081. This Isn't Training a Dog, It's Love

  “Niuzi, go buy me a Dumb Monkey.”

  “On it, bro.”

  “Niuzi, book a hotel for me.”

  “Already done!”

  “Niuzi—”

  “Yes!”

  As he trudged through the shopping district, Caramel Snail was den with bags, panting heavily. Whenever Li Aozi called for him, he would reflexively respond before setting down the luggage and standing at attention.

  “Hmm…” Li Aozi rubbed his . “I haven’t thought of anythi. Just keep holding the bags.”

  “...(Very polite words).”

  Putting Caramel Snail through the wringer wasn’t some random whim or mean streak of Li Aozi’s. It was just an excuse to tinuously feed him experience points, making sure his level was boosted enough so that he wouldn’t be killed by stray explosions during battles.

  Holy, though, Tianhuan was one of the four major nations, and its shopping streets and malls were full of dazzling products. Now that he was here, Li Aozi didn’t bother to hide his Red Arrow nationality, freely spending its strong currency, Gallons, mostly on everyday ies, biological materials, and snacks.

  He had little i in luxury items. He used to smoke occasionally to relieve stress, but ever since he noticed Alexia would frown slightly at the smell of tobacco, he quit entirely.

  To show off his Red Arrow identity, he sed out his reizable "junkyard sger" trench coat for a white shirt, a dark blue waistcoat, and cross-shaped cufflinks, topped with a long, high-colred leather coat, subtly patterned with dark irises.

  Li Aozi tied a lock of hair near his right temple into a braid, seg it with a golden-brown cord. This gave him the appearance of a true Red Arrow elite.

  In trast to the loose and sloppy robes of Tianhuan, whio one particurly liked, the fashion of the Red Arrow Empire revolved around bd white, exuding uated elegahere was an innate pride and nobility in the way Red Arrow citizens carried themselves, as if being part of the empire naturally made them superior.

  In fact, the outfit Li Aozi bought from the mall, 【Days of Yore】, was Red Arrow’s “graduation attire”—something only avaible for purchase after achieving 100% pletion of the main storyline and reag the version’s level cap in that nation.

  【Outfit Name】: RAE-Days of Yore (Meion)

  【Quality】: Formal Wear

  【Description】: “Chasing trends? Why not be the cssic?”

  The most iic piece of Red Arrow’s Imperial Impressions series, Days of Yore, embodied the peak of the empire's glory days. The empire’s national flower, the dark blue Arrowheart Iris, adorhe coat. The high-colred, double-breasted design and padded shoulders refihe typically lean physique of Red Arrow men, sculpting them into the regal and elegant figures remi of a "vampire duke."

  Days of Yore focused on enhang a man’s sense of power and Alpha presehe corsets were a torment for women, but for men, the high-flex polymer fabric emphasized their muscle definition, lifting the chest and tapering the waist. Broad backs and developed pectorals were the epitome of mase charm. There was o worry about losing shape from overusing performanhang drugs—no "Oly belly" would ruin this perfect look.

  To atuate the ideal male physique, the pants fit snugly around muscur thighs, showg a healthy and powerful silhouette. The matg tall boots featured three leather straps, modeled after military footwear, emphasizing strength and dominance. We promise you: Red Arrow’s imperial impression won’t stoop to revealing the chest and tight buttocks like the Frost-Pted Republic’s fashion. In the empire, a man needs only his aura to quer women—and the reverse is equally true, as the women’s version bines military and aristocratic excess in a seamless blend.

  【Outfit Effect】:

  (Red Arrow Empire Citizens Only) Wearing this outfit allows 【Charisma】 to gee both ‘Intimidation’ and ‘Fear’ effects, making you appear ‘Arrogant’ to others.

  【Price】: 150 tokens

  ——————————

  In trast to the practical and ve “sger” outfit, Days of Yore expressed a bold personal style. It made it immediately clear that Li Aozi was from the Red Arrow Empire, even though his external features—fn skin tone and Frost-Pted facial characteristics—stood out from the usual blond-haired, blue-eyed Red Arrow citizens. But the moment people caught sight of his proud, hawk-like gray eyes, they fot about such trivial matters.

  Li Aozi’s vish spending of Gallons and his spicuous Red Arrow outfit were not just for show. One reason was to replenish the supplies for his biopool, but the other was to spread the word that he had arrived in Nuliang City.

  Retioween Tianhuan and Red Arrow were not good. The ret Huameida Archipego i and Tianhuan’s eic stagnation (exacerbated by Red Federation i rate hikes) had only straihe already icy diplomatic retions. The tension was temporarily shelved due to the Frost-Pted issue, but far from resolved.

  Moreover, Li Aozi was a globally known (and wanted) figure. It wasn’t long before rumors about his arrival spread like wildfire.

  Tianhuan's gover, which operated with a “maintain the facade, he reality” approach, was caught off guard by Li Aozi’s entry. But when they sidered arresting him, they ran into a problem:

  Li Aozi was a wanted criminal iB for crimes in the Frost-Pted Republic, but everyone khat his as in Granat had been carried out under orders from powerful figures.

  Besides, after Li Aozi killed the Granat Duke a the Frost-Pted air force a crushi, his bat strength was widely reized as being near-Gamma rank. The officials in Nuliang City weighed their options and realized that, aside from having faster dive speeds, Tianhuan’s air force didn’t really pare to Frost-Pted’s vulture fighters.

  After much deliberation, the Nuliang City gover decided to take a hands-off approach. They didn't bother monit a near-Gamma rank powerhouse from an unfriendly nation, nor did they even attempt to follow him.

  Not to mention, even if they could traeone of that caliber, if anythio happen, it would likely result in a multi-Gamma ranked brawl that would level the ey.

  Given the destru he caused in Granat, they figured the city wouldn't survive either.

  Fet it—why bother? We make less in a month than he spends in a day. Not worth the trouble.

  While the Nuliang City gover resighemselves to "," the city’s popuce was abuzz.

  “Hey, hey, that’s Li Aozi, isn’t it…”

  Caramel Snail clearly noticed how the crowd parted around Li Aozi, whispering and pointing as they passed.

  “He’s a on-a-millennium beauty. Gender doesn’t even matter against that kind of charisma.”

  “I never believed Frost-Pted’s warrant, and now that I’ve seen Li Aozi in person, I believe it even less.”

  “Holy, even if he did it a crime, he should be fiven.”

  “Who’s that ugly guy o him? No css, no looks. I’d make a better attendant than him.”

  Caramel Snail felt a bck cloud looming over his head. As a social ay sufferer, he hated being the ter of attention. However, when he realized that all the focus was on Li Aozi and people were debating over who would make a better attendant, he felt a strange disfort.

  He didn’t want to share Li Aozi with anyone else. He even silently deleted the draft post he had written for the forums.

  Caramel Snail’s tiny thoughts didn’t escape Li Aozi’s notice. He en book, wearing his emotions on his face—Li Aozi would never lose at painst him.

  【Good. He’s starting to develop dependence, and his sense of identity is f. Time to begin the mental ditioning.】

  After wandering around with Niuzi for half an afternoon, Li Aozi kept an eye on the forums. Soon enough, local pyers caught wind of his arrival in Tianhuan.

  With his objective partially achieved, Li Aozi found a martial hall ahe exhausted, bag-den Caramel Snail with the instructor, tossing in a few hundred Gallons as tuition and tips.

  Li Aozi only had one request for the instructor’s training:

  “Once his qi is awakened, beat him senseless.”

  “No problem!” The instructor spped his muscled chest in assurance. “I guarantee he won’t be able to get out of bed tomorrow!”

  “Not that kind of thing!” Caramel Snail, who had spent the whole afternoon trailing after Li Aozi, was on the verge of despair.

  Shopping with Li Aozi was like shopping with a ig through everything, trying things on but buying nothing, stopping at every store. His legs were sore from the endless walking. This was a game, yet he felt inexplicably exhausted.

  Now, Li Aozi was handing him off to some muscle-bound brute who said such predatory things—it made Caramel Snail shudder. He quickly grabbed onto Li Aozi’s leg, wailing, “Aozi bro, you ’t be this heartless! I’ve been y carrier all afternoon, don’t do this to me—I’ll die!”

  “So you think I haven’t done enough for you?”

  “At least don’t treat me like a dog!”

  Li Aozi’s expression shifted, his lips pulling into a slight frown as a hint of disappoi glimmered in his eyes. Almost unsciously, he repeated a line from Abyss:

  “Carrying bags, shopping, training—you’ve misuood. I’m doing all this to make you better, because I care.”

  Caramel Snail froze. Li Aozi, emanating both arrogand powerful charisma, crossed his arms and turned his gaze away, looking world-weary.

  “You’re dumb, ued, unskilled, and born into nothing—everyoes you—but I don’t.”

  Li Aozi’s voice carried a note of self-deprecation:

  “I thought that by showing you a world you’d never seen—the bustling marketpce, the intoxig pleasures of capitalism—by letting you walk beside me, a Red Arrow citizen, I’d give you a taste of being treated like someone important. A street punk like you would never have the ce to experience such things. I thought that after seeing all this, you’d uand my iions and awaken your ambition.”

  …Eh?

  Caramel Snail remained frozen in pce.

  The game was so immersive, he had fotten he was just a pyer inhabiting the body of ‘Saga Ki.’

  Is this really how Li Aozi viewed ‘Saga Ki?’

  Did he really believe he had talent and pitied him? Is that why he was so passionate and encing, keeping him close?

  Caramel Snail suddenly uood that he hadn’t fully embraced the role of ‘Saga Ki’—he hadn’t been pying his character right, so he hadn’t grasped Li Aozi’s i.

  No wohe developers implemented a 【Disguise Mode】—it was the only way for pyers to truly live in the bodies of their avatars and experiehe game as if they were alive.

  ‘What would Saga Ki think? He definitely wouldn’t want to give up this opportunity.’

  “It seems I was too er all,” Li Aozi shook his head, his eyes filled with both disappoi a.

  Caramel Snail could faintly hear a sigh:

  ‘I thought the rats in the sewers would dream of climbing to the moon, but it seems I was wrong.’

  Casually, Li Aozi told the instructor:

  “It seems this child isn’t willing to fight—just teach him some basic moves.”

  “No problem.”

  He g Caramel Snail, saying indifferently:

  “This is it. If we’re fated to meet again, we’ll see.”

  With a wave of his hand, Li Aozi used gravity to gather up all his bags and began to walk away.

  “Wait!”

  Caramel Snail called out.

  It wasn’t just Saga Ki… This was his ce—his rare ce to stand on the same stage as those elite, untouchable professional pyers.

  He didn’t want to give it up.

  He ched his fists, staring resolutely at the instructor:

  “Torture me however you want—bring it on.”

  Li Aozi gnced sideways at him, a subtle nod of encement.

  【‘Li Aozi’s favorability +10】

  AnnouA big thank you to [Billy Fauve] for joining my Patreon! Your support means a lot to me.

  FAL