23: Your female passenger number 001

The guest bedroom (no. 001) was smaller, but fully functional.

The bunk bed design saved space, and each bed had its own reading light and charging port.

The small bathroom didn't have a shower, only a toilet and a sink, but it was enough.

Anyway, one could shower outside.

If push came to shove, one could also shower in the master bedroom, as long as Qin Lin granted access.

This time, the two of them mainly looked at the two bedrooms for resting.

After finishing the tour, the two returned to the small living room and sat on the sofa.

The leather sofa was very comfortable, and the backrest angle could be adjusted.

Su Yuran snuggled into it and let out a long sigh of relief.

"It feels... like a dream."

She said softly.

"A week ago, I was still in the dormitory complaining that the heating wasn't hot enough. Now... now I'm living in an RV with its own bathroom."

Qin Lin leaned against the other side of the sofa, looking at the ceiling.

The light strips at the top of the cabin emitted a soft, warm glow, like real home lighting.

"You'll get used to it," he said. "There will be more changes in the future."

Su Yuran turned her head to look at him: "Qin Lin, did you really... just have a dream?"

She had asked this question many times.

Qin Lin had also answered many times.

This time, his silence lasted a bit longer.

"There are some things that aren't necessarily good to know."

He finally said, "You just need to know that by following me, you can survive, and live quite well. That's enough."

He chose to hide part of the truth, but something as obvious as the RV's upgrades simply couldn't be hidden.

So, there was no harm in letting her know.

Su Yuran stared at him for a few seconds, then nodded.

"Alright." She stopped prying. "Then... there are two bedrooms now. Which one are we staying in?"

She didn't know that only Qin Lin could stay in the master bedroom.

Qin Lin looked at her, the corners of his mouth curling up:

"Which one do you want me to stay in?"

Su Yuran's face flushed slightly, but she didn't look away this time.

"Anyway, whichever room you stay in, I'll stay in."

She spoke very quietly, but clearly.

Then she paused and added:

"But I want to reserve guest bedroom no. 001."

"I was the first one to board. From now on... I'll be your female passenger no. 001."

She wasn't stupid; she knew that more people would surely move into such a magical, upgradeable RV in the future.

There might even be many beautiful women.

And Qin Lin would be able to protect them.

It was easy to imagine what would happen then.

Qin Lin laughed.

"Alright."

He pulled up the System interface and found the passenger management module.

Sure enough, after upgrading to Lv2, this function had been unlocked.

The interface displayed:

[Current Population: 2 people]

[Driver: Qin Lin (Permissions: All)]

[Passenger 1: Su Yuran (Permissions: Basic)]

Below were the permission setting options.

Qin Lin bound the permissions for guest bedroom no. 001 to Su Yuran's name.

Setting it as her "exclusive room."

This meant that only she and Qin Lin could enter.

Others could not open the door without authorization.

[guest bedroom no. 001 bound: Su Yuran]

[The passenger has obtained exclusive room permissions]

"Done."

Qin Lin said, "From now on, 001 is your exclusive room."

Su Yuran's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"It's set by the RV System, so it should be reliable."

Su Yuran leaned back on the sofa, looking at the display screen on the opposite wall.

It was currently a black screen, but it should be able to play videos or display information.

"Qin Lin," she suddenly asked, "will... there be other people boarding in the future?"

Qin Lin didn't hide it: "Yes. Upgrading the RV requires more passengers, and the unlocking of the supermarket space is also related to the number of passengers."

Su Yuran fell silent.

She thought of her family.

Her parents were in a neighboring city.

Her younger sister was a college freshman living in a school dormitory.

When the disaster struck, she herself was at school with Qin Lin.

Now that so much time had passed, how was her family?

Were they still alive?

Did they have food?

Were they warm?

Although her family was well-off, the occurrence of such a disaster couldn't help but make her worry.

She wanted to say: Can we go pick up my parents? Can we go pick up my sister?

But the words reached her lips and were swallowed back down.

This vehicle belonged to Qin Lin.

These supplies belonged to Qin Lin.

She was just... lucky enough to have caught a ride.

What right did she have to ask for more?

Furthermore, picking people up meant taking risks.

Going out to search, they might encounter danger on the road, they might encounter robberies, they might... not come back.

She couldn't be so selfish.

Qin Lin looked at her lowered eyelashes and her slightly trembling lips, guessing what she was thinking.

In his past life, Su Yuran had also mentioned wanting to go home to find her parents.

At that time, they were still in a hotel, and the food was almost gone.

In the end, she had successfully returned home.

In this life... "Yuran," Qin Lin began.

Su Yuran looked up.

"We are still too weak right now."

Qin Lin spoke very directly.

"The vehicle just upgraded to Lv2. Although it's stronger than before, it's not enough. There are robbers outside, gangs, and unknown dangers."

"If we go out now, something might happen to us before we even find your family."

Su Yuran looked at Qin Lin in surprise, not expecting him to have seen through her thoughts.

Her heart warmed, and she nodded without speaking.

"But."

Qin Lin continued, "We won't stay parked here forever."

"To upgrade the RV, we need to go to more places, find more crystal stones, and find more... passengers."

"One day, we will leave this city and go elsewhere."

He looked at her. "When that time comes, maybe we'll pass by your house. Maybe... you'll see your parents."

Su Yuran's eyes turned red.

"Really?"

"Really," Qin Lin said. "But we have to wait. Wait for the vehicle to upgrade again, wait until we are better prepared."

He reached out and gently wiped away the tear overflowing from the corner of her eye.

Su Yuran nodded vigorously.

Qin Lin smiled.

"Good."

Outside, the sky had turned completely dark.

The wind and snow rose again, beating against the vehicle windows with a fine rustling sound.

But inside the vehicle, it was warm, bright, and safe.

Su Yuran leaned on Qin Lin's shoulder and said softly:

"Qin Lin, thank you."

"Thank you, again."

She had said thank you countless times over the past few days.

"This time, I'm saying it on behalf of my future family."

She closed her eyes. "Even though I don't know if they're still at home... thank you for being willing to look for them."

Qin Lin put his arm around her shoulder.

He didn't speak.

But he knew clearly: in this life, he would not let the regrets of his past life repeat themselves.

He would build a mobile fortress in this crumbling world.

A fortress with warmth, humanity, and hope.

And Su Yuran was the first resident of this fortress.

And the person he wanted to protect the most.

Qin Lin looked toward the supermarket storage room.

Tomorrow, he would carefully study the System Store and buy some practical items.

He also needed to plan the next steps:

Find crystal stones, upgrade, expand the team... That night, Qin Lin and Su Yuran naturally stayed in master bedroom no. 000.

With a private bathroom and stable hot water.

The two decided to indulge in a luxury—taking a shower.