My Dating Sim Just Got an Update - Chapter 68

Thud, thud, thud, thud! The octopus monster realized that if it didn’t run now, it would truly meet its end on this beach. Even though it was currently blind, it relied on pure instinct flailing its tentacles wildly and spraying thick ink while desperately trying to retreat toward the ocean.

A few stray droplets of ink splashed onto Ren Chenxi’s clothes, though they turned invisible the moment they touched her. In the brief time it took for the ink to settle, Mu Ning acted again.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. 

This time, twenty thick long vines snared the creature, once again halting its escape.

Ren Chenxi seized the opportunity, throwing her remaining three SR Explosion cards in rapid succession. The octopus’s health bar was now down to a sliver of 3%!

Crack, snap— The monster struggled even more frantically, snapping all twenty vines in its desperation.

Without waiting to see if the blindness effect had worn off, Ren Chenxi threw another Flash card while simultaneously hurling her last three R-grade Explosion cards. Unfortunately, these low-level cards didn’t seem to make a dent in the monster’s final health percentage.

Seeing the octopus give up on spraying ink and focus entirely on accelerating toward the water, twenty more vines materialized in mid-air, binding it once more. At that exact moment, a dense cluster of ice spikes surged up around the creature, driving deep into its massive body.

In that instant, the octopus’s health bar finally hit zero.

The eight massive tentacles thrashed a few more times in a final, unwilling struggle, snapping the last of the vines before the behemoth’s body collapsed onto the sand with a thunderous boom.

Simultaneously, Ren Chenxi noticed Mu Ning’s health bar drop sharply, stopping just a hair above the bottom. Was she… unconscious from total exhaustion?

Ignoring the dead Level 8 monster, Ren Chenxi rushed to the position of Mu Ning’s health bar. Mu Ning had lost 10% of her actual health—likely due to overextending her energy or internal injuries from the strain of holding back the monster. Regardless, Ren Chenxi immediately used a Recovery card on her. Once the card took effect, she noticed something else: Mu Ning’s level now displayed as Level 6.

She must have broken through during that life-or-death struggle, which explained why her water ability had mutated into ice. It was the only logical explanation for the lethal spikes that had ended the fight.

Since the Invisibility buff was still active, Ren Chenxi could see the health bar but couldn’t tell exactly how Mu Ning was positioned. She reached out blindly, feeling around beneath the bar to help her up.

Then, her hands landed on something very soft.

Ren Chenxi didn’t realize what she was touching at first and reached out with her other hand, only for her palm to meet another soft mound. Her brain finally caught up  she knew exactly which part of Mu Ning’s body she was holding!

Her face turned beet red instantly. She jerked her hands back as a very soft, faint voice drifted through the air: “Are you… trying to get back at me because I touched you once?”

You’re not unconscious?!

Ren Chenxi was mortified. She had assumed Mu Ning was out cold, which would have allowed her to ignore the accidental touch. But now.

The atmosphere turned painfully awkward. After a long silence, Mu Ning’s soft voice came again: “Aren’t you going to harvest the crystal?”

At a time like this, you’re worried about the crystal?! Ren Chenxi rolled her eyes, though Mu Ning couldn’t see it through the invisibility.

“How are you feeling?” Ren Chenxi asked. Mu Ning’s voice was not only soft but ragged; she sounded utterly drained.

“I’m okay. I just need to rest. Go get the crystal first. A Level 8 crystal will attract other high-level creatures from the deep sea.”

Since Mu Ning insisted, Ren Chenxi didn’t argue. She had already used a Recovery card on her, so a bit of rest should hopefully stabilize her. Besides, the octopus was the whole reason she’d come here. Mu Ning was right—they had gone through hell to kill it, and the crystal had already dropped from the system’s perspective. If she didn’t grab it now, some scavenger under the sand might snatch it.

When the Level 8 monster had appeared, all other red dots on the map had vanished either scared off or crushed by its indiscriminate thrashing. The path to the carcass was safe. As she approached, the massive tentacles were still twitching and writhing, which was revolting to look at.

The Level 8 crystal was automatically picked up by her inventory, along with one of the giant tentacles. Ren Chenxi took one look at the sucker-covered limb and looked away. She didn’t bother counting how many legs were left; she just decided to take the whole thing. The octopus was dead, so even if the nerves were still twitching, it was just “loot.” No matter how massive it was, the system would let it occupy a single inventory slot.

With a look of disgust, she extended a single finger and touched the carcass. Instantly, the mountain of flesh vanished from the beach.

She returned to Mu Ning’s health bar and sat down on the sand, regardless of the dirt. She needed a moment too.

Despite the danger being over and her outward appearance of calm, her heart was still racing. Her legs were trembling, and the fingers she rested on the sand wouldn’t stop shaking.

There was relief at surviving, excitement over the Level 8 haul, but mostly a lingering sense of terror. The panic still echoed in her mind. And most of that fear had been for the person lying next to her. Even though she couldn’t see Mu Ning, every time a vine snapped, Ren Chenxi’s heart had skipped a beat as if it were her own nerves being frayed.

She sighed softly, grateful for the invisibility so Mu Ning couldn’t see her state. She kept telling herself to stay detached, but her emotions were so easily swayed by this woman.

This shouldn’t be happening, she thought.

Mu Ning, unable to see her, could still hear the sigh.

Why is she sighing? she wondered. We killed a Level 8 monster and got the crystal; shouldn’t she be happy? Is she facing a new problem?

Mu Ning waited, but when Ren Chenxi remained silent, she pushed through her exhaustion to ask: “What’s wrong? Did you get the crystal?”

The low, raspy voice snapped Ren Chenxi out of her spiral. Hearing the concern in Mu Ning’s tone, she pushed her complex feelings aside and answered distractedly, “Yeah, I got it.”

“Then why do you sound unhappy?”

Sister, please stop asking. Who do you think is the reason I’m upset?

Ren Chenxi sighed again. She wanted to snap “none of your business” like she used to, but after seeing Mu Ning’s slender body stand against that behemoth, she couldn’t find the heart to be mean.

Time to change the subject.

She glanced at Mu Ning’s bar, noting her Level 6 status. “I’m not unhappy. I was just shaken by the fact that it was Level 8. By the way, congratulations—you leveled up again.”

Her tone was flat, lacking any real warmth.

In contrast, Mu Ning’s voice from the empty air sounded far more sincere.

“Thank you. Your ability leveled up too. Congratulations.”

My ability? Oh, she means my player level. Ren Chenxi pulled up her info. Sure enough, she had been Level 4 with a long way to go, but the massive XP from a Level 8 boss had pushed her forward.

Since player level didn’t mean much in terms of raw power, she closed the panel. But Mu Ning continued.

“Your ability is incredible. You can deal massive damage to a Level 8 beast, give me a shield, make me invisible, increase my speed so… can you tell me… how many abilities do you actually have?”

Even without seeing her face, Ren Chenxi could hear the cautious, almost timid edge in Mu Ning’s voice.

Sigh. You sound so humble, but this is another question I really don’t want to answer.

But what could she do? In the heat of the moment, with Mu Ning seconds away from being crushed, she hadn’t cared about hiding anything. She had just thrown cards by instinct.

Shields, speed, invisibility, SSR Explosions, Flash cards Mu Ning had seen them all. Was there even a point in lying anymore?

Ren Chenxi rubbed her temples, another sigh escaping.

Fine. I’ll explain some of it to her. It’ll save me the headache of holding back if we get into trouble again though I’d probably just throw the cards anyway.

She decided to share what she could, though she obviously wouldn’t mention being a “player” in a “game world” with a “system.” Since she was invisible, she didn’t have to worry about her facial expressions. She could just start spinning a yarn.

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