Saman stared at him blankly.
Ren Yifei pulled the corner of his mouth and raised a bloody middle finger at him, "Does it look good?" HXPduZ
The low, breathless voice was incredibly sexy.
Saman touched his nose and coughed twice awkwardly, "Sorry." He reached out and closed the door gently.
However, he also noticed Ren Yifei's injury. The colour of the blood was abnormal and was likely to be poison. He thought again and said, "I can help you clean the wound; I've learned how to. Can you trust me this once?"
After a while, Ren Yifei opened the door. The wound had been simply treated and was wrapped with the system's hemostatic bandage to stop the bleeding. He wore a new pair of pants and stared straight at Saman with his bare upper body, "No need, I'll end this game today." Xr6u5Q
"You?" Saman was a little surprised. He thought Ren Yifei would not admit it even if it killed him.
Ren Yifei endured the pain and gave a 'heh' before saying, "Would you obediently stay away from me if I don't admit it? And since I killed that player, I'm bound to be noticed. The longer it drags on, the worse it'll get."
Now that time was running out, he had to resolve this matter before he bled out. Fortunately, the one who noticed him was a player; otherwise, a perfect clearance could not be achieved.
He could not help but remind Saman, "Don't get in my way."
The combination of an NPC and a player was too attention-grabbing. It would destroy the story he intended, which was something he regarded as an adversary.
Saman immediately raised his hands to show his innocence, "The system's hemostatic bandage can't detoxify. Can I help you deal with the wound?"
Feeling the stabbing pain of his wound, Ren Yifei nodded, "Be careful, don't let blood get on your pants."
Undoing the bandage, the wound underneath had already started to clot and scab. CPyv7S
The arrow shaft had been cleaned before it was pulled out, so no wood residue was left in his body. Saman cleaned his wound with a gauze soaked with medical alcohol and sprayed some medicine on it. Although these drugs cannot detoxify, they should at least provide some anaesthetic pain relief.
Afterwards, he wrapped the wound with the bandage again; a thin loop would allow the wound to heal faster.
The wound was constantly agitated throughout the process of cleaning and applying the medicine. But during this process, Ren Yifei suffered without uttering a word. He pursed his lips tightly and only turned his face away when Saman looked over.
"Does it hurt?" Saman looked at his wet eyes and the small tear drops hanging on his eyelashes. I74H2B
"Stop talking, don't waste time."
Ren Yifei paused after every word and was sweating profusely, but he did not let out a single cry of pain.
Saman has some doubts about 'A Fei' in his own reality; could he be an undercover agent? If he were to be a person from the entertainment industry who made money by acting, only a few people could endure such hardships.
"Okay," after bandaging, Saman wiped his back with a clean towel. QzBAdp
Ren Yifei raised his head, the corners of his eyes were slightly red, but his face was the same; he looked like he had just been bullied. Saman stared at the Adam's apple on his slender neck and sunken collarbone. The smell of blood was like an accelerant, and his eyes darkened as his pupils dilated.
When Ren Yifei saw it, he wanted to push him away, but he pulled on the wound, "Stop going into heat."
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Saman touched his nose and said nothing. Just as he was about to explain, he saw Ren Yifei take out a knife and slash his own shoulder.
"What are you doing?" He was startled. pKSqxX
"Pretending to be slightly injured," Ren Yifei said.
The cut was deep, but Ren Yifei did not even frown, "Would you believe that a young NPC who hasn't experienced much can take out an arrow without a change in expression? I'm going out in a while, so it must be convincing that I was only slightly injured."
He laughed, "It was chaotic at that time. Those people would only remember that I was shot by an arrow, fell into the water, and came up to fight back. As long as these three elements match up, they wouldn't notice whether I was pierced or wounded by the arrow."
In fact, there were still many flaws that might be discovered, but in his current situation, this was the best option. GwaoNg
"Also, NPCs don't have those magical hemostatic bandages. There has to be a little blood for it to look real," Ren Yifei handed him a piece of cloth torn from his clothes, "Help me bandage it again. Use the rag this time; it's best to cover the traces of the system's gauze."
Saman pursed his lips tightly, not knowing what to say about Ren Yifei's self-harm behaviour. But he still did as he was asked.
"l have a clue about where two lines intersect, and life and death meet," Saman asked while bandaging, "Doyou want to cooperate?"
"I never cooperate with others," Ren Yifei stated clearly, "I also don't share my spoils with others."
Saman understood what Ren Yifei meant. The disguise specialist's allure was the information which could help others clear instances. However, Ren Yifei was different. After he gathered the clues, he would solve thepuzzle himself; he did not need others' help.
What was the point of cooperation? It was all about helping the poor, and nobody liked helping the poor.
"I know, so I'm asking, should we work together in the Cape of Desolation?" Saman instinctively gave a genuine and endearing smile, "You have a lot of silver shells, and I have enough gold shells. Moreover, your knowledge and understanding of NPCs can help me improve the 'Virtual Cape of Desolation' plan."
"Virtual what?" Ren Yifei thought he had heard it wrong. mP6EyF
"An integration of the instance's information and holographic technology to make a 'Virtual Cape of Desolation' game, yielding more than 80% similarity to a real instance," Saman's words were spoken very calmly as if the things he was saying were not a significant event that could change the Cape of Desolation.
Ren Yifei was very surprised, "Your world has progressed to the point where you can create holograms? Also, can you program the system of the Cape of Desolation?"
To be honest, many players have thought of this kind of virtual game; Ren Yifei had searched for all the relevant information. However, he simply could not write the program for the world of the Cape of Desolation.
Saman smiled slightly, "I naturally have my own method." Saman did not know that he looked like a courting peacock, or a bowerbird, trying to show off his charm and wealth. MlX4FT
Ren Yifei looked at him and could but help but say, "You tricked everyone."
In the Cape of Desolation, Saman was a gangster who was the useful second-in-command under Tian Hong. Although he has some talent in the games, there was nothing that would attract others' attention.
It turned out that they were all fake.
It was impossible to set up this virtual game in a day or two, or even a month or two. Perhaps Saman had planned this for years. During this period, he needed to spend a lot of time, energy and money, but the person himself did not even know it. Z81hIq
Ren Yifei guessed that he was close to succeeding, which was why he fell out with Tian Hong— because he no longer needed Tian Hong as a tool.
The people in the Cape of Desolation actually sympathised with him? Their sympathy was indeed unfounded.
"Doesn't the Cape of Desolation use binary?" Ren Yifei asked.
Saman nodded and answered his doubts, "The players in the Cape of Desolation are all from parallel worlds with the same cultural background and similar technological advancement. But those instance worlds are completely different, and occasionally, you will encounter a technologically advanced civilisation that holds the answer." vNq8aD
"..." it was incredible. While everyone else was solving puzzles, he was gathering information on the technology while also solving the puzzles. Furthermore, all this was done in only seven days or less.
Ren Yifei tentatively asked, "High-end instance?"
"That's right."
"How long did it take to learn?" 5e2pdm
Saman looked at him and answered the question, "Two years." Two years of uninterrupted access to high-end instances gave him an opportunity to enter a world with an advanced civilisation once every ten turns on average. Even then, the chance of the technological information in that world being helpful to him was only one-third.
But then, he acquired a useful skill that significantly accelerated this learning rate.
Two years was also very impressive.
"It seems your computer skills are exceptional," Ren Yifei sighed sincerely. If this thing came to fruition, the forces in the Cape of Desolation would have to be reshuffled because no player could refuse 'it'. ZwE683
There really isn't a single simple person in the Cape of Desolation.
"You think too highly of me; my computer skills are only average. But luckily, I found the key to unlocking it. The others are just a bit less lucky."
Saman smiled as he brushed off his commitment and dedication.
In fact, it took Saman three years after entering the Cape of Desolation. He accidentally discovered the key in his first year, after which he formulated the 'Virtual Cape of Desolation' plan. pgZxUl
Tian Hong thought it was his own discerning eye that discovered Saman, but in reality, that was not the case. Tian Hong's attention, recruitment, and even the fear and exclusion afterwards were all deliberately led on by Saman.
Saman needed another identity to hide what he actually wanted to do.
The matter that even his closest subordinates were not very clear about, Saman was clearly explaining out loud for the first time.
Since 'A Fei' can live in the Cape of Desolation like a fish in water with his own ability, he has to pay a lot of money to attract this person's attention. vMYzix
"In this instance, we can move separately after exchanging information and not interfere with each other," Saman added.
Ren Yifei does not care about this. He was not a professional technician, and his interest in this was not very high.
However, he began to think about cooperation. After all, the future richest man was seeking an investment opportunity in front of him. It was not lazy to not accept it, instead, it was downright stupid.
"Okay. I'll think about it after I get out. That is, the matter of cooperation." dTCkc8
"Okay." The new wound was bandaged, but these rags could not stop the bleeding. The blood kept seeping out and soiling the new clothes.
Ren Yifei carried his rucksack, "They must have begun to doubt me now; accompany me to act out a scene."
"Okay," Saman assisted him in putting the rucksack on his back before he picked up the black cat.
"Meow," the black cat bared its teeth at Saman. wSk7uM
"Your father's hand is hurt," Saman wanted to pet the black cat but got scratched instead. Truly like father like son, he thought.
"I'll go first, and you'll come out in a minute."
The moment he stepped out the door, Ren Yifei, who had been frowning and enduring the pain just a moment ago, straightened his back instantly, but he hissed in pain as if he could not bear it.
It was like there were two people. U2SKGI
Several players came towards him and looked at Ren Yifei's clothes and traces of the exposed bandage.
Ren Yifei kept gasping in pain, and when he saw this, he subconsciously lifted the fire hatchet and said with a bit of anger, "What do you want?"
"You killed him?" A player provoked him.
Ren Yifei's face turned pale, and he retorted loudly, "I didn't! I didn't kill... How could I know that that would happen? That place was so shallow!" His voice weakened, probably because he lacked confidence.
"I heard you fell into the river?"
Ren Yifei held the fire hatchet tightly; he was terrified. But contrary to one's expectation, he rebuked with killing intent in his eyes, "So what?"
"How did you get out?" There were quite a few NPCs who had counter-killed players before, but it was very unusual for it to happen twice in a row. Either this NPC has a strong resistant mentality, or...
Several people surrounded him, and Ren Yifei took a few steps back, "What do you want?"
Although his voice and arms were shaking violently, he put on a brave act.
"Tell us, and we won't give you a hard time."
Ren Yifei gritted his teeth and said, "I don't know what happened. After I fell into the water, someone pulled me down. At that time, my shoulder was injured, and I couldn't move, so I was directly dragged down into the water. When I opened my eyes, I was already at the surface."
"He has no such obligation to answer you," Saman appeared with the black cat in his arms and a false smile on his face.
The players looked at each other, shrugged, and left.
"They're crazy! Should we pour some hot water?" Ren Yifei said to himself, touching the wound and crying in pain while he walked towards the dining hall.
It was not mealtime yet, so the restaurant was empty. At this time, the refugees have all gone fishing in the water.
"Should we exchange information now?" Saman sat down, "Do you know about chair tombs?" ps8zEI
"Chair tombs?" Ren Yifei immediately remembered the burial characteristics of a particular place, "Chair tomb, a unique tomb from a certain place built according to the mountain. This kind of tomb is semi-circular with a platform shaped like a Taishi chair, and the name is carved on the vertical surface below. They're not just independent monuments. Instead, the descendants are buried under the ancestors, and a family tomb looks similar to stairs."
That's right, southern Zhe Jiang has such transitions. They believe that tombs of this shape can better bind the wind and absorb qi, intercept the spiritual influence of the mountains and river, and also block evil qi.
Seeing that Ren Yifei knew about it, Saman did not need to explain. He said, "The grass skiing slope at the top of the mountain covered with plastic turf used to be a cemetery. According to the village logs, the ancestor of the people on this island migrated from southern Zhe Jiang, which has a tradition of building chair tombs. This world might have errors, but the village logs are definitely a clue."
[ Two lines intersect, life and death meet. ]
The place life and death meet represents a cemetery, and the intersection of two lines might not refer to the fairy town above but rather the grass skiing field.
They were looking for the platform yesterday, but the more informative 'vertical surface', the turf-covered slope, has not been searched.
Anyone who has seen a chair tomb knows that the information of the deceased is primarily carved on the 'vertical surface'; the slope must hold the secret.
Is this a veteran player? Ren Yifei looked at Saman. i7KF0n
In just two days, he found where the NPCs came from and thus knew about the locals' grave-building customs.
Recalling the 'Neighbourhood' instance, he also paid attention to the newspaper and was able to lock onto the final boss through it. However, the other party was just a step too slow compared to him, who took a shortcut.
This person was so sensitive to information that it was almost cheating.
"In an instance, there is no completely useless information. A deliberate mention of a legend is likely to be a hint," Saman said. dBfw3N
Players who have tried high-end games pay special attention to collecting such information; many clues are hidden in these true and false rumours.
Ren Yifei's talent could beat a wave of people, but talent alone was not enough.
His shortcoming was experience. He does not know many things that are conventional in the eyes of old players. There will be times when he will suffer losses and learn from his mistakes.
Although it was expected for players to go down the wrong path and suffer losses, there was a sudden desire not to see this individual fall. qIk An
"Is this the experience of a senior?" Ren Yifei chuckled. When he moved, his swinging arms would irritate the wound, but the more it hurt, the more natural Ren Yifei laughed.
"If you think so, then it is so," Saman looked at him, opened his mouth, and swallowed his worry.
Worry that his status was not enough.
"But perhaps I'm being redundant. You will always have your own method, which only you can use." mc9i5B
Being injured by an arrow and still standing here talking and laughing, this was no longer acting... It was not something that was only regarded as a job, but some sort of terrible talent for survival.
Even Thousand Faces is not enough. Thousand Faces' style is cautious and aims to hide himself. His disguises are solid, and his score is consistently around the upper and lower eighties, so even if there are no surprises, at least it would not make people wary.
As for 'A Fei's' style, he would like to call it 'treacherous'.
You can never guess his next move. His disguises are 'strange', 'dangerous', and 'different'; every moment was like walking on a tightrope. His score also jumps repeatedly between ten to a hundred, and his heart feels like it is bungee jumping.
Looking at their interactions over the past two days, he felt several times, when 'A Fei' played like this, that he would be seen through by the players and the NPCs. But every time, the danger was unfounded.
Even now, he felt that A Fei was on the verge of being seen through, and only one flaw was left.
"Are you wondering if I'm not afraid of failure if I go on like this?" Ren Yifei saw his doubts.
"I'm not like the Thousand Faces you talk about. He seems to be from the technical variety and has a complete set of proven and useful theories as a foundation for his practice. I'm wild, so when I play a person, I'll only capture their most essential characteristics while the rest could be temporarily put aside." IGpT6K
"Only scripts need logic, not life."
T/N: And the plot thickens, so happy to share this chapter with you guys. We finally get to see Saman's objective, and Fish must admit, Sandman is a cool man.