Chapter 13
Chapter 013 I’m in Love.JPG
Ling Mo spent a whole half hour (in the game) just to fully read and understand the rules of friendship damage evaluation.
It was… quite ridiculous.
“This breakdown of friendship damage rules adds up to almost the number of rules in an ordinary game,” Ling Mo muttered while eating some tasteless grilled meat.
He didn’t think much about Xia Xinyan’s earlier action of firing a gun; after all, it was just a game and not actual murder— in other words, the number of people he had killed in games probably equated to the population of a small county, so he shouldn’t be the one to oppose such actions.
Though this experience in a virtual reality game might feel different from on a computer… he felt it was pretty much the same.
Moreover… Xia Xinyan was really decisive, and her shooting skills were impressive.
He initially thought he could take her up in the air, but now it seemed like he was being taken for a ride by her instead.
At this moment, Ling Mo silently made up his mind to quickly get familiar with the game, aiming to be the one supporting Xia Xinyan soon.
While he was munching on meat, Xia Xinyan went to check the materials dropped by the previous two players.
They were quite abundant; besides firearms and ammunition, there was even a simple tent and two sleeping bags.
It was like someone had delivered a pillow to a sleepy person.
“Looks like we can get a good night’s sleep tonight.” After moving the tent and sleeping bags into the cave, Xia Xinyan clapped her hands and smiled, “It’s getting late; let’s rest after finishing eating.”
Ling Mo nodded, but then seemingly thought of something and suddenly asked, “By the way, what if those two players come back to get revenge later?”
He just thought of this issue; since the game is almost like reality, dying at the hands of other players would definitely hold more hatred than in a typical PVP game. If they happened to encounter someone a bit hot-tempered, it might spiral into a continuous revenge war.
“They won’t,” Xia Xinyan sat next to him and explained softly, “The game doesn’t permit that kind of interaction. As long as you don’t add friends within the dungeon, they won’t be able to find out the list of other players matched to this dungeon after leaving, which also prevents the spread of revenge among players.”
The purpose of “Realm of Divine Presence” is to provide an environment for rapidly enhancing strength so humans can better face future disasters. If revenge culture flourishes, it would inevitably disrupt this environment, going against the game’s intent.
If someone wants to seek revenge, they can first figure out how to add friends, then follow the basic rules to PK, or simply fight in real life outside the game— that’s beyond game management’s reach. It doesn’t matter if someone dies, but within the game, one has to play by the rules.
Moreover, voluntarily leaving the dungeon while in a non-dead state has restricted penalties; they wouldn’t be allowed to enter battle zone dungeons for three days, but there were no such restrictions within the safe zone, which naturally had nothing to do with Xia Xinyan.
She didn’t have the leisure to play in the safe zone; to her, it was like kids playing house— meaningless.
Newbies could gain experience in the safe zone in advance, but she didn’t need that. And with her around, Ling Mo didn’t need it either.
After finishing their dinner, the two moved the campfire into the cave, maximizing the concealment of the flames. As for the oxygen issue, the cave was spacious enough, and the internal passage wasn’t long, so there shouldn’t be any problems overnight.
Ling Mo set up the tent at the innermost part; the space inside could fit two sleeping bags perfectly, but sleeping together… might get a bit cramped.
Seeing this, Ling Mo was quite proactive: “I’ll take the night watch; you can just sleep.”
Xia Xinyan checked her status bar, which now showed two negative states: [Sleepy] and [Fatigued].
Ling Mo, being of the same physical condition as her, was likely in a similar situation.
So she didn’t plan to indulge him: “No need; let’s sleep together. It’s just a game, resting well to clear negative states is better than keeping watch all night.”
Ling Mo paused: “Ah… what if someone finds this cave tonight…”
“I’ll notice,” Xia Xinyan tugged him into the tent, “Don’t worry, whether it’s players or enemies, they definitely won’t attack us right upon entering.”
Ling Mo still felt uneasy: “But… what if a snake comes in at night or something…”
“With the campfire lit, those guys won’t come near.” Xia Xinyan simply hugged his arm, her tone somewhat pitiful, “Or… do you not want to sleep together with me?”
“…!”
Ling Mo was shocked.
S-s-s-s-sleep together ?!
So she really thought that way?!
No… no, this development is too fast…
Even if it’s just in the game… still…
But… isn’t there a need for some decency…?
— Even in the dim light of the tent, Xia Xinyan could tell this guy was conflicted to the extreme.
Just like a girl hearing her boyfriend ask, “Can I spend the night at your place?”
Once again, it refreshed Xia Xinyan’s understanding of her former self.
She knew she had a mind for romance but a coward’s heart, but she didn’t expect to be this, this, this pathetic.
Why can’t she just be straightforward when the girl is making such a bold advance?! It’s not like it’s a loss for him!
And this is just a game, a game!
She seriously questioned whether if she invited this guy to sleep with her in reality, he would just crash right there.
What a fool.
Unable to hold back a bit of ridicule in her heart, Xia Xinyan forcibly zipped up the tent and then turned around, pushing Ling Mo down onto the sleeping bag: “Then it’s decided; we’ll sleep together like this tonight~!”
“N-no… ah… I…”
Ling Mo still wanted to say something, but Xia Xinyan suddenly reached out and covered his mouth, leaning down, almost on top of him, bringing their faces close enough to feel each other’s breath.
“Shh—! Be good; it’s time to rest,” she chuckled quietly, calming him down before rolling over to lie beside him, facing away from him, closing her eyes to start resting.
She genuinely intended to sleep, as maintaining her optimal condition in this environment was the best choice. Plus, with her experience from her previous life, she was confident she would wake up immediately and respond to any anomalies.
Of course, the difficulty of this dungeon was also a consideration for her actions; low difficulty dungeons basically wouldn’t have ambush scenarios, and even if there were, clear hints would usually precede them. With this aspect ruled out, there wasn’t much to worry about.
If anything, their biggest threat right now should be other players, but among those players… most likely, none would be the type to kill right away.
So she could sleep peacefully.
However, while Xia Xinyan could think this way, Ling Mo wasn’t quite there yet.
He remained in the position from moments earlier, staring blankly at the tent’s ceiling.
His mind was full of Xia Xinyan’s earlier actions.
The feeling of her being on top of him, that brief moment of contact.
For the first time, he felt… he was in love.
