---

Chapter 006 Aren’t you scared?

The bikini was black, with a cartoon image of a watermelon on the panties, highlighting Xia Xinyan’s fair skin even more.

Paired with the minimal straps, it felt like it could fall off at any moment; for Ling Mo, the visual impact was akin to a critical hit.

Even though he had seen countless images online, standing before a real girl offering such a sight left his mind unable to function properly for a moment.

“Are you dumbstruck?” Xia Xinyan approached Ling Mo with a mischievous smile, waving her hand in front of his eyes.

Ling Mo jolted awake, instinctively stepping back a few paces. “Y-you… why are you wearing that…”

“It’s a game outfit,” Xia Xinyan replied, maintaining a bit of distance as she explained, “When you enter the game, you’re given 100 game points to use for clothes. You can create outfits in the wardrobe interface by consuming game points.”

“Ah… I see…” Ling Mo still looked a bit dazed.

Taking advantage of his confusion, Xia Xinyan continued, “I managed to get some confidential game info through family connections. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.”

With this reasoning, she was sure Ling Mo wouldn’t question her knowledge of the game, especially since his gaze seemed glued to her chest—it should keep him distracted for a while.

Even if he eventually figured something was off, she was confident she could solidify their relationship before that happened, and once they reached that point, whether she deceived him or not wouldn’t be too crucial.

But really, how straightforward could he be… he didn’t even blink.

Tsk.

Lacking ambition.

Clearing her throat, she asked, “Want to hit the dungeon now? Or shall we play around here a bit to get a feel for it?”

Ling Mo snapped back to reality at her prompt and awkwardly averted his gaze. “Uh… let’s play a bit, no need to get familiarized, it really feels exactly like reality here…”

If he hadn’t known beforehand, he would genuinely think this place was real. The space bore no resemblance to a game; even the character models mirrored reality perfectly, with not a hint of glitch. The horrifying precision of the models and technology made him doubt that this game was even a product of this era.

So, there was really no need to familiarize himself.

“Alright, let’s go give it a shot together.” Xia Xinyan nodded, and suddenly a layer of white light enveloped her; when it dispersed, she had changed from her bikini into a full casual outfit, completely covering herself.

Ling Mo finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Realm of Divine Presence” was not your regular online game. If one had to categorize it, it played more like reincarnation-style dungeon runs, structured into three main modules—Dark Zone, Safe Zone, and Battle Zone.

The Dark Zone is the final big stage of the game and was also where Xia Xinyan had died. Initially locked off, it would only open after players reached a certain level of overall strength.

The Safe Zone is the most game-like dungeon, generally low in difficulty with pain perception reduced to just 10% of reality, and players receive a power boost upon entering. However, completing tasks there yields only a small amount of game points, with nothing else and no penalties for failure.

The Battle Zone, on the other hand, is the most critical area of the game. The dungeons here are typically high in difficulty, and players inherit their original physical qualities upon entry, with pain perception set at 70%. Additionally, if a player dies, they face a three-day punishment period during which they cannot enter the Battle Zone.

However, the rewards in the Battle Zone are substantial; clearing a dungeon not only grants a large amount of game points but also allows players to take loot obtained from the dungeon.

And the most crucial point—players only activate their abilities after successfully clearing a Battle Zone dungeon for the first time, which is the foundation for becoming a strong player.

In the last life, many players had not cleared even a single Battle Zone dungeon by the time the Dark Zone opened, leaving them vulnerable during the initial monster onslaught, resulting in heavy casualties.

To explain why so many couldn’t even clear it once… while the difficulty of the Battle Zone dungeons was a factor, many were simply too afraid of death.

Experiencing pain at a 70% ratio is not crafted for casual gaming—it’s meant to prepare players for the real slaughter ahead. That fear and pain before dying kept many cowardly individuals away since very few were eager to try a second time.

However, there were plenty of players focused on the Battle Zone; even without knowing their future destinies, the fact that game points could be exchanged for cash attracted many. With enough strength, one could even become a millionaire just by playing.

Where this money comes from, no one knows.

And few cared.

Ling Mo was more concerned with his current choice: “Should we go for the Safe Zone first? The penalties in the Battle Zone look a bit daunting; I think getting accustomed to the game first is better before trying the Battle Zone.”

“No need, let’s jump straight into the Battle Zone.” Xia Xinyan’s tone was firm, “The higher difficulty is more challenging; low difficulty isn’t interesting. Don’t you think so?”

She had initially avoided the Battle Zone because she feared the penalties, spending a long time in the Safe Zone until she realized it didn’t yield any real strength increase, which finally led her to endure the pain and tackle the Battle Zone.

She couldn’t let Ling Mo follow her old path; while pain was indeed terrifying, cowardice was far worse.

Plus, with her experience, she was confident she wouldn’t let Ling Mo feel the sensation of death too soon.

However, Ling Mo hesitated.

In the past, he enjoyed starting games on the highest difficulty, just as Xia Xinyan had said—high difficulty was challenging. But in those games, dying had no real consequences; even if his character met a cruel end, he wouldn’t suffer any harm.

But in this game, they would feel pain.

Was that really okay?

“Ling Mo, you’re not… scared, are you?” Xia Xinyan suddenly leaned closer, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

“Of course not,” upon hearing this, Ling Mo immediately stopped all his thoughts and cast aside all concerns, “Alright! Battle Zone it is! Let’s go! Even if something happens, I’ll definitely protect you!”

A man can’t admit to cowardice?!!

What’s the worst that can happen? Just die once!

After all, it’s not like it’s real death!

Watching Ling Mo, who looked like he had just had an energy drink, Xia Xinyan squinted her eyes maliciously.

Heh.

After successfully forming a party, they chose the Battle Zone dungeon and began matching.

The matching speed was surprisingly fast; within seconds, a white light suddenly enveloped both of them, whisking them away from this space.

When they reappeared, they found themselves in a white space.

Aside from the two of them, there were seven or eight other people—male and female—one more beautiful than the other, resembling some beauty pageant.

…Wait, there was also a muscular guy over two meters tall, who looked like he could kill someone with a single punch.

Noticing that guy, Ling Mo’s expression grew serious. “Does appearance affect physical attributes?”

“It doesn’t. In the early stage of the Battle Zone dungeon, everyone’s physical qualities are fully restored to their reality size; even if you turn yourself into a human tank, your real-world strength remains unchanged,” Xia Xinyan scoffed at the muscular guy, whispering, “That kind of look only serves to hinder himself.”

Ling Mo felt slightly relieved. “That’s good…”

“Don’t worry,” Xia Xinyan suddenly leaned in closer, whispering with a soft chuckle, “In the dungeon, players aren’t allowed to harm each other. Violating that rule brings serious penalties, so all you need to do is take care of yourself.”

“Ah… is that so…” Ling Mo stumbled over his words again.

He genuinely had no resistance to close contact with the opposite sex.

Especially with a girl claiming to be his girlfriend right beside him.

 

---