Chapter Ninety-Three: A Special Fate

After logging out of the game and changing into a purple silk nightgown, Mu Zimo sat down at her desk and opened the video of her match against Lin Huang, watching it through once more.

After a short while, a girl in a pink nightgown came into the room. Her appearance was astonishingly identical to Mu Zimo's.

"Big sis, what are you watching?" the girl in pink asked as she leaned over.

"The battle video from earlier," Mu Zimo replied without turning her head, still fixed on the projected footage.

The girl in pink stood behind her and watched along. When she saw Lin Huang's relentless assault in the final stretch, lasting more than ten minutes, she could not help frowning slightly.

After the entire video had finished, Mu Zimo finally turned to her twin sister and asked, "Zixi, what do you think?"

"He should have some strange fate, one that makes his life wheel count unusual. Judging by the rate of his gunfire just now, to keep shooting for that long, he must have at least three life wheels, or more, supplying him with life energy," Mu Zixi answered with a faint smile.

"So that really was the case!" Mu Zimo finally knew her guess had not been wrong.

"Whether it's a naturally born fate with six life wheels, like the Six Paths of Reincarnation, or one with eight life wheels, like the Eight Heavenly Dragons, or any other special fate with multiple life wheels, none of them are simple people. I wonder which family trained this boy. He's still very inexperienced..." Mu Zixi said lightly, smiling.

"You little brat, are you mocking me for being inferior even to him?" Mu Zimo shot her sister a glare.

"How could that be? Guns have always been your weakest area, sis. Besides, you fought someone with a special fate while your strength was sealed at Iron rank tier one. Losing isn't shameful at all," Mu Zixi hurried to explain.

"I can only keep myself sealed at Iron rank tier one anyway. Even at tier one, I can already use the strength and speed of someone three tiers higher. Fighting at Iron rank tier two or three would be a bit too bullying, wouldn't it? In the end, I still lost to someone at the same level of power, which just means my gun skills still need work," Mu Zimo said, shaking her head. She did not think her loss had been an accident.

"Who told you to waste your time practicing firearms when you had nothing better to do? You already have archery and throwing knives for ranged attacks. Breaking through to the transcendent level as soon as possible is what really matters!" Mu Zixi had no way to deal with this sister of hers.

"The transcendent monster I picked still hasn't had any news for more than two months. You know that. Since I'm idle anyway, practicing firearms isn't bad. I see you've been pretty idle lately too, so why not join me and play Gun Master?" Mu Zimo tried to drag her sister down with her.

"No way!" Mu Zixi pouted. "I'm going to sleep."

"It's past ten already. I should sleep too." Mu Zimo shut off the video projection and then slipped into bed after Mu Zixi.

After a while, Mu Zimo's scolding voice sounded from the room. "Don't touch around randomly. Go to sleep properly!"

...

When Lin Huang left the game pod, it was already ten at night.

Overall, his experience in Gun Master was quite satisfying. He had even won against a proper gunsmith. Still, he also realized there was a certain gap between himself and a true gunsmith.

At the very least, a real gunsmith's use of firearms was far more varied. Their attack patterns would not be as single-minded as his, and they even had the powerful gun combat arts.

"I should probably find some tutorials on firearms techniques and study them, and I need to watch more practical combat videos of gunsmiths to strengthen my firearm skills further. Passing the gunsmith assessment shouldn't be too difficult," Lin Huang thought with a clear understanding of his own shortcomings. "As for gun combat arts, I can learn those after I get my gunsmith license."

Hearing that Lin Xin upstairs was still awake, Lin Huang took off the game ring and went upstairs to return it to her. He was planning to leave the ring to Lin Xin and buy another one for himself.

"Big brother, you've been playing for so long?" Seeing that Lin Huang was drenched in sweat, Lin Xin knew he had just come out of the game pod.

"Mm. I started with some basic tests and spent a bit of time on those, then I went into the hunter area and fought a match," Lin Huang said with a nod.

"Did you win?" Lin Xin asked hurriedly.

"Of course I won. Who do you think I am?" Lin Huang replied with a smile.

"So amazing!" Stars practically sparkled in Lin Xin's eyes. To her, hunters were all formidable people, and if her brother could win, that meant he was formidable too.

"It's already past ten. Go to bed early." Lin Huang rubbed Lin Xin's head and, with a glance, noticed the projection on the page in front of her was showing some tourist attractions. Smiling, he asked, "Have you picked where we're going to travel in a couple of days?"

"I've picked several places I want to go, but I still haven't decided which one to choose in the end..." There were actually many places Lin Xin wanted to visit.

"Which ones? Let me see." Lin Huang raised a brow and asked.

"The place I most want to go is Qiantang City, an A-rank stronghold. The pictures and videos online are gorgeous. It's just a pity it's a bit far away, and it takes at least more than a month to get there by crystal ship..." Even though Lin Xin knew this was not a place they could go, she still brought up the pictures she had saved and showed them to Lin Huang.

"It really is beautiful, but you don't have enough time. In September, you'll be moving up to your graduating class. But Qiantang City is a round trip of more than three months for us, so we'll have to wait until next year, after you graduate," Lin Huang said after taking a look. This super-large stronghold was indeed beautiful, with mountains and rivers as clear and lovely as a hidden paradise.

"The second is Lengshan City, a B-rank stronghold. They say the whole stronghold is built atop a range of ice mountains, and it's covered in snow all year round. It even snows often. It's summer now, so going there would be perfect for escaping the heat," Lin Xin said with a smile. She had always loved snowy weather, so it was no surprise she had chosen this stronghold.

"How long does it take by crystal ship?" Lin Huang knew she must have looked up that information already.

"One month for the round trip, and we could stay there for half a month." Even though the stay would not be very long, Lin Xin was still looking forward to going to Lengshan City to avoid the summer heat.

"The time spent on the ship is still a little long... Any other choices?" Lin Huang asked with a slight frown. A trip to Lengshan City would mean that the time spent traveling was twice the length of their stay.

"There is also Wanzhu City, a B-rank stronghold. It takes a week by crystal ship. And then there is Xiagong City, also a B-rank stronghold, which takes eight days by crystal ship. As for B-rank Bagi City..." Lin Xin continued listing them.

"If we're going on a trip, then we needn't consider C-rank medium strongholds. If we're going, then it should be a large B-rank stronghold. The only places that are a bit closer are Wanzhu City and Xiagong City. There's also Heishui City, but that's not really a place for tourism at all. Let's choose between Wanzhu City and Xiagong City. When you graduate next year and have enough time, we can think about somewhere farther away," Lin Huang helped Lin Xin narrow it down to two destinations.

"Okay." Lin Xin nodded at once. Her vacation time was limited, after all, and the places she could go were constrained by time.

"You should go to sleep early. I'm all sweaty, so I'll take a shower and head to bed too," Lin Huang said, then turned and went back downstairs to his own room.

"Good night, big brother!" Lin Xin called out quickly as he turned to leave.

"Good night!"

~~~~~~

[Some people compare this book with my last one, but I really don't think there's much to compare. The worldbuilding is completely different, the protagonist's personality is completely different, the writing style is completely different, and even the pacing is different. They're entirely two different kinds of stories; it just comes down to personal preference. It's like asking whether The Grand Sovereign or Perfect World is better to read. Different people have different tastes, so the answer to that question will differ as well. Right now, my answer is definitely that Monster Paradise is the most enjoyable!]