That night, I couldn't fall asleep even though I was lying in my warm bed.
"Ugh …"
I abruptly sat up. In my half-awake state, I seemed to have heard Xinran's cry of surprise. The image of Xinran falling into the darkness kept replaying in my mind. The look of attachment and reluctance in her eyes was like a brand that could never be erased. If I didn't save Xinran from the Purgatory Realm, I would probably live in guilt and self-blame for the rest of my life.
Moreover, I missed her a lot...
… …
I picked up the phone next to me. It was 3 am. After thinking for a long time, I scrolled through the list of names and finally dialed a number. It was Qin Yun, the vice president of the Eternal Moon Corporation's southern branch.
Doo doo …
The phone rang for five times before the other party finally picked up.
"Hello?
Lu Chen? "Qin Yun's voice sounded a bit drowsy. Clearly, I had woken her up from a dream.
I hesitated for two seconds before making up my mind. "It's me, Qin Yun. Hello, I'm Lu Chen …"
Qin Yun smiled. "Why are you calling me in the middle of the night? What's up?"
"Mn, it's about …" I hesitated.
Qin Yun let out a soft chuckle and cut to the chase. "It's about Xinran, isn't it?"
I let out a sigh. "Mn, I'm very worried about Xinran's safety. That's why I can't wait until the server maintenance is over. I want to ask you how Xinran is doing in the Purgatory Realm. How … how should I find her after I enter the Purgatory Realm?"
Qin Yun pondered for a moment before saying, "There are some things I can't tell you. Even if I am the vice president of the southern branch, I can't break the confidentiality agreement. Also, the things you're asking about are controlled by the system's mainframe, so I can't know about them. In fact, no one else but the mainframe knows about them. Shusheng is also …"
"Shusheng?"
"Mn. Let him talk to you!"
Very soon, the person on the phone changed. Ding Shusheng's voice came from the other end. "Hello, Lu Chen!"
"Yes, Scholar."
His tone was a little helpless. "Sister Yun and I are both vice presidents of Eternal Moon City's southern branch, but neither of us have the right to interfere with the progression of the game's storyline because it's been designed a long time ago. Once it's implanted into the mainframe, we can't do anything about it anymore. Also, Lu Chen, I'm just like you. I miss her in the game, and I really want to see her … but because of work and the NDA, I can only watch from afar. Do you know how it feels?"
I was stunned. "I don't know …"
"It doesn't matter if you don't know. Anyway, thank you. Thank you for saving Ice Orchid from the Draconic Glacier. Although I don't know where she will be stationed, I will definitely find her in that virtual world. Even if her memories have been wiped, I will definitely wake her up. So, Lu Chen, do your best. Xinran will definitely survive in the Purgatory Plane. She knows that someone who loves her will do anything to find her. Moreover, this person is unparalleled in the world, isn't he?"
I finally smiled in relief, "Yes, I believe I can find her. I also have to thank you, Shusheng!"
"Yes, I'll stop. If I continue, I'll wake up Ling Xue …"
I nodded. "One more question."
"What?"
"It's so late, and you're still with Ling Xue and Qin Yun. You're sleeping together, aren't you?
You … "
The other side of the phone was a mess. A moment later, Shusheng said, "If I say that I'm lying in the attic with them and watching the stars, waiting for a meteor to fly across the sky and make a wish that I'll be rich next year, would you believe me?"
I said solemnly, "Then I'd rather believe that a meteor shot through your villa and smashed Ling Xue and Qin Yun into your bed!"
Shusheng was silent. Qin Yun's laughter came from the other side of the phone. "Alright, enough. You two perverts really can't be allowed to talk. It's so dark, the entire world is perverted!"
Amidst the laughter, the call ended.
… …
I put down the phone and fell silent for a while. I couldn't fall asleep, so I made a cup of coffee, put on a coat and walked to the balcony.
I held the hot coffee and stared at the stars in the sky. My mind was a mess, and I was very worried about Xinran's situation in the Purgatory Abyss. Xinran had been seriously injured by Lin Na the moment she entered the Purgatory Abyss. Lin Na, who had absorbed the power of a Great Saint, was a terrifying existence that even Ice Orchid couldn't withstand. How could Xinran escape from Lin Na's Starlight Sword?
The more I thought about it, the more my mind became a mess. My arm shook, and the hot coffee splashed onto my hand. I couldn't help but let out a scream, put down the cup and licked the back of my burned hand.
"Big bro …"
A girl's voice came from behind me. I turned around and saw Lian Xin. She was wearing a light pink coat and walking over with her arms crossed. She smiled at me. "It's so late, aren't you going to sleep?"
I nodded. "Er, I can't sleep …"
"Are you worried about Xinran?" Lian Xin moved closer to me and asked.
I smiled. "Yeah, you can say that …"
Lian Xin smiled and walked up to me. She opened her arms and hugged me. "It's too cold at night, and you're only wearing so little. Aren't you afraid of catching a cold?"
Me: "..."
Lian Xin buried her face in my chest and whispered, "Big bro, I can understand why you care about Xinran. It's just like how I care about you and Beiming cares about you. We think of you as the closest person to us because we know that you'll always take care of us and never abandon us. We may not be your women, but we are the people you care about the most. If anyone dares to bully us, big bro will beat them up without a care in the world …"
Lian Xin smiled and looked up at me. Under the starlight, she stared deeply into my eyes and said, "Even if you're 90 years old, big bro, you'll still chase after the bully with your walking stick if you hear that Beiming and I are being bullied, right?"
I smiled and hugged Lian Xin from behind. "You've grown up, Little Xin. You understand a lot of things that you didn't understand before."
Lian Xin giggled. "Which part of me are you referring to, big bro?"
I smiled speechlessly when I felt the softness of her breasts pressing against my chest. "You've grown up …"
Lian Xin stood on her tiptoes and gave me a light kiss on the cheek. "Go to sleep, big bro. Don't let us worry about you. Beiming is at school right now, and I want to send her concern to you as well. We all understand that you're worried about Xinran, big bro, but you also need to understand that we're worried about your health. Go to sleep now, big bro. We'll give you our full support when it comes to finding Xinran in the Purgatory Realm!"
"Mn!"
I nodded strongly and hugged Lian Xin tightly. Rubbing my cheek against her neck, I smiled and said, "You should go to bed early too, Little Xin. I'm going back to my room."
"Mn. Be good, big bro Lu Chen …"
Me: "..."
… …
It was a night of chaotic dreams, but when I woke up the next day, it was already noon. I had a meal with He Yi, Murong Mingyue, and Lian Xin before I logged back into the game. I wanted to see what the Level 250 promotion process was and what new realms players could strive for after Level 250.
Swhoosh!
When I logged back into the game, I appeared at the Saint Helmet Ruins again. The place had been reduced to rubble, and there was nothing left to be gained. It was time to find my trainer, Rinser!
I dragged out the Dark Moon City interface and teleported back to the city. The next moment, I appeared in a bustling city. Sky City, Vanished God City and Wind City had fallen, so players could only replenish their supplies and grind in the player encampments. Naturally, business was booming at Dark Moon City. It had only been a couple of hours, but I was already making almost a week's worth of income. Even if I didn't increase the teleportation fees, repair fees or potions, I could still make a fortune.
Summoning the Ancient Divine Dragon, Divine Dragon Armor, and directly buffing my stats. Even though I didn't have any stratagems or cards with zero buffs, my base HP still reached a ridiculous 2.23 million. If I buffed myself with the 150% Purple Dragon and 240% Seven String Jade Zither, wouldn't that be OP? I could get a health card and have over 10 million HP. That would be comparable to many miniboss NPCs...
… …
"Lu Chen, you're here ~!"
Xu Yang greeted me from afar. He was riding a Dragonlight Armored Horse and wielding Sky Piercing Slash.
I nodded. "Mn. Is everything normal in the game, Big Brother Xu Yang?"
Xu Yang curled his lips. "Apart from the major cities falling into enemy hands, the map being filled with chaotic purgatory monsters, the players suffering heavy casualties, and the NPC army being forced to hide in the mountains, everything else is pretty much normal …"
I felt a little embarrassed, so I smiled. "It's fine. We've seen all kinds of situations before, and the fall of a major city is a piece of cake. We just have to take them back one by one. Also, there are almost 150 player encampments in Sky City's borders. It's more than enough for us to replenish our supplies."
"Not that many …"
Xu Yang raised a finger and said, "Just before the maintenance last night, all five of the Mad Purgatory Dragon main and subguilds' encampments were destroyed and abandoned. We lost five encampments in one go!"
I was shocked. "Fuck, all five of them were destroyed?"
"Mn!"
Xu Yang nodded strongly. "You know it's the Dark Mercenaries' doing. This is probably Little Piglet's first step in his revenge. When we were fighting at the Saint Helm Ruins, Little Piglet led the Dark Mercenaries into the China server and destroyed all of Mad Purgatory Dragon's forces. Many guilds tried to reinforce Mad Purgatory Dragon, including 50k cavalrymen from Warsky Alliance, but they were all killed by Little Piglet. He's a monster!"
I sucked in a deep breath. "Yeah, Little Piglet has the Crimson Dragon Arm, the Heaven Suppressing Chain, and top-tier mechanics. Even Warsky Alliance of Warsky Alliance wouldn't be able to defeat him."
Xu Yang chuckled. "Yeah. Even if we didn't go after him, the Dark Mercenaries have already offended a lot of guilds in the China server, including Warsky Alliance. Little Piglet has gone to the extreme and left no room for maneuver. Tsk tsk, this is how a man should feel when he gets his revenge!"
I smiled. "Mn, I'm going back to work …"
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to find a trainer and get a class promotion!"
“NX！”
The moment Xu Yang gave me a thumbs up, I leaped into the air and disappeared into the clouds in the blink of an eye. This was the flight of a god-tier player. Xu Yang's eyes were as round as saucers. "Do you have to be so cool? Fuck …"