But what they didn’t expect was that Ding never hung the bell around his neck. After a month of hard work in the Western Divine War, he had come to understand that human connections were far more important than virtual equipment. He would willingly trade all his gear, even all the wealth in the world, for his boss’s happiness. Later, during an envoy mission, he was ambushed by two armies. Refusing to use the power of the divine weapon, he prepared to restart all his quests, knowing that many in-game missions were sequential. Just as he was about to unplug his internet, Acao appeared, swinging the Big Dipper Chain to clear the soldiers. With the invisibility buff just off cooldown, they flew out of the encirclement like the wind.
All the thieves in the guild knew that after that, they never saw Ding flirting with Acao in the chat channel again. When someone inquired if Ding had shifted his affections, he gave a calm reply: “Perhaps the only thing that lasts, never fading, is the bond of brotherhood.” This statement was later inscribed in the Hall of Heroes.”
It is said that the group of thieves directly dived into the sea from the surface of Changsheng Island, heading towards the underground world and reaching the outskirts of Wangsheng City. At the depths of the sea in the human world, there are whirlpools of all kinds—white, light-colored, deep blue, light blue, gray, black, and more. These whirlpools are scattered randomly or fixedly across the sea, some perilous, some prosperous, some full of danger, others convenient, all awaiting exploration by adventurers. What is currently known is that the white whirlpools are portals through time and space, akin to teleportation gates, allowing safe transport to any place in the human world. However, the dark black whirlpools are deadly hazards; some have tried jumping into them out of desperation. The videos show that once someone enters a black whirlpool, they sink directly to the bottom of the sea, struggling until their breath meter depletes, leading to real death. Here, death means permanent death; no revival potions work, and the player remains as a statue, eternally resting at the bottom of the Dusk Sea, their account lost forever.
Those who ultimately couldn’t let go, who decided to permanently leave the game, or were struck by immense tragedy, alongside thrill-seekers, make up those seeking black whirlpools in the deep sea of the Dusk Sea to end their lives. “Even in death, we get to be preserved like a specimen, how cost-effective is that?” As for the various colored whirlpools, some lead to underwater mines, others to monster maps or special instances, all under the control of Wang Shenmu, manipulating human hearts. Su Yao and his group took the white whirlpool passage. In the blink of an eye, they found themselves in the underground world, landing on the grasslands to the east of Wangsheng City. From afar, they could see the flickering lights outside the city, unlike the usual calm and solemn atmosphere. What had happened? Su Yao glanced at the world channel – the messages from all players were about one thing – the allied forces of two nations had officially attacked the city – the Eternal Palace had returned – something in his heart tightened suddenly.
Maybe everyone has a different perspective, but I think this is what a true warrior looks like. I can’t stand men who drag women down with them in their downfall. Because he loves and cares too much, he doesn’t want the other to suffer or be implicated. I think if I were San Tiao, I would choose to disappear too, to let the woman I love live happily and joyously. Sigh~
S City isn’t large, and Gu Chao Yan easily found out the address of Luo Zi Shang’s family home. What surprised him was that now, only his father lived there. In a room filled with the scent of nicotine, alcohol, and cheap perfume, the old man and a young woman looked at Gu Chao Yan, this uninvited guest, with impatient eyes. “His mother died long ago, and he’s about to die too. Are you his friend? (cold laugh) Go find him at the South City Hospital yourself, don’t bother us here.” Despite being unceremoniously sent away, Gu Chao Yan could still read deep pain in the old man’s tired, decadent eyes.
The South City Hospital has outdated equipment and few visitors. Standing before the weathered gray walls, Gu Chao Yan knew that people who came here were either those with minor ailments like colds or the destitute. Puzzled, Gu Chao Yan found the person he was looking for in a ward on the third floor. The curtains were drawn, letting in ample sunlight, filling the room. In the four-bed ward, empty except for one, a young man lay peacefully asleep in the corner bed. The IV drip slowly flowed into his body at the pace of the rusty second hand of the wall clock. The entire floor was silent, as if even the wind had stopped, leaving only the faint sound of the liquid dripping. Somehow, Gu Chao Yan’s previously turbulent heart calmed down. Luo Zi Shang lay there, his breathing steady, with sunlight from the window framing half his face and the white sheets.
His sleeping face was as handsome and youthful as in old photos, no longer the vengeful, reckless fanatic. Gu Chao Yan didn’t know what illness he had, but at the competition site, he noticed Luo Zi Shang’s unnaturally pale complexion. Out of curiosity, he tiptoed over to read the label on the IV bag, but his footsteps woke the boy. There was no alertness, no surprise, not even sadness or joy; the boy’s face was expressionless, his eyes like ashes after a fire. In the unheated room, wrapped in thick blankets, leaning against the wall, his face was even paler than a month ago, devoid of any color, yet he spoke in an extremely calm voice, “Do you know my dad?”
Gu Chao Yan gave a cold laugh, “Are you planning to ask who I am?” It turns out that after causing a colossal mess, Luo Zishang paid no further attention to the erupting turmoil he had ignited. He simply lit a fire and let it grow until it consumed all the hatred. Had he seen the current blaze, he would surely recognize the man before him as the younger brother of Gu Xuanyan, whom he had been thinking about for ten years. But after setting the fire, he never looked back.
He only felt that the face in front of him looked somewhat familiar and asked uncertainly, “From the finals…?”
When Gu Chao Yan reached the hospital entrance, he had already devised a hundred ways to drag this bastard out of bed and give him a beating. However, faced with a frail patient, he couldn’t bring himself to do it and didn’t want to explain much. Instead, he mocked sarcastically, “So, the guy who’s been thinking about my sister for ten years turns out to be nothing more than a blind fool. Haha, Luo Zishang, you’re a complete idiot.”
The body wrapped in the blanket trembled violently. “You are, you…?”
Gu Chao Yan looked at the boy on the bed with pity: “Open your dog eyes and see how much I resemble Xuanyan standing here!”
Gu Xuanyan… a name that evokes unwillingness and sadness. The young voice was hoarse: “I remember you now, two grades above me… Ha, Xuanyan used to say you always skipped classes.”
Gu Chao Yan cut him off with a cold laugh: “Yes, we’ve all grown up, except you, Luo Zishang. Only you remain as immature as before.”
“Me… immature?”
“Didn’t you love my sister the most? How much do you really know about her?”
“I…