"Mr. Fang Zheng, you're back. Where's Yuki?"

Fang Zheng had just returned to the guild's residence when he saw Ying Lili coming to greet him with a smile. Now that all the main forces were debuffed, the entire strategy team was resting, and Ying Lili's favorite thing to do every day was to block people at the gate.

"Is Yuuki not back yet?"

Hearing Ying Lili's question, Fang Zheng frowned, and looking at Fang Zheng's expression, Ying Lili also realized that something was wrong.

"What's wrong? What's the problem?"

"Come to my room."

Fang Zheng looked around. Fortunately, it was noon and most people were resting. Sophie, the night owl, was not there either. Only Ying Lili and two or three kittens were nearby. So he didn't say much. He just said something casually and turned to walk towards his residence.

When Ying Lili heard Fang Zheng's words, her expression changed slightly, and then she quickly followed Fang Zheng into the room.

After closing the door, Fang Zheng quickly recounted the situation, and after listening to Fang Zheng's story, Ying Lili was stunned.

"There is actually such a thing...Mr. Fang Zheng, you are not going to bully Yuki, are you?"

"Do you think I look like someone who would do something like that?"

Fang Zheng rolled his eyes in annoyance. Youji was the happy pill of everyone in the guild. She was full of energy and enthusiasm every day. She was always cheerful and lively. No one disliked her.

How could Fang Zheng bully her? It would probably cause public outrage.

"Have you noticed anything unusual about Yuuki recently?"

Fang Zheng threw the question back to Eriri. Asuna was a leveling maniac, and Kuroneko was too immature. The two people with the best interpersonal relationships in the entire guild were Eriri and Aoba. The former was good at socializing, and the latter was hardworking, so they had good relationships with many people.

Although Fang Zheng has a good relationship with all the girls, there are some things that it is not easy for him as a man to join in and inquire about. At this time, he can only rely on Ying Lili.

"No, Yuuki has always been normal, happy and cheerful every day..."

Having said that, Eriri suddenly thought about it.

"But if you want to say it, this is quite abnormal."

"oh?"

Fang Zheng raised his eyebrows when he heard what Ying Lili said, and Ying Lili continued talking to herself.

"From the time I met Yuuki until now, she seems to be happy every day, and there is nothing unusual. But this is actually very strange, isn't it? Although everyone is now successfully conquering, we are still trapped in the death game. Even Aoba I occasionally see her staring blankly or secretly wiping tears... But, I have never seen Yuuki behave in a similar way."

"Is that so?"

Hearing this, Fang Zheng also thought secretly. Just as Ying Lili said, even though Fang Zheng has given everyone the best living conditions possible to maintain their mental health, they are just ordinary people, and it is normal for them to miss home and their families.

Even Kuroneko, that crazy middle school kid, worries about his sister and parents. Good and well-behaved kids like Aoba and Asuna are no exception, and there's no need to say more about others.

But Yuuki... isn't there one?

"I haven't seen it. Yuuki and I joined the guild at the same time, but as far as I can remember, I've never seen Yuuki behave like the others. She seems to be living a happy and satisfied life every day... It's like..."

Having said that, Eriri paused, as if thinking about what words would be more appropriate to describe it.

"…It's as if she was originally a resident here."

“…”

This time, Fang Zheng did not respond immediately, but he admitted that what Eriri said made sense. It seemed that Yuki was indeed hiding something, but she never showed it on weekdays.

"Thank you, Eriri. I know what to do now."

Thinking of this, Fang Zheng also made a decision.

The sun sets in the west.

Yuki hugged her knees and sat on the hillside, staring blankly at the sunset in the sky. At this moment, she had lost her usual liveliness and cheerfulness, and just sat there expressionlessly, motionless.

“You know how to choose a place.”

A voice came from behind, and Yuki couldn't help but tremble when she heard it. Then she saw Fang Zheng walking towards her and sitting down next to her.

"Here you don't have to worry about being disturbed by spawning monsters, nor do you have to worry about players finding you... Did you find it?"

“I just discovered it by accident.”

Hearing Fang Zheng's question, Youji quickly turned his head and wiped his eyes.

"Brother Fang Zheng, how did you find me?"

"I have my own way."

Fang Zheng did not explain in detail, and there was no need to do so. He only needed to ask Yui to help search and he would be able to locate Yuki's position immediately. For Fang Zheng, this was not difficult at all.

"……sorry."

Yuuki lowered his head and spoke softly.

"I'm sorry, Brother Fangzheng, I didn't mean it, I just..."

"You're just scared."

However, before Youji could finish her words, she was interrupted by Fang Zheng. Hearing Fang Zheng's answer, Youji looked up in surprise and stared at Fang Zheng beside him with wide eyes.

"Brother Fang Zheng, how did you know..."

"I have some experience in judging people."

Looking at Yuki's expression, Fang Zheng knew that his guess was most likely right.

"Your previous behavior was normal, but when I was about to touch you, you instinctively chose to resist and avoid me, which shows that you are very afraid of close contact with others. This is not because you are phobic or not good at close contact. In this case, if it is limited to a certain area..."

At this point, Fang Zheng stared at Youji and stopped talking. He and Youji had been together for a long time, and many of Youji's swordsmanship were taught by Fang Zheng. When teaching swordsmanship, the two sides inevitably had physical contact, but at that time, whether Fang Zheng was holding Youji's hand or pressing her shoulders, her reaction was normal, without any abnormality.

And this time, Yuki's reaction was so intense because of one thing only, that was, he was planning to kiss her.

Although it wasn't a mouth-to-mouth kiss, Yuki was so scared, so there was only one possibility.

"...I really can't hide anything from Brother Fang Zheng."

Although Fang Zheng didn't say it, Youji still gave a helpless smile, then she closed her eyes and spoke.

"Yes, just as you thought, Brother Fangzheng, I am infected with AIDS."

“…”

Although Fang Zheng had already guessed, he was still quite surprised when he heard Youji admit it. After all, even if Fang Zheng added up his previous life to this life, he had never seen a real AIDS patient. And Youji didn't give him the feeling that...

"My sister and I were infected when we were born because our mother had a difficult labor and heavy bleeding and needed an emergency blood transfusion."

Yuuki's voice was calm, completely devoid of its usual energy.

"After learning that our whole family was infected, my mother once thought about leaving this world with us. But in the end, she still tried her best to persevere. Relying on her faith and my father's support, my mother took my sister and me to start a life of fighting the disease..."

At this point, Yuuki's voice began to tremble slightly.

"...I have always believed that my disease can be cured, and it will be cured one day. But...everyone knew about my situation, and then everything changed. My former friends began to distance themselves from me, and their parents also wanted to oppose me continuing to go to school with their children..."

“…”

After hearing Youji's story, Fang Zheng remained silent. The discrimination suffered by AIDS patients in society was no longer news. Before his rebirth, Fang Zheng occasionally saw big discussions about this in newspapers or news. Although strictly speaking, AIDS can only be transmitted through sexual intercourse, blood, and mother-to-child transmission, shaking hands with AIDS patients or eating with them in real life will not infect them with AIDS.

However, it is said that it is better to be safe than sorry, which is also the dilemma faced by AIDS patients in the current society. Even if laws can be passed to regulate and protect them, it is still humans who enforce the laws.

Fang Zheng had read many reports on this, but this was the first time he saw someone he knew infected with the disease.

"My parents died two years ago... My sister died a year ago, and I didn't have much time left. The doctor recommended that I switch to comfort care... But I didn't want to give up, I wanted to try again... So, I came here."

Having said this, Youji looked at Fang Zheng again.

"Brother Fang Zheng, you may be wondering why I chose my companions through duels. In fact, after I knew that everyone was trapped in this death game, I wanted to rely on my own strength to help everyone leave this world and return to reality. My parents and sister have left me, but they still have their families and relatives. I want to help them reunite with their relatives... But it is not enough to rely on me alone. I need a strong team and strong power to work together. So... I finally chose to join the Dark Moon Sword."

At this time, a smile appeared on Yuuki's face.

"Everyone in the guild is very nice, and I like the life here. This place is like a second home to me. I hope to see everyone leave here safely before I leave this world. So..."

Yuuki bit his lip and clenched his hands.

"I don't want others to know about my affairs, including Brother Fang Zheng. I'm afraid. I'm afraid that if you knew my secret and we did something like that before, Brother Fang Zheng might hate me... So I..."

As he spoke, Youji looked towards Fang Zheng and shouted loudly.

"I don't want to... ow...!"

However, Youji didn't finish her words, because at this moment, Fang Zheng came over and blocked her lips.

“…”

Faced with this sudden attack, Yuki widened his eyes in surprise and was completely speechless for a moment. After a while, the two slowly separated.

"I told you I would rescue you all."

Fang Zheng looked at the girl in front of him and spoke word by word.

"You too, Yuuki. Don't think about sacrificing yourself. Maybe you don't understand what I mean now, but I promise you... I will save you."