As Linlang pinched the gold leaf, a system notification sound appeared in her mind.
Prop: [Golden Branch and Jade Leaf]
Effect: This is a golden leaf from another world, imbued with powerful healing and protective abilities by the user. Wearing it provides protection, and it can heal one fatal wound after use.
Linlang slowly opened her eyes wide. "A fatal wound? This is for me?"
Shi Jinzhe: "Yes, the cure is a one-time effect, but the protection is continuous. You need to find as many clues as possible."
Linlang carefully put away the gold leaf. "I understand. I'll be right there."
She slowly and gently opened the locked security door without making a sound. Once Shekh said there was no one outside, Linlang left immediately.
Shi Jinzhe locked the door again and laid a blanket and sleeping bag on the bare bed in the master bedroom.
"Come on over, now we just wait for news."
Shekh came in and lay down. His sleeping bag was still a little warm, and it was very comfortable to be nestled in it, especially with the howling blizzard outside.
"Aren't you going to sleep a little longer?"
Shi Jinzhe sat on the edge of the bed and turned around: "We'll talk about it later, you should rest first."
"I want you to lie here with me for a while; I can't warm this place up by myself."
Her body temperature adjusts to the outside temperature. The temperature in the sleeping bag was a bit low, and she wasn't very warm. After lying down for a while, the temperature inside the sleeping bag wasn't as warm as it had been at the beginning.
Shi Jin folded up and lay down, leaning against the headboard in a half-sitting, half-lying position.
"Go to sleep."
"I just woke up, and I can't fall back asleep." Sheh hugged him, pressing his forehead against Shi Jin's bent waist for warmth. "This dungeon is making me a little uneasy."
Shi Jinzhe lowered his head: "How can I not be at ease?"
"I have no fear. From the moment I came in until now, I don't think I've been afraid of anything."
Logically speaking, she should have had such feelings, just like Shi Jinzhe was anxious about her leaving. When she woke up and found that Shi Jinzhe was gone, she also felt a little anxious. However, this feeling quickly disappeared, and she never had similar feelings of fear again.
Even though she knew Shi Jinzhe might jump off the dilapidated balcony, she remained remarkably calm and not overly worried.
At the time, Shekh thought it was because of her trust in Shi Jinzhe that she felt at ease, but now that she thinks about it, no matter what, she shouldn't have felt no fear at all.
It was so close! What if she hadn't managed to pull it back and it had broken completely?
Sheh was a little confused, so she slowly poured out her feelings to Shi Jinzhe. She raised her head slightly and said, "My fear seems to have been weakened."
“It’s weakened…” Shi Jinzhe looked at her for a few seconds, “What are you afraid of? Are you also afraid of being separated from me?”
"There are some things, but I just feel they shouldn't be this indifferent."
Schech said uncertainly, "I should care about you more than I think, but my emotional expression in this instance doesn't seem to reflect that."
"Don't overthink it. You're not someone who expresses emotions outwardly."
Shi Jinzhe casually placed his fingers on Shehe's chin, stroking the soft flesh where her chin and neck connected, and comforted her: "I can feel your worry for me, you just haven't realized it yourself. The fact that you think this way means that you care about me now, and I'm glad."
He said this without any outward sign of emotion, but his mind was racing, calling out to the system.
Sheh herself hadn't mentioned it, and he hadn't even noticed. She acted as usual, seemingly fearless of anything, and it was hard to tell what she was afraid of.
Have you ever been afraid of anything before?
"No, I don't think so. It was just that I was afraid Bai Weishuang would leave me a long time ago. You know that memory."
"Hmm." Not only did she know, but she also knew the reason why she had sealed herself in stone.
Shi Jinzhe called out to the system for a long time, but the other side was as dead as ever, without any response.
If you don't come out, I'll take off her ribbon!
...
Very well, there was no reaction at all.
The system is truly fearless.
When Shi Jinzhe realized that this tactic was useless, he had no choice but to give up and try to explain to Shehe with another reason: "Perhaps it has something to do with you being a snake. You are naturally calmer and can say these things rationally. It's just that your emotions have just caught up, and you have experienced an emotional error."
"Is that so?" Sheh felt that Shi Jinzhe was just bluffing her. "But I don't feel this way when I'm outside."
"This instance is just special." Shi Jinzhe pulled the blanket draped over her shoulders up. "It's good that you're not afraid. If you bring back your fear because you're scared, wouldn't that be..."
Shi Jinzhe stopped talking. If Shekh’s fear were to be visualized, would the scattered black mist also appear when his mother died?
No wonder the system couldn't be summoned no matter how I called it. Could it be related to Shekh's weakened fear?
Why did you do that?
【I don't. 】
It really is you.
"...That was for your safety."
For your safety, you can let me log out of the game.
The system's explanation: "After she said those things, did your anxiety lessen?"
Shi Jinzhe acknowledged the fact, but wouldn't admit it verbally, saying, "If you do this, she'll worry about herself."
The system didn't reply immediately, but hesitated for a moment before replying: "I will remove the block at the right time. This round of the game is special; I have to do it, and it will take a lot of effort for me."
"Then let's give some compensation."
Even the cold, mechanical voice couldn't hide the system's speechless frustration: "[...What do you want?]"
After I finish this game, let me go back to Mubai's section. I want to see my parents.
This does not conform to…
[If you don't allow it, I'll use the deception techniques I learned in this instance to find bugs and research them myself. Don't blame me if I discover some harmful vulnerabilities.]
Shi Jinzhe thoughtfully said, "You can think about it for a while; you don't have to agree right away."
The system felt his words were meaningless and gave a listless reply: "[This will only be done once.]"
Time will come and it will end: [Okay.]
Since things only happen zero times or countless times, let's just lie once first.
"What did you just say to the system?"
Shekh was very familiar with Shi Jinzhe's previous state; he could tell at a glance that Shi Jinzhe was communicating with the system.
"They said this dungeon was a bit special, so they downplayed your feelings, and then after clearing it, they agreed to let me visit my parents once."
Why did you sell me out?!
Ignoring the system's impotent rage, Shi Jinzhe said, "Everything will be fine once we leave the dungeon. You should rest; we'll need you for the fight tonight."
Shekh nodded slowly, feeling sleepy as the warmth of the blankets rose. "Then I'm going to sleep."
"Sleep well, I'll stay with you."
Shi Jinzhe looked out the window, wondering how the search for clues on the 602 side was going.
After careful consideration, he opened his palm and controlled a seed to bloom.
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