Gala-Gemu System, Connecting Xiao Xiao

Shrek City.

A unique city situated at the intersection of the three great empires.

At the heart of the city stands a legend of ten thousand years of glory, universally recognized as the number one academy in the world—Shrek.

It is the cradle that nurtures the strong across the entire continent!

At this moment, the commercial streets within the city are bustling with activity, with cries of vendors ringing out one after another, and stalls displaying all sorts of snacks and novel trinkets.

These days mark the enrollment period for Shrek.

People from all over have come in an endless stream to seek an education, and while the crowds are thick, the public order in Shrek City is excellent, so it does not feel congested.

"Come take a look, come see! Candied hawthorns made with honey from thousand-year-old Swift Bees; eat them and live without worries, and your soul power will rise as easily as a pine tree!"

"Mister, can your soul power really rise easily after eating this?" The speaker is a petite girl in a green dress with her hair in twin braids.

"That's a must, this is a century-old brand!"

"Is that so? Then please give me a skewer, hmm... I want that biggest one!" She stood on her tiptoes, pointing at the largest candied hawthorn on the stall.

"Coming right up! Five copper soul coins."

The vendor, wearing a mask and gloves, beamed with joy and nimbly retrieved the candied hawthorn.

"Thank you!" Xiao Xiao placed the five copper soul coins on the stall and happily took the offered treat.

She turned around, impatient to peel off the plastic wrap, and extended her pink tongue to take a light lick.

"Mmm~" The sweetness of the honey and the tartness of the fruit converged on the tip of her tongue.

Xiao Xiao's eyes lit up, and her steps became much lighter.

Just then, a commotion suddenly erupted from behind.

"Make way!" A hurried figure dashed out from the crowd.

The person was moving with lightning speed, heading straight for Xiao Xiao.

Xiao Xiao's pupils constricted, and she instinctively closed her eyes.

"Bang!" A sound rang out, catching her completely off guard.

Xiao Xiao stumbled from the impact, the candied hawthorn slipping from her hand and falling to the ground, covered in dust.

"Ah!" Just as she was about to fall.

A hand, white as jade, reached out, pulling her steadily into an embrace.

The person who had bumped into her merely offered a perfunctory apology before running off without looking back.

Xiao Xiao felt the world spin, and then she touched a firm, warm chest.

She slowly opened her eyes.

After making out the silhouette of a boy.

Xiao Xiao tilted her head back, locking eyes with Su Ling.

Years later, when Xiao Xiao recalled her first meeting with Su Ling.

It was a handsome face, with sword-like brows and phoenix eyes, his temperament tinged with a faint melancholy, yet carrying a hint of arrogance and uninhibited freedom.

With just a single glance, the name "Su Ling" was firmly branded onto her heart, never to be erased until death.

"Are you alright?" Su Ling's voice was low and gentle, filled with concern.

At this moment, the surrounding crowd was drawn by the commotion, and when several girls saw Su Ling's stunning, god-like face, they couldn't help but shriek.

"Oh my god, this boy is so handsome!!"

"He's even more handsome than Thunder Beibei! Does anyone know which class he's in?"

"Did he just save this girl? Ah! His chest looks so safe! I want to fall into his arms too..."

"Forget it, with your looks, that young man would call the Inspection Group to come and shoot you!"

The pockmarked woman who was mocked felt a jolt in her heart, a flicker of dark energy crossing her eyes as she silently retreated and vanished into the crowd.

Listening to the surrounding chatter.

Xiao Xiao froze, blinking her large, watery eyes until she caught a whiff of sandalwood from the tip of her nose.

She snapped back to reality in astonishment, realizing that Su Ling had already let go, yet she was still blankly leaning against his chest!

"I... I!" Like a startled little deer, Xiao Xiao sprang lightly away from Su Ling.

"I'm fine! Th... thank you!"

Xiao Xiao's ears turned red, the flush quickly spreading to her cheeks. She hurriedly lowered her eyes, not daring to look at Su Ling, her small hands nervously twisting the hem of her clothes.

At that moment, she felt the surrounding noise fade away, leaving only the thumping of her own heartbeat echoing in her ears.

"It's good that you're alright. There's a lot of foot traffic here, and people occasionally come rushing through blindly. You should be more careful in the future."

"Mm..." Xiao Xiao nodded obediently.

Su Ling smiled gently and glanced down at her feet. Xiao Xiao, who had been stealing glances at him, followed his gaze.

There lay a string of candied haws, covered in dirt and dust.

"Ah... my candied haws!" The bashfulness on Xiao Xiao's face froze, instantly replaced by heartache and regret.

"How hateful! I only got to taste one bite!"

She crouched down to pick it up and walked toward a nearby trash can.

Seeing this, Su Ling turned and began to walk away.

After tossing the dirty candied haws into the bin, Xiao Xiao turned around, only to find that Su Ling was gone.

"Eh, he left?"

Xiao Xiao's face fell, her expression turning dejected.

She felt like she was having a bit of bad luck today.

First, she was bumped into, then her candied haws got ruined, and most importantly, she hadn't even had the chance to get to know that handsome young man!

"I suppose I'll just go back to the dormitory to meditate..."

Just as she took a step to leave, a string of candied haws suddenly entered her field of vision, and that scent of aged wood she had smelled earlier returned.

Xiao Xiao paused, looking up in pleasant surprise.

It really was that handsome young man from before!

Standing before her now, Su Ling had a faint, bright smile on his lips. He held a string of candied haws in each hand, and he was offering her the largest one.

"Eh? Is this for me?" Xiao Xiao covered her mouth in surprise, her heart filled with excitement and a flicker of anticipation.

Su Ling nodded and chuckled, "Meeting is fate. Besides, I couldn't just stand by and watch such a cute girl look so dejected."

Su Ling was as refreshing as a spring breeze, carrying the air of a kind older brother next door. Xiao Xiao was momentarily dazed.

She didn't even notice that she was acting like a lovesick fool.

She had seen many handsome boys, but this was the first time she had encountered someone who possessed such a perfect combination of looks, temperament, and grace!

Xiao Xiao carefully took the candied haws.

Seeing the way her eyes seemed to sparkle with affection, Su Ling looked away, a sense of guilt rising in his heart.

Truly, trying to romance a little girl and saying these things out loud—it's just too hard to stomach! Su Ling thought with a bitter smile.

He was not a native of this world; he had been reborn here.

In his past life, he was a top-tier corporate slave. On his way home after working overtime one day, he was body-slammed—bike and all—by a cat that suddenly darted out.

He flew eight or nine meters through the air before his head slammed heavily into the green belt.

He died, was reborn, and discovered that this was the Douluo Continent, though the era was ten thousand years after Tang San had become a god.

At the same time, a system called Galgame had come with him. As long as he increased the favorability of objects recognized by the system, he could earn rewards.

Despite having a system, he had started with a disastrous hand!

Su Ling was reborn in an obscure mountain valley. His martial soul was merely a seed, and his innate soul power was only half a level.

Furthermore, with the Tang God King currently "monitoring" the Douluo Continent, Su Ling was terrified.

The Tang God King's ten-thousand-year grand plan could not afford any mistakes.

As an outsider, the Tang God King would never tolerate an unknown variable like him existing right under his nose.

Thus, from the day Su Ling arrived, he knew through the system that the Tang God King had been watching him, even testing him personally.

This torment lasted for six years.

Over these six years, relying on the acting skills he had honed as an extra, Su Ling spent his days pretending to be an honest boy raising pigs and herding cattle, while at night, he acted like a fool, pestering the neighborhood girls.

He even frequently shouted about wanting to drive an excavator.

Every test was narrowly passed through sheer luck.

Su Ling had successfully established a persona for the Tang God King: a low-intelligence, lecherous piece of trash.

Finally, seven days ago, the system notified him that the Tang God King had stopped his "inspections," and Su Ling felt the sense of being watched that had shrouded him for so long recede like a tide.

At that moment, Su Ling knew his chance had arrived!

In the system's conquest shop, there was an item called a "Plane Masking Temporary Card," priced at 600 conquest points.

He needed to bind a goddess to earn conquest points.

Taking advantage of the fact that Tang God King had not yet noticed anything unusual, he exchanged for and used the "Plane Masking Temporary Card" to cut off Tang God King's live broadcast feed.

Although it had a time limit, it could solve Su Ling's immediate crisis!

He could fully utilize this period to develop rapidly using the system!

By then, he would no longer need to worry about Tang God King!

Shrek was the beginning of all dreams, where the most elite geniuses of the entire continent gathered.

Having made up his mind, Su Ling bid farewell to the mountain ravine where he had lived for six years and traveled over mountains and through rivers to reach Shrek City.

He intended to try his luck and see if he could encounter a goddess as defined by the system.

And the facts were just as he had wished.

He met the future Xiao Ding Douluo, the empress who possessed the twin martial souls, the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron and the Nine Phoenixes Flute—Xiao Xiao!

Su Ling pulled back his thoughts.

Because the long-lost electronic sound of the system rang out.

[Xiao Xiao's favorability +5, obtained 50 conquest points]

[Xiao Xiao's favorability +3, obtained 30 conquest points]

[Xiao Xiao's favorability...]

[Detected S-rank goddess Xiao Xiao's current favorability has reached 20, does the host wish to bind?]

"Bind, bind!" Su Ling shouted urgently in his heart.

[Ding, binding successful!]

[Ding, host has bound a goddess for the first time, gifted a mysterious gift pack!]

[Current goddess Xiao Xiao's favorability has reached 30, unlocking stage one conquest reward: 300,000 gold soul coins, special reward - Charm Aura]

[Rewards have been stored in the temporary space, please extract them as soon as possible, host!]

"The system is amazing!"

Su Ling's brows danced with joy, his heart filled with excitement.

At this moment, he had endured for six years!!

Xiao Xiao looked at Su Ling, who had suddenly started laughing, and tilted her head in confusion, asking, "Um... what's wrong with you?"

"It's nothing, I just suddenly remembered something I have to do. You take your time eating, I'm leaving first!"

Su Ling stuffed the candied hawthorn into his mouth, swallowed it in a few quick gulps, turned around, and bolted.

Are you kidding? How could a little loli be more important than system rewards!?

"Hey... wait..."

Su Ling's figure had already vanished into the sea of people.

Xiao Xiao's hand hung in mid-air; she opened her mouth, then stomped her foot in frustration.

"Oh!! If I had known, I would have just asked! I don't even know if I'll ever see him again..."