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Chapter 019 I’m Not That Kind of Person! (Passionate)

This answer unexpectedly eased Ling Mo’s tense mood.

As long as it’s not getting shot…

“Get ready,” Xia Xinyan’s somewhat suppressed voice echoed in his ear, apparently holding back something, “They might be coming.”

With that, she flipped off Ling Mo and lay down beside him, aiming her rifle at the direction behind them.

Ling Mo hurriedly grabbed the rifle beside him, also aiming in that direction.

However, before the group of enemies arrived, a mortar shell suddenly landed between the two sides, exploding with a deafening blast and sending a cloud of dust and smoke that obstructed everyone’s view.

Then, a few more mortar shells came crashing down nearby, the sounds of explosions creating a death zone.

“Now’s our chance, let’s go!” Xia Xinyan exclaimed.

Ling Mo quickly climbed up, turning to reach for her, but his eyes caught a tear in her pants, seemingly ripped open by a bullet.

“You got hit?!” He was taken aback.

Did her earlier cry really mean she was shot?!

Then why did she trick him into thinking she only bumped her hand?

Was it to keep him calm?

“Don’t worry about me,” Xia Xinyan lay there, seemingly giving up on struggling, “You go first; I’ll cover you.”

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to struggle; she just couldn’t.

Although the game didn’t currently implement limb-loss effects, the feedback from being shot was still present, like a fracture.

She didn’t know how many times she had been hit, but a single bullet shouldn’t have completely broken her leg—luckily, a few bullets hit the same spot, making her the unluckiest of the lot.

But she wasn’t concerned about clearing the dungeon; after all, gaining abilities was just a matter of time. The main task of this first dungeon was to help Ling Mo clear it. Her own clearance was secondary.

Unfortunately, Ling Mo didn’t share her thoughts: “I’m taking you with me!”

He had promised to protect her; how could he leave her behind?!

Without giving Xia Xinyan time to resist, he tossed away the rifle, swept her up into his arms, and dashed towards the beach.

A mortar shell landed in the spot they had just vacated, creating a large crater, and the shockwave almost knocked Ling Mo, who had already run ten meters away, off his feet.

It also inevitably inflicted injury on him.

This was his first experience of what 70% pain felt like.

Yet even with a stabbing pain in his back, he gritted his teeth and rushed towards the evacuation ship parked by the seaside.

The beach was wide, and the rescue ship was a sizable armed vessel, which could only remain a distance away from the shore. What seemed like a short distance under normal circumstances had now turned into a death trap.

Xia Xinyan wrapped her arms around his neck, glancing back. The woods along the beach had almost been flattened by mortar strikes, and through the smoke, she could faintly see silhouettes of the Protection Association rushing in from a distance.

It looked like they probably wouldn’t make it onto the ship.

After pondering for a few seconds, Xia Xinyan patted Ling Mo’s shoulder: “Put me down; you can board the ship alone. You won’t make it there in time carrying me.”

“I can make it!” Ling Mo tightened his grip on her, “Don’t think about it; I won’t leave you behind!”

Xia Xinyan felt the urge to curse.

Why did this guy always have to show off?

Did he think this was romantic? Dying together and getting a little pathetic dungeon reward was fun?

While her heart was filled with complaints, she maintained a calm exterior and advised, “It’s just a game; there’s no need to take it so seriously. We’re not really dying. You just need to escape, and you can bring me along in the next round.”

“That’s exactly why, because it’s a game, I can’t give up!” Ling Mo gritted his teeth and sped up, “Someone who can abandon his sister in a game must be worthless! I’m not that kind of person!”

“…”

“Don’t be scared! I’ll definitely get you on that ship!” Ling Mo had made up his mind, “Even if we die, we die together!”

Xia Xinyan stopped trying to persuade him.

She understood her character well; once she was set on a stubborn path, no one could pull her back… wait, she was a bit better now; at least she could listen to reason; but at this moment, Ling Mo was really being hard-headed.

And there was no time to argue.

At that moment, members of the Protection Association had reached the beach. The two of them were still nearly fifty meters away from the evacuation ship, with part of the distance being in the water, making progress even harder; the beach provided no cover or obstacles, making them sitting ducks.

It didn’t seem like they could make it.

Oh well… next round wouldn’t be too late.

Bumping along, Xia Xinyan slowly closed her eyes, awaiting the imminent pain of death.

However—

“Hey! Run! I’ll cover you!”

Murong Yue’s voice suddenly came from ahead.

Looking up, the armed vessel’s rear suddenly raised two heavy machine guns and aimed them at the approaching Protection Association, opening indiscriminate fire.

The mad firepower instantly blocked the charge of the Protection Association, and Murong Yue appeared at the ship’s hatch, frantically waving at them: “Quick! Don’t freeze up!”

Ling Mo paused for a moment, then clenched his teeth and sprinted toward the vessel with all his might.

Just as they were about to reach the ship, Murong Yue jumped down to help them, ensuring all three got on board safely, and a system prompt appeared before everyone—

【Task completed, returning to the Hall soon】

Xia Xinyan almost immediately spoke up: “Dungeon completed. We can leave right away. I’m logging out first.”

With that, she turned into a white light and vanished from the deck.

Ling Mo was stunned for a moment but quickly reacted, opening the game menu to select exit dungeon.

Once he vanished as well, only Murong Yue remained on the deck. The ship had already left the island after the three of them boarded, and looking not far away at the group of ladies in pink who had stopped attacking on the beach, she couldn’t help but murmur, “Why rush to leave… this game is actually quite interesting.”

However, Ling Mo, who had also cleared the dungeon, didn’t feel the same way.

After leaving the dungeon, they returned to each player’s unique private space. Due to the connection between Ling Mo and Xia Xinyan’s Game Pod, Xia Xinyan also had permission to enter Ling Mo’s private space without prior notice.

When she arrived, she saw Ling Mo standing before a full-length mirror in the villa’s living room, staring blankly at his reflection.

Seeing Xia Xinyan behind him in the mirror, he turned around, his expression somewhat perplexed: “Um… did it… hurt just now?”

He had likely been splashed with shrapnel from a mortar shell, and even with only 70% pain, it almost knocked him down—definitely not a pleasant memory for someone who had never experienced that kind of pain.

But once out of the dungeon, the pain disappeared, and he didn’t dwell on it.

He was only thinking… Xia Xinyan was shot directly in the leg with a rifle; that must have hurt a lot.

Even he, as a man, almost couldn’t handle it; maybe she was on the verge of crying?

Perhaps she wanted to save face in front of him, so she forced herself to pretend nothing was wrong?

Why should she… it’s just a game…

—Seeing his expression, Xia Xinyan guessed what he was thinking.

I have to say, Ling Mo truly didn’t know how to hide his thoughts now.

Especially in front of someone like her, a future version of himself, it was as if his thoughts were written all over his face.

But…

“It hurt,” Xia Xinyan answered, “It hurt a lot.”

 

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