“Now, looking at it, there’s still some time before dawn. How about getting some more wine?” Chu Qianze suggested but didn’t hear a response. Glancing to the side, he saw Zong Xinjue staring at the wine glass in his hand, completely focused.
“Hey, snap out of it.” He raised his hand and gave him a light pat.
“What’s wrong?” Zong Xinjue finished the remaining wine in one go, unfazed.
“What are you so fascinated by? If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were in a trance.”
Chu Qianze raised the wine jug in his hand. “Want some more?”
“I’m just surprised,”
Zong Xinjue handed over the cup and continued, “Someone like you actually has a beloved.”
“Who do you think you are? You’re just a single dog.” Chu Qianze retorted, but the person remained unusually silent.
“Did I hit the mark?”
“Pour the wine,” Zong Xinjue urged.
“Instead of wasting time on love, why not play some games? What’s good about being in a relationship? It’s a waste of time, energy, and money. In the end, you might even be left behind by others.”
“You’re just sour grapes.”
Chu Qianze asserted his sophistication, claiming to be on a different level, and retracted the motion to pour the wine.
“The wine hasn’t been poured yet,” Zong Xinjue reminded.
“Want to drink? Find it yourself.” Chu Qianze hugged the wine jug, leaned back again, and began pondering the matters of this world.
From the things the system provided earlier, it seemed like the protagonist was in an ambiguous stage with many people. According to this analogy, there were quite a few potential candidates.
This is ridiculous. Do I have to explore them one by one?
Recalling the list, he set his gaze on Zong Xinjue.
“Hey, Zong Xinjue,” Chu Qianze spoke.
“What’s the matter?”
“How do you find me?”
Chu Qianze turned to face him with a relaxed expression, waiting for an answer.
Zong Xinjue looked at Chu Qianze, momentarily stunned. Then he lowered his head, playing with the cup in his hand, and said, “I don’t have any feelings for you.”
“Tch, who asked you that?”
Chu Qianze took a sip of his drink and turned away, his back facing Zong Xinjue.
I must be out of my mind to ask such a stupid question.
The one at home always likes me so much every time. How could he possibly cut me down and steal my stuff?
He silently lowered Zong Xinjue’s likelihood to a minimum.
Sighing, Chu Qianze lifted the arm holding the wine jug. Seeing no response, he shook the things in his hand. “You wanted to drink, right? Get it yourself.”
Zong Xinjue took the wine jug, and then Chu Qianze continued.
“Don’t use your mouth directly; remember to pour it into a cup.”
The already inexplicably irritable mood worsened a bit at this moment.
“Annoying.”
Chu Qianze casually said, “You don’t even have a good reason to find it bothersome.”
“No need,” Zong Xinjue replied with a cold expression.
Chu Qianze chuckled, turned around, and said, “So, Mr. Zong, what are your thoughts on the attire for this mission? Do you think it’s fantastic, opening the door to a new world?”
At the mention of this, recent memories flashed through Zong Xinjue’s mind. He tightened the hand holding the wine jug, feeling like he was about to explode.
Looking back, he said, “I actually think this outfit would suit you better.”
“Oh, come on, you’re too modest.”
Seeing that Zong Xinjue wasn’t in a good mood, Chu Qianze felt satisfied.
“The mission develops in a certain way, and it must have its own standards, proving that you’re more suitable than me.”
Chu Qianze stretched lazily and sat up, examining the person across from him.
Because the clothes were a bit small, the collar was stretched open, revealing a robust chest. Interestingly, the other person’s waist was slender. In contrast, the visual effect was simply perfect. The clothes showcased his inverted triangle figure vividly, not feeling awkward at all but exuding a unique sensuality.
Chu Qianze said, “Don’t say, it actually looks quite good and has a certain charm.”
This statement sounded like he was deliberately stirring trouble.
The string named “reason” tightened rapidly, reaching a dangerously fragile point. Zong Xinjue’s voice deepened, “If you want to level down, just say it.”
Feeling the other’s hostility, Chu Qianze’s expression also turned cold.
Falling levels at the slightest provocation really need to be taught a lesson.
“If you want to bring up old matters, I’m game.”
He crossed his legs, resting them on the edge of the bed, and glanced at the attribute panel for Zong Xinjue in his system.
Special Character Zong Xinjue, Level 9 (Mission Interference)]
So many unexpected things happened on this mission. He wasn’t sure what suppressing the opponent’s level during the wedding banquet meant, but he had to admit it was well done!
Chu Qianze raised a playful smile. “Don’t cry if you lose later.”
“Are you talking about yourself?” Zong Xinjue sneered, his voice carrying an inexplicable sense of mockery.
In the next moment, both of them sprung into action.
The heavy sniper appeared in Chu Qianze’s hand, and he fired a shot directly at Zong Xinjue.
Zong Xinjue raised a giant shield, blocking the bullet, and then swung his arms to sweep it away.
The room was too small for long-range attacks.
Chu Qianze bounced off the bed, evading the attack, and rushed forward. The heavy sniper in his hand quickly transformed into a mechanical long knife.
Facing the incoming long knife, Zong Xinjue stepped backward, tilting his body, and waved the giant shield in his hand.
Block!
The blade passed by, grazing his abdomen and leaving a large cut in the wedding attire, revealing his well-defined abdominal muscles.
Zong Xinjue was slightly stunned by the damage to the wedding attire, and then the next attack came.
“Wait!” he exclaimed.
“You said wait, so I should wait?” Chu Qianze directly swung the blade down.
Zong Xinjue was prepared to dodge, but the lower part of his clothes slipped off, unnoticed, and ended up tripping him.
With his center of gravity shifted, hindered by the fabric, he staggered in a circle and unexpectedly fell straight toward Chu Qianze.
This turn of events was unexpected for Chu Qianze. Seeing the person rapidly approaching, he moved his wrist, placing the long blade horizontally in the middle.
With a slight movement, Zong Xinjue’s elbow was suspended in front of him, bringing the giant shield into collision with the long blade.
As soon as they made contact, a reactionary force followed, and they each landed on opposite corners of the room.
“Your profession…” Zong Xinjue realized something was wrong. He hadn’t seen this person use the skills displayed just now before.
An opportunity!
The long blade in his hand transformed back into a firearm, raised and aimed at Zong Xinjue.
The entire process was tightly paced and coherent, yet Chu Qianze felt helpless.
His body was too slow.
By the time he aimed, there was no figure in front of him.
It’s teleportation!
A strong force hit him, and Zong Xinjue hooked Chu Qianze’s neck with his elbow.
“Temporary ceasefire.” Zong Xinjue worried that the person might break free from the restraint, exerting a bit more force in his hand, but refraining from delivering the attack.
Chu Qianze grabbed onto this person’s elbow, his eyes flickering. “Why?”
“If one side dies, it will result in a mission failure.” So, you can’t die right now.
“Is that all?”
Worried that this person might play some tricks, Zong Xinjue said, “Any questions or disputes can be settled in the arena. We can fight as many times as you want.”
“Oh, then it’s settled.” Chu Qianze’s tone carried a hint of regret.
Regret?
Zong Xinjue doubted if he had misheard. Realizing something, he glanced back and then froze.
At some point, two firearms were suspended in the air, their barrels aimed directly at his… head.
If he had just attacked, the mission would indeed fail, because the reason would be the death of a player.
But the one who might have died could have been himself.
“Let’s stop. Release your hand and stay away from me. It’s hot.”
One of the firearms returned to Chu Qianze’s side and, after disassembling, disappeared into the air.
Zong Xinjue released him, still feeling a bit shaken by the scene just now.
“When did you…”
“What thing?”
Chu Qianze slid his fingers in the air a few times, and the other firearm also disassembled into small parts, dispersing and vanishing into the air.
“How did you do that?”
He didn’t even notice it himself.
Chu Qianze said, “How should I put it…”
In essence, when I saw you using teleportation on the cliff, it seemed suitable in the current situation, so I made preparations in advance.
But explaining it is a bit troublesome.
Just give the conclusion.
“It’s probably intuition.”
Quite perfunctory.
Seeing that Chu Qianze didn’t want to explain further, Zong Xinjue didn’t have the habit of pressing for answers.
The wedding attire on his body was basically completely ruined. He glanced at the clothes that had lost their covering function and thought for a moment but decided not to take them off. Instead, he tidied them up.
[Special Mission: Wedding Complete (Completed)]
“Congratulations on completing the wedding~” Mogu’s voice echoed in the room, carrying sweet blessings.
“From today onwards, you two are officially a married couple.”
“Ah, although it’s inevitable for the wedding night to be exciting, it doesn’t have to be like this. You’ve ruined all the clothes.” Her voice became coy, seemingly shy.
Zong Xinjue’s mouth twitched; was she talking about him?
“Can we go back now?” Chu Qianze sat on a small stool. He was more interested in knowing when they could leave this place.
“Don’t be in a hurry; I’ll send you back soon.” Mogu’s voice was gentle and soft.
Zong Xinjue opened the character panel, intending to change back into his previous clothes, but found that the option was grayed out. He couldn’t change outfits without leaving the mission scene.
“Since you two lovebirds have come together, I should give you something to share the joy.” After saying this, Mogu conjured two boxes in the air. “These are your dowries. You must stay together, okay?”
Taking the boxes, Chu Qianze thanked her, awaiting Mogu to send him back.
The three of them stared at each other for a moment, and finally, Mogu spoke, “Why don’t you two open and see what’s inside?”
Chu Qianze shifted his gaze to Zong Xinjue, repeating the question.
“Aren’t you going to open it?” Zong Xinjue pursed his lips, then opened the box, only to find it empty.
[Received experience reward]
[Congratulations to player Zong Xinjue for reaching level 32]
Zong Xinjue’s eyes revealed understanding; he smirked and then closed the box.
“You can get experience from this?”
Chu Qianze was stunned. Wasn’t it said that special missions only yielded items? So much experience, and he even leveled up. What kind of incredible luck was this!
“What did you get?” Zong Xinjue asked.
Chu Qianze directly opened his box, revealing two rings inside.
[Harmony Ring 0: Cannot be dropped. When worn, experience bonus +30%, defense increased by 20%, agility increased by 20%. Can choose to help the wearer of Ring 1 bear damage.]
[Harmony Ring 1: Cannot be dropped. When worn, experience bonus +30%, attack power increased by 20%, agility increased by 20%. Can choose to help the wearer of Ring 0 bear damage.]
Seeing this equipment, a hint of envy flashed in Zong Xinjue’s eyes.
“I believe you both have received the gifts I gave you. A couple should stick together through thick and thin.”
Mogu smiled gently. “Although they aren’t anything important, they can help you face crises together. One for each of you… Huh?”
Seeing both rings in Chu Qianze’s hands, Mogu murmured, “Strange. I distinctly placed them in separate boxes. How come one is empty? Could it be that I made a mistake?”
Chu Qianze clearly heard this, glancing at Zong Xinjue beside him.
After Mogu mumbled to herself for a moment, she cleared her throat lightly. “These rings are gifts from me to you. One for each of you.”
[Mission: Mogu hopes you will give the Harmony Ring 0 to the player Zong Xinjue. Only after completing this will she send you away.]
Glancing at the panel, Chu Qianze’s mouth twitched. He tossed the ring he held to Zong Xinjue. “Here.”
[Mission completed]
[Experience gained]
[Congratulations to player Chen Qianli for reaching level 11]
[Mogu’s favorability +20]
[Rating: A devoted and good man]
Zong Xinjue took the ring and examined it, his expression turning somewhat peculiar when he understood the equipment’s attributes.
“Are you sure you want to give this to me?”
This equipment was extremely rare, not to mention its enhancements. The fact that it was bound for life and couldn’t be dropped alone was enough to drive most players crazy.
“Take it. How you handle it is up to you. If you think it’s useless, you can toss it away,” Chu Qianze said indifferently.
“Thank you.”
Zong Xinjue accepted the equipment.
“Alright, my wish is fulfilled. I’ll now escort both of you out. The things that fell down with you, I’ll send them back up too,” Mogu’s voice carried a hint of amusement as a thin mist enveloped the surroundings.
The two returned to the cliff.
As Chu Qianze steadied himself, he noticed a bamboo basket lying nearby. Walking over, he saw that the herbs they had gathered were inside.
Picking up the Celestial Grass, he examined it and mentally gave a five-star rating to Mogu.
At that moment, he observed Zong Xinjue summoning a giant shield, waving it a few times in his hands as if testing its feel.
Is he coming to settle the score now?
Chu Qianze casually averted his gaze, silently preparing himself.
Zong Xinjue placed the giant shield on the ground, switched back to his original equipment, and approached Chu Qianze. “Come with me to the arena.”
“Now?”
“Indeed, you should have a hidden profession, right? Use that to spar with me.” Excitement surged in Zong Xinjue at the thought of encountering an unfamiliar profession and skills.
“Do you know about it?” Chu Qianze was somewhat curious. Despite searching the forums several times, he hadn’t found any information related to this profession.
“I’ll find out during our match,” Zong Xinjue replied eagerly.
“Oh, so you’re not aware either. Forget about the arena; I’m quite busy right now and don’t have the time. Let’s postpone this, and I’ll look for you when I have some free time.”
Chu Qianze slung the bamboo basket over his back and began summoning his flying device.
“Aren’t you eager to kill me once? Now’s a perfect opportunity,” he remarked.
Zong Xinjue grew anxious.
Seeing Zong Xinjue’s agitation, Chu Qianze, on the contrary, remained calm and composed.
As the flying device materialized, Chu Qianze stepped onto it and made it spin. “I have a mission to attend to. We’ll discuss this later. Until we meet again~”
With that, he controlled the device to descend leisurely.
Upon landing, he retracted the flying device and headed towards the beginner’s village.
Arriving at the apothecary, he noticed someone reclining in a chair, eyes closed. Chu Qianze walked over, took the bamboo basket, and placed it beside the person on the ground.
“Old Doc, take a look at what I found for you!”
Upon hearing this, the elderly doctor opened his eyes, casually glanced over, and was immediately captivated.
“Is this… Celestial Grass?” He stood up, picked up the bundle of herbs from the bamboo basket, and examined them closely. “Indeed, it’s Celestial Grass. You’re not bad, kid, to have found this.”
“Impressive, right?” Chu Qianze crouched down, inspecting it together.
“Quite impressive. Generally, there are guardian monsters around this herb. You bringing it back is a stroke of good luck,” the old doctor remarked.
“There are monsters too?” Chu Qianze blinked, expressing his confusion.
In [Identifying Herbs],the book only covered characteristics, growing environments, and such, without mentioning guardian monsters.
“Yes, indeed. This Celestial Grass is of high quality, and it’s clear it had a guardian monster. The level wasn’t low either. You’ve got quite the luck, kid,” the old doctor chuckled.
Chu Qianze stared at the Celestial Grass, recalling the earlier encounter with Zong Xinjue on the cliff.
The bloodstains at the bottom of the giant shield, the slightly disheveled appearance, the vanished spirit beast… and so on.
So, did I just luck into this opportunity?
“…Is it really true?”
“Young man, how about selling me this Celestial Grass? I see you have a talent for herbs. I’ll give you a book on pharmaceuticals,” the old doctor stroked his beard, speaking slowly.
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![He Lived Like You [End of the World]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/HLLY.jpg "He Lived Like You [End of the World]")
