chapter 81

Chapter 81

“My eyes are a bit dry.” Lu Li glanced at the screen full of his rock-paper-scissors victories and the 99 exclamation marks from Luo Jia Bai, realizing how quickly time had passed. “We’re deciding who has to wear a dress to tomorrow’s Masquerade Ball.”

He sent Luo Jia Bai one last message.

[Lu Li]: He’s telling me to go to sleep. I’m done playing.

[Luo Jia Bai]: I don’t want to play anymore either!! I’m freaking out, I’m miserable, I’m losing it! I’ve totally lost my guard! I’m really panicking now! By the end, this wasn’t even about who won or lost anymore – I just wanted to win back a single round, just one, for my dignity! But no! Compared to this, if I’d just chosen to wear the dress without rock-paper-scissors, I’d be a happy little boy right now!

Lu Li only saw the last sentence, with the words “wear the dress” and “happy,” and, satisfied, switched over to the Shop to look for formal wear.

After leaving the beginner instance, most advanced instances involved some acting, so formal attire was very cheap and there weren’t many styles to choose from. Lu Li picked out a black suit.

Watching Lu Li busily change into a black suit and lay it on the bed, Bosi quietly put away the clothes he’d already half taken out.

The waterproof clothes he had carefully chosen earlier that afternoon would have to wait for another time for Lu Li.

Bosi noticed something. “Masquerade Ball?”

Lu Li changed into the suit. “Yeah, the instance rules say we have to wear formalwear. There are too many male Players, so someone has to wear a dress. Luo Jia Bai just told me he was happy to wear a dress.”

Bosi asked, “Who are you going to dance with?”

“We don’t necessarily have to dance. We’re just attending the Masquerade Ball,” Lu Li thought aloud. “If I really have to dance, it’ll probably be with Luo Jia Bai.”

Luo Jia Bai.

Bosi felt that name was very familiar.

Watching Lu Li finish dressing and turn around to check the fit, Bosi tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

He opened his screen and quickly scrolled through a stack of photos.

Sure enough.

In the corners of most of the photos, there was a man soaked like a drowned rat – plain-looking, thin, pale, and weak – who, in several of the photos, was grabbing Lu Li’s wrist.

So it was him.

–

The suit fit perfectly. Lu Li put it back into his Wristband, planning to wear it again before going out the next morning.

He rubbed his eyes and took out his Pillow to get ready for bed.

A shadow fell across him, and Lu Li suddenly felt something drop into his arms. He opened his eyes.

It was a round, gray gemstone.

It lay quietly in his arms, its color calm and deep.

Lu Li carefully picked up the gemstone. “Is this for me?”

Bosi, who had accidentally dropped the gemstone as he walked by, was already sitting back at the table.

“If you want it, take it.”

Lu Li held the gemstone up to the light to check its color. When the gray of the gem met his eyes, the two almost blended into one.

“It’s really beautiful. Where did you find it?”

Bosi: “Just saw it somewhere.”

He emphasized, “It’s the same color as your eyes. Just a coincidence.”

Lu Li was no longer sleepy. He cradled the gemstone in delight, pacing around the room. “Where should I put it?”

Bosi replied offhandedly, “You could make it into a brooch and wear it on your suit.”

Lu Li nodded, “But I don’t know how.”

A small wisp of Underworld Fire instantly flared at Bosi’s fingertips. He nodded slightly at Lu Li.

“Bring it here. I’ll help you.”

Lu Li was so absorbed in watching Bosi work that he didn’t notice his Wristband vibrating constantly – messages from Luo Jia Bai kept coming in.

[Luo Jia Bai]: Please! I’m begging you! I lost all 300 rounds of rock-paper-scissors – can you please not tell anyone?
[Luo Jia Bai]: hello? Are you asleep? Haha, actually, it’s fine if you reply tomorrow morning when you see this. I’m not really bothered by it!

When the brooch was finished, Lu Li’s Wristband vibrated again.

[Luo Jia Bai]: I… really can’t handle the pressure in the Live Stream Room anymore. The Audience has given me too many rewards! They just want me to ask you-who exactly is your Evil God… If it’s convenient, could you reply to me? QAQ

–

Luo Jia Bai was panicking.

His Evil Spirit Bracelet had never flashed so many red lights before.

The Audience count had soared to a peak, surpassing thirty thousand.

The Audience was frantically sending rewards, and the Bullet Comments were so dense that they made his eyes blur.

[I just got here, what happened? The Streamer’s Live Stream Room has been taken over by an unknown army!]

[Reward*10000, alright, alright, my own Live Stream Room went black, so I had to come to someone else’s to find him, and I really found him! Are you two going to play rock-paper-scissors all night? (Watching this makes my hands itch, punching the Moderator won’t fix the Live Stream Room)]

[Reward*15000, Streamer, don’t break down, now thirty thousand ghosts know you lost 500 rounds, it’s no big deal, just keep playing with Lu Li, Points aren’t a problem, sis has plenty. It’s fun, play more, I love watching.]

[The comment above made me laugh, tomorrow the rumor that the Streamer lost 1000 rounds of rock-paper-scissors will spread, that’s how rumors start.]

[Reward*5000, I’ve been camping in Lu Li’s Live Stream Room since the first night!!! This is my first time seeing Lu Li alive at night! I really support him making friends now, he should make more friends and chat more!]

[Reward*10000, Luo Jia Bai, you, right now, go ask who exactly is the ‘he’ in ‘he’s urging me to sleep’! Hurry!!!]

Under the huge Points pressure from the Live Stream Room, Luo Jia Bai sent Lu Li a message.

He finally received a reply when his eyelids were fighting to stay open.

[Lu Li]: It’s **.

[Lu Li]: Got another gift! This is the third gift I’ve received, he’s so nice!

Luo Jia Bai was stunned. What is **?

Was the name censored?

Can the Evil God’s name even be censored??

–

Back to Game Day.

The heat in Luo Jia Bai’s Live Stream Room suddenly dropped, and he finally had some peace.

With two dark circles under his eyes, he found Lu Li in the corner of the lobby.

For the sake of his suddenly rich Points account, Luo Jia Bai humbly went to ask Lu Li, “About that name you said last night, could you say it to me again, out loud?”

Lu Li was looking at a small three-tiered fountain in the corner of the lobby.

The water here was so clear, crystal clear, but there were no fish to be seen.

Clear water emerged from the top of the fountain, fell into the pool, and was then drawn from the bottom back into the fountain’s core, circulating endlessly.

Lu Li watched the water as he answered, “It’s __.”

When he spoke those two words, Luo Jia Bai thought he was experiencing tinnitus.

Because it seemed as if the whole space had frozen, only Lu Li’s mouth was moving, but he couldn’t hear what the two words were.

Luo Jia Bai patted his head.

No way? A full-spectrum censorship??

Lu Li took out a special reward from the Instance from his Wristband-a stone.

Clear water could wash away the contaminants on the stone, but from the Poor Village to the Rich District, there hadn’t been any clean water, so he’d kept the Item.

Now he’d finally found clean water, maybe he could wash it clean.

The stone was submerged in the water, but the grime on it showed no sign of fading. Behind them, a man’s furious voice rang out.

“Please don’t put dirty things into clean water!”