"If a dream were a painting, what could we draw upon it? Would it be the faces of one person after another, or the route we wish to take toward success, or perhaps... a sword that cuts through thorns?" After spacing out for quite a while, Chu Lian came back to her senses. She turned her head to look at the girl lying beside her with her eyes closed and asked softly.
"We could draw the scene we desire most in our hearts. For example, being together with the person we like, or standing at the destination, gazing at the distant sky, fingers interlocked, just like this..." She reached out and held the girl's hand. Though she did not open her eyes, she answered gently.
"The thing I want most? What is it that I want most?" Hearing her words, Chu Lian couldn't help but sketch an image in her mind. It was a garden, filled with the silhouettes of many people—various girls in different forms. Some sat quietly, some tilted their heads upward, some lay among the flowers.
There were also strange birds and beasts in the sky, in the water, and on the ground, flying and roaming, adding a special vitality to the garden. At the very center sat a girl, but her figure was indistinct. The outlines of those blurred figures had yet to be filled with proper faces, and she did not know who they were or what they looked like.
She only knew that if she wanted to complete this dream, it would likely be something very, very far away. If possible, when she grew tired or completed all her duties, she could then enjoy that peaceful, leisurely, and free life.
"If it really could be done, that would be wonderful, wouldn't it?" She smiled softly. That would be the best... the very best.
"Yes. If it can be done, then all the effort will be worth it, instead of being like now, where we don't understand anything." The girl turned over, curling her legs beside her.
Breathing in her scent, after a whole night of worry and without proper rest, Liu Yanran's fatigue finally surged over her. She drowsily responded to Chu Lian's words before drifting off to sleep.
"Have a good rest, my dear..." Leaning down, Chu Lian kissed her on the forehead. She brushed aside the strands of hair covering her face and gently caressed her cheek as she spoke softly.
"Chu Lian..." she murmured without opening her eyes, her breathing gradually becoming lighter. It seemed that Chu Lian's earlier unconsciousness had truly exhausted her.
"Heh, it won't happen again." Lowering her hand, Chu Lian held her slender fingers, interlocking them just as she had described. She stayed with her for a while, until Liu Yanran was fully asleep, before releasing her hand and stepping off the bed barefoot.
She paused at the desk for a moment, looking at the line of text written there. Chu Lian smiled faintly but made no move, simply watching... watching.
"I will become the protagonist of the story and take you to experience the most beautiful scenery in the world." There was no need to write those words. She only wanted to tell the girl that she would accomplish it.
"When you wake up, everything will be fine. So don't worry too much." Before closing the door, she looked at the girl's sleeping face and whispered softly before shutting it behind her.
"Chu Lian..." Slowly opening her eyes, the girl gazed hazily at the closed door. Hugging the spot on the bed where Chu Lian had just lain, breathing in her lingering scent, she fell asleep.
"Lian." As if she had been waiting all along—or as if she knew Chu Lian would come out at this moment—Inori's voice sounded beside her ear just as she closed the door and was about to go find her.
Looking up at the girl leaning against the door, her wine-red eyes lowered and her expression vacant, Chu Lian walked over and took her hand. She wanted to say something, yet in the end, she did not know what to say.
"Coming back is already the best outcome." Inori shook her head. She did not need Chu Lian to say anything at this moment. She only wanted to quietly enjoy this gentle time together.
Chu Lian looked at her. After closing her eyes and thinking for a moment, she pulled her into the room and casually shut the door behind them.
Sitting on the bed, Chu Lian glanced around at the simple yet refined furnishings. For a brief moment, she felt as though she had returned to the past. Being able to meet her—truly, it was wonderful.
"What's wrong, Lian?" Inori tilted her head, looking at her with confusion, not understanding what she was thinking.
"Hey, Inori... next time, how about we travel to another world together?" Chu Lian opened her eyes and stared into hers for a moment before speaking.
"Hm? Another world? Where?" She hadn't forgotten that Chu Lian had once said she would take her on a private journey to another world. Now that she brought it up again, had she already found a way?
"Yes, another world. Just the two of us." Chu Lian nodded. Seeing her puzzled expression, she opened her dimensional space, searched for a moment, and took out a scroll.
"RWBY: S-rank dungeon world, maximum difficulty S-rank. This is a world where civilization and nature are locked in endless conflict, and also a world where humanity strives to perfect itself. The existence of Grimm is meant to return everything to nature, while humans have discovered Dust and harnessed supernatural power, using it as a source of magic to fight against the Grimm. Over the long struggle, humanity has gradually built its own civilization, yet the Grimm have never abandoned their delusion of destroying it..."
"All conflicts are the essence of the world. There is no right or wrong. Whether human or Grimm, they are merely fighting for themselves."
"Main Quest ①: Become a qualified Huntress and independently slay at least 1,000 Grimm. Reward: S-rank Title—Hunter."
"Main Quest ②: Become a student or teacher at Beacon Academy. Reward: None."
"Main Quest ③: Slay over 100,000 Grimm. Reward: SS-rank Item—Sevenfold Circular Shield of the Seraph."
"Main Quest ④: Unknown."
"Main Quest ⑤ · Hidden·Unique: Unlock upon completion of the first four main quests."
"Optional Quest ①: The War of the Four Kingdoms. Reward: Depends on direction and completion level."
"Optional Quest ②: Destroy Cinder's faction."
"Optional Quest ③: To be determined (changes based on host choices)."
"Optional Quest ④: To be determined (changes based on host choices)."
"Neutral Quest: Perhaps you could try becoming a decent merchant? Reward: None."
"Activation Condition: Reach Earth level."
"Note: As the host has already completed one dungeon world, permissions have increased. You may now bring others with you. Bringing others will not increase quest difficulty, but the number of enemies will scale proportionally."
This scroll was something Chu Lian obtained after resolving the Wang family's matter. At the time, she had only glanced at it once, only noticing its name without reading any of the other information.
Now that she had taken it out, a flood of information poured directly into her mind, leaving her momentarily stunned. It took a while before she recovered, called back by Inori's voice.
"Phew... it's this scroll. As long as I open it, we can open a gateway to another world. Through that gate, we'll be able to travel there. But right now, I can't open it because..." Chu Lian's expression turned a little awkward. Seeing this, Inori grew curious and asked, "What's wrong?"
"My strength hasn't reached the requirement yet. The condition to activate this scroll is that I must reach the Earth level. In other words, we won't be able to go there anytime soon." That wasn't the main reason she felt embarrassed, though. The real reason was...
"So, Lian, why did you take it out now? We can't even go, so there's no point in showing it to me." Seeing her blank expression, Inori couldn't help but point out the exact reason for Chu Lian's embarrassment.
"Cough, cough... I just wanted you to take a look. We can prepare in advance, right? Oh, right—do you want to know what kind of world it is?" Chu Lian knew her explanation was weak, but she was quite skilled at changing the subject, immediately shifting Inori's attention.
"What kind of world?" A brand-new world was quite appealing to Inori. After all, she herself came from another world. She was curious about what other worlds existed beyond her own and Chu Lian's.
"That world..." Since she had asked, Chu Lian smoothly diverted the topic completely, beginning to explain the world of RWBY.
Of course, she also brought up the two types of worlds Eve had once explained to her: "real worlds" and "projection worlds."
She understood that RWBY, being a real world, would definitely not be like Overlord, a projection world where everything unfolded according to a predetermined script.
Perhaps some events might share similar patterns and outcomes, but most things would depend on how individuals acted.
During her previous experience in the world of Overlord, in the early stages she had been forced to follow the established storyline, only causing minor deviations due to her presence.
It was only in the mid to late stages, when that world was invaded by "Judgement," that she gained the freedom to change things.
But this time, in a real world, everything would be in constant flux from the very beginning. That was likely why some of the dungeon quests provided by the system lacked descriptions.
These quests probably required her to determine the direction of events herself before she could understand how to complete them and what rewards they would yield.
Even so, Chu Lian still explained the basic knowledge and fundamental elements of that world to Inori, so that when they eventually traveled to RWBY together, she would be prepared.
This was the difference between how she interacted with Inori and how she interacted with the other girls. For two girls who had completely opened their hearts to each other, all their emotions were woven into the smallest details of daily conversation. A single sentence, a single exchange, was enough—there was no need for excess words.
"I understand." After quietly listening to her explanation of the world's structure and details, Inori looked into her eyes and suddenly smiled. "Lian, even though I know you were changing the subject, I still fell for it."
"Cough... it's fine, it's fine. I'll go check on Xiu'er first. You rest here." Feeling a little guilty under her gaze, Chu Lian glanced around aimlessly before attempting to leave.
But just as she was about to get off the bed, her hand was grabbed by Inori, and her body was pulled down onto the bed.
Inori straddled her slender thighs, leaning down as she spoke in a low voice, "Lian, that won't do."
Chu Lian saw her hair shift instantly from pink to orange-yellow, and those wine-red eyes turn into a deeper orange-red. She knew Mana had emerged.
"So, after not seeing me for so long, you're just going to leave like that?" Mana leaned close to her ear, pressing a kiss against her earlobe as she whispered.
"Alright... Mana, it really has been a long time." Chu Lian did not resist. She simply looked into her eyes and replied.
"Yes, it has been a long time. So, I..." Before finishing her sentence, she suddenly kissed Chu Lian's lips, forcefully slipping her tongue inside and entangling it with hers, claiming her soft lips completely.
Chu Lian let her do as she pleased, offering no resistance, even subtly responding. She knew what the girl wanted, and she knew what she herself should do. If Mana wanted it, then she would give it.
The kiss lasted for a long time, until Mana's face flushed and her legs began to rub restlessly. Only then did she release Chu Lian's glistening lips, swallowing the lingering taste before closing her eyes lightly. "Such a familiar taste... but even sweeter now."
"Of course..." Chu Lian was about to say something smug, but seeing Mana lean in again, she quickly raised her hand to cover her lips, glaring at her with mock annoyance. "That's enough, Mana. If this continues, I'll break."
"Break? Do you mean truly break... or be thrown away?" Tilting her head, Mana smiled strangely as she asked.
"Ah—don't! If this keeps going, I really will break." How many times had she felt this? Every time she approached the peak, she didn't dare continue. If Mana pushed any further, she couldn't guarantee she would endure it.
She couldn't help but complain about her own body. Even though its strength had increased, it was still so sensitive. Couldn't those flaws be fixed? What if she became strange in the future?
"Honestly, you haven't changed at all. Still just as naughty, Little Lian'er." Mana brushed her long hair behind her back and teased her.
"Well... my body is like this, I can't help it. Can you let me go now? Xiu'er should be waking up soon. I need to check on her." Chu Lian could only hope Mana would let her leave. Otherwise, who knew what might happen next?
"You really don't understand romance at all. Fine, I'll let you go." Mana rolled her eyes, withdrawing her legs and moving aside to give her space.
Watching Chu Lian's slightly disheveled figure leave, Mana sat on the bed, her expression suddenly uneasy. "Am I really that frightening to you? You can't even stay with me a little longer?"
However, she did not ask this directly. And so, no one knew the answer.
"Phew... I didn't expect Mana to come out." Standing in front of Chu Chu's room, Chu Lian let out a breath before reaching out to open the door.
The moment the door opened, a delicate hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside. The door was shut behind her, and she was pinned to the floor. Hands moved to strip away her long dress, and soft lips pressed against hers, silencing any sound.
"Xiu'er..." This scene was eerily similar to what had happened back in the Chang'an hotel.
She did not resist, allowing the girl to remove all her clothes.
Soon, two slender, snow-white bodies intertwined, rolling together within the room...