Chapter 155: Ash Extinction and Schrödinger's Class Monitor
[Ding! Body has entered 'Ash Extinction' state.]
[Ash Extinction: All attributes reduced by 99%. While this debuff is active, the host cannot receive any form of healing or recovery. Duration: Inversely proportional to the sum of the four basic attributes. The higher the total physical strength, the shorter the debuff duration.]
[Duration: 29 days, 59 minutes, 59 seconds.]
The moment the final blow connected, the last dregs of energy vanished from Rovel's veins. His knees buckled. Gravity seized him, dragging his violently weakened body straight toward the unforgiving ground.
Before the encroaching darkness could completely swallow his consciousness, a pair of soft, steady arms caught him mid-fall.
He forced his heavy eyelids open a fraction. Fu Hua knelt on the ground, holding him securely against her chest. Her usually placid, ancient eyes were entirely shattered, swirling with a chaotic storm of emotions she couldn't seem to suppress.
Rovel forced the corners of his mouth to curl upward. His voice was barely a breathless whisper. "If it's like this... at least we won't become strangers, right?"
His eyes fluttered shut, and his head rolled limply against her shoulder.
Fu Hua's breath hitched. A sudden, suffocating tightness gripped her chest, accompanied by a sharp ache she had never experienced in all her long years. Her vision blurred. A strange, burning soreness pricked at the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill over into tears she hadn't shed in centuries.
She didn't understand why he had gone to such lengths. She didn't understand the sheer weight of his sacrifice. Lowering her head, she buried her face near his collarbone and simply held him. Her arms wrapped around his unconscious form, pulling him in desperately tight, as if letting go would mean losing him to the void forever.
[Name: Fang Ruobai]
[Level: 30]
[Experience: 260,000 / 350,000]
[Race: Taiyi]
[HP: 200 / 200]
[Honkai Energy Infection Progress: 0%]
[Constitution: 20 (Base: 2050)]
[Strength: 18 (Base: 1850)]
[Agility: 22 (Base: 2250)]
[Intelligence: 19 (Base: 1930)]
[Honkai Energy Resistance: 3000 HW]
[Free Attribute Points: 100]
[Unallocated Experience Pool: 7.2M]
[Stigmata Slot 1: Yae Sakura]
[Stigmata Slot 2: Ji Lin]
[Equipment: Elysia's Crystal Flower (Special Accessory), Snake (Accessory)]
[Status Bar: Ash Extinction, Xuanyuan Blessing (Permanent)]
"Looks like you've recovered quite well. You even have the leisure to sneak out for coffee by yourself. Aren't you afraid of Raiden Mei tying you up with a rope?"
Three days had passed since the World Instance officially closed. Faction 1 had seized the final victory.
Sitting in a quiet corner of a sunlit cafe, Rovel swirled the dark liquid in his cup. He had single-handedly accounted for a staggering seventy-two percent of his faction's total contribution value. The payout was equally absurd: 7.2 million experience points, one hundred free attribute points, and one precious spin on the Random Lucky Wheel.
Second place had gone to Yuki. The girl had turned into an absolute menace on the battlefield, single-handedly sniping three hundred players over level twenty. Her ruthless efficiency netted her half a million experience points and fifty free attribute points.
Surprisingly, fifth place was occupied by Rovel's old 'acquaintance', Funahiki Shin. Through some bizarre stroke of luck or sheer audacity, the guy had managed to hijack a genuine Titan mecha right out from under Cocolia's nose, racking up a massive kill count while piloting the stolen war machine. Rovel certainly hadn't expected Shin to join Faction 1, considering the rather hostile history between them.
While Rovel chose to keep his player identity strictly anonymous on the leaderboards, Yuki had left her name proudly on display. This wasn't just for Rovel's benefit; it was a direct request from the head of the Zhou Family. Though Rovel held no love for that particular establishment, he had to admit their logic was sound. Flaunting her strength publicly guaranteed Yuki a certain level of untouchable safety. If a major family couldn't even protect its own designated heir, they would truly be useless.
Rovel now had two accumulated spins for the Random Lucky Wheel. Even though activating it required nothing more than a mental flick of his fingers, he kept putting it off. He blamed it on 'post-battle weariness', though in reality, he was just waiting for the right moment.
Since tomorrow was New Year's Day, he figured he might as well roll the wheel right as the clock struck midnight. Catching that fresh New Year's luck seemed like a solid strategy.
"Himeko, you know I've been cooped up in that hotel room for three straight days," Rovel complained, setting his cup down. "Sure, my body is a bit frail right now, but I'm still vastly tougher than the average person. You really don't need to be so nervous about me stepping outside."
Murata Himeko sat across from him, looking entirely unimpressed. She signaled the waiter for her own cup of coffee. "Mei and the others won't see it that way. You deliberately sent Kiana away while she was supposed to be taking care of you. When Mei finds out you're missing, the first person she is going to interrogate is Kiana. You're throwing that poor girl to the wolves."
"Today is New Year's Eve," Rovel said, waving a hand dismissively. "I'll just bribe Kiana with a massive red envelope tonight to smooth things over. Besides... if my memory serves me right, isn't Class Monitor Fu Hua's birthday tomorrow?"
Himeko paused, her spoon clinking softly against the porcelain rim of her cup. She looked up, a playful glint in her amber eyes. "You certainly keep track of these things clearly."
"Of course I do." Rovel leaned back, puffing his chest out slightly. "Theresa's birthday is March 28th, Mei's is April 13th, yours is June 11th, Bronya's is August 18th, and Kiana's is December 7th. I have them all memorized perfectly."
"So, what grand gift are you planning to give her?" Himeko asked, leaning forward with genuine curiosity.
Rovel stroked his chin, his brow furrowing in deep thought. "Hmm... I haven't entirely decided yet. What do you think about getting her a tailored business suit?"
Himeko stared at him, utterly dumbfounded. "Are you sick in the head? Who buys a teenage girl a formal suit for her birthday?" She marveled at the sheer absurdity of his thought process.
"Then what do you suggest?" Rovel countered, raising an eyebrow. "Perfume? A bright shade of lipstick?"
Himeko's imagination conjured an image of the stoic, martial-arts-obsessed Fu Hua wearing heavy makeup and reeking of floral perfume. A visible shudder wracked her shoulders. "...You'd better stick with the suit."
Recovering her composure, Himeko narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Do you need me to give you Fu Hua's body measurements so you can get it tailored?"
"84, 64, 90," Rovel recited instantly, his tone brimming with absolute confidence. "My eyes are as precise as a laser ruler. I am never wrong."
Himeko's eyes widened a fraction. "Heh. I really underestimated your degeneracy. Fu Hua dresses so conservatively every single day, yet you can still map her out that accurately?"
"Child's play," Rovel scoffed, looking even more smug. "Barely worth mentioning."
Himeko took a slow, deliberate sip of her coffee. She lowered the cup, her gaze shifting from Rovel's proud face to a spot directly over his shoulder. She said absolutely nothing.
The smug smile froze on Rovel's face. A sudden, icy draft ghosted over the nape of his neck. The temperature at their table seemed to plummet by ten degrees.
"...Why do I suddenly feel a chill?" Rovel muttered, a bead of sweat forming on his temple as a terrifying realization dawned on him.
"Why don't you turn around and take a look?" Himeko suggested, her voice dripping with sweet, venomous amusement.
"No thanks!" Rovel snapped his eyes shut, refusing to move his neck even a millimeter. "According to the quantum hypothesis proposed by Schrödinger, as long as I do not observe the subject, Class Monitor Fu Hua exists in a superposition of both being there and not being there! Therefore, as long as I don't look, Class Monitor Fu Hua is absolutely not standing behind me!"
He slammed his hands on the table and shot out of his chair. "Right! I just remembered I have something incredibly urgent to do! I'll take my leave! [Six Domains: Sky]!"
With a sharp crack of displaced air, Rovel vanished from the cafe entirely.
Silence descended upon the table.
Himeko slowly looked up from her coffee. Standing exactly where Rovel had been sitting a second ago was Fu Hua. The Class Monitor's face was an unreadable mask, though the tips of her ears were burning a bright, furious red.
"It seems our dear classmate Fu Hua is a bit troubled," Himeko purred, resting her chin on her hands. "Would you like to sit down and have a chat? This big sister is more than willing to offer some life guidance."
Fu Hua stood frozen for several long seconds. Finally, she let out a quiet sigh and took a seat in the chair Rovel had just hastily evacuated. It was still warm.
She stared down at the wooden table, her eyes darting evasively. "Major Himeko... I... have a friend."
Himeko's lips twitched upward into a full-blown smirk. She leaned in, acting as though she had just discovered a new continent. "Is that so? A 'friend'? My, that is quite rare for you."
Fu Hua's cheeks flushed a deeper shade of crimson. Even she didn't believe her own terrible excuse. Where would she even get a friend to ask for romantic advice?
Did Rovel count?
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