Chapter 129 A Diversionary Tactic: Am I not your favorite child anymore...?
If Liang Jun remembered correctly, Geng Qing had three marks of this shape on his chest and wrists.
At the time, she thought it might just be a simple mechanical scratch, or at worst, caused by an animal in the game, but she would never have associated it with the person in front of her.
But Dean Liang seemed to be able to hear his own thoughts. He limply raised his long arm, and three sharp, claw-like nails pointed directly at Liang Jun's neck.
She wanted to move, she wanted to dodge, she wanted to do everything she could to escape this area.
However, her limbs felt as if they had been injected with an anesthetic. Liang Jun felt weak and dizzy, as if she was about to faint at any moment.
Her body's natural sensory functions were rapidly diminishing, and Liang Jun felt lightheaded, as if she were enveloped in a cloud of mist.
But soon she realized that this was not an illusion, but reality.
With the help of the dim overhead lighting, the grayish-white mist surrounding me appeared even more real.
Whether it was psychological or not, Liang Jun felt that her limbs were gradually warming up, her blood circulation was no longer obstructed, and a warm feeling was flowing back to her heart from her extremities.
Liang Xuan tentatively moved her fingers, and as her fingertips bent, a wisp of white mist was drawn up.
Are you feeling better?
A soft, whisper-like voice sounded beside her, and Liang Jun's body trembled suddenly as she looked around blankly.
But all that could be seen was this layer of white mist that had completely enveloped him.
"Zhu Bieming?"
Liang Xun only thought for a few seconds before instantly realizing, "Is it you, Zhu Bieming?"
"Judging from this, it seems the brain wasn't damaged." Zhu Bieming's tone was slightly lighter than before.
As the flow of the white mist quickened, a hint of amusement crept into his voice, "If we had come any later, you would have been completely hypnotized."
Liang Jun paused.
So, all those things Dean Liang said to me were just for the purpose of hypnosis?
That……
How much of what Dean Liang said is true?
For a moment, Liang Jun forgot that her guardian spirit could also eavesdrop on her thoughts. She suddenly felt a cool sensation on both sides of her cheeks. Liang Jun looked closely and found that it was actually a hand in the form of mist.
Since Zhu Bieming had no physical form at this moment, he could only take this opportunity to interact with Liang Jun. "Well, here I am right next to you, and you're still thinking about other people!"
Liang Jun was already used to his joking manner and didn't take it to heart at all.
She then suddenly remembered what Zhu Bieming had said earlier and quickly steered the conversation back on track, "You just said 'we,' so what about Zhu Shengqing?"
You mean my brother...?
Zhu Bieming's words were drawn out, and Liang Jun sensed that he was keeping her in suspense.
She was about to urge the other person to speak quickly when, unexpectedly, a warm breeze brushed against her sensitive earlobe.
As if someone were whispering in her ear, Liang Jun subconsciously shrank her neck, and then heard a pleasant laugh from Zhu Bieming.
"My brother is there too, he's up ahead."
As soon as she finished speaking, Liang Jun saw the thick white fog in front of her gradually dissipating.
The light overhead was not bright, and in the semi-darkness, Liang Xun could not immediately discern the color of the fog in front of her with the naked eye.
However, the center of the fog was incredibly murky, and the fog became increasingly pervasive as it spread outwards. This sizable cloud of fog was floating in front of Liang Xun and Zhu Bieming, positioned between them and Dean Liang.
"Zhu Shengqing!" Liang Jun called out subconsciously.
In that instant, she seemed to see the other person's human form. The mist slowly condensed, eventually taking on a black shape, and the other person seemed to turn around and glance at Zhu Bieming, who was still clinging to her side.
"Long time no see, Leung Wan."
Zhu Shengqing greeted her with his usual refined manner, "Are you fully conscious now?"
Liang Xun nodded, then, thinking the other person might not be able to see, she added, "Much better. With Zhu Bieming nagging in my ear, it's hard not to be awake."
She seemed to hear a low chuckle from Zhu Shengqing's throat, or perhaps Zhu Bieming muttering something under his breath—
Liang Jun temporarily put all of that aside; what she cared about most at that moment was Dean Liang, who was trying to hypnotize her.
She pushed aside the thick fog in front of her eyes and walked calmly to Dean Liang.
The opponent no longer bared its fangs as before; its completely mutated bone claws were once again hidden behind its back, refusing to be extended again.
Dean Liang's two dull glass beads stared intently at her, as if trying to read something from her face.
Liang Jun felt a little bitter.
She didn't know how to face the person in front of her.
Despite having numbed herself countless times by claiming that the other person was merely an NPC in a dungeon, Liang Jun still harbored some unrealistic thoughts whenever he mentioned those secret stories known only to the two of them.
If he weren't the real Dean Liang, perhaps he could at least feel a sliver of warmth...
Therefore, when the other party tried to hypnotize, manipulate, and harm her, Liang Jun's inner world was completely overturned.
She didn't know how to accept it.
Dean Liang seemed about to laugh.
With his current physical appearance, he would look extremely ugly while performing this simple action.
His wrinkled, sallow skin was pulled toward his ears, and the wrinkles weren't smoothed out in the process; instead, they were squeezed into a more distorted shape. He no longer had enough facial muscles to support him in completing this movement, so until the corners of his mouth were pulled up, he was completely empty.
He just stared at her blankly.
"GunGun, what are these?"
Dean Liang's smile remained unchanged, but the voice came from inside his stomach, "Tell the dean, what are these?"
Perhaps sensing what Liang Xun was thinking, Zhu Shengqing took the initiative to explain before the other party could ask.
“He hasn’t caused you any real harm yet, and…” Zhu Shengqing paused for two seconds, “He seems to be quite important to you—so instead of dealing with him directly as we did initially, we’re giving you the opportunity to make your own choice.”
The black mist dissipated slightly. "From now on, you can do whatever you want without worry. We'll always be here for you."
Seemingly sensing the heavy atmosphere, the white mist clinging to Liang Xun's limbs stirred.
It was that tireless voice again: "Don't be shy, just talk to us as you please! Don't worry, apart from the three of us, no one else can understand you!"
Dean Liang couldn't understand it either.
Therefore, from his perspective, Liang Xun was just talking to these two different-shaped wisps of mist about things he couldn't understand, which was a complete waste of time and she didn't want to talk to him.
Just as he was about to question her again, Liang Jun unexpectedly responded.
“They are my friends too,” she said, her gaze sharpening. “Dean, is this surprising?”
Before the other party could reply, Liang Xun pressed on sharply again, "But what surprises me even more is, Dean, why did you attack me?"
She was like an innocent, frightened little white kitten, her fur standing on end, yet her clear, jewel-like eyes still shone with an innocent light.
"Dean, am I not your favorite child?"
These words, like a boomerang, mercilessly pierced Dean Liang's heart.
He never expected Liang Jun to retaliate in this way. In an instant, his hunched and unsteady figure appeared even more shaky and on the verge of collapse.
The twin guardian spirits seemed to have no idea that Liang Jun would take such drastic measures in her desperate situation.
Zhu Shengqing was clearly impressed with her. He crossed his long arms and watched the two of them compete with great interest.
Zhu Bieming's reaction was even more exaggerated. The moment he transformed into human form, he moved several steps away from Liang Jun, as if afraid that the boomerang would hit him again.
Seeing that her attack might have won her back, Liang Xun continued to press the issue, "Dean, why are you still so unhappy even though I have real friends now?"
"Is it because Nian Nian didn't do a good enough job for you? Or is it..."
Liang Xun leaned down slightly, placing her hands on her knees, then shifted her weight down and squatted down in front of Dean Liang.
Their gazes met again, and in addition to their eyes meeting directly, Liang Jun could even feel the faint airflow from the other person's breath.
"Or are you actually like everyone else, unable to bear seeing Gon Gon doing well from the very beginning?"
These words struck Dean Liang like a thunderbolt.
His facial muscles twitched uncontrollably, and his sagging eye sockets were instantly stretched to enormous size. His two round eyeballs seemed to have lost all support, hanging in the deep hollows of his face, accompanied by a look of surprise.
"I...of course I wouldn't have such thoughts..."
Dean Liang forced a stiff smile, then, as if in a hurry to change the subject, his withered legs, wrapped in his hospital gown, trembled as he took a few steps back. "In that case, I won't keep you from spending time with your friends any longer."
The new spot where Dean Liang stood seemed to have been carefully chosen by him; it was located just outside the area of those translucent ceiling panels, so that not a single ray of light shone on him.
In the complete darkness, Liang Jun could only hear a faint, ambiguous voice coming from the other party, "Then Jun, I'll be waiting for you in the next space..."
The faint smile on Liang Jun's lips froze on that moment.
Her heart skipped a beat.
"What do you mean?" she asked sharply.
But at this point, Dean Liang was unable to give any answer.
Zhu Shengqing cautiously moved toward the dark spot, then said in a deep voice, "He has vanished into thin air."
Zhu Bieming, who was following behind Liang Jun, also looked serious.
"What do we do now? Should we try to catch up?"
But what lingered in Liang Jun's mind was still the last sentence left by Dean Liang.
What is the "next space"?
Just as she was about to respond to her twin guardian spirits, a commotion arose from the direction of the warehouse door.
A sudden alarm bell rang in Liang Jun's mind.
"Oh no! This is a diversionary tactic!"
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Author's note: I've finished watching all the gameplay videos of "The Great World" these past two days, and it's absolutely addictive!
She's the type who'll roll around in bed all day!
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