“What are you talking about?” Su Yao, already in low spirits, didn’t have the energy to decipher Ah Cao’s rambling. She dismissed him weakly, “If you still recognize me as your sister, go back now. Don’t say such nonsense. I hate most of all those who give up without fighting, especially those who abandon their brothers.”
These people with backgrounds or strength or dubious means were all out of the game. Only a few remained, and Su Yao didn’t believe her handpicked thief leader couldn’t secure first place.
“Okay. I understand.” Ah Cao nodded vigorously. Did Yao Jie mean that getting the artifact would allow him to “talk nonsense”?
Suddenly, Ah Cao felt like ten thousand horses were galloping in his heart. Excited, he walked past the still-crowded elevator, up the safety stairs, and back to the top-floor arena. Brothers, let’s get that artifact!
Su Yao hailed a cab home, knowing well the chances were slim, yet she still went to Qin Chuan’s house, which was empty. Outside was the bustling, sleepless city, and in such a vast metropolis, she had no idea where he might go. But, Qin Chuan, even if it’s just a fragment of your soul, I still, without hesitation, fell in love with you.
Su Yao returned to the hotel and aimlessly ascended the stairs of the emergency exit. Upon reaching the entrance to the arena, she glanced inside but continued upward. The rooftop was the final destination. Two years ago, a has-been celebrity had jumped from here. The media frenzy from that day was still fresh in her memory, yet the rooftop remained open. In this bustling, glamorous world, there must always be a corner to harbor the forlorn. Sure enough, Su Yao saw two figures on the edge of the rooftop.
One was hunched over in the left corner; she recognized him as Ding, the fourth member of the Thieves’ Guild, who missed the finals due to an encounter with Luo Zishang.
Su Yao quietly approached Ding and tapped his shoulder.
“… Sister Yao?” Ding’s eyes were filled with confusion and pain. “What are you doing up here? Did you also get dumped?”
“… Get dumped, my foot.”
“Aren’t you going for the artifact?” Ding’s face was full of frustration. His brothers were fighting on the field while he was stuck here in the cold wind, and now Sister Yao was here too… He longed so much to be in the finals!
“Let your brother go for it,” Su Yao said indifferently. She used to be obsessed with wealth, but now she realized that even a hundred artifacts couldn’t compare to the importance of Death himself.
“Sister Yao, do you like our leader?” Ding suddenly asked.
“I have someone else I like,” she replied directly.
“But he likes you…” Ding looked even more frustrated. “And I… he always thinks I’m joking, I…”
“Then try to become as strong as him. Complaining won’t help…” Su Yao, always eager to inspire the young thieves, paused mid-sentence.
Would becoming like the one she admired really make a difference? However, Ding took her words to heart, feeling a surge of motivation. Yes, he needed to become as strong as his leader; then, he wouldn’t be dismissed as a joker.
Ding dashed back to his room, plugged in his laptop, and logged into the game to practice. From now on, he would get stronger!
Left alone, Su Yao lay looking down at the city’s splendor from thirty-two floors up. She wondered where Qin Chuan might be among those countless twinkling lights. The pain of being flayed alive was nothing compared to this. Luo Zishang, Su Yao had never hated someone so much in her life. Regardless of their past grievances, she stood unwaveringly by Qin Chuan. Perhaps love was inherently selfish; she would never forgive anyone who made Qin Chuan suffer.
At that moment, the man who seemed about to jump turned around slowly, revealing his face to Su Yao.
“… Wang Shenmu?” Su Yao recognized those silent, dark eyes. The esteemed Master of the East, had he been eliminated too? Wang Shenmu also recognized Su Yao, the respected leader of the Red Medicine Hall. His expression was half-lit by the dim light of the rooftop, half-hidden in the shadows of the night. He nodded slightly, not intending to speak.
But Su Yao, with no one to share her troubled thoughts, leaned against the railing and casually remarked, “Aren’t you the Master of the East? What are you doing here? Did you get eliminated?”
Wang Shenmu extinguished his cigarette, neither confirming nor denying.
“Why?”
“Even with your skills as the top thief, you’re here, and I, I merely possess an artifact, which at best makes me a freeloader. It’s not surprising to be eliminated.”
“…” Su Yao wanted to tell him she hadn’t been eliminated, just that she no longer cared about the game. “I saw a female ranger with your flute,” she mentioned last.
“Yes, I gave it to her.”
“You really are…” Normally, Su Yao would have been shocked over such a casual gift of an artifact, but now, she felt nothing. Artifacts, even a hundred of them, what did it matter? They were just game items.
Looking down at the world where people looked like ants, Su Yao gave a bitter smile. “Don’t you find it ridiculous? So many people fighting over these games, it’s laughable, isn’t it? Maybe to the game’s designers, these artifacts are just a mockery of humanity. So much lust, hatred, revenge, competition, betrayal…”
“You think so too?” A fleeting light passed through Wang Shenmu’s eyes, and he smiled, a rare sight.
Someone once told him his smile was beautiful, but the world still left him mostly silent and expressionless. Only in the reckless solitude of the night did he occasionally recall his dreams of creating a world.
“For some stupid artifact, I dragged someone into this mess with me. I never imagined it would end like this. I’ve liked him for years, thought we could finally be together… Isn’t it laughable? If the designer who came up with the idea of these artifacts knew how ridiculous humans can be, wouldn’t they be laughing their heads off?” Su Yao rambled, feeling the urge to cry, even though real sorrow left her unable to shed tears.
Wang Shenmu didn’t burst into laughter.
“I am the designer,” he said.
When A Cao returned to the arena, all four high priests had been eliminated. His seven little thieves were also dead, but his character was still intact, not a drop of blood lost.
“Big brother… we’re sorry we were useless…” The ghostly figures of the thieves lingered, chatting in the team channel.
A Cao, still in shock, scrolled through the chat logs, his eyes widening at the system messages. Five of the thieves had died with the priests in mutual destruction, and the other two had died protecting him while he remained motionless.
Where was the promised divine suit? Where was the promise of top-tier equipment?
Where was the promise to always be the backbone of Hongyaotang? They hadn’t even encountered Hongyaotang yet, and they were on the brink of total annihilation. But… let him be reckless one more time. “You’ve done enough; go back and sleep with Xiao Ding.” Ah Cao’s heart bled as he solemnly typed out a line: “Big brother will finish the journey for you.” Little did he know, the group of thieves, upon returning to their room, saw Thief Ding on the screen, his eyes red with fury, causing a shiver of fear to ripple through them… Ah Cao moved swiftly, activating all the buffs he once disdained. The laughter of the little thieves and the stunning figure of Hongyaotang atop the gates of Tianya City remained in his thoughts. He had once longed to stand beside her, to share the burden she carried alone with her slender shoulders. He was willing to protect her lifelong elegance with everything he had, and in just one year, he had grown from a fallen tycoon into a renowned leader of a thieves’ guild. Yet, she still saw him as a child. Ah Cao took a different path, not encountering Hongyaotang at the pivotal point of the abyss.