"Hey~ this Cotton Candy is so big, shall we eat it together?" Gu Yueyan asked, holding out the Cotton Candy.

"I like it too, which is why I bought my own. You enjoy yours," Ren Suo replied, holding an even larger Cotton Candy.

"These octopus balls are piping hot, too hot for me alone. Don't you want one?" Gu Yueyan offered, holding out an octopus ball with a toothpick.

"You eat that one. I'll take care of the rest in the box," Ren Suo said, snatching the box from Gu Yueyan's hand.

"Hey? We can take photo booth pictures here, let's snap one!" Gu Yueyan exclaimed, dragging Ren Suo into the photo booth.

"My head isn't even big," Ren Suo refused coldly.

Ren Suo had been following Gu Yueyan around for an entire afternoon, watching her run from one mall to another attraction. However, he always felt that something was off about her, like she was always trying to treat him to food. Could she have had a change of heart?

"You're always like this! It's no fun for me!" Gu Yueyan finally burst out after Ren Suo declined her offer of food yet again. "Can't you just cooperate with me for once? After all, you accepted my employment today!"

Ren Suo glanced at the snacks in Gu Yueyan's hand and asked, "Do you really want to share food with me?"

"Yes," Gu Yueyan replied. She reached into her bag with her right hand, offering a donut while steadying her phone in camera mode with her left. "Try it."

"Do you think you'll be happy if you treat me to food?" Ren Suo asked.

"Yes, exactly!" Gu Yueyan exclaimed, almost on tiptoe as she tried to stuff the donut into Ren Suo's damn mouth.

Ren Suo refused righteously. "How about this? Just transfer the cash to my Alipay. That would be enough—there's no need to waste. My Alipay is 13..."

Gu Yueyan was furious. "Are you going to eat it or not!"

"My mother told me not to accept food from strangers," Ren Suo said, shaking his head.

"How old are you to still listen to your mother!" Gu Yueyan retorted.

"A man remains a boy until his death," Ren Suo replied seriously.

Seeing Gu Yueyan looking like she was about to jump up in anger, Ren Suo remained utterly calm inside.

He didn't know what Gu Yueyan was plotting, but her actions were clearly abnormal. However, whatever she intended, Ren Suo just had to stick to his Immovable as a Mountain tactic: neither get closer nor drift away.

After all, according to the terms of their transaction, Ren Suo had only agreed to help Gu Yueyan achieve her Awakening today. If she showed no sign of progress by the end of the day, it wasn't his problem. Spending a day wandering around with this girl to get her one-star key was totally worth it, especially since he was just one one-star key short of opening a Three-Star Treasure Chest.

As for the so-called 'Complete Healing', it would naturally start with putting her to sleep with the Good Dream Technique. This would be followed by a few minutes of contact with the white light from Spell Healing to get the key. No matter how one looked at it, this was a very sound method of treatment, and Ren Suo was confident he wouldn't leave any loopholes.

Time ticked by, approaching six o'clock. Although the sky was still bright, it would be dark in an hour. While accompanying Gu Yueyan on the Ferris wheel, Ren Suo looked at the sky and said, "Let's go back to Lianjiang after dinner."

"No! I'm not done playing yet!" Gu Yueyan pouted, her cheeks puffed with anger. She was intent on sitting next to Ren Suo for a photo, but every time she shifted her position, Ren Suo also moved. He was slippery as an eel; she couldn't find any opportunity.

She was already contemplating the feasibility of taking a forceful approach. The only problem was that it would completely expose her intentions. If Ren Suo were to warn Dong Chengling in advance, then all her efforts would have been in vain.

Ren Suo took out his phone and searched. "But there's not much to do in Fragrance City at night besides shopping centers..."

"There's karaoke and stuff like that!" Gu Yueyan exclaimed.

"If you don't mind singing by yourself, I don't mind sitting to the side and watching," Ren Suo replied.

Gu Yueyan's expression froze. Her face turned red as she looked out of the Ferris wheel, and then her eyes lit up. "I want to go there!"

Ren Suo followed her gaze and noticed a large lake a few kilometers away that seemed a bit secluded, probably a forest park.

"You want to play in the water?" Ren Suo asked, touching his chin. "Did you bring a swimsuit?"

"Play in the water? Just come with me and you'll see!" Gu Yueyan said through gritted teeth.

「Twenty minutes later.」

Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan arrived at the lakeside docking fee booth. An older man inside looked at them and said, "You're a bit late. We're closing in fifteen minutes, so if you rent a boat now, you must come back right away."

Gu Yueyan hurriedly paid. "No problem, fifteen minutes is enough."

Ren Suo looked at the skiffs by the shore and asked, "Do you really like rowing that much...?"

"Love it, absolutely love it!"

The older man handed them two life vests and chuckled. "If you like boating, you can't miss Ailan Lake. Many young couples enjoy boating here. A few days ago, someone even proposed on the lake! It's said to be very auspicious for relationships, a very good omen!"

The older man said this thinking the two of them were a couple. However, as soon as he finished speaking, he saw them both adopt rather peculiar expressions.

Not my problem, Ren Suo thought.

I'm here to ruin this guy's romantic prospects, Gu Yueyan thought.

「Moments later.」

Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan were boating on the lake. Ren Suo wasn't particularly interested in boating, but it would be troublesome if Gu Yueyan had her Awakening on the lake. He had accepted payment, so he had to do his duty. Even if Gu Yueyan was going to mess up, she had to hand over the key before doing so.

"Hmm?" Ren Suo noticed Gu Yueyan lift her phone to take a selfie but didn't pay it much mind. Girls always love to take selfies, beautify them with filters, and post them on their social media.

Ren Suo was different. He was the type who, even with beautification and filters, still wouldn't post on his social media. His mom would even tease him, saying, "You're blocking the scenery." Thus, he never had much interest in taking photos.

This angle won't do... This one is almost right... This angle, a perfect forced perspective. NICE!

Ren Suo watched Gu Yueyan stretch her body far out of the boat and suddenly asked, "Is your phone waterproof?"

"What?" Gu Yueyan was taken aback. Overly tilted, her center of gravity shifted, and she lost her balance, toppling towards the lake.

Ren Suo had anticipated this and naturally reached out to grab her. However, Gu Yueyan seemed to care more about her phone. She desperately twisted her right hand, which was clutching the phone, and tossed it into the skiff!

CLACK!

The phone landed in the skiff, but Gu Yueyan splashed into the lake.

"AAAH!"

Ren Suo sat in the skiff, a hint of schadenfreude in his eyes as he waited for Gu Yueyan to resurface. She was wearing a life jacket, and the lake was so calm it didn't even have ripples. She should float up shortly, so Ren Suo naturally had no interest in jumping in to save her.

It seems Gu Yueyan didn't come for her Awakening at all during this transaction but had other schemes in mind, Ren Suo mused. Seeing her get her just deserts now, he was naturally quite pleased.

However, ten seconds later, Ren Suo squinted slightly.

Fifteen seconds later, Ren Suo placed his wallet and phone in the skiff and quickly took off his shoes and socks.

Twenty seconds later, Ren Suo took off his hat. In his mind, he switched to his spare item slot and exchanged the Seeker of the Dao Correction Hat with the Goddess Jade Pendant!

"If you wanted me to end up like a drowned rat, then you win!" Ren Suo muttered before taking a bold dive into the lake, propelling himself through the water like a fish.

He could open his eyes underwater without any problem, and his breathing was smooth, as if he were on land! The Goddess Jade Pendant was finally demonstrating its true effect for the first time!

Where was Gu Yueyan? Ren Suo looked around but didn't see her, so he continued to dive deeper. A doubt began to form in his mind: Gu Yueyan was wearing a life jacket; it was unlikely she would sink to the bottom on her own. Otherwise, it wouldn't be called a life jacket but a sinking stone.

Did she dive down on her own?

Just then, Ren Suo felt his Qi Cyclone suddenly accelerate. The light in the lake quickly dimmed, and the water around him began to feel different: deep, oppressive, constricting, and as if it were peering at him.

The sound of water rushing past his ears became piercing and ubiquitous. A shiver spread from his very marrow to his skin!

Ren Suo's eyes widened. He saw Gu Yueyan directly below him! She seemed to be descending unconsciously, her hands and feet moving less like she was swimming and more like she was walking. Step by step, she moved downwards, reaching for something in the darkness at the bottom of the lake that emitted a faint light—the silhouette of a cup.

In a flash, Ren Suo remembered everything. This was Ailan Lake. In the first game level, he had learned from the Mysterious Country Cultivators that they had entered from Ailan Lake because the entrance to the Secret Realm was located there.

Ren Suo had assumed that although the game would manifest in reality, since he hadn't uploaded it yet, its seven levels couldn't possibly have appeared on Earth yet.

However, the scene unfolding before him seemed to scream:

You're wrong.

Ren Suo grabbed Gu Yueyan's foot and yanked her upwards!

Being pulled so suddenly seemed to snap Gu Yueyan back to consciousness. She kept blowing bubbles from her mouth and desperately grasped onto Ren Suo—the typical reaction of a drowning person!

Luckily, Ren Suo didn't need to hold his breath. Otherwise, with her clinging to him like that, he definitely wouldn't have been able to surface for air and would have drowned at the bottom of the lake. He quickly struggled to bring Gu Yueyan upwards.

However, at that moment, the water pressure suddenly became immense. Even with the life jacket, Ren Suo felt as though he were weighed down by lead! Moreover, the light from above was extremely dim, as if night had fallen abruptly.

Something here is definitely not right!

Ren Suo glanced down. The silhouette of the Holy Grail remained clear. At that moment, a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind: Touch it, and you can fulfill all your Desires, cast off all restraints, obtain true Freedom, and achieve success without any Effort...

It had to be said, the Holy Grail's seductive pitch resonated strongly with Ren Suo's own inclinations. Just as he was about to be drawn in, the drowning Gu Yueyan suddenly clamped down on his throat in a death grip, snapping him back to his senses.

His clarity restored, Ren Suo naturally continued swimming upward. He knew the Holy Grail was a trap. If he were to truly follow his inner desires and touch it, he would undoubtedly die without even a trace left behind!

But at this moment, the water grew denser, transforming into a viscous, ink-like substance that stubbornly impeded Ren Suo, making it difficult for him to move even an inch! The Holy Grail—or rather, the Holy Grail of the first game level—had no intention of letting them escape!

"Clothing!"

Ren Suo activated his ability, attempting to use Clothing to clear a path, but he found his Qi Cyclone operating extremely sluggishly here, as if it were suppressed!

Was it because a Cultivator's Qi Cyclone triggered the Holy Grail here?

Hurriedly switching to Unlimited Energy, Ren Suo struggled to swim upwards, but the surface of the lake seemed infinitely far away. He wasn't too concerned for himself, but Gu Yueyan, though she had regained consciousness, was now clinging to him with weakening hands—she was on the verge of suffocating!

Ren Suo had no interest in returning with a Giant Watch corpse!

Ren Suo turned Gu Yueyan's face towards his, forcing her to look him in the eye. By then, Gu Yueyan's eyes were unfocused, her consciousness fading. If this dragged on any longer, even the Strong Heart Technique might not work—Strong Heart Technique could only prolong life; it couldn't bring about Resurrection.

Lucky for me, I've been using the Goddess Jade Pendant these past few days, or else it surely wouldn't be in my spare slot...

Without a moment's hesitation, Ren Suo pressed his lips to hers, giving her air.

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