Chapter 18: Holographic Game (V)

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Chapter 18: Holographic Game (V)

“Alright, now that the troublemakers are gone, should we discuss business?” Qi Yingfeng swiftly dispatched another monster, causing red blood to drip from his black gloves onto the ground. He turned around, his long black hair also stained with blood, leaving a streak of red on his pale face. This added a sinister allure to his otherwise cold features.

He turned and approached Miao Lichen. The flame lion’s scorching breath had him pushing its head away. As his mount moved, Miao Lichen stabilized himself by using Qi Yingfeng’s shoulder as support. Qi Yingfeng raised his head slightly, meeting those always gentle eyes.

“Business?” Miao Lichen balanced himself, then released his grip, his smile tinged with understanding. “Are you talking about Shadow Cell? Just go find the guardians of Cangqiong Palace.” Miao Lichen wasn’t a qualified guild leader in a way. In order to maintain his level advantage, he spent most of his time leveling up. So when it came to guild affairs, he was more of a hands-off manager who simply provided the funding.

“Do you mean XiaoxiangGentleman?” Qi Yingfeng frowned slightly. It was impossible for him to be unaware of the animosity towards him. In the end, it was all caused by that woman. He had some affection for her at first, but had decided to draw the line when he ended up under fire from her guild. Now, all he felt toward her was disgust.

Although freedom of love was valued these days, seducing another man under your fiancé’s nose was always unacceptable. Claiming she didn’t love her fiancé didn’t absolve her of her responsibilities. In this society, love was just a seasoning. The concept of romantic love was likely only found in novels. Despite being an adult, she still harbored such childish thoughts. Such a woman wasn’t brave; she was simply foolish.

Meeting the same person under different circumstances could lead to entirely different feelings.

“Cangqiong Palace has more than one guardian. You can go find DevotedLove, I’ll send her a message ahead of time.” Miao Lichen said, his gaze tracing the blood streaks on his face. This man could be calm to the point of cruelty, or he could be so sinisterly alluring. His ability to build a harem was no accident.

Qin Yuqi, who was more manly than most men, only softened in the presence of Miao Lichen. She was not affected by the so-called protagonist halo. In the original story, she was the only woman who had ever made the protagonist feel humiliated. “The fifth party is not the best fit for you. You should ask her to make other arrangements.”

“The fifth party is fine, I don’t like to trouble others.” Qi Yingfeng casually wiped his short sword on his body. His black clothes hid the bloodstains, making them visible only in bright light. He cleared the weapon until it faintly gleamed, then sheathed it back on his waist.

“Just go find DevotedLove,” Miao Lichen said as he stepped forward and wiped the blood from his face. “As I mentioned earlier, I hope you won’t disappoint me. I don’t think you will.”

Qi Yingfeng tilted his head to avoid the hand, but then he realized they were both men and dodging would be weird. So he looked up and let him wipe the blood. For some reason, his face felt a bit strange.

“CangChen, you have a lot of confidence in me. I wonder where that confidence comes from.” Qi Yingfeng asked, his tone remaining unchanged. A man who believed in his love rival, he had never been able to figure him out.

“I believe in my judgment of people. You are LunarBreeze,” Miao Lichen’s lips curled up slightly. In this world, there was nothing the protagonist couldn’t do. In a fictional world, everything revolved around the protagonist.

Qi Yingfeng narrowed his eyes slightly. CangChen was indeed someone in the top ten leaderboards, his reputation was well-deserved. For a moment, he thought CangChen knew everything about him; that his secrets were no longer secrets. It was like an all-seeing elder looking at a child, a truly unpleasant feeling. “Really? Then when I come out of Shadow Cell, you better treat me well.”

∇ Capture Target Qi Yingfeng Favorability: 45. Please continue working hard.

“Of course. I will wait for you.” Miao Lichen nodded, understanding that this was Qi Yingfeng’s awkward way of making promises. He patted the flame lion beneath him, which immediately understood and continued into the forest. Its red figure was like a dancing flame, standing out against the dense forest that blocked out the sunlight. “Then, let’s say goodbye here.”

Qi Yingfeng narrowed his eyes, watching as the flaming red figure disappeared from his view. Known as “Raging Flames CangChen,” there was probably no one in this world more suitable to stand beside him.

He suddenly frowned, and his figure vanished instantly from the spot. A moment later, a man and woman appeared where he had been. Aside from the dead monster, its neck slashed by a weapon and the faint scent of fire, no one was left.

“Miss, if you want to find LunarBreeze, just return to the guild. The Young Master didn’t say he was kicking you out of the guild, just that you are no longer an elder.” XiaoxiangGentleman said. He felt a growing pang of bitterness at her stubbornness, but in the end, he couldn’t bear to let her continue this way. The young lady had been raised in the best conditions by the Miao Family since she was young. She had always had the exceptional Miao Lichen by her side. When had she ever worked so hard to court someone?

Although he enjoyed being relied on by her and having her all to himself, he realized that this situation had gone on for too long. Knowing that her stubbornness was due to another man only fueled the bitterness and jealousy in his heart, overshadowing the happiness he once felt.

“I remember you said Breeze was participating in clearing the Shadow Cell dungeon? Let’s go there now,” Invite2Dream said, her eyes lighting up slightly. Miao Lichen had indeed mentioned that she was no longer an elder, not that she was no longer a member of the guild. She could still go back to the guild, but returning like this made her feel uneasy. However, the Shadow Cell dungeon was accessible to everyone, and she was just trying to find LunarBreeze, not return to the guild!

“We can go, but… you’re already level 43, so you can’t enter the dungeon.” XiaoxiangGentleman said, feeling himself sweat. It seemed that ever since the conflict between the Young Master and Miss, she had become increasingly willful.

“I know we can’t go in. Let’s wait at the entrance.” Invite2Dream replied. She didn’t give XiaoxiangGentleman a chance to refute again, and started heading for the dungeon location.

∇ System Announcement: Congratulations to LunarBreeze’s Fifth Party for clearing Nightmare Mode Shadow Cell. Party Leader LunarBreeze will receive 1000 Shadow Clan Reputation points, while party members will receive 800 Shadow Clan Reputation points.

∇ System Announcement: Congratulations to LunarBreeze for unlocking the hidden storylines “The Legacy of the Shadow Clan,” “The Glory of the Light Clan,” and “The Millennium War.” The game will undergo mandatory maintenance for 12 hours. All online players are requested to log off within the hour.

“As expected of the protagonist,” commented Miao Lichen after he slew the mob in front of him and dismounted the flame lion. In practice, the real-life version of Qixiu internal energy was more flexible than the original game. Aside from the dual sword requirement, it could be used while on a mount without restriction. He was unclear if it was because the mounts in this game are not recognized as mounts by Swordsman Online 3.

He gazed toward the Shadow Cell dungeon, knowing that after today’s maintenance, several new maps would be unlocked. The Shadow Forest was the natural hunting ground of the Shadow Clan. Unlike other hidden classes, which became available to more players once they were discovered, the Shadow Clan’s successor was a unique class that could only be inherited by a single player. All he could say was that this was truly the protagonist’s exclusive plot armor.

He returned his mount to the system space, and clicked on the city return scroll. Upon arriving at Chang’an City, he logged off immediately, ignoring the other players’ surprises and curses. This was the first and only maintenance of Second World. It felt like a plot device to increase the protagonist’s plot armor rather than an actual game maintenance update.

Standing up from the game cabin, he glanced at the time. Several days had passed in the game, but in real life, less than a day had gone by. This was the greatest attraction of Second World; a 10 to 1 time ratio that could extend the lives of the elderly. If this game continued to develop, it could easily become a nationwide craze. But this was not mentioned in the novel.

He walked to the living room and pulled out some fruit from the fridge to eat. His gaze lingered on the wine rack until his hunger subsided, then he grabbed a bottle of red wine from the rack and poured it into a nearby wine glass. Even as he leaned back on the sofa, he exuded a noble elegance. Though he didn’t sit as properly as the original Miao Lichen, he did not compromise his image.

Soon after, a series of extremely rhythmic footsteps echoed down the stairs, followed by a sudden silence. The air felt stagnant for a moment.

Miao Lichen slowly drank the red wine and set the glass on the coffee table. He then glanced at Miao Mengyao on the stairwell. The girl wasn’t dressed elegantly at home. Instead, she wore a simple white dress that gave her a more playful air, making her seem less like a gentle sweetheart and more like a lively young woman.

“It’s already late, where are you going?” Miao Lichen’s voice was unwaveringly gentle, making his true emotions hard to discern and leaving Miao Mengyao feeling more uneasy.

“I came down to see if mom and dad are back. It’s late already…” Miao Mengyao approached, frowning at the empty wine glass.

“It’s okay, I will go check on them at the company. You should get some rest. Don’t play games so late next time. Take care of yourself,” Miao Lichen said as he stood up and cleaned his wine glass. He then went to the door, changed his shoes, and walked out.

Miao Mengyao glanced at the sky outside, then ran upstairs to grab a white jacket before chasing after him. However, when she opened the door, all she saw were the taillights of the car driving away from the villa. She returned to the living room. Instead of taking the jacket back upstairs, she draped it over the sofa, found a comfortable position and fell asleep.

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