All in all, although Kang Lan's round of popular science did not cause much of a stir, it still greatly benefited everyone present, at least for Wan Yang, Yi Dong, and Mo Tan Tong Xue. They all planned to prioritize allocating optional experience to their lower-level professions in the coming time, to earn as many additional attributes as possible, and maximize their gains.
However, Cui Xiaoyu did propose an idea: "It shouldn't just be doing quests to get experience, right? Don't you also get experience from fighting monsters? Even if quests that aren't related don't give you rewards, if you use a Ranger to fight monsters, you'll definitely get Ranger experience, right? So just go fight monsters like crazy."
"Fight monsters like crazy?" Kang Lan looked at him with a strange expression and dryly chuckled: "The problem is, Innocent World doesn't have that many 'monsters' for you to fight. This game is very rules-oriented and reasonable. Near my birthplace, there are even villages that protect Mud Kachu as an endangered species. Unless you deliberately look for a fight, you rarely encounter enemies in the wild. There aren't no powerful harmful beasts, but you have to be able to defeat them..."
Wan Yang chuckled: "I'm luckier. Sumir's side is having a blast fighting Evil Cultists, so I never have to worry about not having a fight, it's just that it's quite easy to die."
"Tsk." Cui Xiaoyu pouted: "Why do I feel like the encounter rate in Innocent World is about the same as in other games? Walking on the main road, you often get attacked by things like jackals, wolves, tigers, leopards, and mammoths..."
Kang Lan paused, then gently nudged Wan Yang, and whispered: "Are you sure he's playing the same game as us?"
"Yes..."
"Then that's really strange."
"Tsk tsk." Kang Lan clicked his tongue, then looked at Yu Cheng and Mo Tan, shrugging: "You two Priests are much stronger than us. As long as you diligently save the dying and help the injured, your experience gain rate won't be much worse than before. That's the advantage of healing professions."
The two nodded, humbly accepting the advice.
At this point, Cordova's storytelling and Kang Lan's little popular science session officially ended. The atmosphere among everyone also became much more familiar. These young people, similar in age and with common topics, quickly relaxed.
They first played board games enthusiastically for quite a while. During this process, Kang Lan and Yu Cheng were simply unstoppable; one won inexplicably, and the other won in a baffling way. Mo Tan, in the early stages of the game, consciously maintained a state of not losing or winning, and occasionally secretly helped so that certain players wouldn't lose too badly...
By the way, the ones who lost badly were Wan Yang, Yi Dong, and Ji Xiaoge.
Yes, no Cui Xiaoyu! No Cordova! None!
This guy miraculously maintained a balanced and stable win rate throughout, neither losing nor winning, along with Ji Xiaodao and Mo Tan.
The above phenomenon continued until the last round, where Mo Tan, in a board game called 【False War】, single-handedly ambushed and killed all other players. Whether they were allies, enemies, or neutral, he wiped them all out. Yi Dong, playing the Tomb Raider, was hanged by him next to the Golden Tree; Ji Xiaodao, whose identity was a Nightmare Spy, was lured by him to the wrong rendezvous point, then forced to commit suicide using two linked effect cards; Cui Xiaoyu, the Priest who sheltered everyone, was even worse off—his intel cards were locked by Mo Tan, and he ultimately sank into the ground with his church. Wan Yang, the Crown Warrior, was healing in the church's prayer room at the time, unable to move for at least three rounds, so the two died together; Ji Xiaoge, the Empress Banshee, stepped on two stacks of sealed cards that Mo Tan had placed in advance, and was removed by the rules for being unable to move for over twenty rounds; Yu Cheng, the Gold Medal Killer, after revealing her hidden identity card, found out she was in the Chaos faction. On her way to the church to assassinate Wan Yang, she triggered an encounter event card and was fortunate enough to escape, but on her way back, she was ambushed by Kang Lan, couldn't resist, and was eliminated...
At this point, the Chaos faction was completely eliminated. The Great Sage Kang Lan, who had the highest contribution value in the Order faction, would have achieved final victory if he had held on for ten more rounds, but he chose to commit suicide in the third to last round.
"The wound Yu Cheng left on me before she was eliminated cannot heal due to environmental reasons, so I must return to Snow Dragon Fort to replenish my stamina."
At the time, Xiao Kang, looking troubled, said: "If I take the shortcut, that question mark card ahead will kill me. If I take the long way around, when I return to the castle, I'll only have half a health bar left, and someone can easily kill me..."
Justice Knight Mo Tan, who had already returned to the castle, blinked and smiled happily: "Actually, you could also try a teleportation spell; you can move 6 squares at once."
"Get lost!" Kang Lan threw the cards in his hand onto the table and rolled his eyes: "I bet you've activated a counter-barrier. After I teleport, I'll just be a corpse. Tsk, I admit defeat. Anyway, if you win, it still counts as the Order faction winning."
Then he chose to commit suicide.
Yi Dong, also of the Order faction, looked at Mo Tan with a troubled expression. He felt that this guy wouldn't just wait for victory so obediently now.
As expected...
The sole survivor, Mo Tan, activated seven 【Black Dragon Orb】 cards before the victory judgment took effect, sacrificing himself on the spot to summon a Dark Pineapple Monster to destroy the world. Game over, survivors 0, draw.
This insane act shocked everyone.
"Hmm, a draw is still more harmonious after all ~" Mo Tan, who had just finished the last round of board games, was grinning widely at the time.
...
Afterward, everyone went upstairs to visit Yi Dong's room, Gu Gu Jiang's exclusive dressing room, Yi Dong's father's figurine wife room (no problem, it contained his figurines, his wife's figurines, and his wife's figurines PS: correct), and the large guest room where the girls' group would be staying that night. Finally, everyone gathered in the entertainment room (the largest room in Yi Dong's house, filled with arcade games, video games, and various other games) to play a galgame until sunset. The specific process was as follows:
Ji Xiaoge: "Kiss her! Choose to kiss her!"
Cui Xiaoyu: "Are you crazy?! If you kiss her now, it'll be GAME OVER! Hold her hand, grab it without hesitation!"
Kang Lan: "Trust me, just ask her out for a meal directly! Simple and crude, just ask her out for a meal! Ask her out right then and there!"
Ji Xiaodao: "Go home first, write a love letter."
Wan Yang: "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! At least inquire about one or two of her hobbies!"
Yu Cheng: "I think it's better to be subtle, right? Maybe ask her to see a movie next month when we meet... Mo Tan Tong Xue, what do you think?"
Mo Tan, currently in his Absolute Neutral personality: "Uh, that's a good idea."
Yi Dong, holding the controller, looked ashen: "MMP so what exactly should I do?!"
In the end, they jointly set a new historical record of being dumped eighty-nine times by Sulima (the easiest girl to conquer in the game, kindergarten difficulty) within an hour.
...
After ending their love-hate entanglement with the beautiful girls, everyone returned to the first floor. It was dinner time, and the New Year's Eve dinner Yi Dong had ordered in advance on 'Bao Le Mei' was about to arrive. So, everyone turned on the TV, gathered around the coffee table in the living room, ready to eat, and then...
"Ahem." Cui Xiaoyu cleared his throat and said earnestly: "I think, a New Year's Eve dinner ordered from outside is always a bit lacking, don't you all agree?"
Kang Lan immediately understood: "And the messy ideas from the three ladies just now were the culprits behind our failure to conquer the girls."
"Strongly agree." Wan Yang, who had been critically hit in the galgame, suddenly looked up and loudly echoed: "I think we must make a statement!"
Yi Dong snapped his fingers, his mischievous gaze slowly sweeping over the Ji family sisters and Yu Cheng, and he said meaningfully: "There are quite a few ingredients in the kitchen~~"
Mo Tan was about to say something, but suddenly saw a glint in a certain girl's eyes. He immediately lowered his gaze, focusing inward, like an old monk in meditation.
Yu Cheng shrank her neck, clutching the corner of her clothes, and whispered: "I... I'm not very good at cooking."
Ji Xiaodao looked at the gentlemen coldly: "Boring."
Immediately after...
"I'm actually not very good at it either." Ji Xiaoge smiled shyly, her tone seeming to waver slightly: "But if it's just ordinary home cooking... perhaps..."
"It's settled then!!"
"I heard Mo say your chef level is already in the teens! Even that old Undead Lu Wei praises your cooking! Don't be modest! Don't be modest!"
"Xiao Ge has already taken the lead and spoken up!"
Wan Yang, Cui Xiaoyu, and Kang Lan desperately urged her on. Yi Dong was about to say something too, but the words on his lips were choked back by Mo Tan's suddenly sharp gaze.
'Do you want to die?'
This was the message he deciphered from the eyes of his best friend.
And Ji Xiaodao's already pale face instantly lost all color, and she gently tugged on Ji Xiaoge's sleeve: "Sister, don't listen to them..."
Before she could finish, the timid and introverted Yu Cheng next to her was the first to compromise, timidly saying: "Then I'll give it a try... Hmm, at least I can help Xiao Ge."
"Hehe, give me a hug~" Ji Xiaoge immediately gave Yu Cheng a tight hug, then just stood there, stunned.
Ji Xiaodao blinked: "Sister?"
"I... I felt like I was repelled just now..."
...
Five minutes later
Ji Xiaoge and Yu Cheng walked into the kitchen amidst cheers.
"Alright, this is your own choice, so you'll eat all of it obediently later." Ji Xiaodao sighed softly, then coldly swept her gaze over Cui Xiaoyu and the others, her face like frost: "Don't regret it."
Then she turned and walked towards the kitchen as well.
"No problem, we'll definitely eat it all." Cui Xiaoyu chuckled, then shouted loudly at the girl's retreating back: "Ahem, but Xiao Dao, you can't deliberately make something unpalatable, like adding a bunch of chili peppers or something~"
Ji Xiaodao paused in her steps, then asked without turning her head: "A bunch of chili peppers? Is that the limit of your imagination?"
?
"Don't worry, I'm going into the kitchen to save you all." The girl shook her head and muttered softly: "At least... I need to control it to the point where an ambulance won't be needed..."
Then she walked away without looking back.
Cui Xiaoyu blinked twice: "What did she say at the end?"
"Her voice was too low, I didn't hear clearly." Wan Yang stretched, leaning comfortably on the sofa: "Anyway, we just have to wait, right?"
Kang Lan pushed up his glasses like a certain character with the surname Sakamoto: "Hmph, at most it'll just be a bit sweet, a bit salty, or a bit spicy, nothing to fear."
At the same time, Yi Dong, who had been dragged by Mo Tan to the corner of the living room, looked at his good friend with considerable confusion: "Is it really that unpalatable?"
"Heh." Mo Tan chuckled lifelessly, sighing: "It's not a matter of whether it's unpalatable or not, foolish mortals, you are attempting to peek at things you should not know."
Yi Dong gave a dry chuckle: "You're exaggerating, aren't you? Didn't Xiao Yu just say that even that big shot Lu Wei praised Xiao Ge's cooking?"
"Yes." Mo Tan nodded expressionlessly, and said in a deep voice: "That big shot Lu Wei was indeed very satisfied with the dishes she made. Those things are excellent choices whether used as an adhesive or as reinforced repair materials. If loaded and fired at high speed, they can even be used to test the defense of experimental subjects."
Yi Dong's face stiffened: "Uh, I'm sorry, maybe I haven't been resting well lately and I'm hallucinating... Just now you seemed to say words like adhesive... repair materials... high-speed firing."
Mo Tan patted the former's shoulder: "It's true, buddy."
Yi Dong, who trusted Mo Tan unconditionally, twitched his mouth: "But... this is reality, right? There definitely won't be anything that outrageous in reality, right?"
"Yes, of course it won't be that outrageous." Mo Tan nodded in agreement this time, then immediately followed up by saying: "Otherwise, based on how long she's been in there, your kitchen would be gone by now."
...
"Do you remember that announcement about the 【Cooking】 skill—that cooking certain foods with overly bizarre effects won't grant additional experience?" Mo Tan walked towards the sofa, shaking his head, and sneered as he walked: "Based on my personal analysis, that's why Xiao Ge's chef level is so high."
Yi Dong: "?!"
...
One hour later
Several boys were nimbly placing the delivered New Year's Eve dinner on the dining table. Various festive BGM emanated from the TV nearby, and scattered firecrackers could already be heard outside. The so-called 'taste of New Year' gradually began to permeate the air.
It was lively, comfortable, and joyful.
"Someone come help!" Cui Xiaoyu's full-throated shout rang out from the entrance hall.
"Coming, coming~"
Mo Tan quickly ran to the door to help Cui Xiaoyu carry several cases of beer into the house, then coughed lightly at Kang Lan, who was squatting in the corner, and watched happily as the boisterous Wan Yang dragged him away to move chairs, his eyes full of laughter.
A wisp of black smoke wafted out from the kitchen, and the somewhat flustered exclamations of three girls rose and fell inside (mostly Ji Xiaoge and Yu Cheng's, Ji Xiaodao's voice was mainly coughing), making the large villa even noisier.
【No... not noisy...】
Mo Tan gently closed his eyes, shook his head, and tried to engrave the chaotic atmosphere around him deep within his heart, a warm arc curving at the corner of his mouth.
Not a smile exclusive to any particular personality, just a faint, ordinary, precious smile.
Chapter 229: The End