1580

Back at the villa, Suzhou.

I logged into the game after everything was settled.

Swhoosh!

There was a flash, and I found myself standing in front of the royal palace of Titan City. A lot of American players were staring at me like they had seen a ghost. Heck, I was just as shocked as they were. Now that I thought about it, I had "logged out" of the game inside the royal palace, hadn’t I?

I quickly brought up the territory interface and teleported back to Dark Moon City.

After I reappeared in front of the territory hall, I sent High Fighting Spirits a message: "Fighting Spirits, come to the territory hall as soon as you can!"

"Okay!"

Half a minute later, High Fighting Spirits appeared riding a strange beast I had never seen before. I asked him curiously, "That’s a cool ride you have there. What’s its name?"

High Fighting Spirits replied with an honest smile on his face, "Its name is Ghost Beast, a Middle Divine Rank mount. It’s my reward for placing 27th in the Nation War. It’s not bad, but of course it’s nowhere as powerful as the Ancient Divine Dragon…"

I nodded and took out a dignified-looking battle axe from my bag. It was of course the Axe of Pangu. After I passed the weapon to High Fighting Spirits, I said, "You, Li Chengfeng, Gui Guzi and Chaos Moon will be forming a team for the upcoming WEL competition, right? With Gui Guzi’s Ghostblade Halberd and your Axe of Pangu—Li Chengfeng and Chaos Moon’s weapons are pretty good as well—I expect your team to make it to the top three of the WEL!"

High Fighting Spirits gripped the weapon tightly and nodded. "Got it. Er, I’m not good at polite speech, nor am I good at thanking people. All I can say is, thank you for everything you’ve done for me, brother!"

I laughed. "You’re welcome. It’s all for Ancient Sword’s honor!"

"Yeah!"

"Now get out there and ascend as soon as possible!"

"Okay~"

……

After that, I sat down on the steps in front of the territory hall and checked out the divine player list. It was only then I realized that Gui Guzi, He Yi, Chaos Moon, Purple Marquis, Stranger of Three Lifetimes and more had ascended to become gods. As it turned out, the large majority of the players who ranked high in the Nation War were rewarded with an ascension. This was good though. I could only imagine how epic the next WEL competition would be.

Next, I checked out my own stat screen and noted that I was Level 275. I was literally at the level cap, and I wouldn’t be able to level further unless I discovered the path to a new realm. I highly doubted that I could accomplish that within my remaining time though.

I unsheathed the Xuanyuan Sword and gave it a swing!

Whoosh!

Three flaming auras swept across the area in front of me, but something didn’t feel right about my movement…

"No. Something’s wrong. Something’s definitely wrong here!"

I executed yet another attack, but the sensation remained the same. It was something I hadn’t felt for a long, long time!

I immediately brought up the friend list and selected Lin Yixin. "Yiyi, come to the entrance of Dark Moon City’s territory hall right now. I need your help with something!"

"Okay!"

Very soon, Lin Yixin flew over from the teleportation formation and landed lightly in front of me. "What’s wrong, Little Cheat? It’s rare for you to seek me out first."

I smiled at her and said, "It’s been a long time since we fought, Yiyi. Wanna go for a spar?"

Lin Yixin pouted. "Eh, I don’t want to bully a patient…"

"Who are you calling a patient? Take me out before you boast, girl!"

"Fine…"

A blood-red banner dropped between us as Lin Yixin sent me a spar challenge. After I accepted the challenge, she said—

"Here I come!"

Lin Yixin giggled like a bell while dashing toward me like a lightning bolt. She swung the Wind Severing Sword at my waist to probe for weaknesses.

It was very simple to deal with a move like this. All I needed to do was to zigzag in a different direction, speed up and counterattack at the same time!

However, the Wind Severing Sword struck my Scarlet Dragon Armor right as I was about to make a move!

976,765!

"Ugh…" I quickly switched plans and dished out a basic attack instead. A basic attack was the fastest attack a player could execute because it required no channeling or charging. Lin Yixin shouldn’t be able to dodge this.

However, she easily side-stepped out of the way of my attack once more. She was way faster than me now!

"It’s all wrong…" I murmured blankly as I lowered the Xuanyuan Sword.

By now, Lin Yixin noticed that something was wrong with me as well. She canceled the sparring match and asked me, "What happened, Little Cheat? Why… why can’t you dodge a simple attack? And why… was I able to dodge your attack so easily?"

I planted the Xuanyuan Sword on the ground and stared at my palm for a moment. Then, I looked up and muttered, "My brain lag has returned. I’m delayed for at least two seconds. I…"

"How can this be?" Her eyes widened in disbelief.

I gritted my teeth as I sat down in front of the territory hall once more. "It’s probably the virus. How ironic. It was the reason I was able to return and even surpass my peak, but now… Well, it doesn’t matter anymore. I wasn’t planning to participate in this year’s WEL anyway…"

"Mn." Lin Yixin sat down beside me and shot me a quiet smile. "If you don’t participate in the WEL, then I won’t either. This competition is utterly meaningless without you. Who else could even fight me for the MVP spot?”

I burst into laughter. "Now now, the other players aren’t that bad. Flowing Cloud, Red Maple and Tear Stain are all powerful opponents, and if Vienna’s Sorrow hadn’t deleted his account, he would almost certainly pose the greatest threat in this competition…"

"Say what you want, but I know I can beat them all." Lin Yixin blinked once before adding, "Just like how I know this competition is yours to take if only you choose to compete in it…"

I shrugged. "If I could function like normal? Sure. With 2 to 3 seconds of delay in my actions? I probably can’t even beat Chaos Moon right now. Nah, it looks like I’ll be spending my days guarding Dark Moon City like a retired security guard…"

"So, what are you going to do now?" she asked.

I thought for a moment before answering, "Nothing. I’m level-capped anyway. I might as well log out and spend some time with you and Xinran…"

"Mn."

……

During the afternoon, Xu Ning visited me with an entourage of people.

He Yi and Lin Yixin were busy pouring tea for Xu Ning while Xinran and I sat together on the sofa. Xu Ning waved them down with a smile on his face. "Thank you, but I’ll be taking my leave soon. I just came here to say a few things."

I asked, "What is it, Uncle Ning?"

Xu Ning turned serious, "There are two things I’d like to talk to you about. First, a research institute at California has analyzed your virus and come to the conclusion that it’s not impossible to research a cure in a month’s time. However, they need data from a test subject who can bear your virus. This is the single greatest obstacle to finding a cure right now, and they’re doing everything they can to find one."

"Thank you. What about the second matter?" I asked.

He smiled. "The second matter is much simpler. The second WEL is about to begin, and a mobilization meeting will be held at Beijing as part of the pre-match promotion. A lot of famous players from all over the world have been invited to attend it as well. If you are okay with it, we would like you to show up for the mobilization meeting as well. Four days ago, you, the champion of the first WEL, wowed the entire world with your achievements. Today, you are the hero of countless men and women. That is why we would like you to attend the meeting. Just treat it as a contribution to Eternal Moon or something. You do hold 25% of its shares, you know…"

I nodded. "But of course. When will we be departing?"

"The day after tomorrow in the afternoon."

"Okay!"

……

After I saw Xu Ning off, I sent most of the girls back into the game, and Xinran to the bathroom to take a bath. Lin Yixin was the only one with me on the balcony.

Sitting on top of my thighs and leaning against my chest like a cat, Lin Yixin said smilingly, "If what Uncle Ning said is true, it looks like your chances of recovery are pretty high, Little Cheat. Cooperate with the treatment with a cheerful and relaxed disposition, understand?"

I nodded. "But of course. I am planning to grow old with you and Sister He Yi, you know? Also, they say that scoundrels live for a thousand years, and if that’s true, a scoundrel as big as me should live for 10,000 years at least!"

Lin Yixin burst into a giggle. "I give you an inch, and you take a mile? Absolutely shameless!!"

I replied while hugging her shoulders, "I’m just speaking the truth…"

"Little Cheat…"

"Hmm?"

"I want to sleep with you tonight…"

"Absolutely not!" I rejected her without hesitation. "The virus in my body has become active once more. My bodily fluids probably resemble a pot of soup right now. If you became infected because I had sex with you…"

"You’re rejecting me again!" She stared at me with a hurt, puppy look on her face.

"Not even your puppy dog eyes will work on me this time!" I said before stealing a kiss from her.

Lin Yixin made a cute whiny sound before wrapping her arms around me. She then kissed me full on the lips and slowly teased me with her tongue. The way her long eyelashes fell over as she closed her eyes was absolutely beautiful.

A while later, she abruptly stopped and looked at me murderously. "Why aren’t you stretching out your tongue?"

Me: "..."

"You are courting death, boy!"

"No, I—"

Before I could defend myself, Lin Yixin suddenly bit me on the shoulder hard enough to draw blood. I let out a yelp of pain and squirmed beneath her body, but I didn’t have it in me to hurt her, nor was I strong enough to push her away from me right now. Combined with the fact that her exquisite body was pressed up against my torso, all I could say that the experience was quite the mix of pain and pleasure.

A few seconds later, Lin Yixin finally let go and raised her head. Beneath the moonlight, her silent eyes and blood-stained lips gave the appearance of an absolutely stunning vampirette. Then, she licked the blood on her lips and visibly swallowed.

"Yiyi, no!" I cried even though it was already too late. "You can’t drink my blood!!"

She had the audacity to smirk at me and say, "It tastes pretty good though…"

I panicked. "Have you gone mad?!"

"I’ll be fine. You’re not the only scoundrel that should be haunting this plane for a thousand years… Also, what is death anyway?"

I stared into her eyes and realized that it was a serious question. I answered quietly, "Death… is to leave this world or to suddenly vanish without warning. Death… is to never be again…"

For a long time, Lin Yixin simply stared at me as if she was lost in thought. Then, her eyes suddenly turned misty, and a pained sob escaped her lips. "But death will not stop me from missing you, Little Cheat. What will I do if I miss you, but you are no longer here?"

……

I recalled something I heard from a long time ago: Who will look for me like mad if I disappear one day? Who will cry like a fool in their seat? Who will look at their friend list and wait for me to come online? Who will hold my photo and engrave my image into their memory again and again? And who will wake up at midnight and weep at the thought of me?

Back at the villa, Suzhou.

I logged into the game after everything was settled.

Swhoosh!

There was a flash, and I found myself standing in front of the royal palace of Titan City. A lot of American players were staring at me like they had seen a ghost. Heck, I was just as shocked as they were. Now that I thought about it, I had "logged out" of the game inside the royal palace, hadn’t I?

I quickly brought up the territory interface and teleported back to Dark Moon City.

After I reappeared in front of the territory hall, I sent High Fighting Spirits a message: "Fighting Spirits, come to the territory hall as soon as you can!"

"Okay!"

Half a minute later, High Fighting Spirits appeared riding a strange beast I had never seen before. I asked him curiously, "That’s a cool ride you have there. What’s its name?"

High Fighting Spirits replied with an honest smile on his face, "Its name is Ghost Beast, a Middle Divine Rank mount. It’s my reward for placing 27th in the Nation War. It’s not bad, but of course it’s nowhere as powerful as the Ancient Divine Dragon…"

I nodded and took out a dignified-looking battle axe from my bag. It was of course the Axe of Pangu. After I passed the weapon to High Fighting Spirits, I said, "You, Li Chengfeng, Gui Guzi and Chaos Moon will be forming a team for the upcoming WEL competition, right? With Gui Guzi’s Ghostblade Halberd and your Axe of Pangu—Li Chengfeng and Chaos Moon’s weapons are pretty good as well—I expect your team to make it to the top three of the WEL!"

High Fighting Spirits gripped the weapon tightly and nodded. "Got it. Er, I’m not good at polite speech, nor am I good at thanking people. All I can say is, thank you for everything you’ve done for me, brother!"

I laughed. "You’re welcome. It’s all for Ancient Sword’s honor!"

"Yeah!"

"Now get out there and ascend as soon as possible!"

"Okay~"

……

After that, I sat down on the steps in front of the territory hall and checked out the divine player list. It was only then I realized that Gui Guzi, He Yi, Chaos Moon, Purple Marquis, Stranger of Three Lifetimes and more had ascended to become gods. As it turned out, the large majority of the players who ranked high in the Nation War were rewarded with an ascension. This was good though. I could only imagine how epic the next WEL competition would be.

Next, I checked out my own stat screen and noted that I was Level 275. I was literally at the level cap, and I wouldn’t be able to level further unless I discovered the path to a new realm. I highly doubted that I could accomplish that within my remaining time though.

I unsheathed the Xuanyuan Sword and gave it a swing!

Whoosh!

Three flaming auras swept across the area in front of me, but something didn’t feel right about my movement…

"No. Something’s wrong. Something’s definitely wrong here!"

I executed yet another attack, but the sensation remained the same. It was something I hadn’t felt for a long, long time!

I immediately brought up the friend list and selected Lin Yixin. "Yiyi, come to the entrance of Dark Moon City’s territory hall right now. I need your help with something!"

"Okay!"

Very soon, Lin Yixin flew over from the teleportation formation and landed lightly in front of me. "What’s wrong, Little Cheat? It’s rare for you to seek me out first."

I smiled at her and said, "It’s been a long time since we fought, Yiyi. Wanna go for a spar?"

Lin Yixin pouted. "Eh, I don’t want to bully a patient…"

"Who are you calling a patient? Take me out before you boast, girl!"

"Fine…"

A blood-red banner dropped between us as Lin Yixin sent me a spar challenge. After I accepted the challenge, she said—

"Here I come!"

Lin Yixin giggled like a bell while dashing toward me like a lightning bolt. She swung the Wind Severing Sword at my waist to probe for weaknesses.

It was very simple to deal with a move like this. All I needed to do was to zigzag in a different direction, speed up and counterattack at the same time!

However, the Wind Severing Sword struck my Scarlet Dragon Armor right as I was about to make a move!

976,765!

"Ugh…" I quickly switched plans and dished out a basic attack instead. A basic attack was the fastest attack a player could execute because it required no channeling or charging. Lin Yixin shouldn’t be able to dodge this.

However, she easily side-stepped out of the way of my attack once more. She was way faster than me now!

"It’s all wrong…" I murmured blankly as I lowered the Xuanyuan Sword.

By now, Lin Yixin noticed that something was wrong with me as well. She canceled the sparring match and asked me, "What happened, Little Cheat? Why… why can’t you dodge a simple attack? And why… was I able to dodge your attack so easily?"

I planted the Xuanyuan Sword on the ground and stared at my palm for a moment. Then, I looked up and muttered, "My brain lag has returned. I’m delayed for at least two seconds. I…"

"How can this be?" Her eyes widened in disbelief.

I gritted my teeth as I sat down in front of the territory hall once more. "It’s probably the virus. How ironic. It was the reason I was able to return and even surpass my peak, but now… Well, it doesn’t matter anymore. I wasn’t planning to participate in this year’s WEL anyway…"

"Mn." Lin Yixin sat down beside me and shot me a quiet smile. "If you don’t participate in the WEL, then I won’t either. This competition is utterly meaningless without you. Who else could even fight me for the MVP spot?”

I burst into laughter. "Now now, the other players aren’t that bad. Flowing Cloud, Red Maple and Tear Stain are all powerful opponents, and if Vienna’s Sorrow hadn’t deleted his account, he would almost certainly pose the greatest threat in this competition…"

"Say what you want, but I know I can beat them all." Lin Yixin blinked once before adding, "Just like how I know this competition is yours to take if only you choose to compete in it…"

I shrugged. "If I could function like normal? Sure. With 2 to 3 seconds of delay in my actions? I probably can’t even beat Chaos Moon right now. Nah, it looks like I’ll be spending my days guarding Dark Moon City like a retired security guard…"

"So, what are you going to do now?" she asked.

I thought for a moment before answering, "Nothing. I’m level-capped anyway. I might as well log out and spend some time with you and Xinran…"

"Mn."

……

During the afternoon, Xu Ning visited me with an entourage of people.

He Yi and Lin Yixin were busy pouring tea for Xu Ning while Xinran and I sat together on the sofa. Xu Ning waved them down with a smile on his face. "Thank you, but I’ll be taking my leave soon. I just came here to say a few things."

I asked, "What is it, Uncle Ning?"

Xu Ning turned serious, "There are two things I’d like to talk to you about. First, a research institute at California has analyzed your virus and come to the conclusion that it’s not impossible to research a cure in a month’s time. However, they need data from a test subject who can bear your virus. This is the single greatest obstacle to finding a cure right now, and they’re doing everything they can to find one."

"Thank you. What about the second matter?" I asked.

He smiled. "The second matter is much simpler. The second WEL is about to begin, and a mobilization meeting will be held at Beijing as part of the pre-match promotion. A lot of famous players from all over the world have been invited to attend it as well. If you are okay with it, we would like you to show up for the mobilization meeting as well. Four days ago, you, the champion of the first WEL, wowed the entire world with your achievements. Today, you are the hero of countless men and women. That is why we would like you to attend the meeting. Just treat it as a contribution to Eternal Moon or something. You do hold 25% of its shares, you know…"

I nodded. "But of course. When will we be departing?"

"The day after tomorrow in the afternoon."

"Okay!"

……

After I saw Xu Ning off, I sent most of the girls back into the game, and Xinran to the bathroom to take a bath. Lin Yixin was the only one with me on the balcony.

Sitting on top of my thighs and leaning against my chest like a cat, Lin Yixin said smilingly, "If what Uncle Ning said is true, it looks like your chances of recovery are pretty high, Little Cheat. Cooperate with the treatment with a cheerful and relaxed disposition, understand?"

I nodded. "But of course. I am planning to grow old with you and Sister He Yi, you know? Also, they say that scoundrels live for a thousand years, and if that’s true, a scoundrel as big as me should live for 10,000 years at least!"

Lin Yixin burst into a giggle. "I give you an inch, and you take a mile? Absolutely shameless!!"

I replied while hugging her shoulders, "I’m just speaking the truth…"

"Little Cheat…"

"Hmm?"

"I want to sleep with you tonight…"

"Absolutely not!" I rejected her without hesitation. "The virus in my body has become active once more. My bodily fluids probably resemble a pot of soup right now. If you became infected because I had sex with you…"

"You’re rejecting me again!" She stared at me with a hurt, puppy look on her face.

"Not even your puppy dog eyes will work on me this time!" I said before stealing a kiss from her.

Lin Yixin made a cute whiny sound before wrapping her arms around me. She then kissed me full on the lips and slowly teased me with her tongue. The way her long eyelashes fell over as she closed her eyes was absolutely beautiful.

A while later, she abruptly stopped and looked at me murderously. "Why aren’t you stretching out your tongue?"

Me: "..."

"You are courting death, boy!"

"No, I—"

Before I could defend myself, Lin Yixin suddenly bit me on the shoulder hard enough to draw blood. I let out a yelp of pain and squirmed beneath her body, but I didn’t have it in me to hurt her, nor was I strong enough to push her away from me right now. Combined with the fact that her exquisite body was pressed up against my torso, all I could say that the experience was quite the mix of pain and pleasure.

A few seconds later, Lin Yixin finally let go and raised her head. Beneath the moonlight, her silent eyes and blood-stained lips gave the appearance of an absolutely stunning vampirette. Then, she licked the blood on her lips and visibly swallowed.

"Yiyi, no!" I cried even though it was already too late. "You can’t drink my blood!!"

She had the audacity to smirk at me and say, "It tastes pretty good though…"

I panicked. "Have you gone mad?!"

"I’ll be fine. You’re not the only scoundrel that should be haunting this plane for a thousand years… Also, what is death anyway?"

I stared into her eyes and realized that it was a serious question. I answered quietly, "Death… is to leave this world or to suddenly vanish without warning. Death… is to never be again…"

For a long time, Lin Yixin simply stared at me as if she was lost in thought. Then, her eyes suddenly turned misty, and a pained sob escaped her lips. "But death will not stop me from missing you, Little Cheat. What will I do if I miss you, but you are no longer here?"

……

I recalled something I heard from a long time ago: Who will look for me like mad if I disappear one day? Who will cry like a fool in their seat? Who will look at their friend list and wait for me to come online? Who will hold my photo and engrave my image into their memory again and again? And who will wake up at midnight and weep at the thought of me?