Snap!

Eep...

Under a tree in the newbie village, He Yucheng sat quietly at its base. He stared at the large blueprint in his hands. After sketching a few strokes in the air, he began drawing line by line. Lengjiang stood behind him, watching with keen interest.

Around them lay a carpet of shredded paper scraps—enough to piece together a blueprint. Of course, like a broken mirror, paper couldn’t be perfectly mended. He Yucheng was using the "Perfect Fashion Weapon Design Blueprint" from the Couple’s Deluxe Pack, intently designing his own fashion weapon. His first attempt had been clumsy. He’d thought the system would generate existing in-game weapons based on his sketch.

But He Yucheng hadn’t realized this top-tier blueprint meant truly self-designed weapons! The system offered zero help! Not only did he design the model himself, but he even handled the modeling—holy crap! If the model failed, the blueprint was wasted. When he saw his first design shatter, his heart ached terribly.

This blueprint dropped fewer than five times a year. Its price had skyrocketed past 1000 RMB per sheet—and it was virtually unobtainable! Since the game had just launched publicly, these came from beta tester packs. Few players had obtained them, like Nightingale—the "Queen" atop the red-name leaderboard who’d chased him earlier.

"My head hurts..." He Yucheng drew meticulously, stroke by stroke. If others knew he’d wasted such a precious blueprint, they’d want to kill him—though he was already a public enemy.

*(*/ω＼*)* "Eep, hubby, you draw so skillfully~" Lengjiang watched as He Yucheng rotated the weapon model in the blueprint, its shifting angles dizzying.

He Yucheng smiled faintly. "My mom’s a model designer. I learned a bit from her."

*!!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ* "A model designer? So awesome! That profession! Hubby, you’ll definitely be amazing too! *φ(>ωωω･* )ﾉ*" She wiped her tears, forcing a playful grin.

"Haha, no worries! My bad for rambling. I should apologize. Don’t mind it." He Yucheng laughed along, matching her tone.

In those few lines, he saw real pain in her world—something tied to her sister. He’d first thought Lengjiang was just addicted to games. Now he knew: she hid here to escape real-life problems. Otherwise, why such a fierce reaction to a casual remark?

Games were a safe haven for many—a second world built on reality. Simpler. Fewer worries. A place to do what you loved. Why get hooked? Because it felt safer, happier than real life.

Lengjiang was one such escaper. Here, she was open and lively. In reality, that bright smile probably rarely appeared.

But since it touched real life, He Yucheng wouldn’t pry. Family troubles were messy. Pushing when she wasn’t ready to vent would only push her away—he knew that.

"Ah... honey, I’ve played long enough. Need a break. Got things tonight. Let’s play tomorrow?" Between leveling, quests, the chase, and crafting this weapon, his mind and body were exhausted. The earlier pain hadn’t helped.

*(￣▽￣)~** "Okay! But hubby, show me the weapon’s skill first? I’m curious what it does~"

"Hmm, the skill bonus is random?"

*٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶* "Yep! But whatever it is, it’ll be super powerful!"

He Yucheng had forgotten Lengjiang’s mention of skill bonuses. He posted the item in chat, then clicked to view it himself...

"Mirror Image": Unlocks 2 charges. Cooldown remains unchanged. The combo skill "Charged Thrust with Mirror Image" no longer triggers "Charged Thrust" cooldown (can be used even during cooldown).

"..."

"..."

He Yucheng and Lengjiang froze, shock mirrored in each other’s eyes.

What did this bonus mean?

Two Mirror Images at once! Lengjiang had seen how He Yucheng turned this "trick" into a game-changing skill. Now, "Stellar Guardian" boosted it massively!

Two Mirror Images meant extra damage, extra Displacement Skill, an extra decoy!

And Charged Thrust combo ignoring cooldown? He’d never worry about losing a free Displacement Skill after swapping with his shadow. It was like gaining another damage-and-movement skill!

BUG-level bonus!

He Yucheng contained his excitement. "Honey, this account might be the luckiest in history!"

*(*/ω＼*)* "Hehe, hubby’s Invincibility~"

...

After a few more chats, He Yucheng said before logging off: "Honey, same quests tomorrow?"

Lengjiang’s face paled. She stayed silent for a long moment.

*(つД`)* "S-sorry, hubby... I can’t quest with you anymore. Eep..."

"Ah, no problem. We can still hang out." He Yucheng smiled. He knew she’d be reined in soon. This "vow" meant something serious to her.

A game bond tied to reality—what chains bound Lengjiang?

He Yucheng didn’t know. He couldn’t ask. Touching someone’s sore spot was basic decency.

*(^_−)☆* "Okay! Hubby, rest early~ Bye-bye~" Lengjiang waved. He Yucheng just nodded with a smile. "Bye." Then he logged off.

...

Churan closed her laptop, set it aside, and closed her eyes to rest.

The sky was gradually darkening. Song Qian had already slipped away unnoticed; before leaving, he specifically reminded Churan to call him if anything came up.

In the hospital room, only Churan remained.

"Sigh, Auntie is still coming later..." Churan muttered to himself. He sat up. A glass of water sat on the table beside him. He got out of bed and took it.

Actually, Churan wasn't completely immobile—he just felt incredibly weak.

He wondered if this illness could ever be cured...

Churan sipped the water, staring blankly out the window...