Chapter 75 Grand View Entertainment (End) "Open the door."...
Shi Yu, Qiu Xiaoyuan, and Qi Xue walked along a mountain path.
During the exchange, they learned that the main and side quests were the same when they first entered the dungeon. After the dungeon was updated, only Shi Yu's main quest was upgraded. Qiu Xiaoyuan said, "Brother, with your current popularity, you're a sure thing to debut as the number one center. Even if you play passively here, you can still win."
The mountain path was a bit narrow, only wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Shi Yu walked ahead to clear the way, while the two girls followed behind. While praising Shi Yu, Qiu Xiaoyuan also made sure to praise herself and Qi Xue, "But Qi Xue and I are definitely going to make it into the top seven!"
Shi Yu: "..."
That's true, but the main credit goes to Qi Xue.
When Shi Yu turned around, she saw Qi Xue give Qiu Xiaoyuan a helpless smile.
Qi Xue took third place on the first stage, and then let her ranking drop. It seemed like she was not going to amount to much, but in fact she was keeping a low profile. This can be seen from the steady rise in her and Qiu Xiaoyuan's rankings later on. She had a perfect grasp of her and Qiu Xiaoyuan's performance and had a firm grasp of the game's progress. No wonder she is a top ten player on the skill leaderboard.
Of course, the most important thing is that Qi Xue genuinely considers Qiu Xiaoyuan a friend.
He would like to invite Qi Xue to join their team if she is willing.
“But we can’t do those three side quests, so we can’t even see the president of Shengjing Entertainment!” Qiu Xiaoyuan said, somewhat discouraged, as she took Qi Xue’s arm. Qi Xue comforted her, “It’s okay. Most players are already struggling to complete the main quests and even finish the game. They simply don’t have time to do the side quests.”
“That’s true.” Qiu Xiaoyuan nodded in agreement, then added, “No one should be making support for this instance either…”
"I have completed my three side quests."
Shi Yu spoke almost simultaneously with Qiu Xiaoyuan. He took a few steps forward and realized that the people behind him hadn't followed. He stopped and turned around, only to find Qiu Xiaoyuan staring at him with wide eyes as if she were looking at a ghost. Qi Xue, standing next to him, had a smile on her face and seemed very relaxed, as if she wasn't surprised at all by the matter.
Qiu Xiaoyuan was shocked for a few seconds before she realized something—her brother had a rumored affair with the president of Shengjing Entertainment in this instance!
That's not all.
His brother also had an ambiguous relationship with his mentor, Xiao Jue!
Seeing Qiu Xiaoyuan's terrible expression, Shi Yu comforted her, "The rewards from the side quests are actually not very useful. One of them, shareholder status, only gives you 1% of the shares, which is useless. The other reward, 'one chance to escape death,' is also vague. It depends on the system to determine when it will be triggered, so it's considered a passive skill, and therefore..."
Qiu Xiaoyuan seemed not to be listening to him at all. After a moment of absentmindedness, she asked, "Brother, so who is my sister-in-law?"
Shi Yu: "?"
Qiu Xiaoyuan: "Xiao Jue, the president and mentor of Shengjing Entertainment, is my sister-in-law?"
Shi Yu was speechless for a few seconds: "No, you don't have a sister-in-law."
Qiu Xiaoyuan's eyes widened, and she shook her head. "I don't believe it, or..." She was somewhat certain, yet somewhat incredulous, "They're all my sisters-in-law?"
Shi Yu: "..."
Shi Yu said seriously, "I will not get involved with NPCs in the game. Even if you have a sister-in-law in the future, she will only be someone from real life."
Qiu Xiaoyuan nodded in sudden realization: "So, you and Shen Su are real!"
Shi Yu: "…………"
Shi Yu had no idea what Qiu Xiaoyuan was thinking all day long, or how she could connect things from one thing to another. He hesitated for a moment before trying to explain again, but Qiu Xiaoyuan and Qi Xue had already steered the conversation to the topic of beauty and skincare, which he couldn't get a word in edgewise.
Shi Yu's Live Stream Room —
[Tsk, this is so relaxing! Other streamers' rooms are always a bloodbath!]
Is this really the finals? Or is this some kind of vacation?!
[Throughout this dungeon—while others are struggling to survive, Yu Yu is enjoying romance; while others are on the verge of elimination in battle royale, Yu Yu is effortlessly winning while camping in the countryside! Don't be envious, you can't have that, because you don't have that pretty face.]
Wait, didn't you guys notice that Qiu Xiaoyuan calls Yuyu "brother"? Are they siblings???
[I know the answer if I watched both Yuyu's and Xiaoyuan's livestreams at the same time! They are cousins, not blood relatives. Yuyu probably came to this instance to accompany her sister, but little did she know that her sister ended up getting on Qi Xue's good side!]
Qiu Xiaoyuan is indeed a pretty girl, with delicate and refined features. While her cat-like eyes aren't as alluring as Yu Yu's wife's almond-shaped eyes, they are still very expressive, showing that this family has good genes!
...
On the other side, Zhao Fu threatened everyone with a gun to work for him, but no one trusted Zhao Fu anymore and didn't want to be with him anymore. They slipped away when Zhao Fu wasn't paying attention. In the end, only Yun Yi and Zhao Fu's original six henchmen were left by Zhao Fu's side. They also walked forward along a mountain road.
Zhao Fu had two of his underlings lead the way, and four others bring up the rear. He and Yun Yi walked in the middle, and Zhao Fu cursed as he walked: "Damn it! My gun has usage restrictions, otherwise I would have blown them all up with one shot each!"
Yun Yi said, "Brother Zhao, don't be angry. There are only seven spots for debut. Even if they leave, most of them won't be able to pass the test."
It would have been better if this hadn't been mentioned, because it only fueled Zhao Fu's rage. "If I don't kill Shi Yu, I can't even get through this game!" Zhao Fu's eyes darted around as he stared at Yun Yi, his tone turning cold. "You came in second in the initial stage, so why hasn't your main quest leveled up? You're not lying to me, are you?"
“Results cannot be used as a criterion. Qi Xuechu came in third place on the first stage, but her main quest did not level up.” Yun Yi explained calmly, “This should be random.”
Zhao Fu seemed to believe this explanation and stopped questioning Yun Yi. Instead, he started cursing: "Random? Whether it's random or not is up to it! The system is a real son of a bitch!"
Yun Yi glanced at Zhao Fu out of the corner of his eye.
In that instant, his eyes turned cold, and he looked at Zhao Fu as if he were looking at a dead man.
Yunyi's Live Stream Room —
[Dare to curse the system? Zhao Fu is not far from death.]
[Zhao Fu already had a "I'm going to die" look on his face, so discussing him is pointless. I wonder if you guys noticed that Yun Yi seemed a bit different today? His gaze just now was a little scary, as if Zhao Fu wasn't cursing the system but him.]
As a long-time fan, I've also noticed that although my Yunyi brother usually seems aloof, he would never show this kind of look in his eyes. I didn't notice anything a few days ago, but today Yunyi gave me a strange feeling.
I'm a long-time fan too, and I feel the same way...
I...I have a bold idea, but I'm afraid to say it...
[Sister, I think I roughly know what you're thinking, but how about we... wait and see?]
...
Shi Yu and his two companions found a cave.
They would be spending twenty-four hours in the mountains. The cave was definitely safer than the forest, and after checking that there were no signs of wild animals, they decided to spend the night there. After settling on lodging, they still needed to find food. The three divided the tasks: Shi Yu went out to find food, Qi Xue gathered firewood, and Qiu Xiaoyuan stayed behind to tidy up the cave.
Shi Yu caught a pheasant, a rabbit, and some wild fruit. Qi Xue picked up some dry branches and grass nearby. Just as Qi Xue was about to use the most primitive method of rubbing sticks together to make fire, Shi Yu took out a lighter.
Qi Xue: "?"
"I got it from opening low-level blind boxes before." Shi Yu explained while lighting the dry grass under the branch. "I don't smoke, and the lighter was just gathering dust in my inventory. I didn't expect it to come in handy at a critical moment."
Speaking of the inventory, Lin Fengbai is still in the inventory. Since entering this instance, Shi Yu only released Lin Fengbai once during the magic show on the initial stage. After that, he didn't let Lin Fengbai out, and Lin Fengbai obediently stayed inside. He's been cooped up for so many days, it's really too unfair to Lin Fengbai.
"Can I have one of my friends stay with us in the cave?" Shi Yu asked the two girls for their opinions.
Qi Xue readily agreed.
Qiu Xiaoyuan was both surprised and delighted: "Xiao Jue is here too?"
Shi Yu was speechless for a moment: "It's not Xiao Jue."
"Oh, I thought you were going to call Xiao Jue over, then you could really win without lifting a finger..." Qiu Xiaoyuan was a little disappointed. Shi Yu explained, "The mentor help card can't be used in the finals, so Xiao Jue can't come."
"Oh, I see. Which friend is that?"
As soon as Qiu Xiaoyuan finished speaking, Shi Yu suddenly reappeared, this time as Lin Fengbai, dressed in a shirt and trousers, standing before the three of them.
Lin Fengbai couldn't do anything else in his inventory, so he could only sleep. He slept for so long that he felt even more tired. With sleepy eyes, Lin Fengbai yawned and looked at Shi Yu, asking, "Is there anything I can do?"
"We picked too many wild fruits, let's eat them together." Shi Yu grabbed a few wild fruits and handed them over. Lin Fengbai took them, somewhat bewildered, picked up a wild fruit and took a bite, "Oh."
The wild fruit looked ugly, but it was actually quite sweet. Lin Fengbai took another bite, and soon finished the whole fruit. Then he asked, "Is there really nothing I need to do?"
Indeed, there was no. Shi Yu summoned Lin Fengbai because it was a bit awkward for him to be alone in a room with two girls. Lin Fengbai was just a tool to ease the awkwardness. But since Lin Fengbai had asked a second time, Shi Yu couldn't say there really wasn't any. He handed Lin Fengbai the branch with the pheasant stuck in it.
"Can you roast a pheasant for us?"
"meeting!"
Lin Fengbai eagerly took it and roasted it over the fire, turning it in circles. The pheasant was roasted until it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The three of them shared the pheasant. As for the rabbit, it was released because Qiu Xiaoyuan kept rabbits at home and couldn't bear to eat them.
The pheasant finished lunch for the four of them, and everyone took a nap against the stone wall.
As the sun moved westward, Shi Yu continued to leave the cave to find food, Qi Xue went to gather firewood, and Qiu Xiaoyuan, not wanting to stay in the cave to gather firewood with Qi Xue any longer, asked Lin Fengbai to guard the cave.
They agreed not to go too far, in case of any danger and they couldn't provide timely assistance.
However, they did not encounter any other players or any danger along the way.
Shi Yu had a fruitful hunt this time. He caught a goat, but it wasn't really his catch, because the goat had fallen off a cliff and landed not far in front of him. It died quickly, and he just happened to pick up the stray.
When Shi Yu returned with the goat, he saw thick smoke billowing from the neighboring mountain, beneath which was a fiery red area. A wildfire had broken out there, and it was quite large.
It's unclear whether the fire was started during a player's fight or caused by something else, but that's not important. What's important is that the wildfire may seem far away, but if the wind direction changes, the fire could very well burn this way.
The sky above was cloudless, and it didn't look like it was going to rain.
Shi Yu returned to the cave, and Qi Xue and Qiu Xiaoyuan also returned. They also saw the wildfire on the neighboring mountain. After discussing it, they all decided to roast and eat the sheep before leaving.
A whole lamb is being roasted in the cave, while in the forest on the nearby hilltop, countless figures struggle amidst the crimson flames.
"ah--"
Zhao Fu was burned beyond recognition, but he still struggled to run out of the fire. He ran very fast, faster than ever before, but no matter how fast he ran, he couldn't escape the flames. He smelled the burning flesh and heard the sound of bones breaking. His legs could no longer support him... He fell to the ground, still struggling to crawl out, his eyes fixed on the front.
He saw a man standing not far away outside the fire, slowly patting the ash off his hands. He looked in this direction and seemed to say something.
At such a distance, Zhao Fu shouldn't have been able to hear it, but he did. The person said, "I told you that you wouldn't have any good luck with the number one on the unlucky list, but you insisted on teaming up with me. See, you've really run into bad luck, haven't you?"
Zhao Fu wanted to say no, you're not the number one on the unlucky list, you're not Yun Yi at all!
But he could no longer speak.
Besides Zhao Fu, there were many other figures crying and struggling to run out of the fire.
But they all fell down one after another.
On the public chat screen in the trainee training base lobby, player names turned gray one by one, until only seven names remained red.
Yunyi's Live Stream Room —
This Yun Yi is a complete stranger to me; I can't believe he's the idol I've been a fan of for three years.
Although Yun Yi is cold-hearted, he is absolutely cruel; he would never do such a thing!
Perhaps... he really isn't your Yun Yi?
This comment appeared.
The entire live stream room fell into a deathly silence.
On the other side, the lamb was already roasted, and the entire cave was filled with the aroma of lamb, which even spread outside the cave.
"The mutton smells delicious! Can I come over for a meal?"
A voice came from outside.
Yun Yi appeared at the entrance of the cave with a smile on his face.
Qi Xue and Qiu Xiaoyuan both became alert. Qi Xue's hand was already on her weapon, and Shi Yu quickly said, "We're on the same side."
In the past few days, Yun Yi has outwardly become Zhao Fu's side, but in reality, they have maintained contact in private, exchanging key information. They have not become enemies and have always been teammates.
"Zhao Fu is dead," Yun Yi told everyone.
"Zhao Fu and his gang got into a fight with other players. Someone started a fire in the middle of it, and they even used gasoline. The wind was strong, so the fire spread quickly, and the whole hill was ablaze in no time. I saw the situation was bad and ran away before I knew it. I don't know if anyone is still alive..."
The sky was clear and the clouds were thin, so it was impossible for it to rain now. There was no way that firefighters would appear in the game to put out the fire. Without rain, the fire could not be extinguished. Shi Yu comforted Yun Yi, saying, "It's good that you're safe. People like Zhao Fu have only themselves to blame."
"As for the others..." Shi Yu sighed, "I can only say it's all fate."
He is neither a great man nor a god; he cannot save everyone.
"Hmm." Yun Yi smiled at him, seemingly in a good mood.
"Let's finish our mutton quickly and get out of here, or it will be too late if the fire gets over here."
Yun Yi said to wait a moment, then took out cumin powder and sprinkled it on the lamb. The aroma of barbecue stimulated the taste buds and made them drool. Even the neighbor's child was drooling.
It wasn't surprising that Shi Yu could take out a lighter from his inventory and Yun Yi could take out cumin powder. Everyone shared the mutton and ate it with relish.
The atmosphere in the live stream was heavy—
[Yun Yi was on another mountaintop just a minute ago, and now he's here in the blink of an eye. What normal person could move that fast?]
[Perhaps, a prop?]
I checked Yun Yi's inventory, and he doesn't have this item!
[Besides, how could Yun Yi possibly know Shi Yu was here? He doesn't have an omniscient perspective... Wait, an omniscient perspective? We all know "it" has no physical form, but everyone in the game can be its vessel. Don't you think there's a possibility... I absolutely don't dare to imagine!]
Therefore, Shi Yu's biggest weakness isn't Lu Chengjing, nor Xiao Jue, but... it.
[Furthermore, I feel that "it" seems to really like Shi Yu. Although Mu Zhuo was also favored by "it" in the past, "it" has never appeared in physical form beside Mu Zhuo...]
...
After everyone finished eating the mutton and prepared to continue their journey, they discovered that the previously clear sky had suddenly become overcast, and soon there was lightning and thunder, followed by a torrential downpour.
“It’s raining…” Yun Yi sighed softly as he stood in front of the cave. After watching the rain for a while, he turned to the others and said, “Don’t worry about the fire coming over. The wildfire will be extinguished soon, and we don’t need to evacuate.”
"Great, I can lie down again!" Qiu Xiaoyuan happily sat back down, grabbed a wild fruit and started munching on it, not forgetting to give one to Qi Xue as well.
They slept in the cave for one night.
The next morning at ten o'clock sharp, the broadcast started:
"The Shengjing Entertainment Trainee Grand Final has now concluded!"
"Now announcing the rankings of the top seven trainees: First place Shi Yu, second place Yun Yi, third place Qi Xue, fourth place Qiu Xiaoyuan, fifth place Liu Zhuangzhuang, sixth place He Yiran, and seventh place Wang Chao. Congratulations to trainees Shi Yu, Yun Yi, Qi Xue, Qiu Xiaoyuan, Liu Zhuangzhuang, He Yiran, and Wang Chao for successfully debuting as a group!"
Congratulations to trainee Shi Yu for winning first place and debuting as the center with a landslide victory in the votes!
"Please proceed to the departure point immediately, the bus is waiting for you here."
...
After boarding the bus, Shi Yu fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke up again, he was back in the living room of his own home in the real world.
He cleared the game.
Before he could even check the system settlement information, Qiu Xiaoyuan nudged him and pointed to his phone on the coffee table. Only then did Shi Yu realize that someone was calling him from his silent phone.
Picking up her phone, Shi Yu saw that the caller was Chen Su. She answered the phone, and all she heard were two words: "Open the door."
"What?"
Perhaps because she had just left the instance and her brain was a little sluggish, Shi Yu didn't react immediately.
Shen Su then said, "I'm at your doorstep."
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