In video gas that involve slaying monsters to level up, there’s a very simple way to confirm whether an enemy monster has died: just check to see if your experience points have increased. If they haven’t, it’s a sign that the enemy is likely still alive or might even reerge in a second form in front of the player character.
My "ash," which appears after a murder, seems to share a mysterious connection with experience points that only increase after killing an enemy monster. Since Zhu Shi had ntioned that the Weirdo Maker’s true form was the consciousness network, and after destroying it I gained so much "experience," that must an Ying Lingyun definitely died at my hands.
But is that really the case?
Once I consider the mysterious gray mist that erged from within the consciousness network and the speculation that the true form of the Weirdo Maker, Ying Lingyun, might possess a Divine Seal Fragnt, I can’t declare his demise with absolute certainty.
For simplicity’s sake, from now on I’ll refer to the Weirdo Maker who died in front of as "Weirdo Maker," and his true form as "Ying Lingyun."
The divine seal is the ultimate Divine Artifact with the power to change heaven and earth, and even its fragnts are not to be underestimated. Even though I can’t effectively use the Divine Seal Fragnt I have in my possession, Ying Lingyun, as a senior decision-maker in the Human Bureau and also as a researcher, might have already discovered how to utilize a Divine Seal Fragnt (assuming he has one). The black mist that could seal superpower abilities and the gray mist that appeared at the very end could be evidence of that.
That gray mist not only hindered my perception and superpowers but also obstructed my judgnt of Ying Lingyun’s fate. A character who could manipulate such a mysterious and unpredictable power at the last mont hardly seems like the type who would die without suspense, like so common riffraff at the roadside.
Admittedly, the Weirdo Maker believed his true self had perished, but he had also ntioned that his offline self wasn’t privy to certain secrets known only by Ying Lingyun, making his judgnt on the life or death of Ying Lingyun questionable.
His understanding of the Divine Seal Fragnt was rely based on hearsay; he didn’t entirely believe that Ying Lingyun possessed a Divine Seal Fragnt, maybe not even in the existence of the divine seal itself. While I can suspect that "Ying Lingyun may not have died because he possessed a Divine Seal Fragnt," he might not necessarily share my opinion.
I even get the feeling that his true self will reappear well and alive, and that he’ll present himself before once again with that sa insufferable deanor.
I pondered my suspicions over and over. Gradually, I discerned a thread of truth.
Perhaps it’s not so much that I find it hard to believe Ying Lingyun could die so easily; I just don’t want to accept that I might never see him again.
Those monsters I’ve fought in the past, Agent Kong, the Undying Monster, the Shadow Swapping Monster... They all had expressions of regret, disgrace, or despair at the ti of their deaths.
But the Weirdo Maker displayed a different kind of deanor. He admitted his defeat with a candid and refreshing attitude before dying.
To be honest, I might have started to like him a bit.
In my future adventures, I will certainly encounter real life-and-death crises where dying at any ti wouldn’t be surprising. When that ti cos, I want to et my end with the sa tranquility as him. In fact, since walking out of the basent of the fifteenth floor, I’ve never doubted my ability to do the sa, but the future is always uncertain. At present, I feel a respect for the Weirdo Maker as a pioneer.
If even his avatar carried such an extraordinary presence, how could his true self be any less?
While I regret not experiencing the life-and-death battle I desired, I gained a valuable experience from another perspective. It’s like the old saying goes, "a blessing in disguise."
After the night deepened, Mazao and I were about ready to sleep. In truth, just like eating and drinking, we didn’t really need much sleep; it was just an unspoken understanding between us.
Just before sleep, Mazao made a request to .
"Do you want to sleep with the Divine Seal Fragnt?" I asked.
"Yes."
She nodded, then explained her reasoning.
Her idea was simple: she wanted to enter the Mist Dream Realm.
Since I could enter the Mist Dream Realm by holding onto the Divine Seal Fragnt, maybe she could achieve the sa thing. For her, the Mist Dream Realm itself might not be very appealing; what truly worried her was the number two bowl that appeared within the Mist Dream Realm.
This number two bowl was at the edge of life and death, undergoing Sin demonization, and Mazao couldn’t ignore it.
I didn’t mind lending the Divine Seal Fragnt to Mazao, but there was an obstacle: the automatic return phenonon of the Divine Seal Fragnt—if I threw the fragnt far away, it would automatically return to after a short while. Sotis, even if I forgot to take it with when I went out, it would follow on its own, almost like a cursed item from a horror story.
Of course, this phenonon might not occur when the Divine Seal Fragnt was not far from . For example, under the sa roof, Mazao might be able to hold onto the Divine Seal Fragnt in place of and fall asleep with it.
However, the actual test results were not optimistic. When the Divine Seal Fragnt was held by soone else, its automatic return phenonon was triggered more easily. After I handed the Divine Seal Fragnt over to Mazao, it would return to the mont I was caught off guard. Even when I concentrated intently, I would realize that the target had been relocated when I snapped back to attention.
Ultimately, the reason why the Divine Seal Fragnt would return to was due to a mysterious binding relationship between us. Even if Mazao could hold it and fall asleep, would it really pull Mazao, a non-binder, into the Mist Dream Realm?
Perhaps Mazao herself had considered this possibility, which is why she did not imdiately suggest this idea to last night, but now, after contemplation, she made a decision, "There’s another way."
"What way?" I was curious.
To my surprise, she uttered an astonishing idea, "We could hold hands while we sleep."
"What?" I was taken aback.
She walked over to and took the initiative to grasp my left hand, the one with the Divine Seal Fragnt, our palms touching.
"As long as we do this, the Divine Seal Fragnt is still technically in your hand. At the sa ti, I can also hold the Divine Seal Fragnt as I sleep... and we can both try to enter the Mist Dream Realm tonight. Two birds with one stone..."
As she spoke, she seed to belatedly realize how intimate her behavior was, her face tinged with embarrassnt, and her voice lost its firmness, "Um, I..."
I felt sowhat impacted as well and couldn’t help but verify, "You an... you want to sleep together with ?"
"...Yes, that’s right." She nodded slowly.
"Together on the sofa?" I was still a bit disoriented.
"Of course on the bed." She thought for a mont and then added, "If you detest sleeping in the sa bed as , I can also sleep on the floor next to the bed. But then you’d have to trouble yourself to stretch your hand down from the bed to hold hands with ."
"That’s not what I ant."
I reorganized my thoughts and then asked back, "Aren’t you afraid that I’ll make a move on you?"
Although Mazao had begun to see as a partner, it was clear she still maintained so distance. I only felt favored by her when others were around.
In a modern society where no one would believe her origin, only I completely trusted her, was able to help her, and could save her only friend from the Doomsday Era—I was certain I had beco an indispensable figure to her.
But even as indispensable partners, we were still of different sexes, and our closeness was not to the point of intimacy. Thus I never imagined she would suggest such an idea, sothing unthinkable in the first few days we t. Of course, I knew that her intentions now were not romantic.
She looked at with an inexplicable gaze as if she couldn’t understand why I would say such a thing, or as if she couldn’t imagine making any moves on her.
"You’re not like the Shadow Swapping Monster, that pervert who likes little girls, so what joy would you have in making a move on ?" While speaking, she touched her own body, "Mmm, although I’m no longer a child and have started to fill out in places, it’s still not very noticeable with clothes on. A normal man probably wouldn’t be interested in soone like ."
Well, that’s not necessarily true, you still don’t understand n.
I really wanted to retort with that, but to avoid fostering a negative impression of , it was better to keep my mouth shut.
In the end, we agreed on the hand-holding and sleeping arrangent.
Despite Mazao’s shyness regarding intimate interactions, the dire situation of Pot No. 2 made her insist on following through with the plan. I didn’t feign any resistance to this ambiguous developnt, surely both from an outsider’s view and my own perspective, I seed to have gained a sweet deal.
If I had to say, I was still a bit anxious. I cared a lot about Mazao’s opinion of , and indeed, I hadn’t refrained from seeing her in a different light. Sharing a bed with a young woman in the bloom of youth was an experience new to . Regardless, Mazao was a girl at a sensitive age, and all I could hope was that I wouldn’t unintentionally offend her and significantly lower her favorable impression of .
It was only appropriate that I took a shower, not wanting to bear any unpleasant odors, and then changed into a fresh set of clothes before returning to the bedroom. I even replaced the pillowcases, duvet cover, and sheets with new ones. Seeing how ticulously I prepared, Mazao also took a bath out of courtesy. For a mont, we almost forgot what was to co.
She didn’t have a change of clothes, and I had been careless not to buy a second set when I last shopped for her. Although I could have cleaned the original clothes with the blessing power, since she followed my lead and took a bath out of courtesy, she changed into a set of clothes as well. She wore the sa clothes she used to wear at my place, a grey long-sleeve T-shirt and pants, which looked baggy on her.
Everything seed to return to when we first t.
After turning off the lights, we went to bed together.
Reviews
All reviews (0)