“Mmm~ Why are you so generous this time?”
Luo Taozhi popped a shrimp dumpling into her mouth and looked at the table filled with various dishes of Cantonese Morning Tea. She didn’t even lift her head, and her voice was muffled as she spoke.
“It’s a group buy set meal. Just eat. Don’t finish it all, though; there’s a portion for me too!”
Luo Taozhi wasn’t paying attention to Xiao Nanchu at the moment, otherwise, she would have certainly seen the guilt in his eyes.
Xiao Nanchu’s current mood was a bit complicated.
What was wrong with him just now? How could he have made that kind of move? His hand had reached out almost involuntarily.
While it wasn’t a huge deal, the fact that he had made such a gesture and that the subsequent desire had even appeared in his mind was the most terrifying part.
Looking at how Luo Taozhi didn’t seem to care at all, it was clear she trusted him deeply, yet his mind had been filled with things that shouldn’t be there…
‘Is it because I’ve been single for too long? Is it suppressed desire? …’
The girl wolfing down food across the table didn’t have good manners; in fact, her eating habits were even worse than before.
He remembered that when they used to go out to eat, she was quite shy at first. Though she became more unrestrained once they grew closer…
Even then, she was much better than she was now. It was probably because of her face, but she still looked quite cute.
Still, Xiao Nanchu couldn’t help but comment.
“I’m just saying, no one is fighting you for it. Why are you eating so fast?”
Luo Taozhi didn’t even look up, only taking a moment to reply.
“Try eating boiled cabbage for hundreds of years and see how you feel.”
That was a bit of an exaggeration. There were actually many things to eat, but the flavors brought by modern technology were simply too tempting.
“It can’t be that bad. In such a vast world with Spiritual Energy, isn’t there any delicious, natural food?”
“There is. Some fruits taste pretty good, but they would just kill a normal person.”
Heh, everyone was working hard to cultivate, and the plants that could grow fruit were no exception. Why would they waste extra energy growing fruit? They didn’t need animals to spread their seeds.
Under such circumstances, was it not obvious whether a plant growing fruit wanted you to eat it, or wanted to eat you?
To be fair, the fruit grown by such plants was indeed excellent. To attract humans or Demonic Beasts to eat them, they usually didn’t just taste good but also provided a certain amount of help with cultivation.
But… in the end, they were just fruit. No matter how much those unsophisticated plants evolved, they couldn’t evolve flavors they had never encountered.
All they could do was strengthen their own natural taste and efficacy. After eating them for a long time, one would grow tired of them. They couldn’t compare to the rich variety of flavors brought by modern synthetic technology.
“Kill them? Surely not…”
Hearing Luo Taozhi’s words, Xiao Nanchu found it hard to believe.
“For normal people, it’s more or’ less the same. Why would I lie to you about such a trivial matter?”
Swallowing the last bite of a siu mai, Luo Taozhi glanced at the dazed Xiao Nanchu and lightly tapped the table to snap him back to his senses.
“Ahem, let’s talk about some serious business.”
“Ah, right.”
“Remember when I said this game wasn’t simple?”
“Huh? Oh, I remember. But I already knew that. The game definitely isn’t simple. For such era-defining equipment and technology to appear without a single whisper beforehand is just ridiculous!!”
Xiao Nanchu followed her lead, but Luo Taozhi shook her head.
“No, that’s not what I meant by ‘not simple.’ I suspect there’s something wrong with the game itself. It’s very likely that this isn’t just a game, but…”
“Are you trying to say it’s ‘Another World’? That the game is invading reality?”
Xiao Nanchu was quick to accept the idea. After all, Luo Taozhi’s appearance already proved the existence of another world. One more game invading reality would just be…
“Invading reality?!!”
“Well… I don’t know. It might, or it might not. Regardless, I’m basically certain that this game is Another World.”
“I see…”
After hearing Luo Taozhi’s words, Xiao Nanchu fell silent.
He was indifferent to such things. In fact, he almost hoped it was true.
Reality was a rotten game—too boring, and he didn’t like it.
If the game truly descended and merged with this world, it would be a good thing for him.
But that was assuming he was alone.
In reality, he still had his parents… If the game truly merged with reality, what would happen to his parents who were currently abroad?
He didn’t know, and he didn’t dare to imagine it.
Seeing the silent Xiao Nanchu, Luo Taozhi stood up from her chair. She leaned one hand on the table and made an effort to place her other hand on Xiao Nanchu’s head.
“Don’t worry, you have me. For now, the monsters in the game aren’t that scary. Based on their performance…”
Luo Taozhi thought for a moment before giving an answer that sounded somewhat familiar to Xiao Nanchu.
“The power and attributes at Level 10 are basically equivalent to Qi Refining Level 5, I think? But that’s just raw attributes. If it comes down to a real fight, there are many factors to consider.”
Level 10 was equal to Qi Refining Level 5?
Xiao Nanchu was stunned. If that was the answer, then it was a bit too much of a coincidence.
“Then what about your level during the Foundation Establishment Stage?”
“Me?” Luo Taozhi reacted quickly. She had mentioned before that she had been struck back to this world by lightning while breaking through from the Foundation Establishment Stage to the Golden Core Stage.
“That’s hard to say. The combat power of the Foundation Establishment Stage is quite different from Qi Refining, and I haven’t seen any high-level characters in the game yet, so it’s hard to judge. But if we follow the same logic as the Qi Refining Stage…”
Luo Taozhi made an estimate.
“The four stages—early, middle, late, and peak Foundation Establishment—probably represent Level 25, Level 30, Level 35, and Level 40. It’s something like that.”
“The Golden Core Stage is even more different. The four stages of early, middle, late, and peak probably represent Level 50, Level 70, Level 90, and 110 respectively.”
“That much of a difference?!” Xiao Nanchu was shocked. According to Luo Taozhi, the Elders of the Immortal Sect he had joined were all Golden Cores. That meant even the weakest one was Level 50?!
“Actually, the gap is even larger. I’m only talking about the difference in basic attributes so that you can understand. Just like in a game, can a Level 50 character with no gear compare to a Level 50 character with god-tier equipment?”
Luo Taozhi explained patiently to Xiao Nanchu. After all, he was her only remaining friend in this world.
Seeing that Xiao Nanchu finally understood the gravity of the situation, Luo Taozhi nodded in satisfaction.
“But don’t worry. No matter what this game is, there will be a period of time for the invasion and fusion to occur. As long as you level up quickly, everything will be fine.”
Having said that, Luo Taozhi seemed to remember something.
“Since your ID is Xiao Nanchu, which Novice Village are you in? Were you the first to kill a monster? Did you get any hidden tasks? What level is the top player on your village’s Level Leaderboard? …”