Mythical Creatures Strategy Guide

Chapter 34 Heartbeat

In the afternoon, the carriage stopped to rest beside a birch forest.

Chu Sheng squatted by a stream to wash his face, the water splashing on his face making him feel much more refreshed. He wiped his face with his sleeve and was about to stand up when he suddenly noticed a clump of wild strawberries on the opposite bank of the stream.

The berries, about the size of a thumb, are deep red with a thin layer of white bloom on their surface, making them glisten in the sunlight.

He waded across the stream and picked a handful, choosing the biggest one and putting it in his mouth. It was sweet and sour, the juice bursting on his tongue with a refreshing fruity aroma.

good to eat!

Chu Sheng picked a few more bunches and wrapped them in a large leaf.

When they returned to the carriage, Ella and Silverleaf were squatting on the ground, fighting insects. They had caught two small insects that looked like crickets from somewhere and placed them in a ceramic bowl. The two insects were fiercely battling each other, baring their teeth.

Yinye was engrossed in watching, her pointed ears bent forward, and she muttered to herself.

Arthur sat on the hood of the carriage, slowly breaking off a piece of dry rations and eating it. She ate very politely, breaking off a small piece, putting it in her mouth, chewing it twelve times, and then breaking off another piece.

Chu Sheng walked over and placed the bag of wild berries on her lap.

"They were picked from the stream, and they taste quite good."

Arthur looked down at Wild Berry, then looked up at him. Her expression didn't change much, but her ahoge (cowlick) twitched slightly. "Thank you."

She picked up a wild berry and put it in her mouth. The tartness made her squint slightly, but then the sweetness came over her, and her beautiful brows relaxed again.

Chu Sheng sat down next to her and took one for himself.

The two sat side by side, with a person's distance between them. The wind rustled through the birch forest, and sunlight filtered through the canopy, casting dappled patterns on the ground that swayed in the breeze.

"Arthur".

"Um."

"About this morning..."

"I forgot," Arthur interrupted him.

"I didn't do it on purpose," Chu Sheng finally finished speaking, "but I can't say I'm completely innocent, because I did feel quite comfortable."

Arthur paused in his chewing of wild berries: "Is this an apology, or are you being a scoundrel?"

"I apologize." Chu Sheng's tone was very sincere. "And I'll also state a fact: the oath states that we will always be honest with each other."

Arthur picked up another wild berry and put it in his mouth, mumbling indistinctly:

"But your hand was... moving at the time."

"I moved?"

"Um."

"How did it move?"

Arthur turned to look at him, his azure eyes conveying, "You fucking touched it yourself and now you're asking me."

Chu Sheng thought back for a moment. He did remember the soft mass in his palm changing shape, but he had always assumed it was because Arthur was trembling. But if Arthur said he was moving, then he probably really was.

No one can say for sure what a person's hands do when they're asleep.

"I'm sorry." This time he was genuinely a little embarrassed. "Next time we sleep together, I'll tie my hands up."

Arthur stared at him for a moment: "There will be a next time?"

"Chu Sheng! Arthur!"

Ella ran over, holding the ceramic bowl, her face beaming with triumphant joy: "My bug won! Silverleaf's bug got away!"

Silver Leaf followed behind, looking unconvinced: "That's because my insects weren't in good condition. It just rained, and the humidity was too high, which affected their performance."

"A loss is a loss!"

"It's just a strategic retreat!"

The carriage continued on its way, and after the conversation started, the atmosphere inside the carriage improved considerably. Arthur would also occasionally share some interesting anecdotes about the empire with everyone.

Chu Sheng suddenly remembered the 50% progress bar in the strategy guide.

Since the contract was signed, the progress bar hasn't moved at all. He had originally thought that after the shapeshifter incident and what happened last night, the progress bar would have increased at least a little.

But the page about extraordinary humans in the manual remained quiet, as if the progress bar was stuck.

He didn't know what the standard for calculating the progress of the romance guide was. Was it based on affection level? Or something else? If it was just affection level, Chu Sheng could shamelessly assume that Arthur's affection for him should have already exceeded 50%.

But the manual did not respond.

This means either Arthur's feelings haven't reached the standard for "conquest progress improvement" as defined in the manual, or...

Chu Sheng suddenly thought of a possibility.

The progress of the strategy is not the same as the affection level; it is the progress of the "strategy".

The word "strategy" itself carries an offensive connotation; it's not about passively waiting for feelings to develop, but about actively launching an attack!

The more Chu Sheng thought about it, the more likely it seemed. The winged girl's favorability rating increased because he took the initiative to help her; Audrey's favorability rating was maxed out because of Chu Sheng's proactive intervention and Gala's "PUA" tactics.

However, Arthur himself did not seem to have taken any initiative to do anything that could be called a "strategy". Even the two Spirit Fusion Techniques were only done out of necessity when everyone was in danger.

After thinking about it for a long time, Chu Sheng decided to abandon the idea.

You can't think of it that way. Arthur isn't a target for romance; he's a companion.

Playing with Gala wood with a utilitarian mindset is an undesirable and heretical path!

Gray Earth Town is an inconspicuous little town in the southern part of Snow Wolf Territory. The town is small, with only one main street, and it takes less than half an hour to walk from one end of the street to the other.

However, due to its location on a major north-south transportation route, the town's only hotel has consistently enjoyed good business.

The hotel is called the Gray Soil Hotel, and the sign features a yawning groundhog. The owner is a chubby, middle-aged man who is bald and has a comical little mustache that twitches when he talks.

"Four rooms? Yes, yes, yes!" The owner chuckled and placed the keys on the counter. "You've come at the perfect time; we happen to have several rooms available today. Usually, they're all booked by now."

Chu Sheng took the keys and distributed them to the three of them. Ella examined the keys several times after receiving them, then carefully tucked them into her bosom, patted them, and looked very serious.

"What are you filming?" Yinye asked, puzzled.

"Keep the key safe, or you won't be able to get into the room," Ella replied earnestly.

"You can just wear it around your neck."

Ella looked down at her neck, then at the round handle at the end of the key, and scoffed, "Are you stupid?! How could you possibly fit your neck through such a tiny hole?"

Yinye looked at the ribbon around her neck, opened her mouth, but decided not to correct her.

Arguing with an idiot is completely pointless.

The room was on the second floor, the wooden stairs creaking underfoot. Chu Sheng's room was at the end of the corridor, and opening the window revealed a view of the wheat fields outside the town. The wheat was almost ripe, a golden expanse that rippled like golden waves in the wind.

He put down his luggage and was about to go downstairs when he passed Arthur's room and noticed that her door was not closed properly.

It wasn't intentional that it wasn't closed properly. The old wooden door hinges were warped, and they would automatically spring open a crack when closed.

Chu Sheng didn't look at it on purpose.

Arthur stood by the window, his back to the door. She was untying her braid; the blue ribbon had been pulled off and was draped over the back of the chair, and her long, platinum blonde hair was loose and draped over her shoulders.

The light blue short-sleeved top was taken off, leaving only a close-fitting off-white tank top. The material of the tank top was very thin, almost transparent in the backlight.

The way she raised her arms to gather her hair caused the hem of her vest to ride up slightly. Her waistline was revealed, the curve from her ribs to her hips breathtakingly perfect. Strong and muscular, with a thin layer of muscle definition, every line was just right.

She leaned to the side to pick up the comb from the table.

Chu Sheng saw the side profile of the woman, which was wrapped in a beige tank top, swaying down, but her shape was still surprisingly full and round.

But his gaze lingered for only a moment before shifting away, and he quietly tightened the door hinges, leaving no gaps.

Chu Sheng walked down the creaking stairs, through the lobby on the first floor, pushed open the door of the inn, and stepped into the cool evening air.

He sat down on the stone steps by the door and looked up at the sky. The sunset was burning from the west, turning the entire sky orange-red.

He found his heart was beating very fast.

It wasn't because of what he had just seen. Although the scene was erotic, it wasn't enough to make a veteran like him, who had fought countless battles in Gala-Gymuri, feel his heart race.

What made his heart race was another thought.

He wanted to take one more look.