"In that case, I'll just warn you a little before Li Ling gets here," Zhihao spoke with a sigh.
"I'm all ears."
"We have improved the system and there are no more bugs, but that doesn't mean we are ready for a full launch. There is still a risk and hence, we have made the feature a trial run feature which can only be accessed by a limited number of players. There would be a contract that you'd need to sign before you enter the game. This contract would imply that once you are inside the game, your every action would be taken at your own risk. The company would not take any responsibility. In simpler words, if you end up brain dead after coming back, it wouldn't be something that Omelas would be blamed for."
Wang GuiYing gulped as he heard this and asked, "Has that ever happened before? Has anyone come back brain dead?"
Zhihao smiled thinly as he heard this and spoke, "After Li Ling, there haven't been any more such unfortunate incidents, but there's no guarantee that the same could be said about the future."
"So there's a risk?"
Zhihao nodded his head.
"I'll take it," Wang GuiYing took a deep breath in and closed his eyes as he spoke, "I'll take the risk and sign the contract as well."
Zhihao didn't know if he was supposed to laugh or cry as he heard this but in the end, he could do neither of the two.
"Since you're a friend, I'll try my best to assure your safety," Zhihao spoke with a sigh as he walked closer to Wang GuiYing and patted the man's shoulder, "It's risky but the risk is only at a negligible percent. This is something that we don't tell many people since it might promote this new feature."
"So you were just trying to scare me?" Wang GuiYing's right eye twitched as he questioned.
Zhihao nodded his head, "That's right. Unfortunately, it didn't work on you."
"..."
"If you have already decided your mind on it then there is no way I would refuse to help you," Zhihao added with a smile, "But there is still something that I must ask."
"What is it?"
"This is for Zhou Xinyi, right? But how exactly is a game related to his disappearance?"
For Zhihao, both Zhou Xinyi and Wang GuiYing, were friends so it was only natural that he was worried about their safety and was curious to know just how Wang GuiYing planned to use a game in order to find somebody who had gone missing for over four years.
"You must have heard about it as well," Wang GuiYing spoke with an expressionless face as he looked directly into Zhihao's eyes, "There was a player who ran into him online."
"And you trust that player?"
Wang GuiYing gave a nod, "I do. He said Zhou Xinyi left a message for me."
Zhihao's eyebrows furrowed together as he heard this and he repeated with confusion, "A message?"
There was suddenly a smile on Wang GuiYing's face as he replied, "He said he was waiting for me."
Zhihao's face twisted into an indecipherable expression as he heard this but before he could ask anything, Wang GuiYing continued.
"Hulk is a man of few words, so I'm sure about it. Only he would leave such a vague message behind for me."
"..." Zhihao couldn't argue with that.
"So you've decided?" This time, it wasn't Zhihao who had questioned, it was the man who had opened the door and entered.
"Li Ling, you're here," Zhihao beamed as he saw the face of the handsome man.
Wang GuiYing also turned to look at the man, but he didn't seem to be happy about it as he spoke, "Are you gonna try to stop me as well?"
Li Ling smiled as he heard this hostile question and shook his head as he took off his watch, "I won't."
Wang GuiYing raised his eyebrows, feeling a little suspicious of the man as he heard this unexpected response.
"On the contrary, I'll support you," Li Ling spoke as he kept his eyes on Wang GuiYing and walked over towards Zhihao.
"You'll support me?"
Li Ling smiled as he turned his head to greet Zhihao with a kiss on the cheek and a small hug. In Zhihao's ears, he whispered, "Why'd you come all the way here? You could've just called me over."
Zhihao smiled brightly as he heard this and patted the man's head as he responded, "I didn't wanna trouble you when you're already so busy."
Li Ling also smiled as he heard this and spoke as he side-glanced at Wang GuiYing, "It wouldn't be 'you' bothering me, it would be him."
Zhihao chuckled but said nothing more.
Li Ling sighed as he turned to face Wang GuiYing once again, "So, you really wanna enter the game?"
Wang GuiYing nodded his head with no hesitance and confirmed.
"But you're just looking for a single-player, are you not?"
Wang GuiYing once again nodded his head as he heard this.
Li Ling smirked as he asked, "Are you determined?"
Wang GuiYing scoffed, "Is that even a question? I've spent the past four years searching for him. I gave up everything I liked for him and yet, you want to ask me if I'm determined?"
Li Ling shrugged his shoulders as he responded, "Fair enough."
"So you'll help me, right?"
"Of course, I would," Li Ling beamed before he added, "but you'll have to wait."
"How long?"
"I need to set everything up so I guess you'll have to wait till tomorrow."
"Alright," Wang GuiYing sighed in relief and nodded his head as he replied.
"But there is a condition," Li Ling spoke with a thin smile, "We'll be coming with you."
Wang GuiYing's eyebrows furrowed together once again and he felt as if he was aging by the minute, "Why?"
"Because it would be fun," Li Ling simply shrugged his shoulders and responded.
"..."
Zhihao also seemed to be a bit taken back by Li Ling's words and looked at the man with his eyes wide open.
"It would be fun to get the old team back together, don't you think?" Li Ling asked with a toothy grin, "And in any case, I'm also partially responsible for Zhou Xinyi's disappearance so isn't it only natural that I help you."
Wang GuiYing felt as if the man's words made sense but at the same time, he knew Li Ling better than that, and hence, he could confidently say that Li Ling was not the type to do something like this simply because of his guilty conscience.
However, when Wang GuiYing thought about it a bit more, he felt that it was probably not a bad idea. Li Ling was the gamemaster and Zhihao was still one of the top pro-gamers in the world. With these two on his side, finding Zhou Xinyi might actually prove to be easier than he had expected.
Since he deemed them as useful, there was no need for him to refuse the offer nor did he need to question it any further.
"Alright. If you two wanna join as well then be my guest."
Li Ling nodded his head with a smile as he heard this but Zhihao didn't look to be all that pleased.
Wang GuiYing had probably noticed Zhihao's expression and so, he spoke, "In that case, I'll leave now. When I come back tomorrow, I hope you have everything set up and ready to go."
"You can count on me," Li Ling reassured and shortly after saying their farewells, Wang GuiYing left the office.
As soon as the man left, Zhihao glared at Li Ling as he asked, "Be honest, just what are you planning?"
Li Ling turned to look at Zhihao and for over a minute, it seemed like he was contemplating on whether to reveal the truth or not.
"Don't you dare lie," Zhihao snapped as he guessed what Li Ling was planning to do.
With a chuckle, Li Ling shook his head as he spoke, "I wouldn't dare."
"..." Zhihao folded his hands and his eyes narrowed down on Li Ling, waiting for an explanation.
"We received a complaint," Li Ling sighed as he spoke, "One of the gaming IDs was stolen and the person that stole it is now stuck inside the game."
Zhihao frowned as he heard this and asked, "Can't you just disable the ID?"
Li Ling pursed his lips into a thin line, "We did and that's why the player is now stuck inside the game."
Once again, Zhihao didn't know whether he was supposed to laugh or cry as he heard this response.
"We can't enable the ID again and the only way to get the person out is to go inside the game and find him."
"..."
Zhihao felt as if he was having a headache. Just when he thought his life was finally starting to be a little peaceful, such a thing had to go and happen.
"Is it serious?" Zhihao asked as he looked at Li Ling and Li Ling simply shrugged his shoulders with a simple vague response.
"We don't know yet."