Chen Ran felt that he was starting to become more enduring.
Not just from the exercise, but more so because in the simulated scenarios, his consciousness no longer felt that stinging sensation, clearly allowing for longer simulations.
He had already greeted the people from the Ocean Branch, and for such trivial matters, as long as Wendy's safety was confirmed, no one would care.
After all, the Ocean Branch itself bore responsibility for Wendy becoming this way.
For small matters, they would turn a blind eye.
However, they certainly couldn't let Wendy go out unprotected. After Chen Ran and Wendy left the Ocean Branch, a dedicated Valkyrie followed them.
Wendy could naturally sense that someone was tailing them, but she didn't mind.
Due to the inconvenience of travel, Chen Ran had even specially requested a car.
"This is my first time at the wheel."
"Good thing it's an automatic; just one foot for the gas and brake."
Hearing Chen Ran's mumbling, Wendy suddenly had a bad premonition.
"I heard automatic cars are like toys; I love playing with toys."
"The seatbelt is fastened, hold on tight!"
Wendy instinctively grabbed the built-in armrest in the car, then watched as Chen Ran pressed the gas and started the engine, taking off like a rocket.
Wendy: "..."
She began to suspect whether Chen Ran was sent by Anti-Entropy.
Fortunately, aside from the initial aggressive driving, he adapted well afterward.
Wendy instinctively asked, "By the way, do you know the traffic rules in New Zealand?"
"I've never even taken the driving test; do you think I would know?"
"Forget it, just listen to my commands. When I say stop, you stop; when I say go, you go." Wendy wasn't flustered; automatic cars were the easiest vehicles to learn, even easier than bicycles.
Basically, as long as you spend half a day getting familiar, you can hit the road.
Although for some people, the meaning of hitting the road was different.
Chen Ran was, of course, doing it on purpose.
Not having a driver's license didn't mean he hadn't seen a car; he just wanted to tease Wendy a bit.
After all, it was just his mischievous nature.
Wendy quickly noticed this, looking at Chen Ran with a slightly helpless gaze: "Has your personality always been like this? I thought someone who could become a researcher would at least be serious."
"Life is already so bitter; why not entertain yourself a bit?"
Chen Ran said, "Don't worry, I'm a bit mischievous, but I won't do anything annoying. Especially not to you."
"You already annoy me."
Wendy rolled her eyes.
However, she didn't actually reject this feeling.
If her foot hadn't been injured, Chen Ran would definitely be the kind of person Wendy hated the most. But now, as Chen Ran said, life was already so bitter.
She felt a bit envious of Chen Ran.
"By the way, I hardly know anything about you." She said, "Can you share a bit about your life before becoming a researcher?"
"Just an ordinary person's life; it doesn't matter if I share, but it's probably quite boring."
Chen Ran thought for a moment and said, "It's pretty much the same as your life before, just eating, sleeping, and exercising."
"I see, that does sound like a similar life."
Wendy also understood that although Chen Ran's personality wasn't great, being able to join Schicksal meant he was a genius in some field.
She asked, "So have you thought about what you want to do in the future?"
"Of course, I'll do whatever the leader tells me to do." He answered nonchalantly, "As for myself, I haven't really thought it through. But if I get the chance, I would consider healing you first."
"Your sudden words make me suspect you have ulterior motives towards me." Wendy was also starting to be influenced by Chen Ran.
"Ahem, I'm serious."
Chen Ran naturally wouldn't mention anything about the Fourth Honkai.
He said, "That way, I can leave a place in your heart, right?"
Wendy directly pinched the soft flesh at his waist.
...
...
The sea in New Zealand was no different from the sea in other places.
Anyway, Chen Ran only felt a bit sunburned.
At this time, the Third Honkai Eruption had not yet occurred, and the Northern Hemisphere was still in winter, while the Southern Hemisphere was in summer.
Chen Ran did not intend to get involved in anything related to the Third Honkai Eruption; after all, he could distinguish that this was a simulated scenario, not reality.
So, he had no psychological pressure in teasing Wendy.
After parking the car, he took out the wheelchair.
He gently picked up the girl and placed her in the wheelchair.
Wendy did not reject close contact with Chen Ran; rather, she preferred to gaze at the rolling tides in the distance.
The Eastern Branch was located on an island, but she had never seen the sea in the East.
Her daily life was filled with training.
Mainly because she had heard that Schicksal Headquarters had a Valkyrie who advanced to A-rank at the age of 12, a guy named Durandal, which had greatly stimulated Wendy.
After that, she relied on her own willpower and didn't fall too far behind.
But before she left the East, she heard that Durandal had already become the youngest S-rank Valkyrie.
Now, Wendy was no longer conflicted.
After all, being conflicted was pointless.
Her gaze fell on the ebbing and flowing beach, and she suddenly felt that this seemed quite nice.
However...
Chen Ran coughed and said, "This is also my first time seeing the sea; I even want to recite a poem uncontrollably."
"You can recite poetry?"
"Of course, I've studied both ancient poetry from Shenzhou and classical poetry from Europe." Chen Ran said proudly.
He paused and said, "Listen carefully."
Wendy had another bad premonition.
Then she heard Chen Ran cough and then recite with great emotion: "Oh sea, you are all water."
"Oh crab, you have eight legs."
"Pfft."
Wendy couldn't help but laugh.
Then, she heard a 'click' sound.
Chen Ran had taken out his phone to snap a picture at some point; in the photo, Wendy's beautiful eyes sparkled, and her lips curved gracefully.
The sea breeze lifted her hair, and this moment was frozen in time.
[Warning: The current simulation has reached the host's mental awareness capacity limit. Continuing the simulation will lead to confusion of consciousness.]
[The system temporarily ends the simulation scene; congratulations to the host for receiving the corresponding item reward.]
As his consciousness blurred, Chen Ran returned to reality.
Then, he discovered that a hard little paper slip had appeared in his pocket.
"Hi everyone, I'm Elysia. At the request of your instructor, I will be your special training partner from now on, so are you ready?"
The girl with pink hair slightly raised the corner of her mouth, interrupting Chen Ran's thoughts.
"Now, I'll randomly select."
The girl said, "The first one, Chen Ran."
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