My job list is full of alien girls.

Chapter 35 "What do you expect me to do to repay you?" "You"

Rhodes suddenly remembered that both times he received notifications of new materials, it was triggered when he was not in a combined state.

Could it be that... in his combined state, he is unable to detect other materials?

"Is it because the slots are occupied?" Rod couldn't help but mutter.

"What weird stuff are you talking about now?" Alina couldn't help but complain. "Aren't you leaving? You're not planning to stay in this stinky place forever, are you?"

Upon hearing this, Rod casually asked, "You want to leave?"

"Of course I want to! This place is disgusting," Alina said without hesitation, her voice full of disgust. "I really don't know how you can stand it..."

"Okay," Rhodes nodded, "then let's split up."

"What?" Upon hearing this, Alina's complaints came to an abrupt halt.

Silence fell instantly, with only the sound of dripping water coming from nearby.

Could it be that she complained too much, finally annoyed Rod, and earned his dislike?

After a long pause, she asked in a muffled voice:

"You, you're trying to kick me out?"

For some reason, her voice sounded somewhat aggrieved.

"Yeah, didn't you complain about the smell and how uncomfortable it was here?" Rhodes said matter-of-factly. "Anyway, we've already tested a way to avoid those monsters. You can go up first and meet me outside the exit."

So that's the reason... This guy is actually pretty nice.

A warm feeling welled up inside her, and Alina breathed a sigh of relief: "And you?"

"I'll look around some more. If I really can't find it, then I'll just give up." He shrugged.

"Actually, it's not that I can't hold on a little longer..."

Before Alina could finish speaking, that familiar feeling of detachment came over her, as if it were separating them, which frightened Alina so much that her face changed drastically.

Is this guy going to let himself out here?!

The thought of falling directly onto a ground full of sewage and mud, covered in stench, with even the smell of sewer seeping into her hair, gave her goosebumps.

"Wait! Don't disintegrate yet!" Alina shouted hurriedly, stopping Rhodes from taking any further action.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Rod asked, puzzled.

"Don't undo it here, wait until we get up there!" Alina said in a panic.

"Alright."

Seeing that Alina was unwilling to be released here, Rhode took out a map and looked for the nearest sewer exit.

Not long after, the turquoise ranger emerged from the sewers.

Before Alina could say anything, she suddenly felt her body lighten, and a huge pulling force separated the two of them completely.

A refreshing breeze swept over me, carrying the scents of earth and grass, a stark contrast to the nauseating stench of the sewers.

"Huff..." Alina gasped for breath, and then saw Rhode pull off his mask and jump down again without stopping.

"That guy... he left without even saying goodbye."

Alina couldn't help but sigh, but she wasn't too worried about Rhode's safety.

For some reason, she felt she could vaguely sense Rhodes's location, as if he were still beside her...

"Um?"

Rod jumped into the sewer, but before he had taken more than a few steps, he realized something was wrong.

"Elina?" He subconsciously looked up and could vaguely sense that Elina was standing right above him.

In the darkness, the "thread" that connected him and Alina, allowing them to merge, had somehow thickened. It seemed to pierce through the void and extend to the other end, to Alina's location.

What exactly happened?

Rhodes was somewhat puzzled. After thinking it over, he concluded that the change between the two must be due to the increase in their basic resonance last night.

Thinking of this, Rhodes glanced at the system panel and carefully searched through it before discovering a tiny change.

【Combination Skill (Inherent):】

Resonance: Automatically combines racial traits, abilities, and basic attributes of combined materials, unlocking related traits and classes.

As resonance increases, in a non-united state, the position and state of the materials can be faintly perceived (to be further developed).

[Current basic resonance level: 30%]

[Fusing Material: Elina (Half-Elf), Material Compatibility: High, Material Status: Excellent]

"In other words, as the basic resonance level increases again, it will unlock other related abilities..." Rhodes couldn't help but feel excited after deducing this.

"I wonder if it will be possible to summon her remotely to merge with me in the future. That would be so much more convenient and free..."

How wonderful would it be if two people didn't need to be forced to act together, but could unite simply by calling out to each other, as long as their hearts were in sync?

Thinking of this, Rod couldn't help but smile slightly, already imagining that wonderful scene.

It wasn't long before he came to his senses.

In just a few days, he has increased the basic resonance level to 30%, making rapid progress.

However, as we all know, the rate at which levels are increased slows down as you progress, and it's probably not easy to achieve such rapid progress in a short period of time.

Therefore, the most urgent task is to find the new material suggested by the system and unlock more professions and skills!

Rhodes suppressed his thoughts, raised his hand to pull at the black cloth mask covering his face, and while holding the map, he recorded the route he had taken.

For the next half hour, Rod moved through the sewers like a ghost. His footsteps were so light that they made only a very faint sound as he stepped on the uneven, slippery surface of the sewers.

He encountered two groups of monsters during the journey, but he managed to lure them away by throwing food and bells, so it was a safe and uneventful experience.

"I haven't found anything... Could my guess be wrong?" Rhodes sighed silently and decided to search for another half hour before heading back.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the depths of the passage.

Ta-ta-ta--

The person who came seemed to be small in stature, and his voice was very soft, but his footsteps were rapid, so there was probably something chasing him.

Having quickly grasped this point, Rod's eyes narrowed. To avoid being affected, he glanced around briefly, then quickly slipped into a nearby pipe and climbed up the curved pipe wall.

Almost the instant he hid, a system notification that had been silent for a long time suddenly popped up.

[Unknown highly relevant profession material detected!]

Rhodes was stunned when he saw this, never expecting to run into the person he had been searching for for so long.

"Could it be?"

He instinctively wanted to go down and see what was going on, but this caused his foot, which was supporting him on the pipe wall, to slip, and he lost his balance, bumping into it and making a slight sound.

Just then, a petite figure suddenly rushed into the passage.

She was wearing a large black hooded robe. Compared to before when the brim of the hood was pulled down so that her face could not be seen, she was now running at full speed and naturally had no time to care about hiding her conspicuous white hair, red eyes, and wool.

Her steps were unsteady, the hem of her robe stained with mud and blood, and with each step she took, you could hear her heavy breathing.

Hearing the faint wind and sounds inside the pipe, she paused, thinking it was an exit pipe leading upwards. She quickly crawled inside, trying to use it to reach other places and escape her pursuers.

As she crawled into the pipe and prepared to climb up, she saw a man with his limbs spread wide and braced against the pipe wall, suspending himself there to prevent him from slipping.

"Hi." Rod looked at her, then at his own rock climbing posture, and could only greet her politely.

"you……"

Aphrodite was about to say something, but the heavy footsteps approaching from outside the pipe made her decide to shut up.

The clanging of metal armor mingled with the splattering of leather boots into the sewage, and a man's deep voice rang out, his tone seemingly filled with anger and displeasure.

"Where did that damned demon bastard go?"

"She couldn't have gone far; she should be nearby."

"Where is Lady Milan? Hasn't she caught up yet?"

The shouts of the guards lingered outside the pipe, making Aphrodite's heart tighten.

The path upwards was blocked by this strange man, and if she went back, she would be thrown into the hands of the guards. Her position was at the entrance of the pipe, and she could easily find someone hiding inside by simply peeking out.

There was no time to hesitate.

Aphrodite looked at the strangely behaving man in front of her, took a deep breath, and then grabbed his leg, preparing to climb up.

"You..." Rod frowned, suppressing his instinct to kick her, and let the girl climb on top of him.

Cool fingertips gripped his calf through his coarse cloth trousers; Aphro's movements were so light they seemed weightless.

She braced her knees against his thighs for leverage, and slowly wrapped her body around his torso. Her wide black robe slipped down, revealing a slender, pale wrist.

"Well……"

Rhodes swayed slightly, but quickly regained his balance thanks to his powerful core.

Aphrodite wrapped her arms around Rhodes' neck, jumped up lightly, and wrapped her legs around his strong waist and abdomen, dangling in the air halfway up his body.

This forced Rod to reach out and support her soft, weak hips and legs to prevent her from falling and revealing their location.

Aphrodite's expression froze when her buttocks were suddenly touched, and she seemed to feel uncomfortable.

"This guy..." Aphrodite frowned slightly.

At this moment, their bodies were pressed tightly together in the narrow tube, and they could even faintly feel the vibrations of each other's heartbeats.

This intimate scene reminded Rod of a koala hugging a tree, and that he was that tree.

Just then, the chaotic footsteps outside suddenly stopped.

"Lord Milan, you've finally arrived..." The slightly obsequious voice rang out from outside the pipe.

Upon hearing that familiar name, Rhodes instinctively moved his head, curious, wanting to listen more carefully to their conversation.

"Please don't move," Aphrodite whispered in his neck. "Just let me use you for a bit, please. It'll be over soon."

She then feigned intimacy, burying her head deeply into Rod's shoulder, her long, snow-white hair cascading out from under the hood, brushing against his chin and tickling him slightly.

Her smooth skin clung to his burning body, her moist breath spraying onto his carotid artery, like a fragile little animal nestled in his arms, unconsciously arousing a strong desire to protect her.

"Hmm..." Rhodes looked at her face so close to his, staring into her scarlet pupils, and earnestly whispered, "Could you move away from my neck? I'm feeling a little uncomfortable."

Aphrodite's forced smile froze for a moment before she said softly, "...Okay."

"Lord Milan, please cast that tracking spell one more time..." The fawning voice rang out again, startling Aphrodite into holding her breath.

"It's so noisy."

"I already told you she's nearby," Milan's impatient voice rang out. "You're all incompetent and can't catch her, yet you're wasting my precious magic?"

She snorted coldly, and after another round of whispers, she finally agreed to the guards' demands, having received some benefit in return.

"Alright, I'll cast the tracking spell one more time."

Looking down, Rod could only vaguely see a faint purple glow through the gap in the pipe opening; nothing else was visible.

Aphrodite didn't dare to breathe, her mind racing as she considered what other means she could break the deadlock.

"Damn it, if only I had interrupted those damn skills of hers with [Silver Light Whisper] earlier..."

Aphrodite felt some regret, but the die was cast.

Even if she could still cast spells, with her meager remaining magic power, she had absolutely no way to escape from this place silently.

Not to mention that using magic at such close range would inevitably be discovered by that troublesome mage, Milan.

If you don't use it, the effects of the tracking spell remaining on you will eventually lead to your discovery.

Just as Aphrodite was filled with anxiety, her peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of the exquisite dark green ring on his hand.

That thing... looks like a magical artifact?!

Aphrodite quickly asked in a low voice, "What's the purpose of this ring?"

"It can enhance perception and... conceal one's presence?" Rhodes thought for a moment before answering.

Before he could finish speaking, Aphrodite reached out and cupped his finger, infusing a wisp of magic into the ring.

Rather than waiting to be discovered by tracking magic, it's better to take a gamble.

As magic was infused, the ring instantly emitted a faint green light, completely enveloping and dissolving their aura.

At the same time, Milan, who was casting a spell outside the pipe, suddenly asked in confusion, "Hmm?"

"Strange...wasn't that thing in his hands? How did it end up here..." Her lips moved slightly, and she couldn't help but mutter to herself.

The purple light that the staff had been emitting gradually faded, turning into particles and dissipating into the sewer.

"What's wrong, Lady Milan?" the guard with the deep voice asked hurriedly when he saw her spell disappear. "Have you found that demon bastard?"

"I can't find it," Milan said calmly, her tone devoid of any disappointment, but rather carrying a hint of a smile.

"How is that possible!"

Before the other party could question it, Milan immediately interrupted.

"I said we didn't find them, and that's final." Milan's voice turned colder. "I don't have time to waste here with you. If you can't catch them, that's your own problem. Don't bother me anymore."

After saying that, she turned and left. As she passed the pipe where Rhodes and Aphrodite were hiding, her gaze lingered on it for a very short time before she disappeared into the end of the passage without looking back.

The guards looked at each other, and finally could only leave cursing, feeling helpless that they had made a wasted trip and would be scolded again.

"Should we search again? I remember she just disappeared right here..." The sullen guard couldn't help but glance back before leaving.

"Go investigate yourself if you want," the fawning voice quickly turned cold. "Why did you have to be so nosy? Now look what's happened—not only have we failed to find the person, but we've also offended a mage..."

Watching his companion leave, the sullen and impatient guard paused, looked at the few pipes he could barely squeeze through, and, unwilling to give up, peered inside.

"There really is nothing here..." After a moment, he sighed and hurried to catch up with his companion.

"They're gone," Rod said after hearing the sounds gradually fade away.

"call……"

Aphrodite let out a long sigh of relief, her tense body instantly going limp, and she clung to Rhodes.

"I helped you, what can you give me in return?" Rod asked Aphrodite.

"Hehe, thank you so much for your help," she said, putting her arms around Rhodes and giving him a sweet, elegant smile. "So, how would you like me to repay you?"

"you."

"?"