Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 127 - 121 sleep together2

Chapter 127: 121 sleep together2

In video games that involve slaying monsters to level up, there’s a very simple way to confirm whether an enemy monster has died: just check to see if your experience points have increased. If they haven’t, it’s a sign that the enemy is likely still alive or might even reemerge in a second form in front of the player character.

My "ash," which appears after a murder, seems to share a mysterious connection with experience points that only increase after killing an enemy monster. Since Zhu Shi had mentioned that the Weirdo Maker’s true form was the consciousness network, and after destroying it I gained so much "experience," that must mean Ying Lingyun definitely died at my hands.

But is that really the case?

Once I consider the mysterious gray mist that emerged from within the consciousness network and the speculation that the true form of the Weirdo Maker, Ying Lingyun, might possess a Divine Seal Fragment, I can’t declare his demise with absolute certainty.

For simplicity’s sake, from now on I’ll refer to the Weirdo Maker who died in front of me as "Weirdo Maker," and his true form as "Ying Lingyun."

The divine seal is the ultimate Divine Artifact with the power to change heaven and earth, and even its fragments are not to be underestimated. Even though I can’t effectively use the Divine Seal Fragment I have in my possession, Ying Lingyun, as a senior decision-maker in the Human Bureau and also as a researcher, might have already discovered how to utilize a Divine Seal Fragment (assuming he has one). The black mist that could seal superpower abilities and the gray mist that appeared at the very end could be evidence of that.

That gray mist not only hindered my perception and superpowers but also obstructed my judgment of Ying Lingyun’s fate. A character who could manipulate such a mysterious and unpredictable power at the last moment hardly seems like the type who would die without suspense, like some common riffraff at the roadside.

Admittedly, the Weirdo Maker believed his true self had perished, but he had also mentioned that his offline self wasn’t privy to certain secrets known only by Ying Lingyun, making his judgment on the life or death of Ying Lingyun questionable.

His understanding of the Divine Seal Fragment was merely based on hearsay; he didn’t entirely believe that Ying Lingyun possessed a Divine Seal Fragment, maybe not even in the existence of the divine seal itself. While I can suspect that "Ying Lingyun may not have died because he possessed a Divine Seal Fragment," he might not necessarily share my opinion.

I even get the feeling that his true self will reappear well and alive, and that he’ll present himself before me once again with that same insufferable demeanor.

I pondered my suspicions over and over. Gradually, I discerned a thread of truth.

Perhaps it’s not so much that I find it hard to believe Ying Lingyun could die so easily; I just don’t want to accept that I might never see him again.

Those monsters I’ve fought in the past, Agent Kong, the Undying Monster, the Shadow Swapping Monster... They all had expressions of regret, disgrace, or despair at the time of their deaths.

But the Weirdo Maker displayed a different kind of demeanor. He admitted his defeat with a candid and refreshing attitude before dying.

To be honest, I might have started to like him a bit.

In my future adventures, I will certainly encounter real life-and-death crises where dying at any time wouldn’t be surprising. When that time comes, I want to meet my end with the same tranquility as him. In fact, since walking out of the basement of the fifteenth floor, I’ve never doubted my ability to do the same, but the future is always uncertain. At present, I feel a respect for the Weirdo Maker as a pioneer.

If even his avatar carried such an extraordinary presence, how could his true self be any less?

While I regret not experiencing the life-and-death battle I desired, I gained a valuable experience from another perspective. It’s like the old saying goes, "a blessing in disguise."

After the night deepened, Mazao and I were about ready to sleep. In truth, just like eating and drinking, we didn’t really need much sleep; it was just an unspoken understanding between us.

Just before sleep, Mazao made a request to me.

"Do you want to sleep with the Divine Seal Fragment?" I asked.

"Yes."

She nodded, then explained her reasoning.

Her idea was simple: she wanted to enter the Mist Dream Realm.

Since I could enter the Mist Dream Realm by holding onto the Divine Seal Fragment, maybe she could achieve the same thing. For her, the Mist Dream Realm itself might not be very appealing; what truly worried her was the number two bowl that appeared within the Mist Dream Realm.

This number two bowl was at the edge of life and death, undergoing Sin demonization, and Mazao couldn’t ignore it.

I didn’t mind lending the Divine Seal Fragment to Mazao, but there was an obstacle: the automatic return phenomenon of the Divine Seal Fragment—if I threw the fragment far away, it would automatically return to me after a short while. Sometimes, even if I forgot to take it with me when I went out, it would follow me on its own, almost like a cursed item from a horror story.

Of course, this phenomenon might not occur when the Divine Seal Fragment was not far from me. For example, under the same roof, Mazao might be able to hold onto the Divine Seal Fragment in place of me and fall asleep with it.

However, the actual test results were not optimistic. When the Divine Seal Fragment was held by someone else, its automatic return phenomenon was triggered more easily. After I handed the Divine Seal Fragment over to Mazao, it would return to me the moment I was caught off guard. Even when I concentrated intently, I would realize that the target had been relocated when I snapped back to attention.

Ultimately, the reason why the Divine Seal Fragment would return to me was due to a mysterious binding relationship between us. Even if Mazao could hold it and fall asleep, would it really pull Mazao, a non-binder, into the Mist Dream Realm?

Perhaps Mazao herself had considered this possibility, which is why she did not immediately suggest this idea to me last night, but now, after contemplation, she made a decision, "There’s another way."

"What way?" I was curious.

To my surprise, she uttered an astonishing idea, "We could hold hands while we sleep."

"What?" I was taken aback.

She walked over to me and took the initiative to grasp my left hand, the one with the Divine Seal Fragment, our palms touching.

"As long as we do this, the Divine Seal Fragment is still technically in your hand. At the same time, I can also hold the Divine Seal Fragment as I sleep... and we can both try to enter the Mist Dream Realm tonight. Two birds with one stone..."

As she spoke, she seemed to belatedly realize how intimate her behavior was, her face tinged with embarrassment, and her voice lost its firmness, "Um, I..."

I felt somewhat impacted as well and couldn’t help but verify, "You mean... you want to sleep together with me?"

"...Yes, that’s right." She nodded slowly.

"Together on the sofa?" I was still a bit disoriented.

"Of course on the bed." She thought for a moment and then added, "If you detest sleeping in the same bed as me, I can also sleep on the floor next to the bed. But then you’d have to trouble yourself to stretch your hand down from the bed to hold hands with me."

"That’s not what I meant."

I reorganized my thoughts and then asked back, "Aren’t you afraid that I’ll make a move on you?"

Although Mazao had begun to see me as a partner, it was clear she still maintained some distance. I only felt favored by her when others were around.

In a modern society where no one would believe her origin, only I completely trusted her, was able to help her, and could save her only friend from the Doomsday Era—I was certain I had become an indispensable figure to her.

But even as indispensable partners, we were still of different sexes, and our closeness was not to the point of intimacy. Thus I never imagined she would suggest such an idea, something unthinkable in the first few days we met. Of course, I knew that her intentions now were not romantic.

She looked at me with an inexplicable gaze as if she couldn’t understand why I would say such a thing, or as if she couldn’t imagine me making any moves on her.

"You’re not like the Shadow Swapping Monster, that pervert who likes little girls, so what joy would you have in making a move on me?" While speaking, she touched her own body, "Mmm, although I’m no longer a child and have started to fill out in places, it’s still not very noticeable with clothes on. A normal man probably wouldn’t be interested in someone like me."

Well, that’s not necessarily true, you still don’t understand men.

I really wanted to retort with that, but to avoid fostering a negative impression of me, it was better to keep my mouth shut.

In the end, we agreed on the hand-holding and sleeping arrangement.

Despite Mazao’s shyness regarding intimate interactions, the dire situation of Pot No. 2 made her insist on following through with the plan. I didn’t feign any resistance to this ambiguous development, surely both from an outsider’s view and my own perspective, I seemed to have gained a sweet deal.

If I had to say, I was still a bit anxious. I cared a lot about Mazao’s opinion of me, and indeed, I hadn’t refrained from seeing her in a different light. Sharing a bed with a young woman in the bloom of youth was an experience new to me. Regardless, Mazao was a girl at a sensitive age, and all I could hope was that I wouldn’t unintentionally offend her and significantly lower her favorable impression of me.

It was only appropriate that I took a shower, not wanting to bear any unpleasant odors, and then changed into a fresh set of clothes before returning to the bedroom. I even replaced the pillowcases, duvet cover, and sheets with new ones. Seeing how meticulously I prepared, Mazao also took a bath out of courtesy. For a moment, we almost forgot what was to come.

She didn’t have a change of clothes, and I had been careless not to buy a second set when I last shopped for her. Although I could have cleaned the original clothes with the blessing power, since she followed my lead and took a bath out of courtesy, she changed into a set of clothes as well. She wore the same clothes she used to wear at my place, a grey long-sleeve T-shirt and pants, which looked baggy on her.

Everything seemed to return to when we first met.

After turning off the lights, we went to bed together.

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