Lantern Sister is still very capable.

Chapter 50 Lurking

After explaining the purpose of her trip, Feng Xuedie left. Chu Deng watched her departing figure until she had completely disappeared before returning to her dormitory.

After working for most of the night, Master Chu woke up Jin Xiaoyue when it was just getting light at around 4 a.m.

Jin Xiaoyue yawned, rubbed her eyes, and said in a daze, "Dengdeng?"

"Shh." Chu Deng gestured for her to be quiet and held the Flame Fruit to Jin Xiaoyue's lips. "Eat it quickly."

Jin Xiaoyue woke up, holding the bright red fruit in both hands, and started to bite into the flesh, asking curiously as she chewed, "Where did this come from?"

"I picked it from the school's botanical garden." Chu Deng didn't lie to her; she told the truth.

Jin Xiaoyue choked, pounded her chest to catch her breath, and said, "You're not taking me out to play in the middle of the night?"

Chu Deng: "...It's too stuffy, I'm going out for a walk to clear my head."

Jin Xiaoyue didn't suspect anything. She knew that Chu Deng didn't like staying in one place and needed to go out for fresh air from time to time.

"It's delicious! I've never seen this fruit before. I wonder if it's some kind of rare variety. Could Dad invest in it?"

"It's delicious, have more." Chu Deng handed over the other two as well.

Jin Xiaoyue happily accepted it: "Then I'll have one for lunch today and another for dinner. Dengdeng, aren't you going to eat one?"

"It's not very useful to me, but I plan to plant it and keep the seeds after I eat it."

She must have her reasons for doing this.

With this trust in her, Jin Xiaoyue finished the Flame Fruit, went to the bathroom to wash the pit, wrapped it in a damp tissue, and placed it on Chu Deng's table.

"The school sells flower pots and potting soil; we can buy some tomorrow," Jin Xiaoyue said.

"Okay, you go to sleep first." Chu Deng climbed into bed and fell asleep instantly. No matter what she had experienced, she could never wash away some of the traces of the apocalypse.

For example, they cherish food—they eat the terrible dishes that the food club members make for practice without hesitation; for example, they fall asleep instantly—they seize the time to sleep in a safe place so as not to be chased by zombies, monsters, plants, or hostile superhumans and have no time to rest.

Chu Deng woke up after sleeping for less than three hours and took the sleepy Jin Xiaoyue to her morning reading. She took a detour through the exotic plant garden and found that the fire tree inside had not been moved yet, and the guard team from last night was still on duty.

The morning classes were not difficult for Chu Deng. Compared to the group of drowsy classmates, Chu Deng's performance was outstanding. In the past, he was only used as a backup, but now he was frequently asked questions by the helpless teacher.

There was no other way; the students were almost asleep, and even when they stood up to answer questions, they were somewhat drowsy. Only Chu Deng was suitable.

During the break, Chu Deng unusually did not stay in her seat, but went to the corridor by the door. Their class was located on the second floor of the teaching building, while the first floor was the teachers' offices, which also made it convenient for students in the key classes to ask questions and quickly go downstairs for meals.

The teaching building housing the senior high school students has the school's main gate at the front, greenery and a botanical garden in the northwest corner, and the cafeteria and playground at the back. Of the twenty classes, only Class 1 and Class 2 are on the second floor of the teaching building, with the other classes arranged sequentially upwards, and they eat lunch at staggered times.

Standing on the second floor, Chu Deng has a clear view of the green area in the northwest corner of the teaching building. The botanical garden is located in the corner of the green area and is surrounded by wire mesh.

Chu Deng guessed that there should also be defenses underground, because all alien plants evolve, and the most typical manifestation of this mutation is an abnormally developed root system.

With the physical abilities of a level four ability user, Chu Deng's gaze passed over layers of trees and saw the particularly conspicuous fire tree. The flame fruits on it were somewhat different from those that had been shining brightly on the branches yesterday, and there were also quite a few of them. However, it was almost noon, and the mutated tree had not yet been moved.

This is a good opportunity to make a move.

After breakfast, Chu Deng led Jin Xiaoyue through the Awakening Body Technique again. Jin Xiaoyue ate a Flame Fruit, and with the extra food from the cafeteria earlier, she is currently in the incubation period and needs to continue accumulating energy.

That's right. Ever since Chu Deng forcibly broke through to level five in the game Star Travel World, his level four bottleneck in reality has been stirring, and he is expected to break through it soon.

She has already experienced some of the benefits of Level 5. The first is that she can see the energy level in Jin Xiaoyue's body clearly, and Chu Deng knows that this is related to heat.

The strength of a level 5 fire-type ability user is far more than this, but this alone sets her apart from other ability users. This ability is not restricted by level, and unless an ability user wears protective clothing, she can see through the opponent's ability storage status at any time when fighting her.

Chu Deng planned to help Jin Xiaoyue accumulate energy before the first phase of training ended, so that Jin Xiaoyue could awaken during the second phase of training. Therefore, it would be best to prepare some energy food, and the Flame Fruit just happened to be right in front of them.

Chu Deng realized she couldn't just focus on the school's exotic plant garden. Remembering the mutated rats that appeared last night, she knew there would definitely be a mission to clear out the exotic plants and beasts. She couldn't get any official missions, but she could try looking in the black market and do some hunting while she was at it.

She also needs a certain number of crystal cores to advance to level five. Jin Xiaoyue is not clear about the attributes of her superpowers, so she needs to prepare a little for each attribute.

Having finalized her next plan, Chu Deng stood in the second-floor corridor enjoying the breeze, and entered the classroom as the school bell rang.

"Xing, class is starting, let's go!" Meng Qiuhe glanced at the girls who had dispersed around him, breathed a sigh of relief, and gritted his teeth as he pushed Pei Hanxing back to the classroom of Class Two.

He used to have to beg and plead before he agreed to come out and chat, but now that Pei Hanxing has come out on his own, he's been stared at so intently by the girls who ran down from upstairs to watch that he's feeling irritated. He's left with half his face frozen as he stands in the corridor with his best friend, getting chilled by the wind.

"You should just stay a sheltered, studious girl next time. It's so uncomfortable coming out with you," Meng Qiuhe said, rubbing her face in exasperation.

Pei Hanxing pursed her lips and awkwardly rubbed her face against his shoulder. "...Mm."

He noticed that some of the people entering the school gate were acquaintances. The fact that someone suddenly appeared at the school meant that something must have happened, and Pei Hanxing was somewhat concerned.

"Brother, tell me the truth, do you like Chu Deng?" Meng Qiuhe returned to his seat and quietly wrote a note to greet his brother. Although it was a question, he knew perfectly well that his interest was too obvious.

"You like Jin Xiaoyue." Pei Hanxing didn't hold back and revealed the last layer of truth.

"Cough..." Meng Qiuhe, who was punished by his friend's words, couldn't help but choke on his saliva, but he quickly covered his mouth for fear of being noticed.

After a long pause, Meng Qiuhe scratched his cheek with his finger, lowered his eyes, and asked in a low, embarrassed voice, "How did you know?"

“You slipped a love letter into my book.” Pei Hanxing said expressionlessly as she pulled out her Chinese textbook and took out a green envelope. “You can say it to my face or use your personal terminal. Writing love letters is outdated and you’re likely to get caught by the teacher.”

“You don’t understand, this is called romance,” Meng Qiuhe said firmly.

"Oh." Pei Hanxing nodded, held the green love letter between two fingers and handed it to Meng Qiuhe, then began to listen to the lecture.

Stunned by the question, Meng Qiuhe shut his mouth, but inwardly he was filled with anxiety.

So, do you like Chu Deng or not?!

Pei Hanxing herself wasn't actually sure about the answer.

only……

Pei Hanxing's gaze gradually drifted away as she recalled the dashing figure in the game, Lantern Lights Dim.

She seems quite different from her real-life counterpart, yet both are figures he looks up to.