At this stage, there was no hope for delicious food. Qingyu took a bite of dry bread and washed it down with a bottle of unknown brand of water, expressing his doubts.

"Really? Most of it is just basic knowledge, and you will naturally understand it if you see more. But this game is different. There are some things that do require exploration, like... I'm also curious why we feel hungry in the game world."

While Yunyou spoke, Qingyu silently watched him eat the bread.

"And in fact, not only do we feel hungry, but we also feel tired. Are you sure you don't want to go back to the city and stay at the inn instead of staying with me in the wild all night?"

"I'm sure. Don't expect me to run away."

"If I wanted to run away, you wouldn't see me now. And just now, you agreed to go back to the village alone to buy things, which means you believe I won't betray you, right?"

"Just now is just now, now is now. Not seeing you for one night poses too much risk. Just because you won't change your mind in half an hour doesn't mean you won't change your mind after one night."

"...Are you attached to me or something...?"

"At least I need to make sure you won't do anything bad before I let you go."

Qingyu's small voice sounded unusually firm.

But for Yunyou, it was no longer a question of whether he wanted to be a bad person or not. It was about this damn so-called unique lifelong achievement preventing him from being a good person!

Feeling that he couldn't go on passively like this anymore, Yunyou quickly made his own request.

"If you want me to agree to stay by your side, there is one condition you must fulfill."

"What condition?"

"It's simple, I just want to tell you that being by the side of someone with a notorious reputation like me is definitely not a vacation enjoyment. On the contrary, it will be very tough for you..."

"I'm not afraid."

Before Yunyou could finish his sentence, Qingyu immediately interrupted him.

"...Okay, okay, regardless of whether you're afraid or not, let me finish, alright? In order to avoid colliding with a large number of players later on, I must quickly level up to enter higher-level training areas and avoid the masses. Tonight is crucial because I estimate that most players are still observing, hoping to log out and leave here as soon as possible. But tomorrow morning, things might not be the same."

"Are you saying that we really can't go back? You didn't say that during the day."

Qingyu could almost instantly hear the hidden meaning behind Yunyou's words, but there was no panic on her face. Instead, she seemed calm and intimidating, which made Yunyou even more curious about this girl.

"Aren't you scared?"

"If being scared is useful, maybe I would cry a lot. But if it's true, the earlier I regain my composure, the greater my chance of survival."

Completely different from the panic she showed when surrounded by two hooligans before, Qingyu now displayed a rationality that was completely different from her appearance in the face of this unprecedented crisis.

"If you cry a lot, I'll actually have a headache."

Yunyou secretly nodded. Anyway, Qingyu wasn't the type of weak girl who would cry and make a scene. It really was a big help.

"I'm not saying that we definitely can't go back, but it's always good to be prepared. While waiting for the system to return to normal, it won't hinder our leveling progress. If it can be restored, we will be happy. If not, we will at least have the ability to protect ourselves before others. Moreover, that method mentioned in the system announcement might still be worth a try."

"You mean the rule that says 'reach level 100 to leave the game'? So, do you want to see if I can keep up with you? When you say tonight is crucial, do you mean we need to level up all night?"

"It's not just a matter of keeping up with my pace. Let's not talk about how much help you can provide me, but at the very least, you need to have the ability to protect yourself. Otherwise, I won't always have the energy to protect you. If you can't do that, then don't stay by my side."

Yunyou's tone was serious. This was not a joke. Although this girl named An Qingyu was indeed tempting enough to make someone want to jump on her, Yunyou had long passed the stage of thinking with his lower body due to his past experiences. It would be nice to have such a beauty by his side to feast his eyes on, but if it would affect his actions, then he didn't want this decoration.Qingyu also lowered her head and stared at the bread in her hand, contemplating for a while. She then firmly replied, "I will try my best, but you have to teach me some skills, just like earlier."

"How did you even learn to bargain? Fine, but only for tonight. Let's see how fast you grasp things. If you can't meet my requirements, you better go back early."

"Deal."

.........

........

......

As it turned out, Yunyou's guess was correct. An Qingyu, this girl, indeed couldn't keep up with the pace due to her lack of basic knowledge and exposure to games.

Yunyou's estimation, however, fell short because he never expected Qingyu to learn so quickly. She learned so fast that she shattered his plan to find an excuse to send her back.

"... Lift your left hand, it's a move called 'Side Split.' Then... take half a step back and counterattack with your other hand!"

"System action assistance - activated."

The girl gracefully evaded the goblin's attack, calmly made a starting posture, and instantly stabbed the opponent's heart with the dagger in her hand. A scream followed, and the goblin fell to the ground.

This scene was completely different from the one where she trembled and fell to the ground during the day, as if hit by a stick. If one ignored her murmuring alone, which was similar to reading a guide, no one would believe she was a novice player who had never touched a game before.

With a "ding" sound, Qingyu leveled up to level 4, which meant she now had the ability to kill a level 4 goblin in one hit.

"How about that, Teacher Ye? You said I only needed to kill a goblin higher level than me to pass. So, how was my performance just now?"

Looking at Qingyu's slightly proud and faint smile, Yunyou felt a bit embarrassed. He even regretted why he had set such a rule just now. He originally thought she wouldn't be able to kill a goblin for the entire night, but now it seemed that he had set the goal too low.

However, he couldn't say that out loud. Yunyou could only pretend to be serious, hands on his hips, and nod.

"... Well, it's not bad to learn this much in three hours."

"Unfortunately, I still have to rely on the system's assistance to attack and dodge. It would be even better if I could move freely like you."

Due to the nature of holographic immersive games, all actions needed to be handled by the players themselves. To accommodate players who were not coordinated in their movements or couldn't meet basic combat requirements, "Void Realm" designed a set of action assistance system, significantly reducing the difficulty of battles. Otherwise, many players would not even be able to leave the beginner's village.