Chapter 208: New Main Quest

The glowing green Data Stream surged from the TV screen, coalescing.

The bartender faced away from the TV; today the private rooms are empty, and the Dream Illusion Bar is unusually open to the public, but its location is so remote that few customers ever come.

These many bottles aren't for decoration; when someone does come, they might order a few drinks on a whim, but they never overindulge, lest trouble arises.

The bartender skillfully grabbed several bottles that were clearly much emptier, and mixed a blue‑green gradient cocktail for himself.

His only task is to manage this Dome's secret outpost; originally the bar should have been forgotten deep in this unremarkable alley.

If it weren't for that kid catching the attention of the higher‑ups, this outpost wouldn't have been selected for a rendezvous with him.

He gently swayed the glass; the green liquid's infecting effect was unusually strong, and within moments the blue in the cup was mostly swallowed, even the pale blue light turned into Ying Guang Lu through the liquid.

By the reflection in the glass, he caught a glimpse of a silhouette that had appeared in the bar's corner at an unknown time.

The muscles in his back tensed instantly, and a hand slipped silently toward the pistol hidden in the counter's secret compartment.

But when he caught the signature Ying Guang Lu out of the corner of his eye, his taut nerves relaxed, and he simply set the glass on the bar.

Golden pupils calmly scanned the familiar pale‑blue light strips that illuminated the bar; the pixel‑style modeling was slightly blurry but recognizable.

Hmm, it seems he's not in the wrong place.

After all, Yang Yixie has only just begun experimenting with the 【Teleport】 skill; once he marks a spot correctly, he won't worry about taking the wrong turn next time.

Ying Duo directly ignored the bartender, heading straight toward the private room at the back.

"There's no one in the private rooms today," the bartender's voice suddenly rang out, startlingly loud in the quiet atmosphere.

Ying Duo's steps halted; they turned their head to look at the bartender.

He had already taken the bartender as part of the bar's background, and now this NPC actually spoke.

Is this another side quest triggered?

"They haven't returned yet?" Ying Duo asked simply.

He remembered that at that time Bai Mu Yun and that crow‑running thief La Kuai were together; the crow could still fly, so those two should have left long ago…

…right?

Yang Yixie suddenly fell into thought, but felt those two NPCs shouldn't be trapped inside; Yue Chengzhang could run out of the explosion's epicenter unharmed, and Bai Mu Yun, being a top‑ranked one, is only a few levels below him.

The two likely weren't crushed to death either, since the enemies killed by his explosion would grant him experience.

Hiss, could he have accidentally killed a friendly unit and gotten no experience?

Yang Yixie let his mind wander here, while the bartender's movement merely paused briefly.

Clearly, the little boy he once knew now holds a not‑at‑all‑low position in the Dome.

He only knows that Lu Mu and Bai Mu Yun bumped heads here, then left together, but where they went and what they did are beyond his authority to know.

But Ying Duo seems to know exactly what mission they were carrying out.

The bartender lowered his eyelids, refusing to look at Ying Duo's expressionless face.

"They've been out for a long time; they should be returning soon. You can wait for them here a while."

Ying Duo accepted the bartender's suggestion, turned toward the bar and sat down at the spot in front of the bartender.

Their posture was very upright, hands resting flat on the knees, and only the golden eyes occasionally flickered.

If the environment weren't wrong, they might have looked more like a student obediently waiting for a lecture in a classroom.

"What would you like to drink?" the bartender asked skillfully.

"Anything's fine." Yang Yixie gave a universal answer.

The bartender simply nodded lightly; at least the kid still had the awareness of being a minor, and didn't blurt out a specific order.

Thus, the bartender retrieved a lemon from beneath the bar for seasoning, juiced it with a machine, added a bit of sugar, and placed it before Ying Duo.

There's no way around it; the bar rarely has customers, so supplies are limited.

Fortunately, Ying Duo accepts anything offered.

Although this thing looks plain and has no special attributes, it can at least add a bit of fullness.

Ying Duo lifted the cup of lemon water and took small sips; the pale blue glow was completely covered by Ying Guang Lu, and the bartender watched the youth, his Adam's apple rolling slightly as if doing some mental preparation.

Perhaps because those "big figures" had left, or perhaps the boy's obedient demeanor reminded him of some past memories.

The bartender finally chose to speak, his voice softer than before, with a hint of probing.

"Come to think of it… how's your brother doing lately?"

Honestly, he couldn't imagine why Yang Yixie would choose to work under the madman of the Mutation Department.

As long as Yang Yichen is still around, how could he allow Yang Yixie to become the way he is now?

【Ding!】

The moment the bartender finished speaking, a system window suddenly popped up at the center of Yang Yixie's computer, its edges flickering with a faint golden light.

【Main Quest Triggered: Lost Past】

【Quest Description: The bartender's casual mention of a "brother" has stirred those forgotten memories, and within the lost recollections seem to hide crucial information. Pursue these fragmented clues to uncover deeper secrets of Ying Duo's identity.】

【Note: Completion of this quest will significantly affect the direction of subsequent plot!】

【Quest Reward: Unknown.】

Good fellow?

Yang Yixie could only keep shouting "Good fellow!" in his mind; the main quest can wait, but what the heck is this unknown reward?

Ying Duo's movements didn't stop; instead, his gaze burned intensely at the bartender, trying to extract more information.

"How do you think he should be living?"

"........." the bartender hadn't expected a counter‑question, but after a brief silence, he gave an answer.

"He should be happy, I suppose."

The bartender lifted the now‑entirely green cocktail, gulped a large mouthful, feeling a fiery heat in his throat, and continued.

"Back then your father was the Field Operations Department's squad leader in the Dome, and your mother was a famed beauty; we all envied your dad for landing such a good wife."

"It's just that the mission that time went wrong, your father later went to the Research Division, and I didn't want to go out killing Aberrant Species anymore, so I took a job managing a base."

"But who could have known, managing a base got him assigned straight to the Church headquarters that opposes the Dome—Tianmian City."

"What surprised him even more was that, when he saw his squad leader's child again, the other side was mixing in that Mutation Department—a place that, even inside the Dome, makes everyone's skin turn pale at the very mention."