Chapter 39
Chapter 39
“If they can check identities three times in a row, can those NPCs not share information?”
Rao Lin had just changed into loungewear-a simple T-shirt that made him look fresh and clean. “If they share, it’s with the Central System. Why would they share with other NPCs?”
“So,” Ning Wang scanned him up and down, hesitating, “the reason you called me here instead of coming to me was just because you wanted to change your clothes?”
Rao Lin looked refreshed. “My Teacher Song is about to return from the Main System. Of course I have to dress up a bit.”
“…”
Ning Wang said, “Remember to transfer the travel fee.”
Rao Lin clicked his tongue while adjusting his Virtual Screen. “I recall you having millions? You really want those tens of thousands for travel expenses?”
“To buy things for my brother to eat.”
Rao Lin’s gaze immediately became meaningful. “Ah… so it’s pseudo-Incest.”
Ning Wang had just been educated on these terms by Ning Shuo. “Might even be Narcissus.”
Rao Lin: ?
He didn’t even have time to dwell on the literal meaning of “Narcissus” before his eyes widened in shock. “Wait… you really like him??”
“That’s so sudden,” Rao Lin said thoughtfully. “According to the investigation, you came out of the Li Kingdom Cold Case. It’s only been two Scripts, and you’ve already fallen for him?”
“I thought the speed at which I fell for Teacher Song was fast enough, but even I took three Scripts to realize it.”
The two were silent for a moment, and then Rao Lin clearly saw the mockery in Ning Wang’s eyes. “I just used a Basic Attack, and you immediately blew your Ultimate Move.”
“…” Rao Lin wore a look of grandfatherly kindness. “I have to say, sometimes you’re so trendy you don’t even seem like someone from that Script.”
“This actually confirms my suspicion,” Rao Lin continued. “Are you a bug that the System tried to purge before but didn’t quite finish off?”
“Describing your guest as a bug is a bit impolite, don’t you think?”
“A guest teasing the host as soon as he arrives isn’t exactly proper either.”
Ning Wang remained noncommittal. “So, why did you call me here?”
Rao Lin gave a strange laugh. “Ha~ Can’t I just come to feel you out?”
“…” Ning Wang said, “I’m leaving. Hope to never see you again.”
Rao Lin sent him a string of numbers. “This is the room number. We’ll start the next Script together. I’ll give you the room password then.”
Ning Wang waved his hand. “If we’re talking about ‘bugs,’ I’m not the only one in this room.”
Shortly after Ning Wang left, another man walked in.
He wore glasses and had handsome features, with long, silver-white hair draped over his shoulders. His aura was cold and detached, and there was a blue Z on his wrist.
Seeing Rao Lin dazed on the edge of the bed, Song Zhu asked, “What are you thinking about?”
Rao Lin hugged him around the waist. “Remember that Half-Immortal I mentioned? And the Swordsman who escaped from the Script.”
“It was just a suspicion before, but now it seems my guess wasn’t far off.”
“He’s one of the Players the System tried to purge. As for Ning Shuo, though he’s a new Player, he seems to have a deep connection with the System as well.”
Song Zhu’s voice was faint. “Since it’s confirmed, let’s make sure everything goes perfectly this time.”
Rao Lin chuckled. “But I don’t remember the flaw from last time. It’s hard to guarantee perfection.”
“Don’t worry,” Song Zhu let go of his hand and lay down on the bed, his voice lazy. “I’ve already spoken with the Main System. If they can shatter another Script this time, they can join the Team as Zone F special invited Players.”
“Since we’ll be clearing the Script as a team, with our help, the difficulty won’t be too high.”
“Before, there was only one Ning Wang and he almost succeeded. Now, for some unknown reason, there’s an extra one. The success rate will only be higher.”
Rao Lin also climbed up, pulling Song Zhu into his arms. “Even you can’t find out how Ning Wang appeared. The System’s confidentiality work has truly leveled up.”
“The fear is that after that stunt of blowing up Paradise, the difficulty this time won’t be low either.”
They were plotting right out in the open, yet the Virtual Screen didn’t chime once.
However, the ‘Z’ on Song Zhu’s wrist would occasionally glow red, like some voyeur attempting to peer in and failing.
…
When Ning Wang returned, Ning Shuo was already awake. He asked as if it were the most natural thing in the world: “I’m hungry. Did you bring back food for me?”
“I ordered for you. A waiter will bring it up in a bit,” Ning Wang replied. Even though Ning Shuo hadn’t asked where he went, Ning Wang took the initiative to explain. “That bug who was cleared by the System just like me went looking for me to humiliate himself.”
“Rao Lin? He humiliated himself?”
“Yes. He doesn’t remember being on our side before, and he even called me a bug cleared by the System.”
Ning Wang recounted what had just happened. Ning Shuo asked, “He just gave you a room number?”
Ning Wang: “Yeah. He probably guessed we knew each other before, so he’s testing the waters.”
Ning Shuo looked thoughtful. “And your words confirmed a certain suspicion of his, so he didn’t need to ask you anything more. That’s why he only gave you a room number.”
“But,” Ning Shuo scrutinized him, “how did you two end up talking about ‘bugs’?”
Because of the Narcissus pseudo-incest and the ‘using a Basic Attack to bait out an Ultimate’ situation, Rao Lin had lashed out in shame and called him a bug.
Ning Wang’s hand holding the water glass paused for a moment. He remained expressionless. “I forgot.”
Ning Shuo pushed up his glasses. “Young man, you can’t fool me. You’d best remain loyal to your King, or I’ll demote you from a First-Class Knight to Second-Class.”
“…” Ning Wang said softly, “Sometimes I really wonder what your daily life was like in that other world.”
After eating, Ning Shuo collapsed contentedly. “I hope to lie in bed for three days and three nights.”
“Your health is poor. Don’t you need to take medicine to recover?”
“No need. Once you’re in the System, the System treats all Players equally. Those with illnesses or disasters are as strong as bulls inside the System.”
“So,” Ning Wang’s tone turned ominous, “when you said your health was poor before, you were just being lazy!”
“…” Ning Shuo immediately massaged his temples. “Oh my, I just finished eating, so why am I starting to feel dizzy? As expected, my constitution still isn’t that robust.”
…
Ning Shuo rested in the Rest Area for two days. During that time, aside from browsing the Forum, he just spent his time lounging around.
Ning Wang claimed he had been infected by him and started becoming indolent as well. Like a father raising a child, Ning Shuo would often nag about how a healthy young man shouldn’t stay cooped up indoors all day, saying he wasn’t as sunny as he used to be.
Ning Wang lazily asked him, “So, was I more handsome then, or am I more handsome now?”
Ning Shuo immediately acted bashful. “The current Xie Ning, of course.”
“Mm. So I’m staying in bed.”
“…”
They weren’t doing absolutely nothing in the Rest Area; they browsed many posts and gathered quite a bit of information.
For example, someone had tried to imitate Ning Shuo’s clever maneuver from the first Script-using an NPC to stand in for an Innocent to make an Accusation. That bug had been patched, and the Forum was now in an uproar. Some people even claimed they were irreconcilable enemies with Ning Banxian, only to be mocked by Ning Shuo’s fans: “Who cares about a nobody like you? He can earn tens of thousands in a single Script. How much do you make? Oh, you barely broke a hundred? That must be tough.”
Another example was the recent Large-Scale Murder Mystery Game, which was still a hot topic. Many people had seen the Clown failing to hunt down Ning Wang, only for the NPC and the Clown to start fighting each other. In the end, the NPC and Clown No. 013 perished together. Regarding this, some people found the duo who had been traveling with Shuo Wang at the time, Qi Yang and Zhao Zhaozhao, to ask for their perspective.