Chapter 83.2 Unique game (1)
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“Come in,” Lin Zhaohe said.
Lin Yan pushed open the door. His body hadn’t returned to normal yet. Now he was wearing a thin strap top and khaki pants, with his long hair tied up in a ponytail. He looked youthful, vibrant, and incredibly beautiful. Even walking on the street, he would catch people’s attention.
As soon as he entered, his gaze fell upon Luo Shanyu, who was standing next to Lin Zhaohe. The two locked eyes, and the air seemed to freeze.
Luo Shanyu’s expression remained devoid of emotion, but his brows furrowed instantly. Lin Zhaohe’s heart skipped a beat as he sensed trouble. It wasn’t surprising that Luo Shanyu recognized Lin Yan even in his transformed state, considering they had been close friends for so many years.
Observing the increasingly serious expression on Luo Shanyu’s face, Lin Zhaohe became tense and anxious. He feared that the two might start fighting without a word, which would only bring disaster to his home. After all, they had been good friends for many years, and Luo Shanyu would surely bear a grudge if he found out about the actions of “Lin Yan” that contradicted his ideals.
Lin Yan’s expression also froze. They stood in place without moving for a while. In an instant, he recognized Luo Shanyu’s identity. Lin Yan had known that Luo Shanyu had fused over, but due to certain circumstances, he had been avoiding meeting him. However, he didn’t expect him to suddenly appear right in front of his eyes like this.
Lin Yan knew Luo Shanyu’s personality inside out, and if he found out about the contradictory actions of “Lin Yan” that went against their shared ideals, he would undoubtedly hold a grudge against him.
Lin Yan remained silent for a while, his mind running through countless possibilities. He watched as Luo Shanyu approached him, his body slightly tensed, ready for any aggression from him.
Luo Shanyu furrowed his brow, his gaze fixed firmly on Lin Yan’s face. They were standing very close to each other. His lips trembled slightly before he finally spoke, catching everyone off guard. “Miss, do you have a boyfriend? I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere. Could you give me your contact information?”
Lin Yan: “……”
Lin Zhaohe & Zhuang Lao: “……”
In the air, silence spread like a plague.
Lin Yan’s eyes widened, staring at Luo Shanyu, his longtime friend who had never shown any interest in women.
In the past, they used to tease Luo Shanyu, jokingly suggesting that if a girl handed him an envelope with a request to wait for her after school, he would undoubtedly assume it was a bullying attempt and retaliate by giving her a solid beating before leaving. Such was his nature. And now, he was voluntarily asking for a girl’s contact information? Lin Yan thought it was as unbelievable as seeing a ghost.
“He already has a boyfriend,” Lin Zhaohe’s words broke the silence in the air. He quickly came to Lin Yan’s rescue. “They even have a three-year-old child!”
Luo Shanyu fell silent.
Lin Yan’s awareness became hazy, and a thought flashed through his mind: “The last time I saw you, you were still a virgin. Now, you’re a mother to a three-year-old child.” Fearing that Luo Shanyu would recognize him, he didn’t object to the persona that Lin Zhaohe had created for him.
When faced with the fact that his love interest was a mother, a normal person would usually consider it a deal-breaker.
Unfortunately, Luo Shanyu was clearly not within the bounds of normalcy. He said, “It’s fine, I don’t mind.”
Everyone else: “……”
“Being married is not an obstacle. Divorce is always an option,” Luo Shanyu stated. “I love children the most.”
This was an outrageous lie. Those who had read the original work knew well enough about Luo Shanyu’s temperament. He was even more explosive than Mr. Li. Claiming that he loved children was pure nonsense. He only refrained from cooking them up because Lin Yan stood in his way. And now, in front of the two people who understood him the best, Luo Shanyu was calmly lying, leaving Lin Zhaohe unable to resist covering his face in silence.
Lin Yan’s expression twisted. He never expected his best Brother to have such a side.
“I need to talk to Lin Zhaohe about something,” Lin Yan ignored Luo Shanyu’s declaration of love. He bypassed that topic and looked straight at Lin Zhaohe.
“I know why you’re here. We are currently figuring out how to deal with this matter,” Lin Zhaohe said. “We can’t locate the server’s address at the moment, so we can’t stop the game.”
“Can’t we just disconnect the internet?” Lin Yan suggested. “Set up barriers for the game to reduce the number of players?”
“It’s difficult,” Zhuang Lao shook his head. “This is a power struggle between two sides. Until one side gains a complete advantage, they don’t have the authority to do so.”
The pressure on the populace to survive was already immense. If measures like power and internet restrictions were imposed, it could potentially trigger even more intense resentment among the people. Rather than living in frustration, it was better to die in a straightforward manner. The never-ending battle, with no glimpse of victory in sight, slowly eroded people’s will. They would likely choose to give up on themselves, consumed by despair.
This was the worst-case scenario, so a prolonged internet or power outage was simply not possible.
“What do we do then?” Lin Yan asked. “Are we just going to let their numbers grow unchecked?”
“Why not?” AI clearly sided with the affirmative. It whispered softly, “It can’t possibly get any worse than it is now.”
“You never know,” Zhuang Lao retorted coldly.
Their only hope now rested with the AI. They relied on it to gather information about the server. However, its attitude left Lin Zhaohe feeling uneasy. After all, even if it found the information, it could find ways to delay and withhold it from them.
Meanwhile, Luo Shanyu was persistently trying to obtain Lin Yan’s contact information. But how could Lin Yan ever give it to him? He coldly stated that they were already married and asked Mr. Luo to respect his boundaries.
Upon hearing this, Luo Shanyu’s expression turned strange. “Mr. Luo? How do you know my surname is Luo? They didn’t call me by my name when you came in.”
Lin Yan was at a loss for words.
Lin Zhaohe quickly intervened, explaining that they had introduced Luo Shanyu in their communication before his arrival. This explanation sufficed for the moment. Lin Zhaohe then exchanged a glance with Lin Yan, urging him to quickly call Mr. Li to discourage Luo Shanyu. With his difficult and stubborn personality, he wouldn’t give up pursuing a girl or completing a task until he achieved his goal. Lin Yan had no choice but to message Mr. Li, asking him to come and help as soon as possible. He couldn’t risk confronting Luo Shanyu directly. They were too familiar with each other, and he would likely see through any attempts to deceive him.
Mr. Li was probably nearby and arrived promptly, carrying a square block in his hand. Lin Zhaohe recognized it—it was his own Little Red Square. How did it end up in Mr. Li’s possession?
“What happened to your Little Red Square?” Mr. Li asked. “When I came up, I saw it sitting at the stairwell, crying.”
“Crying?” Lin Zhaohe realized that he hadn’t seen Little Red Square when he arrived home. Taking a closer look, he noticed a hole in its little red dress, and the bow it often wore on its head was missing. That bow was its favorite thing, supposedly bought with the first money it earned in the three-dimensional world. Little Red Square treasured it like a precious item, and now it was gone.
“Wuwuwu, wuwu,” it sobbed as Mr. Li held it, its large eyes brimming with tears.
“What’s wrong, Little Red Square?” Lin Zhaohe quickly lifted it up, gently caressing its cheek to offer comfort. “Who bullied you?”
Little Red Square cried inconsolably, sniffing and hiccuping, saying that all its friends had been taken away, every single one of them…
Lin Zhaohe had heard before that its friends were often captured. “They’re still capturing you all. What are they doing with you? Do they really need that many stools?” Even if they were fully automated stools, such a large quantity seemed unnecessary to Lin Zhaohe.
“I don’t know,” Little Red Square couldn’t comprehend why they were capturing them either. However, they had a group chat where they used to have lively conversations. Many blocks would talk, but now there were fewer and fewer blocks speaking. If it weren’t for living at Lin Zhaohe’s home, it feared it would have been taken away too.
Today, its luck was bad. It was going out to buy ingredients for Lin Zhaohe’s cooking when it encountered those people again. They immediately captured its companions who were with it. Fortunately, it managed to escape and encountered Mr. Li. However, even so, it lost its friends and its most beloved large red bow. Just like its helpless existence, there was nothing left but a mess on the ground.
At this point, Little Red Square burst into loud cries, with tears dramatically pooling on the ground, which deeply saddened Lin Zhaohe. While Lin Zhaohe wasn’t sure about other blocks, this Little Red Square in his home was well-behaved, diligently managing its life and even cooking delicious chicken soup. Every time Lin Zhaohe returned home exhausted and took a sip, he would feel refreshed and rejuvenated.
Lin Zhaohe couldn’t bear to see Little Red Square being bullied. He firmly declared that he would address this injustice today and find out which sinister forces were capturing blocks everywhere, treating them as if they had no rights. “Come on, let’s go and see who dares to bully them,” Lin Zhaohe said with determination.
Mr. Li asked, “Isn’t that why you called me over, to seek revenge for Little Red Square? Do I really need to make a special trip for this?”
“Of course not,” Lin Zhaohe replied. “It’s because someone has taken an interest in your wife.”
Lin Yan initially wanted to say that he was not Mr. Li’s wife, but after glancing at the predatory gaze of Luo Shanyu, he decided to keep quiet and admit defeat, shrinking his neck and remaining silent.
Mr. Li rolled up his sleeves and asked, “Who is it? Who dares to be so foolish?” There was only one stranger in this room. His eyes naturally fell upon Luo Shanyu.
Luo Shanyu showed no signs of fear and locked eyes with Mr. Li, sparks flying between them. He said, “You’re not worthy of her.”
Mr. Li retorted, “And who do you think you are?”
“Alright, enough,” Lin Zhaohe, afraid that they would start fighting, tried to mediate. “Let’s maintain the beauty of civilized adults. Her husband is already here, so you should stop interfering.”
Luo Shanyu sneered, “Who knows? You might kick the bucket one day.”
Mr. Li declared, “Rest assured, I will definitely avenge you.”
Lin Yan’s expression became bewildered, unsure if he was bewildered by his own marital and pregnancy status or by the fact that his best Brother seemed to have taken an interest in him.
Indeed, Brother was the best, with such similar tastes.
Upon realizing that they wouldn’t fight, Lin Zhaohe felt relieved. He asked Mr. Li about the whereabouts of the person who captured Little Red Square. He was determined to take matters into his own hands.
“It seems like they headed towards East Street in a van,” Mr. Li shared what he had seen. “The license plate number was Ad23455…”
Upon hearing “van,” Lin Zhaohe immediately recalled the time when they encountered dog thieves while visiting the countryside. They would drive a van outside someone’s yard, take the opportunity when the yard owner wasn’t paying attention, and snatch the dogs before swiftly driving away.
Now, times had changed. Instead of stealing dogs, they were stealing blocks like Little Red Square.
Lin Zhaohe asked who would join him. Lin Yan looked left and right but saw no one making a move. So he silently raised his hand, wanting to keep a distance from Luo Shanyu. As soon as Lin Yan’s hand went up, Luo Shanyu promptly declared that he would go too. He couldn’t stand those wicked individuals… He always chose to help the weak and oppressed.
Lin Zhaohe and Lin Yan wore expressions of confusion, wondering what kind of nonsense this person was spouting.
Who didn’t know that Luo Shanyu was the most likely character to betray them in the original story? Fans even joked that Lin Yan was Luo Shanyu’s dog on a leash, and once the leash was loosened, this vicious dog would immediately bite anyone. However, the current situation didn’t quite fit that narrative. With Lin Yan gone, Luo Shanyu was still diligently trying to save the world.
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