Chapter 244: Let

Xi Rensheng is really starting to consider the possibility of buying a portable speaker.

"You're right! We can't skip the atmosphere, a Bluetooth mini speaker... no, one with colored lights? I really like the colored lights in the bar opened by Hua Jian Lei."

Yang Yixie twitched the corner of his mouth and decided not to follow that thread, lest Xi Rensheng actually get a speaker and blast 'Don't Look at Me, I'm Just a Sheep' downstairs from his house.

So it really ends up being a magical showdown with the square‑dance aunties, huh?

Hmm, actually just snatching a ready‑made speaker isn't a bad idea either.

But that won't work; it's illegal.

Yang Yixie quickened his pace toward home, while Xi Rensheng stuck to his side like a piece of chewing gum, chattering nonstop.

The two walked all the way to the old residential complex where Yang Yixie's apartment is.

When they reached the vicinity of Yang Yixie's building, Xi Rensheng's previously playful grin faded a bit as his gaze fell on the area opposite, still cordoned off with a yellow warning line.

Because contact with that zone must be minimized, even the food is delivered by staff wearing Isolation Suits.

"Is this it?" Xi Rensheng pointed with his chin at the area, "last night's 'Grinding Monsters point'?"

Yang Yixie merely gave a "mm" and kept walking.

"The first corpse was next to the trash can; the second‑floor of the building next door is the place it broke into."

Xi Rensheng clicked his tongue at the words and immediately followed.

"That's a lot of commotion; no wonder the authorities rushed a press conference this morning—can they really hide it?"

Yang Yixie gave no reply, simply entered the code on the apartment door, opened it and stepped inside; Xi Rensheng followed without hesitation, even pulling the door shut behind him.

The stairwell of the old apartment block was dim, and Yang Yixie's unit was on the fifth floor, with no elevator.

They climbed the stairs one after another, their footsteps echoing through the empty corridor.

"You let me follow you all the way home? Aren't you afraid of letting the wolf in?"

Xi Rensheng asked cheerfully from behind; Yang Yixie had always kept his real‑world situation tightly under wraps, and this meeting had originally been arranged at a park.

He had originally thought Yang Yixie would be ultra‑protective about this.

"Wolf?" Yang Yixie didn't even turn his head, "At most you're just a husky."

Joke's on him; Xi Rensheng's green fur can't stay low‑key at all.

Xi Rensheng: "........ Hey!"

At home, Yang Yixie lugged a grocery bag into the kitchen, shoved the vegetables and fruit that needed refrigeration into the fridge, and briefly prepped the meat before setting it aside.

After washing his hands and stepping out, he saw Xi Rensheng already lounging on his sofa, remote in hand, the screen playing 'Pleasant Goat and Grey Wolf'.

Yang Yixie: "....... You really..."

He walked over, snatched the remote from Xi Rensheng, and switched to a news channel.

The official live broadcast had ended, but detailed follow‑up reports and expert analyses were still being aired.

Xi Rensheng made no move to reclaim the remote, slumped onto the sofa, sighed, his tone tinged with melancholy.

"Sigh, I'm just reminiscing about my childhood; who knows, I might end up dying in that game someday... Besides, I still have to seriously study the villains' lines and entrances. Learning by example is important!"

Yang Yixie sat on the single‑seater sofa beside him, giving him a glance.

"Then you really are 'still childlike.'"

"Isn't that boring..." Xi Rensheng curled his lip.

"Hua Jian Lei spends every day either soaking in a bar or flirting with pretty girls; all he sees is pick‑up opportunities! He flirts in the game and then in real life; even a master of time management can't keep up with him!"

"And the other combat maniac is even worse; teaming up with him means either Grinding Monsters or being on the way to grind, or just looking for a fight. There's no fun at all when you're with him!"

He grew more animated, sitting upright, waving his arms like a child while complaining nonstop.

"Tell me, this game's world is so interesting, shouldn't we do more performance art... no, artistic creation, life—no, the game life needs purpose! It needs fun!"

Yang Yixie listened silently, poured him a glass of water and set it on the coffee table.

"So you just want to find 'fun' in reality?"

"The line between reality and the game is getting blurrier," Xi Rensheng said after a sip, his tone returning to that cynical swagger.

"And the 'fun' in reality can't be found in the game..."

"Your so‑called 'fun' includes almost being handed over to the police by enthusiastic crowds?" Yang Yixie looked at Xi Rensheng, who seemed about to 'change faces', and coolly asked back.

"That was an accident! An accident!" Xi Rensheng shouted loudly in protest.

"I wasn't doing it to test your emergency response and... um, your popular base! See, doesn't that prove you're a 'well‑mannered child' beloved by middle‑aged and elderly women? That's a precious social rating label."

Yang Yixie was too lazy to banter, and steered the conversation back on track.

"You said earlier you didn't see any 'trace' on me. If there were one, what would it look like?"

Xi Rensheng set his cup down and examined Yang Yixie again.

"Trace..." he deliberately elongated the word.

"It's like a kind of… 'imbuing'? Like being marked by some higher‑dimensional rule. It's odd, though— even players who haven't awakened Aberrant Arts should have such a trace, yet my partner has nothing."

As he spoke, Xi Rensheng's curious gaze kept scanning Yang Yixie from head to toe.

After a while, he finally gave up.

"Could it be that your Aberrant Arts are of the concealment type?"

Otherwise Xi Rensheng couldn't figure why Yang Yixie bore no trace from that game world, even though he possessed just as much information about it.

That at least shows Yang Yixie was doing fine in that world.

So, now that it's confirmed Yang Yixie is also a player, why can no trace be seen on him?

Hmm......

No wonder he's my partner!

Xi Rensheng leaned in closer, lowering his voice.

"So, partner, team up with me. As long as the two of us pair up, this game will definitely be more fun!"

Yang Yixie did not respond immediately, as the news on TV was broadcasting the official announced player registration website and Aberrant Species classification introduction.

The scene switches, and a solemn‑faced expert is urging the public to stay calm, not to credulously believe false information online or recruitment by illegal organizations.