At six that evening, Lin Xiaoran and Issho found an abandoned convenience store. After cleaning it up a little, they began preparing dinner.
"Three days left." Lin Xiaoran sat off to the side and sighed.
Fortunately, Issho's Press-Press Fruit could make objects fly, sparing Lin Xiaoran the agony of walking all day.
She didn't even dare imagine how exhausting and torturous an entire day of walking would be!
Lin Xiaoran opened the light screen and checked the rankings.
Great. By now, another 106 people had been eliminated, leaving only 41 alive. What an outrageous death rate!
And this was only the second day!
Lin Xiaoran glanced at the notifications. Most had been killed by ferocious beasts, while a handful had encountered other challengers, like Tanaka Ning.
As the game progressed faster, the ferocious beasts they encountered would grow increasingly high-level, and the chances of meeting other opponents would also increase.
But none of that had much to do with Lin Xiaoran. With Issho around, she didn't have to worry about those dangers at all.
"Another five hundred-plus points earned today. Sweet~"
At that moment, Lin Xiaoran still stood far ahead of everyone else on the rankings with 835 points.
Lin Xiaoran had already reached 500 points in the morning, and she had done even better in the afternoon, reaching 800!
At this rate, Lin Xiaoran estimated that she might rack up more than 2,000 points in total by the final day!
That would be an unprecedented score in the entire history of the National Fortune Game!
Naturally, the national fortune rewards would also give countries around the world a huge surprise!
It was something no one outside Country L wanted to see, yet all they could do was watch helplessly and seethe!
What left some of those who had already taken action in secret even more desperate was that, after finally mobilizing every resource of their spies embedded in Country L to find Lin Xiaoran's address, they discovered that her entire apartment building had long since been sealed off and placed under military control!
Every resident in the building had been thoroughly investigated, and anyone entering or leaving had to undergo strict checks, leaving them no opportunity whatsoever!
Some spies had even exposed themselves over this and been arrested!
Jiang Jiayou was extremely satisfied with the orders he had issued earlier!
"Director Jiang, you really had foresight! Thanks to you, we caught some embedded spies."
The director of the Security Bureau came to see Jiang Jiayou to relay the results of that day's operation.
"I didn't do anything. All the credit belongs to our Country L challenger, young Lin. If she hadn't performed so brilliantly, those fellows lurking in the shadows wouldn't have made a move and given us an opening!" Jiang Jiayou was very modest and didn't grab any credit.
Li Changyi of the Security Bureau said with a laugh, "Haha, we certainly won't forget young Lin's contribution! But it was also thanks to you promptly sending people to her home and arranging protection. Otherwise, how could we have coordinated so well?"
"Haha, in any case, thank you all for your hard work!"
[Tsk, tsk, good heavens! Young Lin already has over 800 points!]
[She broke the record!]
[Broke the record? No one before her has ever done this, and no one after her ever will! Who knows how many rounds of the game other challengers would have to participate in, or how many Heroic Spirits they would have to summon, just to have a chance of catching up to that score!]
[Did you forget? The game isn't over yet! Young Lin's score will go even higher!]
[Also, if young Lin wins this round, the Heroic Spirits she summons will only get stronger. That means she'll keep breaking her own points record!]
[Young Lin is definitely winning this time! You heard it from me!]
[Absolutely!]
[Dinnertime, dinnertime! Huh? It's six already? What a shame. We won't get to watch Uncle Issho's eating stream!]
[Without Uncle Issho's eating stream, even the food in my bowl feels bland.]
At six, the livestream shut off right on schedule. The viewers were reluctant to part with it, wishing they could keep watching all evening until bedtime!
They would have been happy even just watching Lin Xiaoran and Issho eat!
Inside the game instance.
Issho enjoyed another satisfying meal.
"Will you be practicing again tonight, Master?" Issho asked after resting for a while.
"Of course!"
The night was long, and she had nothing to do. Aside from practicing, there was nothing else to occupy her.
In particular, whenever she had a moment of idleness, the image of killing Tanaka Ning with her own hands that day would surface in Lin Xiaoran's mind, leaving her feeling deeply uncomfortable.
"Uncle Issho, how about teaching me swordsmanship? And how to train Armament Haki!"
Looking at Issho, Lin Xiaoran suddenly realized that she had a master swordsman, a true expert, right beside her. Why not properly seek his guidance and learn from him?
She already possessed the Press-Press Fruit's ability and Advanced Observation Haki. Out on the seas, she would at least be a potential Shichibukai!
Once she became more proficient with her ability, improved her Taijutsu, and mastered Armament Haki, her ceiling would at least be a Marine Admiral candidate, second only to Issho!
"Learning swordsmanship and Armament Haki?" Issho sank into thought, then said somewhat hesitantly, "Your physical condition is... a little weak."
Issho bluntly spoke the truth, leaving Lin Xiaoran speechless.
In that world of seas, even a child's physical condition would probably far surpass Lin Xiaoran's current level. Every one of them was a born Taijutsu powerhouse, an HP tank, a champion at taking a beating!
If they ate a Mythical Zoan Fruit, they became even greater masters of popping back up. No matter how much you beat them, they just wouldn't die!
Even without a fruit, there were the likes of Zoro, Hawk Eyes, and Garp at the very pinnacle of Taijutsu and Haki. None of them were human!
So, in Issho's mind, if Lin Xiaoran hadn't temporarily shared his Observation Haki through her own ability, she probably wouldn't awaken Haki even if she practiced her entire life.
Issho wouldn't hold anything back when teaching Lin Xiaoran swordsmanship techniques, but he truly had no way to improve her physical condition. One look at her appetite made it clear-she couldn't even eat enough!
Perhaps Issho also felt that his words were a little discouraging, because he hurriedly said, "It's all right. As long as you're willing to learn, I'm willing to teach! Until I leave, I'll teach you all the swordsmanship techniques and Haki training methods!"
"Really?! Uncle Issho, thank you so much!" Lin Xiaoran stood up excitedly and thanked him earnestly. "Then let's start right now, Uncle Issho!"
"All right!"
As Lin Xiaoran began learning from Issho, voices rang out inside a building somewhere else.
"She already has 800 points. If I'm not mistaken, that score will rise again by tomorrow morning. There's no way we can surpass Lin Xiaoran in points anymore."
"Then we can only eliminate her first! We absolutely cannot let Lin Xiaoran, or Country L, win! Otherwise, the next round of the game will be even harder!"
"Exactly! We have to kill her here! Otherwise, I won't even have the face to return to my country!"
"Andrei, do you have a detailed plan?"
"Yes, Andrei. You approached us about working together, so you must already have something in mind, right?"
Andrei said, "A plan? It's simple. We find more challengers, then attack this Lin Xiaoran together. Once we've dealt with her, we'll decide the final winner among ourselves!"