Chapter 74
The Ring of Bound Empathy
The evening glow streamed through the window, casting a warm golden halo over the Seventh Sequence Base. Shi Mo silently arrived outside Bai Xu's bedroom door.
He raised his hand and knocked on the door.
A slightly wary voice came from inside the door: "Who is it?"
"Me," Shi Mo replied.
The door opened quickly, and Bai Xu stood in the doorway, still wearing his usual combat uniform, seemingly having just returned from training. He looked at Shi Mo outside, a hint of doubt in his eyes: "What's wrong? Is something the matter?"
Shi Mo did not answer immediately, his gaze calmly sweeping over Bai Xu's slightly tired but still sharp face.
His mental attribute, reaching a staggering 121 points, spread out silently like an invisible tide, instantly enveloping Bai Xu. The difference in their mental attributes was like an insurmountable chasm.
Bai Xu felt an indescribable drowsiness sweep over him like a tsunami, his consciousness instantly becoming blurry and heavy. He tried hard to concentrate, his emerald green eyes filled with astonishment and confusion as he looked at Shi Mo: "You... what... are you doing...?"
Before he could finish speaking, his eyelids drooped, his body swayed, and he fell backward. Shi Mo reached out and caught him, bringing him back to the bedside and helping him lie down gently.
Looking at Bai Xu, who had fallen into a deep sleep and was breathing steadily, Shi Mo's lips curled up into a very faint smile, with a hint of satisfaction at his successful plan.
He took out the seemingly plain, silver-white Ring of Empathy, and then a small, sharp dagger. He pulled up Bai Xu's right hand and, with the tip of the dagger, made an extremely slight cut on the pad of his index finger.
A drop of bright red blood seeped out.
Shi Mo carefully dripped the drop of blood onto the surface of the [Ring of Empathy].
The moment the blood touched the ring's surface, it seemed to be absorbed and vanished instantly. At the same time, a barely perceptible glint of light flashed across the ring's surface, and an invisible connection seemed to be established between the ring and Bai Xu.
Binding complete.
After doing all this, Shi Mo, as if handling a delicate work of art, took out a bottle of Grade C healing potion.
He uncorked the bottle and carefully dripped a tiny drop of the clear liquid onto the tiny, almost negligible wound.
The medicine took effect, and the small scratch healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, returning to its original state in the blink of an eye without leaving a trace.
"[...Host...]" The system's voice echoed in Shi Mo's mind, carrying a jerky, almost suffocating quality, like an overloaded circuit about to burst into flames. "[I...I don't understand...I really don't understand...]"
Its electronic sounds are full of chaos and breakdowns:
Why...why did you bind yourself to Captain Bai Xu?! The effect of this ring is clearly...awful!
【And...and another thing! Why use a Grade C healing potion?! That's such a small wound; it would heal on its own in minutes even if left untreated! That's a Grade C healing potion! It can quickly heal non-fatal injuries! And you used it to treat...a tiny scratch?! Ugh! What a waste! Such a waste! I don't understand!!!】
The system felt it was about to crash. The host's behavior was completely beyond its logical comprehension.
Binding a man to such an ambiguous ring? And using precious medicine to treat a minor wound like a sledgehammer to crack a nut? What on earth is going on?!
Shi Mo ignored the system crash. He looked with satisfaction at Bai Xu's perfectly intact fingers, then at the ring that was now bound to his own hand, and casually put it on the index finger of his left hand.
He leaned down and looked closely at Bai Xu's brows and eyes, which appeared much gentler than usual in his sleep. A glint of something unfathomable flashed in his heterochromatic pupils.
"Good night."
He whispered something to himself, then straightened up and, just as he had come, quietly left Bai Xu's bedroom, gently closing the door behind him.
In the bedroom, only the sleeping Bai Xu remained, along with the system that continued to chatter incessantly in Shi Mo's mind, grieving over its illogical thinking and wasted resources.
[Host! What exactly do you want to do? What's the point of binding him? This ring can't control people or attack...]
[A Grade C potion! That can save lives! You... sigh...]
I need some time to calm down... My core logic has been challenged...
Shi Mo blocked out the system noise, feeling the cool touch of the ring on his fingertip, and walked towards his room with a rather pleasant mood.
His intentions were clearly beyond the comprehension of the system's simple logic. This "game" he started on a whim seemed to be developing in a more interesting direction.