“Boss, these are the tickets for the World Expo tomorrow… cough, cough… Wh-who are you?” Samir pushed open the door and immediately froze when he saw the new version of Vika.
He was instantly captivated by her.
And then came an overwhelming sense of inferiority.
Damn, I can’t even look directly at her!
Her distinctive Chinese-style black hair added several touches of alluring charm.
Her blue eyes, deep and mysterious in the darkness, gave him a profound, almost hypnotic feeling.
Without even realizing it, he found himself afraid to meet her gaze.
Yan Lingji was wearing the blue dance costume from the time Han Fei had danced, rather than the black-and-red battle outfit.
Of course, Duke couldn’t remember the exact appearance of the dance costume, but the general style was correct.
The shoes, however, were no longer the crystal-heeled dance shoes.
Instead, she wore white knee-high boots, which gave her a faint air of a wandering heroine.
Of course, she also had a set of black-and-red battle armor.
The Mana Ruby contained powerful life force, but ultimately, it was a concentration of a Red Dragon’s magical power, and the nature of Red Dragon magic was fire.
Originally a water-element spirit, after being infused with the Mana Ruby, she had gained the ability to control fire as well.
Previously, she had only possessed water.
Now, she truly embodied both the tenderness of water and the passion of fire.
[SPLASH—]
A huge ball of water suddenly fell from above and landed squarely on Samir’s head, drenching him like a drowned rat.
He shuddered violently.
“Ah—you’re… you’re Vika?”
Only then did he realize who she was.
“She goes by Yan Lingji now.”
“Ah… oh.”
Samir froze for a moment.
Although he understood Chinese, he didn’t really understand what those three characters meant.
“Give them to me.”
Duke reached out and took the tickets.
Although Duke had done his best, there was no way to alter her voice.
Why?
To be precise, although she looked no different from a human on the outside, internally she was still fundamentally different.
Her body contained no bones, internal organs, blood vessels, or anything of the sort—not to mention vocal cords.
You could think of her as a life-sized figurine that had suddenly come to life.
Her appearance could be adjusted and reshaped, but her voice couldn’t be modified.
Fortunately, pure elemental spirits naturally possessed the ability to simulate and imitate.
This wasn’t limited to their appearance; they could imitate voices as well.
After Duke’s countless corrections, she had finally managed to achieve more than ninety percent similarity.
At least she sounded like Yan Lingji, rather than simply sounding like another person.
“Oh. Um… I’ll head out first.”
Samir hurriedly fled the room.
Duke couldn’t help laughing at the sight and teased him, “Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for her?”
“Ahem, how could I? Boss, don’t joke around.”
Samir immediately became embarrassed and nearly tripped over himself.
“Good. As long as you don’t have that idea!”
“Her appearance may have changed, but her body hasn’t. She can’t have children. You can marry a celebrity if you want; I won’t stop you. But as for Yan Lingji, forget about it!”
Although that was indeed what Duke meant, Samir could still detect a hint of warning in his words.
He silently cursed himself.
Damn, I’m such an idiot.
She’s obviously the boss’s woman.
“Ahem, Boss, you’re joking. How could someone like me possibly get married? Having a few lovers is already more than enough for me. Uh… I’ll head out first.”
With that, he turned and headed downstairs.
Samir had already stepped into the realm of magic.
His lifespan was destined to increase dramatically in the future, and with Karazhan’s existence, as long as Karazhan remained intact, he would effectively be immortal.
Marriage?
That was a distant fantasy.
Although there was the magic mask, which could allow him to accompany his wife while she “aged,” that aging wasn’t real.
His wife dying wouldn’t matter; he could simply remove the magic mask.
But what about their children?
What if he encountered his own father in New York when his father was young?
Would he have to say, “Sorry, you’ve mistaken me for someone else”?
Having a son but being unable to acknowledge him.
Having a daughter but being unable to embrace her.
How painful would that be?
The moment he chose to step into the mystical world, Samir had already prepared himself mentally.
How could he possibly find a wife to accompany him for life?
He would have to find someone with magical aptitude equal to his own, and she would also need the boss’s approval before being granted magic.
But would Duke ever agree that easily?
Besides, Samir would never beg Duke for such a thing.
So he had never considered finding a wife to spend his entire life with.
Having several lovers around him was enough.
There were even a few young actresses among them.
After all, he was wealthy, humorous, and full of mystery, which made him extremely attractive to young women.
If he wanted companionship, he could find a few lovers.
If he wanted descendants, there were plenty of women willing to bear his children.
In America, as long as you had money, what couldn’t you buy?
The boss of Hell’s Kitchen… er, Heaven’s Kitchen, not having a few lovers around him would be far too embarrassing.
In reality, Samir didn’t know that if he really found a wife and asked Duke to grant her magic, she would no longer truly be his wife.
She would become Duke’s wife.
A loyalty level of over ninety percent meant she would do whatever he asked.
Heh.
How many married couples could have a loyalty level of ninety percent?
Sixty percent would already be pretty good.
If it really reached ninety percent, she wouldn’t even let Samir get on the boat anymore.
Therefore, Duke would never do such a thing.
He could never teach Samir’s wife magic…
He couldn’t throw that away!
“…”
Watching Samir’s departing back, Duke said nothing.
This really had been a kind of warning.
How could Yan Lingji possibly be coveted by some foreigner?
However, saying that she couldn’t have children was actually false.
Elemental spirits could indeed give birth to children.
First, they would split off a small fragment from their elemental core.
This fragment couldn’t condense an elemental body on its own.
It needed to remain inside their body until it was capable of emerging and becoming independent.
That was considered their child.
So, for elemental spirits, both mothers and fathers could give birth.
Although the nature of the process was different, it was… more or less the same thing, right?
However, she really couldn’t mate with a human and produce offspring.
This wasn’t simply a matter of crossing species.
“Master, you really do like this big sister, don’t you?”
Lian suddenly floated out from who-knows-where, looking like a ghost.
Well, she was a ghost.
“Why do you call her big sister?” Duke asked, puzzled.
“She’s made of water elements. Who knows how many years elemental beings have existed in this world?”
Lian answered as though it were obvious.
Well, she had a point.
“Hey, Master, you still haven’t answered me.”
“Answered what?”
“Do you like this big sister or not?”
“Of course I do. Who doesn’t like her? Seventy-three years from now, you might even see her on a computer.”
“What is a computer? A brain that has been electrified?”
Lian was very curious.
Pfft—what kind of strange imagination is that?
A brain that has been electrified…
“A computer is… yes, that’s right. A computer is a brain that has been electrified.”
Duke casually brushed her off and waved his hand, sending Lian flying out of the room.
“Hmph, stinky Master.”
“Go get some rest first, Yan.”
“Okay.”
Elemental spirits didn’t possess the same emotions as humans.
They had moods—happiness, anger, sorrow, joy, and so on—but they didn’t possess the complicated feelings that humans had.
They were comparatively simple.
After tidying things up, it was time to head to the World Expo.
(End of Chapter)