Chapter 301: Learning Materials
“S-Sister Sharma, I tried my best, but they don’t seem to understand what I’m saying…” a frail-looking young woman with broken glasses said softly, standing beside Sharma.
“Even English doesn’t work?” Sharma pursed her lips, a worried look on her face.
The green bug “token” she had been carrying had shattered shortly after they crossed the China-Myanmar border, which had worried her for a while.
Now, her fears had come true.
Very few people in this camp spoke English, let alone Hindi. The other side seemed anxious, desperately searching for someone who could communicate fluently in English.
“(In Chinese) Where’s Dr. Ning? Is Dr. Ning Xiaoxiao not here? Huh? She’s in the research lab in the Oasis Area?”
“(In Chinese) Seriously? Can’t find a single person in the whole camp who’s passed CET-4?” (TN: China’s College English Test, Band 4)
“(In Chinese) I’m Chinese, I don’t learn foreign languages.”
“(In Chinese) Idiot.”
Although Sharma didn’t understand what they were saying, she could tell they weren’t hostile.
“I’ll handle this.” Sharma took a deep breath and stepped forward, catching the attention of the Chinese people on the other side.
“We need help,” Sharma said slowly, her English slightly accented. “Something to eat.”
Her pronunciation was clearly better than the previous girl’s, and several people on the other side seemed to understand.
“Wait. My sister is here. Let her communicate with you.”
The tall, black-haired woman on the other side finally spoke, saying her sister was coming and would talk to them.
Her sister?
Sharma looked curiously behind the woman, then her eyebrows shot up at the sight of a terrifying insect chair.
Had she really come to the right place?
That thing didn’t look like something a normal person would sit on.
But the black-haired girl sitting on it…
Sharma could honestly say she was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen.
Especially with her calm, indifferent expression and seemingly frail body, it evoked a strong urge to pull her into a protective embrace.
And that aloof face… she really wanted to see what other expressions it could make…
Of course, Sharma was just thinking. This wasn’t New Delhi. It was best not to hit on other women before understanding the situation.
“Yao, you’re finally here,” Lin Xiwan said to Lin Jiayao with a wry smile. “I’ve already returned my English after the college entrance exam. I managed to figure out they’re not hostile, just need something to eat.”
“Want me to give you a refresher course?” Lin Jiayao asked casually as she passed her sister.
“I’ll take you up on that when we get back, Teacher Jiayao.” Lin Xiwan’s finger twitched, as if she wanted to ruffle her sister’s hair.
But she stopped herself.
There were too many people around. It was better to maintain her sister’s authority. A casual head pat would ruin the carefully cultivated image.
Lin Jiayao controlled the insect chair, stopped before Sharma, and lowered it so they were at eye level.
“Sharma, long time no see.” Lin Jiayao greeted her in perfect, fluent Hindi, her pronunciation as precise as a professional broadcaster’s.
This flawless Hindi instantly reminded Sharma of the talking zombies she had encountered and traded with at the camp.
“Is that you?” Sharma asked, her voice filled with excitement, her previous worries dissipating.
Was this girl before her the one controlling those zombies, the one who had saved her twice?
It was hard to believe.
Sharma’s favorability toward this beautiful girl instantly maxed out.
“If you’re referring to the one who traded with you, then yes, it’s me. Welcome to my camp.” Lin Jiayao nodded. “Look into my eyes, and don’t resist.”
“Okay.” Although Sharma had many things she wanted to say, and many questions she wanted to ask, she obediently looked into the girl’s calm, black eyes.
Suddenly, the calm, still pupils transformed into dangerous, golden vertical slits.
The brown irises expanded before her, and she felt as if she was being swarmed by countless worms.
Don’t resist?
What a joke.
Even if she resisted with all her might, she couldn’t withstand this mental attack. Did the other party overestimate her?
Sharma’s mind went blank. She slowly opened her eyes and found herself in a baby’s swaddling clothes.
She blinked curiously and saw two blurry figures, a young man and woman, before her.
The woman picked her up, speaking softly in Chinese. Sharma even understood a few words.
Simple words like “Mommy” and “Daddy.”
Was this… learning Chinese from infancy?
Was this even possible?
Sharma’s mouth dropped open.
After an unknown amount of time, after Sharma experienced kindergarten, elementary school, middle school… all the way to the end of junior high, the world around her began to collapse.
She had experienced a very pleasant time in a Chinese school.
As the dream world shattered, Sharma slowly opened her eyes and found herself inside a large tent.
The women she had brought with her lay neatly around her, resting peacefully.
Beside each of them was a bottle of water and a piece of unopened bread. There was also a set beside her.
Snapping out of it, she picked up the water and bread and devoured them, quickly finishing half the bottle and the entire piece of bread.
She really wanted to finish the water, but Sharma knew how precious clean water was in the apocalypse. Even if it was a gift, she couldn’t waste it.
She tried to wake the other Indian women, but they were in a deep sleep.
Perhaps they were also trapped in a dream like she had been.
Had the people from this camp brought them here? And they hadn’t harmed them while they were defenseless…
Clutching the half-full water bottle, she stood up, lifted the tent flap, and stepped outside.
Soft sunlight shone on her. As far as she could see, there were lush green fields and neatly planted farmland.
People were working in the fields, watering the crops. The air was filled with the sweet scent of licorice.
Two girls ran through the fields, playing and chasing each other, then tumbled into the dirt, only to be pulled out and scolded by an adult. But the girls, their faces covered in mud, exchanged glances and burst out laughing.
Seeing this idyllic, peaceful scene, the tension Sharma had carried throughout their escape finally melted away.
Was this heaven?
India was still in chaos, but China had already recovered to this extent?
As expected of a nation with maxed-out farming skills…
“You’re awake? Sister Wanzi! That pretty Indian sister is awake!” A girl guarding the tent shouted towards the distance.
“Thank you, you’re very cute too.” Sharma smiled at the girl and spoke fluent Chinese.
The girl, seemingly surprised that Sharma understood her, blushed at the compliment from the beautiful, exotic woman. She mumbled a response and shyly ran off.
This was truly heaven.
This time, Sharma stated it with certainty.
Soon, Sharma saw a woman with short black hair, looking very capable, walking towards her.
“Hello, Wanzi.” Sharma greeted her, extending her hand.
The girl had called her Wanzi, so that must be her name, right? Although it was a bit strange, it was a cute name.
“…” Wan Zi, about to extend her hand, paused at the other party’s address, then shook Sharma’s hand, emphasizing her name. “Hello, I’m Wan Zi.”
She specifically stressed the fourth tone of “Wan,” not the second tone of “Wan” (which sounds like “bowl”).
“Okay, Sister Wanzi.” Sharma, having only completed junior high school, and having missed many classes, didn’t hear the difference and simply added the honorific “Sister.”
“Sigh…”
Wan Zi sighed, giving up on correcting her, and began to introduce the camp.
“This is the Kun City ash area. If nothing unexpected happens, this will be where you live from now on.”
“The Oasis Area has opened up a new residential area for us. I’ll arrange for you to be settled there later. I’ll come back with the details this evening.”
“And finally, welcome. We’re all family here, Sharma.” Wan Zi gave a faint smile.
She wasn’t actually in charge of receiving new camp members; she was in charge of overall management.
But this group had a B-rank, Sharma, and someone from the Oasis Area had personally come out to receive them, so she naturally had to pay more attention. They might be able to enter the Oasis Area in the future, so it was best to build a good relationship and leave a good impression.
When it came to social interactions, Wan Zi was quite adept.
“If you have any questions, you can ask me.” Seeing that the other party didn’t respond, Wan Zi continued, “I’m sure you have a lot of questions… feel free to ask.”
“Thank you.” Sharma nodded, responding to Wan Zi’s earlier welcome. “It’s an honor to be here.”
“I wanted to ask… what is the ash area? What is the Oasis Area? Where is that beautiful girl with the long black hair? What’s her name?”
Sharma asked all her questions at once.
To Sharma’s surprise, the other party answered them all.
So, this place was called the ash area because it had been reduced to ashes in a previous battle and was now being rebuilt.
And the mysterious Oasis Area was the true core of this camp, or organization…
And that girl’s name was Lin Jiayao, seemingly a high-ranking member of the Oasis Area. If she wanted to see her again, she would have to join the Oasis Area…
And Sharma also heard something that made her incredibly excited.
There were A-ranks in the Oasis Area, and more than one!
“Although I haven’t personally seen the A-ranks of the Oasis Area… there are often terrifying energy fluctuations and giant flying monsters that blot out the sky, so it must be true.” Wan Zi smiled at Sharma.
Although Wan Zi’s words were modest, she couldn’t completely hide her pride.
“I’ve seen the Oasis Area’s A-rank,” Sharma nodded repeatedly, “On my way back, the golden-haired girl who cleared the blood stone transport route was an A-rank, I’m sure of it.”
Clearing the blood stone transport route?
A Blood Crystal road?
In Myanmar?
There had indeed been such a mission a few days ago, and the convoy had just returned to the camp last night.
Sharma’s team had encountered an A-rank from the Oasis Area?
No wonder they had traveled such a long distance from India to Kun City… So the Oasis Area’s A-ranks were already operating outside of China.
The Oasis Area’s power was far greater than Wan Zi had imagined.
“Then, how can I join the Oasis Area?” Sharma asked, her hand on her chest. “I also want to serve that girl.”
After a couple of seconds, seeing no response, Sharma added, “Even as a servant.”
This wasn’t just infatuation. Most of her team were old, weak, sick, or injured.
And they were all women.
Although the atmosphere here seemed friendly, who could predict the future?
The best way to protect them was to use her B-rank status to join the inner circle of the Oasis Area and try to recover her strength.
Only with power and authority could she truly protect them.
“Actually, we’re not sure about the criteria for joining the Oasis Area,” Wan Zi shook her head, “We only know that those who come out from there are basically B-rank Awakened. We haven’t even seen a C-rank.”
An inner organization with only B-rank Awakened?
Before, Sharma wouldn’t have believed such an organization existed. After all, there were only three B-rank Awakened in all of New Delhi, including herself.
“Is that so…” Unable to advance, Sharma felt a pang of disappointment.
Wan Zi thought for a moment and said, “Perhaps you can ask Xiwan next time she comes, the one who talked to you earlier.”
“That beautiful woman with the great figure?”
“Uh… if you’re talking about the one with slightly curly hair, then yes, that’s Xiwan.”
“Okay, if she comes out, please let me know.”
Sharma pressed her palms together before Wan Zi.
People inside the tent were starting to wake up. After saying goodbye to Wan Zi, Sharma hurried back to the large tent, preparing to explain the camp’s rules and structure after everyone was awake.
As for assigning tasks, Wan Zi hadn’t started yet, planning to let the newcomers rest for two days and familiarize themselves with the camp—this was Wan Zi’s usual practice.
While the newcomers settled in, a lesson was taking place in the Oasis Area villa.
“Sis, you need to learn more foreign languages,” Lin Jiayao said to her sister, “There might be people from other countries coming, and I might not always be here.”
“Okay, how do I learn?” Lin Xiwan, sitting on the sofa, looked at her sister curiously. “Like the lessons before?”
“No.” Lin Jiayao shook her head.
The previous lessons had been based on a patchwork of other people’s life experiences.
But most of the memories Lin Jiayao absorbed were from Chinese people; there weren’t any teaching memories from other language regions.
So, there was only one way to teach her sister.
That was to simulate a version of herself without any evolutionary abilities to personally teach her sister in the dream world.
If she simulated a version of herself with abilities, the mental consumption would increase exponentially, and the time in the dream world would be greatly shortened.
It was just teaching languages; Lin Jiayao didn’t want to spend too much time and mental energy.
“I’ll help you simulate a clone to teach you.” Lin Jiayao looked at her sister, then added after a moment, “You can’t get distracted during the lessons, or it will affect the teaching quality, and the clone might even disappear.”
“Huh? Oh…” Lin Xiwan, initially excited about having a clone of her sister as a teacher, was instantly deflated.
“Do you want to lie down on the bed, or just sit here?” Lin Jiayao asked.
After helping her sister enter the language learning state, Lin Jiayao was going to collect the rewards from the Zombie Loot Box and A4’s extraction. She wanted to finish quickly.
“It won’t take long, will it? If not, I’ll just stay here.” Lin Xiwan, seeing her sister’s urgency, decided to stay put.
After all, the Oasis Area was completely safe; even lying on the road wouldn’t be dangerous, let alone inside a villa with so many blood crystal Awakened for protection.
“Okay, watch this.” Lin Jiayao leaned forward in her insect chair, cupping her sister’s face in her hands.
“Is getting this close really necessary?”
“Quiet…”
Lin Jiayao’s pupils turned golden, her brown vertical pupils fixed on her sister’s face.
Soon, her sister’s eyes lost their focus, and her body went limp, like a broken doll.
Inside her sister’s dream, Lin Jiayao stood before her.
“Has it started?” Lin Xiwan blinked, looking at Lin Jiayao.
“Not yet.”
Lin Jiayao said, slowly guiding her sister:
“First, imagine me standing beside you. Then, close your eyes and open them again… Where are your clothes???”
“Close your eyes, try again!”
“Now, imagine we’re in a classroom. Wait, let me optimize her language system…”
Soon, with Lin Jiayao’s help, Lin Xiwan conjured a classroom, empty except for Lin Jiayao, dressed in a JK uniform, standing at the podium.
“The language module is loaded. Just treat her like the normal me… Remember, don’t get distracted, or the dream will become unstable.”
After giving her sister her final instructions and seeing her nod, Lin Jiayao said, still a little worried:
“Okay, then I’ll leave now. Study hard. Just learn English, Hindi, and Burmese for now…”
Lin Xiwan nodded. The next time she blinked, her sister in the windbreaker was gone, replaced by a cute version in a JK uniform.
“Okay, let’s start with the simplest words…”
The imaginary Lin Jiayao began patiently explaining the basics of language learning.
At first, Lin Xiwan could still focus, learning some vocabulary, but soon, her attention drifted back to her sister.
Her sister… standing… it was such a rare sight.
Lin Xiwan tilted her head slightly, her gaze drifting past the podium to her sister’s legs in black, over-the-knee socks.
Standing and sitting really did feel different… she wondered how those legs felt to the touch.
The black socks accentuated the whiteness of her sister’s thighs, the fabric slightly indenting the flesh, making them look soft and supple.
“Focus.”
Seemingly sensing her wandering attention, the imaginary Lin Jiayao called out.
“Okay, okay.” Lin Xiwan quickly straightened up and refocused on her sister at the podium.
But she froze.
In the brief moment her attention had drifted, her sister’s JK uniform had transformed into a maid outfit.
Her sister, wearing a white, frilly headband, looked at her seriously. The sight was… arousing.
It felt like watching an intense war movie, igniting a veteran’s passion.
Slowly, Lin Xiwan tried to look away again.
When she looked back, her sister’s outfit had changed again, this time into a dark blue swimsuit.
Although it was a one-piece, the tight-fitting fabric perfectly outlined her sister’s curves… This was an outfit Lin Xiwan had never seen before.
Lin Xiwan’s resolve wavered.
Her sister at the podium, seemingly oblivious, continued the lesson in her “Japanese school swimsuit”.
Slowly, as Lin Xiwan became more adept at manipulating the illusion, the classroom transformed into a bedroom, and her sister, originally distant, was now sitting on her lap, continuing the lesson.
Even in the dream, she could smell her sister’s sweet scent.
This was what learning should be like!
If everyone had such a “good teacher” sitting on their lap, would there still be any bad students in the world?
Lin Xiwan’s enthusiasm for learning soared. Holding her sister, she began to scribble furiously on the desk before them.
Fun chapter