As they approached the spatial rift, the climate subtly changed, with snowflakes gently falling over the surrounding tens of kilometers. The Xingtai Mountains stretched out in a blanket of white, everything covered in a silver veil.
After disembarking, some teams had already set off, while others remained in place, planning their next move. Shen Xiao took out a map and tossed a walkie-talkie to Lu Zihao:
"Let's go. There are still a few hours until nightfall. Let's circle around and familiarize ourselves with the area. If any problems arise, contact each other via walkie-talkie. Don't stray too far apart."
The mountain paths were steep, and the heavy snow had slowed their progress. However, Shen Xiao and his group were luckier than the other teams because they weren't carrying luggage or tents. Having distanced himself from Lu Zihao, Shen Xiao began to do the crucial thing: Resolving the Empress's problem.
If this matter wasn't resolved, it would truly be a world-ending crisis. It really would be world-ending. If Lu Qingyue were to succumb to despair and revert to the path of darkness, it would be truly over. Back then, facing the demon Lu Qingyue, even ten lives wouldn't have been enough for him.
He let Lao Jiang pack his bag first, then quickly walked over to Lu Qingyue's side, brushing the snowflakes off her clothes, and asked:
"What are you thinking about? You've been so gloomy all day."
"No... nothing."
"Nothing? If nothing, why didn't you give me a lottery ticket all day? Tell me, is it because of yesterday?"
After a slight hesitation, Lu Qingyue apologized: "I'm sorry, Shen Xiao, I drank a little too much yesterday, making you suffer and costing you so much money."
Shen Xiao nodded after hearing this. It seemed it really was about that matter. He had told her not to worry about it, but she still remembered.
"It's alright, just relax when you need to. Besides, you didn't do anything wrong." Shen Xiao flicked his wrist, and the IOUs Lu Qingyue had given him appeared in his hand. He then used his fire-based ability to ignite them: "Is it because of these? If you're worried about this, I'll burn them all."
"No!" Lu Qingyue quickly snatched them back, simultaneously extinguishing the burning IOUs with water. "If you burn it, there'll be no evidence."
"Evidence? That's interesting. What evidence do I need? Afraid you won't give it back? It doesn't matter how much money you spend. Money is earned to be spent, to have fun. Otherwise, what's the point of working so hard to earn it? Like I said, yesterday was pretty fun. After this mission is finished, I'll take you out for a few days of fun during winter break..."
"Next time..." Lu Qingyue's eyes lit up: "Can... can you?"
"Of course. Yesterday you seemed so reluctant to leave, and I didn't have enough fun either. If I didn't have a mission, I really would have spent a few more days with you. You forgot I promised to help you complete your assessment and then take you on special training during winter break."
"If you don't want to, then forget it."
"Yes, yes!"
Ding!
[Gained favorability with Lu Qingyue, lottery ticket +100!]
Hearing the pleasant notification sound, Shen Xiao was in a great mood. It seemed the problem was solved. Now that things were out in the open, Lu Qingyue didn't hide anything anymore:
"I've been thinking about these things, that's why I was a little distracted. Keep the IOU safe, I'll pay you back slowly." Lu Qingyue was still a little worried and asked again: "Are you really not angry with me? I drank too much yesterday and acted crazy."
Shen Xiao thought for a moment, then brought up the matter that bothered him most last night: being ambushed by Lu Qingyue and having his first kiss stolen. He definitely needed revenge.
"Angry… I'm quite angry about you ambushing me yesterday."
Ambushed? Lu Qingyue's mind was a mess. Had she injured Shen Xiao yesterday? "Were you badly hurt? I drank a bit too much yesterday and don't remember."
"It's okay if you don't remember. As long as I remember, it's fine. Let me ambush you back, and we'll be even."
"Okay."
Being hit by Shen Xiao was nothing, even a beating wouldn't be a problem, as long as Shen Xiao could calm down. Lu Qingyue stood at attention, but before she could speak, Shen Xiao had already struck her.
A sudden, unexpected attack—something was pressed against her lips.
This felt different from last night. Last night she was almost passed out drunk and had no idea what she was doing. But now it was different; she was sober! Her heart was racing, feeling like it was in her throat. She wanted to resist, but all her strength had left her, and she lay motionless in Shen Xiao's arms.
Ding!
[Gained favorability with Lu Qingyue, lottery ticket +100!]
They kissed for a full minute before Shen Xiao reluctantly pulled away. Although he wanted to continue, Lu Qingyue couldn't take it anymore. She seemed to have forgotten how to breathe; continuing might cause her to faint from lack of oxygen.
"Alright, I've gotten my revenge for the only thing I was annoyed with yesterday. We're even now."
"Are you okay now?"
"Okay," Lu Qingyue swallowed the words she was about to say. Because she saw two people hiding behind a tree in the distance, peeking at her with mischievous grins, holding up their phones.
"No! Not at all!" Lu Qingyue swung her fist at Shen Xiao: "We saw everything! You're a bad guy! You ambushed me! I'm angry, you'd better deal with it."
At this moment, Lu Qingyue also threw a tantrum, expressing her displeasure. Although Lu Qingyue's mood had shifted from sadness to anger, it was just petty squabbles, nothing serious. She was probably secretly pleased. To verify this, Shen Xiao asked:
"Still angry? If you're angry, try ambushing me again."
"Yes, I'm very angry now, and I won't forgive you, you scoundrel, today!"
Ding!
[Gained favorability with Lu Qingyue, lottery ticket +100!]
Lu Qingyue punched herself twice more and dashed off to snatch Su Qiao's phone. Shen Xiao didn't interfere; he figured she was acting this way because she'd just been seen. It didn't matter; at least her mood had improved. He, Shen Xiao, had once again saved the world from peril today.
The Empress might fake anger, but would the system lie? No.
…
Lottery Tickets: 10103.79 | Lottery Wheel: Purple Quality
Shen Xiao was in a good mood. The lottery tickets were ticking again, having already surpassed the 10,000 mark.
Let's take a stroll a bit longer, then do the lottery tonight! 10,000 consecutive draws... I wonder what kind of extra reward I'll get.
Because of what happened earlier, Lu Qingyue went to talk to Su Qiao about something. The team was reorganized, and he was paired with Lu Zihao. On another hillside, Lu Zihao looked at several figures in the distance and said:
"Boss, there are quite a few geniuses here. Look at those few, they're from Magic University. I've seen them before."
"Geniuses?" Shen Xiao pondered. He'd been so focused on getting lottery tickets from the Empress that he'd forgotten about ini ini geniuses. They were all treasures.
Geniuses were great! Since they were called geniuses, their talent was undeniable. He could take this opportunity to network, see what level ini ini geniuses were at, and how many lottery tickets they could provide. The more friends he had, the faster he could grow stronger, right?
Breaking through 10,000 consecutive draws, the next step was 100,000. With ini ini people helping, it would be a significant boost.
To become stronger, he had to make ini ini geniuses his sons… no, his friends!