Chapter 79
Chapter 79
The commotion outside had already died down. Ning Shuo asked, “Why are you here?”
What he really meant was: why would Ning Wang appear here at this hour, and in what capacity, for what reason?
Ning Wang arched a brow. “Did I interrupt something good for you, gege?”
Ning Shuo had thick skin. He acted as if he hadn’t caught the implication at all. “Aren’t you my something good?”
Rao Lin, who had been about to explain from the side, glanced at Ning Wang-who clearly hadn’t misunderstood anything in the first place, but had visibly brightened because of Ning Shuo’s words-and fell into thought.
So that was how you coaxed someone.
For the time being, the three of them regrouped. With no leads on anyone else yet, they briefly exchanged the information they each had.
Number One Swordsman in the World was the younger brother of the Sun Family’s young master, Willow.
Ning Shuo said meaningfully, “An uncle-and-sister-in-law trope.”
Ning Wang said, “Very exciting.”
Rao Lin swore to defend Song Zhu’s position to the death. “Hey, you’re not the ‘sister-in-law.’ If anyone has to be called that, it’s Teacher Song. And there isn’t any uncle-and-sister-in-law trope either!”
Ning Wang said, “If we’re putting it that way, then technically there isn’t an ‘uncle’ either.”
According to the information Ning Wang had brought, the Sun Family had three children in this generation. The eldest son of the second branch, Willow, was the most favored in the Sun Family. The son of the second branch’s second concubine, Number One Swordsman in the World, was the second son. Last came the daughter born to the concubine of the third branch.
And now that the three of them had gathered and disclosed their identities to one another, they were all Innocents.
Rao Lin said, “We chose a seven-person team instance. The other side has seven people too.”
The largest possible instance: fourteen people.
As for the fourth Hidden Rule, Rao Lin had already traded it to them through a Heat Points transaction. Though as soon as Ning Shuo received the Hidden Rule, Rao Lin transferred that bit of Heat right back under the name of “welcoming a specially invited Player to the team.”
Ning Wang was much more casual about it. After giving those tens of thousands to Ning Shuo, he simply let him have them.
Hidden Rule Four: A Ghost/Monster in human form may not only be prey-it may also be a hunting rifle.
In other words, once an Innocent killed another Innocent, the NPC’s hatred would be drawn over. The more they killed, the more hatred they would pull. If the killer still wasn’t dead by then, the NPC would even lend them a hand, making it harder for the other Innocents to make an Accusation.
The other side’s Innocents couldn’t kill their team’s Murderer, but they could kill them.
Ning Wang said, “On my way here, I passed by that youngest daughter’s room. Judging by the servants’ descriptions, it might be Lolita.”
Rao Lin asked, “Did you go confirm?”
Ning Wang shook his head. “No. Women’s status in Aotianli is extremely low. So low that even if she’s a young lady of the household, her life is no different from that of the girls married in from outside the village.”
In fact, because she had already been neglected and bullied in Aotianli for years, her status was only lower compared with everyone else’s, not higher.
Rao Lin looked at Ning Wang, waiting for him to go confirm Lolita’s identity. Then he saw those two people stare at him with identical faces.
Rao Lin said, “…Fine. I’ll go!”
He could look for Teacher Song while he was at it.
Ning Wang and Rao Lin were similar in build. Once the bed curtains were drawn, no one would know whether the person inside was Rao Lin or Ning Wang.
As for Rao Lin, if he couldn’t even hide from NPCs, then all those years as the top-ranked Player would have been for nothing.
The moment the door closed, Ning Wang drew the bed curtains shut. “Ge, you two were having a great time calling out just now.”
Ning Shuo said solemnly, “Let me make this clear first. There was enough space between me and him to fit a Z, and besides, we’re both 1s. Two 1s can’t strike any sparks.”
Ning Wang’s teasing expression froze. “…1?”
Ning Shuo looked at him as if it were only natural. “Of course.”
“Ge, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about yourself?”
“Weren’t you the one who told me to give you proper pointers?”
“…” Fine, fine, so this was where he’d been waiting.
Ning Wang leaned closer. His breath fell across Ning Shuo’s face, a little hot. “Ge, then you’ve really misunderstood.”
“Having you teach me how to make you feel good… wouldn’t that be fun too?”
Ning Shuo curled his lips and removed the hairpin getting in the way. “Does Ningning want our wedding night right now?”
During the preparation period, the Live Stream Room for arena Scripts was closed by default.
Ning Wang unhurriedly helped him out of the cumbersome clothing in the way. “Ge, no matter what you’re doing, the first time always leaves a deep impression.”
“I’m worried your health isn’t good, and you won’t last long the first time.”
“Let’s wait until we’re out. Once we’re out, we’ll get your body treated. Then I’ll have our wedding night with you.”
Words that had once been forgotten surfaced again.
-After we get out, you…
-What do you want to do after we get out? Let’s fix that body of yours first.
Those words again.
“Ge?” A hand waved in front of his eyes.
Coming back to himself, Ning Shuo frowned. “When you first entered a Script, did you ever see me?”
Ning Wang froze. “You have that feeling too?”
Ning Shuo said, “I only occasionally hear things, like auditory hallucinations. But judging by your reaction, you’ve remembered quite a bit too?”
He showed Ning Shuo the records he had made of those three dreams. “Only fragments. They don’t connect into a complete scene.”
Ning Shuo’s gaze fell on the words “test NPC.” “…The System’s internal upheaval from years ago has already been confirmed to be related to us. It’s also certain that you were brainwashed. But I…”
Ning Shuo was puzzled. “If we were already in the Script back then, why was there only one Player account?”
And why, when there was clearly only one Xie Ning, were there two of him inside the Script?
Was it a split, or a copy? If it was a copy, which one of them had been copied?
-Without a doubt, if it really was a copy, then Ning Shuo, who had no Player account, was very likely the one who had been copied.
But if it was a copy, why was his physical condition so much worse than Ning Wang’s?
And then there was that inexplicable curse-
His hand was terribly cold. Ning Shuo instinctively gripped it with his other hand, only to realize the left hand he was holding was trembling.
Ning Wang saw what he was thinking and pressed down on his hand. “Ge, you’re scared.”
Ning Shuo lifted his eyes. His lips pressed into a tight line, and after a long while, he said, “Yes.”
If he really was only a copy, then he would have no idea where he had come from, and no idea where he belonged.
Everything he had experienced would be fake, because it was only a replication of Ning Wang.
Origin and identity gave a person the most basic sense of security.
Perhaps that was also why, at the very beginning, he had guessed it was a split rather than a copy.
At that thought, Ning Shuo’s gaze scattered, unable to find any focal point. “I…”
He was suddenly pulled into an embrace. That warm hold was so real, as though it shattered every delusion he had about what was true and what was false. “Ge, we are the same person.”
“Every time we work together, we have perfect tacit understanding. Without saying much, we know what the other is thinking. We understand each other. We’re intimate without distance. Even our souls resonate on the same frequency.”
“Nothing is fake. As long as you experienced it, then it is real.”
“If you hadn’t experienced it, mere memories wouldn’t give you this level of understanding with me.”
Those few words brought clarity. After a long while, Ning Shuo hugged him back and gave a soft “Mm.”
The Virtual Screen flashed red for an instant, then immediately fell silent again.
—
The data streams throughout the entire Main God Space seemed to have fallen into chaos. On the high platform, the Optical Brain was furious, while 003 stood quietly off to the side.
“Why? They both lost their memories, so how can they still remember?!”
003 looked at the System, which was clearly being controlled by its emotions, and lowered his eyes. “Your emotions are excessively agitated.”
The data streams stalled for only a moment before becoming even more chaotic, as though trying to cover up some guilty conscience. “I am the System. What excessively agitated emotions could I possibly have?!”
“But two years ago, you had already begun to possess something called ’emotions,'” 003 said blandly.