Mission in another world with my transformed best friend

The sweltering heat seeped into every pore of his body. Under the close gaze and the exchange of breaths, Wang Kai had to turn his head slightly again. Although his wall of rationality was being challenged, he couldn't guarantee that continuing like this wouldn't lead to any "accidents." He had to act decisively.

Just then, Wang Kai's wandering gaze fell upon several small, private changing rooms next to the bathhouse lobby, and an idea suddenly came to him.

"How about this, little Martha, let's play a game first. If you win, I'll do whatever you ask for, okay?"

What game is it?

"Hide and seek. You close your eyes, and I'll find a place to hide in the bathhouse. You count to ten, then come find me. If you find me, I lose, okay?"

"Okay, Kyle, hurry up and find a place to hide, I'm starting to count, 1, 2, 3..."

Martha sat up straight in the bathtub, closed her eyes, and began to count. Seeing this, Wang Kai grabbed a towel from the side, wrapped it around his waist, and tiptoed into a changing room, closing the door behind him...

"9, 10... I've finished counting. Kyle, are you hiding well? After I find you, my request will be a little exciting, so don't be scared, okay? Hehehe~"

Overwhelmed with excitement, Martha shakily stood up. The humid air of the bathhouse and the throbbing in her heart turned her face a tomato-like color. Her eyes shone with the light of a hunter slaying its prey. Her small nose twitched slightly amidst her disordered breathing as she quickly caught the familiar scent lingering in the air that made her heart flutter.

"Hehehe, is Brother Kyle hiding well? Don't worry, I still remember our promise before, I won't... But, today I couldn't resist anymore, so 'sneaking away' for a little while is allowed, right? I'll keep it as a little secret between us..."

With a swaying body, Martha followed the scent to the door of the changing room. After taking a few deep breaths, she reached out her small hand, placed it on the door, and gently pushed it open a crack, chuckling softly.

"I guess Kyle seems to have forgotten that my little nose is very sensitive, you know. You were hiding inside, weren't you... I push!... Ouch!"

The moment the door was pushed open, a magical water sphere that had already taken shape above her head suddenly transformed into a small waterfall, drenching Martha completely. It was like undergoing an "Ice Bucket Challenge" in the sweltering heat of midsummer. As Martha's body tensed, the temperature of her previously burning skin instantly dropped, her dazed eyes cleared in an instant, and her complexion returned to normal...

This physical "cooling method" should be effective for both men and women.

"I'm sorry, Martha, I could only use the 'cold water sobering method' to calm you down. Were you scared?"

The cold water droplets that slid down her hair and onto her cheeks completely extinguished the last trace of excitement in Martha's heart. She looked down at her wet body, touched her face, and looked up at Wang Kai, who was only wrapped in a bath towel. A complex feeling of shame and regret welled up in her heart.

Once Martha regained her senses, she recalled all the bold actions she had taken under the influence of her emotions. Her shyness and girlish reserve made it impossible for her to remain calm. Her brows furrowed, and tears mixed with water droplets slid down her cheeks.

"Waaah... Brother Kyle, I'm sorry, just now... just now I really couldn't control myself and made you see an embarrassing scene. You... you won't hate me from now on, okay?"

Wang Kai smiled slightly, stepped forward, patted her little head, and said calmly with a smile.

"It's okay. Didn't I swear a long time ago that I would treat you like a little sister? How could a brother be angry or hate you for his little sister's pranks, right?"

"So, brother, do you think she's a bad girl? Will you look down on her in the future?"

"Absolutely not. After all, you have 'orc blood,' it's perfectly normal... In my eyes, you'll always be the best girl, understand?"

"Hmm, I understand... (whispering) But it's not entirely because of 'bloodline'..."

"Good, I understand. Oh? Martha, are you using the 'sensing ring'?"

The unexpected incident was considered "resolved," and Wang Kai suddenly noticed out of the corner of his eye that the "sensing ring" on the hand that was patting Masha's head flashed a few times with white light.

Martha looked up, blinked her big eyes, and said with a puzzled expression, "No, I haven't used it at all, not even in the 'mini-game' just now."

Wang Kai was even more puzzled. He remembered that the "sensing ring" had only been given to Martha and Zhang Lan, but one of them was nearby, and the other should be in the "Alchemy Pavilion." Why would Zhang Lan need to expend magic power to "sensitize"? Even if he wanted to sense, he could have done it once or twice to find out the general location. Why was it still flashing constantly...?

Moreover, the flashes seemed to follow a certain pattern: three short flashes followed by three long flashes, and then three short flashes again... This repeated several times before the light on the ring disappeared...

...Let's rewind to twenty minutes earlier, to Zhang Lan's room on the fifth floor of the Alchemy Pavilion.

"Ugh... This is so annoying. Why are there so many speeches? Let me see. Why are there so many chambers of commerce here to 'bid'? Each chamber of commerce has a bizarre name, and they're all hard to pronounce. At least they should consider my literacy as an outsider. What if I mispronounce 'Zhang Qun Chamber of Commerce' as 'Gong Chang Jun Yang Chamber of Commerce'? That would be so embarrassing."

What to do? Can't we use magic to create one of those projectors, like the one TV anchors read from? Wouldn't that be better than reading a script while watching it...?

Zhang Lan tossed the manuscript paper aside and, like a frustrated girl with nowhere to vent her anger, tossed and turned on her bed without a care for her image.

After realizing it wasn't working, I rubbed my eyes, jumped out of bed, and opened the window. A bright moon hung high in the sky, and incredibly fresh air rushed in, instantly easing the tension in my brain cells after "memorizing."

Helpless, Zhang Lan shook her head, turned around, and picked up another manuscript to slowly memorize.

As she carried it, she recalled how Wang Kai had spent the entire afternoon on the third floor improving the spring smelting technology after deciding to take on some responsibility, and had even produced more than a dozen finished products of different specifications. She couldn't help but admire how serious he was when he got down to business, finally showing the sense of responsibility that a real man should have...

"Ergou, I knew it! Who in this world is more qualified to be my companion than you? The road ahead is still long, and I hope you can maintain that serious attitude. And you probably don't know, but I secretly came to see you several times this afternoon. To be honest, a man's face when he's focused and serious does look, as the legends say, quite handsome..."