Chapter 162: Helping You, or Helping Her

Lin Zhe felt as though he had been injected with a shot of adrenaline.

The anxiety that had plagued his heart for over two months instantly settled by more than half.

The remaining fraction could only be completely put to rest once he saw Yu Yan in person and she stood before him, flesh and blood. That being said, looking at the familiar elevator doors at Entrance 1321, Lin Zhe still felt an indescribable sense of gloom.

He had thought he would get to see his wife soon.

Who would have guessed that his wife had left the Golden Osmanthus Garden residential area early this morning.

According to the address of the Giant Crocodile Island dungeon entrance provided by Sun Ruohua, Yanyan should have headed toward Fenghe Village. This meant that the time until he could see his wife would be indefinitely postponed once again; he truly felt as though each day was dragging on like a year.

It was better when he had no definite news.

Restrained by certain possibilities he was unwilling to face, he hadn't been this eager to find Yu Yan.

Now that he knew she was alive and well, possessing formidable strength and unlikely to die easily within a dungeon, Lin Zhe could no longer suppress the longing deep within his heart. He wished he could fly to Fenghe Village right this instant and catch that little woman he had been dreaming of day and night.

Then pull her fiercely into his arms and hold her tightly for three whole days and nights!

Even if they did nothing at all, just holding her... would be simply wonderful.

At this thought, Lin Zhe could no longer afford to hesitate, and immediately began discussing the next steps of the plan with the others.

Entrance 1321 still had to be visited.

The No. 198 entrance where he had entered the "Bloodthirsty Vine Forest" dungeon was more than two hundred kilometers away from Fenghe Village. As for the Golden Osmanthus Garden community, it was much closer to Fenghe Village, a mere ten kilometers away! It was also his fault for discovering this peculiar dungeon rule too late.

If only he had discovered during his time in the "Firefly Soul-Eater Sea" that leaving a dungeon allowed one to directionally select an exit.

Then perhaps he and Yanyan would have reunited long ago.

However, the "Firefly Soul-Eater Sea" was an S-rank dungeon, and leaving it required a solo kill of a Grade 5 monster.

Coupled with the fact that Earth-stage entities were everywhere inside and Heaven-stage ones were also common, his team had lost three members just to earn the qualification to leave. If they had attempted a directional exit as well, they would have had to fight tooth and nail against a swarm of dungeon monsters of Grade 6 or higher, and he might not have survived to this day.

A flurry of chaotic thoughts ran through Lin Zhe's mind, though it did not prevent him from multitasking as he sorted out his upcoming tasks one by one.

The first was to give the highest-grade wood-type crystal he had just harvested to Sun Ruohua.

"This..."

Sun Ruohua waved her hands. "This is too precious; I can't accept it."

If Yu Yan had given it to her, she would have taken it.

After all, she was dead-set on defecting to Yu Yan at the moment. Yu Yan had saved her and her husband countless times, and the debt of gratitude she owed the couple was impossible to repay. If she were to put on airs with Yu Yan, it would seem insincere; the only thing she could do was offer her all.

However, Lin Zhe was different from Yu Yan.

Even though he was Yu Yan's boyfriend and lover, they weren't married yet!

Sun Ruohua could tell that Lin Zhe harbored genuine feelings for Yu Yan, traveling great distances and crossing numerous dungeons just to find her.

Yet Sun Ruohua had no idea what Yu Yan's thoughts on Lin Zhe were.

The time she had spent with Yu Yan initially was too short, and Yu Yan hadn't even mentioned Lin Zhe's existence to her. What if Yu Yan had long since moved on and found a new love? If she accepted Lin Zhe's favor now, how awkward would it be when she met Yu Yan later?

If she spoke up for Lin Zhe, the person she swore allegiance to was Yu Yan!

If she didn't speak up for Lin Zhe?

Lin Zhe was so infatuated and pitiful; even as an outsider, she couldn't bear to watch.

"You should give this to Guo Wei and the others instead. We are only traveling with you temporarily; we aren't your teammates!"

At first, Lin Zhe was somewhat puzzled, but seeing Sun Ruohua's evasive attitude, he instantly understood her misgivings. He laughed heartily and said, "Sister Sun, what are you thinking? I'm giving you the wood-type essence precisely because you are my wife's person."

"Rest assured, I won't be stealing anyone from my wife."

"Essences" of various attributes was the name Lin Zhe had given to the spiritual veins he had harvested.

He was busy entering and exiting dungeons day in and day out, and even when he encountered people inside the dungeons, he begrudged spending the time to exchange more than a couple of words with them.

Naturally, he had no idea that the outside world had already adopted universally accepted names for these items.

From plant-type plant spirits, animal-type blood crystals, to insect-type insect crystals... and so on, all essences were collectively referred to as spiritual veins. Sun Ruohua didn't bother to correct his terminology. "That still won't do. As the saying goes, 'eating someone's food makes you soft-mouthed, and taking someone's gifts makes your hands short.'"

"If I take your treasure, what happens when I see little Yan later?"

"If the two of you have a conflict, should I help you or her?"

"Naturally, you'd help my wife!"

Lin Zhe said matter-of-factly, "My wife can never be wrong. If she is wrong, then it must be because I did something wrong first."

Sun Ruohua: "..."

Rong Jingtao and the others: "..."

Guo Wei and the others: "..."

Having interacted with Lin Zhe for only a short time, Sun Ruohua and her group were clearly unaccustomed to his style and were forcibly stuffed with dog food.

Glancing at Hu Jianming beside her, Sun Ruohua, who had always felt her husband treated her quite well, suddenly felt a pang of envy toward Yu Yan. Not to mention Rong Xue'er, the other female in the five-person group, who glared fiercely at the dense iron-straight male Song Yi beside her.

"What is it?"

Song Yi touched his face innocently. "Am I too handsome?"

"Pui."

Rong Xue'er turned her head away in annoyance.

Tricks!

It was all full of tricks.

Before this man won her over, he had been quite considerate toward her. Who would have thought that after winning her heart, he grew more negligent by the day? The last time he used a little cleverness to coax her was ages ago—she couldn't even remember how long it had been.

As for Guo Wei and the others, they were long accustomed to their boss usually being serious and reliable.

They were already unfazed by the state he fell into—turning into a complete bootlicker the moment his future wife was mentioned.

"Well, Sister Sun, let's talk business."

Lin Zhe cleared his throat. "The reason I'm having you refine this wood-type essence is partly because you're going to join my wife, so it stays within the family. But more importantly, I want to enhance the power of the Blazing Fire Array to prepare for hunting Grade 5 monsters next."

"In addition, I'm going to have Guo Wei switch to cultivating the metal attribute."

"Guo Wei, while Sister Sun is refining the wood-type essence in a moment, you should refine this metal-type essence."

"Our team now possesses fire-type, earth-type, water-type, and wood-type ability users. With Guo Wei refining the metal-type essence to add metal, we will have all five elements covered. I've long wanted to test the power of the Five Elements Array!"

"If it's powerful enough, we'll all be able to see Yanyan sooner."

"Sister Sun, this is precisely what you're hoping for, isn't it?"

In the end, Sun Ruohua accepted the sole Grade 5 bloodthirsty vine plant spirit.

She indeed wanted to see Yu Yan sooner. After wandering through the dungeon world for so long, the only time she had felt truly safe and at ease was those two days spent with Yu Yan! She had grown sick of the precarious life in the dungeon world; she longed to put an end to all of this.

Especially given the various events that had transpired at Hope Base.

Zhao凯 (Zhao Kai) had teamed up with Qu Zimoh and done that... Sun Ruohua halted her thoughts.

If she thought about it any further, she would completely lose it. Perhaps the only hope for changing all of this lay in seeing Yu Yan!

Not to mention Guo Wei; Lin Zhe, as their boss, held an irreplaceable position in his heart. The boss told him to refine the metal-type blood crystal, and without a second word, he swallowed it directly and began refining...