Chapter 65: You Saved Me, So Now I Belong to You

Only he himself knew just how excited he was at this very moment!

His heart was pounding so fast it felt as if it might leap right out of his chest.

From the instant he’d entered this cave, he had sensed a faint familiarity. But he had simply assumed it was his longing and yearning playing tricks on him, making him imagine he’d caught a whiff of Yu Yan’s scent—after all, they had spent two years and three months together, entwined in forests and fields, at home and beyond, countless times.

He could recognize Yu Yan’s scent with his eyes closed.

Even if it was merely a place she’d stayed in, as long as it was an enclosed space where the air didn’t circulate easily, he could still detect her unique fragrance!

It was an indescribably pleasant aroma, one that made Lin Zhe feel life had meaning only when he was holding her, breathing in that scent. Only then would his nights be free of endless insomnia; only then could he sleep deeply and peacefully.

But Lin Zhe couldn’t bring himself to believe he could be that lucky.

Until he found the strap inside the cave—on their anniversary, he had spent several thousand yuan to buy a pair of matching smart wristbands. Yu Yan had one, he had the other. His was deep blue, now securely fastened around his wrist.

Yu Yan’s was her favorite champagne color, a rather uncommon shade.

To ensure the vendor could accommodate his request, he had even paid a few hundred extra for a custom order.

If all this could be dismissed as mere coincidence—

On the back of the wristband, there was a raised, uneven pattern.

It was unmistakably a simple line-drawing of a fish—a thoughtful service from the vendor, who allowed couples to have their favorite designs or initials engraved on the back. Lin Zhe had drawn this fish himself on the computer and sent it to the shop.

Fish—“Yu.”

Not only was it Yu Yan’s surname, it was also her favorite pet to raise.

He thought of the large jars stacked on Yu Yan’s balcony, each a little monument to her failed attempts at fish-keeping.

Lin Zhe’s lips curled into a smile.

His girlfriend was so stubborn—she knew that every pet she kept would eventually die, but never admitted defeat. It wasn’t until reality slapped her down again and again that she would pout, bury her dead fish, and finally swear off fish tanks for good.

Her proud, defiant look was impossibly adorable.

Yet despite such concrete evidence, Lin Zhe still felt a trace of uncertainty.

After all, when he entered this “Eagle’s Sorrow Ravine” instance, he was only a dozen kilometers outside the suburbs of S City.

To avoid two B-level or higher instances, he had even taken a detour rather than going in a straight line. Logically, he should have been more than seven hundred kilometers away from Y City, where Yu Yan was. There was no way he could run into her inside the instance!

Could it be that these instances were somehow connected?

That everyone who entered the same instance might encounter each other inside?

The possibility finally dispelled his last shred of uncertainty. He raised the wristband to his lips and kissed it gently, then carefully tucked it into his chest—one of the clasps was broken, which was likely how it had slipped from Yu Yan’s wrist.

Lin Zhe planned to repair it and return it to Yu Yan the next time they met; surely she would be surprised then?

He pictured the look of astonishment in Yu Yan’s eyes, which would surely widen, reflecting his own figure in their clear depths.

Lin Zhe’s smile grew broader, until a laugh rumbled up from his chest—“Ha… cough cough!”—but he realized the cave was no place for laughter, so he covered it with a cough.

As for the possibility that Yu Yan might have perished, Lin Zhe had never entertained the thought.

Or perhaps—he simply refused to.

So long as he never saw Yu Yan’s corpse, the search for her would continue for the rest of his life, until his dying breath!

S-Rank Instance: Desert Oasis.

Yu Yan had no idea that one day, the fire crystal powder she had found inconvenient and neglected to retrieve would end up saving her boyfriend’s life.

She habitually reached for her wrist, only to find the smart wristband Lin Zhe gave her was missing.

Only then did she recall she had lost it days ago, and her eyes dimmed for a moment. She had entered and exited so many instances, especially during the three-day adaptation period, where she did nothing but eat, drink, and explore higher-level instances.

She truly couldn’t remember when she’d lost the wristband.

She only realized it was gone when she reached for it out of habit and found her wrist bare.

Luckily, her Lotus Mirage Space was filled with trinkets Lin Zhe had given her. The tent before her was the largest and most conspicuous of them all; these were enough to comfort her when she was overwhelmed by longing.

“Hey, stop playing dead.”

Yu Yan kicked Zuo Changyu. “I know you’re awake.”

Just thinking about how this person had cost her another hour in the instance made Yu Yan’s temper flare.

By now, Yunduo would have realized Yu Yan had entered the instance alone.

As long as she didn’t enter an instance, the Plant Spirit World wouldn’t be locked.

Yu Yan and Yunduo could always communicate without barriers through their mysterious connection to the Plant Spirit World. Given Yunduo’s restless nature, she’d usually check in within a dozen minutes. Now it had been so much longer, and her words had vanished without a trace.

Yunduo wasn’t stupid; she surely knew what had happened.

But Yu Yan had no other choice.

All she could do was quickly hunt down two lone Grade Five monsters, kill them, and exit the instance to release Yunduo and comfort her.

“If you’re awake, then go find somewhere to stay out of my way. Do you expect me to be your nanny and escort you out of the instance?”

Zuo Changyu: “…”

This woman’s tongue was truly venomous!

But clearly, her familiarity with the instance far surpassed his own. It was already hard enough to keep his bearings in the desert, and with so many powerful monsters, he had only a dozen bullets left.

Let alone finding his teammates—if he ran into a group of monsters, he’d be done for.

That was when he realized he wouldn’t survive and had given up all hope. Now, whatever Yu Yan had done to him, Zuo Changyu felt more vigorous than ever—better, even, than before he was injured!

Naturally, he intended to live well.

Following Yu Yan—this mysterious woman who had appeared alone in the instance and miraculously survived the monsters—was the best possible choice. At the very least, Yu Yan had the power to bring him back from the brink, and he envied her for it.

If someone like her had been in his team, Xiao Wei wouldn’t have died.

And despite her harsh words, she was actually kind-hearted.

Otherwise, she could have left him to die—why waste the effort to save him?

Zuo Changyu bared his teeth in a grin. Since he’d been exposed, he dropped the pretense and opened his eyes, flashing a shameless smile. “I’m going to follow you.” Perhaps thinking he hadn’t made himself clear, he added, “You saved me—now I’m yours. You have to take responsibility for me.”

Take responsibility, my foot!

Yu Yan’s answer was to grab him and give him another sound beating.

Trying to extort her, was he?

He must have guts, thinking he could get away with it—Yu Yan had to admire his nerve.

A few minutes later, Zuo Changyu was slumped in the corner of the tent, panting for breath, a trickle of blood running down the corner of his mouth. Compared to his earlier state, soaked in blood and coughing it up, he was already infinitely better…