The girl opened her helmet visor and glared furiously at Lin Xia.
Lin Xia responded with a smile in his eyes.
At such close range, Lin Xia realized that the girl's face truly deserved to be called flawless.
Since neither of them could speak,
they could only communicate through their eyes.
As time passed,
the anger had long since faded from the girl's eyes, replaced by a smug look.
She'd noticed that Lin Xia's health was dropping much faster than hers!
At this rate, it wouldn't be long before she won.
Lin Xia could tell why the girl was so pleased with herself.
But he didn't care at all about how quickly his health was draining.
Instead, he blinked at her, answering her smug look in kind.
The fact that he could blink meant the temperature was rising and the sculpture was beginning to melt.
After all, this map was the Blazing Desert.
But by now, both their health bars were in terrible shape.
The girl had only 14% of her health left.
Lin Xia's was nearly depleted, at just 8%!
A little more time passed.
Just as Lin Xia's health reached 2%, cracks appeared in the sculpture.
Seeing this, Lin Xia and the girl pushed at the same time, as if by silent agreement, blasting themselves free of the ice.
"Phew~~!"
They both began gulping in air.
Since health affected all attributes,
their minuscule health levels meant they were both extremely weak.
And [Absolute Zero] also inflicted a bleeding debuff.
If they were hit, their health would keep draining for a while, even after they escaped the ice sculpture.
However, the girl's slightly higher health also meant she was a little stronger than Lin Xia at that moment.
Of course, she'd last a little longer, too.
"Click!"
The girl instantly switched to her battle face, lowered her mech's visor, then smugly formed an ice spike in her left hand and slowly approached Lin Xia.
She seemed to think victory was in the bag.
But Lin Xia's next words made her freeze in place!
"What a shame. If I didn't have this, I really would've lost to you."
Lin Xia weakly straightened up, pulled out a human-shaped chocolate bar, and took a big bite.
In the blink of an eye, he'd finished the whole thing.
The girl watched in astonishment as Lin Xia's health immediately refilled!
She wasn't shocked that Lin Xia had recovered his health.
She simply couldn't understand where a newly awakened rookie like him had gotten such a precious item.
At market prices, a recovery agent that could restore health to full cost 100,000 Imperial Coins.
The girl glanced at Lin Xia's cheap clothes and couldn't believe he could afford something like that!
"Why the dazed look?"
Lin Xia asked, though he already knew the answer. Now it was his turn to look smug. "Can you answer my question now? Do you believe in love at first sight?"
"You haven't answered my question, either."
The girl wasn't discouraged by Lin Xia returning to full health. "Do you believe in getting one-shotted?"
At that, Lin Xia frowned.
He looked at the girl's nearly empty health bar, puzzled.
"You're not the only one who can afford items."
The girl opened her visor again and pulled a lollipop out of her inventory.
Health Recovery Agents came in all sorts of forms and could be made to suit the user's preferences.
Lin Xia recognized that the lollipop was a Health Recovery Agent.
But he wasn't as clueless as the girl!
"Whoosh—!"
Lin Xia dashed in front of her and firmly grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the agent. "Next time, remember to interrupt your opponent's healing. Don't just stand there like an idiot and wait for them to recover."
"You... you're despicable!"
The girl's breathing grew ragged. She glanced at her health bar, which had only [1%] left, and a wave of helplessness washed over her.
The next second,
"Whoosh—!"
The girl's mech slowly faded away, and her body began to blur.
"Zhu Tingyu?"
Lin Xia read the name on the girl's ID badge.
"Hmph!"
The girl ignored Lin Xia and wore a defiant expression.
The next second, she vanished completely.
[Victory!]
[Victory Points +50!]
[Current Rank: Black Iron Tier 2, 60 Victory Points!]
Lin Xia returned to his room.
He subconsciously sniffed the air. The girl's faint fragrance seemed to linger.
Lin Xia wasn't exactly a gentleman.
He was sure he'd fallen for the girl.
The feeling was hard to describe. It wasn't just because she was beautiful; it was more like the feeling of getting back something he'd lost...
In his previous life, he'd missed out on his unattainable first love. But in this life, he'd met someone similar. Lin Xia resolved that he had to win her over!
"Zhu Tingyu... What a coincidence. I like listening to the rain as I fall asleep on rainy days."
Lin Xia's lips curved upward without him realizing it.
From then on, besides leveling up and cultivating, he had another reason to keep going.
"With your strength, I bet we'll meet again at Imperial University."
Lin Xia lay down on the bed. Within seconds, sleepiness swept over him.
The next day,
Lin Xia got up early, washed up, and headed out.
He went to the nearest teleportation gate.
These devices could be found all over the Great Xia Empire.
The gates allowed people to reach another place instantly.
Best of all, university students could use them for free as many times as they wanted!
"Zzzzt—!"
Lin Xia watched the blue barrier crackle before him, feeling a little excited.
He'd never left City A before, not in his entire life.
"Whoosh—!"
As soon as Lin Xia passed through the barrier, an unfamiliar scene came into view.
Only after his whole body emerged from the teleportation gate
could he finally take in the sights of the imperial capital, City S.
Skyscrapers rose from the ground, seemingly piercing the clouds, their tops nowhere in sight.
Rows of colorful shops stretched into a river of dazzling hues.
The streets bustled with traffic, and the sheer variety of vehicles was overwhelming.
But before Lin Xia could properly admire the capital's charms, someone called out to him.
The man approaching was a good-natured middle-aged fellow.
He was the guide responsible for escorting new students to campus.
The middle-aged man had Lin Xia get into his car. After driving for about half an hour, they arrived at the entrance to Imperial University.
There were hardly any people at the school gates.
The middle-aged man explained that the upperclassmen hadn't started the new term yet.
Then he showed Lin Xia around the campus.
They finally stopped outside dorm room [406].
"You're the first one to arrive at your dorm, so you can pick your bed first."
The middle-aged man took out a large photo of Lin Xia and said, "Once you've picked a spot, just stick this photo there.
"The school's already prepared your bedding. You'll only need to buy some daily necessities yourself.
"All right, I'll leave you to it. Don't forget to meet on the athletic field at four this afternoon. Do your best to get into a good class!"
"Thank you for your help."
Lin Xia politely saw the middle-aged man off.
Then he went into the dorm.
The room was large, but it had only four beds.
Aside from a metal cabinet in the corner, the rest of the space was completely empty.
Lin Xia looked around, then chose the first bed and put his photo on it.
"Well, look who it is! What a small world!"
A familiar voice rang out behind Lin Xia. "I'm going to kill you!!"
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