LSDWTWHA chapter 36

Xiang Chen ultimately gave the medicine to Qi Hanyi.

After Qi Hanyi finished the examination, she went to the training room as usual. Although she could no longer use her mental force, she still needed to keep up with her training in other areas.

Su Su stayed in Qi Hanyi’s room, watching as the butler brought in his clothes, supplies, and even a small fish tank, slowly filling the originally empty room. Suddenly, Su Su felt that maybe his earlier decision to live with Qi Hanyi was a bit rash?

Not to mention, what if Qi Hanyi discovered that he had been secretly playing games behind his back?

Before Su Su could think of a solution, he saw the butler deliver a round chamber that was two meters long and over one meter wide. Several robots responsible for the installation connected the top of the chamber to Su Su’s pool, clearly indicating that this was something meant for his use.

Su Su had never seen such a thing, so he curiously chased after the butler, asking, “What is this?”

“It’s a nutrition chamber for ‘Star Wars’,” Qi Hanyi said as she pushed the door open from the training room. She had just taken a shower, and the dampness on her hair had dissipated the chill that had previously surrounded her.

“Why… are you giving me this? I can’t even play,” Su Su said, surprised more than happy, his eyes darting around nervously.

Why would they send him a nutrition chamber? Did Qi Hanyi know he had been secretly playing games? Wasn’t the punishment death for being caught?

…But Qi Hanyi didn’t seem to be angry at all.

“I can help you modify the permissions,” Qi Hanyi said seriously, looking at Su Su. “I’m sorry for what I said to you earlier. From now on, if you want to play games, you can play for as long as you like.”

“I customized the identification system when ordering this game chamber, so even if you turn back into a shark or a mermaid, you can still play games in there without any disturbances.”

Su Su looked at the design of the nutrition chamber; it was indeed very detailed. Even the way to enter and exit was designed in two ways: one was like a normal nutrition chamber, opening from above to allow him to stand and walk out; another was a passage connecting to the pool, allowing him to swim directly back into his own water.

Su Su stared at the game chamber with eyes full of longing, but his expression showed signs of conflict—if Qi Hanyi helped him modify the permissions, his secret would be exposed.

But if he refused, there would be even less reason to play games in Qi Hanyi’s room in the future, and how would he compete then?

Moreover… it was a nutrition chamber, and staying in it meant he wouldn’t be interrupted by various real-life matters, allowing him to focus solely on playing games. He had wanted one of those for a long time.

After much contemplation, Su Su chose to be honest. Since Qi Hanyi had already agreed for him to play games, it indicated that Qi Hanyi didn’t believe it was wrong for a mermaid to play games. Therefore, playing earlier shouldn’t be a big deal.

Su Su pressed his fingers against the smooth exterior of the nutrition chamber: “Actually, I… already have permission.”

“You have…” Qi Hanyi’s expression changed slightly. “Who gave it to you?”

Su Su shook his head, not wanting to betray Yan Bai, and whispered, “Can we skip that question?”

Qi Hanyi hesitated for a moment, revealing a look of resignation. “Okay, I won’t ask.”

Su Su looked up in surprise. Was Qi Hanyi in such a good mood today?

Feeling slightly guilty, Su Su quickly said, “Then I’m off to play!”

“Mm.” Once Su Su climbed into the game chamber, Qi Hanyi moved closer to assist him with the lid and added, “Since you won’t tell me who gave you the account, remember not to tell him about me giving you the game chamber. Pretend that I still don’t know about your gaming.”

“Okay.” Su Su nodded, wondering if this strange sense of competition was just a quirk of humans.

Not understanding, he simply gave up. He closed the game chamber and entered the game.

Qi Hanyi had already guessed the answer.

Su Su had not interacted much with humans, and those he was familiar with could be counted on one hand, among them the most suspicious was Yan Bai. After all, Su Su had mentioned wanting to play games right after talking to him.

Qi Hanyi suspected that Yan Bai had made some sort of agreement with Su Su, which was why he had brought up the topic of the “Star Wars” game. Now, it seemed that Yan Bai had not only pushed Su Su to test him against him but also anticipated that he would reject Su Su, leading him to grant permissions ahead of time.

If it were just for the sake of letting Su Su play a game, there would be no need for all these calculations; it was clear that the other party had ulterior motives.

Qi Hanyi didn’t question Su Su further, instead opening her comms to contact Deputy Commander Jian Cheng: “Investigate Yan Bai, what have you found?”

Jian Cheng replied, “After he returned to the company, he works during the day and engages in socializing at night. When something comes up, he drinks with his subordinates and occasionally plays games. His life is very regular, and no anomalies were found.”

No anomalies. Qi Hanyi fixated on that phrase.

The lack of anomalies was the biggest anomaly. Yan Bai presented himself as an arrogant, flamboyant young master. He could ruin the reputation of a noble’s son of considerable standing in order to defend Su Su. Yet, this kind of person returned to his company and didn’t stir trouble, working quietly every day and occasionally playing games?

From their previous interactions, Qi Hanyi sensed that Yan Bai was not as arrogant and foolish as he appeared. But as the illegitimate son of a businessman, what would be the need to disguise himself in such a way? In other words, if he was disguising himself to put others at ease, who was he specifically trying to mislead? What were his intentions afterward?

Qi Hanyi asked, “Occasionally plays games? Is he playing ‘Star Wars’?”

“Yes, it’s ‘Star Wars’,” Jian Cheng shared all the information he had gathered, “He even established a guild called the White Scale Guild, and he is the guild leader. His gaming account is named ‘Bai’.”

White Scale Guild?

White Scale… Shark Shark?

Qi Hanyi’s expression changed in an odd fashion.

Su Su was a shark, an inexperienced player whose rise to fame from a video coincided with the day after the banquet. Moreover, he just so happened to join Yan Bai’s guild. Additionally, the tone in which he spoke and how he operated sometimes reminded Qi Hanyi of Su Su. His identity as Freedom Island was fake, and his persona as a free-spirited youth was also fake; however, his claim of having no parental guidance and surviving by catching fish was true because he was a shark.

Although it was surprising, Qi Hanyi could now assert confidently:

This exceptionally talented, simple-natured player whom she admired and even considered recruiting was Su Su!

No wonder he had expressed a desire to be number one without wanting to meet her; it would explain the longing he felt toward the Bai Ze and his statement that winning wouldn’t allow him to board.

Qi Hanyi thought: If Su Su could indeed achieve first place in the competition, it would serve as a great opportunity to demonstrate to the stubborn factions within the Empire that mermaids possessed the talent to pilot starships, even stronger than humans. His father’s decision back then would be validated.

Perhaps the Bai Ze could welcome its first mermaid pilot.

With this thought in mind, Qi Hanyi took a seat and logged into the game.

When Su Su came online, none of his friends were online at that moment. After a few minutes, however, the icon corresponding to [Reverse Storm & Wandering Soul] lit up.

Su Su had accepted a mission to clean up the protective zone from the swarming insect race. Part of the preliminary competition involved facing off against insect races, and since he had never killed any before, he planned to familiarize himself with the operations first.

Upon seeing one of his friends online, Su Su immediately sent a message: “I accepted a mission, want to join me?”

Qi Hanyi felt a complex mix of emotions at Su Su’s message. He wanted to come clean about his identity. After doing so, he could legitimately help Su Su train and promise him that if he could achieve first place in the competition, he’d ensure he would become the next pilot of the Bai Ze.

However, Qi Hanyi remembered that he had lied many times during their encounters, claiming his piloting skills were mediocre and that he had barely passed the occupational test, even saying he did not qualify for the competition. Su Su had innocently accepted all of his lies and was eager to teach him to pilot starships. If he discovered he had deceived him, he might get upset.

Qi Hanyi didn’t even notice that he had rarely cared about the thoughts of those around him, yet now he hesitated because there was a possibility Su Su might get angry.

Just as Qi Hanyi hesitated, he saw Su Su’s invitation pop up, asking him to battle the insect race.

Qi Hanyi was about to reply when he suddenly caught a glimpse of his character name in the upper right corner.

[Reverse Storm & Wandering Soul]

Qi Hanyi thought: Revealing my alias… perhaps it’s best to refrain.

Even without exposing his alias, he could still provide advice to Su Su as a friend. Regarding the pilot of the Bai Ze, it felt too distant; it would be better to wait until Su Su had really placed before discussing.

After determining his course of action, Qi Hanyi accepted Su Su’s invitation, and they met at the dock.

“What a coincidence! I just logged on and saw you were online too!” Su Su waved his short fins joyfully at Qi Hanyi.

Now aware of the other party’s identity, Qi Hanyi looked at the shark plushie in front of him and felt no sense of disharmony; instead, it felt as though it was all as expected.

Su Su had always been his most authentic self. The failure to recognize this was because Qi Hanyi hadn’t yet understood Su Su enough and was restricted by the notion that a player couldn’t possibly be a mermaid.

“It’s not really a coincidence. I set it up to notify me when you log in,” Qi Hanyi said. He wasn’t lying about this; he had indeed set that alert. Su Su was the only friend on his list, and he had entered the game primarily for this reason.

“So you came specifically to play with me?” Su Su beamed with delight.

He was easily uplifted by the smallest essential care from others.

“Yes, I enjoy spending time with you,” Qi Hanyi admitted.

This made Su Su even happier as he waved his fish tail, “Let’s go kill some bugs!”

He wanted to sound bold; however, his grand gesture alongside the round, chubby shark plushie only appeared comical and cute.

The two boarded the starship, with Su Su in control as usual. He had initially suggested that Qi Hanyi take the wheel for a bit, but Qi Hanyi declined his suggestion, citing that he suddenly found observing intriguing, and comfortably settled into the observer’s seat.

This time, the mission Su Su accepted was to hunt down a Centipede Shield Bug.

“I browsed through the mission log for ages, and this one was just one kill for a particularly high reward. Am I making quite the profit?” Su Su exclaimed, thrilled to have found such a great deal.

“Mm, that should be correct,” Qi Hanyi replied, shifting his gaze with a slight upward curve of his lips.

The missions assigned by the system wouldn’t have the potential for low effort and high rewards; the reason this mission called for only one bug to be killed while providing substantial payment was due to its difficulty being worth the price of hundreds of other bugs.

The military had long classified all insect races they had encountered by strength. Just like starships, the lowest grade was E, while the highest was S, with SS and SSS also set up. However, these two levels were classified and exceeded what game players could handle, thus not included within the game.

The Centipede Shield Bug that Su Su had accepted was an outright A-rank insect race, known for its appetite for metal, and its size was comparable to that of a small starship. Its thick shield armor could withstand heavy artillery, and it had hundreds of arm-like appendages, each extending up to a hundred meters, able to move swiftly, with sharp pincers capable of tearing through alloys.

Its only weakness was that it liked to act alone, serving as a vanguard for the insect race.

In reality, it typically took a starship and a mech team to work together to bring it down. In the game, some parameters had been adjusted, but players still needed to form a party where well-rounded starships could complement defense, control, and offense to tackle the challenge.

Qi Hanyi offered no verbal reminders; he wanted to see what Su Su would manage on his first encounter with the insect race.

At that moment, Su Su was happily wagging his tail, controlling the starship as it flipped, while scanning the surrounding area for any sign of insect races.

“The mission description says the Centipede Shield Bug is active around here; why aren’t any of them…” Su Su suddenly spotted a massive creature like a small hill resting atop a small asteroid diagonally ahead of him. It was a vibrant blue and purple, speckled, and hundreds of long legs waved beneath it like chains, while its jaw appeared to be the width of a thousand tiger clamps.

“I’m going.” Su Su’s starship lurched slightly. “What an ugly thing!”