091 struggled to recall the situation from the previous night. With the signal poor, its field of vision had also suffered from static interference.
“He didn’t come back until close to dawn.”
Then it probably wasn’t him. Yu Jiu quickly ruled out Lu Shiyue as a suspect.
Someone who hated him so much wouldn’t suddenly engage in suspected perverted behavior in the middle of the night.
He hadn’t looked closely when checking the mirror earlier, but his chest area was still aching faintly.
Yu Jiu thought about how someone had stood by his bedside for an entire night and might even have lifted his clothes.
It was terrifying; he couldn’t bear to think about it anymore.
In the hotel lobby, the players gathered together, their faces etched with deep exhaustion after days of life-and-death running around.
Yu Jiu’s expression was wilted, his small face pale, and his once-pretty green eyes dim.
He bit his lower lip, looking rather melancholic, leaving a tiny tooth mark on his crimson lips.
[Congratulations to all players for completing the first two days of tours.]
[You have one last side quest remaining: A Night Tour of Dragon’s Breath Lake.]
The moment the quest was announced, the players’ expressions turned solemn. Nights in the instance were already fraught with danger, and now they were required to go on a night tour.
Moreover, it was a night tour of the most dangerous place in the instance: Dragon’s Breath Lake.
The game’s voice continued.
[The hospitable townspeople of Dragon’s Breath Town have decided to personally lead the tourists on a night tour of Dragon’s Breath Lake tonight.]
[Side quest issued: Tour the entire lake (Current quest progress: 0).]
[Unlock exploration: Dragon God Sacrifice (Current quest progress: 2/3).]
The completion rate for the exploration quest was surprisingly high, which even Yu Jiu found strange.
Both times he had been dragged away by monsters during side quests and nearly derailed from the main storyline several times, yet he had still managed to unlock the exploration tasks.
As a player who had coasted through several infinite games, Yu Jiu knew that exploration quests were tied to the main storyline.
Completing exploration tasks doubled the settlement rewards, and many veteran gamers specifically went out of their way to push exploration quests for those rewards.
However…
This looked like advanced configurations that only the protagonist should be able to unlock, yet it kept falling onto him, a minor cannon fodder character with zero presence.
Weren’t they supposed to let him exit the stage once the protagonist brought him out? Yu Jiu felt somewhat aggrieved.
He was naturally introverted and soft-tempered, wanting nothing more than to stay by himself. Yet on his very first mission, he ended up working overtime for the main system as unpaid labor, handling several times the workload.
Those perilous game instances—even with Ning Jue protecting him—were things Yu Jiu intensely resisted.
“Don’t be upset, baby.”
091 acutely sensed that its host’s emotions were out of whack. The baby’s nose was pink, wearing an expression that looked on the verge of tears.
The fault lay with it for taking the quest too lightly. Who could have expected the protagonist to play completely off-script and frantically grind presence points on a minor cannon fodder character?
“Baby, I’ll apply for compensation from the main system. The main system will issue rewards based on actual workload, and your points will be reimbursed. It’ll be enough for the baby to rest for a very long time.”
091 had already drafted the application internally; it intended to bluntly state that its host had been bullied by the odious protagonist during the mission, placing all the blame squarely on the protagonist’s department.
Although the protagonist department was full of major powerhouses, for the sake of the baby who had finally been willing to follow it, 091 decided to file an appeal.
Twilight gathered, and the dense fog over Dragon’s Breath Town had not cleared all day.
During the day, the thick mist had blocked out the sun, turning even the daylight into a gloomy, ash-colored hue.
With heavy dewdrops and faint night mists, the air carried a damp chill.
The moisture clung to their clothes, sticking to their bodies in a clammy grip.
Visibility was already obstructed at night, compounded by the heavy fog. Yu Jiu took one heavy and light step after another, trailing step-by-step behind the main group.
They were heading to Dragon’s Breath Lake to assemble.
This time, Lu Shiyue wasn’t leading the front of the team; he walked directly ahead of Yu Jiu, maintaining a distance of just one step between them.
If Yu Jiu sped up even slightly, he might collide with Lu Shiyue’s broad shoulders.
The red-haired man was uncharacteristically reserved today. Instead of shaking Yu Jiu off and striding ahead, he intentionally slowed his pace so Yu Jiu could keep up and avoid falling behind.
Ever since the museum mission ended yesterday, Lu Shiyue hadn’t spoken a single word to Yu Jiu.
The normally flamboyant and uninhibited Blade deputy captain seemed like a completely different person, the overly long bangs across his forehead veiling his deep brows and eyes.
Yu Jiu was more than happy that Lu Shiyue wasn’t talking to him. The redhead never squeezed any good words out of his mouth anyway, always managing to upset him.
Lu Shiyue kept uncontrollably glancing at Yu Jiu.
With a distance separating them, the fragrance on Yu Jiu seemed diluted, yet it still drifted around his nose on the gentle breeze.
That clear, sweet fragrance of honey melted and dissolved into the air around him.
Was the little mute’s wet, red mouth just as sweet?
Lu Shiyue’s throat bobbed. He couldn’t suppress the terrible thoughts running through his head. His previous prejudices against Yu Jiu had led him to do nothing but indulge in wild imaginings.
Acting like an adolescent boy going through puberty, relying on bullying a female classmate he had a crush on just to capture her attention.
Doing foolish things, bullying Yu Jiu with terrible words.
Those words of his had only pushed Yu Jiu further away, or perhaps Yu Jiu didn’t care about him at all.
Clenching his fists tight, regret spread through his heart like a rising tide threatening to drown him. Thinking of Yu Jiu’s dependent, warm, and soft gaze whenever he looked at Ning Jue, Lu Shiyue felt like he had been struck dumb, the words he wanted to say trapped in his throat without a single one coming out.
Equally capable of protecting Yu Jiu—why could Ning Jue do it, yet he couldn’t?
Yu Jiu acutely sensed Lu Shiyue’s gloomy mood and squashed any thoughts of speeding up, maintaining his original pace step by step to avoid twisting his ankle and getting mocked by Lu Shiyue again.
The silhouette of Dragon’s Breath Lake had already come into view for the players.
The lake was vast and boundless, nestled within a ring of mountains. The surface was calm, with ripples only appearing when a breeze swept across.
Steam rose into the air, shrouding the lake in mist. Looking further into the distance, the fog obscured the edges of the lake, making them indistinguishable.
Yu Jiu narrowed his eyes, vaguely catching sight of a circular platform right in the center of the lake.
Based on his meager, sparse memories, the centers of lakes usually featured lakeside pavilions or islets.
For a circular platform to stand proudly in the middle of the lake, rising several meters above the water’s surface, it was striking to the point of being conspicuous.
This circular platform looked more and more familiar.
As if he had seen it somewhere before.
Roused by a rare spark of participation, Yu Jiu racked his brain, recalling the sacrificial altar he had encountered while taking a shortcut with Lu Shiyue in the cave the other day—it had shared that exact same shape.
The shore was too far from the center of the lake for him to make out the carvings on the circular platform. If he could see them clearly, he could basically confirm whether it was an altar.
Feeling as though he was brushing against the truth of the main storyline, Yu Jiu shook his head. Such matters weren’t for a cannon fodder character like him to overthink and resolve.
[Players have assembled. The final side quest, the night tour, is about to begin.]
The moment the game’s voice finished speaking, someone stepped out from the dense fog.
Dressed in neat uniforms with an attire completely out of place compared to tourists like them, they were the townspeople.
The leading town resident was an elderly man whose face was covered in a web of wrinkles. He leaned on a cane with a hunched back.
Yu Jiu spotted Ling Xixi at a glance. He stood beside the old man, lowering his head to support him, his expression even colder than before.
That aggressive, beast-like gaze filled with predatory intent from the previous night seemed like nothing more than an illusion that had never existed.
Compared to their first meeting, Ling Xixi exuded an even more frigid aura.
“Cough, cough…”
The old man coughed lightly twice and slowly spoke, “Welcome everyone to tour Dragon’s Breath Town. I am the mayor of Dragon’s Breath Town.”
“I am sure you all have gained a profound appreciation for the stunning scenery and rich history and culture of Dragon’s Breath Town over the past few days.”
Seemingly aware of how bedraggled the players looked after completing their side quests, the old man let out a low, hoarse chuckle. The decaying sound emerged dully from his chest, sending shivers down everyone’s spines.
“Coming to play in our Dragon’s Breath Town and skipping the Dragon’s Breath Lake night tour simply won’t do.”
[Side quest triggered—Night Tour]
[Complete the task of touring a full circle around the lake. Please note that cute little creatures may roam about during your tour.]
The “cute little creatures” mentioned by the game sounded like anything but pleasant entities.
The image of the monster’s tall, robust figure suddenly popped into Yu Jiu’s mind, alongside the long dragon tail swinging up and down behind it and the itchy sensation of its furry mane rubbing against the crook of his neck.
When he had escaped, the monster had seemed furious, its shoulder wound still unhealed down to the bone as it reached out a hand wanting to catch him.
A trace of ripples flashed across his round, blunt green eyes, the changes in his gaze caught entirely by Ling Xixi not far away.
Ling Xixi had noticed Yu Jiu long ago. Dainty, timid, and petite, his lustrous skin glowing brightly against the night made it impossible not to notice him.
Those pretty green eyes stared at him without blinking, the exploration in them completely unmasked. Even though his lips had lost their swelling, they remained red and suffused with a moist, dewy sheen.
In the museum, he had been forcibly dragged away by his so-called “sugar daddy,” unable to put up even the slightest struggle or resistance.
Once taken back by that man, would his sugar daddy punish him? Flirting and philandering with other men…
The old man coughed huskily again, his fatigue fully apparent. His aged, tree-bark-like palm reached out to grab the arm of the young man beside him.
Ling Xixi steadied the old man with a compliant posture, the downward tilt of his gaze concealing the fleeting, unfathomable depth in his eyes.
“I am getting old and somewhat lacking in energy. I originally intended to lead our far-traveled guests on the night tour myself…”
He paused, grasping Ling Xixi’s hand. “Xixi, take my place and host our guests properly. We cannot let Dragon’s Breath Town become the laughingstock of outsiders.”
The young man nodded obediently, watching as the old man hobbled away with his cane.
[Ding. Side quest—Night Tour has begun.]
Listening to Ling Xixi recite the precautions in a completely flat voice and instructing the players to explore on their own before reassembling later, Yu Jiu thought:
I knew it—
Yu Jiu smugly told 091, “The mayor told Ling Xixi to host properly, but there is no way he is going to listen.”
“Back in the museum, he couldn’t even be bothered to pay attention to the guests…”
Before he could finish his internal complaints, Ling Xixi seemed to sense something. His cold gaze swept over Yu Jiu, lingering momentarily on his parted lips.
Yu Jiu felt a sudden pang of guilt. Instance NPCs shouldn’t be able to hear his conversations with the system, right?
He retreated a step backward, hiding half his body behind Lu Shiyue. The red-haired man was tall and broad enough to shield him.
Once Ling Xixi finished reading the precautions, the players scattered to move about freely.
Dragon’s Breath Lake covered a massive area, and making a full circuit around it was a major undertaking, not to mention the monsters lurking in the shadows.
As Yu Jiu poked his head out from behind Lu Shiyue to prepare to leave, someone grabbed his wrist.
The man’s fingertips were rough, dry, and running a high temperature. Because the night air was cold, Yu Jiu’s wrists felt icy by comparison.
At the point of contact, Yu Jiu was almost scalded by Lu Shiyue’s hand. He lifted his head, their eyes locking.
Lu Shiyue’s dark pupils were as pitch-black as ink. The familiar hostility had vanished, replaced by complex emotions Yu Jiu couldn’t decipher.
With his wrist pinned and the man’s grip strong, Yu Jiu felt a twinge of pain.
Just as he tried to pull his hand back, a cool, smooth sensation suddenly appeared around his wrist. Lu Shiyue slipped a bracelet onto him—made of silver, similar in material to the one Ning Jue had given him for his neck.
“It’s a positioning prop. It can track your location even through the night fog.”
Lu Shiyue lowered his head to explain. This was the first time he had spoken a word to Yu Jiu in so long, his voice sounding muffled.
Rough fingers brushed against delicate skin, making Yu Jiu shiver lightly.
His long, delicate eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings, the dense fringe veiling the shifting light in his eyes. The trembling amplitude swayed straight into Lu Shiyue’s heart, leaving an itch that made him restless.
Yu Jiu lowered his head obediently, exposing the snowy, lustrous back of his neck as a rich wave of sweetness drifted from his collar.
Feigning complete unawareness, Lu Shiyue pressed his lips together to mask his rapidly accelerating heartbeat.
His palms were slick with sweat. At that moment, he felt like laughing at himself for acting as pure and nervous as a green adolescent experiencing puppy love.
Though that was essentially the truth.
Just fastening a bracelet, yet his heart hammered and raced into such a pathetic, useless state.
With the bracelet secured, Lu Shiyue feigned nonchalance and pulled his hand back. “Don’t wander around during the night tour later. Stick close to me.”
Before Yu Jiu could react, captivated as he was by the shimmering, colorful bracelet, he gave a light, obedient nod of thanks.
As he was grabbed by the wrist and led forward, Yu Jiu belatedly sensed something strange: the redhead’s current attitude toward him was a complete 180-degree turn from his previous hostility.
“Wait a minute, 091. Is this actually Lu Shiyue?”