Chapter 19: A Big Sister Descends from the Heavens.

The next morning, Xing Yuanzhi suddenly woke up from the bed. She struggled to sit up, her black hair disheveled, her body cold and wet, panting heavily, her head spinning and still feeling faint and lingering palpitations.

After calming down for a few minutes, she saw Cheng Jinyang come to the bedside and handed her a cup of hot milk.

Xing Yuanzhi drank the hot milk in one gulp, feeling some relief in her spasming heart.

"How...how did you manage to endure all these years?" She held the cup in her hands, slowly feeling the warmth on top.

"You've only experienced the full length of the nightmare for the first time, so you're not used to it," Cheng Jinyang said lightly.

"Used to it?" Xing Yuanzhi murmured.

In the beginning of the nightmare, the two of them could energetically flee and try various means to kill the monsters.

After more than four hours, this endless fleeing became torture and torment. After all, nightmares weren't games, and there was no way to pause when tired, not even a moment for rest.

The longer the time, the greater the pressure, the easier it is to make mistakes, and making mistakes makes it easier to die. There's great terror between life and death, that instinctive survival instinct will squeeze out every bit of potential from the human body.

Xing Yuanzhi felt like she was about to die into ashes, and then... after who knows how long, she finally woke up.

"How do you feel?" Cheng Jinyang asked.

"Feel... terrible," Xing Yuanzhi sighed. "I'm starting to doubt whether I should continue staying here."

"But you said initially you wanted to sleep all day," Cheng Jinyang showed a smirk-like expression.

"No way, I take that back," Xing Yuanzhi got up from the bed and shook her head.

"Even once a day feels like too much."

"If it weren't for the effect of the bloodline concentration boost, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to hold on for so long, and you..." She looked at Cheng Jinyang with a complex gaze.

"You actually managed to adapt to it..."

"I had no choice," Cheng Jinyang replied.

Xing Yuanzhi picked up the bloodline detector and tested herself: 167 Ma, a 2 Ma increase.

Then she tested Cheng Jinyang: 118 Ma, also a 2 Ma increase.

Xing Yuanzhi remembered very clearly the number of monsters killed, probably more than forty.

In other words, killing one monster could give approximately 0.05 Ma of bloodline purity increase, if we ignore the instrument detection error.

"Thinking like this isn't bad," Xing Yuanzhi pondered, "At least we can gain the value of 2 Ma every night."

"Exactly, but demons are not easy to kill," Cheng Jinyang reminded her not to be blindly optimistic. "Don't forget, so far most of the demons we've killed have relied on ambushing them based on the terrain."

"To put it plainly, we haven't directly confronted the strength of demons yet. Before I mastered my abilities, relying solely on swordsmanship and combat, I could only kill up to 4 demons at most every night. If we don't encounter suitable starting points, weapons, and environments, it's possible to die nearly a hundred times in one night without finding an opportunity. Can you accept that?"

"Of course," Xing Yuanzhi said casually, "Even if I die a dozen times, it's just death in a nightmare, not real death, right?"

"Your mentality is very dangerous, Ah Zhi!" Cheng Jinyang's face changed suddenly, and he said sternly, "If you don't take death in nightmares seriously, be careful it doesn't spread to the real world!"

"Are you saying..." Xing Yuanzhi, of course, wasn't stupid and immediately guessed his meaning.

"Nightmares are very realistic," Cheng Jinyang said seriously, "Even in virtual network games, simulated pain can only be adjusted to a maximum of 50%, just to prevent getting used to pain and death in the virtual world, and carrying that mindset back to reality, resulting in death due to lack of reaction to danger."

"If you get used to dying in nightmares, can you guarantee that you won't still have that mindset when you return to reality? The instinct for survival is not just a burden, Ah Zhi. It's also an essential help to keep us alive."

"Sorry, I understand," Xing Yuanzhi said softly, "And even if pointing out my mistake, you shouldn't call me Ah Zhi."

She weakly got up, stumbled into the bathroom, intending to wash her sweaty body.

"I'm going to see the doctor outside," Cheng Jinyang's voice came from outside.

"Okay," Xing Yuanzhi responded from the bathroom.

Taking off her dress, turning on the tap, facing the ice-cold water spraying from the shower, it felt like the whole world was getting clean.

Xing Yuanzhi sighed deeply, then started to drift off a bit.

The temptation of increased blood concentration was irresistible to her; however, the nightmares filled with blood-stained battles - whether it was her and Cheng Jinyang's deaths, or the monster's demise, all accompanied by splattering flesh and blood - just the thought of them touching her made her feel nauseous.

Cheng Jinyang... how did you endure all these years?

....

The clinic of Wu Quemei is located around 2 kilometers northwest of Cheng Jinyang's home, in the town center.

Although her supernatural ability is "perception manipulation," the main business of the clinic is not treating psychological disorders but rather general medical consultations.

Most patients who visit are common cold cases, as the clinic is situated in a suburban satellite town, and those with serious mental illnesses typically go elsewhere, usually to Qinglong Mountain.

Cheng Jinyang entered the clinic and saw Wu Quemei swiftly writing prescriptions for patients, instructing them to take them to the nurse at the entrance for medication, while she sat under the table drinking beer.

"Sister Wu, drinking on the job?" Cheng Jinyang greeted her with a smile.

"Aren't you afraid patients will smell alcohol on you?"

"What do you know? Alcohol is for disinfection," Wu Quemei replied nonchalantly.

"It's normal for hospitals to have a bit of alcohol scent. Come on, let Sister Wu see how you've developed."

"I'm here to have this checked," Cheng Jinyang pointed to his temple.

"Oh, is that so?" Wu Quemei asked, puzzled.

Cheng Jinyang: .....

Sometimes I don't know if she's intentionally teasing me or if I'm misunderstanding.

So, he sat down in the chair and leaned his head forward. Wu Quemei placed two fingers on his temple and started manipulating her perception.

"Hmm, you've recovered nicely," Wu Quemei nodded, withdrawing her fingers after the treatment.

"Thank you, Sister Wu," Cheng Jinyang nodded.

The significant stress accumulated from frequent deaths in nightmares has disappeared with the end of the treatment.

That's right. Actually, I lied to Ah Zhi. It's not a matter of habit or not; it's because I come here every day to relieve stress.

With this thought, Cheng Jinyang suddenly saw someone emerging from the inner room of the clinic.

Sister Zhou?

Ah, no, not Dr. Zhou Xingzhi, but a beautiful big sister I've never seen before.

Her big wavy hair was dyed a light brown, casually draped over her shoulders. Her facial features were full and charming, and her figure approached the golden ratio, making her silhouette stunningly perfect.

She wore a high-necked pink knitted sweater on top, and below... well, she was wearing a short white pleated skirt, only partially visible beneath the sweater's hem. Knee-high boots hugged her slender calves, revealing the marvelous thighs between the skirt and the boots. They were perfectly proportioned, plump yet without excess fat, slender yet with a hint of flesh.

Amazing, simply amazing.

Eyes up, stay focused! Pull yourself together!

After muttering to himself several times, Cheng Jinyang quickly withdrew his gaze and said to Wu Quemei as if nothing had happened, "Alright, I'll come back tomorrow..."

"Wait a moment," Wu Quemei called out to him, then turned and waved to the beautiful older sister, "Xinnan, come over here, Jinyang is here."

"Ah, you must be Cheng Jinyang?" The beautiful older sister's eyes lit up, and she immediately came over with a smile, "Do you remember me? I'm your sister Xinnan! Cheng Xinnan! I used to visit your home when you were young!"

"Yes, Sister Xinnan, haha." Cheng Jinyang said that but he had no memory of her at all. It was obviously something from before the original owner's father passed away.

However, he soon realized that the monthly living allowance transferred to his account by the Cheng family was under the name "Xinnan." Although he didn't know how to pronounce the character, and hadn't checked it before, he suddenly understood now.

Xin, pronounced like "heart." The person who transferred money to him every month was this beautiful older sister.

[T/N: He's referring to the chinese name.]