Mo Bai had also considered putting some attribute points into Mental Power. Doing so would increase her energy pool and allow her to use her abilities more times instead of being completely drained every time.

But for the current Mo Bai, what she wanted more than energy was physical health.

Rationally speaking, Mo Bai knew this choice was shortsighted. Only by becoming truly powerful could she clear more stages, and only by clearing more stages could she obtain more attribute points.

As long as she endured long enough, she would naturally regain a healthy body, and when clearing instances, she would also have more trump cards.

But reason was one thing, and emotion was another.

Setting reason aside, there was only one thought in Mo Bai's mind:

I want to stand up.

That thought circled endlessly in her mind, leaving her unable to choose anything else.

After adding points to Constitution, her gaze lingered briefly on Mental Power. However, she still couldn't resist the yearning in her heart, so she put the remaining 10 points into Agility.

After distributing her attribute points, Mo Bai braced herself against the wall and slowly stood up. This time, she encountered no resistance at all as she stood up with ease.

Her legs were firmly planted on the ground. She didn't need support or assistance.

She stood up purely on her own two legs.

Mo Bai slowly walked to the window, not using her wheelchair, but relying on herself. As she looked at the scenery outside, her nose stung, and tears spilled uncontrollably down her face.

She could walk!

Although her movement was extremely slow and she would start panting after walking for a while, she undoubtedly could walk!

After a few more stages, a few more levels, would she be able to run and jump freely, just like the players outside, leaping among the treetops?

Mo Bai pinched her thigh hard, causing pain to surge up. So unfamiliar, so real, and so overwhelmingly joyful.

She squatted down, hugging her knees, crying and laughing at the same time like a madwoman.

Unfortunately, the good moment didn't last long. After squatting for only two minutes, her legs lost their strength, turning sore and weak, and Mo Bai could only slump helplessly onto the floor.

In her mind, Xiao Qi let out a soft sigh. "Player should take a look at the updated attribute values."

Xiao Qi's tone was pessimistic. Sensing that something unpleasant might have happened, Mo Bai opened her attribute panel.

Her stats had changed:

 

[

Appearance: 92

Mental Power: 99

Endurance: 66

Constitution: 67

Agility: 41

]

 

Constitution and Agility had increased as expected, but before allocating points, Mo Bai's Appearance had been as high as 102. After the changes, it had dropped by a full 10 points!

Xiao Qi explained, "This is why Xiao Qi has always advised against increasing Constitution. Part of the Player's Appearance value comes from imperfect beauty. Once that imperfection disappears, the base Appearance value decreases. If the 10 points meant for Constitution had instead been added to Mental Power, Appearance would not have dropped, and Mental Power would have increased as well. That would have been the most efficient allocation."

Mo Bai felt a little regret seeing her total value drop, but she didn't feel any remorse. She asked, "If my Appearance keeps dropping, will I fall from the observation group into the combat group?"

She actually wouldn't mind being in the combat group. Fighting like Ding Xun, carrying a sword, jumping, spinning, and rolling through battle.

Xiao Qi replied, "Just as humans can't choose their birth, observation or combat group is determined the moment a player enters the game. It will not change."

"Then that's fine," Mo Bai said. "That title of mine isn't very useful anyway."

Xiao Qi was worried on her behalf. "At least it wouldn't have negative effects! Player, take a look at your current title."

 

[

Title upgraded. Details below.

Title: Unbreakable Iron Hammer

Description: Regrettably, you have lost most of your Appeal Value. The system doesn't even understand why you're still placed in the observation group. You're not even an iron doll! Just a hammer that smashes domains and rules wherever it goes.

Title Effects: People love objects with appeal or artistic value, even if they're ugly or broken. But no one likes a hammer. From now on, instance monsters and bosses will feel hostility toward you. Restricted by rules, they won't actively kill you, but they will bully you within the rules, such as giving you the worst items when distributing loot or feeding you food mixed with sand. When rules allow, they will try their best to smash you. On the other hand, a hammer has the power to break everything. You will bring faith and strength to those trapped in despair.

]

 

Xiao Qi sighed anxiously, "Player will become an eyesore to instance bosses, yet your Constitution hasn't truly leaped forward. What should we do?"

Mo Bai read everything calmly and said, "This is actually better than I expected. Isn't this just pulling aggro in games? I'll draw the monsters' hatred, my teammates will do their work, and I can even give people faith and strength. Sounds pretty good to me."

To Mo Bai, rather than being pitifully admired for her brokenness and surviving by displaying her pain, she would rather be someone hated by enemies but capable of empowering her friends.

Even Xiao Qi, who seemed to have fallen into despair, was encouraged by her words. It perked up and said, "Player's ability has also leveled up."

With that, Xiao Qi proactively displayed Mo Bai's upgraded ability.

 

[

Environmental Optimization upgraded from Beginner–3 to Beginner–7.

Effect range increased to 200 meters.

Controllable environment increased to 1 cubic meter.

]

 

"It increased this much?!" Seeing that the controllable volume had reached 1 cubic meter, Mo Bai was instantly energized.

This was nothing like 5 liters. One cubic meter was equal to 1,000 liters, so this meant that her ability had gone from 5 L to 1,000 L, a full 200-fold increase!

The control range was even more terrifying.

The system defined the range by radius. The area of a circle scales with the square of the radius. A 50-meter radius yielded an area of 2,500π square meters, but a 200-meter radius yielded 40,000π square meters. Considering the spatial volume, that's over a hundred-fold increase.

Xiao Qi said, "The main system states that abilities like the Player's are extremely weak at low levels and require protection from others to grow, making them ideal for the observation group. Once matured, the ability becomes terrifying, but also gains even greater viewing value."

"Your main system sounds pretty decent," Mo Bai said with thinly veiled sarcasm.

She always felt like the main system wanted her dead.

"The main system treats all players fairly within the rules," Xiao Qi replied. "It asked me to tell you that it only follows rules and does not target individuals. If someone feels targeted, it means they possess terrifying potential. Potential worthy of the rules' attention."

Mo Bai felt puzzled. Did the main system really need to explain this to her personally?

To her, the main system was like social order itself. Like company management or school teachers.

Complaining about leaders, teachers, or unfair systems was normal. Mo Bai joked about the main system wanting her dead, but beyond complaining, there was nothing she could do. After all, she had already died once. This new life was granted by this world. Even if the main system truly wanted her dead, she couldn't do anything about it.

At the end of the day, she was just one ordinary Player among countless others.

But the system explaining itself to her gave Mo Bai a strange feeling that she really was special. The system had placed her on equal footing, speaking to her through Xiao Qi as an equal.

Mo Bai thought for a while, but she just couldn't figure it out, no matter how hard she tried. She was also a little hungry, indicating that she needed to replenish her energy after leveling up.

With her increased Constitution, Mo Bai's appetite had grown even larger. She used to eat 10 to 15 steamed buns per meal, but now, she would probably need 30 just to feel half full.

Recalling the seven days when she nearly choked to death on buns, Mo Bai asked Xiao Qi, "How many points was that system nutrition meal you mentioned?"

"System nutrition meals are 300 points per serving. Even intermediate players can eat their fill, and you can order by taste. It's very cost-effective!" Xiao Qi said firmly.

At first, Mo Bai thought that the cost-effective was a joke. But as her level rose and her appetite grew, she gradually realized that 300 points really was worth it.

If her appetite kept increasing, she might one day become someone who could eat 300 buns in one meal, and that meal would still cost 300 points.

Even worse, if she needed 1,000 buns a day to feel full, she would spend 24 hours eating, with no time for anything else.

At that point, eating would no longer be a pleasure, but a torment.

People often wished for a bottomless stomach that never gained weight, but when Mo Bai actually obtained such a body, eating became a rather painful experience for her.

Only then did she understand the meaning of system nutrition meals.

With 91,000 points left, she decided to indulge a little.

Mo Bai ordered a system nutrition set: four dishes, one soup, and two bowls of rice. Choosing foods she liked.

After placing the order, she heard the kitchen inside the room start humming. Ten minutes later, a dining table rose from the floor where her meal was neatly served.

Xiao Qi explained, "This time, the player selected the 'family-run restaurant' flavor. The system also offers five-star hotel flavor and home-style flavor, as well as hotpot, barbecue, spicy skewers, and more. We guarantee that you won't get tired of eating even after a hundred years."

This time, Mo Bai slowed down and ate leisurely. She patted her stomach, enjoying both fullness and restored energy.

It seemed she would really need to rely on system meals from now on.

But doing the math made her heart sink.

She only had 90,700 points left. One meal costs 300, and three meals a day cost 900 points. That was 27,000 points a month, and 81,000 in three months. After that, she'd have less than 10,000 points left, which was barely enough to buy any useful cards.

Her current points were just enough to cover food and rent before the next instance.

No wonder Peach Blossom Land players desperately farmed daily instances. Life was simply impossible without money.

She had just cleared a forced instance and already wanted to grind daily ones.

Daily instances had guides and weren't lethal. Even failure only deducted points, so she could try them.

As Mo Bai was planning, Xiao Qi reminded her, "Player, Phantom Butterfly isn't dead yet."

At the mention of that name, Mo Bai's head started to ache.

Phantom Butterfly had only been expelled by the Count. It wasn't killed. Although it had taken the Ironhide Skin, it had already recognized Mo Bai's breath. The C-rank card Breath Transfer had a time limit, so after 30 minutes, the Phantom Butterfly could track her again.

The Phantom Butterfly could freely enter other instances, including daily ones. If Mo Bai rushed into an instance now, she wouldn't just endanger herself, but also drag her teammates into danger.

Even if she entered a solo instance, her strength alone likely wasn't enough to kill the Phantom Butterfly.

Troublesome.

"After this forced instance, Ding Xun should reach Intermediate level, right? Intermediate players should be able to handle A-rank monsters. If the two of us enter a duo daily instance, we should be able to deal with Phantom Butterfly with my Spatial Blade, right?" Mo Bai asked.

Xiao Qi warned her, "If the player teams up with an intermediate player, the instance difficulty will scale to intermediate. Monster strength will also increase. You wouldn't be facing just one Phantom Butterfly, but many A-rank monsters."

Mo Bai: “……”

Being targeted by an A-rank monster was really a pain.

Xiao Qi thoughtfully added, "Xiao Qi searched the database and found several cases where two beginner players successfully defeated an A-rank monster together. The Player is a very intelligent, top-tier strategist. If you can find a Beginner–9 player with strong attack power and execution to team up with, then there's hope of defeating Phantom Butterfly."

Mo Bai was genuinely impressed. "I thought you only offer untimely suggestions, worry, and questions. I didn't expect that you would come up with such a proactive solution."

The plan wouldn't be easy to execute, but the fact that Xiao Qi could think of it at all was impressive.

Xiao Qi sounded shy after being praised. "Xiao Qi thinks I'm getting smarter too."

"You're not smarter," Mo Bai said. "You're just not as rigid anymore."

Xiao Qi strictly followed the rules. If the rules didn't say it could do something, then it wouldn't. Now it had shifted to 'If the rules don't forbid it, it's allowed.'  It had learned to exploit loopholes.

Mo Bai continued, "Your plan is feasible, but finding a teammate is the hardest part. After this instance, all my teammates will advance to intermediate level. They'll need time to adapt to new abilities and levels in lower-tier instances. They might not even be as proficient as Beginner–9 players, so I can't team up with them.

"If I look for Beginner–Level 9 players, I'll have to explain why. Very few beginners are willing to fight an A-rank monster head-on. Even if I paid them, they wouldn't risk their lives for me, and I don't want to spend the points anyway."

Xiao Qi sighed. "If the player still had her previous Appearance value, it would be much easier to trick teammates."

"Trick?" Mo Bai was startled. Was this really something an AI should say?

Xiao Qi quickly corrected itself. "Bug. Xiao Qi's vocabulary module experienced a temporary malfunction. Xiao Qi meant 'encounter suitable, kind, helpful teammates.'"

Mo Bai smiled. "No need to explain. I know what you meant. I know you care, but let's leave this for now. I'll rest for a couple of days first."

After such a fierce battle, Mo Bai just wanted to rest for the time being.

She lay on the bed, looking at Gu Tiandong's ice sculpture standing in the room, and couldn't help smiling.

To make it easier for her to smash the Count, Gu Tiandong had clasped her hands before turning into ice. That way, she wouldn't lose her grip on the slippery surface.

Now, he remained frozen with arms slightly open and his left hand loosely clenched, as if he was about to hug someone.

Their joking talk about smashing monsters with Gu Tiandong's frozen self had actually come true.

Gu Tiandong would need three more days to recover. Xiao Qi said his level-up would also be delayed by three days. After that, it was unclear whether he would keep getting shorter or become completely androgynous.

When he woke up… would he scold her?

Mo Bai fell asleep thinking about it. In her dream, a more beautiful Gu Tiandong wore a little dress and complained while pointing at his head, "You smashed my head open."

She was just about to explain when Gu Tiandong suddenly spoke in Xiao Qi's voice: "You have an incoming call. Unknown number. Would you like to connect?"

That was how Xiao Qi's ringtone woke Mo Bai up.

"Who would call me?" Mo Bai muttered sleepily, her hair sticking up everywhere.

Ding Xun and Ye Pingjun didn't have her contact info, they only knew where she lived. If they wanted to find her, they would come directly to her room.

Xiao Qi had said that leap upgrades from Beginner to Intermediate required at least three days of deep sleep. Abilities evolved during sleep. If done while awake, the body couldn't withstand it.

So Mo Bai knew that Ding Xun and Ye Pingjun wouldn't come looking for her during these three days, since they would also be sleeping.

She only knew a few people in Peach Blossom Land: one ice sculpture, two hibernating players… so who else would call her?

The phone rang insistently. After thinking for a moment, Mo Bai answered, enabling only voice.

A voice with a faint cold fragrance came through: "You're not dead yet?"

What a rude opening.

The concise words and the voice that sounded like it belonged to someone very handsome snapped Mo Bai fully awake, and she finally remembered who it was.

"Mo Xiangyou?" Mo Bai said. "Didn't you say that last time would be our final meeting?"

They had last spoken through the watch, and Mo Xiangyou had retained her contact info.

"I thought you'd die in the instance," Mo Xiangyou answered.

"You spent so many points gathering intel for me, so how could I die? Wait, you didn't even spend money. You sold fake intel and overpriced cards and made a fortune!" Mo Bai perked up the moment money was mentioned.

"I want to see you," Mo Xiangyou said. His voice made it sound strangely ambiguous.

After thinking it over, Mo Bai decided to meet him.

She had some questions about observation titles.

Originally, she planned to wait until Gu Tiandong reached intermediate level, but that would take six days: three frozen, and another three asleep. Mo Xiangyou was already right here, so asking him was more convenient.

They agreed to meet again at Mo Xiangyou's private room, which was in VIP Room No. 5 at the trading market.

Mo Bai intended to walk out, but before leaving, she glanced at the wheelchair and decided to use it.

With her high appearance and wheelchair, most players in the residential area already recognized her. Suddenly walking normally might invite unwanted questions. She had no need for pointless social interaction.

She also remembered Player No. 11.

No. 11 was a member of the organization Asura Path, which included a divination strategist.

Mo Bai wasn't sure whether they could deduce that No. 11 died because of her, but once you made enemies of such an organization, it was best to assume the worst.

In that case, hiding the fact that she had recovered could lull enemies and allow a fatal strike later.

Mo Bai didn't care about others' pity, weakness, or perverted gazes. Her choices often had practical meaning.

Seated in her wheelchair, she smoothly took the elevator down and hailed a cab to the trading market.

The 130-point fare came out of her pocket, but she planned to get reimbursed by Mo Xiangyou later.

Spend where needed, save where possible. No point wasted.

After taking the elevator to the third floor, Mo Bai recalled their first meeting. Not wanting to be affected by that strange fragrance again, she immediately set up a protective layer around herself.

As before, the inside was air, and the outside was a vacuum barrier.

But this time, she protected not just her head, but her entire body.

She could now alter 1 cubic meter of environment. A normal adult human's volume was only 0.06–0.12 cubic meters, so she could easily cover ten people.

Feeling unusually bold after her upgrade, Mo Bai set up a full protective zone around herself and her wheelchair, fully armed as she arrived at VIP Room No. 5.

Just as she reached the door, the door to VIP Room No. 9 opened nearby, and a man stepped out.

Mo Bai didn't pay him any attention. She pushed open the door and calmly looked at Mo Xiangyou inside. She was about to greet him, but she noticed the man from Room 9 standing beside her, glaring hatefully at Mo Xiangyou.

Mo Bai quickly maneuvered her wheelchair forward to give him space.

She knew Mo Xiangyou had countless enemies. She didn't have deep camaraderie with him and didn't want to get dragged into trouble.

Mo Xiangyou noticed Mo Bai first. A flicker of warmth and joy crossed his eyes. He seemed genuinely glad that she survived.

Then he looked at the man at the door. His gaze turned impatient, disgusted, and contemptuous.

"Sheng Yan," Mo Xiangyou said coldly. "You're entering a forced instance in two days. With your abilities sealed, shouldn't you be figuring out how to survive instead of coming here?"

So this was Sheng Yan!

The same "Sheng" Mo Bai had seen in a system message during her first beginner instance: a certain "Sheng" whose supernatural abilities had been sealed for a month due to violating public security regulations.

Mo Xiangyou later admitted that Sheng Yan had only attacked him due to mental disturbance caused by Mo Xiangyou's ability.

Having experienced a forced instance herself, Mo Bai knew how brutal it was. And Sheng Yan, who was entering one with sealed abilities, was likely doomed.

Sheng Yan glared helplessly at Mo Xiangyou. He didn't dare enter the room because doing so would only expose him to the strange fragrance and turn him into Mo Xiangyou's captive.

Standing outside, he snarled, "Mo Xiangyou! If I come out of the forced instance alive, I'll make you pay!"

Mo Xiangyou looked at him as if at a corpse and replied flatly, "Then I wish you luck. I've given you my blessing. Now get lost and stop disturbing my guest."

Unable to use his abilities, Sheng Yan vented his anger by waving his hand at Mo Xiangyou, as if he were throwing fireballs.

He knew he couldn't.

But then something unexpected happened.

As Sheng Yan swung his hand, a flame brushed past Mo Bai's hair, scorching a small part of it.

The flame was strange. It appeared and disappeared around Mo Bai, forming an irregularly shaped hemisphere.

It was as if Sheng Yan had thrown a transparent fireball at Mo Xiangyou that only manifested and became dangerous when passing by Mo Bai.

Once it passed her, it lost all power.

Mo Xiangyou, who had been lounging calmly on the sofa, abruptly stood up while staring at Mo Bai.

Sheng Yan also stared at her with eyes filled with disbelief and hope.

With his abilities sealed by the system, Sheng Yan could still use them near Mo Bai.

Even though the range was tiny, Mo Bai possessed the power to break the system rules!

Both men locked their gazes onto her, as if trying to see right through her.

Mo Bai: “……”

She mournfully touched her burnt hair.

What did her hair ever do to deserve this?