It was yet another infuriating, humiliating remark. A belated wave of regret choked him, and Lu Shiyue turned his head away in an act of self-deception, yet found himself irresistibly compelled to glance back at Yu Jiu’s expression.
Would he be angry?
Yu Jiu looked rather startled, his eyes widening slightly. His emerald pupils seemed to cradle a pool of rippling autumn water, completely devoid of impurities, crystal-clear to the bottom.
He scribbled rapidly on a piece of paper, extending a fair, soft forearm from beneath the blanket to hand the note to Lu Shiyue.
“No, Ning Jue and I have always been like this. I am sorry for disturbing you.”
Yu Jiu did not truly grasp what Lu Shiyue meant by being played with, but it certainly was not anything kind. As a supporting character unrelated to the main plot, he saw no need to care too much.
If it were not for the protagonist and his connection to the quests, he would not even bother paying attention.
Lu Shiyue felt as though he had thrown a punch at a cotton ball, his chest feeling stuffy and oppressed.
He should have retaliated just like he did in the inn lobby earlier, extending claws to scratch him like a startled little animal.
Yet, Yu Jiu’s expression remained soft and peaceful, brushing off his malice entirely, even brushing off his very existence.
Aside from Ning Jue, everyone else was identical in Yu Jiu’s eyes. He did not care about the missions and had never cast his gaze upon anyone other than Ning Jue.
What did he mean by Ning Jue and I have always been like this? The two of them acted affectionately oblivious to everyone else, like a couple in the honeymoon phase, no, weren’t they literally a couple?
Lu Shiyue clenched both hands into tight fists, his emotions churning and rising in towering waves.
Why couldn’t his own figure be reflected within those green eyes?
Seeing Lu Shiyue freeze in place, unmoving as if struck by a heavy blow, Yu Jiu felt a wave of fatigue washing over him, both physical and mental.
He rubbed his eyes and curled his body deeper into the warm bedding.
Between waking and sleeping, Lu Shiyue extinguished the lights. The dungeon nights were fraught with peril, and he had no idea what tomorrow would bring.
Yu Jiu slept soundly, free of dreams through the night. When he opened his eyes again, sunlight spilled across the entire room.
It was a clear day.
Sleep-eyed, Yu Jiu slowly crawled out from under the covers. The blanket slipped from his half-exposed pinkish-white shoulder. The adjacent bed was empty and flat, showing no trace of anyone having rested there.
Lu Shiyue had already left.
“091, when did Lu Shiyue go out?”
Yu Jiu had been so exhausted last night that he fell dead asleep and had not even noticed when the man left.
091 recalled watching Lu Shiyue stand by its baby’s bedside for the better part of the night, his expression undergoing several shifts before finally settling on a familiar look.
091 had seen that exact transition in expression before, it was identical to the look Ning Jue wore when he used to keep the host by his side.
Not a single good one among them, they are all perverts drooling over my baby.
“Baby, stay away from him in the future.”
091’s remark came out of nowhere. Being an obedient child, Yu Jiu nodded submissively.
Realizing her words had popped up too abruptly, 091 corrected herself, “Baby, what I mean is that the protagonist and everyone around him are no good. Aside from the mission, baby should not have excessive contact with them.”
The group gathered in the lobby. The few players who had been injured the previous night looked pale, carrying the lingering weakness of their injuries.
Yu Jiu’s sprained ankle had healed almost completely. When he woke up this morning, his mobility had returned to normal, allowing him to walk as usual.
[Players have assembled.]
[Today is your second day in Dragon’s Breath Town. Having appreciated the beautiful and mysterious Mountainside Park, I believe everyone has developed a strong curiosity about Dragon’s Breath Town as well. Therefore, today let us step together into the Dragon’s Breath Town Museum to continue our tour.]
[Side Mission 2: Complete the Dragon’s Breath Town Museum check-in task.]
[Current task progress: 0/100]
[Please note that players will be assigned to different exhibition halls. Museum NPCs will distribute numbered passes; players with matching numbers will tour the same hall.]
As the game’s announcement faded, the players immediately began discussing among themselves.
The side mission was divided into different teams; this quest undoubtedly harbored hidden mechanics.
Lu Shiyue’s expression turned cold and stern in an instant, his thumb rubbing against the prop in his pocket. He could not guarantee he would be assigned to the same group as Yu Jiu. Being together was one thing, but if they were separated…
The danger level of the museum would only be higher than that of the Mountainside Park, not lower.
Yu Jiu lacked self-preservation abilities, and the other players possessed average skills, barely able to look after themselves during missions let alone help anyone else.
Yu Jiu lingered peacefully outside the circle of players, stray locks of hair falling across his forehead to partially obscure his pretty eyes, hiding the expression within. The morning temperature was a bit chilly, and his body shivered involuntarily in small increments.
Lu Shiyue had been watching Yu Jiu the entire time and noticed his shivering.
Was he afraid?
That sense of unknown and uncertainty without anyone to rely on.
Lu Shiyue gripped the selected prop tightly, turning his head away to stop looking at Yu Jiu. Right now, he could even replace someone else’s position by Yu Jiu’s side.
In a rare display of mercy, perhaps anticipating the formidable difficulty of the upcoming task, the game provided dedicated transport to drive the players directly to the front of the museum.
The construction of the Dragon’s Breath Town Museum blended seamlessly with the town’s unique characteristics, avoiding any ostentatious or overbearing grandeur.
The overall architecture was quaint and elegant, carrying a classical charm. It sat nestled against the mountain, harmoniously integrated with the terrain to create a sense of mutual coexistence.
From a distance, Yu Jiu spotted a person standing in front of the museum. Their uniform was crisp, accentuating a slender and upright figure.
“So familiar.” Yu Jiu muttered to 091.
Seeing them approach, the person gave a slight nod and turned around to lead the players into the museum.
Sensing a heavy, dark gaze fixed upon him, Yu Jiu lifted his head instinctively, only to catch sight of a decisive, broad back.
He looked even more familiar, yet unable to place the face, Yu Jiu simply gave up trying to remember.
He trailed at the very back of the group, wishing he could be the last one to enter the museum.
The material of the museum’s walls was unknown, pitch-black like ink. Hanging above the grand lobby was a massive chandelier, its cold light illuminating the exact spot where the players stood, resembling stage lighting during a performance and casting an uncomfortably stark glare over everyone.
At the boundary between light and shadow stood a row of museum staff members wearing identical uniforms. The person who had led them inside rejoined the group, turning to face the players.
Recognizing the clean-cut, sharp features of the person, matching the one who had carried him back the previous night, Yu Jiu finally understood why he looked familiar. So they had met before.
Ling Xiye swept his gaze across the players standing beneath the lights, like an audience watching actors on a stage, carrying a scrutinizing air. His gaze lingered on Yu Jiu for a fleeting moment before shifting away, speaking in his usual cold, routine tone, “Welcome, everyone, to the Dragon’s Breath Town Museum.”
“We are the tour guides responsible for leading your tour of the museum today.”
His tone carried no inflection, handling this batch of players whose fates remained unknown with professional detachment. He had intended to waste no effort on an abandoned piece, yet the memory of those panicked green eyes under the tree kept returning to him.
Helpless, pitiful, gazing at him with aggrieved innocence.
A surge of inexplicable irritation welled up inside Ling Xiye’s chest. He clearly shouldn’t harbor pity or emotional fluctuations over an abandoned pawn.
So he was a museum tour guide; no wonder he was a critical NPC. Having processed this simply, Yu Jiu gave it no further thought, half-listening to Ling Xiye’s indifferent delivery.
Still spacing out, he idly smoothed the necklace around his neck. With Ling Xiye acting this cold, he wondered if the guide would get penalized on his performance metrics.
“We will be distributing numbered passes to everyone. Players who receive matching numbers will follow the corresponding guide on the tour.”
Ling Xiye spotted that arrogant, infuriating benefactor immediately. The benefactor’s eyes hadn’t strayed from Yu Jiu for a single second the entire time.
He lowered his head to whisper a few words to a nearby colleague, “The 4th hall, the most dangerous one, assign it to that redhead.”
The NPCs sprang into action, handing out numbered passes to the players.
Before Yu Jiu could react, Ling Xiye’s tall figure stopped right in front of him, carrying the clean, crisp scent he vaguely remembered.
With long, slender knuckles and a wide palm, the guide held a circular numbered pass between his fingers, extending it to indicate Yu Jiu should take it.
As their fingertips brushed, Yu Jiu was startled by the chill of Ling Xiye’s hand, his fingers instinctively shrinking back in a hurried retreat.
His reaction registered as avoidance in Ling Xiye’s eyes. Before the fleeting softness of the brief contact could be savored, the two of them widened the distance between them once more.
Realizing belatedly that his reaction might have seem impolite, Yu Jiu looked up again, but Ling Xiye was already standing far away.
The number on the pass in his hand was 6. Unlike other players who anxiously searched for teammates with matching numbers, Yu Jiu simply stood in place.
The other players likely wouldn’t want to be in a team with him; his reputation in the Infinite Flow forums was poor, and nobody wanted to drag along dead weight.
He looked down, playing with the numbered pass in his hand. His hair had grown a bit longer, scattering across his snow-white, delicate neck. The curve of his cheek was soft, his chin pointed, presenting an uncontending, gentle demeanor that clashed sharply with the perilous world surrounding him. His Cupid’s bow lips curved upward slightly, the exposed skin flushed with a pampered, rosy glow.
The moment Lu Shiyue received his numbered pass, his first instinct was to activate his binding prop, though the warning item chimed in alarm first, the exhibition hall assigned to him was extremely dangerous.
Yet he possessed the strength to keep Yu Jiu safe.
In that momentary hesitation, when he tried to use the binding prop once more, it remained unresponsive, failing silently without a sound.
Someone had interfered with the binding process from the shadows.
Lu Shiyue realized abruptly that he had been played. The fury caused his chest to heave violently, and faint sparks of energy flickered around his body.
In this place, only one person possessed the ability to block his binding tool…
“Hi.”
A frivolous voice sounded from right above him. Startled, Yu Jiu raised his head to meet a pair of smiling eyes.
“Are you also number 6?”
The magician beamed, keeping his hands behind his back as he leaned down to speak to Yu Jiu.
Yu Jiu nodded obediently. The magician had introduced himself on the first day of gathering as Gu Xun.
In the original work, at least by the time Yu Jiu was written off, there wasn’t much description of this person, and Yu Jiu knew very little about him.
Over the past few days, this man’s whereabouts had been erratic and elusive, leaving Yu Jiu virtually clueless about Gu Xun.
“That’s great.” Acting like an old friend, the magician leaned closer, attempting to wrap an arm around Yu Jiu.
The touch of a stranger made Yu Jiu uncomfortable, and he sidestepped the gesture imperceptibly.
Unfazed by the avoidance, the magician closed in with easy familiarity, “Let’s go do the mission together.”
Yu Jiu was nudged forward, the magician holding him loosely with one arm while keeping his other hand behind his back.
In a blind spot where no one was looking, behind the magician’s back, a folded playing card was wedged between his index and ring fingers.
No one noticed the flash of purple light dancing across his eyes. With a subtle twitch of his finger, the playing card ignited.
Moments later, the card burned down to ashes, the fine debris fluttering down to land right at Yu Jiu’s feet.
Sensing something amiss, Yu Jiu halted his steps.
“What’s wrong?”