Chapter 127
In a corner of the dining hall, Jiang Liu leaned back in her seat, watching as Yang Caisi bustled about, bringing over plates of food. Opposite them, Zhao Ziming stirred the rice in his bowl, his eyes fixed on the newly served sweet and sour pork ribs, drooling. If it weren’t for Jiang Liu, he would never have had the chance to enjoy a meal personally cooked by Yang Caisi. He rubbed the back of his head, which was still sore, and thought to himself that for the sake of the delicious food, he wouldn’t hold a grudge against them.
“Alright, let’s eat,” Yang Caisi said, wiping her hands and sitting down next to Jiang Liu to serve her food. Her usually placid face couldn’t help but break into a smile. The long dream, though not real, had affected everyone’s mood to varying degrees. Today’s meal was a chance for everyone to relax together.
Thinking of this, Yang Caisi’s gaze swept over Jiang Liu, and she subconsciously leaned closer.
“I’m fine.”
Jiang Liu noticed her attentiveness and turned to give her a reassuring smile.
Zhao Ziming was speechless.
Why are they being so lovey-dovey right after waking up? Don’t they see the biggest contributor sitting right here?
He coughed deliberately, trying to attract their attention. To his surprise, Jiang Liu seemed not to hear him. Instead, Tang Rui, who was beside him, looked over suspiciously. “Do you have a cold?”
Zhao Ziming was at a loss for words and shot him a meaningful glare. Tang Rui was completely clueless and scratched his head in confusion.
Seeing this scene, Jiang Liu, who had been quietly observing the situation, finally couldn’t hold it in and let out a soft chuckle. This laugh seemed to flip a switch, causing everyone to look over at her. A line of people, like curious babies, waited for Tang Rui to speak first.
His gaze shifted between Jiang Liu and Yang Caisi, his tone filled with pure confusion. “What exactly happened this time?”
After waking up, they had been called to the dining hall by Zhao Ziming and were still completely bewildered about what had happened in the dream.
Yang Caisi pursed her lips. “It was all Qiao Ke’s doing. He defied the rules and privately pulled players into a dreamscape. He’s now been expelled from the Inspection Team.”
Hearing this, Tang Rui and the others exchanged glances. Jiang He, on the other hand, spat, his face filled with disgust. “I knew that kid was no good. What kind of skill is it to play dirty tricks behind people’s backs?”
Zhao Ziming shrugged and chimed in, “It’s not the first or second time he’s played dirty.”
“Then what about those things in the dream…” Tang Ruo was still a little confused and hesitated before speaking.
“Let me explain,” Jiang Liu said with a smile, taking over.
In the time since she had woken up, she had gotten the gist of the situation from Xiao Si. Most of the details were not far from her own guesses, but it was worth mentioning—Qiao Ke had really gone all out this time.
Perhaps their cooperation with Lin Jiao had made Qiao Ke wary, and with Jiang Liu’s Instance career coming to an end, he chose this method to delay her entry into the next Instance as much as possible. It was a Pyrrhic victory, injuring the enemy by a thousand while losing eight hundred himself. Jiang Liu could understand Qiao Ke’s actions. If it weren’t for the presence of Xu Meng and her other teammates, her own methods might have been even more drastic. It was precisely because of their restraint that she had some reservations.
Thinking back now, he had probably deliberately let her discover the clues. Only in this way would she focus all her attention on her friends, becoming less and less aware of the small abnormalities. But even so, she still pursed her lips, her clear eyes looking at everyone with sincerity.
“This kind of dreamscape is not permitted by the System. He took a great risk to try and trap me inside. I’m sorry for dragging everyone into this.”
Her voice was unhurried but filled with complete sincerity. As she finished speaking, everyone shook their heads.
“We’ve known each other for so long, saying things like that makes us seem like strangers,” Zhao Ziming said with a click of his tongue, raising his glass to Jiang Liu first.
Tang Rui, having understood everything, didn’t want to be left behind and also raised his Coke to toast with her. “What are you talking about, Sister Jiang? It’s clearly that old bastard who’s being unreasonable. What does it have to do with you?”
After speaking, he didn’t forget to nudge Tang Ruo. The two women behind him exchanged a look with Jiang Liu and all smiled.
“If I hadn’t followed Sister Jiang all this way, I’m not even sure I would have found Ruo Ruo. We don’t need to be so polite,” Xu Meng said shyly, and the others at the table nodded in agreement.
Jiang Liu’s gaze swept over everyone one by one, and without another word, she raised her glass and drank it all. Everything was understood without words.
Yang Caisi hadn’t interjected the whole time, just quietly watching the scene from a corner. Seeing the people around Jiang Liu trust her so much, she felt a sense of pride. Her sister was so outstanding; she shared in the glory.
But some things had to be made clear. She smiled faintly and looked at Zhao Ziming with a teasing expression. “But we were able to get out thanks to Xiao Zhao.”
Tang Rui was still wondering what she meant by that. He stared at Zhao Ziming, but Xu Meng, who was beside him, seemed to have realized something. She let out a soft gasp and turned to look at Zhao Ziming in shock. “So that monster was you?”
Zhao Ziming chuckled, a proud look on his face, but his tone was modest. “It was all Sister Yang and their idea.”
The group exchanged glances and finally learned the detailed situation from Yang Caisi’s brief account. At that time, they were trapped in the dream, and Yang Caisi was the first to realize that something was wrong. But Qiao Ke had been ruthless this time, and as an NPC, she couldn’t interfere at all. She could only place her hopes in Jiang Liu herself.
At that moment, Zhao Ziming, the only one who hadn’t been targeted, volunteered. With Gao Yuan’s help, he exploited a loophole in the System and sent himself into their dream. He couldn’t let Qiao Ke discover his identity, so he could only hide under a grotesque face, hiding here and there. Not only could he not eat, but he also had to be prepared to be beaten up from time to time. These past few days had been incredibly miserable for him.
“Speaking of which, on the first day, I ran into Sister Jiang chasing me with a knife. I was almost scared to death, afraid I wouldn’t run fast enough and would die,” Zhao Ziming said, patting his chest in trepidation.
He couldn’t speak or write, so he could only carefully follow Yang Caisi’s plan, first sending signals and then using the secret door to make Jiang Liu notice that something was wrong.
“You weren’t running fast enough? I was about to run out of breath chasing you,” Tang Rui said, finally understanding everything. He couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
He knew it didn’t make sense for the monster to only chase him. It turned out it was because he didn’t have the heart to attack his sister and Xu Meng. Zhao Ziming glared at him. “You didn’t hold back when you were hitting me either.”
The two of them started bickering, and for a moment, the table was filled with laughter, instantly dispelling the bad mood of the past few days.
While everyone was joking around, Yang Caisi leaned on Jiang Liu’s shoulder and said softly, “Actually, someone else helped this time.”
Jiang Liu’s eyes shifted, and she already had an answer in her heart. “Lin Jiao?”
“As expected of my sister.” Yang Caisi gave her a thumbs-up, her tone filled with a faint layer of admiration. Seeing her like this, she looked exactly the same as when she had looked at her as a child.
Jiang Liu felt a wave of nostalgia and reached out to stroke her head. “I remembered a lot of past events inside. I guess she had a hand in it.”
If it weren’t for that inexplicable familiarity with the monsters, she probably wouldn’t have figured out the key so quickly. Her hand was warm, stroking her hair one by one. The touch made Yang Caisi’s ears turn slightly red. She cleared her throat before continuing, “Gao Yuan went to deal with the trouble Qiao Ke caused. Before we enter the Instance, we need to see Lin Jiao again.”
Jiang Liu subconsciously glanced at the clock. It was now noon, with less than two hours left until three o’clock.
***
Returning to the coffee shop again, the mood was completely different. The two had just entered the door when a familiar waiter immediately came forward, his tone quite respectful. “The boss is already waiting for you.”
Jiang Liu raised an eyebrow and couldn’t help but tease, “Is she treating this time?”
The smile on the waiter’s face froze, and he looked at Yang Caisi for help with a miserable expression. “Sister Yang, you’re not short on points, are you?”
So what if I kicked them out once? Do you have to hold such a grudge?
Seeing his exasperated expression, Jiang Liu laughed even more heartily and led Yang Caisi upstairs. It was the same private room as before. Lin Jiao was holding a laptop, leaning against the sofa, her expression very focused. She didn’t even look up when the two entered, just casually said, “Have a seat.”
Jiang Liu didn’t stand on ceremony with her, pulling Yang Caisi to sit comfortably opposite her and ordering two desserts from the menu. Compared to their last meeting, Lin Jiao was not as relaxed. She was wearing glasses, her fingers typing away furiously, her lips pressed tightly together. She was clearly troubled by something.
After the two had drunk half a cup of coffee, she finally let out a sigh of relief and put down her laptop. She casually tidied her long hair, her gaze circling the two of them, her tone inscrutable.
“You two are really amazing, to have pushed Qiao Ke to this point.”
It sounded like a compliment, but it was actually a complaint about the trouble they had caused her these past two days.
Jiang Liu smiled. “You should reflect on how poor the psychological quality of your high-level NPCs is. To be pushed to desperate measures by such a small matter.”
If Qiao Ke hadn’t been so obsessed with the two of them, they could have actually coexisted peacefully. Her words were laced with barbs, meant to be sarcastic, but unexpectedly, Lin Jiao nodded in agreement.
“You’re right. He is petty.”
Jiang Liu was delighted. She changed her posture, taking Yang Caisi’s hand to play with, and looked at Lin Jiao with a playful expression. “So what do you want me to do this time?”
Lin Jiao pursed her lips and smiled, not rushing to answer her question. Instead, she first looked at the wary Yang Caisi, her tone teasing.
“Trust me, my proposal this time is a win-win. I hope Miss Yang won’t look at me with such eyes.”
After a bit of teasing, her expression turned serious, and she spoke formally, “As an NPC who maintains the System, Qiao Ke’s actions have clearly made him unfit to continue in his position. So I hope you will completely make him give up.”
As a reward—
“Not only will the two of you be able to leave smoothly, but your little friends around you can also end the game early.”
She raised an eyebrow. Although it was a negotiation, her tone was exceptionally confident, certain that Jiang Liu would not refuse. After all, they all knew that this final Instance would be very exciting. Without the constraints of the System’s rules, it was unknown what Qiao Ke might do.
Jiang Liu and Yang Caisi exchanged a look, their clasped hands tightening slightly.
“Deal.”
The two decisive words came from Jiang Liu’s mouth. Seeing this, a smile spread across Lin Jiao’s lips. She stood up and extended her hand toward them. “Then—a pleasure doing business with you.”