Since taking over as the leader of Gikas Castle, following the iron-fisted management policies of Rong Yi, Luna had not felt so puzzled for a long time.
Luna: Sister-in-law, I’m just a boss in a copy, and the mental hospital is just part of the script. Even if I have some real mental patients under me, I only use them for work, not to cure them.
Rong Yi: That’s a shame. You still need to improve your business skills.
Luna:…
Luna: Sister-in-law, what do you need me for? Let me see if any NPCs I know can help.
Rong Yi briefly stated the requirements, and Luna was silent for a while on her end.
Luna: Just say you want to analyze the NPC genealogy; using such highfalutin terms like AI genetic engineering confuses me.
Rong Yi: Sorry, I work on projects like this regularly.
Rong Yi: So, can you do it?
Luna: The lower-level NPCs here were all mass-produced by me, how could I not?
Rong Yi was elated and sent over Yin Yue’s blood sample, receiving her reply shortly after.
Luna: This isn’t an NPC’s blood sample.
Luna: This seems to be a human’s blood sample.
A human?
Clearly a human, yet retracing memories along the timeline like an NPC, repeating past actions. Moreover, there seemed to be a strong connection with the big boss.
But if it’s a human, then it’s highly unlikely to be Fan Xingze’s son… With that thought, Rong Yi felt somewhat disappointed.
She immediately guessed another possibility: could Yin Yue be Fan Xingze?
No, he showed no response to [Meeting Parents], but Fan Xingze, the former boss X, would definitely react to that skill.
Who exactly was Yin Yue? Could the game hold such malice towards another player besides herself?
Luna: Wait a minute… communication… detected… &
Her message started to mix in some garbled code, with occasional repeated information. Rong Yi pieced together the information from the fragmented text: their communication had been discovered by the game and interfered with.
Normally, her communication with NPCs was no different than with other players, indicating that X, Fan Xingze, was protecting their illegal communication channel.
However, the game’s wariness towards X was increasing, perhaps due to noticing his actions and starting to attack this layer of protection.
With this realization, Rong Yi suddenly remembered her skill was also granted by X, could it be that when the game attacked X, it inadvertently targeted the skills he made for himself?
It wasn’t that Yin Yue was unresponsive to her skill, but that the skill had malfunctioned!
The information flickered for a moment, then returned to normal.
Luna: Someone is eavesdropping on our communication.
Luna: But without malicious intent. They even set up a new firewall for the channel.
Luna: It’s not the big brother. It’s someone else. From outside the game.
Someone from outside the game?
Rong Yi comforted her for a few moments, sharing these findings with the rest of the team. After discussing with the other members and Zhong Zhi Ming, they concluded that regardless of whether Yin Yue was an NPC, it was certain that his character had a deep connection with the demon race.
And Rong Yi discovered that he had always been in contact with his “birth father”.
So, while he had not yet left Tianwen Sect, the long-absent Exalted Immortal Haomiao appeared before everyone, specifically requesting that Yin Yue, a senior disciple of the Supreme Palace, accompany him up the mountain for a few days.
Everyone, including Yin Yue himself, believed that his outstanding performance at the Qingyuan ceremony had earned the favor of the sect’s founding ancestor, leading to his guidance and eagerly packed his bags to head up the mountain.
Once he went up, he completely disappeared from everyone’s sight.
By the fifth day, Yin Yue finally realized: it was not guidance at all. He had actually been detained by Tianwen Sect!
Haomiao Peak was the territory of the Exalted Immortal Haomiao, sparsely populated and aside from the immortal himself, only a few puppets served him in his daily life.
The message couldn’t be sent, and there was no one to turn to for help. Meanwhile, his sect thought he was exchanging knowledge with friendly factions, completely unconcerned.
Yin Yue was finally getting impatient. Despite meeting the esteemed Immortal Haomiao several times, the answers he received were always, “When the one who seeks you is ready, things will naturally fall into place.”
This vague response left Yin Yue puzzled. He asked many times that if he wanted to contact his master, a simple message would suffice, rather than restricting his freedom in this way.
However, the enigmatic Immortal Haomiao shook his head, simply instructing him to wait.
Wait… for whom?
During this time, Rong Yi stayed with Luo Huayue and Ice at the Gate of Lovesickness, far away from Yin Yue. Indeed, even if Yin Yue was seething with anger, as long as that broken sword wasn’t by his side, he wouldn’t be able to open the portal to the demon world.
Finally, half a month later, a paper crane fluttered weakly against the barrier outside the Haomiao Peak, futilely hitting the transparent membrane.
Zhong Zhi Ming waved his hand, creating a small hole in the membrane. The paper crane flew in, finding Yin Yue’s room accurately and entering through the window.
Before Yin Yue could reach out for the paper crane, Immortal Haomiao appeared in front of him stealthily, stopping the crane with his hand.
Yin Yue snapped out of his frozen state, nervously looking at the Immortal towering over him with a difference in realms.
“Whose paper crane is this?” The voice of Immortal Haomiao, along with an irresistible pressure, bore down on him, forcing him to kneel.
Unable to lie in the face of absolute power, Yin Yue, sweating nervously, couldn’t meet his gaze: “He… my biological father…”
He squeezed out these words through clenched teeth, devoid of any affection, as if he was talking about a sworn enemy instead of his father.
Zhong Zhi Ming bent down, lifting Yin Yue’s chin: “How do you know he’s your father? Why do you hate him so much?”
Yin Yue’s forehead dripped with cold sweat. Under the pressure, he dared not look directly at him: “He… he could describe all the things around me on the day I was abandoned… the exact date… he said he’s my father…”
“He also wanted me… to listen to him… to open…”
“The portal to the demon world.” They said in unison.
Yin Yue raised his head abruptly: “You know!”
Zhong Zhi Ming, pretending to be mysterious and inscrutable, smiled faintly and opened the paper crane.
The sender asked Yin Yue why there had been no news from him recently and why his sword, which he always carried, was missing, instructing him to find the sword quickly so they could meet as father and son.
The tone showed little sentiment, more like a superior giving orders to a subordinate. These two truly were cut from the same cloth.
Yin Yue clenched his fists: “…Immortal, I have no feelings for this man, nor do I want to cause harm to others… I just… I just want to see him with my own eyes, then question him. Why did he abandon me? Such a scumbag has no right to be my father. After ignoring me for decades, he dares to show up at my door!”
Immortal Haomiao tossed the paper crane back to him, asking about the sword’s function and why his father was so concerned, instructing Yin Yue to keep it by his side.
Yin Yue was puzzled: “…Honestly, I don’t know either. My master said that when he found me, the sword was by my side. He thought it was a relic of my parents and took it in, always by my side since childhood.”
Suddenly, he continued, “Immortal, a while ago, my sword suddenly developed a spirit, then disappeared. That spirit was arrogant and rebellious, perhaps it left on its own!”
Zhong Zhi Ming: You got that right.
Yin Yue went on, “Since he values the sword so much… capable of birthing a spirit, with such a sinister nature, it could very well be a legacy from my father. I hope Immortal can find it soon and destroy it!”
“Phew.”
Haomiao Xianzun, who turned around to drink tea, sprayed a mouthful of tea and quickly suppressed the sound, so as not to let Yin Yue notice.
Seeing Xianzun not responding for a long time, he asked in confusion, “Is there anything inappropriate in what the junior said?”
“No,” Haomiao Xianzun coughed, “It’s very appropriate.”
“Don’t worry, detaining you here is to restrain your birth father. If you hate him to the core, all the better. Although you are of the demon race, growing up in the immortal realm since childhood has made you pure-hearted. Helping us fight against the demon race is a great achievement. If anyone questions your identity in the future, I’ll be the first to ensure your safety.”
“Now, reply to him as I instructed.”
Upon hearing this, Yin Yue put down her lingering worries and deeply bowed to Haomiao Xianzun’s back.
“Yes, Xianzun.”
In the realm of lovesickness, Rong Yi has been in contact with Luna, fearing that the sudden appearance of the mysterious “patron” might have some undisclosed intentions. Luna, however, is confident.
Luna: Sister-in-law, you worry too much. In these past few days, this surveiller not only harbors no ill will but has even opened a new pathway for us.
Rong Yi: What pathway?
Luna: Just wait.
A suddenly popped-up attachment in the communication channel. This has never happened before; whether in player communication or communication with NPCs, only text and images could be exchanged. The attachment was clickable, Rong Yi opened it, and a progress bar quickly filled up, revealing an empty vial that dropped to the ground when she tried to pick it up.
Rong Yi was astonished – the personal system could transmit physical items, and even across different game instances! According to Luna, the channel could currently only accommodate small items, but the diameter of the channel has been expanding these days…
Luna: Perhaps in a few days, a person can pass through.
A person can pass through!
Rong Yi’s heart raced – with her knowledge of so many instance bosses, if there were real challenges in those instances, could she not just summon those bosses here to help?
With everything they could do done, now they wait.
In the demon realm, in the capital city, most of the demons were strange in appearance, some like mutated animals, others like plants with long legs, and some even had no definite form, sliding on the ground like water. The higher-ranking demons resembled human forms more closely. Inside the capital city royal domain, the demon generals, although having horns and bat wings, had somewhat human-like appearances, with worry evident on their faces.
The Demon Grand Marshal Gu Ye, with scales covering his face, frowned, “The Lord has been in seclusion for several years, and in the past few days, the crack between the two realms has loosened – it’s a perfect opportunity! Yet, he remains indifferent!”
The Vanguard General, a female leader with a slender figure, shimmering silver light on her dark green skin, and a huge intimidating battle axe on her back, was both beautiful and fierce. She looked aloof, lightly brushing her seaweed-like long hair, “The Lord has been playing the ‘salty fish’ for so long—it’s not a new story.”
She clenched her sharp teeth against her lip, took a brisk step forward, and banged on the tightly closed palace door:
“Do you have the ability to be a ‘salty fish’? If so, have the guts to open the door!”
“Demon Lord! Come out! If you don’t come out soon, this miss will take over the throne!!”
