Chapter 111: Major Upgrade to the Control Panel

"Hmm? What did you just say, Miss?"

One of the men finally snapped to his senses. He had realized Lin Shuang had spoken, but he had been so busy staring at her that he hadn't caught a single word.

"It’s nothing. I was just asking if you think the name 'Lin Shuang' sounds nice?"

As she spoke, Lin Shuang suddenly walked toward the two men. She stepped right up to one of them, reached out a finger to lift his chin, and asked, "Well? Do you think it sounds nice?"

The man grinned from ear to ear and nodded immediately. "Nice, it’s so nice! Can I call you Shuang'er?"

Hearing this, Xi Yan struggled to suppress his laughter nearby, though he was inwardly scoffing: *'Shuang'er'? Isn't that nauseatingly cheesy? This guy is really something else.*

Lin Shuang naturally caught Xi Yan holding back his laughter, but she had no time to settle scores with him right now. A sudden plan to take revenge on Bai Xingchen had formed in her mind.

She didn't know why Bai Xingchen had suddenly gained such confidence, but she figured that luring away the two men who had been tailing her would be quite an interesting move.

Lin Shuang would never forget what Bai Xingchen had done on the cliff. If it weren't for her, she wouldn't have fallen off, and none of these things would be happening now.

"As long as you like it, you may," Lin Shuang said with a gentle smile.

That smile made the man feel that even if he died right at this moment, it would be worth it.

The other man, seeing how his companion was being treated, felt a surge of jealousy. He shoved the man standing before Lin Shuang aside, stepped up to her, and fawned, "I want to call you Shuang'er too, is that okay? I’ll help you with anything you want, alright? Shuang'er?"

Lin Shuang felt absolutely disgusted, but for the sake of her revenge against Bai Xingchen, she endured it.

"What exactly do you two think you're doing? Don't forget what 'the Lord' said! He told you both to follow me. What are you doing now? Careful, or I'll tell the Lord and have you both suffer a fate worse than death!"

Bai Xingchen shrieked helplessly from behind the two men. The mention of "the Lord" immediately piqued Xi Yan's interest.

He had a gut feeling that this "Lord" was a breakthrough point and likely held the key to leaving the Swing Zone.

Just then, Xi Yan heard a *ding* sound, followed by a mechanical voice in his mind.

[Level up. Would you like to check your status?]

Level up? At a time like this? How?

Despite his confusion, seeing as there was no immediate danger, Xi Yan chose to check. A pale blue status panel materialized before his eyes.

[Role: Human Superpower User Xi Yan]
[Level: Lv12 (Shop unlocks at Lv66)]
[Unlockable Card Slots: Unlimited...]
[Currently in use: 8 cards (No longer counting after 10)]
[Ability Name: "Close Enough"]
[Ability Effect: (Click to view details)]
[Passive Ability: ① Can actively use a passive skill once every three years (Status: Cooling down)]
[Passive Ability Level: Lv1]
[Role Attributes: Virtue: 0 -> +, Intelligence: 1 -> +, Physique: 1 -> +]

Xi Yan was stunned. He had suddenly hit Level 12? How did he level up while idling? He had just been Level 10, yet he had jumped two levels at once.

But what shocked him even more followed.

[Passive Upgrade: Lv1 -> Lv2]
[Passive Ability: ① Can actively use a passive skill once every three years (Status: Cooling down)]
[② Keen Perception: Grants danger detection (30% trigger rate); has a chance to uncover the truth of a matter (0.5% trigger rate)]

Xi Yan wasn't too surprised by the new ability that appeared after his passive skill upgraded, as he had felt this keen sense of danger ever since his passive ability had first improved. It was this very instinct that had helped him escape death several times; he just hadn't realized the trigger rate was as high as 30%.

As for "uncovering the truth," he assumed it was similar to predicting the future, though the trigger rate was quite low.

Xi Yan felt he was different from other survivors. While his ability seemed a bit of a scam, his passive skills were incredibly good—one might even say heaven-defying. In a dangerous place like this, being able to sense danger in advance was practically a "Get Out of Jail Free" card. Plus, the probability of obtaining various cards was also quite high.

He suddenly remembered the guard from the first floor of the "Third Level" dungeon, who had mentioned that his father was from the Main City and had spoken of some kind of experiment...

Xi Yan felt as though he were being drawn into a massive conspiracy, a mere pawn in someone else's game.

And yet, he was just an ordinary person, an orphan at that...

*Ding-dong!!*

[Control Panel upgrading...]
[Estimated time: 3 days...]
[Upon completion, all survivors will be compensated with +1 Level. Please be informed...]

Just after reading the news about his passive skill upgrade, a system notification popped up.

Control panel upgrade? Why did it feel like he was in a game? It seemed like the game server was undergoing maintenance.

"You two, go to hell!"

As Xi Yan emerged from his thoughts, he heard Bai Xingchen’s furious roar. Although he had been distracted, he had kept an eye on Lin Shuang’s situation. She must have said something else to provoke Bai Xingchen, because the two were now clashing.

The two men who had been trailing Bai Xingchen stood in place, unsure whether to intervene, watching the two women awkwardly.

Xi Yan smiled to himself, thinking: *They probably want to help Lin Shuang, but that mention of "the Lord" has them terrified.*

"Miss Bai, we'll help you!"

Gritting their teeth, the two men seemed to make a major decision and charged at Lin Shuang. The scene instantly turned into a three-on-one fight.

Seeing this, Xi Yan unlocked his "Light Wood Sword" and prepared to join the fray.

"Don't bother, I can handle them myself," Lin Shuang said, stopping him. Xi Yan took a step back and quietly watched the four of them fight.

Bai Xingchen wielded a silver-white hammer, and the two men used hammers as well, though theirs looked like rusted, discarded junk.

Lin Shuang had drawn her bow. Despite being a long-range fighter, she didn't lose the upper hand even in close quarters.

Seizing the opportunity, Xi Yan began to study Lin Shuang’s combat techniques from the sidelines. Since their previous battles had always been group efforts, he hadn't had much time to observe her closely. Now, with a moment of leisure, he realized that Lin Shuang’s fighting style was remarkably skillful.