The text bubble Little Panda spat out was vivid yet gentle in color.
"Main Quest Three: Obtain 30 achievements."
"Current progress: 10/30."
"Mission rewards: ① Immortal Soul. ② Unlock a new game option."
After carefully reading the mission prompt and reward descriptions, the text bubble in his field of vision gradually faded away.
Yan Anqing furrowed his brow slightly.
The third stage of the Main Quest required another twenty achievements, and its rewards were equally fantastical.
Immortal Soul.
Those four words could be interpreted in countless ways.
Pure speculation was meaningless.
He would keep trying, gain new achievements, complete the mission, and the truth would naturally come to light in the end.
"Even if you say that, still..."
Ma Ran quietly complained beside him, "I really feel like I'm incredibly strong now!"
"You should try to think less for the time being."
Yan Anqing ruthlessly shot him down. "Because of the mind's influence on the body, your thought patterns and logic are completely different from normal. You're far too prone to obsession, and it would be easy for you to display extreme behavior—either excessive inferiority or excessive arrogance."
Ma Ran tilted his head with a blank expression as he thought.
After more than ten seconds, he barely understood what Yan Anqing meant.
He blinked, surprise appearing in his brilliant golden eyes. "Then... what should I do?"
"My personal suggestion is that, whenever you rest, you should spar with Yu Hongyi a few more times. It can help you properly understand your current level of Comprehensive Combat Power."
Yan Anqing said expressionlessly, "Though that only treats the symptoms, not the root cause."
"As for your condition, I already have a draft and a blueprint for a solution. At the latest, I'll be able to solve this problem within a month."
Ma Ran's symptoms were by no means unique to him.
Yan Anqing believed there were many people in this world like Ma Ran, people who hoped to become more positive and motivated, to work harder than before, and who had once tried to force themselves onward.
Among them, there were surely people who had pushed themselves beyond their limits, only to fail miserably because their foundational willpower was too weak.
They might even have suffered lasting aftereffects and performed far worse than before.
The "Strongman Cultivation Plan" was a pretty good subject.
Compared with those who were born with superior social status, mental fortitude, physical fitness, and wealth, and considered themselves "flawless"...
Yan Anqing was more willing to give opportunities to those who strongly wished to improve themselves.
Inside Dormitory 259 of the Zhaofu Well underground base.
"Pathetic!"
Miaomiao had just finished a war of insults in Zhang Xiaoyue's book review section. A smug smile appeared on her flushed little face.
She had hammered away at the keyboard from one in the morning until six, cursing the other side until they questioned their entire existence. Then she suddenly realized that she was a little dehydrated.
Her mouth was dry and parched!
Wrapped in her little blanket, she slowly wriggled out of bed like a blanket spirit and reached for her cup.
Her five slender, fair fingers pressed against the glass. She exerted only the slightest bit of force...
Crack!
The glass cup suddenly shattered!
"Meow Meow, what the hell are you doing again? Why aren't you asleep in the middle of the night?"
Zhang Xiaoyue sprang out of bed as if possessed. Her gorgeous golden eyes shone brilliantly in the darkness, suffused with mysterious power. "I didn't sleep well today, so I skipped the update..."
Miaomiao ignored her and merely stared blankly at the glass shards in her hand.
There had not been any drastic temperature changes lately. She had always drunk cooled boiled water, so there was no chance that thermal expansion and contraction had made the material brittle.
This cup had been a high-end item uniformly issued by the base. Both its materials and workmanship were impeccable; it definitely was not some cheap product.
But why...
Had it exploded from a single squeeze?
Could the soul of the Essence Devouring Beast residing inside her body be awakening?
The girl whose chuunibyou soul was burning brightly stood in the darkness and began indulging in wild fantasies.
A moment later, Miaomiao suddenly came to her senses and finally realized something.
"Hey! Mrs. Zhang! It's already six o'clock!"
"Yu Hongyi and Ma Ran from the dorm next door have already been up and doing morning training for an hour and a half!"
"So you really were born in the Year of the Pig, huh? If you want to skip an update, at least come up with a better excuse!"
Zhang Xiaoyue was utterly unfazed.
She covered her ears with a soft pillow, looking as though even if the world ended, she would still sleep until the sky went dark, the sun and moon lost their light, and heaven and earth changed color.
Ruannan Province.
Black Obsidian Apartments.
The twenty-first century was the information age. All sorts of people and topics could suddenly explode in popularity, becoming absurdly hot.
But as long as no one kept fanning the flames, after a few days they would grow cold enough that no one could be bothered to touch them.
As a Silver-Eyed, Shi Yiguang's magnificent transformation from an ordinary girl into a peerless beauty had previously made her a focal point of discussion across China's internet.
Other than her initial blunt declaration, she had kept a low profile during this period.
The jokes and hype surrounding "Silver-Eyed Xi Shi" gradually faded, and the people lingering outside her door left one by one.
It was now the fifth day!
Shi Yiguang could finally leave the house, go out for a stroll, and get some fresh air!
It was 6:10 in the morning.
The moonlight was dim, hazy as though veiled by a thin layer of gauze.
The night shrouding the earth gradually dimmed and melted away. The starlight was sparse and indistinct.
The rising sun had just peeked over the horizon, casting out a gentle red glow. The morning breeze was refreshing, lifting the strands by her temples and making her feel as though she were walking through a fairy tale.
Shi Yiguang bundled herself up tightly, put on sunglasses and a mask, carefully pushed open the door, and sneaked out of the residential complex like a thief.
"Mmm! This feels great!"
Silver light flickered in the straightforward girl's eyes, and the corners of her lips curled slightly beneath her mask.
Watching movies! Going shopping! Spending like crazy!
Those were the things she loved doing most!
Binge-watching shows and scrolling through Weibo online were fine for occasionally passing the time, but she truly could not stand staying cooped up at home for long.
Shi Yiguang did not notice that a man dressed just as strangely was following behind her.
The girl had just left the complex and reached an alley, walking while thinking about her schedule for the day.
Suddenly, a rough, callused hand covered her mouth.
At the same time, a sharpened fruit knife was pressed against her neck.
"Don't make a sound! Or I'll kill you!"
The man seemed to be swallowing saliva. It was disgusting.
A pungent odor with a strange sweetness came from his palm, and Shi Yiguang felt her mind grow fuzzy.
Her head felt heavy and her feet light. Her consciousness blurred, and she could pass out at any moment.
This is bad!
In that instant, Shi Yiguang thought of many things.
She thought of human traffickers, criminals who trafficked organs, and rapists whose lives had gone poorly and whose minds had twisted.
No matter what, someone trying to knock her unconscious with anesthetic was definitely no good person.
"Fuck! Did I buy fake stuff? Why does this chick still have the strength to struggle?"
The man flew into a rage from embarrassment and planned to give Shi Yiguang a couple of cuts to frighten her.
That should not have been possible!
He had used this inhaled ether several times before. In the past, he had always succeeded effortlessly, hardly ever encountering any resistance.
Could the bodily structure of the Silver-Eyed be different?
He had also seen the research-results briefing pushed out by Yan Anqing in the news.
Just as the man was wondering whether he should quickly deal with Shi Yiguang...
A sudden change erupted.
Bang!
An irresistible force struck from below his waist.
Crack.
A painfully suggestive sound of something breaking rang out.
"Ugh... aaah..."
The criminal let out a shrill but low-volume howl of agony, as if all the strength had been drained from his body.
"Whew..."
Shi Yiguang let out a breath and rubbed her slightly swollen temples.
She herself did not know what she had done. In her dazed state, she had merely carried out basic self-defense.
With her limbs weak, she barely managed to pull out her phone and dial the police hotline.
The assailant beside her seemed to be in such extreme pain that he could no longer even scream.
Like a dying animal struggling for its last breath, the man kept rolling across the ground, leaving behind a trail of foul-smelling red and yellow fluid.
A moment later, his breathing stopped.
His balls had shattered, and he had actually been painfully killed alive!
Police sirens drew closer from afar.
Her physical strength had returned, but her mind still felt somewhat fragmented. Shi Yiguang instinctively chose to cooperate with the police officers' investigation...
I've already revised this chapter five times, but I still feel that some parts aren't quite right. The writing doesn't flow very smoothly...
Mm... hehe... I hope it'll read more smoothly later on.
Please vote with recommendation tickets! Sob sob!
Before you continue