Su Wanwan narrowed her eyes, pretending to be fast asleep. After some time had passed, she slowly opened her eyes a sliver. Seeing that Lin Mo was showing no reaction at all, she quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Su Wanwan had never realized she could be such a greedy woman—it had to be because of this body. Otherwise, how could she, Su Wanwan, possibly…
Although, although Lin Mo hadn’t shown the slightest hint of dissatisfaction—in fact, after the two of them came out of the bath, he had even gently said, “Master… please choose an auspicious date… we can hold the wedding soon…”
Su Wanwan lowered her head and softly replied with a hum.
Lin Mo was her ideal type, the white moonlight so many people longed for but could never reach. This kind of development, for Su Wanwan, was the best arrangement she could hope for.
In truth, she felt a bit worried—afraid that her own boldness might have startled Lin Mo, or that Lin Mo would suddenly turn cold and heartless.
But as things stood, she realized she’d been overthinking it. No one understood Lin Mo better than she did; otherwise, she wouldn’t have let down all her defenses. In the end, an overwhelming sense of security enveloped her, making her certain she had not chosen wrong.
She liked Lin Mo.
If, if the apocalypse ended—
She would marry Lin Mo.
Even if she was a teacher.
And he was her student.
Thinking this, Su Wanwan’s face flushed bright red. Bathed in moonlight, she gazed at the only man in her life.
She cherished this hard-won affection.
But soon, a wave of panic surged in her heart.
If—if she didn’t survive the apocalypse—
Lin Mo would be devastated, wouldn’t he?
To her, Lin Mo was the one she liked, someone she could lower her guard around and cherish. But to Lin Mo, she was not only the beloved who would accompany him for the rest of his life. She believed that, in Lin Mo’s heart, her existence had an even deeper meaning—something far from just being a suitable match.
From this moment on, Su Wanwan suddenly felt she was no longer living just for herself.
Even if only for Lin Mo, she had to keep living.
She hadn’t married Lin Mo yet.
She wanted to become his bride.
As midnight approached, the clock struck twelve.
Compared to yesterday, she felt a bit more responsible, as if she’d grown up overnight.
“Don’t worry. Your teacher won’t die.”
“Begin simulation.”
[Simulation activated.]
[Currently acquired talents: Heavenly Yin Sacred Body (Purple), Telepathy (Purple), Dream Path Three Thousand (Gold).]
[Drawing for new talent…]
Su Wanwan immediately looked at the panel.
[Winged Together (Gold): In the heavens, may we be a pair of winged birds; on earth, may we be branches that intertwine. Though more and more people scoff at this, if you truly meet the right person, what choice will you make? Even if forever must end one day, everything is up to you. Effect: The deeper the bond between two people, the more astonishing their potential; when their feelings reach the peak, all talent effects ×2.]
[Shadow Follows Form (Gold): Kill your body, but the deep bond between you cannot be severed. From this moment, you are his shadow; as long as he lives, you will never part. Effect: Unlock life token, reside in the shadow of a designated person. If he lives, so do you. But from now on, you cannot stray too far from him, or the life token will shatter and Shadow Follows Form will be lost.]
[Sword of Causality (Red): This sword cannot cut any material thing in the world, but it can sever the ’cause’ at the origin of all things. To exist is to exist—but what if it never existed to begin with? Effect: Unlocks the Eye of Truth, allowing you to perceive the primordial state of things and choose whether to annihilate them. Note: If you annihilate a cause that should have existed, you change the trajectory of things. But have you considered that, perhaps, it is because of you that a destined cause is fulfilled?]
Su Wanwan really didn’t know which to pick.
Gold, gold, red.
Ah, what the… what’s with this red one?
It was her first time discovering that the talent pool even had red talents!
What was up with today?
Could it be that, because she was with Lin Mo, her luck had quietly improved?
Now that she thought about it, it was the same last time—when she was chatting with Lin Mo, she drew the gold Dream Path Three Thousand.
Maybe being around Lin Mo really did bring good luck.
Or was she just throwing her head in for a meal ticket?
Su Wanwan started to waver.
If she was given three Purples, she’d still get selection anxiety and have to pick very carefully.
Now it was two Golds and one Red.
Honestly, she was truly tempted by those two golds.
Winged Together (Gold) gave an all-talent effect ×2. Even putting aside the six empty talent slots, just with her current talents—take the Heavenly Yin Sacred Body, for example—if its effect was doubled, her Sacred Body would grow at an even faster rate, not to mention all her basic attributes would also double. It was the strongest gold talent she had ever seen.
As for Shadow Follows Form (Gold), its effect was even more enticing. Although it didn’t grant extra abilities, just the fact that if he lived, so did she, made it the strongest life-saving talent. Of course, Su Wanwan only thought this way because she knew Lin Mo. Either way, with this talent, it was like carrying a protective talisman—unless they encountered something even Lin Mo couldn’t handle.
But after careful consideration, the first talent Su Wanwan gave up was Shadow Follows Form (Gold).
It wasn’t that living in Lin Mo’s shadow would make her uncomfortable—after all, with the apocalypse about to descend, there was no right to fuss over such things—but because that would make her feel like a parasite.
She could rely on Lin Mo, but if—just if—Lin Mo ever faced an enemy so strong that not even he could win…
At present, Su Wanwan’s understanding of the apocalypse was very limited, and most of what she knew had only been learned bit by bit with Lin Mo’s help.
What if, in Su Wanwan’s eyes, the apocalypse was only the omen before the real storm?
If, one day, even Lin Mo…
She was Lin Mo’s teacher.
Not just someone who liked him.
If, in the future, Lin Mo ever fell into danger and all she could do was stand by and watch…
No.
Even if there was little she could do, she hoped to do whatever she could.
As she had always said—she was Lin Mo’s teacher.
Just as Lin Mo protected her, she too wanted to protect him.
Of course, this was just something Su Wanwan thought to herself; she’d never dare say it out loud to anyone.
A powerhouse like Lin Mo—what protection did he need from her?
So now, only Winged Together (Gold) and Sword of Causality (Red) were left.
Su Wanwan was torn. Winged Together (Gold) was the strongest gold talent she’d ever seen, but she couldn’t be sure whether Sword of Causality (Red)’s effect would actually help her survive the apocalypse.
Double her talents, or sever causality?
Gold talents could probably still be drawn in the future, but red talents…
She’d gamble!
She chose Sword of Causality (Red).
[You have chosen Sword of Causality (Red).]
[Currently acquired talents: Heavenly Yin Sacred Body (Purple), Telepathy (Purple), Dream Path Three Thousand (Gold), Sword of Causality (Red).]
Su Wanwan didn’t notice that when she chose Sword of Causality, her first talent slot—the one that had evolved from Teacher’s Virtue (White) to Heavenly Yin Sacred Body (Purple)—faintly glimmered with a trace of golden light, which vanished in a flash.
[Simulation activated.]
[Within the black blood rain, scarlet blood is mixed in.]
[One drop, two drops, three drops.]
[Blood gushes like a spring.]
[It turns out that after the blood rain, the true apocalypse begins!]
[You thought it was your own blood, but you didn’t feel any pain. This struck you as odd. You found you could still move and, inexplicably, looked up to the sky.]
[You saw countless grotesque monsters descending from the heavens. A chill ran through your body, but you didn’t lose the will to survive. You pulled yourself together—then suddenly saw an incredible sight.
You found the source of the red blood.
It was… an endless, surging sea of blood, beautiful yet laced with irresistible danger. Like a work of art, it blocked you and the monsters with a sky-darkening presence. In that instant, the entire sky seemed dyed blood-red.
What is it?]