Chapter 9
Chapter 009 Direct Implication
This was, of course, just an excuse for Ling Mo.
In the early game, individual strength contributes relatively little to clearing dungeons. Most of the time, players rely on external items and weapons to clear the dungeons. Not to mention that Xia Xinyan had spent quite a bit of time in the Safe Zone dungeon before—it’s easy to guess what level of skill someone can develop when a military enthusiast has access to almost unlimited real guns.
But this body of hers…
Xia Xinyan had previously asked the system, and the quality of this body was simply a reflection of Ling Mo’s current state. In other words, although she looked slender, in reality, she and Ling Mo were starting at the same baseline.
However, even so, compared to her final power in her past life, the condition of this body was far inferior.
But if she were to end up fighting Ling Mo, she was sure she could toss him around like a spinning top.
At least in the early stages; once Ling Mo grew stronger, she might not be able to keep up.
So, she treasured this time pretty well.
She had to train him properly while she could still beat him.
That being said…
What would her abilities be?
As she re-acclimated to firearms, Xia Xinyan’s thoughts drifted away.
The greatest gift that “Realm of Divine Presence” brings to every player is their unique abilities, something that follows them for life and is a cornerstone of humanity’s defense against the disaster invasion.
Abilities are activated after players clear their first Battle Zone dungeon. Each player can only have one ability, with varying effects, strong and weak alike. This variability led to lots of players complaining that this setting disrupts balance, as players start off from different points. Some lucky ones even begin right at the finish line with powerful abilities.
It wasn’t until later, when the disaster invaded reality, that people began to realize maybe these abilities weren’t powers granted by the game but rather something humanity inherently possesses but had yet to activate. “Realm of Divine Presence” merely awakened this power.
It’s worth mentioning that all abilities have growth potential, but the game doesn’t provide guidance on this—the players must discover their own potential. You could say that in this world, there are no useless abilities, just people who can’t use them well.
However, under equal effort, the differences caused by innate ability strength are indeed noticeable.
Of course, this difference can be addressed with external effort, like using various artifacts and items. But to acquire such things, one needs either money or strength.
So the early game, when everyone is still weak, is the best phase for ordinary people to make their move and bridge the gap. Otherwise, once everyone scales up in the late game, those with weak abilities will fall into a vicious cycle—
“If your abilities are lacking, you can’t compete with strong players for resources. If you get little loot, you won’t earn many game points. What do you do?”
“Get items and artifacts to boost your strength.”
“How do you get them? Buy them.”
“Not enough game points to afford them.”
“Then rob.”
“Can’t beat the strong ones.”
“So, get items and artifacts to boost your strength!”
…
Unfortunately, too many people fail to realize this early on, leading to widening gaps in the later stages.
But Xia Xinyan didn’t care about these things; she didn’t have the energy to warn the world about future disasters. Not to mention the ratio of those who would believe her versus those who’d think she’s crazy, even if she did wake everyone up, it would probably just cause panic with little effect.
To survive the disaster and even counter-attack, one would first need to become strong enough, which inevitably means dying in the Battle Zone a few times or even hundreds of times. Even with only 70% pain sensation, it’s still comparable to the fear of real death—it’s a kind of torture, and very few would likely have that determination.
Moreover, even strong players can’t guarantee they’ll survive in a disaster.
Might as well just choose a swift death when the time comes.
Not to mention those players who scramble in the Battle Zone for profit; that group is filled with slackers. Since the basic rewards are the same across the Battle Zone, as long as you clear it, you earn game points. So back in her last life, it was quite common for people to ride on the coattails of big shots while just coasting along, while leveling up requires actively taking risks—these are two entirely different approaches.
Based on her past experiences, even without anyone reminding them, humanity’s final counterattack didn’t seem too weak. If it hadn’t been for Xia Xinyan’s bad luck, she might not have had to start over at all.
So this time, she’ll focus on her own path.
The system still hadn’t told her what her ability was this time. If she was innately weak, she’d probably need to work even harder than last time to match Ling Mo’s progress in the future.
As for this guy…
Watching Ling Mo as he skillfully handled the handgun, Xia Xinyan felt a bit annoyed.
Just the thought of being surpassed by her former self… the jealousy from that felt much stronger than being outdone by someone she disliked.
Idiot.
Idiot, idiot.
She couldn’t help but curse a couple of times in her mind to vent frustration.
Then, putting on a smile, Xia Xinyan put down her gun, circled around behind Ling Mo, and hugged him from behind: “Your grip isn’t right. Let me correct it—”
Ling Mo’s body stiffened.
Even though it was just a game, the soft feeling from behind was almost indistinguishable from reality—after all, he had just experienced it recently; yet, even though it wasn’t the first time, this close contact still rendered him completely defenseless.
Xia Xinyan could feel his body tense and couldn’t help but chuckle: “I’m not going to eat you; why are you so nervous?”
If he had this reaction the first time, she wouldn’t have thought much of it—after all, she knew he was a pure-hearted little virgin before. But now that they had embraced several times, why was he still reacting like this?
What a big man, acting all shy like a girl.
She thought to herself that if they swapped bodies, this scene would have absolutely no sense of discomfort.
“I… ahem, it’s my first time using a gun. I’m a little excited…” Ling Mo mumbled an excuse.
“No worries, you’ll get used to it quickly,” Xia Xinyan said as she adjusted his grip, then released him. “In this game, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to use a gun, and you’ll get to try various types, enough for you to really experience it—now, stand up and try to shoot a couple of times to feel it out.”
What she said made sense; aside from modern firearms, there were also many high-tech weapons far beyond this era that players could experience in the game, even those that only existed in imagination.
Unfortunately, Ling Mo started to think in a different direction.
Various guns…
His face flushed red.
Could it be… she was implying something…
Though a little flustered, he managed to keep a facade of calm, standing up, raising the gun, aiming at a fruit on the tree, and pulling the trigger.
Boom—!
The fruit shattered into powder.
Seeing this, Xia Xinyan couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows: “Wow, good aim~!”
Although he was a military enthusiast, there’s still a big gap between theoretical knowledge and practical operation. Controlling the recoil of a real gun can be difficult for beginners, especially given the small size of the fruit—hitting the target on the first shot was actually something better than her own initial attempts.
No wonder he was mine.
Ling Mo put down the handgun, smiling a little shyly: “Thanks for the compliment…”
He had aimed at another fruit, actually.
But honestly, the feeling of firing a gun… was amazing.