Chapter 63
Chapter 063 True Couple?
Time flew by, and the next day, when Xia Xinyan got up, Ling Mo had already gone to school, but he left her breakfast, just like yesterday.
Looking at the time, it was already nearly ten o’clock.
She really had been a bit lazy.
Since the Cataclysm hit, her state of heightened nerves had lasted too long, and now, suddenly settling down made one inevitably slack off.
Once that relaxation set in, it became hard to return to the original state.
Xia Xinyan didn’t intend to push herself too hard; there was still plenty of preparation time left, and it was rare to have a bit of peace, so she just had to enjoy it.
Speaking of which, she was still a student, but she definitely wouldn’t attend classes—doing so would be a complete waste of time for her now.
It was better to take this opportunity to familiarize herself with her Abilities.
The tens of thousands of points she had earned were nearly spent last night, leaving just five thousand for emergencies, but the points she used on Ling Mo weren’t much; most went to her own enhancement—one key enhancement being bringing her game’s Beast Transformation Ability into reality.
One sign of the Cataclysm was that all activated Ability players brought their Abilities into reality; she had merely expedited this process a bit, though the points spent were no small amount, leading to a real ache in her heart for a while.
Probably just a few minutes.
But this enhancement was definitely worth it; she had now achieved her complete form in reality, matching her game state, which would greatly minimize her sense of disconnection and break the limitation of only practicing Ability linkage in-game.
As for other uses… she hadn’t really thought about it.
After all, in this peaceful era, it seemed there was no need for fighting and killing in reality.
【The host can transform into a catgirl in reality to charm…】
“Could you just shut up?! Why are you so eager for me to charm Ling Mo?!” Xia Xinyan couldn’t hold back, “And what about that so-called sexy lingerie?! You tell me it’s SSR?! Are you seriously not just messing with me?!”
【This system cannot influence lottery results, and the suggestions provided are the optimal solutions derived from the current development process. Based on current progress, establishing a solid couple relationship with the original self is a necessary task.】
“Then you don’t need to keep bugging me to charm him every day! If you really cared, you’d think of a way to activate the other ‘you’ in his head—then I might save a lot of trouble.”
【… Can’t do that.】
“Then just shut up.”
Xia Xinyan really didn’t know what the point of this almost AI-like system was.
Aside from giving her a headache.
Wouldn’t a simple 1.0 clean version system be better?
But gripes aside, she hadn’t forgotten her main tasks. After pulling all the curtains in the house, she transformed into her dual Ability form and began practicing her newly acquired skills. The focus was still on Beast Transformation; this primary output Ability couldn’t be too useless; otherwise, she genuinely wouldn’t know how to develop further.
From her practice that day, the newly acquired Ability wasn’t half bad.
At least in non-one-on-one combat scenarios, it gave her a decent boost in strength.
Hmm… she just needed a real battle.
Ling Mo returned home from classes in the late evening after a whole day, and by then, Xia Xinyan had finished her practice and was cozily curled up on the sofa watching TV. To Ling Mo’s eyes, she looked like a little cat, radiating laziness.
So cute.
He suddenly realized that no matter how he looked at Xia Xinyan, she seemed incredibly adorable.
Is this what they call beauty in the eyes of the beholder?
No, wait, Xia Xinyan was already pretty.
No wonder she’s his girlfriend.
—The fatigue of the day instantly vanished in that moment.
However, it seemed that the catgirl Ability from the game fit Xia Xinyan’s current vibe quite well.
“I’m back,” Ling Mo said, unconsciously smiling as he sat next to Xia Xinyan and released a sigh, “There were a bunch of annoying things at school today, I’m exhausted.”
Xia Xinyan tilted her head and glanced at him, reaching out to casually massage his shoulder, “You worked hard, you worked hard.”
University students sure have it tough.
Ling Mo didn’t notice her underlying harshness masked in concern and just chuckled, “But coming back and seeing you makes me feel not tired at all.”
Xia Xinyan paused.
Has this guy… changed his personality?
Noticing her brief daze, Ling Mo felt even better.
So cute.
Hmm… are they starting to look more like a real couple now?
It seemed like even he didn’t realize how quickly he had fully accepted Xia Xinyan and acknowledged her place in his heart. He had clearly said he wanted to take it slow at first, yet here it hadn’t even been a week.
Is this considered ‘hot and cold’?
Tsk, anyway, it’s not like he was the one losing out.
But after believing he had seen through Xia Xinyan’s essence, he didn’t plan to go overboard. If she really was as naïve as he thought, then if his changes were too obvious, it might scare her, which would be counterproductive.
Hmm… take it slow.
So, he quickly shifted the topic, “By the way, last night… actually, I snuck out to run a dungeon after.”
“Hmm?” Xia Xinyan blinked, “When?”
She really hadn’t noticed.
Of course, this was also related to her current power being weaker than in her past life.
“At midnight, ’cause I couldn’t sleep…” Ling Mo casually found an excuse and continued smiling, “Zhang Dazhi happened to be online then, so I teamed up with him.”
“Oh…” Xia Xinyan nodded thoughtfully, “Did you clear it?”
“Cleared it.” Ling Mo beamed wider, as if bragging about his gaming prowess to a best buddy, “And I carried the whole time! If it weren’t for my efforts, we probably would have wiped—Zhang Dazhi almost died several times. Speaking of which, his Ability looks impressive, but it has quite a bit of restriction; it’s too easy to accidentally hurt teammates.”
After a brief pause, he continued, “Plus, my Ability had another breakthrough—I can now materialize a bunch of new items… uh, though they don’t have much use. But at this rate, I estimate it won’t be long until my Ability becomes really strong, and I’ll definitely be able to protect you in the game.”
Xia Xinyan: “…”
That’s actually her achievement.
The only upgrade she used on Ling Mo last night was unlocking the limitations on materializing simple electronic components and some related items.
Honestly, Ling Mo’s Ability wouldn’t have many chances to come in handy in the current dungeon. Even if he unlocked the gun materialization, with his proficiency, the speed of supply wouldn’t keep up with consumption, and he might end up draining himself dry; that would be a thankless job.
She had already helped him achieve quite a height, but trying to help him grow further would only lead to disaster.
That’s why she chose a more practical materialization list; this type of materialization generally has a higher difficulty and would be good training for him.
However, these things she obviously couldn’t tell Ling Mo outright, so she devised a way to let him know: “How about after dinner, we play a bit?”