I really don't want to date a girl addicted to the internet!

"It's amazing how two lowly creatures can spout such nonsensical and absurd nonsense in unison." Shen Xi glanced at her, feeling even more disgusted.

"If Teacher Shen refuses, that's fine. Actually, I was just asking casually. Shall we continue our meeting, you two?" The boy in the middle crossed his fingers in his lap, looking very formal.

Nagasaki Asuna hesitated for a moment, her eyes darting around as she spoke softly, "Well, since Shen Xi is going to watch me do that kind of thing later, it's actually okay for me to be a little intimate with Cheng Fei right now?"

"Your acting skills are getting better and better these days. If you didn't know better, you'd really think you were someone who knew how to keep a low profile," Shen Xi sneered.

“Teacher Shen, I think Nana is sincere. You’ve known each other for a year. The ancients said that a scholar should be looked at with new eyes after three days of separation. There is also an old saying that a day apart feels like three autumns. That means about a thousand years have passed. Nana deserves to be looked at with new eyes more than 100,000 times. How could she…” The boy gestured seriously until he was stared at by Shen Xi with a cold expression and then shut his mouth.

"Huh?" Nagasaki Asuna exclaimed in surprise.

"It's one thing for Cheng Feiyu to spout illogical fallacies to defend the fox spirit," Shen Xi glared at him. "First of all, if a fox spirit really lived for a thousand years, it would probably just become an even more annoying thousand-year-old fox spirit."

After pausing, he added, "Secondly, he didn't say no."

"Huh?" The boy was stunned.

“On the one hand, although the regular meetings are in principle for discussing serious matters, it’s not surprising that the incorrigible Cheng Feiyu would try to take advantage of us. As long as it doesn’t affect the discussion of serious matters, it’s not impossible to reluctantly satisfy you.” Shen Xi stared at the wall with her brows furrowed, as if discussing an extremely serious issue. “On the other hand, as I mentioned before, it’s unrealistic to try to get rid of the vixen now, so we decided to let her attend the regular meetings to facilitate the observation of the topic. In other words, it’s impossible to prevent you from doing those dirty things, so…”

"So?" the boy asked cautiously.

"Shen Xi is so eloquent, no wonder she can charm Cheng Fei," Nagasaki Asuna exclaimed softly.

“So, let’s part ways here.” Shen Xi said, stretching out her small hand and tracing it down from the top of the boy’s head, like a customer indicating to a butcher which part of the pork he wanted to buy. “As long as it’s within reason, it’s none of my business if that vixen tries to do anything like holding hands over there.”

"So it means we'll each have half?" Nagasaki Asuna tilted her head and looked at her.

The boy in the middle seemed to want to speak but hesitated, yet still wanted to.

"So once you've figured it out, you'd better behave yourself and not do anything disgusting." Shen Xi looked back at the wall, her face indifferent, as if she had lost interest in the topic.

"Yes~ Is there anything else important to discuss?" Nagasaki Asuna immediately took the arm of the boy on her side with a happy expression, and nestled her head on his shoulder like a little bird.

"Of course I did. I was just answering Cheng Feiyu's silly question, Cheng Fei." Shen Xi suddenly uttered two words, her little face showing a hint of impatience.

"What's wrong with Teacher Shen?" The boy, whose arm was in a bad situation, looked serious.

"It's one thing if you're half-hearted over there, but now I'm trying to do what's right in front of you. If you only have that vixen in your heart, I'll be disappointed," the girl said softly, her eyes lowered.

"Not at all, I was just worried that Teacher Shen would be angry." The boy immediately understood.

Then, he tentatively found the girl's small hand under the blanket, held it, and felt its familiar coolness and softness.

Shen Xi shifted her position slightly, getting closer to the boy and transferring some of her weight to him, thus entering a state of snuggling beside him but not being overly intimate.

Thus, the three people sitting on the edge of the bed became connected in a certain sense.

Shen Xi narrowed her eyes, a hint of displeasure in her voice. "Trash, are you satisfied now?"

"Teacher Shen, why are you so cute?" the boy exclaimed, holding the hands of both girls at the same time.

"Cheng Fei, where's Nana?" Nagasaki Asuna looked up, blinking her innocent and naive eyes.

“Nana is cute too, of course.” The boy replied without hesitation.

"Shut up, stop disgusting me." Shen Xi kicked the boy under the covers. "Now that you've satisfied your filthy fantasies of having women on both sides, focus on the important matter."

"Yes." The boy bowed respectfully.

“I had Isena collect all the game footage online about the failed second layer, and we can confirm one thing now.” Shen Xi said, taking the tablet from the bedside table and placing it in the boy’s arms so that all three of them could see it and start playing the video.

In a player's first-person perspective recording, a silver figure, or rather a life form, is facing a large number of players' attacks in the center of the arena.

The life form is made entirely of flowing silver metal, with swords of varying lengths floating behind it. It simply swings its arms, and the weapons fly around and attack the player as if they were alive. Even if one is destroyed, a new one is immediately summoned, as if it has an endless arsenal hidden behind it.

"It seems that Professor Shen has been quite busy lately, so what have you discovered?" Cheng Fei said casually.

“A failed project is not a runaway machine.” Shen Xi narrowed his eyes.

"Are you so sure?" The boy raised an eyebrow.

"It's obvious that this combat method of summoning weapons out of thin air has nothing to do with out-of-control machinery." The girl said, turning her head to look at the boy, her sharp gaze seeming to pierce through him. "Otherwise, is Cheng Feiyu also an out-of-control machine?"

"Teacher Shen, what does this have to do with me?" The boy was caught off guard.

"Can't Cheng Feiyu also summon weapons out of thin air? Stop pretending." Shen Xi glared at him fiercely.

"Huh, summoning a weapon out of thin air?" Nagasaki Asuna tilted her head, puzzled.

"How could I summon something out of thin air? Teacher Shen, don't make baseless accusations," the boy said decisively.

"You didn't summon Cheng Feiyu out of thin air to hide that dagger somewhere. It's already obvious, so stop being so stubborn." Shen Xi said coldly and bluntly.

"Teacher Shen, how dare you say I'm stubborn? That's outrageous!" the boy said, looking righteous and indignant.

"Keep making excuses, then the vixen can go back, and you can go back too. Today's meeting is over." The girl sneered.

"No, whatever Teacher Shen says goes." The boy lowered his head in a second.

"So, what do you mean by summoning a weapon out of thin air?" Nagasaki Asuna hugged the boy's arm tightly.

"Cheng Feiyu, why don't you hurry up and demonstrate for your beloved vixen, lest she think you're hiding something from her?" Shen Xi laughed with a hint of schadenfreude.

“I don’t really care about that kind of thing?” Nagasaki Asuna blinked.

"Teacher Shen, Nana isn't like you; she wouldn't dwell on this kind of thing." The boy sighed lightly and slid down.

"Oh, that concludes today's meeting." The aloof girl turned her face away and responded calmly, making a gesture as if to shake off his hand from under the covers.

"I was really wrong, please forgive me, Teacher Shen." The boy quickly grabbed her tightly.

Shen Xi squinted and shook her head a few times but couldn't shake her off. She took a deep breath and said, "Forget it. Anyway, the fact is that Cheng Feiyu is becoming more and more suspicious. She actually has the same abilities as the enemies in the corridor."

"Teacher Shen, I think it's just a coincidence. Just like a pomelo looks round and a fried egg looks round, but they are actually completely different things." The boy said seriously.

"Huh?" Nagasaki Asuna was taken aback, subconsciously looking down at herself, her face quietly blushing slightly.

"What did you say?" The girl looked at him abruptly, her eyes widening slightly, as if she couldn't believe it.

The boy met her gaze for a second, then looked sad. "Teacher Shen, I absolutely didn't mean anything by it. I was just using it as an analogy. Please don't be so sensitive, thank you."

"I don't want to have the meeting anymore." The girl immediately became unhappy and turned her face away to look at the wall.

"Teacher Shen, please don't do that. Let's get back to the main topic." The boy squeezed her small hand.

Shen Xi took a deep breath, her flat chest heaving violently, and said with a forced expression, "Another point worth noting is that the Shadow also has a similar fighting style."

942. Cheng Fei showed absolutely no politeness towards Lin Xuanqi.

"It's kind of cute to just keep going when someone tells you to," Cheng Fei said, smiling at Shen Xi's face.

The aloof girl stared at him for a second, then suddenly gritted her teeth, threw off the covers, and stood up. "When faced with a difficult question, you start changing the subject again. I guess we should just adjourn the meeting."

"Teacher Shen, it was just a joke, don't be angry." The boy quickly pulled her back.

"Go to hell! Nobody here wants to joke with you!" Instead, he struggled even more violently.

"Teacher Shen!"

The boy had to pull Nagasaki Asuna's arm away, and it took him a while to finally calm the angry girl down.

As the aloof girl with furrowed brows sat against the headboard, staring intently at the wall, motionless like a statue, the boy pulled the blanket back over her and carefully tucked the edges in.

"Teacher Shen, why are you so easily angered today? Is it because you're not in my arms and therefore not in your soft and sweet mode, making it easier for your anger level to rise?" The boy rubbed his chin, examining that beautiful yet cold little face.

"Trash, it's so hot!" Completely ignoring his words, she rudely pulled back the edge of the blanket he had tucked in.

"Okay, let's continue." The boy realized that this meant he was reluctantly accepting the status quo, breathed a sigh of relief, took her small hand that was outside the blanket, and then, realizing something, turned to look.

After the boy pulled his arm away, Nagasaki Asuna didn't move. She sat obediently in her original position, watching the two interact as if nothing had happened.

"Nana, are you alright?" The boy asked calmly as he took her small hand again.

"It's alright, watching the two of you fight amongst yourselves is quite interesting, anyway, we're going to do that observation project later?" The sweet girl smiled and shook her head, blinking her innocent and naive eyes.

"That's good." The boy was relieved.

"He really cares about the vixen's feelings, even if it's just for a few minutes." Shen Xi stared at the wall and sneered.

"Teacher Shen, I've been showing you concern these past few minutes, so please don't be so aggressive. Besides, don't you think Nana has really grown up a lot? She's not as jealous as she used to be." The boy shook his head and sighed.

"Heh, who knows if she's just not jealous or if she's too busy fantasizing about the filthy things she'll do later to pay attention." Shen Xi remained unmoved, narrowing her eyes. "And now I have to change the sheets tomorrow."

Asuna Nagasaki's pupils contracted, then her gaze darted around, and she whispered, twirling a strand of hair between her fingers, "Um, I'll help. Change the sheets."

The boy in the middle looked at the two of them and decided it was best not to comment. "You two really understand each other better now. Anyway, let's get back to the main topic?"

Shen Xi let out a cryptic chuckle, then raised her chin and said seriously, "So how is Cheng Feiyu going to explain the problem with Youying?"

"Huh?" The boy was stunned. "What do you need me to explain?"

"A shadow can also summon weapons out of thin air. Doesn't Cheng Feiyu have anything to explain?" Shen Xi glared at him with certainty.

"Teacher Shen, I just explained that although pomelos and fried eggs..." The boy was halfway through his sentence when he saw the aloof girl narrow her eyes and exude a chilling aura. He shivered and coughed lightly. "In short, it's very common for things to have similar characteristics but completely different underlying principles. Surely Teacher Shen doesn't even understand this?"

"Does Cheng Feiyu mean to say that he actually knows nothing about the failed work and the Shadow?" Shen Xi stared intently at him.

"That's absolutely right." The boy nodded without any hesitation.

"Call me by my name," the girl said coldly.

System, are you aware of this?

The boy asked himself the question.

Unsurprisingly, there was no response.

"I really don't know, please stop overthinking things, Shen Xi," the boy said, looking into those pure, dark eyes.

The aloof girl met his gaze for a second before looking away, rubbing her chin and frowning in thought, muttering to herself, "I thought I could use this clue to dig out some more of Cheng Feiyu's secrets, but it turns out it's unrelated..."

Asuna Nagasaki rested her head on the shoulder of the boy in the middle and sighed softly, "Shen Xi is always studying Cheng Fei, she's hopelessly infatuated."

"Is this considered infatuation, Nana?" the boy said calmly.

"Stop spouting nonsense, you vixen. Only a low-level creature with shallow aesthetics like you would be infatuated with Cheng Feiyu, who is also a low-level creature." The aloof girl said coldly without any fluctuation, then shook her head. "Forget it, even if we put Cheng Feiyu aside, there must be some connection between Youying and the failed work."

“That’s true,” Cheng Fei nodded in agreement.

"Considering that the people of Deep Blue have already accepted the existence of multiple failures, Shadow might even be a similar failure," Shen Xi added.

"The same kind? As expected of Teacher Shen, your guesses are always so imaginative." The boy continued to nod.

"This inference is based on the fact that the power of the Shadow is constantly increasing. Perhaps the final form of the Shadow is a failure. Does Cheng Feiyu have a different opinion?" Shen Xi seemed displeased.

"No objection, it's certainly not impossible. As expected of Teacher Shen." The boy thought seriously for a moment, "Could it be that they didn't use the corridor's access privileges, but are a special race?"

"It's possible, but we don't know why it would appear in the corridor." Shen Xi said solemnly.

"Perhaps it was also collected by Her Majesty the Empress back then. After all, the corridor is a repository of species, so it's reasonable for her to capture some aliens, right?" Cheng Fei guessed.

"Impossible. The corridor only preserves ordinary species; it won't let individuals of civilized races in." The aloof girl shook her head.

"I see, so it really is Her Majesty the Empress's garden." Cheng Fei smacked his lips.

“Well, the Foundation should know more, right? Why don’t you ask them?” Nagasaki Asuna joined the conversation.

"Because we only joined recently, I'm just a prospective researcher. Professor Shen said I'm a senior specialist with S-level authority, but apart from being my superior, I don't seem to have any real power." The boy released the two of them and shrugged.

"Hey, you two always talk to the Winterhold Guild members alone. Did you think you've already found out some information?" Nagasaki Asuna seemed to understand but not quite.

"You've got it wrong. Cheng Feiyu just keeps talking nonsense with that transvestite Kalio." Shen Xi sneered, as if thinking of something annoying.

"Sigh, Teacher Shen, what do you mean by 'full of nonsense'? As a D-level personnel, I've already tried my best, and at least I've achieved some results." The boy shook his head and sighed.

"Oh," the girl said in a cold voice, "what were the results?"

"Did you know? The name of Avalanche Games is actually taken from the resistance organization in Final Fantasy VII. It is said that when the Foundation came up with the plan to turn the Corridor into a stealth game, a vote was held when the company was established. The names that were not selected at the time included Shinra Company and Dead Cells..." The boy held up a finger and said in a serious manner as if he were explaining something to the public.

"Shut up, you dare to talk about such meaningless things." Shen Xi interrupted him without any politeness.

“Teacher Shen, how can this be called meaningless? Don’t you think that at least we learned a little about their history, which is also very valuable?”

Naturally, the boy's explanation received no response.

"Alright, let's leave that topic aside for now. In short, our next goal is to wait for the shield to wear off and then find a way to kill the failed attempt as soon as possible." Shen Xi pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.

"Have you completely placed yourself on the same level as those big guilds? Let me remind you again, we are really just a small guild."

"Shut up."

"Yes."