246: Chapter 242 The Water of Youth

Back in reality, Liliya and the uniformed staff member were still standing beside him.

"Five thousand one hundred and twenty-five points?"

The staff member looked at the numbers on the terminal, exceptionally surprised.

"Sir, I've worked here for three years, and this is the first time I've seen a newcomer score over a thousand points in their initial assessment.

Most newcomers usually have zero points on their first day, or even a negative score."

His gaze shifted from admiration to awe; as he looked at Song Yang, his waist instinctively bowed lower.

In this place where strength spoke for itself, five thousand points was enough to earn his respect.

Liliya, however, looked as usual. She tilted her head, her long ears twitching slightly:

"Points are just numbers; they only have meaning when exchanged for actual things. Go check out The Arena's mall; there are many good things there."

The staff member hurriedly bowed and operated the controls. A pale blue light screen unfolded before Song Yang, with countless product details flowing down like a waterfall.

Song Yang's gaze swept quickly across, not lingering much on the weapons and equipment.

His vision was finally captured by an item under an inconspicuous category.

[Water of Youth]

[Type: Genetic Medicine]

[Effect: Locks the user's current physiological age. Effect lasts for one hundred standard years. No side effects.]

[Price: 100 Points / 1 Bottle]

Song Yang's breathing hitched for a moment.

A woman's beauty and youth are things that vanish easily. He had seen too many flowers wither and perish rapidly for the sake of survival.

Without almost any hesitation, he spoke directly to the staff member:

"This one. Buy ten bottles."

"Certainly, sir."

[Points -1000]

[Remaining Points: 4125]

...

It was already night by the time he returned to the manor.

The dining room was brightly lit, and several domestic robots were placing plates of exquisite dishes onto the long table.

There were sizzling, oily steaks, seafood drizzled in rich sauces, and vegetable salads emitting a fresh, sweet aroma.

Bai Jie and Zhang Xinmei were chatting about something, and when they saw Song Yang return, smiles immediately bloomed on their faces.

"You're back? Was there something urgent since you went out with Liliya today?"

Bai Jie naturally stepped forward, wanting to help him take off his coat, only to find he was just wearing a single shirt.

In the corner, Yang Yueqi was holding a book. Hearing the commotion, she also looked up, her twin tails swaying as she called out obediently:

"Brother Song Yang."

Song Yang smiled and sat down at the head of the table. He took out the small box containing ten vials of blue liquid from his pocket and placed it in the center of the dining table.

"What's this? Some newly bought seasoning?" Zhang Xinmei leaned in curiously to look.

"A gift for you all."

Song Yang's gaze swept over the faces of the three women. "A type of medicine. After drinking it, your bodies won't age for a hundred years."

The dining room fell silent instantly.

Yang Yueqi blinked, seemingly not yet fully grasping the meaning of those words.

But Bai Jie and Zhang Xinmei, two mature women, were somewhat dazed.

"What did you say?"

Bai Jie's voice was a bit dry; she thought she had misheard.

Zhang Xinmei went as far as to set down her wine glass directly. For the first time, a look of uncomposed shock appeared on her well-maintained face, and her beautiful eyes were instantly filled with tears:

"Song Yang... don't joke like that. I... my heart can't take it..."

To them, nothing was more terrifying than the word 'aging.'

They had personally seen women in the apocalypse who were only in their twenties but had become as old and shriveled as fifty-year-olds due to malnutrition.

Song Yang didn't explain further, simply pushing the box toward them.

With a trembling hand, Bai Jie picked up a small medicine vial. Under the light, the deep blue liquid seemed to harbor the most alluring magic in the world.

She and Zhang Xinmei exchanged a glance, both seeing unbelievable ecstasy in each other's eyes.

Without hesitation, they unscrewed the caps and downed the slightly sweet liquid in one gulp.

A gentle, warm current instantly spread to every limb and bone, as if every cell was cheering and leaping for joy.

They could clearly feel their skin seemingly becoming tighter, and their bodies filled with a long-lost vitality.

This was no hallucination!

"I..."

Zhang Xinmei touched her face, her tears finally rolling down uncontrollably. She suddenly stood up, walked around the table, and hugged Song Yang's neck from behind, pressing a burning kiss onto his cheek.

"Thank you... Song Yang, thank you!"

On the other side, Bai Jie's actions were even more direct. She walked in front of Song Yang, leaned down, cupped his face, and used a deep kiss to block anything else he might have said.

This wasn't seduction, nor was it about desire. It was a woman's ecstasy over retaining her youth and the purest, most fiery gratitude toward her benefactor.

Beside them, Yang Yueqi watched her two sisters, who were crying and laughing with excitement. She finally understood the value of this medicine and picked up the bottle that belonged to her.

In the look she gave Song Yang, besides dependence, there was even more of a star-like admiration.

After finishing the meal, Song Yang returned to his room.

His room was spacious. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was a night as silent as death, with no starlight or moon—only boundless inkiness.

He sat cross-legged on the carpet with his eyes tightly shut, but his mind was highly focused, replaying the day's battles over and over in his head.

This was a habit he had developed since the start of the apocalypse; reviewing and simulating would allow him to live longer in the next battle.

"Click."

The lock clicked softly, and the door was pushed open noiselessly.

Song Yang withdrew from his deep mental immersion, opened his eyes, and looked toward the door.

Liliya walked in. She had changed out of her combat gear from the day and was wearing a set of silky, pale pink pajamas. The thin fabric clung to her tall frame, outlining nearly perfect curves.

What was extremely discordant with this domestic outfit were the silver stiletto heels on her feet, which added several more inches to her already 1.78-meter height.

Her long hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and her pointed ears were faintly visible through the strands.

"Your heart rate just dropped below forty beats per minute. I thought you were dying."

Liliya's voice was cool and calm, with no emotional fluctuations. She walked to the wine cabinet in the room and poured herself a glass of red wine.

"It was just habitual breath-holding training."

Song Yang stood up to face her at eye level.

After putting on high heels, this alien girl's gaze could even look down slightly at him.

"Oh? Reminiscing about the day's battles?"

Liliya swirled the wine in her glass.

"You spent a thousand points to buy medicine that delays aging for a hundred years."

For carbon-based lifeforms like them, whose life cycles were already short, was there any fundamental difference?"

After a hundred years, they will still age and die. The return on investment for this purchase is too low."

In her view, those thousand points could perhaps have been exchanged for more powerful energy weapons or sturdier personal shields—those were the things that could improve survival rates.

"Liliya, you don't understand."

Song Yang walked up to her, reached out to take the wine glass from her hand, and downed it. "To them, a hundred years is a lifetime. And youth is the most precious thing in their lives."

Liliya's crystal-like eyes gazed at him, seemingly analyzing the logic in his words.

She was silent for a moment, then suddenly took a step forward, the distance between them instantly shortening until their breaths were audible to each other.

She was even taller than Song Yang had imagined, and the pressure of her downward gaze came along with a faint, exotic fragrance.

"You are very good to them."

She stated a fact, her tone unreadable as to whether it was praise or something else. "But you seem to have forgotten who brought you into The Arena and who told you about the uses for points."

Song Yang raised an eyebrow: "So?"

"So, as your guide and ally, shouldn't I also have a gift?"

The corners of Liliya's mouth curled into a smile, and a hint of cunning flashed in those beautiful eyes. "I don't want that low-level Genetic Medicine; for my race, that stuff is no different from drinking sugar water."

She extended a long, fair finger and lightly tapped Song Yang's chest.

"I want something a bit more interesting."

"Like breeding some high-quality offspring for my race."