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Chapter 020 Trust Me, Just Once

“Then let’s not play in the Battle Zone anymore. Just stick to the Safe Zone,” Ling Mo said immediately. “It feels like the designer of this game has some issues; I mean, who designs a game to have 70% pain sensation? That’s not meant for people to play!”

“Yeah, it’s definitely not meant for people…” Xia Xinyan echoed strangely, then whispered, “Because it’s not meant for people in the first place…”

Ling Mo paused: “What do you mean?”

Xia Xinyan stayed silent for a moment, then gave a slight, apologetic smile: “I can’t tell you the reason just yet, but I can say that the Battle Zone is the essence of this game. More and more people will join this game in the future; it’s related to something very important. If you don’t want to fall behind, you can only gain strength through the Battle Zone.”

Ling Mo frowned slightly, seemingly unconvinced: “What are you talking about? Isn’t this just a game?”

“It’s not just a game…” Xia Xinyan said meaningfully, taking a pause before continuing, “This game will have a significant impact on the world in the future, so… let’s challenge ourselves and continue playing in the Battle Zone together, okay?”

Ling Mo’s expression turned strange: “Not just a game?”

This nonsensical explanation had already exceeded his understanding.

However, with his powerful imagination, he instantaneously conjured up dozens of possibilities— all of which could only appear in sci-fi novels or movies.

Could this game… actually be a military training test to select special forces?

Then why is Xia Xinyan playing this game?

And… does her suddenly finding him have anything to do with this game?

Does she not actually like him for real?

While lost in thoughts, his hand was suddenly taken by Xia Xinyan. He didn’t notice when she had walked right in front of him, slightly tilting her head back to make eye contact, her gaze somewhat pleading: “Trust me, I found you because I like you, and I believe you can become strong in this game. Whether you think I’m selfish or not, can you… continue to play with me?”

Ling Mo furrowed his brows, pondering for a while, and then spoke solemnly: “Is it because this is very confidential information? So you can’t tell me? Then why did you choose me?”

After stating his thoughts clearly, it became difficult for him to remain simple-minded like before.

After all, he didn’t even know what kind of game he was caught in; such a situation easily leads one to become paranoid.

He would say there are no free lunches in the sky…

— Suddenly, Xia Xinyan stepped forward and hugged him around the waist.

“You’ll find out the truth soon enough, but not right now. But you can trust me; I will be by your side and will not betray you.”

Ling Mo couldn’t help but feel conflicted: “Please don’t do this. I just wanted…”

However, before he could finish, Xia Xinyan suddenly rose on her toes, wrapping her arms around his neck, blocking his lips.

The room fell into sudden silence.

After a long pause, Xia Xinyan slowly released him, looked at the stunned Ling Mo, and smiled: “Trust me, just once. That’s all I ask, okay?”

Ling Mo stopped thinking: “Uh… uh…”

He was… kissed…

He wasn’t dreaming?

He really… got kissed?

And it was initiated by her?

Plus, he heard Xia Xinyan has never had a boyfriend, not even a male friend, so… did he just receive Xia Xinyan’s first kiss?

First…

Kiss…

“Alright, I trust you just this once.” Pushing through his racing heartbeat, he tried to calm himself. “I don’t know why you found me, but if I sense anything amiss, I will leave.”

“Okay.” Xia Xinyan excitedly hugged him again and chuckled, “I won’t let you down.”

As if she could ever let him down?

That would mean her earlier bold investment would go down the drain!

Tsk.

She had never considered her first kiss would be given in such a way, not in this lifetime or the last.

Incredible.

But if she didn’t do this, she really couldn’t think of a way to make Ling Mo stop pondering.

Because she realized she couldn’t find a reason to continue playing in the Battle Zone after experiencing 70% pain.

As for her previous life, there was no way Xia Xinyan would voluntarily lower herself, and the system had glitched at the start, leaving her with no one to tell her how the future would unfold. She initially played this game out of curiosity, and later, seeing those big shots in the game earn tons of money made her want to jump into the Battle Zone.

Actually, once her strength increased, the chances of getting hurt decreased significantly. Most of the time, she either cleared dungeons almost injury-free or got instantly killed.

But right now, no one besides her knew these facts.

And at this moment, Ling Mo had also lost the reason for his previous life’s connection to the Battle Zone — earning money? As long as he could befriend someone as wealthy as Xia Xinyan, would he ever be short on cash?

So continuing in the Battle Zone would equate to self-torture.

Of course, she could abandon Ling Mo, letting him grow independently just as she did in her last life, but then there would be no need for the system to have reincarnated her. Though it wasn’t her choice, after reincarnation, she should not waste such an opportunity.

Thus, if she wanted Ling Mo to keep playing the Battle Zone with her, she would need to use other reasons.

She had considered many in the dungeon earlier, but ultimately, she chose this excuse. In a way, she wasn’t really lying to Ling Mo. After all, a lie needs a million more lies to cover it up; she couldn’t guarantee that if she solved the current problem by lying, he wouldn’t distrust her later if the truth came out.

In her last life, she had been betrayed and deceived, and she was all too familiar with the methods to deal with such people. Knowing her own temperament, she naturally did not want to face Ling Mo in such a manner one day.

It would be better to just tell the truth.

But she couldn’t reveal everything right now, so being a riddle-maker was a good choice. Whether Ling Mo would continue to have doubts… she wouldn’t have offered her first kiss if it were not for that.

However, while the problem was temporarily resolved, she felt like she was at a loss—

She had never experienced the feeling of kissing a girl in her previous life, yet now that Ling Mo had experienced it in this life.

What a significant loss.

Even though it was still herself, she just felt inexplicably dissatisfied.

And most importantly, even achieving this step merely gained her a portion of Ling Mo’s trust temporarily. More time was needed to slowly cultivate his complete belief in her, to accept her.

…No hurry.

Slow and steady wins the race.

After all, having made such a huge investment today, she couldn’t believe she wouldn’t trap Ling Mo.

 

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