Xiao Jinsheng was startled by his sudden voice, worried he might have overheard her conversation with Peng Qin.
After inviting Peng Qin to dinner and receiving her polite thanks and refusal, Xiao Jinsheng followed behind Que Zelian into the dining room.
"What are you shaking for?" Que Zelian tilted his head and noticed that Xiao Jinsheng's shoulders were trembling with every step she took.
"Isn't it because you suddenly appeared and scared me out of my wits?" Xiao Jinsheng retorted.
She looked up at Que Zelian warily: "When did you sneak up behind me without making a sound? You could scare someone to death like that!"
"I only came near to remind you about dinner. Since when is goodwill a mistake?" Que Zelian chuckled in frustration. "Or were you talking about something unspeakable?"
"It's just girl talk—what could possibly be unspeakable about it?" Xiao Jinsheng scoffed. "You're the one who startled me, so don't try to change the topic and blame me instead."
Que Zelian shook his head, feeling utterly defeated by her.
At this point, who was blaming who?
Although there was some playful bickering between the two, Xiao Jinsheng still made sure to sit beside Que Zelian during dinner.
The dinner was mashed potatoes, pan-seared steak, and orange juice, prepared by Huaiqing.
On Mist Continent, all edible meat came from mutant beasts hunted down.
Although the males could undergo beastification, beastmen and mutant beasts were entirely different—the former were human while the latter were beasts enhanced in strength.
Thus, Xiao Jinsheng felt no pressure at all about eating meat.
Moreover, beastmen retained only some traits of their beast forms. To completely beastify, one needed to reach 10 Stars in strength.
For now, Xiao Jinsheng hadn't seen a single completely beastified beastman.
Next door, Bai Yan's beast husband Jin Ao currently had the strength of 8 Stars. If he ever reached 10 Stars and fully beastified into a golden flood dragon, Xiao Jinsheng was certain Bai Yan would ride the flood dragon ten laps around her villa rooftop while yelling for her to come out and watch.
When it came to showing off, Bai Yan had what it took.
"Now that we've met another female, should we ask her how females improve their spiritual power?" Su Ye suddenly asked.
Drinking her orange juice, Xiao Jinsheng choked so hard her breath nearly stopped.
Su Ye was equally bewildered.
This time, he had spoken properly and hadn't tried to scare her at all.
Sitting closest to her, Que Zelian reached out to pat Xiao Jinsheng's back, comforting her: "Even if you want to ask, there's no rush. Finish eating first—it's not too late."
After learning how to improve her spiritual power, Xiao Jinsheng could no longer view the five men with a calm heart.
At this moment, she was both flustered and embarrassed, her face showing a faint tension.
Fortunately, she managed to calm herself, speaking evenly: "I already asked Peng Qin about it earlier during our chat."
"She said… Star Stones can't directly enhance females' spiritual powers but can improve their physiques."
"My low Spiritual Power Level right now is because my body is too weak. Once I go on more missions with you all, build up my health, my spiritual power will improve through practical experience."
After finishing her explanation, Xiao Jinsheng clenched her fist nervously under the table, raising her eyes to observe the reactions of the five men.
Mo Jiao sneered coldly: "So it's true—you're just weak."
"No wonder," Yu Yunxiao suddenly realized. "Before marriage, the terminal had your back, so you didn't need to take on any missions. After marriage, you had a beast husband, yet you still refused to do missions. All you did was bicker with us or pull Bai Yan's hair next door."
"This is what they call self-inflicted suffering, huh? Now you know the importance of exercise, don't you?" Yu Yunxiao mocked.
Xiao Jinsheng silently pursed her lips, suppressing a strong urge to tug Yu Yunxiao's cat ears. Instead, she nodded obediently: "So what I'm saying is—I admit my fault. I'll join you all on missions moving forward and work hard to improve my spiritual power."
"Systematic training could also enhance your physique and reduce the risk of being helpless in dangerous situations during real combat," Huaiqing suggested kindly.
Su Ye immediately chimed in: "If you want training to boost your strength, I can teach you."
"Great! Huaiqing and Su Ye each get 5 points. Huaiqing is now at 25 points," Xiao Jinsheng declared enthusiastically.
"Su Ye has finally gone from -5 points to 0 points. A solid start. Keep it up, big guy!" she cheered while making a fist to encourage them.
Mo Jiao snorted in amusement on the side: "You're playing your scoring game again, huh, Points Queen?"
"Murderous Brother, minus 1 point—you're now at -54 points," Xiao Jinsheng retorted with a huff.
"What about me? Why don't I get points?" Yu Yunxiao complained.
"Murderous Brother mocked me just now, and you dug up my past mistakes. But since I'm in a good mood, I won't deduct points from you—this time," Xiao Jinsheng replied.
Yu Yunxiao was so frustrated, he wanted to sarcastically thank her.
But the moment he opened his mouth, he realized she'd probably respond with something like, "What an honor!" Deciding against it, he downed his orange juice grumpily.
"Little kitty, orange juice won't get you drunk," Xiao Jinsheng teased from the side.
During dinner, Xiao Jinsheng was extraordinarily busy.
First, she argued with Mo Jiao, then with Yu Yunxiao.
At least tonight, there wasn't any conflict with Su Ye or Huaiqing.
No matter what Xiao Jinsheng squabbled about with the others, Que Zelian remained the detached observer, calmly enjoying his meal beside her.
Once she was done bickering, Que Zelian finally glanced meaningfully at her: "So, who are you sleeping with tonight?"
"Huh?" Xiao Jinsheng was utterly stunned.
Their relationship had grown so intimate in just one day that they could discuss such explosive topics already?
"The right side of the dining hall has only two empty rooms. Are you brave enough to sleep in one alone?" Que Zelian reminded her.
"I'll sleep with you," Xiao Jinsheng blurted out. Any mention of sleeping arrangements had her remembering the Fog Corpse attacks.
Especially since tonight, they were resting in Mist West, where Fog Corpses were most active.
Que Zelian wasn't at all surprised by her choice.
He chuckled softly and glanced at the other four men: "Then I'll have to trouble you all with night watch."
"Got it." Yu Yunxiao, still annoyed about the lack of points and the "kitty" jab, replied tersely.
Que Zelian and Xiao Jinsheng shared one room for the night—her in her portable tent, Que Zelian on a sofa with a clean blanket.
The remaining four men split into pairs, taking turns keeping watch.
In Mist West, nights were fraught with risks of Fog Corpse or mutant beast attacks.
But fortunately, their first night passed peacefully.
The next morning, as Xiao Jinsheng waited for breakfast, Peng Qin and her group came to bid farewell.
Before leaving, Peng Qin added Xiao Jinsheng as a Star Map friend and agreed to hang out back in Mist East if the opportunity arose.
For her first friend made in this Otherworld, Xiao Jinsheng was genuinely delighted.
Their wristbands had a durability value of 10,000. Under normal circumstances, they could sustain stays in Mist West for 41 days.
But injuries, dangerous environments, and temperature changes could accelerate the degradation of durability.
Thus, calculating the remaining duration based solely on the rate of 10 points per hour wasn't entirely reliable.
For instance, yesterday, the Fog Corpses' pursuit lasted only half an hour, but during that time, their wristbands lost 500 points in durability due to the intensified stress.
Adding the natural loss of 240 points over 24 hours, they now had only 9,260 points remaining across the team.
"Let's hope we don't run into Fog Corpses again today," Yu Yunxiao prayed.
Bright-eyed, Xiao Jinsheng interjected: "But with me around, Fog Corpses can drop Star Stones!"
Though she hated to admit it, she essentially functioned as a human beacon for generating Star Stones from Fog Corpses.
As long as she lured a wave of them and then fled, Fog Corpses were guaranteed to drop Star Stones upon elimination.
Isn't this a much faster method than aimlessly searching around the forest-city ruins of Mist West?
"As bait? With your courage?" Mo Jiao scoffed.
"That was the old me, timid and frightened. Today's me is a changed person," Xiao Jinsheng declared confidently, wrapping her arms around Que Zelian's arm. "I can lure the Fog Corpses while Que Zelian carries me away."
"And remember—a princess carry, please. It's the most comfortable," Xiao Jinsheng added with a grin.
Que Zelian couldn't hold back his amused sigh: "You really know how to enjoy yourself, even amidst danger."