Arriving at the door to the room on the 22nd floor, Lin Qi had just opened it when he saw Xia Chu jolt upright inside, her hand clutching a hammer.
Only after getting a clear look at Lin Qi's face and his familiar Exoskeleton Equipment did Xia Chu let out a sigh of relief.
"How is the Crimson Crystal Stone absorption going?"
Lin Qi placed the bedsheet bundle under the desk as he asked Xia Chu.
Xia Chu swirled her tongue slightly, as if testing it. "It's less than halfway dissolved. It'll take another six or seven hours to dissolve completely."
'So slow?'
'Could it be that the absorption rate of the Crimson Crystal Stone varies between individuals?'
After giving it some thought, Lin Qi decided it was reasonable.
Lin Qi was a Wizard. He had spent years in Meditation, absorbing Spiritual Particles, so his absorption speed should be faster than a normal person's.
By that logic, the rate should also increase as he absorbed more Crimson Crystal Stones.
'Doesn't that mean that in this world, I can rapidly improve my physique just by absorbing Crimson Crystal Stones?'
'If my physique transcends the Tier One level before my Wizardry does, should I be considered a Wizard or a Martial Artist?'
Lin Qi pictured himself with a bizarrely muscular build.
'So ungraceful. It completely goes against the Wizard aesthetic.'
Besides, it was just a passing thought. The enhancement from a Tier One Extraordinary Item couldn't possibly be limitless.
It would most likely lose the majority of its effectiveness once his physique was enhanced to the Tier One Level.
For Lin Qi to become truly strong, he still needed to rely on different kinds of Extraordinary Items.
'I need two more Tier One Extraordinary Items to become a Tier Two Wizard, but before I get the next one, I need to increase my Spiritual Power.'
'Traveling between two worlds gives me double the time for Meditation. Even if Meditation is less effective in the Cyber World, it will still speed up my progress significantly.'
Lately, Lin Qi felt an increasing urgency to enhance his power. The Witch Hunt was intensifying, and he could be endangered at any moment.
With his Spiritual Vision active, Lin Qi constantly monitored the Zombies in the other two units, as well as the obviously mutated stray cats that occasionally passed by downstairs.
Through his Spiritual Vision, Lin Qi saw Xia Chu slowly approaching him again.
"Lin Qi, it's going to be dark soon. Why don't we…"
As the sky darkened, so did Lin Qi's expression.
'No wonder the Lin Qi of the parallel world was in such bad shape. He turned into a Zombie the moment the apocalypse broke out. Everything is karmic.'
"Your eyes are bloodshot. You should get some rest. The world has already ended; we need to conserve our Physical Strength."
The scorched mark on the floor constantly reminded Lin Qi that he was a Wizard from the Cyber World, not some animal driven solely by the urge to mate.
Xia Chu's suspicions weren't aroused again for the moment. Reassured by Lin Qi, she lay on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
At Xia Chu's insistence, Lin Qi lay down next to her.
He closed his eyes and began his Meditation.
The concentration of Spiritual Particles was extremely high in the Doomsday World. At most, Lin Qi would only need to meditate for two or three days in this environment to reach the threshold for analyzing his next Extraordinary Item.
A Wizard's Spiritual Power increased in stages. Every time an Extraordinary Item was analyzed, the upper limit of their Spiritual Power was raised.
Only after reaching the new limit could one analyze the next Extraordinary Item.
While meditating, Lin Qi's breathing was steady, and he appeared to be asleep.
He meditated while keeping his Spiritual Vision active.
Beside him, Xia Chu, who had appeared to be fast asleep, suddenly sat up.
She sat cross-legged beside Lin Qi, staring intently at his face.
Through his Spiritual Vision, Lin Qi saw Xia Chu gaze at him for a very long time.
The look in her eyes shifted several times, and she even raised her arm only to lower it again.
Her hand even crept toward the hammer at the head of the bed a couple of times.
'What is she planning? Does she suspect who I am?'
Lin Qi's breathing remained calm.
'The Intelligent Brain isn't just for show. If danger arises, it will instantly control the Exoskeleton's defensive actions.'
Xia Chu simply watched him for a full half-hour.
Xia Chu slowly lowered her head and leaned close to Lin Qi's ear. She made no sound, but Lin Qi "saw" the shape of her words.
"My love, constant through this life."
There was no sound, yet the words were deafening.
Whether in the metropolis of his past life or in the Red Fruit City of the current Cyber World, love was the most expensive of luxuries.
It was something Lin Qi had never possessed, nor had he ever witnessed it firsthand.
Once the six words were formed, Xia Chu's head dipped even lower.
The wooden boards of the single bed creaked with her movements, mingling with the sound of Lin Qi's steady breathing.
The afterglow of the setting sun filtered into the room through the window.
Their shadows merged for a moment, then parted in an instant.
Xia Chu quickly lay back down, as if nothing had happened.
Two minutes later, Xia Chu rose once more, pressing her fair face close to Lin Qi's.
Her lips fell upon Lin Qi's neck.
After a long moment, Xia Chu, seemingly tired, finally lay back down.
But a mark was now clearly visible on Lin Qi's neck.
His Meditation was nearly broken. His Spiritual Power fluctuated wildly, yet in doing so, it devoured a massive amount of Spiritual Particles.
In just a few minutes, his Meditation had astonishingly achieved what would normally take a full day.
This was a good thing, but Lin Qi couldn't feel happy about it.
'Brother, I'm sorry.'
The focus of his Spiritual Vision shifted to the scorched mark on the floor.
After apologizing to the Lin Qi from the parallel world, Lin Qi continued to lament.
'Two lifetimes.'
'And my first kiss is gone, just like that?'
'I've never even been in a relationship…'
A strange sorrow welled up inside him, though he didn't know if it was for himself or for his parallel self.
...
He calculated the time. In less than twenty minutes, the [Door] would return him to the Cyber World.
Lin Qi stopped his Meditation and opened his eyes.
Beside him, Xia Chu's breathing was steady; she was fast asleep.
Xia Chu hadn't truly rested since the apocalypse began.
Only by Lin Qi's side could Xia Chu feel safe enough to fall into a deep sleep.
Lin Qi rose as quietly as he could, opened the door, and slipped out of the room.
He wasn't abandoning Xia Chu; he was just heading to the shower room.
The apartment was a partitioned rental, and Lin Qi's room didn't have its own bathroom.
Before returning to the Cyber World, Lin Qi intended to wash up thoroughly.
He hadn't taken off his Exoskeleton Armor in a long time.
In the Cyber World, Lin Qi didn't dare drop his disguise, not even in his own home.
In just ten minutes, Lin Qi finished washing and re-locked his Exoskeleton Armor.
Stepping in front of the sink, Lin Qi looked at himself in the mirror.
His gaze fell upon the mark on his neck.
His feelings were complex.
He quietly returned to the room and lay back down in his spot.
Xia Chu wasn't disturbed and continued to sleep peacefully.
BZZT...
The sound of static crackled as the signal was briefly restored.
"This is the Modu Rescue Command Center. A warning to all survivors: The government of the Dragon Country is still functioning. In this time of national crisis, please continue to uphold the law and moral conduct. The Modu rescue operation has begun…"