Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Pact

The mutant wolf pack had been eradicated, and with that, Wild Wolf Ridge no longer harbored any sizable groups of mutated beasts. The two searched until sunset, finally gathering enough mutated beast resources to nearly reach a hundred contribution points.

Even abiding by the agreement to split those beasts without crystal cores, Lin Lei made about one hundred eighty contribution points on this expedition. Counting Yang Chunxi's gains, their total earnings for the day approached four hundred contribution points.

Though slightly less than the first day's harvest, their expenses were also lower. The gifting agreement was valid for only two days, and fighting at night was far too dangerous. Moreover, the major zombie hordes in Haifeng City had been mostly cleared during the day, so the people of Bullhead Mountain decided to settle accounts ahead of time and terminate the agreement.

After two days of intense combat, everyone truly needed a period of rest and recovery.

Lin Lei did not object, ultimately handing over four tons of rice and thirty-two thousand rounds of ammunition.

As for the mutated beasts hunted jointly with Yang Xueli, Bullhead Mountain, lacking storage equipment, simply took two mutated wild boars for a feast, leaving the rest to Lin Lei.

In return, Lin Lei once again gave them four tons of rice.

After several transactions, Bullhead Mountain had amassed a total of twenty-four tons of rice. At a daily ration of two ounces per person, the seven hundred odd survivors could hole up in the underground shelter for a whole year, even if they stopped searching for supplies.

That night, Yang Xueli suddenly came to Lin Lei’s room. “Are you leaving?”

Earlier, Lin Lei had handed over the resources to Yang Chunxi and gifted Yang Xueli a female model Wanderer exoskeleton armor along with six nuclear energy crystal cores—a clear sign he intended to depart.

“Yes, I’ll leave first thing in the morning,” Lin Lei replied.

Haifeng City no longer offered much profit, and he could not afford to waste any more time here.

“So… when will you come back for me?” Yang Xueli asked quietly.

“Huh?” Lin Lei was caught off guard by the sudden question.

“Didn’t you say yesterday you’d give me an answer? I can tell you now—I’ve decided to go with you. When will you finish your mission and take me with you?” Yang Xueli said.

“You’ve really decided? To be honest, the place I’m from is rather special—it doesn’t belong to this world. To go there, you’ll have to sign a master-servant contract with me, and travel as my servant. Of course, it’s only temporary; once we arrive, I’ll pay the price to release you. But once you regain your freedom, you won’t be able to return,” Lin Lei explained.

The power of contracts needed no further elaboration from Lin Lei. Even the seemingly playful gifting agreement had displayed enough might to leave a lasting impression on Bullhead Mountain’s people.

As for revealing the secret of another world, the system never forbade him from speaking about it; he’d only kept it quiet to avoid complications. Now, as he was about to leave, telling Yang Xueli seemed harmless.

Lin Lei had previously said that the place he lived was much like the world before the apocalypse—and once he left, he couldn’t return for some time. Yang Xueli had already sensed something unusual.

The zombie virus had ravaged this world for four years; where could there be a paradise like Lin Lei had described?

That was why Yang Xueli had suddenly asked if he’d ever deceived her.

“Why can’t you come back once you regain your freedom?” Yang Xueli wasn’t surprised that Lin Lei was from another world—she just didn’t understand why returning would become impossible.

“The contract is not only a restraint, but also a protection. Only under the contract’s shelter can one safely travel between worlds. You’ll understand more once you sign it,” Lin Lei said.

The system could only be known by those who signed the contract. Even after the contract was lifted, the system would erase all related memories, which was why the cost for releasing the contract was tenfold.

“So you also had to sign a contract to come here?” Yang Xueli quickly realized.

“In a way,” Lin Lei replied helplessly.

He’d been forced to sign a contract with the system—his hardships were not for others to understand.

“Another world… At least it must be better than this loathsome one! When will you come back for me?” After much deliberation, Yang Xueli finally made up her mind.

Four years of the virus, countless separations, tragedies, intrigues, and struggles for survival—after witnessing so much, it wasn’t just Yang Xueli; anyone who learned of a chance to escape this world would accept without hesitation.

“At most, within half a year, I promise I’ll come back for you,” Lin Lei vowed.

This was his first time on an assignment, and despite his inexperience, he’d netted six or seven hundred contribution points. With more effort, four or five assignments a month would earn him ten thousand contribution points in half a year.

If that failed, he could always do business in the real world. The system could exchange various supplies at high prices, and he could sell them for even more to those in need.

Having set a half-year promise with Yang Xueli, Lin Lei’s spirits soared. He began pondering all sorts of ways to make money, and before he knew it, drifted into sleep.

At dawn the next day, Lin Lei rose early and, without bidding farewell to anyone, quietly left the Bullhead Mountain settlement.

From a nearby corner, a pair of beautiful eyes silently watched him go...

Activating flight mode, Lin Lei chose a random direction and flew straight for about two hours before finally spotting an abandoned town and landing. By then, daylight had fully arrived.

He swapped out the energy crystal core, drew his laser broadsword, and began searching the town.

The town had only one main road, visible end to end. Lin Lei found no trace of zombies.

In this world, places devoid of zombies were often the most dangerous—for such locations were either survivor strongholds or mutant beast lairs.

“System, is there anything here?” Lin Lei asked.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t need the system’s prompts?” the system replied.

“When did I say that? I only meant I don’t need prompts for things with low recycling value!” Lin Lei clarified.

Back when he and Yang Xueli went to Wild Wolf Ridge, the system’s constant prompts had driven him crazy. He’d instructed the system not to alert him for low-value items, which finally brought some peace.

“So, why is the host asking again?” the system retorted.

It turned out there was nothing of high recycling value here, so the system, per their agreement, hadn’t disturbed Lin Lei.

“Damn! How could I forget?” Lin Lei finally understood.

Thinking back to his earlier analysis and tense demeanor, Lin Lei couldn’t help but feel like a fool.