Chapter 62: Become My Teammate!

“Because of the joy I felt from the depths of my heart, I came to understand something,” Tang Ruotong said. “I never let that mask grow into my flesh; I still long to reclaim my original dream, to rise from dust and reach the summit.”

“Never to bow my head in servitude, never to plaster on a false smile, but to march unyielding toward a future where no one can treat me as mere prey.”

“So, Wang Chen, please teach me! How can I be like you—unafraid, never backing down, always forging ahead?”

Tang Ruotong gazed unblinkingly at Wang Chen, as if she would keep looking at him forever unless he answered.

Wang Chen didn’t respond at once. He stood up, poured himself a glass of water, drank, and remained silent in contemplation.

After a while, he finally spoke. “To be honest, I never thought I would appear that way in your eyes.”

He fiddled with the water glass. “I’m not as brave as you say. I get scared too. My resolve falters. Often, I think about just giving in, drifting through life numb and defeated.”

Tang Ruotong frowned, but Wang Chen continued, “Isn’t it tempting? To cast aside all stubbornness, no longer fight with others, not sweating or striving, just living out my days in a way no one notices, accomplishing nothing, quietly fading away.”

His voice grew softer.

Suddenly, he looked at Tang Ruotong, his words firm, “But I found I can’t do it.”

“Because I still grow angry at injustice, still feel confused when confronted with disparity, and the cries of the suffering still make my heart ache.”

“So I know—I just can’t do it.”

“Tang Ruotong, I’m not the sun. I’m just an ordinary, fragile person. But it’s precisely because I’m weak that I choose to be strong.”

“Just as I am afraid, so I choose to be brave.”

Wang Chen’s gaze was sincere. “If you want to find something to be your sun, then go and seek the ideal for which you’re willing to give everything. That is the true sun.”

Tang Ruotong’s eyes grew misty as she quietly listened to the boy’s heartfelt words.

“That kind of sun is gentle, evaporating the filth from muddy puddles—not judging them, but redeeming them. When the stagnant water is cleansed and rises to the sky, it becomes free-floating clouds, bringing rain to lands where cries echo in the air.”

“Find your sun. Become that drifting cloud, Tang Ruotong. Come with me.”

He reached out his hand to her, asking solemnly, “May I have the honor of being your teammate?”

“I thought I understood you, at least to some extent, but I see I was still far from it…” Tang Ruotong murmured.

After a moment, she stood and extended her hand. “The honor is mine.”

The gloom in her eyes and brows melted away. Like rain clearing and clouds dispersing, at last, two full moons—her smile—appeared on her cheeks once more.

…

Wang Chen escorted Tang Ruotong to the mouth of the alley, then turned back.

She stood there for a long time, watching his retreating figure.

Her phone rang—it was a message from a class officer.

“Well? Did your confession succeed?”

Looking at the screen, Tang Ruotong couldn’t help but smile and replied, “I suppose so.”

She turned and walked back the way she came, her steps lighter than before.

…

When Wang Chen returned home, he washed the cup Tang Ruotong had used, scalded it with hot water, and returned it to his neighbor.

After a busy half-day, he finally enjoyed a rare moment of peace, sprawling on his bed in a daze.

“That’s right—let’s take a look at that skill book. I never really examined it before, just skimmed it.”

He retrieved the book from his storage ring and studied it.

[Wave Dragon Strike (Intermediate)]

[Description: Upon learning, you can unleash a powerful water-element attack with piercing effect. Strikes to joints deal critical damage. Cooldown: Thirty seconds.]

At first, Wang Chen felt nothing in particular; the skill seemed unremarkable from its description.

But the mere thirty-second cooldown made his eyes light up.

Thirty seconds? That’s almost like having no cooldown at all. In the course of a whole battle, this skill could be used constantly.

He’d have to find a secret realm to test the power of Wave Dragon Strike. If it proved effective, it could become one of his main offensive techniques.

After all, the cooldowns on his other skills were a bit long. While he could use potions, there were always times when Wang Chen needed to act “normal.”

That’s when Wave Dragon Strike would come in handy.

Just as Wang Chen was pondering which secret realm to visit for a trial, the system suddenly issued a quest.

[Hunt three Gold-ranked fierce beasts. Reward: ten thousand lottery points.]

“Well, that solves it. I can forget about the places I had in mind.”

Wang Chen smiled wryly.

He’d wanted to go somewhere with no entry restrictions and no fees—a public secret realm for some practice.

But with this new task, he now had to seek out a realm with enough Gold-ranked beasts to hunt.

He glanced at the sky outside, then got up to make preparations and set out.

He went to the United Will Trade House and bought a Platinum Secret Realm entry ticket, costing him five hundred thousand—and that was the VIP price.

“This profession really is a path strewn with thorns. Regular people can’t get tickets to high-level secret realms; their only options are places like the Dark Plateau, with no respawn points and a real risk to one’s life,” he reflected. “Otherwise, they’re stuck grinding in low-level dungeons all day for minimal experience. No wonder leveling up is slow.”

Wang Chen sighed as he took the bus home.

The day was already fading. There wasn’t time to go train, so he opted to rest early and conserve his energy.

He’d been too relaxed since finishing his second advancement quest; starting tomorrow, he resolved to get back into form and push himself harder.

At a small restaurant outside the alley, Wang Chen treated himself to a rice bowl with double the toppings, indulging in a hearty meal.

Back home, he made some simple preparations for the next day’s adventure and went to bed early.

…

The next morning, Wang Chen rose at dawn and took the first bus to the teleportation array for the Platinum Secret Realm.

“Mist Island!”

From a distance, Wang Chen saw the four bold characters on the sign. He took out his ticket, checked it, and, once sure he was in the right place, stepped inside.

A ring of white wards encircled the teleportation array—without a ticket, one would be barred from entry. Only by gripping the ticket in his hand could he pass through the barrier.

Bathed in a gentle white light, Wang Chen was transported to the secret realm.

He took in his surroundings slowly, momentarily suspecting he’d bought a fake ticket.

“Why does this Platinum Secret Realm look so… normal?”

He pressed his foot into the earth at random.

“The wild grass here is so lush and vibrant, no sense of menace at all.”

Ever since completing his second advancement quest, Wang Chen had been using the oppressive, forbidding atmosphere of the Dark Plateau as his standard for judging other realms. Anything less threatening felt more like a campsite for barbecues and camping.

What he didn’t know was that, among the nearby secret realms, the Dark Plateau was notoriously bizarre and eerie—most people would never choose it for training.