Midterm goals
Bibi Dong glanced at him. The violet-gold eyes beneath her hat brim flickered, though it was hard to tell whether she was pleased or disdainful.
There was no one around anymore. Yue Guan and Gui Mei had left, and the street was empty except for the Soul Masters on night patrol in the distance, walking slowly with lanterns in hand.
Bibi Dong's shoulders relaxed.
"Is that so?" Her voice softened a fraction. "Then I'll change into this outfit whenever I come here."
Qin Chuan smiled. "That'd be great. But you can also get all kinds of women's outfits at my Game Hall. Maid outfits, esports outfits, sweet-and-sexy outfits, yoga clothes, for example. They don't just look good on you, either. They also boost your soul power or level."
Bibi Dong had never heard a single one of those names.
What was a maid outfit? And an esports outfit? A sweet-and-sexy outfit? Yoga clothes?
She turned them over in her mind, but not a single term matched anything she knew.
Still, she did not dwell on the names. She had only taken in the latter half.
"What? They can even raise your level?"
Qin Chuan nodded. "A player got a Limited-Time Maid Outfit before. Putting it on raises your soul power level by ten straight away. There's a cap, though. It can't take you above level 91."
"A player?" Bibi Dong understood this new term.
She stopped walking, her eyes fixed on Qin Chuan beneath her hat brim.
"Ten levels? Then wouldn't a level 81 Soul Douluo become a Titled Douluo just by putting it on?"
Qin Chuan nodded.
Bibi Dong's breathing quickened for a beat.
She swiftly did the calculations in her head. How many Soul Douluos in Spirit Hall were stuck between levels 81 and 91? Several dozen, at the very least. If each of them put on one of these outfits, it would be as good as Spirit Hall gaining dozens of Titled Douluos out of thin air.
Even if it was only temporary, that was still dozens of Titled Douluos.
"Is it permanent?"
Qin Chuan shook his head. "Wear it in the Third-Floor VR Script Exclusive Area, and there's no time limit. Wear it outside, and you get two hours. You can only choose one of the two."
Bibi Dong considered it. "Two hours would still be enough. Put it on at a critical moment, and it could turn the tide of a battle."
Qin Chuan nodded.
Bibi Dong fell silent for a few seconds, weighing the significance of this once more.
Then she reached out and linked her arm through Qin Chuan's.
Qin Chuan froze for a moment.
Bibi Dong offered no explanation. She simply held his arm as naturally as could be and started walking toward Spirit Hall.
With her hat brim pulled low and a veil covering her face, no one could recognize the woman strolling with her arm through a young man's as the Pope of Spirit Hall.
They chatted as they walked.
The night breeze blew past, carrying Spirit City's distinctive scent of sandalwood. The shops along the street had all closed, and only a few streetlights were still lit, stretching their shadows long.
Bibi Dong was much more talkative than usual.
"Qin Chuan, the games are so much fun." Her voice was muffled behind her veil, carrying a touch of wistfulness. "Sometimes I really don't want to be the Pope anymore."
Qin Chuan turned to look at her.
"I want to shed this identity," Bibi Dong said. "Spend every day at the Game Hall without having to worry about anything."
Qin Chuan laughed. "Then who would run Spirit Hall?"
"Let Gui Mei do it."
"Could Gui Mei handle it?"
Bibi Dong thought about it. "No."
They both laughed.
Qin Chuan thought, I should just take that as talk. For someone like Bibi Dong, power is her lifeblood. Get her to let go? Only if the sun rose in the west.
Still, the fact that she could say something like that showed she had truly enjoyed herself tonight.
"All right. When I get some cosplay outfits, I'll save one for you," Qin Chuan said.
"Cosplay outfits?"
"A special kind of clothing. Putting one on can alter your appearance a little, but it mainly changes your bearing. For example, if you wore one out on the street, people wouldn't recognize you as the Pope. You wouldn't have to bother with a hat and veil."
Bibi Dong's eyes lit up.
"All right."
As they chatted, the outline of Spirit Hall appeared ahead.
The towering roof gleamed dark gold in the moonlight, and the enormous angel reliefs standing on either side of the entrance looked even more solemn at night than they did by day.
Bibi Dong slowed her steps and withdrew her arm.
Her shoulders tensed again, her chin lifted slightly, and even the way she walked changed.
Her previously casual steps became measured, each footfall precise and evenly spaced.
The Pope had returned.
They entered Spirit Hall through a side door and followed a secret passage reserved for the Pope, winding through turn after turn until they reached the secret chamber.
The stone door closed.
Two ever-burning lamps lit the secret chamber with a dim yellow glow.
Bibi Dong took off her hat and undid her veil, letting her long pinkish-purple hair fall loose.
She casually set the hat and veil on the stone table, relaxing once again.
"Qin Chuan."
"Hmm?"
"How is Yue Guan progressing with implementing the Soul Beast Protection Law?"
Leaning against the stone wall, Qin Chuan thought for a moment. "The major cities have pretty much all received the decree. The Heaven Dou Empire hasn't explicitly opposed it, but it hasn't expressed support, either. The Star Luo Empire is being even more cautious. It's still watching and waiting. Among the sects, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has stated that it's willing to cooperate. The Clear Sky Sect hasn't responded. Neither has the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."
"No response means defiance." Bibi Dong's tone turned cold.
"That was expected," Qin Chuan said. "The protection law touches on the fundamental interests of every Soul Master. Soul Masters obtain soul rings by hunting soul beasts. Telling them they can't kill them as they please anymore is like seizing them by the throat. It would be strange if they didn't object."
Bibi Dong nodded. "That's why the Game Hall matters. You can get soul rings from blind boxes without hunting soul beasts. Once the Game Hall expands, resistance to the protection law will naturally lessen."
Qin Chuan thought, This woman's mind really works fast. I hadn't even gotten to that point, and she figured it out herself.
"Right," Qin Chuan said. "But for now, there's only one Game Hall, here in Spirit City. Expanding will take time."
Bibi Dong looked at him. "What do you need?"
"Manpower, resources, and a powerful backer. Otherwise, someone will come to challenge the place," Qin Chuan said.
Bibi Dong nodded, knowing the time was not yet ripe.
Bibi Dong did not correct him again.
She walked over to the stone table, sat down, poured herself a cup of cold tea, and took a sip.
"I'll come again tomorrow night." She set down her teacup. "Another round of Otherworld Survival."
Qin Chuan nodded. "No problem. But Sis Dongdong, you still have a pile of things to deal with during the day. Don't wear yourself out."
"I know my own body." Bibi Dong stood up. "Come on. Let's get some rest."
Qin Chuan nodded and followed Bibi Dong into the bedroom inside the secret chamber.
The stone door closed.
The next morning, Qin Chuan returned to the Game Hall.
Instead of opening for business right away, he went upstairs to the second floor, found an empty room, sat down, and opened the system panel.
The numbers on the panel had been climbing all night, and his points had reached a respectable total.
He had played with Bibi Dong for over five hours last night and collected plenty of emotion points.
Although Bibi Dong's emotional fluctuations were not as outwardly apparent as an ordinary person's, her high level meant the conversion multiplier for her base emotion points was also high.
A single portion of "happiness" from a level 98 Peak Douluo was worth as much as that of a hundred ordinary people.
Qin Chuan browsed the System Shop.
He was now level 61 and had already unlocked his sixth soul skill, "One, Two, Three, Red Light." His next soul skill was the seventh soul skill, "Martial Soul Avatar," which required level 70 to unlock.