Chapter 5 Accidental Encounter with Lin Ying_1

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He only had one talent slot, but he felt compelled by both "Disguise" and "Rage."

He let out a long sigh, "There are too few talent slots!"

To increase the talent slots, he had to complete milestone tasks.

"Stock up in the basement, lay low for ten days to finish the task, then see."

Wang Ran eventually replaced "Brick Devotee" with "Disguise," preferring the unrestricted allure of invisibility over the conditional attribute boosts.

After all, "Rage" was just a green-quality talent.

Wang Ran believed he could draw higher-quality attribute-boosting talents later on, but such functional talents as invisibility might not be so certain.

"Go buy some things."

Wang Ran wasn't in a hurry to start his third simulation.

When he arrived at the entrance of a supermarket, intending to shop for supplies, he suddenly heard an excited male voice.

"Lin Ying!"

"Summer vacation is only a month away, I'm planning to go to Hawaii for a holiday, why don't you join me, I'll cover all the travel expenses!"

For some reason, today's summer felt exceptionally hot.

Rich people escaped to the beach to cool off,

While the less fortunate could only witness it online,

The man speaking obviously belonged to the former group.

Under normal circumstances,

Wang Ran might not say it aloud, but he would certainly feel a bit envious.

In his past and present lives combined, he had never traveled abroad, not even to a few small Southeast Asian countries, let alone Hawaii.

However, times had changed.

A holiday in Hawaii?

Heh, if he managed to live that long!

"Li Song, you're really annoying!" an irritable female voice came from the supermarket, "Can't you just stop following us? Lin Ying doesn't want anything to do with you at all!"

Wang Ran silently walked into the supermarket.

Upon entering, he saw a girl in blue tossing a bouquet of roses at a boy covered in designer brands, creating an incredibly awkward scene.

Wang Ran paused for a second.

Because standing behind the girl in blue was a person he hadn't expected to see.

She stood there serenely, her delicate features radiating a beauty like that of Greek statues, a white T-shirt two sizes too large draped loosely over her figure, trying to conceal her stunning physique.

Her jet-black hair cascaded from her shoulders like a waterfall, highlighting her flawless, pale complexion.

She seemed like a living Greek goddess,

After tirelessly pursuing genetic modifications, the Lin family had, over several generations, finally created such a perfect piece of work.

The only imperfection was the look in her eyes at the moment,

which held a mix of resignation, annoyance, and a barely detectable trace of fatigue.

When Wang Ran's gaze met Lin Ying's eyes and sensed the negative emotions within her heart, he managed to break free from the enchantment of her beauty, and his heartbeat returned to normal.

Wang Ran let out a breath.

He hadn't expected to run into Lin Ying here.

But on second thought, it wasn't all that surprising, since this supermarket was the only one inside the school, where anyone could be encountered.

Still, this was indeed his first time seeing Lin Ying in person.

It had to be said, Lin Ying was incredibly beautiful, more stunning in person than the popular female celebrities of the day, no wonder she was revered as the only school beauty, overshadowing both new and old students from several cohorts.

At this moment, Wang Ran could understand the version of himself in the simulator...

Lin Ying noticed Wang Ran sizing her up.

Her eyes shifted, meeting Wang Ran's gaze.

She stared straight at Wang Ran's face.

Wang Ran instinctively wanted to look away,

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But upon further thought,

what do I have to be afraid of?

So he stared at Lin Ying without blinking until she actively looked away.

"Is one bouquet of roses too few?"

The boy pursuing Lin Ying was utterly oblivious to her aversion toward him, blocking her way and speaking with regret about things she didn't care about.

"I originally wanted to buy nine hundred and ninety-nine bouquets, but the flower shop said they didn't have that many on short notice, so I had them send over the most beautiful bouquet they had."

"I'm sorry, I'll be better prepared next time."

Lin Ying remained silent, giving a polite and brief smile, then took the hand of the girl in blue and walked around the boy to leave.

The girl in blue said fiercely, "Don't follow us! So annoying!"

As Lin Ying passed by Wang Ran, a hint of her delicate fragrance lingered on his shoulder, a scent that was refreshing to the soul.

The boy anxiously followed her out, "Ying Ying!"

Wang Ran looked thoughtfully at Lin Ying's retreating figure.

We will meet again...

Wang Ran turned to the clerk and said, "I want all of your chocolate, bread, drinking water, and self-heating food."

The clerk looked astonished.

"I'll take as much as you have, but you need to help me move it to the basement of the academic building; I can't carry that much by myself." Wang Ran paused, then added, "Also, get me a thousand yuan worth of various snacks."

The clerk asked with surprise and doubt, "What are you buying all this for, is there an event for the club?"

Wang Ran nodded, his expression unchanging.

He suddenly remembered something, "Right, and give me ten boxes of condoms."

The clerk exclaimed in astonishment, "Is this also for the club event?"

The smile on Wang Ran's face stiffened.

He maintained eye contact with the clerk,

and the air fell into an eerie silence.

The clerk was a girl, and as soon as the words left her mouth, she realized she had misspoken, and her pretty little face turned beet red.

Wang Ran had no choice but to say stiffly, "That's for my personal use."

The clerk murmured as quiet as a mosquito, "Oh..."

She seemed to think of something, her face reddening even more, even the roots of her ears turned pink, and she didn't dare to make eye contact with Wang Ran for the rest of the time.

Half an hour later, the clerks had tallied all the items.

These supplies were enough for Wang Ran and Lin Ying to live in the basement for several months. The clerks used trolleys to help Wang Ran deliver the items to the basement of the academic building.

The basement was a storage area that was only visited when new students enrolled or when cleaning was done before the enrollment.

The door was now locked, so the items could only be placed in the corridor.

"Thanks for your hard work, thank you!"

Wang Ran saw the clerks off.

He stood alone in the dimly-lit corridor of the basement, looking at the supplies stacked against the wall and reflected, "It's up to these items to complete the task."

For safety, he wrote several notes with a permanent marker.

He noted that the supplies were needed for an activity by the school's student association, ensuring they wouldn't be lost before the apocalypse arrived.

Then he began the third simulation.

[Start Simulation]

[On the first day, you moved the supplies into the basement. Suddenly the ground shook, and being prepared, you dodged falling rocks and managed to protect Lin Ying as well.]

[You and Lin Ying heard terrifying screams.]

[You understood what was happening outside, but confident in your own abilities, you were not scared, but rather contentedly started eating self-heating hotpot.]

[Lin Ying joined you.]

[Singing songs and eating hotpot, you unwittingly survived the first day of the apocalypse.]

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