About how my wife resurrected me as tentacles after my death.

When Yu Wan woke up, it was already noon.

The light from the window shone in and fell on her face, making her squint slightly.

He stared blankly at the ceiling for several seconds before his consciousness slowly returned.

I remember I was supposed to go to the movies with A-Yuan, but I fell asleep before the opening credits were even over.

I slept until now, and the sun is already high in the sky.

She looked down at her chest.

Ah Yuan was still in her arms, her little tentacles curled up in a ball, the tips of which rested on her collarbone, rising and falling gently with her breath.

She straightened up, carefully lifted a corner of the blanket, and reached out to pull him out from under her collar.

"Why didn't A-Yuan wake me up?"

She got out of bed and stepped barefoot onto the floor. The coolness rose from the soles of her feet, and she twitched her toes.

I walked to the window and drew back the curtains. Sunlight streamed in, illuminating the entire room.

She squinted for a moment, then turned to look at the small tentacles on the bed.

Now that I'm injured and can't leave the city any further, I can only go and study the mutation recorded in the ancient books.

"Ah-Yuan, continue to rest," she said, walking back to the bedside and looking down at him. "I'm going to the basement to read for a while."

After saying that, she thought about it for a moment, but still felt uneasy.

What if he sneaks off somewhere while she's reading in the basement?

She bent down and lifted Chen Yuan off the pillow, then rummaged through the closet and pulled out a small, gray, fluffy blanket.

Place Chen Yuan in the middle of the blanket, then fold it up and wrap it, folding it once on the left, once on the right, once on top, and once on the bottom.

Chen Yuan was wrapped up like a rice dumpling, with only a small tip of his tentacles sticking out.

"Puji puji..." His muffled cries came from inside the blanket.

Yu Wan picked him up and rubbed her face against his: "You'll be alright now."

Then I picked him up and carried him to the basement.

The basement light was still the same dim bulb, its light shining on the altar.

Yu Wan placed Chen Yuan on the table.

She had specially cleared out an area, laid out a soft cloth, and then placed him, wrapped up like a rice dumpling, on it.

She pulled up a chair, sat down at the table, pulled an ancient book from the shelf, opened it, and continued reading.

Chen Yuan peeked out the tip of his tentacle from the gap in the blanket, watching her back.

She read very carefully, turning the pages one by one, occasionally pausing to stare at a particular page for a long time, her brows slightly furrowed.

The light coming in from the window was barely visible in the basement; only the dim yellow light bulb illuminated her white hair.

After flipping through the pages for a long time, Yu Wan stopped on one page.

It was a page about "relationships after the sacrifice," the paper was yellower and more brittle than the others, and a piece was missing from the corner, as if it had been bitten by something.

The writing on it is a bit blurry, but you can still make out the general meaning...

After being sacrificed to an evil god, the offering not only becomes the god's follower, but the sacrificer, as the intermediary, also makes the followers her slaves.

There was another line of small print, the ink very faint. She leaned closer to read it: "A path to advancement for believers, which can be accomplished by relying on sacrifices."

Yu Wan's finger stopped on that line of text.

Slave... Ah Yuan is not her slave.

Of course, this is all on the premise that A-Yuan behaves well.

But if A-Yuan misbehaves, then...

She continued flipping through the pages.

The following pages contained detailed descriptions of specific techniques and rituals, the materials needed, the steps and precautions, all of which were similar to what she had seen in other books.

There is no new method, no way to turn A-Yuan back into a human.

There was no other way but to know the account of the relationship between believers and sacrificers.

Yu Wan closed the book, leaned back in her chair, and rubbed her sore eyes.

She glanced at the small tentacles on the table.

Chen Yuan was wrapped in a blanket, with only a small tip of his tentacle showing, which was slightly raised and "looking" at her.

"Ah Yuan," she said softly, "I have to take the Level 3 Engineer certification exam in a couple of days."

Chen Yuan raised the tip of his tentacle slightly: With me here, what's there to be afraid of?

Yu Wan couldn't understand what he was saying, but when she saw the tips of his raised tentacles, the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

She stood up, put the book back on the shelf, and then picked Chen Yuan up from the table.

Wrapped up like a rice dumpling, he felt very special to the touch—soft and delicate.

"Let's go, A-Yuan, let's go upstairs and cook."

She whispered and walked toward the basement door.

.......

I spent two peaceful days at home.

The main task was to study alienation and the path to advancement for believers in the basement.

Today is Wednesday, which is the day of the certification exam.

Yu Wan's injuries have almost healed. A thin scab has formed on the wound on her shoulder. It still hurts a little when she moves, but it's nothing serious.

The verification site was located at the Union Engineering Institute, a gray building that stood taller than the surrounding buildings.

Yu Wan went inside, where there were already quite a few people, chatting in twos and threes.

She found a corner to stand in, head down, hood off.

After a short while, an examiner in uniform came out, holding a list in his hand. He read out a string of names and told them to follow him.

Yu Wan was at the very back of the line, following the crowd through the corridor to a large room.

There were several wrecked mechs in the room, old-model "Hound" type, similar to the one she repaired outside the city last time.

Oil leaks from hydraulic rods at joints, aging of the power core, and deformation of the armor plate are all common problems.

The test questions were very simple.

Repair the wrecked mech in a short time.

It doesn't need to be completely repaired, just enough to make it work.

Yu Wan looked at the mecha and silently went through the parts that needed to be repaired in her mind.

The hydraulic rods need their seals replaced, the power core needs to be recalibrated, and the skid plates don't need any work, as long as they can move.

She crouched down and took a wrench out of her toolbox.

"Puji puji." A faint sound came from the chest.

Yu Wan looked down and saw Chen Yuan sticking out the tip of a tentacle from his collar and waving it at her.

Then, his body began to turn black, and his edges blurred.

Shadow form.

Chen Yuan floated to the side of the mecha and squeezed through the gap in the armor plate.

After a while, a faint clicking sound came from inside the mecha, followed by the sound of parts loosening.

Then they just started tearing it down.

The most difficult part of the disassembly was completed in a matter of seconds.

Then he shrank back into Yu Wan's collar, the dark shadow turning back into deep purple tentacles, limply clinging to her skin.

Yu Wan looked down at him, a slight smile playing on her lips, then picked up the wrench and continued working.

The disassembly is complete; all she needs to do is install the new parts, tighten the screws, and calibrate the energy core.

These tasks weren't difficult; she had learned them many times before from Chen Yuan.

Although I'm not very skilled, I can finish it eventually if I take my time.

She fixed it in less than an hour.

She stood up, took a step back, and looked at the mecha.

The examiner walked over, started the mecha, and a rumbling sound rang out. The mecha took two steps forward and then stopped.

The examiner glanced at the mecha and ticked a box on the form.

"It's approved," he said.

Yu Wan nodded and turned to leave.

As she walked out of the engineering institute's gate, the sunlight fell directly on her, warm and pleasant.

She lowered her head and rubbed the small tentacles on her collar.

"Hehe," she chuckled softly, "I'll go home and cook for A-Yuan."

Chen Yuan lay on her chest, the tips of his tentacles pointing upwards.

She's too easily satisfied. It's just a Level 3 engineer certification exam, and she's this happy.

In the afternoon, I prepared to go out of the city again to continue looking for level 2 magical beasts.

The most important material for advancement, as recorded in that ancient book, is the core of a level-two magical beast.

The dragon I encountered last time was a level 3 magical beast, but it escaped, and I didn't get its core.

Level 2 monsters are one level lower than level 3 monsters, but they are not so easy to encounter.

If all else fails, you'll have to buy it.

But this is a contraband item, sold on the black market for a very high price, probably tens of thousands of points.

She's spent a lot lately, buying and selling things, and now she only has a little over two thousand left, which isn't nearly enough...

I need to earn some more money...

Go pick up another hunter's quest and find a level 2 monster while you're at it.