Yu Deng usually spoke at a slow pace, and now, imitating a robot's tone, he nailed it perfectly.
He was dressed in a metallic, robot-like outer shell and sat upright on the sofa. Despite his cool, mechanical appearance, Huo Yanzhou felt like Yu Deng was… kind of adorable.
A bit cute… no, extremely cute.
At the doorway, Shi Yi, who had been sneaking around, also muttered to himself, This guy with the unique hobby is kind of cute.
Yu Deng had yet to realize that the cold, aloof image he'd tried to build had slightly missed the mark. After politely declining the service robot, he fell silent again.
The service robot, surprisingly, stalled for quite a while, scanning Yu Deng's appearance and internal mechanisms over and over. Due to the signal-blocking function embedded in the outfit, it finally concluded that this guest was indeed a robot.
It cautiously asked, "You're a robot too? I couldn't identify your model."
Yu Deng raised his chin and straightened his back. "Not your fault. I'm the newest model."
Robot: "Oh, oh."
Although its database couldn't figure out why a robot would be a guest of the guild leader, it still followed its enthusiastic protocol to serve all esteemed guests.
"I understand now, you can't consume human sweets," the robot said warmly. "I'll go get you some motor oil. What flavor would you like?"
Yu Deng: "???" Huh?
This time, it was Yu Deng who glitched. After all, motor oil as a beverage was a bit too futuristic for him.
Faced with the robot's enthusiasm, Yu Deng didn't know how to decline again. Instinctively, he looked at Huo Yanzhou, silently asking for help.
Huo Yanzhou, already feeling his heart itch from how cute Yu Deng was, met his eyes for a moment before waving at the robot. "He doesn't drink motor oil. You can go now."
The robot, disappointed at failing to promote its motor oil, left reluctantly. Huo Yanzhou then turned toward Shi Yi at the doorway and unceremoniously shooed him away. "What are you doing here? He likes peace and quiet."
Shi Yi saw Huo Yanzhou being so protective and responded with an amused oh, then quickly apologized to Yu Deng with a teasing look in his eyes. "Sorry to bother you. I'll be leaving now."
Yu Deng nodded and watched Shi Yi leave. Wearing his robotic disguise, he sat up straight on the sofa.
"I've locked the office door. Without my command, no one can come in," Huo Yanzhou said after looking at Yu Deng for a few seconds. "Do you want to take off your disguise for now?"
Yu Deng seriously considered the suggestion.
Although the disguise was made of lightweight metal, it still felt a bit restrictive and uncomfortable after wearing it for too long.
"You have to promise that no one else will see," Yu Deng said carefully, confirming once again before finally taking off the disguise with some effort.
Underneath, he wore a simple short-sleeved shirt and shorts. Without the metallic shell, his delicate face, along with his fair legs and arms, were fully exposed to Huo Yanzhou.
In the previous dungeon instance, "Ghost Village," Yu Deng had always worn a cloak. Although he had taken it off at night, the lighting had been dim. This was Huo Yanzhou's first time clearly seeing Yu Deng in daylight.
It was an undeniable visual impact.
The top-tier player almost held his breath, trying to maintain a composed appearance.
Just as Huo Yanzhou was about to speak, his gaze suddenly froze.
He saw faint marks on the side of Yu Deng's neck. Even without experience, he could tell they were kiss marks.
An unexplainable wave of displeasure rose in him. Those marks were truly an eyesore.
"What's wrong?" Yu Deng had finished storing away the robotic disguise and looked at him in confusion. "Why did you suddenly freeze?"
Huo Yanzhou watched for a moment and couldn't help but say in a low voice, "If you don't want your identity to be discovered, you should avoid interacting too much with other players—especially going to their homes, or letting them come to yours."
Yu Deng didn't understand why he was suddenly being warned and replied with a hint of confusion, "Of course I know that. I'm always really careful when I go out."
He was confident in his own caution. "Right now, only three players know who I am."
So he is a player? Or perhaps… something else?
Huo Yanzhou's eyes darkened slightly, and he slowly looked away. "The meeting won't start for a while. Do you want to go check out my item warehouse and pick a few things?"
"Huh? You're really giving me items?"
Huo Yanzhou raised a brow. "I already said I owe you an apology. Of course I'm serious. Do I look like someone who goes back on his word?"
Yu Deng glanced at him and nodded. "You do."
Huo Yanzhou: "…"
Alright then. Looks like his credibility still hasn't recovered in the eyes of this pretty little thing.
"But this time I'm really not lying." Huo Yanzhou looked at Yu Deng. "Wanna go check out my warehouse?"
Yu Deng slowly stood up. "Did you already take the items out?"
It's common knowledge that every player's personal system space for storing items is private. In theory, no one else is allowed inside—unless the items have been removed and placed in a physical warehouse.
"No, but I can take you in with me." Huo Yanzhou turned his palm upward, making an inviting gesture.
Yu Deng thought for a few seconds and then placed his hand on Huo Yanzhou's. The next moment, the scene before his eyes shifted, and he found himself in a massive warehouse.
The walls were a grayish metallic tone, and the warehouse was lined with rows upon rows of shelves filled with a dazzling array of items.
There were standard, ordinary items, as well as rare ones—medicines, weapons, everything one could think of. There were even hundreds of bulk items from the system mall stacked up.
This warehouse alone had items worth at least fifty million points.
Yu Deng widened his eyes, stunned as he stared for several seconds. "These… are all yours?"
This wasn't just a warehouse—it was basically an arsenal.
Huo Yanzhou crossed his arms and leaned lazily against one of the shelves. Hearing Yu Deng's question, he chuckled.
"I've been in the Infinite World for three years now. I ought to have some assets by now. Pick whatever you like."
Yu Deng glanced at the number one player on the leaderboard and began browsing the warehouse with a touch of reverence. After walking a bit, he suddenly remembered something, turned to look at Huo Yanzhou, and hesitated. "Once I've looked through everything, I'll know what kind of stuff you have."
Rare items and such… they must be pretty private.
Huo Yanzhou lowered his eyes. "Yeah, that's why I've only ever brought you here." He stepped a bit closer, placing a hand on Yu Deng's shoulder and casually brushing his fingertips over the kiss mark on Yu Deng's neck—as if trying to wipe it away.
He said softly, "I trust you won't go telling other people."
Yu Deng blinked. "I would never do something bad like that."
After speaking, Yu Deng turned his attention to the various items. There was no denying it—top-tier players were seriously loaded. Even A-grade and S-grade items were abundant, not to mention the lower-level ones.
His eyes finally landed on an S-grade item.
[Sewing Kit]: A sewing kit is a household necessity in Tong Village. After all, a new set lasts three years, and patches last another three.
Using this item can restore the number of uses or repair damage to any item. Initially, it can repair up to three times, and gains one more use every three months.
Huh? A repair-type item! If he had this, could he fix his wolf-fur sweater—and maybe even that counter-damage mirror of Qin Jun's? His sweater already had a hole in it…
Yu Deng stared at the sewing kit for a long time.
"Do you like this one?" Huo Yanzhou picked up the sewing kit and directly transferred the item. "It's yours."
Yu Deng accepted the item and looked up at Huo Yanzhou. "Thanks! I really needed something like this." His eyes sparkled—he was clearly in a great mood. "Let's go. I'm done picking."
Huo Yanzhou looked surprised. "Only one? You don't like the others?"
"Huh?" Yu Deng was confused. "I do like them, but it's not like I came here to stock up."
The top player stared at Yu Deng, suddenly overcome with the urge to pull this adorable beauty into his arms.
—How could someone be this cute and lovely? He was simply irresistible.
…
Half an hour before the meeting, Huo Yanzhou left the office to prepare. Before leaving, he reminded Yu Deng, "If you feel like sharing your thoughts or clues during the meeting, you can message me."
Yu Deng looked up at him. "Hm?"
Huo Yanzhou bent down slightly, gazing into Yu Deng's eyes. "To be promoted to a high-level player in just four dungeons, you must be pretty amazing, right?"
Special mission player Yu Deng avoided his gaze. "Mmm… we'll see…"
"Alright."
Yu Deng was left alone in the spacious office. A projection screen was set up in front of the sofa, displaying a conference room.
Ten minutes later, the players attending the meeting began arriving.
Huo Yanzhou had thoughtfully prepared dossiers on the participants for Yu Deng. Holding the stack of files, Yu Deng matched the names to the people appearing on screen one by one.
Each of the four guilds had sent three high-ranking members to the meeting.
From the Death Crow Guild, there was Guildmaster Huo Yanzhou, along with Shi Yi and Lya. From the Wind Lantern Guild, Yu Deng only recognized Zhou Ji—the other man and woman were unfamiliar faces. The Moonfall Guild's master was a young woman named An Qiuying, ranked tenth on the leaderboard.
As for the corner seat, it belonged to the Candlelight Guild. Their master, Song Shiyu, was ranked third overall. He had a handsome, refined appearance with a cold and elegant demeanor—his shirt buttoned all the way to the top.
After taking his seat, Song Shiyu looked up, as if his gaze met Yu Deng's through the screen.
Yu Deng tilted his head. "Tongtong, is it possible he saw me?"
[Theoretically, that should be impossible.]
Song Shiyu soon looked away.
"Alright, everyone's here. Let's begin the meeting."
Guildmaster Huo Yanzhou sat at the head of the table and tapped the surface. "You can all rest assured—Death Crow's internal system can block the main system's surveillance. No need to worry about information leaks."
He glanced around and smiled. "Of course, I trust none of you would leak it either, right?"
The players nodded in agreement, promising to keep things confidential.
"Let's go through things one at a time. The first issue is dungeon difficulty," said Shi Yi, the meeting host. His expression was much more serious than usual. "I'm sure everyone has noticed—starting about three months ago, the overall difficulty of dungeons at all levels has increased."
Yu Deng froze for a few seconds, recalling things he'd seen in live chat comments and forums.
There had been quite a few players and viewers mentioning that dungeons had gotten harder—so hard that survival seemed almost impossible.
Everyone in the conference room agreed.
"Yeah, the death rate has skyrocketed. I brought a newbie through a low-level dungeon recently, and more than half didn't make it out."
"The chance of encountering a hard mode has gone up too."
"Our guild lost fifteen members in the last three months. Smaller guilds or unaffiliated players must have it even worse."
"According to our stats, the death rate has about doubled."
Yu Deng worked hard to follow the conversation and tried to think things through.
Why had the dungeons gotten harder? No—maybe he should first consider why players even had to keep clearing dungeons in this Infinite World?
"Even though we don't know where the Infinite World came from or why we must clear dungeons," said Song Shiyu, his voice cold like his demeanor, "the fact that the dungeons exist and continue to operate suggests we are providing something necessary."
What can humans possibly offer in these terrifying Infinite dungeons? Nothing more than rich emotions, various forms of power, and even life and soul.
But no one truly knew what exactly the Infinite World had set its sights on.
"Don't rush," Shi Yi tried to liven up the mood a bit. "This time, we're just raising questions and having some discussion and brainstorming—not necessarily trying to come up with a definitive answer."
"One more thing Death Crow has discovered is that while dungeon difficulty has increased, certain players have also been restricted."
"And that brings us to the second topic we need to discuss—why is the Infinite World restricting us?"
Yes, restricting us.
Yu Deng pressed his lips together, quietly mulling over that word. It only dawned on him now—his special missions involved suppressing hidden bosses and restraining powerful players. Wasn't that a form of restriction?
Based on the frequent warnings that popped up from the main system… Could it be that unrestricted players and bosses might destroy the dungeon?
Yu Deng lowered his head, his fingertips moved, and he sent a message to Huo Yanzhou.
[.]: The main system doesn't seem to want the dungeons destroyed.
"Infinite World is preventing players from destroying the dungeons," Huo Yanzhou said aloud almost at the same time Yu Deng sent the message. Only after he finished speaking did he see the text, and the smile in his eyes deepened a bit.
"But dungeons are very hard to destroy," An Qiuying frowned. "Each dungeon operates under its own internal logic. Even if it's severely damaged, it can self-repair."
A player from Wind Lantern Guild added, "Yeah, lots of players like to brute-force their way through dungeons, but even then, the dungeon can still be reset."
So then, what kind of destruction truly poses a threat to a dungeon—enough to make the Infinite World step in and impose restrictions?
The members of Death Crow had only raised the question for now. They hadn't shared the core clue yet, but everyone had already begun to think deeply.
"Third question—about dungeon bugs," Shi Yi shrugged. "You guys probably already heard that in the recent competition dungeon, our Death Crow team got stuck in there for several days, and then there was a transmission glitch that brought Brother Zhou and another player over."
Regarding that issue, Death Crow also didn't immediately reveal the cause of the bug.
Zhou Ji rubbed his nose. "My luck's terrible—I honestly thought we might never make it back."
"Eh, you see enough bugs, and you get used to them. Anyway, I suggest everyone be extra cautious about dungeon bugs from now on."
At this point in the meeting, everyone fell silent. It was as if they'd run out of energy to keep discussing. There was a faint sense of despair on their faces.
—Trapped in this terrifying Infinite World, anxious and fearful every single day, with no end in sight… not knowing whether tomorrow or death will come first. Anyone who stays in an environment like this for too long is bound to fall into despair.
Yu Deng lowered his eyes too, a bit lost about the days ahead.
The conference room was quiet for a while. Then Zhou Ji exchanged glances with his two companions and broke the silence.
"Speaking of dungeon bugs… you probably know this too, but our guild leader's dungeon had a major bug. He went missing and hasn't been found to this day."
"I've heard about that," An Qiuying nodded. "But hasn't Yu Feng been missing for more than two months now?"
Just across the wall in the adjacent office, when Yu Deng heard that name, he suddenly looked up.
He stood up in a panic, breathing rapidly. His mind was still a mess, nothing made sense, but tears were already falling.
Who? Yu Feng?! Isn't that his older brother's name?!
Had he misheard? Was it someone with the same name but different pronunciation? Or… could it be that his brother was also in the Infinite World?
T/N: Don't you just love it when the ML loves the MC so deeply that it's engraved in their soul? Even if they lose their memory, they still unconsciously fall in love with the MC again and again. Their love runs so deep that they remain instinctively loyal—never liking or being with anyone else. My Shayla, men who follow those old-school male ethics are truly the best!
Also, There's another 'secret' soul fragment of the ML in this chapter besides Yanzhou. Hint: he's also a handsome, stoic guy. |ω・）hehehe