Chapter 8 The Infinite Boss Invites You to "Eat Melon" 8. He should...
Ji Chengchuan, the Chosen One:
Ji Chengchuan, one of the host's current targets of dislike, male, 22 years old, currently residing at Boiling Bar in Baixiang City, Hedong Province, Blue Star China. A severe sufferer of mental pollution syndrome, his apparent identity is the owner of Boiling Bar and a male model; his true identity is (Random Code), and he has an unknown relationship with (Random Code). He possesses multiple abilities and is known as (Random Code).
Although it was only the second time he had encountered it, Lu Yu was already somewhat used to the classic gibberish of the gossip system.
He scrolled down.
Ji Chengchuan is the chosen one foreseen by (random code).
He came from an ordinary background, had average grades, and entered university at eighteen—a typical ordinary person. Three years ago, (Garbage) descended, and he was chosen to become (Garbage). From then on, his life underwent a dramatic change.
Less than a month after entering (the garbled world), Ji Chengchuan discovered that the vast majority of the (garbled characters) he encountered in (the garbled world) would fall in love with him, regardless of gender. The leader of the first guild was willing to kneel at his feet and obey his orders, and the captain of the top team would give up everything and risk his life for a few words from him.
They all became his admirers and followers.
At first, Ji Chengchuan was a little scared, worried that he would get into trouble for juggling multiple relationships. But gradually, he realized that even if he gathered all his admirers together, they would only fight tooth and nail for his favor, but would not blame him. He enjoyed this adoration, this love, this cutthroat competition for him.
He became arrogant, thinking he was the kind of heartthrob often described in novels and TV dramas.
His path was incredibly smooth thanks to the protection of these powerful and influential figures. In just one year, he obtained two fragments of divinity that existed within the figures.
Upon obtaining the first fragment of divine power, Ji Chengchuan entered the core of (Gibberish). (Gibberish) told him that it was merely a divine object searching for a master. Whoever could collect all nine fragments of divine power, place them into its core, and fully activate it would recognize him as their master and help them become a god.
Ji Chengchuan was skeptical.
He devoted himself to the search for fragments of divinity.
However, not all the fragments of divinity exist within the (garbled code); many more lie in the world beyond it. To fully unlock that world, the world map must be completely illuminated. Ji Chengchuan has worked tirelessly for a long time, and only the final piece is needed to illuminate the map.
However, that place was the city with the most severe (garbled text), filled with (garbled text), and he dared not go there alone, yet he did not trust his admirers and was unwilling to entrust everything to them.
After much deliberation, Ji Chengchuan set his sights on the (garbled) top ten.
One of the rules of the (garbled) system is that all (garbled) characters who enter the top ten of the (garbled) system will have one chance to be resurrected within the instance. He wants to be in the top ten of the (garbled) system and get one chance to be resurrected. With this chance to be resurrected, he is absolutely confident that he can light up the last part of the world map...
Although he had prepared, Lu Yu was still dizzy from the screen full of garbled text. Anyone who didn't know better would think he was watching porn on Jinjiang Literature City and had to censor it like this.
Lu Yu pinched the bridge of his nose, scrolled down, and sure enough, it was still locked.
He felt it was a waste of time and solemnly said to the gossip system, "Everyone is quite busy. Please don't push up such an old-fashioned, boring, and censored web novel opening."
The gossip-eating system: [...]
Lu Yu pulled his eyes away from this clichéd article that was neither from Qidian nor Jinjiang, and turned to the previous entry: "Is there any new content unlocked for Yan Zhi's entry?"
Yo yo yo, inkstone~
The gossip system wanted to roll its eyes, but it couldn't, so it could only follow Lu Yu's consciousness to expand the entry "The Unspeakable Pei Yanzhi".
Lu Yu scrolled down and saw a new piece of content.
...
Pei Yanzhi had already experienced countless battles by the age of three. He had been kissed by at least thirty-nine people.
Pei Yanzhi was born beautiful, with delicate features. By the age of three, she was so pretty that everyone loved her. When her grandmother led her on the street, aunts and uncles would come over, hug her, and kiss her little face.
But Pei Yanzhi didn't like being kissed. One day, after being kissed by eight aunts and uncles who came to her house for a gathering with her mother, Pei Yanzhi ran away from home.
He carried a small stool, sat in the hallway, and swore to the motion-activated light that from now on he would be an extremely cold-hearted man, his heart would be ice-cold, and he would never smile again.
But Mom made a big braised pork knuckle that day, and we still had to eat it.
Lu Yu: "..."
Oh no, having such an adorable entry about Pei Yanzhi makes it even harder to fall asleep, what should I do?
The gossip-eating system: [...]
With a deep sense of disbelief towards its host, it decided to disconnect directly, blocking Lu Yu so that he would have nothing to see and could only go to sleep.
However, before it could act, Lu Yu suddenly said, "System, you said that the accuracy and completeness of your gossip is affected by factors such as the host's personal cognition and ability. But judging from the unlocked entries now, in addition to cognition and ability, is the unlocking of entries also affected by my personal will?"
“Pei Yanzhi’s entry appeared after I developed feelings for him, and Ji Chengchuan’s entry appeared after I clearly understood how much I disliked him,” Lu Yu’s eyes opened silently in the darkness. “The unlocking criteria are obvious, right? But what I’m still wondering is, why them?”
He looked at the system's screen: "It's true that I only have feelings of affection for Pei Yanzhi, but there are definitely more than just Ji Chengchuan that I dislike and have some understanding of. After you appeared, these people didn't disappear; they still appear in front of you and me, but you haven't unlocked their entries."
"Why?
"What makes Ji Chengchuan different? Is it because he's the so-called 'chosen one'?"
The gossip system hadn't expected Lu Yu to bring these things up so suddenly. In its mind, Lu Yu was still an ordinary person who didn't care much about or accept the strangeness of it and the world, at least for now. It was caught off guard by his sudden, almost awakened, sensitivity.
It did not answer Lu Yu's question immediately.
Lu Yu wasn't in a hurry; he seemed to have plenty of patience, waiting for an answer.
After an unknown amount of time, the system beeped, unlocking a new term: "Player".
Lu Yu looked up.
[Player: A participant in the game, currently specifically referring to the humans of the planet Mercury who have been pulled into an infinite game by (garbled text) and are forced to struggle to survive amidst the bizarre and polluted environment.]
They are divided into regular players and S-level players based on whether they have cleared an S-level dungeon.
Regular players can only move within the instance they are currently playing. S-rank players can roam freely on Earth, and most of them possess special abilities, such as spatial or temporal powers...
As this entry was unlocked, the existing entries for Pei Yanzhi and Ji Chengchuan also changed.
Pei Yanzhi's personal introduction changed to "Pei Yanzhi, the host's current object of affection, male... a working professional, real identity is an S-level player, possesses (garbled code), known as (garbled code)".
Aside from his true identity as a player, Ji Chengchuan's later description of him as a "player heartthrob" also has some garbled text replaced with the word "player," indicating that he is a player heartthrob.
[Note that Ji Chengchuan is the "chosen one" among the players, not an ordinary player. Host, please be careful.] The gossip system added.
"Player?"
Looking at this unfamiliar yet familiar phrase, Lu Yu felt as if he was about to touch upon something: "You emphasized that Ji Chengchuan is the 'chosen one,' not an ordinary player. Does that mean there are ordinary players around me? My personal understanding and will, combined with Ji Chengchuan's own unusual nature, are what allowed you to unlock his entry, while ordinary players don't?"
"Yes, host," the gossip-eating system answered honestly.
Lu Yu: "If there are players, there must be games. What games are they playing?"
The "Gossip System": [This system is limited by the host's cognitive abilities...]
Lu Yu didn't ask any more questions.
He hadn't forgotten Pei Yanzhi and Ji Chengchuan's conversation at the movie theater. He knew that the game these so-called players were playing was most likely related to him, so although he had many worries, only one thought popped into his head at this moment: "System, do you think Yanzhi is sincere towards me? What does he want from me? Could '33 Days of Saying I Love You' really be a prophecy, turning into a documentary about our love story...?"
The Gossip System: [To reiterate, this system is not a romance system!]
Lu Yu fell silent.
He knew that the rapid progress of his relationship with Pei Yanzhi was likely due to problems, but he never expected it to be this kind of problem. He originally thought that Pei Yanzhi was only after his good looks.
Lu Yu sighed deeply and closed his eyes in sorrow.
This time, his mind was no longer filled with tender yet fierce kisses, but instead with a melodramatic soap opera. One moment Pei Yanzhi was holding him and explaining, while he frantically shook his head, refusing to listen. The next moment, Pei Yanzhi was rushing over amidst a hail of bullets, covered in blood, and saying to him, "I'm sorry, I love you."
While Lu Yu was lost in a jumble of dreams, Pei Yanzhi was soaking in a bathtub overflowing with cold water.
He wore a white silk bathrobe, completely soaked and clinging to his skin. Strands of bright red blood dripped from the collar of the bathrobe and seeped into the water.
At the end of the crimson line was Pei Yanzhi's hand, which was wrapped around his collarbone like thorns. His fingertips pressed hard, like sharp blades, piercing deep into the gaps between his bones.
The pain seemed to bring him back to some of his reason.
He suddenly opened his eyes, his unfocused gaze lowered, disappearing below the water's surface.
Those were countless fissures, each containing a strangely trembling eyeball, covering his soles, legs, waist, and arms.
Only his face remained clean, floating outside the blood swamp, like a jade bodhisattva trapped in the hell of evil gods.
A pendant slid off his neck, emitting a soft blue light.
The blue light pulled Pei Yanzhi out of an instantaneous hell.
He suddenly closed his eyes and gripped the pendant tightly.
The pendant's light gradually faded.
Once the light fades, you can see that the pendant was originally pure black. But if you get very close, you can see a silver-blue fragment sealed inside, like a piece of glass that can be found anywhere, or like a wisp of ethereal mist.
After an unknown amount of time, Pei Yanzhi climbed out of the bathtub.
He took another hot shower and lay down on the bed.
Pei Yanzhi lowered his head as his phone kept vibrating.
Wang Kun: [Captain, today is one of the days the chairman predicted this month when your pollution might erupt. Are you alright?]
Xiao Wan: [Captain?]
Xiaoqian: [Captain, Captain, if you don't reply, I'm going to call! Even if you don't like answering the phone, I'm going to call, I really am!]
Pei Yanzhi smiled slightly: "Still alive."
Wang Kun, Xiao Wan, Xiao Qian: [Captain!]
Pei Yanzhi: [This pollution outbreak is less severe than the last one, nothing to worry about, everyone go to sleep.]
Xiaoqian: [It really did get better? Captain, you're not lying to us!]
Wang Kun: [Is Dr. Zheng's treatment very effective?]
"Yes," Pei Yanzhi replied, "but it's also related to Lu Yu."
Dr. Zheng's treatment at the First Municipal Hospital was certainly very effective, but for him, a player of the Smile Game who was extremely rare and had survived near-severe pollution, the people he met when he went to see Dr. Zheng were even more effective.
Outside the psychiatric clinic, when Lu Yu first approached him, Pei Yanzhi vaguely sensed a reduction in his own pollution.
Pollution is inherently unpredictable; it can create a false sense of descent from time to time, making you feel like you've recovered, only to strike again when you least expect it. Therefore, although Pei Yanzhi had some suspicions about Lu Yu's situation, he didn't dwell on the pollution aspect.
Even today, he tentatively proposed a real intimate encounter.
"As expected, he is your master, isn't he?"
Pei Yanzhi picked up the pendant, his amber eyes reflecting a faint, starlight-like light: "He also exudes pollution on the surface, but inside, just like you, he possesses the ability to suppress, and even passively purify, pollution. The closer you are, the more obvious it becomes..."
"He should be the person I'm looking for, the one that the Smiling Game truly fears. Yesterday, it was probably your energy that attracted him, making him want to get close to me and mistakenly believe that he had feelings for me."
Pei Yanzhi's voice was as light as falling snow: "Logically speaking, the best thing for me to do now is to take the initiative to confront him and seek cooperation with him, rather than continuing down this path, pulling him into a love trap like walking a tightrope, creating intimate contact, secretly plotting his purification, and using him to help me get rid of the pollution."
"But I've already failed once. I don't have any more chances. This time, I can only trust myself."
"Besides, I wasn't exactly a good person to begin with, was I?" He stared at the pendant and gave a slight smirk.
In mid-air, the pendant's faint light faded, offering no response.
A note from the author:
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Pendant: So you don't like it?
Pendant: Hello? Can't you hear me? After saying all this, does it mean you don't like Lu Yu? Hello? Don't you like…
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