Chapter 285
Xie Xubai has been kidnapped by an evil god!
The sudden news caught all the players off guard.
When Yan Shuo became angry, only a few people arrived at the scene in time; most people were unaware of what had happened.
Upon seeing this news, their first reaction was one of skepticism. After all, in the previous instance, the evil god had helped them clear the rules as the Black King. Their gazes lingered on Xie Xubai several times, suggesting a close relationship and a hint of mutual affection.
Until someone uploaded a video to the forum.
It seemed to have been taken hastily; even after image stabilization, the image was still somewhat shaky, making the tentacles in the sky appear like dark clouds pressing down.
The focus is on people.
In just over ten seconds, the entire process of Xie Xubai being forcefully plundered by the tentacles was vividly displayed, including the red tears welling up in his eyes and the forced sob that he let out.
Coupled with his undeniably pale and sickly appearance, he seemed utterly terrified of the humiliation inflicted by the evil god, yet powerless to resist.
One second everyone was moved to tears by the clear conditions for passing the level, which meant they didn't have to cross the river in the dark. The next second, they saw the person they were grateful to and admired being trapped and oppressed by an evil god. Their emotions were instantly ignited, and they stared in astonishment.
Wait a minute, weren't you two in love? Turns out you were being forced?
Even though I thanked the gods, they were still badly injured. How could you, evil god, do such a thing? Are you even human?
Here comes the important part.
In the comments section of the post, someone scrutinized the details of the shot, lamenting that everyone should pay close attention to the last few seconds.
The players then went to observe.
So they saw that, in those brief one or two seconds, perhaps sensing the players' anxiety and anger, Xie Xubai, whose body was being held by tentacles, was still trying to tilt his head back and force out a reassuring smile.
Xie Xubai seemed to want to say something, but he lacked the strength to speak. His pale lips opened and closed, and the shape of his mouth could be vaguely discerned as:
It's okay, don't be afraid.
This scene followed Xie Xubai's speech.
Its impact is no less than that of a general raising his arm and leading his soldiers to guard the country's borders overnight, enduring a fierce battle until reinforcements arrived.
Just as everyone was celebrating their rescue, the sunlight suddenly dispelled the gloom, illuminating the general's body, riddled with arrow wounds, slowly ceasing to breathe, with a faint smile of relief on his bloodied face.
Damn it.
Players' emotions were like being suddenly thrown onto a roller coaster, from bewilderment and shock to disbelief, and finally to a boiling explosion.
Anger surged up in my heart faster than panic.
Immediately, public sentiment was agitated, opinions were divided, and related posts increased like wildfire, flooding various forum sections!
...
In fact, it's obvious to anyone with eyes to see that such a big commotion in such a short time is not only due to Xie Xubai's reputation, but also to the undercurrents stirred up by various forces with different motives.
Those in power in the West have always been ruthless opportunists. Even in times of crisis, they weren't necessarily willing to set aside their own interests and work together. Now, before the war has been completely won, they're all scheming about how to divide up the spoils.
Even Lilith was so annoyed by the disturbance that she had large dark circles under her eyes all the time.
She never hesitates to take action, but the Federation has been purged several times, its power structure is as intricate as a spider web, and troublemakers are as numerous as cockroaches. The leaders are masters of delaying tactics; if they can't win, they talk about other things, and if they force actions to be carried out, they can't be executed. If they are not careful, they will be tripped up and turned around and blamed.
Add to that the differences in national conditions, culture, and customs across different continents, and managing them all becomes an absolute headache.
We can't just kill them all.
Leaving aside the question of whether these hyenas, driven mad by hunger, would resort to cannibalism, where in a short time could one find a large number of clean-cut individuals capable of seamlessly transitioning to various confidential government duties? It's like a mountain of garbage code left by a previous programmer—completely incomprehensible without comments, let alone any attempt at rectification.
Looking around, one sees numerous constraints.
Lilith couldn't help but sigh again.
At worst, she only had to withstand pressure from one side, with Xie Xubai above her to keep things in check.
With Xie Yuchun's sacrifice and Pei Yuheng's death in battle, he was recycled by the system and transformed into a monster, but no one could help Xie Xubai withstand the pressure.
...How did this guy manage to survive those days surrounded by wolves?
Not long after, an even more dramatic scene unfolded.
Before the internal turmoil within the federation could fully dissipate, an external crisis erupted first.
It all started with the same person.
— Xie Xubai.
The association officials with ulterior motives promoted the spread of videos and rumors with the intention of stirring up trouble, creating chaos, and then profiting from the confusion.
Half a month has passed since the dungeon was released, and the turmoil has not subsided at all.
They severely underestimated Xie Xubai's influence among players.
For players in North America, who admire heroism, Xie Xubai's actions just so happened to resonate with them.
For players in Zhongzhou, Xie Xubai's actions from beginning to end were all about righteousness, about dying on the battlefield, about saving the nation, and about devoting himself to the cause until his dying breath.
With this in mind, the two sides reached an unprecedented consensus, jointly requesting the Federation to launch a rescue operation to save Xie Xubai from the clutches of the evil god!
If any person in charge tries to evade the issue, the players will immediately hurl insults at them.
Xie Xubai is reborn and imprisoned as an NPC. Even with his life hanging by a thread, he manages to secure a chance for everyone to survive and even unite them to victory once again.
Let's take another look at how many things your federation has actually done that are worthy of its title since it was established.
It's not that they've done nothing, but rather that they've accomplished absolutely nothing. Now, even arranging a rescue operation is a hassle and a lot of rambling. If you really can't handle it, then step down and let someone more capable take over!
If someone has carefully studied other continents, especially the capitalist-controlled social mechanisms and the establishment of Chinatowns in the Americas, they will find that people in Central Asia actually have more passion and humanity than foreigners.
This spirit of courage and humanity has now inspired players from other continents to rise up in protest, making the public outcry increasingly intense and even threatening to spread like wildfire.
Lilith and others would hesitate to act in order to stabilize the situation, but ordinary players do not have such concerns.
When a member of the federation was dragged out of his mistress's bed in a disheveled state and thrown naked into the street, Xie Xubai's rescue plan, which had been stalled for nearly two weeks, was finally approved and sped off into action.
.
Something's not right.
In a secluded private residence, a middle-aged man finished browsing the latest forum updates and adjusted his glasses.
"Although the Federation's bunch of good-for-nothings aren't exactly bright, they would never let things escalate to this point where it's out of control. Who gave them a push from behind?"
As he spoke, he compiled all the controversies that had arisen during this period onto a piece of white paper, compared the growth trend of trending posts, and drew up a statistical table.
Data doesn't lie.
Observing the fluctuating lines on this statistical table, it is clear that the Federation's incitement of public unrest was at best the initial stage; the climax was when the subsequent backlash from public opinion backfired on them.
Another brown-haired man curled his lip, unconvinced: "Isn't it obvious? The two top mental experts right now, one is Miel who belongs to the Apostle Guild, and the other is Loca who was temporarily promoted. Think about who he's under."
"Lilith?"
"Who else could it be but her? Do you really think she's serious when she says she's powerless to help the Federation?"
The curly-haired man slowly explained, "Lilith was a gubernatorial candidate before the Infinite Game even arrived. Later, in order to win people's hearts, she even went so far as to reveal her identity and run for office under her real name. She is an ambitious and intelligent person. Do you think she doesn't know what tricks the Federation has up its sleeve? Do you think she has no means of countermeasures? They are fighting like dogs. I advise you not to take it too seriously. When it comes to manipulating public opinion, who is better than these politicians?"
"But I still find it strange."
The first person to ask the question frowned, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Psychic-types are good at manipulating people's minds... Do you think the strongest psychic-type could have foreseen this situation?"
The curly-haired man glared at him, his eyes full of disapproval: "You doubt White? Bro, why don't you take a look at how badly he's injured in the video!"
“But that’s White.” The bespectacled man took a deep breath, his trembling voice a mixture of excitement and admiration. “White is the one who could arrange everything perfectly even on his deathbed.”
His companion retorted, "Don't joke around. If it really is White, what is he after by stirring up this massive public outrage?"
"In order to bring everyone together."
Inside the clean and bright conference room of the Federation's central building, Lilith clasped her hands together.
"This instance is too good. Even if there is a magnetic field disturbance, it will be quickly calmed down. It's not just the guild that's slacking off; many players have also lost their fighting spirit."
“If this continues, people will only sink into a beautiful dream and refuse to wake up. To break the deadlock, we need external stimulation, we need an enemy that can arouse everyone’s hatred and hatred.”
Second Apostle: "So you and White had already discussed this beforehand? Why didn't you tell us in advance?"
"No, he really did lose his memory before that. His mental power was blocked from the outside world, and he couldn't contact anything. I only realized what was happening when I saw him taking the initiative to kiss the evil god in public."
Thinking of the exaggerated scene where the evil god was provoked and caused the world to shake, Lilith's lips twitched, but she continued without changing her expression, "I guess White probably wanted to play this villain role himself, but unfortunately he was willing but unable."
Second Apostle: "What do you mean?"
The lamb interjected: "Because this copy is actually maintained by the will of White."
Everyone turned to look at him upon hearing the sound.
To prove her point, Little Sheep immediately took out a potted plant from her spatial bag. The petals were a gradient of bright blue and pale white, as clear and beautiful as ice crystals, clearly not an ordinary plant.
The little lamb raised its head, seemingly talking to itself, or perhaps declaring something to some being: "This is a healing flower planted at the mouth of the Serondoba Gorge in a certain S-rank mythical dungeon. It takes a hundred years to grow and a hundred years to bloom, and it can save many lives."
Having said that, he abruptly broke the precious bouquet.
Then something miraculous happened! A faint golden light emerged from the broken end of the branch, stitching the crack shut like a needle and thread, trying to prevent it from breaking completely.
The lamb continued to pull on the flower so they could see it clearly.
Apart from Lilith, the other apostle members who were still relatively calm all changed their expressions, stood up, stared intently at the golden light, and held their breath expectantly.
A few seconds later, they casually sat back down.
Because that ray of golden light was the power of rules derived from the will of the instance, not Xie Xubai's clone.
Otherwise, given how wasteful Xiao Yang was of the healing flower, Xie Xubai, who couldn't stand the waste, would have already flicked Xiao Yang on the head, instead of shoving and struggling with Xiao Yang in this tug-of-war.
After a while, the little lamb relaxed, letting the power of the rules restore the healing flower. It fiddled with the petals with its fingertips, lowered its eyelashes, and felt a rare moment of joy in its heart.
Because of the nature of his skill, he often needs to remain silent, and this is the first time he has successfully revealed the truth about the dungeon since awakening.
A world that is kind to everyone... is indeed very dangerous.
At this point, all the doubts that had been shrouded in mystery in everyone's minds have finally been cleared up.
It's their own stupidity that led to this. Everyone knows that the content of the dungeon is closely related to the final boss; it can be said to be a projection of the final boss's life experiences and obsessions.
This world is so beautiful that even a spectacle of war cannot be stirred up. How could it possibly have been created by that evil god of slaughter?
The apostle members were initially worried about the evil god's rampage, but now that they knew Xie Xubai was actually in control of the instance, they immediately relaxed, rubbing their noses: "Luckily, White can suppress the evil god, otherwise..."
Unexpectedly, the apostles' expressions turned strange, and Baser, who had remained silent, had eyes full of deep sarcasm towards the evil god: "Suppression?"
Lilith gave him a warning look, then displayed several investigation reports on the projector: "After White and the Evil God disappeared, we detected an abnormal energy fluctuation on the rooftop of a high-rise building not far away. Upon testing, it turned out to be coming from the S-class Ghost King who gave us the information."
She changed the subject.
"What we didn't expect was that, without us even having to look for him, this S-class Ghost King actually came to us again after White was kidnapped, introducing himself as a subordinate of the Evil God."
"What?" A member of the apostles exclaimed in surprise. "A subordinate of an evil god? How could he possibly—"
“That’s right. There’s a strict hierarchy among the monsters. Without the authorization of the evil god, even if he is an S-class monster king who rules over a territory, it is impossible for him to bypass the evil god to report the news. Otherwise, we wouldn’t even be able to see the shadow of H City.” Lilith said, “To put it simply, from beginning to end, it was the evil god who deliberately made us get close to White.”
This doesn't need to be verified at all.
Looking back on the day the operation was launched, the evil god was lurking nearby, watching them intently. With His power, He had countless opportunities to drive them out of H City before Xie Xubai noticed, but the evil god did nothing, which led to the series of events that followed.
The crowd gasped: "But wasn't the Evil God furious because White was seriously injured?"
Because of his anger, he also came to hate all the players.
Aside from medical professionals who can cure White, any other player who gets within half a meter of White will be violently thrown away by its tentacles, demonstrating its incredibly strong possessiveness.
Now they're being told that their meeting with White was actually arranged by an evil god!
Why?
“The reason is simple,” Lilith said. “After the expert investigation team’s in-depth research on the rage value over this period of time, we have discovered three things that can effectively reduce the rage value of the evil god.”
The scene shifts to a vast, open plain.
Amidst the intense battle sounds and dazzling skill effects, the S-rank monster collapsed with a deafening roar, sending dust billowing into the air.
The moment the monster fell, the dark rage value that had been churning in the sky like a storm cloud suddenly dropped by several thousand points!
"The intelligence was correct!" one player exclaimed in delight. "Eliminating these suddenly appearing monsters really can appease the evil god's wrath!"
A companion chimed in, "But the monsters are respawning way too slowly. At this rate, it'll take forever. Didn't you say there are other ways to reduce rage? What are they?"
The scene shifts to an arcade in City H.
At this time, the number of onlookers outside the store was at least three times the usual number, and they were all unfamiliar faces who came to visit, including many foreigners.
They crowded the huge shop entrance, their expressions solemn as if facing a life-or-death decision, prompting local residents to peek inside as they passed by.
I don't usually see anything fun at this store. It's all old equipment that hasn't been updated in years. Why are so many people suddenly crowding around? Are they having a promotion or giving away free trials?
Then news came from inside that a player had reached the target score and won the grand prize! In an instant, the crowd erupted into deafening cheers and screams, like cold water poured into a pot of boiling oil!
Those locals, or rather NPCs, couldn't see the blood-stained floor, the eerie atmosphere, and the lurking danger within the arcade.
They also couldn't see that when the boss announced the player as the winner, all the rides swirled together, creating a howling wind.
Then the wind subsided, and a crack resembling a spatial rift stood in the air, its surface churning with black mist, forming a semi-transparent thin film barrier.
Upon seeing this scene, the surrounding players rushed over without hesitation, and several big shots stood in the crowd giving loud commands.
"Don't attack! Attacks will be reflected! At best you'll be crippled, at worst your entire team will be wiped out!"
"Get all the Light-type players here! Use healing skills to purify the pollution, and items are also usable! Healers first!"
"According to reliable intelligence, as long as all the sources of pollution in this city can be purified, the gates of the abyss will open, and the evil god dwells within the abyss!"
Amidst the commotion, someone shouted angrily, "Down with the evil god! Rescue Xie Xubai!"
The others responded with fervor: "Down with the evil god! Rescue Xie Xubai!"
With the blessing of countless healing abilities, the dark purple crack lit up with bright white light, starting to close from the beginning and disappearing at the end.
The moment the source of pollution was purified, the anger value marked by the golden square in the sky changed drastically, dropping by tens of thousands of points again!
...
The scene returns to the central building's conference room, where the Sixth Apostle suddenly realizes: "In other words, the true nature of those monsters is very likely—"
Little Lamb: "Concrete mental filth. Haven't you noticed? They're all dungeon monsters we've encountered before. Especially those chaotic monsters with their varied appearances and abilities—not many people can remember them all."
Lilith pointed to the monster on the screen: "Take this Chaos Monster for example. It's not very strong in combat, only A-rank, but it has a super-sized poison sac hidden in the cavity under its abdomen. When it dies, it explodes and releases a large amount of toxins. If we knew this in advance, we could have taken effective precautions. Unfortunately, the equipment was rudimentary at the time, and no one discovered this fatal problem, resulting in heavy casualties comparable to those of an S-rank Chaos Monster."
Lilith: "There's an old saying in Middle-earth: 'Once bitten, twice shy.' We developed an antidote specifically for it and stopped taking it seriously. But in this instance, it actually possesses combat power equivalent to an S-rank Chaos Monster."
"Wait a minute, let me sort this out." The Sixth Apostle's mind worked quickly. "You say these monsters are mental impurities, in other words, they are the embodiment of the inner shadows of the dungeon owner. Just because the dungeon owner thinks it is as powerful and terrifying as an S-rank monster, it is as strong as an S-rank monster in this dungeon, even though it should only be an A-rank monster."
Lilith: "That's right."
Mental defilement = the psychological trauma of the original owner = Xie Xubai's psychological trauma.
The Sixth Apostle was stunned for a long time before turning to the others: "So, White led the team in that extermination operation back then?"
Hill, who had been silent alongside Bartholomew, finally moved. He shook his head, his usually bright face filled with frustration: "No, he's a co-op operator."
“But he was very close to the monster at the time,” the little sheep said. “I heard that he found the poison sac at the last moment, rushed up to try to save people but it was too late, and in the end, only one in ten people survived.”
Barthol's face darkened: "Which battle hasn't resulted in this many deaths?"
Yes, so many people have died that everyone has become numb to it.
But no one dared to criticize Xie Xubai's fragile mental state, because they could vaguely guess that White's lingering resentment and even psychological trauma were most likely because he believed that the deaths and injuries could have been completely avoided.
If only he could be a little more careful, a little more cautious, and a little more powerful.
In the indescribable silence, the Sixth Apostle asked again: "Since monsters are spiritual defilements, then the sources of those defilements are..."
Little Lamb: "Soul Crack"
No wonder they only allow healing abilities; no wonder eliminating monsters and purifying pollution can reduce the evil god's anger.
This truly represents a global effort to heal Xie Xubai's consciousness and repair his soul.
The Sixth Apostle didn't know whether to sigh or click his tongue in disbelief: "Would White really agree?"
White has an outrageously strong moral burden. If he knew that players were "wasting money and resources" and "wasting public resources" for him, he would probably feel so guilty that he would suffer another psychological trauma.
Uh, no, before that, White should first fly into a rage and beat the culprit to a pulp.
“Do you think White is willing?” Miel sighed for his stubborn old commander. “He won’t even let the gods bless and nurture his soul.”
Xie Xubai wasn't stubborn about formalism. If he could have foreseen this situation, he probably would have reluctantly agreed to summon the gods to heal him back then.
Why would an evil god need to open numerous small dungeons throughout H City, requiring players to clear them first, and then materialize soul rifts as dungeon rewards for players to heal? Only after all the rifts are healed can the Abyss Gate be opened.
Both options are for treating Xie Xubai, but the latter requires going through many more procedures and is much more elaborate, which would make even the person involved unable to bear it.
Lilith presented her final piece of evidence: "Evil gods are capable of dimensional reduction."
Evil gods can reduce their dimensions by destroying their own foundations, and then restore themselves by regenerating. Although they will suffer great losses in the process, they can at least achieve this.
In other words, the rule that gods cannot interfere with copies is invalid for them.
He saw Xie Xubai's serious injuries, and anyone could feel His anger and pain, yet He insisted that Xie Xubai become the master of the copy.
Maintaining such a large instance requires a huge amount of mental energy, which is a tremendous burden for Xie Xubai, whose soul is damaged.
It is precisely because Xie Xubai's consciousness world can be projected as a copy that Xie Xubai's mental defilement and soul cracks can be materialized, and all players can be mobilized to heal each other.
Otherwise, given the nature of the evil god, he would have already taken over the position of the dungeon master, and would never have been willing to let Xie Xubai continue to work so hard.
Even Xie Xubai himself only realized this when he recalled the first time Yan Shuo used his dimensional reduction technique to save his team.
Before that, Yan Shuo's disguise was impeccable, but he would go insane and die after climbing over the wall late at night to shed his mental filth.
It's all just a hoax.
The real goal is to lower his guard and trick the player into repairing the soul rift.
Cen Haiyue approached the player a second time because Yan Shuo laid all his cards on the table, forcing him to reveal the information that "the Abyss can be opened after all the rifts are healed."
Cen Haiyue's expression at that moment was quite a sight; he spoke through gritted teeth, looking like he'd been sold out and was forced to help the seller count the money.
Therefore, it cannot be said that Xie Xubai completely suppressed the evil god, as the latter was equally cunning.
To put it another way, it's not surprising that an evil god who habitually resorts to force would actually echo the convoluted ways of humanity.
“White too.” The Second Apostle, who had served as Xie Xubai’s attending physician, was not annoyed at being used as a pawn. Instead, he was very pleased. “Finally, he’s willing to listen to advice.”
The evil god's schemes were driven by selfish desires, and he was willing to drag all the players down with him.
In the few minutes Xie Xubai was still conscious, as the spiritual leader of countless people, he only needed to give a reminder to the camera to thwart the evil god's scheme.
He did not do that.
Before collapsing from exhaustion, Xie Xubai gently stroked the small, affectionate tentacle in his palm, his long, narrow eyelashes drooping slightly, as if he were recalling something or pondering something.
After a dozen seconds, he ended the internal struggle in his mind, silently smiled, and leaned forward to bite Yan Shuo's Adam's apple.
In front of the bright camera and witnessed by millions of players, Xie Xubai cooperated with Yan Shuo's performance.
His fingertips were still trembling at that time, silently proclaiming the anxiety before breaking the vow and a secret expectation.
Evil gods are skilled at scheming, while saints are born with selfish desires.
Suddenly, they both saw each other.
The meeting room fell silent again, dazzled by the awkward and complicated love story of the two couples.
Knowing they wouldn't have to fight to the death, they felt somewhat relieved.
Bartholomew's face remained grim, his resentment almost tangible.
The Sixth Apostle sensed something amiss and asked the crucial question: "Weren't there supposed to be three methods? What's the last one?"
He should have kept quiet until he asked, because once he did, Basel's already unpleasant expression instantly turned ferocious.
Lilith coughed lightly: "The third method can only be seen by specific people under specific circumstances, so ignore it."
She only learned about this when several of her subordinates, who were on the verge of a mental breakdown, came to her door.
Even the little lamb had never heard of this before, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Can't you tell me?"
The Sixth Apostle glanced at Bartholomew's expression, suddenly realized something, and grinned mischievously. He hooked his arm around the lamb's neck and pulled the boy over to avoid offending Bartholomew, whispering in his ear, "Don't ask. You have no idea how crazy males can be when they're defending their dominance and pride in that area."
What nonsense! The little lamb frowned: "I'm a guy too."
"That's different, you're still too young."
The little lamb finally realized what was going on; after all, he wasn't a truly ignorant child.
The little sheep held down the lewd-looking Sixth Apostle and pushed him away, rolling its eyes in exasperation: "You [adults] are really disgusting."
Is it disgusting?
Barthol muttered to himself, "It's really despicable to have such dark thoughts about my superior and former enemy."
But that doesn't mean he can tolerate the evil god showing affection to him in person every night!
Yan Shuo did not want to lose face in front of Xie Xubai's admirers, so he hid the person very well.
But I have never been ashamed, and I appear out of nowhere every night, revealing the "gifts" of humanity to my covetous eyes.
At first, there were only teeth marks on the tentacles, but after the repair of the soul was quite effective, they gradually opened up.
Later, the man's entire shoulder and back were covered with intense scratches and mottled red marks.
In the dim, high sky, tentacles surged, and the anger level plummeted.
The evil god made no attempt to hide his smugness, leaving no doubt that if given a sufficiently large stage, he could display his peacock-like prowess to Xie Xubai in front of all his rivals worldwide.
Those scarlet pupils glanced down with feigned modesty, directly causing Barthol to react.
The sixth apostle was still dreaming when he was suddenly shaken awake by Bathur.
Barthol's eyes were bloodshot and filled with a murderous intent that seemed to want to devour the evil god alive. He said to the Sixth Apostle in a sinister tone, "Send me to H City, now! Immediately! Right now!"
The Sixth Apostle's brain was almost shaken evenly by him, and he complained bitterly: "Too many players have gone to H City. Now there are restrictions on entry and exit. If you force your way in, you'll be thrown out by the rules... Hey! Bartholomew!"
More than ten days later.
On a rare sunny day, Xie Xubai carried Ping An out to bask in the sun. He sat on a park bench, tilting his head back to enjoy the warm sunlight, lost in thought.
It's a little embarrassing to admit.
He's been having erotic dreams these past few days.
It's not a big deal. Just think of it as late development and delayed puberty.
But why do I feel like a completely different person in my dreams, especially... uh.
He was back to normal when he woke up.
Xie Xubai rubbed his face vigorously to calm himself down.
Little did he know that despite his repeated attempts to conceal it, a blush still peeked through his fingers, particularly striking against his pale skin, like a strange and decadent red plum blossom blooming in the snow, causing ripples on the still lake.
After sitting for a short while, Xie Xubai stood up.
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he always had a feeling of being watched, a burning, intense feeling, like being licked from head to toe by the gaze of a wild beast, and he didn't dare to stay in one place for too long.
With the arrival of the Spring Festival, H City is decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations everywhere. Adults are all smiles, and children are wearing their best new clothes.
The number of tourists visiting H City was unusually high, and even the roadside stalls were packed with people, making it incredibly lively. The vendors were making a fortune, and the corners of their mouths were always turned up in a wide smile.
Ping An is now a month old and can walk on her own. At this moment, she is attracted by the smell of meat in front of the barbecue stall and stops, unwilling to move.
Xie Xubai chatted with the barbecue owner and heard that grilled octopus was selling particularly well recently, with some people rushing over aggressively and ordering dozens of skewers at a time.
They ate it rather fiercely, as if the octopus skewers had stolen their dream lover.
Xie Xubai also bought a skewer of octopus tentacles, but didn't ask the owner to add any seasoning.
He tore off a piece and handed it to Ping An, but the hungry puppy turned its head away, showing utter disgust.
Xie Xubai handed it over again, only to find that his puppy really didn't want to eat it. He was full of suspicion: "It looks delicious, why don't you like it?"
As he spoke, he took a bite.
With its lips and teeth opening and closing, the crimson soft tongue curled up the octopus's tentacles, the tip of its tongue sweeping across the suckers of varying sizes.
The ground suddenly shook, and players not far away sensed the unstable aura of the evil god: "Why is He so agitated? What kind of madness has He gone mad this time?"
Xie Xubai was unaffected. He slowly finished eating the entire octopus tentacle, licking his lips as if he wanted another one.
Suddenly, there was a cracking sound behind me, and something fell to the ground at that precise moment.
Xie Xubai's brows furrowed, and he reflexively looked over, only to see a game cassette lying quietly on the bluestone pavement.
He looked up.
The commercial street was brightly lit and bustling with people, and the open restaurant windows reflected smiling faces raising their glasses in celebration.
There seemed to be nothing unusual, and it was impossible to tell who was throwing things from a high place.
Xie Xubai lowered his head again and examined the tape carefully.
The cassette tape was entirely yellow, without any trademark or author's name. The printed text was blurry and the edges were severely worn. The plastic casing had become brittle over time, reminding him of when he was a child, going to internet cafes with his classmates and standing in the back watching the older students play pirated Contra.
These game cassettes were very popular in the 1980s and 90s. However, with subsequent technological advancements, these cassettes were phased out due to their slow reading speed, easy wear and tear, and small capacity. They are now almost nowhere to be seen in the mainstream consumer market.
Only nostalgic people would specifically go to vintage markets to hunt for treasures. They usually cherish these items and wouldn't take them out of the house, so there's no chance they'd accidentally get lost.
Reason told Xie Xubai that to avoid being scammed, it was best not to touch this thing.
But a premonition urged him on.
He paused for a moment, then finally picked up the game tape. Turning it over, he saw four large Chinese characters written on it.
—Infinite Game.
In an instant, as if some kind of wonderful chemical reaction had occurred, something around him changed, and even his seemingly closed consciousness gained a bit of clarity.
A gentle breeze brushed past Xie Xubai's ear, and he looked up.
Adorable cartoon animal images adorn the clean glass door, and a wind chime adorned with violets sways gently, releasing a sweet aroma into people's nostrils. A dessert shop that is open for business suddenly appears in Xie Xubai's field of vision.
The black sign with white lettering reads:
[Ogutov's Dessert Hut, now open! Welcome to try it! ^ ^]
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