Chapter 116

Chapter 116

When the chest opened, it was filled to the brim with gold.

One ring looked completely out of place. Its craftsmanship did not seem like anything that could exist inside the game.

Xiao Huai lowered his eyes as though a thought had occurred to him, then took the ring.

“Hey, what are you doing?” The others noticed him pocketing it and immediately shouted.

This was their treasure. He could not simply take it.

Xiao Huai did not spare the man a glance. He merely told Hanako, “Hanako, you can take the rest of the chest.”

Hanako’s eyes widened. “Really? Hanako can make her hide-and-seek space even prettier!”

She paid no attention to the other players’ stares and wrapped both arms around the treasure chest.

In barely a second, an enormous black hole appeared beneath it. Like a bottomless quagmire, it dragged the chest down until it vanished.

The players: “…?”

What had just happened?

They quickly recovered and almost lunged forward to seize Xiao Huai by the collar and force him to bring the treasure back.

Joseph merely raised one hand. At once, they felt something cold against their necks.

They looked down and saw razor-sharp black-diamond daggers.

Their eyes nearly popped out in terror, and cold sweat poured from their foreheads.

Sun Xingye’s expression turned grim. He said under his breath, “A-Zhuolang, there’s no blood feud between us. Do you really want to force us to fight?”

Dealing with Xiao Huai alone would have been difficult enough. Now all these strange people had joined him, leaving Sun Xingye’s group with even less hope of winning.

His words sounded like a threat, but there was not a trace of confidence behind them.

“No, there isn’t a blood feud. Use your head. Do you really think everything hidden inside a treasure chest must be treasure? Sun Xingye, let me ask you something. Do you want to waste your one and only chance to submit the mission on something like this?”

Sun Xingye’s brows drew together.

What had he just said?

One and only chance to submit the mission?

That notification had played directly in every player’s mind.

[Difficulty increased to Intermediate. The original three attempts have been reduced to one. In other words, all players have one and only one chance to submit the treasure.]

An NPC should not have known that.

Unless!

He was…

A player.

Sun Xingye’s eyes widened. Utter disbelief filled them as he stared at Xiao Huai.

A faint smile suddenly curved Xiao Huai’s lips. As though he had read the meaning in Sun Xingye’s eyes, he pressed an index finger to his lips in a gesture for silence.

Everything made sense. If he was a player, then all his previous actions could be explained.

More than that, he was no ordinary player. His performance as an NPC had been practically flawless.

If he was a player, then he had been pretending to be an NPC from the very beginning, yet had not killed a single player.

Which meant… his goal was to complete the main mission.

Because of him, the game’s difficulty had increased. Because of him, everyone had crossed the desert without a single death. Because of him, they had learned clue after clue about the rules.

Goosebumps crawled over Sun Xingye’s entire body. He had never imagined he would encounter a monstrous player like this in a third-floor instance.

His body trembled faintly. Lowering his head, he said, “I understand. You’re right.”

“Huh? Brother Sun, what are you saying? You’re just letting him go? Wait… I didn’t mean it.” One player tried to challenge Sun Xingye, only to meet Joseph’s oppressive stare. He apologized at once.

He did not even know what he was apologizing for.
Xiao Huai signaled to the people around him with a glance, and the others filed out the door in perfect accord.

Before he stepped outside, Sun Xingye could not resist asking, “Do you already know how to clear the instance?”

Xiao Huai’s forward stride paused. He looked back and nodded.

After they left, Sun Xingye squatted down as though all his strength had drained away. His brow was deeply furrowed and his face grave. The others crowded around him with questions.

“Brother Sun, what’s wrong? Why did you ask him that? What happened?”

Sun Xingye looked toward the door and released a long sigh.

“It’s been a long time since I saw a newcomer worthy of being called a monster. The last one was our Foxslayer guild leader. If the guild leader met him, he might take quite a liking to him.”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

They had no idea what Sun Xingye was talking about. He shook his head. “Nothing. Pretend I was talking to myself.”

* * *

Aledi Inn.

Xiao Huai knocked on the witch’s door.

When the witch opened it and saw him, her pupils contracted. She had not expected Xiao Huai to return alive.

But an even greater surprise was waiting behind him.

The real Ji Yelin had returned.

The witch broke into a laugh. Her face gradually changed back to its true appearance, and a clear, immaculate blue gleamed within her amber eyes. “I can’t believe you found her. But she isn’t my treasure.”

Xiao Huai looked at her calmly. “That’s right. It took everything I had to find your true treasure.”

The witch folded her arms across her chest. “Oh? Let me see what you found.”

A group photograph appeared in Xiao Huai’s palm.

The photograph had yellowed with age, but the moment it appeared, the witch’s gaze went distant. Her lips trembled faintly, and her brows drew tight.

Xiao Huai said, “But this is only one of the precious memories you lost. The one you truly want to see must be Little Crow.”

He stepped aside and opened a path.

The instant the witch saw You Lin, every cell in her body seemed to tremble. Before she could find any words, tears were already sliding down her cheeks.

She covered her mouth. A sound close to a mournful cry rose from deep in her throat. No words could describe what she felt in that moment.

She thought she could die now without regret.

With a thud, she dropped to one knee, bowed her head, and said hoarsely, “Your Highness.”

It was the salute a soldier offered a general on the battlefield.

The gentle smile from You Lin’s memories returned to his face. He crouched beside the witch and playfully shouted, “Boo!” as though trying to frighten her. He knew perfectly well he could not scare her at all, yet the tears would not stop flowing from her eyes.

You Lin looked flustered. “Na Ran, what’s wrong? You never used to cry.”

The moment the witch called Na Ran heard You Lin say her name, she completely broke down. Her face crumpled, and she sank heavily to the floor, sobbing as she called “Your Highness” over and over.

Xiao Huai raised a brow, handed You Lin a Soul Contract, and patted his shoulder. “Little Crow, don’t forget what I asked you to do. You’re her favorite, after all. I’m getting out of here.”

You Lin had only begun to turn when Xiao Huai cheerfully scurried to the door.

Three people were standing outside. When they saw Xiao Huai coming, they deliberately made room for him.

The smile in You Lin’s eyes deepened. Perhaps becoming Xiao Huai’s companion truly was a very happy thing.