After the banquet ended, Cheng Jinyang finally returned to his bedroom to rest.
Xing Yuanzhi had left, Wang Wanrou had left, but Chu Qingqing...
"Why are you still here?" Cheng Jinyang asked in surprise.
"Why, are you disappointed it's not Yuanzhi?" Miss Qingqing raised her eyebrow.
"Of course not," Cheng Jinyang smiled and shook his head, "We're here to level up."
In the past, he might have felt a bit guilty towards Ah Zhi, but now... sorry, I need to focus on getting stronger.
I, Cheng Jinyang, refuse to be a mere ant ever again!
"I knew you would say that," Miss Qingqing smiled and nodded. "Wangshu, are you ready?"
"Ready!" Xiao Wangshu came out of the bathroom wearing a mask. She seemed to have just washed her hair, as there were still drops of water not yet dried.
"Wangshu is staying too?" Cheng Jinyang asked excitedly.
"Otherwise, how would you clear the Ghost-level checkpoint?" Chu Qingqing replied.
"Great!" Cheng Jinyang clapped his hands and laughed, "Let's work hard tonight, everyone!"
After washing up, Cheng Jinyang saw that Yang Wangshu was already lying on Cui Jinqi's bed, tossing and turning as if she couldn't fall asleep.
Cui Xiaoniang had gone back a long time ago. After all, he had stayed in the hospital for three days, and with mourning veils all around the family grounds, she felt uncomfortable staying any longer.
Chu Qingqing, however, was lying on his bed, calmly reading a book, momentarily making Cheng Jinyang mistake her for Miss Wang.
"Um." He sat by the bed and said, "I can ask the maid to bring another bed; no one in the family will gossip."
"No need, I'll sleep here," Miss Qingqing said without looking up.
"Uh," Cheng Jinyang hesitated, "Wanrou? Are you Miss Wang in disguise, possessing Qingqing?"
"What are you thinking!" Chu Qingqing raised an eyebrow, her feisty spirit returning. "I'm staying to comfort you! You might spiral into guilt, thinking you caused your family's four elders' deaths or something, so I'm here to keep you company tonight!"
"I hadn't thought of that until you mentioned it." Cheng Jinyang sighed in guilt, "If I hadn't approved their going to the battlefield, they might still be alive now."
"Stop overthinking!" Chu Qingqing hit his head with a pillow, "If they didn't go, who would have gone? Someone had to, right?"
"Yeah," Cheng Jinyang still looked dejected.
"Why are you so sentimental, big pig?" Yang Wangshu typed, "Wars involve deaths! It's like you can't win every game round."
"I asked Sister Yuexian. Your two uncles wrote their wills before leaving, and everyone was mentally prepared. Why are you the one who can't accept it, taking all the blame on yourself?"
"I didn't expect that I don't see things as clearly as a child like you," Cheng Jinyang sighed and clapped his hands, "No more talking! Go to sleep!"
Turning off the lights and getting under the covers, just as Cheng Jinyang was about to turn over, a warm body hugged him from behind.
"Stop thinking so much," Miss Qingqing said gently, "Just sleep peacefully like last time."
From the bed opposite came the sound of furious typing.
"Xiao Wangshu?" Chu Qingqing's voice turned sweet and soft, "If you're tattling to Yuanzhi, I'll torture you a hundred times in the dreams~"
"No, no!" After a moment, a stiff electronic voice replied, "I'm just harvesting crops in a mobile game!"
..........
They entered the dream.
Facing the rushing demons, Miss Qingqing swung her iron blade, while the opponent ferociously clawed with its limbs.
As they were about to collide, the monster suddenly floated upwards, pulled by a mysterious force, and Miss Qingqing manipulated her metal blade like a spear, piercing straight through the demon's chest.
"Too slow," Yang Wangshu said, monitoring the battle with electromagnetic waves. "Sister Qingqing, you can speed up the transformation from blade to spear by half a second. It would pierce the target faster."
"I think I'm already fast enough," Chu Qingqing questioned. "I timed it just as its balance was lost, didn't I?"
"No, it was definitely slow," Yang Wangshu insisted. "My signal current intervals are accurate to 10 milliseconds, which is more precise than your judgment. Thank you."
"Being slow is fine, just correct it next time." Cheng Jinyang descended from above. "Get me some flying swords."
"You want to play with flying swords?" Miss Qingqing asked.
"Staying up in the sky assisting all the time isn't good," Cheng Jinyang replied. "I want to get in the fight and get a feel for it."
"Alright, let's see who kills faster." Miss Qingqing was enthusiastic.
In the second round, two demons appeared on either side of the alley, ferociously charging at the trio.
Chu Qingqing raised her hand and shot a metal spear. The demon dodged the moment the spear shot out, but it didn't expect the spear to explode into countless thorns, piercing its body.
During her time alone at the Yangdi Chu family, she hadn't wasted her days. She had significantly improved the efficiency of several algorithms.
On the other side, Cheng Jinyang controlled numerous flying swords, launching the Yaoguang Yingyue Sword Formation. The sword lights rotated around and shot out successively, rapidly targeting the incoming demon.
The demon dodged the first sword, then the second and third. However, the first wave of swords, after missing, flew back again, quickly trapping it in a pincer attack.
After dodging the returning first wave, it dodged the second wave that followed. The first wave then circled 90 degrees to stab from above, the second wave came from behind, and the third wave shot from the front, completely sealing its escape routes.
Thud, thud, thud!
Several swords simultaneously pierced the demon from different directions, draining its blood. It collapsed on the ground, its body still twitching.
Cheng Jinyang silently looked at it, his gaze somewhat lost.
In this dream world, the weak were like ants, only to be slaughtered. Although the real world seemed different, beneath its warm facade, how was it any less cruel than the dream world?
Wang Chuzhong wanted to overthrow the court, the court wanted to suppress the rebellion. Everyone had to choose a side and pledge loyalty. Loyalty meant being sent to fight the other side, and war meant death.
What value did these sacrifices have? Killing demons in the dream world at least increased bloodline concentration, but in reality, Second and Third Uncles died without a trace of recognition!
Many bones pave the road to a general's success, using the lives of the weak to build the achievements of the strong!
Damn it!
He raised several flying swords again, stabbing the powerless demon's corpse, venting his anger by shredding it into an unrecognizable mess, blood flowing everywhere.
"Hey, Jinyang?" Miss Qingqing asked in surprise. "Did you also realize the beauty of slaughter?"
"Wow! Sister Qingqing, you've infected him!" Yang Wangshu exclaimed in horror. "He might go back and torture Sister Ah Zhi! I must tell her quickly!"
"Shut up!" Cheng Jinyang retorted irritably.