Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 105
2301, Blue Harbor City, inside the Compatibility Testing Center.
The four players, Zhou Qian, Bai Zhou, Hidden Blade, and He Xiaowei, were divided into two groups and all received instance recommendations from the machine. The most suitable instance for both groups to take on together, which was opening soon in Blue Harbor City, was an instance named “The Red God’s Banquet.”
“The Red God’s Banquet” would open in two days. After making their selection, they received the following message:
[Instances in the game also seek out those with fate, and you have chosen it as it has chosen you. Your action of selecting the instance at the Testing Center demonstrates your trust in the system. Hence, the system will provide you with a tip.]
[Rules to abide by: 1. Do not walk counterclockwise around the Tower of Tara; 2. Do not spend the night in a house where you can still see the light of fire from the window after sunset (Note).]
[Discover more rules within the instance.]
Afterward, the four didn’t leave but went to the rest area of the Testing Center. There were lounge chairs, swings, and vending machines, though the items in the machines were as exorbitantly priced as those in the Murder Exhibition Hall.
Since Zhou Qian had saved his life, He Xiaowei, who was usually a bit stingy, became exceptionally generous towards him. Seeing Zhou Qian sitting on a lounge chair, he eagerly offered, “Qian’er, do you want a Coke? With ice? Or room temperature?”
Zhou Qian shook his head decisively. “I don’t drink that kind of junk. You should cut down on it too. I haven’t seen you for a day, and you’ve already gained weight.”
He Xiaowei pouted unhappily. “Qian’er, that’s not fair. I only scored higher than you once, and you’ve been giving me the cold shoulder all this time! Are we still brothers?”
Zhou Qian looked at him seriously. “I’m not mocking you; I’m concerned for you. My college roommate used to drink three bottles of Coke a day and got diabetes within a month.”
He Xiaowei: “…………”
After a while, He Xiaowei still gulped down a bottle of Coke, then said in a self-consoling tone, “I don’t drink it every day. Besides, Qian’er, you don’t eat this and that; refuse barbecue and fried chicken; what’s the fun in life?”
“Really? I find it very interesting to manipulate villains, NPCs, or occasionally teammates. Besides—” Zhou Qian looked at Bai Zhou beside him with a smile. “So what if I don’t drink Coke? I have a boyfriend.”
He Xiaowei was first confused by the logic of Zhou Qian’s statement, then shocked, and took a moment to react.
It took a while before he understood what Zhou Qian meant, and he ended up spitting out the Coke he hadn’t swallowed yet.
“What? You like guys, Qian’er? Your boyfriend? Who is it? No, we’ve been grinding instances. When did you have time for a relationship?”
Beside him, Hidden Blade held his forehead.
He Xiaowei turned to him in surprise. “Master, did you know?”
Hidden Blade: “……”
Zhou Qian didn’t look at He Xiaowei anymore but glanced towards the door.
They had been at the Testing Center for quite a while, but they hadn’t seen any other Rank God players.
After thinking for a while, Zhou Qian turned to Bai Zhou and asked, “Shall I go to that solo instance soon?”
Bai Zhou held his hand. “Before you go, do something with me first.”
Zhou Qian asked, “What is it?”
Bai Zhou didn’t answer immediately but just stood up, pulling him along. They left the Testing Center and headed back to the seaside villa.
After a long while, He Xiaowei, looking at their retreating backs, asked Hidden Blade in great surprise, “Ah? Oh! I get it! The boyfriend Qian’er mentioned, is it him?”
Hidden Blade: “……Who else?”
……
After a 20-minute walk, the two returned to the seaside villa.
Bai Zhou squeezed a glass of orange juice for Zhou Qian and handed it to him before saying, “The instance you want to go to is quite dangerous. Did you see the success rate? Only 15%.”
“The lower the success rate, the higher the reward. Through this instance, I can significantly improve my basic stats. It saves time. If I quickly clear the instance, I can still make it to ‘The Red God’s Banquet’ with you.”
At this point, Zhou Qian smiled, sipped the juice, and looked at Bai Zhou while drawling out his tone. “Zhou Ge, are you worried about me?”
Zhou Qian, of course, knew he was asking the obvious.
But he wanted Bai Zhou to say something, like he was indeed very worried about him.
Bai Zhou asked Zhou Qian, “Where is the scale from before?”
Hearing this, Zhou Qian took out the scale that could be used as a medium to enter Bai Zhou’s mental domain and asked, “Right, didn’t you say there was an official ceremony at the Testing Center?”
“Yes. 30% is the minimum compatibility requirement. Above 30%, a Rank God player and a Shepherd can enter a harmonization period, but only after reaching 65% can an official ceremony be held to complete the binding.”
Bai Zhou pointed to the scale Zhou Qian just took out. “After the ceremony, this scale can be placed inside your forehead, and then you can use your skills to enter my mental domain.”
Zhou Qian: “So, we can’t hold the ceremony yet.”
Bai Zhou: “Mm. After ‘The Red God’s Banquet’, we should be close to 65%.”
“I understand. Before that, I couldn’t freely enter and exit your mental domain. I need to place this medium scale on my forehead each time.”
Zhou Qian then asked, “So, why did you ask me to take out this scale now?”
Bai Zhou: “Now, enter my mental domain.”
Placing the scale on his forehead, Zhou Qian held Bai Zhou’s hand and once again entered his mental realm.
The last time he was here, the place was shrouded in darkness and littered with mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
This time, however, he found himself in a clean and cozy room, which he quickly recognized as Bai Zhou’s bedroom.
Back in the day, after Bai Zhou left without a word, Zhou Qian, in a fit of anger, went looking for him, only to find his bedroom had been transformed into a new nursery by his mother. But before that, Zhou Qian often spent time in this bedroom with Bai Zhou, playing games, doing homework, and having playful arguments.
This bedroom held many memories of their past. Bai Zhou’s parents were often busy and not at home, making Bai Zhou’s house, in a sense, another private space for the two of them. Back then, Bai Zhou frequently cooked Zhou Qian’s favorite food.
“It’s nice to see this bedroom again,” Zhou Qian commented, sitting on Bai Zhou’s bed, but he didn’t elaborate on the fact that the bedroom in reality had been turned into a nursery.
Bai Zhou seemed to understand something from his words but didn’t inquire further about his parents’ current situation. Instead, he spread his hand, and a deep blue scale materialized in his palm.
Zhou Qian, curious, asked, “What’s this?”
Bai Zhou: “This is what I got by dividing some of my mental power. Remember the three little dragons?”
Zhou Qian blinked. “Ah? Remember! So this—”
Bai Zhou took Zhou Qian’s hand and placed his palm on the scale as well. Thus, their fingers interlocked, tightly sandwiching the glowing, deep blue scale.
Bai Zhou explained, “I’m still not entirely at ease with you going alone. This scale can be used as a tool for you to take into the instance. It’s now absorbing our combined mental power and will materialize as a product of our combined mental energies.”
“I originally thought you were going to create a clone for me. But now, it seems… you’re making our child?”
Zhou Qian said without reservation, then teased Bai Zhou, “Zhou Ge, what did you do to me last night? How am I suddenly having a child?”
After a moment of silence, Bai Zhou leaned forward and whispered in Zhou Qian’s ear, “Really? Between the two of us, who’s the one with special talents?”
Was Bai Zhou hinting at what he did with his fingers… to him?
Zhou Qian turned his head and asked, “When will the little dragon come out?”
Bai Zhou gave him a faint look. “Wait a bit longer.”
Zhou Qian: “Oh.”
Bai Zhou: “Don’t rush.”
Zhou Qian: “I’m not in a hurry. How can one rush having a child?”
Bai Zhou: “……”
“Zhou Qian?”
“Hmm?”
“Focus a bit more. This won’t do.”
“Got it, got it.”
20 minutes later, Zhou Qian, holding a scale that could summon a little dragon, left the mental realm with Bai Zhou and headed towards a place called “Purple Mist Mountain”.
It took them another 20 minutes to reach the foot of the mountain.
The mountain was obscured by clouds and fog, unclear to the eye. A small path had been built at the foot of the mountain. The path extended to the roadside, where a wooden fence and gate had been constructed. A sign on the gate read: “Purple Mist Mountain has recently been inhabited by demons. Citizens, please be careful and do not enter this area recklessly!”
Thus, the sign effectively isolated ordinary NPCs who were citizens.
Just as Bai Zhou approached the sign, he received a prompt:
[Continuing forward leads to the instance area. Rank God player 137’s level is too high to enter.]
Zhou Qian, however, walked unhindered to the entrance and then turned back to smile and wave at Bai Zhou. “Don’t worry. I’ll be right back.”
Bai Zhou: “Once you’re inside, summon the little dragon immediately. This is different from last time. You can train it, nurture it, and make it a powerful companion to keep by your side.”
“Alright.”
Zhou Qian waved again at Bai Zhou, then turned and stepped decisively into the entrance.
Upon entering, Zhou Qian received a prompt for loading the solo instance.
[Player Zhou Qian entered solo instance: Purple Mist Mountain.]
[Purple Mist Mountain has recently been overtaken by strange demons. Citizens passing by the mountain have all been killed, and the surrounding area is in panic. No one dares to come near anymore. We hope you, with your kind heart, can eliminate these demons and restore peace to Purple Mist Mountain.]
[According to incomplete statistics from the Blue Harbor City’s Bureau of Paranormal Investigation, at least 30 people have died here, with no survivors. Only one victim managed to escape Purple Mist Mountain and ran towards a hospital, but still couldn’t be saved and died. Before dying, he left a message—the demons here seem to be a father and son.]
[The exploration is about to begin. Kill the demons of Purple Mist Mountain to clear the instance.]
[Clearance Rate: 15%]
[Player Zhou Qian: Wishing you good luck.]
After reading the prompt, Zhou Qian took out the scale from his bag and successfully summoned a little dragon. The blue dragon landed with a “plop”, opened its round eyes, curled up its tail, and then came around to touch Zhou Qian, as if testing whether it could get close to its master.
Seeing this, Zhou Qian bent down, smiled, and stroked its head, then picked it up with one hand.
Feeling the closeness of its master, the little dragon seemed very happy. It made a “yip” sound and affectionately nuzzled Zhou Qian’s neck before jumping onto his shoulder and sitting down obediently.
“I still feel like this is Zhou Ge’s clone. He must be worried about me, but too shy to say it,” Zhou Qian mused, stroking the little dragon’s head. “Or else… Zhou Ge, can you see me?”
The little dragon: “Yip?”
Zhou Qian patted its head and didn’t say anything else, but then took out another item and held it in his hand—his weapon, the Rib of God.
This weapon had a skill that Zhou Qian had never used before—nurturing and summoning a bone spirit. When he had unlocked this skill, he tried it once but failed. He wondered if there were other hidden conditions for successfully nurturing a bone spirit that the system hadn’t told him.
After all, nurturing a bone spirit required players to consume their own life points.
However, Zhou Qian’s life points had been very low, belonging to the lowest tier of the Rank S.
He wondered if, after this instance run and a significant boost to his stats, he would be able to possess a real bone spirit.
With the small dragon perched on his left shoulder and the Rib of God in his right hand, Zhou Qian had stepped towards Purple Mist Mountain.
The path to the foot of the mountain had been shrouded in fog on both sides. Zhou Qian checked the map, noting that these areas were marked as unexplorable.
In such a monster-farming area, there was probably not much to explore; players should just follow the main path to fight the boss.
However, with an instance clearance rate of only 15%, Zhou Qian suspected there might be some secrets behind it.
With this in mind, he didn’t rush straight to the boss’ location but observed his surroundings as he walked.
Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, Zhou Qian finally discovered some information.
There was a bulletin board there, covered with many newspapers.
Zhou Qian noticed that the latest newspaper was from three months ago. Probably, that was when the monsters appeared here, deterring any staff from posting new information.
After reading the newspapers carefully, Zhou Qian caught a key piece of information.
It mentioned a bizarre story from five years ago—
In Blue Harbor City, there had been a deeply loving couple. They dated, married, and the wife naturally became pregnant. Tragically, when she was four months pregnant, she was diagnosed with a serious illness. If she chose to keep the baby, she would surely die, but aborting the baby might offer her a slim chance of survival.
Later, the husband found a skilled doctor who implanted an artificial womb in him. The doctor transferred the baby from the wife’s womb to the husband’s body. Thus, the husband saved both his wife’s life and their child.
Thanks to Blue Harbor City’s advanced technology, including artificial wombs, men could also become pregnant. The husband received much praise from the city’s citizens.
The praise was mainly because this technology was still immature, with few successful trials, and he took a significant risk.
Additionally, the technology could cause severe side effects, causing excruciating pain for the pregnant man, but he chose to proceed, earning praise for his courage and responsibility.
However, the good times didn’t last. Despite the child’s removal, the wife eventually succumbed to her illness.
The man then carried the pregnancy to term alone and miraculously gave birth to the child…
At first glance, this story seemed heartwarming, with everyone praising the husband’s love for his wife.
But upon reading it, Zhou Qian felt something was amiss.
It seemed the man cared more about the child than his wife.
In Zhou Qian’s view, given his wife’s severe illness, as a husband, he should have first focused on caring for her.
If the artificial womb implantation was risky, why did the husband insist on trying it?
If he had died in the attempt, who would have cared for his seriously ill wife?
Moreover, even if the surgery succeeded, the pregnant husband would suffer greatly, likely unable to care for his wife properly.
It was clear he cared more about the child.
Why did he go to such lengths to keep the child?
Since this was a monster-farming dungeon, the clues for the story and puzzles should have been straightforward and direct.
Thus, Zhou Qian could almost confirm that the “father-son demons” of Purple Mist Mountain were likely the father and son from this news story.
This so-called husband probably saw his wife merely as a tool for childbirth. For some reason, he and his son had turned into demons.
For such a despicable person, Zhou Qian had no mercy.
After reading all the newspapers on the bulletin board and instructing the small dragon to tear them down, Zhou Qian didn’t miss even the news on the back.
Then he had the dragon dismantle the entire bulletin board. Once he was sure there was no more information, he continued forward.
On the way, Zhou Qian patted the dragon’s head. “Zhou Ge said, cough, your dad said, do you have the ability [Treasure Hunt]?”
The small dragon nodded obediently. “Yip!”
Zhou Qian asked, “If there are any clues along the way that I missed, can you find them?”
“Yip yip!”
“Good boy!” Zhou Qian was very satisfied and strode forward. “Then I don’t need to be distracted looking for clues. Don’t miss the bushes, under the trees, and in the soil on the sides of the mountain road.”
“Ang~!”
A true monster-farming instance.
However, after climbing several dozen steps, Zhou Qian had arrived at a platform midway up the mountain—
The father-son demons were right there!
[Target: Demon King Child]
[Age: 4 years]
[Level: S+]
[Specialties: Infant Cry, Illusion Attack, Love Slap]
[Note: Be careful when he cries!]
[Target: Demon King Father]
[Age: 32 years]
[Level: Unfathomable]
[Specialties: Childbirth, Childcare, Cooking; Others: ???]
[Tip 1: Attack skills unknown, life points unknown, defense unknown, special skills unknown. Players must explore on their own.]
[Tip 2: The Demon King Father’s attack and defense are incredibly strong. Be very cautious when fighting him.]
[Tip 3: The Demon King Father has a cultivation sleep period. If disturbed and awakened, he will launch a powerful attack on the player.]
[Player Note: The battle is about to begin!]
[The Demon King Father is in cultivation sleep. His cultivation requires sleep. He will wake up in 30 minutes; the Demon King Child will notice you in one minute, giving you one minute to prepare.]
Zhou Qian had already arranged the necessary items and potions at the front of his inventory for easy access.
Thus, during this one-minute period, he could carefully observe the two monsters.
The bodies of this father and son duo were entirely purple, with pointed ears, and their skin was covered with many granules, some large enough to resemble fleshy bumps.
Although they didn’t have any grotesquely shaped appendages, with such appearances, it wasn’t surprising that they were called “demons”.
As the system had indicated, the Demon King Father was currently in a deep sleep. He lay on his back at the edge of the platform, not at all looking like he was practicing any skills and even snoring lightly.
Oddly enough was his belly—he was shirtless, exposing his abdomen, which had a large fleshy bump on it, as if he was still pregnant.
Was that the “artificial womb” mentioned in the report?
Why hadn’t he removed it yet?
On the other side, the Demon King Child was crawling on the ground. Even at four years old, he seemed unable to walk.
He hadn’t turned around yet, so he hadn’t noticed Zhou Qian.
According to the system’s prompt, he would attack the player after a minute.
As for his father, the Demon King Father, he would wake up after 30 minutes.
In this situation, there was an optimal strategy for defeating the demons—
For the next 30 minutes, the Demon King Father would remain in a “sleeping” state. If disturbed, he would wake up and then attack the player.
Given his incredibly strong defense, it was virtually impossible for a player to kill him in one blow.
This meant that if a player attacked the Demon King Father first, it would wake him up, prematurely triggering his attack. Meanwhile, the Demon King Child would still be alive. Consequently, the player would face a daunting two-on-one situation.
Therefore, the optimal strategy for the player was to kill the Demon King Child within the first 30 minutes without disturbing the Demon King Father.
After 30 minutes, the player would then engage in a one-on-one duel with the Demon King Father.
By defeating the father and son separately, the player could avoid the disadvantageous two-on-one situation.
Such a strategy was something anyone but a fool could come up with.
But why then did only 15% of players successfully clear this instance?
Could it be that the Demon King Father, with his unknown attack power, was truly invincible?
One minute later.
The four-year-old Demon King Child turned around, lifted his head, and looked at Zhou Qian.
Suddenly, he burst into tears, launching the [Infant Cry] skill at Zhou Qian.
Zhou Qian’s vision immediately blurred with double images, and he felt the earth tremble and the tree shadows flicker endlessly; even the blue sky seemed to shatter into countless pieces.
In that moment, it was as if numerous Demon King Children had appeared, advancing on him from all directions.
Guessing that this move was related to some kind of illusion, Zhou Qian frowned and then saw countless Demon King Children rushing towards him.
Due to their high speed and the multiple illusions created by their skill, the children seemed to multiply in an instant.
Zhou Qian was immediately surrounded by countless Demon King Children, each raising a hand to deliver a [Love Slap].
If he were really hit by this slap, Zhou Qian estimated his life points would be halved immediately.
Thinking this, Zhou Qian immediately gripped the Rib of God, consuming a little mana to slightly slow down the flow of time.
Then, he closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. When he opened his eyes, the illusions caused by the crying had disappeared, along with the multiple images, leaving only one fast-moving Demon King Child approaching him from one direction.
The Demon King Child’s attack power might not be very high, but his incredibly fast speed was probably his greatest asset in combat.
Fortunately, one of Zhou Qian’s trump skills was time control, which naturally slowed down the little Boss’ speed.
Immediately, Zhou Qian curled his lips mockingly and said, “Is that all?”
In the next instant, the child leaped up, his hand reaching for Zhou Qian’s forehead in a slap.
Putting the Rib of God in his left hand, Zhou Qian further slowed time and sidestepped. He then drew a short knife given to him by Bai Zhou and swiftly slashed at the child’s neck.
The sharp blade, imbued with killing intent, flashed and disappeared in an instant, and purple blood surged from the child’s neck.
Zhou Qian quickly sidestepped to avoid the disgusting demon blood.
To conserve mana, he promptly stopped slowing time.
On the platform, under the blue sky, the Demon King Child lay motionless in a pool of purple blood, no longer breathing.
Through the system panel, Zhou Qian saw that his life points had dropped to zero.
Logically, he should be dead.
But just then, Zhou Qian’s peripheral vision caught a glimmer of golden light.
Turning around, he saw that the golden light was actually emanating from the large fleshy bump on the sleeping Demon King Father’s belly.
The golden light flickered on and off, and after a few flashes, the Demon King Child on the ground suddenly jumped up.
The wound on his neck had vanished.
At the same time, Zhou Qian saw his health bar restored to 100%!
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