Chapter 2: Mysterious Boyfriend’s Online Tutorial – Good Teacher, but Easily…
Rong Yi: ????
Confusion filled her mind as a string of question marks appeared in the chat box and were sent out.
Rong Yi: Future high-tech, sending WeChat with your mind?
X: Yeah, isn’t it convenient?
Rong Yi: How did you get in? Is it dangerous? It’s fine, I can handle it alone. You should report this to the police; this game illegally imprisons players and is clearly not legitimate.
X: Rong Rong is worried about me!
X: [Hehe.JPG]
Rong Yi: This is bad, isn’t this just like telepathy? And it’s still one-sided.
Rong Yi: …
X: [Hehe.JPG]
X: I’m not kidding. I hacked into the system, so rest assured, it’s very safe. The Lucky Carnival is extremely dangerous. I know you’re capable, but I’m still worried. Calling the police won’t help; you can’t find any evidence of this game’s existence. [Complicated mood.JPG]
Rong Yi: You managed to hack into all of this… Were you lying when you said you were working at the amusement park before?
X: No! [Believe it or not, I believe it.JPG]
X: As for the other details about this instance, I’m not very clear, but the final boss is a ogre, right?
X: Let me tell you secretly, this time the boss design is terrifying. Psychologically, each one is very fragile, after all, the work is repetitive and the working environment is quite terrible. For example, the ogre recently developed anorexia, is irritable all the time, can’t eat enough, is not motivated at work, and the player’s completion rate is also very low.
X: So, with conventional methods, you’re likely to get stuck, and you can’t beat it with brute force either. You’d be better off targeting its psychology; I guarantee you’ll make them cry.
X: Don’t be afraid. I’ve been here all along, and I won’t let anything happen to you.
X: Rong Rong? What are you thinking? Are you still scared? [Baymax hug.jpg]
Rong Yi: I’m thinking that the way you genuinely care for me is very adorable.
Rong Yi: …I’m signing off now.
She struggled to maintain a frosty demeanor, ignoring the persistent blinking of the little red dot, and decisively closed the chat window.
*
As the last stroke was drawn for the twin ponytails, a clear sound of a bronze bell echoed in the hall.
“Ding—”
A hidden door opened on the wall directly facing the snack shop, and a young man dressed in a smart tailcoat stepped out, standing at the entrance.
T let out a suppressed sneer: “This might also be punishment for your failure.”
Twin Ponytails glanced at the man and blushed slightly: “With an NPC this handsome, I don’t think it’s punishment…”
Upon closer inspection, Rong Yi noticed that the man had well-defined eyebrows and eyes, a high and straight nose bridge, and he wore a pair of incredibly sophisticated single-lens glasses. A gold chain dangled from his flawless cheek, shimmering in harmony with the crystal chandelier above.
She surveyed the handsome man from head to toe, attempting to discern any trace of a devouring demon within him. Suddenly, she caught a glimmer of light in the man’s embrace.
It was a metallic-bound corner of a hardcover pocketbook.
This couldn’t possibly be…
“Menu.”
Rong Yi said as she slowly approached, “It might be in his embrace. I’ll go and take a look.”
Twin Ponytails anxiously called out to her, “Don’t go! Be careful, it’s dangerous!”
T’s barrage was full of lamentation:
“Is she rushing to her death?”
“Is being handsome not weird enough? Judging a monster by appearance?”
“Ah, I really hate these beautiful wastes… Do they think that just because they’re good-looking, even NPCs have to yield to them?”
Sure enough, she was still a newcomer, thinking that cracking a level made her impressive? T smiled in satisfaction, silently watching Rong Yi head towards danger.
The reason Rong Yi was so confident was because her little boyfriend had told her that the ogre was suffering from anorexia. So now, anyone standing in front of the ogre was like a bundle of grass placed in front of a tiger, unable to arouse his appetite.
The closer she looked, the smoother and flawless the handsome man’s skin appeared, even a single strand of hair exuding perfection.
Rong Yi seriously doubted that this NPC was created to bewilder female players.
Approaching closer, the handsome man opened his mouth, and on each side of his perfect lips, two fine lines extended down to his chin, emitting a stiff voice: “Hello.”
Twin Ponytails exclaimed, “A puppet?!”
If it was a puppet, it couldn’t eat, meaning it couldn’t be an ogre.
So, for now, let’s follow the game’s original process, step by step, to decipher the puzzles, and eventually, we’ll encounter the ogre.
“Hello. Could you lend me what’s in your embrace for a moment?” She stared at the menu in the puppet’s arms.
The puppet opened its mouth again: “Hello.”
It seemed that he could only say this one sentence.
This NPC didn’t appear very clever, so Rong Yi abandoned communication and reached directly into his embrace. However, the handsome man turned agile at that moment, immediately using his hand to block her.
“Crack!”
The rigid wooden arm struck her own arm!
“Hiss—” Rong Yi sucked in a breath in pain, rolling up her sleeve to reveal that her previously snow-white skin now had a red mark swelling up. She held her injured area, testing the pain before pulling back.
The burly man, who had messed up in the previous round, stepped up bravely this time. However, despite his muscular appearance from the gym, he was only for show. He couldn’t even last three moves against the puppet and returned with a red, swollen arm.
Twin Ponytails didn’t even bother to try; it was definitely a dead-end.
T, who had witnessed everything, seemed to have been waiting for this moment, revealing a warm smile. “Why not try using your innate skills?”
“Innate skills? What’s that?” The burly man looked puzzled.
Rong Yi noticed that whenever T smiled gently, it gave people a convincing feeling, as if bathed in a warm breeze. It was the case when persuading Twin Ponytails to use bloodletting in the previous round, and it was the same now.
“Yes, click on your personal attributes and find the skill panel.”
The three of them followed his instructions involuntarily.
“Tell me, what are your skills?”
Twin Ponytails said, “My skill is: ‘Da Vinci Draws an Egg.'”
The burly man said, “My skill is: ‘Sail with the Wind.'”
Rong Yi said, “My skill is—”
Suddenly, her friend list started chiming like crazy!
She was abruptly jolted awake, looking around, and realized that the others seemed unable to hear her system’s notification sounds.
Opening the conversation, X was frantically spamming messages:
X: Don’t answer! Don’t answer! Don’t answer!
X: Don’t answer! Don’t answer! Don’t answer!
…
Rong Yi: Are you an alien from the Three-Body Problem?
X: Ahhhh Rong Rong, you finally acknowledged me! I watched the livestream! This T, the one in camouflage clothing, is known as the “Newbie Slayer”!
X: Innate skills are “trump cards”; don’t reveal them easily!
X: I guess his skill is allurement; don’t listen to him! Listen to me more!
Rong Yi: Alright, got it. Are you jealous?
X: I’m not, I’m not!
Rong Yi: Alright, got it. Don’t be jealous, be good.
So she changed the topic:
“My skill isn’t important. After all, we’re all beginners.” She looked at T with a smile in her eyes, the diamond earrings drawing two sharp lines of light: “Senior, whether we can clear the level or not depends on your skill.”
Twin Ponytails and the burly man seemed to awaken by her words:
“…Yeah, senior, our skills do seem a bit lackluster. Your skill must be amazing!”
“Time is running out, if we can’t clear the level, the senior will also face punishment, right?”
T’s warm smile froze on his face, but his livestream unexpectedly gained quite a few more viewers. However, the barrage was full of laughter, mocking the renowned “Newbie Slayer” for failing against a newcomer.
T managed to muster a smile. “My skill is fire.” He snapped his fingers, igniting a cluster of flames at his fingertip. “Although the puppet is made of wood, the menu is also paper. With this fire, both will turn to ashes.”
T continued, “Now that we’ve all revealed our skills, you shouldn’t keep yours hidden, right?” He stared directly at Rong Yi’s floating screen.
Rong Yi responded, “…Indeed. My skill is ‘Delicacies of the Mountains and Seas.'”
She looked at the words “Meet the Parents” in her skill bar, lying blatantly.
“Delicacies of the Mountains and Seas?” T frowned.
“Probably a skill related to cooking delicious food,” Rong Yi said.
The burly man couldn’t help but mock, “What’s the use of that skill? Have you ever played house?” He bellowed, “Activate! Sail with the Wind!”
Rong Yi watched him disappear from where he stood, only to reappear suddenly in front of the puppet, who quickly slapped her.
Everyone: …
He hastily shouted, “Activate! Sail with the Wind!” and teleported back to his original position.
Clutching his red and swollen cheek, the burly man was full of excitement. “You see, my skill is amazing. It’s teleportation!”
Rong Yi: …Please stop talking, the more you talk, the more swollen it gets.
Twin Ponytails was eager to try, “I’ll give it a shot too. Activate! Da Vinci Draws an Egg!”
The whole room fell silent, nothing happened.
Twin Ponytails scratched his head awkwardly.
Rong Yi handed him the drawing tools she had used earlier, “Your forte is drawing, and your skill’s name has the word ‘draw’ in it. Could it be related to drawing?”
Twin Ponytails hesitated and drew a simple egg on the ground, “Drawing an egg…”
Before she could finish her sentence, she saw the simple egg gradually protruding from the ground, forming into a real egg that rolled on the ground!
“Oh my god!” The burly man covered his face in astonishment. “Divine brush, Ma Liang!”
T clenched his fist, his eyes revealing greed.
Rong Yi: Drawing an egg seems to be really useful.
She furrowed her brows, pondering for a moment, then suddenly grabbed a small pot lid from the nearby cooking area and flung it like a frisbee at the handsome male puppet!
“Clang!” The pot lid struck the perfectly flawless face of the puppet, not even leaving a scratch on its glossy surface. The puppet remained motionless.
This bewildering action filled the barrage with question marks:
“???? Is this girl’s intelligence suddenly offline???”
“Elderly person on the subway looking at their phone.jpg”
“The newbie is exaggerating too much. We still have to rely on the godly T to carry the team.”
T chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t get angry and throw things when you’re stuck at a level! I’m here to back you up. Well, it’s already quite impressive for a newcomer to pass one level. Listen to me for what’s next—”
Rong Yi went straight past him and asked Twin Ponytails, “Have you ever seen one of those long-handled picker tools used for picking up trash?”
T was left with half a sentence stuck in his throat.
T’s face twisted slightly.
Rong Yi briefly explained the appearance and principles of the picker tool, and Twin Ponytails quickly understood. With a few strokes, he outlined the shape on the ground.
Soon, the picker tool emerged from the ground and solidified. Rong Yi held it and approached the male puppet, carefully extending the claw end of the long handle toward him.
The burly man covered his face, grinning, “It’s useless, you’ll get hit!”
However, this time, the handsome male puppet remained completely still, allowing Rong Yi to steadily grab the menu from his embrace using the picker tool!
T looked at the frenzied barrage and suddenly realized: When she threw the pot lid earlier, it wasn’t because she was frustrated and throwing things randomly. She was actually testing the puppet’s reaction to non-human objects!
He had originally thought she was sending food to the beautiful waste, but he didn’t expect that she had actually stumbled onto the correct approach…
Damn it.
T stared at Rong Yi, who was now being cheered on by Twin Ponytails and the burly man in the center, with an expression that gave nothing away.
Suddenly, he returned to his usual smile, clapping his hands as he joined them. “Oh my, the newcomers this time are truly impressive. When I cleared this level back in the day, my teammates and I had to dismantle the puppet to get the menu.”
The burly man immediately left Rong Yi’s side and leaned in, astonished as he asked, “You’ve completed this instance, sir?” His eyes held even more trust and admiration.
T smiled and explained, “Yeah. Although there are many instances in the Lucky Carnival, there’s still a chance of encountering repeated ones. The points rewards for instances are distributed based on mission contributions. This instance isn’t difficult, so I thought I’d give you newcomers more opportunities. That’s why I didn’t participate too much.”
The burly man quickly flattered, “That’s great! That’s great! Senior, you have to lead us through the next levels. We’re all relying on you!”
T nodded, showing a friendly smile. “Helping each other is natural among us.”
Rong Yi looked at his masked-like smile and frowned.
T leaned his head towards her hand. “Let’s see what Mr. Ogre wants to eat tonight.”
Rong Yi opened the menu, and he chuckled. “Our luck is really good.”
Without a word, he took the menu, raised it to show everyone, and his gaze ominously wandered between Rong Yi and Twin Ponytails as he slowly read aloud:
“Plongraci Enchanted Sweet White Grape Wine, paired with—”
“Roasted Lips of a Woman.”
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