Chapter 81: Microphone

Lin Chen watched the system interface disappear. Though he felt a surge of anger, he said nothing more.

He turned his head to look at the silent A Kai beside him, noticing the blank look in his eyes.

He walked over and patted his shoulder: "A Kai, what are you thinking about? You haven't said a word for a while now."

A Kai snapped back to reality and hurriedly waved his hands: "N-nothing,

just thinking about the Dawn Squad..." His eyes darted away, clearly hiding his true thoughts. Seeing that A Kai didn't want to elaborate, Lin Chen didn't press him.

He simply sighed: "Don't overthink it. Let's focus on ourselves for now; we can think about other things once we've stopped He Shao." A Kai nodded and didn't reply.

After a moment of silence, Lin Chen felt too stifled staying in the villa,

so he said to Xia Nuan and A Kai: "I'm going out for a spin to see if I can find anything useful.

You two wait at home and don't wander off." Xia Nuan said worriedly: "It's so cold outside,

and dangerous too. Why don't I go with you?" Lin Chen shook his head: "No need, I'll take the armored vehicle and be back soon."

With that, Lin Chen grabbed the Purple Lightning Purification Gun, walked out of the villa, and started an armored vehicle.

The vehicle drove slowly through the snow. The surroundings were deathly silent, save for the "crunching" sound of the tires pressing into the snow. He drove aimlessly,

still mulling over the system, when he suddenly saw something flash by the side of the road ahead.

Lin Chen stopped the car and walked over to take a look. It was a black wireless microphone,

lying in the snow with ice shards still clinging to its casing. He picked it up and wiped it off,

then tried pressing the switch—to his surprise, the microphone actually lit up.

It even emitted a "static" crackle; it hadn't frozen over and was still functional.

"What a great find!" Lin Chen felt a surge of joy and quickly returned to the armored vehicle with the microphone,

turning back toward the villa. When he returned, Xia Nuan was sitting in the living room organizing supplies,

while A Kai was changing the water for the revived hamster. Lin Chen held up the microphone and said with a smile: "Look what I found!"

Xia Nuan and A Kai looked over and were stunned. "This is... a microphone?

Does it still work?" Xia Nuan walked over and asked curiously. Lin Chen turned on the villa's sound system (a previous system reward he hadn't used much) and connected the microphone to it. He cleared his throat and said: "We'll know in a second." He sang a line from an old pre-apocalypse song into the microphone, and his voice came through the speakers immediately; the sound quality was actually quite good.

"It really works!" Xia Nuan exclaimed in surprise, her eyes full of smiles.

A Kai also leaned in and said excitedly: "Brother Lin Chen, let's sing together!

We haven't had a chance to properly relax since the apocalypse started." Lin Chen nodded: "Sure, pick whatever you want to sing!"

The three of them sat around the living room, taking turns singing into the microphone. Xia Nuan sang a gentle folk song first,

her voice sweet and clear; A Kai sang a passionate rock song, even standing up and waving his arms at the climax; Lin Chen sang a few old songs,

which stirred up memories of life before the apocalypse for all three of them. They sang one song after another, from pop to nursery rhymes, and even opera, singing hundreds of songs without realizing it.

Their throats grew dry and hoarse, so Xia Nuan poured a glass of warm water, and after a few sips, they continued singing.

The hamster in its cage joined in the fun, squeaking from time to time as if providing accompaniment.

This was the first time they had been this relaxed and happy since the apocalypse; the previous oppression and sorrow seemed to dissipate with the singing.

Without realizing it, the sky gradually darkened, and the warm light in the villa

reflected the smiles on their faces. Lin Chen was holding the microphone, about to sing another song,

when it suddenly let out a "crackle," the sound becoming intermittent before cutting out completely, and the screen went dark—the microphone was completely broken.

The three of them were stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

Xia Nuan rubbed her hoarse throat and said: "Even though the microphone is broken,

today was really fun." A Kai also nodded: "Yeah,

it's been a long time since I've had this much fun." Lin Chen looked at the two of them, then at the hamster in the cage, feeling a warmth in his heart. He said softly: "Even though the microphone is broken, I feel very happy."

Just then, the villa window suddenly rattled with a "bang" from the wind,

and the wind and snow outside seemed to intensify. Lin Chen looked up at the window, suddenly remembering He Shao's freezing plan—happy times are always short-lived,

and they had more important things to do. He put away his smile and said to Xia Nuan and A Kai: "We leave tomorrow for Laboratory 127 to find He Shao. Whether the system helps or not, we have to stop him." ===== CHAPTER 82 =====