LGSG Chapter 22
by VolareAfter the birthday banquet, a period of calm ensued.
The potential danger of Xie Youdao’s madness was eliminated.
The final Boss was busy getting close with his future wife.
Xia Ran was busy admiring Mr. Xie’s beauty up close every day.
Shen Hua and Fu Qu continued to shine in the kitchen.
Everyone had a bright future.
Except…
In the dead of night, a person climbed out of the lake, dripping wet. He was hauling a heavy object with him. Climbing ashore seemed to have exhausted all his strength.
He casually tossed the heavy object onto the bank, where it rolled a few times before flipping over to face the moonlight. It turned out to be a comatose fat man.
And the miserable, drenched person was none other than Mu Jingyao, who had been dealt with by Xie He last time.
Mu Jingyao spat out a mouthful of lake water with a fishy taste, then couldn’t help but clutch his chest and retch on the shore.
He swept back his soaked bangs, his baby face filled with anger.
How dare this final Boss point the finger at him and slander him arbitrarily!
Wouldn’t he know if he had ambushed the Boss in the middle of the night?
The other party clearly held some personal grudge against him.
Mu Jingyao and the fat man had first been locked in the cellar for a day, without even the promised interrogation. In the middle of the night, they were put in sacks and thrown into this lake.
There were many water ghosts and piranhas in the lake, and anyone timid and incompetent would have died inside.
Mu Jingyao had also used a lot of effort to swim ashore.
He eased the discomfort in his chest.
Mu Jingyao got up, walked to the side of the unconscious fat man, his eyes cold.
He wasn’t actually that kindhearted.
He just wanted to have a mobile blood bag with him.
If he really encountered a tricky monster, he could throw the fat man to it. All that meat should buy him some time.
He didn’t expect to be so lucky. Although it was troublesome along the way, everything was within Mu Jingyao’s ability to handle. The fat man was never needed.
Mu Jingyao kicked the fat man twice, and seeing that he was still unconscious, he gave up on the idea of meddling further. He strolled towards the staff dormitory with his hands in his pockets.
How unlucky.
Just let him find the final Boss’s fatal weakness!
At night, outside the time specified in the employee handbook, Sui Yuan Ju was not as friendly as it was during the day. Ghosts and monsters began to come out, luring sleeping or sleepless players to trigger death conditions. Therefore, everyone preferred to sleep soundly in bed until dawn. The corridors were quiet, and no one would come out to investigate even if there were strange noises.
Mu Jingyao’s footsteps echoed down the corridor.
The echoes made it sound like someone was following closely behind him, mimicking his walking rhythm.
Before officially dying, a player’s employee status was retained. So Mu Jingyao’s dormitory was still there.
Along the way, Mu Jingyao noticed that several rooms were indeed empty during the few days he had been imprisoned and on the verge of death. This meant that some players had accidentally triggered death conditions during their daily work and had been directly “sent away” from Sui Yuan Ju.
There were two ways to die in this type of instance.
One was to die midway. The other was to fail the final assessment and be left in the instance. It was basically the same as being dead.
However, Mu Jingyao estimated that they wouldn’t even make it to the assessment day this time.
Mu Jingyao didn’t return to his own room.
Instead, he came to the room where One-Eye had lived.
After One-Eye died, his identity was replaced. The other party exploited a loophole in the game, so One-Eye was not judged to be dead, and his room was naturally retained.
Inside the room, Fu Qu was bandaging his arm.
He had unbuttoned most of his clothes, revealing many knife wounds on his exposed shoulder.
Fu Qu had only disguised his face. His body was still his original body.
He heard a slow and steady knock at the door.
Fu Qu’s eyes darkened. He put on his coat and went to open the door.
Mu Jingyao stood at the door with a grin: “Boss, how do you like the identity I prepared for you?”
Fu Qu’s face turned cold: “Did you kill someone?”
Even though Fu Qu was using One-Eye’s appearance, his temperament couldn’t be faked.
When he had a cold face, he had a kind of bloody aura.
Mu Jingyao quickly said seriously: “No. I just stole a painting ghost from the storage room and put it in his room. Who would have thought that this guy would be so weak that he couldn’t even beat a ghost and accidentally fell into the lake and drowned.”
Fu Qu frowned, obviously still disapproving of Mu Jingyao’s callous and joking attitude.
But through contact with Shen Hua, Fu Qu’s initial resistance and disgust showed that One-Eye himself was also a jerk. Plus, Fu Qu was already benefiting from the situation, so it seemed a bit hypocritical to severely criticize Mu Jingyao now.
Seeing that Fu Qu wasn’t dwelling on the matter, Mu Jingyao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He quickly changed the subject: “By the way, Boss, why didn’t you tell us when you entered the instance this time? I thought…”
If Mu Jingyao hadn’t seen the conflict between Shen Hua and One-Eye with his own eyes and hadn’t carefully considered it during the days he was imprisoned, Mu Jingyao wouldn’t have been able to confirm Fu Qu’s identity.
Fu Qu: “There are too many people and too many eyes this time. It’s best to be cautious.”
The man paused subtly when he said this.
Then he added expressionlessly: “Also, you have a terrible reputation. If I hang out with you, wouldn’t I become a target of public criticism?”
Mu Jingyao: “…”
If it were someone else, Mu Jingyao would have already started questioning who the other person thought they were.
But this person was Fu Qu.
Mu Jingyao couldn’t beat him. He could only give up.
“Boss,” Mu Jingyao said, “when are you planning to make a move this time?”
Fu Qu cautiously said: “Wait a little longer.”
Even a player as unruly as Mu Jingyao could be so convinced by Fu Qu. Obviously, it wasn’t because Fu Qu was particularly charismatic.
Fu Qu was quite famous in the player community. But very few people had direct contact with him.
His fame was due to his unusually crazy behavior.
In every instance, Fu Qu would personally kill the final Boss.
Regardless of whether it was necessary to fight the Boss or not.
Everyone in the game instances usually prioritized survival, and people like Fu Qu and Xia Ran, who dared to provoke the Boss, were already considered outliers.
And none of the players who had witnessed Fu Qu slaughtering the Bosses were not deeply impressed.
Because his methods could be described as torture.
Logically speaking, human players and instance Bosses shouldn’t have any deep hatred.
But Fu Qu just showed a paranoid madness in this matter.
It made people wonder if his relatives and friends had suffered some tragic experience in the game.
Players of Fu Qu’s level could accumulate enough points to exchange for a game graduation card.
But only Fu Qu was still tirelessly entering instances and killing Bosses.
It was really too crazy.
Mu Jingyao had long admired him, so after Fu Qu made contact in this instance, he didn’t hesitate to recognize Fu Qu as his boss.
But this was the first time Fu Qu had shown such a hesitant attitude.
Mu Jingyao: “?”
Mu Jingyao narrowed his eyes: “Boss, is it possible that this Mr. Xie is so strong that you’re wary of him?”
Fu Qu: “Yes, and no.”
He sighed softly, a hint of solemnity appearing on his face.
Fu Qu put his hand on Mu Jingyao’s shoulder.
“Don’t you think this instance is strange everywhere?”
Mu Jingyao: “.”
He thought it was too damn much.
Who was more qualified to speak on this than him!
The players were strange, the tasks were strange, the death conditions were strange, and that final Boss was even more insane!
One look was worth a thousand words.
Fu Qu: “So I think it’s right to be cautious. As for the final Boss… I haven’t fought him yet.”
Mu Jingyao: “Then why…”
Fu Qu interrupted him.
“I did a task a couple of days ago and discovered something shocking.”
Mu Jingyao looked forward to it: “Is it related to the final Boss?”
Everyone has a gossip-loving mentality. Mu Jingyao was no exception.
He wanted to see what the final Boss could do that would make even a ruthless person like Fu Qu terrified.
Fu Qu: “He can make men pregnant and give birth to children.”
Mu Jingyao: “…”
Mu Jingyao: “Huh?”
His face was dazed.
He felt like his ears had been dirtied.
Finally, Mu Jingyao asked in disbelief, “Who’s pregnant?”
Fu Qu thought for a moment, then said: “I’ll protect the privacy of the person involved. In short, it’s not me.”
Mu Jingyao: “…”
That was the same as saying nothing.
Mu Jingyao’s attitude also became serious: “Then you should be cautious.”
He had never encountered a final Boss with this kind of style before.
Why did he like to make men give birth to his children?
Damn it, was this still the infinite flow channel?
Mu Jingyao had just come out of the lake and he felt the winds of change.
“Listen to my orders later,” Fu Qu said.
Mu Jingyao said goodbye to Fu Qu properly, just turned around to leave.
Fu Qu said behind him again: “By the way, you still have to pretend not to know me in the future, so as not to others misunderstand that we are birds of a feather.”
Mu Jingyao staggered.
No.
How much did Fu Qu dislike his reputation!
Back in his room.
Mu Jingyao’s thoughts became active again.
Of course, he had only just managed to survive. He only dared to think about it in his heart now.
Since the final Boss could make men have children.
That meant that this man should be someone the final Boss cared about very much. Maybe this man was really special to Mr. Xie.
Although Fu Qu protected the privacy of the person involved. But Mu Jingyao could investigate himself.
Whether it was an NPC or a human player.
After he found out, wouldn’t that be the final Boss’s weakness?!
He could just accurately strike that person then.
Even if he couldn’t hurt Mr. Xie, wouldn’t he be able to disgust him?
Mu Jingyao didn’t imagine that the other party might be someone he couldn’t beat.
Like Xia Ran.
He fell asleep indulging in beautiful fantasies.
*
Since Mr. Xie was attacked, Xia Ran had basically not returned to the staff dormitory.
He had been sleeping in the bamboo pavilion.
Shen Hua would sometimes come to the rose garden to talk to him after getting off work.
Or give some small objects to Xia Ran.
Originally, Mr. Xie had initially said that he would shovel all the roses and plant other flowers. Later, he didn’t know why he changed his mind. Said the roses were quite good.
Therefore, the rose garden was still preserved and became a unique landscape of Sui Yuan Ju.
This time Shen Hua didn’t come empty-handed.
He brought a thermos.
He first looked at Xia Ran worriedly.
Then asked: “Mr. Xia, have you seen other players recently?”
Xia Ran shook his head.
Although Xie He, for the sake of his performance, always arranged some daily errands for Xia Ran to help him brush up on his task progress.
But Xia Ran was the type who wouldn’t take the initiative to say hello even if he saw a stranger player.
He actually preferred to chat more with the NPCs.
Because the NPCs in the game weren’t people.
Shen Hua: “Um, I just heard some annoying guys talking about you.”
Shen Hua: “I don’t know how this kind of thing leaked out. But don’t take it to heart!”
Xia Ran: “0.0?”
They players all had lunch together in the large dining room of the staff dormitory.
When Shen Hua walked over, he happened to see a group of people whispering and gossiping.
“Pass it on, the final Boss is keeping a male goldfinch, and they even have a child.”
“What, the final Boss couldn’t get love, so he imprisoned and forced it and ended up with a child?”
“Can men have children… No, that’s not the point. Are they going to have a second child?”
“Damn, they even have a second child!”
Shen Hua: “…”
Shen Hua’s pupils trembled.
If he hadn’t been there at the time.
He would have almost believed it.
Shen Hua initially suspected that Fu Qu was the one who was spreading rumors. Although Fu Qu’s taciturn personality didn’t seem like he was capable of adding fuel to the fire.
Shen Hua questioned Fu Qu: “Did you say that?”
Fu Qu couldn’t help but say: “Crap.”
He shouldn’t have trusted Mu Jingyao’s character.
Facing Shen Hua’s angry eyes.
Fu Qu coughed twice: “I don’t know.”
Half-believing, Shen Hua eventually came to explain to Xia Ran.
And to appease the emotion of boss.
What if the boss got angry, what could he do.
After all, he had a verifiable record of punching the final Boss’s dad with his bare hands.
He told Xia Ran the whole story, dry-mouthed.
Making Xia Ran’s face turn redder and redder.
Shen Hua knew rationally that this was fake.
But he was still inevitably affected by it.
Mainly, that child was so much like Mr. Xie!
“Mr. Xia, did you really not give birth?” Shen Hua’s eyes fell on Xia Ran’s waist and abdomen.
Thinking that he was thin and weak, although hitting people was quite painful, but it would be very painful if he really had a child?
Xia Ran: “.”
Xia Ran: “If you can’t give birth, then I can’t give birth.”
Shen Hua: “Cough cough. I will try my best to dispel the rumors for the Mr. Xia.”
“Forget it,” the black-haired young man sighed, “Mr. Xie and I are pretending to be lovers to deceive his elders. It might not be a bad thing if this rumor spreads.”
It just damaged Mr. Xie’s reputation a bit.
Although Mr. Xie didn’t seem to care about that stuff himself.
“I’m going to do a small task,” Xia Ran said, “want to come along?”
Shen Hua: “Oh, no, I’ll just send you and your Mr. Xie some black-boned chicken soup and leave.”
Xia Ran wondered: “Black-boned chicken soup?”
Shen Hua’s eyes flickered.
Wasn’t it because he felt that the final Boss was so powerful.
If he was really pregnant, he’d give Mr. Xia the black-boned chicken soup to nourish him.
Shen Hua pretended to be serious: “It’s for strengthening the body.”
Xia Ran: “Thank you!”
It just so happened that Mr. Xie said he was too thin.
Xia Ran was unconvinced.
It was good to secretly build him up a little.
But he definitely had to share the good stuff with Mr. Xie.
Xia Ran planned to do the task first.
Then give the black-boned chicken soup to the butler and let him pass it on to Mr. Xie.
Xie He asked Xia Ran to go to the storage room in the Bamboo Garden to get some tea cakes today.
Mr. Xie knew the essence of instance tasks.
Specially used daily small tasks to let Xia Ran brush up on his progress.
Recently it was early July, and there was a saying in ancient times that “the gate of hell opens in mid-July.” This game seemed to be quite in line with folklore.
The night in early July should have been a summer night with a moon and stars, but when he walked to the bamboo forest, he felt a layer of mist rising from the ground.
Sui Yuan Ju was already remote, surrounded by deep mountains and wilderness.
Around the quiet Bamboo Garden, you could always hear the sound of the wind wailing like a weeping ghost and the intermittent cries of apes from afar.
Even Xia Ran felt a little hairy in his heart.
He thought it would be better to get the tea cakes back as soon as possible.
But when he came out of the storage room, he seemed to have lost his sense of direction.
The fog thickly obscured the view.
Xia Ran: “…”
Xia Ran hugged the small wooden box in his arms and slowly and tentatively walked forward step by step.
Suddenly, he heard a soft sigh.
From among the dense bamboo forest, it seemed that something suddenly hung down from above.
Xia Ran: “!”
Xia Ran subconsciously punched out.
The thing was suddenly blown away and fell to the ground.
With a bang.
Xia Ran was dumbfounded.
It’s over.
It seemed like he had hit someone.
He walked over to take a look.
Was shocked.
White hair, a tall figure. The opera mask on his face was cracked in the middle by Xia Ran’s punch.
Revealing a face that Xia Ran was very familiar with but also somewhat unfamiliar with.
The other party’s eyes were tightly closed.
After all, Xia Ran punched him eight miles away.
Xia Ran: “…”
It’s over. It seems like… he got into trouble again.
Looks like Mr. Xie.
But Xia Ran still remembered the setting that Mr. Xie had told him.
Could it be another illegitimate child of Xie Youdao?
Xia Ran was a little angry.
He was mainly angry with Xie Youdao.
Because he himself was a fan of white hair.
It was really hard to be angry with white-haired handsome guys.
Plus, this young man looked fifteen or sixteen years old because of his age, although his features were still a bit childish, they were already close to Mr. Xie’s appearance.
It was like… he had come into contact with Mr. Xie’s past.
Xia Ran squatted down and patted his face with his hand.
“Are you okay?”
The clear and pleasant voice made the young man’s eyelashes flutter.
He opened his black eyes like dry wells.
What came into view was a black-haired young man with concern on his face under the moonlight.
So beautiful.
The young man thought.
*
Mr. Xie turned another page of the book.
The candle flickered.
The butler silently appeared at Mr. Xie’s door.
“Mr. Xie, Xia Ran has been out getting tea cakes for so long?”
The black-boned chicken soup would lose its flavor if it was too hot.
Mr. Xie: “…”
Mr. Xie coldly looked at him: “You talk too much.”
The candle flickered again.
Mr. Xie put down the book he had been holding upside down.
And sat expressionlessly in his wheelchair, threading a needle to sew Xia Ran’s clothes.