Yu Deng gestured to indicate the areas that needed massage, but when he tried to pull his legs back, he realized he couldn't move.
Yu Deng: "Huh?"
Qi Jun had long forgotten that he once found Yu Deng too delicate. He gripped Yu Deng's leg, his rough fingertips brushing against the delicate skin, and he was satisfied to see the area redden from his touch.
"...Alright," Qi Jun agreed, stressing the sincerity of his promise. "I'll massage you seriously and make you feel comfortable."
The training robot, whose job was taken away, stood to the side, hesitating, wanting to speak but unsure how. It was the first time it felt the frustration and helplessness of human emotions.
After hearing Qi Jun's promise, Yu Deng felt a little hopeful and urged, "Then let's go back. I'm so tired from training..."
Qi Jun's plan succeeded. He suppressed his eager emotions and picked Yu Deng up. As Yu Deng's body was lifted, he slowly turned his head and waved at the training robot in the room, "Goodbye, I'm leaving."
The training robot, receiving its first farewell from a human, paused for a few seconds. Its light turned green, and it mimicked Yu Deng's wave with its mechanical arm before slowly powering off.
Outside the training center.
Yu Deng was curled up in his cloak as Qi Jun carried him for a few steps. Through his mask, he glanced at the players on the street and belatedly felt a bit awkward, "There are so many people outside... It's strange, let's take a car instead."
Qi Jun complied obediently: "Alright."
The player center was vast, with significant distances between different city and district areas. Fortunately, driverless cars were scattered everywhere, reaching speeds of up to 500 km/h, and a ride cost 300 points, much loved by players.
At times like this, the difference between the Infinite World and the real world became very apparent... after all, real-world ride-hailing services could never be this fast. Yu Deng sat in the car, watching the rapidly changing scenery outside the window, reflecting on this.
Seven or eight minutes later, Yu Deng arrived at Qi Jun's residence. As Qi Jun had said, his place was very clean, and there were quite a few training equipment scattered around, likely purchased from the system mall.
Yu Deng was so exhausted that he didn't care to notice the equipment. He collapsed onto the sofa, not wanting to move.
Yu Deng had a body that was sensitive and prone to pain. He had pushed himself hard at the training center, not feeling much pain at the time, but now that he relaxed, the soreness became more apparent, and his delicate brows involuntarily furrowed.
He lifted his shirt and pants to check, discovering several bruises from accidentally bumping into things.
When he touched them, the pain made him tear up, and he looked pitiful.
Qi Jun gently pressed his hand down and rubbed it: "I'll apply some medicine for you."
The man quickly fetched a tube of ointment. The cool cream was applied to Yu Deng's skin and gently massaged in with just the right amount of pressure.
At first, Yu Deng was tense, worried that Qi Jun might press too hard... In fact, when Qi Jun first applied it, it did hurt, making him whimper. But soon, the pain was replaced by a sense of comfort, and he relaxed completely, sprawling on the sofa while occasionally directing Qi Jun.
"Don't press here... it's too itchy, um, go a bit lower."
The smile in Qi Jun's eyes grew more pronounced as he gazed at the beautiful treasure sprawled on the sofa.
Perhaps because of his slow nature, Yu Deng was more innocent and naive than other players in the dungeon, lacking the indifference and aggression that most players had.
But here, in the player center, Yu Deng was a different person—more relaxed and more likely to act spoiled, making people want to give him everything.
The tall, muscular mercenary crouched down, suppressing any aggression and carefully massaging Yu Deng.
The soreness in Yu Deng's body eased significantly. Qi Jun's warm, dry palms moved from his calves upward, resting on his waist.
Comfort and heat both spread, and Yu Deng's cheeks flushed, his eyes becoming slightly moist.
Qi Jun's movements gradually slowed, his gaze fixated on Yu Deng.
In the castle dungeon, the little bloodsucker Yu Deng had once laid in his arms, his back arched, guided by Qi Jun's hands, experiencing pleasure, his soft voice calling him a bastard.
The scene now was almost identical to that moment.
Yu Deng was enjoying a relaxing massage when the pressure on his waist suddenly stopped. He lowered his head in confusion and stared for a few seconds before reaching out to poke Qin Jun's cheek.
The castle dungeon had subtly adjusted the players' appearances, and now, Qin Jun's looks were slightly different from his appearance in the dungeon, but it was still easy to recognize him—handsome with a mixed-race charm.
"Why did you stop?"
Qin Jun, upon hearing the question, obediently resumed the massage. Yu Deng turned over comfortably, his loose sweatshirt rumpled, exposing a small area of skin below his collar.
Qin Jun's gaze froze.
He saw a red mark on the collarbone. The mark stood out on the fair skin, clearly made not long ago.
"Baby, those men earlier, they should've been NPCs, right?"
"Mm? You mean the ones in the castle? Yes, they were NPCs."
"They were NPCs..." Qin Jun's finger pressed on Yu Deng's collarbone, applying a bit of force as he traced it repeatedly. "But baby, you've been bitten here."
Yu Deng, still confused, glanced down at the mark on his collarbone. He thought back to the chaotic scene from a few days ago… it should have been Cheng Chaoling's doing, since the others left too early.
His ghostly late husband had once said that they had performed a wedding ritual and shared a bridal night, so things like this were normal.
Yu Deng wasn't the type to reject others, especially since these men always asked with such pitiful expressions, much like the stray dogs he'd seen.
He mumbled vaguely, "Hmm, I don't know when he bit me."
Qin Jun didn't know that NPCs could appear in the player center. His gaze darkened, thinking there were other players who were also eyeing Yu Deng... Of course, that wasn't entirely wrong.
Such an annoying mark.
"I've been looking for you for a long time, baby." Qin Jun half-knelt on the ground, looking up at Yu Deng on the couch. "I just gave you a massage. Can I kiss you again?"
Yu Deng hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded.
But Qin Jun's kiss didn't land on Yu Deng's lips; instead, he bit down on Yu Deng's long neck, his teeth grazing the delicate skin, leaving a more distinct mark of his own.
"...Qin Jun?"
Without realizing it, Yu Deng was entirely in Qin Jun's embrace, his hand held and placed on a certain firm fabric.
Yu Deng froze. "You..."
"Help me out, will you?"
Yu Deng took a few seconds to respond, his face flushing deeper as he raised his voice, "No, I won't!"
He was still so tired!
"Go take care of it yourself..." Yu Deng pushed him away. "I won't help you."
Qin Jun lowered his head, breathing heavily, staring intently at Yu Deng for a few seconds before preparing some snacks for him. Then, he went to take a cold shower for over ten minutes. Yu Deng, hearing the sound of water, nearly drifted off to sleep, munching on a couple of small cakes.
Qin Jun returned, his body still carrying the chill from the cold water, and resumed attending to Yu Deng diligently. After finishing a massage session, the man's hand dropped to Yu Deng's leg and squeezed a few times before making an invitation, "Baby, how about staying with me tonight?"
"Mm?" Yu Deng thought for a few seconds. "No."
Earlier, when he told Qin Jun to handle it himself, Qin Jun's gaze had felt like he wanted to devour him... He always felt that staying here would be more tiring than training.
Yu Deng made a compromise: "Next time, I'll stay at your place."
Qin Jun looked a little disappointed, but didn't force Yu Deng or make him angry. He could only settle for second best: "Can I add you as a friend on your contact list?"
Yu Deng didn't reject it. She added Qin Jun as her fourth contact.
...
When Yu Deng returned to his place, he thought he might feel too nervous to sleep, but after finishing his wash-up, he was almost immediately asleep, dreaming of struggling to practice combat skills.
The next day, at noon.
[Beep. Attention all players, the list of participants for the special dungeon will now be drawn.]
Yu Deng suddenly opened his eyes, ears perked up to listen to the system announcement.
[Please note, this special dungeon is a multiplayer competition dungeon. The competition is divided into four arenas: the beginner arena, the intermediate arena, and the advanced arena, with ten dungeons in each. The dungeon themes are random, and each arena has two hundred players. Only one arena for special-level players, and all special-level players are required to participate.]
So... players of different ranks are separated into different arenas, ensuring a degree of fairness.
Yu Deng roughly calculated that out of several million players, a few thousand would be drawn, which is a one percent chance... He shouldn't be unlucky again, right?
[The participant list is being drawn... Beep, the participant list is complete. Please pay attention to the system notifications.]
Yu Deng held his breath, watching as a transparent box popped up before him.
[Congratulations, Player Yu Deng, you have been assigned to the intermediate arena: Arena 09.]
Yu Deng: "..." Ugh, what's there to congratulate about?
Feeling down, Yu Deng opened the player forum, trying to ease his sadness by fishing.
The forum was more lively than it had been a few days ago, with people announcing the arenas they were assigned to, and a lot of shouting from afar.
[People from the Killing Heaven Guild, you better watch out, I swear I'll avenge my brother!]
[Heh, come on, I'll kill you all.]
Yu Deng's gaze lingered on a few of the posts, realizing how dangerous the multiplayer competition dungeon could be. If he ran into enemies, he could be camped at the respawn point. If he died twice, he would be really gone...
Yu Deng shivered and, following the system's suggestion, started browsing the posts with pictures, recognizing well-known intermediate players and making a mental note of the extreme players who liked to kill others, deciding to avoid them in the dungeon.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye. With just an hour before entering the special dungeon, Cheng Xiao finally emerged from the dungeon.
[Cheng Xiao]: Little mom, I'm out of the dungeon! But I have to go to a new one soon [Sad dog crying/]
[Cheng Xiao]: I got drawn for the special dungeon, in the intermediate player Arena 09.
Yu Deng blinked. Oh, what a coincidence, Qin Jun was also in Arena 09.
Yu Deng chatted with his stepson for a bit, then heard the system announcement.
[Beep, the special dungeon is about to start.]
...
The familiar dizziness came over Yu Deng. His vision went black, and after a few seconds, he opened his eyes again, finding himself in a messy, dry grass field. In the distance were a few dilapidated houses and rolling mountains.
[Beep. Welcome, all players, to the A-rank special dungeon "The Hidden Temple."]
Yu Deng quickly snapped to attention.
[In this mysterious small town, there is a lost temple and a terrifying evil god. It is rumored that the temple contains precious treasures.]
[After the dungeon begins, the position of the temple will randomly refresh every day. Players who obtain the temple's treasure will be considered the first place in this arena, earning two million basic points and corresponding rewards.]
Yu Deng's eyes widened.
Such high points?! No wonder so many people thought the special dungeon was a welfare dungeon!
[Aside from the secret treasure, each player killed will reward 30,000 points. Obtaining a key item will add 50,000 points. Killing another player will allow you to take their points, with a chance to obtain their items.]
[This arena has 200 players, with real-time sharing of player points and elimination information. All players start in identical clothing, which can be changed inside the dungeon.]
[This arena has a public communication channel and nearby channels. Players can communicate anonymously.]
[Note: Every midnight, a random area of the dungeon will collapse, and players within the area will be eliminated.]
[Dungeon duration: Three days.]
[Good luck, players.]
The dungeon provided a series of details, and Yu Deng quickly wrote down the key information.
In short, this dungeon is a pure competition dungeon, where players have to rush to find the temple's treasure while battling each other for points.
He hadn't had a chance to check the information of other players or the small map the dungeon provided when he suddenly heard some faint noises from afar.
Yu Deng warily looked up, suddenly realizing another issue. The different outfits among the uniform starting gear were very noticeable.
How could this be? Whether they covered their faces or not, it was dangerous... Could he be eliminated right at the start? Yu Deng was on the verge of tears.
The footsteps grew closer, and Yu Deng desperately searched for a place to hide. However, the surroundings were an open field, and the dilapidated houses were far away—there was no place to hide.
He could use his vampire bat wings to fly away, but the main issue was that he couldn't just hide for three days in the dungeon. After all, he was rumored to be a ruthless bandit who kills without hesitation. What should he do?
Yu Deng gritted his teeth and used the skill he obtained in the last dungeon—Rational Thinking.
In an instant, Yu Deng's emotions completely calmed down, his mind operating at high speed, and his logic was clearer than ever. So this is what it feels like to be a calm and rational scholar.
"Such a powerful skill…"
However, he probably shouldn't use this skill too frequently, or he might become reliant on external help...
Yu Deng shook his head, refocusing his attention back on the dungeon.
The approaching person had already come into view. It was an unfamiliar young man with a buzz cut, holding a knife, watching him cautiously as he drew nearer.
The two silently confronted each other for a moment, and the buzz-cut young man took the initiative to approach.
Yu Deng clenched his fingers nervously, his heightened mental sharpness helping him recall the combat skills he had trained in, while desperately thinking of a plan.
He needed to hide his identity as a player, while also making the other person afraid of him—or at least not suspect him... Right!
Yu Deng's thoughts were clearer than ever before, and a plan slowly took shape. He looked up and, through his crow mask, stared at the approaching young man. He swallowed hard, trying his best to appear mysterious.
"Fate has brought you from afar. What would you like to purchase from me?"
The buzz-cut young man was clearly stunned. "??"
"Food, treasure, information... Anything you desire. As long as you pay the price, you can obtain it." Yu Deng straightened his back, suppressing the urge to stutter, lowering his voice as much as possible, trying to impersonate a mysterious and calculating merchant. "So, what do you want?"