Chen Miemie’s outrageously flashy appearance immediately made the Jade Rabbit statue’s ears stand straight up.
“You... you... you...” it stammered, unable to form a complete sentence. Even the motion of its pestle came to a halt.
Chen Miemie slowly descended and landed lightly on the boat.
“Jade Rabbit, when you move, don’t tell me you can only rely on pounding that pestle—like an old boatman rowing by hand?”
The Jade Rabbit statue immediately took offense.
“How could that be? I’m not that primitive! When the pestle moves up and down, it activates the moon-patterned inscriptions on my hull and converts moonlight into propulsion.”
Chen Miemie took a closer look. Sure enough, several mysterious runes were faintly visible across the hull.
“Can I take that to mean that when there’s no moonlight, you can only ‘row’ by yourself?”
The Jade Rabbit wore an expression that said, I’m very clever. “That’s why I don’t come out when there’s no moonlight.”
Chen Miemie fell into thought.
Purely in terms of the rabbit’s connection to moonlight, he was quite satisfied.
But the Jade Rabbit’s weakness was obvious too. During the day, it was as slow as an old boatman rowing manually.
As much as Chen Miemie liked moonlit nights, when it came to recreational activities or noncombat errands, he was just like any other human and preferred to do them during the day.
“Is there any way you could move faster during the day?”
The Jade Rabbit gave him the same look one might give a carrot.
“It used to be impossible, but now I think there might be some hope.”
“How so?”
“I think the three moons floating behind your head, along with your giant wings of moonlight, are made of moonlight too. They might be able to recharge me.”
Chen Miemie slapped his hands together. “That’s right! You can convert moonlight into kinetic energy, while I can generate moonlight. We’re a perfect match. Very good, very good. Jade Rabbit, I’m a representative of the new species of the New Era. From now on, join me and follow me.”
The Jade Rabbit hesitated.
On one hand, it found Chen Miemie familiar and felt that their abilities complemented each other. On the other hand, it enjoyed living freely in the waters around the shipyard.
After thinking for quite some time, it finally proposed a test.
“I’ll follow you, but only if you compete with me and beat me.”
“What kind of competition?”
“You can’t fly, and you can’t trap me like you did before. We’ll have a proper race across the water, each relying on our own abilities. The distance is three thousand meters. Whoever arrives first wins.”
So the Jade Rabbit knew that Chen Miemie had been the one preventing it from moving.
Chen Miemie protested, “You’re a boat, and I’m a person. Not letting me fly isn’t fair.”
The Jade Rabbit thought about it. “I won’t take too much advantage of you. I’ll only use ‘Slow-Pounding Mode.’”
“What’s ‘Slow-Pounding Mode’?”
“‘Slow-Pounding Mode’ means I’ll pound the pestle manually without using moonlight energy. I also have ‘Fast-Pounding Mode,’ ‘Pulse Mode,’ and a secret ultimate move. I won’t use any of those three.”
Chen Miemie grew curious. “Can you tell me about the other three modes?”
“‘Fast-Pounding Mode’ uses moonlight energy to move at full speed. It leaves a silver trail of light behind the stern and is faster than every other boat in this shipyard.
“‘Pulse Mode’ releases a massive amount of moonlight energy for a short-distance burst of speed. It’s used to dodge obstacles or accelerate in an emergency.
“As for my final move, it’s the trick I keep hidden up my sleeve. I can’t tell outsiders about it.”
Chen Miemie thought for a moment. “Fine. I’ll race you.”
The Jade Rabbit pointed toward a tiny black speck in the distance.
“That’s a small island. It’s roughly three thousand meters from here. Let’s see who can get there first.”
Chen Miemie glanced at the island and nodded.
The Jade Rabbit seemed excited to have someone to compete against. It shouted, “Are you ready?”
“Ready.”
A small boat formed from water appeared beneath Chen Miemie’s feet.
“Three... two... one! The Tortoise-and-Rabbit Race begins!” the Jade Rabbit announced.
“Wait!” Chen Miemie shouted urgently.
The Jade Rabbit shot forward, then slammed on the brakes. The Jade Rabbit statue turned around, clearly displeased.
“What is it? I already called the start!”
Chen Miemie was just as displeased. “A race is fine, but I don’t accept the name ‘Tortoise-and-Rabbit Race.’ You’re a rabbit, sure, but I’m not a tortoise.”
The Jade Rabbit was puzzled. “Compared to my speed, aren’t humans basically tortoises in the water?”
“I don’t care. We have to change the name.”
“To what?”
“The Mie-Rabbit Race.”
The two sides argued back and forth for a while. In the end, the Jade Rabbit could not get the better of Chen Miemie and agreed to the new name.
“Three... two... one! The Mie-Rabbit Race begins!” the Jade Rabbit announced again.
The Jade Rabbit shot forward. With a casual stroke, it covered a great distance.
Chen Miemie stood motionless on his watercraft, thinking to himself: Rabbits can run, sure, but can they outrun antelopes? Besides, according to our agreement, I’m only forbidden from using pure water to immobilize you. I never said I couldn’t use anything else.
He said quietly, “Lost Path, give our new recruit a proper challenge.”
The Jade Rabbit kept paddling forward, pounding its pestle at lightning speed.
It didn’t notice anything unusual beside it. Thinking it had pulled far ahead, it was just about to turn around and mock its opponent when the straight course before its eyes suddenly twisted.
The distant island seemed to keep shifting positions, and more and more different routes appeared in front of it.
This race did have spectators.
In the eyes of the two distant observers, [Dentist] and [Ship King], the Jade Rabbit, which had been leading, looked like a drunk person. It began weaving unsteadily, veering this way and that instead of moving in a straight line.
Chen Miemie pretended to be holding a paddle made of water and slowly passed by the Jade Rabbit.
“Jade Rabbit, I’m heading off first. Looks like the winner of a race like this is never a rabbit.”
The rabbit statue’s eyes, which had been glowing with moon-white light, turned red with anger. Two beams of red light shone across the bow, actually seeing through the false routes created by Lost Path. It charged forward again and quickly overtook Chen Miemie.
When the two boats drew level, the Jade Rabbit mocked him to his face.
“Those are nothing but cheap tricks. If you want to beat me, you’ll need some real ability.”
Chen Miemie refused to back down. “We agreed you wouldn’t use moonlight energy. How can you go back on your word?”
“Hmph. I only said I wouldn’t use moonlight energy to accelerate. I never said I wouldn’t be capable of using it. You’re free to use whatever tricks you like, so we’re even.”
Chen Miemie gave an equally dismissive “Hmph.”
“Fine. We’ll rely on our real abilities. Pure Water, let’s speed things up.”
Pure Water: ...
This was where Pure Water’s abilities needed some explanation.
Pure Water was water. When moving through water, no fish or boat could match it. But that speed was limited to Pure Water itself. At most, if it wrapped around Chen Miemie while underwater, it could still move faster than an ordinary fish.
The problem was that they were not currently underwater. Pure Water had shaped itself into a boat above the surface, while Chen Miemie himself had not even entered the water. If it could move quickly and keep doing so for a long time under these circumstances, then Chen Miemie would have had no need to find another boat in the first place.
The Jade Rabbit, operating in Slow-Pounding Mode, and the Pure Water, carrying Chen Miemie like a pampered old man, chased each other back and forth. For a time, neither managed to pull ahead.
With neither side holding a clear advantage, both began resorting to tricks.
When the Jade Rabbit was ahead, the Jade Rabbit statue’s legs would kick up splashes, spraying Chen Miemie from behind and drenching him.
When Pure Water was in the lead, Chen Miemie would release a watery eye from the stern, making faces at the Jade Rabbit and taunting it to the fullest.
Both competitors were playing dirty.
And so, the two boats chased each other all the way for 2,700 meters, leaving only the final 300.
With one-tenth of the distance remaining, the race entered its “sprint phase.”
Chen Miemie plunged his hand into the water and began using every underhanded trick in the book.
“Guanghan.” He activated the ability Xiao Shuang had given him.
Ice appeared in an instant, catching the Jade Rabbit completely off guard.
“Damn it.” The Jade Rabbit flew into a rage. The color in its rabbit eyes shifted again, changing from red to yellow as yellow beams of light shot out.
When the yellow light shone on it, the solid ice formed by Guanghan was actually dissolved!
Chen Miemie was stunned. “What the heck? Is this how you use the Eternal Moon’s light?”
Seeing his shock, the Jade Rabbit grew smug. “What do you know about the Eternal Moon? The Eternal Moon represents mystery. In the face of an even greater mystery, all mysteries are nothing more than flashy tricks, fit only to be dissolved.”
Chen Miemie nodded, then raised his hand and released the same yellow moonlight, enveloping the Jade Rabbit’s yellow beams.
“Thanks for the idea. I’ll call this move [Dissolving Light]. Beneath this light, there is no mystery left within the same tier.”
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
