Chapter 4: Reunion and Guidance

Shortly after the mission began, as Fu Chen killed the eighth flower monster with the [Spell Defense] special attribute and received his reward, a dazzling ring of white light suddenly rose around his body, circled him once, and then vanished.

The assistant interface in the lower-left corner displayed the prompt: "You have leveled up to Level 2."

"Finally!" Fu Chen couldn't wait to open his attribute panel to check the changes.

[Half-Love Red Dust, Level 2.
Cultivation: 0/330.
Reputation: 1.
Health: 60/60; True Qi: 60/60; Primordial Spirit: 55.
Attribute Point Distribution
Remaining Points: 5; Remaining Talent Points: 5]

The screen clearly displayed "Remaining Points: 5" and "Remaining Talent Points: 5."

Fu Chen was ecstatic. "I really did get an extra set of attribute points! The [Heaven-Stealing] skill is too overpowered!"

Gaining double the free attribute points every time he leveled up was a truly heaven-defying and monstrous talent. With the experience of his past life, Fu Chen understood better than anyone the importance of attribute points in the rules of the Perfect World. Whether it was health, True Qi, attack, defense, equipment, or weapons, improvements in any area were inseparable from attribute points.

He hadn't personally experienced the other two talent skills yet, so he set them aside for now. But this [Heaven-Stealing] talent alone was immense, enough to carry him to the ranks of the supreme experts of the future.

Fu Chen was in high spirits and about to continue his mission when he unexpectedly heard footsteps approaching.

"Who’s there?" Fu Chen barked.

As he tucked his wooden sword into his spatial inventory, he glanced at the assistant's regional map. He noticed a green dot moving toward him from the west, already very close.

He felt annoyed. "I was careless. I was so focused on leveling up that I didn't pay attention to my surroundings."

The person stopped abruptly upon hearing his shout, then began running toward him even faster. Soon, a familiar silhouette appeared before Fu Chen—it was the stunning beauty he had encountered earlier.

She looked delighted. "It really is you? It—it’s me. We met before. My name is Qin Yu..."

"Stop. Don't go around revealing your information to strangers so easily!" Fu Chen interrupted before she could finish. He then asked suspiciously, "Weren't you with those other people? Why are you here alone?"

Hearing this, Qin Yumo swallowed the last syllable of her name, looking slightly flustered and uneasy. Her cold, beautiful face carried a hint of vulnerability, making one feel an uncontrollable urge to cherish and protect her.

Qin Yumo said tentatively, "I... I came looking for you on purpose. Can I join you?"

Fu Chen already had his suspicions. He deliberately frowned and asked in feigned surprise, "It's clearly safer to be in a large group. Why choose me?"

Qin Yumo felt slightly awkward, then began to recount their previous experience. After she had joined that group, a dozen people quickly decided on a plan. They traveled together toward the west—the opposite direction from where she had first awakened—exploring cautiously.

On the way, they soon encountered other groups. After a brief exchange of information, some chose to go their separate ways, while others joined forces. Before long, the expanded group encountered a swarm of giant beetle monsters that blocked their path. Startled by the group's movement, the monsters began charging and attacking.

The entire group instantly descended into chaos, fleeing in every direction, each man for himself. During the scramble, Qin Yumo saw with her own eyes someone shove a shy girl into the path of the monsters just to save his own life. The girl, panicked and lost, tripped into a cluster of beetles. Surrounded by the monsters, she quickly collapsed to the ground, motionless—dead.

The "grief of the fox when the rabbit dies" hit home; Qin Yumo felt chilled to the bone and could no longer trust the people around her. Although the men in the group had been very attentive and warm toward her along the way, she knew very well that they only coveted her appearance. If a real crisis came, they would likely push her into harm's way without hesitation.

Unwilling to entrust her safety to these strangers, she resolutely chose to leave the group. Considering that this world was filled with dangers, she knew she had to find someone to team up with. She inexplicably remembered the boy who had given her a piece of advice before hurrying away. Thus, she returned to the starting point and searched, direction by direction, until she finally found him.

After listening, Fu Chen thought to himself, "Even though I left, they still ended up the same as in my past life."

It was a pity that the shy girl hadn't listened to him. After being killed by the monsters, she had chosen to leave just like in his past life. If she had made a different choice, her fate might have changed, and those people might have entered the next stage together. However, none of this had anything to do with Fu Chen; he only wanted to focus on improving himself.

Qin Yumo looked at Fu Chen with burning eyes and asked, "So, can I join you?"

Despite having a stunning beauty eagerly wanting to follow him, Fu Chen remained unmoved by her looks. He sneered and retorted, "I'm a stranger too. How can you be sure I won't abandon you when there's danger?"

Hearing this, Qin Yumo instantly regained the cold, imposing aura she had when they first met, shedding all signs of vulnerability. She offered a confident smile and said, "I trust my own judgment of people."

Fu Chen was left speechless. "Is that a compliment to my character, or a compliment to your own judgment?"

He then realized that he had been worrying about his low efficiency in grinding monsters. Isn't this free laborer handing herself over? It would be foolish not to take advantage of it.

With a decision made, Fu Chen decided to provide some guidance to test her reaction. He deliberately stiffened his face and said coldly, "We can work together, but you must follow my commands in everything."

"Agreed!" Qin Yumo replied with a crisp, smiling nod.

"What if I told you to charge into a pack of monsters to die?" Fu Chen suddenly leaned in, looking her straight in the eyes to ask in all seriousness.

Qin Yumo was momentarily stunned. The imposing air vanished again, and her face was filled with struggle and hesitation. Fu Chen didn't rush her; he smiled and said, "No hurry. You can observe the situation first before deciding."

He took out his wooden sword from his spatial inventory, turned, and charged toward the nearest small man-eating flower to resume the battle. Qin Yumo watched in a daze as Fu Chen pulled a wooden sword out of thin air. She watched as he killed the flower monster, and then watched as the dropped gold coins and items vanished instantly.

Stunned, she ran over excitedly and asked, "You... how did you do that?"

"You can do it too. But you need to be killed by a monster once first." Fu Chen stated the method directly, continuing his task regardless of what she might think.

Qin Yumo felt the answer was both absurd and ridiculous. She had seen with her own eyes that the girl who died in front of her never stood up again. Yet, at the same time, she could sense that Fu Chen wasn't lying, and she had just witnessed his strange and magical actions.

She wasn't a hesitant person. She quickly made up her mind and said loudly, "Fine. I'll listen to you."

Fu Chen was quite surprised; he hadn't expected her to make a "life-or-death" decision so quickly. To have such extraordinary courage and decisiveness at such a young age—he admitted that he couldn't have done it in the early stages of his past life.

Feeling a sense of admiration, he suggested, "It's best if you attract several flower monsters at once. That way, you'll suffer less physical pain."

Qin Yumo nodded to show she understood and asked, "Since we're working together, what should I call you?"

"You can call me 'Red Dust'," Fu Chen replied with a bright smile, standing to the side to wait for her action.

Qin Yumo took several deep breaths, gritted her teeth, and charged toward the surrounding flower monsters. Remembering Fu Chen's words, she attracted five or six of them in one go. She was quickly swarmed and killed, collapsing to the ground.

About a minute later, Fu Chen watched as she resurrected on the spot, a blue name appearing above her head: [Desolate].

He walked over and teased, "Welcome to the world of the Perfect Continent!"