On the way to Li Ling's office, Wang GuiYing took out his phone and dialed a number that he hadn't contacted in a while.
The phone rang for a bit before the person on the other side eventually picked up.
"Hello."
"Mastermo, are you playing dungeon wars?"
The question was so sudden that Zhihao was caught by surprise and couldn't say anything for a few seconds.
Wang GuiYing only waited patiently as he gave the man time to answer the question.
"Do you mean the new game that Li Ling released?"
"That's the one," Wang GuiYing responded without missing a beat.
"I would be lying if I said I wasn't."
Wang GuiYing smirked as he heard this answer that he had already expected to hear.
"On which stage are you? Let me join your team"
"..." Once again there was an awkward silence following this question and Wang GuiYing frowned at this silent reaction.
"Hey, are you being cheap right now? We've fought through life and death in that final stage of T.I.A.D., you should consider how close our friendship is and let me in as a favor."
The man thought Zhihao didn't want to let him join his team, but the response he got was even more shocking than what he expected to hear.
"Trash, I'm on the first stage."
"..." Wang GuiYing's mind went blank and he pursed his lips into a thin line as he heard this
"I'm not lying," Zhihao added with a sigh, believing that Wang GuiYing might find it hard to trust those words.
"Doesn't your boyfriend own that game...?" Wang GuiYing asked with a constipated expression on his face, "Don't you get cool boyfriend perks or something? Like a free ticket to pass through the stages??"
Zhihao pursed his lips into a thin line as he heard this and spoke, "I am against cheating."
"You said you're against cheating but you didn't deny it. Can it take it that there is an existence of the cool boyfriend perks but you're just being too strict to accept them?"
"..."
The silence was probably a confirmation.
Wang GuiYing smiled as he spoke, "Mastermo, you better do me a favor if you don't want Li Ling to know about that time you stalked him thinking he was cheating on you."
"How the hell did 'You' know that?!"
"A little bird told me."
"Huang Zhen?"
"Your brother has a hard time keeping his mouth shut."
Zhihao took a deep breath in and cursed his brother in his mind before he thought about it and spoke, "I'll help you if you purge that cursed information from your memory."
Wang GuiYing chuckled as he heard this and even Zhihao was a bit shocked to hear the man chuckling since it had been quite some time since the man had given such a positive reaction.
"Little Li Ling is so cute and completely head over heels for you, just why in the hell would you think he would cheat."
Zhihao blushed as he heard this. When he thought back to it, even he was embarrassed by what he had assumed, especially since it turned out that Li Ling was actually only meeting up with a designer to make a custom-made gaming console for Zhihao as a gift.
Wang GuiYing could not see Zhihao through the call but he could very well guess that the man was probably embarrassed at the moment so he continued with a chuckle, "You should really be beaten up for doubting that cinnamon roll."
"I was wrong and I learned from my mistakes so let's never bring that up again," Zhihao spoke as he tried his best to sound calm.
"As long as you help me, I'll make it so that nobody remembers it," Wang GuiYing reassured and with a smile, added, "That's also a threat in case you don't want to cooperate."
Zhihao was silent for a minute before he spoke, "Have I ever told you that your name really suits you? Trash."
"..."
That was probably not a compliment, was it....?
"By the way, why the hurry? I thought you quit," Zhihao sighed as he asked.
"It's him," Wang GuiYing responded and without having to specify who he was referring to, Zhihao already understood.
"He's playing...?" Zhihao asked, sounding a bit shocked and unsure.
Wang GuiYing smiled as he spoke, "He sent a message for me. He said he was waiting so I'm in quite a good mood today."
Zhihao gulped as he heard this and with much hesitation, he asked, "You couldn't possibly want to unlock the transmigration feature... Would you?"
"Mastermo, I'm saying this just in case but don't try to stop me, okay? I've already made up my mind."
Zhihao's eyebrows creased together dangerously as he heard this, "Trash, don't do anything impulsive. There would always be other ways."
"Four years and counting," Wang GuiYing sighed and didn't even let Zhihao complete as he spoke, "That's how long I have waited for him. Now that I finally have a clue, there is no way in hell I'm letting it go."
"Trash, I understand your feelings but... Do you really have to go this far?" Zhihao asked with a sigh but before the man could answer the question, he added in a hurry, "Let's meet up. There are some things that you must know so let's talk more in detail."
"Your apartment?"
"No. Let's meet at Li Ling's office. I'll see you there."
"Alright. I'll be there in half an hour," Wang GuiYing nodded his head and replied as he ended the call.
He looked at his phone screen and frowned as he felt that there was something off about Zhihao's hurried tone.
Zhihao said there was something that Wang GuiYing needed to know but what could be so important that he couldn't say it over the phone...?
At the end of the day, although there was something weird about Zhihao's words, Wang GuiYing still hailed a taxi and headed out for Li Ling's office which was located on the top floor of the main headquarters of Omelas.
As someone who hadn't booked an appointment with the man, it was only natural that he would be stopped by the security, however, when he reached the gates of the company, the security guards immediately recognized him and escorted him all the way to the secret elevator that only led to Li Ling's office.
Perhaps he had to thank Fang XinLi for making him fix his appearance cause if it weren't for that, the security guards would have probably been unable to identify him and he might have been thrown out instead.
Just like he had told Zhihao, the man reached the office in about half an hour and by the time he was there, Zhihao had already arrived and was waiting for him.
"You're here?" Zhihao looked at Wang GuiYing with a sigh of relief as he stood up from his chair.
"Why'd you call me here?" Wang GuiYing asked as he looked around and checked out the neatly organized office.
"I told you, didn't I?" Zhihao asked with a small smile, "There was something that you needed to know and this is the only place where you'd get that information."
Wang GuiYing's eyebrows furrowed together as he heard this but before he could say anything to the man, he heard Zhihao speaking up.
"ALVI, are you here?"
Wang GuiYing's eyes immediately widened and what he heard next was something that sent a shiver down his spine.
"Yes, Master. Is there anything I can help you with?"
He looked around frantically but he was unsure where the sound had come from and that freaked him out even more.
"What the hell...?!" Wang GuiYing snapped as he looked at Zhihao for an explanation.
"We were reluctant to get rid of her," Zhihao shrugged his shoulders as he spoke, "And she was fixed so there was no longer any need to get rid of her."
That was clearly not what Wang GuiYing had wanted to know.
The more important question was 'Why' That thing was here in the first place itself...?!
ALVI was supposed to exist only inside the game!
Zhihao could guess the question that Wang GuiYing had so desperately wanted to ask, "Don't worry, she's harmless in here. She only has access to this office so she can't go outside it."
Although Zhihao was trying to reassure the man, Wang GuiYing didn't look to be pleased at all.
"After seeing your reaction, I'd assume you're still afraid of her? If that is the case then I'm sorry but we cannot help you."
"Afraid?" Wang GuiYing sneered as he spoke, "That thing almost killed me back then! Do you think I'd be calm?"
Zhihao nodded his head in understanding as he spoke, "You can't be calm and that is exactly why I cannot let you go through with your plan."
"Mastermo, I don't think we are communicating clearly here," Wang GuiYing spoke with a frown as he glared at the man, "No matter what you say, you can't stop me from doing something I have already set my mind on. I didn't come here to be convinced by you, I came here to find a way through which you could help me. It's not like I can't get there without your help, it's just that it would be much faster if you'd help me."
Zhihao was a bit stunned to hear these words but he still nodded his head with a small smile. This response was something he should have expected. After all, it didn't look like Wang GuiYing had changed much. He was still a stubborn pain in the ass.