Chapter 21

003’s fans made an aggressive comeback, and Zhuang Bi Zhe Kan Xiao Niao entered the battle and struggled to fight: “Marriage my ass! Our 004 is a man! He likes soft sisters, not stinky men!”

But this time, his appeals seemed to have no effect.

His brother-in-arms ‘Dadao 003′ suddenly turned against him and took the lead in posting a meaningful ’emmm…’ in the comment section.

What did ’emmm…’ mean? Zhuang Bi Zhe Kan Xiao Niao had a bad feeling.

Dadao 003: “Xiao Niao-xiong. Although I still dislike 003, I have to say something fair.”

“Don’t use 004’s flag to say something that 004 has never said before.”

“I don’t think 004 has said that he only likes girls, right?”

Public opinion had changed direction.

Jiao Wo Xiao Ke’ai raised their hand weakly again and said: “That… Am I the only one who remembers Xiao Niao-xiong’s bet?”

The comment area boiled. One by one, they booed and said: “Change your name! Change your name! 004 kissed 003, Xiao Niao-xiong, you made a bet!”

Zhuang Bi Zhe Kan Xiao Niao’s face turned green with anger. What the hell was Xiao Niao-xiong? The bird in his name wasn’t an animal flying in the sky, but a bird that lands on that fake 003! 1 It would be better to call him Kan-xiong than Xiao Niao-xiong! 2

“I said I would change my name, so I’m changing my name.” He said angrily. “From now on, I’ll be called Xiao Niao Kan Zhuang Bi Zhe — I’ll cross out 003! 3

But after changing his name, he had to admit his ID was blinded, no longer mighty and fierce. After all, what could a bird that thumps and flies through the sky cut? Would the fakes care?

He vaguely realized that his opposition toward 003 was inevitably declining.

On the other side, in the game, You Xi stood alone dazedly in the hall, not because of how lonely Qin Yuandai left him, but because just now, when the game system announced the end of the level, he felt the heavy weight of something added to his pocket.

It should be a reward specially granted by the game, but what exactly was the reward?

You Xi wanted to check on it, but hesitated. The clearance level of this instance was S-rank, so the reward was extremely precious. His every move was watched by thousands of people in his live broadcasting room. Checking now, wouldn’t that be equivalent to revealing money to others?

You Xi was a bit worried about being robbed in the future. He thought a little, then decided to rein in his curiosity for the time being.

You Xi turned and left the hall, but before he could take a few steps forward, someone called him from behind. He looked back and it was Zhou Yu who had caught up.

You Xi paused.

Zhou Yu was as enthusiastic as ever, gesturing to You Xi’s back and saying: “You have an extra talisman on your back… If I’m guessing correctly, this was given to you by Qin Yuandai.”

Talisman?

With Zhou Yu’s help, You Xi removed the talisman paper and learned that it was extremely valuable. It had the ability to revive someone once, and was the only one in the entire game. You Xi was very moved.

Qin Yuandai accepted You Xi’s loyalty and wanted to protect him, but luckily when they met, there was no danger. You Xi had to return the precious talisman.

But it wasn’t until then that he realized he and Qin Yuandai hadn’t become friends. He didn’t know when they would next meet.

You Xi: “……” How could he forgot about it? Would it not be too deliberate and suspicious to specifically chase after someone’s contact information? The most important thing was that You Xi was somewhat afraid to see Qin Yuandai just after kissing him.

While he thought about it, Zhou Yu eagerly opened the game interface and said to You Xi: “Actually, I saw you at prom before, but you may not recognize me anymore.”

“Let’s become friends.” Zhou Yu said. “I’m an A-Level player. Although I’m not as good as an S-Level like you, teaming up with me would still be good.”

You Xi wasn’t too interested: “What are the benefits?”

Zhou Yu lowered his voice mysteriously: “Don’t you want to know why you’re an S-Level player? Other players accumulate experience bit by bit from D-Level and gradually rise to A-level. No matter how hard they try after that, their level won’t change. This game has been developed for at least 17 years from the beginning until now, and there are only 4 S-Level players. Why are you one of them?”

You Xi looked up suddenly.

“After the game ends, I’ll take the initiative to contact you. There are some things that it’s inconvenient to speak of in the game.” Zhou Yu said. “I can also help you figure some things out. For example– why was the alien obviously the most powerful boss in the dungeon, but he wasn’t the principal?”

“What you just said, I’m interested. Fair deal. What do you want from me?” You Xi asked with pursed lips.

Zhou Yu smiled and said: “Join me in the next game. I have a specific instant that I need your help with.”

You Xi didn’t hesitate long and nodded in agreement.

After speaking with Zhou Yu, You Xi wandered aimlessly around campus. Jiang Jiang had only stayed in this instance for 6 minutes, so he had 4 minutes left. You Xi pulled him out and he had a small bag slung across his body, running and jumping like a treasure hunter. It wasn’t long until he was fully packed.

You Xi didn’t find any reward items and was quite tragic in comparison.

It’s a pity that Jiang Jiang’s release time was over soon and he could no longer contribute his strength. He had no choice but to return to the space pocket. You Xi opened the bag and inventoried his harvest:

15x 100 yuan coins, 1x telescopic shovel, 1x cord of free rope.

In other words, the rope was the same type as Qin Yuandai!

As soon as he finished inventorying, a white light flashed in front of You Xi. Ten minutes of treasure hunting time had passed quickly, and he returned to the game lobby.

“Ding–“

“Player is asked to choose one of the following rewards:

Special Instance Admission Ticket -or- Microwave Oven produced by the escape game (It can be used without electricity, a necessity for space pockets.)”

You Xi had earned blood4 this round and took the rewards as a mercy. He heard Zhou Yu mention the Specific Instance Admission Ticket before. Its function was to inform the player in advance about their upcoming instance challenge, which was important for improving the player’s survival rate. In comparison, microwave ovens that can only improve daily life quality aren’t very valuable.

You Xi decided: “Specific Instance Admission Ticket.”

The issuance of the admission ticket was the same as for the tricky gift pack, so it could only be opened after the next instance.

“S-Level Player 004 can now relax and entertain himself in the game lobby, or can immediately exit the game.” The system administrator said. “Because the player played two games in a row, 15 days of time off have been granted. Player is requested to log in again at any point within 15 days to complete a mission, otherwise they will be forced to enter the game after 15 days.”

You Xi nodded, expressing his understanding.

You Xi was anxious to enter the next game last time and hadn’t walked around the game lobby. The lobby was divided into four areas: eating area, preparation area, entertainment area, and first aid area.

You Xi was in the preparation area where the entrance and exit to the lobby was set up. Whether it was players who had just finished a game or were preparing to play, they entered the lobby from the entrance. The exit was responsible for returning players to the real world.

Some players who just came from a game had scars or even lacked arms and legs, but as long as they were breathing, they would be taken to the first aid area for treatment by lobby staff. The treatment level was very advanced. A dying player could finish treatment within ten minutes and leave with vigor.

First aid could be paid on credit, but if the previous tab wasn’t cleared, then first aid would not be allowed next time. According to the degree of injury, the game coins required for first aid could reach up to 2 million.

So here comes the real question. Could people who were terminally ill in reality be cured by first aid here?

You Xi was considering, and planned to ask for advice when he next saw Zhou Yu.

You Xi opened the interface panel and looked at his current account balance, which was over 12 million game coins.

He clicked on the mall and, pushing through the ache in his heart, spent 5 million to buy a door for the space pocket. It was bought in barely one second, and in the next, You Xi saw Jiang Jiang walking walk curiously into the lobby entrance, pulling on slippers.

“This is the legendary game lobby!” Jiang Jiang looked like he was entering a city for the first time.

The experiment was successful. You Xi confirmed that both ghosts and players could appear in the game lobby.

Thinking carefully about that matter, what was the relationship between players and ghosts?

You Xi considered, then brought Jiang Jiang to the entertainment area.

Jiang Jiang was very excited: “Sir, are you going to play games with me?” There were unique and interesting game consoles all over the entertainment area, so Jiang Jiang was excited.

You Xi: “…play games? I just spent 5 million on you. I don’t have money to take you to play games.”

“Then why did you bring me to the entertainment area?” Jiang Jiang asked curiously.

“Found it.” You Xi looked up at a hair salon in front of them. The name of the salon was ‘Miss Hei Zhenzhu’s Haircuts.’

You Xi pointed at it: “Is this the place you mentioned working at before?”

The excited blush on Jiang Jiang’s face faded, and his eyes filled with a grudge. You Xi didn’t care and directly kicked him in to report. You Xi clapped his hands and retreated after accomplishing so much. He didn’t feel that he was a swindler with a hateful face at all.

The former boss Jiang Jiang has officially started his career as a part-time worker!