"Well, this is really strange," Su Mu mumbled to herself, still puzzled by the rapidly increasing numbers on her attribute panel.
She mentally retraced her steps from the morning. "It's not like I did anything unusual today. In the morning, I just talked to Sister Shi and Uncle Ye, pretty normal stuff."
She continued her mental review. "Later, I came to the store with Sister Shi, met all the other staff members... but there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary about anything I've done since I woke up."
She tapped a finger against her chin. "Then what on earth could be causing this?" Su Mu pondered, trying hard to make sense of the unexpected boost.
Just then, she watched as the progress bar on her attribute panel ticked up by another 0.1%. As she saw it move, a thought, a possibility, suddenly crossed her mind.
"Wait a second..." she mused. "Yes, that must be it! The last time my progress bar jumped up quickly was when I was spending time with Lingxi. I was absorbing spiritual energy from her body back then."
A thoughtful expression settled on her face. "Although I'm definitely not doing anything like that right now, it's a different situation being so close to where Xu'er, Young Master Zhao, and the other two women are... in the rooms right next to me."
She slowly connected the dots. The intense activities happening in those private lounges were undoubtedly generating a lot of potent, raw energy. Could she be passively drawing from it?
With a mixture of curiosity and a little bit of nervousness, Su Mu decided to test her theory. She stood up quietly from her place.
Taking a slow, cautious breath, she began to walk softly down the corridor, moving closer to the private room where Xu'er was currently entertaining Young Master Zhao and his companions.
To her utter surprise, as she drew nearer to the closed door of the lounge, she kept her inner attention fixed on her attribute panel.
Just as she suspected, the rate of increase in the progress bar started to pick up speed. The closer she got to the room, the faster the numbers climbed.
As Su Mu stood right outside the closed door of the private lounge, a peculiar sensation washed over her entire body.
It started as a faint tingling in her skin, then quickly intensified, feeling like she was suddenly submerged in a warm, vibrating current of energy.
Her breath hitched slightly. It was a feeling she recognized. It was very much like the sensation she had experienced before, that time when she had been close to Lingxi and had found herself absorbing spiritual energy directly from her.
But this… this was different. While the type of feeling was similar – that distinct pull and infusion of energy – the intensity this time was on a whole other level.
It was significantly stronger, almost overwhelming, a rushing tide compared to the gentle stream she had felt with Lingxi.
This was an incredible opportunity, a wave of spiritual energy far more potent than anything she had encountered before, and she wasn't about to let it pass her by.
She pressed herself a little closer to the door, and almost immediately, she felt the rate of absorption intensify even more.
Keeping her inner gaze fixed on her attribute panel, she saw that the amount of energy she was absorbing every minute now showed a noticeable increase.
The numbers were climbing rapidly, the progress bar fluctuating as it gained between a remarkable 0.7% to 0.9% with each passing minute.
From within the room, the hushed sounds of pleasure – soft moans, whispered words, and other intimate noises – were faintly audible.
They were a subtle reminder of the source, making her body hot, but Su Mu diligently kept her focus centered on her attribute progress bar, her heart beginning to pound with a mixture of excitement and nervousness.
She could feel herself getting closer to a significant threshold.
As the progress bar inched its way past 95%, then 97%, and crept towards the 99% mark, Su Mu's anticipation reached its peak.
Her breath caught in her throat. This was it.
Then, precisely as the glowing bar on her internal attribute panel touched 100%... her mind experienced a strange, momentary lapse.
It was as if the world flickered out for a bare instant, a brief whiteout of her senses.
In the very next moment, an overwhelming surge of information flooded her consciousness.
Details pouring directly into her mind, specifically about the attribute panel itself – what it represented, how it functioned, and many other details..
And as this new understanding settled within her, the information displayed on the panel also began to change, its familiar layout shifting and expanding right before her inner eye.
As the momentary blankness faded and the flood of information settled into her mind, Su Mu began to grasp the true nature of what had just happened.
According to this new, innate understanding, the attribute panel wasn't just some abstract progress meter given by the Lunar Disc Breathing Method.
Instead, the information revealed that the attribute panel was actually a direct manifestation of her own unique, inborn spiritual talent or the manifestation of her Golden Finger.
It had always been a part of her since her transmigration, but it had lain dormant, like a sleeping seed, until it had absorbed enough specific types of energy to awaken completely and reveal its true potential.
The 100% mark she had just reached wasn't merely the end of a cycle; it was the full activation of this inherent gift.
Just as Su Mu was processing this incredible new understanding about her innate talent and the awakening of her attribute panel, she noticed something else.
The intense flow of energy she had been absorbing, the one that had been boosting her progress bar by nearly a percent per minute, suddenly… stopped.
It was an abrupt cut-off, like a tap being turned off.
"Huh?" Su Mu blinked, her inner senses reaching out. "Why did the increase in progress stop so abruptly?" she wondered, a flicker of disappointment mixing with her earlier elation.
"Could Xu'er and the others be… finished already?"
Before she could delve deeper into that thought, or even consider moving away from the door, it swung open with a sudden, soft whoosh.
Standing right there in the doorway, framed by the dim, luxurious light of the private lounge, was Xu'er.
Her face was flushed, not with exertion, but with what looked like pure, unadulterated excitement.
A radiant, almost dazzling smile lit up her features, and her eyes were practically sparkling.
She was also, Su Mu couldn't help but notice with a jolt, mostly naked.
A silky piece of her bunny costume was draped artfully but precariously over one shoulder, leaving very little to the imagination.
The scent of perfume, warm skin, and something else, something heady and intimate, wafted out from the room.
"Missy!" Xu'er exclaimed, her voice bright and cheerful, utterly devoid of any self-consciousness about her state of undress.
"What are you doing just standing out here in the hallway? Don't be shy! Do you want to join us? It seems Young Master Zhao has taken quite a shine to his companions, but there's always room for more fun. Do you want to join me?"
Su Mu froze solid for a long moment, her mind going completely blank.
It was as if someone had hit a pause button on her entire being.
Her eyes, wide with shock, inadvertently took in the sight of Xu'er, the expanse of smooth skin, the confident posture, the sheer exuberance.
A wave of heat instantly flooded her face, so intense she was sure she must be glowing red in the dim corridor light.
She felt like a child who had accidentally burst in on her parents, a profound sense of having stumbled into something incredibly private.
Awkwardness, sharp and overwhelming, pricked at her skin. She wanted the floor to swallow her whole.
"N-no!" Su Mu finally managed to stammer out the word, catching in her throat.
She took a quick, involuntary step backward, shaking her head a little too vigorously as if to physically dislodge the awkwardness.
Her gaze darted away from Xu'er, fixing on a point somewhere on the opposite wall.
She forced a breath into her lungs, struggling to regain some semblance of her usual composure.
"No, thank you, Xu'er," she said, her voice a little higher pitched than normal, but steadier now.
"I… I was just checking on something out here. Making sure everything was doing well." She offered a weak, slightly strained smile, desperately trying to redirect the conversation.
Xu'er gave Su Mu another bright, lingering smile that felt both incredibly open and a little bit like she knew all of Su Mu's flustered little secrets.
"Maybe next time, if you're curious enough to peek inside, why don't you join me instead, eh?" Xu'er added with a final, playful wink before gracefully turning and slipping back into the private lounge, closing the door softly behind her, leaving Su Mu standing alone in the corridor, her heart still thumping like a drum.
Su Mu let out a shaky breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
She pressed her palms to her hot cheeks for a moment, utterly mortified but also, strangely, a little intrigued by Xu'er's complete lack of inhibition.
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