Ling Huai was expressionless, her deep ocean-like eyes turned pitch black.
She stared unblinkingly at the players and mumbled quietly: “You’re right.”
Avian Ruler: “Hey hey hey!”
Xie ChengYan: “So ungrateful?”
Gou Cheng: “You guys are kind of forcibly pointing fingers here.”
5cum: “Even Dou E was not treated this unjustly. I’d rather hear you say I was unfaithful to you.”
This Majesty is Most Beautiful: “To raise the difficulty level, is logic not even required anymore?”
Love Escapist: “I’m going to file a complaint on you guys, just wait for it.”
Jiang Chen was silent for a moment. Feeling like he shouldn’t let the little girl carry his blame, he said: “She’s not wrong. I chose ‘Do not help’ initially.”
The riverside fell into a strange stillness momentarily. Immediately afterwards, the group looked at him in unison: “ —What?”
No way, this was a hidden story quest. How can a player choose “Do not help”?
For what reason? No matter how rebellious, you can’t act like this! Not to mention, you already chose “Do not help”, so why can they play up to now? Have they been walking the narrow path right from the start and can only survive to this point?
Xie ChengYan asked very sincerely: “Di, what were you thinking?”
In the Glimmering Lights River, after Ling Huai finished saying that sentence, the curse smiled in satisfaction. Dispersing again into black mist, it slowly enveloped her body.
Even during such a crucial juncture like this, Jiang Chen didn’t forget his identity as uncle and instructed: “Take that ‘Di’ back.”
Pausing briefly and taking consideration of his image inside his nephew’s heart, he tried to justify himself: “I feel like I’m not the only person to blame here.”
If a certain guy next him had attempted to persuade him otherwise, even just a little, rather than encouraging his mischief, they wouldn’t have gone down this path of no return.
Fang JingXing said with a smile: “En, I am also at fault.”
Love Escapist was speechless: “What were you guys thinking?”
Fang JingXing said: “Just wanted to give it a try.”
Avian Ruler and the others: “……”
What the hell is there to try here?
You guys are really not afraid of failing the mission, huh?!
However, arguing about this right now was pointless.
After the curse and Ling Huai finished merging, the group saw a countdown appearing before their eyes.
At the same time, the quest log updated with a new mission: Ling Huai blackened due to the curse’s influence. They needed to withstand the Ling Huai’s resentful attacks for an entire minute.
After one minute, Ling Huai will return to normal.
If they fail to withstand them, the quest line will freeze for three days as punishment for their youthful ignorance and heartlessness. Players can only continue to play after three days.
Countdown: three, two, one!
Ling Huai instantly charged in front of Jiang Chen, raised her hand, and hit him.
With a “crack”, Jiang Chen froze over completely.
Jiang Chen: “……”
Fang JingXing: “……”
The rest of the people: “……”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Qlatbea rjslcu j kbgv, Mjcu AlcuWlcu aegcfv jgbecv jcv gjc lwwfvljafis. Lbkfnfg, jr atf klacfrr bo atf “Gb cba tfiq” yjmx atfc, tlr juugb lc Olcu Lejl’r fsfr kfgf bcis rfmbcv ab Aljcu Jtfc. Coafg ogffhlcu Aljcu Jtfc, atf rfmbcv bcf rtf mtjgufv ja kjr tlw.
Fang JingXing was naturally not as fast in comparison. He was also frozen.
Avian Ruler and the others: “……”
It’s over. The two big thighs were already gone right at the start of the game.
Seeing this trend, it’s practically one slap, a little friend. Freezing them all probably won’t even take 10 seconds. Lasting for an entire minute was basically a fantastical dream.
The group dispersed in a rush, making a final struggle. They were caught one after another by Ling Huai and frozen into cubes.
In a mere three seconds, she had frozen two more people. Seeing her charge over, Avian Ruler gave up and closed his eyes, waiting to be frozen.
Jiang Chen and Fang JingXing finally returned to their senses from this unexpected mishap. Practically at the same time, they thought the same thing and said: “Take off your clothes!”
Avian Ruler had listened to their commands so much these days, he practically developed a habit and subconsciously removed all of the gear he wore.
Ling Huai raised her hand and was just about to swing down when she abruptly encountered the view of his underwear and buck-naked body. With a ‘Ya’, she covered her face, turned around, and dove into the river.
Avian Ruler: “…….”
The rest of the people: “……”
This fucking…… works?!
Jiang Chen and Fang JingXing felt relieved.
They suddenly recalled that Ling Huai had this setting, but they weren’t sure if it worked on players who had already selected a build. Nevertheless, given the desperate situation, they had no choice but to try. Who would have imagined, this setting still worked.
Two seconds later, Ling Huai recovered her senses and charged over furiously again.
The remaining people, who could still move, nimbly removed their gear as well without even waiting for the Aces to speak.
“Ya!” Ling Huai covered her face again and dove into the river.
The babbling of water by the riverside, the gentle fresh breeze blowing by, the scenery accompanied by background music, and the coolness of four ice blocks— All of these greeted those in their underwear.
Movie King Xie, who had a rather heavy idol baggage, stood by the riverside with a pretty complicated expression: “Who would have thought that one day, I’d act like a perverted scoundrel to a little girl.”
Gou Cheng: “Me too……”
Avian Ruler: “I……I once ran around the riverside naked……”
5cum: “I actually don’t care…… Hai girl, we meet again.”
Ling Huai, who just appeared again, turned around and ran off once more.
This occurred several times on repeat. Seconds later, the countdown ended. They successfully survived the crisis and those who were frozen also slowly thawed one by one.
For a moment, Avian Ruler and the others didn’t know what to say.
As expected of Aces however, to actually pass even after reaching such a state.
But nevertheless…… they still didn’t understand why the two had insisted on choosing “Do not help”!
The group looked at the two Aces and thought to themselves, Forget it, as long as the Aces are happy.
Xie ChengYan said: “Listen to me guys, forget about what happened today. Don’t tell anyone else about it.”
Gou Cheng said: “That’s right. Even if we will release a guide in the future, we can’t tell anyone else about this.”
It’s too humiliating.
On the other side, the black mist covering Ling Huai disappeared and she returned to her cute and kind-hearted appearance. She didn’t even remember the immoral scoundrel behavior that she had experienced.
Gary cared even less.
He probably only saw Ling Huai winning against the curse and patted her head in relief. Bringing the heroes back to the small tribe near the Forest of Despair, he finally mentioned the gatekeeper old man’s little sister, An Yan.
As it turned out, when they searched their way to this place back then, An Yan was captured by the tribe. Immediately afterwards, she lost her memories and became the holy priestess of the tribe. He heard that there was a cure in the forest, so he went to look for it. Unexpectedly, as soon as he set foot inside there, he was cursed immediately afterwards, unable to come out since then.
After receiving news of Ling Huai, he originally wanted to see Ling Huai first and then come rescue An Yan together with Ling Huai.
Who knew Ling Huai was in that state, so he could only come to save An Yan first and then bring An Yan over to rescue Ling Huai.
He said: “As for the method to save An Yan……”
The 8-man squad instantly listened earnestly, afraid to miss any important information.
Gary said: “I didn’t think of one yet.”
The 8-man squad: “…….”
Didn’t think of one yet, but you still headed over here?
Gary said: “In any case, let’s kidnap her and then see how it goes. Sorry to inconvenience you heroes.”
The mission updated: Kidnap An Yan.
Nice. After being perverted scoundrels, now they were about to become bandits.
The group reached the vicinity of the tribe and discovered that because the sacred stone had vanished, the atmosphere within the tribe was tense. There were twice the amount of people as before.
The mission stated that everyone must be involved in kidnapping An Yan.
As such, the group snuck around inside under Fang JingXing’s commands. Unfortunately, it’s easy to devolve into chaos with a lot of people. They tried three times, but failed completely.
Fang JingXing said: “This won’t work. I will lure them away. You lead the squad.”
Jiang Chen nodded.
So Fang JingXing took with him the cleric, This Majesty is Most Beautiful, thinking if needed the cleric can heal him.
Jiang Chen and the others waited in place. Seeing the commotion starting over there, he led the others straight to the priestess’s tent and hid, crouching behind a screen.
Half a minute later, An Yan returned.
She wore the headdress of a priestess and a fiery-red fishtail skirt, looking absolutely gorgeous and unparalleled.
Jiang Chen and the others originally planned to take action, but they saw the curtains lift upward. Several weeping and crying women walked inside and knelt down before the priestess. Clasping their hands together, they said devotedly: “Priestess, protect my clan. I hope the warriors can recover the sacred stone as soon as possible.”
Sitting at the head position, An Yan comforted warmly: “Don’t worry. They will.”
The women cried for quite a while before leaving anxiously.
Jiang Chen was just about to get up when two more women came inside, also praying and crying.
With a soothing smile, An Yan calmed them down and watched them leave benevolently.
Immediately afterwards, some more people came, crying as soon as they knelt down, as if the sky had fallen.
Jiang Chen and the others: “……”
Gou Cheng whispered: “Is there an end to this?”
Xie ChengYan said: “I suspect there isn’t.”
Avian Ruler said: “Me too……”
During their exchange, the third wave of people also left.
An Yan’s expression changed. Getting up, she kicked the chair and started to pace back and forth inside the tent: “God dammit, isn’t it just a piece of rock? If it’s lost, it’s lost. Crying crying crying, each and everyone of them acting is like their mom had died or something!”
Jiang Chen and the others: “……”
Before they recovered their senses, they saw the curtains lift and a child walked inside.
An Yan’s expression changed instantly. She said warmly: “What’s the matter?”
The child held a booklet: “I don’t know how to solve the problems the teacher gave.”
An Yan said with a smile: “Let me see. Oh four plus six. Try to count on your fingers.”
The child started counting obediently and said: “It’s ten.”
An Yan praised: “So smart. Then you should know how to do the next problem, two plus four, right?”
The child had a dumbfounded expression: “No.”
“……” An Yan smiled faintly: “It’s okay, I’ll teach you.”
A familiar voice spoke up in squad chat.
Fang JingXing asked with a smile: “Still not done?”
Jiang Chen looked at the adult and child counting fingers and said: “One second.”
This ‘one second’ lasted through three waves of children.
An Yan gave another kick to the chair and said furiously: “Two plus six equals seven! Three plus eight equals ten! If there aren’t enough fingers, aren’t there still fucking toes? Instead of asking their own parents, they insist on coming to ask me. After asking, they still don’t know. Do they think I’m not dying faster enough or something?!”
Behind the screen, the group watched silently, utterly speechless.
Gou Cheng said: “Can I tell you guys something. When I heard that she had immediately lost her memories as soon as she was captured and then got promoted to being the priestess, at first, I even had a conspiracy theory, thinking that she was the one behind everything.”
Love Escapist and the others didn’t reply, but they also thought the same.
Who would have imagined, the priestess was the tribe’s babysitter and lucky koi, consulted for every little thing. How tragic.
Jiang Chen said: “Pay attention.”
The group instantly focused.
Jiang Chen looked at An Yan.
Last time, she moved closer to the screen. Who knows if she’ll do it this time.
He waited briefly and saw that sure enough, she walked over again, so he charged out swiftly. Covering her mouth, he nimbly wrapped her up and carried her back behind the screen.
The next second, the curtains lifted. Another person came in search of the priestess.
The new arrival looked around and then went out in confusion. His voice could still be heard outside: “The priestess is not here. Let’s go.”
The people inside the tent walked to the door and looked outside. Discovering that it was clear, they carried the priestess and returned the same way they came. Seeing no patrols along the way, they couldn’t help but feel somewhat curious.
Xie ChengYan asked in squad chat: “What did you do?”
Fang JingXing said with a smile: “I was the one who stole the sacred stone. I still have it.”
Hiding in the distance and observing, This Majesty is Most Beautiful explained in detail: “He discovered a nice spot on the altar over here, climbed up, and started waving the sacred stone around. He’s currently being surrounded by a group of people.”
Gou Cheng: “Amazing.”
5cum: “Ace, still so 666.”
Avian Ruler: “How are you going to leave in a bit?”
Fang JingXing said: “I’ll throw the sacred stone. There will be enough time for me to run, no need to worry.”
Jiang Chen said: “We’re out, retreat.”
Fang JingXing smiled and said “En.”
Two minutes later, the group gathered outside the tribe and brought An Yan to Gary.
That was a wild ride 😭
pfffft- so I’m guessing An Yan’s amnesia was a disguise? No?
“Believe it or not” is actually a really common phrase in English, we even had a very popular TV show called ‘Ripley’s Believe It or Not’.
Oh yea, that old show… Either way, the direct translation loses the threatening intonation of the OG text. So I’ll just leave it. Thanks for reminding me tho. I personally don’t hear it used much in English then. 😂