126: Chapter 126: Flirting and Cleverness, Competing for Favor and Making a Scene in Bed!

"Brother Lin, Brother Lin! What about me? What about me!"

Wen Yiran leaned in close, the syrup on the corner of her mouth smearing directly onto Lin Xiao's face. "I want new skills too!"

"Alright, alright..." Lin Xiao wiped his face helplessly. "Pick them yourself."

Speaking of which, Wen Yiran's offensive methods were indeed a bit one-dimensional.

Currently, she only had [Multi-Shot] and [One Arrow, Two Birds], relying entirely on the unique damage traits of her weapons and equipment sets.

It was time for her to learn some new skills.

Having received Lin Xiao's permission, Wen Yiran immediately looked up, stars shining in her eyes.

"I want to learn Stealth like yours, Brother Lin!"

Lin Xiao smiled and pinched her cheek. "My Stealth was won from a lottery at the amusement park. It's a special skill; there's nothing similar on the online trade network."

This was the truth.

Tactical skills like displacement or Stealth were simply not for sale on the market.

Wen Yiran felt a bit discouraged, but she quickly perked up and continued browsing the online trade network.

Suddenly, she clapped her hands, having a bold idea.

"If only I could enchant my arrows!"

"Like those scarecrows we met before—the arrows would explode upon impact, boom!"

Her eyes grew brighter and brighter as she spoke rapidly, even gesturing an explosion with her hands.

Lin Xiao nodded.

That was a good line of thought.

He began searching through the skill books listed on the online trade network.

Just then, a skill book caught Wen Yiran's attention.

"Brother Lin, look at the online trade!"

She pointed at a skill book glowing with blue light on the interface and shared it in their private messages.

[Skill Book - Toxic Arrow (Level 2): Active skill, consumes 8 Spirit points to coat the next arrow in potent poison. Upon hitting a target, it inflicts poisoning, dealing 1% of the target's maximum health as True Damage every second for 3 seconds.]

"A poison damage build?"

Lin Xiao looked at the skill description and pondered for a moment. "It's not impossible, but poison is damage over time; it can't deliver high burst output in a short period."

"Unless..." Wen Yiran blurted out, "Unless I can stack the damage!"

Jiang Wanwan chuckled from the side. "It looks like Ranran has already graduated!"

Wen Yiran shook her head proudly. "I used to play games too—JX3, Naraka, LOL, and the whole MiHoYo collection."

"I might have been a noob, but I understand the basic logic. It's just that I didn't have time once I started working—overtime every day, the 996 schedule, my hair was falling out in clumps..."

As she spoke, her voice grew quieter.

Lin Xiao immediately reached out and ruffled her chestnut-colored hair. "Alright, no more sad stories. We'll follow your idea and go with the poison damage build."

He went directly into the online trade network, bought the Level 2 skill book, and placed it in Wen Yiran's hand.

Then, he went to the workshop and rummaged through a storage box to find another one.

[Skill Book - Death Venom (Level 3): Passive skill, normal attacks poison the target, dealing 1% of current health as damage every second for 5 seconds, stackable up to 5 times.]

"Use them together," Lin Xiao said, handing the skill book to Wen Yiran. "Don't mind the low burst; once the stacks are full, the damage will be very impressive."

"Hehehe... Thank you, Brother Lin! Brother Lin is the best!" Wen Yiran hugged the two skill books, her eyes curving into crescent moons from her smile.

She leaned in again, leaving Lin Xiao's face covered in sticky syrup.

Tian Xiwei was quietly eating corn nearby, but her gaze occasionally drifted toward them.

Lin Xiao noticed her look and asked with a smile, "Xiao Tian, what about you? Any ideas?"

Tian Xiwei put down her corn and thought for a moment. "I feel like I haven't been able to help you much in recent battles. So, I want to learn a few more support skills..."

"No!"

Jiang Wanwan suddenly spoke up.

Tian Xiwei was stunned.

"You need to learn some offensive skills!" Jiang Wanwan looked at her and said seriously, "In case we get separated, you need at least some means to protect yourself."

Lin Xiao nodded in agreement. "Wanwan is right. I had you learn support skills before because I was afraid you wouldn't be able to keep up with our pace."

"Now that you've adapted to combat, you can try learning some offensive skills."

"Besides, your [vermilion scale flowing fire] set is offensive by nature. Staying as a support forever would be a waste of your talent!"

Although he was talking about a Level 2 set, Tian Xiwei caught the underlying meaning in his words, and her face turned slightly red.

Lin Xiao thought for a bit, then placed the [Flame Storm] book by Tian Xiwei's hand.

"This is for you."

Tian Xiwei didn't make excuses or refuse as she had before. Instead, she nodded happily and carefully tucked the skill book away.

The three women put away their skill books and continued eating breakfast.

Midway through, Lin Xiao looked at Wen Yiran. "After eating, go buy a batch of Level 2 armor pieces. The higher the added traits or attributes, the better. If you don't have enough money, come to me."

Wen Yiran, with corn in her mouth, asked indistinctly, "Brother Lin, are you changing equipment?"

"I got a full set of equipment blueprints," Lin Xiao said succinctly. "I need some good equipment to use as base materials."

Wen Yiran made an OK gesture.

"You don't have to rush to learn the skills yet." Lin Xiao thought for a moment, then looked at Tian Xiwei. "When your Spirit is sufficient, try Constructing some equipment and skill books—specifically the set pieces you're wearing and the skill books you're about to use."

Tian Xiwei nodded, then pulled a composite crossbow [cloud piercer], a codex [Ripple], and several intricate-looking Level 3 accessories from her bag.

"You..." Lin Xiao looked up at her.

"Xiao Tian, when did you Construct these?"

Jiang Wanwan and Wen Yiran also leaned in, their expressions filled with surprise.

Tian Xiwei looked down, picking at a corner of the codex. "When you were fighting, the [Darkness] stacks were rising very quickly, and my Spirit was often overflowing. To avoid wasting it, I... I quietly replicated some things."

Lin Xiao looked at the weapons and accessories on the table and reached out to rub Tian Xiwei's head.

"What reward do you want?"

Tian Xiwei looked up, her face suddenly turning even redder, but her eyes were sparkling.

She plucked up her courage and whispered, "Tonight... I want to sleep on the innermost side!"

The one sleeping on the innermost side of the bed was often the one who took the most 'damage'.

Jiang Wanwan: "?"

Lin Xiao: "..."

Wen Yiran: "???"

Silence for two seconds.

Wen Yiran bristled. "No way, no way! Xiao Tian, you can't do that. If you sleep on the inside, where will I sleep..."

Hearing this, Lin Xiao couldn't help but cast a playful look at her.

This girl had clearly been crying and shouting last night that she didn't want to continue anymore.

Yet now she was stubbornly refusing to give up her spot.

And Tian Xiwei, in a rare moment of assertiveness, replied, "No, you sleep on the outside!"

"It's cold on the outside!"

"Then use more blankets!"

"Xiao Tian, you..."

Jiang Wanwan, caught in the middle, couldn't stop laughing.

Lin Xiao shook his head helplessly and continued munching on his corn.

"Brother Lin, stop eating! Come and settle this! Brother Lin!!!"

...