Chapter 102 Royal City Banquet "I like you too."
"Lucis".
Shi Yu answered without hesitation or reservation, and when he looked up and met Chen Su's dark eyes, his heart skipped a beat.
I was scared.
In reality, Shen Su's face was expressionless. He had probably been playing the role of a cold and ruthless war god for the past few days. His face was devoid of any emotion, but his expressionless coffin-like face, coupled with his piercing gaze, inexplicably intimidated people.
"Ahem." Shi Yu lowered his eyes to avoid Shen Su's gaze. He had no intention of hiding anything from Shen Su and explained, "I once tentatively asked the king if a princess could take multiple husbands. The answer was no. Therefore, according to the conditions for clearing this instance, whether the princess chooses you, Qin Ke, or Mo Rugui, only one of the three of you can clear the instance."
"You probably thought of that too."
Shi Yu leaned against the wall, trying to relax, but he could still feel the gaze from beside him that seemed to burn a hole through him. He let out a soft breath and explained his reason for doing so, "But I choose Lucis. The king promised that you can leave safely and return to where you came from."
"Heh." Shen Su let out a soft chuckle. He withdrew his gaze and leaned against the wall of the tomb chamber, staring at the void in front of him. "If this is all it takes to clear the dungeon, don't you think it's too easy for a high-level instance? Besides, do you really believe what an NPC says?"
Shen Su's opposition was within Shi Yu's expectations. He continued, "That's one reason, and there's another."
"Oh?" Shen Su tilted his head and looked at him.
Although it was someone else's face, the expression was familiar to Shi Yu—an expression that was both interested and playful.
Shi Yu let out a soft breath and said, "The king is not an ordinary NPC. He listens to Lucis very, very much. And Lucis has a lot of authority in this instance. He can control the behavior of the NPCs in the instance and make the king, the big boss of the instance, listen to him. And that night it snowed..." He paused, turned his head to look at Shen Su and finished speaking, "because I had mentioned to him before that that I wanted to see snow."
"Someone who can control the weather, doesn't that sound familiar?" He smiled at Shen Su.
No explanation needed.
The moment their eyes met, Shen Su understood what Shi Yu was referring to.
In the final stage of the [Shengjing Entertainment] instance, Yun Yi set fire to the mountain, trapping and killing many people. Just before the fire reached the mountain where they were, a sudden downpour extinguished it. Yun Yi's drastic change in temperament, his precise location of them, and the sudden change in weather at the end... the viewers in the live stream have already given them the answer—the Yun Yi of that time was not Yun Yi.
“The system has no physical form; everyone in the game can be its vessel.” This was said by a viewer in the live stream. When Shi Yu said this, his expression became serious. “Before, it was Yun Yi, and now there is such a being in this instance as well.”
"The high-level dungeons contain information about the core of the game, but we've explored everything we could in the past few days and haven't found anything useful. We thought it was an item, but is it possible that it's actually a person?"
Shi Yu's eyes reflected the lamplight, and a flame seemed to burn deep within his dark pupils. He stared intently at Chen Su, as if seeking his consent or approval.
Shen Su looked away, his tone icy: "So your second reason is that you want to put yourself in danger."
The question is a question.
But the tone was affirmative.
“It’s not exactly putting myself in danger.” Shi Yu shook her head. “I should… be safe from any danger.”
Shi Yu couldn't explain why he was so sure he wouldn't be in danger.
Perhaps it's an intuition?
After a while, Shen Su sat up straight, his tall figure instantly looming over Shi Yu, and a sense of oppression washed over him. However, his tone softened, carrying a hint of negotiation: "If I said I didn't want you to do this, would you change your mind?"
Shi Yu appears gentle and soft-hearted, seemingly easy to persuade, but in reality, once he makes a decision, no one can easily change it.
Shen Su understood this all too well.
Shi Yu wasn't oblivious to the fact that Chen Su had changed tactics; if hard tactics didn't work, he'd try softer ones.
But this is an opportunity, and he doesn't want to lose it.
"Anyone could be a vessel for the system. Lucius in this instance could be an avatar of the system, or it could be the system itself. But regardless, everything in this instance, including the king's every move, is under his surveillance. The king's agreement means the system's agreement, and the deal is valid. So you don't need to worry about the NPCs going back on their word..."
“You know that’s not what I’m worried about,” Shen Su interrupted.
They had grown very close together, legs touching and arms pressed together. Shen Su lowered his head to look at him, and Shi Yu looked up at him. Their retinas were now only focused on each other.
He likes you.
"?"
When Shen Su suddenly uttered those words, Shi Yu didn't quite understand.
But he quickly realized that Shen Su was referring to Lucis. He explained, "Lucis is a prince in this instance who is here to participate in the princess's selection of a husband. It's normal for him to show affection for the princess. Almost all the princes have expressed their affection for me, but that doesn't mean they like me. They only like the position of the prince consort."
Shi Yu thought her reason was excellent.
But he immediately regretted it after explaining.
He didn't know why he was in such a hurry to explain to Chen Su.
After a moment of silence, Shen Su said, "On the night it snowed, you told me not to get involved. You deliberately jumped into the lake to test Lucius, didn't you? Did you figure it out later?"
This statement may seem unrelated to their current topic of discussion, but it is in fact closely related.
Shi Yu nodded, recalling the events of that day: "I lost consciousness in the lake. When I woke up, I was back in the princess's palace. The maid said that a patrolling guard had pulled me up... Even so, it shows that Lucis can see everything that happens in the instance and can control NPCs at will."
“No,” Shen Su said.
"What do you mean 'not'?" Shi Yu turned her head and looked over, her face full of confusion.
“I was hiding behind a tree that day and saw Lucis jump into the water to save you.” Shen Su didn’t look at him, but stared at the void in front of him, his face expressionless and his tone calm. “He originally had a rope in his hand. At first, he probably wanted to use the rope to save you, but in the end, he chose to jump in himself.”
Shi Yu remained silent for a long while after listening.
During this time, Shen Su turned to the side and stared at him.
Taking advantage of Shi Yu's lack of awareness, Chen Su watched with unrestrained gaze, his eyes seemingly tangible, tracing every inch of Shi Yu's face from his eyebrows to the corners of his lips, not missing a single expression.
Shi Yu's Live Stream Room —
[Shen Su's gaze is a bit scary, like he's about to devour Yu Yu!]
[His wife is being coveted by another man, and he even said it out loud. What man wouldn't go crazy in that situation? It seems like Shen Su is currently driven mad by jealousy but is trying hard to control himself and not show it.]
To be honest, I didn't ship them at first; I'm a Shi Yu only fan. But seeing that look in their eyes, I'm sorry, I'll have to ship them first.
Shen Su's affection is quite obvious, but it's hard to tell whether Shi Yu likes Shen Su back.
...
Shi Yu was thinking about something.
He had snapped out of his daze. His head was lowered, his beautiful brows were slightly furrowed, and his long eyelashes trembled gently, like the wings of a butterfly, each flutter touching the hearts of others.
He seemed to be thinking of something, his brows slowly relaxed, and he raised his eyes to look at Chen Su, his dark pupils, illuminated by the oil lamp, faintly revealing excitement.
"It suddenly occurred to me..."
I like you too.
The two spoke almost simultaneously.
Then he shut up.
"What?"
Shi Yu was lost in his own thoughts. Shen Su's voice was a little soft, and he didn't hear it clearly, but he had a feeling that it was something important because Shen Su rarely showed such a serious expression.
"What did you just say?" Shi Yu asked again, her expression very serious.
"It's nothing." Shen Su shook his head, glanced at the game panel, and said, "It's almost dawn."
Yes, it's almost dawn.
Shortly after, all players received a system message—
Unfortunately, time has run out, and no prince has been able to find the princess. The princess will choose her husband later. Princes who are not chosen may leave after the ceremony.
Shi Yu received another piece of information that allowed him to choose a consort, and he selected one of the twenty princes from the list.
When he pressed the "OK" button, the main quest for all players changed, and a new main quest 2 was added under main quest 1.
Main Quest 2: Attend the Princess and Prince Consort's Wedding.
[Completion Requirements: Complete either Main Mission 1 or Main Mission 2.]
Mo Rugui and Qin Ke were both taken aback when they saw the change in the main quest information.
Did Shi Yu really do it?
Did he really single-handedly change the main questline of the high-level dungeon?
"Have you ever encountered this situation before?" Qin Ke asked Mo Rugui beside him. Qin Ke had a wide network of connections in the game, but he had never heard of or seen anything like this before.
"No." Mo Rugui shook his head.
Mo Rugui is a regular player in high-level dungeons, and if even Mo Rugui hasn't encountered this situation, it means that this situation is really rare.
The main questline has become simpler.
But neither of them relaxed.
The system won't let players pass the game easily; if it relaxes the difficulty in one aspect, it must increase the difficulty in others.
Or perhaps... it's because Shi Yu made some kind of deal with a certain being?
"Go find Shi Yu."
Mo Rugui turned and left after saying those words, a dark cloud gathering between his brows.
Qin Ke followed closely behind, his expression also unpleasant.
They were veteran players; Shi Yu didn't know the cost of trading with the system, but they knew all too well.
Shi Yu fulfilled his promise and helped them clear customs.
They couldn't just stand by and watch Shi Yu get into trouble.
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