry sky beyond the window.
He wanted to tell her that bonds between people were always fleeting — some people were destined to be only passing figures in one’s life.
But then he wondered whether such thinking was too bleak for a twelve-year-old girl. Perhaps when she was a little older, she would come to her own understanding.
Yi Zichu spoke softly: “Yaoyao, sleep.”
Ning Yao turned to look at him, nodded, closed her eyes, and lay down.
That night was as still and quiet as ever……
……
The next day, Bai Youwei came to the service station and applied for a zone transfer.
After selecting 【Yes】, an information window appeared:
【After transferring zones, all points and items in your inventory will be cleared. Do you wish to continue? Yes / No】
Bai Youwei selected 【Yes】 again.
【Processing your zone transfer, please wait…】
……
【Zone transfer successful. You have entered the Combat Zone.】
Bai Youwei blinked.
That was fast? It seemed like only a few seconds had passed — was she really already in the Combat Zone? Nothing around her seemed particularly different…
She glanced at her other panels, and suddenly noticed things *were* different.
The merchandise exchange, for example — in the Life Zone, the front page of the marketplace had been full of everyday supplies. But in the Combat Zone, it was nothing but cannons, guns, ammunition, and grenades!
And the rankings looked completely different too!
In the Life Zone, the ranking categories were things like music, dance, and food. Here, the tone shifted dramatically — Wailing Ghost Manor, Severed Head Valley, Malevolent Spirit Castle, Zombie Siege…
All dungeon names???
On top of that, there was a team ranking board, with names equally flamboyant — Imperial Dynasty Squad, Angel Ice-Kiss Squad, Blood-Thirsty Angels Squad, People’s Shock Squad…
Bai Youwei could only think: words fail me.
She went to check the Newcomer Rankings —
Her eyes lit up at once!
Oh my goodness!
What was she seeing?!
Who was ranked first on the Newcomer Rankings? Who? *Who?!*
It was *him!!!*
Bai Youwei wanted to scream! She was so happy, so excited, so thrilled! True to form, her man was ranked first! Number one!!!
She tapped on Shen Mo’s name in an instant and sent him a friend request!
【The other party has declined your friend request.】
Bai Youwei: “???”
—