Chapter 495: Sorry, I went to the wrong bed

In fairy tales, Cinderella's magic only lasts until midnight, so as the time drew near, she would turn and run.

But one time, she ran in such a hurry that her leg didn't come out with her. So, the prince held her detached leg and announced to the kingdom that whoever could perfectly fit this leg would become his wife.

Not a bad story.

I'll tell it to Bufan next time; he quite likes those Satanic versions of fairy tales.

——In the real world, Lin Li, having finished evening self-study and returned home to wait for midnight, had these random thoughts drifting through his mind.

Soon, the clock struck twelve, the moment Cinderella's magic vanished.

A new week had arrived.

Lin Li turned his gaze to the system.

The 【Update Complete】 message popped up immediately as always, but if you were to ask what exactly it updated every week, don't even bother.

The only things that mattered were the reset of the "Free Refresh Opportunity" and the "Return Consumption."

He switched out of the mall screen.

The current product list, compared to the initial desolation, finally felt a bit "dazzling," with a total of nine items including slot 0—

"Water-Avoiding Bead," "AS Interference Attachment Shell," "Luck Talisman," "Universal Magic Treasure," "Ability Amplifier (+2)," "Life-Extending Pill," "Feather-Restoring Pill," "Proof of Mind-Reading," and "Heavenly Secret Talisman."

Although the "Heavenly Secret Talisman," "Water-Avoiding Bead," and "AS Interference Attachment Shell" weren't particularly necessary to keep, this week's free refresh opportunity, without a doubt, still had to be used on the "Proof of Mind-Reading," which was permanently limited to one purchase, already bought, and currently just taking up space.

【You have refreshed "Ability Amplifier (+4)": 160 system currency (daily purchase limit 1), replace?】

【Ability Amplifier (+4): Used on an owned ability to permanently amplify its effect, capped at "+4."】

【You have triggered "Mall Mechanism: Probability Designation"; the next "Refresh" will become a "Designated Direction Refresh."】

【Replace.】

Lin Li scratched his head. The (+3) hadn't even appeared yet, so how did it give him a (+4) directly? It didn't even follow the order.

However, it could be deduced that for every additional tier of this "Ability Amplifier," the unit price increased by 20 system currency; after all, (+1) only sold for 100, (+2) for 120, and (+4) for 160 each.

Although he still wanted to continue strengthening his abilities, such as "Parasitic Seed."

——Lin Li had retrieved the "Parasitic Seed" from Chen Yu's body when school ended this evening.

It was the same digestion process, only this time it didn't end instantly like in previous experiments—this time it lasted for less than half a second.

As for the "growth" he gained, to be honest, Lin Li didn't feel much. Maybe his understanding of the competition was more thorough?

In any case, it was negligible.

But this was normal; Yingbao had just been living her daily life for the past day or so. If he could notice a mutation from 50% "growth," that would be what's wrong.

Lin Li wasn't disappointed in this "ability" because of it; everything was within expectations.

But there was no need to rush the strengthening for now, as he only had 310 system currency left, which was only enough to exchange for one. He could wait until he found a more suitable place to use this ability later.

As for this "Designated Direction Refresh," it naturally stemmed from the mechanism he had obtained previously—

【"Mall Mechanism: Probability Designation":

After using this item, when refreshing products in the mall, there is a certain probability that "Refresh" will become "Designated Direction Refresh." When using "Designated Direction Refresh," you can provide the system with a keyword, and the slots will then definitely refresh with products related to that keyword.

The initial trigger probability is 10%, increasing by 10% each time the effect is not triggered, and resetting to 10% after the effect is triggered.】

Counting it up, he had refreshed five or six times since obtaining this ability, so it was indeed time for it to trigger once.

There was still a reward called "Mall Refresh Opportunity" in the warehouse. Lin Li could actually refresh it right now, but to be honest, he wasn't sure what he particularly needed at the moment. No rush; he'd consider it next week.

With the 【Mall】 matters considered, Lin Li turned his gaze to 【Return】.

"Outside the Doomsday Shelter"

"Unnamed Node 2 (Currently Selected Node)"

"Unnamed Node 3"

"..."

Switching the node, Lin Li, who had long been prepared to set off, checked one last time that he hadn't left anything behind, then clicked 【Return】 without hesitation.

A white light flashed.

Before the momentary weightlessness brought by the disappearing white light had completely faded, Lin Li felt that he was actually lying down.

Yet, when he was preparing to leave in the bathroom, he had been standing in a defensive posture.

It seemed that if the 【Return】 point wasn't suitable for the posture during teleportation, it would make adaptive adjustments?

Lin Li considered this good news.

Because the reason he had never exposed his specific teleportation point in the doomsday world and always found a hidden place to teleport alone each time he returned was that he was worried someone might place something in the teleportation space.

For example, placing a needle.

If the system were like the toilet in his house on the day he finished the buffet—completely inflexible—and stubbornly teleported him to this fixed position exactly as he was, once the space relative to him shifted, would this needle appear directly inside his body and pierce him through?

But now, this worry no longer existed.

The system would shape him into a suitable form.

Once he figured this out, what he needed to do now was verify where this new node had brought him.

At this moment, his field of vision was a thick darkness.

If the time flow wasn't 1:1 after the world anchor was set, then it should indeed be night in the doomsday world, but the current darkness didn't stem from that.

There was no need to release his spiritual sense; he could touch the limits of the space just by reaching out, only a few inches from the tip of his nose. From the tactile sensation, it wasn't rock, but something like wood, with dust and a strange stickiness on the surface.

Lin Li could feel that he was lying on a cold, hard floor, with some fine debris digging into his back.

The space was very cramped. Lin Li materialized a flashlight from his "Universe Ring" and then put it away; it was better not to turn it on rashly. If this were actually some zombie nest, it would easily trigger problems.

Then Lin Li frowned, his pupils shrinking—

Because the mutation had come!

He saw a faint creaking sound suddenly come from above his head. At first, it was sparse like mice gnawing on a wooden board, then it became dense, accompanied by suppressed breathing and rustling friction.

Zombies?

Was someone ambushing outside?

Lin Li pressed his ear against the wooden board, changing the way the sound was conducted.

Dull and rhythmic, accompanied by the faint groaning of the wooden structure, in just a few seconds, it became clearer and more obvious, transmitted through the tightly pressed bed board to Lin Li's back and ears.

"Ah~~"

"Ah~~"

Lin Li: "(; o_o)?"

When this panting sound, detached from the breathing, appeared, Lin Li was stunned.

Eh?

Wait a damn minute.

He turned on the flashlight without hesitation. In front of him was indeed a very ordinary wooden board, which was currently shaking slightly.

And on the left and right sides were the bed curtains hanging down.

"You're so rough, brother~~"

Above, a female voice full of lust and coquettishness came through muffled.

"My surname isn't Lu."

Another male voice laughed wickedly, and then, accompanied by a slightly more violent vibration of the bed, he laughed:

"You're very nervous, lady."

"I hate you, my surname isn't Zhang either!!"

"..."

Lin Li: "..."

The, damn, sys, tem.

Where the hell did you teleport me to!

I shouldn't be under the bed; I should be outside hacking zombies, damn you!!!

Lying under the cold, dust-covered bed, listening to the groaning of the wooden board above and that face-reddening conversation, Lin Li felt he would never love again.

His brain felt like it was filled with turkey-flavored rice crackers, a complete mess.

What should he do now?

Wait, he was innocent, so couldn't he just pull back the bed curtain and crawl out with a calm face?

"Haha, sorry you two, I went to the wrong bed. You continue, I have something to do, so I'll leave first. Have a happy time, lucky~"