Absolute Zone Zero: I survive in Liufen Street

Bai Yu spent the entire morning helping out at the 141 convenience store. By noon, he'd finished sorting out all the goods and bagged a large bag of near-expiry food and some discounted samples of daily necessities. The enthusiastic and cheerful owner then forced a hundred denarii into his pocket.

Prices in this world aren't as exaggerated as in the game; they're basically 1:1. It's very close to real-world prices, but since it's a post-disaster world, some special items are still a bit expensive. However, this doesn't affect the daily lives of ordinary people.

"145, are you over your autism?" Bai Yu stood with the bag in his hand, looking at the familiar street scenes around him, marveling at the details that were not reflected in the game.

Now that he was full, his body no longer had any negative conditions. Bai Yu, who had been tormented by illness since birth, felt a sense of ease and comfort he had never experienced before.

His mood couldn't help but become high-spirited, and his steps began to jump, from walking to running and jumping with small movements. If he wasn't holding something in his hand, Bai Yu would even want to experience the feeling of running fast.

What passers-by can see is a handsome white-haired boy carrying a bag, humming a song, and skipping forward, which makes people feel happy involuntarily.

"Host, 145 is so useless QAQ. I thought of a lot, but ignored the most basic conditions." In contrast to Bai Yu's good mood, 145 was in a very bad mood.

"Don't be depressed. If 145 is right, we don't have the extra energy to travel through the world again! If that's the case, why not think carefully about what to do next?" Bai Yu soothed the depressed little system. "And every aspect that 145 has considered is indeed very complete. Aside from the plot, Absolute Zone Zero is indeed very suitable for ordinary people to live in.

If we don’t need the emotional energy of reality and don’t participate in the plot.”

"...But then, host, you might end up in the hospital forever, or even die at any moment. QAQ, and I won't be able to return home." 145's entire world darkened at the thought. "While we can capture the emotions of the residents of Zone Zero, it's difficult to maintain a balanced consumption. At best, we can delay your death."

The host, the barrier connecting the two worlds, requires a high level of energy to maintain the life characteristics of the original body and the current digital image body structure. We must become popular characters, at the very least, we need the emotional energy of players to maintain the status quo.

"What if we cut off the connection with the real world?" Bai Yu asked curiously.

"!!! Host, how could you possibly have such an idea?! Without the ties that hold reality together, your true self would instantly die, and without a body, your consciousness simply can't exist on its own!" 145 was so frightened by this that he ignored his frustration and desperately tried to explain why he was willing to connect the two worlds despite the enormous cost.

"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous. I'm just saying that. I see. Then we'll have to find another way to solve the energy problem." Even though they'd only known each other for a short time, Bai Yu had already figured out how to soothe his irritated little system. "145, can you access this world's network now? Do you need any equipment to connect?"

"No, host. For digital life, accessing the internet is like breathing for humans; it's an innate instinct." The easily coaxed 145 didn't notice the diversion and dutifully began to counsel his host. "Host, is there anything the system needs?"

"First, erase all the surveillance footage I have left on Liufen Street to make sure no one can find me on the Internet." Bai Yu stopped and gave orders in his mind.

"Completed. All footage of the host appearing on Liufen Street has been erased and replaced. From now on, the host's activities on Liufen Street will no longer be recorded by surveillance equipment."

"Very good. Next, find the companion void closest to Liufen Street. Select the one with the highest ether concentration, where no one can survive for long periods of time, and the one that covers the living area. 145, since my current body was constructed by you using data, am I immune to ether erosion?"

"The route has been planned, and the system has begun guiding navigation.

Yes, host. According to this world's research data, there is no record of energy bodies being eroded by ether. The host is safe.

But is the host going to enter the void? The host currently has no combat power, and if the body is damaged in danger, it will also cost energy to repair. 145 was a little confused as to why Bai Yu wanted to enter the void.

"145. The Yihai will attack intelligent organic life forms, but let's not talk about whether my body, composed of data, possesses life characteristics. We don't necessarily have to fight after entering the void. By adjusting our body's numerical values, we can safely avoid the Yihai.

We don't need to go too deep, just find a place to temporarily settle down as a temporary residence." Bai Yu calmly explained to 145 why they were looking for a void. "145, entering a void will not only solve our survival problem, but it will also solve your energy problem."

"? How to solve this? Is the host trying to test whether the corpse can provide us with emotional energy?"

"Oh, it's not Yikui. Question: What kind of energy is the most in the void?" Bai Yu smiled and kept it a secret for a while.

"The most abundant thing in the void is... ether energy!!

The void is filled with etheric energy!!!

The system can directly convert ether, host, you are so smart!

This way, we won't be short of energy to maintain the status quo for the time being. In areas with high concentrations, we might even have a little surplus energy to store!

"Wow o(≧▽≦)o We've got energy coming in, so we don't have to go hungry anymore!! That's great!" 145, having figured it out, began jumping around in his mind, spinning in circles with joy. "Although we haven't converted ether energy yet, it shouldn't be any harder than Honkai energy. Even if it only offsets half of our daily consumption, we'll have more time to gather emotional energy."

Host, how did you come up with such a powerful method? !』

“Haha, I actually just wanted to find a place to stay before dark. After all, I didn’t want to sleep on the seats in the subway station.

Then I thought that the locations covered by the void were random, so there must be residential areas covered by it.

In the game, there are shrouded areas in the fourteenth district. So the evacuated residents may not have time to take away all their daily necessities.

We can go in and scavenge. Find some useful things. At least we need two sets of clothes, right?" Bai Yu said slowly.

“It was only after this that I thought of etheric energy.

As you speculated, if the conversion could be achieved, even if only half, we would have a stable energy source and more time to survive.

Compared to unstable emotional energy that requires guiding others to obtain, etheric energy is endless in this world.

145. Thinking about it this way, Absolute Zone Zero is truly the most suitable world."

145, who was so happy that he couldn't speak, set off electronic fireworks one after another in his sea of ​​consciousness.

Bai Yu also smiled. The original difficult mode of survival in another world had suddenly been reduced to normal mode. And if the efficiency of ether conversion was high enough, it could even become easy mode. Then all they needed to do was wait until the energy was fully accumulated.

"Host, we're here," 145 said cheerfully, but soon composed herself and earnestly instructed Bai Yu. "Although the scene you described is beautiful, we still face the unknown. Please protect yourself first."

The host's current body is an energy body, and he will not die even if he is hit in the vitals.

However, a consciousness that lacks the protection of its own body is more vulnerable to harm, and injuries to the consciousness are difficult to repair.

In other words, large-scale damage to the energy body will lead to the consumption of the consciousness body, and repairing the consciousness body will require more energy, making our already poor storage even worse, so safety is the most important thing!

Host, you must! You must protect yourself! 』

Bai Yu exclaimed in amazement at the colorful energy wall in front of him. The scene before him was even more beautiful than the one in the game.

Bai Yu nodded earnestly, excited about the prospect of an unknown adventure. "I promise, if things go wrong, I'll run away immediately! I'll leave the search for a path through the cave to you. You should be able to read [Carrot], right?"

"No problem????(? ?? ? - ? ) ?Then let's go now!" 145 announced loudly, feeling quite excited.

Bai Yu took a deep breath, pursed his lips, and nervously reached out his hand to touch the hole.

An indescribable sensation spread from my palm, like reaching into a damp mist, or feeling the warm air above a flame. That feeling of spatial distortion, of being present yet not present, was quite strange.

Bai Yu felt it for a moment, then mustered up his courage and walked into the cave.