"Host, your requests are getting more and more difficult. Please wait a minute," the System said.
While waiting, Feng Yongrui scrolled through the System Mall when he noticed something.
"Eh? System, I've been scrolling for such a long time but I still haven't found the Cloak of Sherlock. Where is that item?" Feng Yongrui asked.
"It's not there, Host," the System replied, its voice a little muffled.
"Oh, is it in the Rewards Section?" Feng Yongrui asked.
"No, Host," came the reply, "That item isn't for sale."
"What? Why not?" Feng Yongrui asked. That item was a pretty good one!
"You can only get that item through the lucky draw~" the System replied.
Feng Yongrui's jaw almost dropped to the floor. He could only get the item through the lucky draw? But how many times would he have to do the lucky draw before he got that item??
"Right! I found something that might help you, Host," the System said.
"This is a manual, and the title is 'How To Break Free'. It's comprised of 4 volumes, and each volume costs 10 points. If you buy all four books, you pay 39 points," the System said, turning into a salesperson.
"Alright, so..."
"This manual is filled with countless ways to 'break free'. This means there are ways for you to break free from prison, break free from a spell, break free from a curse, break free from chains, and so on. Anyway, you can think of this like a dictionary. You find the 'thing' you want to break, be it a specific spell or something else, and then they'll give you the way(s) to break it."
"...I see. You said there are 4 volumes, right?" Feng Yongrui asked.
"Correct, Host."
"Which volume has the method to help Stan?" Feng Yongrui asked, glancing at the young boy who was waiting impatiently.
"That... I don't know, Host~" the System said.
"Huh? So I have no way of knowing in which volume it is? Doesn't that mean I have to buy all four volumes??" Feng Yongrui asked.
"Correct, Host~~"
Feng Yongrui wanted to cry. Why.... He just wanted to know if Stan was telling the truth or if he was planning something bad...
"So, Host, are you going to spend 39 points on all 4 volumes, or will you buy them one by one?" the System asked, the glee in its voice was too obvious.
Feng Yongrui gritted his teeth.
"Buy!"
"Alright, Host~~"
After buying the books, Feng Yongrui did not dare to waste too much time anymore. He flipped through the books, looking for a binding seal that was similar to the one that Lilith had used on Stan.
When he finally found it, Feng Yongrui quickly read the way to break the seal. There were several technical terms involved, but Feng Yongrui managed to understand what it meant.
Stan's method was correct, well, partially -- if Feng Yongrui used his magical prowess to break the seal while Stan "protected" or surrounded Feng Yongrui's magical prowess, then Feng Yongrui wouldn't get hurt.
However... if Stan protected Feng Yongrui's magical prowess, then Stan's magical prowess would be sucked by Lilith's seal, and this, in turn, would make Lilith's seal stronger.
"So... if we use Stan's way, won't I be fighting a losing battle?" Feng Yongrui muttered. "While I'm breaking the seal, Stan is protecting me, but while he's protecting me, he is also making the seal stronger... This is just a painful cycle," Feng Yongrui clicked his tongue.
"T-Then what can we do?" the System asked, worried. "We can't let Stan stay in this place forever, right?"
Feng Yongrui scrunched up his eyebrows. "Heh, why do you care so much about him?" Feng Yongrui asked.
The System seemed offended. "He's such a cute kid~ How can I not like him?"
Feng Yongrui rolled his eyes. "I'll continue reading this," he said.
As Feng Yongrui continued reading, his frown grew deeper and deeper. They needed... a third person to help them?
After Feng Yongrui finished reading, he took a long, deep breath and sighed. Based on what he read, they would need a third person to help them. But who was able to help them, and who would be willing to help them??
Feng Yongrui sighed and explained everything to Stan. Of course, Feng Yongrui did not tell Stan that he knew how to break the seal because of the System... he simply told Stan that, logically, it should be like this...
When Stan finished listening to Feng Yongrui's explanation, he nodded his head in agreement.
"I never thought about it like that. It's my bad," Stan said, shrugging his shoulders.
A sigh escaped his lips as Stan looked at the empty space in front of him wistfully. Was it really impossible to escape...? He had finally found someone who was willing to help him, but why did it seem like all his roads were blocked?
"Unless... we have a third person," Feng Yongrui said.
Stan whipped his head to the side as his eyes widened.
"...Why are you turning your head," Feng Yongrui chuckled. "It's not like you can see me..."
"A third person, you say?" Stan asked, ignoring Feng Yongrui's comments.
"Correct. But... it can't be just anyone. His or her magical prowess has to be about the same as mine. So it'll go like this. The third person and I will channel our magical prowess to the seal to break it," Feng Yongrui explained.
"And then?" Stan listened eagerly.
"As for you, you'll only use a bit of your magical prowess to wrap around both of our magic."
"But if I only use a bit of my power, won't you still feel hurt?" Stan asked, furrowing his brows.
"Well, yes, but the pain will be less. The hope is so that the two people who are breaking the seal won't feel too painful, and you won't use too much power as well, so that Lilith's seal doesn't get too strong."
"Then, at the last minute, you will stop protecting us while we break the last bit of the seal..." Feng Yongrui explained, gesturing with his hands (again, forgetting that Stan couldn't see him).
"Do you get it?" he asked.
"Er... I think I do," Stan replied, his face saying otherwise.
"Anyway, the problem is, where can we find a third person who's willing to help us?" Feng Yongrui asked.
"Erm..." the two of them fell into silence.
Feng Yongrui felt like he had reached a wall. Feeling tired, he looked around for a place to sit and noticed the lump of ice in the corner of the room.
Feng Yongrui walked over and sat down on the ice block, rendering the System speechless.
"...Host, why are you sitting on a block of ice?" the System asked, baffled.
"System, why can't I sit on a block of ice?" Feng Yongrui shot back.
"...Isn't it cold, Host?" the System asked, baffled.
"...No?" Feng Yongrui replied.
The System: "..."
Feng Yongrui: "..."
"Wait! That doesn't make sense!" Feng Yongrui jumped up. Why wasn't this ice block cold? The last time he went closer to this block of ice, he could feel the coldness emanating from it. Why wasn't it as cold as before?
Feng Yongrui bent down and examined the block of ice. At that time, he was in a hurry to leave this place, so he didn't really inspect this block of ice, but now...
"Stan, what is this ice cube for?" Feng Yongrui asked.
"Which ice cube?" Stan asked, looking around. When Stan spotted the block of ice in the corner of the room, he sighed.
"Oh, you're talking about that. Don't you know? There's a person inside," he said, shrugging his shoulders.
Feng Yongrui pursed his lips. There... there was a person inside here?
"Captain America..." Feng Yongrui whispered.
"David Blaine..." the System whispered.
"Who is inside here?" Feng Yongrui asked.
"Hm... I forgot his name. What was it again? Lei... Lazy Bae... Argh, I dunno. The point is, several months ago Lilith kidnapped him and brought him here. She wanted to use his blood to enhance her own powers or something, but he was too rebellious, so she had him locked up in that block of ice," Stan said.
"Lay... Lei Bei?" Feng Yongrui asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, yeah, I think that was his name. How do you know?" Stan asked.
"I don't know either. Just felt like his name was familiar," Feng Yongrui muttered.
"Hey, that's right. Why do we have to think so hard? Isn't there a person right here? We can ask him to help us!" Stan cried.
"This Lei Bei guy? You want him to help us?" Feng Yongrui asked.
"Yeah! Anyway, it's not like he's Lilith's friend or anything, right? I'm sure that if we persuade him nicely, he'll be willing to help us," Stan said, licking his lips and smiling broadly.
Feng Yongrui couldn't help feeling goosebumps on his arm. 'Persuade him nicely'? For some reason when Stan was the one saying those words, it didn't sound very nice... That smile on his face was... ominous...
***
You need someone to help you with something. You...
a) Ask nicely.
b) Persuade them to help you.
c) Tell them to help you in exchange for money.
d) Blackmail them and force them to help you.
Comment below~~