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Chapter 086 Subtle Influences

Xia Xinyan always had two charm abilities: one active and one passive.

Although the effects of passive charm were far inferior to those of active mental charm, at certain specific times, it could still be quite effective.

This brings us to the origin of the incubus bloodline in Xia Xinyan—

It is said this incubus race was born from the hand of the Creator and initially represented perfection.

They possessed all the wonderful qualities of the world, and every creature would be kind to this race, which in turn would bring blessings to the entire world.

…That’s right, at least in the beginning, the conceptual abilities of this race didn’t really relate to incubi; they seemed more like angels.

For instance, the healing effects of Xia Xinyan’s bodily fluids… that also means bringing blessings.

But alas, the Creator went a bit overboard.

They endowed this race with too many halos, leading it to gradually drift away from the original design.

—They indeed became loved by all, yet… the way they were loved had some issues.

So they became a kind of alternative demon.

Of course, Xia Xinyan’s current abilities still couldn’t compare to those of a true incubus; she merely possessed the bloodline of this race, and her strength was still quite weak.

But that was enough.

She had most of the abilities of an incubus, even if they were unintentional, like passive charm—one effect of which is… when the incubus is in a state of confidence, the charm aura could be fully activated, resulting in a super elevation of attraction.

In the Creator’s words—

“A confident child is always the most beautiful.”

So, revisiting her ability introduction in her mind, Xia Xinyan felt a bit queasy.

She seemed to have overlooked the existence of passive charm before; it hadn’t been particularly noticeable in some respects… even with Ling Mo, who was closest to her, there didn’t seem to be any major reaction under the influence of this ability…

Well, this was the first time.

【Host… passive abilities from incubi often influence subtly.】

Tianji rarely gave a reminder this time.

Xia Xinyan pursed her lips, glancing at Ling Mo, who was lying on the bed still somewhat dazed, suddenly suspecting something ominous.

Could it be that this guy’s significant change during this time… was influenced by her subtle ability?

Only this time the influence seemed to have gone too far.

She realized this ability seemed to be counterproductive—at least in a certain sense.

But she had no way to turn it off.

This was at least the umpteenth time she regretted this.

In her regret…

“Mo Mo! Are you okay? Did you get hurt anywhere?”

A somewhat anxious voice came from beside her, and Ling Mo stared at the ceiling, his thoughts a mess.

He… was thrown by Xia Xinyan?

No… the question was, what had he done before?

It seemed he wanted to get close to Xia Xinyan… to kiss her?

For some reason, he seemed completely captivated by Xia Xinyan at that moment, wanting to embrace her, want her pressed under him, and explore life with her…

He thought he frightened Xia Xinyan.

After all, judging from Xia Xinyan’s performance, she was quite an innocent girl, and they hadn’t been dating for long, so doing this… felt a bit too fast.

Indeed, he had secretly kissed her once when she wasn’t paying attention, and her reaction was adorably dazed, as if she didn’t fully realize it, and she didn’t seem particularly angry. But at that time, they hadn’t fully come out from the effects of the dungeon; he only wanted some form of return… yes, just a return.

That one kiss had satisfied him.

So this time, he didn’t blame Xia Xinyan at all.

He was just puzzled about why he was so impulsive.

Also…

Could Xia Xinyan fight?

“Mo Mo?” Seeing Ling Mo lying there without speaking, Xia Xinyan grew even more anxious.

Could it be that she knocked him silly?

“Ah… it’s nothing, nothing,” Ling Mo shook himself back to reality, slowly getting up from the bed, a bit awkwardly, “Sorry, I just got a bit impulsive there.”

Xia Xinyan met his gaze for a moment and sighed: “Mo Mo, I want to talk to you about something, is that okay?”

“What is it?” Upon hearing that, Ling Mo became serious too.

Xia Xinyan paused for a moment.

As the girlfriend in this scenario, there was no escaping it.

At least for now, she couldn’t run away.

So she decided not to struggle. Since she was in this role, she would embrace being a girlfriend.

However, there were a few rules she had to make clear to this guy.

“My family has always taught me to keep myself clean before marriage, so… although we’ve started dating, I hope we don’t do anything too crossing the line before marriage, okay?”

Xia Xinyan was serious.

She could be a girlfriend, but she absolutely wouldn’t let this guy take it a step further. This reasoning worked out perfectly, and after all, it was unlikely they would be considering marriage anytime soon; looking even further… with the Cataclysm coming, who would even think about marriage?

Moreover, by that time, she and Ling Mo wouldn’t necessarily be in this relationship anymore.

She needed to bind Ling Mo to help her grow; once they both reached the top, she realized she could completely break free and fly solo, as long as she managed her own circle of influence properly before that, collaborating with Ling Mo afterward wouldn’t be a problem.

And by then, Ling Mo probably wouldn’t lack for women either.

Thinking this way, it seemed there were no issues at all.

Ling Mo naturally couldn’t think so far ahead, so hearing this, while his feelings were somewhat complicated, he was mostly touched.

Of course, he wanted to graduate from virginity quickly; after all, which shy old virgin in this day and age didn’t hope to roll in the sheets with their girlfriend? However, hearing Xia Xinyan’s words, it seemed she was already considering marriage?

Marrying him?

Thinking about a possible wedding scene made him feel like graduating from virginity wasn’t so important after all.

After all, it was bound to happen sooner or later, right?

Since Xinyan thought so, waiting a bit longer was no issue.

He had already been self-powered for so many years.

“Okay, I understand. I’ll wait for that day,” he nodded slightly, slightly excited, before suddenly asking, “But… Xinyan, can you fight?”

“…”

Of course, she could fight.

When the Cataclysm arrives, no one would be naive enough to think they could survive solely on their abilities; everyone wanted to minimize their greatest shortcomings— and for non-physical ability players, their own physical condition was their largest shortcoming, which included not just basic abilities, but a certain level of melee capability as well.

Although Xia Xinyan’s current physical condition was not as good as it once was, her combat skills could likely take on ten Ling Mos at once.

But after some thought, she still humbly replied, “I studied self-defense for two years… um.”

And nodded to affirm herself.