---

Chapter 180: Like Attracts Like

Xia Xinyan really wanted to beat Ling Mo senseless.

Unfortunately, the training field didn’t have a pain system, so hitting him would just be a waste of effort.

With Ling Mo’s attitude, this combat training was practically useless for him.

It was giving her a headache.

Who on earth was she working so hard for…?

Sighing, she stood up from Ling Mo and pulled him up as well: “Let’s call it a day. Time to rest.”

Ling Mo paused, then nodded: “Alright.”

He could still enjoy… cough, train for a bit longer, but if Xinyan was tired, he wouldn’t press her.

Just as the two hadn’t managed to leave the training field, a private chat message suddenly popped up in front of Ling Mo—

【Zhang Daren: Match?】

Ling Mo instinctively wanted to refuse, but he noticed that a private chat message had popped up on Xia Xinyan’s side too.

It was from Summer Jincang—

【Are you playing the game now? Want to match a dungeon together?】

Xia Xinyan raised an eyebrow, looking at Ling Mo: “Want to do a dungeon now?”

Ling Mo naturally followed her lead: “I’m easygoing; if you play, I’ll play.”

Xia Xinyan smiled and nodded: “Okay, it’s still early, let’s play with them.”

She just happened to have something she wanted to verify with Summer Jincang, and since he was keen to reach out, she wouldn’t hold back.

She formed a party, pulling in Summer Jincang and the Fatty, who then invited Murong Yue to join, adding in the team: “Brothers, let’s invite a few more folks we know; it’ll be safer that way.”

Saying that, he noticed Summer Jincang in the party and instantly froze: “Oh, isn’t this the Young Master Xia… uh, what’s your surname again? A big shot, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Summer Jincang naturally recognized the Fatty—he had investigated Ling Mo’s background before, and it was partly thanks to the Fatty that his first impression of this guy wasn’t good.

With their protection before, his sister would never have to deal with such shady characters.

Summer Jincang found himself even more displeased with Ling Mo.

Xia Xinyan had no particular thoughts about the Fatty’s actions; five times the earnings in a testing dungeon was guaranteed only if they cleared the dungeon. If they failed the dungeon, the time invested versus the potential gains wouldn’t even match what they could earn from the current official dungeon. Hence, making every effort to clear each dungeon was vital—like trying to match up with strong teammates they knew.

Xia Xinyan and Ling Mo had been doing just that recently.

However, not everyone was just waiting for an invite to do a dungeon, so although the Fatty had made that suggestion, they only managed to gather five people.

Not too shabby.

But upon entering the dungeon preparation hall, their views changed—

Inside this hall, there were actually over thirty players.

It’s worth mentioning that the game had canceled preparation halls some time ago, but later reintroduced them for certain dungeons. Now, the preparation hall only appeared for a type of dungeon where all players would be separated by the system upon entering; in this case, it allows all players involved in the current dungeon to meet each other once, recognize faces, and confirm the number of players.

Since the dungeons only had three basic difficulty levels—low, medium, and high—the differences within the same difficulty category could be substantial. Thus, aside from judging dungeon difficulty by the system’s ratings, the number of participating players was also a crucial parameter.

Generally, the more players participating, the harder the dungeon.

And a large dungeon with over thirty people? Xia Xinyan had never encountered that in her past life.

This left her quite surprised.

The Fatty scratched his head, stunned: “Whoa, so many people? Is this dungeon really making us form a party?”

Murong Yue, standing nearby, looked somewhat excited: “Greater risks, greater opportunities! Trust me; the bold thrive, while the timid starve.”

Ling Mo scanned the players with varying expressions, then stood beside Xia Xinyan, whispering: “If we get separated later, don’t worry. I’ll definitely find a way to locate you or get your attention.”

Xia Xinyan nodded, smiling: “No need to worry about me. I can handle myself just fine even if I’m away from you for a bit.”

She wasn’t completely dependent on this guy for protection.

Ling Mo didn’t respond.

He wouldn’t let her out of his sight, even if she could defend herself.

Only by staying close to her could he feel at ease.

“Xinyan.” A voice suddenly called out, and the two instinctively looked over, almost falling into a moment of daze.

It was Summer Jincang.

His appearance was exactly the same as in reality, the only difference being… his hairstyle.

From natural curls in reality to… a ridiculously spiked hairstyle in the game.

This was the first time Xia Xinyan had seen him with such a look in both lives.

“How’s my current hairstyle?” Summer Jincang asked, a bit anxious.

He was naturally curly-haired and had always felt his previous style matched his temperament best, but since his sister didn’t like it, he was willing to change.

It was just that when it finally came time to change, he didn’t know what style to go for.

So, after a bunch of friends’ suggestions, he went with this hairstyle in the game—according to those friends, it was the “spirited, sunny, looks like a good older brother” style.

Although he felt the style was a bit odd… if his sister liked it, he could accept it.

Unfortunately, Xia Xinyan totally missed the point: “Why does it look like you’re some thug now?”

“…”

“No, wait, thugs don’t even look this bad.”

“…”

“Seriously, is this all your taste amounts to? I told you curly hair didn’t look great, and you switched to this hairstyle?”

“It’s not like that, sister…”

“Forget it; if you like it, that’s what matters. I won’t interfere.”

Xia Xinyan pulled Ling Mo and turned to leave.

Out of sight, out of mind.

Although she knew this version of Summer Jincang didn’t pose a significant threat to her and was even family, the past experiences held her back from treating this guy warmly.

Let’s just maintain this status quo.

Summer Jincang: “…”

As soon as he got out, he’d kill all those friends. JPG

Never trusting their recommendations again.

“Hey, Young Master Xia.” The Fatty swayed over, a big smile on his face, “Don’t take it out on old Ling; he just isn’t good with words, but at heart, he’s a pretty good guy.”

Summer Jincang shot him a sidelong glance and didn’t reply.

The Fatty wasn’t aiming to press on, still grinning widely: “By the way, I saw a video of Young Master Xia sparring with Ling Mo online recently; it was really impressive! Did you practice before?”

Hearing this, Summer Jincang unexpectedly replied, “Did Ling Mo practice before?”

From his investigations, this Fatty was a high school buddy of Ling Mo, and he might know all about him.

But when the Fatty was asked this, he stammered for a second, then his expression instantly turned serious: “If Young Master Xia wants to know that, I won’t joke with you—let me tell you a secret: that guy Ling Mo accidentally fell off a cliff once and almost died! It was super dangerous…”

“Are you trying to say that after falling, he met a white-bearded old man?”

“How did you know?”

“…”

Another smooth talker.

Indeed, like attracts like.