Chapter 28 The Infinite Boss Invites You to "Eat the Melon" 28. Look...

Lu Yu was also bewildered by his sudden fainting.

Before and at the moment he fainted, he felt no discomfort. After fainting, he remained conscious, but his consciousness sank inward, and he could no longer perceive the outside world. He chased after his consciousness, desperately trying to pull it back so as not to worry Pei Yanzhi.

But it did not obey his commands; as if something was attracting it, it crashed into a phantom ocean like a shooting star.

In the very center of the ocean, dazzling light shone down, illuminating countless hazy, dreamlike islands.

At the very top of the ocean, surrounded by all the islands, a palace floats in the air, radiant and magnificent. A throne hangs high above, and a crescent-shaped silver-blue sun drifts to one side. Mist swirls around, stirred by a wind from an unknown source, producing a clear, crystalline sound, a gentle, murmuring murmur.

Lu Yu's gaze fell on the silvery-blue sun, which seemed somewhat familiar. But before he could figure it out, his consciousness was suddenly jolted, as if he had been swept up by a tsunami.

Many memories from the past surged up, gradually fading from blurry and becoming clear.

Of course, not every detail is visible. The human brain is inherently forgetful, and it's normal for many subtle details to be erased by time; even extraordinary individuals are no exception.

So for Lu Yu, it's less about restoring his memories and more about peeling away the thick veil that had covered his four years of university memories, revealing his true self.

This process of gradually uncovering the past feels like a dream.

In his dream, Lu Yu returned to the age of eighteen.

At that time, he had just finished the college entrance examination. Since the scheduled time had not yet arrived, he had not yet started working and was in a period of extreme indulgence. He spent his days and nights playing games, reading novels, and watching movies. He even postponed his friends' travel invitations again and again, wanting to stay at home forever.

Every two or three days, he would hop on his bicycle, go out for some fresh air, find food, or play ball, becoming a shadow blending into the everyday life of the small town at dusk.

When Lu Yu was around ten years old, he lost his parents in an accident. Before his senior year of high school, his grandfather also fell ill and passed away.

Now at eighteen, he is all alone. Apart from studying hard and working diligently, he has no clear idea about his future.

His grandfather believed that ordinariness was a blessing, and that an extraordinary life always came at a heavy price. Unless something extraordinary happened, he hoped Lu Yu could live an ordinary life. Lu Yu, who considered himself unambitious, shared this expectation.

But most things in the world don't go as planned.

On an ordinary night, a gigantic black smiling face appeared. It called itself the Smiling Game and invited the humans of Earth to join the game, a game they could not resist.

Lu Yu, who was playing games with his classmates at the time, was unexpectedly pulled into the game and became one of the first players on Blue Star.

Pirate Island, Xinbailing Village, Wusheng Xuanmiao Temple, unfinished buildings in Maigudi, Bus No. 87...

Lu Yu, whether actively or passively, went through one dungeon after another, gaining a special ability called "Copying" and obtaining powerful monsters. He gradually transformed from a naive newbie who was terrified of anything strange and prone to tripping over his own feet into a powerful player who could form teams, guilds, lead people through dungeons, and seize monsters.

Along the way, he had retreated, lost his way, and almost gone astray, but in the end, he pulled himself back from the brink of collapse by relying on certain things that never wavered.

No one asked Lu Yu if he wanted to live that kind of life, not even Lu Yu himself. Because he knew that whether he asked or not, it would be the same; under the watchful eyes of strangers with smiling faces, they had no choice.

During his four years of university, Lu Yu spent four years playing dungeons, spending far more time on White Horse Star than on Earth; he practically lived in a game world.

Logically speaking, it would be difficult for him to graduate from university if he disregarded his studies and reality like this, but Blue Star had already begun to reconstruct order when the Smile Game arrived.

While China alone still wields the greatest national influence, players and superhumans have gradually begun to occupy the upper echelons, squeezing the living space of ordinary people. Most are forced to abandon their peaceful lives and become players, gambling for wealth and power within the game. Furthermore, pollution and strange creatures brought from the game have frequently erupted on Earth, and the peaceful and tranquil days are gone forever.

Many universities have followed suit, linking exams to copying and contamination disposal.

As the strongest player at the time, ranking first on the leaderboard, graduating with a perfect score was naturally no problem for Lu Yu. Even while still in school, he had already worked as an unofficial staff member at the Blue Star Pollution Treatment Bureau and the China Game Management Office for a period of time, just waiting to officially join them after graduation.

Blue Star, and all of its inhabitants, are doing their utmost to adapt to the new world and new way of life, given their inability to change the status quo.

But can we truly have a future simply by adapting?

The answer is no—through numerous game sessions and subtle clues hidden within dungeons and the game world, Lu Yu uncovered the past of White Horse Star and the Smiling Game. It turned out that the Smiling Game had never brought evolution and change to Blue Star, but rather pollution and erosion.

Looking back at the changes on Earth in recent years, it is foreseeable that if everything continues as it is now, perhaps in just a few years, Earth will become the next White Horse Star, a "game world" filled with only the bizarre and polluted, with no normal humans left.

As if awakened, Lu Yu's hatred and anger, which had accumulated through countless close calls and life-or-death separations, finally became unbearable.

His hometown was already on the verge of collapse, and he had nowhere to retreat!

He wants to destroy Smile Games, even if it costs him everything.

Lu Yu did everything he could.

Contact the Pollution Control Bureau and the Game Management Office, organize major guilds, inform all humans and players of the truth, develop your own replication ability, awaken the power of the rules, steal purification from the Smiling Game, form an alliance with the humans of White Horse Star, and finally merge everything to form a godhood and storm into the core of the Smiling Game.

"Everything was ready, but I still failed."

Lu Yu said to the gossip-eating system, "I don't think something's right."

As Lu Yu emerged from the tail end of his four-year memory, his consciousness returned to control, and he slowly began to regain his senses. During this process, he sensed the gossip system and immediately established a connection with it.

The "Gossip System" displayed the following message in the sea of ​​consciousness: "[Host, do you feel something's amiss?]"

"I feel that, based on the preparations at the time, we shouldn't have failed, but it seems that no matter what... it's impossible to succeed?" Lu Yu racked his brains to organize his thoughts, and then uttered a strange statement that could be described as a battle between the left and right hemispheres of his brain.

He paused for a moment, then said, "Don't you find it strange?"

"Right now, although I only have two fragments of my godhood, I have all the memories of the four years of the Smiling Game. But why is the part missing from these memories—the part about me entering the core of the game, fighting the Smiling Game, losing, having my godhood shatter, and falling back to Earth?"

“You said before that with the return of the divine fragments, my memories would become clear again, but I feel that the missing part has nothing to do with the divine fragments.”

A blazing sun, a raging storm, and an explosion of intense white and blue light instantly obliterate countless rules.

At the end of that memory, Lu Yu only had a fragmented phantom in his mind, and he couldn't see anything clearly inside it. This was completely different from the protection mechanism of the blurred memories of the divine fragments.

The gossip-eating system remained silent for a moment, then said: [Host, the most likely explanation for this problem is that an accident occurred during that great battle, and the power of this accident is beyond your comprehension.]

Lu Yu: "I thought you would say it's limited by the host's cognition and abilities..."

The Gossip System: [...This is the host's preconceived notion of this system!]

Lu Yu raised his eyebrows, not saying anything more about the topic, but instead focusing on raising his consciousness and sensing certain changes in his body and mind.

Having fully digested the divine fragments, his power of rules showed little change in "purification," but a portion of "destruction" was unlocked. This meant that while he couldn't actively purify and still had to rely on passive methods, he could now actively destroy. His healing skills hadn't been upgraded, but his attack skills had increased significantly, compensating for his current lack of power.

From now on, he will no longer have to limit himself to close-quarters combat when facing players.

The "Eating Melon System" sensed the host's convergence of the power of rules and also displayed related entries about the power of rules.

In addition to the update on the power of destruction, the above also includes a detailed explanation of the power of purification, illustrating the principle behind the power of purification that Lu Yu stole.

If Pei Yanzhi were here, he would be surprised, as this matches at least 70% of the predictions of the great prophet and mad scientist.

only--

Lu Yu: "Is the damage you mentioned accurate? Last night, Yan Zhi and I purified for a long time and a lot, and I don't feel like we suffered any damage as you described."

The gossip system was rather speechless: [While the host's purification power has a limit to the amount of game contamination it can withstand, that limit is definitely not this low. Even if the host purifies with Pei Yanzhi for a longer period and in greater quantities, nothing will happen. The host shouldn't underestimate their divine status; it's rare even in the entire… universe.]

Lu Yu's gaze lingered on the ellipsis in the system information for a moment, lost in thought, but he didn't ask. Instead, he asked, "Then why did I faint? How is Yan Zhi now?"

[The host's consciousness has sunk into the ocean of consciousness, temporarily unable to connect with the outside world. This is different from a sleep state. This system follows the host's consciousness and is also subject to this limitation, unable to perceive the external situation or sense Pei Yanzhi.]

The system replied: "As for the reason the host fainted, it's mainly because he worked fourteen consecutive days, staying up too late, and hadn't recovered. Today, he had a dinner party with drinks and high-intensity exercise. This combination of activities led to temporary weakness, and he fainted under the impact of the complete digestion of the divine fragments."

Lu Yu: "..."

Do you know how hurtful it is to describe a man who has just gotten out of bed as weak?

The gossip-eating system, clearly unaware of this, added: "While this system does not recommend that the host continue such reckless behavior, the divine fragments have now been completely digested. The host's body and spirit are vastly different from before. Even if the host works overtime for three consecutive months, stays up until 3 AM every day, drinks thirty bottles of wine, and sleeps with Pei Yanzhi three hundred times in a row, nothing will happen."

Lu Yu: "..."

Except for the last one, I politely declined them all.

In the course of a few sentences of conscious dialogue, Lu Yu had already detached himself from the ocean of consciousness and surfaced to a brighter surface.

He began to regain control of his body, his senses returning, and he could smell the faint fragrance of Pei Yanzhi's bedroom and feel the soft mattress supporting his back and limbs.

With a little effort, Lu Yu pried open his slightly heavy eyelids.

The bedroom was already brightly lit, with the almost scorching sunlight streaming in through the window, reminding Lu Yu that it was noon and that he had slept quite a long time.

Almost the instant Lu Yu opened his eyes, a rustling sound came, and Pei Yanzhi's voice and face appeared at the same time: "You're awake? How are you feeling?"

Lu Yu was taken aback, his gaze fixed on Pei Yanzhi's brows and eyes, where he saw much weariness and worry, and he couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

Pei Yanzhi must have been terrified by his sudden fainting, possibly accompanied by some strange and unscientific phenomena. He probably didn't sleep a wink all night.

"It's alright now, I'm sorry to have worried you." Lu Yu replied, reaching out to put his arm around Pei Yanzhi. But whether by coincidence or not, Pei Yanzhi happened to take a step back and turned to pour water for Lu Yu.

Lu Yu had no choice but to put his hand down for a moment, paused, and continued to explain, "Actually, it's nothing serious. I've been working too much overtime and staying up too late lately, which isn't very healthy. Plus, the impact of completely digesting the divine fragment made me dizzy for a bit. It's nothing serious."

"I have now successfully integrated and completely digested the divine fragments. My abilities have been unlocked, and I have improved in all aspects. This kind of thing will never happen again."

He didn't mention anything about sleeping too soundly, as it would damage his dignity. Anyway, he wouldn't faint again, so it didn't matter whether he mentioned it or not.

Pei Yanzhi had his back to Lu Yu, his fingers gripping the cup slightly, his knuckles white.

He would have believed this explanation if he hadn't witnessed the overflowing pollution with his own eyes.

“I see some pollution coming out of your body…” Pei Yanzhi said in a low voice.

Lu Yu had already guessed that there would be strange phenomena, otherwise Pei Yanzhi would not have left him at home instead of taking him to the hospital: "It's nothing, maybe the purification power was out of control after I fainted and the pollution escaped, so it didn't hurt you?"

"No." Pei Yanzhi smiled, but a shadow fell over his heart.

As expected, Lu Yu knew that purifying the pollution would harm him. But he thought Lu Yu didn't know and made excuses to comfort him, unwilling to tell him the truth.

Faced with Lu Yu's feigned indifference, Pei Yanzhi could certainly point it out directly, but he understood Lu Yu's sincerity all too well. Lu Yu was willing to suffer harm himself to purify the pollution for him. Now that Pei Yanzhi had spoken up and stopped him, Lu Yu might outwardly agree not to purify or harm himself, but he would definitely do it secretly.

Overt crimes are easy to manage, but covert ones are hard to prevent.

Pei Yanzhi's thoughts raced, but before he could finish speaking, he didn't reveal his true intentions. He simply said, "Your sudden fainting startled me. I was planning to take you to the hospital, but after seeing all that pollution, I was worried it wouldn't be appropriate. So I called my friend, a player who is an expert in healing and pollution-related matters, to take a look."

He brought the water to the bedside, but instead of feeding or handing it to Lu Yu, he placed it on the bedside table.

He observed Lu Yu's expression but didn't notice any change. He secretly admired Lu Yu's meticulousness and excellent acting skills, and continued, "Because of your special nature and the overflowing pollution, they didn't notice anything, but when they left, they found that my pollution situation had improved a lot."

"Really?" Lu Yu's face showed surprise and delight.

Pei Yanzhi felt a pang of sadness, then lowered his eyes and forced a smile: "Of course, this is a good thing. Why would I lie to you? In short, my pollution has improved a lot. According to the 'mad scientist,' it has entered a phase that needs to be stabilized. My pollution was too severe before, and suddenly becoming so much lighter is both good and bad for my body and mind. It's best to adapt for a period of time before continuing the purification process."

Lu Yu paused: "Does this mean that purification is not needed for the time being?"

“Yes,” Pei Yanzhi looked at Lu Yu, “Let me stabilize for now, and don’t purify it yet. It won’t take too long, about a week.”

"You've just started having sex and you're already taking a break? Just bear with it, boyfriend." Pei Yanzhi smiled mischievously, his eyes crinkling.

Let's use another excuse to stall for time. Once he's fused with that forbidden artifact, even if Lu Yu insists on purifying him, it won't be effective. He'll naturally give up then.

Pei Yanzhi's smile was natural, but his eyes were filled with sadness.

Lu Yu raised his arm again, paused, and then lowered it.

"It's alright, take care of your health," Lu Yu said. "You were worried about me last night, didn't you? Come lie down for a while, I'll go downstairs and get something to eat."

“I’ve already cooked the porridge,” Pei Yanzhi said as he walked out. “It should be ready soon. I’ll go check on it. I’m not sleepy, I’ll eat first and then take a nap.”

Before Lu Yu could say anything more, the bedroom door was closed.

Lu Yu touched his glasses, put them on, and sat up: "System."

The Gossip System: [Host?]

"Do you believe what Yan Zhi said?" Lu Yu's pupils were dark. "My body and spirit have improved. I can sense the pollution on his body. Although it has lessened, it is not stable. The difference in the reduction is not at all to the point that we need to stop purification and stabilize for a period of time to adapt."

“He’s lying,” Lu Yu said with certainty, then asked doubtfully, “Why? Logically speaking, after last night’s thorough purification, he should be even more eager for my contact and purification…”

The "Gossip System": [This system doesn't know the answer to the host's question. However, based on the available information and internet searches, this system believes that Pei Yanzhi finds the host too fierce.]

"What is that?" Lu Yu frowned as he walked into the master bedroom's bathroom.

The Gossip System: [Last night before going to sleep, Pei Yanzhi was very positive about contact and purification with the host. But after falling asleep, Pei Yanzhi clearly became resistant to close contact with the host.]

Although this system did not spy on your purification process, the system log recorded some monitoring data after the purification ended. After purification and while taking a shower, the host repeatedly tried to touch and kiss Pei Yanzhi, but was rejected by Pei Yanzhi.

Considering Pei Yanzhi's previous behavior during intimacy with the host, and his expressed fear, this system has reason to suspect that Pei Yanzhi was afraid because he couldn't bear the host's vicious behavior during the deep purification process.

The projected text was quite sharp: "[Pei Yanzhi believes that the host is too fierce. After being fierce, he fainted, which is suspected to be due to kidney deficiency. Naturally, he wants to avoid sexual activity with the host. However, he only refuses sexual activity but does not refuse intimate contact. This is too targeted and may hurt the host's self-esteem.]"

Therefore, using purification as an excuse to refuse all close contact is the best course of action.

Lu Yu: "...How can being fierce in bed be associated with kidney deficiency?"

When he woke up, he felt that the system seemed to have evolved again, becoming even more demented.

Lu Yu felt that asking the system this time was a complete waste of time, and that he should do it himself.

After washing up, he went into the kitchen and hugged Pei Yanzhi from behind, saying, "Yanzhi, I can sense the pollution in you. You're still unstable. It's best to purify you again, and then..."

Before he could finish speaking, Pei Yanzhi used his spatial power to block him, and instantly disappeared from the embrace from which he was about to fall.

Caught off guard, Lu Yu's hand grasped nothing but empty air. He froze, turning to look at Pei Yanzhi, who had appeared behind him.

Pei Yanzhi concealed a momentary panic, then naturally forced a helpless smile: "What? I already told you not to contact them for now."

He paused for a moment, then said, "I know that my pollution might seem like that to you, but I'm not a human from Earth, and my constitution is different from yours, so your perception might be a bit off. Anyway, purification isn't something that can be done overnight, so a few days earlier or later won't make much difference. Besides, my pollution is low now, and there's no risk of an outbreak, so why don't we wait a few days?"

"The pollution won't suddenly get worse even after a few days."

When Lu Yu heard Pei Yanzhi's words and saw his reaction, his heart skipped a beat.

It really does seem like he scared her...

The gossip system, completely oblivious to the danger, displayed a message between the two: "[Host, look how scared you've made Pei Yanzhi.]"

Lu Yu: "..."