Chapter 13 Xia Ying's Dream (1) I'll say it when I feel like it...
Xia Kaiyun was buried on a late autumn day.
The farewell ceremony was held in the forecourt of the funeral home. Not many people came to pay their final respects; apart from Xia Siyun's sister and her family, there were only a few of Xia Kaiyun's colleagues.
Of course, there's also her daughter, Xia Ying.
Xia Ying remained silent, her hands gripping the hem of her skirt tightly as she looked down at the ground.
Where her gaze fell, tiny green shoots sprouted from the cracks in the bricks and soil, which had just been exposed to the autumn rain.
As the adults who had finished paying their respects passed by Xia Ying, they may have said some words of comfort, but Xia Ying didn't pay attention until her cousin Lulu reached out and hugged her, sobbing softly against her neck.
"Xu Lu, don't be like this." Then, Aunt Siyun came over and gently patted her shoulder. "Go and say goodbye to your mother one last time, Xia Ying."
She did not see the scene she expected.
There were no remains, no Xia Kaiyun, nothing was here.
Inside the mother's coffin was only a deep, dark hole leading to an unknown destination.
That was the abyss opening its gaping maw.
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Xia Ying's dream ended.
When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the ceiling of room 1008 in building C.
Xia Ying turned her face to the left, and a photo of herself and Xia Kaiyun hanging on the wall came into view.
She spoke up: "Are we home, Kelp?"
"No, this is still Cocytus, in our residence in the city of Avalon."
Cerberus gestured with his chin toward the person on the other side, looking rather annoyed.
"You should know what's going on now that you see this guy, right?"
Xia Ying turned her face to the right, where Fenrir was quietly watching her.
So, the demon hound and the frost wolf stood guard on either side of her bed, waiting for her to wake up.
Moreover, the house currently appears to be completely intact (emphasis)!!
This strange sight made Xia Ying sit up and ask, "Have you two... made up?"
"No," came the reply from Cerberus.
Based on Xia Ying's understanding of Cerberus, this unpleasant misunderstanding should have immediately enraged him, but at this moment Cerberus looked quite calm... or rather, a little depressed.
“You are the rightful owner of this house. Fenrir was allowed in because of your permission,” Cerberus said softly. “I have no right to drive him away... because I couldn’t save you then.”
Xia Ying held the dog's paw and squeezed it reassuringly: "I am indeed very grateful to Fenrir, but it's not Cer's fault..."
Fenrir coldly replied, "It's all because Cerberus is too weak."
"What did you say, you stray dog?!" Cerberus roared in fury. "Didn't you say you'd only stay until Xia Ying woke up? When are you finally getting out of here?"
Fenrir took out a magical artifact in the form of a mobile phone and touched the [Student Handbook] that was placed on the bedside table and bound to Xia Ying.
"Beep! Fenrir's contact information has been entered."
Fenrir stood up, glanced at Xia Ying one last time, and then turned and left decisively.
His straightforwardness surprised Cerberus, who awkwardly got up and followed him.
Fenrir walked through the living room and straight to the door. Before leaving Xia Ying's residence, he suddenly stopped and turned around.
"Is it that the severe injuries from that battle haven't healed, or is there some pointless hesitation in your heart?" He coldly scrutinized the other man. "If 'you' can't do it, then you might as well hand it over to another 'Cerberus'..."
“This is none of your business, Fenrir.” Cerberus gave a gloomy smirk, shadows slowly rising around him. “Hasn’t the blood shed in the past taught you not to be my enemy?”
The atmosphere became tense again, and a conflict between the two was about to erupt.
At this moment, Xia Ying poked half of her body out of the bedroom and waved to Fenrir: "Come play again later, Fenrir."
Their fighting spirit and malice were instantly shattered.
Fenrir's attention was completely focused on the smiling Xia Ying, and he nodded slightly to her.
As soon as Frostwolf stepped out of the residence, Cerberus impatiently slammed the door shut: "Never come back again."
Xia Ying's gaze swept over, and Cerberus awkwardly crossed his arms and asked, "What?"
"Is it the part you don't want to talk about?"
"What?"
"The relationship between Ker and Fenrir, and the past."
“…” Cerberus said, “Hmm…”
“Then tell me when you feel like saying it,” Xia Ying said without hesitation. “I’m hungry, I want to eat cola chicken wings.”
"Where am I supposed to find you a Coke right now?" Although he complained, Cerberus's body betrayed him as he put on the apron.
Opening the refrigerator, Cerberus was surprised to find that the ingredients needed for the dish were indeed neatly arranged inside. He couldn't help but grab a can of iced cola and looked back at Xia Ying in confusion.
"The goblin at the registration desk said this is VIP service." Xia Ying jumped onto the back of Ke'er, baring her teeth and brandishing her claws, and emphasized loudly, "Hurry up and make me some cola chicken wings!"
Ke Er skillfully lifted Xia Ying's bottom with his hands behind his back to prevent her from slipping, took three steps in two to the sofa, tore off the noisy plaster on his body, and threw it on the soft sofa cushion.
Before the other person could start complaining, Ke'er slammed a can of Coke onto the coffee table: "Drink Coke first, then watch some TV."
Xia Ying was convinced. She nestled comfortably into the sofa and opened the Coke tab: "Okay then."
Ke'er returned to the kitchen to start cooking, and Xia Ying turned on the TV, changed a few channels, and found that they were all programs she had seen before.
Speaking of which, can the demon realm really receive signals from the human world?
Can I make phone calls? Can I listen to the radio? Can I access the internet?
With that thought in mind, Xia Ying opened the Student Handbook in its phone form.
The first thing that pops up is a prompt about the next guided task.
"Ding! Mission: [Circular Domain Internship] will begin in one day."
"Beep! [Circular Domain Internship]: The first step towards life in Cocytus, and also one of the assessment criteria for freshmen's end-of-semester domain assignments. Note: The circular domain where you will begin your internship will be randomly selected when the task begins."
As the name suggests, a field internship is an experience of academic or social life in a particular field before officially assigning oneself to a specific field.
There are four rings: Crimson Crown Ring, Shadow Scale Ring, Tomb-Sealing Ring, and Feast Ring.
Xia Ying quickly recalled the scene of demons dancing wildly on the four stone platforms during the [opening ceremony].
While praying to the Dice Goddess in the void, Xia Ying switched her phone screen to the home screen.
Unlike the dazzling array of features found in human apps, the Student Handbook contains only a few simple function icons.
The first feature is "Task Guide," where you can view the details, completion conditions, and progress of all triggered tasks.
The second feature is "Cocytus Map".
Xia Ying entered the map interface and the first thing she saw was the three main areas of Cocytus. According to the simple area descriptions on the page, these three areas are the teaching area for learning and assessment activities, the central courtyard area for living, entertainment and trading, and the wilderness area where random tasks and unknown explorations can be refreshed.
Most of the area on the map was still blank for Xia Ying, but relatively speaking, the central courtyard area where she was currently located had more detailed regional information.
The vast majority of the central area is divided into four territories, each managed by one of the four ring domains. These territories are usually only open to abyssal creatures belonging to their respective rings, and students from other ring domains need permission to enter.
Since Xia Ying does not belong to any ring domain and does not have a pass, the ring domain's territory naturally presents her with an unselectable gray-white color.
However, the central land surrounded by the four territories does not belong to any particular ring domain power. It is designated as a free trade zone, open to all abyssal creatures in Cocytus, allowing them to freely travel, consume, and trade.
Xia Ying and Cerberus's temporary residence is located in this area.
Twilight Square is also here, of course. Xia Ying swipes two fingers to zoom in and sees the dessert shop she used to visit on the map.
She couldn't help but touch the marked location called "Poisonous Frosting" with her fingertip, but the surrounding scenery suddenly changed, and Xia Ying found herself instantly transported from the sofa to the bustling Twilight Square.
Xia Ying sat by the roadside, looking lost. The twilight square was bustling with activity. In the distance, the lapis lazuli scales shimmered in the sunlight. Gargoyles were working hard, weaving through the crowd and maintaining order in the square.
She craned her neck and saw the sign for "Poisonous Icing" hanging overhead.
Then Xia Ying lowered her head, her phone still on the map screen, and tried tapping the location marked "Xia Ying's Temporary Residence".
She darted back onto the sofa.
"..." Xia Ying blinked in surprise, "This is quite interesting."
She immediately became very interested in the Student Handbook. Seeing that there were no more features to explore in the "Cocytus Map", she quickly moved on to the next feature icon.
The app is called "Abyss Forum".
Oh, this Xia Ying looks familiar! Isn't she just Dou○, Tie○, and ○ Ya?
Xia Ying opened the "Abyss Forum," and a post floating at the very top of the black forum page caught her eye.
You'll regret missing this! Five essential points for freshmen to master in the [Huanyu Internship] program!!
Upon seeing such a provocative headline, Xia Ying couldn't help but click on it.
In this post, the poster with the ID <飧者> wrote:
"As we all know, the [Ring Domain Internship] is the most crucial step for new students at Cocytus University. It is not only closely related to the final domain assignment, but also an important stage for accumulating various preliminary resources."
But everyone also knows very well that there is not a single good person in the four ring domains: Crimson Crown is a powder keg, Shadow Scale is full of scoundrels, Tomb Seal is a fanatic, and the Mad Feast gang of fun-loving people are even more hated.
If you haven't made these five preparations, be careful—your first day of internship might end up with a day trip to the "Fountain of Life"! Check to see which one you've missed!
Xia Ying quickly scrolled down, skipping over generic platitudes like "accumulating resources" and "self-improvement," and sure enough, she saw the poster's true intentions revealed in the last paragraph.
"So, is it possible for us to get through the [Environmental Internship] period smoothly without much trouble or fatigue?"
Some of you have it! Just click the link below to purchase the Internship Secrets Gift Pack, and the first twenty people will enjoy a 30% discount! Don't hesitate, act now! 50 Aubo coins is a steal…
"Xia Ying, dinner's ready!"
"Coming right up!!"
Xia Ying tossed her phone aside and jumped off the sofa in a flash.
[Student Handbook] It bounced on the cushion, half-wetting itself in the sofa crevice. Only light spilled from the edge of the screen, so Xia Ying neither saw nor heard the application notification that popped up on the never-closed interface:
"<飲者> has requested to add you as a friend. Do you want to decline?"
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
"Beep, you have automatically agreed."
<飧者> has become your friend.
<飧者> sent you a message: "Hi, Miss Succubus."
<飲者> sent you a message: "Would you like to consider collaborating with me?"
A note from the author:
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Q: Why would a creature from another world like Kelp make cola chicken wings?
A: I learned from watching cooking shows on TV and short cooking videos while I was at home. When I got to the dessert part, I even forced Xia Ying to buy a cheap oven. He's a great dog, but also a bit naughty.
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