Chapter 396: The Position of Boiling Fog, Followed by a Snake! |
"Pitter-patter..."
After nearly three days of heavy rain, the sky over Linmen finally revealed a glimpse of clear sunlight.
The dark clouds gradually dispersed, and the evening light piercing through the cloud cover cast a curved rainbow between the towering skyscrapers.
"President!! You... you can't die!!!"
Inside Shengxin Hospital, Yurianna's sudden weeping echoed, sounding utterly heart-wrenching.
Lying on the hospital bed, dressed in a hospital gown with bandages wrapped around his head and body, Yan Huan subconsciously tried to plug his ears upon hearing this. However, he found that his hands were currently aching terribly and completely unable to move.
Logically speaking, he had revived using the Modifier's Revive Coin, so his body should have been restored to its peak condition. It shouldn't be like this...
However, just as he had discovered previously on the island, it seemed certain things in the past had been altered...
The good news was that he no longer had to worry about the identity issue of dying in front of others.
"..."
The more Yan Huan thought about it, the more speechless he felt.
Left with no choice, he struggled to turn his head and looked at the softly sobbing Yurianna beside him.
He originally wanted to scold her for being so loud, but for some reason, seeing her face full of worry, Yan Huan could not help but feel a warmth in his heart. He smiled and said,
"I never expected a usually heartless scatterbrain like you to show such an expression..."
"Waaa... President, what are you saying? Waaa..."
Yurianna wiped her tears and looked at Yan Huan.
"After you got hit, the work that originally belonged to your internship got assigned to me... I... I can't do it! So, you have to get better quickly, President. I'm still counting on you to help with my share..."
"...Are you even human?"
Hearing this, Yan Huan's face instantly darkened, almost choking on his breath.
"Click~"
Right at that moment, the door to the hospital ward opened.
It was Sakuramiya Hitomi, dressed entirely in black clothes. Outside the door were Yabashi Ki, Ashley, and a few schoolmates who had come to visit Yan Huan.
"Alright, Yurianna, stop bothering the President!"
Sakuramiya Hitomi, holding a medical record, walked over, patted Yurianna's head, and said this.
"Waaa, but..."
Yurianna wanted to say something else, but Yabashi Ki, standing behind them, turned his head and glanced at the entrance.
Realizing that An Le and Tong Yingying were also standing outside the door, his expression changed instantly. He poked Ashley in the waist, and Ashley understood without words.
"Alright, let's go!"
Ashley walked over to Yurianna, hooked an arm around her neck, and dragged her outside.
"Waaa, President... you have to get better quickly! My work will miss... Oh, wait, no, I will miss you!!"
"..."
Just like that, Yurianna was dragged out the door by Ashley.
Seeing the outsiders leave, An Le finally pursed her lips and slowly walked into the hospital ward with Tong Yingying, closing the door behind them.
"Click~"
"Xiao Huan, are you alright?"
Seeing Yan Huan lying on the bed, An Le immediately asked with concern.
"I'm fine... Where is Aruiya?"
"She snuck out to begin with, and was caught by Heather over at Ye International. At the time, she even climbed up a utility pole, refusing to go back no matter what."
Hearing this, An Le blinked and let out a sigh,
"...Thankfully, Xiao Huan, you sent a message to Vice-President Sakuramiya to let her know you were safe. Only then did she reluctantly go back."
Yan Huan was unable to help but laugh, while Sakuramiya Hitomi added from the side,
"Rest assured, the doctor has already said it isn't anything major. Even though the ambulance crashed quite violently back then, there was no direct impact on him, so he just needs to rest for a period of time..."
Yan Huan shook his head, while Sakuramiya Hitomi took out the medical report, looking at Tong Yingying with a smile as she spoke.
"Thanks to Sister Yingying's decisive action at that time, the President didn't end up..."
"It was also thanks to your reminder to go find that... Auntie Ye Lan."
Tong Yingying paused slightly as she spoke, especially regarding the title she used for Ye Lan.
Based on actual age, it seemed more appropriate for Tong Yingying to call her Sister, but since Yan Huan was a generation younger than Ye Lan, Tong Yingying thought about it for a moment and opted to call her Auntie as well.
After saying it out loud, she couldn't help but feel a bit younger herself.
"..."
Only Yan Huan, listening to their conversation, grew increasingly confused by the second.
'Looking at it now, did the person who went to get Aunt Ye change from Bai Yi to Sister Tong?'
'Then what about Bai Yi?'
While Yan Huan was still pondering, Sakuramiya Hitomi glanced at An Le, her eyes flashing slightly as she suddenly spoke up,
"Actually, just a moment ago, Ye Shiyu sought me out for a chat..."
"Huh?"
"..."
Upon hearing the name Ye Shiyu, Tong Yingying furrowed her brows, and An Le silently narrowed her eyes at Sakuramiya Hitomi.
It seemed both of them were very repulsed by that name.
Perhaps that was exactly why she wasn't present here right now.
Feeling their gazes, Sakuramiya Hitomi continued,
"Don't worry, she just asked me to pass a message to the President and you two... She said she is willing to abandon the Modifier."
"..."
Hearing this, Tong Yingying didn't realize the twists and turns hidden within, immediately breaking into a smile,
"Well, that's great! Since Ye Shiyu is willing to give it up, then you guys and that Aruiya must definitely be willing to give yours up too..."
"..."
An Le glanced at Tong Yingying and Sakuramiya Hitomi without saying a word.
Her gaze caused the smile on Tong Yingying's face to slowly fade, making her involuntarily swallow a mouthful of saliva,
"...You guys will give them up, right?"
"..."
An Le still remained silent.
In truth, it wasn't that she was unwilling to abandon the Modifier.
It was just that compared to Aruiya and Tong Yingying, her thoughts were far more sensitive.
Among the few of them, perhaps only she and Ye Shiyu could perceive the deeper meaning behind Sakuramiya Hitomi's words.
Think about it. Originally, Yan Huan had the grand banner of resolving the Modifier to maintain his relationship with the girls.
Under the threat of the Modifier's danger, Sakuramiya Hitomi naturally had no choice but to hold her nose and acknowledge this fact.
But if the Modifiers were resolved now, the reality of the situation would have to be brought back to the table:
Who exactly was Yan Huan going to be with?
Without the Modifiers, Sakuramiya Hitomi, Ye Shiyu, and the others were still Eldest Misses...
Tong Yingying never had a Modifier to begin with, so she was more than happy for everyone to lose theirs.
But as for herself...
"An Le, what's wrong?"
At that moment, Sakuramiya Hitomi's questioning voice rang out again, pulling An Le's attention back to reality.
She glanced at Sakuramiya Hitomi beside her, whose expression was completely normal, as if she hadn't thought that deeply about it at all.
But An Le had no choice but to consider the deeper implications...
"I..."
'But if I say I don't agree, wouldn't that blatantly put my selfish desires out in the open, putting me at odds with everyone else?'
"Wait..."
Right at that moment, Yan Huan suddenly spoke up.
Sakuramiya Hitomi paused slightly, looking at Yan Huan on the hospital bed.
"The Modifiers haven't been resolved yet, there's still one more..."
"One more?"
"..."
Hearing this, the expressions of all three girls present changed, though each harbored her own thoughts.
Sakuramiya Hitomi puffed out her cheeks. Perhaps she initially hadn't had the thoughts An Le attributed to her, but with Yan Huan making such a statement, she had no choice but to think in that direction.
'Could it be...'
'The President hasn't figured out what to do yet, so he's making up an excuse?'
An Le was thinking the exact same thing, but unlike Sakuramiya Hitomi's reaction, she revealed a moved expression.
'Xiao Huan really did...'
Only Tong Yingying was genuinely considering it:
'There's a hidden stage?'
'Makes sense, the Four Heavenly Kings usually consist of five people, that's just common sense, right?'
"..."
Sensing the expressions on Sakuramiya Hitomi and An Le's faces, Yan Huan felt utterly numb.
He couldn't explain himself even if he tried. The crucial issue was that along the way, Yan Huan had already asked countless times about Bai Yi, and they all said they didn't know anything.
If he brought it up again now, it would likely just solidify their belief that it was a mere excuse.
Left with no other choice, Yan Huan raised his fingers, attempting to explain,
"Look, An Le, your Modifier is called Little Finger, right?"
"Yeah..."
An Le nodded, and as she spoke, Little Finger manifested on her shoulder, wanting to see what brilliant insights Yan Huan had.
"And Hitomi, your Modifier is the Middle Finger."
"Mm."
"Sister Shiyu's is the Index Finger, and Aruiya's is the Thumb..."
With every one he named, Yan Huan put down a finger.
Ultimately, only the Nameless Finger was left.
"So there's still a Ring Finger left!"
"..."
The hospital ward fell silent.
An Le and Sakuramiya Hitomi blinked, feeling that this logic seemed sound, but uncertain, they could only look toward Little Finger.
Yan Huan also looked at it...
'This guy is an envoy sent by the evil god. Even if it didn't know the intel on the Ring Finger beforehand, it shouldn't have been affected by...'
"What Ring Finger? It doesn't exist!"
However, in the very next second, hearing Little Finger's confident voice, Yan Huan's face instantly darkened.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Yan Huan, oh, Yan Huan, you're really at your wit's end. To justify building a harem, you actually came up with such a lame excuse? Hahahaha!" Upon hearing Little Finger's words, which completely confirmed their suspicions, Sakuramiya Hitomi and An Le simultaneously looked at Yan Huan again.
One look seemed to say:
'President, you really...'
The other look seemed to say:
'It's okay, Xiao Huan. If you just say it out loud, I will absolutely stand by your side... I can accept them.'
Feeling his reputation taking a massive hit, veins bulging on his forehead even through the bandages, Yan Huan clearly couldn't hold back anymore.
'Tell me, just tell me, who designed this Little Finger thing anyway?'
'It just so happens that Myau-chan isn't around lately, and my hands are getting itchy. It seems I'm short a jump rope...'
"...Then why don't you tell me why there's no Ring Finger?"
Hearing this, Little Finger widened its eyes and mocked,
"Do you even have to ask!? The ring finger symbolizes the marriage contract! Look at the abilities of the rest of us—which one of them has anything to do with that boring, wholesome pure love nonsense?!"
"Oh, so you're saying your evil god chopped off its own ring finger, is that it?"
"I suppose that's possible, right? Though I've never seen the Divine Lord's true body with my own eyes..."
'Hey, don't say that, really, don't say that!'
'It actually makes a damn lot of sense!'
"...Boiling Fog!"
Unable to hold back any longer, Yan Huan could only darken his face and resort to a personal attack on the snake.
He finally realized that Little Finger was cut from the exact same cloth as Myau-chan!
It didn't mention the Index Finger evolving sentience earlier; Yan Huan had just assumed it was a coincidence and that it was in a bad state.
Now with the Ring Finger causing trouble, even a Modifier from the evil god faction was affected by its power...
Yan Huan was utterly speechless.
"Hey, hey, hey, An Le, look at him, look at him!"
Seeing Little Finger still fanning the flames and stirring up trouble, An Le furrowed her brows and raised her feminine fists, scaring it into immediate silence.
"Doesn't the President have a Divine Lord by his side? Perhaps we could ask it?"
In the end, it was Sakuramiya Hitomi who spoke up, making a final pronouncement.
"Myau-chan... It temporarily can't appear due to the issue with my Modifier. I still need a little bit of time."
Hearing this, Sakuramiya Hitomi looked at Yan Huan, smiled faintly, and continued,
"Alright, it just so happens that the President needs this time to recover his body anyway, so there's no rush..."
Whether what he said was true or he merely wanted to stall for time to think of a reasonable excuse to continue his relationship with the girls, Sakuramiya Hitomi chose to play along with his wishes.
Sensing Sakuramiya Hitomi's understanding nature, Yan Huan instead sighed inwardly.
Even though he was telling the truth and it wasn't an excuse, it really felt like he was making Sakuramiya Hitomi suffer and feel wronged for his sake.
Since things had reached this point, he had no other options but to quickly summon Myau-chan back and then figure out a way to resolve the matter with Bai Yi.
"Beep, beep..."
Right at that moment, An Le's mobile phone rang.
She looked down, and her expression instantly changed.
"...What's wrong?"
Noticing that her mood was off, Yan Huan immediately asked.
"It's a call from my father..."
"Uncle?"
Seeing Yan Huan's confusion, Sakuramiya Hitomi only then remembered that after Yan Huan was taken away by Ye Shiyu, he still didn't know that An Le had been caught by her father for staying out all night.
Therefore, she had no choice but to explain it to Yan Huan on An Le's behalf.
"It's fine, my father still doesn't know what I've been doing lately... However, I might have to go back for a trip."
"It's alright... It's perfect timing actually. Sister Tong, about Auntie's side..."
"Ah, I should go check on her too..."
Tong Yingying rubbed the space between her eyebrows and also glanced at her mobile phone.
Seeing that they both had matters to attend to, Sakuramiya Hitomi smiled faintly,
"Then you guys go ahead, I'll stay here and accompany the President."
"I'm completely fine, I feel like I could be discharged right now..."
"Even so, you still need to rest properly."
Even though she said that, Sakuramiya Hitomi still stood up, placed the medical record on Yan Huan's nightstand, and spoke softly,
"Then I'll go see them off, and handle paying the medical bills while I'm at it. I'll be back in a bit, President..."
"Alright."
Before his eyes, Sakuramiya Hitomi, An Le, and Tong Yingying left, the hospital ward door closing behind them, leaving Yan Huan all alone.
As the atmosphere suddenly grew quiet, Yan Huan frowned and began to think.
'Hiss...'
'Wait, since I didn't die previously...'
'Then what about my revive count?!'
As he pondered, Yan Huan suddenly discovered a blind spot.
With a shift of his consciousness, a stream of golden light appeared before his eyes, converging into an illusory interface.
[Prompt: Until the fragments are fully repaid, the Modifier's weekly lottery drawing ability will be locked.]
[However, you may still open the Demon's Shop and use other previously acquired abilities.]
"...Wait, it's that cunning?!"
Seeing this, Yan Huan was utterly dumbfounded.
It seemed that even though Bai Yi had altered the past fact of his death, she still couldn't reverse what had already been consumed within his Modifier?!
But the problem was, where was he supposed to get so many fragments?
"..."
'Remember, Myau-chan said before that fragments only drop when the host has no conscious awareness of actively dropping them.'
'And now, with all the Modifiers aside from Bai Yi having quieted down, there really aren't any opportunities to farm for fragments...'
'Ah, wait a second... Back when Ye Shiyu abandoned the Modifier to stop the descent of an evil god, didn't a ton of fragments drop? I wonder if they're still inside the company building...'
Recalling the scene from that time, Yan Huan felt a surge of hope, planning to head back to his workplace later to check.
"Demon's Shop..."
With this thought in mind, Yan Huan didn't sit idle either. With a thought, a faint, eerie mist materialized before his eyes.
The mist dragged his consciousness downward, plunging him into the familiar dark sea.
"Splash"
[Ding!]
[Crab Coins +1]
Just as he entered, Yan Huan felt a streak of fluorescent light fly out from his body, turning into an important piece of inventory off to the side.
As expected, the Crab Coins he brought back from that place could be accumulated.
'Sigh, if only I had brought back a few more back then.'
"Open the Crab Coin Store."
Although he thought that, the truth was Yan Huan simply couldn't carry any more at the time.
A single piece of Crab Medicine was the size of a real crab. Holding four in his hands and bringing back an extra Crab Coin was already his absolute limit.
[Crab Coin Store]
[Congratulations, you have completed all missions for the previous month.]
[Missions have now been updated.]
[More goods have also appeared in the store, please inspect them carefully.]
'Hm...'
'I completed two missions previously and earned 10 Crab Coins, plus the one I brought back makes a total of 11.'
'A maximum of 10 coins can be obtained per month. Factoring in the upgraded Crab Coin Store, the World Modulator only requires 30 coins!'
Thinking of this, Yan Huan stroked his chin, intrigued.
'I should take a look at this month's missions first...'
[Crab Coin Missions refresh once a month. A maximum of 10 Crab Coins can be obtained per month.]
[Mission One]
[You have known and understood Aruiya for so long, yet nothing has happened. Now is the time to take the relationship a step further!]
[Please enter into an intimate relationship with Aruiya, upon the condition of obtaining her consent.]
[Reward: 5 Crab Coins]
[Mission Two]
[Ye Shiyu is currently still incompatible as water and fire with the other girls. How can this be acceptable?]
[Please attempt to repair Ye Shiyu's relationship with the other girls, allowing them to accept Ye Shiyu.]
[Evaluation Standard: The others' affection levels for Ye Shiyu must reach over 50%.]
[Below are their current affection levels for Ye Shiyu:]
[Sakuramiya Hitomi: 23%]
[An Le: -100%]
[Aruiya: 0%]
[Tong Yingying: 2%]
[Bai Yi: 62% (Already achieved)]
Looking at the first mission, Yan Huan blinked.
He rubbed his temples with a bit of a headache, somewhat at a loss for words.
He liked Aruiya very much, but precisely because he liked her, he couldn't bear to ruin her innocence with his desire.
If Aruiya wanted to, he would naturally be more than happy to oblige.
But clearly, Aruiya was still innocent and naive. She still had many things to learn and understand, which was why Yan Huan always felt it wasn't the right time.
Now, the Crab Coin Store had suddenly presented this mission, leaving Yan Huan somewhat caught in a dilemma.
Because he knew that if he truly asked it of her, Aruiya would likely...
Not refuse.
"..."
Pondering his predicament, Yan Huan inevitably shifted his focus to the second mission first.
For some reason, he actually felt that this mission was much easier for him to accept...
Even though it was obviously much more difficult than the first mission.
"Bai Yi and Ye Shiyu really have a great relationship..."
Looking at the last line showing Bai Yi's affection level, Yan Huan was unable to help but laugh.
However, looking at the displayed name of Bai Yi, the smile on Yan Huan's face inevitably faded bit by bit.
He sat on the dark reef, casually picked up a pink crab crawling on the ground, and began to write and draw on the floor.
"Bai Yi..."
He wrote down Bai Yi's name, but immediately after, his movements could not help but pause slightly...
Because at this moment, inside his mind, he surprisingly couldn't recall any more information about Bai Yi.