Free Web NovelChapter 146: Chapter 146: The Heat of the Chase
Yue Yue didn’t stop running until her lungs burned. Her heart was drumming a frantic rhythm against her ribs...
Thump-thump, thump-thump.
"Oh my god," she whispered, covering her flaming face with both hands. "I actually did it. I really, actually did it."
Just as she was trying to catch her breath, the familiar chime of the system echoed in her mind.
[Ding!]
[Side Mission Completed: Kiss Villain No. 3 on the cheek.]
[Reward: +5% affection, Mid-grade Energy Recovery Capsule, and one Random Skill Fragment.]
"Yes!" Yue Yue pumped her fist in the air. "At least the system isn’t a total liar."
But before she could celebrate, a string of new notifications popped up, flashing like neon signs in her vision.
[Notification: Villain No. 3’s favorability has risen by 5%.]
[Notification: Villain No. 2’s favorability has dropped by 2%.]
Yue Yue’s eyes widened, and she immediately began to curse under her breath. "What? Why did Xing Luoye’s favorability drop? That shameless man! He’s really getting angry because I kissed his brother? It’s not like I kissed him!"
She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. It seemed the Third Villain was quite happy with the kiss, but Xing Luoye was being a total sourpuss.
"He must be jealous," she muttered with a small, mischievous smirk. "Who asked him to be so petty? Serves him right. If he wants a kiss so bad, he should have been nicer."
She leaned against the wall and whispered internally, "System, when is the next mission? Give me something good!"
[The host must trigger the next mission herself through interaction with the targets,] the system replied in its cold, robotic tone.
"Ugh, fine. Be difficult," Yue Yue grumbled.
On the other side of the corridor, Xing Luoguang wasn’t just "walking away."
As soon as he turned the corner and was out of his brother’s sight, his pace quickened. He wasn’t walking; he was practically sprinting. He headed straight for the private training area, which he had modified himself.
His body felt incredibly hot. It wasn’t just the lingering heat from Yue Yue’s lips on his jaw; it was as if his very blood had turned into molten lava. His heart was racing so fast he could hear it in his ears.
"I think you’re very handsome," her voice echoed in his brain.
He reached the training cabin, swiping his palm against the scanner with more force than necessary. The doors slid open, and he stepped into the sleek, high-tech interior. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
"Activate Training Mode. Vertical Gravity at 200%. Set status to ’No Disturb’ mode. Lock all entry points."
"Confirmed, Master," the ship’s AI replied smoothly.
Xing Luoguang tore off his simple outer cloak, letting it fall to the floor. He didn’t stop there. He stripped down to his training trousers, leaving his broad, muscular chest bare. His skin, a deep, rich bronze, was already glistening with a fine sheen of sweat.
In the past, whenever a female tried to make advances on him, he felt nothing but pure disgust.
Their scents were too heavy, their intentions too greedy. He usually felt the urge to break their bones just for standing too close.
But with Yue Yue... it was different.
She had a clean, fresh energy. When she touched him, he didn’t feel disgusted. He felt an overwhelming, terrifying urge to grab her, pull her close, and never let her go.
He stepped into the center of the training chamber. Suddenly, the gravity shifted. The weight of it slammed into him, trying to crush him into the floor, but he stood tall. He began to move, his body a blur of raw power and beastly grace.
He threw a series of lightning-fast punches into the air, each strike creating a visible ripple in the pressurized atmosphere.
Punch.
Kick.
He was trying to drown out the memory of her bashful smile.
Swing.
Strike.
Breathe.
His muscles corded and flexed under the harsh blue lights. Every time he closed his eyes, he felt the ghost of her lips. His body felt like a coiled spring, filled with a restless, hungry energy that no amount of physical exercise could seem to drain.
"Again!" he shouted to the empty room.
The gravity increased. He dropped to the floor and began doing one-handed push-ups, his movements rhythmic and intense.
Sweat dripped from his chin, splashing onto the cold floor. He was pushing his body to its absolute limit, trying to replace the "heat" of her kiss with the "burn" of exhaustion.
But even as his muscles screamed in protest, he realized something that scared him more than any battle ever had.
He didn’t hate this feeling.
He wanted to see her again. He wanted to hear her call him handsome one more time. He wanted to know if her lips felt that soft everywhere else.
Back in the palace, Yue Yue was feeling much more confident. She had a new energy capsule in her system storage and a skill fragment.
She walked down the hallway, her steps much lighter than before. "Okay, so the Third Villain is a softie for compliments, and the Second Villain is a jealous brat," she summarized to herself.
"If I have to trigger the missions myself," she mused, a devious glint in her eyes, "then I guess I’ll just have to go find someone else to bother."
She wondered where Xing Luoye had gone. If his favorability dropped, she probably needed to go "soothe" him or maybe just annoy him some more until a mission popped up.
"System," she whispered. "If I make Xing Luoye’s favorability drop to zero, do I get a reward for that too?"
[System: ...The host is advised to focus on survival, not professional antagonization.]
"Spoilsport," Yue Yue teased.
She turned a corner, her eyes scanning the futuristic hallway for her next "victim."
She had survived the kiss, she had survived the wrath of the third villain, and now, she was ready to conquer the rest of this villainous mood swing.
One way or another, she was going to get those rewards.
