Chapter 172
Chapter 172
The outline Cheng Miao had been composing in her mind was knocked clean away by Qin Musong’s paper tube. It did not hurt, but it left her rather dazed.
Cheng Miao covered her forehead and stared blankly at Qin Musong, utterly confused.
Qin Musong shook his head and chuckled softly. His gaze passed over the others. “I learned how to make mulled wine online today. Who wants some?”
Two hands shot high into the air on either side of Cheng Miao. Qin Musong’s expression softened as he rose and went to the kitchen.
Qi Jiajia scampered after him, propping both hands on the counter and tilting her head as she made a nuisance of herself.
“Ahem.” Cheng Miao looked at Lin Zhu, who was clearing his throat with exaggerated seriousness. “Sister Miaomiao, if you ever think about separating from any of us again, I’m going to be angry!”
Lin Zhu was borrowing someone else’s authority to put on such a fierce display that Cheng Miao burst out laughing. All the hesitation and conflict vanished from her crescent-shaped eyes.
She leaned back slightly and let Qiudong sprawl across her belly like a flattened cat pancake.
Listening to the wine burbling in the pot, she began humming in high spirits.
Since they now knew that reaching Resort would not let them enter a Club anytime soon, Cheng Miao and the others discussed it and decided to remain at the Grand Hotel a while longer.
On the tenth day of their break, Cheng Miao’s group drank beverages that restored their energy, ate breakfast, and collected their passes from the receptionist.
Cheng Miao looked at Qiudong sitting on her knees, her expression hard to describe. “Are you going to turn human again when we enter the instance?”
Qiudong fell silent.
Qiudong asked, “You don’t like how I look as a player?”
Under Qiudong’s icy stare, Cheng Miao gave an awkward smile. “It’s not that I don’t like it. It’s just a little disorienting when you keep changing back and forth.”
Qiudong narrowed his eyes. This was a good thing. At least she first had to realize that his human form was more precious.
Then he heard Cheng Miao mutter almost inaudibly, “I won’t have a cat to pet again.”
Qiudong fell silent once more.
For the first time, he somewhat regretted not saving a few Travel Coins after clearing the Game so he could maintain human form in ordinary life.
By the time they boarded the little boat, Cheng Miao had already cast aside her minor inner conflict. Hugging the small porcelain jar of flower nectar aboard the boat, she prayed.
Please, give me an instance with a hint I can understand this time.
When Cheng Miao opened her eyes, Qiudong was already standing beside her in human form, his handsome face dark.
With no time to wonder why Qiudong was upset, Cheng Miao surveyed the players in this instance and exclaimed softly. There were quite a few familiar faces.
Qin Wen, radiating defeat; the beautiful King; and Yun Su, who had been in their previous instance, were all gathered here.
Cheng Miao edged closer to Qiudong and asked quietly, “Can cleared players still die if they fail an instance later?”
Qiudong shot her an irritated glance. “Of course.”
Seeing her blink up at him without knowing anything, Qiudong’s heart softened and he explained, “But clearing the Game gives players a great deal of capital, which can be exchanged for many things. That is why cleared players rarely die in later instances.”
Cheng Miao nodded, enlightened. In short, they had more experience, more Items, and greater abilities. Dying would be difficult even if they tried.
Of course, even the best horse could still stumble.
Thinking of how effortlessly Baili Qianqiu and Lian Ge cleared instances, Cheng Miao felt envious.
Qiudong seemed to have wanted to explain this for some time. Now, before the instance began, he gave Cheng Miao a brief lesson.
“Cleared players generally don’t care about their settlement score, so you’ll find that veteran players rarely earn much contribution score in an instance. That’s good for you. No one will compete with you for achievements.”
Cheng Miao suddenly understood. No matter whether it was the lantern instance or the Apartment, Lian Ge and Baili Qianqiu possessed abilities far beyond her own.
The same was true of Jiang Chen in the previous instance, yet all of them shared one trait: they barely put any effort into clearing instances.
So it was because they had no shortage of money.
At the end, Qiudong lowered his voice and warned, “Stay away from King while we’re in the instance.”
Cheng Miao watched King wink at her, and her temple twitched. “Why, is she like Gu Jian?”
The moment she said it, she realized that could not be right. She had already entered two instances with Gu Jian, and Qiudong had never told her to stay away from him, not even in the oil-painting instance.
Qiudong did not elaborate. He merely sent a warning look toward King across the room.
King shrugged indifferently and stopped teasing Cheng Miao.
“I’ll tell you after we get out.” Qiudong’s words made Cheng Miao set aside her guesses and carefully observe their surroundings.
There were twenty players in this instance, all sorts of people, and most had formed teams.
Yun Su still stood alone with her usual composure. Seeing her inevitably reminded Cheng Miao of how she had resolutely abandoned the person who saved her life at the end of the previous instance and left on her own.
Yun Su showed no emotional disturbance whatsoever. She gave Cheng Miao a faint smile and nod, with no intention of coming over to greet her.
Cheng Miao looked away and did not investigate further.
Qin Wen looked much better than he had in the casino. At least he no longer reeked of alcohol. His eyes remained somewhat lifeless, though, and the dark shadows beneath them seemed branded into his skin.
When he saw Cheng Miao and the others, he tried to smile. But he had not made the expression in so long that his muscles tightened stiffly, making it look rather strange.
Cheng Miao smiled and nodded at him. Beside her, Lin Zhu clenched one fist, bent his elbow, and gave him an encouraging gesture.
Qin Wen lowered his head slightly, concealing the sudden moisture in his eyes.
It had been a long time since anyone cared about him.
The remaining players clamored among themselves. A man who claimed to be a doctor stepped forward to take charge. He had three teammates, and their group of two men and two women was a common arrangement among players.
“I hope everyone can help one another in this instance. We’re all companions here.”
Cheng Miao watched as the man turned and introduced his teammates. A sharp-faced man was called Monkey, one of the women was a purple-haired young woman named Tang Ying, and the other was a gloomy-looking woman named Kiki.
After the doctor finished, he looked toward two girls huddled together and asked gently, “What about you two? Why don’t you introduce yourselves?”
The two girls exchanged a glance. Introductions at the start of an instance were normal, but the doctor’s excessive enthusiasm made them uncomfortable after all the human malice they had witnessed.
“I’m Shen Si.” Then she pointed at her friend. “She’s Fan Rui.”
The doctor nodded, then looked at Cheng Miao’s group, the largest team present. Qiudong’s appearance dazzled him at first, and only afterward did he notice that everyone in the team was strikingly attractive.
The doctor’s eyes brightened. He looked at Qiudong. “What about all of you?”
Qiudong did not spare him a glance. He lowered his head and concentrated on the curl at the end of Cheng Miao’s hair, leaving the doctor slightly embarrassed.
“Doctor Tang, why bother with them? If they think they’re too good for us now, they had better not expect our help later.”
Monkey spoke shrilly from behind them. He hated attractive people because their looks crushed him emotionally.
Doctor Tang gave a good-natured smile and began to explain, “Introducing ourselves helps everyone get acquainted. We’ve cleared many instances and have experience. You can trust…”
Before he could finish, the notification tone sounded.