Inside Bing Shi's void room...

In the 'cozy atmosphere' of her void room, Bing Shi had no inkling of the upcoming burden that the system headquarters were about to place on her shoulders. She plopped down on the ground and beamed with joy, gesturing for her companion, Kuro, to come over and join her.

Kuro's body contorted and writhed before it transformed into a little, deadly white serpent. It slithered over and snuggled up to Bing Shi, wrapping itself up in a tight coil, its cold scales brushing against her skin like a chilling breeze.

[Congratulations, Host. You have accumulated 10,000 points.]

"It's all thanks to you. We make a good team," Bing Shi said, patting Kuro's head.

"Do you think I could ask your higher-ups for a reward? I need my phone and a hard disk from my world. It would be beneficial for my journey," she asked.

'I always ask for something after a job well done. With solid reasoning, it'll be harder for others to refuse my request.'

[I can ask for you.]

"Thank you, please do," Bing Shi replied.

After Kuro left, Bing Shi stretched out on the floor and closed her eyes; an image of a man appeared in her mind.

'I still think of you.'

'Every day, I think of you and wonder where you are, what you're doing, and if you're happy.'

It had been more than two years since she had last seen him, but the memories of their time together were still vivid in her mind.

'If you're still out there, I hope you've forgotten about me.'

'It's better this way. At least one of us can be spared the agony of the past.'

 · · ────────── · ⊱❈⊰· ────────── · ·

[Host, I'm back. They agreed. However, it takes lots of effort to obtain them, and it's hard to make them appear in every world. In exchange, you won't be able to learn any self-improvement skills.]

Bing Shi was overjoyed to hear that they had agreed to her request, but the condition they presented made her hesitate.

["What skills? Does it take long to learn them?"]

[You get to choose skills to learn after every successful mission.]

[Art of seduction] 

[Art of Cooking]

[Art of words]

[Business]

[Martial arts]

[Dancing]

[Painting]

[Horse riding]

[Hacking]

.

.

.

.

[ The length of time varies depending on the difficulty and rank of the skill, ranging from 5 to 500 years. You won't be able to leave the training space until you reach a certain level of proficiency.]

["Can I negotiate?"]

Bing Shi couldn't help but feel conflicted about the sacrifice she was making. The idea of giving up the opportunity to learn such valuable skills for just a phone and a hard disk seemed like a huge price to pay.

[Those items are considered bugs. They are not a part of the worlds you are going to visit.]

'5 to 500 years for geniuses—how long would it take me? Thousand years?'

'Locked in a room without any contact with the outside world for centuries?'

'My state is not in such a good shape to go through something like that.'

'I don't want to get attached to teachers in the dojo.'

Bing Shi couldn't help but wonder if spending years mastering skills like cooking and seduction would even help her achieve her goals faster. 

["Call me stupid or naive, but I'm going to exchange it."]

Despite the overwhelming uncertainty and fear that engulfed her, she managed to maintain a strong sense of confidence in her own skills.

[Yes, Host.] said Kuro and disappeared.

'Am I too full of myself?'

'But... It's not like I can't survive the missions without mastering all these skills. Right?'

'Who am I kidding?' she thought to herself, her doubts and fears melting away.

'I don't really care if I survive. What I want most right now is to hear his voice again, to be reminded that he wasn't just a figment of my imagination and that a man like him really existed.'

She was afraid that if she didn't hold onto the memory of Xuan Mu tightly, it would slip away from her like a dream. 'Time. What a scary thing for something that is not supposed to exist.' 

"Am I crazy?" she whispered to herself, feeling overwhelmed by her own thoughts.

"Yes, I am," she finally admitted. Instead of fixating on her long-term goals and big dreams, she focused on obtaining the little things that brought her joy first.