Chapter 90
After the meal, Jiang Liu didn’t go back to the hotel. Instead, she wandered around Yang Caisi’s house with great familiarity, casually grabbing a can of soda from the fridge and tossing it to Gao Yuan. She opened one for herself and took a few sips, feeling refreshed.
Gao Yuan saw her relaxed demeanor, devoid of the morning’s urgency to find the truth, and was completely bewildered. He held the cold can, not knowing whether to open it or not.
His mind was currently filled with the “big deal” Jiang Liu had mentioned, and his heart was in a turmoil. He was afraid Jiang Liu would say something earth-shattering, leaving him with no way to escape.
Seeing Jiang Liu wander over to the sofa and half-lie down without any intention of speaking, he couldn’t help but take a deep breath. His heart felt as if it had been frozen by the palm of his hand. He finally couldn’t stand it anymore and glared at her. “What do you want me to do? Are you going to tell me or not?”
Hearing his angry tone, Jiang Liu almost burst out laughing. Her gaze slowly swept over him, focusing on his awkward hands, and she raised an eyebrow in amusement. “You finally couldn’t hold it in?”
Gao Yuan’s feigned fierce expression immediately stiffened, and he muttered angrily, “Who told you to be so mysterious, keeping me in suspense!”
Jiang Liu shook her head and finally satisfied his wish. “I remember you mentioned there’s a database in the system, right?”
At the mention of the word “database,” Gao Yuan’s ears perked up, and he stared at Jiang Liu defensively. “Why are you asking about that?”
“Do me a favor and look up the stories of the players from my time. There should be records of that, right?”
Jiang Liu shook the can, and the bubbles inside swirled with the movement, as if she were just casually asking if he had eaten.
But when these words fell into Gao Yuan’s ears, his expression changed drastically. He didn’t even bother opening the soda, just threw it on the table and jumped up, instantly moving far away from Jiang Liu. He also glanced around warily, afraid of eavesdroppers.
“Are you crazy?” His voice was extremely low, as if he were afraid of being heard. His eyes were wide as saucers, and he looked at Jiang Liu as if she were a dead person.
The database was the cornerstone of the entire system’s existence and couldn’t be investigated by just anyone. It would be fine if there was a legitimate reason, but she was asking for player data from a hundred years ago. This was too big of a task; just hearing it made Gao Yuan’s heart pound with fear.
Jiang Liu was not at all frightened by his reaction. Instead, she leaned back on the sofa to rest, glancing at Gao Yuan. “What are you making such a fuss about? Are you scared?”
Gao Yuan was at a loss for words, his face turning pale and then green. After a long while, he cautiously closed the door and stomped over to her, exasperated. “I don’t have that much authority.”
And—he glanced at Jiang Liu suspiciously. “What do you want this for?”
Jiang Liu tilted her head. “Of course, it’s for something important. Actually, I don’t need it to be that detailed. Just focus on how long they lived after they got out, and whether they came back to the system later.”
Gao Yuan shook his head repeatedly. “I can answer that for you right now. After leaving the system, they all lose their memories and will never have a chance to come into contact with the game again in this lifetime.”
This was also one of the game’s rules. After clearing it, one could only realize the wish they had made when they first arrived and were not allowed to change it at will, otherwise it would be considered a voluntary withdrawal.
Everyone only got one chance, so the situation Jiang Liu described was impossible.
Seeing his confident look, Jiang Liu shook her head seriously, a deep look flashing in her eyes. “Young man, don’t speak too soon.”
Hearing this old-fashioned tone, Gao Yuan wiped the sweat from his brow and looked at this grand-dame helplessly. “No, it seems we haven’t even confirmed if you’re the same player from back then, have we?”
Jiang Liu’s eyes rolled, her tone meaningful. “I went to find Qiao Ke this morning.”
Gao Yuan’s eyes immediately lit up, and he leaned in to inquire, “What did he say? Is it credible?”
“That’s a very exciting story. Do you want to hear it?” Jiang Liu blinked, feigning mystery.
“Of course, stop wasting time. If you don’t tell me now, you’ll be in the instance soon!” Gao Yuan was so anxious he was about to curse, using his actions to urge Jiang Liu to hurry.
If she told half of it and then left, wouldn’t he have to worry about it for several days again?
“Then do me this favor, and I promise the story won’t disappoint you.” Jiang Liu sat up straight, her eyes shining as she looked at Gao Yuan, smiling with her eyes curved like a little fox plotting something.
Gao Yuan was speechless. “…”
He stomped his feet anxiously, gritted his teeth and thought for three seconds, as if confirming with Jiang Liu, “Just look at how long they lived after they got out, and whether they came back?”
If that was the case, the search scope would be much smaller, and it might not be necessary to hack into the database.
Jiang Liu nodded affirmatively.
Gao Yuan gritted his teeth and patted his chest. “Done! Hurry up and tell me!”
***
At three o’clock in the afternoon, Jiang Liu and her group appeared on time at the points arena. A fixed team of six was clearly a rare sight in the system, as the upper limit for a team kit was five people.
But Tang Ruo was not at all troubled by this. “Put me in. Xiao Rui will come in with me.”
These were the conditions for the two of them to enter, and it was considered a legitimate way allowed by the rules.
Jiang Liu grunted in acknowledgment and watched them go in one by one. Her gaze fell on Jiang He, who was last. She opened her mouth, hesitating, not knowing whether she should tell him the truth about Zhang Xiaochen.
Fortunately, Jiang He was still holding up. He managed a smile in the face of Jiang Liu’s hesitation, his tanned face showing a rare firmness.
“I’m fine. I won’t hold you back.”
As long as he hadn’t seen his brother’s body with his own eyes, Zhang Xiaochen hadn’t left in his heart. He was just in some corner of the system, and they would both work hard in this godforsaken place to find a way back to reality.
Looking at the young man’s brave front, Jiang Liu hesitated to speak, just patted his shoulder and finally said nothing more. “Let’s go.”
The person in charge of registration was still that listless-looking young girl. Her gaze paused for a moment when it touched Jiang Liu’s name, and she frowned as she sized up the person in front of her, looking a little surprised.
“Is there a problem?” Jiang Liu smiled sweetly.
“Ah? No, no.” The young girl coughed twice and hurriedly quickened her actions. “How much are you betting?”
“Eighty, as usual,” Jiang Liu replied, her eyes sweeping over the messy pens and papers on the desk. A glint appeared in her eyes, and she couldn’t help but tease, “You’d better keep a good eye on your pen this time, okay?”
The young girl smiled along with her. “I know. You can go in.”
The moment Jiang Liu passed through the door, the young girl ignored the waiting players behind her. Her lazy posture straightened up, and her eyes lit up as she pulled up a page on her computer, her hands typing like lightning.
“Good news, good news! Sis!! You succeeded!!!!!”
—Yang Caisi stood outside the mission door, staring at the line of text on her phone in a daze.
The electronic countdown in her ear had already reached fifty-eight. In less than a minute, she would have to push open this door and enter the instance.
This time, she had no intention of prying into Jiang Liu’s next move, and as always, she hadn’t interfered with her choice. Perhaps after entering the instance, she would face a group of strange players.
Or, a brand new Jiang Liu with her memory wiped once again.
But she never expected that Jiang Liu would choose to stay.
Perhaps it was because she had so little that she didn’t dare to hope for those unattainable dreams. Yang Caisi was almost used to expecting the worst and calmly accepting her disappointment.
But when that beautiful dream really came true, she felt a homesick reluctance to reach out and welcome it, afraid that it was all just a flower in the mirror, a moon in the water, that would disappear in a flash.
Yang Caisi took a deep breath. The countdown had already reached fourteen.
She subconsciously closed her eyes and ran towards the door with an almost desperate urgency.
***
She opened her eyes to a small town with few pedestrians. A very old-fashioned medieval church came into view.
It looked like an old building that had seen better days. The archway was already collapsing and deformed, and the broken oriel window still stood, but the other parts were nearly falling apart, looking particularly out of place.
It wasn’t much different from the memory in Jiang Liu’s dream, but she could vaguely see that many years had passed. The number of pedestrians in the town should have been much more than now.
It was winter, and the trees by the street were bare, with only branches left. The ground was covered with a thin layer of snow, which had gradually melted with the footsteps of the passing pedestrians, turning into a puddle of black mud.
Jiang Liu tightened her thin coat and strode towards the church door.
[In Sliben Town, there is a famous church that has listened to the prayers and confessions of countless believers day and night for decades, becoming the spiritual pillar of the town. But not long ago, the people of the town suddenly fell ill, claiming to have been cursed by the church.]
[Players, please do your best to help the residents get rid of their illness and investigate the truth of the curse.]
[Main Quest: Successfully rescue every resident. If any are missed, the mission will be considered a failure.]
[Side Quest: Help the residents deal with the nuns in the church.]
[We wish you a pleasant game.]
As the detailed mission briefing sounded in her ear, Jiang Liu couldn’t help but notice the street beside her. These pedestrians were indeed a bit strange. A young-looking girl was hunched over, her posture and gait like that of an elderly person.
She wanted to observe a little more, but the girl seemed to have noticed Jiang Liu’s gaze. She quickly glared in her direction, then quickened her pace and hurried around the corner.
Jiang Liu shook her head and ignored the others, pushing the door open with a big step. The old door was rickety, and before it could be opened, something suddenly flew through the air from behind, heading straight for Jiang Liu.
Her eyes turned cold, and she quickly turned her head to dodge the attack, only to find that it was a hard piece of black bread. After she dodged it, it hit the door with a thud, stirring up a cloud of old dust.
Jiang Liu covered her nose and coughed twice. Only then did she realize that her attacker was a middle-aged man with his chest puffed out. He shouted at her in a strange accent, “You can’t go near the church!”
His eyes were full of fear as he stared at the church, his voice already distorted by fright. He hurriedly waved at Jiang Liu. “Come here!”
The man’s tone was aggressive, as if commanding Jiang Liu to obey.
As his voice fell, several passersby on the street also stopped and glared at Jiang Liu angrily, as if touching the church was some unforgivable sin.