Chapter 82
As a genuine veteran player of “Demon World,” if Shao Mian’s game stats were posted on the “Demon World” forum, it would instantly trigger a wave of howls about whether it was a bug.
Therefore, when this update came out, Shao Mian unexpectedly discovered that he actually had stats that weren’t maxed out!
Was this reasonable?
Wasn’t he the most mysterious and powerful demon in the hearts of humans!?
After pondering for a long time, Shao Mian started to open WeChat and type a message.
A few minutes later, Anvers, seeing the vibrating phone and the message from Shao Mian, sent his “Demon World” screenshot with some suspicion.
Why was he suddenly checking stats? Was he testing some data?
Shao Mian was quickly satisfied to see that Anvers’ Affection frame was still short, not even touching the pink border.
But the accessories section was an eyesore for Shao Mian.
[Special Accessory] [A-Ran’s Handmade Feather Hair Clip] [Effect: Charm +10%, Luck +1]
In “Demon World,” any item that could increase luck was very precious, which was the important reason why it was classified as a special accessory.
Anvers had indeed permanently fixed this hair clip to his head.
Tsk.
[Shao Mian: Hair accessory too flashy.]
So Anvers, who had been anxiously waiting for the rest of the message, received such a concise message and was completely confused.
What? He had him send a screenshot of his “Demon World” stats just to criticize his accessory?
Was it flashy?
“Is my hairstyle flashy with this hair clip?”
Anvers showed off his hairstyle, trying to get his subordinates to give him an objective evaluation.
In fact, the Feather Clan demons had long been tired of hearing their patriarch show off his hair accessory.
“No, it looks very good, Patriarch Anvers!”
They thought this was some new form of bragging from Anvers.
“Right, where is it flashy? This is clearly just right.”
Anvers narcissistically adjusted his long hair for a while, then turned around and found that Shao Mian was no longer online.
He was really hard to understand.
While secretly complaining, Anvers was also a little curious, did Shao Mian also log into “Demon World”?
After all, the legendary Demon King Clan hadn’t publicly appeared in “Demon World” for a long time.
Many demons speculated that perhaps something had happened, but no one had a definite answer.
Hehe, it was good that he didn’t appear. If he did, what if A-Ran was snatched away?
Anvers opened the latest A-Ran Affection Level Guide in the forum and started taking notes with a pen and paper.
Among the demons who hadn’t met A-Ran in person, the one with the highest displayed Affection Level was Stone from the Lek Golem Clan!
His Affection Level with A-Ran was as high as 75!
[Therefore, we have determined the 1348th strategy: A-Ran might like demons who are good at sewing! To further generalize, demons who are skilled with their hands might receive additional Affection points!]
The demon who wrote this strategy post was clearly a data analysis maniac, collecting and summarizing almost all the information he could find from every live stream, auction, or forum.
[But didn’t A-Ran say he would send a gift to Stone before!? @Stone, isn’t this worth showing off?]
[Please, big shot, share your experience, I really don’t know how to increase my Affection Level]
Once Stone’s Affection Level data was published, the number of followers on his forum account skyrocketed to a terrifying number, and everyone tried to learn from this big shot.
How did he manage to have such a high Affection Level with A-Ran?
Even without meeting him in person.
And Stone’s personality wasn’t the type to show off, so only after being repeatedly asked by many demons to share his experience did he slowly post the gifts he and A-Ran had exchanged.
It turned out that Lin Ran had sent Stone a pot of flowers from a Golden Spirit Fruit. It was said that smelling the flowers of a Golden Spirit Fruit was very beneficial for the health of adolescent demons.
And he attached a card: [Hope our little Stone grows up healthy – Your good friend, A-Ran ^-^]
[Stone: Then I sewed plushies of the flowers at each stage of their bloom and sent the photos to A-Ran. [Pictures]]
Before the demons in the forum could scream, Stone shared another important follow-up!
It turned out that Stone had actually made plushie versions of the flowers with fabric, perfectly recording the entire blooming process of the Golden Spirit Fruit flowers.
Sitting in a row on the windowsill of his cave were a row of fabric plushie flowers that would never wither!
Lin Ran was very surprised when he received Stone’s reply and the photos of the plushies.
He felt that they were very similar to the JELLCAT plant series plushies in the human world and were indeed very cute.
[Received your reply, I can’t believe these are handmade, they’re so beautiful! I’ll send you a different flower every year for your birthday? This way, you don’t have to make several plushies of the same flower. -A-Ran]
As everyone knew, the Lek Golems, who weren’t very intelligent to begin with, would gradually become silent and lose all emotional perception after reaching adulthood, until they turned into real stones.
And Stone, who received this system reply, actually became the first Lek Golem demon in history who didn’t show signs of regression after reaching adulthood!
[Stone: Because I have to wait until next year for A-Ran’s new flower. [Happy soybean face]]
Countless demons who followed Stone’s story in the forum were unexpectedly touched.
[Damn, I have to admit, if it’s the Lek Golem Clan, I really can’t be jealous, after all, they’re really skilled with their hands]
[And just by looking at the post, you can see that Stone is really different from most adult Lek Golems. His language skills are indeed much better and more fluent!]
[Yes, and his emotions are so rich, the pictures with just a few words almost made me cry…]
Although they were also envious that Stone had become a rare pen pal of NPC A-Ran, it inexplicably made countless demons who followed the post updates feel happy all day.
[How did “Demon World” create A-Ran? Looking at these replies, I’m completely in love TwT]
[When can I have an A-Ran of my own (holding head)]
The many demons in the Morson Building’s “Demon World” maintenance team couldn’t help but smile as they looked at this popular post that had quickly reached tens of thousands of replies.
“What should we do? If they knew that A-Ran wasn’t just an NPC but also existed in the real world, wouldn’t they be even happier!?”
Liliya, as a fox demon, cupped her cheeks and couldn’t help but imagine the scene.
“No, no, Liliya, don’t forget the serious rules! Haven’t you noticed? They’re already crazy about him as a game NPC. If they find out that A-Ran exists in real life, it’ll be over, A-Ran will be overwhelmed–”
Tao Shu waved his hands, trying to make Liliya realize that this was no joke.
“Oh, okay, I admit you’re right this time, Supervisor.”
Liliya imagined the scene and felt that A-Ran might be surrounded.
The more demons who knew, the less time she would have to interact with A-Ran, right!?
A-Ran had been very busy every time he came for his internship recently, often having various things to deal with and not staying at his workstation for long.
That little demon called Little Feather was becoming more and more proficient at working under Secretary Ser.
He had the look of a little emperor of part-time jobs.
“Ee!”
After delivering another batch of letters in front of Liliya, Little Feather impatiently squatted in front of Secretary Ser, waiting for him to transfer money to his salary card.
He was finally going to pay off his huge loan, so he could have a balance for A-Ran!
S University announced several new study abroad programs early this year, involving famous innovation credits.
Several popular overseas programs required interviews and assessments, and the funding levels were divided into A, B, and C.
The highest level, A, could reimburse all expenses, including airfare, requiring only some daily expenses.
Lin Ran looked at the posters on the bulletin board and was inexplicably drawn to an island teaching program.
He hadn’t applied for a visa or gone abroad before. He used to be busy going back to the village to help with work during every holiday. Now that things in the village were gradually getting on track, it seemed like he had the opportunity to go out and see the world.
But when it came to expenses, Lin Ran was still habitually conservative, it was better to save if he could.
But Little Feather could tell at a glance that A-Ran actually wanted to go!
Even if A-Ran didn’t get the A-level funding, Little Feather planned to give his salary to A-Ran so that he could go out and have fun~
So he had to work hard!
“You’re really motivated, I can give you a raise.”
Secretary Ser smiled slightly.
Little Feather had been training with Anvers recently and was indeed more proficient and faster at completing tasks, and he was even better at hiding and not being discovered.
“Ee!” A raise!
Little Feather was even happier now.
He didn’t expect there to be such a thing as a raise.
However, Lin Ran was still hesitating about when to start Little Feather’s Time Mirror instance.
Because the instance rating was actually Extremely Dangerous.
But if entering the instance could cure Little Feather’s scar in the future, the scar in reality might also be completely healed accordingly.
Letting the little guy go out without wearing an eye mask had always been one of Lin Ran’s wishes.
Moreover, after the version update was over, he would clearly be busy, so finishing the instance early was quite important.
Shao Mian, who hadn’t seen Lin Ran in the morning, saw him spacing out on a bench in the outdoor garden during his lunch break and slowly walked over.
Although he still didn’t understand how to increase that empty Affection Level, it didn’t prevent Shao Mian from wanting to be near Lin Ran.
Sometimes, Shao Mian felt that even without speaking, just watching the young human quietly spacing out seemed to be a kind of enjoyment.
And since he was at the headquarters building, Shao Mian “swooshed” and transformed back into a big lion, wagging his tail and looking at Lin Ran.
“Yuanbao?”
Lin Ran, unexpectedly seeing the big golden lion, couldn’t help but wave for Yuanbao to sit next to him.
Shao Mian padded over with his paws, sat down next to Lin Ran, and gently rubbed his head against the human’s cheek.
Lin Ran took out a comb from somewhere and started combing Yuanbao’s fur.
The golden mane became dazzling after being combed smoothly, and it felt very silky. Lin Ran couldn’t help but comb it more carefully.
So much so that he missed the big beast’s subconscious attempt to sniff him.
“I feel like your shedding has gotten better, have you noticed? Only this small tuft fell out this time, Yuanbao.”
It wasn’t until he looked up and unexpectedly met Yuanbao’s gaze that Lin Ran realized that Shao Mian had been staring at him.
The light golden beast pupils carried an innate sense of oppression, not to mention that as a top predator, this large beast could easily tear apart the prey beside him.
It formed a stark contrast with Lin Ran’s fragile and fair human wrist.
Lin Ran suddenly realized that he had almost forgotten this difference in physique, and even if he wanted to run away at such a close distance, it would be too late.
But after staring at each other for a few seconds, Shao Mian couldn’t help but lick Lin Ran’s wrist.
“…Yuanbao!?”
Lin Ran, startled, was so ticklish that he tapped his ear. After being hit, the big lion wagged his tail contentedly.
It made Lin Ran feel helpless and amused.
“Give me your paw.”
But Lin Ran’s words instantly made Shao Mian, who had had enough fun and wanted to transform back, pause and look at the smiling human in front of him.
What Lin Ran handed him was a feather clip of a different style. However, it was clearly modified to be more suitable for a big lion to wear. It would probably look elegant and handsome clipped in his mane.
“It just so happens that this feather fell from my wings. I didn’t expect that I would also lose feathers, so I made you another one using local materials.”
Recalling Yuanbao’s truthful words that morning after waiting for him for a whole day while holding the Feather of Truth, Lin Ran inexplicably felt that he could make him another one.
Because being jealous of a hair clip was a bit too much.
Unexpectedly, Shao Mian stared at it for a long time, but didn’t extend his paw obediently. He just subtly turned his head to the side, seemingly wanting Lin Ran to put it on for him personally.
Lin Ran: ?
“Why are you so demanding? You even want someone to put it on for you personally?”
Lin Ran was a little amused, but he still patiently found the most suitable spot in Shao Mian’s mane and clipped it on.
The size was quite fitting.
Mainly because Yuanbao’s beast form was indeed domineering and handsome, and any accessory looked good on him.
Unexpectedly, before Lin Ran could admire it with satisfaction, the big lion suddenly transformed back into human form.
“Wait… why did you transform back?”
Lin Ran’s eyes widened instantly, and he blushed and stepped back, wanting to stop Shao Mian, but inexplicably felt that his action of holding his hand to steady him seemed more and more natural.
He couldn’t even break free.
“Thinking about how to return the favor.”
Holding Lin Ran’s hand righteously, Shao Mian was seriously thinking about this matter.
Because in his long life, the few gifts he had received were all personally given to him by the human in front of him.
The key was that this morning, when Shao Mian secretly peeked at the strategies in the “Demon World” forum, he strangely discovered that his handicraft skills were probably completely inferior to that Lek Golem demon.
Making a row of those handmade plushies would be worse than hunting ten abyssal trolls…
This made a certain big lion subtly depressed for a whole morning. He couldn’t possibly pay that Lek Golem demon to customize them and then pretend that he made them himself, could he?
But Shao Mian also felt that if he was discovered afterwards, the consequences wouldn’t be very pleasant.
“Ee——!”
However, Little Feather, who had just finished his work and received his salary, was happily led by Secretary Ser to find his guardian, only to find that A-Ran was being held by the big lion and standing in the corridor.
The little guy immediately flew over and tightly held A-Ran’s other hand.
He was A-Ran’s best friend in the world!
Shao Mian’s gaze, which was hard to read, immediately fell on Little Feather. The little cub hesitantly trembled, but still mustered up the courage to stick closely to A-Ran’s side.
Secretary Ser, watching this scene from afar, inexplicably felt that the timing of bringing the little guy back wasn’t quite right.
