Seemingly unsurprised that Xia Linyin knew about this, Li Shang calmly stated, "It was us."

They are one entity.

However, Li Shang's calm and composed demeanor aroused Xia Linyin. Did he know how scared and terrified she was when she was pulled into the game? She still vividly remembered the feeling of trying to calm herself down but her body kept trembling.

Xia Linyin's clenched fists began to turn white, her nails digging deep into her flesh. "What about my memories?"

"We did it too," Li Shang admitted, without a trace of guilt or shame in his voice.

Because he doesn't regret it, and if he were given another chance, he would still do it.

Xia Linyin punched him in the handsome face. Li Shang didn't dodge, but after Xia Linyin finished punching him, he held her hand and asked, "Baby, does it hurt?"

He gently kissed Xia Linyin's fingers, as if handling a rare treasure.

Tears finally streamed down Xia Linyin's face, blurring her vision.

"How...how can you erase a person's memories so easily?"

Xia Linyin roared, "Is it fun to treat me like an idiot?"

That nightmare shrouded in black mist, Sister Hua's reaction when she saw her, how she could perform defensive movements even though she didn't remember practicing martial arts...

Now, all of this has been definitively answered by Li Shang.

She had her memories erased and was then pulled back into the game.

"It's selfish, isn't it?" Li Shang chuckled softly, a bitter and self-deprecating smile in his eyes. "I won't apologize to you, because I have no remorse. Your hair, your lips..."

Li Shang's slender fingers stroked Xia Linyin's face. "Your body, including your soul, is an addiction I can't break."

Those who have never tasted sugar do not know its sweetness; those who have never possessed it will not think of owning it.

"Do you hate me?" Li Shang lowered his head and kissed away Xia Linyin's tears, the salty taste lingering between his lips and teeth.

Do you hate it...?

Xia Linyin asked herself if she hated him. Before this, she was extremely grateful to Li Luo for saving her time and time again. She felt sorry for Xiao Li and guilty. But now that she knew the truth, she seemed to have this feeling: anger and helplessness, but no hatred.

She didn't want to experience the pain of parting again in the third and fourth games. She didn't want to hurt Xiao Li anymore. She could imagine the torment she felt when she left.

It's not because I don't want to spend time with them, but because I don't want to hurt them.

This game isn't another "it's either you or me" mission. Does it have to go on like this forever?

Xia Linyin shook her head. "I don't hate you. You gave me my life. Without you, I would have died long ago."

She probably survived the games she played before losing her memory thanks to Xiao Li's sacrifice; her life already belonged to her.

“But not hating doesn’t mean not being angry.” Xia Linyin smiled bitterly. “Now I understand what it feels like to be an NPC. It’s really awful to have your memories erased at will, especially when you sense something is wrong, it’s like you’re living in a conspiracy.”

"You know what? When you first approached me, I had my doubts about your motives."

"In this game, I experienced a profound sense of powerlessness, like a fish on a chopping board, being humiliated when you poured red wine on me and played with me wantonly..."

Xia Linyin twitched the corner of her mouth, "It really is a vivid memory."

"baby……"

When Xia Linyin said she didn't hate him, Li Shang felt as if he were blessed by God, and he was so excited and happy that he felt like the happiest person in the world.

However, Xia Linyin's next words immediately made Li Shang's heart tighten, and he couldn't help but feel panicked and anxious.

“And—” Xia Linyin said, “I am afraid of the fate that awaits us; we are always destined to be enemies.”

Li Shang pulled Xia Linyin into his arms, and Xia Linyin's struggle only resulted in him holding her even tighter.

“I’m sorry, baby, I’m sorry. I don’t want to erase your memories, but the parts you’ve lost aren’t exactly pleasant ones. I just want us to start over.”

“This time, I want to stand by your side again as a protector, so I secretly identified myself as a player without the game’s knowledge. As a result, I killed a ghost in the last game and the game found out. This time, I was assigned to be the player who needs to kill someone.”

"The game has always been trying to get rid of me. My memories have been erased several times, but I've managed to get them back. I'm still under the game's control. Although I can do some things, it's far from enough."

"Don't worry, one day I will break free from the game's control. I've also figured out some things behind the game. I can now control some low- to mid-level NPCs. What I want is never just to break free from the game and control everything."

A bloodthirsty glint flashed in Li Shang's eyes. If he could reverse the roles of prey and hunter, he could also reverse the roles of controller and controlled.

Hearing Li Shang say this, Xia Linyin recalled that in the first game, Li Luo only attacked her when she was in the most danger, and never used his sword at other times.

For a time, they couldn't figure out whether he was a player or not.

In the second game, Li Luo only used a chainsaw to kill two zombies. Later, when fighting the werewolf, if Li Luo had her true strength, she would definitely have been able to kill the werewolf instantly. However, Li Luo let the werewolf go. Presumably, Li Luo was suppressing her strength at that time to prevent the game from discovering her.

I see……

"What about the third and fourth games?" Xia Linyin asked. "In the third game, you won't appear as a player."

"this……"

For the first time, Xia Linyin detected hesitation in Li Shang's voice.

"I was just sad to see that you had completely forgotten me. I was conflicted. I wanted you to remember me, but I didn't want you to remember me either, so I helped you recall the scene of our first meeting."

"You mean the third and fourth games are the ones I experienced last time?" Xia Linyin looked up at him.

“That’s right.” Li Shang gently stroked her soft black hair.

"What about this time? What should we do this time? Our mission is to kill Rose Killer. I don't want to kill you. It's too painful, really too painful. I really can't go on living if I have to go through this kind of pain again."

Li Shang's expression changed. "What do you mean? Do you want to die?"

He seemed to be recalling some unpleasant memories, and suddenly became frantic, shouting, "No! I won't allow you to have such thoughts!"

"Yin'er, you must never have such thoughts, okay? Otherwise I'll go crazy, I'll go crazy, I'll drag the whole world and myself down with you. I know, my Yin'er is the best, you definitely wouldn't want to see this happen, right?"

"Yin'er, Yin'er..."

The man before her held her face in his trembling fingers, calling her name over and over again.

Strange yet familiar.

Xia Linyin asked warily, "You're not Li Shang, who are you?"