Ning Rongrong: I Have More to Consider

The walk from the Great Soul Arena to Shrek Academy was not particularly long, and they arrived while still chatting.

Before dismissing them, Flender gave the seven little ones a final reminder:

"What happened today was an accident; try your best not to spread the word."

The night was deep, so the group nodded and quickly headed off to rest.

"Yawn..."

Inside his room, Lu Ma stretched his back. From the moment he woke up until now, he had been playing for three hours.

He saved his progress hastily, ignored the "Skip the Night" option, and closed the game directly.

He then stood up, paced around for a bit, returned to his seat to pick up his phone, and found the lock screen crowded with a dense wall of notifications.

15:57

June 21, Friday

[wx: 99+ unread messages]

[pdd: 3 shipping updates]

[zs Bank: Explaining "Risk Assessment"...]

[(27) missed calls]

"Hmm..."

Lu Ma didn't rush to unlock it, instead staring at the notifications on his lock screen with a solemn expression.

Especially when his gaze fell upon the missed calls; those 27 missed calls truly gave him a start.

He quickly scanned his recent schedule in his mind, but couldn't recall any important appointments during these past three hours.

Whatever, he would just open it and see.

Too lazy to overthink, Lu Ma unlocked his phone and opened the call interface.

Of the 27 missed calls, 3 were "spam calls," and the remaining 24 were from a contact named "Boss."

This "Boss" was naturally not his actual superior at work, but rather a relatively wealthy friend of Lu Ma's.

"Did something happen to Boss? But that doesn't seem right; these calls only came once every 5 minutes, so it shouldn't be anything urgent... Is he having a fit?"

Lu Ma was a bit puzzled, then opened wx, where the 99+ messages were also from the pinned contact, "Boss Sima."

He clicked in to find a series of "I'm angry" cat stickers.

Scrolling up, it was mostly just spammed stickers, with the occasional "Are you done yet?" or "What are you eating?" thrown in.

"So, it's nothing."

Lu Ma let out a sigh of relief, turned to start drafting his game experience report for the next day, and sent it over to Dolphin Hair.

Just as he sent it, a call came through on his phone—

"Boss Sima"

Even through the screen, Lu Ma could feel a chill.

Should he answer this?

While he was thinking, his finger accidentally hit the answer button.

Five seconds passed, and he didn't make a sound, nor did "Boss Sima."

Another ten seconds passed, and "Boss Sima" hung up.

Twenty seconds later, his wx began to be bombarded.

[(Location) Fate Farmhouse Restaurant]

[Get here fast.]

Ning Rongrong opened her eyes and found herself back on her small bed in the girls' dormitory.

The sky was just beginning to brighten, and both Xiao Wu and Zhuqing were still asleep.

She twitched her fingers.

Very good, he was gone, and control of her body had returned.

Having had the experience of breaking free once before, Ning Rongrong did not lose her composure the second time; she appeared quite at ease.

Her emotions were extremely stable—so stable that she clearly remembered this was the ninth day. The ninth day since she had been under control.

On the seventh day, she had joined Shrek Academy and snuck out of school at night to scavenge for treasure chests; on the eighth day, she had gone through life and death to add a decent Spirit Ring for herself, along with a Spirit Bone of unknown utility, and had even killed a monster at night...

That was likely a monster, anyway.

Ning Rongrong recalled the creature's appearance; it was hard to call it human.

She closed her eyes, organized her thoughts once more, and let the events of the past days echo in her mind.

She quietly climbed out of bed, tidied her bedding, and carefully left the dormitory, feeling nature with her body while reminding herself of the patterns once again.

"First, the control is imperceptible and difficult to eliminate."

"Second, the controller's hobby is opening treasure chests, and the items obtained from them are useless to me."

Ning Rongrong paused, and her Martial Soul appeared in the palm of her hand.

"I remember the incantation for that special soul skill is... Seven Treasures Rotate, Glazed Light Emerges; Seven Treasures Famous, the first is called Trapped Beast?"

She said with some uncertainty. Just as the last word fell, the first level of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda emitted a purple light.

The brightness was low, not even comparable to that time with Zhao Wuji; this purple glow was only enough for her to see by herself.

"Hmm, fortunately, I can still use the soul skills, and I remember the effect is to absorb and reflect attacks... I wonder what the effect will be when I use it. Let me try the third soul skill. Seven Treasures Rotate, Glazed Light Emerges; Seven Treasures Famous, the third is called Poison."

The third level of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda released a colorful light; this was the true appearance of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda when releasing soul skills.

The light gathered on the surface of Ning Rongrong's body, and she felt a wave of refreshment.

The consumption of soul power was acceptable.

Ning Rongrong deactivated the soul skill and added a third point to the rules:

"Third, I can use the soul skills obtained by the controller as usual."

"Fourth, after the controller leaves, I should have a relatively long period of freedom; I guess at least five days."

After emphasizing these four points, Ning Rongrong nodded with satisfaction, then rested her chin on her right hand and began to think again:

"So, how should I get along with my classmates?"

Previously at the sect, under the dual pressure of her own anxious heart and the indulgence of her elders, she had directly sought out Ning Fengzhi and the others to try and solve the problem. But she failed.

Now that she is not at the sect, the Dean's strength is too weak, making it even more impossible for him to solve the problem of her being controlled, so she can only submit.

Given the premise that the person will continue to control her in the near future, should she follow her own nature, or follow that person's behavioral logic?

Ning Rongrong thought for a moment and finally arrived at an answer.

She would live according to that person's behavioral logic. Otherwise, if she were to display words and actions vastly different from his, it would be highly likely that her companions would notice something abnormal.

If that happened, she would end up becoming the "weirdo controlling Ning Rongrong."

Although this wouldn't be discovered—at most, she would be questioned—that person possesses the ability of time regression. In such a situation, he would undoubtedly use it without hesitation to revert time to the correct point, for instance—this morning.

Then all the efforts she had made would be in vain.

Thinking of this, Ning Rongrong shook her head vigorously.

Compared to completely following her nature, she preferred to quietly leave traces of her own existence. Perhaps this way, there would be a chance for a comeback in the future, a chance to completely break free from that person!

"So, while acting as that person, I must find some things that he would absolutely never do, yet are still reasonable... I've got it! He seems to never engage in proper cultivation or physical training!"

Ning Rongrong thought of an idea, but her raised eyebrows soon sank again.

The speed of cultivation was too slow. If she cultivated on her own, she feared she wouldn't be able to handle the disparity.

"So, I'll start by running to train my physique."

Ning Rongrong shook her head, feeling quite helpless. Being controlled is like this; the controller only needs to consider maximizing benefits and doesn't have to care about her mental or physical state, whereas she has so much more to consider.