Chương 24: New Quest, Side Quests (2)

"P-Please stop with the princess thing! I'm no princess, you know?!"

Melody hid her face behind her hands, squirming in agony as she felt embarrassed. After a while, she managed to calm down a little bit while taking several deep breaths. She then walked forward, up to just in front of Quinlan, and replied.

"Yes, of course. If you are in need of my help, then I wouldn't hesitate to offer!"

She then thrust her hand forward, waiting for a handshake. Yinuo saw this and didn't let her hand stay lonely for long. However, Yinuo really had no idea what Quinlan's normal action would be. Instead, with great difficulty, she knelt down on one knee, pulling Melody's hand forward and kissing the back of it, like a knight showing respect to his queen.

"...!"

Melody's face became blank for a moment before turning beet red, enough that steam was coming out of the top of her head. Her steps faltered as she fell back, leaning against the chairman's table and sliding down until her legs were forming a W-shape on the cold, hard floor.

"Uuuuuuu..."

Seeing her get so flustered by a mere kiss on the back of her hand, Yinuo started to doubt if her actions did match what Quinlan would've done. She had no basis other than imagining his personality from his straight-to-the-point way of talking, after all. Furthermore, her personal bias greatly affects her actions too.

After she returned to the wheelchair, Yinuo stared at the chairman, who fainted with a smile on his face, and Yinuo, whose eyes were turning into spirals, completely out of sorts. The nurse became busy all of a sudden, but Yinuo had no intention of helping. After all, he's also a patient, just like the current father-daughter pair.

---

The next day, Yinuo was finally able to move without a wheelchair. That afternoon, Melody came to his private room, which was still the same one but with the furnishings touched up after getting destroyed once.

"Quinlan, are you ready to head out?"

Melody entered without knocking and ended up stopping in her steps right at the door. Yinuo was currently changing from the hospital robe into a more casual outfit prepared for him by the doctor.

"Oh, Melody," Yinuo asked, turning to face her.

However, at the moment, Yinuo was only in underwear. "Quinlan's" body was exposed almost completely, only hiding the most important parts. Melody, upon seeing this, got her soul extracted from her and stood awkwardly by the door.

"...? Are you coming in? Please wait a bit, since I'm having trouble changing clothes."

One flaw that Yinuo had was that her senses were far too attuned to cultivators in the immortal realm. To them, seeing other people's naked bodies wasn't really worth fussing over. Thus, even though Yinuo was currently half-naked, she didn't mind Melody looking at all.

Seeing that she was standing still, not responding, with eyes opened wide, Yinuo decided to just ignore her for a moment and change clothes faster. After putting on a pair of black pants, matched with a white shirt, and a black and red jacket on top, he was done.

The trouble she was having before was actually the zippers, since she hadn't seen one before. After some trial and error, she finally managed to zip it close and complete her wardrobe change.

"Done. Let's go," Yinuo asked, walking beside Melody.

However, even after he went out of the door, she still looked so out of sorts, with her eyes looking dreamy. Worried, Yinuo pulled her shoulder and asked, "Melody, are you alright?"

"Eh...? Ah! Y-Yes!!! Wait, NO!"

Her expression kept changing, making Yinuo raise their brows in wonder. After saying that she was not ready yet, Melody ran somewhere and only returned a few minutes later. Seeing that she looked refreshed, she must've gone to get refreshments, Yinuo guessed. If her cultivation level was a realm higher, she might be able to notice if someone changed their undies after they got "messed up."

With Melody leading the way, the two started to walk along the corridors and pathways, going for the hangar bay where Quinlan's Doppel was stored. When Yinuo saw it, at first she was shocked.

'A Giant Metal Golem!' She thought, almost mistaking the Doppel for one of the toughest spiritual beasts there were in the wild. "But it's a wreck."

Looking at it, even Yinuo could guess what sort of carnage the Doppel went through. Most parts of it were melted, making it a sorry sight.

"Right... But this one did its best to protect you, even at its last legs." Melody smiled as if reminiscing about a beautiful old memory as she touched the melted frame of the machine.

Technically, if Quinlan were exposed to the extreme heat of the explosion and the deadly radiation right after, he wouldn't be able to survive. Fortunately, the frame of his Doppel took on the brunt of the explosion, absorbing most of it and even managing to disperse small amounts of radiation away from the cockpit. Up until its last two cores died, it did its best to protect Quinlan's body until the end.

"I see..." Yinuo sighed, feeling moved.

She had a few spiritual beast pets in the past, and they all gave their lives to protect her after she started her mindless quest for revenge. Just like the lump of metal before her, those pets did their best to protect her, their master, too.

"Anyway, let's get to work, shall we?" Melody asked, turning to the other end of the room. There, about six unmoving metal boxes were arranged in a line. "Let's activate the bots first."

"Sorry for the trouble, and thanks for your help," Yinuo said, smiling wryly.

Suddenly, two blue windows appeared before her. Yinuo glanced at them, reading the contents quickly, before groaning as if having bitten a bitter bug.

[Side Quest: Save Melody]

[Success Rewards: Switch Card (10 min) x1]

[Failure Reward: None]

[Side Quest: Repair Quinlan's Doppel]

[Success Rewards: Qi Gathering Pill x1]

[Failure Reward: None]

"Melody's life is in danger?" Yinuo felt another headache coming. "What sort of [peaceful] world is this, you damn system!"