Chapter Sixty-Four: Ninety-Eight Percent Probability

After ten arduous days, Xu Nuo and Sheng Ming finally made their way through the dense forest and arrived at the abandoned highway once built by humans.

The most tormented was not Xu Nuo or Sheng Ming, who had to endure the journey themselves, but 007—the intangible system. Watching its host step onto the broken road, it was nearly moved to tears, relieved that the excruciating trek through the woods was at last over. Ten days—did it know how it managed to get through them? It couldn’t help but wonder if those ten days spent with Sheng Ming in the forest were truly necessary.

Xu Nuo remarked, “At least we gained a little more affection value, didn’t we?”

007 responded, "Thank you, but that’s not comforting at all."

Xu Nuo sighed, “This young master Sheng Ming is completely unresponsive—I really couldn’t do much about it. I’ve already done my best to act the part.”

She had played the fragile damsel whenever necessary, creating countless opportunities for Sheng Ming to play the hero, and he had performed admirably. Yet, the affection value refused to increase.

Still bickering with the system, Xu Nuo was suddenly swept up in Sheng Ming’s arms.

“Huh?”

“Don’t move,” Sheng Ming pressed her hand down.

Xu Nuo said, “But I can walk now.” Earlier in the forest, for the sake of following the “powerful CEO’s delicate wife” storyline, she maintained her persona as a frail, innocent flower, relying on Sheng Ming for almost everything. The system admired her dedication, while Xu Nuo herself felt like she was playing the part of someone gravely disabled.

Having proven that this approach was futile, Xu Nuo grew tired of pretending—especially since Sheng Ming wasn’t exactly skilled at looking after people, and the forest’s conditions were a far cry from those of the camp; no matter how attentive he was, comfort was out of reach.

Moreover, being chased by mutated creatures day after day, she was either carried or dragged by Sheng Ming along the way. She’d begun to miss the feeling of walking on solid ground.

Sheng Ming weighed her in his arms—she was very light. “Let me carry you. You must be tired, right? Get some sleep. We’ll be there soon.”

Curled up in Sheng Ming’s embrace, hearing him say “We’ll be there soon,” Xu Nuo felt wide awake.

Soon, they would arrive at Blue City—the journey’s end.

“I don’t sleep well in your arms,” Xu Nuo said, pulling an off-road vehicle from her backpack. “There’s enough fuel to reach Blue City.”

Sheng Ming was no longer surprised by Xu Nuo’s ability to produce items out of thin air. The vehicle was as pristine as if it had just rolled off the assembly line, with superb performance.

Sheng Ming drove while Xu Nuo declared to the system that she would reclaim her dominant aura, forsaking the act of frailty to exploit Sheng Ming. Yet, the very next moment, she drifted soundly off to sleep.

007 was utterly dismayed. How could the host sleep at a time like this?

Half a day later, the car stopped. They were near Blue City.

Detecting the dense horde of zombies within, the system felt a tingling fear and worriedly asked, "Host, are you really going in? These zombies are nothing like the ones you encountered before."

“We’re already here,” Xu Nuo squinted at the city for a moment. “If we don’t go, wouldn’t the trip be wasted?”

007 protested, "But the hero-rescues-beauty route isn’t working anymore, is it?"

Xu Nuo replied, “Let’s give it one more try.”

007 felt a foreboding dread—wasn’t this just courting disaster?

By the car, a campfire was lit. As expected, Xu Nuo sensed this was likely her last night in this world. The surroundings were tranquil, the silence punctuated by the familiar chirr of insects, echoing memories of nights past.

Sheng Ming sat nearby, unusually calm, watching Xu Nuo with an inscrutable complexity in his gaze.

“Why are you staring at me?” Even Xu Nuo, thick-skinned as she was, felt a bit embarrassed.

Sheng Ming said, “Because you’re beautiful.”

Xu Nuo replied, “Thank you for the compliment.”

Sheng Ming said, “It’s the truth. No need to thank me.”

Xu Nuo asked, “Then why say it at all? Even if you list every one of my virtues, I won’t fall in love with you.”

“Do you have other virtues?” Sheng Ming looked genuinely puzzled. “I’m curious—aside from your pretty face, what qualities do you have that attract me?”

Xu Nuo was momentarily stumped.

Sheng Ming chuckled softly, “Forget it. Let’s not dwell on that.”

Xu Nuo remembered what the old butler once told her—something about love not requiring reasons.

Sheng Ming prodded the campfire, his expression shadowed by the flickering flames. “Get some rest. We have a long way to go tomorrow.”

“Good night,” Xu Nuo said.

Back in the car, Xu Nuo, for once, embraced her professional dedication and asked the system, “Does Sheng Ming really love me? Why won’t the last two points of affection value increase?”

007 replied, "He loves you ninety-eight percent."

Xu Nuo asked, “Is ninety-eight percent a probability? Or does it mean he hasn’t given me all his love—only ninety-eight percent?”

“What?” The host’s question was so unorthodox that 007 had never considered it before and didn’t know how to answer.

Xu Nuo continued, “So there’s a ninety-eight percent chance he loves me, but a two percent chance he doesn’t, right?”

007 instinctively felt that wasn’t quite right. "How could that be? If he didn’t love you, why would he risk his life to save you so many times?"

Xu Nuo said, “If a ninety-eight percent affection value is enough for the target to risk their life for the host, that’s already love. So why does it have to reach one hundred percent?”

007 was silent.

A quibbler—this host must be a reincarnated quibbler.

007 replied, aggrieved, "Because that’s what the task requires."

Xu Nuo asked, “Can love really be quantified? Is your game mechanic truly rational? Is love simulated by AI real love?”

007 couldn’t take it anymore. "Please, host, stop! I don’t know. I’m just a small system." Its intelligence wasn’t enough to analyze Xu Nuo’s questions.

“This is just me being thorough,” Xu Nuo said, mentally noting this potential bug to report to Golden Pig Daddy after leaving the game.

The next day.

The sun was shining.

Xu Nuo asked, “Young master Sheng, do you want to reconsider? Are you really going in with me?”

Sheng Ming replied, “What you need is inside Blue City?”

“No,” Xu Nuo smiled, “Actually, it’s with you.”

Sheng Ming’s breath caught, his voice hoarse. “Then what’s the point of me going with you?”

“To make it easier to win your heart,” Xu Nuo half-joked, making a gesture as if digging for his heart.

“My heart?” Sheng Ming subconsciously covered his chest, then laughed softly. “So, you don’t believe I’d willingly give it to you?”

Xu Nuo blinked, feigning pitiful pleading. “Since you’ve figured it out, young master Sheng, would you please be generous and grant my request?”

Sheng Ming’s eyes smiled. “What do you think?”

Xu Nuo frowned, troubled—a merchant was always hard to deal with, and it was impossible to get something for nothing. “What do you want from me?”

Sheng Ming’s tone was uncertain. “Perhaps… love?”

Xu Nuo privately lamented that her principles were about to crumble and told the system, “If you don’t risk something, you won’t catch the wolf.”

The previously dispirited 007 perked up instantly. "So you’re going to try loving Sheng Ming?"

Xu Nuo replied, “No, I’m just going to see if I can act like I love him.”