Chapter 123 "Same Kind," willingly, thank you for the hospitality, my luck has turned...
Through a small window above one of the toilet stalls, Fu Ze and Yuan Jianxing could clearly see Raven sitting at the bar, but Raven had no way of tracking them back.
Encountering the ravens again brought about a dramatic change in Fu Ze's mood.
The last time the two met was on his way to a film signing ceremony.
At that time, Fu Ze continued to play the role of Que Ling according to his promise to Li Wei, while also reuniting with Yuan Jianxing after their separation due to death.
Aside from learning about some of the unusual phenomena of this world that we would never encounter in our daily lives, life as a whole seems to be moving in a positive direction.
But things are different now.
At this point, Fu Ze had learned the truth about this world from the Dragon Spine—a game world calculated and maintained by the [Center of All Things], and he also learned his true identity—a GM holding a [Special Key], and his most important mission—to rescue the players trapped in the game.
Because he did not possess the [special key], Fu Ze could not confirm who the player was at this moment.
But ravens are different.
If what Longji said is true, then without a doubt, he is someone from the outside world like Fuze, and even has means of communicating with the outside world; he is definitely "of the same kind".
Thinking of this, Fu Ze felt a sudden throbbing pain in a certain nerve in his brain.
Things he had deliberately set aside and forgotten surged up like a tide, almost completely overwhelming his will.
But reason told Fu Ze that the opportunity to encounter the raven was rare, and he had to concentrate his attention as much as possible to learn about the raven.
With this perfectly valid reason in mind, Fu Ze forcefully suppressed those unnamed and unspeakable contents.
He slightly raised his chin to gesture to the raven, then glanced at Yuan Jianxing and asked in a deliberately relaxed tone, "Should I say 'Fate is truly wondrous'?"
The space here is quite cramped, and in order to share the view from the window fairly, Fu Ze is practically squeezed into Yuan Jianxing's arms.
Feeling a sharp pain in her chest from Fu Ze's shoulder, Yuan Jianxing adjusted Fu Ze's position.
Let Yuan Jianxing manipulate him, Fu Ze rested his chin on his hand and continued, "The best course of action right now is for me to change my identity to get close to the other party and help them when necessary to gain their trust."
This process sounded strangely familiar to Yuan Jianxing.
Upon closer reflection, it seems that Fu Ze had treated him the same way back then.
“But my current job doesn’t allow me to do that in terms of time,” Fu Ze sighed. “Besides, this strategy might not work on Raven. After all, I have the [Key], and he might already know about me. The risk is too great.”
"Are there any alternative middle-ground or worst-case scenarios?"
“The middle-ground strategy is to find someone to act as a go-between. But the Raven’s social network is probably not very complex, so doing so would seem very suspicious,” Fu Ze began to explain.
He had to use this method to continuously fight against those terrifying things that were constantly trying to climb out of their cages.
"As for the worst option, it is to observe secretly and then wait for the rabbit to run into the tree stump, which is completely passive."
Just as the two were whispering and discussing their next move, the little girl who had delivered drinks to the booths earlier walked behind the bar, pulled out a ladder about half her height, stood on it, and said to Raven with a rather experienced air, "Another regular customer? This time, would you like your 'Black Swan' cut with water, ice, or soup?"
“Water cutting as usual.” Raven raised an eyebrow upon seeing the girl. “Where’s Wells Lee?”
“Wells Lee has something to do, so I, Lilith Lee, will be filling in today.” After receiving the reply, Lilith Lee used tongs to take an ice cube from the built-in refrigerator next to her.
Then, with a flick of her wrist, the ice cube traced an arc behind her and landed precisely in a wide-mouthed glass that she had prepared sometime earlier.
"We'll leave you here mixing drinks all by yourself, aren't you afraid someone will cause trouble?" Raven clapped twice in support.
“That depends on them…” Lilith Lee tossed her head casually, “whether they have the guts.”
As he raised his hand to pour various liquors and syrups into the shaker, her slightly oversized sleeve slipped down a bit, revealing a small ring of what appeared to be a recently dyed blue-black color on her shirt.
"Is this... going to school?" Raven's gaze fell precisely on the ink stain.
Upon hearing this, Lilith Lee's hand trembled, and she almost dropped the shaker in mid-air.
"Huh? How did you figure that out?" She subconsciously pulled her sleeve up, which backfired and revealed a cufflink.
Upon noticing the emblem on the cufflinks, Raven further pointed out, "She attends V City's No. 1 Elementary School, which is great, as it's close to home."
Lilith subtly pursed her lips.
Raven clearly didn't miss her little expression. After the shaking of the wine stopped, he slowly spoke: "You're finally able to study, aren't you happy?"
Upon hearing the words "without much difficulty," Fu Ze and Yuan Jianxing above exchanged a glance.
In V City, it's a matter of course for school-aged children to go to school, so why would anyone say it's "hard-won"?
Little did he know that this statement seemed to have touched a nerve with Lilith Lee.
“What’s so exciting!” She shook the shaker vigorously, making the ice cubes rattle against the metal walls.
Seeing the bright red wine that had been poured out in a fit of pique, Raven toned down its posture slightly and asked, half-teasingly and half-curiously, "Is the homework too hard?"
“It’s alright, it’s mostly just boring.” Lilith Lee muttered as she skewered a berry with a toothpick, “I don’t like doing boring things.”
"If you don't want to study, what do you want to do?"
When this topic came up, Lilith Lee's eyes lit up, "I want to study music."
Instead of retaliating, the raven asked, "Singing? Playing an instrument? Composing or conducting?"
“Of course…” Lilith Lee left the conversation open, placed the berries and mint leaves on the rim of the glass, pushed the black swan in front of the raven, then jumped down from the ladder and rushed toward the band that was taking a break in the bar.
After talking with the band members, one of them handed his guitar to Lilith Lee.
Lilith Lee didn't hold back and actually played a classic "Hotel California," while the other band members cooperated by providing accompaniment.
Seeing that it was a young girl performing on stage, the bar patrons were very supportive, with cheers rising and falling.
After Lilith finished her piece, Fu Ze looked at the outstanding musician Yuan Jianxing and humbly asked, "How would you rate it?"
Hara Kenshin said realistically, "Practice hard and you might be able to make a living in music, but there's a limit to how high you can go."
Fu Ze stared wide-eyed in disbelief: "Do you have to be so strict with a little girl?"
“In matters of life like this, gentleness can be deadly.” Hara Kensei’s attitude remained unchanged.
"What do you mean by 'lifelong'? You didn't end up doing music anyway, did you? Enjoying the experience is also a very important part," Fu Ze said dismissively. "You're not going to starve to death with your own hands and feet."
Watching Lilith Lee return to the back of the bar after her curtain call, Raven took a sip of his drink and asked, "So, do you want to go to the Nuberli Conservatory of Music in L City?"
Lilith Lee abruptly stopped wiping the table and looked up sharply: "You mean the Nuberlin Conservatory of Music, where at least half of every graduating class goes on to perform in the Silver Hall?"
Raven gave a barely perceptible sneer: "That's probably how it's supposed to be set up."
"Yes, of course I want to!" Lilith was very excited, but then she became frustrated. "But I probably won't be able to go to a place like that in my lifetime."
"Why?" the raven asked, holding the toothpick with the berry stuck in its beak. "You have to have some ambition, you know."
“First, my brother won’t let me live alone in L City,” Lilith Lee said, scrolling through her fingers. “Second, the tuition is very expensive.”
Fu Ze remained noncommittal regarding the second point.
It appears that Wells Lee did not tell Lilith Lee his true business.
The tuition fees are negligible; as long as you don't get caught by the enforcement officers, you can get away with just three or five tickets for illegal modifications.
“Even if all the above conditions are met, I still can’t go.” After pointing with one of her fingers, Lilith Lee waved her hand dismissively.
"Why?" the raven asked curiously.
"Because you need a letter of recommendation to get into that school."
"Recommendation letter? What recommendation letter?"
“I heard it’s a recommendation letter from a board member, honorary alumnus, or a well-known figure in society, but it’s definitely not someone my brother and I could possibly know.” Lilith Lee threw the rag into the sink and spread her hands. “He’s just a bar owner. As for me, if nothing unexpected happens, even if I go abroad to study, I’ll end up here anyway.”
"Are you willing to accept this?" Raven suddenly asked for no apparent reason.
“What’s this about being willing or unwilling?” Lilith Lee said, her tone emphasizing a mature, almost adult-like, intonation. “As a person, you should be content with what you have.”
"Oh? But I don't think so."
Upon hearing Raven's reply, Fu Ze suddenly had a flash of inspiration and immediately took out his phone to send messages to Dragonspine.
Fu Ze: Do you know any members of the board of directors of the Nuberli Conservatory of Music in L City, or anyone who can write a letter of recommendation for them?
Dragon's Spine: I know you. Why are you suddenly asking this?
Fu Ze: Then you'd better be prepared, the raven might be coming for you soon.
Dragonspine: You've found the raven?
Fu Ze: You can interpret it as finding or encountering; in any case, be prepared.
Fu Ze: I'll contact you later for details.
"Done." Putting his phone back in his pocket, Fu Ze shared his experience with Yuan Jianxing with a rather shrewd air, "So what if it's a bad idea? When luck turns, even a bad idea can be a lucky one."
Looking at the smug Fu Ze in his arms, Yuan Jianxing had no choice but to pull his body away slightly to avoid letting the other person feel his pounding heartbeat.
But for some reason, he always felt that Fu Ze didn't seem as composed as the other party appeared.
Raven downed the rest of the wine in his glass and said, "Thank you for your hospitality."
He picked up a toothpick, ate the berry on it, and then said, "And as a reward for that song 'Hotel California,' when you see me again, you'll have a recommendation letter that will get you into the Nuberth College of Music."
In the bar, Lilith Lee was used to hearing these nonsensical remarks from customers who were drunk and talking nonsense, whether to show off or to comfort her.
Faced with this seemingly unbelievable promise, she flashed a standard, polite, business-like smile, clasped her hands in front of her, nodded slightly, and replied in a clear, slightly formulaic voice, "According to your usual practice, the next time you come will be in three days, right? Then I'll be looking forward to it."
Although she said that, she didn't take Raven's promise seriously.
After all, how could someone who needs a letter of recommendation to get into the Nuberli Conservatory of Music possibly obtain one within three days?
Raven didn't explain much, but simply put the money down and turned to leave the Rotten Violin Bar.
-
After Raven left the Rotten Violin Bar, Yuan Jianxing and Fu Ze returned to their booth.
Upon noticing the return of these two, Mu Wangzhuo was greatly shocked: "So fast?"
The word "fast" in this context is clearly not meant in a positive way.
After sitting down again, Yuan Jianxing's gaze was like a knife piercing Mu Wangzhuo, but he said indifferently, "It's just processing a document, how long can it take?"
Everyone thought to themselves: Does processing a document really require someone to accompany you? A green-clad woman holding the inkstone, a red-sleeved woman adding fragrance to the inkstone?
Fu Ze changed the subject: "Where were you guys talking about? What was so rare?"
The woman with round-framed glasses replied, "We were talking about our PhD students' graduation projects, something like that..."
After hearing the other person's account, the woman in the camel-back coat angrily retorted, "Did you even get one word right?!"
The woman with round-framed glasses shrank her neck slightly: "Now that everyone is here, could you please repeat yourself in a way that normal humans can understand?"
Out of respect for Yuan Jianxing and Que Ling, the woman in the camel-colored coat cleared her throat and repeated her topic in its entirety.
It seems to have been explained, but nothing was truly explained clearly.
In the ensuing silence, Yuan Jianxing surprisingly asked, "This research project is still ongoing? I thought it had been banned long ago due to ethical issues."
"There's no prohibition, but it's true that we were strictly monitored," the woman in the camel coat said with emotion. "If you hadn't stopped that scumbag professor from exposing his academic misconduct, this project wouldn't have been assigned to my supervisor and would have ended up with me."
Although he didn't understand, Fu Ze asked with great concern, "This topic sounds very difficult. How did you finally overcome it?"
Fu Ze hadn't expected that his words seemed to have played right into the other party's hands.
Slamming her wine glass down on the table, the woman in the camel-colored dress, abandoning her previous gentle demeanor, rolled up her sleeves and began to launch into a long speech:
"This research topic has been stuck on me for a very long time. I'm stuck on the last step of reproducing the results of a certain paper, which would complete the loop."
"But the results have been slow to materialize."
"I've tried every method imaginable, from circling around three times and offering incense to Buddha before the experiment, I've gone to great lengths."
"Until about six months ago, a trainee executive officer came to the hospital."
Trainee...Executive?
"This trainee executive is in a very special situation. Although he is in a coma and is not eating or drinking, his physical indicators are perfectly normal."
"To save him, and also for their own research projects, the various universities and research institutes in L City have really pulled out all the stops."
Hearing her say that, Fu Ze was suddenly struck by something, so much so that he didn't hear anything else she said afterward.
Yes! That's it!
This is definitely not a normal situation!
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