Chapter 37

“Ningning, Ningning, are you there?” Lu Fengfeng lightly knocked on the door of the changing room, his brow furrowed, a subtle sense of unease in his heart.

After a few seconds, a faint “Mm” sound came from inside, barely audible like a mosquito’s buzz. Lu Fengfeng felt a sigh of relief.

“I’m waiting outside for you,” he said softly.

“Wait a moment.” The door of the women’s changing room cracked open just a little, and Yan Ning showed half of her face. Her usual cat-like curious and innocent eyes were filled with mist, and the corners of her eyes were a little red, as if she were very shy. “Can you help me?”

Seeing her, Lu Fengfeng felt his heart relax. For a moment earlier, he had thought something had happened to her inside the changing room. He quickly asked, “What’s the matter?”

Yan Ning lowered her head, her face turning even redder. She leaned a little closer to the door, speaking softly, “I… I can’t zip up… the zipper at the back.”

Due to her lack of strength, a task that would usually be easy became especially difficult.

Moreover, the zipper on her swimsuit was designed to be nearly invisible, and the zipper itself was tiny. She struggled to lift her hand behind her but couldn’t quite grasp the tiny pull.

Lu Fengfeng was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t expected it to be something like this. Blinking, he tried his best to remain calm. “Okay.”

His tall, slender figure blocked the gap in the door, and he shooed the flying camera away.

With delicate, long fingers, he carefully adjusted her clothes through the gap, trying his best not to touch her skin. When he finished, he extended his hand to her, “I’ll help you over.”

Yan Ning placed her hand in his, lowering her head, not daring to look at him. “Let’s go.”

She kept trying to comfort herself inside, thinking that being shy wouldn’t help, and it was better to just be open and confident.

But seeing her in this state, he could tell that her self-reassurance was not very effective.

After leaving the changing room, they couldn’t go straight into the healing pool. There was a shower room next to the changing room.

Before entering the healing pool, they needed to take a shower.

Yan Ning still felt weak in her arms and legs, but there was no way she could let Lu Fengfeng help her with something like taking a shower.

Once she entered the shower room, she realized how silly she had been. She had just put on her swimsuit, but now she had to take it off again. However, she didn’t have the courage to ask Lu Fengfeng for help.

Half an hour later, Yan Ning finally pushed open the shower room door and walked out.

She had battled with the swimsuit zipper for about ten minutes before finally managing to zip it up properly.

The bathrobe was loosely draped over her body, her hair still dripping with water, but her cheeks were flushed, looking much better than earlier.

Lu Fengfeng had been waiting outside for about twenty minutes.

He knew that Yan Ning didn’t have much strength, and even changing clothes was difficult for her, so he had remained quiet and patient, not rushing her.

“Sorry, have you been waiting long?” Yan Ning asked.

Lu Fengfeng’s gaze shifted briefly. Standing tall, he could easily see her slightly open robe, revealing her beautiful collarbones and smooth, fair skin.

Although he had seen it earlier, after the shower, the feeling was different.

He slightly lowered his gaze and shook his head. “Not long. I just came out.”

Yan Ning noticed his discomfort but didn’t think too much about it.

She took the initiative to reach out and take his hand, and the two of them walked around the edge of the healing pool.

The mist around the pool made it difficult to tell its size. But after walking around, she realized it was quite large, probably even bigger than a whole basketball court.

When they reached the sign with the clothes and towels, as well as the lounge chairs, they were ready to enter the water from here.

Yan Ning tentatively dipped her toes into the water and found the temperature just right. It wasn’t as hot as she had imagined, but it wasn’t lukewarm either.

As she submerged her feet, it felt slightly hot at first, but it was a very pleasant kind of warmth.

She stretched one foot into the water and began to undo her bathrobe.

The robe was casually tossed onto the lounge chair next to the pool, and she slowly walked into the water, noticing that Lu Fengfeng hadn’t gotten in yet. She turned back to look at him. “Aren’t you coming in?”

Yan Ning was wearing a red one-piece swimsuit with a V-neck and thin straps, the back revealing large areas of smooth skin.

She had a tall, slender figure with a slim waist and long legs, and her skin was very fair.

The red swimsuit highlighted her snow-white skin, making her look as delicate as soft tofu, as though it could break with a single touch.

Her half-dried hair clung to her cheeks, a strand resting on the corner of her lips. She raised her hand to gently push it aside, exuding an unspoken sensuality.

She turned to face him, her long, pale neck and shoulders forming a graceful arc. In her light gray cat-like eyes, he saw his own dazed, foolish expression reflected back.

Lu Fengfeng blinked, his voice trembling slightly. “I… I’ll come in.”

He shook his head, realizing that for a brief moment, he had been captivated by her beauty.

Being a symbol of beauty herself, her outstanding appearance had often caused him discomfort. He had always believed that interesting people were more attractive than those who were merely beautiful.

But now, unexpectedly, he had found himself mesmerized by someone else’s appearance.

Shaking off the strange thoughts, he stepped into the pool.

Yan Ning, keeping a bit of distance from him, popped her head up and called out, “Hey, this pool is huge and deep. You can even swim here.”

Lu Fengfeng was more concerned about her health. “Don’t go too far.”

Yan Ning didn’t swim far, instead returning to the edge of the pool, sitting on the steps along the rim. She rested her head on the edge, her cheeks and the skin above the waterline flushed from the steam, letting out a contented sigh. “So relaxing. I wish I had some strawberry milk.”

The mist in the pool made the visibility very low, and after about three or four meters, they could no longer see each other clearly.

She sat by the edge of the pool for a while, not seeing Lu Fengfeng return, and thought of swimming over to look for him.

Suddenly, something cold pressed against her face. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a pink object near her cheek.

The pink thing left for a moment, then came back, cold and refreshing. A pleasant voice rang above her head. “Strawberry milk.”

“Eh? Where did you get this from? Do you have a dimensional pocket on you?” Yan Ning turned her head and, upon seeing the pink box, realized it was indeed strawberry milk. She couldn’t help but feel surprised.

Lu Fengfeng pulled her hand out of the water, placing the strawberry milk in her palm.

Sitting by the pool’s edge, he occasionally dipped his legs into the water, “There’s a vending machine over there. You probably didn’t notice it when we passed by earlier.”

Yan Ning inserted the straw and took a big sip, the pink box instantly collapsing. She looked up at him with wide, innocent cat-like eyes. “It’s all gone.”

Lu Fengfeng supported himself on the pool’s edge and moved closer to her, revealing a row of strawberry milk cartons behind him, his expression showing that he had expected this. “Here, I emptied the vending machine.”

Yan Ning admitted that, at that moment, she felt a little pampered, but she noticed something. “Where did you get the money?”

When they arrived on the island, they were not allowed to bring cash. The staff had repeatedly reminded them that paper money was useless on the island.

Lu Fengfeng picked up another carton of strawberry milk, inserted a straw, and handed it to her. “I used crystal stones.”

“I see,” Yan Ning replied, not reaching for the milk carton. Instead, she tilted her head and lightly leaned against his thigh, her gaze becoming empty. “What exactly is the game here? Is soaking in the bath enough to finish it? Where’s the key?”

Lu Fengfeng shifted his hand, sliding it behind her, and leaned forward slightly, bringing the straw to her mouth. Yan Ning instinctively opened her mouth and started sipping.

The live stream comments exploded:

【Your Sweetheart Little Treasure: Grass, a type of plant. I’ve already planted an entire meadow here! Damn it!】

【Angel Island’s Wang Dazhuai: If I’m guilty, the law will punish me. But why do I have to watch this?】

【Little Bun: Is this even a game? You two are on a honeymoon, aren’t you? My eyes are being flooded with acid, it’s like I’m going blind!】

【Nightingale and Rose: Divine couple!!! Slurp slurp~~~】

【Silly: The adventuring and romantic duo in the other side quests are about to be crying from the monsters, while here it’s just so comfortable. Is this really okay? Laughing-crying JPG.】

—

【Long Night Lamp: Looking for a girl to join me in the Jealousy and Love side quest? Not for anything special, just want to soak in the hot springs / Perfect JPG.】

【Nightingale and Rose: Long Night, are you going? I’m signing up!】

【Pocket Meow: What?! You two?】

—

Yan Ning casually spoke, and suddenly the sound of a strange motor noise, “dudu dudu,” echoed from the pool.

“What’s that sound?” Yan Ning asked.

Lu Fengfeng furrowed his brows, focusing and looking into the distance. A small figure began to appear through the mist.

Before long, the outline of the figure gradually became clearer.

“Huh? Is that… a boat?” Yan Ning sat up straight.

As she spoke, a red, white, and blue tricolored yacht, looking quite tasteful, sailed towards them. On the yacht, there was an envelope.

Yan Ning reached out to take it, but since her hands were wet, she handed it to Lu Fengfeng instead. She stood up from the water and sat at the pool’s edge.

Lu Fengfeng opened the envelope, unfolded the letter, and both of them leaned in to read.

After reading the letter, Yan Ning pointed at the large healing pool: “Is this the pool mentioned in the letter?”

“It seems so,” Lu Fengfeng folded the letter back neatly and slid it back into the envelope, his expression remaining relatively calm.

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch, is that the meaning of this?” Yan Ning stared at the vast, white healing pool, and just thinking about the key being somewhere at the bottom made her feel suffocated.

The pool was not only large in size, but the middle part was also very deep. If the key was in the depths, they would have to dive to find it.

And it wasn’t just warm water, the temperature was on the higher side. Diving down would be quite uncomfortable.

“I’ll start from this side, you start from that side, and we’ll meet in the middle. A carpet search, we’ll definitely find it.”

Although she felt desperate inside, Yan Ning quickly regained her composure, pointing at both ends of the healing pool, her thoughts clear.

Lu Fengfeng agreed with her idea, “Has your body recovered?”

Yan Ning stretched her arms in the water, moving around a little, and nodded, “Yeah, I almost forgot about it until you mentioned it. This pool really seems to have a healing effect. I feel pretty much like my usual self now.”

“That’s good. But don’t push yourself too hard. If you start feeling uncomfortable or tired, take a break. I’ve left the strawberry milk for you here,” Lu Fengfeng advised.

“Mm, okay.”

The envelope they received earlier had informed them that one of the keys to unlocking the Dragon’s Lair was in the healing pool.

The conditions to clear the stage were very simple: just find the key that had fallen into the pool.

It seemed like an easy level at first glance, but in reality, it was a tricky one.

Yan Ning swam back and forth in the water twice, but found nothing.

The water in the pool wasn’t clear, it was milky white, like milk.

At the bottom of the pool, she could only feel around inch by inch with her eyes closed, occasionally resurfacing to breathe. It seemed like a simple and boring task, but it was actually very time-consuming and physically demanding.

After swimming back and forth five times, Yan Ning returned to the strawberry milk area to replenish her strength.

She drank two strawberry milk drinks and continued diving to look for the key.

It was hard to tell how much time had passed, but Yan Ning’s fingers had wrinkled from being submerged for so long, and still, there was no sign of the key.

She and Lu Fengfeng returned to the strawberry milk area, rested for a moment, and prepared for another round of searching.

Lu Fengfeng grabbed her hand, feeling the little indentations on her fingers, and said, “You don’t need to go anymore. I’ll go to the deepest part and check.”

Yan Ning turned her hand to hold his, and as she felt his fingers, they were as smooth as ever.

It was strange—his hand didn’t wrinkle at all.

She remembered that Lu Fengfeng was an alien, and the question she almost asked stayed in her throat.

Lu Fengfeng had always maintained the appearance of an ordinary Earthling in front of her, meaning he didn’t want to reveal his true identity.

If she asked, he’d probably feel awkward. And if he instinctively lied, she would feel uncomfortable.

So, she decided it was better to wait until he was ready to tell her.

“No, I’m going too. We’ll go together,” Yan Ning said, looking him in the eyes.

Lu Fengfeng gave in, and the two of them swam to the very center of the healing pool, diving to the bottom together.

The bottom of the pool looked like an ancient Roman arena, with layers that gradually descended towards the center, the deepest part of the entire pool.

Yan Ning felt like she had been diving for a long time and still hadn’t reached the bottom. She started to feel uncomfortable and wanted to surface for air.

But Lu Fengfeng kept diving deeper and deeper, and soon they were almost at the same depth, but after a while, she couldn’t see him anymore.

She reached her limit and tried to swim upwards for air. Her body, which had already recovered, suddenly felt weak and limp, unable to summon any strength.

Yan Ning slowly sank, her limbs feeling powerless, with no way to act.

She felt more and more exhausted, her eyelids heavy, but her breathing didn’t seem as difficult as before.

She thought she would just sink to the bottom of the pool.

But then, thinking about it, drowning in a hot spring pool seemed a bit ridiculous.

After all, she was quite good at swimming.

Just as various chaotic images flashed through Yan Ning’s mind, an arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her upward at an unprecedented speed.

“Plop—” With a splash, the calm water surface was broken open, sending huge splashes flying.

Lu Fengfeng casually tossed a small, dark brown wooden box onto the shore, then cradled Yan Ning’s neck and brought her to the edge of the pool.

He was preparing to lift her out of the water and onto solid ground, carefully stepping up the steps. But as he slowly emerged from the water, his gaze landed on the exposed skin of Yan Ning, and his expression suddenly became serious.

“Eh? What’s that?” In the first-person viewer area, someone pointed at the screen and questioned.

“Cut it, cut it, quick!” A sharp voice was heard, and immediately, the screens of the first and second-person viewer areas went black. Both of their live streams instantly cut out.

Both the audience in the main view and those watching the live stream online were left confused: ??????

They had patiently watched the two of them search for the key in the pool for hours, and now there was progress. Why did the screen suddenly cut off?

What happened to the Number one?

At this moment, everyone was extremely curious about the question.

The official Shengyis account was slow to release any explanation, and the Number one and Number two view screens had not resumed. The viewers anxiously waited.

Qiao Yingxue, Gu Tian, and Zhao Xiaolu had just gone to the restroom and came back to find this situation. They could only ask Shi Lei and Zhou Ye, who had stayed behind.

Shi Lei looked confused. “I don’t know what happened either. I only heard the announcer suddenly shout ‘Cut it, cut it,’ and then the screen went dark. Oh, by the way, Yan Ning seems to have drowned!”

Qiao Yingxue couldn’t help but frown. “How could she drown? Isn’t it just a hot spring pool?”

Shi Lei had actually been zoning out earlier, because they had been searching for so long in the pool with no progress, and he couldn’t help but feel like nodding off. He didn’t expect the screen to suddenly cut out.

Zhao Xiaolu asked Zhou Ye, “Did you see what happened?”

Zhou Ye pushed up his glasses, his tone hesitant, “It seems like something went wrong with Yan Ning…”

“What kind of problem? Drowning? Is Ningning in danger?” Gu Tian couldn’t help but ask.

“It shouldn’t be just simple drowning.” Chen Kai, sitting in the front row, turned around. His eyes were bright, and his tone was mysterious. “I saw it just now.”

“What did you see?”

The five of them asked in unison, their voices sharp and loud, which made others glance over. They lowered their heads and huddled closer to Chen Kai, whispering again, “What did you see?”

Chen Kai appeared excited. “When Yan Ning was lifted out just now, her body…”

Lu Fengfeng’s first reaction was to squat down and hide Yan Ning’s body underwater. He then freed one hand to grab the flying camera following them and crushed it, tossing it aside.

After handling those, making sure there were no other recording devices around, he cautiously lifted Yan Ning back onto the shore.

The exposed skin of Yan Ning, which had originally been smooth and white like fine mutton-fat jade, was flawless.

Now, it was covered in strange golden totems. These markings weren’t just on her back, arms, and legs—there were even some on her neck and face.

Lu Fengfeng frowned deeply. He was certain Yan Ning was human.

She hadn’t integrated any other species’ genes. So why did such markings appear on her body?

Where had she encountered this particular race? Who had marked her and for what purpose? Did she even know what was happening to her body?

“We’re coming! Let me see!” A shrill voice suddenly called out, and then the black penguin plush toy stumbled toward Lu Fengfeng, looking very anxious.

Behind it, the blue penguin plush toy, who was slower and nearly in tears, called out, “Sese, wait for me! Don’t run off on your own, waaaah!”

Sese, with it’s short little legs, knelt inconspicuously next to Yan Ning, staring at the golden totems that had suddenly appeared on her body and were slowly fading away. Her tone was full of disbelief: “This is real!”

Tutu finally ran over and sat beside, panting heavily.

Hearing Sese’s words, Tutu crawled closer to Yan Ning and couldn’t help but ask the question that had been bothering them: “But why is it on her body? She’s clearly just an ordinary Earthling, she shouldn’t be able to bear this kind of mark.”

“I don’t know, but the fact is, it’s happening. She really is beautiful,” Sese said, watching as the totems on Yan Ning’s body faded, gradually returning to normal. Their admiration was genuine.

“Why did she suddenly become weak enough to need a mark for protection?” Tutu asked another question.

“Oh, don’t worry about those details,” Sese said dismissively.

“It’s probably because of the Sea Demon Illusion and the water in this pool,” Lu Fengfeng said with certainty. Then his expression grew colder, and his tone turned sharp. “Although I’m not sure what your goals are, I suggest that if you don’t want to cause trouble, you’d better clean up whatever shouldn’t be here.”

“Yes, yes, we’ll clean it up as soon as possible,” Sese responded with sudden respect. “She probably isn’t in any danger, she’ll likely wake up soon. If there are no other issues, we’ll take our leave and let you two continue your journey.”

Tutu couldn’t help but push Sese, “Why did you say that? I still want to see her for a bit longer.”

Sese pulled Tutu aside, “The boss is waiting for us to report, can you just hold off for a moment?”

Tutu pouted, although its face was hidden by a mask, and after a while, reluctantly agreed, “Alright, Tutu will wait a little longer.”

Sese and Tutu quietly left the scene and returned to the commentary area.

New flying cameras were activated next to the first and second main view areas, and the live broadcast and main view screens returned to normal.

Yan Ning lay at the edge of the pool, her eyelids fluttered, and she kept coughing with her eyes still closed. After coughing up some water, she looked at Lu Fengfeng beside her with a confused expression, “How did I end up here? I remember…”

“You accidentally drowned and passed out, but you’re fine now,” Lu Fengfeng said as he draped a clean bathrobe over her shoulders. He then took the small dark brown wooden box and shook it in front of her, his tone light. “We’ve cleared the level.”

“Huh? This is the key?”

Lu Fengfeng placed the wooden box in her hand, “Open it and see.”

Yan Ning glanced at him, receiving an encouraging look, and opened the box. Inside lay a… plain and unremarkable golden key.

She picked up the key and looked at Lu Fengfeng, then at the key, her eyes filled with emotion, clearly asking—”Is this it?”

The system’s electronic voice suddenly sounded: “Congratulations to Number one, Ningning, and Number Two, Fengfeng, for successfully clearing the ‘Jealous Love’ dungeon and obtaining the golden key to open the dragon’s lair. After clearing the ‘Jealous Love’ dungeon, there is an extra side quest. You may choose to continue the challenge or abandon it.”

“If you choose to continue the challenge, walk twenty steps east from the healing pool to enter the side quest. If you choose to abandon it, you may leave the mountain immediately.”

Yan Ning looked at Lu Fengfeng and asked him silently with her lips: “The thing you wanted?”

Although Lu Fengfeng hadn’t said that the thing he wanted was in this dungeon, after arriving on the island, the only dungeon that required a couple to unlock was this one.

They had journeyed together, and at the final level, they found nothing but a plain key. Therefore, the thing Lu Fengfeng wanted could only be in the side quest.

Lu Fengfeng nodded, feeling a surge of excitement at the thought that he was just one step away from what he sought.

Yan Ning supported herself on Lu Fengfeng’s hand and stood up, smiling as she looked at him. “So, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

The slogan sounded bold, but the action was slow.

She leaned on his hand, moving slowly, one little step at a time. After waking up, her body felt weak again, and she was a little frustrated inside.

But thinking about how she could soon help Lu Fengfeng fulfill his wish, she felt that everything was worth it.

After exactly twenty steps, the mysterious veil of the side quest slowly lifted before their eyes.

Yan Ning carefully read the rules twice and couldn’t help but glance at Lu Fengfeng with a questioning look: “What is this?”