"Do you like him?"
Zhi Yan's eyes widened in alarm, and her cheeks flushed red almost instantly. "What? No! God, no. Why would I like him? We've barely talked before this week. He moved in three days ago, and you think I'm the kind of girl who just… falls for some guy like that?"
All of a sudden, Li Liu gained the upper hand in conversation. Her grin widened as she flopped back dramatically on the bed with her arms splayed out. "Oof. Denial. That's the first sign. And she isn't any other guy. It's your old classmate, who you said was one of the most popular guys in your high school. There could be some old lingering feelings involved."
"I'm not denying anything," Zhi Yan said, raising her voice as if she snapped at her bestie.
However, Li Liu continued to be mischievous as she commented. "Oh, come on. You volunteered to go with him today."
"I went with him because he's being reckless," Zhi Yan replied in defense, crossing her arms. "He wants to be a hunter when he doesn't even have mana, taking the path of a tamer. If I hadn't been there, who knows what trouble he would've gotten into?"
"Uh-huh. The noble heroine saves the reckless boy," Li Liu said with a teasing lilt. "Sounds very romantic." She added.
Zhi Yan groaned and looked away, staring down at her knees. "You're impossible."
Li Liu chuckled softly but then sat back up, her expression mellowing as she walked forward and hugged Zhi Yan from behind, her hands over her shoulders. "Honestly though… I know it's impossible between you two. I was trying to mess around. So, relax"
That caught Zhi Yan off guard. "What?"
Li Liu's voice was quieter now, less teasing, more thoughtful as she explained with her chin on Zhi Yan's shoulder. "I mean... You two come from completely different worlds. He's a plainfolk with no background, someone who practically lights up when he earns a mere hundred thousand credits. You… you grew up with everything. The best education. Wealth. Status. Influence. Heck, you're in fact the heiress of…"
Zhi Yan suddenly held up her hand, stopping her. "You don't have to remind me of my background," she murmured.
Li Liu paused, freeing her grip.
"I know my own status," Zhi Yan continued with a flat but soft voice. She slowly moved to the window as she said in a quiet voice. "But you are right about one thing. Our worlds are indeed different."
Li Liu tilted her head. "Huh?"
Zhi Yan looked back over her shoulder and forced out a smile. "Anyway, I'll just be clear. I'm genuinely not interested. Okay? He is just a friend."
Li Liu raised her eyebrows. "Okay," she said, slightly confused by her words, but didn't point them out.
Zhi Yan took a deep breath before turning back to face her friend again. "Alright, now, let's go back to the main issue. Go and apologize to him, right now."
Li Liu couldn't help but sigh as she got up. "Alright. Alright… Whatever you say, Your Highness."
She put on some pants over her shorts and wore a jacket before walking out of the room.
*Knock*
No response to the knock.
*Knock* knock* "Lin Fang, it's Li Liu. Can we talk?" She spoke aloud. But received no response.
"Hmm?" Li Liu frowned. "Is he in the shower or something?"
*
Meanwhile, in the System's Training Ground;
Lin Fang's legs pumped like pistons, his breath coming in panicked gasps as he dashed through the ice-lit corridors of the cave system.
The air whooshed past his ears as the monstrous polar bear right behind him, whose paws cracked the stone floor with every thunderous step.
[18:16]
[18:15]
"Goddammit, it hasn't even dropped a minute yet!" Lin Fang roared in frustration, knowing very well that the system wouldn't respond to him. "I'm being chased by a freaking bear, and your timer ticks like it's on holiday?"
He didn't even know where he was going.
There were no arrows, no blinking system lights guiding him.
The cave stretched endlessly in shifting paths that didn't exist before, curves where there were walls before, a staircase where he swore nothing was earlier.
Was the layout changing? Or was it leading him somewhere? Why can't he find the goddamn entrance hole that he walked in? Instead of running toward the entrance, was he going deeper?
A lot of thoughts filled his head, but he didn't have time to care.
Because the bear was still behind him, and a moment of halt would mean a death sentence.
However, as if the goddess of luck smiled on him, at some point, his foot slammed into a jutting stone, and he went sprawling. "Argh..." Pain lanced through his wrist as he hit the ground hard, rolling over just in time to see the bear mid-leap…
And then the world shifted as he felt something click right beneath him.
A pit opened right afterwards.
Lin Fang didn't even have time to scream before he dropped straight down, tumbling into darkness. The bear roared above, its claws scraping at the stone edge. But it didn't follow him.
*Thud*
Meanwhile, he landed hard on his back with a heavy thud. He lay there, wheezing with his eyes fluttering up to the jagged opening above as it slowly sealed shut.
The system… spared him? Lin Fang couldn't help but wonder, before a familiar chime heard in his head, followed by the holographic screen with a notification.
*Ding!
[You have escaped the defense entity. Training will resume.]
[Time Remaining: 17:22]
"System, you son of a… Hmm…"
Lin Fang was about to curse aloud as he finally dragged himself up, limping a bit, but then found something strange. His back…
He fell hard, but he wasn't feeling much pain as he had felt earlier. It appeared to be just a mild ache.
And before he checked his body condition, his eyes fell on his surroundings. This new chamber was quite warmer than the cave. Soft moss glowed from the walls, and the floor was sandy instead of stone.
"What is this place?" Just as he wondered aloud, the system gave him the answer.
Ding!
[Congratulations. You've discovered a Shelter Zone.]
[You may remain here without incurring sedentary penalties.]
"Well, that would've been nice to know before the bear chased me to death," Lin Fang muttered, but he slumped down against the mossy wall nonetheless, letting out a deep exhale.
His heart still thudded like a jackhammer in his chest, but there was a huge relief on his face. He was alive. He managed to escape the bear.
He let his head fall back, staring at the soft lights overhead.
[12:04]
[11:59]
He watched the seconds tick down slowly.
Ten minutes of silence passed.
He stretched his arms while his pulse returned to normal. The last thing Lin Fang wanted right now was to overthink. He didn't analyze anything about the resting area or the rules of the training ground, because he swore he would not return here, ever again.
With his eyes constantly on the holographic screen, Lin Fang waited for the timer to end so that he could escape from this hellish place.
[01:17]
[01:01]
[00:46]
[00:18]
[00:05]
[00:02]
[00:01]
*Ding!
[Training complete. Returning to the material world.]
"Finally…" Letting out a heavy sigh of relief, Lin Fang shut his eyes in peace, expecting to return to his bedroom.
However, the gentle rocking of a vehicle was the first thing Lin Fang felt after he exited the training ground, and soft skin beneath his head.
Then came the faint scent of perfume, floral and crisp.
Something wasn't right. He thought.
His eyes fluttered open. "Eh? Big…"