Chapter 77 ：21·1

A night passed, and Li Nianlong's harvest was limited. He only managed to take down a few minor targets, gaining a few hundred experience points. As for skills, Li Nianlong didn't practice much, only using them when necessary.

Now the true qi required for skills was too much, so much so that Li Nianlong couldn't bear it. He was afraid that if the skills continued to improve, he wouldn't be able to use them due to insufficient true qi. Li Nianlong was now conserving true qi wherever possible.

With skill levels too high, the consumption of true qi was even greater than the supply, providing strong evidence for Li Nianlong's belief that the Dream System was defective.

After washing up, Li Nianlong tidied up his slightly longer hair. "It's time for a haircut."

Every morning, when he walked downstairs, he would hear the sound of pots and pans clattering in the kitchen and see Nanlan Ruyue bustling around.

Unknowingly, more than two months had passed, and Li Nianlong had already grown accustomed to Nanlan Ruyue's presence. Although he felt uneasy for a few days after the departure of the Moon Sisters, Nanlan Ruyue's companionship quickly lifted his spirits. Her graceful and youthful figure was like clear spring water, nourishing his life. Now, Li Nianlong couldn't imagine what his life would be like without Nanlan Ruyue.

Upon hearing footsteps descending the stairs, Nanlan Ruyue turned around. Their eyes met, and her bright eyes curved into a crescent moon shape. "Good morning, Brother."

"Morning." Her sweet smile was heartwarming, intoxicating him.

"I'll be working at the construction site for a few days." After breakfast, as he sat on the sofa watching the morning news, Li Nianlong said softly, "If everything goes smoothly, I'll be back in four days."

Nanlan Ruyue didn't inquire further, just nodded gently, cutting the large pieces of cake and snacks into small pieces, ready for Li Nianlong to eat with toothpicks.

After-meal desserts were Nanlan Ruyue's idea after noticing that Li Nianlong always drank tea after meals but found it too monotonous. Tea with sweets felt very satisfying, and Li Nianlong gradually got used to this combination.

After cutting the desserts, Nanlan Ruyue seemed to remember something. A sweet smile appeared on her beautiful face as she gestured with her hands: "Brother, I had a dream last night."

"A dream?"

Li Nianlong suddenly realized that the 20% chance of having a good dream pillowcase had kicked in. Although he had bought the pillowcase many days ago, he had only replaced it three days ago.

Nanlan Ruyue was responsible for all the household chores, so he didn't dare to take out the pillowcase rashly until three days ago when he used the excuse of a mall promotion to openly take out twenty pillowcases. Unexpectedly, three days later, Nanlan Ruyue had a pleasant dream. Compared to that, Li Nianlong, who was 'updated' every midnight, hadn't tasted the taste of sleep for a long time.

"Seeing you smile so happily, what kind of dream did you have?" Li Nianlong smiled.

Nanlan Ruyue stuck out her clove-like tongue, showing a rare playful side as she gestured with her hands: "I dreamed that when we were very, very old, my hair had turned white, wrinkles covered my face, and I was a bit hunched over. Even walking required a cane. But you were still by my side, accompanying me to watch the sunrise, the sunset, traveling around the world."

There was a hint of longing in Nanlan Ruyue's eyes: "If the future is really like this, it would be wonderful."

Li Nianlong was stunned. He hadn't expected Nanlan Ruyue's dream to be so mundane. He was only twenty-four years old and had never thought about what it would be like when he got old. Nanlan Ruyue was only eighteen years old, yet she dreamed of watching the sunset in her old age. What a pure and romantic girl!

"Would you be satisfied with that?" If it were him, watching the sunset in his old age would be almost like a nightmare, even if not a bad dream. He was still young!

Nanlan Ruyue nodded repeatedly, gesturing with her hands: "I really like an old song. There's a lyric that goes: 'I can imagine the most romantic thing is to grow old slowly with you.' I think nothing is more wonderful than last night's dream."

Li Nianlong had nothing to say. She was truly a pure and romantic girl. Such a girl was simply the epitome of a good wife and mother. Li Nianlong suddenly felt a bit jealous of Nanlan Ruyue's future husband: Humph! In the future, I'll strictly scrutinize anyone who wants to marry Ruyue. If they can't pass my test, they won't be able to marry her.

After watching the morning news, Li Nianlong enjoyed Nanlan Ruyue's intimate service, and when she finished straightening his collar, he left home with a sense of satisfaction.

Without the pressure of school, Li Nianlong finally let loose at the construction site today. After a day of intense work, Li Nianlong looked at the four proficiency points he had gained, nodding in satisfaction. With a flick of his sleeve, he took away several thousand dollars...

On the way home, he continued to hone his skills as a physical practitioner, gaining one proficiency point in just over ten minutes.

At eight-thirty in the evening, Li Nianlong returned home early and prepared carefully. After confirming that everything was in order, he entered the training ground. "Tingting, I want to challenge scene 21·1."

All ten scenes at level 20 were survival environment trials. What would the scene at level 21 be like? Li Nianlong was filled with anticipation.

"Okay." Tingting brought up scene 21·1, and a large gate appeared in front of Li Nianlong. "Scene 21·1 has been opened. Is the host ready?"

"I've been looking forward to this." Excitement flashed in Li Nianlong's eyes as he eagerly entered scene 21·1.

As the scene changed, Li Nianlong was astonished to find himself in a basketball court, a very standard one capable of hosting professional basketball games with thousands of spectators.

Tingting's figure appeared, and with a spin, a green light flashed. The palm-sized Tingting transformed into a figure just over one meter six, wearing a youthful red basketball uniform and holding a basketball. She smiled gently, "Welcome, host, to the accuracy training ground. Please complete the skills challenge in zero mistakes within ten seconds. Completion will be considered 50% success, automatically advancing to the next 50% level. If the host automatically surrenders or collapses mentally, it will be considered a challenge failure."

Li Nianlong looked at the scene before him, which was very familiar. Wasn't this the obstacle set for the NBA All-Star Skills Challenge!

Li Nianlong was a basketball fan and

 often followed basketball events at home and abroad. The NBA league in the United States was a basketball league gathering elite players from around the world. He remembered the results and records of the NBA All-Star Skills Challenge over the years. The record for the Skills Challenge was 25.5 seconds, set by the best point guard in the world. Now, Tingting wanted him, a basketball enthusiast, to complete the Skills Challenge in zero mistakes within ten seconds. Did she really think he was that easy to bully?

A hint of displeasure flashed in Li Nianlong's eyes. "Tingting, the NBA record is 25.5 seconds, but you want me to complete it in 10 seconds. Even if I can do it, it will only count as half. Are you trying to play me?"

Tingting wrinkled her little nose. "I'm just guiding the little elves. All training grounds are automatically set by the system and have nothing to do with me. How could I possibly play the host?"

"I hope you're not playing me." Li Nianlong couldn't vent his anger and could only calculate the difficulty of the Skills Challenge and his own abilities.

Currently, with his speed as high as 158, deducting the initial 3 points, the speed bonus reached 155%. In other words, Li Nianlong's current speed was 2.55 times that of an ordinary person. What an NBA Skills Challenge basketball player needed to do in 10 seconds, Li Nianlong only needed less than 4 seconds to do. The speed of basketball players in the Skills Challenge was not particularly fast, at most only slightly faster than an ordinary person, and the Skills Challenge would definitely be delayed by obstacles.

A simple calculation showed that as long as he used maximum speed and controlled his mistakes well, he could possibly complete the Skills Challenge within 10 seconds... very likely!

"Pass me the ball!" Although Li Nianlong was just a basketball enthusiast, he often played basketball in his spare time, and his skills were considered good among amateur players. Plus, with the precise control of physical practitioners over bodily strength and hardness, completing the Skills Challenge without errors didn't seem too difficult.

"Here you go." Tingting smiled gently and passed the orange basketball to him.

He caught the ball steadily and skillfully dribbled a few times. The feeling in his hands was still as familiar as ever, but it wasn't enough.

Gradually, Li Nianlong began using his fingertips, as well as various parts of his hands such as the back, wrist, and elbow, to control the basketball.

At first, it was a bit awkward, but gradually, the basketball became like a part of Li Nianlong's body. Regardless of which part of his body he used, he could manipulate it as if it were an extension of his limbs. Unconsciously, Li Nianlong began the Skills Challenge, heading towards the first obstacle point.