Perhaps it was because he had been single for too long, but Luo Shu found himself unaccustomed to having a constant shadow—even if it was a beautiful girl.
The life of a lone wolf was so much freer.
After being confined in several Foundation sites for months, he deeply appreciated that freedom.
Ideally, he would have preferred to stash the heroine somewhere safe and complete the missions alone.
But that wasn't an option. He knew too little about this world—where was safe, where was dangerous?
If the heroine died while hidden away, it would be a pointless tragedy.
"What am I supposed to do with you?" Luo Shu muttered without thinking.
The heroine—Shasha—blinked innocently. "Shasha is very obedient! As long as you don't ask me to do weird things, I'll listen to you."
Truly living up to her name—so naive.
If you hadn't said that, I might not have even thought of "weird things."
Now, it's all I can think about!
Are you saying this on purpose to tempt me?
But a glance at the garbage-strewn ruins killed any such thoughts.
There wasn't even a clean bed here, let alone a hotel.
Luo Shu wasn't yet acclimated to this environment—his mind was hardly in the mood.
In the distance, sporadic gunfire echoed.
In this apocalyptic world, conflict was everywhere, fought over scarce resources.
Walking openly with Shasha made them conspicuous targets. They needed shelter—fast.
According to Eule "N" Lau's report, the game's first checkpoint would trigger after 30 in-game days, when allied forces arrived.
That was one way to clear the game—but not necessarily the only one. Player choices could alter outcomes.
Even Eule "N" Lau had been clueless about how he'd succeeded.
Luo Shu decided to forge his own path.
He flipped to Page 60 of the Anomalous Item Compendium.
24-Hour Guide.
Heh. A ready-made walkthrough.
In his mind, an A4-sized action plan materialized.
Step 1: Head northeast.
He turned to Shasha. "Which way is northeast?"
Shasha spun in place, hesitantly pointing ahead. "Maybe... this way?"
Then she changed her mind, gesturing behind Luo Shu. "Or... this way?"
Her directions were polar opposites.
My mistake. Shouldn't have asked.
Luo Shu judged for himself.
Given the game's China-inspired setting, the sun's position indicated west.
Northeast, then, was behind and to the right.
"This way." He led Shasha accordingly.
The city's pre-ruin layout had been grid-based—roads ran strictly north-south or east-west.
Even with the guide, maintaining the correct bearing required constant detours around collapsed buildings.
Without Luo Shu's sharp sense of direction, strong memory, and calculative mind, they'd have long since strayed.
After two grueling hours, they'd covered less than 5 km in a straight line.
Then Luo Shu noticed something surprising.
Despite her frail, ditzy demeanor, Shasha's stamina was impressive.
Her long legs, clad in that JK skirt, kept pace effortlessly.
Meanwhile, Luo Shu—a sedentary engineer by nature—was exhausted.
Months as a Containment Specialist had honed his mind, not his body.
Hours of climbing through rubble had worn him out.
But faced with Shasha's resilience, he couldn't admit weakness.
"You must be tired after all this walking. Let's rest and eat."
"Mm! Luo Shu is so kind!"
Classic Galgame heroine charm—every word oozed temptation.
Why must you sit in that provocative seiza position while eating?!
Worse, Shasha delivered a lethal combo:
"Luo Shu, you look tired. Want to lie down?"
Lie where? This place is filthy.
She patted her thighs. "You can use them as a pillow!"
The legendary lap pillow?!
I'm losing my composure!
Must recite the Heart Sutra to calm down...
"Form is emptiness, emptiness is form..."
In the end, durian-stinky tofu pizza suppressed his urges.
Shasha, however, met her match—pinching her nose to choke down a single bite before gulping Stellar Water.
Refreshed, they resumed their northeast trek.
Thirty minutes later, a filthy, armed man emerged from the ruins.
"Who are you? Why are you near our camp? Talk!"
So the guide had led them to a survivor outpost.
"We're refugees. We want to join your camp."
"Refugees? You're a spy from the south!"
The man's accusation confused Luo Shu—until he followed his gaze.
His clothes were too clean.
Despite the dust, his outfit looked brand-new compared to the tattered rags everyone else wore.
Even Shasha's JK uniform was visibly patched and torn, her midriff exposed through a ripped shirt.
But her radiant beauty had distracted him from those details.
Pretty people really do look good in anything.
His pristine attire had betrayed him.
The NPCs here weren't stupid after all.