In the room—
Xia Zhi had just woken up.
Shenhe was still feeling weak, lazily sprawled on the bed, unwilling to move.
"Boss."
"Mm?"
"Heal me."
"See? You say you're not up for it, but you still clung to me first thing in the morning."
Xia Zhi chuckled and raised his hand slightly.
A holy white light flowed into Shenhe's body.
She immediately felt better, sitting up with sparkling red eyes, gazing at him with alluring charm.
"I'm good again."
"Stop it. Time to get up. Your master's going to knock any minute."
"She never knocks."
"What if you oversleep?"
"I never oversleep. I practice my spear every morning."
"Alright, alright. You're diligent."
"Boss."
"Mm?"
"Help me brush my hair."
"Come closer."
"Okay."
"Lift your head."
"Mm."
"Still wearing those colored contacts?"
"You don't like them?"
"I like your white hair and red eyes—with or without them."
"Then I'll wear them a bit longer."
Xia Zhi lowered his head, his fingers combing through her silky hair.
Ever since she altered her fate, Shenhe had become more and more… tempting.
…
After leaving the room and heading to the main hall, everyone soon gathered.
Cloud Retainer and Xiangling brought out the cooked porridge from the kitchen.
Everyone was surprised to see Cloud Retainer.
"You're… Cloud Retainer?"
"Eh?! That's what she looks like after transforming?"
"Cloud Retainer Auntie!"
"…"
The hall instantly filled with chatter.
From his god's-eye view, Xia Zhi looked at the mature, alluring Cloud Retainer, now wearing red half-rim glasses, and was surprised.
Didn't expect the little crane to be this kind of classy-sensual type.
Whether she was attractive or not didn't matter much—what stood out was that Xia Zhi now saw a new progress bar on her.
A platinum-colored progress bar:
Progress: [0%].
Which meant Cloud Retainer had returned to Adeptus level.
And now that their relationship was closer, filling this platinum treasure chest was going to be a lot easier—no need to jump through the hoops like with her old golden one.
After breakfast, it was free time again.
Xia Zhi didn't go out but instead brought out the Elemental Reaction Box he'd modified the night before to discuss the next phase of experiments with Cloud Retainer.
"Cloud Retainer, I've finished the modifications. I added two new reaction chambers inside."
"Excellent. The next step is to charge it."
"How did you charge it before?"
"By compressing elemental energy and storing it stably."
"What storage method?"
"Using seven special ores: Vayuda Turquoise, Prithiva Topaz, Shivada Jade, Agnidus Agate, Vajrada Amethyst, Varunada Lazurite, and Nagadus Emerald."
"Ah, that makes sense. They resonate best with the seven elements. Perfect containers."
"Exactly."
Cloud Retainer's expression grew troubled.
"But with these two new elemental forces, I don't know what ores would resonate with them…"
"Lucky for you, I know. And I have them on me."
"Really?"
He opened the Shop and spent 600 points.
A white [Sunstone] and a gray [Space Crystal].
With that, all materials were complete. They could begin crafting the box weapon.
Xia Zhi followed Cloud Retainer into her mechanism workshop.
The place was cluttered with complete and half-finished contraptions.
"This is another of my inventions—the Elemental Compressor. It's a bit crude, but effective."
"Looks good."
Cloud Retainer got to work.
Xia Zhi stood nearby, occasionally asking questions to slowly raise her progress bar.
By the time the box weapon was complete, her bar was nearly full.
"Huh? It's already noon?"
"Yeah."
"I'll go check on the Adeptus' Temptation. You hold onto this for me. I'm a little scared of it."
"Alright."
Cloud Retainer carefully handed the box to Xia Zhi, their fingers brushing lightly.
And in that moment, the system voice rang in Xia Zhi's mind:
"Progress bar reached [100%]. Platinum Treasure Chest reward obtained."
Cloud Retainer left for the kitchen. Xia Zhi glanced at the treasure chest in his inventory, then turned his attention back to the box in his hands.
This thing was extremely dangerous now.
Even Cloud Retainer didn't dare hold it herself, fearing it might blow up her home. That's why she gave it to Xia Zhi for safekeeping until they could find a safe place to test it together.
Xia Zhi stored the box in his inventory.
[Elemental Reaction Box]
Quality: Platinum
Type: Consumable
Traits: Generation, Annihilation
Effect: Upon detonation, causes multiple elemental forces to collide, releasing a massive energy shockwave.
Hidden Effect: None
Non-recyclable
Xia Zhi checked the item. Platinum quality—unexpected, but not surprising.
He reflected briefly, then opened the newly acquired Platinum Treasure Chest.
A pink-blue hollow sphere appeared before his eyes.
[Intertwined Fate]
Quality: Platinum
Type: One-time Item
Traits: Destiny, Bond
Effect: Selects the most compatible individual in the current world for a deep fate entanglement.
Hidden Effect: The higher the user's tier, the higher the tier of the bonded target.
Recyclable: 1000 Points
It was his second [Intertwined Fate].
Though only platinum quality, it was a rare item not available in the [Shop].
The last [Intertwined Fate] bonded him with the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata—now his cousin.
So then, this [Intertwined Fate]…
A certain figure suddenly flashed in Xia Zhi's mind—Furina, the Hydro Archon.
He remembered what happened in her dream a few days ago.
Back then, Furina had muttered to herself:
["It's already February 11… Almost there, almost there…"]
Xia Zhi fell into deep thought.
"Could it be… what she meant by 'almost there'… was this fated bond??"