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Chapter 331 Three Rules

This issue is very serious.

Not just a habitual change, but also a psychological shift.

Did she just secretly wish that Ling Mo would comfort her a bit?

Realizing this made even her surprised.

This can’t be explained by just “getting used to it,” right?!

What on earth is going on in her head?!

And was Ling Mo really trying to comfort her just now? He must be, right?

What does he take her for?! Is she the type who needs comforting?!

But why can’t she get mad about it!!

This is definitely a huge problem!!

Xia Xinyan’s mind is a bit jumbled right now.

In fact, she has been trying to mentally reconcile with this change for some time now, attempting to convince herself to accept her transformation and adapt to her current life.

Because rationally, she knows that resisting isn’t a good idea; even if she “doesn’t like” this state, the consequences of escaping it would be even more detrimental to her— in various aspects.

But with this sudden development, even she couldn’t convince herself anymore!

What on earth has she become?!

At least in her previous life, she had the dignity of a strong individual! She’s on the brink of total downfall!

“Xinyan?” Ling Mo’s voice interrupted her inner turmoil, seeming somewhat worried, “What’s wrong?”

Xia Xinyan exchanged a strange glance with him for a moment.

She knew that Ling Mo had been testing her limits all this while; she had known it for a long time.

But she still let him do it, thinking she should somewhat appease his demands to prevent him from retaliating out of desperation.

However, now she realizes that by doing this, she’s turning herself into a little lamb, a defenseless little lamb.

Maybe when the day comes that Ling Mo truly breaks her bottom line, she might even agree half-heartedly.

This is absolutely the last thing she wants to see.

It’s not just about her body; it’s about her dignity.

After all, she was once a savior hero in her past life—even if she didn’t succeed in saving anyone, she shouldn’t lose her heroic pride!

Since her rebirth, she’s been too comfortable, so comfortable that she’s almost forgotten her true nature. She originally planned to keep Ling Mo firmly in her grasp, but now it feels like she’s being held by him!

Right, this can’t go on.

She still has her pride.

A mere Ling Mo…

Taking a deep breath, Xia Xinyan forced her expression to become serious and said, “Mo Mo, I think it’s time for us to establish three rules.”

Ling Mo paused slightly: “Three rules?”

“Yep,” Xia Xinyan became even more serious, “I don’t like doing this in front of others; it’s too frivolous.”

Upon hearing this, Ling Mo chuckled lightly: “Hmm… I realize my mistake.”

But his expression showed no sign of being sorry at all.

“Ling Mo! Be serious!” Xia Xinyan raised her voice a bit, “I’m seriously notifying you—first, from now on, don’t do anything to me without my permission! Even if you get hurt… you must first get my consent! Got it?!”

Ling Mo met her gaze for two seconds.

Perhaps realizing she wasn’t joking, or maybe just to cooperate with her, he slightly straightened his expression and obediently raised his right hand: “Can I ask one question?”

“What question?”

“If I get severely injured and fall into a coma, about to die, but can’t ask Xinyan for treatment… would Xinyan help me spontaneously?”

“…”

Taking another deep breath, Xia Xinyan nodded, “I would.”

Ling Mo smiled: “Hmm, I trust Xinyan.”

Xia Xinyan ignored him and continued, “Second, in our relationship, I make the decisions, understand?”

“Listening to Xinyan.” Ling Mo was as obedient as ever.

Xia Xinyan stared at him for a while.

She felt inexplicably that Ling Mo was brushing her off.

Or rather, it felt like a girl throwing a tantrum while her boyfriend obediently complies with her demands… Is this another way of comforting?

That just made her even more annoyed.

After waiting for a bit without hearing Xia Xinyan’s continuation, Ling Mo asked, “Hmm… what about the third rule?”

Aren’t we establishing three rules?

“I haven’t thought of it yet,” Xia Xinyan averted her gaze, “I’ll let you know when I think of it later. For now, just stick to the two rules I just mentioned; I’m not joking, got it?”

“Okay, listening to Xinyan.” Ling Mo’s smile remained unchanged.

It seems Xinyan really got mad at him just now.

Well… that makes sense; Xinyan is the shy type. Being kissed so openly like that would definitely make her a bit moody.

He was too eager just now, that’s on him.

But… two rules? After finally tasting the flavor of meat, how could a wolf just stay put and do nothing?

He could wait until Xinyan calms down a bit before acting.

Hmm.

And this weird tension between them was finally interrupted by the sound of a walkie-talkie.

It was Tiger Ba Tian and the rescue team’s public communication; their search operations have started yielding results, having basically found small groups of survivors and gradually identified the dangerous areas in the small town—specifically the places densely populated by zombies.

It’s also worth mentioning that some survivors informed them of something— the zombies in this small town have the ability to infect others; anyone who gets bitten will turn into a zombie about half an hour later without effective treatment.

This is terrible news. If prior zombie dungeons had this setup, it would only mean players would be judged as dead and sent back to their Private Space after being fully infected, but here, being completely infected means real death, with no second chances.

Moreover, infected individuals can’t even leave the Dark Zone world; it’s not just about having time to prepare to leave, but there’s also a hidden game mechanic— you cannot leave the Dark Zone when you have an abnormal state.

People have tried; even a tiny cut that bleeds counts as an abnormal state. This means, to leave the Dark Zone, players must ensure they’re completely uninjured and maintain a safe condition for ten minutes; if injured during this time, the exit preparation gets interrupted.

Therefore, the actual danger in the Dark Zone world is much higher than they initially thought, leading many to exclude this mode from their options once they learned about this.

Back to the point.

In summary, this message represents that the situation of survivors in the small town is likely much worse than they initially anticipated, and it also implies that this rescue mission will be more challenging than they expected.

Because they don’t know what kind of medicine can effectively neutralize the zombie virus in this town—while the game mall does sell such items, and some people might have a little stock, no one dares to confirm whether this medicine works on zombies created by rule events, nor would they dare to try.

In other words, they have to find ways to get through without injury.

After shutting off the walkie-talkie, Ling Mo looked toward the central area of the small town, stroking his chin.

This is a bit tricky…