Chapter 41: Ambush Encountered

One must not harbor harmful intent, and must never lack vigilance.

Lin Ke checked his equipment: a first-ring-level magical artifact vest, and runic items including boots and a sleeve crossbow.

Considering the weather was about to turn cool, Lin Ke felt he could also wear the cloak.

After dinner, Lin Ke found an excuse to return to the dormitory and draped the cloak over himself.

The cloak's material is light, not bulky, yet wind- and rainproof; it's really good.

Mo Li looked at Lin Ke, who had reappeared before her eyes, and finally understood why she had felt something off about him these past two days.

As it turned out, this guy, after becoming wealthy, immediately went to arm himself.

Mo Li examined him from head to toe and suddenly realized, not only the cloak behind him,

the boots on his feet, faintly revealing the edge of the vest, are all runic items.

Forgive Mo Li for not recognizing the magical artifact; her hair is too long.

"Good!"

Mo Li gritted her teeth, looking heartbroken, and complained tearfully,

"You bought all these good things behind my back and didn't even tell me, so I could gear up too. Hmph… Say, do you have someone outside? Do you want me to die so that an outside woman can move into our home?"

Lin Ke rolled his eyes, took a deep breath, suppressed the surge of anger rising to his throat, and didn't spit it out.

After several days of calm, Lin Ke still thought Mo Li had "mended her ways" and would no longer play these tricks.

Unexpectedly, she merely didn't want to use them, not that she wouldn't use them anymore.

When needed, she can at any time act cute and coquettish, and there's even a faint trend of escalating to crying, making trouble, and hanging.

"Give up your supernatural powers. Be careful of being criticized!"

Lin Ke replied angrily, then pointed at Mo Li: "Don't think I don't know what you're hiding."

"You… you…"

Mo Li's face turned pale, then she flushed with anger and snapped, "How did you know?"

Lin Ke gave Mo Li a sideways glance, didn't answer, with a cold face, turned and walked away.

This person plays dirty, and runs away when they can't win.

Despicable!

Mo Li wrinkled her delicate nose, fiercely glared at Lin Ke's back, her expression as fierce as could be, yet it gave a lovable feeling.

She followed Lin Ke's steps toward the library.

Along the way, Mo Li occasionally muttered under her breath: "How did the blockhead know?"

As it turned out, when Mo Li left home, she had been carrying a runic item close to her person, never parting with it.

It was a flying needle hidden weapon, about the thickness and length of a little finger, her last line of defense.

Mo Li had always kept the flying needle hidden weapon sewn inside the lower hem of her upper garment.

So well hidden, how could outsiders know?

If something truly unfortunate were to happen, and she encountered a talkative villain, at least she would still have a last-ditch strike.

Unexpectedly, Lin Ke discovered it.

"Hmph!"

Thinking of this, Mo Li couldn't help but feel anger rise, and she hummed at Lin Ke a few times to show she was unhappy.

Lin Ke didn't even turn his head, just raised his right hand and waved it, completely unbothered.

Mo Li hummed for a while, her little face kept straight, putting on an unhappy expression.

But, as she kept a straight face, Mo Li suddenly couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

Lin Ke is a blockhead—this isn't something we've known all along?

No need to get angry about this!!!

However, just then, Lin Ke suddenly turned and lunged forward.

Mo Li didn't even have time to react before Lin Ke pulled her into his embrace, holding her tightly.

Her face involuntarily flushed slightly, and her heart beat erratically against her will.

With the offense and defense reversed, Mo Li suddenly realized she could not let go as she used to.

Those language skills she thought she had mastered, those cute little tricks—all were forgotten, shoved to the back of her mind.

"Don't move."

Lin Ke whispered in Mo Li's ear, activating the cloak's optical invisibility function, hiding both of their figures.

From the cafeteria to the teaching building and library, the path is initially the same.

Until a short slope, where the path splits: continuing straight goes to the teaching building, turning right uphill enters a winding shaded path, after which comes the library.

Having just passed the three-way intersection and entered the shaded path, Lin Ke's intuition went into frantic warning.

Last week, Lin Ke had already constructed the sixth rune, "Wood-element Essence Extraction," completed the second layer of the "Water-Wood Mutual Growth Meditation Method," and promoted to Second-rank Apprentice.

His sixth sense was further enhanced, intuition grew ever more accurate, and perception of malice became ever keener.

Earlier, when warning Mo Li, he said Mina Hafuchek was no good person, because a few days ago he had met her and sensed malice from her.

Lin Ke's sudden return to the dorm to equip the cloak was likewise his intuition "telling" him he should equip it.

For such matters, Lin Ke always prefers to believe it exists rather than not.

Isn't this just the time to put it to use?

Having concealed their forms, Lin Ke kept acting, instantly casting a Secondary Mist Rain Technique to create a super-dense fog with visibility under one meter from outside, while silently shifting position.

He did not immediately retreat with Mo Li, but instead continued deeper into the forest.

"Report to the academy, summon the intelligent law-enforcement puppet."

While moving, Lin Ke instructed Mo Li.

Mo Li also calmed down at this time, carefully taking out her Portable Smart Brain, using Lin Ke's cloak to conceal the light it emitted, and reported the attack to the academy.

Since hearing that "Don't move" voice, Mo Li stayed quiet and obedient throughout, doing whatever she was told, not moving without orders, and closely following Lin Ke's steps.

Lin Ke was very pleased with that.

In a critical moment, it's fine as long as they're not a pig teammate!

Lin Ke released Mo Li with his left hand, signaling her to stay still, cleared the firing range of his sleeve crossbow with his right, and from his clothing pocket took out a handful of seeds, scattering them around.

As a wizard apprentice interested in botany, it's normal to carry some seeds around.

With a thought, he cast another Growth Technique.

The seeds Lin Ke scattered had been specially treated beforehand, and with the boost from the Growth Technique, they instantly became full of life.

By this point, how could the person hiding in the dark, preparing to ambush Lin Ke and Mo Li, not realize they had been exposed?

"Get out here!"

That person shouted angrily,

"You sneaky villain, come out and fight me one-on-one!"

Ah... it's been two hours since the appeal was lifted, no feedback. I'll just... repost it. Sorry to the readers who caused trouble!

(End of chapter)