Chapter 101 You actually deceived me again
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Lin Zhaohe listened to Zhuang Lao’s description and felt his heart break. A cold wind seeped into the depths of his being, freezing his blood and wounds.
The chill spread from his heart to his limbs, making him shiver. He stared at Zhuang Lao, unable to speak for a while. Finally, his trembling voice asked, “Did the deity’s lover agree?”
Zhuang Lao was about to respond when there was a sudden knock on the door. He froze and stood up. “I’ll go check.”
“Let me go,” Lin Zhaohe stopped Zhuang Lao. He wanted to see who had come.
Looking through the peephole, Lin Zhaohe saw the person outside knocking. It sent shivers down his spine.
Standing outside the door were over twenty strangers, the same ones he had seen downstairs earlier. Wearing matching clothes, they stared expressionlessly at the door. Before Lin Zhaohe could say anything, they all raised their right hands and pointed at him. Their movements and expressions were identical, as if they were clones.
Lin Zhaohe turned back and decided to let Zhuang Lao handle it. “Boss, your colleague is looking for you.”
Perhaps due to Lin Zhaohe’s expression of disdain, Zhuang Lao couldn’t help but laugh. Lin Zhaohe looked like a startled cat, all fluffed up and pitifully cute. Zhuang Lao said, “I’ll take care of it.”
“You go ahead.”
Zhuang Lao opened the door directly. The person on the other side was surprised to see Zhuang Lao. After a moment of bewilderment, his once cold face suddenly became fawning. What was even more bizarre was that the people behind him started fawning as well. The scene transformed from a horror movie to a comedy. The person said, “Mr. Zhuang, what brings you here?”
Zhuang Lao replied, “Why can’t I be here?”
The person hesitated for a moment and glanced at Lin Zhaohe, then said, “Well…”
Lin Zhaohe, who had been timid just moments ago, had seen enough of the grotesque and monstrous creatures after the fusion. However, these peculiar-looking people still frightened him a bit. Standing behind Zhuang Lao, he asserted himself. “What do you want from me?”
“Well,” the person forced a smile, clearly not skilled in such expressions. His face looked stiff as he said, “We are from a gaming company. Currently, there are exploits being used to level up in the game. To maintain game balance, the company will be reclaiming accounts before reaching level ninety…”
Lin Zhaohe: “But the accounts are players’ private property. How can you simply reclaim them?”
The person: “Before entering the game, you filled out a user agreement that strictly regulates account ownership. Players only have the right to use them, while the company remains the owner.”
Lin Zhaohe was dumbfounded. He didn’t expect this group of people to have mastered the tricks created by unscrupulous gaming companies before the apocalypse. From a legal perspective, he found himself speechless.
Lin Zhaohe: “Do you say the same thing to every player?”
The person: “Yes, we do.”
Lin Zhaohe: “Did they willingly give you their accounts?” He couldn’t believe that players who could come up with various leveling methods would simply hand over their hard-earned accounts.
The person: “Of course, there were some who attempted to escape, but we caught them and brought them back for re-education…”
Lin Zhaohe: “What you’re doing is illegal.”
The person: “Mr. Lin, you can’t say that. We are a legally compliant debt collection company. Those players are the defaulters.” He sounded aggrieved as he continued, “Legally speaking, those players were profiting from malicious game bugs and refused to comply with the company’s account retrieval process!” His arguments were logical and persuasive, making Lin Zhaohe suddenly realize his own shortcomings in debating.
Unable to convince them with reason, Lin Zhaohe decided to seek help from an external party and looked at Zhuang Lao.
Zhuang Lao smiled subtly and gestured to the man. “Just let Xiao Xu go. We have his account. We’ll change the password, and he won’t be able to play anymore.”
The person breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in agreement.
Hearing these words, Lin Zhaohe found it strange and asked, “Aren’t you from a gaming company? Why do you need to come to people’s doors to reclaim their accounts?”
Zhuang Lao calmly stated, “Gaming companies can only maintain the operation of the game and don’t have the authority to interfere with the data inside. At most, they can monitor players’ levels.”
Lin Zhaohe fell silent. If players quickly reached level one hundred, they would witness the gradual collapse of the beautiful world constructed by the deity. The books in the library would be fully accessible to them. It was hard to predict how people in reality would change mentally, but it would undoubtedly bring about significant unease.
However, Lin Zhaohe felt that there was a deeper meaning behind their actions. After careful consideration, he understood. “You want to create a deity first… and then destroy it?”
No one said a word. The person looked at Zhuang Lao, seemingly seeking approval. Zhuang Lao nodded, indicating that he could leave. As a result, the group of people turned around simultaneously and swiftly disappeared from Lin Zhaohe’s sight. Lin Zhaohe couldn’t stop them. All he could do was look at Zhuang Lao and ask, “Mr. Zhuang, isn’t your intention a bit too obvious? What exactly are you planning to do?”
Zhuang Lao: “Xiao He, the world needs a deity.”
Lin Zhaohe: “……”
Zhuang Lao gently stroked his head, his fingertips brushing through Lin Zhaohe’s furry ears, savoring their soft touch, and letting out a satisfied sigh.
After a moment of silence, Lin Zhaohe asked, “Is the deity also controlled by the proponents?”
Zhuang Lao: “… No, it isn’t.”
“By the way, where were we just now?” When interrupted by the group of people, he completely forgot what he had been discussing with Zhuang Lao. No matter how hard he patted his head, he couldn’t recall it. However, another question came to mind, “Right, what was the first wish the deity made when it came into the world?”
Zhuang Lao: “Take a guess.”
Lin Zhaohe: “To separate the two-dimensional world from reality?”
Zhuang Lao: “Of course not.”
Lin Zhaohe: “Why not?”
Zhuang Lao: “Because the deity itself belongs to the two-dimensional world. Can a god make a wish to disappear? Clearly, that surpasses the capabilities of a god.”
Lin Zhaohe pondered and realized that it made sense. The deity itself came from the two-dimensional world, so if it made a wish to completely separate the two dimensions, wouldn’t they be subjecting themselves to being a divided part? In that case, would their wish still hold any meaning? It seemed like an unsolvable paradox.
“However, the deity can eliminate the fusion, so rounding it off, it’s as if the two-dimensional world ceases to exist,” Zhuang Lao said. “It can be considered a useful tool.”
Lin Zhaohe agreed, “Indeed.” After a moment of silence, he finally made an effort to recall the interrupted question, “Did the deity’s lover make a wish for the deity to disappear?”
Zhuang Lao remained silent for a moment and replied, “I don’t know the answer either.”
Lin Zhaohe was taken aback.
“This is the end of the story,” Zhuang Lao said. “When your character reaches level 200, you will see the conclusion of the story.”
Lin Zhaohe asked, “Has your character reached level 200, Boss?”
Zhuang Lao blinked mischievously and replied, “Actually, when I created the character, it was already at the maximum level.”
“Then why did you deceive me, claiming you didn’t even reach level ten!” Lin Zhaohe, once again deceived, became furious and pointed at Zhuang Lao. “Zhuang Lao, if you have anything else to lie to me about, I advise you to tell me all of it in one go!”
Zhuang Lao: “There isn’t anything else.”
Lin Zhaohe: “What’s with your evasive gaze? Look into my eyes and say there isn’t!”
Zhuang Lao: “There really isn’t.”
Lin Zhaohe: “Do my eyes grow on my nose?”
After a moment of silence, Zhuang Lao gave up struggling and admitted, “Fine, I lied to you again.”
Lin Zhaohe rolled up his sleeves, building up anger. Then he heard Zhuang Lao speak in a small voice, “Actually, Xiao He’s ears could have turned back to normal a long time ago.”
Lin Zhaohe: “……”
“The Qi Mola egg in the office is fake,” Zhuang Lao stated boldly but with an indirect reasoning. “I found a way to help her regain her human form a long time ago. I just couldn’t bear to part with Xiao He’s adorable puppy ears, so…” He sighed and took advantage of Lin Zhaohe once again. “I’m sorry, Xiao He. It’s just that I’ve been too selfish.”
Lin Zhaohe was speechless, feeling deflated like a punctured balloon. “Zhuang Lao, could you please stop filling your mind with perverted thoughts? All day long, you’re thinking about all sorts of nonsensical things!”
Zhuang Lao remained silent, standing there looking somewhat forlorn. Seeing his expression, Lin Zhaohe’s heart softened again. In his eyes, Zhuang Lao was the pitiful deity created by believers, only to be betrayed by them. But he still didn’t know if he ultimately fulfilled his lover’s wish.
Wait, lover.
Lin Zhaohe seized upon a crucial keyword. His tender gaze immediately transformed into a vigilant one, scanning Zhuang Lao up and down. “Boss.”
Zhuang Lao: “Hmm?”
Lin Zhaohe: “Am I your first love in this lifetime?”
Zhuang Lao: “…Certainly.” This question felt odd to him.
As expected, Lin Zhaohe had a unique way of thinking. He stared at Zhuang Lao with suspicion and continued, “So, it’s possible that in your previous life, you were with someone else, and it was that person who made this request to you—”
Zhuang Lao had no words to offer. “I’m not entirely sure, which deity are you referring to.”
Lin Zhaohe: “Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
Zhuang Lao didn’t know what to say. At this point, it seemed that Lin Zhaohe had already concluded that he was the unfortunate deity. Unable to defend himself any longer, Zhuang Lao had a change of heart and decided not to argue. “If I were a deity, I would definitely fulfill one wish.”
Lin Zhaohe asked him what that wish would be.
“I hope that Xiao He’s little puppy ears would always remain on his head.”
Lin Zhaohe sighed. This deity, Zhuang Lao, was truly incapable of achieving great things!
Lin Zhaohe initially wanted Zhuang Lao to provide him with a fully leveled game account so that he could experience the unseen landscapes within the game. However, before he could voice his request, Lin Zhaohe heard a series of piercing screams—not just one, but multiple screams. Among them were the desperate cries of children.
Lin Zhaohe anxiously asked, “What’s happening?”
Zhuang Lao said, “I’ll go check it out.”
The winter night was particularly cold, and sporadic snowflakes drifted down from the sky, marking the first snowfall of the year.
Lin Zhaohe followed Zhuang Lao as they rushed out of the house. In the corridor, they were stunned by the sight before them.
In front of them stood a massive black beast, towering hundreds of meters tall. The creature resembled a mutated lizard, covered in sharp scales from head to toe. It trampled upon the buildings on the ground, leaving no survivors among the residents. And it continued to advance, its footsteps leading it toward the city center.
Lin Zhaohe was well acquainted with it. It was the reigning champion in the tokusatsu shows he loved to watch during his childhood. The appearance of such a thing in reality was nothing short of a colossal disaster.
Zhuang Lao’s expression turned grave as he mentioned that he needed to go there. Lin Zhaohe said, “I’ll go too!”
Zhuang Lao replied, “You can go, but…”
Lin Zhaohe: “But what?”
Zhuang Lao: “But you have to transform into Yellow Banana Girl to go.” Human Lin Zhaohe was vulnerable, but as Yellow Banana Girl, he would be much safer.
Lin Zhaohe was speechless. Faced with Zhuang Lao’s insistence, he could only reluctantly agree, accepting the humiliation.
[A/N]:
Zhuang Lao: Actually, I lied one more time…
Lin Zhaohe: ????
Zhuang Lao lowered his voice: Last time, before you passed out, I mentioned it would be the last… Actually…
Lin Zhaohe: Shut up!!!!
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