“From now on, you can’t leave my side without permission, nya. Forever and ever, you must never betray me, always cling to me…”
“Boss doesn’t need to grow, doesn’t need to take risks. I’ll do everything for Boss. Our fates are forever linked. You only need to stay by my side. That is your atonement, nya…”
“What are you saying?”
Lauren’s heart pounded. He was horrified.
‘Not normal. This woman’s reaction is completely abnormal.’
‘No, even if you cried or hit me, that would be better?’
The more Anne acted like this, the more uneasy Lauren felt.
He never expected that the sunny maid from the game had such a hidden side.
‘This heavy feeling—she won’t lock me in a dark room later, will she?’
‘No, I have to run away right now!’
[Shadow] Talent Activated!
Using Virtualization and Flash, Lauren slipped out of Anne’s embrace like a loach and reappeared in the shadows nearby.
The very next second after he escaped from the shadows, Anne seemed to use Flash as well and embraced him from behind again.
“Boss, why are you running away?”
“Is it because you don’t accept what I just said?”
Anne’s warm breath was right behind him, the hot air of her breathing brushing against his ear.
Lauren immediately dared not move.
“Boss, when did you gain a Shadow-type talent, nya?”
“Also, why don’t I see Boss’s bug demon, nya?”
“Could it be Demonization?”
She fired off three questions, but Lauren dared not answer.
“Boss, I’ve discovered you’ve changed, nya!”
But she didn’t voice this; because Boss would keep running away, Anne chose silence and let Lauren’s imagination run wild.
She finally said calmly:
“Boss, this time I won’t pressure you too much.”
“My requirements are simple. Boss is very weak, so don’t act tough when facing difficulties, and don’t run away from my side…”
In truth, Lauren had no idea what she was talking about.
He only felt that the character’s persona had changed, and the plot was becoming more and more confusing.
Behind the story that the script hadn’t written, was there really so much?
Also, what did she mean by “discovered you’ve changed”?
Did she discover his identity as a transmigrator?
But this wasn’t that kind of world where “Execution Girls” hunted otherworld transmigrators!
Lauren didn’t know how to answer correctly, so he simply said something ambiguous to get through it.
So he spoke.
“Mm, I understand. Let go of me first.”
“Mm.”
Anne replied and quietly left.
She thought that maybe she really should give him some personal space, let him calm down first.
After all, she had revealed some secret they shared, and Boss’s mind was like a frightened bird—never quick enough.
Ding. The system came online again.
[Node 1: Cat’s Gratitude?]
[Quest Complete]
[Player received: Talent. Beast God’s Blessing: Unending Vigor, Flower Crystals x100, EXP x300]
[Player Level Up: Level 2 → Level 5]
The system’s voice brought Lauren back to his senses.
The unease that had accumulated all day dissipated, and for the first time in a while, joy crept onto his face.
After all his struggles for half a day, his efforts had finally paid off—he completed the quest.
He couldn’t wait to open his status panel to check.
[Talent: Beast God’s Blessing: Unending Vigor (Increases energy recovery efficiency by 40%)]
This was part of the original effect of Anne’s talent [Beast God’s Blessing].
It was also a reward from the original game system: completing different female characters’ personal routes would grant their talents.
The moment he obtained this talent, Lauren felt all the fatigue in his body vanish.
The refreshing sensation felt like he was about to fly.
In addition, there were Flower Crystals, the shop currency from the original game, which could be used to purchase items from the [System Shop].
Now, the shop happened to have what he needed.
Lauren tapped and opened the System Shop.
There was a dazzling array of items.
Many rare treasures and valuable talents from across the world could be bought with Flower Crystals.
However, the prices varied greatly depending on the quality.
For example, when he opened the panel, the top few legendary talents—[Sword Lord], [Poet], [Demon King], [Star Lord], [Flower Goddess], etc.
—had starting prices of several hundred million Flower Crystals.
Scrolling to the bottom, the cheapest item, [Sunflower], only cost one Flower Crystal.
This huge disparity in numbers was a bit ridiculous, but in a game that had been running for years, such development was normal.
After all, what game hadn’t experienced several rounds of number inflation in its later stages?
Even with novels, the first chapter might be called “Plane Crash, Stranded on a Deserted Island, Starting Wilderness Survival”; by chapter one thousand, it becomes “Final Battle with the Five Immortal Emperors, New World Era!”
This kind of worldview inflation was even more outrageous.
Fortunately, the developers were aware of this problem.
If things continued, the gap between whales and regular players would be too large and drive away many players.
So they started their brilliant wisdom—selling trial cards!
To own it permanently, you needed 99,999,999 Flower Crystals, but now a seven-day trial card for talents and items only cost 99 Flower Crystals!
“Wow, that’s so generous!”
Anyway, after transmigrating, Lauren thought it was fine—at least he could afford items now.
He swiped up and down the shop interface, and after two or three pages, he finally found what he needed.
[Veil of Hidden God]
[Description: A veil once worn by an ancient god who governed the power of concealment. It is said to have the strength to evade the hunting god’s sure-hit arrows and the curse god’s death curses, and possesses the power to hide player panel information.]
Simply put, the basic ability of this veil was to hide external manifestations like his Demonization, making him look like a harmless ordinary person.
If he was willing to spend a few hundred more Flower Crystals to upgrade its function, he could even enjoy complete invisibility.
After Anne discovered his Demonized state, he knew he had to find a way to hide that condition.
After all, in the world’s setting, demonized humans were not accepted by normal society.
If discovered, he would be dragged onto a pyre and burned.
99 Flower Crystals disappeared from his account, and after a flash of light, the [Veil of Hidden God] appeared in Lauren’s hands.
It was very thin, transparent, and almost weightless, like a stream of flowing light.
Without hesitation, he brushed it over his face.
A few hazy illusory lights swirled around his body, and a cool sensation touched his heart, bringing Lauren a bit of calm.
“Now there’s no problem!”
Seeing that his demeanor had turned back to that of a normal human, he felt truly relieved.
Although the effect only lasted seven days, he was confident he could renew the [Veil of Hidden God]’s effect before it expired.
After all, the main quest [Poem of Blossoms] was still there, and he already had a clue on how to resolve it—concerning how to break off his own engagement.