After unlocking the Psionic Apprentice profession, Lily clearly felt her consciousness become much clearer, and for a moment, she even had a transcendent feeling of seeing through the mundane world.
Is this the manifestation of increased Spirit and Inspiration?
The Psionic Apprentice has a level cap of 10, and the attribute points gained per level are twice that of an Unemployed.
Lily opened her panel, satisfied.
[Main Professions]: Unemployed Lv3 (0/1000), Psionic Apprentice Lv1 (0/300)
[Sub Professions]: None
[HP]: 70/70
[Spirit Energy]: 25/25
[Attributes]: Strength 5, Agility 3, Constitution 7, Intelligence 3, Spirit 5, Inspiration 5
[Skills]:
Frenzy Lv1 - Causes a specific body part of the target to enter a [Frenzy] state. During its duration, 1 Spirit Energy is consumed every 1 minute. Cooldown: 2 seconds.
Hardening Lv1 - Causes a small area of the target's skin to enter a [Hardening] state. During its duration, (1-3) Spirit Energy is consumed every 5 seconds. Cooldown: 1 second.
Spiritual Vision - Detects target information through Spirit Energy perception. The level of detail depends on the level difference.
[Talents]: None
[Attribute Points]: 2
The newly added Spirit Energy is the source of power for Spirit Energy-based professions. It slowly recovers over time and can be increased by raising Inspiration, or through items, equipment, skills, or talents.
Among the three new skills, Frenzy can increase attack, Hardening can increase defense, and Spiritual Vision can even probe an opponent's strength, making them quite practical.
In fact, "Three Minutes to Master Spirit Energy Prayer" brought Lily not only a new profession but also precautions during Spirit Energy cultivation.
[Attention! Do not indiscriminately use Spirit Energy Prayer on others, otherwise, it may cause extremely adverse effects!]
Originally, she had been ready to go home.
But after inadvertently glimpsing the word "do not" in the precautions, her eyes sharpened.
This word had an extraordinary appeal, much like "FBI Warning."
It was fine if it wasn't mentioned, but once it was, she had no choice but to thoroughly study this forbidden power!
Lily sat down on the ground and began to look through the case studies.
[A male student at a certain academy, as a joke, wanted to use Hardening on his roommate's wrist, but due to an error, he aimed at his roommate's crotch. The next morning, he was discovered by the dorm manager and urgently sent to the nearby hospital's proctology department. Everyone, please do not imitate!]
Using Hardening on a wrist, why would one accidentally aim at the crotch?
Was it intentional, or an accident?
Lily felt there was something fishy about this.
She continued to read the later case studies.
The later cases were even more unsettling.
For example, someone intentionally wore thick shoes for three days without washing their feet before a competition. Once on stage, they immediately used a prayer to enhance their opponent's sense of smell and took off their shoes, causing the opponent to faint from the stench.
Lily nodded approvingly.
What a scoundrel!
She had been thinking: how could an innocent little lamb like her survive after accidentally stumbling into a den of scoundrels like the Abandoned Cooling Plant?
Simply improving her strength wasn't enough; even martial arts masters could be poisoned to death by treacherous villains.
Placing all her hope on players wouldn't work either. Lily's final conclusion was to defeat scoundrels with scoundrels.
Only by understanding all of her opponent's tricks could she avoid harm.
To put it negatively, if she were ever truly entangled by a scoundrel and couldn't avoid it, she could still produce enough leverage to negotiate with them—
You wouldn't want to explode with me, would you?
A mop covered in feces is like Lu Bu reincarnated, but if I also pull out a mop covered in feces, how will you respond, my lord?
Strategic weapons can remain unused, but they must be possessed!
Lily closed the book, still wanting more.
She actually wanted to find more case studies for reference and learning.
Unfortunately, this small library was too small, and most of its books were the kind that could be bundled and sold in a "X Books That Will Benefit You for Life" series.
She had to take a different path.
Since useful knowledge couldn't be learned from books, she could only gain understanding through practice.
After greeting the library's gatekeeper, Lily returned home.
During her absence, Anya had cleaned the house spotless.
Though young, the child was very sensible.
"Boss, do we really have to go find that old geezer to collect the debt again?"
Anya, wearing an apron made of rags, walked out of the kitchen, looking worried.
Lily nodded: "Of course. If we don't collect the debt from him, where will we get money? Do you still remember the Outsiders we saved earlier today? Now it's time for you to see the true value of Outsiders!"
As an NPC, if she didn't use players to help her fight monsters and collect materials, could she still be considered a qualified NPC?
Lily called Anya over and gave her instructions.
"Tomorrow, you'll go entice those Outsiders like this..."
"Will it really work?"
Anya didn't believe it, but since her Boss said so, she could only try her best.
There were no two suns in the sky; in her heart, there was only one sun: her Boss!
...
The next day, around ten in the morning.
In the livestream room titled "Mysterious Girl X, I'm Coming!", Excavation Princess was working with a group of viewers to find the vanished Mysterious Girl X.
[Can you marry NPCs in this game if you raise their favorability?]
[The official website didn't say, probably not.]
[Bad review. This is not as good as Azur Lane. I want a harem, I want a love laboratory!]
[Speaking of Azur Lane, have you noticed that the female NPCs in this game are all so small?]
[Absurd. You call normal proportions small.]
[I'm going to die without seeing Mysterious Girl X.]
[Excavation Princess, my treasure, look behind you.]
"Behind? Is someone hitting each other's crotches with bricks again?"
Excavation Princess, who was looking at the map, subconsciously turned around and immediately saw a little girl peeking around the corner.
That smooth white hair, that petite body...
Isn't that the little girl who was with Mysterious Girl X yesterday? Does finding her mean finding Mysterious Girl X?
Excavation Princess quickly followed, chasing for several streets before she finally stopped Anya.
"Why are you following me?" Anya pouted, "Wait, you're the Outsiders that Boss saved yesterday?!"
Excavation Princess smiled and nodded: "That's right, it's me. Why are you running around outside alone? It's very dangerous here. Where's your Boss?"
Anya grumbled: "What do you think? Boss went to find the boss of the big guy who tried to catch you yesterday. Do you know how dangerous that is? That person is very powerful, you... it's all your fault!"
As she spoke, she pointed towards the end of the road.
Excavation Princess followed Anya's finger.
At the three-way intersection, by a cement pillar, a girl stood gracefully.
White clothes, white hair, a neck like a silkworm larva, slender wrists, fair ankles...
The morning breeze suddenly blew, and her soft hair danced in the wind.
It was her, it was her, it was her!
Excavation Princess was overjoyed.
It wasn't easy!
She had played games for so many years, and which time wasn't she possessed by the spirit of a non-African? (Unlucky person)
Others played with probabilities; she probably played with Tencent and Pinduoduo's lottery, always having to hit the big pity to get anything, and sometimes she'd fail several times even with a 99% upgrade success rate.
But this time, she had only looked for Mysterious Girl X for half a day and successfully found her. Could it be that this Mysterious Girl X was the goddess of luck she had waited so long for?
No time for sentimentality.
Facing Anya's resentful gaze, Excavation Princess smiled confidently: "Don't worry, I'll handle everything!"
It's just a bunch of monsters with HP bars. If I can't beat them, can't I just call my good brothers for backup?
Anya still wanted to say something, but Excavation Princess had already left, striding towards Lily in the distance.
Hey!
Anya hesitated.
Boss said these Outsiders had infinite potential, but from what she had seen and heard from others, these Outsiders all seemed to be not very smart.
Who in their right mind would pick up a wooden stick on the road and claim to have found an invincible divine sword?
Anya felt that Boss might have misjudged this time.
Just as she sighed, Excavation Princess posted a new message in the livestream room.
[Raid time, raid time, everyone! Someone is bullying Mysterious Girl X. Coordinates are (xxx, xxx, xxx). Those nearby can rush over with me!]
Instantly, the livestream room became boisterous.
[Damn it, something like that happened? Beat the hell out of him!]
[Whoever dares to challenge my wife, I will end his life!]
[This plot, I smell a hidden quest. Brothers, I'm going in!]
One, two... many players began to rush towards the coordinates.
When Excavation Princess had walked halfway down the street, only a few people had gathered around her;
When Excavation Princess had walked three-quarters of the way down the street, ten people had already gathered around her;
When she finally reached Lily, those who were cheering or laughing surrounded her in the very center, so many that they couldn't even be counted at a glance.
But it wasn't over yet; people were still constantly arriving from all directions.
+1, +1, +1...
Look closely, this is the friendship and bond of us players!
Anya's mouth dropped open, stunned by this magical scene.
"Boss, was this also part of your plan?"
The noise caught Lily's attention.
She turned around, her gaze fixed on Excavation Princess, showing a surprised and bewildered expression.
"Hmm, why are you here? And all these people around you..."
Although there was no mirror, Lily felt her bewildered expression must have been quite accurate, after all, she had practiced in front of a mirror for a whole hour last night.
Excavation Princess, who had been called out, explained: "I just met the little girl who was with you. She said you came here to find the boss of that villain from yesterday. I was worried you'd be in danger, so I came over."
The players standing next to him echoed.
"Yeah, yeah, big sister with white hair, they're just a bunch of Ordinary wild monsters. You don't need to do anything, we can handle them."
"Don't worry, my lo—"
"Shut up, you shameless old villain! You're yelling 'wife' with a green explosion head, aren't you afraid of scaring people?"
"Hiss, this model is even more realistic than what I saw in the live stream. I really want to touch that hair. I wonder if it will clip through."
"Touch mine."
"Gay guys, get out!"
Lily's eyelids twitched slightly.
Good, very spirited, just like players should be!
Excavation Princess, who had been observing Lily, thought Lily was angry and quickly stepped in to mediate.
"Everyone, stop fooling around. Let's talk business, business. We..."
Lily interrupted Excavation Princess: "I probably understand why you're here. I can appreciate your intentions, but this isn't an opponent you can handle right now. A slight misstep could lead to death. Go back."
As soon as she said this, the players were filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
"We're not afraid of death."
"Indeed, at worst, it's just one death. Nothing to worry about."
"As a Souls-like enthusiast, I love this feeling of dancing on the edge of a knife!"
Anya, who had quietly followed from behind, was startled by these words.
At worst, it's just one death?
Can death be described with "at worst" and "just"?
Lily shook her head: "It's not that I don't believe in your courage. Death is not just one person's business. You wouldn't want your friends and family to be sad because of your passing, would you?"
It was fine when she didn't say anything, but once she did, the players' rebellious psychology kicked in.
Damn it, to be underestimated by Mysterious Girl X! This time, we must prove ourselves with a cool performance!
A player emerged from the crowd, his name [Black Tiger Afu] displayed above his spiky red hair.
"I don't know where I am, and I don't want to know how the story goes. I just want to ask one thing: when can we start killing?"
As he spoke, he touched the blade of the axe in his hand.
This scene made Anya's face turn pale.
What kind of murderous maniac?
Another player named [Patrick Star] also stepped forward: "Yeah, since we're already here."
The players standing around him began to egg them on: "Since things have come to this, let's just start fighting. We can't have come all this way for nothing."
Facing the emotional players, Lily could only smile wryly: "I can't do anything with you guys."
You yourselves want to go, I'm not forcing you. I have video evidence, don't blame me if something happens!
"How about this: I'll go in first to attract their attention, and then you guys stealthily approach and launch an attack when they're not ready. This will reduce the chances of casualties."
Excavation Princess quickly spoke to stop her: "No, that's too dangerous. What if you get hurt? Just leave everything to us."
"Do as I say!"
Lily glared, her voice resolute.
Are you kidding?
If I let you guys rush in and I watch from outside, will there be any of that old geezer's money left for me?
By the time I go in, I'm afraid you would have scraped several layers off the ground inside.
Lily wasn't worried about anything happening to her. After all, she and that old geezer were still nominally on the same side, and she had put all her attribute points into Constitution.
Full Constitution build + Hardening Prayer, who else can compare?
"Wait for my signal."
With that, Lily turned and walked towards the place where the debt-owing old geezer lived.
Watching Lily's retreating figure, both the players present and some of the spectators who were enjoying the show were deeply moved.
When other NPCs treated them as tools, only Mysterious Girl X risked her own safety for their well-being!
[She's really... I'm crying to death!]
[I'm seriously blown away. In all these years, I've rarely seen a game character in gacha games who cares so much about players.]
[Holy crap, you damn dev! If Mysterious Girl X dies, I'll fight you!]
[Calm down, calm down. The dev isn't that guilty yet. Mysterious Girl X isn't dead yet. When she dies, I'll charge with you.]
[Wait for me, I'm deleting my account and coming to your newbie village right away!]
Amidst the commotion, Excavation Princess exchanged glances with the other players around her.
Are they even human if they don't do everything they can to protect such a good NPC?
Screw it!