Chapter 118

Chapter 118

As though encouraged, the system raised its volume.

[Congratulations! Xiao Huai has received glowing praise from 4,894 gods. They believe an S rating is unfair for your performance in this instance! The rating standard will therefore be exceeded. You have received a Super-S Rating and 5,000 ranking points. Current rank: 19,520.]

[Hidden reward triggered.]

[Choose one of two rewards for earning a Super-S Rating:

1. Obtain system-level authority to change the *Witch’s House* instance.

2. Obtain a set of divine defensive equipment sponsored by the Guardian Goddess.]

Xiao Huai looked at the choices. So that was how it worked.

“Upon earning a Super-S Rating, a player will have a chance to obtain system-level authority to change an instance.”

The “chance” meant that the player would be given a choice.

Changing an instance meant little to a player who had already cleared it, while the divine equipment in the second option could make its owner nearly unstoppable in the horror game.

He did not hesitate.

He chose the first option.

Xiao Huai’s system interface received a new upgrade, and a settings panel titled *Witch’s House* appeared.

So this was system-level authority?

It made him practically the creator god of this world.

He had no interest in becoming a god, so he asked silently, “Can this authority be transferred?”

[Player instruction received. Requesting response… Response received: To whom would you like to transfer it?]

“Na Ran.”

The system did not respond for a long time.

When it finally answered, even its message seemed to carry a note of doubt.

[System response: Are you certain you wish to grant NPC Na Ran system-level authority?]

“Yes.”

[Player instruction received. Instruction approved. Authority transfer in progress.]

Before long, shock flashed through Na Ran’s eyes. It seemed she had received the system’s message.

“Why…?” she could not help whispering.

Xiao Huai looked up at the stars. “Because Little Crow and I made an agreement. We’re companions now. All of you want freedom. If I give the right to choose back to you, I think that will be true freedom.”

If You Lin had explained everything to her back then, she probably would have let go. She would have stopped clinging to the soulbugs, stopped struggling with her contradictions, and stopped allowing the rules to imprison her.

Now she could control her own life and do whatever she wanted.

It would be wonderful if *Witch’s House* became a breath of fresh air within the horror game.

The game was about to end here. Xiao Huai turned and looked at the companions and friends around him.

“My friends, the curtain is about to fall on this game. I’ll miss you. Until we meet again, may everything go well for you.”

Na Ran looked up at Xiao Huai’s profile. At that moment, she understood what His Highness had meant by faith.

Xiao Huai was a companion to all of them, and he was also their faith.

The others had only begun to speak when a pair of large hands suddenly wrapped around Xiao Huai from behind.

Everyone froze, including Xiao Huai.

How had none of them sensed the slightest movement?

Joseph and the others immediately assumed attacking stances.

Xiao Huai recovered first. He lightly patted the hands Lu Yuanshi had looped around his neck.

Lu Yuanshi’s chest pressed close against his back, and the man’s chin brushed the top of his head, making it strangely ticklish.

Xiao Huai told the others, “It’s fine. He’s my friend.”

Lu Yuanshi raised a brow. “Friend?”

“What else? My enemy?”

Lu Yuanshi smiled. “Friend.”

“Will you miss me?” Lu Yuanshi’s voice sounded beside his ear.

Xiao Huai had no idea how long Lu Yuanshi had been watching. The man had always come and gone like a ghost.

Had he asked because Xiao Huai had just told everyone else that he would miss them?
Xiao Huai closed his eyes. Lu Yuanshi showed no sign of releasing him, so Xiao Huai simply leaned back against the man without using a shred of his own strength.

He said lazily, “Mm… If you let me use you as a pillow, I might consider missing you.”

Lu Yuanshi laughed softly beside his ear. It sounded like a quiet hum from the back of his throat, and his warm breath made the roots of Xiao Huai’s ears burn.

The others stared. Then they hurriedly found things to do, pretending they had seen nothing.

Carr most of all.

He had always thought Xiao Huai was straight as an arrow.

Now, though, something did not feel quite right.

Na Ran, who had been planning to say a few sentimental words of farewell, immediately coughed twice and went to play with Hanako instead.

Zhong Jiangyuan was so embarrassed that his toes curled against the ground. Should he leave, or would leaving now somehow be worse?

Only Hanako kept staring innocently.

She had never met Lu Yuanshi before. This was the first time she had seen him, and she thought he was impossibly beautiful.

Even more beautiful than the stars overhead.

So she simply stared with her enormous eyes. Only when Na Ran led her away did she ask curiously why.

Na Ran sank into thought before finally answering, “Mm… Everyone has their own way of living.”

Xiao Huai had once said something similar to her.

She was putting what she had learned into practice.

Hanako nodded without understanding. “Oh, is that it? Then Hanako wants a hug too.”

She wrapped her arms around Na Ran’s leg, and Na Ran smiled softly.

This encounter had changed her life.

A beam of light shone down from above Xiao Huai’s head, and the system announced, [Third-floor instance *Witch’s House* has ended.]

Xiao Huai opened his eyes. The final sight before him was still his companions laughing and playing together.

It was over.

At that moment, the warmth behind him disappeared. Xiao Huai lowered his eyes and forced himself not to look back. He was afraid he would grow attached.

* * *

System light enveloped him. In the final second, Xiao Huai heard one last notification.

[Congratulations! You have received Na Ran’s Blessing.]

[Na Ran’s Blessing] Detailed Description: [Disguise]. Allows you to change your appearance. May be canceled at any time, with no limit on uses or duration.

Restriction: Maintaining another person’s appearance for too long will cause a degree of damage to Sanity. Excessive use will multiply the Sanity damage.

[Note: A message from Na Ran–Ahem. Well, that strange fellow isn’t all bad. I don’t like owing people, so I’m giving you this blessing. Don’t complain that it’s useless.]

A faint smile touched Xiao Huai’s lips. How could this blessing possibly be useless?

Disguise was an exceptionally suitable supernatural ability for a con artist.

The third-floor game lobby.

Countless games ran simultaneously. Every minute and every second, another game ended, and masses of players emerged from the game nebulae. Missing limbs were such a common sight that no one found them remarkable.

Some were teleported away by game rescue teams. Others forced themselves to crawl onward under their own power.

Some had help to spare while others had none. The game was no different from reality in that regard.

“Game companions! Game-companion services! Want to give it a try, handsome? No charge if you don’t clear the instance.”

When Xiao Huai emerged from the *Witch’s House* instance, a brown-haired young man holding an enormous glowing sign stepped in front of him.

He was about Xiao Huai’s height. His features were delicate but carried a roguish edge, and his eyes drew the gaze more than anything else.

One was black, the other white. His left eye was a normal color, while the pupil of his right was almost pure white.

The brown-haired young man leaned closer, eyes half closed and utterly unconcerned about meeting another person’s gaze. The corner of his mouth lifted. “Handsome, I’m very good at this.”

Xiao Huai turned his head away. “No, thank you.”