manynovel Chapter 3: Favorability Value Soars, Basic Enhancement
Chapter 3: Favorability Value Soars, Basic Enhancement
When Su Qingyuan applied some ointment to the edge of Jiang Che's wound, he jerked back as if he had been electrocuted.
"Does it hurt?" Su Qingyuan's hand paused.
"No...it doesn't hurt." Jiang Che gritted his teeth and swallowed back the words, "It's because the place you touched me was too hot."
Su Qingyuan frowned and continued applying the ointment.
Her movements were very light and slow, leaving no inch of the wound untouched. Then, she used the small piece of cloth and strips of cloth torn from her own bandage to make a simple bandage for him.
The whole process took less than two minutes.
"Okay," she said, putting away the remaining half tube of ointment. "I'll change the dressing again tomorrow; it shouldn't get infected."
Jiang Che lowered his head, straightened his clothes, and mumbled, "Thank you."
"You saved my life, and I'll repay you with half a tube of ointment." Su Qingyuan's voice was calm, as if stating a fact of equal exchange. "You're welcome."
But in Jiang Che's view, the system panel flashed.
【苏清鸢对宿主好感度+5×2，亲密度＋1×2。当前好感值：20，亲密度：6】
Jiang Che was stunned for a moment.
Even though she helped him, her favorability rating is actually increasing?
He glanced at the system interface again, and this time he noticed a new icon in the lower right corner of the panel that he had never seen before—a small magnifying glass.
He tried clicking it with his mind.
The Affection Panel and the Evolution Point Exchange section have been expanded.
The favorability panel currently only records one name: Su Qingyuan.
Next to the favorability rating was a small graph marked +15, +3, +2, +5. Upon closer inspection, he realized that every increase in favorability had been recorded, from the +15 when he saved her, to the sporadic +3 and +2 afterward, plus the +5 just now, for a total of 25 points.
No, he remembers the end was at 5 o'clock, so adding this +5 makes it 10 o'clock.
Wait a moment.
Jiang Che carefully reviewed the data: He gained +15 when saving her, then consumed 15 points, bringing his total to 0. Then she said "thank you" for +3, and then said "I'll protect you" for +2, totaling 5 points. Now treating her wounds adds another 5 points, so it should be 10 points, and then he got two beautiful women.
The system does indeed display 20.
He breathed a sigh of relief; his math hadn't gone wrong.
Then he opened the Evolution Points Exchange section.
The list contains several grayed-out entries, most of which display "Condition not met," with only the top one highlighted:
[Basic Constitution Enhancement (Permanent) - Requires 50 Affection Points, unlocked at Intimacy Level 10.]
Permanent enhancement.
It's not a temporary surge in performance, but a genuine and irreversible improvement in one's physical fitness.
As he was studying, a new notification suddenly popped up in the system. It wasn't about Su Qingyuan, but came from somewhere much farther away.
[Positive emotions detected nearby: weak (Source: Chen Xiaohe). Probability of gaining favorability: low.]
Chen Xiaohe? He's the boy who turned around and called him "brother" during the day.
Jiang Che subconsciously looked across the fire. Chen Xiaohe was squatting there, gnawing on a piece of moldy dry food. Noticing his gaze, she gave him a thumbs up.
That smile contained pure, unadulterated goodwill.
It wasn't because of what he did, but because that's just who that boy was.
[Chen Xiaohe's favorability towards the host increases by 1, and intimacy increases by 1. Current favorability: 21, intimacy: 7.]
Jiang Che was stunned.
He did nothing, he just lived, yet people still liked him?
The system notification sounded again, as if answering his unspoken question:
[Affection points don't only come from heroic rescues. Sincerity, kindness, companionship, trust—all genuine emotional connections can generate affection points. But please note: any deliberate, utilitarian, or manipulative behavior will result in affection points permanently dropping to zero.]
[Intimacy level is randomly generated; the higher the affinity, the easier it is to gain.]
[At the same time, please note that beautiful women offer high favorability points. Reaching the maximum intimacy level will bring unexpected surprises. Please seek out more beautiful women to increase your favorability.]
Jiang Che silently pondered these words.
The system was more "picky" than he thought—it didn't encourage him to act like a hero, but forced him to be a real person.
Su Qingyuan's voice interrupted his thoughts: "What are you daydreaming about?"
"No." Jiang Che quickly closed the system panel, turned to look at her, "I was thinking... do you have enough medicine? You gave me half of your medicine, and your own injury..."
"My injury won't heal in three days, so one more tube of ointment won't make a difference," Su Qingyuan said. "If your injury doesn't heal by tomorrow, you'll die."
She wasn't looking at him when she said this; she was cleaning her wound with the half-empty bottle of water.
Jiang Che looked at her hand and suddenly felt as if something had hit him in the heart.
He opened his mouth, as if to say something, such as "I'll help you"—but what right did he have to help her?
He couldn't even treat his own injuries, and he couldn't even afford a tube of ointment.
Three years into the apocalypse, for the first time he realized how incredibly poor he was.
It's not that we're poor in money, it's that we're poor in ability.
If he had enough power, he wouldn't have to watch someone more seriously injured than himself share their medicine with him.
Su Qingyuan cleaned the wound and rewrapped it with clean strips of cloth.
After doing all this, she leaned against the pillar, closed her eyes, and her breathing gradually calmed down.
After about half a minute of silence, she suddenly said, "When you saved me during the day, your reaction speed and strength were completely unlike those of an ordinary person."
Jiang Che's heart skipped a beat.
"I know this doesn't make sense." Su Qingyuan didn't open her eyes, her voice very soft. "You don't have to explain. But I'll remind you of something—if Zhao Lie finds out, he'll interrogate you. He's the kind of person who won't allow anything in the team that he doesn't understand."
Jiang Che's throat tightened.
Is she... reminding him?
"Why are you telling me this?" he asked.
Su Qingyuan opened her eyes and glanced at him.
The firelight danced on her face, illuminating an absolutely beautiful face.
Her eyes were a deep black, like a moonless night sky, with something shimmering within them.
"Because you saved my life," she said. "In this world, you should repay debts you can."
After saying that, she closed her eyes again and stopped talking.
[Su Qingyuan's favorability towards the host increases by 4 x 2. Current favorability: 29, intimacy: 7.]
It's 29 o'clock.
There are 21 points left to go to reach 50.
If things continue at this pace… Jiang Che shook his head, dismissing the thought.
You can't treat favorability like a math problem, otherwise you'll be violating the system's core rules.
True emotions cannot be predicted.
The firewood in the fire crackled and popped.
Some people were weeping softly, some were coughing, and some were murmuring the names of their deceased loved ones in the darkness.
In the apocalypse, the night is never for rest—it's for waiting for dawn in fear.
Jiang Che leaned against the cement pillar, his gaze unconsciously falling on Su Qingyuan's profile.
Is she asleep?
His breathing was even, but his brows were still slightly furrowed, as if he were having a bad dream.
Her right leg curled up unconsciously in her sleep, probably touching the wound. Her lips were pressed into a line, but she did not wake up.
He suddenly had an impulse to take off his coat and put it on her.
The late autumn night was cold, and she was dressed more thinly than anyone else.
But as soon as his hand touched his collar, he hesitated—it was too deliberate.
What will she think when she wakes up? Will she think he's trying to curry favor with her?
While he was still struggling with his decision, a voice boomed from the center of the square.