Chapter 133 The Price: Business Trips Are Far From Enough "And within this price..."

Just as Yuan Jianxing uttered those words, the morning light that had been streaming in through the floor-to-ceiling windows was simultaneously blocked by thick clouds.

In an instant, the entire room became dark and gloomy, as if covered by a lingering shadow.

Upon hearing Yuan Jianxing's question—or rather, his request for verification—Fu Ze tightened his grip on the cup.

His chest heaved several times, as if he had a thousand words to vent and express.

His breathing became heavy and drawn out, like the inexplicable sorrow that comes with a long, rainy day.

In Yuan Jianxing's eyes, the above behavior was already the answer.

With a sense of relief, he lowered his head and took a bite of his sandwich.

The sandwich was still the same sandwich, but the taste that Hara Kenshin was experiencing at this moment was completely different.

The crisp, fresh lettuce seemed to wilt instantly, annoyingly sticking to his palate.

The juicy tomatoes became bland, and the unique sourness of the flesh abruptly took over the taste buds.

Even the fried egg, whose cooking process he had witnessed firsthand, had become as shriveled as an old tire, its withered, browned edges now so hard and brittle that they seemed capable of cutting his lips and tongue until they bled.

"If you can't eat, then don't eat." Fu Ze pushed a cup of soy milk over.

He always remembered that Yuan Jianxing didn't like coffee.

Yuan Jianxing replied, "Thank you."

I am grateful for this warm cup of soy milk.

I also thank Fu Ze for remembering my preferences.

I am even more grateful that the other party did not hide anything from me or use GM privileges to tamper with my memories.

Leaning back in his chair, feeling utterly exhausted, Fu Ze stared blankly at the Jessica submarine humidifier bobbing in the bathtub not far away: "I must say, she truly lives up to her title as Chief; she's so perceptive no matter what the problem is."

Because of his keen insight, Yuan Jianxing was able to figure out the key points on his own after receiving the answer, without Fu Ze having to say it aloud.

Especially the fact that the two people do not belong to the same world, and the various derivative content that followed.

"So... straightforward."

Fu Ze used almost all his strength to barely calm himself down, at least not to shed tears in front of Yuan Jianxing.

He suddenly felt a little wronged.

If Yuan Jianxing is so smart, why does she have to treat herself this way in this matter?

Can't you just pretend to be stupid once, or at least for a little longer?

At the very least, we could wait until we finish this meal...

Suddenly, a strong desire for revenge welled up in Fu Ze's heart.

He withdrew his hand from his chin and gazed at Hara Mihoshi as if he were examining a masterpiece.

"I thought I had optimized the algorithm of [Center of All Things] as much as possible to avoid randomly generating overly overpowered terms."

Since you so easily uttered the words that I tried so hard to avoid.

"But unexpectedly, even the most careful plans can have a flaw."

Alright, let's lay this out and discuss it thoroughly!

To everyone's surprise, Yuan Jianxing chuckled and said, "Then I am very grateful for this miracle."

Fu Ze suddenly felt as if he had punched thin air, and every bit of the force rebounded back onto him.

Taking this as an opportunity, a series of sudden changes erupted from yesterday to today, leaving him feeling exhausted.

Standing up, Fu Ze took off his apron and asked, "When did you come up with this idea?"

After hastily stuffing the sandwich down his throat, Yuan Jianxing put the plates and all the pots and pans that Fu Ze had used for cooking into the dishwasher. "Strictly speaking, it should be when you showed me that letter at the Adjudication Bureau."

"So early?" Fu Ze knew he should be surprised, but at this moment, he had no extra strength to do so. "I thought you would assume you were a player."

“That was indeed the case at first.” Yuan Jianxing put the apron that Fu Ze had casually tossed on the back of the chair back back and said calmly, “Because you said before that only those who possess the [key] can approach the world's borders.”

As he tidied his gray hair, which had grown to waist length once again, in front of the mirror, Fu Ze continued, "So what was the event that made you change your mind?"

Holding the still-warm cup of soy milk, Yuan Jianxing stood in a position where she could look directly at Fu Ze through the reflection in the mirror. "I thought of the look on your face when you came out of the art center."

"Based on my understanding of you, you would certainly gladly accept becoming a GM, a position that transcends the rules."

Fu Ze glared at Yuan Jianxing in the mirror: "So I'm that arrogant in your eyes?"

“A person who dares to defy numerous executives and brazenly break out of prison, a person who can go into the water alone just to install a tracking device, a person who finds me before the fire and escapes with me—he has the right to be arrogant.” Yuan Jianxing toasted Fu Ze.

He pulled his arm back in front of him and continued, "But that doesn't explain why you looked so panicked at the time."

"It also doesn't explain why you tried to avoid discussing this issue directly with me in various subsequent topics."

"Therefore, there is only one possibility."

Fu Ze paused slightly as he tied his hair.

He wanted Yuan Jianxing to stop talking.

But since things have come to this point, whether we say it or not, it's already a fait accompli.

"Becoming a GM and completing the 'Repair the Central Hub of All Things' task comes at a price."

At this moment, Yuan Jianxing's figure was covered by a few strands of Fu Ze's loose hair, as if he had been split into several small pieces.

"And I might be included in that price."

When Yuan Jianxing said this, his tone was very calm, as if he had already fully accepted the result.

His silence at this moment was a way of handing the stage over to Fu Ze, who would then announce his final execution.

Fu Ze braided the few stray strands of hair back into their proper place and turned to look at Yuan Jianxing.

"You guessed right."

He smiled very brightly.

"But that was a long time ago."

Just as he was speaking, the clouds that had previously blocked the sun suddenly dispersed, and sunlight once again illuminated the room where the two were.

Turning around and stepping into the sunlight where Yuan Jianxing was, Fu Ze shook his head and said, "You probably can't imagine what I, as the GM and architecture director, can do."

He raised his hand and pressed it against Uehara Kensei's chest.

Just yesterday, six ribs were broken here.

As Fu Ze, the "letter writer," said at the time: the death experience in this game is very immersive.

That means the experience of being injured is also very real.

To save computing power, players and NPCs will naturally use the same set of code.

In other words, it really hurts... a lot.

Even though he had died many more times and in many more ways, Fu Ze seemed to have completely forgotten that, and was filled with pity for Yuan Jianxing.

"Here, I can repair your body, and I can also restore the smashed violin bar."

He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked up to signal.

"I can make a skyscraper rise from the ground and provide electricity and water at any time, or I can make an ocean dry up instantly and then grow tender grass."

As if he had thought of something, Fu Ze turned around, crossed his arms, and gave Yuan Jianxing an "X" sign with a serious expression.

"Of course, according to the game design guidelines and GM code, we are not advised to do anything that interferes with the normal operation of the game unless there are very special circumstances."

Yuan Jianxing interpreted it very seriously: "So that's why you had to cook it yourself, instead of turning into, oh no, creating a sandwich for me?"

Squinting, Fu Ze placed his hands, which had been crossed in front of his chest, on his hips with a rather imposing air. "...You won't have another chance to eat a sandwich, I'm telling you."

Knowing he was in the wrong, Yuan Jianxing quickly pulled Fu Ze into his arms and rubbed him a couple of times.

It was rare for Mihara Mihoshi to show such affection, which Fu Ze found very pleasing. "So what I need to do next is to wipe out all the ravens and make sure there are no virus remnants."

"At the same time, I have some other things to take care of."

"For example, people's concept of a [key]."

With his hand fastening his cufflinks behind his back, Fu Ze muttered to himself, "Originally, in the setting of this world, the upper limit of the [Key] ability that players could activate was only at the 'ordinary genius' level. But Raven's meddling has completely messed things up."

Seeing this, Yuan Jianxing took the initiative to fasten another cufflink for Fu Ze.

Enjoying Yuan Jianxing's service, Fu Ze chatted casually: "But this is also my fault for being a bit hasty when designing the [Key], integrating a lot of content together, which made it very unreliable, allowing Raven to take advantage of it."

Yuan Jianxing suddenly asked, "How long will this process take?"

"Not necessarily, after all, the opponent is that Raven." Fu Ze made a simple estimate of the workload, "but I will do it as soon as possible, otherwise those people outside might do something that would affect my operations."

Seemingly not getting the answer she wanted, Hara Kensei asked again, "Then what about your body?"

Fu Ze first glanced down, then looked back at Yuan Jianxing, his eyes asking what her line of thinking was.

“Since this is a game world, there must be a medium to enter it.” This time, Yuan Jianxing was no longer subtle. “How long has it been since you entered this world?”

Fu Ze suddenly realized, and then laughed, "Don't worry, it won't be long before the time flow on both sides is different. Do you think players can spend most of their lives playing just one game? Play a little after get off work every day, and you can do a round every ten days or half a month at most."

Although Hara Mihoshi remained silent, he seemed to accept the explanation.

“That brings us to another matter.” Fu Ze clenched his fist and pounded his palm. “Once this matter is settled, I will need to devote some energy to my work.”

Yuan Jianxing subconsciously looked out the window at the advertisement that was playing in mid-air.

"This isn't the job!" Noticing the other person's gaze, Fu Ze angrily turned around and stood on tiptoe to block Yuan Jianxing's way.

Yuan Jianxing seemed to have just woken up from a dream, nodding repeatedly to indicate that he fully understood what Fu Ze was referring to.

Forcibly turning the other person's body 180 degrees to ensure that Yuan Jianxing could only see him at this moment, Fu Ze continued, "My job is a bit special in nature. When I get busy, I can indeed be completely out of it, day and night."

"But most of the time I can get normal rest."

“This is fundamentally different from being an executive officer.”

Faced with Fu Ze's "the pot calling the kettle black" behavior, Yuan Jianxing chose not to comment.

“I’ll come see you as soon as I have a break.” Fu Ze was pleased with Yuan Jianxing’s understanding. “At other times, just pretend I’m on a business trip. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

Yuan Jianxing didn't say anything, but he was thinking to himself:

Coming to him means Fu Ze is about to enter the game.

Judging from the way people play in this world, this obviously cannot be considered a rest.

For a real person, not resting means...

No, Fu Ze isn't that lacking in discretion...

A sense of proportion...

Yuan Jianxing suddenly looked up at Fu Ze, who was still rambling on, and unconsciously increased the pressure on his hand.

Based on the harmonious atmosphere of the previous conversation, Fu Ze naturally interpreted Yuan Jianxing's behavior as a signal that the other party wanted to speak.

"What's wrong?" He turned around and casually put his arms around Yuan Jianxing's shoulders.

Yuan Jianxing's shifty gaze vanished in an instant, like a gray fish that had been swimming beneath the surface of the water disappearing into the layers of leaves.

He patted Fu Ze on the waist. "Speaking of which, didn't I say before that I needed some time to adjust?"

"Oh? Tell me more?" Fu Ze's eyes lit up.

He was indeed very interested in this topic.

"After some thought, I've come to the conclusion that there are two paths." Yuan Jianxing's expression was as righteous and solemn as if he were giving a report.

“First, let’s create some new shared experiences.” His hand unconsciously twisted the hem of Fu Ze’s clothes. “Although we have already experienced more than I have ever known in my life, it’s not enough.”

Yuan Jianxing stared into the deep black in the center of Fu Ze's emerald eyes, trying to see the appearance of the soul residing in this body through this small hole.

There was a barely perceptible hint of sadness and pleading in his voice.

"Far from enough."

Seemingly oblivious to Yuan Jianxing's extremely subtle abnormality, Fu Ze nodded happily, "As long as you're willing, you can have as much as you want in the future."

Yuan Jianxing swallowed hard, as if he had breathed a sigh of relief, and continued, "Second, we'll cover up our previous experiences."

“For example, when you were still Bogdan and Wan Chuanqiu, the places we visited together, the things we did together.” He raised his hand to straighten Fu Ze’s collar, his eyes slightly lowered. “Let’s experience it all again.”

Although he didn't quite understand, Fu Ze respected Yuan Jianxing's decision: "If this makes it easier for you to accept, I'm OK with it."

Just then, Fu Ze's work phone rang.

Although Fu Ze has put the handling of the original transaction with Liwei on the agenda, the specific implementation still needs to be carefully considered.

During this period, he still needs to play the role of Que Ling.

In theory, Fu Ze could also choose to create a clone of himself to do his work, but to avoid Raven taking advantage of the situation again, he simply disabled the corresponding function.

Reluctantly leaving Yuan Jianxing's embrace, Fu Ze went to the door to change his shoes.

During the operation, he told Hara Kenshin, "My schedule is relatively flexible, so I'll prioritize your arrangements."

Yuan Jianxing nodded.

After Fu Ze left the house, Yuan Jianxing suddenly opened the window and called out to Fu Ze, "Fu Ze."

Fu Ze turned around and looked back at Yuan Jianxing.

This was the first time that Yuan Jianxing had publicly called out his own name.

Waving to Fu Ze, Yuan Jianxing let the wind fill his clothes, making him look like a cluster of blazing flames, and said, "See you tonight."