Ran for It

Yan Fushou was slightly taken aback after hearing Lu Xiu's two requests.

But upon further reflection, I quickly felt relieved.

Thinking about it carefully, apart from these, the girl in front of me really doesn't need anything else. The Coordination Bureau might not be able to give her what she truly wants.

After all, based on observations over this period, Lu Xiu has very low material desires and no yearning for that kind of transcendent power and status—although, for the time being, she has already subtly transcended the system to some extent.

In fact.

The entire live broadcast of that collective battle was watched by members of the National Abnormal Space Response and Survival Committee, the superior of the Coordination Bureau, along with the director of the Coordination Bureau.

However, after it was over, there were no special instructions given to Lu Xiu.

This in itself is a signal.

It's important to understand that even a behemoth like the Coordination Bureau, which controls civilian dungeon registration, Architect fund distribution, strategic item reserves, and is deeply integrated into the military system, directly converting dungeon resources into frontline combat power and managing the entire Strategy Group (top-tier player group), still has intricate checks and balances and multi-dimensional supervision within it.

The massive administrative structure has always existed.

Yan Fushou, having directly managed the top-tier player group, understood this very well.

He usually indulges the members of the Strategy Group, letting them grow freely without any problem. But if he dares to ask a member of the Strategy Group to kill someone for him to satisfy his personal desires, the supervisory Disciplinary Inspection Office under the committee will probably break down the door the next day.

However, no plan has yet been proposed to absorb or control Lu Xiu.

This speaks volumes.

Of course, it's also possible that the director and committee members reached some kind of consensus, feeling that for Lu Xiu, not interfering and maintaining her current state of freedom is the most perfect way to get along.

But in any case.

This is special enough.

Yan Fushou shook his head inwardly, quickly gathering his scattered thoughts.

"The venue issue is easy to solve."

He looked at Lu Xiu and said, "The location was actually chosen in advance. It's the abandoned community where we tested the Jump Kit last time. It's in a remote area, and all the people in the vicinity have already been evacuated and resettled. It's absolutely safe."

If you need to completely demolish the buildings, the engineering corps can come in and clear the site quickly.

I'll go to the site and see for myself then.

Lu Xiu hesitated for a moment before deciding not to push it down directly.

Yan Fushou nodded. "Okay."

After discussing the venue...

Yan Fushou paused, a somewhat troubled expression appearing on his face.

Regarding the cooling items you mentioned—

He sighed and said truthfully, "To reduce the cooldown period of several days to zero, this level of item is simply too overpowered. As far as I know, the Coordination Bureau does not have such an item."

"However, I can't say for sure whether it's there or not. I'll talk to Li Shengkai when I get back, and if it is, I'll definitely bring it to you."

Lu Xiu was not surprised by what she heard, and simply nodded slightly.

After all, the reason why the cooldown time for Lord of Cinder Domain is as long as ten days is because the system considers this skill to be too overpowered.

Without a ten-day cooldown period, the balance would be directly disrupted.

Items that can instantly reset cooldowns must be extremely valuable.

Even in the traditional online games of Lu Xiu's previous life, it was a god-level artifact that would disrupt the underlying balance, let alone in this gamified world.

It's normal that the Coordination Bureau didn't collapse.

"Go ahead and ask. If they don't have it, that's fine. I was just mentioning it casually."

Lu Xiu thought for a moment, "However, if you watched the live broadcast, you should have seen it. There's something going on at Prison Rock. After the collective battle ends, it'll probably be a truce period. If they want to redeem the lost territory, they'll definitely have to pay a price."

"I know."

Yan Fushou laughed upon hearing this, "In fact, we've already started making contingency plans, but I'm not in charge of them. If Prison Rock has any, we'll definitely make them hand it all over."

Lu Xiu casually replied, "I hope so."

"Hmm... right."

Yan Fushou seemed to remember something. "I'd like to ask you, would you mind telling me the details of the Lord of Cinder's Domain Skill?"

Next.

Seemingly to prevent Lu Xiu from overthinking, he explained, "Everyone can see the live stream, and almost everyone will try to guess your skills based on it. The Coordination Bureau is no exception."

We also tried to guess and record your skills through the live stream, but we could only see the surface effects most of them. Those skills that are unique to you only apply to yourself. You can talk about them if you want, but if you don't want to, then forget it.

But Lord of Cinder of Domain Skill —since it benefits others—I'd still like to know its specific effects.

"Didn't your Strategy Group report this to you?"

Lu Xiu blinked. "They should all know the effects of the skill through their status, right?"

"The report has been submitted."

Yan Fushou hesitated and asked, "But is there an unknown mechanism?"

"----Actually, there's only one."

Lu Xiu thought for a moment and then explained the effects of Burn to Ashes: "As for the other skills, I won't go into detail. I estimate that in scenarios where I'm cooperating with the Strategy Group, we'll mostly be limited to Lord of Cinder, and my other skills don't synergize well with others."

"Learn."

Yan Fushou nodded slightly, not surprised, but added, "Understood—however, my advice is to never trigger the Burn to Ashes effect. The attribute penalty is too severe, especially for someone like you; it's not worth it."

"I know."

Do you have any other needs in your daily life?

Yan Fushou glanced at Lu Xiu and still asked a question.

"Life needs? Could you let Shen Nian dress up as a blondie? She looks so real."

Lu Xiu almost said those words.

But in the end, I held back.

Shen Nian is watching with bated breath.

So Lu Xiu shook her head. "No."

Ultimately, she doesn't lack anything.

Next.

Lu Xiu chatted with Yan Fushou for a few more minutes, and finally Yan Fushou mentioned that Director Li Bao and other high-ranking officials wanted to see her.

But after thinking about it, Lu Xiu still refused.

Of course, they gave reasons, saying they were very busy lately, busy with team battles, busy preparing for experimental Placement Function, and so on.

Of course, the real reason is simply to avoid getting too involved.

After all, the current way we get along is quite good.

Yan Fushou was not surprised by this either. Noticing that Lu Xiu looked tired, he knew that she had just finished a group battle, so he prepared to take his leave.

However, before leaving...

He asked with a smile, "I'm going to participate in a team battle soon, do you have any advice?"

Lu Xiu was stunned for a moment, then realized what she meant.

There's no way to escape this group battle, unlike a regular arena where you can just disappear into a dungeon and become a deserter.

This time, management personnel will also be involved, including Yan Fushou is standing right in front of us.

They are most likely participating in matchmaking with lower-tier players.

Yan Fushou is alright; he still has some strength.

But those managers who lack competence will likely find themselves in a very difficult situation.

A group of pot-bellied men were struggling in Dark Souls.

It's hilarious just thinking about it.

"Live on."

Lu Xiu burst out laughing at the image of the overweight middle-aged man Bonfire the Dark Souls Monster, then sincerely offered a suggestion. "Avoid those underworld places; light as many Bonfire as you can."

Yan Fushou looked at the stunningly beautiful girl in front of him, whose eyes crinkled into crescents and whose gloating was undisguised.

The sense of distance he had initially felt due to Lu Xiu's terrifying, the Deity performance on the battlefield vanished instantly.

Yan Fushou smiled helplessly to himself.

At the end of the day, she's still a young girl, no matter how strong she is.

Anyone who has been in close proximity to someone.

I knew then that the girl in front of me had a really good personality; she was genuine and vibrant.

Of course—that only applies when you're not her enemy.

If you become her enemy.

She drew her knife with a cold expression.

Those who Construction Club, those who Play Society, those who played in the Prison Rock —in short, many people have seen it all.

Everyone knows just how terrifying that scene was.

But being looked down upon is still really unpleasant.

This is disrespecting your uncle!!

Back in the day, he also worked his way up from the bottom. Although he had never beaten any of the Chosen Player, he still had the skill to beat lower-tier players!

Next, we'll open her eyes to a whole new world!

As Yan Fushou pondered this, he strode away from Lu Xiu's house.

The door clicked shut again.

The slightly serious atmosphere in the living room vanished instantly.

Neither Jian Li nor Shen Nian spoke just now.

The main reason is that it's not appropriate to interrupt.

After all, theoretically.

Lu Xiu was not in the same system as them at all, and the two of them couldn't possibly say anything to persuade Lu Xiu on behalf of the Coordination Bureau, so they simply kept quiet.

Now that the outsiders have left...

Shen Nian immediately revealed her true colors.

She looked at Lu Xiu, her bright, beautiful eyes filled with a mischievous smile, tinged with teasing. "Lu Xiu, you're truly a big shot now. Not only have you risen to fame in the player community, becoming an idol for all players, but even our boss has to personally come to your door to inquire about your well-being and ask what you need—what a status!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiu turned to the side and gave Shen Nian's appearance. "You seem quite happy watching me die?"

"Of course, you really are good-looking. I've been looking forward to seeing how those players who were criticizing you would react. Sure enough, their attitude did a complete 180-degree turn. Who wouldn't want to watch this drama unfold—uh."

Shen Nian had only spoken halfway when she quickly corrected herself. "No."

"Were you so busy watching my funny moments that you forgot to check the posts about yourself?"

Lu Xiu also extended her fair finger and tapped Shen Nian's forehead before standing up.

"?"

Shen Nian was stunned for a moment, and a very bad premonition welled up in her heart.

She quickly brought up the System Panel, opened the forum, and after skimming through the posts praising Lu Xiu and expressing her liking for her, she finally saw a few posts about herself.

After a moment of silence.

The next second, a sharp explosion suddenly erupted in the living room!

"Aaaaaaah!!!"

"You misled me!"

"What do you mean I have special fetishes?! And that 'master' thing?! That was a slip of the tongue! A slip of the tongue!! Why are these bored players taking screenshots and discussing everything they see?!"

Lu Xiu chuckled contentedly, casually stretching her graceful figure. Ignoring Shen Nian's humiliating and indignant rage, she went straight to take a bath.

Jian Li also found her noisy—she got up and went to find the clothes left at Lu Xiu's house, intending to be the second one to wash.

Only Shen Nian remained.

Now it was Shen Nian's turn to sprawl on the sofa, looking utterly hopeless.

One hour later.

Lu Xiu walked out of the bathroom, drying her half-dry hair.

She changed into a loose white T-shirt and a pair of short, pure black loungewear shorts that were just short enough to cover the top of her thighs, revealing a pair of fair, slender, and flawless straight legs.

Lu Xiu walked to the sofa, picked up the water glass on the table, took a sip, then sat down on the sofa, directly summoned the System Panel, and opened the main live broadcast room of Nine Provinces.

More than an hour has passed since the first group's group battle ended, and the live stream is now broadcasting the second group's group battle.

Lu Xiu glanced at the broadcast view and saw a few familiar IDs in the vast list of participating players.

For example, Du Shu, who previously shared his Sifu's martial arts style, and Zhao Heng from the Longsword Guild, among others.

Meanwhile, the second group of Nine Provinces players were relatively united, each leading a small team and cautiously exploring Dark Souls.

However, this is completely different from the style of the first tier, which is full of tension from the very beginning, heading straight for the Core Bonfire area, and even daring to confront a BOSS like Midir head-on.

The second-tier players had obviously watched the live streams of the first-tier players.

Therefore, both sides tacitly reached a consensus—to hell with the Core Bonfire, let whoever wants to touch it touch it, we're not touching it!

They even deliberately avoided places like the Blighttown.

The second group of players were clearly very pragmatic and focused on their own interests, mostly crowding into the outer areas to compete for the scattered ordinary Bonfire.

This seems like a safer approach.

But this is clearly not what the audience wants to see.

[Boring! I want to see rivers of blood!]

[No way! Why don't you guys fight Midir? Fight the players of Prison Rock under Midir's breath!]

[What are you even fighting? Why don't you go to the Painted World? Why don't you go to Oolacile? Why don't you go to the Firelink Shrine? Those are places with tons of battle merits, why don't you want them? (laughs)]

[Yeah, Lu Xiu's fight just now was so exciting! One-hit kill! She toyed with Midir like she was walking a dog! Didn't you guys get your blood pumping? Don't you want to go and fight her?! Don't be a coward!]

[Hey, you guys are just talking without understanding the situation. Even the top-tier players are struggling, and you're expecting the second-tier players to fight for the Core Bonfire?]

Are you going to be a coward forever, or a hero for just one second?

[If I were fighting someone like Artorias, I'd rather be a coward.]

[----]

Seeing the screen full of disapproving comments, Lu Xiu couldn't help but chuckle.

Silly gamer.

Did they forget that they also need to be matched?

Aren't you afraid of getting a boomerang when you say these things now?

But thinking about it, it makes sense.

Because Lu Xiu also wanted to read this book.

certainly.

Just thinking about it.

It's really a stretch to have players from Nine Provinces fight the Sister Friede and Midir; the losses would be enormous.

I wonder if the players in Prison Rock will give it a try, since they've already been cornered.

However, when Lu Xiu saw the mental state of the Prison Rock players through the Nine Provinces players, she was somewhat disappointed.

In the scene, the players in the Prison Rock seemed to have had all their energy and spirit completely drained.

They're no longer unruly or arrogant.

Even when fighting over a regular Bonfire, and being directly attacked and verbally provoked by players from Nine Provinces, these Prison Rock players didn't retaliate with their usual arrogant threats.

The drop in morale is clearly visible.

Is this related to the collective battle of the top-tier players? Has the morale of the Prison Rock players been completely shattered?

Just as Lu Xiu was thinking this...

At the other end of the sofa, an unidentified object that had been curled up and pretending to be dead suddenly began to move.

With her messy, shoulder-length, pretty short hair, Shen Nian looked like a dog that had lost a dogfight and was now slinking away to find its owner with its tail drooping. She slowly moved to Lu Xiu's side and looked at her resentfully. "Have you forgotten that there's a living person like me here?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiu tilted her head to the side, her long, smooth hair cascading down her fair face, revealing her stunning profile. "I thought you hadn't yet recovered from your social anxiety—come on, do you even have social anxiety like me? I've already moved on, haven't I?"

"This is different."

Shen Nian lowered her head slightly, her pretty shoulder-length short hair drooping listlessly. "Your praise outweighed your criticism. Although there were indeed some perverts mixed in, most of it was positive admiration."

Unlike me----

"Calling you 'master'—barking like a dog—your reputation is completely ruined."

".

Lu Xiu looked back at the live stream and saw Du Shu of Tingqiao fighting against a player from Prison Rock. Curious, she casually replied, "It's not that exaggerated. I just think you're cute."

Shen Nian raised her head: "----"

"Really, really."

Before she could speak, Lu Xiu, while watching the live stream, reached out her slender, fair hand and naturally placed it on Shen Nian's messy hair, gently rubbing it as if to soothe her.

Shen Nian: "----You're basically treating me like a dog right now! And you're the kind of person who has no patience and is just giving me the runaround!"

"Nonsense."

Lu Xiu kept her eyes on the live stream, turned her face slightly to the side, and retorted.

Splash----

The sound of running water could be heard coming from the bathroom not far away.

Jian Li took over from Lu Xiu, who had finished bathing, and was now taking a bath herself.

Shen Nian looked at Lu Xiu, who was just going through the motions, and glared at her gently. She felt angry and wanted to bite her.

But in the end, I couldn't get angry.

I feel like I'm truly possessed.

Shen Nian looked at Lu Xiu, who was sitting gracefully, and was amused by her own thought, so she couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Come to think of it, if Lu Xiu hadn't brought it up, she would have completely forgotten all the shameful things she had done in the collective battle.

I did feel incredibly ashamed in front of so many people at the time, but looking back, I wasn't actually that bothered by it.

Even when she had to call him "master" and bark like a puppy in front of so many people, she didn't feel much resistance.

At first, wearing a maid outfit and calling someone "master" must have felt shameful and embarrassed.

However, every time Shen Nian saw Lu Xiu's eyes sparkle and her beautiful smile appear when she called out, a secret sense of accomplishment would rise in her heart.

Then I wanted to get her to show that happy and lively expression again—and after a while, I got used to it.

This is probably what friends are like, right?

As Shen Nian felt the casual rubbing on her head, her thoughts drifted away.

She suddenly remembered the days she had spent in the Old Sea.

Those were truly bleak days, a time when no hope could be seen.

At that time, she had to work hard in the game while also taking care of her mother.

After her mother passed away, she felt as if her whole world had collapsed, leaving her a numb, walking corpse, not knowing what to do or where to go.

He appeared timid and cowardly.

But ever since I cleared Lu Xiu's instance, emerged from the mire of the Old Sea, and then met Lu Xiu in reality—everything seems to have changed.

She could feel herself becoming more cheerful and confident.

This is probably the way of life my mother wanted me to find.

I guess I've made a good friend, right?

very nice.

She saved herself; her copy pulled her out of the mire.

Even so, even as the absolute protagonist in a group battle, even after her boss came to visit.

She can still treat herself with the utmost equality and even joke with herself.

As Shen Nian pondered, her smile deepened, and she rested her snow-white chin on her hand, quietly watching Lu Xiu.

She's good-looking, has an even better figure, and a wonderful personality.

Actually, not to mention the players on the forum, even she herself sometimes couldn't help but think when she looked at Lu Xiu, how wonderful it would be to have someone like that to spend her life with.

She knew Lu Xiu was a girl, but----

And just then...

In the live stream, Du Shu of Tingqiao, ended the battle and killed the player from Prison Rock.

Lu Xiu also shifted her gaze.

As soon as he turned his head, he met Shen Nian's gaze.

"What's on your mind?"

Lu Xiu looked at her, tilted her head, and complained, "Why are you smiling like an idiot?"

--..

-""

Shen Nian's thoughts came to an abrupt halt. Upon hearing this, she glared at Lu Xiu with annoyance, her fair earlobes turning slightly red. To change the subject, she shifted her gaze downwards, landing on Lu Xiu's long legs that were pressed together.

Her skin, fresh from a shower, shone with a lustrous sheen like mutton fat jade. Under the soft lighting of the living room, it was almost dazzlingly white, and her lines were long, graceful, and flawless.

Shen Nian said directly, "I was wondering why your legs are so white!"

"How should I know!"

Lu Xiu looked down at her legs and was speechless.

She pinched Shen Nian's cheeks in an annoyed manner and gently pulled them apart.

This guy was just devastated by his ruined reputation, how did his thought process suddenly jump to this point?

Shen Nian laughed.

Then, during their playful banter, she keenly noticed that Lu Xiu seemed a little flustered and even somewhat embarrassed.

Shen Nian blinked her watery eyes, then suddenly leaned closer, and with her cool fingers, she gently tucked a strand of hair behind Lu Xiu's ear, just like Jian Li had done not long ago.

"?"

Lu Xiu abruptly stopped, glaring at her. "What are you doing? Did you two make plans together?"

"If Jian Li can do it, why can't I?"

Shen Nian's eyes were full of smiles.

Just then...

Click.

The sound of the bathroom doorknob turning came from inside.

I heard a sound.

Just moments ago, Shen Nian was incredibly brave, but then she shrank back, instantly breaking free from Lu Xiu's pinch on her cheek. "I'm going to find some clothes to take a shower."

"Besides----"

She paused, then leaned close to Lu Xiu's ear and whispered, "So white."

Having said that, he got up and ran away quickly.

Lu Xiu stared at Shen Nian's retreating figure.

At that moment, Jian Li emerged, her body still damp with moisture.

She also changed into a cool loungewear outfit, and her fair and delicate legs looked especially beautiful under the lights, especially through her shorts.

Lu Xiu glanced at Jian Li, then shouted at Shen Nian, "You're only talking about me? Why don't you say Jian Li's legs are white!"

Jian Li stopped in her tracks, paused slightly as she dried her hair with a towel, and then slowly turned her head to look at Shen Nian, who was brushing past her.

Shen Nian accelerated instantly!

----It runs very fast.