Chapter 98: Of Cannons and Confessions

With an excited shout from Cannon Fairy, Yingning dashed forward to block the BOSS’s path, holding aggro steadily.

The BOSS’s front claws were as sharp as razors. This giant wasp looked like a cross between a mantis and a hornet, darting up and down with incredible agility. Its basic attacks dealt massive damage, making it very difficult for Yingning to tank.

I noticed that the little girl inadvertently showed a pained expression when the BOSS’s forelegs cut her. Although holy light surged to heal the wound instantly, that momentary flinch did not escape my eyes.

What nonsense! Tanking with pain sensitivity on! Isn’t that self-torture?

Fortunately, our DPS was high enough to quickly push it to the second phase. From this phase onward, the BOSS would frequently take to the air until it was killed.

I was already crouched beside the Goblin Mortar, ready to go. To bring this BOSS down, we had to hit the same wing three times… Because the mortar was so cumbersome and its shells flew so slowly, hitting the BOSS was already difficult, let alone aiming for the wings. This phase was downright disgusting.

Luckily, the Goblin Mortar came equipped with a sniper-like scope, making it somewhat user-friendly. Players only needed to predict the shell’s flight speed and the wasp’s trajectory…

“The BOSS is airborne! Qingyu and I will fire the cannons. Little Bei and Expert Pooper, you’re on ammo搬运 and reloading. Xiaoya, keep an eye on our HP until we blast it down…” Cannon Fairy said eagerly, raising the barrel.

“Hey? What about me? Don’t I get to shoot?” I was stunned.

“You need to watch our HP. You won’t have time for that…” Cannon Fairy replied, firing a shot with a bang. Unfortunately, it missed the BOSS by a wide margin.

“I can manage…” I looked worriedly at the creature in the sky. Although Cannon Fairy’s assignment was the most rational and perfect, given their accuracy, it would take many painful stings before they managed to bring it down.

I hate getting shots… Who says assassins aren’t afraid of pain? Whether I can endure it for a mission is one thing, but whether I’m afraid is another!

“Let me take over. You might not believe it, but I’ve shot down a satellite with a hand grenade.” I pleaded seriously.

“Pfft, haha… Fine, fine. Go replace Qingyu. I want to play a bit more, or else my ID would be wasted…” Cannon Fairy said, firing another shot. Predictably, she missed again. Qingyu did the same.

“Wait, watch out! The BOSS is about to unleash its ultimate! A wide-range spine shot! Xiaoya, you need to help us survive this wave! Without your heals, we’ll be one-shot!” Cannon Fairy suddenly shouted.

“O-okay…”

So it was released after all… Sigh…

I resignedly sighed, cast a continuous heal on the party, and then sat tight, waiting for the BOSS’s aerial strafing.

The poison needles didn’t fly fast, but they were dense. They didn’t come out one by one; magic split them into a sky full of needles with minimal gaps, making them impossible to dodge.

They said it hurt a lot. I wondered how much… I gritted my teeth, protected my head and face, hid my tail, and tucked my ears into my hair as much as possible. I huddled beside the Goblin Cannon to minimize my exposure, quietly awaiting the barrage of needles. But suddenly, I felt the space in front of me darken and a weight on my shoulder.

Because this body was so petite, the shadow completely covered me. When the rain of needles passed, not a single one had hit me. Instead, the shadow let out a pained groan, its face turning deathly pale.

[No! Master! Why…] I started to protest.

[No reason. It’s only natural for a warrior to protect their healer. If the healer dies, the warrior has no reason to exist… A warrior without a healer is nothing but trash, completely useless.]

That familiar exchange left me choking… So she had taken my earlier words to heart, hadn’t she?

[I just want to tell you that your life is not as meaningless as you claim… A master is everything to their pet, and vice versa. You matter to me, very much. Don’t treat your life so lightly anymore.] Yingning said through gritted teeth, her voice firm. I hurriedly used Purify and a big heal to remove the spines and wounds from her body.

Holding me, Yingning smiled complexly and said, [You gave me loyalty, and I will do my best to repay you… Just as you will never betray me, I will never betray you.]

Betrayal… Hearing that word, I instantly understood that what had stirred the little girl wasn’t just my earlier words, but also what had happened earlier in reality at the part-time shop.

[But you didn’t need to turn on the pain sensation… That must hurt, right? Silly girl… Foolish master!]

[I had to. Only then can I understand what you’re going through, what kind of life you live in this world… Instead of looking down on everything from a player’s lofty perspective, coldly indifferent. Without feeling it myself, I wouldn’t understand that what we call a game is your entire world for survival. You feel pain, cold, sorrow. You are not emotionless data.]

Yingning held me, looking down from above. Her hair brushed my cheek, her gaze so gentle it seemed to shimmer with water, reflecting the moon in the sky.

My mind went blank, my heart pounding like a deer. Even the corners of my eyes flushed with a shy pink. I felt like I was being flirted with.

System prompts popped up frantically before me: [Affection +10] [Affection +10]… [Intimacy +10] [Intimacy +10]…

I felt that if I stayed in Yingning’s arms any longer, the system would directly modify me into a romanceable state… I hurriedly escaped to Qingyu’s cannon, roughly snatching the cannon from his hands.

The previous conversation had taken place in a private channel, hidden from the others. All they saw was Yingning shielding me from the spines.

Pushed away roughly, Qingyu was a bit confused… What had he done to offend the great Yaya?

“Reload faster.” I ordered Expert Pooper gruffly, then aimed the giant cannon.

Estimated BOSS flight speed: 3 m/s… That little girl actually flirted with me!

Estimated shell speed: 140 m/s… I can’t believe that little girl flirted with me!

Wind speed felt at zero since we were in a cave… Ahhh, what should I do, what should I do? Is she in love with me? If she confesses, should I accept? Wait, that would make her a lesbian, wouldn’t it? That’s not okay!

Target distance about 150 meters from the ground… Fine, I admit I’m overthinking. It was just a few words; nothing’s set in stone. It’s clearly just friendship, yet I’m already imagining German orthopedics… It’s all the system’s fault! For some reason, it seems to be tirelessly cultivating my maiden heart… Damn it, you wretched system!

Bang!

[Weak Point Strike! -2000]

With Cannon Fairy’s admiring cheers, the shell hit the target. The big creature stiffened, its poised attack interrupted.

Weak Point Strike dealt double damage. One shot could take 2000 HP—that was some serious damage… But the accuracy was so low that most teams didn’t adopt this bombardment strategy.

“Load.”

A hit on the first try? Expert Pooper was still in a daze, but snapped to attention at my command and quickly reloaded.

Bang!

[Weak Point Strike! Critical! -4000!!!]

Hit again. This time, I aimed for the head, scoring both a critical and a weak point strike, dealing quadruple damage. The huge red number was quite astonishing! And because I hit a weak point, it also caused a stun, interrupting the BOSS’s spine attack once more. It let out an angry, piercing shriek.

Seeing such high damage and the ability to interrupt the BOSS’s skills with a stun, I suddenly had a bold idea.

“You two, drop whatever you’re doing and come carry shells for me! One person is too slow!”

Who says healers can’t deal damage? Die, you giant wasp! If I don’t blow you so badly your own mother wouldn’t recognize you, I’ll write my name upside down from now on!

“Two? Why not just say the rest of the party—four people—should all come carry shells for you?” Expert Pooper grumbled, dissatisfied that I complained about his slow loading.

I sneered disdainfully. “No need. The other two have to shout ‘666’!”

****

Just as I finished speaking, the BOSS, enraged, charged at me. But I calmly aimed and fired again.

Bang!

Another critical hit, and the BOSS crashed to the ground, twitching. The party erupted in cheers.

Yingning looked at me with a complicated expression, her lips slightly parted as if she wanted to say something. But I quickly turned away, pretending to inspect the cannon.

My heart was still racing. That girl… she really knew how to mess with a guy’s head.