She is the Side Character! — Watch Her Change her fate!

Sure enough, Ah Chen said, ”He’s on leave today, not coming.”

When they parted yesterday, Bai Chao had already told her that he wouldn’t be at the swimming pool today, likely due to some NPC setting.

The person asking felt a bit disappointed; looks like they need to be extra cautious today.

Fortunately, he wasn’t someone who completely relied on Bai Chao. Of course, if there’s a shortcut, you should take it; if not, then it’s all on your own skills.

Ah Chen changed into her swimsuit in the locker room and headed to the pool.

Not sure how today’s experience would unfold, this thought barely finished when she saw a sign by the pool that read: Shallow end, three hours of accumulated swimming experience.

She didn’t linger and went to the deep end, where she indeed found the ubiquitous sign: Deep end, one hour of accumulated swimming experience

Once in the deep end, Ah Chen wasn’t planning on returning to the shallow end. For her, the less time, the better.

While others were still hesitating, they heard a splash as Ah Chen entered the water. She didn’t intend to swim from start to finish; she looked back at the sign, and surprisingly, there was a time display now.

Even just being in the water counted toward the time.

So, it’s just about being in the water.

For others, the safest way would be to enter the water with a float, staying by the edge of the pool, ready to get out if anything felt off.

If her predictions were correct, the danger should be underwater.

The sign stated that this was cumulative time; if there’s danger, get out, and when it’s safe, go back in. This level isn’t considered difficult, but there are no shortcuts, which explains why Bai Chao took the day off.

Many were already watching Ah Chen, noticing how she got in the water immediately, and they quickly figured out the situation.

They stared at the pool, clenching their fists. Even a fool would know the danger lies underwater, yet they had no choice but to enter the water.

Now they just wanted to find out one thing: how strong are the underwater ghosts in the deep end, and can they handle it?

While they were deep in thought, Ah Chen had already sensed movement underwater.

She glanced into the water, two shadows darted up, about to grab her legs, and she kicked them back with both feet.

The two ghosts watched as Ah Chen remained in the water with no intention of getting out, and they didn’t launch a second attack but hovered at the pool bottom instead.

”Even if ten more come, we couldn’t do anything to her. No need to, really. We’ll just pretend. Each time we approach, we turn and run. This way, we won’t get hit, but... we must run quickly; otherwise, we’ll still get hit.”

”Alright, let’s do that!”

”Maybe call a few more colleagues to pass the time. After all, she’s a big shot. It’s normal to have more of us, right?”

”True, I’ll get them over right away.”

Despite their voices being somewhat muted, Ah Chen still heard their discussion.

These ghosts sure are sneaky, but that’s all the better. She’s not someone prone to violence.

People standing by the pool saw those two shadows emerge underwater, only to be kicked back by Ah Chen.

No surprise there.

But they didn’t think they could do the same themselves, knowing now that there were two ghosts in the deep end at once.

For them, that’s a bit of trouble.

Also, they didn’t dare to try, as if they tried and got stuck in that area, it would be bad.

If unsure, they ultimately decided on the shallow end; even if it took longer, at least there aren’t as many ghosts.

”Look! What’s that?” someone exclaimed, catching everyone’s attention, and soon they saw a mass of shadows approaching Ah Chen from beneath the pool.

”Whoa, is the deep end a ghost nest? How are there so many? Can she handle it?”

Everyone held their breath; even knowing Ah Chen’s prowess, seeing so many ghosts at once was still terrifying.

Yet, the scene that followed left them stunned.

The ghosts charged at Ah Chen ferociously, seemingly about to reach her, then suddenly dispersed and repeated this several times until the water was calm again. Underwater, they gathered together, either discussing or resting.

A few minutes passed, and they came again. Just like before, as they neared Ah Chen, they swiftly fled, as if afraid of being hit.

They all had a vague feeling that maybe they were indeed afraid of being beaten?

Time flew by, and an hour passed. Ah Chen completed her experience.

Those numerous ghosts, seeing her get out, also scattered, who knows where they disappeared to.

The onlookers went silent. They realized one thing: they couldn’t take Ah Chen’s experience as a reference.

If it were them underwater, those ghosts wouldn’t be nearly as docile and would be viciously grabbing their legs, drowning them mercilessly.

Thus, not a single person chose the deep end, even knowing they wouldn’t encounter so many ghosts. They still didn’t dare to take the risk.

Once in the water, each of them only dealt with one ghost at a time, grateful for their choice. Three hours felt long, but as long as they stayed alert and close to the pool’s edge, with a float, they could pass even without any special tools.

Though three hours isn’t short, when people grew tired or exhausted, ghosts would inevitably seize the opportunity, leading to some being eliminated.

But compared to previous challenges, this level didn’t see many eliminations, with 25 people completing the swimming pool experience.

In the restaurant, Ah Chen was having a meal with Bai Chao.

Someone noticed them and hurried over to greet, then asked Bai Chao, ”Mr. Bai, will you be going to the arcade tomorrow?”

”Yes, I’ll be going.”

Hearing this answer, the person left satisfied.

But just as they were leaving, they overheard Bai Chao say to Ah Chen, ”I wonder how much money they still have, the things I have aren’t cheap.”

The person walking away nearly tripped, thinking about this profiteer, does he know how poor they are?

”What will you be selling tomorrow?” Ah Chen asked.

The person who had almost left didn’t move, eavesdropping eagerly. Knowing in advance might not help much, but they just wanted to know.

”Defense Shield.” Bai Chao didn’t intend to hide it. He knew people were listening, and knowing in advance wouldn’t have much effect.

Ah Chen pondered. Tomorrow was supposed to be the arcade project, but Bai Chao was selling a Defense Shield, not knowing what would happen then. There were many possibilities; she didn’t know exactly and had no intention to inquire further.

”Time flies; it’s almost the sixth day,” Bai Chao said somewhat reluctantly, and once this instance ended, she would pass through one more level and could get out.

Even though they were already in a relationship, he wasn’t sure about the future; she never mentioned not leaving.

As she didn’t bring it up, he didn’t know how to address it either.

She couldn’t possibly give up the chance to get out just because they’re dating, could she?

The person eavesdropping twitched their lips. Does time fly? For them, it felt like an eternity!

The sixth day arrived just like that.

Early in the morning, everyone gathered at the arcade entrance. As they expected, it wasn’t free to play; they had to spend money on game tokens.

They all heard Bai Chao would be selling Defense Shields today, and their hearts felt heavy, wondering what danger required the Defense Shield.