The System is Abstract, Luckily, So Am I

Chapter 158 : Lin Li Saves Baowei from the Depths of Despair

Lin Li's already overburdened brain now felt like it was splitting open. Feeling as if he was just one step away from sudden death, he hurriedly stopped the operation of the "Flask of Hidden Passions."

Fortunately, it seemed there were no morning exercises today, otherwise Lin Li definitely would have had to ask for sick leave.

"I'm not eating it!"

Wang Yuezhi, who was still staring fixedly at him, 'shouted in a low growl' before gritting his teeth and returning to his seat.

Popping a mint into his mouth, Lin Li sat sideways, leaning against the window.

He recalled what had just happened.

The "Flask of Hidden Passions" couldn't strip a person of their ability to generate emotions and desires; it only absorbed the emotions and desires they produced. In other words, the situation just now meant...

—He couldn't absorb as fast as Wang Yuezhi was producing them.

Dammit. Lin Li only hated himself for not being strong enough. If his brain could have handled it, he probably could have filled an entire flask right then and there, couldn't he?

The task progress bar had noticeably jumped a chunk because of it.

This guy Wang Yuezhi... he really was a top-tier power bank.

As expected of my bro, he's just got that natural talent and ability.

"Looks like we really don't have morning exercises today," Bai Bufan, who had already walked outside to line up, strolled back in through the back door, sounding somewhat relieved.

Then, he suddenly raised his hands and did a fadeaway jump shot.

As for why Bai Bufan suddenly did this move, don't ask. He probably didn't even know himself.

Just like slapping the top of the doorframe when walking through it, it was purely a subconscious boy thing.

Many times, the body moves faster than the brain.

"Bufan, catch," Lin Li opened his eyes and tossed the mint in his hand toward Bai Bufan, adding, "Throw it in the trash for me."

Bai Bufan, who had caught it, realized it was a mint, and already popped it into his mouth, fell silent upon hearing the second half of the sentence.

He then spat the mint back into his palm and stared blankly at Lin Li. "Next time, could you say that before you throw it?"

"It just fell on the floor. With you sucking it in and spitting it out just now, all the dust and stuff is already in your mouth anyway. It'd be a waste to throw it away now. You might as well just eat it," Lin Li said earnestly.

Bai Bufan: "..."

But Lin Li made sense. Bai Bufan tossed it back into his mouth. A little dirt never hurt.

Returning to his seat, Bai Bufan stretched lazily and sighed softly, "Using the break to sleep or do homework is such a waste. If only I knew the Shadow Clone Jutsu, I could happily go play and let them do all the troublesome stuff for me."

"Is there a possibility that your clones would be just as lazy as you, and the end result would just be countless versions of you happily going out to play?" Lin Li retorted without even bothering to lift his eyelids.

Bai Bufan: "..."

"Lin Li, your words are so damn hurtful."

"Words can't hurt."

"Your mom."

"She's very healthy, thanks for asking."

"But I still want to learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Because if there were many of me happily going out to play, I have a few bold ideas that they would probably agree with," Bai Bufan wiggled his eyebrows.

"Alright, you can shut up now. Don't pollute my database," Lin Li covered his ears.

...

Knock, knock, knock.

"Lin Li, what brings you here?" During the lunch break, Chen Tianming opened the dorm room door and asked curiously upon seeing Lin Li.

"Why isn't Bufan in the dorm? Hasn't he finished eating?" Lin Li asked, looking slightly surprised after glancing around and noticing Bai Bufan's absence.

Lin Li had gone out to eat for lunch, so he wasn't with Bai Bufan.

His main goal was to conveniently replenish the duck blood for his "Flask of Hidden Passions."

Moreover, while outside, Lin Li observed the flask closely and noticed that its surface was no longer entirely pitch black. A few fine white lines had appeared. To the naked eye, they looked quite like cracks, but they still felt smooth to the touch.

This was probably the proof of wear and tear. Once it was covered in white lines, it would shatter and begin its self-repair phase.

"I don't know either. Probably hasn't finished eating yet," Zhou Baowei shrugged, sitting on his bed on the bottom bunk.

He stared at Lin Li for a couple of seconds, then reached down and rolled up his own pant legs. After admiring his handiwork for a moment, he pulled them back down in frustration.

The school uniforms were generally oversized and long, and since it was summer, rolling up pant legs was quite normal.

But Zhou Baowei felt a bit indignant. Why did Lin Li look kind of roguish and handsome when he rolled up his pant legs—a top-tier bad-boy look—but when he did it, he looked like a landlord's peasant son getting ready to plant rice seedlings?

Damn you, Lin Li.

What exactly had this guy been doing this semester? His transformation was even bigger than the difference between Bai Bufan and a human being.

"No worries, you guys will do just fine. Bufan not being here is his loss. I downloaded an amazing 3D animation on my phone. The modeling is absolutely top-tier. I just had to share it with you guys. What do you say, want to appreciate some art?" Lin Li pulled his phone out of his pocket, waved it a couple of times, and tempted them.

"Really good stuff? Let me see. There isn't some kind of trap, is there?" Zhou Baowei asked curiously.

"I'm not watching. I must uphold my husbandly virtues for Qiaoqiao. If I watch this kind of mental infidelity, my conscience won't be at peace," Chen Tianming shook his head.

Lin Li: "..."

Sometimes, Lin Li truly felt helpless.

Ignoring Chen Tianming, Lin Li sat on Baowei's bed. He placed the phone in a spot where it would be blocked by the blanket from anyone walking in through the door, adding a layer of security, and started the video he had downloaded while outside.

3D, with a plot, and subtitles.

"Wow, it's Tifa!" Zhou Baowei exclaimed.

"You know her? You play Final Fantasy too?"

"Final Fantasy? What's that?"

Hearing this answer, Lin Li and Zhou Baowei exchanged a knowing smile and gave each other a bro hug.

The 3D zone couldn't lose Tifa, just like Chengdu couldn't stop selling lube.

D.Va, Tifa, Marie Rose, they had once held up the sky of the 3D zone with their delicate bodies. Unfortunately, as times changed, there were fewer and fewer new works featuring them.

Now, the 3D zone was surprisingly dominated by Genshin Impact.

The two began watching the video, putting on earphones to listen to the decadent sounds.

Since the second period this morning, Lin Li hadn't used the "Flask of Hidden Passions" again, so his mental and physical energy had recovered quite a bit.

"This plot is too intense." When Zhou Baowei pulled the blanket over himself, his meaning went without saying.

Especially since they were still just going through the plot, and the characters' clothes were even fully intact.

Seeing this, Lin Li was just about to take out the flask to absorb it when he suddenly remembered that the flask still contained the complex emotions he had absorbed from Wang Yuezhi that morning.

After thinking about it, he figured this stuff should be easier to process than sleepiness, so Lin Li outputted all the emotions and desires inside the flask into himself.

"Baowei, oh Baowei. Others endure hardships, you endure McDonald's. Others are imperative, you are impotent. Others strengthen their bodies, you just have a strong body. Between eating less and not eating, you chose to eat a lot. Damn you."

As the emotions entered his body, Lin Li instantly felt depressed and angry, so he irritably vented at Baowei.

Zhou Baowei: "Huh?"

"When you sleep, do you ever find your blanket a bit too narrow? No matter how you adjust it, it's always a bit short and can't cover your stomach? You probably do. You know the reason why, too. After all, this blanket is only so big," Lin Li patted Zhou Baowei's blanket with disgust.

"..."

"Bro, I can tolerate you scolding me, but can you at least follow some basic logic? There has to be a reason, right?" Zhou Baowei looked completely bewildered and somewhat wronged.

"Phew—"

"Never mind. I was just suddenly in a bad mood. After scolding you a bit, I feel better now. Come on, let's keep watching," Lin Li smiled and waved his hand.

Zhou Baowei: "?"

Seriously, is this guy sick in the head?

Lin Li, meanwhile, sighed internally again. A magic artifact was indeed a magic artifact. Even though he knew and was prepared for the sudden anger and jealousy that would hit him, when those emotions actually entered his body, he found that he couldn't get comfortable without venting. The urge to curse someone out was very hard to suppress.

Baowei was right there, so why not scold him?

Wait.

Wang Yuezhi hadn't scolded him this morning.

Could he be the true master, a legendary ninja?

Although it might have been because these were several seconds' worth of collected emotions bursting into his body all at once, Lin Li's evaluation of Wang Yuezhi still went up a whole tier. Lin Li was willing to call him the Ninja God King!

The two continued watching.

The flask was now empty. Zhou Baowei, hand over all your integrity!

Successfully absorbed.

Not only that, but the system's progress bar increased even faster than when he absorbed sleepiness, and significantly faster than when he absorbed anger.

Could absorbing this be the most efficient method?

Did the system consider this kind of desire to be more negative for a cultivator than anger?

Did it directly classify it as lust and wickedness?

While Lin Li was pondering this, Zhou Baowei's expression gradually grew solemn.

He had been staring intently at Lin Li's phone, but his gaze gradually shifted back and forth between his blanket-covered legs and the phone screen.

Strange.

Zhou Baowei took a deep breath. He wanted to say something, stopped, wanted to say it again, but ultimately kept his mouth shut out of embarrassment.

The modeling and plot were clearly top-notch, and he highly approved of them. He was even planning to ask Lin Li for the link so he could appreciate it in detail over the weekend. But why, when the most exciting part of the plot started, did he suddenly have no reaction?

His brain was clearly very into it, so why was there no physical response?

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak?

"..."

Is something wrong with me?

No way, I'm still so young!

"..."

On Lin Li's side, before he could figure out the answer, he suddenly realized that the "Flask of Hidden Passions" could no longer absorb anything.

This meant Zhou Baowei was no longer producing this desire, or at least it was no longer his primary emotion.

Lin Li turned his head. When he saw clearly, he immediately forced his laughter back down his throat.

—At this moment, Zhou Baowei was sweating profusely, his eyes completely unfocused, and his lips pale.

His own actions were indeed a bit inhumane.

But Lin Li wasn't like Wu Min, who only cared about the killing and not the burying. Lin Li handled both the killing and the burying.

Flask of Hidden Passions, anxiety, absorb!

Successfully absorbed.

The progress bar increased faster than it did for sleepiness, but slower than for anger.

Meanwhile, Zhou Baowei felt his mood calm down significantly.

Actually... having no reaction isn't that big of a deal, right? After all, I don't really use it for anything anyway. If it's gone, it's gone. No need to be anxious. Just relax.

...Wait, no.

How could it be fine if it's gone?! Why would I even have such a thought?!

Eh? Wait, it seems to be reacting again?

Your specially followed player "Little Baowei" has come online. It has been 0 days, 0 hours, and 3 minutes since its last login.

(End of Chapter)