178: Chapter 177 Resources

Qi Yun sat up straight and took a deep breath, trying to make his voice sound calm as he slowly said,

"Yun Lin. Now, in front of me..."

"Remove your armor."

The meaning was self-evident.

The moment she heard those words, Yun Lin's body trembled violently.

This tremble was far more intense than any before.

She had never done such a thing in front of any member of the opposite sex.

Qi Yun watched her rapidly changing expression and the genuine struggle in her eyes, thinking she would surely give up this time.

Yun Lin looked at Qi Yun, the struggle in her eyes gradually subsiding.

She didn't speak, but silently turned around, walked to a chair in the bedroom, moved it to a position directly facing Qi Yun's bed, and then sat down.

Sitting on the chair, Yun Lin first bent down and reached out to unfasten the shoes on her feet.

The shoes were removed, revealing pure white ankle socks wrapping her slender feet.

The socks were clean and clung tightly to the graceful curves of her feet.

As the socks were peeled away, a pair of jade-like feet, perfect as a work of art, were gradually revealed before Qi Yun's eyes.

Her skin was a cool-toned white, as delicate as fine mutton-fat jade.

The arch of her foot was graceful and natural, and her ankles were slender and exquisite.

These feet were not only beautiful but carried a certain allure.

Then, her hands slowly moved toward her waist.

"Wait!"

Just as her pants were about to be pulled down, Qi Yun shouted for her to stop!

Qi Yun looked into her eyes, then glanced over her bare, jade-like feet and calves—already stripped of shoes and socks—which were enough to make any man's blood boil. He felt a rush of heat to his head and a sharp, swelling ache in a certain area.

Since he was certain she wasn't afraid, there was no need to continue stripping.

He looked up and met Yun Lin's gaze.

The sunlight outlined her slender and graceful figure, and the blush on her cheeks that hadn't fully faded added a touch of seduction to her cold, peerless beauty.

"Yun Lin. Why do you want to follow me so badly? Or rather, why do you like me?"

Yun Lin replied,

"Because you loathe me. You don't like me."

"Therefore, I like you."

Simple, direct, and with a logic so bizarre it was appalling.

Qi Yun was stunned, unable to react for a moment: "What? Because I loathe you and don't like you, you like me?"

What kind of devilish logic is this?! A masochistic tendency?

"Yes," Yun Lin nodded with certainty.

"Before I met you, every male I encountered would fall in love with me after being affected by my ability. Their love came in various forms, but without exception, they were all fakes."

"But you are different. You feel loathing. You weren't influenced by my ability; you treat me as a 'trouble.'"

"You refuse my requests and try to make me hate you and stay away from you."

"Your loathing and dislike are very real. This makes me feel clean; those are genuine emotions, something I can't feel from other men."

"So I want to gain your love, because I know it won't be a falsehood, not the result of being influenced by my ability."

"It would be real love. I want to be loved."

Qi Yun: "..."

He felt like his mental circuits couldn't quite keep up.

"Don't you think this is very strange?" Qi Yun couldn't help but ask.

"Is it strange?" Yun Lin tilted her head, a trace of pure incomprehension appearing on her face.

"Everyone's love is strange. The way everyone falls in love with others is also strange. Love itself has no standard answer."

"So, I don't think it's strange that I want to gain your love."

Qi Yun fell silent.

He suddenly remembered Yun Lin's damned, curse-like Unique Class, that ability that forced all men to "love" her.

To her, "being madly loved by everyone" was the norm, a curse, and a burden.

But being genuinely loathed by someone had become a rare commodity instead.

Yun Lin looked at Qi Yun and softly reminded him,

"Well, there's about half an hour left."

"For the remaining time, are you going to give up?"

Qi Yun snapped out of his thoughts, stood up from the bed, and walked over to Yun Lin.

"Give up?" Qi Yun slowly leaned down, his gaze drifting down across her slender neck, exquisite collarbones, and the rising and falling of her graceful curves.

"Since you want to gain love..."

"Then next..."

"What I'm going to do won't just be small things like taking off shoes and socks or putting on pants."

"Understand?"

Yun Lin's cheeks instantly turned bright red.

Several seconds of dead silence followed.

Then, Yun Lin slowly closed her eyes.

"Yes, I'm willing."

...

"So... this is... what it feels like?"

"That... I'm having a bit of trouble... breathing."

...

At the base's second floor, on a spacious terrace.

Li reclined on a lounge chair.

Xia Ran sat cross-legged on the carpet beside her.

Suddenly, from the staircase leading to the terrace, came the sound of footsteps that were noticeably weak and staggering.

Both of them turned their heads at the same time.

They saw Yun Lin holding onto the staircase railing, walking up one step at a time with great difficulty.

Her long silver hair wasn't as neatly tied as usual; several strands were damp with sweat and stuck to her abnormally flushed cheeks and neck.

Her lips also seemed slightly swollen, glistening with a moist sheen.

Most noticeably, on her exposed ankles and calves, there seemed to be several unnatural red marks, as if they had been gripped forcefully.

Li's gaze swept over Yun Lin, her purple eyes flickering slightly as she instantly understood something. She asked,

"How does it feel?"

Yun Lin replied,

"It's quite special."

"It's not quite like I imagined; I want to try it a few more times."

"It's just that my legs are a bit weak, and my waist is a bit sore."

With every sentence she spoke, the blush on her face deepened.

On the side, Xia Ran was initially confused, looking at Li and then at Yun Lin, who was clearly in an unusual state, her mind racing.

How does it feel? Pain? Weak legs? Sore waist? Special?

Combining these words with Yun Lin's current disheveled appearance and staggering gait...

Xia Ran's mouth slowly drifted open, and her eyes widened as if she had seen a ghost!

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait!!" Xia Ran suddenly jumped up from the floor, pointing at Yun Lin.

"No... no way?! How did Qi Yun dare to do that?!"

"He actually made a move?!"

"It's over, it's over! Yun Lin! Do you know how many factions, how many lunatics 'like' you?! If they find out you were... that... by Qi Yun, they'll go insane!"

"When that time comes, all your fanatical fans in the central region will come hunting for him!"

Xia Ran was already imagining the scene of countless red-eyed "Yun Lin simps" tramping over Qi Yun's miserable remains.

Yun Lin looked at the frantic Xia Ran and said,

"I was willing."

"Willing?!" Xia Ran's voice became even shriller.

"What use is it that you were willing?! Will those lunatics care if you were willing?! They'll only want to kill Qi Yun and tear the man who defiled you into ten thousand pieces!"

The "Peerless Goddess" that countless people in the Land of Beginning looked up to, revered, and madly pursued...

Was just "eaten up" by that guy Qi Yun like that?

And the goddess herself seemed to have enjoyed it?

Insane!

This world has truly gone insane!

No, it's that guy Qi Yun who's toxic! Absolutely toxic!

Even existences on the level of 'Calamity' and 'Peerless Goddess' could be 'handled' by him?!

Xia Ran slumped back onto the carpet, her eyes glazed over, feeling that the future was pitch black.

She could already see the scene of countless thugs wielding weapons swarming in from all directions.

Yun Lin leaned against the wall, slowly shuffling to another chair to sit down, gently rubbing her sore lower back and weak legs. The blush on her face hadn't faded, and her eyes were unfocused, as if she were still reminiscing about something.

Xia Ran was trembling and wanted to cry but had no tears for the "upcoming" imagined catastrophe.