180: Chapter 180 Phase Shift and the Crimson Prairie

"Lu... Lu Yuan..."

Xia Li woke up abruptly from a nightmare, sitting up in bed drenched in a cold sweat.

In the dream, she had appeared in a dead, silent city without a single soul.

No matter how frantically she ran or shouted, she couldn't find any sign of Lu Yuan.

That sense of despair from being completely abandoned had nearly overwhelmed her.

She gasped for air, her eyes filled with a rare sense of panic and helplessness as she looked around.

In the very next second.

There was a "click."

The bedroom door was pushed open from the outside.

Lu Yuan walked in wearing loose casual clothes, carrying a cup of warm milk in his hand.

The moment she saw that familiar figure, Xia Li's tensed nerves instantly snapped.

Tears welled up uncontrollably, completely blurring her vision.

Without even putting on shoes, she jumped off the bed barefoot.

Like a frightened little animal, she lunged forward and threw her arms tightly around Lu Yuan.

Her long legs wrapped tightly around Lu Yuan's waist, hanging onto him smoothly.

However.

The instant her skin pressed against Lu Yuan's chest.

Deep within her soul, a piercing sensation of being torn apart suddenly convulsed.

It was that damned Divine Mark!

It was rejecting the aura of another man!

Xia Li trembled violently from the pain, her face turning pale instantly as she sucked in a cold breath.

But she didn't let go.

She bit her pale lower lip hard, enduring the agonizing pain that felt like it was tearing her soul apart, and instead hugged Lu Yuan even tighter.

Even if she died of pain, she would absolutely never let go of this man again!

"Hey, hey, hey! The milk is going to spill!"

Lu Yuan was knocked back half a step by her impact and hurried to steady the cup in his hand.

He keenly sensed the violent trembling of the woman in his arms and her body temperature, which had turned icy in an instant.

Seeing Xia Li's stubborn expression as she bit her lip with tears still in her eyes, a flash of heartache crossed Lu Yuan's eyes.

He knew she must be suffering from the Divine Mark's torment again.

He freed one hand and gently patted her smooth back.

"Be good, get down quickly!"

"You're going to faint from the pain again!"

Lu Yuan held her steadily with one hand, his tone full of concern. "It'll be a problem if you faint again!"

"Including the last time, you've slept for five whole days and nights."

Hearing this.

Xia Li endured the lingering pain deep in her soul and looked up from Lu Yuan's embrace, her beautiful face filled with surprise.

"Huh?!"

"I... I slept for that long?"

She only remembered that her entire body felt like it was splitting apart at the time, and then she had completely lost consciousness.

"Alright, stop hanging on me and get down."

"Are you hungry?"

Lu Yuan patted her back. "Come on, let's go eat. I just finished making it."

Xia Li finally recovered her senses, hopped off him with a flushed face, and obediently followed Lu Yuan out of the bedroom.

However.

When she stepped out of the bedroom door and saw the scene before her.

Xia Li froze on the spot instantly.

She even rubbed her eyes hard, seriously doubting if she had even woken up yet or if she was still in a dream.

How was this the interior of a tank?

She knew what Lu Yuan's original small space looked like.

But what met her eyes was a three-story luxury villa with an outrageously large area!

Above her was a massive, glittering crystal chandelier, and beneath her feet was a soft, comfortable animal skin rug.

What she found even more incredible was.

Looking out through the huge panoramic floor-to-ceiling window in the first-floor hall, there was actually a golden beach with bright sunshine and coconut tree shadows!

Clear seawater lapped against the sand, and she could even hear the cries of seagulls.

"Where... where are we?"

Xia Li opened her rosy mouth wide, pointing at the beach outside the window in disbelief.

"This... this is the ocean?!"

In this Wasteland World full of yellow sand, radiation, and mutated monsters, how could there be such a perfect paradise on earth?

Lu Yuan walked to the large solid wood dining table with the milk and explained casually:

"Still inside my tank."

"This is the upgraded Dimensional Villa space. As for the beach outside, it's a holographic environment simulation system to trick the eyes."

"If you don't like the beach, I can have Noah change it to snowy mountains or a primeval forest for you."

After hearing Lu Yuan's explanation, Xia Li felt completely out of sorts.

She looked at the table full of steaming, fragrant high-end steak and seafood chowder.

Then she thought back to when she led the White Hunt Guild; she could only sleep in cold, hard armored vehicles every day and gnaw on dry compressed biscuits.

A strong sense of contrast surged in her heart.

Xia Li stepped quickly to Lu Yuan's side, raised her small pink fist, and unceremoniously thumped Lu Yuan's chest.

"You stupid straight man!"

Xia Li glared at him huffily, but her beautiful eyes were full of playful annoyance.

"When did you upgrade such a nice dimensional space!"

"Hmph! You actually didn't bring me up sooner!"

"You made me eat sand behind your back every day outside!"

Lu Yuan grabbed her mischievous little hand and pushed her into a dining chair.

"Bring you in so you can lust after my body?!"

"Stop talking nonsense and eat your food."

Lu Yuan gave an arrogant snort. "I used a lot of top-tier ingredients to make this. If you don't finish it, I'll throw you back out to keep eating sand."

Seeing his duplicitous manner, Xia Li felt as sweet inside as if she had drunk honey.

She picked up her knife and fork, elegantly yet quickly devouring the delicious food on her plate, a curve lingering at the corners of her mouth.

Half an hour later.

Having eaten and drunk her fill, Xia Li leaned back in her chair contentedly, silently wiping her mouth.

"Here."

Lu Yuan suddenly tossed over a light orb emitting a dazzling purple-gold glow, as if he were throwing away trash.

Xia Li scrambled to catch the light orb, her face full of confusion.

"What is this?"

As her fingertips touched it, the light orb's attribute panel instantly popped up before her eyes.

[Legendary Skill Book: Phase Shift]

[Skill Effect: The user can bind a designated vehicle.]

[Once activated, no matter where you are or whether you are in combat, you can ignore distance and teleport back inside the bound vehicle.]

[Cooldown: 24 hours.]

The moment she read the skill description.

Xia Li sucked in a cold breath in shock and stared blankly at Lu Yuan.

This was simply the most heaven-defying life-saving skill in the wasteland!

As long as she was bound to this heavy tank with invincible defense, it was equivalent to having an extra life that could retreat to the Safe Zone at any time.

"What? You're picky? You don't want it?"

Lu Yuan leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow at her stunned expression.

"Use it quickly, then bind it to this Red Wolf Tank."

"In the future, if you encounter monsters you can't beat or opponents you can't handle outside."

Lu Yuan's tone was domineering and brooked no argument.

"Just teleport away and come back to stay in the tank."

"Don't go fighting head-on like an idiot anymore. I don't want to empty my family fortunes to save you for the Nth time."

Listening to Lu Yuan's words, which seemed dismissive on the surface but were actually protective to the extreme.

Xia Li's eyes turned red again.

She knew Lu Yuan was afraid her Divine Mark would flare up again, afraid she would encounter dangers she couldn't withstand.

This jerk always used the harshest tone to do the most heartwarming things.

Deeply moved, Xia Li suddenly stood up.

With a flushed face, she closed her eyes and puckered her moist red lips, leaning directly toward Lu Yuan's cheek.

Just as those beautiful lips were about to press against Lu Yuan's face.

Slap.

Lu Yuan's large palm reached out and pressed directly against Xia Li's fair forehead.

He forcibly pushed her away to an arm's length.

"Stop!"

Lu Yuan looked at her warily.

"You stupid woman, do you want to faint again?"

With her head being held back, Xia Li opened her eyes and glared in shame and anger at this mood-killing straight man.

"You...!"

She simply gave up struggling, tilted her snow-white chin slightly, and spoke with a rare mix of cuteness and arrogance.

"Fine!"

"Then... you owe me!"

"You owe me another one!"

"When I get rid of this broken Divine Mark, you'll have to pay me back with interest!"

Just as this ambiguous and funny atmosphere was about to heat up.

The communication interface of Lu Yuan's system suddenly flashed with an urgent light.

Beep, beep, beep!

Lin Zihao's voice came through the communicator, carrying a hint of surprise and gravity.

"Boss!"

"The terrain and landscape ahead have undergone a violent mutation!"

"It looks like we're leaving the wasteland and entering a... red grassland we've never seen before!"