Chapter 131: Each with Their Own Thoughts, the Eve of Departure
Perhaps because Xu Qingsui’s gaze was so intense, Lu Jingyu found himself looking over at her.
When their eyes met, Lu Jingyu once again recalled the instant sense of peace and relief he’d felt upon finding Xu Qingsui safe and sound deep in the sea.
At that moment, he suddenly cast all his doubts aside and strode toward Xu Qingsui, wanting to confess his feelings.
At the same time, Xu Qingsui once again heard the Golden Octopus’s voice.
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained 100% favorability, 100% dependency, and 100% trust from the SSS level sentinel Lu Jingyu. Congratulations on successfully capturing Lu Jingyu. Reward: spiritual power +50, all attribute values +10.]
[Please capture the next SSS level sentinel as soon as possible to obtain more rewards!]
Hearing the notification of her successful capture, Xu Qingsui couldn’t help but feel a little wistful. She hadn’t expected it to be over so soon.
She opened the Spiritual Map again. On the map, the red dot marking Zone 9’s location had already turned into a pink heart.
Besides the pink heart, there were still only six other marks. A thought struck Xu Qingsui. She couldn’t tell if her fiancé from the Lu Family wasn’t part of the system’s matches, or if he and Lu Jingyu were truly one and the same.
The thought of the second possibility made her feel a faint thrill of excitement.
As he walked toward Xu Qingsui, Lu Jingyu watched her expression. Seeing the delight spread across her face, his own mood lifted.
Just as he was about to reach her, Chen Chang’an and Qi Qin blocked his path.
"Jing Yu, Zone 9 has finally been reborn today, and you played an indispensable role. Now that Zone 9 has been purified, the future development of our Heiyu Alliance needs to be replanned. We two old-timers would like to hear your opinion."
Lu Jingyu couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed at being interrupted, but the matter concerned the Heiyu Alliance’s development, which also weighed on his mind.
He glanced at Xu Qingsui. ’There will be plenty of time later,’ he thought, and once again suppressed his restless heart.
"What do you two elders have in mind?"
"This is a matter of great importance. Let’s go to the meeting hall to discuss it properly."
Lu Jingyu nodded, but he still told the two that he needed to say a word to Xu Qingsui.
"Xu... Qing Sui!" Accustomed to calling her Guide Xu, Lu Jingyu stopped himself mid-word and awkwardly called out Xu Qingsui’s name.
Xu Qingsui was stunned for a moment, then her eyes lit up and a smile bloomed on her face.
Seeing Xu Qingsui’s smiling face, Lu Jingyu breathed a sigh of relief, and the feeling of unfamiliarity vanished.
"Qing Sui, Elder Chen and Elder Qi want me to discuss the Alliance’s future development. You go back and get some rest first. I’ll come find you later."
Xu Qingsui nodded, telling Lu Jingyu not to worry about her and that the Alliance’s business was more important.
After Lu Jingyu left, the celebrating crowd wanted to hold a bonfire gathering and invited Xu Qingsui to join them.
Xu Qingsui politely declined with a smile, explaining that she needed to rest first and would come celebrate later.
Everyone knew that Xu Qingsui had also entered the instance with the team, so they assumed she was tired and didn’t insist.
Xu Qingsui returned to her quarters and immediately began to inspect her Sea of Consciousness.
Having unlocked the secret of the Lost Fragment, her Sea of Consciousness had been enhanced, and she was curious to see how much it had changed.
Calming her mind, she delved into her Sea of Consciousness and was utterly astonished.
’Maybe I’m just inexperienced,’ she thought, ’but with just one enhancement, my Sea of Consciousness is now several times larger than when I was first reborn.’
As her Sea of Consciousness expanded, her spiritual power also received a massive boost. It now surged violently, rolling through her Sea of Consciousness like a tidal wave.
Xu Qingsui couldn’t help but wonder. When the original owner of her body was evaluated, she had only received a D level guide rating. So what level was she now?
"System, given my current state, what level of guide am I considered?"
At this moment, only the Golden Octopus could answer her question.
[I have said before that Host is a one-in-a-million Super Guide. It’s just that Host’s potential has not yet been fully unlocked, so you cannot be defined by ordinary levels.]
[If Host must have a classification, then based on the current state of your Sea of Consciousness and spiritual power, your abilities are no less than that of an S Level guide.]
Xu Qingsui was shocked. If such a vast Sea of Consciousness and surging spiritual power were merely equivalent to an S Level guide, then she couldn’t imagine how terrifying the spiritual power of an SSS level guide must be.
She grew even more curious about what kind of spiritual power and Sea of Consciousness the "one-in-a-million Super Guide" the Golden Octopus spoke of would possess.
At this thought, her desire to quickly improve herself intensified. She immediately locked onto the next closest red dot on her Spiritual Map.
After a moment of thought, she decided that once Lu Jingyu came over, she would let him know and then set off to find the next Sentinel for her to bond with.
The thought of parting with Lu Jingyu so soon filled Xu Qingsui’s heart with a bit of sadness.
But with her experience from two lives in the Apocalypse, she knew very well that to survive, she had to prioritize strength above all else.
She couldn’t afford to get caught up in romance; improving herself was the only thing that mattered.
’As for Lu Jingyu, he was just a bonding partner the system matched for me. If we’re truly fated to be together, we’ll eventually meet again.’
Having made up her mind, Xu Qingsui forced herself to stop thinking about these things and began to take stock of her belongings in preparation for her trip to the next zone.
Entering the Storage Space within the Jade Pendant, Xu Qingsui discovered that along with the enhancement of her Sea of Consciousness, even her Storage Space had grown much larger.
The rewards from clearing the recent instances were all neatly stacked in a corner.
After taking inventory, she realized that each reward also included some medical supplies, though they were mostly basic ones.
She hadn’t noticed this when she first arrived in this Apocalypse, but Lu Jingyu must have known.
Thinking of how they had been collecting potions everywhere last time, yet Lu Jingyu had never mentioned this to her, a warm feeling spread through Xu Qingsui’s heart again.
She didn’t suspect that Lu Jingyu might have thought she was hoarding the potions and unwilling to share. Instead, she was certain he wanted to let her keep them for herself in case of an emergency.
Touched by this, she sorted out some of the potions. She kept only a few for herself and put the rest in a safe, which she hid in her room.
Besides the potions, there was also some money and a few Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. The money would be essential for her travels between zones.
She hadn’t studied the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures much yet, so she didn’t pay them any special attention for now.
However, a few weapons did catch her interest.
Watching Lu Jingyu and the others fight against Mutants, each with their own preferred weapon, Xu Qingsui thought that she should also prepare a suitable weapon for herself.
Although Lu Jingyu’s pistol was still tucked into her belt, she would be leaving Zone 9 soon and would have to return it eventually.
After looking for a good while, Xu Qingsui noticed a strip of cyan silk.
’A strip of silk can be considered a weapon?’
Puzzled, Xu Qingsui picked up the silk. It felt soft and smooth to the touch, as if it had been cut from a roll of satin.
’What a waste to cut off a piece from such fine satin!’