“Hello, Yu Kuangtu!”
“Hey, can’t you at least give some respect to the difference in our positions? I’m just having difficulties trying to find a reason to deduct your salary, which does not go against my conscience… It’s fine even if you don’t want to address me as Deputy Director Yu, but it’s not too much to ask for if you call me ‘Comrade’ or ‘Bro’, is it?” Yu Kuangtu replied.
Ren Suo said, “I have something urgent to tell you! I am currently at Island Lake in Xiang City. Just now…”
By the time Ren Suo ended the call, the uncle at the rental booth of Island Lake had also driven his duck-shaped speedboat over to them.
Upon seeing the two of them still conscious, the uncle instantly heaved a sigh of relief. He said, “Both of you gave me the shock of my life! You did not emerge from the water even after a few minutes, and I was about to call for the ambulance! Let me tell you, it’s alright even if young couples like you want to fool around elsewhere, but you should not fool around here, this is a lake—”
“Make the call,” Ren Suo interrupted. He continued, “She needs treatment. Let us take a ride back in your speedboat, I don’t have the energy nor do I want to row the boat anymore.”
As Ren Suo finished his sentence, he pulled Gu Yueyan onto the small duck-shaped speedboat. The uncle cursed under his breath about the trouble of having to make another trip to pull the small boat back to the shore. Nonetheless, it was still not a small matter that two visitors had fallen into the water, and the uncle brought them back to the shore on his speedboat.
“Have you held it for long enough?” Gu Yueyan asked suddenly.
She had not said anything ever since they got out of the water.
Ren Suo looked down and realized that he was still holding Gu Yueyan’s hand. She almost had no energy left when they emerged from the water, and it was Ren Suo who pulled her onto the boat. Subsequently, Ren Suo was busy making the call on his mobile phone with his free hand, and he forgot that he was still holding her hand.
“Oh, sorry,” Ren Suo said as he very naturally let go of her hand. Then, he turned to look at the center of the lake, where they fell into.
Gu Yueyan quickly shot a glance at Ren Suo and snorted coldly. She questioned, “Was this the hand that held Teacher Dong for one day and one night?”
Ren Suo blinked and looked at his left hand, then his right hand. He pondered for a moment before nodding and said, “Yeah, indeed it was this hand. I remember that I was peeing with my right hand at that time—”
“I do not want to know which hand you used to pee!” Gu Yueyan exclaimed as she clenched her jaw.
Ren Suo was already used to Gu Yueyan’s temper, where she would flare up suddenly. He turned around and asked, “Uncle, are there any incidents of people falling into the water recently?”
The uncle immediately denied and exclaimed, “No! Don’t malign us, the safety precautions put in place here are abundant! It’s only because you came too late; normally, there would be lifeguards patrolling the lake!”
“Really…” Ren Suo replied as he looked at the surface of the lake.
The sky turned dark very quickly. Although there were street lights surrounding the lake, it clearly was not bright enough to illuminate the center of the lake. It was now completely dark in the center, as if a monster was hidden below the surface of the lake.
However, Ren Suo felt that the Holy Grail had disappeared from the lake.
The Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo on his right hand was no longer radiating warmth, and he did not feel any sense of danger either.
It was as if he had just fallen into a dream when he landed in the water just now.
Ren Suo felt that even when Yu Kuangtu arrived with his men, they would not be able to discover anything.
The fact that the Holy Grail was able to make a trade with the player naturally meant that it had a sense of awareness. It might have been because it saw Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan alone on the lake, who were weak, frail, and helpless, that it decided to kill both of them.
If Yu Kuangtu arrived with a large team to search for clues, it was highly likely that the Holy Grail would remain in hiding instead.
When that happened, Yu Kuangtu might well think that Ren Suo was dreaming as he was deprived of oxygen.
“However, I clearly remember what happened at the bottom of the lake…” Ren Suo muttered with a sigh.
Gu Yueyan snorted and muttered something under breath, but Ren Suo could not hear what she said clearly.
Ren Suo looked at her seemingly in bewilderment and asked, “Why? Is there still water stuck in your nose? I have tissue here…”
“Of course not!” Gu Yueyan exclaimed. She shivered in anger as she asked, “You must still remember what happened at the bottom of the lake, don’t you?”
“Mmm? I do,” Ren Suo said with a sigh. He pointed at his lower lip and continued, “I understand that it was a dangerous situation, so I shall not make a fuss about the fact that you bit my lower lip. However, you should change this bad habit of yours…”
Gu Yueyan’s face turned extremely red as if she had applied rouge on her face. She bit her lower lip tightly and turned away from Ren Suo, unwilling to continue talking to him.
Overhearing the conversation between Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan, the uncle at the front of the boat was filled with complaints. He thought that something bad had happened to the two of them, but who knew that they were just having fun with such an extreme play underwater…
Over ten minutes later, both the Countermeasure Division of Xiang City and the ambulance arrived. Ren Suo naturally remained at the scene to assist them in their investigation, while Gu Yueyan was sent to the hospital for an examination on the ambulance.
Before they parted ways, Ren Suo shouted to Gu Yueyan and said, “It was me who did not protect you well this time, and even… Anyway, if you still need my help as an accompanying healer, I will be glad to help you once more as a form of apology.”
Gu Yueyan retorted sarcastically, “Can I get a discount?’
Ren Suo pondered for a moment then shook his head regretfully and said, “It’s too expensive, I cannot provide any discounts…”
Hearing such a reply from Ren Suo where he spoke in a roundabout way to raise his own worth, Gu Yueyan could not help but giggle, though she quickly suppressed her smiles. She replied, “Hmph, I have already fully Awakened and don’t need your accompaniment and treatment anymore.”
Ren Suo nodded and said, “Very well then, we’re even then…”
“—But I will remember this, and you’d better remember that you still owe me one!” Gu Yueyan said fiercely.
Ren Suo shrugged and replied, “Whatever floats your boat. By the way, was that silver light your Awakened Ability?”
Gu Yueyan was slightly stunned, then she nodded her head.
“I have to thank you for saving my life then. Also, your Awakened Ability suits you very well, pure yet beautiful,” remarked Ren Suo, who had not even Awakened yet.
However, Ren Suo knew that his talent score was not high, to begin with, so it was very logical that he had not Awakened. Moreover, he had the Mini Worlds game console, which meant that he had an additional list of Awakened Abilities, but it was still natural for those who ‘cashed’ in games to be jealous of those who were extremely lucky.
“… Of course,” Gu Yueyan said.
She turned around before Ren Suo could see her blushing cheeks and hurriedly left in the ambulance.
At that juncture, Ren Suo also heaved a sigh of relief. Although it was because he had to rescue her in the emergency, it was still true that he had taken the young girl’s first ‘kiss’.
It was naturally best that he made impromptu comical remarks so that she can disregard that ‘kiss’—Ren Suo did not consider that a kiss anyway.
“The personnel from Lianjiang are still on their way. Additionally, it would be extremely dangerous to investigate at night, so we will only begin the search after the lights are set up and the boats are here,” said the person-in-charge from the Countermeasure Division of Xiang City when he found Ren Suo.
He was a young man. He continued, “I am Shen Hong, the Team Leader of Team 1 of the Xiang City Countermeasure Division. If you can, please describe the situation to me first.”
Ren Suo told Sheng Hong about the entire sequence of events that he and Gu Yueyan had experienced. Then, Ren Suo suddenly asked, “Is there a large scale Practitioner training base nearby?”
Shen Hong was slightly wary as he questioned, “Why are you asking about this?”
Ren Suo naturally made up some reasons and explained, “I believe that such mysterious phenomena do not arise out of nothing. I am a researcher under the Countermeasure Division as well, so I need to know this information.”
Shen Hong also seemed to be aware of Ren Suo’s details. He thought for a moment and replied, “There is indeed a place like that. However, it belongs to a secret unit, so you should not probe any further.”
Ren Suo thought that such a place must be where Yuan Dang and the other Practitioners were training at. Everything was coming together now.
——————
“It’s another poor day, time to wake up! It’s another poor day, time to wake up!”
Upon hearing the piercing sounds of her alarm clock, Lin Xianyu immediately sprung out of bed and raised her hands.
She shouted to herself in agony, “Why am I still not rich yet?!”
“… Tchhh,” a snigger was heard from the other side of the room.
Hearing the laughter, Lin Xianyu opened her eyes and saw Gu Yueyan sitting in the corner, taking off her shoes. She immediately pointed at Gu Yueyan and exclaimed, “You stayed out the entire night and only just returned home. I know what a bad girl you are now! Tell me, where did you go last night and what did you do?!”
“Nothing happened,” replied Gu Yueyan as she removed her socks, then retrieved a set of clothes from her wardrobe.
Lin Xianyu was astonished. She said, “Ah, your clothes are different from what you wore when you went out yesterday! What a shameful, playful girl you are!”
“What are you talking about, you salty fish!” Gu Yueyan retorted. She dashed towards Lin Xianyu, and they began fighting it out. Her clothes had been drenched, and she naturally changed into a new, clean set when she was being examined at the hospital.
She urgently rushed back in hopes that her roommates would not misunderstand, but who would have known that Lin Xianyu woke up so early! Fortunately, Lin Xianyu was the only one who was still staying in the room as the other two of their roommates had returned home to reunite with their family.
Gu Yueyan was agile while Lin Xianyu was still not fully awake, so Lin Xianyu was naturally unable to return Gu Yueyan’s attacks in time. She could only hide beneath the air-conditioning blanket and shout:
“Our class chairwoman who went for a date is beating people, our class chairwoman who has a guy outside is beating people! Is there still rule and order in this world, is anyone going to discipline her?!”
Suddenly, the fists which were throwing punches at the blanket stopped. Lin Xianyu peeked out from under the blanket to see Gu Yueyan walking silently to the bathroom with her clothes.
“I’m going to bathe!” Gu Yueyan announced.
Lin Xianyu lifted the blanket and was slightly bewildered. She remarked, “How is it possible that she was already satisfied with winning against me with her fists? It is definitely not like her to escape before winning with her words as well… Eh?”
When Gu Yueyan went to bathe, she naturally left her phone outside. Lin Xianyu saw her mobile phone on the table and smirked. She quietly took Gu Yueyan’s mobile phone and unlocked it—the two of them were extremely close to each other in school, and Lin Xianyu naturally found out what Gu Yueyan’s passcode was a long time ago.
“Let me see, where did our class chairwoman go yesterday… What pictures did she take… Mmm?”
Lin Xianyu blinked. When she saw the pictures on the mobile phone, the smile on her face instantly froze.
“Hello, Yu Kuangtu!”
“Hey, can’t you at least give some respect to the difference in our positions? I’m just having difficulties trying to find a reason to deduct your salary, which does not go against my conscience… It’s fine even if you don’t want to address me as Deputy Director Yu, but it’s not too much to ask for if you call me ‘Comrade’ or ‘Bro’, is it?” Yu Kuangtu replied.
Ren Suo said, “I have something urgent to tell you! I am currently at Island Lake in Xiang City. Just now…”
By the time Ren Suo ended the call, the uncle at the rental booth of Island Lake had also driven his duck-shaped speedboat over to them.
Upon seeing the two of them still conscious, the uncle instantly heaved a sigh of relief. He said, “Both of you gave me the shock of my life! You did not emerge from the water even after a few minutes, and I was about to call for the ambulance! Let me tell you, it’s alright even if young couples like you want to fool around elsewhere, but you should not fool around here, this is a lake—”
“Make the call,” Ren Suo interrupted. He continued, “She needs treatment. Let us take a ride back in your speedboat, I don’t have the energy nor do I want to row the boat anymore.”
As Ren Suo finished his sentence, he pulled Gu Yueyan onto the small duck-shaped speedboat. The uncle cursed under his breath about the trouble of having to make another trip to pull the small boat back to the shore. Nonetheless, it was still not a small matter that two visitors had fallen into the water, and the uncle brought them back to the shore on his speedboat.
“Have you held it for long enough?” Gu Yueyan asked suddenly.
She had not said anything ever since they got out of the water.
Ren Suo looked down and realized that he was still holding Gu Yueyan’s hand. She almost had no energy left when they emerged from the water, and it was Ren Suo who pulled her onto the boat. Subsequently, Ren Suo was busy making the call on his mobile phone with his free hand, and he forgot that he was still holding her hand.
“Oh, sorry,” Ren Suo said as he very naturally let go of her hand. Then, he turned to look at the center of the lake, where they fell into.
Gu Yueyan quickly shot a glance at Ren Suo and snorted coldly. She questioned, “Was this the hand that held Teacher Dong for one day and one night?”
Ren Suo blinked and looked at his left hand, then his right hand. He pondered for a moment before nodding and said, “Yeah, indeed it was this hand. I remember that I was peeing with my right hand at that time—”
“I do not want to know which hand you used to pee!” Gu Yueyan exclaimed as she clenched her jaw.
Ren Suo was already used to Gu Yueyan’s temper, where she would flare up suddenly. He turned around and asked, “Uncle, are there any incidents of people falling into the water recently?”
The uncle immediately denied and exclaimed, “No! Don’t malign us, the safety precautions put in place here are abundant! It’s only because you came too late; normally, there would be lifeguards patrolling the lake!”
“Really…” Ren Suo replied as he looked at the surface of the lake.
The sky turned dark very quickly. Although there were street lights surrounding the lake, it clearly was not bright enough to illuminate the center of the lake. It was now completely dark in the center, as if a monster was hidden below the surface of the lake.
However, Ren Suo felt that the Holy Grail had disappeared from the lake.
The Jade Pendant of the Goddess of River Luo on his right hand was no longer radiating warmth, and he did not feel any sense of danger either.
It was as if he had just fallen into a dream when he landed in the water just now.
Ren Suo felt that even when Yu Kuangtu arrived with his men, they would not be able to discover anything.
The fact that the Holy Grail was able to make a trade with the player naturally meant that it had a sense of awareness. It might have been because it saw Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan alone on the lake, who were weak, frail, and helpless, that it decided to kill both of them.
If Yu Kuangtu arrived with a large team to search for clues, it was highly likely that the Holy Grail would remain in hiding instead.
When that happened, Yu Kuangtu might well think that Ren Suo was dreaming as he was deprived of oxygen.
“However, I clearly remember what happened at the bottom of the lake…” Ren Suo muttered with a sigh.
Gu Yueyan snorted and muttered something under breath, but Ren Suo could not hear what she said clearly.
Ren Suo looked at her seemingly in bewilderment and asked, “Why? Is there still water stuck in your nose? I have tissue here…”
“Of course not!” Gu Yueyan exclaimed. She shivered in anger as she asked, “You must still remember what happened at the bottom of the lake, don’t you?”
“Mmm? I do,” Ren Suo said with a sigh. He pointed at his lower lip and continued, “I understand that it was a dangerous situation, so I shall not make a fuss about the fact that you bit my lower lip. However, you should change this bad habit of yours…”
Gu Yueyan’s face turned extremely red as if she had applied rouge on her face. She bit her lower lip tightly and turned away from Ren Suo, unwilling to continue talking to him.
Overhearing the conversation between Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan, the uncle at the front of the boat was filled with complaints. He thought that something bad had happened to the two of them, but who knew that they were just having fun with such an extreme play underwater…
Over ten minutes later, both the Countermeasure Division of Xiang City and the ambulance arrived. Ren Suo naturally remained at the scene to assist them in their investigation, while Gu Yueyan was sent to the hospital for an examination on the ambulance.
Before they parted ways, Ren Suo shouted to Gu Yueyan and said, “It was me who did not protect you well this time, and even… Anyway, if you still need my help as an accompanying healer, I will be glad to help you once more as a form of apology.”
Gu Yueyan retorted sarcastically, “Can I get a discount?’
Ren Suo pondered for a moment then shook his head regretfully and said, “It’s too expensive, I cannot provide any discounts…”
Hearing such a reply from Ren Suo where he spoke in a roundabout way to raise his own worth, Gu Yueyan could not help but giggle, though she quickly suppressed her smiles. She replied, “Hmph, I have already fully Awakened and don’t need your accompaniment and treatment anymore.”
Ren Suo nodded and said, “Very well then, we’re even then…”
“—But I will remember this, and you’d better remember that you still owe me one!” Gu Yueyan said fiercely.
Ren Suo shrugged and replied, “Whatever floats your boat. By the way, was that silver light your Awakened Ability?”
Gu Yueyan was slightly stunned, then she nodded her head.
“I have to thank you for saving my life then. Also, your Awakened Ability suits you very well, pure yet beautiful,” remarked Ren Suo, who had not even Awakened yet.
However, Ren Suo knew that his talent score was not high, to begin with, so it was very logical that he had not Awakened. Moreover, he had the Mini Worlds game console, which meant that he had an additional list of Awakened Abilities, but it was still natural for those who ‘cashed’ in games to be jealous of those who were extremely lucky.
“… Of course,” Gu Yueyan said.
She turned around before Ren Suo could see her blushing cheeks and hurriedly left in the ambulance.
At that juncture, Ren Suo also heaved a sigh of relief. Although it was because he had to rescue her in the emergency, it was still true that he had taken the young girl’s first ‘kiss’.
It was naturally best that he made impromptu comical remarks so that she can disregard that ‘kiss’—Ren Suo did not consider that a kiss anyway.
“The personnel from Lianjiang are still on their way. Additionally, it would be extremely dangerous to investigate at night, so we will only begin the search after the lights are set up and the boats are here,” said the person-in-charge from the Countermeasure Division of Xiang City when he found Ren Suo.
He was a young man. He continued, “I am Shen Hong, the Team Leader of Team 1 of the Xiang City Countermeasure Division. If you can, please describe the situation to me first.”
Ren Suo told Sheng Hong about the entire sequence of events that he and Gu Yueyan had experienced. Then, Ren Suo suddenly asked, “Is there a large scale Practitioner training base nearby?”
Shen Hong was slightly wary as he questioned, “Why are you asking about this?”
Ren Suo naturally made up some reasons and explained, “I believe that such mysterious phenomena do not arise out of nothing. I am a researcher under the Countermeasure Division as well, so I need to know this information.”
Shen Hong also seemed to be aware of Ren Suo’s details. He thought for a moment and replied, “There is indeed a place like that. However, it belongs to a secret unit, so you should not probe any further.”
Ren Suo thought that such a place must be where Yuan Dang and the other Practitioners were training at. Everything was coming together now.
——————
“It’s another poor day, time to wake up! It’s another poor day, time to wake up!”
Upon hearing the piercing sounds of her alarm clock, Lin Xianyu immediately sprung out of bed and raised her hands.
She shouted to herself in agony, “Why am I still not rich yet?!”
“… Tchhh,” a snigger was heard from the other side of the room.
Hearing the laughter, Lin Xianyu opened her eyes and saw Gu Yueyan sitting in the corner, taking off her shoes. She immediately pointed at Gu Yueyan and exclaimed, “You stayed out the entire night and only just returned home. I know what a bad girl you are now! Tell me, where did you go last night and what did you do?!”
“Nothing happened,” replied Gu Yueyan as she removed her socks, then retrieved a set of clothes from her wardrobe.
Lin Xianyu was astonished. She said, “Ah, your clothes are different from what you wore when you went out yesterday! What a shameful, playful girl you are!”
“What are you talking about, you salty fish!” Gu Yueyan retorted. She dashed towards Lin Xianyu, and they began fighting it out. Her clothes had been drenched, and she naturally changed into a new, clean set when she was being examined at the hospital.
She urgently rushed back in hopes that her roommates would not misunderstand, but who would have known that Lin Xianyu woke up so early! Fortunately, Lin Xianyu was the only one who was still staying in the room as the other two of their roommates had returned home to reunite with their family.
Gu Yueyan was agile while Lin Xianyu was still not fully awake, so Lin Xianyu was naturally unable to return Gu Yueyan’s attacks in time. She could only hide beneath the air-conditioning blanket and shout:
“Our class chairwoman who went for a date is beating people, our class chairwoman who has a guy outside is beating people! Is there still rule and order in this world, is anyone going to discipline her?!”
Suddenly, the fists which were throwing punches at the blanket stopped. Lin Xianyu peeked out from under the blanket to see Gu Yueyan walking silently to the bathroom with her clothes.
“I’m going to bathe!” Gu Yueyan announced.
Lin Xianyu lifted the blanket and was slightly bewildered. She remarked, “How is it possible that she was already satisfied with winning against me with her fists? It is definitely not like her to escape before winning with her words as well… Eh?”
When Gu Yueyan went to bathe, she naturally left her phone outside. Lin Xianyu saw her mobile phone on the table and smirked. She quietly took Gu Yueyan’s mobile phone and unlocked it—the two of them were extremely close to each other in school, and Lin Xianyu naturally found out what Gu Yueyan’s passcode was a long time ago.
“Let me see, where did our class chairwoman go yesterday… What pictures did she take… Mmm?”
Lin Xianyu blinked. When she saw the pictures on the mobile phone, the smile on her face instantly froze.
