Chapter 115: Harder to Coax Than a Boyfriend
[Pika Pika]: Ah? Really? I have a chance to be the boss?
[Wuli Wala]: Wait… the server-wide rank one? Why is she in our zone?
[Dream Valley]: I don’t even dare to open my eyes. Please let this just be a hallucination…
[Do You Believe In Light]: Uh… I thought our zone had secretly merged with a top player’s zone. But then I checked our zone number, and now I’m even more confused.
[Amazing Miss]: This is so exciting! Qing Qi and his gang are finally dead! Everyone, support me to become the new boss, and I promise to make sure we all live a good life!
Watching countless players jump at the chance to become the new leader, Lin Huai spoke again. “Sphinx, look. There are still plenty of ambitious players in your zone. If you cultivate a new one, they might become even stronger than Qing Qi.”
The Sphinx snorted. “None of them are as strong as you. If you stay and become my rank one, I will let your two friends go back.”
Lin Huai spread her hands helplessly. “If you want me to stay, shouldn’t you ask Old Hei if he agrees first?”
“I already asked him. Old Hei said that as long as I have the ability to make you stay, he’ll allow it.” The Sphinx’s mechanical voice gradually turned smug. “As long as I disable your Zone Transfer Card, ensuring you can never switch zones again, keeping you here will be effortless, won’t it?”
Lin Huai felt genuinely helpless. This situation was quite tricky. The system assistant was invisible and intangible; she couldn’t fight it even if she wanted to.
She was just about to agree, planning to play along for the moment, when a black cat suddenly appeared without warning. As if condensing straight from the shadows, it landed completely silently on the hood of her hearse.
Lin Huai blinked. Through the front windshield, she and the black cat stared at each other, eyes wide.
Its fur was pure, unbroken black without a single stray hair, looking as smooth as fine silk. Its sleek form radiated the unique, quiet agility and power of a feline. But its most striking feature was its eyes—deep emerald green with sharp vertical pupils, like staring into a bottomless ocean.
It didn’t bare its fangs or hiss. It merely gazed at Lin Huai inside the cabin with a quiet, scrutinizing arrogance.
The Sphinx had been constantly urging Lin Huai to agree, but the moment the black cat appeared, its voice cut off. As Lin Huai froze, it was as if the Sphinx was suddenly choking, its electronic voice silenced in an instant.
“Meow~”
The black cat opened its mouth and let out a soft cry. To Lin Huai’s shock, the Zone Transfer Card in her hand instantly lit up!
She could go back!
The teleportation circle flared to life and then vanished just as quickly. Glancing at the sub-zone number and the familiar player list on her screen, Lin Huai let out a long sigh of relief. “I’m finally back.”
In their private group chat, Peace and Violence and the young heiress were also reeling from the scare.
[Jiangzhehu Inheritor]: Boss, I was so scared! After you gave the order to retreat, I instantly pulled all our supplies from the market and activated my Zone Transfer Card, but it didn’t respond at all. I really thought I was trapped there…
[Peace and Violence]: It was the same for me. The card suddenly froze up without any reaction, and my information vehicle couldn’t even detect what was causing the anomaly.
[AAA Building Materials Old Wang]: Damn, your little trip turned out to be a real thriller.
Lin Huai didn’t have time to reply to the group just yet. The very first thing she did after returning was search for that black cat.
Based on her observations from both her past and present lives, Lin Huai knew very well that cats sat at the very top of the food chain in this survival game. The authority of feline administrators was absolute.
But after circling the hearse three times, she couldn’t find any trace of it. It seemed the black cat had either left or hadn’t followed her through the teleportation portal at all.
Right then, Old Hei’s furious, synthesized roar exploded in her ear, several decibels louder than usual.
“Are you a complete idiot?!”
“Your ID is Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice! Who in the entire server doesn’t recognize it by now?! And you tried to sneak into another zone using that name?! Is your head full of water?!”
“And to top it off, you run off to someone else’s district and slaughter their rank one! What exactly were you trying to accomplish?!”
“Couldn’t you have discussed this with me before you left?! Huh?! Speak! Are you mute?!”
“If I hadn’t found someone to bail you out, you really would have been stranded in that zone forever! Do you realize that?!”
“Do you have any idea how long I had to argue with that hairless cat because of you?!”
“Do you know that because of your foolishness, my performance bonus for this month is ruined again?! I’m going to have to swallow my pride and treat my colleagues to dinner again! I have to spend my own money to bribe the higher-ups again!!”
Lin Huai endured the scolding in absolute silence for half an hour. When he finally paused, she spoke up meekly. “I’m sorry. I was wrong. I promise I will definitely tell you in advance next time…”
“I will cover the costs for your colleague dinners and leader gifts this month… Is that okay?”
Old Hei was still huffing and puffing in anger. “Don’t think you can just bribe me with Yin energy crystals! Hmph, impossible!”
“If you ever switch zones without saying a word again, I will never bail you out! Never!”
An angry Old Hei was honestly harder to coax than a furious boyfriend. Lin Huai patiently reasoned with him for a long time before she finally managed to smooth his ruffled feathers.
Only then did she finally have the chance to reply to her squad’s messages.
[Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice]: Everything is fine now. The system assistant of that sub-zone wanted me to stay and become their rank one. I refused, so I came back…
[Dragon Emerging from the Sea]: …It seems that a rank-one player cannot simply switch zones casually. If there’s another cross-zone mission in the future, Boss, you should probably stay put.
[If You’re Bad, Practice More]: Exactly, exactly! Boss, with your status, you’d cause a massive sensation wherever you go. Just to be safe, you really shouldn’t leave our zone.
[Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice]: I’ve already reflected on my actions… I will definitely be more careful in the future. I’m sorry for making everyone worry. That was my mistake.
[Milk Tea Seven Parts Sugar]: Oh, Boss, you don’t need to apologize! With your reputation, of course you’d be the center of attention anywhere you go. It’s only natural that other system assistants would want to keep you.
[Cute and Sparkling]: Exactly! Our Boss is amazing. If another system didn’t try to poach you, it would mean there was something wrong with its programming! Hahaha.
After chatting with her teammates for a bit, Lin Huai closed the light screen and gently slapped her forehead.
She was truly suffering from the consequences of never being a top player in her previous life; she still didn’t have a clear grasp of her own massive influence.
Fortunately, Old Hei had pulled some strings and sent that black cat to save her this time. If she encountered an even more powerful system assistant next time, who knew what might happen?
After a moment of reflection, she took out a Teleportation Talisman and went directly to find Milk Tea Seven Parts Sugar.
She had specifically secured that heavy bronze cauldron for Milk Tea.
Special items like that weren’t easily usable by just anyone who picked them up. Her jade coffin was a perfect example; even if another player managed to steal it, they would never be able to unleash its true power.
Lin Huai felt that this bronze cauldron must be a similar artifact. Even if it didn’t strictly require a specific master, it at least needed the right trigger conditions to function properly.
