"Squeak, squeak, squeak—!"
The sharp cries of the giant rat and the swarm of smaller rats clinging to it sounded like a roar from the depths of hell.
The shadow of the giant rat grew larger on the ground, inching closer with every passing moment. It was almost upon them, ready to engulf their own shadows. Desperation pushed the players to run even faster.
All but one.
Amid the fleeing group, Jiekhe—long accustomed to the giant rat’s relentless chases—was running just as fast as the others. His short legs moved with astonishing speed, leaving faint afterimages as they pounded the ground.
Yet, unlike the others, his expression was relaxed, as if he were enjoying a casual game of tag.
He even found time to taunt the players beside him, yelling, “Run faster! Doesn't this frantic fleeing remind you of the helpless fear in the eyes of those who died by your hands?”
The players remained silent.
Jiekhe suddenly laughed. “Fear! Fear, indeed! Are you finally experiencing the terror of being the prey, the dread that your victims felt as they faced their deaths?”
"Squeak, squeak, squeak—!"
The rat’s piercing screeches tore at their eardrums, as if slicing their brains with sound.
Still, the players didn’t respond to Jiekhe’s words. They endured the physical exhaustion, the brain-searing pain, and the haunting memories his taunts stirred, all while running for their lives.
Fear, as Jiekhe had said, seeped into their hearts.
The same primal terror that prey feels as it’s hunted down by a predator.
Jiang Yan, however, was different—he wasn’t just terrified; he was on the brink of collapse.
Suspended between Tao Shi and Cao Yufeng, who each gripped one of his arms, Jiang Yan’s feet dangled off the ground as they dragged him along.
The cold, dry wind tore into his nose and mouth. His throat burned as though it were bleeding, and his lungs felt like they were about to explode.
“Hah… hah… I can’t… hah… I really can’t run anymore…” Jiang Yan gasped painfully, every breath a struggle.
"Big bro! You weren’t even running!” Cao Yufeng exclaimed, struggling to support Jiang Yan's arm.
“Seriously, have you even run 1,000 meters?!” Tao Shi grumbled, holding up Jiang Yan’s other arm.
“Hold on, Yan Yan… You’ve got this!” Jian Hou cheered him on relentlessly.
Jiang Yan shook his head, panting heavily. “I really can’t…”
Before he could finish, his dangling feet brushed the ground, tripping over one another.
The giant rat, which had been chasing them relentlessly around the central angel fountain, suddenly pivoted and blocked their path, catching the players completely off guard.
Thud!
Tao Shi and Cao Yufeng failed to maintain their grip, and Jiang Yan, propelled by momentum, was flung forward, landing face-first on the ground with a resounding thud.
Roll, roll...
The severed arm of Yu Xiu, which Jiang Yan had been clutching tightly, tumbled out of his grasp and came to rest right in front of the giant rat.
"..."
The giant rat, which had been emitting deafening screeches moments ago, instantly fell silent. Its rotting, pus-filled eyes locked onto Jiang Yan, lying sprawled on the ground.
Jiang Yan: "..."
The other players: "..."
"Squeak—!"
After a brief, tense pause, the giant rat let out an ear-piercing roar directed at Jiang Yan.
"Stop!"
Jian Hou tried to rush forward, but Tao Shi and Cao Yufeng yanked him back.
At this moment, Jiang Yan was completely within the shadow of the giant rat. Its long, tooth-filled snout could snap his head clean off in an instant!
At that moment, the giant rat seemed intent on doing exactly that.
Drip, drip...
Jiang Yan slowly propped himself up, noticing drops of liquid falling in front of him.
When he raised his head and came face-to-face with the grotesque, jagged-toothed maw of the giant rat, he realized the source of the liquid—it was drool from the creature’s gaping mouth.
Squeak—!
The giant rat roared at Jiang Yan again, a wave of putrid heat blasting into his face, nearly making him vomit on the spot.
“Yan Yan!! Get up!!” Jian Hou yelled frantically, practically hopping in place.
But Jiang Yan, already exhausted and gasping for air, was now stunned by the reverberating roar. His head buzzed incessantly, and he could barely manage to stay on all fours, let alone stand up.
The giant rat’s gaping, tooth-filled snout drew closer and closer to Jiang Yan, sending everyone’s hearts into their throats.
“It’s over…”
The chef stumbled back a step, trembling in terror as he stared at the drooling monster poised to devour Jiang Yan.
Lu Sha crossed his arms, sneering as he glanced at Jiang Yan, who lay motionless on the ground, seemingly resigned to his fate. Turning to Yu Jia, he smirked. “Well, looks like we don’t even need to lift a finger ourselves!”
Yu Jia lit another cigarette, exhaling a ring of white smoke as he scoffed, “Too weak.”
[Yeah! Jiang Yan really is too weak]
[He's got some clever tricks, but his overall abilities are lacking! I've never seen stamina this bad!]
[Are you kidding me?? Two laps and he's done? What kind of stamina is that? How did he even make it as a C-rank NPC?]
[Not surprising. He used to be a bottom-tier NPC. The only reason he’s ranked C now is thanks to that S-tier item of his.]
[What?? Even with an S-tier item, he's only a C-rank NPC? That's such a waste of resources!]
[Well, he's supposedly the main system’s illegitimate child, its precious little treasure, isn’t he?]
[Really? Feels more like he's just lucky. Look, the main system hasn’t even stepped in to save him this time.]
[Exactly! Everyone keeps saying he’s the main system’s special darling, so unique in the game, but now it’s clear he’s nothing special! Totally overhyped.]
“Damn it…”
Jiang Yan stared at his scraped, bleeding hands, muttering a curse under his breath.
He tried to push himself to stand, but his hands and legs were trembling uncontrollably, completely drained of strength. In the end, he could only manage to sit upright.
The giant rat’s foul, gaping maw loomed right above his head, ready to snap his skull off or swallow him whole in the next second.
“Yan Yan!!”
Jian Hou, held back by Tao Shi and Cao Yufeng, cried out in a voice choked with tears. “Let go of me!!”
“Teacher Jian! Stay calm! Items don’t work well in this town. Let’s think of another way!” Tao Shi held onto the frantic Jian Hou, trying to reason with him.
“What good would it do if you rushed over there? Jiang Yan still has his item on him. You’ve got nothing, can’t do anything, and running over would just turn you into a snack for that rat!” Cao Yufeng added.
“But Yan Yan can’t do anything either!!” Jian Hou screamed, on the verge of breaking down.
The other players present had mixed expressions.
The chef, the bespectacled girl, and the boy with the buzzcut all had fear in their eyes, mixed with a trace of anticipation.
They were naturally terrified to watch a life about to end right in front of them, despite having no personal grudges against Jiang Yan.
However, the anticipation came from this realization—if this rat swallowed Jiang Yan, it would mean they’d be temporarily safe.
All they had to do was find the remaining body parts, complete the task, and escape this horrific game.
Everything could go back to normal, and this nightmare would be over.
The braided boy, however, looked on with fear laced with worry.
How could this happen?
He’d finally found a toy he liked—how could it just die like this?
But rushing to save him now was clearly out of the question. The boy cherished his own life far more than Jiang Yan’s.
In contrast, the boy's father’s eyes gleamed with pure excitement and thrill.
He still held a grudge about his son’s ruined hand!
It was all because of this man! This man had inexplicably turned his once-perfect son into someone disabled!
Now, was this man finally about to die?
Haha! Wonderful!
Die! Die!
The middle-aged man stared intently at Jiang Yan’s slender, frail figure sitting on the ground.
Based on the information they’d just received, the rat’s curse involved swallowing a person whole, then spitting them back out, repeatedly.
But he felt that this endless cycle of death was far too merciful for Jiang Yan!
Why not tear him apart?
This pretty man—if ripped to pieces—would undoubtedly remain beautiful in a grotesque way, perhaps fulfilling his son’s twisted wishes in another sense.
The rat opened its gaping mouth toward Jiang Yan’s delicate head, nearly swallowing half of it in one bite.
Jiang Yan remained in his helpless state, eyes misty and breath labored, seemingly resigned to his fate, showing no intention of resisting.
"Ahhhhh!!" Jian Hou screamed hoarsely.
At the back of the crowd, the middle-aged man’s eyes turned bloodshot, his gaze filled with sadistic delight.
Tear him apart! Crush his skull!
It’s over!
Jiang Yan was truly doomed this time.
This thought surfaced in everyone’s minds simultaneously.
“Blegh!”
Jiang Yan was so overwhelmed by the stench from the giant rat’s mouth that he couldn’t help but dry heave.
“Screeech—!”
For some reason, the giant rat was enraged by this behavior. It let out a long howl and then lunged forward, its gaping maw aiming to devour Jiang Yan whole, leaving him no room to resist.
Faced with this scene, Jiang Yan indeed had no chance to fight back.
“No—!”
Jian Hou’s cry was filled with despair.
Tao Shi and Cao Yufeng both instinctively turned their heads away, unwilling to witness the gruesome sight about to unfold.
[Someone save him! Surely Tao Da and the others can help him, right? Why wouldn’t they?]
[Probably because they don’t want to take the risk. Tao Da and Jiang Yan aren’t that close—they’ve only gone through three dungeons together. They probably wanted to recruit Jiang Yan, but it’s not worth risking themselves now.]
[Exactly! Plus, Jiang Yan’s already a wanted figure in both the Puppet Workshop and Valen Church. Dawn Guild likely sees this as a good opportunity to cut ties without consequences.]
[This time, Jiang Yan is truly done for.]
[Depending solely on luck doesn’t work forever—luck isn’t always reliable.]
[How long had Jiang Yan’s new faction been established? And now it’s about to fall apart?]
[Sigh... who would’ve thought Jiang Yan would fail on such a minor questline?]
[Wuwuwu... Yan Yan!!]
“Say your goodbyes to your friend. But you should thank him—he’s bought you an hour of time.”
Jiekhe crossed his arms, his tone regretful but tinged with an amused smile.
However, at the very last second, Jiang Yan suddenly raised a hand to block the giant rat’s mouth.
“Stop!”
“Hah! A mantis trying to stop a chariot.” Lu Sha sneered in disdain.
The next moment, something happened that left everyone dumbfounded.
The giant rat instantly froze, halting its movements entirely. It remained in its gaping posture, motionless.
It tilted its head slightly, staring at the boy sitting before it as though awaiting his next command.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yan continued to sit on the ground, his chest heaving slightly with exhaustion. The wings on his back trembled faintly in sync with his breathing.
His blue eyes revealed little emotion, but he tried to squeeze out a trace of moisture, making himself look pitiful—perfectly in line with his persona.
Everyone: “???”
[Huh???]
[What just happened?!]
[What is going on here??]
The players stared in shock at the unbelievable scene before them.
Lu Sha was the first to react. He asked in disbelief, “What the hell is going on?!”
Jiang Yan glanced at the giant rat in front of him, his gaze finally settling on its thick, sturdy ankle.
No one noticed that the giant rat’s ankle was wrapped in a thin black tendril. Following the tendril’s slender line back, it extended from beneath Jiang Yan’s clothing.
The corners of Jiang Yan’s mouth curled upward slightly, almost imperceptibly.
How could he have forgotten this?
Yu Xiu’s role in this dungeon was “The Curse of the Evil God,” while Jiang Yan was linked to the Evil God in some way. According to the setup, Yu Xiu could openly attack others when he was in danger without breaking character. It could be inferred that his role as the “little prince” in this dungeon must have a close relationship with the “Evil God.”
Since that was the case, Yu Xiu should be able to stop the giant rat, born from the Evil God’s curse, from hurting him. At the very least, he could make the creature fight Yu Xiu, who was at his side!
Although the items available in this dungeon were unreliable, Jiang Yan still had his “widower’s item” hidden on his waist!
He hadn’t expected Yu Xiu to be so powerful—he had easily subdued the rat?!
It seemed like Jiang Yan’s thoughts were noticed. The tendril that had been wrapped around the giant rat’s ankle retracted swiftly, returning to Jiang Yan’s clothes, but then it began worming its way toward his pants.
Before the tendril could touch where it shouldn’t, Jiang Yan grabbed it, whispering a warning: “Don’t push your luck.”
The offending tendril, seemingly aggrieved, wrapped around Jiang Yan’s thigh, retaliating by biting him twice with its suckers.
“Ugh...”
Jiang Yan’s body shuddered, and his brows furrowed in discomfort.
At this point, the others reacted.
Jian Hou immediately rushed forward, lifting Jiang Yan off the ground and frantically checking, “Are you okay? Yan Yan, are you okay?!”
“I’m... I’m fine!” Jiang Yan responded.
“You scared me to death!!”
Jian Hou hugged Jiang Yan and started wailing.
Jiang Yan, feeling both disgusted and helpless, leaned against Jian Hou for support.
At this point, his legs still had no strength, and he could barely stand on his own.
[No way?! He’s still alive?!]
[Hahahaha... I knew Yan Yan wouldn’t die!!]
[What?! How is this the fourth time now?! How does he always survive?!]
[It’s pure luck! Hahahaha! Maybe others can’t rely on luck forever, but Jiang Yan will always be lucky!]
[It’s definitely the main system pulling strings! How else could he survive when it’s come to this?!]
[Complaint! This is shady! The main system definitely has a shady deal going on!!]
[This is too... exaggerated!]
[Hahaha... I bet the Puppet Workshop and Valen Church are after Jiang Yan because they’re jealous!]
[How could they not be jealous? I’m about to lose it myself! How is this fair?!]
[Yeah! Why can someone who can barely run two laps survive, while we struggle to keep going?!]
[This is the importance of luck!]
[Luck, my ass! He’s definitely the main system’s illegitimate child!!]
[Damn it! The next time I go into a dungeon, I’m not pledging allegiance to the main system—I’m pledging to Jiang Yan!]
[Honestly, Jiang Yan’s been on my altar for a long time now. Ever since I started worshiping him, I got my first MVP since joining the game.]
[What?? Is this really happening?? I’ll try it too when I get back!]
Try it! I want to try too! This is really weird!]
[Hahahahaha... Jiang Yan’s fan club will never disband!!]
On the game forum, Jiang Yan had gone from being known for his “lucky constitution” to having a “paranormal constitution.” Meanwhile, Jiang Yan himself had no idea about the discussions.
At this moment, he was being patted on the back by Jian Hou, who was still in shock:
“You scared me to death... If something had happened to you, how would I explain it to Uncle Jiang Quan and Aunt Bai?!”
“Cough, cough, cough... Old Jian, calm down!”
Jian Hou let out a couple of loud cries, suddenly meeting Jiang Yan’s gaze. He froze in shock!
He saw that the giant rat was still in the same position it had been when it had tried to devour Jiang Yan, not moving at all.
Jian Hou, startled, quickly pulled Jiang Yan back a few steps, retreating to the group of players.
At that moment, the players seemed to snap out of their daze.
“What... what exactly happened?!” Tao Shi asked.
Before Jiang Yan could respond, Jiekhe started circling around him.
Due to his smaller size, Jiekhe even bounced up a few times, seemingly trying to inspect Jiang Yan from head to toe!
While circling, he mumbled to himself:
“It’s impossible... How could this happen?”
“This is the curse left behind by the Evil God! It’s the Curse of the Evil God—how could you possibly control it?!”
“This can’t be... this is absolutely impossible...”
Then, he suddenly jumped up and slapped Jiang Yan: “You... you... what exactly are you?!”
At that moment, Lu Sha suddenly recalled Jiang Yan’s setup.
“It must be because of the Evil God’s bloodline in you!” Lu Sha quickly turned his focus to Jiang Yan.
“This town and this rat, they are both curses left behind by the Evil God! Because you have the bloodline of the Evil God, that’s why the rat stopped attacking you!” Lu Sha explained.
“Is that so? Well, I guess I’ve benefited from this misfortune,” Jiang Yan said, his expression indifferent.
“Evil God’s bloodline?!” Jiekhe asked in disbelief.
He circled Jiang Yan a few more times, murmuring, “It’s... really similar... No wonder!”
“Similar... to what?” Jiang Yan asked.
“Like the Evil God’s seed!” Jiekhe replied.
The crowd stared at Jiang Yan in disbelief.
Jiang Yan: “What?”
As the "Elf Prince," Jiang Yan’s possession of the Evil God’s bloodline was something they had only recently learned from Cang Rou, as a “key clue.” However, the source of Jiang Yan’s bloodline had not been clearly explained.
From the current instance’s storyline, Jiang Yan’s “Evil God bloodline” must be playing a crucial role!
“So... Jiang Yan is the child of the Evil God and his elf wife?? The Evil God’s wife is an elf??” Jian Hou asked.
“Yes, that prince is indeed an elf.” Jiekhe replied.
“But...” Jiekhe suddenly changed his tone, looking conflicted.
“But that prince... that prince is also a male!”
The group fell into silence.
“So, elves can have male children??” Cao Youfeng asked curiously.
As he spoke, he instinctively looked toward Jiang Yan and Lu Sha, the two NPCs with elven blood.
Lu Sha immediately objected, saying, “I’m half-blood!”
Jiang Yan: “...”
While the group continued discussing Jiang Yan’s identity and bloodline, someone noticed the severed arm that Jiang Yan had thrown out earlier slowly beginning to rise.
A faint, eerie green aura floated from the palm of the severed arm to the giant rat’s nose. The rat’s originally dull and murky eyes suddenly gleamed with a ghostly green light.
“OkIk…”
“OkOkOk…”
The joints of the giant rat’s body made a crisp sound, and at the same time, the little rats on its body began to stir.
“Chirp... chirp... chirp...”
In the end, the giant rat once again let out a sharp, high-pitched roar at the crowd.
“Chirp--!!”
The foul wind from the rat’s mouth swept over them, and the players who had been surrounding Jiang Yan were startled!
When they regained their senses, the giant rat had already taken another step toward them.
“What’s going on?? Why has it started moving again?!” Cao Youfeng asked.
The new players immediately hid behind Jiang Yan.
“Quick! Make it stop!” The crew-cut guy reached out to tug at Jiang Yan’s wings.
The wings of an elf are the most vulnerable part. When the crew-cut guy pulled with such force, Jiang Yan cried out in pain.
“Ah... hiss!”
However, the crew-cut guy kept pulling at his wings, persistently urging, “Hurry up! Make it stop!”
“Hey! What are you doing? Let go of him!”
Seeing this, Jian Hou angrily went to pull the crew-cut guy’s hand away. “Are you pulling his wings like this?!”
The crew-cut guy didn’t care at all about Jian Hou. Seeing that Jiang Yan didn’t respond to him, he yanked Jiang Yan’s wings harder, “Why are you being so delicate at a time like this?!”
“Ah!!”
Jiang Yan cried out in pain, almost in tears.
"I--!"
A black tentacle suddenly emerged from beneath Jiang Yan’s clothes, opening its petal-shaped mouth full of sharp teeth, and let out a sharp roar at the crew-cut guy.
The crew-cut guy was so frightened that he immediately took a step back and released his grip on Jiang Yan’s wings.
“Whew--!”
The tentacle let out a sharp screech, and the heavy sulfuric smell from its petal-shaped mouth seemed to symbolize its anger.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry!”
Remembering how the tentacle had bitten off the five fingers of the braided guy earlier, the crew-cut guy quickly apologized.
“Sorry! I was just really anxious!”
However, the tentacle didn’t seem ready to let him off the hook.
Just as the tentacle was about to launch an attack, Jiang Yan spoke up, “Enough!”
The tentacle froze, displeased, before returning to Jiang Yan’s side.
The crew-cut guy sighed in relief.
However, the middle-aged man standing nearby had a darkened expression.
Jiang Yan clearly could’ve... He could have stopped that tentacle.
But just now, he still allowed it to bite off his son’s fingers!
Thinking of this, the hatred the middle-aged man felt for Jiang Yan deepened!
After returning to Jiang Yan’s side, the tentacle didn’t retreat back into his clothes like before, but instead climbed up onto Jiang Yan’s shoulder.
The previously terrifying petal-shaped mouth turned into soft suckers, attempting to steal a kiss on its companion's face.
However, just as its mouth was about to kiss Jiang Yan’s cheek, it was pulled away.
“There’s a problem.” Jiang Yan’s voice became serious. “I told it to stop, but it didn’t listen. You go fight it.”
With that, Jiang Yan let go of the tentacle.
However, to his surprise, the tentacle didn’t go to stop the giant rat like before. Instead, it slithered back into his clothes, using its suckers and soft tentacle tips to gently caress and suck on his body.
“What’s going on with you?!” Jiang Yan asked, confused.
The tentacle didn’t answer his question.
“Hurry up! Otherwise, we’ll die here!” Jiang Yan anxiously urged the tentacle under his clothes.
Jiang Yan started to panic.
What the heck is going on with this thing? Why is it failing at the crucial moment?!
At that moment, Jiang Yan suddenly thought of something!
Yu Xiu was currently a system NPC in this instance, and his actions had to conform to the storyline development, just like other NPCs.
So... could it be that Yu Xiu stopping the giant rat isn’t in line with the plot?
While Jiang Yan was frowning and pondering, Jian Hou pulled on his arm and said, “Yan Yan... hurry, make it stop!”
Seeing the giant rat getting closer, though it wasn’t fast, the light in its decaying, terrifying eyes seemed even more vicious than before.
Jiang Yan slowly took a step back and said, “I think... we should…”
“Run!!”
Jiang Yan shouted, and all the players immediately turned and ran!
“Eek, eek, eek—!!”
The giant rat let out another sharp, terrifying screech and chased after them relentlessly.
“What the hell is going on?!!” Cao Youfeng shouted as he ran.
He had lost count of how many times he’d asked this question.
It seemed that ever since entering this instance, he had been asking it over and over again.
What the hell is going on?!
“I... I don’t know!” Jiang Yan panted. “I don’t know why, but it’s gone berserk again!”
“Then make it stop!” Cao Youfeng said.
“It has to listen to me too!!” Jiang Yan replied.
“Eek, eek, eek—!!”
The group and the giant rat began circling the Angel Fountain at the center of the town once again.
However, before they even completed one lap, Jiang Yan tripped again.
“Thud!” He fell to the ground once more.
The group: “...”
Jiekhe: “Did I remember wrong? Haven’t you already been swallowed by the giant rat, and started looping the cycle?!”
Jiang Yan: “...”
When Jiang Yan propped himself up, he finally saw what had tripped him—a severed limb from Yu Xiu.
When he tripped just now, he had knocked Yu Xiu's severed arm out of his embrace, and then he forgot about it. Now, this missing arm was quietly lying at his feet.
Jiang Yan awkwardly reached down and picked it up again.
As if to make up for his earlier mistake, the giant, rough severed limb squeezed Jiang Yan’s waist tightly.
Jiang Yan: "..."
“Eek, eek, eek—!”
The giant rat once again advanced toward Jiang Yan.
“Yan Yan!!” Jian Hou screamed in panic again.
[This... this time... should be...]
[Think before you speak! Think before you speak!]
[It’s impossible! This time, it’s definitely not going to...]
“Whoo…”
Just as the giant rat’s mouth, full of sharp teeth, opened to devour Jiang Yan again, the severed arm of Yu Xiu in his embrace suddenly began to swell.
The already thick arm grew even thicker, and started to grow upwards like a tree, continuing until it surpassed the height of the surrounding pointed roofs before finally stopping.
Then, five long fingers extended outward, resembling strange, twisted branches.
The originally pale skin was covered with ink-like blackness, and glowing green slime slowly dripped down, soaking Jiang Yan, who was still holding it and unable to dodge.
By the time Jiang Yan regained his senses, the originally broken arm in his arms had turned into a towering, black, fleshy tree.
The “tree” lowered its branches, carefully lifting him from the ground and enveloping him within its grasp.
The green slime dampened his wings and clothes, and at that moment, he looked like a new elf born from this dark, evil tree.
The giant rat stopped its movements again.
The others looked in disbelief at the scene before them.
“What... is this...?” Cao Youfeng paused, then finally shut his mouth.
He really didn’t want to repeat that same question again.
[... Incredible.]
[So strong! This is really strong!!]
[No way?! This actually works?!]
[Is the main system’s backdoor really this open?!]
[They made a town where the effect of items is reduced, thinking they could see players and NPCs compete in basic stats, intelligence, and physical strength! But then this guy, Jiang Yan, who’s clearly cheating, shows up?!]
[I'm convinced! I’m convinced! From today on, I’m joining Jiang Yan’s fanclub.]
“This is... this is…”
Jiekhe, who had been hiding among the players, stood stunned, staring at the black tree that suddenly grew. He slowly walked to the base of the tree and then knelt on one knee before it.
“My God…” Jiekhe said solemnly.
“What?!” Jian Hou responded.
“You’re saying this... this is your God?!” Tao Shi looked at the towering black tree before them, his voice filled with disbelief.
“No... This is the tree in front of the God’s altar, the incarnation of the God.” Jack He remained on one knee as he explained.
“Then... where is Yan Yan?” Jian Hou looked at the strange thing, his concern growing.
“I saw it earlier, this bare tree was formed from Yu Xiu’s severed arm. If it’s Yu Xiu, Yan Yan will definitely be fine.” But… this thing looks so strange!
Tao Shi was right. Jiang Yan was not only fine, but actually in a better condition!
At this moment, Jiang Yan was embraced by the tree’s canopy—green slime flowed over his body, soothing the wings that had been pulled painfully earlier, gently healing the bruises and scratches from falling to the ground.
Meanwhile, countless tiny, petal-like, chrysanthemum-shaped tentacles extended, gently caressing Jiang Yan’s body.
The tentacles that had been hidden under Jiang Yan’s clothes also extended, softly touching and sucking on his skin.
Throughout the process, the tree’s canopy swayed gently, as if mimicking the arc of a cradle, carefully nurturing the little elf who had been exhausted from the game.
In this series of gentle caresses, surrounded by Yu Xiu’s aura, Jiang Yan, who had been on edge ever since entering the town, finally relaxed completely.
He felt the soft tentacles massaging him, and the tree’s canopy wrapped around him, as though it were Yu Xiu’s firm embrace.
For a moment, Jiang Yan felt a bit aggrieved.
“Damn it! When have I ever had to endure something like this?!” Jiang Yan cursed, though his blue eyes were filled with tears.
He was usually very emotionally stable, even when his closest relatives passed away; his emotional reactions were never particularly strong!
But when a person is physically exhausted, they can’t help but feel a little aggrieved, especially in front of someone they trust.
That’s how he felt now.
I hate this so much!
I really hate it!
It’s all this guy’s fault!
He was inexplicably missing, and for some inexplicable reason, he was pulled into this game! That’s why things were so troublesome now!
He felt like he had used up all the physical energy in his lifetime!
If it weren’t for this guy, how could he be this exhausted? He had fallen so many times!
At this moment, Jiang Yan suddenly recalled his time with Yu Xiu during university. Back then, Yu Xiu hadn’t started pursuing him yet, and the two were just friends.
But even then, Yu Xiu had already begun to show him unconditional kindness and tolerance.
He didn’t like attending physical education classes, so Yu Xiu would skip class and go for him.
He didn’t like crowded cafeterias, so every time he was hungry, Yu Xiu would always bring the food he wanted and put it in front of him.
He didn’t like waking up early for class, but when he really couldn’t skip it, Yu Xiu would carry him on his back to class, and he could take a quick nap on Yu Xiu’s back.
Later on, when Jiang Yan became too lazy to walk, Yu Xiu would carry him.
Sometimes, Jiang Yan didn’t want to walk but wanted to get some fresh air on the sports field, and Yu Xiu would carry him there to walk around.
It became a habit.
Every time Yu Xiu came to the dormitory to find Jiang Yan and go to the sports field, it would always be him carrying Jiang Yan around the track a few times.
In the evening, the university’s sports field was a great place for dates. Many couples would kiss, hug, or cuddle, and there were also some like them, walking around with one person carrying the other.
As a result, many people misunderstood them as a couple.
But at the time, they were actually just friends.
At that time, Yu Xiu had almost completely infiltrated Jiang Yan’s life, filling it up entirely, even erasing the traces of Jian Hou, his childhood friend.
Jiang Yan hadn’t thought much of it back then; he just felt that Yu Xiu was a more considerate friend than Jian Hou.
When others asked him, he would say, “Yu Xiu is my good buddy!”
Usually, at this point, the other party would hug their close friend and say, "Bro! Yes! We’re all bros!"
"Wife! Hurry up! Carry me!"
"…"
Jiang Yan, lying on Yu Xiu’s back, looked expressionless as he watched everything unfold. He said to the person carrying him, Yu Xiu, “You don’t need to worry about them. They’re just a bunch of bored people.”
He hadn’t taken this matter seriously at all.
Little did he know, their rumored relationship had already gone through several rounds of gossip around the school.
Their roommate, Hang Zhize, had even secretly asked another roommate, who was very close to Jiang Yan, whether Jiang Yan was dating Yu Xiu.
At first, the roommate had confidently answered, “Heh! That’s not the case at all! Jiang Yan is just lazy, and Yu Xiu is a considerate guy! They’re just really good friends, that’s all.”
“Is that so? Then why is it that Jiang Yan used to hang out with you so much, but now when they’re together, they don’t include you?” Hang Zhize asked.
The roommate, puzzled, replied, “Yu Xiu carries Jiang Yan around, and I go…”
“You go and you’re just the third wheel, right?” Hang Zhize said plainly.
Roommate: “… That’s not true! Jiang Yan and Jian Hou are really close, don’t they hang out together too?”
Later, that same roommate had secretly asked Jiang Yan about it.
At the time, Jiang Yan was lying on his bed, eating snacks Yu Xiu bought for him, watching movies that Yu Xiu had downloaded for him on his tablet, and replied, “No, Yu Xiu and I are just good friends.”
At that moment, Hang Zhize, who was in the same dorm, suddenly asked Jiang Yan, “So, does that mean other people can pursue you?”
Jiang Yan answered lazily and indifferently, “Yes.”
Although Jiang Yan had always been quite ordinary in many aspects, he had always been quite popular in terms of romance.
While the number of people who pursued him wasn’t huge, it had never stopped since he was young.
He never understood why. He always felt he was just very average in appearance.
But he was used to it. If someone wanted to pursue him, he wouldn’t stop them.
He couldn’t be bothered to stop them and would only reject them clearly.
As for what they did afterward, as long as it didn’t interfere with his life, he didn’t care at all.
He had never considered accepting anyone, because the idea of being in a relationship was just too exhausting.
Anything that involved tiring matters was never in his consideration!
However, what he didn’t expect was that Hang Zhize suddenly said, “Then can I do it too?”
Jiang Yan’s other roommate in the same dorm immediately widened his eyes, “You… you… you like Jiang Yan?!”
“Eh? No wonder!”
“No wonder you asked me about Jiang Yan and Yu Xiu. Turns out, you’re plotting something!”
Hang Zhize didn’t pay attention to the shocked roommate. Instead, he tried to suppress his excitement and looked at Jiang Yan, saying, “Is it okay? Can I pursue you?”
Jiang Yan was slightly stunned, then he shifted his gaze back to the movie in front of him and, without hesitation, rejected, "I don't date friends. If you start pursuing me, we’re not friends anymore."
Hang Zhize took a deep breath and said, "I never thought of being friends with you. From the day I met you, I never thought of being your friend."
Jiang Yan, holding the potato chips, paused slightly and calmly said, "I did consider you a friend before, but now you’re not."
Hang Zhize was stunned.
The roommate in the same dorm awkwardly patted Hang Zhize’s shoulder and said, "You... why did you say that? Look at Jiang Yan, does he look like someone interested in relationships? If you didn’t say anything, you’d still be friends, but now, he won’t even talk to you."
Hang Zhize was very confused and said, "Jiang Yan just said I can pursue him!"
"Yes, you can pursue him, but he won’t pay attention to you!" The roommate sighed, "Look at how many boys and girls at school are chasing him. Has he ever paid attention to anyone?"
Meanwhile, Jiang Yan was completely ignoring the conversation, his gaze fixed on the tablet in his hand.
But Hang Zhize wasn’t discouraged. Instead, he took a deep breath and said to Jiang Yan, "It’s okay! When I win Jiang Yan over and make him my boyfriend, he’ll want to talk to me."
"Eh?!!"
Yu Xiu, just arriving at Jiang Yan’s dorm door, heard Hang Zhize’s confession and dropped the milk tea he was holding, spilling it on the floor.
"Did I come at the wrong time?"
Yu Xiu smiled, but his eyes held a dangerous glint.
"Yes, you dropped my milk tea." Jiang Yan turned around, looking at the spilled milk tea and the pearls rolling on the floor.
At that moment, Hang Zhize suddenly stood up and said to Jiang Yan, "I’ll go buy you another one!"
Just as Hang Zhize stepped toward the door, Yu Xiu, who was standing in the doorway, grabbed his arm.
"Jiang Yan wants the milk tea I bought," Yu Xiu lowered his voice and provoked.
Yu Xiu was taller than Hang Zhize by a head, looking down at Hang Zhize with an indescribable danger and tension in the air.
Hang Zhize jerked his arm out of Yu Xiu’s grip, raised his chin defiantly, and said, "As expected! You like Jiang Yan! You deliberately got close to him under the guise of being friends."
Yu Xiu didn’t answer his question.
The roommate from the same dorm awkwardly tried to defuse the situation, "Come on, that’s not true! We’re all friends here!"
"I’m not Jiang Yan’s friend anymore," Hang Zhize provoked. "I’m his pursuer!"
The door wasn’t closed, and the noise drew the attention of several students from the same floor.
"What’s going on? What happened?"
"I don’t know... Are these two going to fight? What’s going on?"
"Isn’t Yu Xiu not in this dorm?"
"It’s obvious he came to find Jiang Yan, but why is he suddenly clashing with the people from Jiang Yan’s dorm?"
At this moment, some students who had witnessed the situation explained what had just happened. Soon, more and more people gathered around the dorm door.
"Whoa! Is this what they mean by 'raging for love'?"
"But hasn’t Jiang Yan been with Yu Xiu for a long time? Hang Zhize is trying to steal someone else's boyfriend, that’s not right, is it?"
"What are you talking about? They’re just friends. Jiang Yan isn’t interested in dating."
"Not interested?? He’s always being all affectionate with Yu Xiu at school, if that’s not dating, what is it?"
At that moment, Hang Zhize directly confronted Yu Xiu and said, "This guy deliberately got close to Jiang Yan under the guise of being his friend! And now he’s taking advantage of Jiang Yan’s kindness!"
Yu Xiu raised an eyebrow but didn’t say much, seemingly acknowledging the situation.
"And I," Hang Zhize said, looking directly at Yu Xiu, "am no longer Jiang Yan’s friend, I am his pursuer."
"What the hell?! Is it that intense?!"
"Oh my god! What a disaster! Jiang Yan really is a disaster!"
"Why do so many people think they can pursue Jiang Yan every year?"
"Jiang Yan is amazing, so many people are chasing him and he’s not moved at all?"
"Probably doesn’t like men at all! If I forced you, would you agree?"
"Go away, go away!!!"
".."
The discussions at the dorm door grew louder, attracting even more people to stop and watch. The two standing at the dorm door stared at each other, neither willing to back down.
The roommate awkwardly laughed and tried to ease the situation, "Isn’t this fine? You’re his pursuer, Yu Xiu is his friend! You’re not interfering with each other, right? Hahaha..."
At that moment, he couldn’t help but curse at the missing Jian Hou three thousand times in his mind! Damn it!
He had a better relationship with Jian Hou, and his friendship with Jiang Yan mainly came from living in the same dorm and through Jian Hou.
But now, this awkward scene, and Jian Hou wasn’t anywhere to be found!
Help! Someone save him!!
This was also why, in Jian Hou’s later memories, he felt like Jiang Yan and Yu Xiu suddenly got together for no reason.
Because he wasn’t really involved in the situation.
The roommate subconsciously glanced at Jiang Yan.
"Chomp..."
Jiang Yan paused for a moment while chewing on his chips, then continued eating them like a little hamster.
"DkIkOkIk...."
It was as if the whole matter had nothing to do with him.
"Alright! Alright! How about you guys go buy Jiang Yan some milk tea?"
The roommate tried to mediate.
Right now, he just wanted to get these two out of the way.
Yu Xiu directly shoved Hang Zhi Ze into the dorm room, saying without hesitation: "Jiang Yan will only drink the milk tea I buy!"
After that, he turned to leave.
As soon as he turned around, Jiang Yan put down the snacks in his hands and said to him, "I want to go out for a walk."
Yu Xiu excitedly turned back: "Okay!"
Then, he walked over to Jiang Yan, pulled him up from the bed, and Jiang Yan obediently leaned on Yu Xiu’s shoulder. The intimacy between them was obvious to anyone watching.
Upon seeing this, the people gathered at the dorm door whispered.
"Really... not together?"
"Probably secretly together, right?"
"Isn’t Hang Zhi Ze being made a fool of?"
"..."
Seeing this, Hang Zhi Ze gritted his teeth and said "You like Jiang Yan! And you're deliberately getting close to him as a friend, taking advantage of him, but you're too cowardly to admit you like him! You're a coward!"
"I’m not afraid to admit it. I just haven’t found the right opportunity to admit it yet." Yu Xiu calmly said while fixing Jiang Yan's bed.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yan, who was crouching down to tie his shoes, froze for a moment.
After Yu Xiu finished fixing the bed, he saw that Jiang Yan was still not moving and silently pulled him up, then squatted down to tie Jiang Yan’s shoes for him.
After finishing, he kept the half-crouching position and asked Jiang Yan "I don’t want to be just friends with Jiang Yan anymore. I want to pursue him. Would Jiang Yan reject me?"
Jiang Yan’s long lashes trembled slightly, and he slowly opened his mouth to say:
"No."
Yu Xiu's smile instantly froze on his face.
The people gathered at the dorm door burst into a chorus of boos.
"Wow! Directly rejected!"
"Eh?? Just now, Jiang Yan seemed to have agreed to Hang Zhi Ze’s pursuit?"
"It’s not agreeing to Hang Zhi Ze’s pursuit, it’s agreeing to let Hang Zhi Ze pursue him!"
"Yu Xiu was actually rejected? Looking at how Jiang Yan is with him every day, I thought his chances would be bigger. Didn’t expect Jiang Yan wouldn’t even give him a chance?!"
"…"
Hang Zhi Ze excitedly said to Jiang Yan "Yan Yan! I’ll go buy you milk tea right now!!"
Jiang Yan didn’t respond, staring intently at Yu Xiu in front of him.
"Why?" Yu Xiu’s voice was a bit trembling, his eyes showing a dangerous feeling that Jiang Yan couldn’t see.
"Because we’re friends…" Jiang Yan paused, "You can only be my friend."
That day, Yu Xiu didn’t take Jiang Yan to the track to walk around like before.
Thinking about it, actually, this guy had never changed in their lives!
Only, the way he tired him out changed from work and study to teasing him in bed!
Now, they weren’t a couple anymore, so Yu Xiu couldn’t tease him in bed openly!
So was he using this way to take revenge on him?
But the divorce was proposed by this guy!
What right does he have to take revenge?!!!
Suddenly, this person disappeared from Jiang Yan’s life.
And after that, for a long period, Jiang Yan’s life became inexplicably busier.
He, who was most afraid of being tired, inexplicably became the busiest person in the entire dorm.
During that time, Hang Zhi Ze kept showing him kindness, but he ignored all of it!
During that period, Jiang Yan felt very irritable.
He didn’t understand what made him feel so irritable.
Clearly… clearly, in the past, there were other people who had pursued him. After rejecting them, he didn’t feel anything.
In fact, there was a childhood friend who confessed to him in high school, and he also chose to sever ties and ignore him.
But Yu Xiu... Yu Xiu had only known him for a short month, less than a year.
Why, after rejecting Yu Xiu, and after that person disappeared from his life, did he not feel relieved but instead feel even more troubled?
Was it because there were too many things going on?
During that period, all kinds of things suddenly came to him, almost as if they were deliberately against him!
All the teachers started paying attention to him, even the physical education teacher wouldn’t let him off, starting fitness tests!!
Fitness tests!
How terrifying those words were!
Boys ran 1000 meters, girls ran 800 meters!
Forget the 1000 meters, Jiang Yan thought he wouldn’t even pass the girl’s track!
And sure enough, he didn’t.
Finally, just as Jiang Yan was about to cry from running, he fell into a familiar embrace.
"Yan Yan, will you agree to my pursuit now?" Yu Xiu's voice once again echoed softly in his ears.
"..."
Right... How similar is this situation to what happened back then??
He and Yu Xiu got divorced, Yu Xiu mysteriously disappeared, and he was dragged into this game, exhausted to the point of collapse! Isn’t this exactly the same as what happened back then?!
Did he agree to Yu Xiu's pursuit at that time? Agree to what?! Agree to my foot!!
He almost twisted Yu Xiu's head off!
Since then, for at least three months, he hadn't spoken a word to Yu Xiu. He treated Yu Xiu like an invisible person and had firmly decided to cut ties with him from that point onward!
Until Yu Xiu realized that he was really angry, that he had really gone too far, and with all kinds of intensified efforts, sending apology letters and guarantees every day for three whole months!
Only then did Jiang Yan reluctantly start to occasionally acknowledge him.
"You’re deliberately taking revenge on me, aren’t you?!" Jiang Yan gritted his teeth and cursed.
But at this moment, his eyes were wet, his lashes slightly red. Rather than cursing, it looked more like he was acting coquettishly.
He had originally thought that this guy had turned over a new leaf! Seems like he overestimated him!
Thinking about it, actually, in their lives, this guy never really changed!
He just changed the way he wore him out—from work and study to teasing him in bed!
Now that they weren't a couple anymore, Yu Xiu couldn't openly tease him in bed anymore!
So, was he using this way to take revenge on him?
But...
At this moment, Jiang Yan suddenly remembered the vows they made when they got married:
"Through poverty, illness, hardship, pain..."
"Through wealth, health, joy, and happiness..."
"Will you stand by this man, never leaving, loving and cherishing him for life?"
The ethereal echo made Jiang Yan feel a bit dazed for a moment.
The tendrils wrapping around him seemed to have heard the echo in his mind too, stretching out a long black tendril, carefully winding around his left ring finger.
Jiang Yan angrily slapped it away!
His indifferent blue eyes were filled with rage, and he gritted his teeth slightly, saying:
"I wasn’t the one who filed for divorce!"
This guy had it all wrong!
The one who filed for divorce was him!
The one who betrayed the vow was him!
“You bastard, you’re doing this on purpose?!” Jiang Yan said, his eyes red.
The black tree didn’t speak, only silently swaying its trunk as it lulled the little elf hidden in its heart to sleep.
However, the little prince was very angry right now!
He had no intention of sleeping.
Not only did he not want to sleep, but he also started throwing a tantrum.
Jiang Yan flipped over and bit hard into the soft crown of the tree wrapping around him, saying:
“Wait for it! I’ll deal with you when I get back!”
The black giant tree that was bitten seemed not to be angry, but rather more excited as it began to sway even more.
“Y…” Jiang Yan was a bit confused. The tiny tendrils accidentally brushed against...
“Get off! Don’t touch me.” Jiang Yan kicked the tree crown beneath him in irritation.
However, the black tree seemed to not understand Jiang Yan’s words, and instead of stopping, it became even bolder, bullying Jiang Yan even more.
“Get off! Don’t touch me!”
Jiang Yan was angry now!
And he didn’t know if the live-stream camera could see this.
If this gets broadcasted... what will happen then?!
At this moment, he looked like a butterfly caught in a spider’s web, about to be devoured by the spider.
If the live-stream camera turned here now, viewers would see this scene:
A beautiful little elf with black hair and blue eyes, struggling in the glowing green slime, his golden semi-transparent wings fluttering slightly behind him, as if trapped in the amber prepared by a hunter.
The black tentacles, like twisted orange wood branches, excitedly waved around him, ready to feast at any moment!
But, the gods would never allow their offerings to be touched by others, not even with their gaze.
Therefore, on the game forum’s copy live-stream interface, Jiang Yan’s camera showed a pitch-black screen.
The players on the game forum, along with the players standing under the tree, had no idea what was happening in the tree crown, nor could they hear any sounds. They only noticed that the tree’s swaying seemed to have gotten much more intense than before…
Comments
Post a Comment
We’d Love to Hear from You!
Share your thoughts, feedback, or questions about this posts. Your comments are important to us.