Chapter Thirty-Eight

Lin Youwei noticed Li Luyan’s sour expression and frantically signaled Yu Yue with her eyes. However, the blockhead Yu Yue seemed to miss it entirely, continuing to ramble on about her ideas.

"Shouldn't we form a doomsday squad? Since we're all super-powered..."

Seeing that Yu Yue was still going on, and noticing Li Luyan’s face darkening further, Lin Youwei finally spoke up: "I don't think so. Our car is too small; we can't fit that many people."

"But isn't there..." Yu Yue started to argue, wanting to ask "Little Bastard" to grow larger, but the next second, Lin Youwei covered her mouth.

"Shut up! I don't know how to drive a bus," she whispered into Yu Yue’s ear.

The warmth of her breath was so gentle that it made Yu Yue shiver, and she immediately clamped her mouth shut.

Yu Yue had wanted to recruit Yu Niaoniao; having a water-type user in the team would certainly eliminate any worries about water supply. Li Luyan looked at the large machete strapped to Yu Niaoniao’s back. The blood on the blade was already half-dried, but it was clear that the weapon had "processed" quite a few things. A capable water-type user was indeed a good choice.

Li Luyan spoke up: "Yu Niaoniao."

Yu Niaoniao looked at Li Luyan in surprise. Although they had known each other for two or three days, they had nothing to do with one another. The last time they spoke was back at the gymnasium, and she hadn't expected this cold, aloof woman to initiate a conversation.

Li Luyan deliberated before continuing: "Choose us, or choose Zhang Min."

Yu Niaoniao seemed quite simple-minded, much like Yu Yue—a loyal person without a devious bone in her body. Yu Niaoniao looked torn, glancing between Zhang Min and Yu Yue.

Yu Yue, the silly girl, smiled brightly at her: "Niaoniao."

It looked exactly like a child caught between divorcing parents, not knowing who to follow. Yu Niaoniao closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Seeing Yu Yue lower her head, unable to meet her gaze, Yu Yue let her smile fade, as if she already knew the outcome.

"I'm sorry, Yu Yue. Minmin saved my life."

The result was clear, but Yu Yue still wanted to try. It was the end of the world, after all; it wasn't easy to find a friend she clicked with. Li Luyan usually ignored her, and Lin Youwei didn't joke around with her like this. She was certain that if this were before the apocalypse, she and Yu Niaoniao would have been the best of friends.

"Yu Niaoniao, can't you really choose me?" Yu Yue exaggeratedly winked at her. Even Lin Youwei was amused, hooking her arm around Yu Yue’s shoulder to smooth things over: "Alright, Niaoniao has her own things to do. Let’s head out."

***

Once they were in "Little Bastard’s" super-invincible flash car, Yu Yue realized that "Little Stutterer" was there too. She opened her mouth so wide she could have swallowed an egg: "Damn! Sister Luyan, why are you picking up random people again? And this time, you brought back a little bean sprout."

Li Luyan looked speechless and didn't want to engage, but Yu Yue kept going: "Little bean sprout, what's your name?"

"Zhao... Meina." Zhao Meina seemed afraid of this strange older sister and instinctively scooted closer to Li Luyan.

"How old are you this year?" Yu Yue asked, completely unbothered.

"Sixteen."

"Sixteen!" Yu Yue instinctively raised her voice. "My goodness, I would’ve believed you if you said twelve."

The volume was too piercing, and Little Bastard frantically opened and closed the windows: "You're too loud, you hick! Your voice is deafening."

Zhao Meina was truly terrified now; who wouldn't be scared of a car that could talk? She asked cautiously: "Who... who is talking?"

"Hehe, little girl, it's me talking!" Little Bastard waved its windshield wipers frantically, as if greeting her.

"Oh, stop scaring her, Little Bastard," Yu Yue shouted, then whispered to comfort Zhao Meina: "Don't be afraid, this is... um..." She couldn't think of a good reason to make it less scary. "Right, this is actually a super-powered dog that can transform into any object."

"A super-powered dog?" Zhao Meina asked skeptically.

"Yeah, yeah! Everyone has powers in the apocalypse, why wouldn't a dog?"

"You hick, don't smear my name! I am the famous and magnificent—"

Before Little Bastard could finish, Yu Yue ruthlessly interrupted: "Shut up! Anyway, Nana, it's just a crazy little dog. You can call it 'Crazy' or 'Crazy Bastard'."

As the sky grew dimmer, Yu Yue’s stomach began to growl. She asked Zhao Meina, "Hey, Nana, are you hungry?"

Although she was starving, she felt that suggesting a stop for food had to come from someone else, or it would be too embarrassing—she’d definitely be mocked by Little Bastard. Before Zhao Meina could answer, Little Bastard laughed first: "Hahahaha, you hick! If you want to eat, just say so. Why are you trying to bait someone else into saying it?"

Hearing the mockery, she instinctively wanted to pinch the leather seat beneath her, but remembering Li Luyan’s gaze, she pulled her hand back. She retorted, "Who said I wanted to eat? I was just worried Nana might be hungry and asked out of habit. That’s all!" She emphasized her point with extra weight.

***

Who knew that Zhao Meina wouldn't play along? She said, "Sister, I'm not hungry."

This was it—why wouldn't this girl play along? She wasn't hungry, but Yu Yue was! Forget it, she decided; if it’s embarrassing, so be it.

She cleared her throat: "I'm hungry. Can we stop the car to eat?"

The next second, Lin Youwei pulled over. After they got out, Little Bastard instantly transformed back into a puppy, lying on the ground with its belly exposed, rolling from side to side: "Hahahaha, weren't you 'not hungry'?"

How annoying! She really wanted to hit it, but she held back.

"Fine, can you turn into a kettle so we can boil water for instant noodles?"

"Instant noodles?" Little Bastard’s eyes rolled around at the mention of food. "Is there a portion for me?"

Hearing this, Yu Yue shrugged. "I don't know, you'll have to ask Sister Luyan."

As expected, Little Bastard stuck to Li Luyan, using its canine teeth to gently hook her pant leg, trying to act cute. But Li Luyan squatted down, grabbed the scruff of its neck, and said with a furious face: "Little Bastard!"

This was her silk pajama set. She hadn't been willing to spend the money on it before, and even though it was the apocalypse now, she still couldn't bear to see it ruined. It was silk!

Little Bastard kicked its four legs wildly, its dog face revealing a pitiful expression: "Hey... what's this for?"

"My pajama pants!"

Hearing Li Luyan, Little Bastard looked down. Sure enough, there was a large tear right where it had bitten. This wasn't scientific—how could human fabric be so fragile? Little Bastard was scared to death; it couldn't die at this woman's hands before completing its mission from the God of Desire.

It said weakly: "I'll boil the water for you, can you forgive me...?"

Li Luyan dropped the "Bastard" onto the ground, and it immediately transformed into a large, golden kettle. Li Luyan wondered if it had some sort of obsession with the color gold. She took a few bottles of mineral water from her storage space and poured them into the kettle.

Little Bastard made a muffled sound: "Um... could I borrow a little divine power?"

"Okay."

With Lin Youwei’s nod, Little Bastard immediately began to boil the water.