"Armor isn't that necessary either," Mu Anqi thought, taking out the portable handgun. This handgun originally cost 888 points… At worst, she could sell it to friends on her list at half price and get some of her investment back. With a rifle, the small handgun would no longer be needed.
Just as Mu Anqi had this thought, Nirvana Space promptly popped up a notification:
[Due to the special nature of the player's skills, to prevent players from exploiting space loopholes, any transactions involving items in the Nirvana Space shop will incur an additional 20% transaction fee. Players who maliciously dump or resell items will be fined points.]
Mu Anqi: ?
For heaven's sake, she never thought about reselling! She was even willing to sell to her friends at half price—how could she make money off this?!
If she sold it for 400 points, the fee would be 80?
Forget it… with Nirvana Space acting like this, she had no choice. Mu Anqi felt a bit helpless. Buying the rifle and the demon sword together cost 2,650 points; she should… still be able to buy armor, right? Something powerful at least, even if it's a one-time use.
Holding this thought, Mu Anqi found the black cloak on the suspected alchemist. This cloak was called the Universal Cloak—waterproof, fireproof, cut-resistant, and with excellent cold resistance… but that was all. A cloak like this, which couldn't make her invisible or reduce her presence, actually dared to charge 800 points. Truly, the bolder the person, the higher the price. If this thing wasn't half-price, Mu Anqi wouldn't even glance at it.
Excluding this option, Mu Anqi did find some armor with good effects. Golden Thread Soft Armor: impervious to swords and spears, fire proof, cold proof, and resistant to yin energy entering the body, with a 25% reduction in curse- and yin-related effects. It even had a life-saving shield with a 72-hour cooldown that could automatically activate in critical situations. Unfortunately, it was priced at 3,000 points.
Once again, Mu Anqi realized why so many players relied on abilities and skills to clear levels, rarely using items. Some of these things really weren't meant for ordinary players; who knows how many centuries these weapons and equipment had been sitting in the shop.
After a moment of thought, Mu Anqi opened Wu Sansheng's chat window.
[Mu Anqi]: #Portable Special Handgun# Interested? Original price 888, selling for 400.
Wu Sansheng: You short on points?
[Mu Anqi]: Just a bit short for new equipment. /shy
The next second, the trade request popped up. Mu Anqi quickly placed the handgun in and paid an additional 80 points as the transaction fee.
Walking out of the weapon shop, Mu Anqi felt like she was floating.
The tiny handgun charm on her bracelet had been replaced with a bright silver small rifle. The [Demon Sword · Ghost Slash] transformed into a black mark hidden on her right wrist. Wearing the lightweight Golden Thread Soft Armor, which felt almost weightless, Mu Anqi felt she had never spent so extravagantly before.
Glancing at her 100.6 point balance, she couldn't bear to look further. She could only be grateful that she hadn't habitually expanded her storage ring after the game ended; otherwise, she might have had to sell another second-hand weapon.
The candy cane… it was almost a "token" between her and the general. Mu Anqi wouldn't sell it unless absolutely necessary.
"Spending a fortune isn't any more than this, I guess…" Floating back to her room, Mu Anqi looked at the balance and didn't bother replenishing anything else.
Swordsmanship, swordsmanship! General Ji's sword skills were so amazing—Mu Anqi was really tempted! That domineering style of splitting a ghost in two with a single strike, she wanted it too. Touching her Golden Thread Soft Armor, Mu Anqi thought, "Maybe next game I should just stick with General Ji." After all, being with General Ji would reduce unnecessary item consumption and save points. But at the same time, slacking too much could lower her rating, which would affect rewards…
No matter what, it was still better than ordinary players.
Just as Mu Anqi was deep in thought, a long-unseen Zhao Guo sent a message.
[Zhao Guo]: /cat peeking
[Zhao Guo]: #Team Card# Rich girl, want to team up?
Looking at the chat window, Mu Anqi couldn't help but think: maybe this is fate.
[Mu Anqi]: Have you passed the trial dungeon?
[Zhao Guo]: I did pass, but the demon king trying to recruit me doesn't seem very strong.
[Zhao Guo]: And she's super low-key and lazy, with no fighting spirit at all, and doesn't plan to take me to the Black Mirror Vortex. So I've just been going through the Shattered Mirror dungeon all along.
[Mu Anqi]: With your luck… that's unlikely, right?
[Zhao Guo]: /smile If she's a clover spirit, then maybe.
[Mu Anqi]: …My apologies.
[Zhao Guo]: I'm inviting you, and also Si Suying. Do you have any other teammates in mind?
[Mu Anqi]: Bring Wu Sansheng along. As for others, I'll ask around.
The original group chat didn't see much activity anymore, and Chu Zhongfei hadn't popped up in a long time. But that was understandable—at the start of a game, everyone might be enthusiastic after forming a team, but after playing more games and meeting more players, those initial "friends" might not have much interaction left. After all, team-up cards in this game were purely luck-based.
Without hesitation, Mu Anqi shouted in the second group chat. Fang Xunjiu immediately appeared, crying about her miserable experiences recently, and…
[Fang Xunjiu]: Wuwuwu, my demon king wants to crush me in the Black Mirror Vortex. They said I have to practice the ultimate skill of handing out hairpins while whipping people in life-and-death battles QAQ
[Fang Yunjiu]: …Can I come too? Wuwu, I really want to do a dungeon with rich sister!
Other than that, Xia Yun was free.
Hmm, so… still five people? What a coincidence.
Matching Xia Yun with Zhao Guo's friend, the team for the next game was set. Mu Anqi sat on the bed in Nirvana Space for a while, then quietly called Ji Huaichu in her heart to tell her about it.
—"Alright." General Ji's reply seemed calm, with no strong emotion. That gentle voice continued, "Are you coming back now?"
"Coming back!" Mu Anqi touched the Demon Sword mark on her wrist and thought she could make a wristband to cover it. "I've spent all my points on three super expensive items. General~ can you teach me swordsmanship?"
—"Of course," Ji Huaichu chuckled lightly. "Then what will you give me as payment?"
"…No biting my neck." Mu Anqi became alert. "Other than that, what do you want, General?"
A laugh echoed in her heart again. Mu Anqi's ears turned slightly red as she received the teleport invitation. She pressed her lips together while looking at the invitation, but didn't hear the general speak again. Mu Anqi rubbed her ears, sighed, and accepted the invitation…
Honestly, even a demon king can't just bite people.
…
No biting the neck.
But Mu Anqi truly experienced what a real kiss was, and…
Being a ghost without needing to breathe is just too unfair.
Ignoring these little incidents, Mu Anqi received the gift that General Ji had prepared for her… the one she said she would give her after this game.
It was a small black dog, female, a Chinese rural breed, with two white hairs above its eyebrows, making it extremely cute. The dog was still a puppy, just over a month old. According to General Ji, it wouldn't turn into a demon.
"Don't you like fluffy things?" When Mu Anqi asked why she was giving her this, General Ji replied, "It can also guard the house."
The General's residence… probably didn't lack guard dogs. Yet, Mu Anqi still appreciated this gesture from General Ji.
Holding the little black dog in her arms and giving it a good cuddle, Mu Anqi immediately felt healed by its fluffiness.
Her following days were spent in the General's residence receiving General Ji's 1v1 special training. At first, Ji Huaichu didn't let Mu Anqi use the Demon Sword directly; instead, she had her train with a wooden sword. Mu Anqi didn't understand why initially—until she had done the simple "chopping" motion two hundred times. Then she realized:
If she used the Demon Sword, her arm might give out after a hundred swings, but with the wooden sword, she could make it to two hundred before exhaustion. (smile.jpg)
However, since General Ji not only provided goodnight services but also warming-the-bed services, Mu Anqi also got to enjoy nighttime massages in addition to her daily medicinal baths.
Although after each massage, her arms—just regaining some strength from the bath—would ache terribly again, she would wake up completely comfortable. This allowed Mu Anqi to throw herself into the next day's grueling training at 120% efficiency, greatly improving the learning of her swordsmanship.
It wasn't until the sixth day that Mu Anqi finally started using the Demon Sword, continuing to practice the simple basic sword techniques.
"I can teach you all of my skills, but don't rush," Ji Huaichu said suddenly as Mu Anqi, exhausted and barely able to lift the Demon Sword, finished a day's training. "We have plenty of time. Daggers, staff techniques, swordsmanship… you need to specialize in one first."
"I understand, General." The Demon Sword disappeared from her hand. Mu Anqi wiped the sweat from her brow and, catching her breath, said, "It's just that I want enough self-defense ability—I want to become stronger."
"I want to clear the Black Mirror Vortex with you, General, not as someone who needs protection, but as someone who can assist, support, and even protect you. I want to be strong, but I'm not in a hurry." Mu Anqi explained seriously, not wanting the General to think she was greedy. "The reason I suddenly wanted to learn swordsmanship is just because…"
At this, Mu Anqi revealed a slightly embarrassed expression: "Because… this Demon Sword was half-price for a limited time."
Mu Anqi looked at Ji Huaichu nervously, yet she didn't smile or react to her reason. She just quietly gazed at her, then slowly lifted her hand, gently brushing the stray hair from her forehead behind her ear. Her slightly cool fingertips touched her cheek. Those black eyes watched Mu Anqi silently—frenzied, possessive, obsessive… all the sharp, intense emotions restrained. Ji Huaichu merely looked at her and softly said, "I'll wait for that day to come."
The little money tree was no longer the tender sprout it once was. It would keep growing, reaching upward, sending out branches, stretching itself, enduring wind and rain, and through the trials of the game and vortex, it would become a towering tree… strong enough to shelter her.
Ji Huaichu found her own imagination amusing, but as she looked into Mu Anqi's eyes, that amusement turned into a feeling of deep emotion.
"Go take a bath and change into dry clothes, then come have dinner," Ji Huaichu said softly. "If you want to see Mu Xiaobai, that's fine too. Remember to come back for the medicinal bath at ten."
"Okay~" Mu Anqi smiled. "I'll bring you little cakes and cookies! General, do you want milk tea? Mu Xiaobai has been trying a lot of new things recently, and the milk tea tastes really good!"
"Mm." Ji Huaichu responded. Watching Mu Anqi return to the backyard to bathe and change, she glanced at the shelves filled with all kinds of weapons and then stepped back to the study. If they were forming a team, the white fox spirit player would be there too? Then let the white fox spirit look after things for her. While Mu Anqi was playing this game, she also needed to make some breakthroughs herself.