WTYTIAAN Chapter 12
by VolareHowever, it seemed that the other party really had no hostility towards them. Yan Yunqing pulled up his hood again and lowered his voice, saying, “Thank you.”
Then, without looking back, he ran in the direction the other person pointed.
The masked man watched Yan Yunqing leave before running towards his own target again.
*
This journey was surprisingly smooth. They didn’t encounter a single person along the way. Yan Yunqing ran a good distance from the blasted-open hole and stood on a dark path, only then realizing he had escaped.
Lillian, who had been nestled in Yan Yunqing’s hood, popped her head out, looking relieved. “That was scary! I thought we were going to be killed right there. That guy didn’t look easy to mess with.”
Yan Yunqing looked thoughtful, glancing at the top of Lillian’s head. He noticed that at some point, the words “[Lv.45 Lillian]” had appeared there, particularly eye-catching in the darkness.
Strange, when did that appear?
Why hadn’t he noticed it before? Could it be that his cheat was only now fully installed?
Yan Yunqing investigated a bit and finally realized that the quest [Escape the Auction House] on his quest panel was marked as completed, and his level had increased from 0 to 1.
Many other functions had been added to the game panel. Yan Yunqing scanned it and found many useful features.
He even saw a [Mini-Map] function in the game panel. He tapped it, and a simplified, detailed map unfolded before him. A white dot represented him, and two green dots next to him represented Lillian and the little mermaid, presumably meaning they were friendly.
Not far away, there were clusters of yellow dots and a group of red dots intertwined. This was easy to understand; it must be the neutral ‘Crimson Mist’ people fighting the antagonistic Auction House people.
So, if he had this mini-map function from the start, would he have needed to rack his brains trying to figure out how to escape?
So, the game functions weren’t fully unlocked at level 0?
Yan Yunqing was speechless for a few seconds, feeling like cursing but not knowing who to curse at, a feeling of choked silence.
Really, he felt like this world was a huge, ramshackle stage.
He was so amused he almost laughed.
Yan Yunqing surveyed his surroundings, using the markings on the mini-map to find his bearings. “Let’s go. That guy was right; we can’t stay here too long. It’s best to leave tonight.”
If it was just them escaping, that would be one thing, but the ‘Crimson Mist’ organization was involved. It looked like they had something big planned for tonight, maybe even assassinating some high-ranking nobles.
Once those people’s families reacted and the entire city was placed under martial law, it would be harder for them to leave.
Carrying the little mermaid and with Lillian leading the way, Yan Yunqing walked carefully, trying to avoid everyone, regardless of their faction, with the help of the mini-map.
Fortunately, it was late at night, and not many people were out and about.
However, the mini-map’s scouting function wasn’t as amazing as Yan Yunqing had imagined. It could only detect the movements of NPCs within a radius of about ten meters around Yan Yunqing.
Like a little radar.
When they reached the edge of the city, Yan Yunqing found that the city gates were tightly shut, and the city walls were heavily guarded. It would be impossible to leave under cover of darkness.
“After all, this is the capital city of Bato Vita,” Lillian said. “If even the capital city wasn’t heavily guarded, then the royal family might as well step down and be replaced.”
Yan Yunqing frowned. “That’s bad. If we wait until morning, who knows what new situation might arise?”
Lillian was also thinking. “Let me think, what kind of magic could be useful in this situation…”
“You…”
The two of them were quietly pondering, when a hoarse voice suddenly appeared, startling both Yan Yunqing and Lillian, who were trying to figure out how to leave the city.
“Yikes!”
“Holy crap!”
Yan Yunqing almost pulled out the dagger from his backpack, ready for a final battle. He looked around and realized it was the little mermaid, who had been sleeping on his shoulder, waking up.
“You’re awake!” Lillian flew to the little mermaid’s face. “How are you feeling?”
“This guy went to a lot of trouble to save you. Say thank you to the kitty.”
“Thank… kitty?” The mermaid opened her mouth, repeating Lillian’s words like a parrot, her voice as hoarse as a detuned zither that hadn’t been maintained for years, completely different from the singing voice Yan Yunqing had imagined a mermaid would have.
“I told you not to call me kitty! Stop pretending you can’t hear me!” Yan Yunqing rolled his eyes. “If you call me kitty again, I’ll leave you behind.”
“Is that how you treat the great Lillian?” Lillian protested. “When you need me, you call me ‘dear,’ and when you don’t, you threaten to leave me behind. You’re such a bad kitty!”
“When have I ever called you ‘dear’?” Yan Yunqing felt slandered.
“Hmph.” Lillian flew a little higher.
“So… did you save me?” The mermaid raised a hand and realized she was secured to Yan Yunqing’s back with a piece of cloth. She couldn’t help but poke Yan Yunqing’s shoulder. “Um, can you put me down now?”
“It wasn’t really saving, we just happened to run into each other,” Yan Yunqing replied, realizing that the mermaid was still on his back. He bent down slightly, untying the rag and letting the mermaid slowly slide to the ground.
“Besides, you helped me first.”
The mermaid staggered noticeably when her feet touched the ground. Yan Yunqing quickly steadied her. She took a moment to adjust before finally standing firm.
Yan Yunqing’s gaze lingered on the top of the mermaid’s head for a fleeting moment, then quickly shifted away.
“Ah…” The mermaid stared at Yan Yunqing’s face for a while, her gaze lingering on the pair of cat ears on his head. “So it was you, the little… locked in the cage…”
“Wait! Stop right there!” Yan Yunqing made a gesture to pause. “My name is Yan Yunqing. You can call me A-Yan, or Yunqing… Brother Yan, Little Yan are fine, but ‘kitty’ is too embarrassing.”
“Oh.” The mermaid blinked. “Um, A-Yan? Calling you Brother Yan seems a bit… actually, I’m already fifty-six years old this year.”
Yan Yunqing’s pupils shrank. “Wait, fifty-six years old?!”
He couldn’t help but take two steps back. “Then… then should I be calling you Auntie Mermaid or something…”
The mermaid stared at Yan Yunqing’s panicked expression for a long time before bursting out laughing. “I’m just kidding, I’m not fifty-six years old.”
Lillian also laughed loudly. “Kitty, the lifespan of hybrids isn’t long! She obviously isn’t that old. What are you thinking?”
Yan Yunqing: …
He couldn’t help but glare at Lillian. “What are you so smug about? Speaking of which, you’re the oldest among us, right? The oldest but the smallest, what do you have to be proud of? Auntie Lillian?”
“Hey, hey!” Lillian jumped. “Don’t call me Auntie Lillian! I’m still a young elf! A baby, a baby!”
Yan Yunqing rolled his eyes and continued dancing on Lillian’s landmine. “Auntie Lillian, Grandma Lillian, Lillian—”
“Enough, enough!” Lillian lunged forward and covered Yan Yunqing’s mouth. “Don’t casually discuss a woman’s age! Especially not a girl’s!”
Yan Yunqing dodged away. “Ha? Don’t you elves not have gender distinctions in your youth? What kind of girl are you?”
Lillian missed her grab, and her eyes widened as she heard his words. “Wait, you know about that? Aren’t you a kitty with no common sense? How do you even know our elven race’s secret?”
Yan Yunqing finally turned the tables, feeling extremely proud. “I know more than you think.”
Of course, he knew. He had been shocked once before by the elves’ Schrodinger’s gender when he played “Demon King.”
Back then, the Elf King, who Lillian referred to as the first-generation Elf King, was a meticulously illustrated male elf. Unexpectedly, in the later stages of the game, he confessed to Yan Yunqing, startling Yan Yunqing. He thought he was playing a game with the wrong orientation and quickly refused, using the excuse, “Sorry, I like women.”
The Elf King only paused for a moment and said, “I see, I understand.”
The next day when Yan Yunqing logged in, he found that the Elf King’s illustration had changed from male to female.
Although it was still long hair and the same face, the lines were obviously softer, and the pectoral muscles had mysteriously grown larger.
Yan Yunqing was dumbfounded. The Elf King came to him again and said, “I’m a woman now, can I like you?” completely confusing Yan Yunqing.
After learning about the elven race’s settings, Yan Yunqing realized that the elves’ gender was Schrodinger’s. They had no gender distinction in their youth, and after adulthood, they would differentiate into male or female based on the elf’s subjective intentions.
Of course, after elves differentiated their gender, if they felt that another gender was more suitable for them, they only needed to make a wish at the Elven Mother Tree to change their gender again.
Regarding this Schrodinger’s gender, the game’s explanation was: Elves were the only beings besides angels who didn’t need their own race to reproduce. All elves hatched from fruits grown on the Elven Mother Tree, and after death, they would also return to the embrace of the Elven Mother Tree, so gender wasn’t important to them.
Yan Yunqing said he didn’t understand, because the remaining angels, who also didn’t need their race to reproduce, didn’t have the ability to change their gender at will!
After understanding all the settings of the elven race, Yan Yunqing solemnly rejected the Elf King’s request for love, declaring righteously that as long as the war had not ended and the world was not at peace, he would not have the time to think about love affairs.
It was also from the Elf King’s sudden confession that the Demon King’s retainers began to become strangely perverted towards the Demon King. The most typical example was the dragon prince who peeled off his own tendons, drew out his own bones, and even chose the most beautiful scales on his body to make armor and give it to the Demon King.
Although the college entrance examination was an important reason, as an art student who ranked among the top in the art exam scores, the cultural course scores didn’t actually need to be too high to be admitted to his desired school.
Moreover, Yan Yunqing’s cultural scores had always been good, and occasionally playing games wasn’t excessive.
So, if it wasn’t for the fact that the retainers were too difficult (perverted) to deal with, and Yan Yunqing only wanted to focus on infrastructure construction, he wouldn’t have quit the game so decisively.
This, ah, this is because the construction gene in the bones of the people of China doesn’t allow Yan Yunqing to mess around with love affairs.