I'm in the Ark, a player.

Did something suddenly appear?

As she pondered, Lin Yuxia's gaze fell on his right hand.

The golden ring would disappear and reappear, accompanied by a series of annoying "ding-ding-ding" sounds.

The man was looking down, intently putting the ring on and taking it off repeatedly, occasionally throwing a punch in the air and then grinning foolishly.

Is that ring his spellcasting unit?

This man is not only mysterious, but also quite capable.

...When you get back, check the other person's background.

She took a deep breath and spoke.

"You're quite skilled, but don't think that without you, I'll—"

"jump over."

Lin Yuxia was interrupted before she could finish speaking.

Qin Tianling waved his hand, then walked over to the thugs without turning his head and began groping them.

If this NPC hadn't spoken up, Qin Tianling would have completely forgotten about this guy's existence.

Lin Yuxia's words came to an abrupt end.

She stood there, stunned.

jump over?

What do you mean by skipping?

What does "skip" mean?

Do you want to skip the conversation?

"you--"

Lin Yuxia spoke again.

"jump over!"

Lin Yuxia's eyebrows twitched.

"I--"

"jump over!"

"Can't you just listen to what someone has to say?!"

Perhaps because Lin Yuxia's voice was louder this time, Qin Tianling finally turned around.

He clutched a handful of loose change he had just found and glanced at Lin Yuxia.

Then--

"jump over."

Lin Yuxia stood there, opened her mouth, then closed it again.

Then she laughed.

Laughed in anger.

*Longmen swear words*, this guy must have something wrong with his head!?

If you keep skipping over things, are you trying to skip your own life?

Hearing the laughter coming from behind him, Qin Tianling also felt uneasy.

Holy crap, why is this NPC suddenly laughing?

It's a bit scary.

Is there a bug in the AI's behavior logic, or was this NPC originally designed to be idiotic?

Forget it, never mind...

Qin Tianling stuffed the Lungmen coins he had taken from the thug into his pocket, stood up,

The amount of money found on these four thugs was not much, only about five hundred yuan.

Tsk, you lowly, penniless wretch, you have no money but still resort to robbery!

If you only get this little bit of money every time you kill a monster, how long would it take for him to buy anything?

It's too demanding...

Alright, let's go back and find the snow pheasant first. Hopefully, that research NPC won't run off into the shadows. The grappling hook gun sounds so cool; if I lose it, where will I find it?

Qin Tianling naturally hopped onto the group of thugs' motorcycle, then glanced at Lin Yuxia, who was still standing there.

After thinking for a moment,

He slowly moved to Lin Yuxia's side in first gear.

Squeeze the clutch and press the brake; the car stops.

He asked Lin Yuxia,

"Hey beautiful, wanna take a motorcycle taxi?"

.

Chapter 9, Yoshi yoshi yoshi!

Qin Tianling's plan did not succeed; the special NPC refused to ride his motorcycle.

So he rode the stolen motorcycle back to Snowpheasant's place.

After finishing her meal, Xuezhi behaved herself. Qin Tianling told her not to wander off and to wait for him to come back. Xuezhi actually sat obediently in the chair with her hands on her knees, watching the TV in the store while waiting for Qin Tianling to return.

"You're back?"

"Yes, you're back."

As Qin Tianling spoke, he slowly approached the snow pheasant. To the snow pheasant's puzzled look, he stood behind it, stretched out his hands, and placed them on its head.

His short, grayish-white hair was surprisingly soft to the touch, and then one of his hands slid down and landed on her cheek.

"..........benefactor?"

The snow pheasant cried out in confusion.

But the next second, Qin Tianling started moving!

"Yoshi!!!"

Qin Tianling used his hands like he was playing with walnuts, and frantically rubbed the snow pheasant's head from all angles!

"Yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi!!!"

"Well--"

The snow pheasant, whose head was being twisted, was naturally not in a good mood. Her whole body stiffened. She tried to dodge, but couldn't, so she could only let out a muffled groan of discomfort.

Thirty seconds later, Qin Tianling finally stopped, satisfied. Looking at Xue Zhi's head, which had been ruffled into a mess, he nodded in satisfaction.

"What a good child!"

"I...I'm not a child! I'm just short!"

The snow pheasant protested weakly.

The voice was soft and gentle, with a hint of defiance.

But to Qin Tianling, these words sounded more like a coquettish plea than a protest.

Although the snow pheasant did protest, Qin Tianling acted as if he hadn't heard it at all and continued speaking to himself.

"As a good boy, I have to give you a reward!"

"...........tangerine?"

"We don't have that kind of thing."

"But didn't you say you were going to buy oranges when you left?"

"I didn't manage to buy anything, but I did find some money on the roadside."

After saying that, Qin Tianling stuffed the money he had just snatched into Xue Zhi's hand.

The snow pheasant was somewhat stunned.

The amount of money handed to me wasn't much, but if you add that money to the online loans, and deduct the cost of the noodles, what's left is enough to pay it all off.

Since the online loan was calculated on a daily basis, the interest should not be very high now.

From this perspective... my benefactor is indeed a good person.

"What are you looking at? Put it away now."

If you don't put it away, I'm taking it back.

"Then, then you can take it back..."

Xue Zhi closed her eyes, turned her head away, and handed the money in her hand to Qin Tianling.

"Oh, just kidding, I'm not taking it back."

Qin Tianling waved his hand.

"By the way, do you need any help with your grappling hook project?"

"Eh!?"

The snow pheasant, caught off guard by the sudden question, widened its eyes and blinked dryly.

"Don't look at me like that. I just want to unlock the equipment you developed."

"Unlock...?"

Xuezhi repeated the word, her brows furrowed, not understanding why Qin Tianling would use the word "unlock".

"Simply put, I'm very interested in your research, so I'll help you with your research, and you'll get me one too."

Qin Tianling patiently explained to the NPC in front of him.

Just like how role-playing games require role-playing (RP) to advance the story, what Qin Tianling is doing now is the same thing.

(RP: In tabletop role-playing games, players take on the role of performing actions and engaging in dialogue.)

So, are you going to sponsor me?

Did she hear that right?

This strange benefactor who just helped me get an online loan, gave me money, and insisted on listening to "The Knight Errant" three times—is now saying he wants to fund my research?

Snow Pheasant looked at Qin Tianling in disbelief.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but then didn't know what to say.

After a long while, she finally found her voice.

"If you're willing to offer some help, I can make one for you after I've finished this..."

She spoke cautiously, her words carrying a hint of anticipation that she herself didn't realize.

"it is good!"

Qin Tianling clapped his hands.

"Then it's settled!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a familiar interface popped up again.

[Mission: Help the Snow Pheasant develop a grappling hook gun]

[Mission Objective: Snowskin's grappling hook gun project is not well-received, resulting in a lack of normal research funding. Please help Snowskin invent a mechanical grappling hook that will never loosen (its purpose is still undecided). Players can provide funds and materials to expedite the process.]

[A mechanical grappling hook that will never loosen (purpose still undecided) Progress: 11/100]

[Rewards: Grappling Hook Device, Black Ring Relic - Whetstone, Random Weapon]