29: Chapter 29 This boy must not be offended.

Faced with the question of whether to stay or leave posed by Lin Muyang, Lilia and Elabess glanced at each other, their eyes reflecting different thoughts.

"I'm not going back!" Lilia raised her chin almost immediately, speaking with a hint of the arrogance unique to an Elf Princess, as if returning was something terrifying. "Back in the forest, those stuffy elders lock me in a treehouse. I'm not allowed to go here, I can't touch that... they say as a princess, I must be dignified and steady, and can't just show my face in public. It's absolutely boring to death!"

"That miserable?" Lin Muyang was somewhat surprised. He had originally thought an Elf Princess's life would be free and easy, frolicking through the vast forests.

"Yes!" Lilia grumbled angrily, her mood—which had been pleasant due to the delicious food—now seemingly clouded over. "They always say the outside world is dangerous, worried something will happen to me... actually, they just want to keep me like a pet."

Lin Muyang more or less understood. This was likely the Elf Race imposing many restrictions out of a desire to protect the royal bloodline. Seeing Lilia's determined "I'd rather die than go back" expression, he nodded. "Alright, since you don't want to go back, then just stay here." Having one more person was just a matter of an extra pair of chopsticks, and with her around, he'd have a powerful helper for leveling up tomorrow.

He turned his gaze toward Elabess, who was sitting quietly to the side. "Elabess, what about you?"

A flash of struggle crossed Elabess's pale purple eyes. She gently set down the empty milk carton, her tone carrying a bit of helplessness and a sense of responsibility. "Although the environment of the Dark Abyss is suffocating and I desperately do not want to return to that place of despair... I must go back once. My sisters are still waiting bitterly in the darkness. I must tell them this good news, let them know that hope has not completely vanished, that I have found a way to leave, and found the key that might save our race." As she spoke, her gaze involuntarily fell upon Lin Muyang, her eyes complex, mixing gratitude, expectation, and a faint, hard-to-detect plea.

Considering she carried the hopes of her entire tribe, Lin Muyang understood her feelings. "Mm, then go back for a trip. Explain things clearly so they can be at peace," he said gently.

"Thank you, Master. It's just to deliver the news; I will be back very soon~" Upon hearing this, a bright smile blossomed on Elabess's face. She stood up and bowed slightly to Lin Muyang. Her seductive eyes swept over him, and even without intent, she naturally exuded a sense of allure. She picked up another carton of milk, finished it quickly, and then her figure began to grow blurry and transparent under the guidance of Lin Muyang's will, finally vanishing as if merging into the air, returning to that home shrouded in darkness and storms at the corner of an otherworldly dimension.

For the time being, only Lin Muyang and Lilia remained in the room. Lilia finally finished the last piece of rabbit meat with satisfaction, contentedly patting her belly—which showed no change at all—and was then urged by Lin Muyang to go take a shower to wash away the exhaustion from the battle and travel.

Lin Muyang led her to the bathroom, patiently teaching her how to use the showerhead to adjust the hot and cold water, how to press the body wash, and which one was the shampoo. The Elf Maiden was full of curiosity about everything, touching here and looking there, as if she wasn't learning how to bathe but exploring some novel magical device.

After settling Lilia, Lin Muyang returned to the living room, sat down on the soft sofa, and began to quietly ponder the Aura skills he currently possessed. His consciousness sank into that list of Auras that only he could see, where Auras with various effects floated like stars.

"The main task tomorrow is to power-level; I can activate three Auras simultaneously now," he calculated. "The [Divine Concealment Aura] is a must; it can save a lot of unnecessary trouble. Tenfold attack is also core to ensure mob-clearing efficiency... then the third slot..." His gaze drifted over the list, finally locking onto an Aura emitting a gentle light of experience—'[Experience Surge]'!

While grinding the Dungeon today, because the experience required for levels 1-10 was low and the Dungeon itself had a level cap, activating this Aura would have been a pure waste. Before level 5, he could only open one Aura, so slots were tight; after level 5, to make money quickly, he prioritized Auras that increased mob-clearing speed. But the situation was different now. Both he and Lilia had reached level 10. Starting from level 10, the experience required to level up grew exponentially. Ordinary Class Transferees often needed a month or two to reach level 20. But with a tenfold experience bonus plus high-efficiency grinding speed, Lin Muyang was confident he could charge straight to the level 20 mark in a single day tomorrow! What a terrifying leveling speed that would be!

Just as he finished planning tomorrow's course of action, the sound of water in the bathroom stopped. Not long after, Lilia's somewhat anxious shout came from inside: "Lin Muyang! This Princess forgot to bring her bracelet in!"

Lin Muyang smiled helplessly, got up, walked to the bathroom door, and knocked. The door opened a crack, and an arm—fair to the point of being translucent and carrying misty steam—reached out, with small water droplets still clinging to it. Lin Muyang gently placed the exquisitely styled princess bracelet onto her wet palm. This girl kept all her changes of clothes in the storage space attached to the bracelet. When Lin Muyang had helped her retrieve equipment before, he had caught an accidental glimpse of the contents... yeah, the clothing styles were indeed very fitting for her identity as a teenage Elf Princess.

A while later, the bathroom door opened fully. A refreshed Lilia came running out with a skip in her step. She had changed into a silk, snow-white nightgown with a hem that reached just to her knees, revealing her slender, straight calves. Her wet silver hair was draped over her shoulders, with the tips still dripping water, quickly forming a small puddle beneath her feet. She held a hairdryer high in her hand, her face full of excitement and curiosity: "Human! You said before that using this magical thing can dry hair very quickly, right? Quick, teach me!"

Lin Muyang looked at her dripping long hair and the puddle on the floor, shaking his head. He raised his hand, and with a slight thought, a [Quick Dry] Aura—specifically for handling daily chores—quietly activated. An invisible ripple swept over Lilia's entire body and the floor around her. In the next second, a miracle occurred—her silver-bright long hair instantly became fluffy and dry, as if it had been meticulously groomed by sunlight and a breeze. Even the puddle on the floor vanished without a trace, and the floor returned to being clean and dry.

“???” Lilia stood there stunned, still holding the hairdryer. She touched her dry, smooth hair, then looked down at the dry floor, her small face written with disbelief and a little bit of disappointment. She had been full of anticipation to experience this otherworldly "magical tool," but Lin Muyang had settled it just by raising his hand?

"Never mind, never mind!" Lilia's attention was quickly diverted. She had a cheerful personality and didn't dwell on it; after all, there were still many things in this world that felt novel to her. She put down the hairdryer, and her gaze was immediately drawn to the huge LCD TV screen on the living room wall. "Human! I want to watch that! That big glowing square!" She extended a slender jade finger, pointing at the TV screen, her emerald eyes flashing with longing.

"That's a television, used to play programs and videos." Lin Muyang picked up the remote, helped her turn on the TV, and then briefly taught her how to use the remote to switch channels and adjust the volume. Lilia learned quickly, mastering the knack in no time.

She excitedly clutched the remote and hopped onto Lin Muyang's large, soft bed like a nimble little deer. Kneeling at the foot of the bed and leaning forward slightly, she faced the flickering screen with full concentration and began to press the remote incessantly. Different channel images switched rapidly—news, dramas, cartoons, documentaries... the kaleidoscopic images and sounds left her dazzled, and she let out exclamations from time to time.

Lin Muyang looked at her focused profile. The snow-white nightgown clung to her body, outlining youthful yet already budding graceful curves, appearing even more moving in the soft depression of the bed. He shifted his gaze unnaturally, feeling his throat go a bit dry, secretly muttering to himself, "Does this girl have any self-awareness at all... this is testing a man's self-control way too much, isn't it?"

Just as he felt somewhat awkward and didn't know where to look, Elabess's whisper, soft and pleasant, sounded in his mind through telepathy: "Master, I have delivered the news to my clansmen. They are all very excited and see hope. May I return now?"

"Of course, come back." Lin Muyang responded immediately, feeling a sense of relief. Elabess's return would not only alleviate the current slightly ambiguous atmosphere but, more importantly, her class abilities as a Shadow Warlock would play an indispensable role in the upcoming team combat and leveling process. Imagine her ability to manipulate shadows, weaken enemies, and perhaps provide crowd control, combined with Lilia's violent archery and his own Aura support—their efficiency would surely increase by another level!

Thus, with a thought, Lin Muyang guided the summoning contract. The space within the room rippled slightly, and the purple-haired, purple-eyed Succubus Maiden Elabess transitioned from illusory to solid, quietly appearing in the living room. She saw Lilia kneeling on the bed watching TV, then looked at Lin Muyang, a gentle and knowing smile appearing on her face.

This night, for Lin Muyang, was destined to be spent amidst a kind of "sweet trouble" and anticipation for high-efficiency leveling tomorrow.

However, at the same time, the night in Zhongnan City was not peaceful.

In the city's central district, on the top floor of a magnificent building marking the territory of the "Tianqi Tower" faction. In a luxuriously decorated office with a wide view, a middle-aged man with a steady Aura and an air of natural authority stood before a massive floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the brilliantly lit city nightscape below. He was Shen Yanshan, one of the top ten powerhouses in Zhongnan City, an S-rank professional whose level had long surpassed 100. He was also the Tower Master of the massive faction "Tianqi Tower," the direct superior of the middle-aged man Sun Wenyuan from before, and he held another identity—the father of the school beauty Shen Muyao.

At this moment, he held two briefings in his hand that had been gathered from across the city today. One was a rumor about a "mysterious professional capable of invisibility who appeared today, suspected of efficiently soloing Bronze and silver-level dungeons"; the other was the even more bizarre and attention-grabbing incident report of a "mysterious powerhouse appearing in Zhongnan City with the eerie ability to cause 'instant baldness,' suspected to be related to the rookie Summoner Lin Muyang."

Shen Yanshan's deep gaze swept over the text on the reports, his brow furrowing slightly. He took the first matter very seriously and had already issued an order: "Investigate! Focus on screening all rookies from First High School who completed their class transition today and are Thieves, Assassins, or possess any invisibility or stealth-type skills. Once their identity is confirmed, no matter the cost, we must recruit them into our Tianqi Tower for focused cultivation!" A talent with such strong solo-clearing ability and concealment was of immeasurable value, whether for the guild's development or certain special operations in the future.

Unfortunately, he would never have imagined that his investigation direction was wrong from the very start. The "invisible one" who triggered the rumors wasn't a Thief or Assassin at all, but a Summoner running a Divine Concealment Aura.

As for the second report, that absurd "baldness" incident made even a well-traveled powerhouse like Shen Yanshan feel a hint of trepidation. This kind of curse ability, which completely defied common sense and was almost rule-based, was simply unheard of and impossible to guard against. Combining the descriptions of eyewitnesses and reports from Guan Junlong and others, he arrived at a deduction similar to that of Liu Yueyao and Hong Wuliang: "This eerie phenomenon is very likely the work of a Dao Protector or family force behind that rookie Summoner named Lin Muyang, acting in the shadows to protect him, intended to deter anyone attempting to harm him."

Thinking of this, Shen Yanshan's expression became even more solemn. He turned around and said in a low voice to the secretary standing respectfully to the side: "Pass my word down. Warn all members in the tower, especially those who usually act arrogantly and recklessly, to restrain themselves recently! Do not provoke that rookie named Lin Muyang, and do not attempt to probe the secrets behind him. This boy and the forces that may exist behind him must never be offended!"

Thus, while the party involved, Lin Muyang, was completely unaware, he and his seemingly useless baldness Aura had actually entered the sights of many big shots in Zhongnan City in an extremely bizarre way, and had been labeled as having a "mysterious background" and being "unprovokable." These big shots were full of worry, reminding each other for fear of accidentally offending that "mysterious powerhouse" who wielded the "baldness curse."

And they could never have imagined that Lin Muyang, the culprit who triggered city-wide high-level alertness and discussion, was currently staying safely in his small home. On his left was the Elf Princess shouting at the TV screen, and on his right was the just-returned pure Succubus preparing to use shadow magic to escort him on tomorrow's leveling journey. Far from being nervous, he was happily planning how to make good use of this rare protective umbrella to increase his strength as quickly as possible, calculating which higher-level area he should go to tomorrow to maximize the effect of the tenfold experience Aura.