What the hell was I just doing! Lu Qiuchen felt a wave of regret for her actions in the dungeon.
She admitted that she had lost her composure the moment she realized Zhang Cheng had already recognized her true identity, and that all those compliments he uttered were just toying with her.
And after she exposed him, that bastard not only showed no guilt or embarrassment but….
Damn it, why am I thinking about this?!
At that moment, as she lunged forward, Zhang Cheng suddenly burst out laughing.
In her memory, she had never seen Zhang Cheng so delighted before; she was even startled by it, which caused her to ease the strength in her hands considerably.
Zhang Cheng’s face wore a complex expression of satisfaction mixed with excitement. He let her hit him but still tried to counterattack and grab her, though he ultimately failed.
“Two and a half years! Finally seeing you…” Zhang Cheng didn’t finish his sentence before his body flew backward. In mid-air, he began to turn transparent and vanished into a beam of white light upon landing.
Even with her weakened strength, her stats were terrifyingly high against Zhang Cheng—just two punches were enough to drain all his HP.
As Zhang Cheng’s body disappeared, the system detected that all players had exited the dungeon, triggering an automatic shutdown. She was forcibly ejected and reverted to her human form, returning to the nest.
Lu Qiuchen stared at the endless whiteness before her, then dove into the snow, burying herself beneath the thick layer. Her spirits sank as she lay spread-eagle, motionless for a long while.
‘I actually admitted it just now!’
Coming back to her senses, the shame that surged inside her was overwhelming whenever she recalled what had happened in the dungeon.
If I ever meet him again… no, no! It’s best I never see him again! Zhang Cheng, just go to hell!
Lu Qiuchen cursed Zhang Cheng silently, though a blush began to tint her cheeks.
“Damn it…” she bit down hard on her teeth, struggling to control the twitch at the corner of her mouth because she kept recalling Zhang Cheng’s last words.
Knowing her best friend had been desperately searching for her stirred a bittersweet warmth in her heart—both happiness and a touch of emotion.
‘It’s been so long since I felt this kind of care.’ She felt her tear ducts loosening.
He just said so many sweet things, how could one uncertain sentence from him make my face flush and heart race?
It felt like another voice inside her was desperately trying to stop her from falling deeper.
He is my good friend. What he said was only to confirm his identity. Even if it’s a little embarrassing…
Lu Qiuchen argued with herself in her mind.
“His attitude clearly shows he recognized you a long time ago. He’s just being perverse! And you two have been apart for years; how can you be sure his feelings are still the same?”
Lu Qiuchen was a bit angry, spouting nonsense!
Zhang Cheng’s expression and eyes had been overflowing with excitement and joy—such ecstatic delight could not be faked.
Sensing her stubbornness, that voice spoke again: “Stop indulging in fantasies! Your relationship can never go back to how it was! Neither the distance between your worlds nor the differences in gender and race now….”
Lu Qiuchen snapped back to reality, and the shame inside surged once more.
If I ever meet him again… no, no! It’s best I never see him again! Zhang Cheng, just go to hell!
Her cheeks warmed as she cursed him silently.
“Damn it…” she clenched her teeth, fighting the smile threatening her lips because she thought of Zhang Cheng’s last words again.
Knowing her best friend had been searching for her all this time made her feel both happy and touched.
It had been so long since she felt cared for. Her tear ducts seemed ready to give in.
He said so many flattering things—how could a single uncertain sentence from him make her blush and heart race?
Another voice inside her seemed to try to stop her from falling apart.
He is my good friend; what he said was just to confirm his identity. Though it’s a bit embarrassing… Lu Qiuchen kept debating in her heart.
“His attitude shows he recognized you long ago, he’s just being mischievous! And you’ve been apart for years; how can you be sure his feelings haven’t changed?”
She was a little angry, speaking nonsense again!
Zhang Cheng’s expression and gaze were filled with excitement and thrill—his ecstatic look was genuine.
Sensing her stubbornness, that voice rang out again: “Stop living in illusions! Your relationship can never return to what it was! Not with the distance between your worlds or the differences in gender and race now…”
Hearing that voice once more, Lu Qiuchen calmed down, her eyes sharp as she realized something.
“Who are you? Trying to manipulate my thoughts? Get out of my mind!” she shouted.
She had already sensed something was wrong during the dungeon—an inexplicable aversion toward Zhang Cheng. But she knew it was probably her hidden inferiority complex at work, and Zhang Cheng himself hadn’t done anything, so she suppressed the hatred.
Especially after meeting him in the dungeon, the feeling grew stronger; just hearing Zhang Cheng speak made her heart flare with a hint of murderous intent, which created a strong sense of dissonance.
Now, this presence was boldly stirring up her emotions, trying to influence her attitude!
‘System! Scan my mental state!’ Lu Qiuchen silently commanded, trying to summon Beta.
Before, Beta had automatically taken over her body based on her mental state, which meant Beta monitored her mental condition and should be able to detect any other consciousness lodged in her mind.
As for why the system could reappear within the item duration given by Gelf, it was because after Zhang Cheng left the dungeon, the system scanned everything since all players were gone.
The system then detected a special player marker on her that had previously been overlooked, reconnected her to the system, then forcibly ejected her and shut down the dungeon.
Beta appeared in response: “Detected unregistered lifeform on player… now executing purge.”
There really was something parasitizing my mind! Lu Qiuchen was shocked. She had been uncertain before, even wondering if she was mentally ill. Now it seemed there was indeed an intruder behind the scenes.
But things didn’t go as Lu Qiuchen expected. She soon saw a red warning flash across her vision: Unregistered lifeform purge failed. To protect the player’s consciousness, commencing deep cleanse. This may cause the player to enter a period of sleep. Please remain calm.
Before she could comprehend what this meant, her vision went black and she lost control of her body.
“So it really is Beta, such a pain…” Her thoughts dulled as she fell into deep sleep…”
When Lu Qiuchen regained consciousness, a pale blue prompt box dominated her view: “Purge Successful,” with a slightly playful emoji smiling next to it.
She started recalling things related to Zhang Cheng and found the previous murderous intent had vanished. She sighed with relief but suddenly noticed the system had changed somewhat.
Except for the exit game option, all other icons were now lit up!
This discovery shocked Lu Qiuchen. She hurriedly opened the Friends List.
It could be opened! Seeing the empty Friends List jolted her awake. She quickly tried other functions.
Guild, leaderboards, forums… all functions worked normally. But she noticed her name wasn’t on the leaderboard, and in the forums, she could only read posts without commenting or posting.
Still, this was already a big improvement. Even if she couldn’t interact with players on the forum, compared to before, she had many more information sources!
With that thought, Lu Qiuchen checked her character status again. Confirming she was still a special player, she began to wonder.
Could these changes mean she might break free from the system’s control?
Had the system’s previous lockdown been caused by that unknown entity? What exactly was it, and why did it interfere with her feelings toward Zhang Cheng? What was its purpose?
Although the immediate problem was solved, Lu Qiuchen’s questions only multiplied.
According to current intel, the Dragon Clan, the Demon Clan, and the system itself could all be responsible.
From the timeline, it started with the bloodline inheritance awareness when Aodu planted the Dragon Clan inheritance in her. Then during the fall of the Tara Kingdom, the Demon Clan invaded her inner world. Finally, the system appeared when she awoke.
However, her internal changes were noticed later than all three, so she couldn’t pinpoint which caused it.
After some thought, she decided to delve into her inner world, starting with the Dragon Clan inheritance.
In the blood-red space, a huge heart slowly pulsed, seemingly normal on the surface. Lu Qiuchen approached, gently touching the massive heart and closing her eyes to sense its condition.
After a moment, she opened her eyes and exhaled slowly. The previous influence was likely not from the Dragon Clan inheritance; here, she still felt a very natural sense of closeness.
Deep down, Lu Qiuchen didn’t want to doubt the Dragon Clan either.
Her belief in the Dragon Clan was strong now, especially since in the Eternal World, they were her last pillar of support.
If even her last reliance in this world was just a naive illusion, it would be a devastating blow.
The other two possibilities were either the system orchestrating this or the Demon Clan tampering with her mind. Among these, Lu Qiuchen felt the Demon Clan was the most likely culprit.
After all, the Demon Clan specialized in mental attacks. Before entering the dungeon, she encountered many high-level demons after the Blue Dragon. If any of these high-ranking demons skilled in mental assaults had taken the opportunity to manipulate her mind, it could have easily slipped past Gelf’s detection.
Having settled this matter, Lu Qiuchen’s thoughts returned to what Zhang Cheng had said.
Her parents’ situation… she had a younger sister now.
A twinge of sadness crept into her heart. In her current state, it was unlikely she could ever fulfill her filial duties. And having become like this, how could she face her parents?
She hoped this unseen sister could help her parents heal from the pain of her absence…
Putting aside these melancholy thoughts, she reconsidered her original problem.
‘I’ve already exposed my identity and have to complete the main storyline under the system’s control. I’ll definitely see Zhang Cheng again. How will I face him then? If he tells my parents, and they come to the game to find me—what then? No, no, it’s fine if Zhang Cheng knows, but I absolutely can’t let him tell my parents. I’m not ready to face them yet.’
Just as Lu Qiuchen sank into deep worry again, Zhang Yu had finished hearing Zhang Cheng’s story.
“Is it true? Lu Qiuchen is still alive in the game?” Zhang Yu grabbed Zhang Cheng’s shoulders tightly, shaking him.
Although her brother’s words sounded unbelievable, she didn’t think he would lie about something like this.
Seeing Zhang Cheng nod and recalling his wild laughter earlier, Zhang Yu believed it must be true.
“Come with me, I’ll take you to see Dad!”