Chapter 196: Chapter 127: Briefly Bewitched by the Little Enchanting Demon
PHEW... A good night’s sleep really does wonders. I feel a hundred times more energetic!
「The next day, Qing City.」
Having slept soundly, Shen Fei stretched his arms and got out of bed.
「Last night.」
After checking the Divine Artifact’s Attributes and the haul from his trip to Japan, he had fallen into a wonderful sleep.
Last night was the most peacefully he’d slept since inheriting his game abilities. For one thing, he hadn’t slept in three days and was already extremely drowsy. For another, the Neutral Cities were finally captured. Monsters that spawned randomly would no longer appear inside them, allowing him to finally let go of the worries that had been weighing on him.
So, even though he had only slept for five or six hours, Shen Fei felt exceptionally good! Incredibly good! Super good!
In his past life, during the three years of the apocalypse, they had lived in reinforced concrete Base Cities. Every time game abilities were inherited or a new version was released, they were on edge, worried that some monster would spawn nearby or even inside the Base City itself. None of them could sleep soundly.
In this life, he had Neutral Cities. Moreover, he had captured nine of them in one go. That kind of situation would never happen again. At least, it would never happen again in Qing City...
"Oho! Look who’s in high spirits!"
Mulling over how to handle the nine cities, Shen Fei walked into the dining room. His sister, Shen Yue, who was already eating, teased him.
"Where’s the stuff?" Sitting down at the table, Shen Fei asked directly as he ate the sweet, fragrant white porridge his mother handed him.
"I’m not giving it to you!" Shen Yue wrinkled her nose. "I’m keeping it for Xiaohong and me to use! Hmph! And after you hid information from me last night!"
She knew her brother was asking about the things the Traveling Frog had brought back over the past few days and flatly refused.
"Fine, do as you please..." Unable to get what he wanted, Shen Fei shrugged and didn’t press the matter.
He was, of course, very curious and excited about the strange items the Traveling Frog might bring. After all, the last map it brought back had revealed the location of a Divine Artifact fragment in Hang City. To Shen Fei, that was incredibly important, and he was eagerly anticipating what strange items the frog would deliver this time. But he hadn’t expected his sister to refuse to hand them over. With so much to do and plenty of items on him already, Shen Fei didn’t insist.
Anyway, if you can’t figure it out, you’ll have to come to me. Hasn’t it always been like this since we were kids?
"Son, are we moving?" Mrs. Shen suddenly asked while preparing Shen Fei’s breakfast and eating her own.
Right now, Peter’s Castle to the south of Qing City was already accepting applications from ordinary citizens to move in. The families of the Heaven-Reaching Gang, who had been crowded into Nanshan Villa for a few days, had also moved into other Neutral Cities. Meanwhile, no one had moved into Yang City, the largest city to the north, as everyone was waiting for Shen Fei to make arrangements. In the other seven cities, the Heaven-Reaching Gang members had moved in according to the placement of the Defense Towers. No one dared to touch Yang City. It belonged to Shen Fei.
"Mom, what are your thoughts?" Seeing his mother hesitate, Shen Fei asked with a smile.
"I don’t want to go to Yang City. It’s too big, too empty..." Mrs. Shen voiced her thoughts. "I want to go to Rice Flavor Village!"
All the inherited farmland had been placed in Rice Flavor Village, which had a bonus for agricultural production, so Mrs. Shen wanted to move to this small, agricultural city. If she hadn’t been waiting for her son to return these past few days, she would have probably thrown herself completely into farming long ago. Lately, Mrs. Shen had felt a great sense of accomplishment seeing everyone enjoy the crops she grew herself, which greatly motivated her to continue planting.
"Sure, that works! Shen Yue, what about you and Xiaohong?" Shen Fei nodded to his mother, then turned to his sister and Xiaohong.
His parents could live anywhere. With the nine cities forming a protective ring, both the cities themselves and the encircled downtown Qing City were safe. They could live wherever they wanted.
As for himself, he had no plans to move. Even with Divine Artifacts being inherited, the Black Spade A in the corner of his villa was still mostly in an ethereal state. He needed to keep an eye on it. Initially, when the game’s powers first manifested, he had thought the item the three petty thieves were holding was just a little special. But after obtaining the Divine Artifact, he discovered that this thing was even more special than he had imagined. He didn’t want to leave only to have something happen to it.
"What about you?" Hearing her brother’s question, Shen Yue asked one in return.
She had a plan...
The second ability had been integrating for four days, and Xiaohong’s second ability inheritance was already complete. She didn’t want her brother and Xiaohong to be separated. Her little plan was ready to be put into action, because the second ability Xiaohong had inherited was very special...
"Me? I’ll keep living at home. I’m used to it! Besides, I have the Teleportation Gate Tower, so I can go to any of the cities whenever I want," Shen Fei answered directly, not suspecting a thing.
"Alright then, you three take your time eating! I’m heading out. I need to go look after my rice paddies. The next harvest is almost ready... Just leave the bowls in the sink. I’ll wash them when I get back tonight!"
Shen Fei had barely exchanged a few words with his sister when Mrs. Shen stood up and left. Now that the Neutral Cities were captured, everyone was very busy. Father Shen and Uncle Sun hadn’t even eaten breakfast, having left early to handle matters at the Tourism Management Office.
Shen Fei was rendered speechless. He hadn’t expected his mother to be in such a hurry too.
Soon, only Shen Fei, Shen Yue, and Xiaohong were left in the dining room. Shen Fei ate at a leisurely pace, not in a rush like his mother. He had the Neutral Cities. In another two days, the second ability inheritance would be done, and he could inherit the next wave of abilities. He already had a full set of Defense Towers and would soon have a full set of equipment. He also needed to consider which project to inherit next. With the security provided by the Neutral Cities, he wouldn’t have to worry too much about safety before versions 4.4 and 4.5 were released. Therefore, Shen Fei was enjoying his meal, not in any hurry.
"Hey! Bro! Smell this. Isn’t it fragrant?"
Just as Shen Fei was leisurely savoring the delicious food his mother had grown, Shen Yue suddenly called out mischievously.
"What?" Curious about what she was up to, Shen Fei couldn’t help but look up.
Hmm?
A fragrant scent involuntarily drifted into his nostrils...
"Hehehe! Bye-bye!" Seeing her brother’s reaction, Shen Yue giggled and bolted out of the villa, leaving only Shen Fei and Xiaohong behind.
"Brother Fei..." As Shen Fei’s gaze fell on her, Xiaohong, who had been goaded by Shen Yue into using a certain ability, suddenly blushed.
FLUSH!
Her face flushed red, Xiaohong couldn’t help but lower her head. Meanwhile, Shen Fei’s expression shifted slightly. He discreetly summoned a shrunken Healing Defense Tower and used it on himself.
"Alright now! Finish your food!"
As the Healing Tower’s effect washed over him, a clear feeling spreading through his body, Shen Fei gulped down the rest of his porridge, patted Xiaohong’s head, and left immediately.
A strange fragrance had suddenly appeared, and a wave of heat flared through his body. He saw Shen Yue’s foxy expression as she ran out and recalled the odd warmth he’d felt when touching Xiaohong earlier. Shen Fei immediately knew his sister and Xiaohong were up to something. Instantly summoning the Healing Defense Tower to purge the abnormality from his body, Shen Fei left without another word. He didn’t know what the two girls were plotting, but he understood that while his sister might pull pranks on him, she would never harm him.
Having cleansed the anomaly, Shen Fei walked straight out his front door. Then, he activated the Teleportation Gate Tower at his doorstep and arrived at one of the cities.
***
"What’s going on!? Was my brother really that fast!? He’s supposed to be so strong... how could he be that quick?"
Back at the Shen family villa, Shen Yue, who had instructed Xiaoqing to shrink down and secretly watch the door, was stunned that her brother had left right after she did. Surprised, she rushed back into the villa and questioned a beet-red Xiaohong.
"That was such a terrible idea of yours..." Thinking back on the scene, although it was brief, Xiaohong felt like she was dying of embarrassment. She had never imagined she could be this mortified.
"No way! I thought the plan was perfect! Maybe he just had something urgent to do... Don’t worry, we’ll continue when he gets back tonight!"
Shen Yue, who had run back to watch the show, hadn’t expected things to turn out this way. Speechless, she decided to try again that night.
"No way!!!" Xiaohong immediately shot her down.
"Honghong, now that’s not right of you..." Seeing Xiaohong’s reaction, Shen Yue immediately pounced on her and started tickling her.
Soon, the two of them were playfully wrestling.
