If the octopus’s color had a grade, Fan Xingze would now be considered “medium rare.”
It feels its soft body emitting heat, wanting to shyly avoid Rong Yi’s overwhelming passion, almost trying to pucker up its mouth underneath to give her a responsive kiss.
Just as it was about to reach almost fully cooked, a familiar tugging sensation pulled them out of this scene and into a snowy mountain setting above.
The two faced each other in the snowstorm. Rong Yi smiled gently, and Fan Xingze suddenly knelt down like a big bird burying his blushing cheeks in the snow.
Rong Yi: “Please rise, my lord.”
Fan Xingze: “Let me calm down.”
Fan Xingze: “I’m feeling a bit embarrassed to see you right now.”
Amid Rong Yi’s joyful laughter, they were forcefully pulled out of the snowy mountain and onto a higher level, a twilight island.
Rong Yi opened her eyes in the cockpit module, looking at the dark cave ceiling, reaching out her hand.
In the damp island air, she touched another warm palm.
“I wanted to take you to see it back then, the twilight on the island,” Fan Xingze’s voice echoed softly in the cave lab.
“The sunset reflecting on the colorful beach felt like a dream, exceptionally beautiful.”
“Yes,” Rong Yi agreed, “I saw it, truly beautiful.”
As they spoke, neither of them wanted to get up from the cockpit, just staring at the dark cave ceiling, exchanging words until an irresistible force pulled them away.
Waking up again, back to reality. Rong Yi moved her fingers, removed the electrodes from her neck, and pushed open the cockpit door.
Standing next to a large calculator reaching to the ceiling, the screen’s data reflected on his aged face.
Without turning back, he asked with a soft smile, “Awake?”
Rong Yi was unsure if he meant waking up from the virtual scene or if Fan Xingze had awakened from the dream called Aitangsheng, also known as the random boss x.
Fan Xingze’s cockpit remained closed, and the old man showed no intention of opening it for him.
Rong Yi stepped out of the cockpit, “Do you know everything?”
The old man suppressed his smile, “…There are many ways to solve problems, such as killing me right now, then nothing in the future would happen.”
He indeed knew everything.
“I should have been hospitalized for my illness long ago. But suddenly the doctor told me that miraculously, my condition started to improve. Of course, I was happy. It’s a miracle!” He lowered his head, showing little excitement on his face.
“I didn’t know about the Lucky Carnival event earlier than Zoe.” He chuckled, “Ironically, what piqued my interest was his sudden display of opposition and aversion towards me. He’s a smart kid, but when it comes to social affairs, he’s still a bit naive, doesn’t understand disguises, likes what he likes, and dislikes what he dislikes.”
Rong Yi nodded in agreement.
“Since the game was successfully developed in the future, I don’t have much reference material here either. From my deduction, the game’s main brain automatically changed the final goal of the game based on my initial desires after its successful development.”
“Now, the game has realized that you are trying to shut it down. Originally, it had captured a part of Zoe’s consciousness, making him part of the game. But now, this part of consciousness struggles to break free due to your intervention, counterattacking the game.”
“You are like a virus, and to prevent a virus, you need to set up a firewall. I believe you have experienced the hostility and attacks of the firewall in the game.”
“However, the better approach is not to let the virus enter the game. Originally, the game wanted to absorb a part of Zoe’s consciousness, continuously attempting to eliminate you, making him its own. But now, as you keep breaking its levels, even taking Zoe with you, the game naturally won’t let you enter again.”
Rong Yi listened quietly and asked, “What about Fan Xingze? He won’t enter the game anymore?”
“…… According to my understanding of the game, on the contrary, it will try its best to pull him into the game again.”
“Why?” Easy to not understand: “Now Fan Xingze, should have already known his true identity, and more efforts to resist the game is right!”
“But that part of his consciousness is what the game has been dreaming of.” The old man rickety back sigh, no longer before the spirited look, as if aged ten years: “I told you, his studio is to help me do the project.”
“The Lucky Carnival project.” Rong Yi added.
“…… Yes. But it didn’t have that name at the time.” The old man paced around Fan Xingze’s connecting pod and stroked, “He was my most gifted student, young, full of enthusiasm and imagination.”
“Because he participated in designing part of the original program, to the Lucky Carnival, Fan Xingze’s consciousness is like a mother’s body, a greenhouse that nourishes its growth. Therefore, it will definitely try to find ways to leave that part of his consciousness behind.”
“If I knew that helping me would put him in such a dilemma now, I should have just packed him up and sent him to you in the first place.”
In the turbid old man’s eyes were unadulterated pity and regret. Rong Yi frowns, she believes that IS is licking his chops with Fan Xingze, but she knows even better how strong a person’s desire for survival is when faced with a life and death decision.
“What do you mean now? If you don’t let him wake up, what exactly do you want to say to me?” Her tone remained calm.
“Ho-ho, I knew it, the emotion card doesn’t work with you.” The old man leaned on the cabin and looked at Rong Yi and smiled, “The fastest way to solve this matter is to kill me.”
Rong Yi’s face was expressionless as he clasped his arms in front of him, “Oh. What do you mean by that? I’m just an ordinary person, I don’t have the mental qualities to be able to live a good life after killing someone.”
“If you really think that dying right now is the best solution, you can totally kill yourself.”
The old man shook his head, “My religion does not allow me to commit suicide. If I commit suicide, I will fall into hell and will not be able to see my wife.”
“She also died of cancer four years ago.”
Rong Yi inexplicably thought of the stoic old man in the game who had spent months alone on the vast ocean in order to eradicate cancer.
IS: “I’ve arranged everything, there’s no surveillance here, and there’s no windows. I’ll be standing on a short-circuited high-voltage wire, and all you have to do is pull the gate. Externally, all the evidence shows that my death by high voltage was an accident, and you only opened the switch without knowing it.”
“So, in my mind, I was killed by you. To the outside world, I died by accident. Only to you, I committed suicide.” He spread his hands, “Isn’t that good?”
Rong Yi shook his head, “No. I don’t like to deceive myself. I don’t like to deceive myself and others.”
The old man sighed, “Then there is only one way out. Enter the game and seize the position of the game’s chief administrator.”
“That was also my original plan.” Rong Yi said, “But I don’t know much about professional matters, so it would be better for you to call Fan Xingze up and talk to him directly.”
“No, I must talk to you.” The old man rubbed his hands together somewhat nervously, “If you succeed, then you are cutting off my current lifeline.”
Rong Yi: “…… It would also mean that we indirectly kill you.”
“Right.” is eyes do not have the fear of death, but a kind of relief: “I should have died a long time ago, is the beginning of the delusion should not have, so that this sinful game was born. But Zoe, he may not be able to accept this.”
“Even if he shows resistance and skepticism towards me, at heart, he’s just a simple, good-hearted kid who shouldn’t have to face such a dilemma.”
“So, help him, don’t let him know the truth of all this; or, help him through this difficult decision.”
The elderly spoke earnestly, reluctantly nodding from time to time.
“I will decide whether to let him know based on the situation when the time comes and how to inform him,” she said.
With her agreement, Noel finally opened Fan Xingze’s connection cabin.
The handsome man slowly opened his eyes and saw Rong Yi smiling down at him.
He immediately raised his arm to cover his eyes, his cheeks turning red, and softly said, “…Don’t look at me like that…”
Rong Yi teased him further, saying, “Wake up, Sleeping Beauty. Your teacher will also help us fight against the Carnival of Luck together.”
Fan Xingze sat up, looking puzzled at the teacher standing beside Rong Yi, “You guys—”
The elderly chuckled and said, “Don’t worry, I am on your side. The future me is not the present me, but I did sow the seeds of the evil. I will take responsibility.”
“The current problem is that the game has rejected Rong Yi’s entry. And you, on the other hand, may be manipulated by the game to be part of it again,” the elderly continued.
As soon as the elderly finished speaking, Fan Xingze immediately objected, “No!”
Rong Yi was stunned, “Can’t enter?”
“No!” Fan Xingze frowned, “Your involvement in the game was originally an accident. Now that the game has finally let go of you, isn’t that a great thing? Why would you want to go back in? It’s too dangerous!”
Rong Yi activated her holographic screen, illuminating the space around them with a blue light, “I am still bound by the game’s personal system. If you say the game has spared me, it’s probably just temporary. Who knows when in the future, I might be pulled back in again.”
“I don’t like having this unstable factor. You know my character; I want to personally deal with this potential danger,” she said.
Of course, this was just nonsense to fool Fan Xingze. But his unwavering trust in her over the years, he really was fooled by these words.
Is took the opportunity to sow discord, “Seizing the game administrator’s identity is not an easy task. Now, Sister Rong is a player, you are an NPC, and I am an external observer. We should make good use of this multi-angle attack strategy, leveraging our unique advantage.”
“And besides, I am not alone,” Rong Yi said, “Luo Huayue, Zhang Haiyang, Raymond, ice. After several instances, our skills and personnel have been honed to a certain extent. Currently, the game still thinks it has excluded me, enemies are clear while I’m in the dark – it’s the best time to strike.”
Fan Xingze contemplated for a long time, looking at the teacher and then at Rong Yi.
This matter was indeed difficult, and the more people involved, the higher the chances of success.
He didn’t know when he would be pulled into the game as an NPC, becoming an obstacle to this plan involuntarily.
And Rong Yi, with her abilities and experience, would undoubtedly be a key member of this plan.
The two gazed at each other for a long time. With years of collaboration at work, a three-year online romance, the chasing and evading in the game, there were some things between them that didn’t need to be said but were understood.
This involved the lives of thousands of players in the vast game world; it was a risky yet inevitable rescue operation.
Even if he had selfish motives, Rong Yi was not the kind of girl to be protected by petty love and selfishness, weak and cowardly.
She was a warrior, especially when he was being bullied. A redemption that descended from the sky.
She was his sun.
And she would be the sun for many others.
How could he stop her from shining brightly?
Fan Xingze bit his lip and nodded slowly.
“Alright. When do we start?”
Author’s Note: The final transitional chapter is over! The next chapter will enter the last major battle instance!
