Zombie Apocalypse: Creation

"Of course. How can I come back without bringing that money to your desk?"

Xiaoyun replied as he sat down next to Yuqi, smiling, knowing he had resolved the tight money supply issue.

"But how are you going to pay them back? That\'s a 5% return." Yuqi questioned.

"Those conqueror cities aren\'t free. All the city, including Foshan, is going to have extremely heavy regulations and taxes for each looted item."

Xiaoyun explained his plan, which he had been following since last night. He initially wanted to fund his campaign through looting, not war bonds.

However, since private company looting takes time, he was forced to implement war bonds as a short-term solution.

"You better not fumble this."

"I won\'t. Also, have you thought of replacing the food stamps with a new currency?" Xiaoyun suddenly asked.

"I have... I never thought you would be the one asking that." Yuqi replied, looking a little surprised by his suggestion.

"Ahem, so how do you think we should implement it?" Xiaoyun asked, his face blushing a little as he took Liuqian\'s credit.

"Just have it slowly replace the food stamp in circulation. Unless you want me to replace it all at once."

"Is replacing it at once possible? I think that one is a lot better at reducing confusion on which money is valid."

Xiaoyun stated that after seeing several different editions of food stamps in the bank teller\'s hand.

"We could, but that\'s probably going to take at least one or two months of printing." Yuqi pointed out.

"That\'s fine... Actually, line it up when the war bond comes to fruition. That would be the perfect time to announce it."

"Sure."

As Yuqi began noting it down on her laptop, Xiaoyun leaned back in his seat and started relaxing.

All he had to do was now wait, letting the time pass as he waited for Liuqian to report back.

But to his surprise, several other people called him first before Liuqian did.

"Xiaoyun, you started the war bond?" Yezi asked over the phone.

"Yeah, I just made it this morning to get the funding for the parade. Have you brought any yet?" Xiaoyun asked in a light tone.

"Hell yeah! I threw in my entire savings. You better pay that 5%, or else Huayi is going to kill me."

"Of course, of course. Just patiently wait for three months, and you\'ll get your money back."

As soon as his phone call with Yezi ended, Yiming was now calling on his phone next.

"Xiaoyun, you made the war bond?" Yiming asked.

"Yeah, you brought any yet?"

"I donated all my money to charity. I don\'t have money for a war bond... Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

After a short silence, Yiming finally spoke up again.

"Can the soldiers buy war bonds?"

"Yeah, of course. Everyone can buy war bonds. There is no limit on who can buy it."

"Thank you!"

As Yiming replied excitedly before hanging up the phone, Xiaoyun\'s face was full of smiles.

"What are you smiling about?" Yuqi curiously asked.

"Would you believe that a person is paying their boss money so the boss can pay them a salary?"

"What? Why would anyone do that?"

"Well, that is happening right now... Ahem, Yuqi, are you drawing the currency right now?"

Xiaoyun asked as he noticed Yuqi holding a pencil and drawing something in her notebook.

"Yeah, I\'m drawing your face as the currency. You are going to be the most famous person in the town."

"Sure, go for it. Just make sure to draw me as handsome as possible."

"Eh. More like as ugly as possible."

Xiaoyun\'s curiosity got the best of him as he leaned over to see what exactly Yuqi was drawing.

To his surprise, it was actually a portrait of him, albeit almost ten years older than what he currently looked like.

"Why are you drawing me so old?"

"Because it feels more reassuring to see a strong, middle-aged man leading a country rather than a young hooligan with barely a beard."

After a short moment, Xiaoyun suddenly realized something.

"Really... Wait, isn\'t this just Songming?" Xiaoyun murmured.

The man in the picture had a slightly aged face with small stubble around the chin, which made it blatantly obvious it was just an older Xiaoyun.

"Took you long enough. I thought you\'d recognize yourself faster than that."

Yuqi smiled as she continued drawing on the paper, not noticing Xiaoyun moving closer and closer to her.

"Yuqi... Who do you prefer? Songming or me?" Xiaoyun asked as he leaned over to her shoulder.

"Obviously Songming. He wouldn\'t be acting like a kid all the time making ridiculous demands."

"And how would you know that? You never actually met Songming in person." Xiaoyun curiously asked.

"What do you mean I never met him in person? I still have my childhood memories with him."

Seeing Yuqi\'s hand started to slow down, Xiaoyun suddenly had an idea pop up in his head.

Within seconds, his face and body began to change as it shifted to his older self, the same look that he had when he was Songming.

"Qiqi, do you want to meet Dad?" Xiaoyun asked as he deepened his tone slightly.

Yuqi froze completely as she turned around, unable to believe who she was seeing before her eyes.

"C-Change it back. I-I don\'t want to see you older anymore." Yuqi requested as she came back to her senses.

"Really? I thought you liked Songming more than Xiaoyun."

"Shut up and change it back already."

As Yuqi turned dead silent, trying to focus on the drawing, Xiaoyun decided to tease her a little more.

"I still remember my cute little Qiqi said she was going to marry Daddy when she grew up."

Seeing her face starting to blush red, Xiaoyun decided to do it again.

"Who would believe it? His cute little daughter is now all grown up, having a mature body that\'s even more alluring than her mother."

"Can you stop?" Yuqi asked, her voice started to sound a little irritated by Xiaoyun\'s teasing.

"What\'s wrong? Isn\'t this what you wanted——"

Before Xiaoyun could finish talking, Yuqi suddenly got up from her seat and sat directly on top of his lap.

"Do you always have to ruin my day? First, you gave me a headache with the parade, and now you\'re trying to ruin my image with Dad."

Yuqi lightly punched Xiaoyun in the chest in protest, but he replied with a gentle pat on her head.

Slowly, Yuqi stopped as she rested her head on Xiaoyun\'s chest, listening to his heartbeat in silence.

"Qiqi, I love you."

"W-Why do you suddenly say that?" Yuqi asked as her face blushed a little.

"Because you\'re brutally honest sometimes... Okay, I\'m just kidding."

Xiaoyun quickly changed his answer as he could tell Yuqi didn\'t like that compliment a single bit.

"I love you because you\'re my precious Qiqi——"

"Be honest with me. I don\'t like people that lie."

"Fine... I love you because you\'re always complaining, but you try to tackle the issue yourself in secret afterward."

A flash of memories started to flood into Xiaoyun\'s mind as he thought back to the time he spent with Yuqi when she was still a kid.

He could vividly remember when Yuqi came back with a failed test back in kindergarten, making a small mistake in basic addition.

Even though he didn\'t punish her or anything, she was constantly complaining about how she shouldn\'t have made a mistake.

On the next test, she came back with a full score, holding the paper with a proud face.

"Really? That\'s it?" Yuqi asked, her voice sounding slightly unsatisfied by the answer.

But at the same time, she suddenly felt Xiaoyun feeling a little strange, almost unfamiliar, as he wasn\'t trying to put sweet words into her mouth.

"Yep, that\'s it... I\'m so thankful to have you, Qiqi. Without you, I wouldn\'t imagine where I would be in life."

Yuqi didn\'t speak up again, but she was finally satisfied with his answer as she cuddled inside Xiaoyun\'s arm.

However, the mood was soon ruined when she felt something hard bumping against her thighs.

"Ahem, it\'s just a natural reaction."

As Xiaoyun tried to put Yuqi back in her seat, she forcefully held onto his back tightly.

"Xiaoyun, can I call you Dad?" Yuqi pleaded, her face looking red as if she had been dying to ask this for a long time.

"Um, sure."

"Dad... I miss you."

"I miss you too, darling."

Xiaoyun gently brushed Yuqi\'s hair, not advancing any further after noticing she enjoyed his warm hand patting her head.

However, Yuqi wasn\'t satisfied with it, so she turned around to face Xiaoyun directly.

"Daddy... can I be your wife?" Yuqi asked as she leaned closer and then looked up at Xiaoyun with her innocent face.

"We can\'t be husband and wife, you silly. You\'re my daughter." Xiaoyun replied as he tried to resist by pushing Yuqi back a little.