Author: 易修罗 / Yi Xiu Luo

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 66

Someone poured a bucket of ice water onto time and it froze.

Ling Xiao nervously swallowed, yet Ying Feng still hadn’t given an answer. What was he thinking?

Regrettably, this bucket of ice water couldn’t freeze a particular chatty NPC, who kept prattling annoyingly.

“You may have noticed that some of the questions here relate closely to your own experiences. In fact, from the moment the magnetic poles appeared on you, your memories were read. The questions you receive are based on your own experiences—the ones you’ve asked yourself deep inside and the ones you wanted to ask others but never voiced.”

“This game is about confronting the questions you don’t want to face. If you don’t, they will always remain questions. So, please answer now: Do you choose A. Your lover from a past life, or B. Your partner in this life?”

Silence.

“Time is running out, please…”

“I choose A!”

Ying Feng turned his head. “What are you doing?”

Ling Xiao firmly replied, “The one who was with me in the past life must be true love. This life is just an accident. There’s no dilemma. I choose A and won’t change.”

“Player N chose A because you think player S will choose A. Instead of letting him voice option A first, you chose it. That way, even if player S makes the same choice, you can console yourself that it was for the sake of completing the game.”

“You’re talking nonsense!”

“Now it’s player S’s turn to be in a dilemma. If he chooses B, not only will it waste an opportunity, but he’ll also be punished. But if he chooses A, player N will be heartbroken. Such a tough decision.”

Ling Xiao angrily shouted, “As an NPC, don’t you think you talk too much? Can’t you just speak according to the program and not give your own opinions? If you had a physical form, you would have been humanely destroyed by the Seventh Law!”

“Countdown: 5 seconds, 4, 3, 2…”

“Objection.”

Ling Xiao: “What?!”

“Do you wish to use the objection?”

“Yes.”

“Objection accepted. This question is void.”

“You just wasted your only chance of objection. Why didn’t you choose A?”

“Next question.”

“I’m asking you!”

“NPC?”

“Alright, I thought you’d need more time to discuss. Since you don’t, here’s the next question… It’s from the game’s question bank, unrelated to your memories.”

“Your best friend has been captured by the enemy and is completely incapacitated. You go to rescue him but realize you can’t. You’ve been discovered by the enemy and have two choices: A. Retreat or B. Kill him. Note: If you retreat, you can’t return, and your friend will fall into enemy hands. Please answer.”

Ling Xiao: “A!”

Ying Feng: “B.”

“It seems there’s a disagreement. That’s okay; you can still change within the stipulated time.”

“I won’t change; I won’t kill my best friend.”

“I won’t change either. It’s my principle.”

“How would you understand what a best friend is when you don’t have friends?”

“How can you forget the oath, which mentions protecting the fledglings with our lives and never letting our bodies fall into enemy hands? If captured, they will access our genes and find a way to counter us, leading to many more sacrifices.”

Ling Xiao’s face contorted. “What kind of game is this? I’d rather have stayed in the dorm and slept!”

“Time’s up. Magnetic pole reversal.”

The letter on Ling Xiao’s chest changed, and he was flung out and quickly enveloped in water. Water surged over his head, and he couldn’t swim out from any direction.

“Ling Xiao!”

Ying Feng saw Ling Xiao trapped in a large glass tank filled with water. He struck the tank hard, but it didn’t crack.

“It’s no use. It’s an illusion, so it won’t get damaged. You can’t always take his punishment for him. He has to face it. He won’t drown, but the feeling of suffocation is very real. Wait for five minutes, and the water will disappear.”

As Ling Xiao struggled painfully in the water, Ying Feng angrily said, “Weren’t both parties supposed to be punished if their answers differed? Why is it always him?”

“For the Qizhu, what’s a harsher punishment than watching their Qizi suffer and being unable to do anything?”

“Aren’t you a game from Earth?!”

“I’ve been localized,” the NPC innocently replied.

Ying Feng would have punched the NPC if it had a physical body.

“Of course, if you change your answer now, although it will count as one of the three failures, you can avoid the punishment. Seeing his state, it seems he can’t speak. What about you? Would you change your principles for him?”

Ying Feng clenched his fists tighter as Ling Xiao stopped struggling and floated lifelessly.

“I choose A. Retreat,” Ying Feng said gravely.

The tank disappeared instantly; water was flooding everywhere, but nothing got wet. Ling Xiao was thrown onto Ying Feng, coughing heavily.

“You didn’t inhale water; it’s just a psychological effect. Don’t worry.”

Ling Xiao slowly recovered. “Has it been five minutes?”

“Nope. Player N changed his answer, sparing you from the punishment.”

“N?” Ling Xiao noticed that his letter had changed from N to S, and Ying Feng’s from S to N.

“Why did you change your answer?”

“It’s just a game. It didn’t really happen. There’s no need to take it so seriously.”

Ling Xiao hesitated. “Actually, when I was on the brink of death just now, I thought about it. Your reasoning makes more sense. And, if the captured person was truly my friend, they would probably hope that I chose option A, so…”

“The time for answering is over. You can’t change it now. Let’s move on to the last question!”

The two individuals, who were just beside each other, were separated once again. Ling Xiao was still confused about what had happened when he realized that Ying Feng had disappeared.

“What’s going on? I haven’t chosen yet. Why did the polarity reverse?”

“It didn’t reverse. It just temporarily disappeared. Both of you are now in different rooms, and the questions you receive will also be different. Your answers will determine your polarity in the next step. Are you ready?”

“I’m ready,” Ying Feng replied.

“Your question is: If you are given a chance now to break the blood pact on you, would you: A. Agree; or B. Decline.”

Ying Feng waited for a while. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“What’s the catch?”

“There’s no catch. You don’t have to pay any price. It doesn’t go against morality or the law, and it doesn’t harm the nation or others’ interests. It’s just a simple removal.”

Ying Feng pondered.

“You don’t need to answer me right away. However, you now have to go to another room. In that room, although you are still you, your body will not be under your control. You can only see, hear, and feel, but you can’t speak or move. Alright, let’s go.”

“I’m ready,” Ling Xiao said.

“Alright, here’s your question: If you are given a chance now to reverse the outcome of the blood pact on you, allowing you to become the Qizhu of Player N, would you: A. Agree; or B. Decline.”

Ling Xiao’s eyes sparkled. “Really?”

“Really. There’s no catch. You don’t have to pay any price; it doesn’t go against morality or the law, and it doesn’t harm the nation or others’ interests. It’s just a simple reversal.”

“Do I even need to think about this? Of course I choose A!”

“Player has triggered a plot event; playing CG.”

Ling Xiao sat up from the bed. What’s going on? Did I just have a dream? Or am I in a dream now?

He looked around; this was his dorm room in Bikong University.

Whether this or that was a dream, both felt too real.

Wait, what did that last voice say? That I’m Ying Feng’s Qizhu?

From the bathroom came the sound of shattered glass. Ling Xiao instantly became alert. This is bad!

He jumped out of bed, flung open the door, and saw Ying Feng holding a sharp fragment of mirror, intending to plunge it into his own heart.

“Stop!”

The shard halted just two millimeters from piercing the skin. Ying Feng struggled to turn his head. As their eyes met, Ling Xiao saw the pale gray in Ying Feng’s eyes. They were filled with hostility and hatred, as if he had seen them somewhere before.

No! He hadn’t seen them before; it was the same look he once had, the one he used to look at Ying Feng with when Ying Feng first took control of his actions.

‘It’s not the same,’ Ling Xiao reminded himself. Ying Feng first took control over him because Ling Xiao had a conflict with someone else. But he controlled Ying Feng in order to prevent him from seeking death.

Having found such a valid reason to control Ying Feng, Ling Xiao felt much more confident.

“Just give up. I won’t let you die. If you think about suicide every day, I won’t grant you freedom for a day. Now, get back to your room.”

Within his own body, Ying Feng could clearly see Ling Xiao and hear his words, but he couldn’t control his actions.

However, he had to admit that when he looked into the mirror and saw his own eyes, what he wanted to do was exactly the same as what his body was trying to.

Under Ling Xiao’s command, Ying Feng’s body, struggling, returned to the bedroom. Ling Xiao rummaged around the room and eventually piled a heap of food onto the bed. This room was magical; anything Ling Xiao thought of would appear.

“All of this is for you to eat! During your growth period, you should eat nutritious food! Also, here’s your favorite strawberry bread and the brand of water you drink. See how good I am to you? I haven’t eaten in three days, and you didn’t care. Now I’m offering you everything, and you’re not grateful?”

Ying Feng looked away disdainfully, not even looking at the food.

Ling Xiao was annoyed. “I tell you Ying Feng, you can do anything, but you are not allowed to die. You are my concubine now, and your life is mine. If you don’t eat, I will force you to eat. If you don’t go to sleep, I’ll do it seven times a night and make you pass out.”

He forced Ying Feng down and sat on him. “Don’t think that I can’t do the tricks you used on me. If you provoke me again, I can do it!”

Ying Feng still stared at him coldly with the same eyes as before, which sent a chill to Ling Xiao’s heart.

“Don’t you dare keep staring at me like that!”

Why, why does this person always treat me with such an indifferent attitude? It’s been like this for ten years, never changing.

Ah, it’s all because of that damned peach core!

Without a second thought, Ling Xiao bent down to tug at his clothes, flipping out the peach core from his left chest pocket, holding it tightly in his hand.

“Give… it… back…” Ying Feng managed to utter each word with great difficulty.

A paralyzed person, using all their strength just to say these three words, made Ling Xiao burn with jealousy.

“Forget about it.”

He threw the peach pit out of the opened window with force. Just moments ago, the window had been shut.

Ying Feng’s gaze was sharp and piercing, cutting into Ling Xiao with every look.

Ling Xiao became anxious; he didn’t want to see that expression anymore. If only there could be another expression on that face…

As he thought so, a suppressed grunt came from Ying Feng beneath him. However, he quickly bit his lip, preventing any further sound.

His pale face flushed, revealing a mix of pain and lust under an expression that had remained unchanged for thousands of years. Their struggle for control was evident in the tension of their facial muscles and the moisture in their eyes.

Ling Xiao was stunned. The usually cold and reserved Ying Feng could show such an expression, and it looked so moving and alluring.

He just needed to apply a little more pressure to hear an unrestrained moan from him, even if it was just once.

Although Ying Feng couldn’t move, his feelings were in sync with his body. At this moment, his entire body was hot, his limbs numb, and a certain part of his body was on the verge of explosion.

He mustn’t let out a sound. He wanted to tell his puppet self, “If you dare make a sound, I’ll fight you to death.”

Even if Ling Xiao tried harder, he remained silent, even biting his lip until it bled.

“It’s okay.”

Lifting his head.

Ling Xiao exclaimed, “Who?!”

“This is just your illusion. The person beneath you is just a puppet. You can use your power freely; the real person won’t know.”

Ying Feng: Lies!

Ling Xiao realized this was just a game. He was in a virtual environment, and even Ying Feng was fake.

The NPC’s voice was beguiling. “If you choose, he can become your Qizi, and you can do whatever you want with him.”

Ying Feng’s expression darkened. ‘Once I get out, I’ll smash this store.’

Ling Xiao straddled him, head bowed, with his hair concealing his face. Just as Ying Feng thought Ling Xiao would make a move, the overwhelming desire in him faded away like a receding tide.

Above him, Ling Xiao slowly shook his head. “Back then, when he had control over me, he made my life unbearable. I harbored intense hatred towards him.”

“Now, having the same power, I choose to treat him the same way.”

“If the blood pact could really reverse, I wouldn’t be able to control myself either. I’d make him suffer, he’d despise me, and we’d engage in actions that we’d regret. Nothing would change between us except our roles.”

He was silent for a long while, and Ying Feng listened quietly.

“Thank you. The things I’ve been unable to let go of all this time, I can finally release now.”

Ling Xiao leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss on Ying Feng’s blood-stained lips.

Ying Feng remained still. The sensation coming from his lips was real. It wasn’t his puppet; it was himself. They shared the same thoughts, took the same actions, and even their feelings were identical. The person Ling Xiao kissed was no one else but him.

After a moment, Ling Xiao pulled away with deep reluctance.

“I give up.”

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The author has something to say:

NPC: Next question: which academy has the best excavator technology?

A. Royal Sky;
B. Bikong.

Please answer.

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