Star Abyss Walker

Chapter 292 How dare I?
The next second, the BOSS's attributes appeared—

【Captain of the Underworld】(Pink BOSS)

Rating: 65
Attack: 9000-10500
Defense: 4500
Qi and blood: 15000000
Skills: [Shooting Master Lv10], [Kill Enhancement Lv10], [Plasma Shield Lv10]

Details: Captain Ghost, the former captain of the Ghost Ship, a great warrior skilled in hand-to-hand combat, shooting, and swordsmanship, lost his sanity after the starship's fall, ultimately becoming a slave to death, his soul sinking into the depravity of eternal life.
……

As expected, the biggest challenge in the current version of the five-star dungeon comes from the final boss!

Although the Netherworld Captain's attributes are slightly inferior to the pink BOSS on the world map, its attack, defense, and health are much worse than those of the Claw Bug of the same level.

However, for most players at this stage, taking on such a boss solo is still an impossible task!
"die!"

Captain Ghost suddenly turned to the side and pulled out a thick, long explosive gun from under his wide cloak!
"What the hell!?"

I tensed up slightly and quickly ducked and moved sideways to dodge. Instantly, bullets from a 30mm caliber blast gun came whistling through the air. Perhaps, at that caliber, they could no longer be considered bullets, but rather artillery shells!

I felt intense pain in my abdomen and legs. The BOSS's shooting skills were very high, exactly the same as mine. It was almost a lock-on attack, and there was no way to avoid the shots by moving around!
As bullets from the bomb gun flew, the damage numbers above his head rose and fell.

"4873!"

"5089!"

"4999!"

"5045!"

……

He was hit by about ten bullets in an instant, and his health bar dropped to less than half!
I can't take this anymore, I'll fight!
With a "whoosh," the Step Slash was activated, forming a shield to briefly block the attack. Then, wielding the Power Sword, it lunged forward, unleashing a combination of Battle Shout, Heavenly Craftsmanship, and Unstoppable Force. With a wave of its hand, it used the Dragon Binding Rope to imprison the BOSS, and then unleashed a series of combos!
"Om~~~"

Unexpectedly, the device mounted on Captain Ghost's waist roared to life, activating the plasma shield skill. Instantly, a layer of deep blue, thin as a cicada's wing, shield blocked the power sword. With sparks flying everywhere, it was impossible to penetrate it!
Suddenly, a chill ran through me.

Failed!
"It's my turn!"

Captain Ghost laughed heartily, then turned around and fired his bomb gun at close range!

Is this okay? !
After feinting with his sword, he quickly used a combination of stepping and running to instantly appear behind the Netherworld Captain, unleashing more than ten powerful sword strikes. At this moment, a resilience bar for the plasma shield finally appeared.

"You little nobody from some unknown planet, do you think you can defeat me like this?"

Captain Netherworld roared, his body surging with blood-red light as he entered a state of enhanced killing intent!
"Bang bang bang~~~"

The rapid-fire bombardment doubled the damage when it hit the body again, with each shot dealing approximately 1 damage!
Is this playable?
A chill ran through me, and without thinking any further, I directly consumed 50 points of Yuan Power to unleash my invincible burst skill!

"Shua~~~"

A golden light enveloped him, and without a moment's delay, he turned and unleashed a barrage of attacks on the Netherworld Captain, focusing all his attacks on the miniature shield generator hanging from his waist... no, I mean the one!
"You audacious little bastard, don't even think about it!"

The ghost captain roared, his right hand firing an explosive shot, while his left hand opened, trying to grab me.

Whirlwind!
A whirlwind surged around him, and in an instant, he successfully passed through the monster, appearing directly behind Captain Netherworld!
Turn around and chop again!
Seven seconds later, the plasma shield finally went out with a "whoosh," and in the next second, a lightning-fast Dragon Blade, accompanied by a dragon's roar, swept across the opponent's waist!

"Crack!"

Sparks flew everywhere, and the plasma generator was cut in two, hissing and spitting out sparks.

It's done! We can finally deal damage!
"Bastard!"

Amid Captain Ghost's furious roar, I launched him into the air with a single Rising Dragon Slash, followed by a full combo of Ash Sweep that took away over 20 of his health, while simultaneously restoring my own health to full.

You can't beat me!

Captain Ghost got impatient and started barking like a dog.

I laughed. The opponent's plasma shield skill icon had cracked, which meant that the skill was permanently disabled and would no longer be effective. So I had nothing to fear and could just use my power sword to fight back!

With such high melee attack power and 34% life steal, the damage from the BOSS's bomb gun is indeed high, but the amount of health I can recover from melee attacks is even higher!
In an instant, every sword strike sent blood and flesh flying everywhere!
In reality, Captain Ghost is a spirit, so the "severing" effect of the power sword is ineffective. After his arm is severed, there are still countless blood-red threads connecting it, and it heals in the blink of an eye, so it is impossible to use skills such as critical hit or decapitation.

I can only slowly chip away at it, but fortunately my attack power is high enough that the clearing speed isn't too slow.

After nearly 30 minutes of close combat, Captain Netherworld's health bar finally disappeared, and he slowly knelt down, his body turning into wisps of bloody light that rose up!

"You think that's all?!"

The next second, the image of Captain Netherworld appeared in the blood-red spirit and pounced down, actually trying to fight back even after he was dead!

"Om~~~"

Just then, the Yuan Power Furnace roared, and Yuan Power surged out of the body, exploding with a loud bang, directly shattering the ghost of the Netherworld Captain into pieces!
Sure, the SS-grade elemental furnace has done a great job again!
……

Carrying his power sword, he retraced his steps.

The beautiful female warrior in the spacesuit with short hair smiled and said, "Young warrior, your courage makes me very happy. The storm on the ghost ship has finally subsided. Here, this is your reward!"

[Congratulations! You have completed the solo dungeon Crystal Ghost Ship (Epic ★★★★★)! Rewards: 4500 million character experience and the Starry Sky Bracers (Quality: Pink)!]

Sure enough, it produced powder!

I was overjoyed and hurriedly opened the interdimensional storage space.

In a corner of the space, a set of exquisitely crafted armor, consisting of arm guards, wrist guards, and hand guards, lay there. Its entire body shimmered and rotated, with starry sky patterns on the surface. The arm guards were adorned with delicate vine carvings, giving it a very tasteful appearance.

After a brief pause, the wristband's attributes appeared—

【Starry Sky Wristband】(Quality: Pink)
Grade: Fifth Tier

Defense: 780
Strength: +60
Agility: +57
Spirit: +55
Blessing: Damage reduction +4%
Specialty: Attack damage +17%
Blessing: Resilience, increases own health by 7500 points.

Burst Skill: [Star Vine], sacrifices a large amount of elemental energy to activate Star Vine, causing a binding effect on targets within a 40x40 area for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 10 minutes. Costs 30 elemental energy.

Biography: A pair of exquisite wristbands from an unnamed planet, said to contain an ancient power that, once awakened, would be quite astonishing.
Strength required: 1050
Required Agility: 500
……

The basic attributes of this bracer are only average. The damage increase and damage reduction are indeed maxed out, but it doesn't have any of the attack and defense attributes like Mighty Strength and Rock Solid. For a pink-grade equipment, it can only be considered mid-range.

Fortunately, it actually has a range control burst skill!

This Star Vine has an extremely large control range, instantly controlling a 40x40 yard area, which will be very useful in team battles.

No more talk, let's get the gear ready!

Behind him, a portal appeared, allowing him to return directly.

I glanced down at the short-haired NPC leaning against the transparent pod of the starport, looking quite relaxed, and chuckled, "Comrade, I'm leaving now. You can stay here and keep watch."

"Humph!"

She crossed her arms and chuckled softly, "You brat..."

Turn around and leave through the portal!

"Shh!"

His figure appeared at the street corner not far from the player black market. He glanced at the time; it was almost five o'clock. So, he sent Lin Qingying a message to let her know he was safe and sound, and then said in the team channel, "I'm back. Has the gene warrior booked a restaurant yet?"

"It's settled!"

"Remove Armor from Me" hurriedly sent the location to the group chat, saying, "Since the boss is finished, let's head over there and start drinking as soon as possible?"

"can."

Everyone agreed.

So I walked into the alley, quietly took out my beloved little motorcycle, and sped off towards the restaurant I had booked. It wasn't too far away, and it was quite close to Yuening.

……

We arrived at the restaurant shortly afterward and went upstairs to a private room.

The one who was supposed to remove my armor has arrived, looking very enthusiastic: "My lord, what happened?"

"A pink wristband, not bad."

"Hiahiahia, all that's good that the shipment is out!"

"really."

I nodded: "Sit down, they should be here soon."

"Ok!"

A few minutes later, everyone arrived, and the private room became lively.

Everyone introduced themselves to each other, but Cai Cai, Fatty, and the others didn't know how to address me.

“Hey kid, we’ve chatted before,” Cai Cai said.

"I know, Brother Cai Cai!"

He nodded repeatedly, knowing that Cai Cai was one of the core players in the team and her words carried weight. If Cai Cai didn't agree to let him join the team, things would be in trouble.

"But..."

Cai Cai said, "I'm not trying to be mean, but what should we call you with that weird game ID? Should we call you 'I'? Or 'Unarmored'? They all sound awkward and unfriendly! Look at my ID, it's perfect, just call me Cai Cai."

"It's better than this."

The chubby guy, who was good at naming things, said, "He is the first gene warrior in our Ding Han team, and to be honest, there are very few gene warriors in our Crimson Dragon Kingdom camp, and it is even rarer to have such a high-level gene warrior!"

He pondered for a moment, then said, "Since he is one of the best gene warriors, why don't we call him Aki?"

"what?!"

Aki looked completely bewildered: "If you're not going to talk about Aki, then what about civilization..."

"That's a good name."

I nodded: "Then I'll change your nickname to Aki."

"Okay, since the boss said so, if they issue name change cards in the future, I'll change my ID to Aki for easier identification." This guy seemed to agree readily.

Ruolin said, "How about we order some food first?"

"Okay, order whatever you like!"

Aki was very confident and said, "To be honest, it's not difficult for me to farm equipment; it might be slightly easier than for everyone else."

"What's the story behind this?" The storyteller squinted.

"Actually, there's no special technique. It's just a combination of Holy Blood Boiling and the passive Fountain of Life. As long as the BOSS's damage isn't too high and can't kill me instantly, I can slowly wear it down. The only pink-grade equipment I had, as well as the five-star dungeon crystal I gave to my boss, all dropped from a pink-grade BOSS in this way."

"Brilliant!"

Huo Bingzhi gave a thumbs up and said, "Aji, we can team up and go out for extra training to catch up on levels. It'll be so much fun with you as our tank!"

"Holy crap, that's exactly what I was thinking too!"

Aki exclaimed with delight, "Damn, having family is such a different feeling! It's true that being a lone wolf for too long makes you feel lonely."

"Stop talking, let's order!"

So, everyone started ordering one or two dishes they wanted to eat each day, and soon they had ordered more than a dozen dishes. But Aki seemed to have plenty of money, so everyone felt no pressure.

……

Aki brought out a case of Guoyuan, and everyone started drinking, while I continued to drink Heineken.

After a few rounds of drinks, everyone except the two girls, whose faces turned red, started to get into the swing of things. In particular, Faye, Bingzi, and Gushi, who were all newcomers to the team, looked like they had known each other for a long time and wished they could become sworn brothers with Akibai right there and then.

"Ding Han, how many pink outfits do you have now?"

Suddenly, Ruolin asked this question lightly.

Suddenly, everyone stopped chatting, their expressions turned serious, and they stared straight at me.

"Let me take a look!"

I opened the equipment panel, glanced at it, and said, "Sword, bomb gun, sniper rifle, helmet, chest armor, and bracers, a total of six pink-grade items. It doesn't seem like that many."

"Isn't that enough?"

Huo Bingzhi stared wide-eyed, looking as if he had seen a ghost.

"Ugh……"

Fa Ye Chao Chen sighed, "The equipment is so damn hard to get, really. I feel like my goal of getting a full set of blue armor is still a long way off, but look at the boss, he's almost halfway to getting a full set of pink armor."

"Actually, the most important thing is... the boss's pink sword is a power sword, it's too deadly..." he grinned as he told a story.

"really."

Cai Cai looked at Fa Ye Chao Chen and said, "Fa Ye, don't have so many complaints. To be honest, once we firepower users get through the early stages, we'll soon enter an awkward phase. I'd like to take this opportunity to ask the boss for advice, suggestions, and direction for us firepower users."

"How to say?"

Fa Yechao was speechless: "Even the top gunner in Huaining City has troubles?"

"There are so many troubles."

Cai Cai said, "First of all, Fa Ye, your equipment is a cloth spirit set. These kinds of equipment generally have very low requirements, the biggest requirement being spirit. But you Star Speakers all allocate all points to spirit, so there's no problem for you. Now look at us damage dealers, our equipment is the same as our melee equipment, we can all wear armor, but..."

He paused, a helpless expression on his face: "Blue equipment often requires 600, 700, or even 800 points of strength, plus 400-500 points of agility. But our damage dealers' attributes are scattered. We need to add a little bit to strength, stamina, agility, and spirit. Do you know how difficult it is to reach 800 points of strength?"

"I don't know..." Hoya Chaochen grinned wildly, looking smug.

I nodded, agreeing with Cai Cai's statement. Take the Starry Sky Wristband I just got, for example. It requires 1050 points of strength and 500 points of agility. It's a piece of cake for me, since I'm a player who puts all my points into strength and has a high level of Yuanli Furnace. My strength value has already reached 1300+. But it's a different story for a damage dealer.

"Based on the current development, I estimate that I can only wear one set of cyan equipment at most, and I won't be able to wear the later armor-type equipment."

Cai Cai said with distress, "Mine is a near-S-grade A-grade elemental furnace with a 90% conversion rate, and I can barely wear my cyan equipment anymore. Isn't that an exaggeration?"

The fat guy said, "My equipment isn't as good as Cai Cai's, so I haven't encountered this problem yet, but it will soon."

The self-optimization of the class system has always been a problem faced by players in "Star Abyss". However, since the game has long passed the closed beta version, no one has any experience and everyone is feeling their way in the dark.

"Boss, your equipment is far superior to ours, and you have a better understanding of advanced equipment. What's your opinion on this?" Cai Cai asked.

"My suggestion is to give up some points on the physical and mental attributes and focus the remaining attribute points on the strength and agility attributes."

"what?"

Cai Cai said, "Then were the points I added before a mistake?"

"That's not wrong either. Stamina and spirit are both effective attributes for a firepower user, so the previous stat allocation was fine."

I glanced at Cai Cai and Fatty and said, "But the equipment in Xingyuan really does have higher requirements the higher the grade. In my opinion, what is the professional value of a damage dealer? Of course, it's output. Only with output can you have a place in the team. Otherwise, what would the team do with damage dealers? Moreover, not only does the armor require strength, but you will also need strength if you want to pick up heavy firepower weapons in the mid-to-late game. In addition, armor equipment has a damage-boosting effect, which is very important for damage dealers. So don't hesitate, increase your strength, and get the equipment first!"

Ruolin and Koumei nodded in agreement.

"understood!"

Cai Cai laughed heartily: "Thank you for your guidance, boss. I will focus on increasing my strength from now on."

Afterwards, everyone continued chatting about everything under the sun, having a great time until after nine o'clock when the party ended and everyone went home to sleep.

……

The next day, I continued working at Feiyang Internet Cafe, writing code like crazy in my spare time to improve the core algorithm of Yuening Mall as soon as possible.

Lu Xiaobei once again transformed into a street hustler, driving the company's Cayenne to East Lake and frantically taking photos. Her inn photos had high commercial value, and the inn owners were willing to spend money on them. It was said that a set of photos was now worth tens of thousands of yuan, which made Zhao Yihang very envious. He also wished he could become a male model and go out with Lu Xiaobei to make money.

Life returned to normal. Chen Xiaoman and Zhao Yihang were mainly in charge of the flagship store, while Lu Xiaobei and I were just doing our jobs. Old K, on ​​the other hand, continued to immerse himself in games with his girlfriend Xiaomei. Apparently, she was already a key member of the guild, staying up all night every day to help the guild leader get first kills and other similar items.

evening.

"drop!"

A WeChat message came from Lin Qingying: "Ding Han, I got off work early today, come pick me up."

"Alright, I'm coming, wait for me!"

"Ok!"

I drove my little motorcycle directly to Yuening Group. After entering the underground parking garage, I used the recall function to send the motorcycle back to the other-dimensional storage space with a drift in a blind spot of the surveillance cameras. Then I landed in a cool flip in the air, like a knight-errant in a martial arts movie who leaps off his horse and kills without leaving a trace. It was so cool.

I took out my work badge, swiped it to access the building, and went upstairs.

He swaggered into the administration building, ignoring the group of presidents and directors, and headed straight for Lin Qingying's office.

"Crack!"

The moment I opened the door, Lin Qingying had just finished packing her bag and laptop, and I casually put those two items into the storage space.

"Wow……"

Lin Qingying was amazed and chuckled softly, "Is this what players' storage compartments are like?"

"That's right, isn't it amazing? Time is relatively frozen in the storage space, so even if you put milk tea in it, it won't get cold."

"From now on, you'll be in charge of storing the milk tea."

"Hmm, off work?" "Off work!"

Lin Qingying naturally took my hand and said with a smile, "Ding Han, how about we go to the market? I haven't had your cooking in a long time, and I want to learn how to cook from you so that when you're busy in the future, I can cook a whole table of dishes for you when you come home."

"it is good."

For no apparent reason, her words warmed my heart.

It was rush hour, and Lin Qingying let go of the elevator hand before entering, probably because she was afraid of making a bad impression.

The elevator was crowded with people. She and I stood in a corner. The other executives didn't dare to approach at all, and just awkwardly greeted us. Lin Qingying responded awkwardly as well.

Parking Garage.

Seeing that no one was around, Lin Qingying took his hand again.

"Oh my, isn't this Xiaoying?"

At this moment, two people walked in from another direction. Both of them looked to be over 50 years old. One of them was Xie Zheng, the current chairman of Yuening Group.

The other person was someone I didn't recognize, but his brows revealed a deep-seated worldliness.

"Chairman Xie, are you off work?"

Lin Qingying responded with a smile, then looked at the other old man and said, "President Zhong, you're here today too?"

"Hmm, it's a board meeting today, Mr. Lin, didn't you know?"

Lin Qingying's expression became noticeably unnatural for a moment.

I can truly empathize with her feelings right now. Lin Qingying inherited her parents' shares and is currently the largest shareholder of Yuening Group. However, Xie Zheng, together with a group of shareholders, changed the rules and used various means and excuses to prevent her from being on the board of directors. This prevented Lin Qingying, the largest shareholder, from being on the board of directors and could only serve as a CEO.

In essence, a CEO is still just an employee, albeit a top performer among them.

The other old guy, if nothing unexpected happens, should be Zhong Baiyan, the boss of Xiajiang Group, who took advantage of the Yuening Energy crisis to invest in Yuening and, with Xie Zheng's cooperation, bought up a lot of high-quality shares in Yuening to dilute Lin Qingying's shares. He is a big shot in the business world of Huaining City.

"Hey, who is this young man?"

Zhong Baiyan tilted his head and looked at me, then smiled and said, "You look a little unfamiliar?"

"Mr. Zhong, this is my boyfriend, Ding Han."

Lin Qingying immediately introduced him in a graceful manner: "Ding Han, this is Mr. Zhong, the major shareholder of our Yuening Group and the chairman of Xiajiang Group. He is a senior figure in the Huaining City business world."

"Hello, Mr. Zhong."

I reached out and shook hands with him.

Zhong Baiyan smiled warmly: "Such a handsome young man, you can tell at a glance that he is destined for great things. I wonder where you are currently working, Ding Han?"

Sure enough, this question came out of his mouth.

"Ding Han, he..."

Lin Qingying was probably afraid that I would be looked down upon, so she was about to reveal my identity as the planner of Feiyang Chain Internet Cafe and E-sports Hotel, but I shook her hand and stopped her.

Whether it's an internet cafe event planner or an e-sports hotel founder, these identities are insignificant compared to someone like Zhong Baiyan, whose net worth is in the hundreds of billions.

"Mr. Zhong, I am currently unemployed. My main job is being Xiaoying's boyfriend, and my secondary job is being her strategist."

"military adviser?"

Zhong Baiyan was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "Young people these days are much more interesting than we were back then."

"That's not."

Xie Zheng smiled and said, "However, I was quite shocked when I heard that you and Xiao Ying were together. You don't know, my niece is a true gem. She is not only beautiful but also very talented. I don't know how many people envy you for being her boyfriend. You must cherish her and not let this hard-won relationship go to waste."

"Don't worry, Mr. Xie, I cherish Xiao Ying very much."

I looked him straight in the eye and said, "In the near future, I will go to great lengths for her!"

Xie Zheng was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "Alright, alright, I'm relieved to hear you say that. Well, we two old folks are going to enjoy our retirement life now. We won't disturb your date. Go ahead."

"Okay, goodbye Mr. Xie and Mr. Zhong."

Lin Qingying and I said goodbye to the two people, maintaining the politeness expected of juniors.

……

After getting in the car, I started it and muttered, "Those two old foxes are actually quite friendly."

Lin Qingying chuckled, but said nothing.

Xie Zheng was Lin Junting's partner and comrade-in-arms, so when Lin Junting was alive, Xie Zheng treated Lin Qingying like a niece.

However, once Lin Junting and his wife left, Xie Zheng, tempted by the enormous profits of the Yuening business empire, revealed his true colors and used various means to prevent Lin Qingying from returning to Yuening. It was practically a bloodless war.

Sometimes, I really feel sorry for Lin Qingying.

Not long after, at the vegetable market.

The two strolled hand in hand through the market. Lin Qingying, lacking relevant experience, maintained the poise and composure befitting the CEO of Yuening, while I instantly changed my demeanor, revealing the petty bourgeois mentality of a small-town citizen, haggling with the vegetable vendors and engaging in a back-and-forth negotiation with the fishmongers.

"This mandarin fish weighs a full two pounds, it's wild, and it's at least a hundred yuan per pound. Young man, do you even know that?" The fishmonger gave Lin Qingying a deep look before quickly starting to mock her boyfriend.

"I don't understand?"

I immediately retorted: "Wild mandarin fish are slender and appear somewhat thin because their food sources are not fixed in the wild. They are not very fat when they are sometimes hungry and sometimes full. They also need to avoid predators, so they swim a lot, which naturally makes them slender. Look at yours, how fat is it?"

Lin Qingying was stunned for a moment, then looked at me with admiration.

The boss was speechless.

"I want that one!"

I picked up the net and scooped up another mandarin fish that weighed at least three pounds. The owner had hidden this one on the inside, probably planning to sell the farmed ones first and keep the wild one as a prized possession, which was a bit excessive.

After weighing the items, I paid and then took Lin Qingying to another stall.

I bought wild mandarin fish and river shrimp, and also killed a free-range chicken and some spare ribs.

"Ding Han, didn't you buy too much?"

Lin Qingying asked, "What if we can't finish all that?"

"It's okay, I'll call Fatty later and ask him to bring Shen Yue over as a guest. We can eat together!"

"Uh-huh!"

……

On the drive home, I used the game's voice chat to talk to Fatty: "Xiaoying and I bought some groceries and are on our way home now. Come over for dinner with Shen Yue in an hour and a half."

"what?"

The fat man said, "Shen Yue just told me she wanted to go eat Lao Zao Tai Di Guo Chicken..."

“My braised chicken with edamame tastes better. Just tell Shen Yue that your boss Lin invited her over for a casual meal, and let’s see what she says.”

"Ahem, if you're going to use President Lin to pressure us, how dare Shen Yue say no? Okay, we'll be there on time in half an hour, or we can arrive a little earlier to help you out?"

"No need. With Xiaoying helping me, can you give me more time alone together?"

"Tsk tsk, disgusting!"

"Haven't I been disgusted by certain people these past few months too?"

"Damn it, you brought this up again..."

……

Back home, I got busy.

I personally slaughtered the fish, my knife flashing coldly and ruthlessly, while Lin Qingying peeled garlic on the side.

"Ding Han, how do you plan to cook this fish?"

"Braise, steam, or stew—you choose one."

"Let's make soup, something light and healthy. We can braise it next time."

"Okay, I just bought tofu too."

I quickly got into cooking mode. After Lin Qingying helped prepare the ingredients, she stood by and watched me cook with wide eyes, afraid of missing any detail.

She's so smart; if she really puts her mind to learning, her cooking skills will definitely be excellent in the future.

After chopping vegetables with a "thump, thump, thump" sound, I turned around to get a bowl, but accidentally bumped into two soft mounds.

"what……"

Lin Qingying covered her chest with one hand, her face flushed: "What's wrong?"

"Cough cough... It's nothing!"

My face flushed red, and my heart started racing. I was, after all, a young man full of vigor, and it was impossible for me not to feel any turmoil at this moment, but it didn't seem appropriate to do anything further.

Firstly, I was afraid of being too forward, and secondly... this is Xingyuan Kitchen, not a erotic kitchen.

Before long, one delicious dish after another was cooked, and the aroma of rice wafted from the rice cooker.

"smell good……"

Lin Qingying leaned closer to the mandarin fish and tofu soup and took a sniff.

I handed him a spoon: "Want to try a bite first?"

"Isn't that a bad idea? The guests haven't arrived yet..."

"I won't tell, and you won't tell..."

"All right!"

She couldn't resist the temptation and took a sip of the fish soup, saying that her tongue was almost overwhelmed by the deliciousness. Then she quickly washed the spoon and put it back, pretending nothing had happened.

……

"Knock knock~~~"

There was a knock on the door outside.

"Fatty Shen Yue has arrived, Xiao Ying, open the door."

"Ok!"

As soon as Lin Qingying opened the door, she heard Shen Yue's voice: "Hello, President Lin..."

The CEO's intimidating presence was so terrifying that Shen Yue was always too nervous in front of Lin Qingying. Even when the fat man told her that Lin Qingying was with him, Shen Yue still couldn't control herself.

Unfortunately, Shen Yue comes from an ordinary family, and she might indeed feel somewhat inferior in front of Lin Qingying, which she can only overcome gradually.

"Holy crap, so much delicious food?"

The fat man went into the kitchen to help serve the dishes.

"What would you like to drink?" I asked.

Lin Qingying immediately said, "There's some Moutai in the trunk downstairs, a gift from a client... Why don't you two brothers have some?"

"No, that's too wasteful," I said.

"Your sister..."

The fat man was almost in tears: "So, it's a waste for me to drink Moutai?"

"Damn it, the key's on the table, go get it yourself!"

"okay!"

The fat man went downstairs and carried a case of Moutai back upstairs.

"Who the hell are you trying to drink to death?" I was speechless.

"Anyway, you're at home, so drink without worry! If you drink too much, you'll just fall asleep. Plus, Mr. Lin will take care of you, so I feel more at ease," the fat man said.

Lin Qingying smiled and said, "Ding Han, you should have a drink too. It's alright, the room is right next door."

"alright."

I nodded, no longer holding back, opened a bottle of Moutai, and poured a little for everyone.

"There needs to be a reason for this first cup..."

The fat man said, "Ding Han, shouldn't the first drink be to celebrate that you and President Lin have finally confirmed your relationship?"

"Still calling him General Manager Lin?" I asked.

"Cough cough..."

The fat man smiled apologetically and said, "President Lin, then... then when we're together in private from now on, I'll just call you sister-in-law, since I'm a few days older than Ding Han."

"Ah."

Lin Qingying smiled and nodded: "Just call me that if it sounds right to you."

"Alright, the first toast is to the two of you!"

The fat man looked at Shen Yue beside him and said, "Wife, do you want to change how you address him with me? From now on, in private, you can also call him Sister-in-law Lin?"

"what?"

Shen Yue looked flustered: "I...I..."

Asking her to call Lin Qingying "sister-in-law" seems a bit too much to ask.

"Shen Yue, why don't you just call me Xiao Ying in private?" I said.

"How could I dare..."

Shen Yue looked shocked and couldn't help but tell the truth.

"Shen Yue, it's okay, you can call me whatever you want, it's just a form of address," Lin Qingying said.

"Then I'll still call you General Manager Lin..."

The fat guy and I both laughed speechlessly: "Never mind, let's finish this drink first!"

"Let's go!"

The four of them drank it all in one gulp.

"Eat vegetables, eat vegetables!"

The fat man couldn't wait to pick up his chopsticks.

Lin Qingying, on the other hand, turned her attention to the mandarin fish and tofu soup.

I knew she liked this dish more than braised pork ribs, so I just placed it in front of her.

After taking a bite of the fish, Lin Qingying said with a happy expression, "It's really delicious. You should try it too. It's garlic-flavored fish, and it's especially fresh."

"Ah."

Of course I know that mandarin fish and tofu soup is delicious, but I didn't have the money before, so I couldn't bear to spend hundreds of yuan to buy such a big wild mandarin fish. Now that I've tasted it, I can't help but sigh that you get what you pay for, and there's definitely a reason why it's expensive.

The food and drinks smelled delicious, the news was playing on the television, and all four of them were very happy and enjoying themselves.

And so, as I drank, I got drunk, and the intoxication came on more intensely than before. I only vaguely remember that before I lost consciousness, the fat man was quacking like a male duck, while Lin Qingying cupped my face and asked if I was done drinking.

Of course not, otherwise it wouldn't be called alcohol intolerance.

……

I woke up at six o'clock in the morning.

Lying on the bed, there was a glass of water beside her, which Lin Qingying must have put there.

No, I think I missed something when I was drunk.

So I went to the Star Chart interface and looked through the system announcements, and sure enough, there was one!
[System Notification: The new map "Ash Plains" (Levels 50-60) is now open. This map has a certain chance to drop Tier 3 and Tier 4 Skill Tome. All players are welcome to explore!]

……

The level is too low, I'm not interested.

(End of this chapter)