Killing Time (Part 2)

At this moment, the Game Interface had already started running. Ronan was gradually forming a plan and could no longer be bothered to wrangle with Zhang Yingying over such matters. He glanced over the wind speed and temperature data, then gestured for them to advance.

Black Tooth and his pet—a mechanical dog named "Nubi" carrying two base loads of ammunition—chose the tallest hill in the surrounding terrain and began climbing.

Zhang Yingying curled her lip and folded her arms across her chest, making no moves at all. Her Aberrant Species character, "Wind Flare," cruised through the air, projecting an air of complete control.

Ronan understood what she meant. She was giving up tactical mobility to settle the match head-on. For a character like Black Tooth, this was undoubtedly the situation where his combat power could be brought out most fully.

As a beginner, Ronan accepted this "preferential treatment." He controlled Black Tooth and set up a weapons platform atop the hill, completely sacrificing mobility in exchange for maximum firepower.

Once everything was ready, Ronan said nothing and simply made a provocative gesture.

Zhang Yingying curled her lip. For the first time, her hand gesture changed as she controlled Wind Flare, which resembled a giant poisonous bee, sending it charging forward at breakneck speed. In the blink of an eye, it had crossed the center line of the battlefield.

At this point, the distance displayed between the two sides was 987 meters.

900, 800, 700...

Black Tooth's light Electromagnetic Cannon began to roar, carving bright trails through the sky.

Zhang Yingying immediately grew excited and declared impatiently:

"I'm going to crush you!"

"..."

No matter how goofy Zhang Yingying acted, her skill at controlling the game was certainly far above Ronan's.

Wind Flare's massive body surged forward, weaving and dancing through the increasingly dense barrage. Once it crossed the 500-meter line of Life and Death, several successive small-scale shifts shattered the painstakingly woven Bullet Screen.

Nubi was corroded by venom, causing its ammunition to detonate. Black Tooth was also swept across the neck by the thin, translucent bee wings and was directly KO'd.

"First Blood!"

Across the desk, Zhang Yingying wagged a finger at Ronan.

"Want to switch characters?"

Without a word, Ronan selected "Restart Battle."

Zhang Yingying accepted with a grin. While waiting for the battlefield to load, however, she sensed something. Looking up, she saw that Ronan's gaze had passed through the light screen and rested on her face without moving for quite some time.

She lifted her chin slightly and winked at him. "Well? Pretty, aren't I?"

Whether she meant her looks or her control skills was open to interpretation.

Ronan did not answer. His gaze shifted away slightly, but before long, it circled back.

Miss Zhang Yingying was naturally beautiful and had never been afraid of being looked at. Besides, with a game right in front of them, they had to play until they were satisfied first.

Within the enclosed room, light and shadows intertwined in a hazy blur as time rushed past in another form.

Once Wilderness Battle began, it never stopped. Not until a phone call came in, informing Zhang Yingying of the latest news.

"They finished the interrogation... What time is it? Tsk, they really pulled an all-nighter."

The counter at the lower side of the light screen simultaneously displayed the number of matches, game time, and real-world time. It showed that it was already 4:50 a.m. on the 28th. Ronan and Zhang Yingying had fought over two hundred rounds, spending nearly seven hours.

"It really is a masterpiece for killing time..."

Ronan took several deep breaths. Rather than feeling tired after such a long gaming session, his brain was in an extremely excited state.

Now, he had to do something.

Ronan picked up his notebook, flipped to a blank page, and began drawing. In barely a dozen seconds, the fluorescent pen had sketched out a rough outline. It was still his usual "rough sketch" style. He did not dwell on details, merely depicting the figure's posture and a fairly typical background.

In the drawing, a girl with a blurred face propped her cheek up with one hand while making gestures with the other. At first glance, she looked somewhat lazy, but the tension in her body told everyone:

She was focused and thoroughly engrossed.

She was playing a game. Whether it was Wilderness Ten Days or drinking and playing finger-guessing games, it was that exact sort of feeling.

More than that, she was assessing her opponent. Perhaps out of a powerful desire to win, perhaps for some other reason.

Ronan paused his pen slightly, confirming that this was the effect he wanted.

Since ten o'clock last night, Ronan had observed Zhang Yingying for a full seven hours. Compared to his usual rapid observation and quick grasp of things, this was undoubtedly an atypical approach.

Still, Ronan believed it had been worth it. To him, Zhang Yingying was absolutely someone worth recording.

But there was still something else that needed to be expressed.

Ronan's pen hovered in midair, refusing to fall for a long while. It was not that he could not grasp it, but once he put it to paper, it would mean declaring an attitude... He could wait longer. He could observe more.

He faced the sketch directly and fell into thought.

Zhang Yingying had finished her call and somewhat regretfully shut down the game display. She said to Ronan, "We can go home now. That Phantom has to stay here as evidence... Oh, right. Are you heading straight to school? Not going home to get some sleep first?"

Ronan gave a grunt and continued lowering his head in thought, his pen tip poised just above the page.

With Zhang Yingying's curiosity, how could she possibly resist that? She immediately leaned over to look, then froze before instinctively reaching out to touch Ronan's forehead.

"Hey, are you trying to hit on me?"

Ronan neither dodged nor looked up, allowing Zhang Yingying's warm palm to rest lightly against his forehead as his pen made more detailed strokes.

Kids these days were maturing way too early!

Seeing Ronan put on such a cool act, Zhang Yingying almost wanted to cover his eyes with her hand. But half a second later, the subtle changes in the notebook seized all her attention.

The fluorescent pen's nature made it difficult to convey the layered buildup of light and shadow in lines. Yet through well-placed blank space, Ronan depicted vague, faintly rippling elongated details, like a flowing band of clouds winding around the girl.

That was it.

Even Zhang Yingying herself had not noticed that whenever she got carried away playing games, her Aura stirred, and certain things shed their concealment and revealed themselves.

Perhaps even an ordinary person equipped with the most advanced scanning instruments might not uncover the mystery within. But ever since Burning Demon Shadow had taken Ronan on an Astral Projection journey, the perceptions of his eyes, ears, nose, and tongue had entered a special Mental Layer, allowing him to see things beyond imagination.

The room was deathly quiet, so quiet that even the air seemed to have frozen. Ronan, however, maintained his usual rhythm. He paused and finished the stroke, then attached the stylus tip, clipped it back into the pen case, pressed the now-insensitive clasp, separated the metal ring binder, and removed the draft.

After finishing all that, Ronan drew a barely perceptible breath, raised his head, and offered the draft with both hands. "Lawyer Zhang, this drawing is for you. Consider it a small token of thanks for what happened today—uh, yesterday."

"..."

Zhang Yingying did not respond immediately. She stared at the indistinct sketch as though looking into a mirror, then unconsciously raised a hand and, comparing herself to the image, reached back to touch the corresponding spot on her body.

Her fingertips swept over empty air. Only her battle-honed Soul Sense received the corresponding feedback from herself.

"My 'White Rainbow' looks like this?"

Zhang Yingying stood stunned for a full ten seconds before suddenly snapping awake. Her gaze instantly locked onto Ronan's face.

"You... you're a psychic!"