Daily Tasks

"Gulp... gulp..."

Su Di'er held a cup nearly the size of her own head, struggling to chug down the goat milk.

[Daily Quest: Supervise Su Di'er drinking a jar of goat milk (1/1)]

"Li Ang, this doesn't taste good at all..."

Su Di'er frowned slightly, grumbling as she put down the cup.

"Drink it, and you'll become as strong as me."

Zhong Yi glanced at Su Di'er, reached out to wipe the milk mustache from the girl's lip with his thumb, and then continued pruning the green plants on the windowsill.

[Daily Quest: Tend to the plants (1/1)]

Zhong Yi put down the scissors, looking with satisfaction at the trimmed plant, and moved it to a spot with better lighting.

"You seem to really like that potted plant?"

Su Di'er propped her chin on her hand, asking with interest.

"It's my best friend. It's always happy, and it never asks questions."

Zhong Yi paused for a moment before answering crisply.

This line was spoken by the original "Li Ang."

Generally speaking, such pivotal dialogue always held special significance.

Zhong Yi couldn't figure out immediately what the significance of the dialogue about the plant was.

"And it's a lot like me... look, it has no roots."

After finishing this sentence, Zhong Yi regained control of the character.

No roots?

Zhong Yi raised an eyebrow.

Did this mean he had no home and drifted everywhere?

From that perspective, it did seem fitting.

"If you really like it, take it to the grass by Dawn Lake and plant it. That way, it will grow roots."

Su Di'er spoke her mind without overthinking.

Zhong Yi was slightly stunned.

The seemingly simple words seemed to contain deep meaning.

"If you want me to grow up, I'm the one who needs watering the most."

Su Di'er looked at Zhong Yi with a grin.

Zhong Yi suddenly remembered how Su Di'er had teased him while taking a medicinal bath not long ago.

"Right, you do indeed need watering..."

Zhong Yi chuckled, picked up the watering can used for the plants, and pretended to chase after Su Di'er.

"Ah—!!"

"Hahaha..."

The sound of the two of them, one big and one small, playing in the room was extremely cheerful.

...

...

"Today, your task is to continue studying this cultivation technique."

"Mhm."

Su Di'er nodded.

Zhong Yi's life in the illusion was simple, yet rich.

Aside from daily quests like supervising Su Di'er drinking milk or learning to read with her, the rest of his time was quite free.

After completing his daily quests, Zhong Yi would always go into town to find side quests.

In the words of the livestream chat, this was called "seeking opportunities."

The variety of side quests Lu Ze had arranged in the town was simply overwhelming.

Pills, techniques, skills, weapons, items...

Everything one could wish for.

There were even chain quests where the final rewards were often exceptionally bountiful.

Some of these rewards were for Li Ang, while others were for Su Di'er.

After players invested enough resources, Su Di'er would level up.

That meant her cultivation realm would improve.

This dual-character raising mode gave players a significant sense of novelty.

Taking assassin missions to raise Li Ang's assassin rank made the player stronger.

Once the player was stronger, they could tackle harder side dungeons to obtain rare items to upgrade Su Di'er.

When Su Di'er's level increased, players were often happier than when their own assassin rank went up...

...

"Li Ang, are you going out again?"

Seeing Zhong Yi getting ready to leave, Su Di'er asked reluctantly.

"Yeah."

Zhong Yi nodded.

Curbing his chatterbox tendencies in front of Su Di'er was beneficial for increasing his behavior score.

"Is it to find immortal opportunities for me again?"

The corners of Su Di'er's mouth curled up into a lovely arc.

"Correct."

Zhong Yi nodded vigorously, his gaze burning with intensity.

This was a new side quest he had just discovered, which offered a rare immortal herb that could improve cultivation aptitude.

If he boosted Su Di'er's comprehension, she would level up faster, and the stats gained per level would be better!

"I have found the solution. This immortal opportunity shall be mine!"

Hearing Zhong Yi's solemn vow, the girl was instantly amused.

"Li Ang... do you know something? Every time you say that, you come back looking terrible... Hahahaha!"

"Uh..."

Zhong Yi stood there awkwardly.

The livestream chat instantly exploded with laughter.

[Hahaha, even Su Di'er knows you have a jinxed mouth!!]

[I can only say that Li Ang is limiting the streamer's performance... he speaks too little. Otherwise, everything he says would be the opposite of reality...]

[Old Zhong, let's just talk less, okay?]

...

...

Life with Su Di'er was slightly different for every player, but the general experience was similar.

In this process, ostensibly, the goal was to improve Su Di'er's character stats, but the true significance was to deepen the player's affection for Su Di'er.

Only by becoming fully immersed would the final parting be etched into their hearts.

Lu Ze hadn't created this illusion solely to benefit the cultivators; how could he not fleece these sheep a little?

Judging by the current progress, his approach was extremely successful.

Su Di'er's character design—precocious, rebellious yet pure—combined with personalized companionship tailored to each player's traits, meant there was almost no player who didn't like her.

In the forums, people posted their Su Di'er's stat panels or shared unique interaction moments every day.

For instance, the Su Di'er raised by Mu Yawen had developed slight muscles on her forearms and excitedly showed them off to him;

The Su Di'er raised by Zhou Qiaoling was incredibly sharp, gradually becoming the boss of the street beggars and coordinating with Zhou Qiaoling to "rob the rich and help the poor" every day;

The Su Di'er raised by Zhou Yue, who initially couldn't cook at all, had learned excellent culinary skills from him...

...

Time flew by.

Inside Zhong Yi's illusion world.

[Mission Complete! Su Di'er's level has risen to Level 30.]

Looking at the system notification, Zhong Yi couldn't help but estimate what realm Level 30 in the illusion corresponded to.

It seemed to still be the Body Refining stage, not yet crossing the threshold into Qi Refining.

Just then, the illusion world entered cinematic mode again.

The story picked up from the last movie clip, right after they had moved to their new residence.

A montage of Li Ang and Su Di'er living together and various heartwarming daily scenes was stitched together, making for an interesting watch.

Some were events Zhong Yi had experienced, while others were not, yet they looked completely seamless, filling his heart with emotion.

The scene shifted.

Li Ang returned once again to Li Youqian's restaurant.

Outside the restaurant, a clean and elegantly dressed Su Di'er waved to him through the glass.

Ever since Li Ang had taken Su Di'er as his apprentice, he rarely came to the restaurant to accept assassin missions.

As the strongest assassin under Li Youqian's command, Li Ang's absence made Li Youqian's assassin operations difficult to conduct.

Many high-bounty missions were hard to complete.

Li Ang's purpose for coming to the restaurant this time was singular—

Money.

Over the past decade or so, the commission fees Li Ang had earned from taking missions were all stored with Li Youqian.

Li Ang hesitantly asked about the money, but Li Youqian sharply sensed that something was amiss.

"Li Ang, do you have a woman?"

"No."

"Listen, Li Ang. You have to watch out for women."

This dialogue instantly made the livestream chat explode.

[Pfft, I think you're the one we need to watch out for!]

[He's not wrong, we do need to watch out for women, but Su Di'er is just a girl.]

[Does the boss not pay wages? But aren't there rewards for taking missions?]

[The plot is the plot, and the illusion is the illusion. They're separate things.]

[Exactly. Otherwise, given Old Zhong's skills, if you claim he's the strongest assassin, wouldn't this Assassin Hall have gone bankrupt ages ago??]

...

Seeing the ridicule in the scrolling comments, Zhong Yi couldn't hold back anymore.

"Stop slandering the streamer! If I could bring my actual strength into this, the entire continent combined wouldn't be enough for me to take on!"

Meanwhile, the movie continued playing.

Li Youqian managed to reassure Li Ang, promising to keep his money safe for him.

During this interval, Li Ang looked outside the tavern and saw a hooligan trying to hit on Su Di'er. He immediately rushed out and chased the strange man away.

The livestream comments expressed deep approval of this action.

[Well done!]

[Where did this wild boar come from, trying to root up my cabbage?]

[Such intense possessiveness.]

...

Li Ang brought Su Di'er back to their lodgings.

The young girl leaned back and lay upon the bed, her jet-black hair scattering around her, her eyes shimmering like starry skies.

"Li Ang..."

"I think... I think I've fallen in love with you."