During the following rest period, if skills also had proficiency, then Mu Anqi's dagger technique proficiency should have improved by quite a lot. However, if love also had proficiency… then hers probably only increased by a tiny bit.
Mu Anqi couldn't figure out why, after Ji Huaichu started dating her, she had become even stricter in training than before. Maybe she was afraid she would mess up in the game? Improvement was of course a good thing, but it was just a little different from what Mu Anqi imagined love to be like… Mm, but it was also very much in line with General Ji's style.
Of course, during lunch and dinner after training, General Ji would always eat with her, then hold her hand and take a walk in the back garden of the general's mansion to help with digestion. Every night, after the medicinal bath and before falling asleep, General Ji would also come to give her a goodnight hug.
This day was no exception. Since tomorrow was the last day of the rest period, Mu Anqi's training would not continue, giving her time to relax and prepare for the next game.
In the warm embrace, Mu Anqi heard General Ji softly ask her: "Will there be a team in the next game?"
"No, none of them drew a team card." Mu Anqi answered softly. As for Zhao Ouhuang[European Emperor] and Si Mao mao in her friend list, they also hadn't mentioned team cards in the group chat—clearly, they didn't have them.
Next game… she would probably be alone again.
"In the game, be careful, don't rely too much on skills or items." Ji Huaichu gently reminded her. "The game after next… if there's no team, how about I take you to a simple Black Mirror Vortex to relax?"
The next game would be the seventh Shattered Mirror Game. One more after that, and it would be the eighth, which would unlock the special shop… But faced with General Ji's "date" request, Mu Anqi naturally had no reason to refuse. She softly replied "okay," then quietly asked: "That deadly-pollution Black Mirror Vortex, it could actually be treated as a trial dungeon, right?"
"It could, since it appeared on the ocean, with no large population nearby. But creatures close to the Black Mirror Vortex are affected by 'hunger' and 'plasticization.' After a simple discussion, the vortex was still terminated." Ji Huaichu spoke in a low voice. "As for the main body, it was taken by Madam Red."
After all, it was the designated "garbage cleaner."
"General, if I used a skill on you, would you be angry?" Mu Anqi rubbed against Ji Huaichu's shoulder and once again asked softly. Of course, this time her soft tone carried a bit of guilt and a hint of "itching to try."
"I wouldn't." Ji Huaichu smiled. "But in return, I might also do something a little excessive."
Mu Anqi really couldn't imagine what this "a little excessive" thing referred to, but perhaps it was better not to know. She stopped probing and instead raised her arms to hold the general's waist tightly.
After a brief moment of tenderness, Ji Huaichu smoothed Mu Anqi's hair. "I've prepared a little gift for you. I'll give it to you after the game ends."
"No need for an S-rank anymore?" Mu Anqi blinked and asked.
"No need." Ji Huaichu lowered her head, her lips brushing against Mu Anqi's cheek before finally landing a kiss at the corner of her lips. "A little girlfriend is always more special."
"Then, can I know about the General's past?" Mu Anqi raised her hand to touch the spot that had just been kissed, her ears beginning to heat up again. She looked at Ji Huaichu; General Ji's control over her expressions and regulation of emotions had always been excellent, showing no trace of shyness. "I want to understand the General more, and also… if possible, I'd like General Ji to return once with me to your former world."
"Don't be impatient." Ji Huaichu lifted her hand to rub Mu Anqi's burning earlobe. "Rest well, hmm?"
"Alright~" Mu Anqi sighed inwardly, then lightly tugged at Ji Huaichu's fingers, giving them a small shake. "General…"
Ji Huaichu, slightly losing composure, turned her head to the side, then restrained her emotions and hugged Mu Anqi again, before sending her onto the bed.
When Mu Anqi woke up, after eating the cake made by Mu Xiaobai together with General Ji, and after a short rest and organizing her items, she entered the game.
…
[Drawing game project…]
[Ding! Special mark detected! Checking for invitation…]
[Ding! No special invitation detected! Entering Shattered Mirror Continent…]
[Beeep! Activating dungeon: Inverted City!]
[Clear condition: Survive one week in Inverted City.]
[Entering… please wait…]
[Beeep! Passive · Chosen Girl activated!]
[Congratulations, player has obtained 1499+500 Guansi.]
Inverted City?
[Ding! Please proceed to Inverted City as soon as possible.]
Mu Anqi examined the surroundings. She was standing at a place like an intersection. The passage here wasn't wide, barely enough for two people to walk side by side. On both the left and right walls, there were large mirrors completely covering them, and at intervals the size of one mirror, another mirror appeared, repeating in this way.
Mu Anqi walked along the corridor all the way until she entered a "dead end." On the walls of this "dead end," there were also two mirrors. Unlike the others, these two "mirrors" were painted with black and white lines respectively.
Was it… a choice?
Mu Anqi had no idea what the difference between the black mirror and the white mirror was. There weren't even any instructions on the mirrors. This game left Mu Anqi especially confused—ever since entering this "maze," she hadn't understood what she was supposed to do.
—Forget it, white then.
White always symbolized "purity" and "light." Even if the game designers might have some twisted humor, they might also play into that logic. The more she thought about it, the harder it became to choose. Mu Anqi simply pressed her hand against the white mirror, only to realize upon touching it that the mirror could actually be pushed.
Pushing it open like a door and stepping into the space behind the white mirror, Mu Anqi had just entered when a girl's voice sounded: "Welcome to Miss White's trial game~"
"Miss White is by nature merciful and cannot bear the filthy matters of fighting and killing. But recently, a group of polluted residents has appeared within Inverted City. To resolve this hidden danger, she has decided to enlist a powerful helper to deal with the trouble for her. However, before that, she must confirm that the helper truly has the ability to solve the problem."
"You have one minute to prepare. After one minute, the Mirror Arena will open! You must defeat three defectives in succession to prove yourself. If successful, Miss White will personally meet you and grant you the 'Inverted City Seven-Day Residence Permit.'"
Interesting. This Shattered Mirror Game seemed to be a format Mu Anqi had never encountered before. From the looks of the prompt, it felt more like playing through a game storyline.
Three defectives… she wondered if they were ghosts or monsters…
One minute later, the area expanded continuously until it formed a "battlefield" of about fifty square meters. On all four walls of the battlefield, large horizontal mirrors were fixed, allowing Mu Anqi to see her own reflection within them.
"Bang—"
One of the mirrors suddenly shattered, and from it rushed out a tiger—an upright-walking one, its body fur matted and tangled, stained with countless bloodstains. A tiger demon? It had many wounds on its body, the tip of its tail reduced to bare bone. Its tiger eyes held no trace of spirit, clouded over with a thin white film. Its nose twitched, and in the next second it clawed against the ground and lunged ferociously at Mu Anqi.
This was the Shattered Mirror Continent, not a Black Mirror Vortex! Mu Anqi's eyes widened; she never expected to see such a creature here. This tiger didn't even seem alive, yet it wasn't like a ghost either…Action list: "May wealth be with you!"
The tiger, claws digging into the ground, had just leapt out when, in the next second, it landed without attacking Mu Anqi. Instead, it flipped onto its back, exposing a belly marked with obvious "stitching" scars, and started doing sit-ups while letting out "Aow!" "Aow!"—some kind of tiger count that Mu Anqi couldn't understand.
…Very strange. Could it really not be a demon? If it were just a tiger, how could it walk upright?
Defective product… an experiment? Or was it related to the polluted residents?
Mu Anqi's expression grew grave. Watching the sit-up tiger, she drew her handgun, loaded with regular bullets, aimed steadily at the tiger's head, and pulled the trigger.
"Bang—" The bullet pierced through its skull, yet the tiger still managed to complete eight or nine more sit-ups before finally falling silent.
The moment the tiger died, countless mirror fragments floated up from its corpse, and in the next second began to dissolve, leaving nothing at all behind in the area.
Not a trace remained.
This ability…
Before Mu Anqi could think further, the second mirror instantly shattered. With a furious roar, this time it was a giant black gorilla, three meters tall. Both of its arms and fists were entirely made of silver metal. The only similarity it had with the tiger just now was its eyes—also covered by a thin white film.
The moment it burst out of the shattered mirror and landed, Mu Anqi even felt the space itself tremble a few times. Such strength… this too was a defective?! "Wealth rolling in!"
With the same type of control, she once again used regular bullets to blow its head apart. But the gorilla's skull was much tougher than the tiger's; Mu Anqi needed three bullets to finally kill it completely.
When the third mirror shattered, what appeared was a mechanical bird. Its wings and chest-abdomen were covered by a layer of metal, and its bird eyes were also veiled with a white film. As soon as it appeared, it let out a piercing screech, the harsh sound causing Mu Anqi to falter for a rare instant. Fortunately, this didn't stop her from speaking the blessing words! After controlling the bird, it crashed to the ground, and Mu Anqi, as usual, shot it dead.
At the moment the mechanical bird vanished, a white vortex appeared in the fourth mirror. A girl wearing a white mask and enveloped entirely in an oversized white robe stepped into the space. She did not speak, but the same prompt voice echoed once again in the space:
"Congratulations on passing Miss White's trial game. Please take this temporary residence card and proceed to Inverted City to clear out the polluted residents!"
At the same time, the white robe lifted slightly, and a card was handed out from within it. Mu Anqi studied this Miss White, but the robe and mask concealed her too well—Mu Anqi couldn't see anything at all. In fact, Miss White hadn't even spoken a single word herself.
She still had to survive within Inverted City… judging by the storyline, Miss White seemed like a very important NPC. If she blessed her now and angered her… Mu Anqi accepted the card with both hands, lowered her gaze, and said: "Thank you."
The moment she received the card, Miss White dissolved into points of light and disappeared. The space began shifting again, forming a large mirrored gate that opened wide for Mu Anqi.