Lin Ran really didn’t expect the personality of this mimic to change so drastically.
No wonder she’s a Landmine Woman…
As for means of resistance…
Affection Handgun… out of charges.
Transform into a slime?
No way.
Once he became a slime, the fleshy cocoon would only compress tighter, leaving no space to return to human form.
Portal?
Even worse.
He had to return to the original transmission point to use it again. All escape routes were blocked.
At a glance, there was nothing he could do.
What about the reward for reaching 55 affection points?
Lin Ran thought of this instinctively.
[Ding~ Since the mimic’s base affection is already as high as 20, the reward for raising affection can only be issued at 70 affection (like) or higher]
[Considering the host’s urgent situation, the system is issuing 1 strength point as an emergency]
“You might as well go to sleep.”
Lin Ran muttered in his heart.
The fleshy walls around him continued to contract, making it harder and harder to breathe.
The pressure on his lungs was making his mind sluggish.
Damn… there must be a way, why can’t I think of one?
Not good… The oxygen deprivation is getting worse, I really can’t think anymore.
That one point of strength from the system was utterly useless against the mimic’s pressure.
The most urgent problem to solve… was breathing!
At that moment—
“Master! Breathe!”
A cool, moist, soft sensation pressed against his lips.
A stream of air was forced into his lungs.
Lin Ran opened his eyes from the darkness.
He saw Lim’s face.
Only half of her body had entered, and she was mouth-to-mouth, delivering air into him.
The other half was still outside.
She had forcibly squeezed through from outside the mimic to supply him with oxygen in his desperate state.
Her lower half must have been enduring immense pressure from the mimic’s closure.
If not for the slime body’s convenience, Lin Ran wouldn’t have been surprised if Lim had been suddenly severed by the mimic.
Once he had oxygen, his mind instantly cleared.
The solution he couldn’t think of just moments before suddenly poured into his head.
Lin Ran cleared his throat and shouted:
“Hey! Sorry, Meat Monster, but like this, I have a wife! I can’t cheat!”
“Wife… Eh… Cheat…??”
Hearing this, the first to fall into confusion was actually Lim.
Two completely different emotions flooded her mind at once.
One was the shyness and excitement from being called “wife” by Lin Ran.
The other was the shock and confusion from the word “cheat.”
She couldn’t make sense of the situation at all.
In short——
[Ding! Lim is temporarily confused by your words. Affection +5!]
[Congratulations, host, you have completed Lim’s ‘Reliable Partner’ mission. Profession issued!]
[Profession is being randomly assigned! Please wait!]
Lin Ran’s primary goal in saying this was to go straight for the objective and finish Lim’s mission first.
After all, it was a profession.
As long as the system didn’t mess up, any combat-related profession would greatly boost his fighting power.
The second goal was…
“Uwah——! Don’t praise her! I was here first! You promised to always be with me——!”
The next moment, her voice turned cold.
“Wife or husband, whatever.”
“If I keep you here, that so-called wife won’t exist, right?”
Before the words faded, a tentacle shot down from the ceiling, piercing through Lin Ran’s chest and Lim’s head in an instant.
“Die… die… die…”
Yes, Lin Ran’s second objective was to thoroughly enrage the mimic.
Only then could he drag her into an all-out battle.
And then, let her see just how vast the gap between her and Lim really was!
—No matter how badly Lin Ran was injured, or how Lim’s head was blown apart, neither showed a trace of panic at that moment.
In the next instant, Lim reverted to her original form.
Her entire body turned into a slime, swelling to dozens of times its normal size.
“Boom——!”
With a thunderous noise, the fleshy cage trapping Lin Ran was blasted apart by Lim.
Lin Ran was finally freed from the oxygen crisis, gulping down fresh air while using his slime powers to heal himself.
But the fight was just beginning.
In the sky, the mimic went completely berserk, unleashing tens of thousands of tentacles like a torrential downpour.
Lim didn’t back down, swallowing every tentacle that came her way.
Facing the endless assault, Lim’s body was punctured several times, ooze leaking out.
But Lin Ran would always rush to the wounds immediately, using his slime healing ability to patch Lim up.
Still, this was the inside of the mimic, and half of Lim’s body was still outside, limiting her strength.
Yet, even so…
Lim held the upper hand throughout.
The more tentacles there were, the easier her digestion became.
This little glutton wasn’t just holding her ground—her eyes were shining as she enjoyed a rare all-you-can-eat buffet.
“You’re underestimating my… cough! Wife!”
Lin Ran watched Lim fight with immense pride.
He remembered how tiny she’d been at first, how he’d given her a name and some food, and now she was this strong…
Hmm…
A slime was supposed to be a starter monster… the weakest monster…
Just giving her a name made her this ridiculous?
How terrifying was his magic, anyway!
“Don’t say such embarrassing things at a time like this and distract me!”
Lim had turned entirely pink, devouring tentacles while grumbling at Lin Ran.
Lin Ran noticed and quickly shut up, continuing to play support.
At that moment, the system finished the randomization——
[Ding! Your profession has been assigned!]
[Congratulations! Your profession is HR Manager of a major corporation! And you’re one of the company’s founders, with a chance of promotion to Chairman!]
[A stable and promising job gives you a huge advantage in romance!]
Ah… right…
This stupid system really was from an era of peace.
Expecting anything from it was his own mistake.
Lin Ran shook his head.
Hmm… Eye of Romance Detection… why is there new content?
What’s this “Eye of Talent Appraisal”?
What is it? Let’s try it.
[Target: Lim (Rare Slime Species, Slime Girl, Slime Baby)]
[System evaluation: A top-tier hand at watering and healing, but not suited for tasks requiring high intelligence]
[Loyalty: 100 (She is completely loyal to you)]
[Work abilities: Watering level (3), Healing level (2), Transporting level (1)]
[Work attributes: Strength · 13, Stamina · 5, Intelligence · 2 (max 2), Endurance · 3]
[Free allocation points: 5 (You may assign them as you wish!)]
Crap, System Bro, I spoke out loud again!
…