Chapter 20

“Ah～ washed up, feeling so light and relaxed—I wish I could feel this good every day…”

Yi Zhen stood under the shower’s spray, sighing with delight; even with his eyes tightly shut, his senses remained sharp—but the noise of the water drowned out any sound from outside, so he couldn’t tell how Zhen Lin and Ming Yang were interacting. If he could’ve heard them, he’d have burst out laughing. How could someone as clueless as Zhen Lin possibly be called a genius? No one would believe it.

Most importantly, his gaming skills are also top-notch—this is undeniable, and it stings a little. If they truly faced off one-on-one, even a hundred Yi Zhen wouldn’t stand a chance against Zhen Lin. Whether it’s ambushes or backshots, Zhen Lin is the sneakiest, yet hardest to catch.

Back when he’d eagerly challenged Zhen Lin to a match, he’d almost been zeroed out. Luckily, Zhen Lin was still human—not beyond the realm of glitches. Any network lag, fall damage, or grenade blast meant only passive HP loss, since these things were unavoidable. Everyone makes small mistakes or mispositions themselves. That was Yi Zhen’s little comfort, his placebo.

But now things are different—he has ability, and these talent points should be filled quickly, making the ability’s purpose worthwhile.

At this moment, he regained the mental clarity he’d felt when that unknown voice had spoken. His mind was utterly empty—yet also the clearest it had ever been—perfect for planning his future direction.

First: find the “World of Shattered Void.” It’s a priority, but not the only one.

Because the goal is still unclear—he doesn’t know the exact location, nor who to ask. If he just wandered aimlessly, he might spend years before finding an answer. But he wouldn’t settle for stillness. A life without adventure is incomplete. Even with this cheat, his own efforts still matter—after all, he must gather the ability himself. That’s a key point. Note it!

Second: since it feels like searching for a needle in a haystack, he should try building connections—get others to help search. One person’s strength is limited. People say many hands make light work—and that’s exactly what this shows.

So he must make friends, good friends. Even if they don’t find it, he’ll have at least some chance.

Third: if that fails, he’ll binge-watch videos. If it cures fatigue and illness, surely it can cure old age too. When his body weakens, he’ll just watch one—ah, refreshed and invigorated. Maybe it works on others too? He should try it sometime.

Okay, now that he’d planned it out, his goals were much clearer—but why did he suddenly feel like lying down? Was it an illusion? An instinct? Should he just give up?

The moment this thought took root, it spread rapidly and couldn’t be erased. Ah, this—can’t even his increased brain capacity and faster processing stop it? This phenomenon isn’t serious, but it fits his original personality perfectly—it’s almost tailor-made. Yet something felt off.

He couldn’t think anymore. He quickly stepped away from the shower’s spray, breaking free from that ethereal state. He’d have to reduce his exposure to this comfort—it was too easy to get lost in it.

He grabbed the towel and used the last clean patch to dry his hair. Then he turned off the faucet, ignoring his still-damp body, and yanked on his shorts. If he had more than one towel, he wouldn’t have skipped drying off. In terms of cleanliness, he ranked among the top in this dorm—though not as fussy as Ming Yang…

Now he was acting more normally, so his mindset could shift too.

Even Ming Yang had the decency to hand him clothes without fuss—why couldn’t Yi Zhen just put on his clothes without drying off? They’d air-dry in minutes anyway. No need to panic.

“Yi Zhen, are you done?”

Ming Yang, back in the dorm, had been watching the bathroom closely. The moment the water shut off, he sat up straight. For personal reasons, he was slightly urgent—but not yet desperate. If Yi Zhen hurried out, he could just slip into the toilet quickly.

“Not yet, almost done. Are you going to the toilet? You can borrow the one next door. You’re not in the same class, but borrowing a bathroom shouldn’t be a problem. Da He hasn’t been making water sounds—he’s probably done. Go now.”

Hearing this, Yi Zhen instantly understood why Ming Yang was so eager. Anyone who asks right after the water stops knows the drill—be understanding, hurry up with your clothes.

He was going as fast as he could, but he still needed at least a few dozen seconds to dress and tidy up, plus pack up these dirty clothes to throw away. Speeding up was hard—it’d take over two minutes total. It’d be faster to just borrow the bathroom next door.

“No, wait. Hurry up.”

Ming Yang refused outright. Yi Zhen’s logic was sound—it was just a toilet, after all. They’d have to interact eventually. They’d bump into each other in the elevator. All true.

But still—he’d said it before: they weren’t even in the same class. That made it awkward. Besides, he was just as nervous as Zhen Lin—both afraid of the guy next door. Just walking in would trigger that oppressive vibe. It was unbearable.

He wasn’t as carefree as Yi Zhen. He didn’t have that same lack of worry. Maybe because Yi Zhen was his classmate, the guy wouldn’t target him—but with someone from another class, things changed.

Yes, they were a special merged dorm: two first-year classes combined. Yi Zhen and Zhen Lin were from Class Two; Ming Yang and Yun Hen were from Class Four. This was also why minor conflicts kept arising—whichever class had more people naturally held the advantage and controlled the narrative.

He had to lie on his side again, quietly waiting for Yi Zhen to finish. Please don’t make him hold it in—that could hurt. He didn’t want to become a real woman.

“Got it.”

Yi Zhen calmly shook his head. He’d thought Ming Yang was desperate—but now he saw it wasn’t that urgent.

He’d better hurry. If Ming Yang got hurt because of him, their fragile reconciliation might shatter again.

In seconds, he pulled on his gear, then bundled up the pile of dirty clothes, wrapping the towel inside. He carefully cracked open the door just a sliver, waited until he saw no one, then slipped out with the bundle.

“Yi Zhen, is that you?”

Ming Yang, hearing the faint noise again, had learned his lesson. He only asked quietly. What if it was a false alarm? If he rushed out and then had to hold it again, that’d be worse. Better to let Yi Zhen say it himself. From where he lay, he couldn’t see anything anyway. Lying still was better than pacing uselessly—even if both were uncomfortable, at least lying down felt slightly less awful. A tiny comfort in the agony of holding it.

“Wait—if you’re not in a rush, wait a bit longer. Or come in after thirty seconds.”

Yi Zhen quickly stopped him. His gear wasn’t even fully on yet! He didn’t know if Ming Yang knew about all these dirty clothes—but he had to avoid it anyway. Otherwise, how would he explain?

Even though Ming Yang had previously passed him clean clothes with perfect intuition, Yi Zhen had never thought deeper about it. He’d only assumed their friendship was mended. Any other interpretation? Pure fantasy. Even with a sharp mind, he’d never unconsciously dwell on such trivial, insignificant matters—it lacked vision.