Chapter 22

Now, as he looks back, everything remains so vivid.

The cold, short electronic beeps, the glaring white ceiling, the familiar and even somewhat repulsive smell of disinfectant, the busy doctors and nurses, the cacophony of shouts in his ears, the searing heat that felt like flames burning his body, the pain that clung to him like thorns, making it impossible to move.

Turning his head, he could see the slender figure lying quietly on the bed, eyes tightly closed, looking as sweet and peaceful as a sleeping beauty in a fairy tale, completely isolated from the world, as if everything had nothing to do with her.

Gradually, the bustling crowd began to disperse, leaving only two blurry figures kneeling by the bed, sobbing.

The electronic beeps began to slow down, the searing heat on his body gradually subsided, and the pain slowly faded away, but he could not feel any joy. All he could do was turn his head, gaze at that figure, and wait for the dark and desperate reality to arrive.

Finally, after a low, long beep, the ward returned to its usual tranquility.

At that moment, Luo De felt as if his heart had also stopped beating.

After that, Luo De never experienced such a feeling again, but now, he felt it once more.

Standing before him was a girl.

She had long, black, smooth hair, a slender and frail body wrapped in a hospital gown, fair skin, and a delicate face almost identical to Luo De's. Her dark, bright eyes radiated a liveliness and brightness that did not match her appearance. Her pale pink lips curved into a friendly smile.

Although their appearances were almost identical, the difference in gender gave them completely different auras. Luo De was always serious, with the calm, steady, and decisive demeanor of a man. The girl, on the other hand, exuded a completely feminine charm. Anyone who saw her would think she was the perfect embodiment of an ideal woman—intelligent, beautiful, and gentle.

"Brother..."

The girl extended her right hand, looking at Luo De with a hint of confusion.

"Where are we? Why are you here?"

"......"

Luo De opened his mouth but could not utter a single word. At the same time, the unease in his heart began to slowly dissipate. For some reason, Luo De felt that he did not need to be on guard in front of her. After all, she was his sister, wasn't she?

No!

Luo De suddenly shuddered.

His sister had long gone to the other world; this woman could not be his sister.

This did not match his memories!

For the first time, Luo De felt a chill run down his spine. In the game, he had never encountered such a situation. Now, looking back, his unease might have come from the subtle contradiction between the game's background and his own personal experience. The NPCs in the game, of course, could not peer into a player's innermost thoughts, so they could only mimic a semblance. But now, he was not in the game, not in that virtual world, so everything had changed!

However, Luo De quickly calmed down again. He stared at the girl in front of him, remaining silent.

What should he do?

In the game, the Shadow mimicked the player's reflection, so there was no obstacle to just slashing it down. But now? The person standing in front of him was not his shadow but his sister, which made Luo De feel a bit at a loss. Although reason told him that what he saw was just an illusion, a hallucination and not a real existence, the girl in front of him was too real to be considered a mere illusion.

"Brother?"

The girl took a half-step forward, extending her right hand.

"Why aren't you speaking?"

At that moment, her figure seemed to waver. Luo De felt the thick fog around him begin to fade, the air becoming heavier, making it difficult to breathe. He instinctively opened his mouth, but the air that rushed into his lungs was so cold that it made him cough.

At that moment, deep darkness slowly emerged from the originally white fog, spreading like ink dropped into clear water. Soon, the shadows completely enveloped Luo De.

"Mr. Luo De, will he be alright?"

Standing at a distance, watching the fog in front of him grow darker, Mace could not help but ask worriedly. He tightly clutched his travel bag, his eyes darting around. The fog had always been a light white, but now it had turned so black that even Mace, a merchant, could tell something was wrong.

"......"

Lize did not respond to Mace's question. She only clasped her hands together in front of her chest.

For a moment, she really wanted to rush in and check on Luo De. After all, her adventuring experience was much richer than Mace's, and she could immediately tell that the situation was not normal. But just as she was about to move, Luo De's words before he left echoed in her mind.

"No matter what happens, you must not risk rushing in, even if you see my shadow. Unless I come to you, do not move at all. The Shadow is a very cunning and dangerous monster. I don't want you to have any accidents. And to be honest, no matter what your motives are, doing so will only bring me more danger."

Admittedly, Luo De's words, combined with his calm and indifferent expression, were indeed hurtful. Even Lize felt a pang in her heart at that moment. But she was a professional mercenary and understood the logic. After all, this was a matter of life and death, and nothing was more important than life.

In the end, Lize only sighed softly, saying nothing.

But her hands gripped even tighter.

At that moment, in the dark, thick fog, the girl's outstretched hands had already wrapped around Luo De's neck.

"Brother? Why aren't you speaking?"

The girl's smile was as sweet as in Luo De's memories. Even after so many years, she still looked the same, with that sunny, gentle smile. She had always been like that, never changing.

Luo De took a step back. He could even feel the girl's body heat. Her face was so close that, in a daze, Luo De felt as if he had returned to seven years ago, when she would sit on the bed, hugging him playfully, asking him to tell her about the outside world.

"Tell me about the outside world, just like before. How did you get here? What is this place?"

The girl's voice was still as gentle as ever, piercing straight into Luo De's heart.

At that moment, Luo De suddenly smiled.

If Lize were here and saw this smile, she would be stunned. Since Luo De came to this world, he had never shown a smile. But now, he smiled.

Seeing Luo De's expression, the girl's smile grew even wider.

"Brother..."

But this time, she did not finish her sentence.

Because a white blade suddenly cut through the darkness, piercing through the girl's body.

"———!!"

A piercing mental scream erupted from the depths of her soul. The girl's form began to distort, and she quickly retreated. The blackness that had filled the thick fog also rapidly withdrew with her, moving backward.

"Phew......"

Luo De took a light breath, but his smile did not change. When he raised his hand, a black ring on his index finger glowed with magical light.

"Thank you very much for letting me relive a beautiful dream."

Looking at the retreating girl, Luo De's tone remained as calm as ever, giving no hint of his true thoughts.

"But I'm sorry, I'm in a hurry."

As he spoke, Luo De did not stop. In fact, as the girl quickly retreated, his right hand swung out, and a bright moonlight blade shot from his sword, flying straight toward the target.

For the injured girl, there was no way to avoid this attack. Her body leaned to the left, a shocking wound on her chest extending to her shoulder. For an ordinary person, this would have been a fatal or severely debilitating injury, but it was clear that the girl was not an ordinary person.

Seeing the silver sword energy, the girl opened her mouth in despair. A shrill scream erupted from her, and the black fog around her immediately swirled and condensed in front of her, forming a fog barrier. At the same time, Luo De's sword energy arrived.

"Bang!!"

The black fog wall shook violently, then thinned significantly. The silver sword energy, blocked by the fog, did not hit the target. Seeing this, the girl's eyes showed a hint of relief— but it quickly turned to fear.

One, two, three.

The fog wall, which had already withstood one moonlight blade, finally collapsed after the fourth light from the Shattered Blade. The subsequent light beam pierced through the collapsed fog, coldly and mercilessly piercing the girl's body again. This time, the heavily injured girl could not escape in time. She screamed in agony and fell to the ground.

At that moment, Luo De appeared in front of her.

Luo De was very familiar with the Shadow. It was not strong in itself; in the game, it was difficult to deal with because it copied the player's abilities and skills.

But in reality, although the Shadow's ability to delve into Luo De's innermost thoughts and create a mental projection had given him a bit of a disadvantage, it had lost the power it had in the game. In the game, it was a boss that players often soloed. Now, without the ability to copy player skills, its performance was predictable.

At that moment, Luo De's heart sank slightly. Fortunately, he had activated the Will Ring in time; otherwise, the Shadow might have caused him significant harm. It was not a powerful monster, but every word it said to him felt like it was speaking directly to his heart. Each question made Luo De hesitate, even almost making him doubt whether the girl in front of him was really his sister. Fortunately, Luo De had experienced such boss battles in the game many times, so he subconsciously felt it was a bit fake. If it were someone else, they might have been completely trapped.

In this sense, the Shadow was indeed a very dangerous monster, but mental-type monsters had a significant weakness—weak physical strength.

The Shadow lying on the ground had completely lost its previous appearance. The girl's face began to distort, her features becoming blurred. When she opened her mouth, deep darkness could be seen inside, and even her limbs showed signs of dissipation. Looking at the approaching Luo De, the Shadow raised its head in fear, then opened its mouth again, emitting a mental scream.

"———!!"

An invisible, fierce attack flew through the air but dissipated into a harmless breeze when it met the transparent barrier around Luo De.

The Will Ring's barrier was not just for show.

Seeing the attack was ineffective, the Shadow let out a desperate scream. It scrambled to its feet, trying to retreat and escape, but before it could merge with the thick fog, Luo De raised his sword, flashed forward, and struck it down in an instant.

The white blade pierced through the Shadow's body without resistance, causing it to scream in intense pain. Its mouth was wide open, and where its eyes should have been, there were only two black voids. The inside of its mouth was also empty, making its deformed face look particularly terrifying.

But seeing this face, Luo De's heart was at peace. After all, the Shadow had been using his sister's face. Although the Will Ring's protection had prevented any trouble, just looking at that face had made him somewhat uneasy. Now, seeing this distorted face, Luo De's judgment was even more firm.

At that moment, the screaming Shadow suddenly extended its right hand. The arm, which was originally about the same length as a human's, suddenly elongated, lashing out at Luo De like a whip.

But Luo De was clearly prepared. As the Shadow extended its hand, he shifted his feet, narrowly avoiding the attack. Then, his figure turned into a bolt of lightning, charging forward.

Faced with Luo De's Shadow Flash, the Shadow had no time to react. Its right arm had just lashed out when Luo De was already in front of it, causing the Shadow to panic. It reflexively extended its left hand to block, but it was too late.

Star Beacon, activated.

At the tip of the white sword, a star-like light suddenly burst forth, cutting through the darkness and leaving a bright trail in the air. In an instant, the thick, suffocating fog seemed to be sliced apart like butter, and as the light reached its peak, the shining blade descended.

"——————!!"

The Shadow, split in two, finally stopped struggling. Its body trembled, emitting a desperate wail. Then, its blurry form suddenly contracted, compressing into a bright light before exploding outward. The intense shockwave, accompanied by light particles, scattered in all directions, even causing the thick fog to retreat. Then, like melting snow, the fog disappeared.

Only then did Luo De lower his sword.