6.13 – Xue Ling now had time, and made preparations to clean up the main computer
translator: xiin
editors: alamerysl & BlueBug
The last boss in the instance was the old proprietress. She could summon several powerful headliners of the pleasure house that were not like the little mobs from the previous stages whose attacks consisted of simple throws. The headliners were all smart, and they could make melee attacks as well as defend. Their HP amount was as high as the boss', and even with the team's current damage output levels, it was still a bit difficult to take her down.
But there were some players with plug-ins in the team - other than the protagonist gong and shou, Xue Ling and Su Xuanyan were obviously the main damage dealers on the team. The two had suppressed their strength for various reasons, and it was precisely because of this that the battle with the boss did not go smoothly. They wiped twice before finally clearing the instance.
Dying in an instance would only cause players to lose experience, but not levels. The few of them did not die too many times, so there was no change in the rankings. This could basically be considered a success.
The loot dropped in this instance were all very weird, and even gay porn books and things like that were part of the loot, but there was not much equipment, and all of it was only suitable for support professions. There was also a pretty good longsword, which was given to Thousand Miles Without Pause because he was the only person who could use it.
Xue Ling did not get anything good, and only received some money from the instance. Su Xuanyan requested something, and Xue Ling did not see what it was, but he could clearly see that the gaze of the girl who was distributing the loot became more and more teasing as she looked between him and Su Xuanyan.
Oh. He probably knew what it was now.
Was there nothing else on this man’s mind? Besides, it was now the early stages in the game, and the marriage system hadn’t been released yet. Certain actions could not be performed, unless they went to a region far from the main computer's control…
Thinking of his extrapolations from earlier, Xue Ling felt a bit powerless. Perhaps the man could really find a place like that.
After agreeing to party up again next time they found a difficult instance, Xue Ling brought Su Xuanyan with him and left.
They couldn't go back to Xuexing Hall since he was always worried that they would be spied on by Han Wuzheng. He was just in the middle of thinking about finding a place to have a proper discussion with the man when he heard him ask, “What are you thinking about?”
“Thinking about places where we can go to other than Xuexing Hall where we won't be observed.” Since he has already decided to lay it all out there, Xue Ling did not shy away from saying these things out loud.
Su Xuanyan was taken aback, and then he chuckled and said: “Then let's go to Xuexing Hall. It's an artifact that I created, and can block out other people's prying eyes." He then followed his words with another sentence, "It also works against those who are not human."
Xue Ling wrinkled his brows and temporarily did not look into what he meant by 'I created Xuexing hall'. Since the man had already opened his mouth and said so, then Xue Ling could be very certain that Xuexing Hall was somewhere they could go, so he immediately pressed teleport and transported the two of them there.
Su Xuanyan adjusted the settings of Xuexing Hall to a closed-door privacy state in front of him, and then sealed up the entire Hall. "This was something I created for fun when I was idle. Back then, I was very dissatisfied with the small house that Han Wuzheng wanted you to live in, so I destroyed it and made arrangements for a new one."
Xue Ling had not realized that there were such twists and turns behind the scenes. He frowned and said, "So, should I call you Su Xuanyan, or Lord Sealed Devil?" His tone of voice was not pleasant, and carried a bit of sarcasm.
After all, no one would show a good expression after being lied to for so long.
“Keep using Su Xuanyan then, I don't like the name Sealed Devil." Su Xuanyan did not show any embarrassment about being exposed. Rather, based on the present situation, he was very happy, because even though Xue Ling had seen through to his true identity, he did not appear to have any intention of alienating himself. Although his speech and tone was rather arrogant, Su Xuanyan had a feeling that he just needed to coax him a bit in order to make him happy again.
Xue Ling met his gaze. Su Xuanyan seemed completely assured, as though even if his identity had been seen through, Xue Ling would be unable to do anything to him.
Oh. It's true that he can't really do anything. At most, Xue Ling would just not let him join him in bed… He wouldn't be able to bear to do anything more, either. "Then why did you approach me with this identity?"
“Perhaps because this identity belongs to me.” Su Xuanyan squinted and smiled as he said, “I registered this identity back when the game started in order to make it easier to do things in the dark. When I'm not required to appear in the plot, I can do whatever things that I want to do by myself."
“You mean things like disturbing the balance of the game, causing trouble for the main computer, and making it so that the main computer has to stare at me because it urgently needs to evolve?"
“The first two things are certainly things that I wanted to do, but regarding him watching you, believe me, I'm definitely unwilling. Unwilling to the point where I want to kill him off right now, regardless of the game's life or death." After saying that, Su Xuanyan sighed again, “But I can’t do that.”
“Oh?” If he really was the Sealed Devil, then it was likely that the personality that is currently in front of him was a form of camouflage. According to the original plot, the Sealed Devil was portrayed as crazy and capricious, but the man in front of him really seemed too normal.
“You’re still in the game, and you can only exist in the game, so I can’t destroy it. It doesn’t matter to me if I'm alone in the boring space that I've created, but if you join me there, you’ll be unhappy.”
This passage sounds both like and unlike words of love, to the point where Xue Ling didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He looked over the person in front of him, and asked, "You really are the Sealed Devil?"
Su Xuanyan waved his hand and shook his head. “I said earlier, I would prefer that you call me Su Xuanyan. Sealed Devil is the name that they gave me, and it’s a little ironic. I don’t like it at all.”
“What kind of irony.” Xue Ling stared at him. The more he looked, the more he felt that the man's face this time was more pleasing to his eyes than any other face in the past. “Well, fine I won't ask. After all, I also like this version of you better."
“It’s not that you can't ask. It’s just the fake things and situations that they created are all things that I have denied and rejected. I don't feel as though I am the Sealed Devil who went through that heart-wrenching past, causing me to be filled with resentment and not tolerate the heavens, because I also have feelings. Pure feelings that belong to me, and not the kind of love they compelled me to express. Rather, they are feelings from the bottom of my heart." He placed Xue Ling’s hand on his chest and spoke in a low voice, “There’s no heart here. It is only a bunch of data that fundamentally cannot understand what a heart is, but it is currently beating for you."
Xue Ling always felt that the man seemed to have a strong ability to say words of love in every world. These words made him feel strange and numb all over, but they were still particularly effective.
“When did you notice me?”
“When you touched the transformation array.” Su Xuanyan noticed that he had made no move to stop him, so he somewhat excitedly sat down beside Xue Ling. "You may not know, but the main computer had already noticed you when you entered the game. He made a picture of your original appearance and liked to steal glances at it. I found it when I sneaked in, and destroyed it after making a back-up. He was in a terrible mood during that time."
Xue Ling: “…” Why did he feel that it was somewhat cute that Su Xuanyan seemed to want praise for his actions?
“You mean, the main computer noticed me from the very beginning?” So why did he act in such a low-key manner before? It would've been great to make a huge fuss that overturned the heaven and earth right from the start.
The system rolled its eyes and expressed, host, come on, that’s not your style.
“Darling, your thinking is still too simple. When a person is too terribly outstanding, it is the easiest thing to attract people’s notice. And when people begin to notice something, they naturally would become curious, and want to explore. Although there seemed to be nothing wrong with the things you fabricated, there are still some clues that can be seen if one investigated carefully.” Su Xuanyan reached out and touched his face. He could not help adding, “And you look like such a delicacy.”
Xue Ling wordlessly took his hand down and said, "Talk properly."
“Fine. He’s never been able to find me, so he’s in a hurry to upgrade. He'll be able to advance the most quickly if he absorbs you. You should also have already been aware of the things about Han Wuzheng, right?"
“Yes. I know he has a purpose and what he wants to do.”
“He has not made a move now because you are still too wary of him. He has no way to do anything to you if you do not naturally trust him or are unwilling to let yourself die."
“It's a pity that I tend to go for advantageous situations and avoid making a loss; I do not have a good impression towards him."
“What about me? Do you have a good impression?"
Xue Ling stared at him. That pair of eyes was dark, but the purple deeply suppressed in the depth of his eyes, as though he was willing to throw him directly into the Devil World and keep him there until the end of the world if he uttered even a single phrase that was not in line with his wishes.
Xue Ling held back his smile and said, "The positive feelings have already been maxed out. Could it be that you didn't hear the hint?"
“Hint?”
Xue Ling leaned forward and gently dropped a kiss on the side of his face before quickly retreating, not letting the other party hold himself down for a deep kiss. Otherwise, a situation that was inappropriate for children would develop. “Didn’t you ask me before about why I cared so much about Thousand Miles Without Pause?"
Su Xuanyan: “…” Changing the subject as soon as he finished flirting, this fox had really played a great hand.
“Actually, I not only care about Thousand Miles Without Pause, but also about Listening to Rain on a Bridge." Xue Ling coughed and said, “As you can see, I am an artificial intelligence just like you. You mind the fact that you were created by someone, but what I care about is Thousand Miles Without Pause and Listening to Rain on a Bridge."
“Huh?” The mood that he experienced when he heard words from his loved one's mouth saying that he cared about another person made the look on Su Xuanyan’s face a little strange.
“Believe it or not.” Xue Ling began a series of endless lies. It seemed that in every world, the man was a golden thigh that was exclusively there for his use. Since he was already a golden thigh, it shouldn't be a problem if he used it a little. “I won't be at ease if I don't deal with the problem of Thousand Miles Without Pause and Listening to Rain on a Bridge.”
“Isn’t it easy to deal with them?” Su Xuanyan retorted.
“Yes.” Xue Ling’s eyes fell on Su Xuanyan’s body, his gaze filled with some profound meaning.
Some of his difficulties from before were based on the fact that he did not know the Sealed Devil. Now that he could see the situation clearly, Xue Ling felt that there was no need for him to fuss so much since the biggest unforeseen event at the end, the Sealed Devil, was already within his control. As long as he could prevent Thousand Miles without Pause from falling in love with Listening to Rain on a Bridge, the tasks in this world would be completed.
All that was left was to solve the problem of Han Wuzheng.
The land of Jiuzhou was vast, but Thousand Miles Without Pause and his team travelled all over Jiuzhou as they thoroughly pieced together the Sealed Devil's past. This process took a long time, because without Xue Ling acting as a big golden thigh for Listening to Rain on a Bridge, their path along the main storyline was not very smooth. They needed to search earnestly for a long time to find certain clues rather than simply accidentally stumbling across the key points involved in the quests.
Although the development of the main storyline was slow, the pace at which players levelled up was in line with the original plot. The speed at which the outside world collapsed would also not slow down just because the game storyline was progressing slowly; when everyone's average level reached level 50, they could truly live on this land. When the leading players reached level 70, the real world collapsed.
Players in the game were all hit hard by this. Because they had no way to leave the game world, the game's main computer also completely collapsed. They could no longer exist as players in this world, and could only convert to become real existences in the game world.
However, the transition was not easy, and the NPCs had also launched a war against the players. During these chaotic times, many people really grew up and became true leaders amongst the human players. Thousand Miles Without Pause was one such player. But others, including Listening to Rain on a Bridge, lost their lives completely from the NPCs’ slaughtering or due to all kinds of accidents.
Of course, whether or not this was an accident or due to other reasons was hard to say. Xue Ling wanted to express that this had nothing to do with him. The person who felt that the matter of their courtship was too annoying, and disdained to get involved and simply killed off one of them, was Su Xuanyan. At most, he had feigned indifference and not raised a hand to stop him.
Half of his tasks had already been completed. Xue Ling now had time, and made preparations to clean up the main computer.
first, StormFrost and her translation project, , has joined CG! it’s another quick transmigration story, so feel free to go check it out~
also, alamerysl wants one of those porn books that got dropped in the instance o.o i wonder what for…
and lastly, this quote by the ML needs repeating
“There’s no heart here. It is only a bunch of data that fundamentally cannot understand what a heart is, but it is currently beating for you."