"Now, only the four of us are truly useful."
The next morning, none of the four of them were in very good spirits, and they gathered at Zhen Hu's house for breakfast.
After learning about what they had gone through the previous day, Lillian cooked a pot of chicken soup overnight and made them porridge and noodles with the chicken soup base this morning. The four of them were very considerate and had a very satisfying breakfast.
"Mona will be back tomorrow."
They were all full when Lillian said that.
At this moment, when they heard the other party say these words again, they just looked at each other without saying anything.
"By the way... why are you having a birthday party? Are you planning to lower her guard and then ambush her?"
After thinking for a long time without understanding, Zhen Hu spoke first, asking Lillian about the birthday joke.
“Because—” Lillian’s eyes were filled with sadness when she brought this up. After thinking for a long time, she looked at Zhen Hu and said, “Before, Mona’s father and I were both very busy, so… we were never there for her birthday.”
Lillian and her husband used to be quite grateful if they could remember Mona's birthday and give her a gift; they often didn't even remember Mona's birthday until several days had passed.
Then, with awkward smiles, they presented the belated gift.
As Mona grew older, she gradually stopped mentioning her birthday, and she and her husband became even less likely to think about it.
Besides no longer mentioning birthdays, they talked less and less about other things, and Mona didn't want to have any more conversations with them.
In the game, although the planners have changed a lot about Mona's past, Lillian still remembers that in the original story, the hypocritical scumbag played by Zhen Hu at this moment only deceived Mona into being completely devoted to him because he bought her a small cake on her birthday.
Even after Mona awakened her own consciousness, she still seemed unable to forget that cake, and always held unrealistic fantasies and idealized images of the character Zhen Hu.
It's clear how deeply Mona cared for her parents, but unfortunately, she was taken advantage of by a scumbag!
"I said... could you please stop staring at me like that?"
Zhen Hu noticed that Lillian hadn't said anything and was just staring straight at him.
The more Zhen Hu looked into her eyes, the more frightening they became. In the end, he felt as if she wanted to kill him with a single blow, so he quickly woke Lillian from her reverie.
He's not a bad person!
"And then what? You just did this to make up for Mona?"
Mingmei frowned, feeling that this was far from what they wanted to achieve.
"Then... after the birthday party, everything will be as you wish." Lillian looked at Mingmei and the others and smiled. She didn't tell them why Mona had told them about the whereabouts of the insectoid creature, but she assured them that they would know.
They exchanged glances, a hint of wariness flashing in each other's eyes.
Lillian's character is really strange; they'd better be careful.
Outside of the game.
"Will Lu Xiaoyao and the others be able to clear the level? It's been so long!"
Hu Yue and Li Yuan, who left early, were forced by Lu Gui to stand guard outside the game pod together. Because they were bored, Hu Yue even ordered takeout from the cafeteria and brought over three hot dogs.
"It doesn't taste as good as the ones in the game." It was Li Yuan who suggested eating hot dogs, but he was the first one to think that hot dogs weren't tasty.
"You guys enter the game just to eat?"
Lu Gui was already unhappy about not getting a spot in the first round, especially knowing that the game was open to all military academy students and that they were just throwing the game around, with only one round available.
The next game will only begin if a player fails to complete the previous game. If a player succeeds, the game will be permanently locked away and may never be reopened to the public.
This is a robbery plot!
A group of people didn't know what was going on inside. On the one hand, they hoped that players who had cleared the game would fail so that they could see what was going on, but on the other hand, they didn't really want to go in and play.
After all, those who know a thing or two about this game understand that it's incredibly demotivating.
"Why are you yelling at me for not getting in because you had bad luck?" Hearing Lu Gui confront Li Yuan, Hu Yue immediately glared at Lu Gui protectively. "And you're blaming others? Even if you had gotten in… hmph~"
The tone of disdain was undisguised.
"So what good does it do you to go in and come out like that? You still won't know anything."
Lu Gui sneered. He stopped Hu Yue and the others as soon as they came out. When he asked about the situation earlier, even with Qi Haikui who had already returned to the dormitory, none of the three of them had actually gotten to the main storyline of the game!
What did they do during that half-day trip?
"As if you know everything about going in." Hu Yue scoffed, speechless at the stark contrast between Lu Xiaoyao and her brother's personalities.
The three of them were exchanging sarcastic remarks outside the game pod. Li Yuan, standing to the side, didn't know what to say. If he spoke now, he was afraid that he would be confronted by the other two.
Just as he was wondering what to say, a deep, mournful bell rang out from outside the hall.
"That is..."
Suddenly, the two stopped arguing.
At this moment, everyone in the other schools turned their attention to the direction of the school assembly square, including the three of them, gazing at the direction from which the bells rang one after another.
"I've heard that if an outstanding graduate of the First Military Academy dies on the battlefield, the bells in the square will ring..."
Hu Yue murmured to herself; this was the first time she had heard this bell since entering the campus.
I first learned about this saying when I heard the teacher mention it during a class on school rules and regulations when I first entered the school.
The teacher once proudly said that those who received the title of outstanding student from the school were all top-notch in ability, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, they would become renowned guardians of a planet within ten years.
The bell, the teacher said, hadn't rung for over ten years. That time, it marked the passing of Marshal Lu's only son, and at the same time, Prime Minister Mori's son also perished in a targeted attack by the Zerg. (cascoo.net)
This time, it's unclear which year's outstanding student died at the hands of the Zerg.
At this moment, regardless of whether they were teachers, students, or even staff members, they all stood up straight and bowed towards the clock tower in the square.
The continuous tolling of the funeral bells echoed in my ears, their deep sound like a mixture of grief and anger, as if venting the grief of the dead. Finally, the rhythm of the bells gradually slowed down, like an old man's final farewell, resonating throughout every corner of the campus.
"Why……"
Li Yuan suddenly raised his hand and touched his face. Unbeknownst to him, tears were already streaming down his face like beads. An ominous premonition in his heart finally became a reality when his personal terminal lit up...
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