Chapter 68 WeChat Master X
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[Have you eaten]
Chu Feng glanced at the WeChat chat page. X sent a very ordinary opening line, a cliché without any novelty –
[Eaten.]
Chu Feng quickly replied. He didn’t like people who chatted in a flashy manner. Except for Xie Shiyu.
X on the other side didn’t reply immediately. Since Chu Feng had nothing to do at the moment, he waited on the chat page. His mind was filled with thoughts about which little Xie was the real core. Perhaps he could indirectly ask this regulator about it later.
Chu Feng’s fingertips slid up and down on the chat page for a while. He noticed that the chat history between him and X had become more and more extensive during this period. From initially wanting to delete this person, to occasionally asking questions about the game, to now exchanging morning and evening greetings and asking about meals.
There was a subtle sense of something not quite right.
Would a normal regulator-player relationship be like this?
Chu Feng felt that this regulator was very dedicated and a nice person, but the matters in the game should stay in the game. He didn’t want to have any real interaction with X.
Looking at the chat history, he had a gut feeling that X might have some other intentions towards him. Being busy professionals, sending morning and evening greetings every day and asking about meals seemed a bit too much.
But he couldn’t be completely sure. Who knew, maybe X was just idle. If one day he wanted to delete X and didn’t want to continue chatting like this…
His slender fingertips paused on the phone keypad.
Chu Feng suddenly realized that he couldn’t even come up with a rejection line.
Reviewing the entire chat history, X had been straightforward from start to finish. His style of conversation was honest and plain, either replying to the player’s questions about the game or sending simple greetings like “Good morning, have you eaten?”
Occasionally, X would send some cat emoticons, but those were usually in response to ones sent by Chu Feng himself.
If X had been a bit flirtatious in his chat, Chu Feng could still have something to hold onto and refuse him sternly.
But he couldn’t find anything now.
***
On a distant Pacific island country.
X held his phone, sitting in his wheelchair, in his own bedroom. The salty sea breeze blew in from outside the window, and the sky was dotted with clouds like sprinkled salt.
He stared at the chat page.Chu Feng replied with just two words:
[Eaten.]
— Very cold.
If they continued with this topic of eating, it would go like this:
“What did you eat?”
“I ate XX.”
“Haha, I ate YY.”
“Oh.”
A visible awkwardness.
Under normal circumstances, X would have replied immediately and tried to steer the conversation to a new topic. This new topic would likely be related to Chu Feng’s virtual husband, prompting Chu Feng to continue replying.
But today, X suddenly didn’t feel like replying.
He wanted to take a gamble.
Ever since he first saw Chu Feng, X had developed a strong interest in this player. Never before had a stranger given him such a feeling.
X wasn’t sure where things would go with Chu Feng, but he didn’t want their interaction to end with just the game. He felt irritated seeing Chu Feng immersed in his virtual game with various little Xies hugging and kissing him.
With Chu Feng’s handsome face, X thought that once his husband died, there would definitely be plenty of suitors in real life. Yet Chu Feng clung to his virtual husband day after day, even after two years of being widowed, he was still single-minded. X couldn’t understand what was so great about that Xie Shiyu.
For the sake of the player’s mental and emotional health, as the highest regulator, X believed he had a certain obligation to help Chu Feng face reality and find a second chance at love.
From his analysis and observation, cases like Chu Feng’s psychologically couldn’t accept another person’s presence quickly. If a stranger with ill intentions were to enter his WeChat and chat with him in a frivolous manner, revealing his malicious intentions, Chu Feng would blacklist him within days.
So all along, X had been using simple, straightforward language to chat with Chu Feng. The conversation mostly revolved around Chu Feng’s virtual husband, along with the help he provided Chu Feng in the game. X thought that he should have accumulated some initial goodwill from Chu Feng by now.
Moreover, with the current crisis of the virus in Chu Feng’s Dream City, X, as a regulator, had significant leverage.
With a bit of initial goodwill and sufficient utility value, Chu Feng wouldn’t delete his WeChat in the short term. Not only would he not delete it, but perhaps…
He would take the initiative to chat with him.
X held his phone like a hunter holding a gun on a hunt.
、
、
Chu Feng flipped through the chat history, his fingertips sliding up and down, wanting to see what new topic X had opened up during this time…
[Eaten]
Chu Feng was slightly startled.
Their latest chat ended with his own reply, two cold words.
X didn’t respond to him.
Strange, this person used to reply instantly.
Chu Feng held his phone, feeling a bit puzzled. Did X suddenly have something to do?
Or should he wait a bit…
One minute passed.
X still didn’t reply.
Their conversation awkwardly froze at: “Eaten.”
Chu Feng looked at the two words he had sent and thought, indeed, it was a bit cold. If he wanted to chat with someone he wasn’t too familiar with, and the other person replied with just two words: “Eaten,” and then nothing else…
Chu Feng didn’t want to continue chatting either.
The character Little Xie was still in danger in the game, and there might be a need for this regulator in the future.Chu Feng thought that, for the sake of Little X, it would be best to maintain a normal and friendly relationship with the regulator in the short term. That way, he could ask X for help if he encountered any difficulties.
Tap, tap, the sound of the phone keys being pressed. Chu Feng was typing…
***
15 seconds later
X waited until the chat box showed:
“The other party is typing…”
Buzz—
The phone vibrated, and the WeChat hunter X smiled.
Chu Feng took the initiative to send him a message:
[I was thinking about how old the real one is when I was eating just now.]
This new topic of conversation was exactly what X wanted. He could discuss it with Chu Feng all night long, and if they couldn’t reach a conclusion, nobody would blame him.
After all, he didn’t know Chu Feng’s husband, Xie Shiyu, so how could he know which age was the real one?
X: [Who do you suspect? I saw you crossing out names on the list in the game.]
[Several suspects have been identified.]
Originally, Chu Feng didn’t plan to reveal too much to X, an outsider, because Xie Shiyu’s hidden secrets were truly not to be divulged.
But…
Xie Shiyu was no longer in this world. And X was just an outsider who didn’t know Xie Shiyu at all, let alone guess what Xie Shiyu had done based on the bits and pieces he revealed.
[There are a total of six suspects.]
Chu Feng pressed the number keys and sent the ages of the six Little Xies to X.
He was struggling with a lack of clues. With less than 70 hours left, he didn’t have time to investigate all six Little Xs thoroughly.
Last time, when chatting with X, Chu Feng noticed that this regulator had a strange intuition when it came to investigating Little Xie. Perhaps this time, chatting with him could yield some results too.
14, 13, 12, 11, 8, and 9 years old.
X looked at these six numbers, pondering.
Chu Feng: [Which one do you think it is?]
X: [Only ages, no other clues?]
Chu Feng: [Yeah.]
X: [Only 16 has the right probability.]
Chu Feng: [Just pick one based on your intuition.]
X glanced at the six age numbers. Suddenly, his gaze stopped at a certain number, and his heart skipped a beat. It seemed that this age held significant importance to him, as if something major had happened at that age.
X was about to send this number to Chu Feng…
Right before clicking the green [Send] button, X’s finger paused. He suddenly realized that this was a good opportunity.
——To further develop his relationship with Chu Feng.
X immediately deleted the number and instead pitifully typed into the input box:
[Is there no reward for guessing right? Puppy eyes]
“…”
Chu Feng looked at the little emoticon X sent, a fluffy puppy looking up at him with teary eyes, asking for a reward.
—–Truly a man of society, never working for nothing.
As a fellow member of society, Chu Feng could understand X’s mindset. He quickly replied:
[So what reward do you want?]
X looked at the message that popped up, smiling slightly. The Chu Feng on the other side seemed so innocent, which surprised him a little. He typed softly…
***
[The other party is typing…]
Chu Feng thought that X probably just wanted some money, or maybe he wanted a gift indirectly. After all, it ultimately came down to material desires. Chu Feng was now materially well-off and didn’t care how much money or items others asked for.
***
Buzz—
Chu Feng saw X’s reply pop up on his phone:
[If I really guess correctly, how about treating me to a meal?]
Chu Feng was taken aback. Having a meal was normal, but… having a meal with someone he knew from the game in real life was completely different.
Moreover, X should be at the regulator center in the Pacific island country, thousands of miles away. There was no way he could treat him to a meal. Chu Feng politely replied:
[Sure, just let me know when you have a chance to come to City H in China, and I’ll treat you to a meal.]
——As for whether X would have the chance to come to City H, that was none of his concern.
***
Looking at the location of City H, X now knew Chu Feng’s coordinates.
And as long as he went, Chu Feng would have to treat him to a meal.
They would meet in the real world.
***
Buzz—
Chu Feng lowered his head to read the message:
X: [Thank you]
Chu Feng: ?
This person was now earnestly thanking him for treating him to a meal, as if X were going to fly to City H tomorrow.
Chu Feng reminded: [There’s only a reward if you guess right.]
X sent the age he had just thought of to Chu Feng:
[13 years old]
Chu Feng: [Why?]
X: [Intuition]
Chu Feng: [… There must be some basis for it.]
X thought for a moment, vaguely remembering:
[Isn’t it that in China, those under 14 are not held criminally responsible.]
——13 years old is the last chance.
***
Chu Feng looked at the message X sent, feeling a chill.
X had no idea about Dr. Xie and the seven-year-old Little X, so how did he know that Xie Shiyu might have committed something in the past?
Chu Feng: [???]
A string of question marks were thrown in front of X, questioning.
X immediately realized that what he said was inappropriate. By saying so, it seemed like he was baselessly accusing someone’s husband of committing a crime, and doing so in front of Chu Feng.
X corrected himself:
[Sorry, I didn’t mean that, I was just guessing.]
Chu Feng: [How did you know about the Chinese law regarding those under 14?]
X: […It’s common legal knowledge.]
There was a pause on the other side:
Chu Feng: [China reduced the age limit seven years ago, and only those under 12 are not held criminally responsible.]
—Everyone’s legal knowledge has long been updated.
This time, it was X’s turn to be momentarily stunned.
Chu Feng: [Didn’t you lose your memory?]
Someone who supposedly forgot even their own name could still remember an old Chinese law from seven years ago.
—Either X was lying about losing his memory, or he had committed some offense at thirteen that made him remember the law so well.
As a socially astute person, Chu Feng naturally wouldn’t ask such a question directly. Instead, he tactfully typed: “Were you involved in Chinese law-related work before you lost your memory?”
X: “…”
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