Chapter 45: This Is a Normal Phenomenon

Xu Lin was overjoyed.

He swallowed the newly synthesized Primordial Void Liquid in one gulp.

Instantly, a surge of power shot straight to his forehead, then coursed violently through his entire body.

A tingling, electric sensation spread across every inch of his skin, as though faint currents were teasing all his nerves.

Once the numbness faded, his mind felt astonishingly clear.

Many problems that had once stumped him now had obvious answers.

This effect was insane!

He immediately began crafting, synthesizing, and absorbing the liquid non-stop.

Along the way, the notification for unlocking blue-quality tags appeared. He obtained blue versions of the three previous tags.

Overjoyed, he switched to using the blue-quality <Intelligence> tags for synthesis with the inhaled liquid.

The cost plummeted.

Although crafting blue tags was more expensive individually, the number required dropped drastically. The total energy needed was far less than using only white ones.

“Young Hero.”

Just as Xu Lin was lost in absorbing the liquid, Li Zhi Ran’s voice rang out again.

This time her voice had direction, and the grip of her hands became solid and real.

Xu Lin stopped absorbing, lifted his head, and sure enough; there she was.

Clad in her black bikini, Li Zhi Ran floated in the deep sapphire expanse. Her legs swayed gently, silver hair drifting outward like a mermaid in the abyss.

Xu Lin couldn’t tear his eyes away.

“You did it!”

Her delighted voice snapped him out of his trance.

“Mm!”

Xu Lin nodded.

“But… what do we do next?”

After absorbing so much liquid, his mind was clearer than ever.

Yet he still didn’t understand the underlying principles. Even with his brain working at lightning speed, he had no idea what the next step was.

“Now we must work together.”

Before he could ask how, a gentle force tugged at his hands.

Following that pull, he drifted toward her.

He felt Li Zhi Ran tighten her fingers around his.

The next moment, something warm pressed against his forehead.

Li Zhi Ran had brought their foreheads together.

A soft pressure settled against his chest; he could feel her heartbeat slowly transmitting to him.

Her legs wrapped around his.

“Young Hero, relax your body and open your mind.”

Her gentle voice seemed to etch itself directly into his brain.

“You try to accept me, and I will try to accept you.”

“How do I—”

Before he could finish asking, a wondrous sensation washed over him.

Something transformed into a cloud and enveloped him.

He let his body go completely limp and emptied his mind.

Where once she had held his hands tightly, now he gripped hers in return.

He, too, became a cloud and wrapped around her.

Letting go of everything, their bodies naturally sank.

Entwined, spinning slowly, they descended into the depths of that profound blue.

Until they vanished completely.

Xu Lin felt everything disappear; only the sensation of Li Zhi Ran remained.

…

Thud!

A crisp sound suddenly rang in his ears.

The smooth, solid feel of porcelain returned beneath him.

His eyes snapped open.

And met a pair of breathtaking eyes mere inches away.

He could feel her breath brushing his face.

W-what kind of situation is this?

A warm, soft body pressed fully against his own.

A faint, elegant fragrance, accompanied by rhythmic hot breaths, filled his nose.

Up and down; something soft kept tapping against his chest.

Scent, temperature, touch; every sensation assaulted his brain.

His thoughts began to swell.

The scene from the deep sea was now playing out in reality.

Realizing this, Xu Lin hurriedly tried to struggle upright, only to discover his hands were still tightly clasped by hers.

At the same time, her body was pinning him down.

Li Zhi Ran was straddling him.

This position made it extremely difficult to exert any strength.

“Lady Witch!”

Xu Lin called out to her.

Yet she seemed oblivious, eyes unfocused, body motionless.

W-what’s wrong with her?

“La—”

He tried again, but before the second syllable left his mouth, clarity suddenly returned to her gaze.

Her eyes fixed on Xu Lin.

“Young Hero, what did you do?”

Her question made his brain short-circuit.

Wait—is she about to blame me?

I didn’t do anything!

“The effect far exceeded expectations!”

The next instant, however, excitement colored her voice.

…So she’s not blaming me?

Exceeded expectations? Does that mean…

“Lady Witch, you mean what just happened…”

“Exactly!”

Li Zhi Ran nodded vigorously; her already-close face inched even nearer.

Their noses were practically touching.

Only now did Xu Lin remember once more that the two of them were still pressed tightly together in a position that couldn’t merely be called intimate; it was downright improper.

“W-wait, Lady Witch… isn’t this a bit inconvenient for talking…?”

“My apologies, Young Hero. Did I hurt you by sitting on you?”

Reminded by him, Li Zhi Ran finally noticed their current state.

Yet her expression barely changed.

Does she really feel no shame at all?

Am I overthinking things again?

“Mm, Young Hero?”

Suddenly a puzzled look crossed her face as she shifted slightly.

“It feels like something is poking—”

“Ahahaha! Lady Witch, how about we get up first!”

Before she could finish, Xu Lin instantly understood the problem.

This is bad; a hundred-out-of-ten bad!

“So that’s what it is.”

Li Zhi Ran ignored his panic, glanced downward, then nodded calmly.

“It’s all right, Young Hero. I understand. This is a normal phenomenon.”

Even though Xu Lin had desperately tried to play it off, she had still noticed.

Of course she did; she wasn’t stupid. The tag <Super High School-Level Genius Girl> was still floating right beside her.

How could she possibly be oblivious?

And yet her complete composure left Xu Lin utterly at a loss.

Is she pretending? Or does she really not care?

Soon, Li Zhi Ran released his hands and stood up first.

She stepped out of the bathtub, stretched slightly, then turned back to look at him.

“Young Hero, why aren’t you coming out?”

Seeing that he hadn’t moved, she tilted her head in confusion.

But Xu Lin truly had no words.

“My… my legs are a little numb. I’ll wait a moment.”

“I’m sorry, Young Hero. Do you need—”

She started walking back toward the tub.

“N-no need! I’ll be fine in a second!”

Saying so, he turned his back to her.

Although she had just said she understood, Xu Lin still found it hard to face her.

Moreover, every last bit of cover was gone now; this was his only option.

In his earlier panic he hadn’t noticed, but now that he had a moment to spare, he finally realized: the tub full of black potion had completely vanished.

Where did it go?

Surely it hadn’t all spilled out from their movements and drained away?

No, even then, there should still be some left at the bottom. How could it be perfectly clean, as if it had never held water at all?

And there wasn’t a single trace of the liquid on his body either.

Could everything from the beginning have been an illusion?

“Lady Witch, the potion in the tub… it’s all gone.”

To distract himself, Xu Lin raised the question.

“That’s normal. We absorbed it all.”

“Absorbed?”

The moment she said it, an image flashed through Xu Lin’s mind.

Not the liquid seeping through their skin; but rather the memory of him gulping down huge mouthfuls to synthesize the Primordial Void Liquid.

If that hadn’t been a hallucination… then in reality, that would mean…