With a single flower tucked behind her ear and a wide grin on her face—this was Chuyao’s mental state after her killing spree.
“Shen Ning, while you were away on that trip, did you miss me?”
“It wasn’t really a long trip since I could come back at any time, and besides…”
“Just say whether you missed me or not!”
“I… I missed you.”
“Really?” Xu Chuyao leaned in, her large, bright eyes practically fixed on the girl as she whispered, “Then tell me, how did you think of me? What kind of things did you imagine? Give me the details!”
The soft jellies pressed against her chest; there was nowhere to run!
“It… it was just… anyway, I just missed you!”
The defenseless Shen Ning was no match for the prepared Xu Chuyao. Her ears turned beet red, and she stammered, unable to find the right words.
“I’ll go see if the cafeteria is open and buy some lunch!”
Leaving those words behind, the girl fled in a flurry.
Xu Chuyao stretched comfortably where she had been leaning and glanced at her account balance.
“I’ve saved up enough for another ten-pull. Hehe.”
On the other side, the girl silently lined up at the cafeteria’s stir-fry window. She glanced around and quietly reached up to touch her ear.
The July sunlight bloomed as bright as flames, so hot that it felt as if her ears were burning.
‘I’ve said it many times, but I have to say it again—this is just too much!’ the Sexually Repressed Reflection said indignantly. ‘I’m telling you, I really should be the one in control of Chuyao!’
Shen Ning opened her mouth to say something, but in the end, nothing came out.
Usually, when the Sexually Repressed Reflection spoke, she would just listen and occasionally empathize with how suppressed this side of her was.
But after completing the “All for me, I for all” mission, she understood that reflections were merely mental fragments of the host, where certain personality traits were amplified. A suppressed host resulted in a minorly suppressed personality, while the reflection became entirely defined by that repression.
So the question was, what would her own reflection look like? Would she be able to help the other Shen Nings in parallel dimensions?
‘Don’t worry, she’s lucky to have you,’ the Greed Reflection comforted.
There was no real reason for it; she was simply offering some comfort.
***
A few minutes later, Shen Ning bought lunch and headed back.
Having traveled through various streets and alleys across the Global Village recently, she had unexpectedly gained a new trait.
**[Host has independently comprehended a Level 4 Wind Element Trait: Coming and Going Like the Wind]**
**[Introduction: The wind cries, whooshing as it blows from the south of the city to the north.]**
**[Effect: Within your skill range, you can teleport at will.]**
**[Description: You are as free as the wind.]**
The effect was easy to understand. For instance, if she used her Wind Field on a battlefield, she could teleport anywhere within a radius of several hundred meters. Not only would she be elusive, but as long as she remained focused, her enemies wouldn’t even be able to touch her shadow.
But how did she comprehend it independently?
‘You’ve been running all over the world lately. One minute you’re in Berlin, the next you’re in Vladivostok. You’re running faster than the wind,’ the Greed Reflection guessed. ‘It’s probably because of that.’
That seemed like the only logical explanation.
Shen Ning returned home with her thoughts swirling and placed the lunch on the table. Xu Chuyao came running out happily the moment she heard the sound.
“Oh, you actually went to buy food? I thought you’d want to eat something else before lunch… like me, for example. Wait, what are you doing?”
Chuyao had intended to tease her, but Shen Ning suddenly grabbed her hand. Without a word, Shen Ning lowered her head and started pulling her toward the bedroom.
“You—you’re for real? We haven’t even eaten yet! Wait… ah!”
‘That’s right, that’s how it should be!’ The Sexually Repressed Reflection struck her palm against her heart. ‘Strike while the iron is hot! This will settle things once and for all!’
Whether things were settled was unclear, but Chuyao certainly made quite a bit of noise.
***
1 hour later, Xu Chuyao pretended to take a nap, her face flushed. It was only after Shen Ning went out that she quietly opened her eyes.
“Hmph, she thinks I’m the same as before, that I’d go down so easily.”
Chuyao was also Level 4 now; her constitution wasn’t that weak.
Rubbing her slightly sore abdomen, Xu Chuyao reviewed the past “battle” and summarized her experience.
She concluded that for this “gold coin farming,” the intensity couldn’t be too high or too low. If it was too low, no coins would drop. If it was too high, Shen Ning would become too aggressive, and she’d end up directly knocked out on the bed.
“I should probably do that ten-pull now… Huh? A visitor?”
The incident involving Councilor Zhou Tian in the neighboring city had temporarily settled. Chuyao acted as if nothing had happened, returning to her usual life, but others weren’t so lucky.
The most bewildered was Principal Lü. Someone had been mysteriously locked up in his school, and he heard it was a high-level member of the Supreme Society…
“High-level, low-level, or just irrelevant,” Xu Chuyao corrected him. “The kind that’s completely useless.”
Upon hearing this, Principal Lü became even more confused. “If they’re completely useless, then why are we still holding them?”
Even if the other party was incredibly cooperative and didn’t even seem to require a prison cell, they were still an extra mouth to feed.
“They’re useful. Trust me. Even if they’re useless now, they’ll be useful later. When the time comes, they’ll be useful.”
“I see…”
And so, the matter was dropped.
In the neighboring city where the incident occurred, Zhou Tian had not left his house since the event ended, and no one knew what he was up to. The person most distressed by this was Lian Yi Bo, who eventually came to Shengling Academy to find them.
“What is going on with the Council? It’s fine if the top-ranking officials are busy, and I’ve heard they haven’t been around for a while. But what about the others? We’re supposed to have daily meetings, yet today this person doesn’t show up, and tomorrow that person is missing. Especially that Zhou Tian—he hasn’t shown up once.” Lian Yi Bo spoke to the girl in frustration. “I was the one who helped him find you in the first place!”
Xu Chuyao remained calm and composed. Since Director Lian Yi Bo had come all the way to her small villa at the school, she, as the mistress of the house, had to act steady and refined.
She wasn’t in a hurry, but Lian Yi Bo was. “Say something! What’s your take on this?”
“I don’t really have a take. I’m not a Councilor,” Xu Chuyao shrugged her small shoulders. “Aside from Zhou Tian, I don’t know any of those people you mentioned.”
“But this is related to you! Ever since you finished that business, Zhou Tian hasn’t shown up. Then, several others stopped coming as well. I sent someone to ask, and they said they went to visit Zhou Tian.”
Hearing Lian Yi Bo’s explanation, Xu Chuyao finally understood.
It turned out that a wave of leave requests had hit the Council recently. About five or six people had all taken leave, claiming they were going to see Zhou Tian.
The question was: did they go to see Zhou Tian on their own initiative, or did Zhou Tian call them?
“I don’t know, don’t ask me.” Chuyao pouted slightly. “I just followed orders to get the job done. How would I know about all that other stuff?”
“Fine…”
Lian Yi Bo composed himself and instinctively picked up the tea on the table. He realized it was actually milk tea, but he forced himself to take a sip anyway.
“By the way, are you free lately? Wenyuan City wants to invite you for a visit.”
Xu Chuyao, who was busy adding pearls to her milk tea, paused. “Looking for me? For what?”
“Yes, it might be related to the last mission.”