Uneasy daily life

"My girlfriend can turn into a monster!"

"Miwako can transform into Ultraman!"

"Transforming into Ultraman is no advantage! Monsters are the coolest!"

"You actually like monsters? How childish!"

Do you like Ultraman?

"Ultraman is the coolest!"

"You heretic!"

"You...you idiot!"

The child's face turned red, and he shouted, "Monsters can't beat Ultraman!"

Bai Ying curled her lip: "Those who only like the victors are just using the victors of others to comfort themselves after their own defeats. They are nothing but vulgar people."

The child was clearly not quite processing this, and momentarily went blank: "Huh?"

"Think about it—aren't losers the ones who love winning the most?" Bai Ying patted the child's shoulder. "Ultraman may be cool, but aren't all the people who like Ultraman lame? Those defeated monsters, even if they are shattered to pieces, still challenge Ultraman to the death. Aren't people who like defeated but brave monsters really cool?"

The child wavered: "Hmm...that seems to be true..."

"That's right! You're different from those kids who like Ultraman, aren't you?"

"Hmm! The monster is pretty cool too."

"Then you play the monster, and I'll play Ultraman."

"?"

The child felt that something was not quite right.

The white figure began warming up, punching and kicking with a whooshing sound, creating whistling sounds in the air, and occasionally letting out Ultraman's battle roars of "Ha!" "Hah!" "Oh!"

"No way! Hehehe!"

The child promptly turned away and opened the bottle, not forgetting to stick out his tongue in mockery.

"Bai Ying, you're teasing the kids again."

Angelina walked over, hummed a complaint, and couldn't help but glance at the white figure.

The girl still wore her hair in pigtails as usual; now that it had grown a bit longer, the pigtails could hang down to her shoulders. Her fluffy, naturally curly hair made the two pigtails look as sweet as chocolate ice cream, exuding the fragrance of shampoo. A light-colored winter coat made her figure appear even more petite. She still didn't like wearing skirts much; from her waist down, she wore tightly fitted shorts, the hem cinching her thighs to reveal her knees and a section of slender, straight calves. Black stockings bulged at her calves, disappearing straight into her light-colored sneakers, creating a strangely interwoven visual effect with her legs.

Bai Ying moved closer and smelled the hair, following the method her chemistry teacher had described: "gently fan the air with your hand to your nose."

Angelina: "?"

The white figure circled Angelina twice, scrutinizing her upper body attire.

Angelina: "..."

The white figure crouched down, his gaze moving up and down, carefully examining Angelina's legs.

Angelina: "#!"

"A very elaborate outfit, but it gives off a sausage-like vibe..."

Angelina gave a deadpan look, glanced around, and flicked her finger to lift the white figure three centimeters off the ground: "Sir, is there anything else you want to say? Say it all at once."

"The restraint makes the fullness appear even fuller. Evenly distributed, neither added nor subtracted, just right, possessing a harmonious beauty. Beneath the flawless skin lies a wonderful blend of spices..." Bai Ying said without changing her expression, "I'm praising you."

Angelina: "Gurgle."

Bai Ying glared at him: "All you think about is food! You don't care about me at all, you only care about sausages!"

"Ugh, so annoying!" Angelina guiltily deactivated her superpowers, then declared emphatically, "Who praises a girl with food!"

Bai Ying declared confidently, "Girls are made of sugar and spices—not my words."

"Skip, skip!"

Angelina pressed the non-existent skip button, decisively dropping the topic of food; today was an important date...

She glanced instinctively at the apartment behind the white figure. Uh… Yukinoshita should be up there, right? This…

“Too long to read.” Bai Ying suddenly became serious.

Angelina snapped out of her daze: "What's wrong?"

Bai Ying raised her hand and made a delicate gesture with her fingers, a hint of resentment and worry in her eyes. She whispered, "9527, you came to ask me out on a date. The hero won't be angry, will he?"

“?” Angelina couldn’t help but retort, “Isn’t this your problem?!”

"Aren't we going on a date?"

Angelina's mind raced, and she hummed, "Alright, let's invite Yukinoshita along, and go on a date together!"

“That won’t work,” Bai Ying said regretfully. “The hero is currently working hard to improve herself. There’s a big exam at the private school today, and she has to focus on her studies.”

"Then why did you say that? Let's go, let's go!"

Angelina realized she couldn't continue idly chatting with Bai Ying; if she did, time would slip away unnoticed, and then...

My first date with my boyfriend (×).

Daily complaints from subordinates and superiors (√).

On this special day, with such a special relationship, how can we treat it like any other day? No! Absolutely not!

At least, I need to, I need to...

Angelina couldn't think of anything for a moment. According to her usual way of getting along with her friends, it was nothing more than going shopping, chatting about some topics, visiting newly opened stores, watching movies... She and Bai Ying had done all these things!

They even experienced something more extraordinary!

Angelina's mind raced. There's more! There must be more! Something special…

Holding hands, kissing, French kissing, hugging, or even more intense caresses—the kind of half-revealed, half-hidden plots and positions found in light novels featuring officers…

Ah—! STOP!

Angelina screamed inwardly.

Angelina, oh Angelina! When it comes to dating, all you think about is holding hands and kissing, touching and caressing, and lewd behavior. How can you act like a stupid single guy? Your mind is so quick and agile only in this aspect!

Thank goodness, Bai Ying didn't mention any dating plans. He must be the one arranging the date, and I just need to go along with it.

Angelina felt relieved.

"Where are you going?"

Seeing Angelina snap out of her reverie, Bai Ying casually asked.

"Huh? You ask me?"

Angelina stared at the other person in bewilderment.

"Huh? You're asking me that?"

The two stared at each other silently, trying to pin the blame on the other with their righteous gazes.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: For Victory, Fall into Darkness!

In the arcade, two players are engaged in a battle that takes an unexpected turn in front of an arcade machine.

"Watch me land a left hook, a right hook, an uppercut, then a special move, then a super move... Damn it! Why can't I connect it?!"

The male player pulled the joystick hard and frantically clicked several buttons at once, causing the character on the screen to whimper and shout "ha ha hey!" at the air as if having a seizure.

"..."

The female player, with a serious expression, pushed the joystick and pressed the button with a posture that was no less impressive than her opponent's. She controlled her character to deliver a successful low kick, then another, and yet another. It was the legendary, simple yet time-tested skill that had been tested in various games – the Repeat Technique!

The two exchanged blows, their health bars dropping bit by bit, showing they were evenly matched and it was hard to tell who was better!

Some regulars standing at the back were deeply attracted by this scene, their fists clenched, their breathing quickened, and they felt a great shock.

What a terrifying battle between supreme beings!

There is no defense, no combos, no prediction, no reaction. It is like the legendary state of returning to simplicity, highlighting the great skill without artifice, and the ease with which one wins.

Could this be the legendary urban fantasy martial arts game, "The Love Between a Man and a Woman"?

Some people have speculated that a popular guy might bring his girlfriend to play video games, and to make her happy, he'd shamelessly play the clown, lowering his own level so his girlfriend could fight and defeat him, thus earning her a smile. He'd then use this combination of actions to inflict a thousand points of real damage on the onlookers…

Looking closely, the boy is truly despicable and deserves to be punished, while the girl is youthful and lovely; it's probably just an urban rumor.

What an unsportsmanlike act!

boom!

Iori Yagami performed a high jump and an aerial kick, successfully reducing Athena's health to almost zero.

"Hmph hmph hmph, hahahaha, oh ho ...

The boy let out a triumphant, three-part laugh that was even more maniacal than Yagami's: "Weak, weak, weak! I am the victor!"

The girl pouted, seemingly muttering something to herself, then got up from her seat and walked towards the front desk, leaving the boy sitting there waiting.

Well done! What a powerful and burning competitive spirit! Even I feel my heart pounding!

He has no woman in his heart, and his eyes are fixed on the God of Nature.

A promising talent; given time and diligent practice, he might very well become a peerless master.

A young man stepped forward and asked, feigning ignorance, "Is this place empty? Want to play a round?"

Among the onlookers, some recognized the other person—a master known as Tiger General, who frequently appeared in arcades!

"You know perfectly well what I'm asking." The other person smiled dismissively and gestured with their lip. "Come on, you're the challenger."

General Hu calmly tossed in a coin and sat down, but inwardly he was on guard. Could such confidence be the mark of a master who likes to play dumb to outsmart others?

The first round ended in the blink of an eye.

General Tiger looked at his character, whose health was barely a sliver, and couldn't help but offer some advice: "You can't win by just randomly pressing buttons like that. At least you need to know your character's move list, right? And defense, it's a big problem for newbies not to like defending. When the rhythm isn't in your hands, don't think that pressing buttons faster will make you hit first..."

In the second round, General Tiger clearly suppressed his level of skill, without using special techniques or ultimate moves. Without strategizing, he used punches and kicks, sometimes attacking and sometimes defending, firmly grasping the situation and causing his opponent's health bar to drop continuously, showing the demeanor of a master.

With simple and unpretentious moves, he successfully depleted the opponent's health bar.

General Hu's mood improved considerably, and he said with a faint smile, "That's not how you play games."

The third game begins.

"really."

The boy lamented, "Playing games isn't for entertainment; it's just a temporary escape from life."

"?"

Tiger General was caught off guard and his character was hit by a light punch. Fortunately, the opponent did not know how to use combos or follow up, so it did not cause much damage.

He quickly seized an opportunity to create some distance: "What did you say?"

"Sometimes when I play games, I feel like I'm being tortured, even though I'm supposed to be having fun."

While controlling his character, the boy muttered to himself, "At those times, I didn't know why I played games. For example, I would open a game and keep reloading to get better low-probability events. Occasionally, if I encountered something unpleasant during the game, I would get frustrated and delete the save file to start over. But I knew that I wasn't pursuing perfection; I just couldn't tolerate the game making me unhappy. The game content, which made no progress, made time seem meaningless."

General Tiger said in a deep voice, "Games are meant to help you vent your emotions. As long as you're in a good mood, the time you spend on them is worthwhile."

The boy sighed, "Is it the game that made me vent my frustration and become happy, or is it that engaging in the sinful and inappropriate act of 'playing games' gave me the illusion that I was fighting against those troubles? But I know it's just an illusion, so the more I play, the more depressed I feel."

General Tiger: "..."

His character was hit by several wild punches in succession, and his health bar kept decreasing, making it difficult for him to launch an effective counterattack for a while.

Oh no, my mind is in turmoil.

General Hu suddenly perked up, preparing to deal with the situation seriously.

"I really miss those innocent days when playing games was a way to escape the hustle and bustle of life."

The boy continued swinging his fists wildly, muttering to himself, "The older you get, the less you can fool yourself. No matter how exciting the game is, there's always a lingering melancholy in your heart. You know the world of games isn't outside of life, but a part of it. So you can never go back, never go back to the time when joy and sorrow were clearly distinct..."

boom!

General Tiger's number one figure has fallen.

General Tiger calmed himself down and suddenly realized: "So it's a shady player using the chat-based strategy? Don't even think about interfering with me through off-field tactics. The only one who can win is me!"

The boy smiled slightly and shouted with fervor, "You who have fallen into darkness can never achieve victory! Take this! I will not fall like this!"