Previously, while in the maze, Yun Jin had muttered that she was bored. At that moment, the maze shivered ever so slightly. Then, Yun Jin realized that a strange being in her mind had given her 500 Emotional Value points.
Later, she probed a few more times, cautiously.
Finally, she confirmed it.
The Emotional Value must be coming from the artifact spirit of the Divine Pearl! A Saint-grade artifact of that level naturally would have developed sentience. But this spirit wasn't just sentient; it seemed almost no different from a living being. Moreover, it was a major source of Emotional Value, just like the robot. Whenever Emotional Value appeared, it always amounted to 500 points, with no apparent cap, continuously providing them.
This didn't necessarily mean the spirit's emotions fluctuated wildly; it was more that the artifact spirit, like the robot, had an extremely high level of power. So even a minor emotional fluctuation would grant 500 points. Slightly larger fluctuations meant a 500-point combo. And a severe fluctuation could even trigger 500 points multiplied ninety-nine times in a single instant!
This time, Yun Jin was only climbing a mountain and cultivating a water-attribute secret technique, yet the artifact spirit was giving her Emotional Value almost surpassing what the robot had provided.
Remember, the robot had been giving her Emotional Value consistently for months.
This spirit had only provided it for a few days.
What does that mean?
It means a new top contender is about to emerge.
At the peak of the snowy mountain, Yun Jin was cheerfully cultivating the Condensation of Ice.
She alternated between turning snow into water and then back into ice, having a blast.
[Emotional Value +500!]
[Emotional Value +500!]
Everything seemed fine externally, yet in Yun Jin's mind, the ding-ding-ding of points became increasingly concentrated. Her smile grew ever brighter.
One day.
Two days.
Three days.
Yun Jin cultivated methodically. Emotional Value dinged steadily in her mind. After a month, she checked her progress. It was quite good.
She had nearly mastered this Heaven-rank secret technique. Her understanding of the Primordial Water had also reached 30 percent. It didn't seem like much, but she had only decided to focus fully on the Primordial Water a month ago.
For her, the progress was satisfying. The potential of this Heaven-rank secret technique had already been largely tapped. Yun Jin swapped out some manuals and began studying again.
[Emotional Value +500!]
[Emotional Value +500!]
The dinging became almost frenzied.
The next moment, the artifact spirit could no longer contain itself. In an instant, the snowy mountain melted!
The dense Water-Attribute spiritual energy vanished.
Yun Jin suddenly landed on the ground, wearing a slightly bewildered expression. Immediately, she exclaimed angrily, "I haven't finished the game yet! Why did the scene disappear? That's unfair! Absolutely unfair!"
No sooner had she spoken than, suddenly, a loud howl erupted through the space.
Yun Jin froze.
The next moment, a little girl with two high pigtails appeared. She sat on the ground, crying wildly, tears and snot streaming across her face.
Yun Jin felt at a loss.
This… she's still a little girl?
Did Yun Jin offend her? She hadn't even done anything yet!
Watching the little girl appear, the robot in front of the TV perked up. After hundreds of thousands of years, this was the first time the Divine Pearl's artifact spirit had appeared to a trial participant.
Though… the first meeting looked chaotic, at least it had appeared. Its appearance signaled hope.
Di Xiao watched the snot-and-tears-covered spirit and, for a moment, could almost understand her.
Yun Jin was indeed irritating.
Inside the trial space, Yun Jin crouched down, earnestly coaxing.
"Can you stop crying?"
"I didn't even do anything."
"Wait! Why are you crying louder? Don't fake it—I didn't even touch you."
"Little ancestor, Grandmother, if you have any grievances, just tell me! Don't just cry!"
"Do you want a handkerchief to wipe your tears?"
"Please, just stop for a moment!"
Despite Yun Jin's coaxing, the crying intensified.
Yun Jin was dumbfounded.
She had never comforted a child before.
At this moment, she remembered An Tong.
An Tong also looked like a child, but didn't cry.
"I… fine," Yun Jin gritted her teeth and made the final concession. "Do you want to hit me once?"
The little girl's crying gradually subsided.
She looked at Yun Jin with tear-filled eyes. "Can I really hit you?"
Yun Jin felt uneasy. "Don't hit too hard, okay?"
She had a feeling that if the artifact spirit struck at full strength, she might not survive a single blow.
The little girl pouted, angry. "You're not sincere at all."
Yun Jin cleared her throat. "It's mainly because I'm not your match."
The eagle-like woman who never yielded easily had finally yielded before tears.
The little girl blinked, her mood improving.
She looked seriously at Yun Jin. "Was the game I designed boring?"
That was effectively revealing her identity.
Yun Jin raised an eyebrow. "It's not exactly boring."
The little girl's expression softened a little.
Yun Jin continued, "It's just… not very fun."
The little girl's eyes reddened again.
Was there really a difference between the two statements?
"For example, the first maze level—just fighting monsters and collecting treasure chips—the outcome depends mainly on combat power. It's too brainless. If it were me, I'd design puzzles to make it more interesting. That aside, your biggest problem is the final reward."
Yun Jin spoke slowly.
The little girl frowned. "What's wrong with the reward?"
"You designed these games so players could enjoy them. But think about it—those who come with high expectations, go through countless trials, and finally receive only a single gold chip… are they happy? Their hearts are left with only disappointment and frustration. Doesn't that go against the purpose of your game design?" Yun Jin pointed out calmly.
In front of the TV, Di Xiao nodded repeatedly. This artifact spirit really was ruthless. In some ways, she was even more infuriating than Yun Jin.
"Is that so?" The little girl's expression was slightly blank.
So, everyone had not been happy playing?
No wonder the trial participants looked weird when receiving the reward.
"What should I do then?" The little girl asked instinctively.
Yun Jin blinked. "You should know what everyone came here for."
The little girl paused, her cheeks puffed.
"All of you want to contract me! You don't care about my talents!"
Yun Jin nodded, admitting it plainly. "Exactly. Do you think we came to play a boring treasure hunt?"
The little girl looked at Yun Jin, pouting, tears threatening to come again.
Yun Jin hurriedly said, "No, no, don't cry. You actually do have talent for designing games. It's just the occasion is wrong."
The little girl stopped crying. "The occasion?"
"This place is for trials. Everyone naturally expects rewards. Your gold chip can't satisfy them here.
But in another situation, where people don't expect much and just play the game for fun, they would notice the enjoyment in your design."