Mu Xiaobai's words moved Mu Anqi greatly, and she smiled as she agreed.
Mu Xiaobai and Mu Anqi were happily getting along over here, while over there little Xia Fenghua was guarding the cake, eating big mouthfuls while fending off Bai Yulai's harassment. Mu Anqi just watched that fluffy fox tail suddenly smack across Xia Fenghua's face, and in the next moment, half of the strawberry cake had disappeared from the plate.
Mu Anqi stared blankly at Bai Yulai's puffed-up cheeks and the cream at the corner of her mouth, thinking: This can't be, really, this can't be.
It's just an ordinary cake!
And then, the two of them got into a fight. Of course, they didn't really go all out—after all, Mu Anqi didn't see Xia Fenghua turn Bai Yulai into a fox doll, only pull out a big handful of fox fur, leaving a bald patch on that fluffy, beautiful tail. Bai Yulai, on the other hand, turned into an enormous white fox, pressing Xia Fenghua to the floor, opening her big mouth and swallowing her entire head inside…
This chicken fight had no winner—only Mu Xiaobai's house ended up almost completely wrecked. Of course, the rebuilding and restoration speed of the monsters here was very fast.
Watching this amusing farce, Mu Anqi suddenly felt that the creatures of the Shattered Mirror Continent… actually weren't that different after all.
It's just that their destructive power was much greater than that of ordinary people.
After resting in the Xiaobai'sResidence, Mu Anqi returned to the Nirvana Space. She went to the bathroom to wash her face, then lay back on a lounge chair with a face mask on, opened the skill panel, and continued drawing skills.
[Would you like to spend 200 points to acquire a random skill?]
Yes.
[Ding! Congratulations on obtaining the skill: Rich Lady Aura! Detected that the player already possesses this skill. Rich Lady Aura has automatically leveled up.]
[Rich Lady Aura]: After activating the aura, all creatures will be fascinated by your wealth! ("Rich lady, you're glowing!" — exclaimed a poor wretch who wishes to remain anonymous.)
Mu Anqi: "…"
Ha, haha… can't laugh.
Mu Anqi took out her little notebook. She really did want to buy a flashlight, but… that doesn't mean she wanted to turn into a walking lightbulb.
Mu Anqi had to use a great deal of effort to keep her expression steady—after all, she was still wearing a face mask. She had been about to say that this useless skill was something she would probably never use, but then thought of that "Sudden Windfall" skill… so she decided not to say anything that might come back to slap her in the face.
The Abyss game had cost Mu Anqi quite a lot of bullets. After resting for a while on the lounge chair, once the mask time was up, she went to the bathroom to wash her face again. Straightening her clothes, she went out to the item shop to make some purchases.
Ten sets of special bullets for ghosts, one substitute paper doll, and from another player she bought four smoke grenades to bring the total up to ten. After spending a total of 264 points, Mu Anqi still planned to buy a lighting tool. A flashlight might not be very convenient—something like a hat or a glowing badge accessory would be better. After all, Mu Anqi already felt her hands weren't enough: throwing smoke grenades, tossing hand grenades, shooting, using the substitute paper doll—and on top of that, she hadn't even had the chance to use the dagger or the candy cane.
The shop was full of all kinds of items, and after asking the NPC, Mu Anqi indeed found a lighting tool that fit her requirements.
The "Artificial Little Sun" was a transparent ball the size of a marble, activated by thought. When you activated it and threw it out, it would melt and stick to the first object it touched, emitting a soft light to illuminate the area. However, the duration was only ten minutes, after which it would naturally dissipate. Perhaps because its function wasn't very strong and it was a one-time consumable, each Little Sun only cost 2 points—extremely cheap.
Mu Anqi bought 20 of them in one go, and then also bought a glowing badge. The badge was made of silver, with a hollow design in the center forming a bird spreading its wings in flight. By touching it with a finger, she could activate it with her thoughts. Once activated, the badge would shine a beam of light forward, just like a flashlight. It only had the illumination effect. It didn't need charging and wouldn't wear out. According to the shop's NPC, this item was even covered by returns and exchanges—if it ever broke, she could swap the broken one for a new one. Expensive… well, not really, only 100 points. Mu Anqi managed to get it for 80 points.
After finishing her purchases, Mu Anqi's points went back to 1926.6. She went home, took a shower, and then sat on her bed holding the token. She definitely wasn't going to the Shattered Mirror Continent today. After all, she had just finished a game, and even though she had sat for a while at Mu Xiaobai's place, she hadn't actually gotten any sleep.
Mu Anqi was very tired—tired not only in spirit, but also in body. One game after another, seeing so many violent cases, witnessing so many bloody and cruel scenes—even if her mental resilience kept her from reacting much on the spot, once she was alone in the safe Nirvana Space, sitting on her bed, Mu Anqi still couldn't help but feel weighed down by the darkness shown by the malice of the Black Mirror vortex.
She had felt this same way when she was alive too. Back then, she surfed the internet every day, almost always seeing the "unevenness of the world," coming across all kinds of news. Some of it was even calls for help from victims. But aside from reposting or commenting, she couldn't do anything. Sometimes she would even get inexplicably "picked on" by others, leaving her so upset she couldn't sleep.
Mu Anqi placed the token under her pillow and lay down on the bed. Compared to the sorrowful Black Mirror vortex, the games on the Shattered Mirror Continent could truly be called "games."
Fragments of flesh and blood floated before her eyes. The monsters born of malice had all turned "inhuman" in the end, yet when the real events happened, the ones who did these things were all actual people.
Mu Anqi didn't know when she fell asleep. Rather than saying she slept, it felt more like she kept falling endlessly into another abyss. It was pitch black there. At the very depths she struggled, sinking—slender ghostly shadows, vicious fiends, men holding knives, women with gentle false smiles—scene after scene flashed rapidly past. Countless ghostly hands rose from the dark abyss, grabbing her calves. Mu Anqi fled in panic, but no matter where she ran, she couldn't escape the encirclement. Darkness covered everything. Instinctively, she uttered words of blessing, but the monsters only laughed more madly, hurling themselves at her like lunatics. They wanted to tear her apart, devour her.
Falling, falling, fleeing, endlessly running—there was no end to the road, the fierce ghosts behind her relentless and countless. At last, she stepped into a bottomless black mire, unable to break free. Countless ghostly hands bound her, dragging her down. The mire swallowed her lower body, then her waist and abdomen, her chest, her neck…
Just as Mu Anqi was growing too weak to struggle, unable even to breathe, a loud and piercing suona rendition of "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" shattered the ghosts, broke apart the nightmare, and in an instant the despair vanished. Mu Anqi jolted awake, realizing her pajamas were already soaked through with cold sweat.
…How could she have such a dream? She clearly wasn't that weak. Mu Anqi lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, her limbs still weak and trembling. She remained dazed for quite a while before finally shifting her gaze to the invitation that had popped up in Nirvana Space.
It was from General Ji.
Looking at the invitation, Mu Anqi instinctively thought of General Ji's figure as she struck down ghosts, of that cold blade cutting through the darkness and shattering malice with ease and grace. Mu Anqi blinked, the dryness in her eyes forcing tears to well up. She blinked several times before the discomfort eased a little. Then she recalled the red cloak that draped down and those blood-red pupils beneath the ghost mask.
Mu Anqi got up, walked into the bathroom, and washed her face with cold water to wake herself up before stepping into the shower to wash away the cold sweat.
She changed into sportswear. It was already seven o'clock. After glancing at her storage ring, Mu Anqi teleported over.
When she arrived at the main city gate, she suddenly realized she had forgotten to bring candy.
"…General." Mu Anqi called softly, "I forgot to bring candy."
"It's Okay." Ji Huaichu glanced at her and immediately noticed that the little money tree didn't look too well. She seemed a bit dispirited. "Didn't sleep well?"
"Mm…" Mu Anqi felt that, as a grown adult who had already gone through so many games, she really couldn't bring herself to admit that she had actually had a nightmare last night.
If it had been an ordinary subordinate, Ji Huaichu would surely have thought the person lazy—especially one who wanted to learn from her. To not even get up by six in the morning was downright slothful. But seeing the little money tree looking so pitiful, especially with the corners of her eyes slightly red, Ji Huaichu simply couldn't bring forth any anger. She merely paused, then changed her words: "Next time, I'll call you later."
"It's not the General's fault!" Mu Anqi hurried to explain. "It—it was me, I didn't adjust properly…"
"The Black Mirror vortex?" Seeing Mu Anqi silently nod, looking so obedient, pitiful, and fragile, Ji Huaichu gazed at her, let out a quiet sigh, and raised her hand to rub Mu Anqi's head. It was then she recalled that Mu Anqi had died at the age of 20. By that age in her own world, twenty was already that of a mature woman. But in the little money tree's world… at twenty, there was still a trace of innocence left.
It wasn't a bad thing.
"…General, may I have a hug?" Noticing General Ji's attitude, Mu Anqi softly spoke, her voice gentle and carrying a hint of coquettishness. Her dark eyes shimmered faintly with moisture, and the slight redness at the corners of her eyes made her look all the more pitiful.
Ji Huaichu silently met Mu Anqi's gaze, as if examining something. Her scrutiny was so earnest, it felt as though she were getting to know Mu Anqi all over again. In the weight of that serious silence, Mu Anqi belatedly realized what coquettish words she had just spoken to the General. The General had been a person from ancient times—surely, in her eyes, such a request for an embrace would seem overly frivolous. Or perhaps, in the General's eyes, Mu Anqi hadn't reached the level of closeness that allowed for such contact. Or maybe…
A sourness welled up in Mu Anqi's heart. The fear and grievance from her nightmare surged up once more, giving her an inexplicable urge to cry. But it was only fleeting—after all, the General owed her nothing. On the contrary, it was she who had benefited from the General's help. She had no right to cry or feel sentimental here. Forcing herself to rally, Mu Anqi smiled. "I was being forward. I hope the General won't take offense…" [T/N: I don't know girl you could have asked for marriage and general would have said yes]
"I was only thinking about something." Ji Huaichu shifted her gaze, then raised her hand to embrace Mu Anqi, patting the little money tree's back in comfort. "But even if you act spoiled, when it comes time for training later, I won't go easy on you."
Caught off guard by the unexpected hug, Mu Anqi was a little overwhelmed. Only after hearing the General's next words did she relax, lifting her hand to grasp Ji Huaichu's clothing hem. This time, her smile was much brighter: "General, please be as strict as you like."