267: Chapter 267 Qin Ziyan's Decision!

After all, mecha are a man's romance!

Although Qin Ziyan was a woman, who said women couldn't like robots?

"Tell me the details." Lin Yuan walked over and asked with interest.

"Boss, look!" Xia Muqing pointed excitedly at the Titan King's severed arm.

"This kind of biological metal skeleton not only has a hardness far exceeding titanium alloy, but it also has extremely strong self-healing capabilities!"

"If we turn it into exoskeleton armor and then implant a Mutated Beast's neural chip…"

"We can create a 'living' mecha!"

"It doesn't need batteries; it only needs to be fed high-energy flesh to function! Plus, it can move according to the pilot's thoughts, with almost zero latency!"

Xia Muqing grew more and more excited as she spoke, her chainsaw almost blurring with how fast she was waving it.

"Also, when I was dissecting the Rat Emperor earlier, I discovered that its fur has a powerful optical camouflage effect!"

"If we use this skin as a coating for the mecha…"

"It would be an assassin-type mecha with built-in stealth!"

"Titan strength + Rat Emperor stealth!"

"This is simply the perfect killing machine!"

Xia Muqing became more and more excited as she spoke!

"Is this what a scientist is like?" Qin Ziyan muttered to herself. "How does she feel even more perverted than a Mutated Beast?"

"Ahem." Lin Yuan coughed lightly, interrupting Xia Muqing's wild fantasies.

"Good idea." "Approved." "These materials are all yours. I want to see the finished product when we get back."

"Yes, Boss!" Xia Muqing immediately stood at attention and saluted, looking so excited as if Lin Yuan had given her the whole world instead of a pile of corpses.

"However…" Lin Yuan glanced at the massive corpse. "How are we supposed to transport such a huge thing back?"

"That's simple." Xia Muqing pulled a small bottle containing an unidentified green liquid from the pocket of her lab coat.

"This is a highly concentrated corrosive liquid I just developed." "Just one drop can dissolve flesh into water, leaving only the bones and core materials."

As she spoke, she carefully dripped one drop onto the Titan King's corpse.

"Sizzle, sizzle—" Accompanied by a burst of acrid white smoke, the massive body of flesh and blood actually began to melt rapidly, turning into pools of blood and flowing away.

In less than five minutes, a complete skeleton, white as jade and emitting a metallic luster, appeared before everyone.

"Impressive." Qin Ziyan couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

Was this the legendary corpse-dissolving powder, Plus edition? With this thing, destroying evidence… bah, I mean, cleaning up the battlefield would be much more convenient in the future, right?

After dealing with the spoils, Lin Yuan checked the time. "Work's done, let's head home." "We're having extra food tonight—hot pot."

Hearing the word "hot pot," the cheers of the women instantly drowned out the cold wind underground. "Hot pot! Hot pot!" "I want spicy!" "I want tomato base!" "Boss, can we add two servings of tripe?"

Watching this group of goddesses, who were murderous just moments ago and were now arguing until they were red in the face over a few pieces of tripe, Qin Ziyan, who had been standing on the sidelines observing, suddenly felt an indescribable bitterness in her heart.

Is this really the Apocalypse? Why are they living even more comfortably than before the Apocalypse?

Hot pot? In the current military base, that's a luxury item where you can only smell the aroma during the New Year! Yet here at Lin Yuan's place, it's just a regular extra meal?

"Um… Mr. Lin." Qin Ziyan hesitated for a moment before gathering the courage to walk over. She took a deep breath, as if she had made a major decision.

"What is it?" Lin Yuan stopped and looked at her with a half-smile. "Want to mooch a meal?"

"Uh… no." Qin Ziyan blushed, but she quickly adjusted her mindset. She looked at Lin Yuan, her eyes more serious than ever before.

"I want… to stay by your side." "I'm not going back to the military base."

"Oh?" Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat surprised. "You're not going to be your Valkyrie anymore? That's the faith of countless survivors."

"Faith my ass." Qin Ziyan laughed at herself, a flash of exhaustion in her eyes.

"Over there, I'm nothing more than a high-level thug." "And…" She glanced at the girls around her who were laughing, joking, and discussing hot pot flavors, a trace of envy appearing in her eyes.

"I like the atmosphere here." "No scheming, no moral kidnapping, just… the feeling of being alive."

"So, Mr. Lin." Qin Ziyan looked up, staring straight into Lin Yuan's eyes. "I want to switch jobs." "I want… to become your team member. Even if it's just as an external member, or… a sidekick." When she said the word "sidekick," her face turned red again.

Lin Yuan looked at her, the corners of his mouth curling into a playful arc. "It's not impossible to take you in." "However…" Lin Yuan changed the subject, his gaze seemingly piercing through to her heart. "You seem to still have concerns?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Ziyan's body trembled violently. Her originally firm gaze instantly became conflicted and full of struggle.

"Ye… yes." "My family… is still at the military base." "My parents and a younger brother." Speaking of this, her fingers unconsciously twisted together, her knuckles turning white.

"Actually, my relationship with them is very bad. Very bad." "From childhood to adulthood, in their eyes, I was just a tool responsible for earning money to support the family, while my younger brother was their precious treasure."

"Even in the Apocalypse, I have to risk my life killing zombies to exchange for supplies for them to enjoy, and they… only complain that the food I bring back isn't good enough."

Qin Ziyan's voice carried a hint of trembling, the grievance and anger suppressed for a long time. "I hate them." "I've even thought about how good it would be if they turned into zombies; then I would be free." "But… they are living perfectly fine."

"Although I hate them, if I were to really completely ignore their lives and just walk away… I… I still feel…" Qin Ziyan lowered her head in pain.

This is the curse of blood ties. No matter how much she hates them, they are still the parents who gave birth to and raised her. This contradictory psychology caused her to fall into deep internal conflict. She wanted to escape that parasitic family and follow Lin Yuan to live a free life, yet she couldn't completely cut off that damned blood bond.

"Heh." Lin Yuan chuckled softly. He reached out and gently lifted Qin Ziyan's chin, forcing her to look at him. "I thought it was something major." "Just this?"

Qin Ziyan was stunned: "This… isn't this a major matter?"

"Qin Ziyan, you must remember." Lin Yuan's voice was calm but carried an unquestionable dominance. "In this Apocalypse, only the strong have the right to choose."

"Your current conflict is simply because you aren't strong enough yet, or rather… your heart isn't ruthless enough." "If you want to follow me, then follow." "As for your family…" Lin Yuan glanced indifferently in the direction of the military base.

"If they have hands and feet, they won't starve to death." "If they only want to be parasites…" "Then you can take this opportunity to see if they can really not survive without you."

"If they can survive, that's their fortune." "If they can't survive…" Lin Yuan sneered. "That's fate."

"Since you want to be my sidekick, then clear your heart out." "In my team, I don't need indecisive saints." "Understand?"

Listening to these cold but insightful words from Lin Yuan, Qin Ziyan felt as if the tangled mess in her brain had been cut through by a sharp sword. That's right. She used to care too much about that family, care too much about other people's opinions, which was why she lived so exhaustingly.

Now it is the Apocalypse. Everyone is struggling to take care of themselves, so who has time to pamper anyone else? Without her, they might live a difficult life, but they definitely wouldn't die. And as for herself… it was time to live for herself for once!

"I understand!" Qin Ziyan took a deep breath, the confusion in her eyes dissipating, replaced by unprecedented determination. "From today on, this life of Qin Ziyan belongs only to you!"

"As for the Qin family…" She gritted her teeth, as if saying goodbye to her past self. "None of my damn business!"

Lin Yuan nodded in satisfaction. "That's right." "Your ideological awareness is quite high." "Alright, enough with the emotional stuff." Lin Yuan waved his hand and turned to walk toward the path home. "Let's go, home for hot pot!" "Any later, and all the tripe will be snatched up by that crazy woman Xia Muqing."

"Ah? That won't do!" Qin Ziyan instantly broke character, the originally tragic atmosphere vanishing completely. "Save some for me! I want to eat two plates!"

Watching the figure jogging to catch up, Lin Yuan's mouth curled slightly. This Valkyrie… finally looks a bit more like a "human."