Through hazy, tear-filled eyes, Yu Deng stared blankly at the people on the screen, struggling to process the information he had just received.
If his older brother, Yu Feng, was really in the Infinite World... With that assumption in mind, Yu Deng suddenly recalled some overlooked details.
The player ranked second on the overall leaderboard used the alias "YF." Wasn't that the abbreviation of Yu Feng's name? And in the Cthulhu-themed dungeon, that bracelet he had picked up—could it have been woven by his brother?
But... they said his brother had gone missing…
Yu Deng clutched tightly at the hem of his clothes, tears flowing uncontrollably. He cried silently; his eyelashes quickly dampened, and even the tip of his nose turned red.
[Host, host.] System 01's electronic voice was gentle. [Calm down, relax.]
Yu Deng heard the system's reminder, but shook his head in confusion. He didn't know how to relax.
System 01 sighed softly: [Don't be afraid.]
Its lines of code flickered briefly as it blocked certain devices within the Mourning Bird guild. System 01 projected a humanoid hologram—one that had appeared before—and gently leaned down to hug Yu Deng.
[Host, take a deep breath.] System 01 soothed him patiently.
Yu Deng leaned into his cold, illusory system's embrace, taking a few deep breaths, trying to stop his tears. In a small voice, he said, "Tongtong, when their meeting is over, I want to go ask them…"
[Of course. Host, you can do whatever you wish.]
"But, Tongtong… do you know anything about Yu Feng? Where is he…" Yu Deng looked into the system's eyes, which flickered with flowing code. "You're really smart, so you must know… right?"
[I'm sorry, Host. I currently don't have permission to access Yu Feng's location, so I cannot answer that.]
Yu Deng was a bit disappointed. "Alright… I won't blame you, Tongtong."
Just then, the voices from the meeting room screen returned—one of the senior members of the Wind Lantern guild was speaking.
"Our guild analyzed the situation. The guild leader's dungeon is very likely in a frozen state. Some of our guild permissions have also been frozen," said the male player next to Zhou Ji with a sigh. "The vice leader doesn't have enough admin rights. If only we could use the guild leader's permissions."
Zhou Ji and a female player beside him looked up in surprise, not understanding why their teammate suddenly brought this up in front of everyone during the meeting.
Separated by a layer of projection, Yu Deng furrowed his brows too.
He didn't understand guild management very well, but he knew the basics. That guy was strange… bringing up permission issues in front of everyone—wasn't that airing the Wind Lantern guild's dirty laundry?
Shi Yi, who was hosting the meeting, glanced over a few times and then calmly changed the subject. "Then we'll just have to wait for Brother Yu to come back. Alright, let's continue our discussion."
The topic of Yu Feng was just a small interlude. After a brief silence, everyone continued to discuss the recent developments in the Infinite World, trying to analyze its intentions.
Yu Deng forced himself to focus and jotted down the rest of the discussion, planning to study it more carefully later.
The meeting lasted about two hours. After it ended, Huo Yanzhou stood up and said meaningfully, "I believe we all have a direction now. Let's wish ourselves good luck."
The players attending the meeting seemed somewhat downcast as they left the conference room. Before leaving, the president of the Candlelight Guild, Song Shiyu, raised his head and locked eyes with Yu Deng through the screen.
A few minutes later, Huo Yanzhou returned to his office. As soon as he entered, he saw Yu Deng's eyes were wet, clearly having just cried.
The lazy smile in Huo Yanzhou's eyes faded, and he instinctively walked quickly to Yu Deng's side. "Did someone bully you?"
Yu Deng shook his head. "No…"
Huo Yanzhou lowered his gaze to look at Yu Deng. The little beauty was crying pitifully, like a wronged kitten, making his heart flutter with tenderness.
...He couldn't help but want to comfort the poor baby and make him smile.
"Huo Yanzhou." Yu Deng hesitated for a few seconds. "I…"
Huo Yanzhou, without the usual casual smile, looked at him with gentle seriousness. "Say whatever you want. I'll keep your secret."
Yu Deng met his gaze for a few seconds and asked, "Do you know Yu Feng?"
"I know him. The Guilds of Death and Candlelight are ranked one and two. I've had some dealings with him."
Yu Deng anxiously asked, "Then... do you know what happened to him?"
Huo Yanzhou didn't immediately respond but looked deeply at Yu Deng's face, starting to form a guess.
Both Yu Deng and Yu Feng had the same surname, though their appearances and temperaments were different, their eyes did share some similarities. It was clear they were probably related by blood.
However, since Yu Deng didn't want to say it explicitly, Huo Yanzhou decided to act as if he didn't know.
"I don't know where Yu Feng is right now. The Candlelight Guild has kept his disappearance well-hidden. I only found out about it recently."
Huo Yanzhou wasn't close to Yu Feng. The two guilds even had a competitive relationship. After saying this, he saw Yu Deng's head droop and quickly added, "But Yu Feng is very powerful. He, like me, was one of the first players."
"One of the... first?" Yu Deng slowly repeated his words.
Huo Yanzhou tried to cheer him up a bit. "Yeah. Yu Feng's inventory might even be bigger than mine. Don't worry."
"I see."
Yu Deng felt a little reassured but still worried. After all, the person missing in the dungeon was his older brother, and of course, he would be anxious.
If it were Qin Jun or Cheng Xiao, or if one of the dungeon bosses or task targets had gotten into trouble... he would be worried too.
Yu Deng lowered his head, feeling his nose getting a bit stuffy again.
Although those guys were all bad, often biting him, they were kind to him at other times. Yu Deng couldn't quite explain why he felt they were special, but he definitely didn't want anything bad to happen to them.
Huo Yanzhou looked at Yu Deng, who was looking down dejectedly, and suddenly called his name.
"Yu Deng."
Huo Yanzhou's voice wasn't stern; instead, it had a soft, almost imperceptible gentleness. "In the Infinite World, if a player dies completely, their traces will be erased, including their ranking on the leaderboard."
Yu Deng raised his head to look at him, processing the words slowly. After several seconds, his mind finally clicked into place.
Since his older brother was still second on the leaderboard, it meant that Yu Feng was at least still alive.
Yu Deng mumbled softly, "I understand... Huo Yanzhou, I'll go back now."
Huo Yanzhou awkwardly rubbed the top of Yu Deng's head. "Should I escort you back?"
Yu Deng looked at him for a few seconds, shook his head, and said, "I'll go by myself." He paused, then said softly, "If I find any clues about the main system, I'll share them with you."
...
Yu Deng took a flying car back to his penthouse. He sat in the living room in a daze for a while, logged into the player forum, and searched for Yu Feng's name. Unfortunately, most posts about Yu Feng had been deleted or were restricted from viewing.
Yu Deng hugged his knees as he sat on the sofa, unsure.
Should he ask someone from the Candlelight Guild? But could the people there be trusted?
Yu Deng still remembered his older brother's advice when they were young—not to easily trust anyone his brother knew, because there could be bad people, especially when his brother wasn't around. He needed to be cautious.
Yu Deng bit his lip, thinking hard. Maybe asking Zhou Ji through his contacts would be fine?
[.] : By the way, Zhou Ji, I want to ask you something about the president of the Candlelight Guild.
[Zhou Ji]: Sure. Why suddenly want to know?
Yu Deng thought for a moment and replied.
[.] : I just heard other people mention it. They say the president of the Candlelight Guild is very powerful.
[.] : I'm even considering joining the Candlelight Guild now.
Perhaps sensing that Yu Deng didn't have ill intentions, Zhou Ji briefly shared a few details, which were similar to what Huo Yanzhou had said. Near the end, Zhou Ji revealed some information.
[Zhou Ji]: Our guild used some divination items to check. The dungeon where the president disappeared is called "City of Illusions."
...
Yu Deng spent the whole day trying to calm himself down. He used the items Huo Yanzhou gave him to repair the damaged wolf fur sweater and the mirror that reflected damage.
During this time, the werewolf leader from the castle dungeon, Anders, came out for a while.
When the werewolf first appeared, he was excited and exhilarated. But upon sensing Yu Deng's low mood, he instinctively turned into a gray giant wolf and let Yu Deng rest on his belly. He also enthusiastically shoved his ears and tail into Yu Deng's hands.
Yu Deng lay in the giant wolf's fur and called out to him, "Anders, I need to ask you something."
The giant wolf gently nudged Yu Deng with his head. "Awoo?"
"Do you... shed a lot of fur?"
When it came to his image, the giant wolf shook his head frantically.
"So... did you pull the fur from your own body for that sweater? Even though it's comfortable, don't pull out your fur. Bald wolves don't look good." Yu Deng whispered.
The giant wolf: "..."
The gray giant wolf froze for a moment, then transformed into a human form, hugged Yu Deng, and kissed him. "I just wanted to give you a gift. I won't pull out my fur randomly anymore."
He had to be the most handsome wolf—he couldn't let his love rival outshine him!
Only then did Yu Deng relax and continue petting the wolf.
…
Break time passed unusually quickly, and soon it was time to enter the next dungeon. Yu Deng made his preparations and activated the new dungeon.
That familiar dizziness hit, and a few seconds later, Yu Deng arrived at the new dungeon.
He opened his eyes and looked around. What met his gaze was a spacious, European-style room. The overall color scheme was a dreamy pastel blue, and the luxurious decor was adorned with gemstones everywhere.
[Ding. The dungeon has officially begun. Welcome, players, to the A-rank dungeon: "Dream City."]
[The continent of Elazea is a land full of magic. It is beautiful, rich, peaceful, and serene. Humans have established a kingdom, leading their people to live peacefully and prosperously. The mysterious races across the continent live together in harmony without interfering with each other…]
[But at some point, things began to change…]
Yu Deng perked up his ears and listened carefully. Since the dungeon didn't specifically mention being a solo instance, that meant there were likely other players too. Also, the name of this dungeon sounded a little like the one his big brother went missing in…
The system continued its announcement.
[The main mission for this dungeon is: survive until the end of the dungeon and gain the trust of any race.
Please note: This dungeon is in hard mode. There are currently no additional missions.]
**[The special rules for this dungeon are as follows:
1. Please respect local customs and racial traditions.
2. Stay true to your heart.
3. To be discovered.]**
Still a bit dizzy, Yu Deng mentally noted the key points of the system broadcast.
Alright, another familiar hard mode. An A-rank dungeon on hard mode probably approached the difficulty of an S-rank one, right? On top of that, there were complicated special rules, and no mention of how long the dungeon would last.
As for the main mission—gaining the trust of a race… what a strange objective. How exactly would the system determine whether a player had earned someone's trust?
It seemed like the higher the dungeon level, the more abstract the missions and clues became. For someone like him, who wasn't good at thinking things through, this was extremely unfriendly.
Yu Deng frowned in distress, thinking for a long while but still couldn't figure out how to proceed in this dungeon.
[Host, would you like to view your role in this dungeon now?]
"Sure, go ahead."
[You are the most noble princess of the human kingdom.]
Princess…? Yu Deng tilted his head, waiting for the system to continue describing his role.
[When you arrived in the kingdom, flowers that hadn't bloomed in a hundred years burst into blossom throughout the city. The people and animals of the kingdom sang in your honor, celebrating your arrival. You have the most delicate skin, the most beautiful face, the most enchanting singing voice. You are the pampered and noble little princess.]
System 01 finished the description and added: [This role setting is essentially a match for you.]
Or rather, this character was tailor-made for Yu Deng.
After hearing the system's introduction, Yu Deng felt a strange sense of shame. That description sounded way too much like a fairytale princess…
Yu Deng sorted through his identity, looked around the room, and cautiously approached the window.
The view outside was expansive. He could see the massive castle, the smaller houses in the distance, and the forest at the edge of the horizon—his room was in a high tower of the castle.
Suddenly, someone knocked on his door, followed by a respectful voice calling out to him.
"Your Highness, Princess."
Yu Deng turned around and saw an older maid, along with two male attendants behind her.
The maid appeared to be the head maid, and she stepped inside, looking at Yu Deng disapprovingly. "Your Highness, you are not yet dressed. Please do not stand by the window."
Yu Deng looked down at his velvet pajamas in confusion. "?"
Was someone going to see him from outside the window?
The head maid had already waved her hand, and the two male attendants promptly brought over an elaborate dress, standing before Yu Deng.
The attendants didn't dare look at Yu Deng directly and kept their heads bowed. In a daze, Yu Deng was lifted up by them, and the dress was about to be slipped onto him.
"Wait… why do I have to wear a dress?" Yu Deng was completely confused and dizzy from the situation.
The head maid kept her polite smile. "Of course, Your Highness is a princess."
If he didn't complete the princess attire, would it count as a failed role performance…? Yu Deng hesitated for a few seconds, and the next thing he knew, he was already dressed in the gown with the attendants' help.
Yu Deng's gaze fell on the mirror nearby, and only then did he belatedly realize the change in his appearance. His eyes widened in surprise.
Wait a second—his character in this instance had long hair!
In the huge mirror was the image of the human kingdom's little princess—Yu Deng. Raven-black hair, crimson lips, and snow-white, delicate skin. He wore waist-length smooth hair, the ends softly curled.
He was dressed in a gold-and-red Rococo-style gown, which made his waist look slender. The skirt was puffy and adorned with clinking gold and gemstones—utterly luxurious.
Yu Deng touched his long hair in confusion, then touched the skirt.
He rarely wore dresses, especially these kinds of puffy gowns, and wasn't used to them. But well… he had to admit, this one was quite pretty.
After he finished dressing, a golden long-tailed bird flew in through the window. Yu Deng couldn't name the species, only noticing it was fairly large. The bird swooped into the room, picked up an ornate crown from a corner, and landed precisely beside Yu Deng's head.
Suddenly, Yu Deng felt a weight on top of his head.
"Chirp chirp chirp." The bird, having completed its task for the day, lifted its head proudly and chirped beside Yu Deng, seemingly seeking praise.
Yu Deng met the little bird's beady eyes and tentatively reached out to pat it. The bird chirped even more energetically in response.
Sunlight spilled in through the window, falling on Yu Deng's figure. The diamond crown on his head sparkled. He looked even more beautiful than those legendary elves and mermaids famed for their beauty.
A male servant knelt in front of Yu Deng, head deeply bowed. "Your Highness, breakfast has been prepared. The king says he has matters to discuss with you and asks you to go to the dining hall as soon as possible."
"Oh…"
Yu Deng looked down at the servant, but before he could say anything, the heavy crown on his head began to wobble. He scrambled to steady it with both hands.
Ugh, what kind of princess has to wear a five-pound crown?!
T/N: I uploaded a lot of chapters today in case I get lazy later because I might focus on the new story I just posted.