Chapter 161: Chapter 161- Left Hand Holding Onto The Right, Right Hand Holding Onto The Left
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Perhaps because of Ren Suo’s performance in the Nine-Tailed Fox mission, he was allowed to use a tablet—there was no internet access but there were mini-games, 1 GB of study materials on various topics, and various novels and comics. It satisfied Ren Suo’s minimum entertainment needs.
In addition, there was also a “Glorious Xuan News” application.
It appeared to be an app for internal use which was updated with the newest information related to Practitioners.
Ren Suo scrolled through the app and realized that the activation of the Reiki Treasure of England had begun when he was practicing “The Secret Records of Glorious Xuan”. In fact, when he saw Nine-tailed Fox, he had already expected that, since England was her previous stop before she arrived in Fanying Nation.
It was also because of the opening of the Reiki Treasure of England that the pangolin, which was housed in an unknown number of rooms away from him, finally started communicating with Xuan Nation as a representative of the Heavenly Palace.
Indeed, Ren Suo finally remembered that, although the layout of the room he was in was slightly different, the texture of the wall and its spatial layout was very similar to that which the pangolin was housed in under the Endangered Elves Protection Act.
There were probably many of such similar-looking rooms there, but they need not necessarily be used to house patients. It was likely that other researchers and Practitioners in the facility also lived there. After all, it was simply unnecessary to install a Reiki gathering device in a medical ward.
With the small tablet, Ren Suo watched as the Reiki Treasure of Fanying Nation was activated, followed by the activation of the Reiki Treasure of South America, then the Reiki Treasure of Australia…
The events were directly described as “Activation of Reiki Treasures” in the news. After the appearance of Nine-tailed Fox, the fact that “Reiki Treasures can be activated” became common knowledge. All forces knew that Xuan Nation had the support of the Heavenly Palace and became the negotiator between the Heavenly Palace and the mortals on Earth as they activated the Reiki Treasures of three different countries.
Although knowledge of “Reiki Treasure” was still not announced to the public, it was after all the age of the internet. The extraordinary phenomena experienced by numerous people after the activation of the Reiki Treasures were overwhelming and many people could testify that they were Awakened on the day that their country’s Reiki Treasure was ignited. As such, the vast majority of people guessed that the “Reiki Treasures are being activated, and the world is being enhanced”.
With the emergence of extraordinary powers, most ordinary people adapted quickly to the new perspectives and accepted the enhanced prospects of life.
Mass demonstrations were already taking place in foreign nations where the people hoped that the government would work with Xuan Nation to activate their own nation’s Reiki Treasure as soon as possible…
More than ten days passed by quickly, and Ren Suo also went out twice to assist Dong Chengling in casting her ability. However, Ren Suo did not have any opportunities to talk to her, and Dong Chengling would always glance at him apologetically before hurriedly leaving with the other researchers to study the areas of improvement in the casting process of her ability.
Of course, there were still benefits for Ren Suo—he was still paid for his stay at the facility like a normal working day.
Moreover, the Reiki-gathering device in his room was 4 times as efficient as a regular Reiki-gathering device. In addition, the activation of the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation which resulted in the rise in Reiki energy in the environment, also allowed Ren Suo to rapidly build and improve his breathing current, even though Ren Suo’s talent was below average.
Nonetheless, that was still a small matter as Ren Suo was most concerned about something else.
“The Grain in Ear Solar Term has passed… And tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival…”
Ren Suo looked at the lunar calendar shown on the tablet in pity. Time had passed very quickly and he had been left behind by an important festival ruthlessly. The following day would be yet another important festival.
Two important festivals signified two promotional activities. Although the official message from Naisser reminded Ren Suo not to spend his merit points as much as possible, the discounted games were usually very cheap but still of high value. Buying any of them was equivalent to earning more, as he would still earn a decent amount of merit points even if he barely cleared the game.
And in four more days, it would be the summer solstice. If he missed that event too, Ren Suo could only hope that the free games of the month were still there, though that would be hard to say for sure. If one of the free games of the month was the second chapter of “The Hitman”, then there was a high probability that the games had completion time limits.
However, whether Ren Suo missed any of the events was not up to him to decide, and at present, he could only enjoy the Practitioner facility obediently.
His daily routine was very normal throughout the past few days. He woke up in the morning for breakfast, Practiced, ate his lunch at noon before he took a nap, then continued Practicing in the afternoon. After dinner in the evening, he would scroll through the “Glorious Xuan News”, and finally sleep when he felt exhausted. It was an extremely fulfilling life.
If Ren Suo did not activate [Unlimited Energy] when he Practiced the “Secret Records of Glorious Xuan”, he would be so tired he wanted to sleep by night time. That was why the past few days seemed to pass so fast—he had no time to think of other things.
However, that night, it was not the staff at the facility who delivered food to Ren Suo, but Qiao Muyi.
“Why are the lights still off?” Qiao Muyi asked as she opened the door and saw the dark state of the room.
“I changed the lights to the motion detection mode so that the light would automatically turn off when I Practice or fall asleep and did not move,” replied Ren Suo, who was still Practicing.
“Can it not detect the door opening?” Qiao Muyi questioned.
“I adjusted the sensitivity to a large extent—if it was too sensitive, the lights would turn on if I turned about in my sleep. However, once the lights came on, it would remain lit for at least an hour, so it was also very practical,” Ren Suo explained.
“Why did you set it up to be like this…” Qiao Muyi said.
“In this way, I won’t have to leave my position to turn off the lights,” Ren Suo said.
“Have you been so meticulous these days?” said Qiao Muyi as she shook his head and placed the dinner plates down. She leaned against the wall and said, “You can fly back by plane tomorrow at noon. Dong Chengling has already reshaped her meridian channel and can now cast her ability independently without your help.”
“Of course, it would not be a problem if you plan to stay in Tianjing for a few more days though.”
When there was no response for some time after Qiao Muyi finished her sentence, she turned around to see Ren Suo staring at her in a daze. She looked down at her clothes and touched her face, saying, “Have you not seen such a pretty girl with unparalleled beauty in the universe before?”
The sentence jolted Ren Suo out of his daze. He barely managed to shift his gaze and asked, “You… became stronger?”
Qiao Muyi asked, “Mmm? You are actually able to tell… Oh, is it because of the feel of the breathing currents?”
She nodded as she continued, “When I was Practicing here four days ago, the conditions were ripe and I became a second-tier Practitioner. Of course, the biggest reason must be due to the powerful Reiki aggregation equipment within the facility, and because of the activation of the Reiki Treasure of Xuan Nation. The Reiki levels in the environment increased significantly, and my Practice efficiency also improved greatly. ”
Ren Suo figured that what she said made sense. He had himself reaped great benefits from the activation of the Reiki Treasure. With a much higher talent level and the possession of an extraordinary Awakened Ability, it was definitely possible for Qiao Muyi to become a second-tier Practitioner.
Qiao Muyi asked, “Are you not going to eat? I have something to tell you so I brought your meal at the same time… You can’t be thinking that I spat in your meal?”
Ren Suo pulled his lips and walked from the futon to the table. He lowered his head to eat and asked, “So, what do you want to tell me?”
Qiao Muyi said, “Actually, I should have long returned to Lianjiang. The other teams already returned more than ten days ago. The reason why I remained here was because Deputy Director Yu gave me a task… Hey, are you listening?”
Ren Suo acknowledged her question with a mouth full of rice.
“With a space-type Awakened Ability, Dong Chengling, as a Practitioner, definitely has to become a strength of Xuan Nation. On that note, her progression is influenced by her personal will.”
Qiao Muyi continued, “She would not be an ordinary combat power. After providing sufficient information for the Reiki Research Institute to simulate her ability, she would not be recalled by the nation unless there are special circumstances. Relying on unconventional combat power will cause a slow down of administration.”
“Dong Chengling is also not very interested in research and wishes to become a combat Practitioner instead, so whichever Countermeasure Division branch she chooses to form an alliance with would be equal to… Ah, Dong Chengling, what brings you here?”
Ren Suo looked in the direction of the door in surprise—but the door was still closed.
However, Qiao Muyi squatted down at that moment, her eyes on the same level as his. She said, “What are you thinking about? You have not been paying attention to what I am saying from the start. Although the pressure of the breathing current is effective, it shouldn’t make you so… so afraid, does it?”
“It’s nothing,” said Ren Suo, quickly turning his head away.
“Hoho, are you feeling shy?” questioned Qiao Muyi, thinking that it was very intriguing. She laughed and said, “You were not so shy the last few times we met, why are you today… Unless… with the two of us of opposite genders being alone in the room, you are thinking about something inappropriate for children?”
“It’s nothing,” replied Ren Suo as he looked at the wall.
“Oh, I suddenly remembered,” said Qiao Muyi as she sat down at the table. Nostalgically, she said, “You specially asked me out on the last night of the training camp.”
“I thought you liked me then… but later on, I felt that you are not such a person. You must have wanted to ask me about something else, am I right?”
Ren Suo was a little surprised and nodded, saying, “Yeah.”
Qiao Muyi asked, “Indeed, how could someone like you, who would have whatever you desire, take such a risk of being rejected?”
“I did not talk to you much since then, and you can’t possibly have changed your mind suddenly… You are too shy to look at me, could it be something hard to talk about?”
Ren Suo remained silent for a moment and said, “I guess you could say so.”
“Just tell me if you have any requests,” Qiao Muyi said.
She also became slightly more serious and said, “Regarding the previous supernatural incident at the factory where I was cursed, if it was not for you sending me there in time, I might not be here today… Although I already treated you to a meal, that still can’t be compared to saving my life.”
Ren Suo finally turned his head stiffly, as if he controlled it with a wrench, to look at Qiao Muyi. He said with a tremble, “If you are willing to, can you please sleep here for a while?”
“Hmm?”
Qiao Muyi blinked and asked, “What do you mean?”
“I have absolutely no indecent thoughts anyone other than 10 years old would have,” Ren Suo said.
He raised his hands in the air and explained, “I just need you to sleep here for about 10 minutes or so. Your capabilities are far stronger than mine, so even if I use any of my abilities, you would be able to forcibly counterattack with [Clothes]. And I suppose you Practiced the Secret Records of Glorious Xuan as well? If anything happens, you can wake up instantly…”
“No problem,” Qiao Muyi said.
She comfortably lied down on Ren Suo’s bed, rolled around a few times and covered her mouth as she yawned.
She said, “I am full from just finishing my meal and happen to be sleepy too. Although I will grow fatter if I sleep directly after a meal, it should not be a problem for a Practitioner…?”
Ren Suo looked at her in surprise and asked, “Does that mean you agree?”
“I trust you,” said Qiao Muyi as she took off her boots and rolled into a ball hugging the pillow.
She smiled and continued, “At that time, you were willing to save me, and you were also willing to risk your life to save Dong Chengling… Although the environment here is excellent, your freedom is actually being restricted. And yet, you have no complaints towards Dong Chengling.”
——After all, Ren Suo made the decision to approach Dong Chengling to observe the ‘reality of the game’. Ren Suo could only blame himself for landing himself in such a situation, even if he wanted to.
“Do you know, Li Dan was actually in this facility a few days ago,” Qiao Muyi suddenly said.
“I talked to him about you and Dong Chengling, and he suddenly thanked you for making him sleep… It was only then that I knew that you granted Li Dan two ‘Sleeps’.”
“And now, you want me to sleep in front of you as well…”
Ren Suo was instantly stunned, as if he had fallen into an ice pit—Did she guess it already?!
Qiao Muyi asked, “… It should be because of the special needs of your Awakened Ability, am I right?”
“Hmm?” Ren Suo said as he blinked.
Qiao Muyi’s voice gradually decreased as she said, “There are certain Awakened Abilities that do not only require Reiki energy. The Awakener may also be required to do something else in order to cast the Awakened Ability successfully… It’s okay, I understand that.”
“Because it’s the same for me. That’s a secret between you and me,” Qiao Muyi said as she winked at Ren Suo.
“So, I won’t probe further. Li Dan did not find out that he had lost anything after you made him sleep, so I also decided to trust you.”
Qiao Muyi seemed to think of something and laughed, saying, “Some of the needs of Awakened Abilities may be very peculiar, and I see that you are not very lucky too.”
What else could Ren Suo say? He nodded repeatedly.
Furthermore, if he considered the Mini Worlds Gaming Console to be equivalent to Awakened Abilities, then the process of obtaining keys was really similar to what Qiao Muyi said—the way to obtain keys was strange, and Ren Suo was indeed not very lucky.
“I don’t think you only need me to sleep, right? You would need to touch me, don’t you?” Qiao Muyi asked.
She turned to her side and patted the empty area on the bed next to her. She said, “Come on.”
Ren Suo took a deep breath and resisted the immense urge he felt due to the key searching system. He laid down beside Qiao Muyi, facing her directly.
“I may sleep for a very long time, so you have to wake me up,” Qiao Muyi said as she took the initiative and grabbed Ren Suo’s hand.
She asked, “I would also be going back to Lianjiang tomorrow, will you go back too?”
“Of course I will,” Ren Suo answered.
“That’s great. Don’t have any strange ideas. Like I said before, our genders are incompatible… You slept with Li Dan twice… could you really swing both ways?… Also, I am helping you this time, so you have to help me complete my task later…”
Qiao Muyi blabbered on for a while, and even Ren Suo started feeling sleepy—he had been Practicing all day, and also just finished eating a full meal.
He laid flat on the bed as he waited for the new key that Qiao Muyi formed to fall into his possession.
Unfortunately, [Lure of Sweet Dreams] was not in his backup abilities; otherwise, he would not have required Qiao Muyi to fall asleep naturally…
[A key has been found.]
[The key is in a state of sleep, starting to retrieve the key.]
[The key has already been formed…]
The news of the key being retrieved successfully did not wake the tired Ren Suo. When the lights of the room dimmed, both of them had long shut their eyes because of the news of returning home and the physical exhaustion. They had fallen into a deep sleep.
——————
The next day at 7 a.m., the wristband ‘stabbed’ Ren Suo awake on time.
Indeed, Ren Suo had been wearing the wristband given by the Heavenly Institution of Lianjiang all this while. After all, the wristband was a sufficiently small and convenient gadget that allowed Ren Suo to check the time and be an alarm clock if it is connected to a network with an Internet connection. It directly stimulated the skin like needle pricks and was much more effective than sound and vibrations, and was harmless while being able to completely drive away all sleepiness.
Breakfast would be served in another half an hour. When Ren Suo was at the medical facility, he always woke up at the same time, then washed his face and brushed his teeth, and used the tablet to read some comics as part of his leisure time.
Even Ren Suo conscientiously and diligently Practiced in the extraordinary and unique Practice environment—after all, there was no Internet connection there.
The room was dark when he opened his eyes. The lights would not turn on until he flipped himself up from the bed.
It was time to get up… Eh?
Ren Suo felt that his right hand was holding onto another person’s left hand, and that hand was smaller than his own and felt quite smooth and tender.
Oh, right, he had asked her to sleep there after he discovered a new key on her, so he could retrieve the key.
Unexpectedly, Qiao Muyi was empathetic and even thought of a sufficient reason for Ren Suo’s almost indecent behavior. She willingly laid down on his bed and held his hands, while Ren Suo waited for the key to be retrieved.
That’s right, we have to catch our plane back to Lianjiang at noon today, so we should get out of bed… Eh?
When Ren Suo moved his body, he felt his left hand… holding someone else’s right hand.
What’s more, the feeling in his left hand was familiar.
It was not particularly familiar, for he had only felt it less than five times. The sense of order in space began spreading from the other person to his body. A Reiki meridian channel that was not found in his body joined him together with the person on his left side.
… Hmm?
Within an instant, a foretelling sense of “endless joy” arose in Ren Suo’s heart.