Cultivation Shortcut?

Information appeared in Hiro's mind, and for a moment, he sat there with a dumbfounded look.

Curious, he activated the treasure scanning feature, and a pulse of golden halo spread for his body to a 10m radius.

Once the halo faded, a golden hall lingered on not only the bracelet but also the bodies of Bella and her parents.

Once again, Hiro was stunned.

But after thinking about it for a while, perhaps Bella's father learned his lesson and decided to squander a bit and provide magical treasures to his wife and daughter.

This way, they wouldn't be in life-threatening danger if anything were to happen in the future.

The family of three thought that the effect of the bracelet surprised Hiro, so while the parents did nothing but smile, Bella snickered and mocked, "What a country bumpkin!"

Hiro didn't mind her ridicule. Instead, he smiled and said, "Isn't it just fine? I'll rely on your family to provide for me in the future from now on."

Bella put on a disgusted expression and pretended to wretch. On the other hand, her father laughed and was about to say something when…

Buzz! Buzz!

Hiro's phone buzzed with an incoming message. After checking his iMessenger app, he noticed that it was a message from Jodi.

[Jodi]: Boss, we've got some clues on the people stalking Teacher Aiya. Can you come to the school's parking lot?

It was almost seven in the evening, and Hiro didn't expect that the delinquents would camp outside Aiya's apartment to keep an eye out.

He was both pleasantly surprised and appreciative of their efforts, so he promised to reward Jodi handsomely later.

Then, he sent a message to Sebastian to come pick him up before he smiled apologetically.

"Uncle, Auntie, I have something to do so I must leave here first, sorry for dropping this unexpected news."

Bella's parents didn't mind, and her father waved his hand graciously. "It's fine, it's just a pity that you won't be having dinner with us, the food today was going to be of a high quality."

"Next time, next time…" Hiro promised as he hurriedly got up and left. The moment he stepped outside the door, Sebastian was already waiting by the front gate with the car's rear door open.

Hiro smiled bitterly and shook his head, wondering if Sebastian was waiting in some inconspicuous corner.

Nonetheless, he wasn't very concerned about these little details. He just got into the backseat and instructed Sebastian to drive to the Inter-High outdoor parking lot before closing his eyes to rest.

Well, he didn't rest but rather entered the {simulation space} and started his secluded cultivation.

Sigh, I knew the system wouldn't be so convenient; the time dilation would only take effect if I was actively playing the game. It's really not worth it…

Although these were Hiro's complaints, he understood that this feature existed to help him blitz through a game's story mode.

If he mainly focused on the main story quests and ignored the side quests, hidden quests, and REP (repetitive) quests, he could blitz through the game's storyline within one week in real time.

Due to the increasing traffic rate during the evening hours, it was twenty minutes to eight in the evening when Hiro's car entered the parking lot.

…

"Please… this is all I know, I swear…"

Jodi and a few of his lackeys surrounded a skinny man who was kneeling on the dry asphalt ground.

He had his hands tied behind his back and a thick blindfold on his eyes, and he was practically naked save for a pair of white boxers and white socks.

Hair disheveled, bruised face, and a busted lower lip with strings of blood-mixed saliva dangling about.

Standing to the side, one of the lackeys inhaled a deep buff of smoke before taking a tuff of the skinny man's hair in his hand, lifting his head up, and screaming at his face while the thick smoke billowed out.

"Do you think we're going to believe this crap?! HUH?! The boss asked you one simple question, and I expect one simple answer! WHO! FUCKIN! SENT YOU?!"

Bang!

The lackey followed the question with a knee to the man's right chest, close enough to give him fractured ribs without endangering the heart.

Nonetheless, the pain was intolerable.

The man fell to the ground, convulsing in pain.

The lackey's voice was tinged with a hint of ruthlessness as he threatened, "Next time, I'll start taking off your nails one at a time, then your fingers, then your hands, and then your teeth… Don't worry, I have all night to waste on a scumbag stalker like you…"

The man trembled, finally breaking down as he started to ramble on.

To the side, Jodi brought out a small notebook and a pencil before he started writing down the information.

He recorded the name, phone number, and address of the meeting location for the handover of the bribe money.

This man was a pitiful person on a communal labor order from the public court for breaking and entry. He just happened to be working in the block near Teacher Aiya's apartment building, and so he was bribed to keep an eye on her movements.

After getting a list of names from the thin man through confession, Jodi was satisfied.

After putting the small notebook away, he looked down at the pitiful man and began to think.

How to deal with this person? We can't let him go back and expose our activities… I should have considered this before kidnapping him for an interrogation…

Since he couldn't figure it out, he decided to keep the man on lockup first, then deal with the aftermath later.

After giving some instructions to the delinquents, Jodi sent them away after accepting them into the fold of the freshmen delinquents.

After everyone left, Jodi walked to the other end of the parking lot where a black luxury sedan rested in a dim corner.

Without further ado, he tapped the tinted read window with the notebook, handed it over to Hiro after the window rolled down, then stood there silently and watched the car driving away.

Jodi sighed. "Boss sure is boss, he even got himself a personal driver!"

…

[Notice: Detected a mission-related item!]

After receiving the book and going through the information recorded within, Hiro's mission was updated.

Although he didn't know what effects this update after the progress would cause, he was still more than satisfied with the results.

After he finished going through the notes, he opened the tinted window and tossed the small notebook out.

After the small notebook left the car, an inconspicuous spark on the cover flared up into a small fireball, reducing the notebook to sparkling cinders in the sedan's trail.

Although Hiro wanted to explore the mansion oh so badly, he also didn't want to waste his gaming time, even if all he did in the game was idle around.

After having a quick dinner cooked up by the standard chef, he returned to his room and lay comfortably on the king-sized bed.

After adjusting his clock to go off at seven in the morning, he closed his eyes and fell asleep, while his consciousness went into the system space.

…

Soft chirping and gentle immortal wind surrounded Hiro the moment he opened his eyes.

As he was preparing to indulge in the sensation of continually growing stronger, his vision detached from the scene as a beautiful female disciple approached the cave abode.

[Notice: Senior Sister Xia Hongli invites you to listen to immortal music, do you accept?]

A [Yes / No] options window appeared in front of Hiro, followed by the details of his senior sister.

Her cultivation realm was unknown, meaning she was much stronger than himself. Also, the current favorability was at 80 points, and it wasn't easy to get it this high since Hiro wasn't paying too much attention to the game unless he was facing a breakthrough.

After considering his options, he decided to accept her offer. Thus, from a third-person perspective, Hiro watched his character and the senior sister listening to immortal music next to an immortal pond.

Three hours later, a set of notifications popped up.

[Notice: You've achieved 85 favorability with a female companion.]

[Notice: Dual Cultivation with {Xia Hongli} is now available once every 24 hours.]

Hiro perked up, and he immediately checked the companion's list and found the name Xia Hongli at the top of the list with 85 points.

As for the faction leader, it was still at 55 points. He didn't even have the qualifications to know her name.

Interested, Hiro immediately chose to initiate a Dual Cultivation session with Senior Sister Xia Hongli.

Out of nowhere, a dense mist arose and covered the pond, the surrounding ground, and the two young cultivators.

Hiro's character took the initiative to flirt and set the mood, while Xia Hongli didn't offer much resistance. After the first kiss was established, she got up and pulled Hiro's character by the hand.

Then, the two disappeared into a ray of light through the clouds.

The next moment, Hiro received a notification that gave him quite the fright.

+13,478,400 CB

[You've achieved a minor breakthrough!]