Chapter Ninety-Four: Vienne-Wilderness Survival Live Stream in Another World(The Black Tide 3)

The young girl struggled desperately, her expression resolute and unyielding, her face ablaze with passionate indignation. Ling Mo pressed his temples, feeling a headache coming on, and muttered, “I’ve been duped. Is it still possible to return the goods?”

Hearing this, the girl looked even angrier, her struggles growing more violent, the muffled sounds from her mouth intensifying. Catherine, still bewildered, stepped closer to Ling Mo, her voice uncertain:

“Master? Weren’t we told they’d bring Lady Weiss’s sister? Why did they send the lady herself—and tie her up in such a provocative way?”

“She’s not Weiss,” Ling Mo shook his head. “As a martial artist, I have a keen sense for a mage’s spiritual power. The girl before us—her spiritual strength is far too weak. She’s not even a high-level mage, let alone a Saint.”

He reached out and peeled the tape from the girl’s mouth, then asked, “With a sister like this, how do you feel?”

“It’s awful… I feel absolutely awful right now…” Once her mouth was freed, the girl’s struggles ceased. She let out a low sigh, sounding deeply unhappy.

“My condolences,” Ling Mo replied curtly, crouching to examine her more closely. Though the body and face were still Weiss’s, the slight lift at the corners of her eyes and mouth imparted a completely different impression. The familiar girl-next-door aura was gone, replaced by a mischievous, elusive spirit that made her seem particularly hard to handle.

“You know the situation—do I need to explain?”

“No, please explain it! And, dear master, hurry and untie me! This rope—why did my awful sister tie me up so lewdly?” She twisted fiercely, lifting her upper body with effort, her hopeful gaze fixed on Ling Mo. In this pose, her curves became even more pronounced, her impressive headlights standing tall, forcing Ling Mo to look away in embarrassment.

In that brief moment when Ling Mo turned his gaze, a sly glimmer flashed in the girl's eyes. Her lips moved swiftly, silently reciting an unknown spell at ten times normal speed. In less than half a second, the incantation was complete. Beneath her, something glowed faintly then faded, as if nothing had happened.

“Master, dear master, please untie me! The rope is so rough, it hurts my skin!” Having finished her little trick and seeing Ling Mo hadn’t noticed, her voice became much more cheerful.

You’re wrapped head-to-toe in a mage’s robe—how could the rope even touch your skin? What nonsense! Catherine grumbled inwardly, and Ling Mo ignored her altogether, showing no intention of helping her. Instead, he asked,

“Are you Vien?”

“Yes, dear master, I am your obedient disciple Vien. Please, untie me?”

“You and your sister… split personalities? Or two souls in one body?”

“One body, two souls. Master, please untie me.”

“Oh? So you two get along well? How do you decide who gets time outside?”

“It’s all up to my sister. I don’t get much say, since my spiritual strength is so much weaker. Master, I’m answering so nicely—please untie me?”

“How old are you?”

“I am…” Vien started to answer, then paused, forcing a smile. “Of course, I’m the same age as my sister. Why ask such an obvious question, master?”

“Oh.”

Ling Mo responded, then fell silent, as if pondering something. After a long pause, he finally said, “Forget it, let’s leave it at that. I don’t really care about my disciple’s past. I only agreed to teach you martial arts so you’d act as a billboard. How far you progress doesn’t matter. But I should check your aptitude first.”

Vien looked up, confused. “Martial arts? What are martial arts?”

“You and your sister don’t share memories?”

“I told you—two souls in one body. Of course we don’t share memories. All I know is my sister told me to come to the Monster Rainforest to build muscle. I know nothing else.”

“In a way, your sister wasn’t wrong,” Ling Mo gritted his teeth, said no more, and placed his hand on Vien’s back. Before he could even call the system, a barrage of messages bombarded his mind:

“Martial arts aptitude detected: 129.72—supreme genius!”

“You have received a special mission: Inheritance of the Martial Arts Supreme Genius!”

“Guide ‘Vien (surface)’ onto the path of martial arts and complete her foundational training!”

“Success reward: Ultra-concentrated energy cookies x5, Skill book—King’s Fist (fragment)!”

“Failure penalty: None.”

Seeing these notifications, Ling Mo’s first reaction was not joy but a surge of inexplicable annoyance. He nearly screamed at the system, “Damn it! May I ask—is everyone on this continent a martial arts genius except me?! And weren’t you only able to show up to 99? When did you upgrade?!”

The system’s emotionless prompt echoed in Ling Mo’s mind:

“Error. Martial arts geniuses are exceedingly rare.”

“To better help the host perceive your gap with geniuses and inspire you to work harder, the system has upgraded the display interface. This upgrade required ten percent of your energy, which has already been deducted. Please complete the mission promptly. Wishing you a pleasant life.”

“Get lost! Catherine or Vien, pick one and get out of here!”

“Please complete the mission promptly. Wishing you a pleasant life.”

Ling Mo was thoroughly frustrated. He pointed at Vien and told Catherine, “Watch her for now. I’m going to gather some herbs—be right back!”

With that, he straightened up, leapt away, and vanished, leaving Vien and Catherine staring at each other in silence.

Catherine was actually quite nervous. Though she’d understood most of the conversation between Ling Mo and Vien and realized that this girl was not the revered Saint Weiss but her younger sister, she was still… just an ordinary person. She couldn’t distinguish so clearly as her master did.

“Little sister, come here to your big sister…”

As Catherine wrestled with her thoughts, she suddenly heard a gentle voice. Looking up, she saw Vien lying on the ground, smiling warmly—soft as a neighborly big sister. Vien beckoned kindly and said, “Come here, little sister, I’ll give you some candy!”

Lady Weiss, is that you? Is it really you calling me?

Catherine felt her mind grow fuzzy and unconsciously walked toward ‘Weiss’—one step, two steps… When she was within three meters, the expression on ‘Weiss’s’ face seemed to shift, gaining a hint of slyness.

No!

Her mind snapped back to clarity, and she tried to retreat, but at this distance—it was already too late!

The ground where Vien lay suddenly glowed. A small lollipop condensed in midair, grew rapidly in the wind, and in the blink of an eye became a flattened circle over two meters tall and half a meter wide. It swung down towards Catherine’s head like swatting a fly, accompanied by Vien’s gleeful shout:

“Candy’s here!”