My Romance Game Updated – Chapter 69
by Little PandaExplanation
“Actually, besides my spatial and shooting abilities, I only have one other…”
Ren Chenxi mulled it over for a long while before finally speaking, her words slow and deliberate. Hearing her voice, Mu Ning, whose heart had been lodged in her throat, finally let out a sigh of relief. She had waited for what felt like an eternity without a word from Ren Chenxi and had started to think her question had upset the other girl again. Just as she was hesitating, about to tell Ren Chenxi it was fine if she didn’t want to answer, Ren Chenxi’s voice came at the perfect moment. Still, her tone was so slow and flat that it was impossible to gauge her mood. What a pity that Ren Chenxi couldn’t see it at all right now!
Ren Chenxi, however, couldn’t care less what Mu Ning was thinking. She simply followed her own train of thought and continued spinning her tale, one word at a time.
“My last ability is using crystal cores to synthesize cards.”
“Synthesize cards?” Even for Mu Ning, who had been through two years of the apocalypse and had seen her fair share of strange things, this bizarre ability was baffling.
“That’s right. You probably know that I have a huge need for crystal cores. And it doesn’t matter what level they are; any crystal core will do. Because with just one thousand 1st-order crystal cores, I can synthesize one random card. These cards include Shield Cards, Invisibility Cards, Acceleration Cards, Explosion Cards, and even Flash Cards and Greasy Cards…”
“Greasy Cards?” The word ‘greasy’ immediately brought to Mu Ning’s mind the oily mutated leopard and wolf she had seen before, and oh, a few greasy zombies as well. “So, back when we were cleaning up those bodies, the greasy ones were your doing? And their missing crystal cores…”
“Ahem…” Ren Chenxi hadn’t expected Mu Ning to be so quick on the uptake, already starting to dig up old scores1. But she wasn’t flustered and answered truthfully, “Any mutated beast or zombie I attack will have its crystal core automatically collected into my space after it dies, as long as it’s within ten meters of me. Similarly, any monster hit by a Greasy Card will constantly ooze oil, and upon death, it will drop a bottle of gasoline, which is then collected into my space.”
Though Ren Chenxi’s explanation sounded absurd, Mu Ning, having personally experienced the effects of the invisibility and acceleration, had no choice but to believe in the existence of a card as strange as the “Greasy Card,” even if a sliver of doubt remained. No wonder. Two years into the apocalypse, with gasoline in such short supply, Ren Chenxi had sold the Crystal Core Engine to Qi Sheng without a second thought. And no wonder she could casually pull out a dozen bottles of gasoline and tell everyone she had stockpiled a lot. After all, no matter how large a stockpile, it would eventually run out one day, yet Ren Chenxi had never seemed worried. So it turned out she had a Greasy Card that could get her new gasoline at any time!
Learning about Ren Chenxi’s miraculous new ability, Mu Ning couldn’t help but grow even more curious about the cards she synthesized from crystal cores.
“So all these cards are synthesized randomly? You can’t make the ones you want on demand? In that case, were the cards that did so much damage to the mutated octopus especially hard to synthesize? Can… can you let me see one?”
Hey, hey, hey, don’t push your luck2! I’ve already told you about my cards, and you’re still asking so many questions!
Ren Chenxi rolled her eyes in annoyance. She bared her teeth at Mu Ning’s health bar before reluctantly continuing her explanation.
“The cards my ability synthesizes are invisible to everyone but me. As for the highly destructive Explosion Cards, they are very, very, very hard to synthesize! I only had a few to begin with, and I used them all on that octopus. I don’t have a single one left now!”
Mu Ning could already feel the destructive power of the supposedly hard-to-synthesize Explosion Cards. Although she had been the one to kill the 8th-order mutated octopus with her sudden advancement, it was Ren Chenxi who had beaten it to within an inch of its life. Sensing the anger in Ren Chenxi’s tone, Mu Ning assumed she was upset about losing her precious Explosion Cards and tried to comfort her softly, “It’s okay. You have a Level 8 crystal core now. You’ll be able to synthesize even more cards.”
At Mu Ning’s words, Ren Chenxi’s mood instantly improved.
That’s right. This Mu Ning might be annoying with all her questions, but at the critical moment, she was the one who advanced and took the octopus monster’s last drop of health! Without Mu Ning’s frantic efforts to restrain it with her vines, without her final attack, that octopus monster with its sliver of health would have escaped back into the sea long ago.
Her plan to drag Mu Ning away to safety had been sound—they would rest, she would take the opportunity to draw more cards, synthesize more SSR-rank cards, and then come back for the kill. But who could guarantee that the octopus, once it escaped into the sea, wouldn’t hide away for a while to recuperate? And who knew how long that would take? Furthermore, the ocean floor was teeming with unknown, even more powerful mutated creatures. Who knew if one of them might have seized the chance to devour the heavily injured octopus? If that happened, all her cards and Mu Ning’s grueling fight would have been for nothing!
At this thought, Ren Chenxi stopped finding Mu Ning so annoying. In fact, a faint trace of guilt began to surface.
Mu Ning contributed a great deal to getting this Level 8 crystal core in my inventory! And she was the one who delivered the final blow! In online games, players who land the last hit on a world boss get double the rewards! And to kill this thing, Mu Ning is so exhausted she’s collapsed on the sand! For me to just take the Level 8 crystal core for myself… that doesn’t seem right, does it?
The more Ren Chenxi thought about it, the more it sat wrong with her. Ever since arriving at Nanhai Base, she had always aimed for fair and equal transactions with Mu Ning, from rent to utilities. This octopus monster was clearly a joint kill, but the Level 8 crystal core had ended up in her inventory alone. She was obviously taking advantage of Mu Ning! That was unacceptable!
“One thousand 1st-order crystal cores can synthesize one card, so a Level 8 crystal core should let you synthesize ten thousand cards. Why don’t you start synthesizing now…”
Mu Ning’s soft voice continued, a hint of excitement in it. Ren Chenxi really couldn’t understand what she was so happy about. Even if she really did synthesize ten thousand cards, what did that have to do with her? Besides, she had no intention of taking advantage of her! Cutting Mu Ning off before she could say more, Ren Chenxi stated directly, “We killed the octopus monster together, so half of the Level 8 crystal core is yours!”
“…” Mu Ning had been happily calculating how many cards Ren Chenxi could make and how many of them would be powerful attack cards. But Ren Chenxi’s sudden declaration instantly froze the joy in her heart. Does this person always have to draw such a clear line between us? After a long, sullen silence, Mu Ning finally said in a cold voice, “There’s no need. You were the one who wanted this crystal core in the first place.”
Ren Chenxi heard the displeasure in her voice but didn’t care. She just stubbornly continued, “Me wanting it is one thing. You did the work, so you deserve half. That’s another thing entirely!”
“Then tell me, how are we supposed to split a Level 8 crystal core? One half each? They say even a cannon can’t scratch these things. Go on, cut it for me and let’s see!”
“Simple. You take the Level 8 crystal core, and then you figure out a way to get me five million 1st-order crystal cores.”
“You…”
“You what? You’re not like me! For your ability to advance, the higher the level of the crystal core, the better. But for me, any crystal core will do, even 1st-order ones!”
“But…”
“Mu Ning, can you be a little more rational and mature? This is about your own ability, something so important, and you’re here pushing it back and forth with me? You saw what happened just now. If I hadn’t thrown that Shield Card in time, you would have been smashed to death by that octopus tentacle right at the start! And later, if I hadn’t given you an Acceleration Card, how much health do you think you could have taken off that octopus monster with your attack speed? And at the very end, if you hadn’t suddenly advanced, would you have had any choice but to watch it escape? If your ability had been just a little higher, a little stronger, would I have needed to… I—I couldn’t care less if you live or die!”
“You… you were worried about me?” The joy in Mu Ning’s heart, which had been frozen solid, felt as if it were suddenly bathed in warm sunlight, and it began to melt, bit by bit. She remembered now. During the fight with the mutated octopus, Ren Chenxi had disregarded her own safety several times, dodging the octopus’s attacks to run to her side, trying to pull her away to escape. She had clearly wanted the octopus’s crystal core so badly that she had even risked coming to the beach alone. But just because she was afraid Mu Ning was in danger, she had been willing to give up the crystal core and drag her away.
Her empty palm still throbbed with a stinging pain, covered in the marks and scratches from pulling on the vines. But Mu Ning could vaguely recall the feeling of Ren Chenxi’s hand holding hers—it was soft, and warm.
Unable to see the faint smile that had reappeared on Mu Ning’s lips, Ren Chenxi bristled the moment Mu Ning suggested she was worried.
“Who’s worried about you?! Who’s worried about you?! In any case, you came to the beach because of me. If you… if you didn’t make it back to the base with me, how would I explain it to your lackeys?!”
Hearing Ren Chenxi’s frantic denial, the smile on Mu Ning’s face only grew wider. But afraid that pushing her further would just make her angry again, Mu Ning could only placate her softly, “Yes, yes, you’re right, I was wrong. You weren’t worried about me~”
“…” Why does that tone sound so punchable?
Ren Chenxi fell silent. The two of them remained on the beach, one sitting and one lying, for a long while. Then, Ren Chenxi suddenly remembered. Mu Ning had clearly gone out hunting with Chen Gu and the others this morning! How did she suddenly end up at the beach? At this thought, Ren Chenxi immediately questioned her without ceremony.
Faced with Ren Chenxi’s interrogation, Mu Ning just smiled lightly and explained, “You said you had a stomachache this morning, but you didn’t look like you had one at all. I just assumed you didn’t want to go out, so I let you stay home. But when Chen Gu and the others started hunting, I suddenly remembered how interested you seemed when we were talking about the 7th-order octopus at the beach. So I got worried. Could you have deliberately made an excuse to stay behind, just so you could sneak off to the beach by yourself as soon as we left?”
As Mu Ning spoke, Ren Chenxi felt a pang of guilt. Mu Ning had guessed her little scheme perfectly. But guilt was one thing; she still stuck her neck out and retorted, “I have so many protective cards! It’s not a risk at all! But you, as the strongest member of the team and their Boss, just abandoned your subordinates like that. And Huo Keyu and the others were out with you today, too. Do you think what you did was…”
“I think it was fine.”
“Hey, hey, hey! You…”
“It’s the apocalypse. No one is obligated to protect anyone else. Chen Gu and the others are not weak, and today they were only hunting within the vicinity of Yanghu Village, just outside the base. If they can’t even handle danger in a situation like that, then in the future, if I continue to take them out and we encounter even greater danger, do you think they’ll be able to fight alongside me, or will they just hide behind me and drag me down? I have no need for subordinates who would drag me down!”
“…” As expected of the cold-hearted and unfeeling3 Iceberg Goddess. Even though her subordinates have followed her with their whole hearts for two years, the moment they become dead weight, the Boss will abandon them without a second thought.
But, as ruthless as her words were, they were correct. In this cruel apocalypse, no one could take another’s protection for granted forever.
The author has something to say:
Wood (*////▽////*): Hehe, wifey is worried about me. By extension4, we can do some of the things we love to do tonight~
Footnotes
- Original: fān jiù zhàng (翻旧账), lit. 'to turn over old account books'. It means to bring up old grievances or rake over the past.
- Original: dé cùn jìn chǐ (得寸进尺), a four-character idiom that literally means 'to get an inch and want a foot'. It describes someone who becomes increasingly greedy after being given a small concession.
- Original: lěng xīn lěng fèi (冷心冷肺), lit. 'cold heart and cold lungs'. A descriptor for someone who is emotionally detached and unfeeling.
- Original: sì shě wǔ rù (四舍五入), the mathematical term for 'rounding up or down'. It's used here as internet slang to mean 'by extension' or 'close enough', humorously jumping from 'she's worried about me' to 'we can be intimate'.
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