# Chapter 247: The Difference Between Illusion and Reality
While dodging the steel beam, he instinctively glanced at the ground. He had thought Zhou Ning was hiding in the strands of hair below, but in the blink of an eye, she had moved from in front of him to behind him, and then from behind to above. Her movement trajectory could only be described as eerie.
He paused, then took out the fairy tale book again. As he began to tell the story, the attacking hair snakes once again froze, and then Zhou Ning jumped down from above carrying a several-meter-long steel beam, swinging it wildly with her eyes closed!
Xu Huo found an opening and kicked the steel beam away, reaching out to press her shoulder to calm her down. But the moment his palm touched her clothes, something bit him. Looking closely, he saw several finger-thick hair snakes crawling out from her collar, and her skin had developed some crack-like patterns.
"Zhou Ning!" he called out.
Zhou Ning snapped awake instantly. Turning around, she was so startled she backed away quickly, hastily saying, "First, close that book of yours!"
The effect of the fairy tale book faded. Zhou Ning let out a long breath, controlled the hair snakes to disperse, and touched her painful wound before saying, "I lost again."
"What happened to you just now?" Xu Huo asked.
"What?" Zhou Ning seemed sluggish. "Was something wrong just now?"
"Were you conscious when you were using your trait?" Xu Huo pointed at her shoulder and eyes. "Didn't you notice anything abnormal about your body when you used your trait?"
Zhou Ning touched herself in confusion, then pulled open her clothes to find that the skin on her shoulder had cracked into patterns resembling snake scales. But even as she examined it, the skin was healing.
"What is this?" She looked even more surprised than Xu Huo.
"Your movement patterns are somewhat like a snake's, and not only that, the shape of your pupils has also changed." Xu Huo studied her. "Have there been any changes in your daily diet or habits?"
Zhou Ning thought for a moment and shook her head. "No."
"That's good." Xu Huo said. "If this is just a characteristic that appears when you use your trait, it should be fine. But if it subtly changes your daily habits, you'll need to pay attention."
"Pay attention to what?" Zhou Ning asked instinctively.
"Illusion and reality." Xu Huo said. "Logically speaking, it's impossible for a person to suddenly mutate into a snake. But mutations in evolvers are not impossible either. There are also xenomorphs in instances that clearly exhibit animal surface features, but that's in cases where their own evolution has failed."
"You are a normal evolver. The biggest difference between a normal evolver and a xenomorph, to put it simply, is rationality. Perhaps your mental power might cause some changes in your body, but you cannot truly become a snake."
"Elder Medusa is just your profession."
Hearing the last sentence, Zhou Ning suddenly shuddered. She couldn't help slapping her forehead and said, "I was confused just now, feeling like something was off, and that's it!"
"You're right. Elder Medusa is just my profession. I can use my trait, but I can't treat myself as a real snake."
She paused, then said with frustration, "But only this way can I bring out the maximum effect of my trait."
When she assimilated with the hair snakes, she experienced a calmness and efficiency different from usual.
Xu Huo thought for a moment and said, "Try to see if you can quickly disengage from your trait during training. Later, when I make a move, you count every ten seconds. If the trait time extends and you feel your self-control is slipping, call a stop."
Zhou Ning nodded.
The two soon began fighting again in the factory. With each count, Xu Huo discovered that Zhou Ning's trait time had no limit, and the longer she used it, the calmer her state became. He deliberately severely injured her once midway through, but after she counted, she didn't disengage from her trait but instead repeated her previous attacks.
Xu Huo actively called a stop. Zhou Ning acted quickly, immediately retracting the hair snakes, though traces remained on her body, and her pupils were almost vertical.
She stood still for several seconds before recovering. When her pupils returned to normal, her expression also changed, and she gasped while holding her broken ribs.
After they communicated, Xu Huo said, "Currently, it seems you are conscious when using your trait, just temporarily blocking some physical sensations. This has advantages in actual combat."
Zhou Ning nodded slightly, but her expression was somewhat grave.
Xu Huo could see her concern and said, "Are you feeling that under the trait state, you lose the normal reaction to danger?"
Zhou Ning nodded vigorously. "Under normal circumstances, when I'm injured, I should think of a way to escape, but just now I didn't have that thought." She only wanted to defeat Xu Huo.
Her trait was very special. Xu Huo had known this from the start and had regarded her as a sample of a type of evolution.
No matter the situation, a person's behavior reflects their psychology and personality. No matter how they change, it's hard to break away from their inherent patterns. Zhou Ning's psychological state changed along with her trait, which was different from any other player he had encountered.
"How about this," Xu Huo said. "In your daily training, set a fixed time for yourself. When that time is up, end the trait. If you can't end it on your own, use external force. At least achieve the ability to control it freely."
Zhou Ning let out a light breath. "Thank you, Xu Huo."
"You're welcome." Xu Huo said. "That's it for now. I'll be leaving Ting City in the next few days. If there are any problems, contact me by phone."
"You're planning to enter an instance again?" Zhou Ning asked in surprise. "Didn't Yuan Yao say you just came out of an instance?"
"No, I have some matters to attend to at home." Xu Huo patted the dust off his clothes and prepared to leave.
"I'll see you off." Zhou Ning quickly stood up, her face slightly twisted from the pain of her injury, but when she saw him looking at her, she quickly smiled. "It's nothing. I'll be fine after a couple of days of rest."
"I was a bit heavy-handed." Xu Huo said apologetically.
Zhou Ning quickly shook her head. "You were helping me. I'm really fine, just a minor injury. Besides, getting hurt in training is better than getting hurt in the game."
Xu Huo took out his phone. "I'll have Hu Wenhu come pick you up."
"Aren't you coming back to the city with us?" Zhou Ning looked at him.
"I'm going directly to the airport." Xu Huo contacted Hu Wenhu, and only after the man arrived did he prepare to take a taxi.
"Sis Zhou, are you okay?" Hu Wenhu drove a rented car over. Seeing the blood on Zhou Ning, he exclaimed in shock, "Were you attacked?"
Zhou Ning slapped the back of his head. "I'm fine. First, take Brother Xu to the airport."
"Brother Xu is leaving?" Hu Wenhu said. "I have no problem with that, but your injury..."
"No need. Just drop me off at the intersection later." Xu Huo said. "It's hard to hail a cab around here anyway."
Halfway there, he hailed a car and changed direction to the airport.
Seeing him leave directly, Zhou Ning was momentarily lost in thought. Hu Wenhu craned his neck and said, "Brother Xu is really a busy man. Just out of an instance and immediately rushing around nonstop."
"He's different from us." Zhou Ning said softly.