Ling Xiao immediately stood up and extended his hand.
The little zombie climbed into his palm and looked up at him.
Ling Xiao suddenly recalled his memories in the Flower Temple, where the young man lay on the palm of the statue, staring intently at him.
Ling Xiao adjusted the crooked petal collar of his pink shirt and chuckled softly.
The little zombie scratched his ear, tiptoed, and leaned closer to his face.
Ling Xiao: “Is this how you looked when you were little?”
He stared at the little zombie and chuckled again, his laughter low and pleasant.
The little zombie pretended to cover his ears but couldn’t help but look at his handsome face from this angle.
Ling Xiao looked at him seriously. “I seem to remember a bit.”
Upon hearing this, the little zombie immediately stood on his toes and hugged his chin, getting closer to his face, wanting him to remember more about his childhood.
Ling Xiao: “In one world, you told a male player that you could kill me for a billion points.”
The little zombie: “...”
Ling Xiao: “Let me think, see if I can remember anything else.”
The little zombie immediately put his hands behind his back, interrupting his recollection. “Flower God!”
Ling Xiao: “Hmm?”
The little zombie: “Can I invite you to join me in a dungeon?”
Ling Xiao: “What dungeon?”
The little zombie exclaimed, “Do you know who my mom is?”
Ling Xiao: “Shi Tianzhu.”
The little zombie wasn’t surprised he knew and said in a childish voice, “My dad and mom have some misunderstandings. I want to create a dungeon for them to interact and hopefully clear up the misunderstandings.”
Ling Xiao understood what he meant: “Shi Tianzhu and Ning Changfeng usually tackle dungeons above level five. If you want them to have more time to interact, you need to choose a dungeon that isn’t too difficult, with a slower pace of casualties.”
The little zombie looked up at him.
Ling Xiao: “Then you need to choose a small instance dungeon, like a school, apartment, or office.”
The little zombie’s eyes lit up.
The campus was great; in a school, in a class, they might even become desk mates.
An apartment would be even better. Living together, even with ghosts, would feel cozy.
Then he asked, “Lord Flower God, you haven’t answered yet. Can I invite you to join us?”
Ling Xiao looked at the little zombie and smiled. “Of course, I need to go protect my heart.”
The little zombie nodded vigorously, “That’s right.”
After agreeing on this matter, the little zombie climbed down from Ling Xiao’s palm, “You go to sleep.”
Ling Xiao hesitated to speak, then lay back on the bed.
The little zombie didn’t leave. After Ling Xiao lay down, he climbed onto the bed and pressed against Ling Xiao’s chest.
Ling Xiao was stunned and looked down at the little zombie for a long time.
His chest felt heavy, as if his heart had returned.
He poked the little zombie’s head. The little zombie moved a bit but didn’t make a sound, just pressed more tightly against his chest.
On the other side, it seemed to have fallen asleep.
The noise outside no longer reached his ears, and Ling Xiao easily fell into a deep sleep.
For him, this was a rare experience.
The endless chaos and emptiness before sleep had all disappeared.
***
After agreeing with Ling Xiao, early the next morning, Ning Su went to find Shi Tianzhu.
Ning Su sought out Shi Tianzhu not only to discuss going to the instance together but also for another matter.
Last time, he mentioned to Shi Tianzhu that he wanted the two children to go to school, but Shi Tianzhu said there was no school on the base.
The people on the base were struggling just to survive; enjoying an extra day was already a blessing. Who had the mood to go to school?
There were a couple of teachers, though.
But Ning Su’s mention of this matter gave Shi Tianzhu an idea; she wanted to establish a Yinhua School.
There were many children on the base whose fate had been doomed to tragedy since birth. Some had parents who had already died in the instances, and some had parents who only cared about having children for the reward points without caring about raising them.
Shi Tianzhu didn’t care about others, but for the children in the Yinhua Guild, she wanted them to at least learn to read and do arithmetic.
This was very simple for Yinhua, and a school with two classrooms was quickly established.
Ning Su brought two children this time to discuss their enrollment.
Shi Tianzhu directly took the children to the classroom without any formalities.
Indeed, in a game base, what formalities were necessary?
Shi Tianzhu just brought them to familiarize themselves with the classroom; the formal lessons hadn’t started yet.
Shi Tianzhu told him, “Once there are ten children, school will start. Classes will be held three days a week, covering the most basic and practical knowledge, along with simple world instance science education.”
Ning Su wasn’t worried about the instance world; the two children had been through several instances and were inherently ghost masters.
What worried Ning Su was whether Gui Sheng was good at math.
He also worried about how the two children would get along with the other kids.
What if Manman suddenly took out a skull, or Gui Sheng accidentally cut off his finger while sharpening a pencil...
Ning Su quickly signed up as a volunteer teacher.
Aside from a player who was a teacher in the real world acting as the homeroom teacher and setting the general teaching plan, the other teachers were volunteer teachers. Whoever had time in the base on any given day would come to teach them.
After handling the school matters, Ning Su talked to Shi Tianzhu about going down to the instances together.
Shi Tianzhu readily agreed. “What kind of instance do you want to tackle?”
Ning Su: “Well, I’m still a newbie, so let’s not do too difficult instances. Level five or six at most; anything harder, and I can’t manage.”
Shi Tianzhu: “...”
She asked again, “When do you want to go into an instance?”
Ning Su: “I’ll wait until the seventh day when I have to go. Now, with so many points, I can stay on the base and enjoy all kinds of delicious food.”
Shi Tianzhu: “...”
Ning Su couldn’t understand.
Her mom was an instance-clearing maniac, and her dad was said to have built his career through his own efforts. How did they give birth to such a lazy foodie like him?
Ning Su: “Also, Ning Changfeng is very annoying. He said he wants to go into instances with me in the future, so we might run into him.”
Ning Su informed Shi Tianzhu in advance.
Shi Tianzhu: “Ignore him. If we really run into him, I’ll have a chat with him about the individual competition.”
Ning Su: “…Alright.”
After taking care of those two things, Ning Su began a blissful, lazy life with the two kids.
Besides eating, it was all about shopping.
On the day they were scheduled to go to the dungeon, Ning Su realized there was something he hadn’t done yet.
He needed to go to the Yongming Guild.
Before going, he sent a message to Ning Changfeng: [If you don’t hear from me in half an hour, you must come to the Yongming Guild to rescue me.]
Ning Changfeng: […]
Ning Changfeng: [Wouldn’t it be easier if I just went with you?]
Ning Su: [If we go together, it looks like we’re going to cause trouble, doesn’t it?]
Ning Changfeng: [Don’t you realize what you did during the guild competition? Even if you go alone, it’s still provocative. Bringing me along just adds an enforcer and makes it more obvious.]
Ning Su: […]
Ning Su: [Never mind, I have a personal matter to deal with.]
