Chapter 89

Sunlight pierced through the gaps in the dense foliage, falling upon Jiang Liu and making the resolute expression on her face exceptionally firm. She stared at Qiao Ke and stated seriously—

“I refuse.”

Qiao Ke’s face had been on the verge of being overcome with ecstasy, but upon hearing Jiang Liu’s words, his heart plummeted to the depths, and a chill ran through him.

He tried his best to control his expression, the smile on his lips already slightly twisted. As if he hadn’t heard clearly, he repeated, “What did you say?”

Jiang Liu broke into a smile, playfully winking at him. She raised her cut thumb to her lips and casually licked away the blood, her clear eyes tinged with mockery.

As if she had prepared for this, she took two steps back, shrugged her shoulders with a lazy posture, and spoke like a rogue, “Big brother, if I told you that you’ve been dead for a long time and should hurry back to your coffin, would you be willing?”

Qiao Ke’s brow twitched in anger at her sarcastic “big brother.” He stared at Jiang Liu and stepped closer. “What about Yang Caisi then? Are you willing to see her trapped in endless torment?”

Knowing that her old friend was dead, yet still wishfully approaching a substitute with the same appearance, never able to speak her true feelings, and even having to be on edge in these life-and-death instances.

Because with the slightest mistake, the ‘Jiang Liu’ she had just met would die here.

To reopen the deepest scars in her heart, to watch her closest person die in front of her countless times, and then to wait for a new consciousness to be generated, warily asking her name.

Repeating this over and over, wasn’t Yang Caisi tired?

Qiao Ke felt that his own words were almost convincing himself.

After all, what kind of resilience did it take to cycle through the system for nearly fifty years?

As he spoke, Jiang Liu’s previously nonchalant expression faltered, but it only lasted for a moment and didn’t let Qiao Ke notice anything amiss.

She laughed out loud and tilted her head, speaking strangely, “Then if I insist on not dying, can’t I be with her here forever?”

After saying that, she stretched lazily, as if she had let go of all her doubts, and cheerfully waved at Qiao Ke. “Thank you for telling me all this, and thank you to the system for resurrecting me. We’ll definitely send you an invitation to our wedding! Be sure to come!”

As her last words fell, she had already turned and walked away, as if she wasn’t afraid at all that the person behind her would attack her from behind.

Watching Jiang Liu’s back disappear into the distance, a crack finally appeared in the expression on Qiao Ke’s face. He cursed through gritted teeth and slammed his fist heavily on the door.

What on earth was going on? Every time before, Jiang Liu had agreed readily!

What went wrong this time?

While he fumed alone, the light-footed Jiang Liu was far from being so relaxed.

She walked at a leisurely pace, looking lazy and joyful, but in reality, the moment she turned around, her expression had changed. Her previously sunny face was instantly clouded over, and her lips were tightly pursed in silence.

Jiang Liu was betting that Qiao Ke wouldn’t attack her in a place like this.

Even if he was dissatisfied with her choice, he wouldn’t directly attack her here.

There must be some rule restricting him, or he had some purpose he didn’t want others to discover, which was why he went to such great lengths to frequently arrange events in the instance to make her regain her memory.

Otherwise—he could have just found an instance and killed her directly. Wouldn’t that be more convenient than persuading her?

The Zhang Xiaochen and Chen Ping he controlled could change the development of the instance, let alone himself. Since he didn’t do so, there must be some other reason.

It wasn’t until she was out of sight of Qiao Ke’s house that Jiang Liu let out a sigh of relief and completely relaxed, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead. His earth-shattering words were still ringing in her ears.

His story was too real, every detail could withstand scrutiny, and every doubt in Jiang Liu’s heart could be resolved.

Jiang Liu believed that much of what Qiao Ke said about the past was not an empty statement.

She herself was moved for a moment.

Because the emotions surrounding Xiao Si were too heavy and complex. She still remembered the first time they met, the look she gave her was like a clap of thunder, and although Jiang Liu didn’t know what had happened, she could feel her heart pounding.

Every time they were together, Jiang Liu could sense that indescribable sense of contradiction from her, a mix of intimacy and distant alienation. The hand that tried to reach out but was hastily withdrawn always left her confused.

How many times had they met?

For nearly fifty years, how many instances had Yang Caisi traveled through in search of her, and how many times had she said goodbye to that corpse named Jiang Liu, to be able to calmly accept this life?

It was as if something was wrapping around Jiang Liu’s neck, a soft and sour feeling that made her bite her lip, and her eyes finally reddened.

In the past, she only knew that she was praised as a Model Worker. Now, knowing the reason behind her diligence, how could Jiang Liu not be moved?

But Yang Caisi worked so tirelessly just to see her again.

Jiang Liu lay under a tree and slowly closed her eyes.

Even though this emotion would take a long time to digest, she knew in her heart that there were more important things to do right now.

There was still half a day before this afternoon’s instance. She needed to go exchange for the props for the designated instance. The Grand Slam from the Mermaid instance had made her wealthy, so she didn’t have to worry about the cost at all.

If it were last night, she would have tried every means to contact Xiao Si.

But now, after experiencing all this from Qiao Ke’s mouth, Jiang Liu could already guess the reason for her departure.

Did every previous Jiang Liu choose to leave—

Then let her be the special one.

This time, she would not let Xiao Si bear it alone.

Moreover, Qiao Ke’s motives were impure, and his words were a mix of truth and falsehood, making it impossible to know which sentence to believe.

It was normal to think about it. For an old monster who had lived for who knows how many years, her “big brother” wasn’t an exaggeration. His mind must have more twists and turns than a sewer pipe, so it was normal for him to act out such a sincere performance.

What really made Jiang Liu feel that something was wrong—was the dagger that had inadvertently cut her.

Her memory indeed didn’t contain anything about the system, except for that broken replica she had looked at and then discarded at the bottom of the sea.

To be able to create and preserve this item from the instance proved that her memory of the instance had not been completely erased.

This contradicted what Qiao Ke had said and was the only loophole that could be found, and Qiao Ke was unaware of it.

Jiang Liu sorted out her thoughts and quickly opened Zhang Xiaochen’s phone to pull up that document. Her fingers suddenly stiffened slightly.

This album only contained genuine items; the crudely made replica was not among them.

***

When Jiang Liu walked into the restaurant, it was already close to noon.

Zhao Ziming had already saved the best spot in the corner. Unlike the meals provided by the hotel, this table was large enough to accommodate six or seven people and was already almost full, with a lavish spread of desserts and dishes in front of them.

Although it was mealtime, there was no one else in the restaurant besides their table.

“Sister Jiang! Come quick!” Zhao Ziming waved at her from the door, with Tang Rui and Gao Yuan sitting on his left and right.

Opposite them were Tang Ruo and Xu Meng. Even Xu Shu had taken a seat on the side and was greeting her.

Jiang Liu saw that there were two empty seats nearby, glanced at them, and raised an eyebrow. “Where’s Jiang He?”

Tang Rui pursed his lips and shook his head, saying softly, “He’s sulking in his room and won’t come out. I’m planning to pack some food to take back for him.”

Although it was unclear what had happened, Jiang He had gone to the island to find his brother. He had left the instance unconscious, so it wasn’t hard to guess the actual situation.

At the mention of this, the atmosphere at the table froze slightly. Zhao Ziming and Xu Meng exchanged a look and looked at Jiang Liu for confirmation.

Zhao Ziming scratched his head, his eyes filled with complex emotions. “I heard from Brother Gao that Xiao Zhang, he…”

Jiang Liu was silent, but her expression already gave her answer.

Before she could say anything, Xu Meng’s eyes immediately reddened.

Unlike Zhao Ziming, she had been with Zhang Xiaochen and Jiang Liu from the very beginning. Although she always complained that this person was fooling around and not serious, she also considered him a friend in her heart. Hearing this news so suddenly, even the excitement of finding her girlfriend was washed away.

Xu Shu’s expression was also a little downcast. This news had clearly hit him hard as well.

Seeing that everyone was down, Jiang Liu cleared her throat and tried to smooth things over. “Let’s not talk about this for now. I’ve designated an instance for this afternoon. What are your plans?”

At the mention of the next round, everyone’s spirits lifted again, and they all expressed their opinions.

Tang Ruo sat with Xu Meng, taking the initiative to speak. “We’ll follow you. It’s more convenient to act together.”

Anyway, as long as they were with each other, it didn’t make much difference which instance they went to.

Zhao Ziming also nodded. “Count me in. We can’t split up this time.”

It wasn’t that they didn’t care about Zhang Xiaochen’s death, but in a situation like this, they could only pull themselves together and keep moving forward to have a chance to mourn their companion.

Amidst the chorus of agreement, Xu Shu shook his head apologetically. “I want to rest for a while.”

He had a kit that could delay the instance, and being able to stop in a place like this was a luxury. Jiang Liu grunted in acknowledgment and told him to take care.

Although they were one companion short, Zhao Ziming still left a set of bowls and chopsticks at the empty seat, as if that person were still there, just that they couldn’t see him.

Fortunately, after a few instances, everyone could quickly sort out their emotions. They avoided heavy topics, and laughter and cheerful voices once again filled the table.

Gao Yuan sat in the corner and gave Jiang Liu a look, silently asking if there was any progress.

Jiang Liu shook her head slightly. Instead of speaking, she took out her phone and quickly typed a line in the chat box.

“How much time does Xiao Si have left in the system?”

Gao Yuan was clearly stunned. He looked at Jiang Liu with a frown and replied, “Where did you hear about this?”

He followed up with another sentence, “I need to apply to check the website for specifics, but she came in more than ten years before me. By my calculations, her time should be almost up.”

Qiao Ke hadn’t lied about this.

Jiang Liu felt a little relieved, then sent a message, “I have a bold idea. You in?”

Gao Yuan scratched his head. Before he could type a reply, he saw another message pop up on the other side.

“Don’t ask questions. Just give me an answer.”

This tone made Gao Yuan click his tongue. He thought to himself that he would like to say no, but would this sister agree? What was the difference between this and a threat?

Forced to agree, Gao Yuan shrank back, feeling that Jiang Liu’s smile was becoming more and more strange.

Why did he feel a chill run down his spine????