I loaded the dream game

Star-like flames shot up into the sky and transformed into a barrier that isolated cause and effect, causing everything around it to come to a standstill.

In this still world, Xia Zhi put away his phone and walked towards the direction where the sound came from.

There is no supernatural power in the world of Academy Island, so there is no possibility that there is anyone other than himself who can act in the seal.

In such a world, Feng Jue can be used as a barrier to stop time.

...Even so, Xia Zhi couldn't help but quicken his pace and walk through the woods during this still time. He didn't breathe a sigh of relief until the girl's figure appeared in his sight.

Unlike what she thought, Yukino didn't encounter any wild beasts, but...

Looking at the girl who seemed to have accidentally fallen from the slope, her body frozen in mid-air and about to fall to the ground in the next second, Xia Zhi thought for a moment, walked to her side, gently hugged her body, and then lifted the seal.

The next second, the stagnant world returned to normal.

Yukino, who thought she was about to fall to the ground, closed her eyes tightly, but the expected pain did not come. Instead, she felt like she fell into a warm embrace.

The familiar scene made her seem to realize something. She slowly opened her eyes and found herself being held tightly in someone's arms.

"You may really need to lose weight." Xia Zhi tactfully gave his advice to the girl in his arms again.

Yukino, who was about to ask how the boy suddenly appeared here, shut her mouth after hearing that, turned around and gave him a cold look, breathing slightly, her chest heaving up and down, not sure whether it was because of the shock just now or the current anger.

"Why did you suddenly think of coming here?" Xia Zhi looked around and asked.

"The water tank in the car is almost empty. I saw a stream here on the map..." Yukino took a deep breath, adjusted her breathing, and gave an answer.

Judging from the distance, it was not very far from the parking lot, and the area nearby had been deliberately cleaned up before the summer solstice, so there shouldn't be any wild beasts or the like... That's what she thought.

But who would have known that instead of encountering the wild beast, he accidentally tripped and almost fell down the slope that was almost two meters high.

...No, if it weren't for the boy, I would have fallen down, right?

Yukino thought to herself, and after saying thank you, she tried to break free from the boy's arms.

However, the next moment, a look of pain appeared on her face.

Xia Zhi noticed her abnormality, helped her sit down, and looked down.

Sure enough, perhaps because she had brushed against some branches, the black cotton lacquered socks on the girl's legs had been scratched, and bloodstains were oozing out of the exposed skin, forming a sharp color contrast with her fair skin. Further down, the ankle of her left foot seemed to be a little swollen, probably because she had accidentally sprained it.

"Why does it feel like every time you fall the collateral damage is serious?" Xia Zhi couldn't help but complain.

"Maybe my good luck has run out." Yukino panted twice and did not refute the boy's words... After all, she was the one who caused him trouble this time.

Obviously, in this situation, the girl couldn't walk on her own anymore. Xia Zhi sighed softly and wanted to reach out to her legs.

however……

Seeing the girl taking the initiative to grab his wrist, Xia Zhi was slightly stunned.

"What's wrong?" Seeing his stunned expression, Yukino tilted her head in confusion.

I just cooperated a little, there's no need to show such a surprised expression, right?

"...No, nothing." Xia Zhi shook his head and temporarily gave up the idea of ​​treating her. He used the force to help her up, carried her on his back, and then took a step forward and walked towards the parking lot.

"I thought, Yukino, you would try to be strong again." Feeling the warmth and weight coming from the girl behind him, Xia Zhi explained.

"I can still see the basic form clearly." Yukino replied.

When you know clearly that you are powerless, you still insist on handling the situation on your own, which only ends up bringing more trouble to yourself and the people around you... That is no longer being brave, but making things worse.

People may be able to live alone, but they cannot survive alone... This is the truth that Xia Zhi himself taught her.

What's more, Yukino didn't think there was any reason for her to show off in front of the boy.

Anyway, this is not the first time that he has seen me looking weak.

"..."

Leaning against the boy's warm and strong back, listening to his breathing coming so close, and feeling the slight ups and downs with his steps, Yukino felt a sense of security gradually rising in her heart, and the pain in her legs seemed to disappear at this moment.

She pursed her lips and gently leaned her head on the boy's shoulder, wanting to quietly enjoy this moment.

It happened so quickly that it seemed like not much time had passed. When she came to her senses, she noticed that the boy had gently placed her on the bed.

...Is it here so soon?

Feeling the warmth leaving her, she inexplicably felt a sense of loss.

Fortunately, she took a deep breath and quickly adjusted her mood.

Xueno opened her mouth and was about to say something when she saw Xia Zhi squatting down. Then, the warm and gentle touch on her ankle made her body stiffen suddenly, and she swallowed back the words that were about to come to her lips.

In her confused thoughts, she didn't even notice that the pain in her legs had disappeared, until the boy was about to take off her over-the-knee socks that were obviously no longer wearable, she came to her senses.

"Wait..." She subconsciously wanted to stop him, but after seeing her ankles that had completely recovered their whiteness, she swallowed her words and asked in surprise: "...How did you do it?"

"To be honest, I know a little bit about medicine." Xia Zhi said proudly.

This is probably beyond the scope of what medical skills can do, right?

Yukino thought to herself, lowering her head to look at her left leg after she took off her over-the-knee socks and shoes. Although the boy didn't deliberately look in this direction, she still felt a little shy.

…Even when I came out of the shower wrapped in a towel, I didn’t feel anything like that.

Xue No also knew that her current state of mind was the same as the difference between being exposed and wearing a swimsuit at the beach. It was a sense of security and loss caused by the environment and scene. But understanding was one thing, and being able to remain unaffected was another.

She subconsciously wanted to pull the quilt next to her to cover herself, but when she realized that it was Xia Zhi's quilt and her legs were now covered in blood and stains, she resisted the urge.

She stood up, said "I'm going to take a shower", and went into the bathroom and never came out again.

"..."

Um...you didn't bring any change of clothes with you?

Looking at the tightly closed bathroom door, Xia Zhi showed a somewhat hesitant expression and thought to himself.

Yukino-san, it seems like she has become careless as well.

Chapter 596 Summer Solstice: Is night attack already a basic skill for modern young people?

Driving on a deserted road where one or two zombies could be seen passing by from time to time, but generally there was no one, Xia Zhi took out the map and identified that the next city was not too far away and could probably be reached by crossing the mountain.

Because the previous road had physically disappeared, and considering that the RV was not suitable for off-roading, they chose to change the road.

In this case, the originally planned route would have to be changed, but this was not a big problem... After all, they didn't have much of a route to begin with, so they could just go wherever they went.

Xia Zhi thought about it and glanced at the girl sitting in the passenger seat next to him who had changed into new clothes. He couldn't help but feel a headache.

Originally, he didn't care much about what happened in the morning, but seeing the girl blushing and keeping silent, but still sitting in the passenger seat next to him, he felt a little embarrassed.

By the way, if you are really shy, you don’t have to sit next to me.

Xia Zhi wanted to complain about the girl's inexplicable stubbornness in a strange place.

So, how can we ease the current atmosphere?

[Suggested option 1: Issue a Declaration of Independence]

[Suggested option 2: How about I bite a lighter? ]

"..."

Looking at the game subtitles popping up in front of him, Xia Zhi couldn't help but fall into silence.

Stop it, I'm driving.

Xia Zhi ignored the subtitles in front of him, thought for a moment, and then said to the girl beside him: "Xue No-san..."

"Huh? What's wrong?" Yukino, who was distracted, heard his voice and immediately came back to her senses. She took a deep breath and looked at him and asked.

"If you really care...how about I show you mine as compensation?"

Yukino: ...

Are you a primary school student?

"Since you said so, Xiazhi, if you are willing to put on another pair of knee-high socks, I wouldn't mind taking a few more photos."

…Then forget it.

Xia Zhi shut his mouth.

Looking at the boy who had fallen silent, Yukino couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth slightly. Although she didn't laugh out loud, the chaotic emotions and thoughts in her heart did disappear a lot.

So, it always makes people feel very relaxed when getting along with him.

Yukino thought to herself, stood up from the passenger seat, said "I'm going to cook", and walked into the car.

Xia Zhi looked at the time. Although he should be able to reach the next city if he drove for a few more hours, it was getting dark and he didn't want to drive at night. So after thinking for a moment, he drove the car to the side and parked it.

Since there are not many people in this world, there is naturally no need to worry about obstructing traffic. Except for the occasional zombies passing by, no one will complain about people like Xia Zhi who put awnings and tables in the middle of the road.

After Xia Zhi jumped out of the car, walked around with an umbrella in his hand, and drove away the zombies that ignored traffic rules and ran onto the road, the surroundings soon became quiet.

Compared to the previous parking lot, the center of the road halfway up the mountain where the two were now seemed much cleaner. Because the slope of the mountain on one side was reinforced with cement, there were rarely any insects or the like coming here.

Standing by the guardrail at the edge of the highway, looking at the city not far below under the setting sun, it is a dilapidated and desolate scene, so quiet that it can even be called dead silent. It inexplicably gives people a feeling of loneliness as if they are in the end of the world and abandoned by the world.

...Oh, it seems like this is really the end of the world, so it's okay.

After standing there for a while and admiring the scene, Xia Zhi turned around and left, returning to the parking lot.

"Did you find anything?" Yukino, who was preparing food, asked when she saw the boy come back.

"It's too late to save it." Xia Zhi replied.

is it?

Yukino thought for a moment and continued, "So what? Are we going to destroy this world?"

"Why would I do that if I have nothing to do?" Xia Zhi looked at her strangely, not quite understanding why the second lady of the Yukinoshita family suddenly came up with such a radical idea.

Is he still angry? He couldn't help but guess.

So, this is...a girl's little emotion?

On the other side, Yukino seemed to be thinking about something.

I didn't deny that I could do that.

"A month ago, Xia Zhi was still an ordinary person, right?"

Hearing the girl's question, Xia Zhi hesitated for a moment.

How should I answer this...?

He thought for a moment and asked, "Xue No, you must have heard of Celtic mythology, right?"

"I know a little bit." Yukino nodded and answered while scooping the food from the pot onto a plate.

So, it’s something to do with mythology?

“It has nothing to do with that.”

"..."

Yukino paused for a moment, glared at him unhappily, put the plate on the table and sat down. She didn't say anything else, as if she was sulking.

Seeing that the girl didn't ask any further questions, Xia Zhi didn't say anything else... After all, it was too troublesome to explain, and if she didn't intend to ask further, then forget it.

So, the two of them finished their dinner in silence.

Originally, Xia Zhi was thinking about playing games after dinner, but considering the current atmosphere, he gave up the idea. After taking a shower in the bathroom of the RV, while the girl was taking a shower, he took out his tent and set it up in the open space next to the car.

After all, this place is not in the wilderness like before. Even if it's Yukino, it shouldn't be a problem for her to be alone, right?

In addition, considering that the girl seemed to have been sulking since dinner and had not spoken a word to him, the atmosphere between them was indeed a bit awkward, so Xia Zhi thought about just sleeping separately tonight.

As expected, Xueno did not react to his "leaving home" this time. After he left, the door of the RV was closed tightly, with no intention of opening it again.

It was not until midnight that the lights in the car finally dimmed, and it seemed that the girl was going to turn off the lights and go to sleep.

Seeing this, Xia Zhi also yawned, put down the comic book in his hand, covered himself with the quilt, closed his eyes, and prepared to go to sleep.

However, what he didn't expect was that before he fell asleep for long, he heard a slight sound of footsteps outside the tent while he was half asleep and half awake.

Then, in Xia Zhi's confused eyes, he saw the zipper of the tent being gently opened, and the girl in only pajamas entered the tent holding a pillow and a thin quilt. After closing the tent door again, she turned around and looked at him, blushing and whispering, "Can you make room for me?"

Summer Solstice: "...Slave"

At this moment, he was somewhat thankful that he had originally taken a two-person tent.